Topeka

• The Shawnee County Commission voted 2-1 for a six-month moratorium on new data center applications. →
• The Shawnee County Commission accepted District Attorney Mike Kagay's $126,743 budget cut by eliminating a vacant attorney position. →
• I-70 under S.E. California Avenue in Topeka will close starting Monday through December for a bridge project. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved a $500,000 opioid settlement contract with Mirror, Inc. for a Topeka re-entry resource center. →
• The Shawnee County Commission approved a $592,085 Noxious Weed budget as officials warned honeysuckle enforcement will begin in 2027. →
• INVESTIGATION: Unused Kansas Department of Agriculture web subdomains were hijacked by bad actors to promote online gambling and pornographic content. →
• Expect a scorching, sunny day in Topeka with a high near 101°F and heat index values climbing as high as 109, along with breezy south winds gusting up to 25 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• The Hays City Commission unanimously approved a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District and industrial revenue bonds to help the developer convert the former Lincoln Elementary School into 26 apartments and build seven fourplexes, part of a $6.35 million project advancing 54 housing units. →

• Shawnee County commissioners voted 2-1 Thursday to block final action on new data center applications until Feb. 17, 2027, as Topeka and Ottawa impose their own moratoriums and deadlines on large-scale data center projects. →

• The U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday that about 63% of Kansas is in at least moderate drought, with severe to extreme conditions spreading into southwestern Kansas during a critical period for crop development. →

• Cattle futures fell Thursday, with October live cattle closing at $220.05 and September feeder cattle at $337.20, even as retail beef prices remain up about 12% over the past year amid tight supplies from herd reductions. →

• Russian strikes hit Ukraine's Izmail port on the Danube early Thursday, compounding damage from Ukrainian attacks on Russia's Novorossiysk terminal and threatening Black Sea grain export routes. →

🇺🇸 US

• The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,798.99 Thursday after wholesale prices were flat in July, easing expectations of a September Fed rate hike. →

• President Trump announced tiered tariffs Thursday on imported drones, up to 100% on larger militarily sensitive models, citing national security concerns over Chinese dominance of the market. →

• The U.S. carried out three executions in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama on Thursday, the first time three states executed prisoners on the same day since 2010. →

• China's booming car exports are straining global shipping capacity, with vehicle-carrier charter rates up 65% this year as automakers compete for scarce ships. →

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday the U.S. Navy could sustain its blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely as officials bet tanker flows can keep oil prices below $90 a barrel. →

Weather

AUGUST 14, 1935: FDR SIGNS SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

On this day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, creating a federal system of unemployment insurance, old-age pensions and aid for vulnerable Americans during the Great Depression. The landmark New Deal law established a permanent social safety net that still provides income support to retirees, disabled workers and survivors today.

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.