Topeka

• Topeka Public Schools confirmed the passing of 17-year-old senior J’Lanette Harrison from Highland Park High School in Topeka. →
• The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a Topeka teenager that occurred on Oct. 31. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved up to $35,000 to repair a 1987 ADA entrance elevator at the Stormont-Vail Event Center in Topeka. →
• KDOT will close sections of Kansas Avenue during daytime hours next week for the I-70 Polk-Quincy Viaduct project in Topeka. →
• A man accused of killing a woman in downtown Topeka in September was declared competent to stand trial. →
• A Topeka strip club owner pleaded guilty to illegally receiving a firearm while under federal indictment. →
• Expect a windy and cloudy day in Topeka with a high near 74°F alongside a 52% chance of passing showers and thunderstorms.

🌾 Kansas

• President Donald Trump rallied in Salina on Nov. 1 for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall in his final in-person appearance of the 2026 midterms, as recent polls show the race statistically tied or with Democrat Adam Hamilton ahead. →

• Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sent Bluestem Kansas a cease-and-desist letter Oct. 31 alleging a canvasser offered a voter a $5 gift card, which he says violates state and federal election-bribery laws. →

• Former patient Meischa Zimmerman filed a proposed class-action lawsuit Oct. 29 against U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and his former OB-GYN practice, alleging its 18% interest on unpaid medical bills exceeds Kansas' 15% usury limit. →

• A Citizen Journal analysis found Democrat Adam Hamilton needs roughly one in six Republicans to cross over to defeat U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall on Nov. 3, even as the final Emerson-KSN poll shows him ahead 49%-45%. →

• The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 30 upheld a ruling that Salina violated the First Amendment by ordering the Cozy Inn to stop painting a UFO-themed mural on its building. →

🇺🇸 US

• More than 53 million Americans had voted early by the morning of Nov. 1, already surpassing the entire 2022 midterm early-vote total, as the Nov. 3 election will decide all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships. →

• ACA benchmark silver plan premiums are rising by double digits for 2027, averaging 11% in federal marketplace states and 16% in state-run marketplace states, as open enrollment began Nov. 1. →

• Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over her own party's nominee as federal investigators expanded a probe into an alleged Democratic scheme to confuse Alaska voters with a decoy Senate candidate. →

• An attacker stole about $6.36 billion from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, which TRM Labs called the largest cryptocurrency theft on record and attributed with high confidence to North Korea's TraderTraitor hacking unit. →

• The Nasdaq fell 5.3% in October, its worst month since March 2025, as Intel shares plunged 28.6% on Oct. 30 and OpenAI cut its fundraising target from $30 billion to $20 billion. →

Weather

NOVEMBER 2, 1917: BALFOUR DECLARATION LETTER WRITTEN

The Balfour Declaration laid the diplomatic groundwork for establishing a Jewish national home in Palestine under British rule. Its vague promise to support both Jewish and Arab inhabitants helped set the stage for a century of conflict over land, rights and sovereignty.  This letter remains a key reference point in debates about the origins and course of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and wider Middle Eastern politics.

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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