Helping a pregnant minor travel to get a legal abortion without parental consent is now a crime in at least two Republican-led states, prompting legal action by abortion-rights advocates and copycat legislation from conservative lawmakers in a handful of other states. Last year, Idaho became the first state to outlaw “abortion trafficking,” which it defined […]
A pair of administrative law judges are suing the Parson administration claiming wrongful termination and illegal withholding of salary. Ryan Asbridge, who has served as an administrative law judge since 2019, and Gina Mitten, who has served since 2021, filed a lawsuit last week in Cole Circuit Court. They allege the administration of Gov. Mike […]
Twenty years ago, only the most environmentally minded of homebuyers worried much about solar panels, insulation ratings or the value of a heat pump. Today, all those factors matter in a market where energy bills take on growing importance in homebuyers’ calculations. Green home technologies have become more ordinary, even expected (and sometimes mandated by […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine intended to address severe symptoms of the virus ahead of the cold and flu season. The new booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer follow a summer of increasing COVID-19 cases and are designed to better address the variants that are […]
A lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks to block a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing sports wagering in Missouri from being placed on the November ballot. The suit, filed in Cole County Circuit Court, argues the methodology used by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office to certify that the sports betting proposal collected enough signatures was unconstitutional. To […]
The governor’s ban on intoxicating hemp products hit a delay Wednesday after Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft rejected the emergency rules detailing how it would have been enforced. Gov. Mike Parson signed an executive order earlier this month to remove all hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages from store shelves and threatening penalties to any […]
A federal watchdog this month told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that its regulatory oversight of Seresto flea-and-tick collars, which have been linked to more than 2,000 pet deaths, was not “adequate.” Federal scrutiny of the Seresto collars started in 2021, after Investigate Midwest and USA TODAY revealed the collar was linked to tens of […]
Americans are racking up credit card debt as they struggle to keep up with the cost of living, and experts say those who earn the least are the hardest hit. Total credit card balances rose 5.8% from a year ago, to $1.14 trillion, according to a recent New York Fed report. Equifax credit files through June show […]
CHICAGO — Actress and climate activist Julia Louis-Dreyfus asked eight Democratic women governors Wednesday if she would be ready for public office after playing a vice president and president on the hit cable TV show “Veep.” “You’re more qualified than Donald Trump, don’t worry about it,” New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul quickly replied, to […]
The desire for artificial intelligence skills in new hires has exploded over the last five years, and continues to be a priority for hiring managers across nearly every industry, data from Stanford University’s annual AI Index Report found. In 2023, 1.6% of all United States-based jobs required AI skills, a slight dip from the 2% posted in […]
The number of people languishing in Missouri jails in need of court-ordered mental health treatment currently stands at 344 — and the wait time for a hospital bed averages one year. That’s up from 254 people this time last year, according to Missouri Department of Mental Health data provided to The Independent. A spokeswoman for the […]
Superintendent Jennifer Collier understands why families weren’t inspired by the last Kansas City Public Schools building plan. “It really just felt like … trying to convince people why they should be OK with us taking away their school,” she said. A new plan to build at least two new schools and renovate others, reshuffle students […]
Being civil seems like the bare minimum of what we owe each other, yet studies show that incivility is on the rise in our country. A 2019 Pew Research survey found that 68% of those surveyed wanted elected officials to exhibit a tone of civility and respect in politics. Yet we watch politicians talk past each other […]
CHICAGO — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told reporters Tuesday that working-class people can see themselves in the new Democratic presidential ticket. “There’s a very distinct difference in these two people and where they stand with working-class people,” Fain said of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. […]
Organizers behind an abortion-rights amendment that will appear on Missouri’s November ballot filed a lawsuit last week alleging the “fair ballot language” written by the secretary of state’s office is “intentionally argumentative” and bound to create confusion for voters. Amendment 3 asks voters if they want to legalize abortion up until the point of fetal […]
As renters and would-be homeowners struggle with the high cost of housing, the Biden administration has announced policies to address this strain on household budgets. That includes $100 million in funding for a program to incentivize affordable housing production and streamlining loan application processes to expedite building more housing. Some of those proposals – such […]
A group hoping to build a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing it collected more than enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot. The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee is asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Missouri secretary of state’s office […]
The typical U.S. worker’s pay is about the same as it was in late 2019, after accounting for inflation. But workers in some states have seen sharply higher earnings, especially in scenic areas that are appealing to remote workers and have labor shortages. In Montana, for example, average pay has increased 28.3% since before the […]
Agribusiness giant Bayer won a legal victory last week in long-running litigation over whether its popular Roundup pesticide has caused cancer. The case started in 2019, when a husband and wife in Pennsylvania sued Missouri-based Monsanto, which Bayer purchased in 2018, and alleged the company had violated state law by not including a cancer warning […]
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