Manhattan

• Pending state legislation would require Riley County to hold mandatory public elections for budget increases exceeding 3% or the regional Consumer Price Index. →
• The board advocated for increased state funding, noting that 47% of district students rely on public schools to help break the cycle of poverty. →
• While 13 staff members recently became fully licensed for special education, the board expressed concern over state-level underfunding and recent budget cuts in neighboring districts. →
• Traditional brick-and-mortar students achieved an 88.9% graduation rate, while the district noted that chronic absenteeism is beginning to decline post-pandemic. →
• Annual accountability reports indicate consistent growth in Kansas state assessment scores across all demographic subgroups over the past two years. →
• Sunset Zoo has introduced Kartick, a new male sloth bear from San Diego, to join resident female Tess as part of a national breeding and conservation program. →
• Expect early morning showers and thunderstorms to clear out by mid-morning, giving way to a breezy, partly sunny day with a high near 68 degrees.

🌾 Kansas

• The Kansas Supreme Court dismissed Gov. Laura Kelly's lawsuit against Attorney General Kris Kobach without resolving which official holds authority to sue the Trump administration over federal funding cuts. →

• Wastewater systems at four Kansas City-area schools tested positive for nitazenes, synthetic opioids five to 10 times stronger than fentanyl, as part of a statewide surveillance program. →

• Oracle is eliminating 539 positions at its Kansas City campus as part of a nationwide restructuring driven by AI infrastructure investments and automation of mid-level tech roles. →

• Wichita police fatally shot a 45-year-old man wanted on eight counts of sexual exploitation of a child after he produced a firearm when officers attempted to arrest him. →

• Hall of Fame coach Bill Self announced he will return to lead the Kansas Jayhawks for the 2026-27 season, ending speculation about his future following KU's NCAA tournament exit. →

🇺🇸 US

• NASA lifted off a rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday evening, sending four astronauts on the first crewed lunar voyage since 1972's Apollo 17. →

• President Trump delivered a 20-minute prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday arguing the monthlong war with Iran was necessary to prevent a hostile regime from obtaining nuclear weapons. →

• Healthcare jobs, particularly nursing, have become the surest pathway to middle-class stability in the United States, with registered nurses earning a median annual wage of $93,600. →

• SpaceX filed confidentially on Wednesday for an initial public offering valued at more than $1 trillion, aiming to raise $50 billion to $75 billion in a June debut. →

• Senate and House Republican leaders announced an agreement Wednesday to move forward with legislation to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, resurrecting a bipartisan deal rejected last week. →

Weather

April 2 1979: Deadly Soviet Anthrax Leak Exposes Secret Cold War Bioweapons Program

In April 1979, a missing filter at a Soviet biological-weapons plant in Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) released airborne anthrax spores, killing at least 66 people and sickening dozens more, along with nearby livestock. The Soviet government initially blamed tainted meat, but it wasn’t until 1992 that officials admitted the outbreak was caused by an accidental release from the covert bio-weapons facility.

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