Labs identify soldiers killed in World War II Generations of American families have grown up not knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones who died while serving their country in World War II and other conflicts. But a federal lab tucked away above the bowling alley at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha and a sister lab in Hawaii are steadily answering those lingering ..read more

Twenty-one state attorneys general are urging the American Bar Association to not include race-based criteria in the ABA’s law school accreditation process. The AGs contend that a rule being considered for revision compels law schools to consider race in both the admissions and employment contexts. A letter to the ABA, written by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, was signed by 20 other AGs including Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach ..read more

Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in May after three straight months of declines, though Americans are still anxious about inflation and interest rates. The Conference Board, a business research group, said that its consumer confidence index rose in May to 102 from 97.5 in April. Analysts were expecting the index to decline again ..read more

Inflation, interest rates curbed retail spending in April Americans unexpectedly paused their spending in April from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome. Retail sales were unchanged, coming in well below economists’ expectations, and follow a revised 0.6% pace in March, according to Commerce ..read more

Chinese EV threatens US auto industry A tiny, low-priced electric car called the Seagull has American automakers and politicians trembling. The car, launched last year by Chinese automaker BYD, sells for around $12,000 in China, but drives well and is put together with craftsmanship that rivals U.S.-made electric vehicles that cost three times as much. A shorter ..read more

A northwest Kansas hospital was a victim of a computer attack earlier this month. Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital, in Wakeeney, began experiencing a computer network disruption on May 6. An investigation between the hospital’s IT team and third-party specialists found that the hospital had been targeted. The attack was reported to the FBI ..read more

Visa changes will mean fewer credit cards Your wallet may soon be getting thinner. Visa on May 15 announced major changes to how credit and debit cards will operate in the U.S. in the coming months and years. The new features could mean Americans will be carrying fewer physical cards in their wallets, and will make the 16-digit credit or debit card number printed on every card increasingly irrelevant ..read more

Employers scaled back hiring in April The nation’s employers pulled back on their hiring in April but still added a decent 175,000 jobs in a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to slow the robust U.S. job market. The May 3 government report showed that last month’s hiring gain was down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March. And it was well below the 233,000 gain that economists had predicted for April ..read more

The U.S. Justice Department’s double-barreled antitrust attack on Google’s dominant search and Apple’s trendsetting iPhone is reviving memories of the epic battle that hobbled Microsoft before it roared back to yet again become the world’s most valuable company. The parallels to the Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case in 1998 could provide a window into the potential breakthroughs that could be unleashed if regulators succeed in their attempts to crack down on Google and Apple. Federal lawyers have even gone as far as to assert Google and Apple may never have created so many popular p ..read more

Leadership Kansas on May 6 announced that Marty Vanier, director of the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, is the 2024 alumnus of the year. The honor recognizes an alumnus who is a local leader and whose professional accomplishments reflect positively on Leadership Kansas. Vanier recently served as the senior program manager for strategic partnership development for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility through an inter-agency personnel agreement between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Kansas State University ..read more