Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now reject at least some federal vaccine guidance as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to de-emphasize the importance of childhood vaccinations under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., according to research by KFF, a nonprofit health policy organization based in […]
Missouri lawmakers signed off on proposed cannabis rules Thursday meant to curb abuse in the state’s microbusiness licensing program, but not before stripping out a ban on people tied to denied or revoked licenses from holding interests in future microbusinesses. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, made up of lawmakers from both the House and […]
The Missouri House gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would change the classifications of and punishments for juvenile offenders and mandate more time served before any felon is eligible for parole. Sponsored by state Sen. Nick Schroer, a Republican from Defiance, the bill would classify older juveniles who commit crimes as adults and […]
The Missouri House approved legislation Thursday aimed at cracking down on sex trafficking and sexual exploitation while shifting punishment away from survivors and giving first responders more training to identify and prevent the crimes. The bill would increase penalties for distributing sexual images without consent, clarify that predatory conduct toward minors can be prosecuted even […]
For the second time this year, the Trump administration is trying to at least delay another legal attempt to curb access to medication abortion. The U.S. Department of Justice late Friday afternoon asked a federal court in Missouri to either pause or dismiss a lawsuit over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision last year to approve […]
In 2024, I competed with Dr. George Hruza for a seat in Missouri’s House of Representatives. It was a spirited race and the closest this West St. Louis County district has seen. He and I mutually agreed not to sink to the level of personal attacks and, while I was not the winner, I feel […]
The gerrymandered congressional map pushed through the General Assembly by Republicans meets constitutional requirements for districts to be compact and contiguous, a Jackson County judge ruled Thursday. The decision from Circuit Judge Adam Caine is the third Missouri court ruling to reject a constitutional challenge to the plan intended to shift the 5th Congressional District […]
The proposed constitutional amendment asking Missourians if they want to replace the income tax by adding a sales tax to services and other transactions moved one step closer to the ballot Thursday when it passed the state House on an almost pure party-line vote. If it passes the Senate and is approved by voters, the […]
The Missouri House this week passed bills cutting extraneous teacher training requirements and adding supports for literacy in elementary schools. At the halfway point of the legislative session, the House has approved eight education bills. The Senate has passed one bill related to education, which would allow students in urban school districts to miss school […]
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Wednesday made an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the revocation of legal status for more than 350,000 Haitians, opening them up to deportations. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices to block a lower court’s ruling that found the Trump administration unlawfully ended Temporary Protected […]
Passengers at a handful of airports this week waited in hours-long security lines as the government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security dragged on. Though Transportation Security Administration officers are required by law to work during a lapse in funding, more than usual have been absent after receiving only a partial paycheck during the […]
WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense must quickly release the results of its investigation into whether the U.S. military bombed a girls’ elementary school in Iran that left at least 168 people dead, according to a letter sent Wednesday that was signed by nearly every Senate Democrat. “To be clear, the war against Iran is […]
The plan to completely overhaul the way Missouri funds higher education survived a committee vote Wednesday despite bipartisan misgivings about the impact on state colleges and universities. And the House Budget Committee also backed Chairman Dirk Deaton’s proposal to cut almost $52 million from child care payments and abandon plans to change how those payments […]
A Republican state senator temporarily pumped the brakes Wednesday on a bill honoring a Kansas City firefighter who was killed last year, saying the move was payback for Democrats dragging out debate all session. State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, pulled the legislation from a Senate fast-track calendar reserved for noncontroversial bills. His objection […]
The Missouri House on Wednesday voted to advance a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil action. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brian Seitz of Branson, would also decrease the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits and civil claims against insurance companies […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats and education advocates Wednesday marked one year since the U.S. Department of Education initiated sweeping mass layoffs. Those layoffs set the stage for more unprecedented efforts from President Donald Trump’s administration over the past year to wind down the 46-year-old agency as part of his quest to return education “back […]
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have not formally authorized a war in Iran, though they may soon be expected to approve emergency funding for the endeavor without any projection from the Trump administration as to how long it may last or the full cost, not just in dollars but in American troop and civilian lives. […]
LEAVENWORTH — CoreCivic will reopen its private prison in Leavenworth to house immigration detainees after city commissioners approved the company’s special use permit on Tuesday, the result of a process one commissioner called “agonizing.” Two people were arrested and multiple people were ejected as they shouted profanity during an hour of public comments and 30 […]
A bill to protect ballot summaries written by politicians from judicial revision passed the Missouri House on Wednesday, as lawmakers moved to restore a law struck down earlier this year by the state Supreme Court. The legislation would give the secretary of state three chances to revise ballot summaries found to be insufficient or unfair […]
Legislation in at least eight states would expand the rights of doctors, nurses, hospitals and even insurance companies to refuse to provide or pay for care — from contraception and fertility services to medical marijuana and childhood vaccines — that conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs. For years, most states have had so-called medical […]
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