Topeka

• Abandoned ghost properties consume 30 to 50 percent of Topeka's property maintenance budget due to stricter vegetation codes. →
• Topeka GIS mapping identified 4,762 vacant parcels by tracking lots with zero building value or lacking utilities for six months. →
• Topeka officials expect to repeal the vacant property registry after collecting the $250 fee from only two to four owners this year. →
• Topeka officials are exploring options to speed up Shawnee County tax sales to return delinquent abandoned properties to developers. →
• Topeka plans to launch a public portal by year-end allowing residents to track smart water meter usage and detect plumbing leaks. →
• Flock cameras helped Salina police arrest a 19-year-old man charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a Great Bend teen. →
• Topeka police identified Larry Smutney and Warren Eteeyan as the victims killed in a north Topeka shooting; an arrest has been made. →
• After a slight early morning storm chance, expect mostly sunny skies and breezy conditions today with a high near 92°F.

🌾 Kansas

• Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher clashed over property taxes, data centers and school vouchers in a Sept. 12 debate at the Kansas State Fair. →

• Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton sparred over tariffs, the Iran war and agriculture in a Sept. 12 U.S. Senate debate at the Kansas State Fair. →

• Eleven Kansas hospitals were selected for federal assistance announced Sept. 11 as part of a nearly $25 million program aiding 132 rural hospitals across 13 states. →

• Severe thunderstorm warnings brought hail up to tennis-ball size and winds near 70 mph to parts of drought-stricken Kansas from Sept. 12 into Sept. 13. →

• No. 23 Missouri defeated Kansas 38-21 on Sept. 11, while Kansas State beat Washington State 34-7 on Sept. 12 to improve to 2-0. →

🇺🇸 US

• Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August from July, driven largely by higher gasoline costs, pushing traders to price in a nearly 90% chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike at its Sept. 15-16 meeting. →

• President Donald Trump said Sept. 13 he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, blaming the attacks for diesel shortages that pushed U.S. diesel prices above $6 a gallon on Sept. 11. →

• Saudi Arabia shut its East-West oil pipeline Sept. 11 after drone strikes caused fires and injuries at pumping stations, cutting a route that carries about 5% of global oil supply. →

• Oracle's debt has swelled to $125 billion to fund AI data center expansion, and co-founder Larry Ellison abruptly canceled a planned $7.5 billion stock sale a day after it became public. →

• The U.S. and Mexico announced a two-year Colorado River agreement Sept. 9 that cuts Mexico's water deliveries by 250,000 acre-feet annually in 2027 and 2028, about 17% of its allocation. →

Weather

SEPTEMBER 14, 1814: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY PENS “THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER”

On this day during the War of 1812, lawyer Francis Scott Key wrote a poem after watching British forces bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. Seeing the American flag still flying at dawn inspired the verses that would later be set to music and adopted in 1931 as the United States’ national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.