a Better Bubble™

MoInd 📰

Federal judge blocks Trump from carrying out thousands of layoffs during shutdown

5 days 7 hours ago
This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday, blocking the Trump administration from moving forward with the thousands of layoffs it initiated after the government shutdown began Oct. 1, as well as any others that officials might want to carry out.   The hearing in the U.S. District […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

Court filing raises questions about source of gerrymandered Missouri congressional map

5 days 10 hours ago
A filing in one of the many lawsuits challenging Missouri’s gerrymandered redistricting plan appears to cast uncertainty on Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s statements that the map was prepared by staff in his office. A lawsuit filed by the committee seeking to force a referendum on the map states: “Governor Kehoe prepared and provided to the […]
Rudi Keller

The nation’s community health centers face money troubles

5 days 10 hours ago
NEW YORK — On a busy street in Queens, New York, just around the corner from a halal hot chicken sandwich restaurant and a barber shop, the Long Island City Health Center welcomes its patients into a brightly lit waiting room, painted baby blue and filled with soft white and gray seats. A woman working […]
Shalina Chatlani

Missouri cannabis regulators propose to allow curbside pickup at dispensaries

5 days 12 hours ago
Missouri marijuana dispensaries may soon be able to offer curbside pickup, which would add to the drive-thru and delivery services already allowed with state approval. The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation published a draft of a proposed amendment to allow curbside pickup at dispensaries on Tuesday and is asking for public feedback until Oct. 28.  […]
Rebecca Rivas

A closer look at what’s driving the rising rate of uninsured children

5 days 13 hours ago
Hundreds of thousands of more children in the United States are going without health insurance, and experts warn that actions by the Trump administration and Congress will likely make the problem worse. The national uninsured rate for children and teens rose to 6% in 2024, up from 5.4% in 2023, according to new year-over-year data […]
Kim Krisberg

How Missouri became a battleground over gender-affirming care

5 days 15 hours ago
When Missourians vote next year on whether to outlaw most abortions, they will also decide whether the state constitution should include a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Such a move — placing prohibitions on certain procedures for transgender children in the state’s constitution — would be unprecedented in the United States and likely impossible […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Trump targets ‘Democrat programs’ as shutdown standoff heads for third week

5 days 16 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday following a four-day weekend, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to work toward ending the government shutdown following another failed vote to advance a short-term funding bill.  President Donald Trump and administration officials also didn’t seem inclined toward compromise anytime soon, if ever, […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

Missouri appeals court rules against attorney general, allows abortions to continue

6 days 8 hours ago
Abortion will remain available at Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, rejecting a request by the attorney general’s office to reinstate several restrictions on the procedure.  Earlier this year, former-Attorney General Andrew Bailey accused Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang of abusing her discretion when she issued a temporary […]
Anna Spoerre

Can states, and a little bit of faith, convert church land into affordable housing?

6 days 12 hours ago
Growing up in a religious family, Florida Republican state Sen. Alexis Calatayud has seen how many church communities are no longer anchored to a single building in the way they used to be. Her small prayer groups take place over chats these days, not necessarily in person or sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in pews. With churches in […]
Robbie Sequeira

US Senators press Deloitte, other contractors on errors in Medicaid eligibility systems

6 days 15 hours ago
U.S. Senators have launched an inquiry into companies paid billions in taxpayer dollars to build eligibility systems for Medicaid, expressing concern that error-riddled technology and looming work requirements “will cause Americans to lose Medicaid coverage to this bureaucratic maze.” The letters, dated Oct. 10, were sent to four companies and follow a KFF Health News […]
Rachana Pradhan, Samantha Liss

Missouri’s insurance rules reward denial, not care

6 days 15 hours ago
In January 2026, proposed health insurance marketplace premiums in Missouri are among the steepest since about 2018, with some Kansas City–area filings seeking increases of up to 40%.  But paying more won’t mean getting more.  In Missouri, insurance doesn’t guarantee access. It often guarantees delays, denials and avoidable harm. Behind those higher costs are insurer […]
Abby Ehrhardt

Trump, US leaders celebrate end of hostilities in Gaza

1 week ago
WASHINGTON — After just over two years in Hamas captivity, the surviving Israeli hostages were released Monday as President Donald Trump visited Israel and Egypt to celebrate a U.S.-brokered peace deal to end the war in Gaza. In remarks to Israel’s Knesset, the country’s parliamentary body, Monday afternoon Jerusalem time, Trump hailed “the golden age […]
Ashley Murray

Nutrition program for women, infants and children to stay afloat through end of month

1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is infusing $300 million into a key federal nutrition program to keep it running through October, while a government shutdown continues without an apparent end point.  USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — known as WIC — has relied on short-term funds amid the […]
Shauneen Miranda

Despite widespread interest, only 3 states passed license plate reader laws this year

1 week ago
Lawmakers in at least 16 states this year introduced bills to regulate the use of automated license plate readers responsible for collecting large amounts of data on drivers across the country. But just three states — Arkansas, Idaho and Virginia — enacted laws this session that establish or amend rules for law enforcement agencies using […]
Madyson Fitzgerald

Pentagon to shift research dollars to pay troops during shutdown

1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to send paychecks to active duty troops this week, despite Congress not passing legislation to allow it during the ongoing shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has refused to bring the House back into session to pass a stand-alone bill to provide pay for troops, welcomed the action during […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

Missouri health professionals worry about vaping access in young people

1 week ago
Originally presented as a less-harmful alternative to smoking cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and vapor products have transitioned from an aid for addiction to an addiction of their own. Vaping products were rolled out to help support a generation that grew up smoking. Over the years, however, younger generations have begun vaping without ever smoking in the […]
Addison Zanger