Topeka

• More than 14,500 Shawnee County voters have cast early ballots, averaging 1,800 voters per day ahead of Tuesday's general election. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved over $4.7 million in vouchers, including road work and sewer maintenance in Topeka. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved the $223,157 purchase of a Caterpillar wheel loader for winter salt and sand operations. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved a $332,275 contract to purchase new folding and premium floor seats for Stormont-Vail Event Center. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved up to $50,000 for ice rink maintenance at Stormont-Vail Event Center ahead of hockey season. →
• KSHSAA moved the boys state soccer championship to Topeka following a deadly incident at Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex. →
• Expect mostly cloudy skies with a high of 77°F today and an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms as the afternoon rolls in.

🌾 Kansas

• President Trump canceled his Saturday rally in Salina for Sen. Roger Marshall, with the White House citing scheduling conflicts and planning telephone rallies instead. →

• Advertising in Kansas' Senate race between Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton has reached about $84.5 million, making it the state's most expensive election ever. →

• Republicans narrowed Democrats' lead among Kansas advance voters to about 3,300 ballots Thursday, down from roughly 9,400 the day before. →

• Gov. Laura Kelly said the debate over data centers in Kansas is largely political and could ease after the Nov. 3 election. →

• A crime spree across five Topeka locations left 17 victims in about 90 minutes Wednesday, with Adam James Schwegman arrested on allegations including aggravated battery, aggravated burglary and rape. →

🇺🇸 US

• The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4% annual rate in the third quarter, up from 2.2% in the spring, as consumer spending and AI-driven business investment accelerated while inflation also rose, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. →

• Eli Lilly raised its 2026 sales forecast to $91 billion to $92 billion Thursday after third-quarter revenue jumped 39% to $24.4 billion on strong demand for its Mounjaro and Zepbound drugs. →

• Federal prosecutors issued new subpoenas Thursday in an investigation into alleged efforts to recruit an Alaska Senate candidate who shares Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan's name, as Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a parallel state probe ahead of Tuesday's election. →

• Alphabet shares fell 12.6% Thursday after missing sales expectations, erasing about $500 billion in market value, while Amazon and Intel shares also dropped on disappointing results despite strong cloud-computing growth. →

• Final results from Israel's Oct. 27 election left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc with 53 seats, eight short of a parliamentary majority, as Likud alleged voter fraud involving Arab-led parties. →

Weather

October 30, 1938: ‘War of the Worlds’ Radio Play Is Broadcast

Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre on the Air aired a gripping adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds on this date, famously presenting a fictional Martian invasion as a series of realistic news bulletins. The innovative format, combined with convincing performances and sound effects, led some listeners to briefly believe an actual extraterrestrial attack was underway.

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.

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