January 2022

Biden names major Democratic donors as UK, Brazil envoys WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced his intention to nominate Democratic fundraiser Jane Hartley to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and major donor Alan Leventhal to serve as his envoy to Denmark. It was also announced Biden would nominate longtime diplomat Elizabeth Bagley to serve as ambassador to Brazil and career senior foreign service officer Alexander Laskaris to serve in Chad.

Earth’s interior is cooling faster than previously estimated, according to a recent study, prompting questions about how long people can live on the planet. There’s no timetable on the cooling process, which could eventually turn Earth solid, similar to Mars.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office will not file criminal charges in the death of Cedric Lofton. Lofton, 17, died in September after being taken to the county's Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center during a mental health crisis after his guardian called 911.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment Jan. 18 announced that as of Feb.

TOPEKA — The Kansas House committee working on redistricting introduced Tuesday four competing maps that would redraw the state’s congressional districts in response to rural-tourban population shifts of the past decade and attempt to lock down partisan advantages in upcoming elections.