House Passes $390B Farm Bill After GOP Infighting

House Strips Year-Round E15 Ethanol From Farm Bill

Kelly Expands Kansas Drought Declaration to 105 Counties

Methodist Mega-Church Pastor Enters Kansas Senate Race

Threats Disrupt Classes at Multiple Kansas Schools

House Passes $390B Farm Bill After GOP Infighting

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday passed a $390 billion farm bill on a near-party-line vote of 224 to 200, after GOP infighting threatened to sink the measure and exposed tensions between the Make America Healthy Again movement and traditional farm interests. The five-year reauthorization of major food and agriculture programs would boost subsidies for farmers and enact the Trump administration's cuts to food assistance for lower-income families. Three Republicans opposed the bill while 14 Democrats crossed party lines to support it. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said on social media that the bill is a win for farmers, ranchers, foresters, rural communities and all Americans. Democrats opposed the measure largely because it preserved deep cuts to food stamps that Republicans enshrined last year in their major domestic policy bill, but it was Republican disputes over pesticides, ethanol and regulating pork producers that snarled its path through the House.

NYT

House Strips Year-Round E15 Ethanol From Farm Bill

WASHINGTON — A protracted fight over a provision allowing the year-round sale of an ethanol blend known as E15 nearly derailed the farm bill before lawmakers agreed to extract it and vote separately later this spring. The Trump administration and lawmakers from corn-producing districts cast the move as a way to ease pain at the pump. Small oil refineries and their congressional allies, joined by deficit hawks, opposed the change. After hours of delay and disagreement, the chamber moved on without the provision. A standalone vote on the ethanol issue is expected in the coming weeks.

NYT

Kelly Expands Kansas Drought Declaration to 105 Counties

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly signed a proclamation Thursday approving an updated drought declaration that places 51 Kansas counties in drought watch, 47 in drought warning and seven in drought emergency status. The Kansas Water Office said drought conditions have worsened across much of the state this spring, with extreme drought expanding into northwest and far southwest portions and severe drought growing across central regions. Above-normal temperatures combined with limited rainfall have accelerated soil moisture loss, increasing the risk of worsening conditions heading into summer, the agency said. Kelly noted that although eastern Kansas has seen good rainfall, much of the state — especially the west — remains very dry.

KSN

Methodist Mega-Church Pastor Enters Kansas Senate Race

LENEXA, Kan. — The Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of the nation's largest United Methodist Church, launched a campaign Thursday for the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Kansas, joining a primary field of nine candidates ahead of the Aug. 4 vote. The winner will face incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who aligned closely with President Donald Trump in his 2020 Senate run and prevailed by more than 11 percentage points. Hamilton built his Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area over the past 35 years to roughly 22,000 members across nine campuses. He had considered running as an independent but said many Democrats believed that would split the anti-Marshall vote; voter records show Hamilton has been registered as both a Democrat and a Republican previously and switched to unaffiliated in February before re-registering as a Democrat. Republicans have not lost a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since 1932, and the Kansas Republican Party signaled it will portray Hamilton as too liberal for the state.

Telegraph Herald

Threats Disrupt Classes at Multiple Kansas Schools

WICHITA, Kan. — Classes were disrupted at several Kansas schools Thursday after a series of reported threats prompted lockdowns, evacuations and early dismissals. Cheyenne County Emergency Management said Cheylin High School in Bird City received a phone call around 10:30 a.m. stating a gunman was on the way to the school, prompting a lockdown, an accounting of all students and staff, and an early dismissal that reunified students with parents. Western Plains High School in Ransom was evacuated after a threat there, with Ness County EMS, the Trego County Sheriff's Office, the Wakeeney Police Department and the Kansas Highway Patrol assisting. El Dorado police were called around 11:35 a.m. to investigate a potential threat at the high school, which the district said did not reference the inside of the building. Out of caution, all doors at El Dorado High School were locked and parents were notified.

KWCH

Sources

1. NYT
2. NYT
3. KSN
4. Telegraph Herald
5. KWCH

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