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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A man sentenced to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday who has insisted upon his innocence was on Monday denied clemency by Gov. Mike Kehoe and refused a delay of his execution by judges in the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorneys for Lance Shockley, who was convicted in 2009 of the murder of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Community gardens, educational programs and breastfeeding rooms are all part of Missouri’s plan to take advantage of one-time federal funding for Head Start programs. Seven Missouri Head Start kitchens are set to receive nearly $2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of the office’s efforts to promote […]
State funding of private-school vouchers is primarily being used for students attending religious institutions, with nearly 98% of funding going toward Catholic, Christian, Jewish and Islamic schools. This year, state lawmakers passed a budget that included a request from Gov. Mike Kehoe to supply the state-run K-12 scholarship program, MOScholars, with $50 million of general […]
No, I do not want to go collect signatures. My friend asks. I rack my brain for excuses. Walking up to strangers does not come naturally to me. My kids must have a soccer game or birthday party or something that conflicts. They do not. I have no excuse. I go. Once I get out […]
This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal employees, a step not taken during previous government shutdowns and one that could significantly reshape the size and scope of government. White House budget director Russ Vought posted on social media mid-day that Reductions in Force, […]
WASHINGTON — A slew of conservative groups will lead a new coalition to spur civics education and push the subject in a more patriotic direction, the U.S. Education Department announced last month, raising alarms for some traditional civics and education groups that were not included in the initiative. The America First Policy Institute, a think […]
A man who has insisted upon his innocence in the 2005 murder of a Missouri highway patrolman is scheduled to be executed next week, even though the jury that convicted him could not reach agreement on his death sentence. In most states, a deadlocked jury would have resulted in a life sentence. But Missouri is […]
The federal government shutdown is forcing a reckoning for two remote health care programs because they automatically expired Oct. 1. The telehealth and in-home hospital care programs were both temporary — but increasingly popular — options for Medicare recipients. They allowed doctors and hospitals to bill Medicare for telehealth appointments and in-home visits from nurses […]
Politics is not getting any gentler in one of Missouri’s most contentious state House districts, where two St. Charles County Republicans are locked in a battle that features criminal charges, accusations of lying and civil lawsuits. Max Calfo, who lost the Republican primary for the 108th District in 2024, said this week that he has […]
States are doing what they generally do during a federal government shutdown: continuing to operate programs serving some of the neediest people. That means schools are still serving federally subsidized meals and states are distributing funding for the federal food stamp program. For now. If the shutdown drags on and federal dollars run out, states […]
The warrantless arrests of 11 immigrant restaurant workers in Liberty earlier this year violated a 2022 consent decree, a federal judge ruled. The arrests of the workers at El Potro Mexican Café in February were among the first in the Kansas City area to draw widespread media attention. The Liberty cases became part of a […]
Earlier this year, Missouri lawmakers passed legislation allowing utilities to use a finance method called Construction Work in Progress (CWIP). CWIP lets utility companies bill customers for certain construction costs while projects are still underway, rather than waiting until they are finished and producing power. Supporters say the change will spur growth in Missouri’s energy […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s prepared to cancel funding approved by Congress that he believes is going toward programs supported by Democrats, though he didn’t share any additional details during a Cabinet meeting. “We’ll be cutting some very popular Democratic programs that aren’t popular with Republicans,” he said. “They wanted to do […]
A Missouri company is taking an Iowa health care provider to court, accusing it of trying to poach dying hospice patients. National Hospice Management Inc., or NHP, is suing Moments Hospice of Davenport in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. NHP provides hospice and related nursing services through hospice centers in several […]
German chemical giant Bayer must pay a $600 million Missouri court judgment that found its herbicide Roundup causes cancer, a ruling the company says could hasten a decision to stop making the popular product. The Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 30 refused to hear an appeal in the Cole County lawsuit that initially awarded four […]
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