Crime continued to decline in 2025, with homicides down 21% from 2024 and 44% from a peak in 2021, according to a new analysis of crime trends in 40 large U.S. cities released by the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice. If federal nationwide data, which is set to be released later this year, […]
The Jefferson City drama this week was the cancellation of the Missouri chief justice’s annual “state of the judiciary” speech to a joint session of the legislature, a cancellation in response to a unanimous state Supreme Court decision that enforced the constitution’s rule that a bill must have only one subject. The objection from some […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate could vote as soon as Thursday night to approve a government funding package after Democrats brokered a deal with the White House to strip out the full-year spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security. That bill will be replaced by a two-week stopgap for programs run out of DHS, […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt took to the Senate floor Wednesday to defend federal agents arresting suspected undocumented immigrants in Minnesota, calling them “American heroes.” “We owe them our absolute, unequivocal, unflinching support,” the senator told his colleagues, many of whom are now calling for an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security after […]
When Rachel Marshall was growing up in Virginia, her parents kept a magnet on the refrigerator from a national homeschooling advocacy group, with a phone number to call if local school officials tried to interfere with their decision to educate their children at home. “You tell [the organization] the state’s after you, and they will […]
Americans feel their health care costs are going up faster than other household expenses, hold President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans responsible and say the issue will factor into their votes in this year’s midterm elections, according to a poll published Thursday by the nonpartisan health research organization KFF. Three-quarters of voters polled, including majorities of […]
A $250,000 earmark in Missouri’s budget for a nonprofit founded by former Gov. Mike Parson — including money drawn from a federal program designed to help low-income families — raised red flags for Democratic lawmakers Wednesday, who questioned how and why the money was requested by the executive branch. The nonprofit, The 57 Foundation, takes […]
During Wednesday’s hearing on Gov. Mike Kehoe’s plan to replace Missouri’s individual income tax with an expanded sales tax, the key word was trust. The proposed constitutional amendment giving the legislature three years to overhaul state tax policies is open-ended —- it allows lawmakers to impose sales tax on any financial transaction exchanging goods or […]
Missouri families are seeking a clear way to identify the quality of their local schools, parents and advocacy organizations told the House Education Committee Wednesday. The committee was discussing a bill sponsored by state Rep. Dane Diehl, a Republican from Butler, that seeks to give schools A-F grades for their students’ performance and extra state […]
Missouri senators debated a bill Wednesday that would impose age limits on kratom sales and ban 7-OH products, as lawmakers raised concerns about the drug’s opioid-like effects and growing availability. The name, 7-OH, is short for 7-hydroxymitragynine, and it’s made by chemically converting and concentrating the main opioid-inducing element in kratom. 7-OH is sold as […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Tuesday called the shooting of an ICU nurse in Minneapolis “very troubling” and added that he welcomes investigations and hearings on the actions of Department of Homeland Security agents in the incident. Video of the incident shows DHS agents pinning 37-year-old Alex Pretti to the ground and shooting […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police investigated a drastic increase in threats against members of Congress and their staffs last year, looking into nearly 15,000 statements, behaviors and communications. The volume of investigations rose sharply from the 9,474 USCP checked during 2024, the 8,008 in 2023 and the 7,501 in 2022. USCP Chief Michael Sullivan wrote […]
The annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint legislative session scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled when it became clear Senate Republicans were going to boycott. House Majority Leader Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican, said he found out when he came to the floor that the speech by Chief Justice W. Brent Powell would […]
Video lottery operators on Tuesday promised Missouri will reap a windfall of money for education and other programs if lawmakers will substitute their devices for slot machine-like games currently in thousands of retail locations across the state. But opponents of a bill, which was debated by the House Emerging Issues, said legalizing video gambling in […]
A drop in immigration amid President Donald Trump’s enforcement crackdown led to historically slow population growth in the United States last year. Activity at the southern border is at a historic low. The population change reflects the last months of the Biden administration, when immigration controls began to tighten, and the first months of the […]
Missouri lawmakers were urged Tuesday to make major investments in the state’s social services department in order to comply with new federal requirements and avoid steep penalties. Jess Bax, director of the Missouri Department of Social Services, told a House committee on Tuesday that her agency needs to hire additional contractors to tackle a backlog […]
Planned Parenthood and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office agree on one thing: abortion is legal in Missouri. That’s where the agreement ends. A 10-day trial that wrapped Monday in Kansas City laid bare decades of conflict over the state’s abortion laws. Dozens of restrictions — targeted regulation of abortion providers, or TRAP, laws — are […]
Imagine your physician offering you a new therapy for a serious medical condition—but with several warnings. You are told the treatment has never gone through carefully designed, peer-reviewed clinical trials. There is no professional licensure overseeing its use. And if something goes wrong, there is no clear system of accountability. Is that the care you […]
Gov. Mike Kehoe withdrew two nominees to the Missouri Ethics Commission Tuesday after Democrats pointed out the appointments were based on a congressional map that Republicans contend is no longer valid. Senate Democrats have refused to allow any gubernatorial appointments to come up for a vote for the past two weeks, arguing that their stall […]
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing mounting criticism, including from some congressional Republicans and moderate Democrats, for her response to a second killing by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump reiterated his confidence in Noem Tuesday, but several Republican senators, a group that overwhelmingly voted last year for Noem to […]
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