MoInd 📰

States that were leaders in childhood vaccination before the pandemic are among those losing ground as exemptions and unfounded skepticism take hold, encouraged by the Trump administration’s stance under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Expanded exemptions for parents are likely to drop both Mississippi and West Virginia from the top […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump decided to exclude Democratic governors from a traditional annual meeting at the White House and to disinvite several others from a black-tie dinner, according to the White House, the governors and the National Governors Association. The National Governors Association organizes the bipartisan winter gathering that usually includes a working meeting […]

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Cindy Clemishire was 12 years old on Christmas night in 1982 when a traveling evangelist staying with her family first abused […]

“Don’t give me narcotics.” Emmalee Hortin, a doula, recalled one of her clients delivering that message to hospital staff. Doctors were operating on the woman to clear tissue after a miscarriage. But despite her patient’s pleas, clinicians still administered fentanyl via IV to manage pain, Hortin said. Her client had substance use disorder and had […]

Over the next decade, obesity rates across the nation could surge to close to half of U.S. adults, a new study published in the medical journal JAMA estimates. Researchers at the University of Washington conducted the analysis using body mass index data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and self-reported weight data from […]

For Jessica Haynes, cooking with her 21-year-old son AJ is “the most amazing thing.” When Jessica and AJ, who has autism, prepare a meal side by side in their Raytown home, Haynes told The Independent, “he gets to learn new skills, and we get to learn things right along with it.” Jessica and her husband […]

A law passed last year to add a measure for grade-level equivalency as part of Missouri’s standardized test reports may be scrapped as a casualty of the state’s budgetary woes. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requested $1 million to add grade-level equivalency to the Missouri Assessment Program, which would largely be a one-time […]

If you ever want to know what’s really heating up in the Missouri Legislature, skip the floor debates and committee hearings. Check the lobbyist registrations at the Missouri Ethics Commission. A prime example is the push to legalize video lottery terminals — aka, those slot machines you see at gas stations. This isn’t just a […]

A bill that would lower the minimum wage for minors was pitched by its sponsor last week as a way to help small businesses and young workers. The legislation would create a separate minimum wage for those under age 18 who are employed in Missouri. The new minimum wage rate for minors would be $12.30 […]

“The Negro should be granted equality…On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic. For it is obvious that if a man is entered at the starting line in a race three hundred years after another man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat to catch up with his fellow runner.”  As evidenced […]

A focus on addressing climate change, including by producing wind and solar energy, has not helped Americans keep their electricity and heat on during winter storms, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday. Ahead of another major cold snap on the East Coast, Wright briefed reporters at the agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the […]

The images have become ubiquitous in the Trump administration’s campaign for mass deportations of immigrants. Masked agents, swathed in tactical gear and carrying semiautomatic firearms, menace protesters with chemical sprays and smash car windows while dragging immigrants from their vehicles. Critics label the aggressive actions by unidentifiable agents as a calculated effort by the Department […]

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday pulled down a social media post depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys after members of Congress from both political parties expressed dismay and called it racist. A White House spokesperson told States Newsroom around noon that a “staffer erroneously made the post” […]

President Donald Trump’s calls this week to “nationalize” elections capped a year of efforts by his administration to exercise authority over state-run elections. The demands now have some state and local election officials fearing — and preparing for — a tumultuous year ahead. “I don’t think we can put anything past this administration,” Oregon Democratic […]

WASHINGTON — Congress has approved the first public health funding bill since President Donald Trump began his second term, with lawmakers largely rejecting his proposed spending cuts and the elimination of dozens of programs.  A bipartisan group of negotiators instead struck a deal to increase funding on several line items within the Department of Health […]

People who drink cannabis beverages – that often come in cans, like beer or hard seltzers – may be consuming less alcohol, according to a recent study from University of Buffalo.  More than 60% of the study’s participants who drank cannabis beverages said they had either reduced (61.5%) or stopped (1.1%) drinking alcohol as a […]

A state and federal investigation of “illegal” slot machines is looking at how “billions” flow from Missourians to the companies that own the games, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway told a legislative committee Thursday. The state, at the request of federal investigators, joined the probe that has its roots in a federal civil court case where […]

Despite the high-profile U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Minnesota, ICE arrests were down slightly in January compared to December, according to new data.  Immigrant detention nationwide also reached a new high in January, and a growing percentage — nearly three-quarters — of people in detention have no criminal convictions. ICE arrested 36,579 people […]

The first bill to clear the Missouri House this year would open the door for health care providers to face the death penalty if they don’t provide life-saving care to a baby born after an attempted abortion.  The legislation could also allow lawsuits against anyone assisting with illegal medication abortions.  “A baby that makes it […]

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic proposal Thursday to sue the Trump administration over allegations that it did not fully release the Epstein files, as mandated under a law unanimously approved by senators and signed by the president nearly three months ago. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked for unanimous consent on a resolution […]