By Clay Wirestone | opinion editor
Good morning! We may have arrived at Friday, but Kansas Reflector reporters aren’t letting up. Our newsletter today brims with stories from the Sunflower State and across the nation. So fill up another cup of coffee, butter that bran muffin, and sit a spell.
U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Kobach urged Congress to legislate birth tourism hours before judge blocked Trump’s order
TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach slammed the U.S. Supreme Court majority that blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to unravel birthright citizenship, suggesting its decision “may not stand the test of time.”
Testifying before a U.S. House subcommittee Wednesday, Kobach encouraged Congress to pass a law that would cement Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order that targeted “birth tourism.” He made the urging hours before the executive order was blocked Wednesday by a federal judge.
Kobach was one of at least 25 state attorneys general who supported the government’s position in the U.S. Supreme Court case Trump vs. Barbara that upheld birthright citizenship, the constitutional guarantee that people born in the United States are United States citizens regardless of the parents’ citizenship.
He called the court’s June decision “weakly reasoned.”
But Kobach praised Justice Clarence Thomas’ 91-page dissent and said it was “truly bizarre” that the majority opinion rested “on this futile notion that you are attached to the lord of the soil.”
“I suggest that this decision may not stand the test of time,” Kobach said.
Photo illustration by Eric Thomas for Kansas Reflector
OPINION
Getting amped for football season in Kansas means ignoring another bleak study on head injuries
By Eric Thomas
So we arrive in September: the launch of a new football season paired with gloomy football news. This year, a new study of former NFL players further demonstrates how hundreds of American men are dying, plagued by life-changing neurological injuries caused by football’s cumulative violence to their heads.
Sherman Smith / Kansas Reflector
Two Republican nominees for Kansas House withdraw from ballot due to health complications
TOPEKA — The withdrawal of two Kansas House candidates from the November general election requires Republican officials to promptly select replacement nominees.
Federal government sues Kansas school district, accusing it of secretly transitioning children
TOPEKA — The federal government accused the Kansas City, Kansas, public school district of secretly transitioning children’s gender identity at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Kansas revenues 10% above estimates for first two months of new fiscal year
TOPEKA — Kansas tax collections trended upward in the first two months of fiscal year 2027 coming in 6.5% above estimates, the state reported.
US Supreme Court again urged to permit Trump vote-by-mail restrictions
The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a lower court and allow it to enforce a U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting.
Election experts see few legal options for Trump to meddle with polling places
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said earlier this year he’d “do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections” this fall, declining to rule out sending the National Guard or federal law enforcement officers to polling locations throughout the country.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
1-5 p.m. Sept. 6, Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center, Lindsborg. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone previews his new book at painter Mike Hartung’s latest exhibit.
3 p.m. Sept. 26, Washburn Library in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will participate in the panel “Why UPK: University Press of Kansas Celebrates 80 Years.” Host: Kansas Book Festival.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
7 p.m. Sept. 29, Raven Book Store in Lawrence. Book release event for opinion editor Clay Wirestone’s “Opinionated.” Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will moderate.
6 p.m. Oct. 12, Riverbank Brewing in Council Grove. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone talks about his book and the latest news. Host: Flint Hills Books.
5:30 p.m. Oct. 19, Frank Carlson Library in Concordia. Host: NCK Voters.
6 p.m. Dec. 3, Prairie Star Restaurant in Manhattan. Host: League of Women Voters of Manhattan and Riley County.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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