LAWRENCE, Kansas, May 8 -- The University of Kansas issued the following news: * * * AI 'friends' a threat to lonely people, KU expert says The promise of friendship from an artificial intelligence chatbot fundamentally misunderstands what real friendship is, according to one of the nation's leading academic experts on the intersection of relationships and technology. Jeffrey Hall, professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, pushes back against the notion, propounded in r  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, May 9 -- Evergy Inc., a company that says it focuses on producing, transmitting and delivering energy for the benefit of stakeholders, issued the following news release: * * * Evergy Announces First Quarter 2025 Results, Declares Quarterly Dividend and Reaffirms 2025 Guidance * First Quarter 2025 GAAP EPS of $0.54, compared to $0.53 in 2024 * First Quarter 2025 Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) of $0.54, compared to $0.54 in 2024 * Declares quarterly dividend of $0.6675 per share * R  more

LAWRENCE, Kansas, May 8 -- The University of Kansas issued the following news: * * * Expanded mini tests from KU assessment center will offer Kansas teachers more flexibility Assessment and Technology Solutions (ATS), a center within the University of Kansas' Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI), is supporting Kansas educators with an expanded series of instructional mini tests. The Kite Suite is a web-based application system used by the Kansas Department of Education and other educat  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, May 9 -- The Kansas Department of Commerce issued the following news release on May 8, 2025: * * * Merck Animal Health Investing $895M in De Soto Plant Expansion Second Largest Private Investment in State History Governor Laura Kelly and Merck Animal Health today jointly announced an $895 million capital expansion project at the company's manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas. The second largest private investment in Kansas history - and the largest economic development p  more

LAWRENCE, Kansas, May 8 -- The University of Kansas issued the following news: * * * KU researchers conducting statewide assessment to inform literacy improvement among Kansas students About 1 in 3 Kansas students doesn't meet fundamental levels of reading. But without data about school and educator needs and readiness to expand their literacy instruction and resources, it's difficult to fully understand what would help resolve the issue. To help define needs across the state, a University o  more

STILLWATER, Oklahoma, May 8 -- Oklahoma State University posted the following news: * * * OSU Agriculture offers research, education to extend life of Ogallala Aquifer Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | gail.ellis@okstate.edu The Ogallala Aquifer, a water source of porous rock and sediment bed under farmland, cities and small towns from South Dakota to Texas, is in crisis. The Ogallala Aquifer provides irrigation for 30% of all farmland in th  more

ITHACA, New York, May 8 -- Cornell University posted the following news: * * * Suzanne Loker, emerita professor of fiber science and apparel design, dies at 77 Suzanne Loker, an innovator in apparel education and champion for sustainability and corporate responsibility, died April 12 at age 77, from cancer. Loker, a professor emerita in fiber science and apparel design in the College of Human Ecology (CHE), was awarded Faculty Fellow status by the International Textile and Apparel Associati  more

LOS ANGELES, California, May 9 -- The University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine issued the following news: * * * Study links maternal health risks during pregnancy to higher blood pressure in children Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC found that obesity, gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were tied to elevated blood pressure in offspring, with effects that grow as children age. Children born to mothers with obesity, gestational diab  more