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As smoke from Canadian wildfires caused the most hazardous air conditions on record in the Washington, D.C., area on Thursday, members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said that Congress should lift federal firefighter pay and encourage logging to reduce the risk of future blazes. “Smoke from the wildfires burning right now […]

The post On a record day in D.C. for smoke pollution, U.S. Senate panel debates wildfire strategy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

CIUDAD JUÁREZ – It was well before dawn Sunday morning, when Olga Maldonado, her nieces Yulisa, Marcela Maldonado and Kevin Hernandez and the children, ages 3 to 10-years old, rose to prepare for their asylum meeting with the U.S. Customs and Border Protections. “Nervous, but excited,” was how Olga described her feelings, slipping on plain […]

The post U.S. continues to take DNA samples from asylum seekers at the border appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators agreed during a hearing Thursday the country’s children are going through a youth mental health crisis, though some of the committee’s members disagreed about what role Congress has to play. Senators detailed a complicated patchwork of issues that contribute to youth mental health challenges, including violence and trauma within schools and […]

The post Social media, trauma, hate speech add to youth mental health crisis, U.S. Senate panel told appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Inside pension bills with provisions to encourage retired teachers to return to the classroom and protect the finances of the Missouri Sheriffs Retirement System are provisions that could boost the incomes of Gov. Mike Parson, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and at least three legislators. But the idea’s biggest legislative proponents, who actually don’t stand to […]

The post Missouri pension bills include benefits for lawmakers, officials while in office appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators on the Budget Committee dug into the impacts of climate change on farming during a Wednesday hearing, raising concerns about what the next few decades hold for food production and the way of life. But Republicans and representatives of farm groups pushed back against increased government regulation. Brent Johnson, president of […]

The post Effects of climate change on farming, federal spending explored by U.S. Senate panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s attempt to increase the cost of an abortion-rights initiative petition was unprecedented and illegal, lawyers for the Missouri ACLU and state auditor’s office argued Wednesday in Cole County Court.  ”No attorney general has ever attempted to exercise this level of discretion,” said Robert Tillman, deputy general counsel for Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick.  […]

The post Judge hears arguments over Missouri AG push to inflate cost of abortion initiative petition appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Wesley Bell, who shocked the Missouri political establishment in 2018 by defeating a seven-term incumbent to become St. Louis County prosecutor, announced Wednesday he was running for U.S. Senate.  Bell, 48, served as a judge and public defender before being elected to the Ferguson City Council in 2015 — just months after a police officer […]

The post St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell enters Missouri’s U.S. Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The ability to obtain a drivers license has for a long time been a rite of passage and a doorway to freedom for young adults and parents alike. As we get closer to this time where a visit to the DMV will leave our children driving to and from school, church and sporting events, Black […]

The post More worry for Black parents in Missouri: ‘The talk’ for new drivers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and health care, but regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to shelter undocumented people, a […]

The post U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. worker productivity has dropped significantly, including in key large states, leaving some economists alarmed by the decrease in a measure that could mean trillions of dollars to the economy. Labor productivity — the value of the goods and services produced on average by an hour’s work — ranged from $58.80 in Mississippi to $120.67 […]

The post Workers are less productive in key states. What it means for the economy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After a blue ribbon commission spent much of 2022 crafting possible solutions for Missouri’s teacher shortage, education advocates entered the legislative session optimistic. And when Rep. Ed Lewis’ legislation raising the minimum teacher salary and creating a scholarship to incentivize teachers to work in hard-staff areas cleared the House in early April with only five […]

The post Lawmakers lament failure of bills aimed at addressing Missouri teacher shortage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas — When Joe Eldred was a child, he was sexually abused by three Catholic priests while attending Nativity of Mary Catholic Church and the accompanying elementary school in Independence, Missouri. Eldred told his story in “Procession,” a documentary directed by Robert Greene that tells the story of six men who were abused […]

The post ‘That’s when he raped me’: Survivors of clergy abuse in Missouri screen documentary appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Talking with a friend about the debt ceiling negotiations, I mentioned that there were incentives for centrists in Congress to cobble together a deal. My friend said, incredulously, “Do we actually have centrists in Congress?” Certainly, it is true that the country’s two major parties have sorted and separated over the last 50 years. The average Democrat […]

The post Approval of debt ceiling deal a triumph of the political center appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the fall of 2016, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families began using a predictive analytics tool that promised to help identify kids in imminent danger. The tool used more than two dozen data points to compare open cases in Connecticut’s system against previous welfare cases with poor outcomes. Then each child received a […]

The post Artificial intelligence is used widely, but few states have set rules appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey overstepped his authority when he demanded changes to the cost estimate of an abortion-rights initiative petition, state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick argued in a legal brief filed in Cole County Court last week.  Fitzpatrick, Bailey and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, all Republicans, were sued last month by the Missouri ACLU over […]

The post Missouri AG had no authority to inflate cost of abortion amendment, auditor argues appeared first on Missouri Independent.

 As cities, states and our nation face many political, economic and social challenges, who we vote for in upcoming elections carries monumental importance. All we need to do is to look at the state of things to know that we need to change the direction and the unraveling trajectory we are on. Many state legislatures […]

The post It’s never too early for voters to get engaged appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Black motorists stopped by Missouri law enforcement are much more likely to end the encounter with a citation or in a jail cell than whites, according to the latest state report of racial data on traffic enforcement. The report also shows that Black drivers away from their home communities – or visiting the state – […]

The post Report shows Black drivers in Missouri more likely to be ticketed, arrested appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Wise parents the world over take pride in watching our late adolescents grow into adulthood, knowing the hormones, emotions, and impulses of youth will eventually give way to greater calm and steadiness as the brain matures. On June 22, 2000, 19 year old Michael Tisius was too young to drink alcohol legally. But he is […]

The post Missouri governor should halt executions of adolescent offenders appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan debt limit bill is on its way to President Joe Biden after the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to clear the measure for his signature. The 63-36 vote followed several amendment votes, all of which were rejected. Biden is expected to quickly sign the package, preventing a default on the debt that otherwise would […]

The post U.S. Senate sends Biden debt limit legislation ahead of Monday default deadline appeared first on Missouri Independent.

From its earliest days, Route 66 has reflected the American culture of the moment. When the road connected Chicago to Los Angeles in 1926, it represented the possibility of the automobile. In the 1930s, it served as an east-to-west escape route from the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. By the 1950s, the 2,400-mile highway […]

The post Route 66, America’s ‘Mother Road,’ readies for its centennial appeared first on Missouri Independent.