Updated 9:00am

Heavy rainfall is flooding in parts of downtown Wichita Thursday morning, as well as part of Valley Center.

The National Weather Service reports that excessive runoff from rainfall will cause flooding in small creeks, streams, and low-lying streets and underpasses. Drive carefully and watch for flooded roadways.

According to the 2010 US Census, more than 1.5 million immigrants from Vietnam live in the U.S. The Vietnamese population in Kansas has increased by 21 percent in the last decade. And more than 9,000 Vietnamese Americans live in Sedgwick County.

Vietnamese business owner Christine Cao moved to Wichita 22 years ago when she was 16. She graduated from Wichita's North High School and in 2005 she earned her bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University in public health in organization and public policy.

Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick says no new tax proposals have emerged from his survey of dozens of Republicans.

Merrick met Republicans in small groups Wednesday after the House rejected a proposal to the lower the state sales tax from 6.3 percent to 6 percent in July. It's currently scheduled by law to drop to 5.7 percent on July 1.

Merrick says House GOP leaders don't yet have a new plan. Lawmakers involved in the meetings said House Republicans expressed a variety of positions.

There are animators who could give Pixar a run for its money, and among them are the makers of Epic.

As Kansas lawmakers continue to search for common ground on a budget, an advocacy group says the long-term future of early childhood programs is at stake.

So far, the competing versions of a state budget for 2014 have all included Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to transfer $9.5 million dollars from the Children’s Initiative Fund to the State General Fund.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue its decision in United States v. Windsor, the case addressing the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.

We remember singer/songwriter Clarence Burke, founding member of the Five Stairsteps. They are best known for their April 1970 release, "O-o-h Child." The song is included in Rolling Stones’ 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. Burke worked with several artists including Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, George Harrison and Quincy Jones. He reportedly died at the age of 62.

Plans to expand a coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas have run into another snag.

An appellate court in Washington, DC, says a federal agency violated the law by clearing the way for expansion of Sunflower Electric’s power plant in Holcomb without first reviewing its impact on the environment.

Attorney Amanda Goodin represents the Sierra Club, which filed suit to stop the expansion.

The Keeper of the Plains is a monumental sculpture that marks the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers.