a Better Bubbleā„¢

MoInd šŸ“°

Why I’m standing behind the $7.25 billion Roundup settlement

1 day 21 hours ago
I was diagnosed withĀ non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019, and ever since,Ā I’veĀ lived with theĀ understandingĀ that my cancer is permanent and my future uncertain.Ā After ruling out other causes and reviewing my decades of Roundup use, my medical team concluded that repeatedĀ exposure toĀ herbicidesĀ wasĀ very likelyĀ the cause of myĀ non-HodgkinĀ lymphoma. I’mĀ grateful for the proposedĀ $7.25 billionĀ Roundup settlement because it offers aĀ secure,Ā realĀ pathĀ toĀ compensation forĀ me andĀ my family. […]
Howard Kornblue

Evergy settles class action lawsuit over employees’ 401(k) plan

2 days 14 hours ago
TOPEKA — Former Evergy employees suing the utility company for failing to properly oversee retirement investments in the company’s 401(k) plan settled their class action lawsuit in an as-yet undisclosed agreement. Evergy spokeswoman Gina Penzig said Monday in an emailed statement to Kansas Reflector that the settlement and proposed distribution of settlement funds will be […]
Morgan Chilson

Mullin pledges to ā€˜protect everybody’ as he takes over Department of Homeland Security

2 days 15 hours ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hailed his new Homeland Security head, former U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, as ā€œstrong, professional and fairā€ during an Oval Office swearing-in ceremony Tuesday. Mullin, who until Monday was one of Oklahoma’s Republican senators, takes the reins at the Department of Homeland Security amid a weekslong partial shutdown in the aftermath […]
Ashley Murray

Lawmakers spar over Homeland Security funding deal as shutdown strains airport security

2 days 18 hours ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday were waiting to hear back from Democrats after they sent them a new offer to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down since mid-February.Ā  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the proposal would fund many of the agencies within DHS, including the Federal […]
Jennifer Shutt, Shauneen Miranda

Gas prices rise again as some states consider tax holidays

2 days 18 hours ago
Gas prices are climbing again across the United States — with little clarity on where prices are headed next — spurring proposals for state gas tax holidays in the hopes of offering drivers some relief. The national average hit $3.96 per gallon Monday, up from $3.72 the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information […]
Amanda Watford

Attempts to restore child care subsidy funding thwarted in the Missouri House

2 days 20 hours ago
The Missouri House rejected attempts by Democrats on Tuesday to restore $51.5 million in cuts to the state’s child care subsidy program. The program helps cover the cost of child care for more than 27,000 low-income and foster children statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The department started a waiting […]
Steph Quinn

Missouri House advances budget that taps surplus to close $2 billion deficit

2 days 21 hours ago
The Missouri House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a state operating budget that will close an almost $2 billion deficit by using almost all the state’s remaining surplus in the general revenue fund. At the end of more than five hours of debate, there were few changes in the spending plan for fiscal 2027 approved […]
Rudi Keller

When ā€˜no cost to taxpayers’ isn’t the whole story

2 days 21 hours ago
Across the country, governors and mayors are embracing a familiar pitch: high-profile development projects financed with bonds that supposedly come at ā€œno cost to taxpayers.ā€ This is certainly the case with huge investments in stadiums for professional sports teams, such as Kansas’ proposal to issue $1.8 billion in bonds to help finance a new domed […]
Patrick Tuohey

TSA officers working without pay demand progress from Congress on funding talks

3 days 12 hours ago
Transportation Security Administration officers are struggling to afford basic necessities as they approach their second missed full paycheck since a funding lapse began last month, union leaders said at a virtual press conference Tuesday. Officials from the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 44,000 TSA officers nationwide, urged Congress to immediately find […]
Jacob Fischler

Missouri Supreme Court upholds legislature’s redistricting authority, keeps voter ID law

3 days 13 hours ago
The Missouri Supreme Court handed down three rulings Tuesday that could shape the 2026 election, saying lawmakers had the authority to pass a new congressional map last year, leaving intact the state’s photo-ID requirement for voters and striking down limits on voter-registration and absentee-ballot outreach. The decisions gave Missouri Republicans a major win in the […]
Jason Hancock

Missouri lawmakers eye age verification measures for minors using social media, chatbots

3 days 15 hours ago
For Quinton Hayes Jr. and his classmates, social media ā€œis where a lot of our lives happen.ā€ The 12-year-old middle school student from Bloomington said that includes having fun, talking with friends — and bullying. ā€œIt follows you home,ā€ he said, ā€œonto your phone, into your head.ā€Ā  Hayes described how his friend was affected when […]
Steph Quinn

Federal cuts, expiring aid squeeze state budgets nationwide

3 days 17 hours ago
A perfect storm has arrived on the ledgers of many state budgets, bearing down on the people who often need help the most. Federal and state policy decisions, the end of pandemic aid and long-term fiscal trends — such as people aging into Social Security benefits — are requiring states to take a tougher look […]
Statehouse Reporting Project

Airport chaos: TSA agents skip work, security lines expand, Trump sends in ICE to assist

3 days 21 hours ago
Airport security workers missed work Monday at the highest rate since a partial government shutdown began in mid-February, the Department of Homeland Security said, and the Trump administration sent immigration officials to some airports in an attempt to keep lines moving. Travelers reported hourslong security lines at major airports in Atlanta and Houston, while waits […]
Jacob Fischler

Tax credits for food donations debated by Missouri House committee

3 days 21 hours ago
Missouri residents can receive state income tax credits on donations to food pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Two bills seeking to make adjustments to those credits were discussed Monday afternoon by a Missouri House committee. One bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. John Voss of Cape Girardeau, would eliminate the Dec. 31 expiration date […]
Hannah McDonough

Supreme Court skeptical of allowing states to count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day

4 days 11 hours ago
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Monday appeared skeptical of the validity of mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, in a case that could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of voters during the upcoming midterm elections. The high court heard arguments on whether federal law overrides a Mississippi law that requires mail-in ballots […]
Jonathan Shorman

Missouri referendum campaign says it has enough signatures to challenge gerrymandered map

4 days 14 hours ago
Backers of a proposed referendum on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional plan believe they have met the minimum number of signatures needed to make the November’s ballot. Updated data, posted Monday morning by People Not Politicians, the political action committee that organized a referendum petition drive, shows that the petition has at least 129% of the required […]
Rudi Keller

Medicaid cuts could add pressure to already-stressed psychiatric units

4 days 14 hours ago
Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it. Psychiatric units are costly and, like labor and delivery services, typically lose money for hospitals and tend […]
Nada Hassanein

Trump claims ā€˜good and productive’ talks with Iran about war, but Iran denies negotiations

4 days 14 hours ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration is in talks with Iran about resolving the war, a claim that significantly tamped down oil prices and spurred market increases in Europe and the United States — though Iran denied any progress in negotiations. Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, the president […]
Ashley Murray