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MoInd šŸ“°

Missouri public schools want protections in open-enrollment legislation

1 month 1 week ago
The Missouri Senate Education Committee debated proposals Tuesday that would allow students to enroll in public schools in neighboring districts, but public-education groups say they prefer a version of the bill filed in the House. This is the sixth consecutive year that state lawmakers have considered opening school districts’ boundaries, with a House bill by […]
Annelise Hanshaw

As ACA subsidies expire, thousands of Missourians drop coverage or downgrade plans

1 month 1 week ago
As small-business owners, Sonya Andrews and her husband are used to uncertainty. Sonya runs a business offering graphic and web design services, while her husband is a commercial photographer. They also own a studio in Kansas City’s West Bottoms and have one employee who works remotely from Florida. Every month is different for them when […]
Meg Cunningham

Factual lessons about Black history can help close many divides

1 month 1 week ago
February has been set aside as Black History Month. It presents an educational opportunity that can assist in closing many divides between Blacks and whites. Designating February as Black History Month is the nation’s attempt to correct its lack of acknowledgement of the contributions of Black Americans in the normal annals of America’s history. While […]
Janice Ellis

US Education Department paid up to $38M to civil rights workers on leave, watchdog says

1 month 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education exhausted millions in taxpayer dollars trying to eliminate a chunk of its Office for Civil Rights, a government watchdog found in a report released Monday.Ā Ā  The department spent between roughly $28.5 million and $38 million on the salaries and benefits of the hundreds of Office for Civil Rights, […]
Shauneen Miranda

Trump urges US House to avert ā€˜another long, pointless and destructive’ shutdown

1 month 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on the government funding package that will end the ongoing partial government shutdown once it becomes law.Ā  The SenateĀ voted Friday evening to approve the legislation after President Donald Trump and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., brokered a deal to remove the full-year […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

Planned Parenthood ends suit against Trump administration over serving Medicaid patients

1 month 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday closed the lawsuit Planned Parenthood filed last summer after Republicans’ ā€œbig, beautifulā€ law blocked Medicaid patients from visiting its clinics for any health care appointments for one year.  Planned Parenthood filed notice with the court Friday that it had dismissed ā€œwithout prejudice all claims againstā€ the Trump administration […]
Jennifer Shutt

Judge blocks DHS policy to keep House Dems from visiting detention facilities unannounced

1 month 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that prevented members of Congress from making unannounced oversight visits at facilities that hold immigrants. The temporary restraining orderĀ from U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of District of Columbia federal court blocked a seven-day notice requirement that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem established […]
Ariana Figueroa

Missouri Republicans move to change venue for major court cases following recent abortion rulings

1 month 1 week ago
Missouri Republicans are pushing a change that would move most high-profile legal fights — including ballot initiative challenges — out of the Western District Court of Appeals and into the Eastern District. They are also hoping to block any challenges to state law or the constitution from being filed outside of Cole County.Ā  While framed […]
Anna Spoerre

Marijuana companies sue dozens of smoke shops for selling THCA hemp flower

1 month 1 week ago
A coalition of marijuana companies is filing lawsuits against businesses across Missouri, accusing dozens of stores of illegally selling marijuana under the guise of ā€œTHCA hemp flowerā€ and undercutting the state’s regulated cannabis market. The lawsuits target nearly 40 stores in St. Louis County and 17 businesses in the Kansas City area, including major hemp […]
Rebecca Rivas

Missouri Democrat calls on Waymo to correct inaccurate testimony

1 month 1 week ago
State Sen. Stephen Webber is calling on Waymo to retract and correct testimony provided to the Missouri Senate Transportation Committee last week regarding the company’s driverless vehicles. Webber, a Democrat from Columbia, said in a letter to Waymo on Friday that the testimony given to the committee falsely claimed that the company’s driverless vehicles had […]
Kathryn Leverenz

Partial federal government shutdown begins, amid hopes it won’t last long

1 month 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — The federal government began a partial shutdown early Saturday, even though Senate Democrats and President Donald Trump reached a deal that allows lawmakers more time to negotiate new constraints on immigration enforcement.  The Senate voted 71-29 on Friday evening to pass the reworked government funding package before a midnight deadline. But the earliest the […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

Missouri appeals court rejects secretary of state’s ballot language on private school funding ban

1 month 2 weeks ago
Missouri’s Western District Court of Appeals unanimously tossed out part of Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’s ballot language on Thursday for an initiative petition that would bar state funding of private education. The decision, written by Judge Douglas Thomson, says that Hoskins’s summary statement was ā€œmisleadingā€ because of a bullet point that says the petition […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri Republicans push bill to ban red flag laws, curb local gun regulation

1 month 2 weeks ago
A Missouri House committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would prevent courts from seizing weapons from high-risk individuals. The bill contains changes to state firearm statutes, a catch-all that rounds up a number of gun-related provisions that Republicans have attempted to pass in previous legislative sessions. Alongside prohibiting so-called red flag gun seizure […]
Jackson Cooper, Scout Hudson

Missouri lawmakers advance proposal to make nonopioid pain treatments more accessible

1 month 2 weeks ago
A Missouri House committee on Thursday approved legislation aimed at reducing barriers for patients to access nonopioid medications prescribed by health professionals, an effort by lawmakers to help prevent Missourians from developing opioid use disorders. The legislation, sponsored by Republican state Reps. Melanie Stinnett of Springfield, Brian Seitz of Branson, Tara Peters of Rolla and […]
Steph Quinn