Kansas Reflector

Neosho County Attorney Linus Thuston is accused of pressuring 50 women to sending him nude photos — about a third of whom he also prosecuted. Thuston admitted in court to soliciting nude photos from a confidential informant.

New laws passed by the GOP-led Kansas Legislature will change rules for pornographic websites, overhaul civil asset forfeiture, and ban public universities from requiring diversity pledges.

Ahead of Tuesday's special legislative session, the deal between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the GOP leaders of the Kansas Senate and House would collapse the personal income tax structure to a two-rate system. Kelly previously vetoed a single-tier flat tax plan, calling it too expensive.

After pandemic-era federal protections for Medicaid ended, Kansas started reviewing who was eligible for state health coverage. About 47% of the residents who lost insurance during that time were ages 18 or younger.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains hosted a low-cost vasectomy clinic this week at its Kansas City, Kansas, health center to kick off the service. The U.S. has seen demand for vasectomies increase after the Supreme Court overturned abortion protections.

Kris Kobach has filed a federal lawsuit against the Education Department's revised Title IX rules, which ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school and can seek action from the federal government.

The existing Ad Astra plate, anchored by the state seal with a light blue background, was released in 2008 under Gov. Sam Brownback. But many of those embossed plates have deteriorated and become difficult for law enforcement to read.

Kansas officials have recorded 22 cases of humans being infected so far this year. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a warning of high-risk of the mosquito-borne disease for almost the entire state.

Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody initiated the Aug. 11 raid of the newspaper office, the publisher’s home, and the home of a city councilwoman under the pretense that a reporter committed identity theft by looking at public records. First Amendment attorneys say the reporter committed no crime and Magistrate Judge Laura Viar should have known the search warrants were unconstitutional when she signed them.

A new Kansas law bans transgender girls from playing sports on girls' teams in schools and colleges. Opponents say that discriminating against transgender children was a solution to a problem that didn't exist, and the law ignores real fairness problems that female athletes face in Kansas.