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Barb Anderson, director of Haven House in Jeffersonville, Indiana, works with homeless people to place them into housing. It’s a job that has shown her firsthand the severe health issues facing unhoused people in southern Indiana, where many people live in tents in the woods and under bridges. She is currently working with an older […]

The post High mortality rate of homeless highlighted in new report appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ladbrokes, the London gambling house where bets can be placed on anything from badminton matches to whether Ron DeSantis will be elected vice president in 2024, isn’t offering odds on Missouri adopting sports betting. But the top Republican and Democrat in the state Senate agreed last week that the chances are slim with only five […]

The post Sports wagering bill remains mired in Missouri Senate split over gambling expansion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — As some in the Republican Party call for halting aid to Ukraine, other GOP members of Congress are doubling down on supporting the war-torn nation and even criticizing the Biden administration for not doing enough. Several Republican members of the U.S. House traveled to Ukraine during a congressional recess in early April to […]

The post Not all Republicans feel ‘Ukraine fatigue,’ as GOP splits over continued aid appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Late last month, Missouri’s House passed a budget that would strip all state funding for public libraries — $4.5 million in total. Republican lawmakers say they are doing this to retaliate against a lawsuit by Missouri librarians, who hope to see a new law against “explicit sexual material” in schools — in reality, a book […]

The post Missouri’s new effort to punish libraries is vindictive and harmful appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a press release and tweets announcing his amicus brief in a Texas abortion case, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey describes a relatively limited objection to a recent FDA policy change, which allows for medication abortion to be dispensed at pharmacies.  After summarizing the brief’s claims that medication abortion is unsafe, the press release states: […]

The post Missouri AG doesn’t want the public to know he’s pushing wild legal theories in abortion cases appeared first on Missouri Independent.

 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice launched an appeals process Friday that will likely put a landmark decision about access to medication abortion in front of the Supreme Court.  The notice of appeal was filed less than three hours after a federal judge in Texas revoked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval […]

The post Biden administration appeals judge’s ruling ordering abortion pill off U.S. market appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in 11 states have either passed or introduced laws to roll back child labor laws — a push that’s come from industry trade organizations and mostly conservative legislators as businesses scramble for low-wage workers.  In the past two years, those states have moved to extend working hours for children, eliminate work permit […]

The post Kids at work: States try to ease child labor laws at behest of industry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Biden administration will advance a rule to make it more difficult for schools to exclude transgender youth athletes from competition based on their gender identity, a senior U.S. Education Department official told reporters Thursday. The proposed rule would prohibit blanket bans of transgender athletes competing in sports consistent with their gender identity. But it […]

The post Biden rule on transgender athletes would set conditions on school sports bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate passed two separate tax relief bills Thursday as part of a bipartisan compromise effort. SB 143, sponsored by Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, is a combination of tax credits and exemptions pushed for by Democrats. The bill raises the tax credit limit for food pantry donations, exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from […]

The post Missouri Senate reaches deal on GOP tax cut for guns, Democrat tax cut for diapers and tampons appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Senate committee heard proposed legislation Wednesday that would enshrine the role of county sheriff’s departments into the state constitution. The resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 42, was introduced to the Senate Committee on General Laws by Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby. If enacted into law, it would make it impossible for a sheriff’s department to be shut […]

The post Missouri Republicans push for ‘constitutional sheriffs’ amendment to go to voters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

More than 200,000 lead service pipes carry drinking water to Missouri families, according to a new estimate from the Environmental Protection Agency.  New lead water pipes have been banned for more than 30 years. But the EPA estimates that 9.2 million American households still get their water through aging lead pipes.  Just over 2% of […]

The post EPA estimates more than 200,000 lead pipes remain in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Jay Ashcroft, Missouri’s secretary of state and son of one of the most successful Republican politicians in state history, announced Thursday morning he was joining the 2024 race for governor. In a statement announcing his candidacy on social media, Ashcroft said Missouri “stands at a crossroads.” “Red states like Florida, Texas, Tennessee, even Indiana and […]

The post Jay Ashcroft makes it official: He’s running for Missouri governor in 2024 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats appear lukewarm about pursuing reproductive rights legislation in a divided Congress, even as a federal judge in Texas considers overturning access to abortion pills nationwide. Interviews by States Newsroom with Democrats who control the Senate by a narrow margin found little optimism they could counter a ruling that could potentially […]

The post As future of abortion pill is weighed, Democrats in Congress see little they can do appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate voted against allowing video lottery games Wednesday evening, but it was unable to get a bill authorizing sports wagering to a vote. A Senate impasse on expanded gambling has blocked bills legalizing sports betting in each of the past two legislative sessions. In both years, as it did again this year, the […]

The post Missouri Senate once again unable to reach a deal on sports wagering legislation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marijuana will soon be more expensive in dozens of municipalities around the state following Tuesday’s elections where almost all of the local sales tax measures passed handily. Many voters around the state saw an extra question on their ballots, asking if they wanted to add a 3% tax to marijuana and other items sold by […]

The post Local marijuana sales taxes pass easily in most communities in Missouri elections appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri legislators heard testimony Tuesday night urging them to remove an anti-abortion provision from a bill that seeks to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage out of concern it could put federal approval at risk. The House Committee on General Laws heard a bill passed out of the Senate in February that would extend postpartum Medicaid coverage […]

The post Lawmakers weigh removing abortion language from Missouri bill extending postpartum care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a draft report in February that found a “pressing need” for new electric transmission infrastructure across the country to improve reliability, connect a rapidly growing number of solar, wind and battery storage projects, supply increasing electric demand and alleviate scattered pockets of consistently high prices across the country. To […]

The post Inside the battle over who gets to build the grid of the future appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 New York state felony offenses related to what prosecutors say were hush money payments to an adult film star. In a brief but historic appearance in a Manhattan trial court, Trump, the first former president to face criminal prosecution, learned he was charged with falsifying […]

The post Trump hit with 34 felony counts of falsifying New York state business records appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri Senate committee heard testimony Tuesday on a bill that would allow a school district to  accept transfer students from outside its boundaries. The bill narrowly passed the Missouri House last month on a 85-69 vote. “Providing access to instructional programs and classes that may not be available in every resident district. [Open enrollment] […]

The post Open enrollment gets hearing in Missouri Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Not all of us have the capacity or opportunity to save a life.  Many Americans would strongly consider sacrificing themselves to help a fellow American. There’s a simple way each reader could do that, and it wouldn’t cost much at all.  It’s about becoming an organ donor. Donating your organs is something most people don’t […]

The post Have a heart: Please consider becoming an organ donor appeared first on Missouri Independent.