Manhattan

• Riley County election workers are hand-counting ballots from 22 precincts following state-mandated close-race audits. →
• Riley County officials plan to oppose a proposed Kansas law capping property tax appraisals at 3 percent to prevent service cuts. →
• The Riley County Appraiser's Office reported a median home sale price of $280,650 across 851 residential property sales this year. →
• Pending real estate tax exemption applications in Riley County doubled to 18, prompting extensive reviews by the county appraiser. →
• The Riley County Commission is preparing zoning regulations for data centers and battery storage before a moratorium ends in May. →
• Riley County police are investigating after 41 headstones were damaged at a Manhattan cemetery, causing an estimated $16,400 in loss. →
• Shelly Prescott demonstrated how to perform staggered-stance squats to improve single-leg strength and balance in McPherson. →
• Expect mostly cloudy skies today with light winds and a high near 52°F.

🌾 Kansas

• Democrat Cindy Holscher's unofficial lead over Republican Ty Masterson in Kansas' governor's race grew to about 7,000 votes Thursday as state-mandated audits continued in six close races. →

• Evergy announced a letter of intent for Digital Realty's 1.4-gigawatt Kansas data center expansion and raised its 2026 earnings forecast to $4.35-$4.50 a share after third-quarter profits rose. 1.4-gigawatts is equivalent to about 1.1 million U.S. households per year. →

• The Lindsborg City Council unanimously appointed DeFlock Lindsborg co-founder Brandon Burch to a vacant Ward 4 seat Monday as it weighs new license plate camera rules. →

• U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran completed his 2026 tour of all 105 Kansas counties this week, wrapping up with stops in Sharon Springs. →

• A National Weather Service radio transmitter serving nine northwest Kansas counties remained offline Thursday with no repair date set, following an October outage. →

🇺🇸 US

• U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday as AI-related fears gripped markets, with the Nasdaq entering correction territory while OpenAI pledged to cover electricity and grid-infrastructure costs at future data center campuses. →

• President Trump said Thursday he would soon decide whether to resume major military operations against Iran, as Central Command prepares for a possible resumption of strikes disrupting Strait of Hormuz oil shipments. →

• Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass conceded Thursday to City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate, making Raman the first challenger to unseat a sitting L.A. mayor since 2005. →

• Reports of possible Cabinet departures, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are raising pressure on Senate Republicans to confirm replacements before Democrats take control Jan. 3. →

• Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday that parties holding 67 of 120 Knesset seats have recommended former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government, outpacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 46 seats. →

Weather

NOVEMBER 6, 1492: COLUMBUS’S CREW INTRODUCED TO TOBACCO

Christopher Columbus records in his journal that Arawak Indians introduced his crew to smoking tobacco, marking one of the first documented encounters between Europeans and the practice. When they returned to Spain, one crew member was jailed after frightened onlookers condemned the sight of smoke coming from his mouth and nose as the work of Satan.

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