WASHINGTON (AP) — Black women are often called the backbone of the Democratic Party — reliable and loyal voters whose support can make or break a candidate. In 2018, they were more likely than women in any other racial or ethnic group to support Democratic House candidates, according to AP VoteCast. The poll surveyed more …

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s getting late early. President Donald Trump is privately reassuring Republicans anxious about his deficits versus Democrat Joe Biden, noting there are three months until Election Day and reminding them of the late-breaking events that propelled his 2016 comeback. But four years later, the dynamics are very different. Aides are increasingly worried that …

DETROIT (AP) — Despite fear that the coronavirus pandemic will worsen, Victor Gibson says he’s not planning to take advantage of Michigan’s expanded vote-by-mail system when he casts his ballot in November. Gibson, a retired teacher from Detroit. just isn’t sure he can trust it. Many Black Americans share similar concerns and are planning to …

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Avi the elephant has died weeks after his birth at the St. Louis Zoo. Zoo officials said the Asian elephant calf was euthanized Sunday because he had developmental problems that limited his ability to feed. The zoo said Avi’s condition deteriorated quickly over the past two days despite feeding assistance and …

DOWNTOWN – Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist with the beetle brows, wears a face mask with the image of the St. Louis flag. Along with her iconic floral headdress and blue drop earrings, she also wears an air of nonchalance as she gazes out at passersby on 11th Street. Kahlo is in good company at …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers reported progress Saturday on a huge coronavirus relief bill, as political pressure mounts to restore an expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen. “This was the longest meeting we’ve had, and it was more productive than the other meetings,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., …

Another month passes. The coronavirus pandemic marches on. And Americans struggling amid the economic fallout once again have to worry as the rent comes due today, Aug. 1. Many who have been left jobless by the crisis are already behind on payments. And the arrival of August brings new anxieties. A supplemental $600 in weekly …

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Fox News contributor John Solomon has won a default judgment against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in an open records lawsuit he filed concerning a 2018 investigation into former Gov. Eric Greitens. Solomon sued Gardner’s office after it did not respond to his requests for records of her contacts with …

CLAYTON (AP) — After a third review failed to uncover enough evidence to charge the officer who fatally shot Black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014, some prosecutors and civil rights leaders agree it’s time to focus on changing the laws that shield police. In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, St. Louis …

ATLANTA (AP) — A transcript of former President Barack Obama’s address to those present at the funeral service for John Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday. ___ James wrote to the believers, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the …

WASHINGTON (AP) — A shift to mail voting is increasing the chances that Americans will not know the winner of November’s presidential race on election night. But that doesn’t mean the results will be flawed or fraudulent, as President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday. Trump, seeking to already undermine the results of an election he …

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Barack Obama used Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday to issue a stark warning that the voting rights and equal opportunity the late civil rights icon championed are threatened heading into the 2020 election. Speaking from the pulpit of the church that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once …

CLAYTON (AP) — St. Louis County’s prosecutor announced Thursday that he would not charge the former police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, a dramatic decision that could reopen old wounds amid a renewed and intense national conversation about racial injustice and the police treatment of people of color. Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s …

ATLANTA (AP) — Herman Cain, the former Republican presidential candidate and former CEO of a major pizza chain who went on to become an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, died Thursday (July 30, 2020) of complications from the coronavirus. He was 74. Dan Calabrese, who authored a post on Cain’s website announcing the death, …

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, lagging in the polls and grappling with deepening economic and public health crises, floated on Thursday the startling idea of delaying the Nov. 3 presidential election. His campaign to sow doubt about the election’s outcome drew immediate pushback from Democrats and Republicans alike in a nation that has held …

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump dismissed on Wednesday Democratic demands for aid to cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republican allies as talks stalemated over assistance for millions of Americans. Another lawmaker tested positive for the virus. Republicans, beset by delays and infighting, signaled a willingness to swiftly approve a modest …

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is asking lawmakers to approve legislation that would allow judges to decide whether a youth between the ages of 12 and 18 should be tried as an adult in court for unlawful use of weapons and armed criminal action. This comes two years after legislators passed a …

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The fate of St. Louis’ elected prosecutor may rest with which side city voters choose in two competing national debates: criminal justice reform versus the push to crack down on crime. Kim Gardner became St. Louis’ first Black circuit attorney when she was elected in 2016 and has enacted a progressive, …

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden promised that his economic agenda would combat long-standing racial inequalities as he sought to draw another sharp contrast with President Donald Trump. Biden said the Republican president was exacerbating social discord across the country, including by sending federal authorities into major cities under the pretense of …

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Public Schools are going all online. In a meeting Tuesday of the Board of Education, SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams told board members that despite the earlier plan to offer three options including in-person classes, the practical choice had narrowed to one. “I’m recommending that all students be online for instruction, …