WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration appeared to disappoint senators from both political parties Thursday with how she answered questions about medication abortion access during her confirmation hearing. Dr. Heidi Overton also faced skepticism from committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, about her work on vaccine policy […]
WASHINGTON — Government investigators Thursday released a report that found the Department of Homeland Security wasted more than $20 million in federal funding in its rapid expansion of immigration detention, including warehouse purchases strongly opposed in numerous U.S. communities. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that millions were wasted because DHS began expanding detention operations without putting […]
Tens of thousands of Americans continue to lose access to food assistance each month, even as Congress debates slowing down major cuts to federal food stamps. New data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows more than 330,000 Americans lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, between May and June, the latest […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly early Thursday issued an order that temporarily blocks President Donald Trump’s ban of three news organizations from the White House. Kelly, in the eight-page order, said that the White House must “immediately return, reinstate, and restore the White House ‘hard pass’ press credentials held by employees of […]
Emily Byrd has lost Medicaid coverage twice due to paperwork problems. Both times, Byrd, of Kansas City, submitted documents requested by the Missouri Department of Social Services. But duplicate letters, late notices and “confusing, inconsistent information” made it difficult for Byrd to regain coverage — the second time forcing them to reapply. The 25-year-old, who […]
WASHINGTON — A vast and growing network of artificial intelligence-driven Flock cameras could violate constitutional privacy rights, U.S. senators on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee said during a Wednesday hearing. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, the chair of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, said the point of the hearing was to find out “what is […]
For years, I watched young families chase a familiar version of the American dream: land the right job, save enough money for a down payment, and find a home in a community where they could raise their children safely. One with a reasonable commute, maybe a park nearby and enough room in the backyard to […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly indicated during a Wednesday hearing he may order the Trump administration to reinstate White House press passes for reporters from three news organizations who had their credentials revoked this weekend. Kelly, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said at the beginning of […]
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee used a hearing Wednesday to continue voicing opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, which the top Democrat on the panel called a distraction from cost-of-living issues voters are more concerned about. Republicans, vying to defend their majority in the House and Senate in the […]
The Missouri Supreme Court is weighing whether a 2022 law making it a crime for school employees to provide students with “explicit sexual material” violates constitutional free speech protections. The law, which a Jackson County Circuit Court judge struck down last November, “sowed great confusion across Missouri school districts” and spurred school librarians to remove […]
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday challenging an appeals court’s decision in March directing the state to award cannabis company Hippos LLC 13 facility licenses after finding the 2019 application scoring process was inconsistent. It’s been five years since the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission denied Hippos’ appeal over its applications for marijuana facility licenses, […]
Federal officials charged a Utah letter carrier Tuesday with throwing 300 primary ballots in a church parking lot dumpster, an incident that a top U.S. Justice Department official said made the case for stricter regulations of voting. The prosecution of Damon Matai Seei, of Payson, Utah, showed “voting fraud is real,” acting Deputy Attorney General […]
This fall, voters in at least nine states will decide whether to cut, cap or raise taxes through ballot measures that will give them a direct hand in steering state tax policy in a conservative or progressive direction. Some states, such as California, will weigh whether to tax — or untax — their wealthiest residents. […]
Melanie Pierce works with many pregnant women who know they’ll have a long drive ahead of them when labor starts. One of her jobs as a doula living in Mansfield, Missouri, is helping families answer a question that may not be as fraught for women who live closer to a delivery hospital: When is it […]
Kansas City’s Muehlebach Hotel hosted every president from Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan. Harry Truman ran much of his political operation from the penthouse suite. It’s where he signed the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and awaited election results in 1948. Once referred to as White House West, it’s one of Missouri’s most storied buildings. The […]
Backers of a Missouri redistricting referendum late on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene for a third time in three weeks in the fight over which congressional map must be used for the Nov. 3 elections. The latest appeal comes as the first votes are being cast and state election officials face conflicting […]
WASHINGTON — A New Hampshire federal judge seemed skeptical during a Tuesday hearing that a civil rights group could continue with a challenge to block President Donald Trump’s second attempt to redefine the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, suggesting that a new lawsuit might be needed. The American Civil Liberties Union last month asked federal […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump faces a “big decision” to make a deal with Iran or “annihilate” the country, he told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. During a 37-minute speech to his international counterparts including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in New York City, Trump asked, “Will a deal be made with Iran that […]
Women giving birth in rural communities were more likely than peers in urban areas to receive oral opioid prescriptions for pain upon leaving the hospital after a cesarean section, according to a new analysis of data from half a million C-sections. The study was conducted by researchers at Truveta, a health data and analytics company […]
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. The mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial earlier this month places her future in doubt, three years after she killed her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts. […]