Topeka

• The Topeka City Council continued discussions regarding potential sales taxes and heard a presentation on a proposed data center. →
• Topeka Fire Department received a $170,000 FEMA grant to expand specialized incident-command training for all its firefighters. →
• Topeka City Manager Robert Perez touted the TextMyGov text alert service to improve communication during events and emergencies. →
• Mirror Inc. updated the Shawnee County Commission on an inmate addiction recovery program and a new center set to open in November. →
• Trinity Presbyterian Church in Topeka hosts monthly Harvesters food distribution events after another local pantry closed. →
• Grab your umbrella today, Topeka, as it will be cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout the day and a high near 64°F.

🌾 Kansas

• Kansas Democrat Adam Hamilton raised $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2026 for his U.S. Senate campaign and joint fundraising committees, far outpacing Republican Sen. Roger Marshall's roughly $1.38 million through June 30. →

• President Donald Trump will rally for Sen. Roger Marshall in Wichita on Oct. 19, the same day former Gov. Sam Brownback endorsed Marshall and criticized Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton. →

• The Bob and Pat Schmidt Foundation pledged Oct. 13 to match donations up to $1 million for Fort Hays State University's Save Sternberg campaign, aiming to keep the Sternberg Museum of Natural History from closing Dec. 18. →

• Overland Park police shortened retention of automated license plate reader data from one year to 30 days under a policy that took effect last week, drawing praise from the ACLU of Kansas. →

• Severe storms Oct. 13 flooded Wichita streets and knocked out power to more than 50,000 Evergy customers in the Kansas City metro, prompting flood watches into Oct. 14. →

🇺🇸 US

• Brent crude reached $106.58 a barrel in early trading Wednesday as Houthi-Saudi fighting, including Tuesday’s attack on Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters, stoked supply and inflation fears, while a Russian diesel export ban after Ukrainian refinery strikes pushed up U.S. diesel prices. →

• Twelve bipartisan senators, including Mitch McConnell and Dick Durbin, urged President Trump on Tuesday to reverse his deal easing sanctions on Russian diesel exports, which he has defended as a way to boost world fuel supplies. →

• White House press secretary Katie Zacharia's first briefing Tuesday, lasting about 14 minutes, drew criticism from both liberal and conservative commentators over her brief remarks and limited reporter questions. →

• Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece on Tuesday after the White House asked her to step down amid allegations she solicited money from a donor and granted improper lobbyist access. →

• Pope Leo XIV's lung surgery Tuesday revealed cancer, with doctors removing the lower lobe of his right lung and canceling all papal audiences through Oct. 20. →

Weather

OCTOBER 14, 1962: SOVIET MISSILES PHOTOGRAPHED IN CUBA

On October 14, 1962, a U.S. U-2 spy plane photographed Soviet medium-range missile sites being constructed in Cuba, just 90 miles off the American coast. The discovery triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tense two-week standoff that brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.

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.