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Key differences emerge in Missouri House, Senate bills to create A-F school grades

4 days 3 hours ago
Missouri lawmakers are drawing up separate proposals in the House and Senate to respond to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s push for a public school accountability system that grades schools on an “A” through “F” scale. Kehoe’s executive order, unveiled during his State of the State address last month, calls for the state’s education department to draw […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri lawmakers can lower health care costs and reduce government control

4 days 3 hours ago
Lawmakers in Jefferson City have introduced two bills that purportedly would drive down costs for patients. Instead, they will raise costs and increase government control over health care. The bills would increase prescription drug fees and interfere with the ability of employers to work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to continue to reduce costs for […]
Eric Maus

A ‘servant leader’ honored: The nation pays tribute to Jesse Jackson

4 days 12 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Tributes poured in across the country for the revered civil rights figure the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., who died Tuesday morning at 84. The two-time Democratic presidential hopeful and Greenville, South Carolina, native died peacefully, surrounded by his kin, according to his family.  Jackson, who was active in the civil rights movement […]
Shauneen Miranda, Jacob Fischler

Federal judge rules ICE can’t take Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into custody

4 days 18 hours ago
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Maryland Tuesday barred U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the Trump administration lacks plans to remove him from the United States. “Respondents have done nothing to show that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is consistent with due process,” District of Maryland Judge […]
Ariana Figueroa

Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion settlement in Roundup cancer lawsuits

4 days 20 hours ago
German chemical giant Bayer has agreed to pay $7.25 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The proposed settlement — which must be approved by a St. Louis court — would compensate people nationwide who were exposed to Roundup products and diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as those who […]
Jason Hancock

High housing costs, shortages propel movement on reform in Congress

4 days 21 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Republicans, Democrats and the White House are methodically, calmly inching toward a common goal: agreeing on a thick package of laws that would do something quickly about slowing housing costs and boosting supply. There’s no talk of gridlock here. No partisan sniping. Just an under the radar effort to show constituents in an […]
David Lightman

Kansas City among communities fighting ICE detention centers, with limited power to stop them

5 days 1 hour ago
Outrage erupted last month when Oklahoma City residents learned of plans to convert a vacant warehouse into an immigration processing facility. Making matters worse was the secrecy of the federal government: City leaders received no communication from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aside from a mandated disclosure related to historic preservation. Planning a major development […]
Kevin Hardy

Bill requiring state investigation of antisemitic discrimination heads to Missouri Senate

5 days 14 hours ago
A requirement that public schools and universities report antisemitic discrimination to the state passed the Missouri House Monday on a 109 to 21 vote. Combatting antisemitism is especially important to the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. George Hruza, a Republican from Huntleigh. His mother survived the Holocaust after imprisonment in the Mauthausen concentration camp, and two […]
Annelise Hanshaw

As Trump administration pushes for more detentions, immigrants’ options for parole shrink

5 days 16 hours ago
Despite immigration detention numbers receding from recent highs and even as conservative judges are opting to release more detainees by rejecting President Donald Trump’s mass detention policy, tools for detainees to seek release or appeal cases are disappearing.  A proposed federal rule will make it harder to appeal immigration cases nationally. And a federal appeals […]
Tim Henderson

After Minnesota church protest, some states move to crack down on disruptions

5 days 16 hours ago
When Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Todd Gollihare introduced a bill last year to strengthen state law protecting places of worship from protesters, it stalled. This year, his church protest bill sailed through the legislature. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it into law three days after Gollihare reintroduced it. In recent weeks, Republican and Democratic lawmakers […]
Anna Claire Vollers

Federal judge rules Missouri’s gas station slot machines are illegal gambling devices

5 days 18 hours ago
A federal judge on Friday ruled that slot machines that have operated for years in bars, restaurants and convenience stores across Missouri are illegal gambling devices under state law. The decision by U.S. District Judge John Ross lands as lawmakers debate whether to legalize the machines — and as Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has vowed […]
Jason Hancock

Small business owners squeezed by Trump tariffs await Supreme Court decision

5 days 18 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Aluminum cans rolling off Virginia cider maker Tristan Wright’s production line cost more because of increased tariffs on aluminum. Minnesota baby product inventor and seller Beth Benike ran out of inventory and lost income for months last year when President Donald Trump sparked a trade war with China. Maryland dog apparel producer Barton […]
Ashley Murray

Andrew Bailey led the Georgia election raid. His Missouri record should be a warning

6 days 3 hours ago
When the FBI carried out its controversial raid last month at the election headquarters of Fulton County, Georgia, it was already guaranteed to inflame partisan tensions. What made the episode more striking was the presence of Andrew Bailey. The former Missouri attorney general is now co-deputy director of the FBI. He traveled to Georgia to […]
Jason Hancock

Missouri prosecutor met with Trump lawyers as DOJ pushed to seize Georgia ballots

1 week 1 day ago
This story was originally published by ProPublica. The Missouri prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the 2020 vote in Fulton County, Georgia, has taken part in meetings since last fall with lawyers tasked by President Donald Trump to reinvestigate his loss to Joe Biden. Thomas Albus, whom Trump appointed last year as U.S. attorney for Missouri’s […]
Doug Bock Clark, Jeremy Kohler

More states are requiring insurers to cover non-opioid pain meds

1 week 1 day ago
More states are requiring their Medicaid programs and health insurance companies to cover non-opioid pain medications as an alternative to opioids, which can be cheaper for insurers but also more addictive for patients. Advocates, providers, medical associations and state lawmakers are pushing for parity in coverage. That means prohibiting insurers from charging higher copayments for […]
Nada Hassanein

Push to eliminate sales tax on food and groceries in Missouri runs into resistance

1 week 1 day ago
Local officials pushed back this week against a Missouri Senate bill that would end both state and local sales tax on food and grocery items. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican, said the bill is an attempt to increase affordability for Missourians as prices rise. “Missourians are paying more and more for necessities,” […]
Sawyer Bess