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WASHINGTON — During an otherworldly hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, lawmakers and witnesses launched accusations that the Pentagon is stonewalling Congress and the public from information about unidentified anomalous phenomena, more often referred to as UFOs. That includes a 2014 encounter when a “dark gray or black cube inside a clear sphere” traveled within 50 […]

The post Is there evidence of extraterrestrial life? Congress tries to figure it out appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday faced off with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who did not directly call for his impeachment but strongly criticized his oversight of the agency. “I know that today Secretary Mayorkas is going to try to paint a rosy picture of this disastrous […]

The post Biden border policies ripped by U.S. House GOP as impeachment threats ramp up  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators approved bipartisan amendments to the annual defense policy bill Tuesday night that would prohibit China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing U.S. farmland and screen American investment in high-tech ventures on foreign adversary soil. By a 91-7 vote, the lawmakers approved a measure that would require review of — and […]

The post U.S. Senate votes to curb farmland purchases by China, Iran, North Korea, Russia appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Municipalities in Missouri are attempting to restrict drag performances as obscenity or a planning-and-development concern, with Branson among the first after advancing an ordinance Tuesday night limiting drag to a small area of town. Rolla recently tried to limit drag, but an ordinance defining it as obscene, failed during a city council meeting last week. […]

The post Branson places ‘adult performance’ restrictions on drag shows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson should halt the Aug. 1 execution of Johnny Johnson, compassionately commuting his sentence to life in prison because he is severely mentally ill and doesn’t seem to even know why he would be killed. If he’s executed, it would only perpetuate our collective neglect of society’s most vulnerable people. There’s no doubt […]

The post Missouri governor should commute death sentence of mentally-ill prisoner appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — On what would have been the 82nd birthday of Emmett Till, a Black boy kidnapped and murdered by two white men in Mississippi, President Joe Biden on Tuesday designated a new national monument at sites connected to the lynching that became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. “Telling the truth and the […]

The post Decrying attempts to ‘bury history,’ Biden designates Emmett Till national monument appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A handful of ultra-conservative U.S. House Republicans rebuked their leadership on Tuesday over the annual government funding process, but appeared at odds on whether they should force a government shutdown later this year. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs at a news conference mostly ruled out a funding lapse, though Virginia Rep. Bob Good left […]

The post ‘We should not fear a government shutdown’: Far-right U.S. House members slam spending bills appeared first on Missouri Independent.

From winter storms to sweltering summer heat, there’s a consensus among experts that increasing extreme weather, a shifting electric generation mix, delays in getting new power generation projects connected and the difficulties in getting new transmission lines and other infrastructure built all pose an increasing risk to the grid. At U.S. Senate committee hearings as well as Federal […]

The post Winter is coming and the U.S. grid remains vulnerable to power plant failures appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Eric Greitens, the disgraced former Missouri governor whose Senate campaign cratered last year under allegations of domestic abuse, tip-toed back onto the political stage this week with a column for a pro-Trump news site declaring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential hopes dead.   In the column entitled “Accept It, Already: DeSantis is Done,” Greitens writes that […]

The post A year after Missouri Senate collapse, Eric Greitens reemerges to bash Ron DeSantis appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When it comes to racial equity, state Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove of Kansas City and St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt typically land on the same side. But on Amendment 3— the constitutional amendment that legalized recreational marijuana in November — they couldn’t be further apart.  On Monday morning, they both appeared on KCUR […]

The post Divide over lack of Black ownership in Missouri marijuana bubbles up in radio debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Monday announced $33 million in funding to 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities designated as land-grant institutions to support research and education projects. The funding through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will support 82 projects in sustainable farming practices such as reducing use of plastics, enhancing nutritional value […]

The post USDA to provide $33M for agriculture projects at 19 HBCU land-grant institutions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An all-male panel of anti-abortion religious leaders from around the country met Friday night to discuss the strategies that should be used to end abortion in every state at any stage of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape and incest, and with criminal punishment for the pregnant person in line with existing criminal penalties for murder, […]

The post Male anti-abortion religious leaders mull murder charges for pregnant people at national event appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Faced with alarming teacher shortages, Virginia last month agreed to partner with a for-profit online teacher credentialing company, hoping to get more teachers into classrooms faster and without the higher tuition costs of traditional colleges and universities. While some of the Virginia school board members had qualms about the process, they agreed to give it […]

The post Plagued by teacher shortages, some states turn to fast-track credentialing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Child care providers who accept a subsidy from the state to serve low-income families will see a boost in payments next month, thanks to a $78.5 million funding increase approved by Missouri lawmakers earlier this year.  The funding hike, included in the state budget signed by the governor, went into effect July 1. It won’t […]

The post A $78 million boost to Missouri’s child care subsidy slated to reach providers next month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Much of what we are witnessing in local and national politics goes beyond typical partisan policy differences and divides. There are real efforts to dismantle what America has purported to be about — A land where all of its citizens have the same rights under the Constitution. Some of the rhetoric and proposed policies in […]

The post America is treading in perilous and unprecedented historical waters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marcella Roberson is ready to move. She and her 17-year-old son have been looking for a new apartment for four years because, she says, they’ve suffered domestic violence in their current living situation in Camden, New Jersey. She hopes her federal housing voucher can bring them a new home and a chance at safety. But […]

The post Some states protect Section 8 renters, but enforcement is elusive appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri, with record numbers of overdoses in the last four years and 2023 on course to be another record year. Data points to a nearly 75% increase in overdoses in Missouri since 2019, and last year was the second consecutive year that fentanyl accounted for over two-thirds of […]

The post Fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri with record numbers of overdoses appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday approved a proposal to impose a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court, amid revelations that justices failed to disclose luxury travel and real estate deals, as well as directing staff to promote book sales. The panel split along party lines, in an 11-10 vote, […]

The post Ethics rules for Supreme Court justices approved on party-line vote by U.S. Senate panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years, including a big increase in subsidies for airlines providing flights to smaller markets. The chamber voted 351-67 to approve the bill, which would authorize $104 billion for the agency through 2028, increase authorized spending levels for rural aviation programs and […]

The post Federal aviation bill passed by U.S. House, with boost for smaller airports appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Members of a national anti-abortion religious organization called Operation Save America are in Atlanta this week to protest at a local abortion clinic and to discuss new strategies for achieving a national prohibition on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Operation Save America began as Operation Rescue in 1986 and became more well known in […]

The post National abortion ban eyed as group marks ‘Siege of Atlanta’ protests 35 years ago appeared first on Missouri Independent.