Medicaid expansion is still on hold in Kansas despite bipartisan support, the Wichita Eagle reports. The bills necessary to expand coverage to more than 100,000 low-income Kansans are reportedly hostages in the abortion debate, which came to a head in the state legislature this month with a failed attempt to add a pro-life amendment. Wichita Republican and Senate President Susan Wagle said the legislation will remain motionless as long the Kansas House of Representatives refuses to adds an amendment that negates the recent Kansas Supreme Court ruling on the constitutional protections of abortions.
Dexter Robinson was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of rape. The case, which focuses on the rape of a Kansas State student in 2018, saw two previous mistrials, KMAN reported. Because of Robinson’s plea, he was given a lighter sentence and did not face charges of aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated kidnapping.
Riley County Police arrested a volunteer firefighter on charges of alleged arson last week. According to the Manhattan Mercury, the arrest was made in relation to two separate grass fires. Samuel Gilbert was taken into custody 11:55 p.m. near the location of an active blaze. County officials said the arrest occurred after a months long investigation into a thread of suspicious fires.
Spread of COVID-19 in the United States is likely, the Washington Post reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health took on a new urgency on Tuesday in discussion of the novel coronavirus that has infected several thousand people across dozens of nations. The new concern for infection spread in the U.S. has already started affecting the economy, resulting in a dip in the stock market.
“It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,” said director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Nancy Messonnier.
