Topeka

• The North Topeka Business Improvement District will install artificial intelligence cameras as part of a new safety and walkability pilot. →
• The interior of West Ridge Mall in Topeka closed Tuesday after an early-morning fire, while Dillard's and Kansas Furniture Mall remain open. →
• Topeka officials presented a $46 million utilities capital improvement plan for 2027, focusing on water and wastewater infrastructure. →
• The Topeka administration faced criticism for allegedly misleading the council regarding worker illnesses from an Oakland wastewater spill. →
• The Topeka City Council approved a charter ordinance to increase the city's transient guest tax from 7 percent to 8.5 percent in 2027. →
• The Topeka Governing Body voted 6-4 to impose real estate liens on 618 delinquent utility accounts totaling $525,517. →
• Keep an umbrella handy today as we're looking at cloudy skies with a few passing showers, a high near 60, and some breezy northeast winds gusting up to 25 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• Gov. Laura Kelly signed a proclamation April 30 placing all 105 Kansas counties under drought declarations, with seven counties in emergency status as extreme drought expands across western regions. →

• Leawood pastor Adam Hamilton raised $1.01 million from 6,700 donors in the first four days of his Democratic U.S. Senate campaign, surpassing the combined first-quarter fundraising of incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and eight other declared Democratic candidates. →

• Empire District Electric Co. has asked the Kansas Corporation Commission for a $15.8 million rate increase that would raise the average residential bill in Cherokee County by roughly 40% over three years, from $135.38 to $189.83 monthly. →

• Kansas Republican legislative leaders are unlikely to call a special session before the 2026 election to address property tax relief or congressional redistricting, despite pressure from GOP gubernatorial candidate Philip Sarnecki. →

• Kansas' Sunflower Summer program will run July 9 through Aug. 2, offering free admission to 220-plus attractions for school-age residents, funded by a $2.75 million legislative appropriation. →

🇺🇸 US

• The U.S. is close to a one-page agreement with Iran that would freeze nuclear enrichment for at least 12 years, require Tehran to ship highly enriched uranium out of the country, and lift American sanctions in return, according to U.S. officials briefed on talks led by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. →

• At least five of seven Indiana state senators who voted against Trump's congressional redistricting plan lost their Republican primaries Tuesday to Trump-endorsed challengers, reinforcing the president's ability to punish GOP officeholders who defy him. →

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio, already serving as national security adviser, led the White House press briefing Tuesday in place of Karoline Leavitt, spending nearly an hour fielding questions on Iran, gas prices, and Cuba while sparking 2028 speculation among cable news commentators. →

• Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is raising funds from government-backed investors at a valuation of roughly $50 billion, up sharply from earlier discussions, with China's state-backed National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund in advanced talks to participate. →

• Married adults face substantially lower cancer rates than never-married counterparts, with rates roughly 68% higher among never-married men and 83% higher among never-married women, according to a study of more than 4 million cancer cases published in Cancer Research Communications. →

Weather

MAY 6, 1935: FDR CREATES THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the Works Progress Administration to put millions of unemployed Americans back to work during the Great Depression. In exchange for wages, WPA workers built public infrastructure like highways, schools and hospitals, and funded arts projects employing actors, writers and artists.

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