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U.S. House votes to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker

1 year 11 months ago

WASHINGTON — Dissident Republicans in the U.S. House voted with Democrats on Tuesday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that came just nine months after he secured the gavel following days of negotiating with the GOP’s right flank and 15 rounds of voting. It wasn’t immediately clear after the vote how the […]

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Jennifer Shutt

Faith-based maternity homes ‘create a haven’ in states with strict abortion laws

1 year 11 months ago

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. — At the end of a gravel road that runs through a wooded property in Chilton County, Alabama, a plain white two-story house sits overlooking a small pond. Outside the house, everything is tranquil: The swings on the new playground nearby are quiet, the pond is still, the rocking chairs lined up […]

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Anna Claire Vollers

Missouri Capitol renovation plan mentions accessibility. Does this include reporters?

1 year 11 months ago

A common anecdote used by disability activists is that the Roman Colosseum is wheelchair accessible.  Translation: Historic buildings have no excuse. But Missouri’s Capitol has long had a myriad of stairways that create a maze for anyone utilizing a wheelchair. I’ve seen parents struggle lifting a stroller over a small set of stairs above the […]

The post Missouri Capitol renovation plan mentions accessibility. Does this include reporters? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Annelise Hanshaw

Revised stalking, threat policies at University of Missouri may make punishment more difficult

1 year 11 months ago

The University of Missouri’s redefined stalking and threat policies use language from a June Supreme Court decision that might make it more difficult to punish people who engage in stalking or make threats. The UM System Board of Curators voted Sept. 7 to approve amendments to the UM System’s Collected Rules and Regulations, specifically the […]

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Anna Colletto

Judge tosses Torch lawsuit seeking to block Missouri Highway Patrol gambling investigations

1 year 11 months ago

A civil case that could have settled whether video games that offer cash prizes to players are illegal gambling devices won’t settle anything. At least not any time soon. On Monday, with a trial set to begin Tuesday morning, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green dismissed the lawsuit seeking to stop the Missouri State Highway […]

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Rudi Keller

Next battle in Congress over Ukraine aid, as Biden presses House speaker for vote

1 year 11 months ago

WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers are searching for a way to clear more aid for Ukraine, after Congress approved a short-term spending bill that didn’t include any additional money for the country. President Joe Biden on Sunday said that U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to find the votes needed to pass a supplemental […]

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Jennifer Shutt

It’s hazing season on college campuses. State safeguards are uneven

1 year 11 months ago

Max Gruver spent the early morning hours of Sept. 14, 2017, heavily intoxicated and passed out on a couch inside the Phi Delta Theta chapter house at Louisiana State University. He had been forced to repeatedly chug 190-proof Diesel liquor in a hazing ritual called “Bible Study,” during which pledges are quizzed on fraternity facts. […]

The post It’s hazing season on college campuses. State safeguards are uneven appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Amanda Hernandez

Gaming parlors are popping up across Missouri. Courts have yet to determine if they are illegal

1 year 11 months ago

MOBERLY – Nestled between the offices of a small loan company and an insurance brokerage, Hot Shots Internet Cafe offers neither internet access nor any sort of nourishment.  But what Hot Shots does offer is more than a dozen games that look like slot machines offering cash prizes to anyone willing to risk a dollar.  […]

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Rudi Keller

Out-of-state donors fuel pair of GOP candidates running for Missouri governor, AG

1 year 11 months ago

Becoming a registered Republican was the worst decision B.J. Adams says he ever made. Adams, a resident of Burlington, North Carolina, isn’t upset with GOP policies. And he loves former President Donald Trump.  But when the 87-year-old conservative who grew up a Democrat finally switched his party registration, he said it unleashed a torrent of […]

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Rudi Keller

Reclaiming our voices of reason amid all the craziness

1 year 11 months ago

In this political season, where it seems that anything is up for interpretation and speculation — truths, codes of ethics, rules of law — where do we turn for a sense of direction or best decision-making? The craziness occurring in our nation’s capital, or our state legislatures, is not all there is. What craziness, you […]

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Janice Ellis

Congress clears bill to avert shutdown, with vote promised later on Ukraine aid

1 year 11 months ago

WASHINGTON — Congress approved a bill Saturday night that would stave off a government shutdown until at least mid-November, though the measure doesn’t include Ukraine aid backed by both Republicans and Democrats. The bipartisan 88-9 vote in the U.S. Senate, just hours before a midnight deadline, took place after the U.S. House earlier in the […]

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Jennifer Shutt

Government shutdown nears: U.S. House GOP fails to pass one-month spending plan

1 year 11 months ago

WASHINGTON — A sweeping government shutdown appeared inevitable on Friday, with the U.S. Senate stuck in a procedural holding pattern on its bipartisan stopgap bill and divided U.S. House Republicans unable to pass their short-term spending bill. Both chambers of Congress must approve and President Joe Biden must sign government funding legislation before midnight on […]

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Jennifer Shutt

Women workers could bear economic brunt as federal child care funding ends

1 year 11 months ago

A huge chunk of pandemic relief funding that kept child care programs afloat for the past few years is set to run out Saturday, and policy advocates say the economic impact will be profound — with the ripple effect hurting labor force participation and consumer spending at a time when the country is still trying […]

The post Women workers could bear economic brunt as federal child care funding ends appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Casey Quinlan

Shutdown would mean even more delays in overwhelmed U.S. immigration courts

1 year 11 months ago

WASHINGTON — A looming partial government shutdown will put added pressure on an already strained system — U.S. immigration courts. Canceling or rescheduling court cases that many immigrants have awaited for years will cause even more backlogs, immigration attorneys and judges have warned. “Where we’ll really kind of see the backlog continue to build will […]

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Ariana Figueroa

Congenital syphilis rates are soaring, but resources to stem infections are lacking

1 year 11 months ago

States are seeing an alarming surge in cases of congenital syphilis, a preventable infection that can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, newborn death — or lifelong complications such as blindness or deafness. Congenital syphilis, which occurs when a pregnant mother infected with the sexually transmitted infection syphilis passes it on to her fetus, disproportionately affects Black and […]

The post Congenital syphilis rates are soaring, but resources to stem infections are lacking appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Nada Hassanein

Congress takes aim at state animal welfare laws

1 year 11 months ago

Earlier this year, Oregon Democrats pushed through state legislation that allows local governments to require setbacks between neighbors and factory farming operations. The law prohibits farms from drawing unlimited amounts of free groundwater and requires farmers to apply for a permit before applying manure to their fields. It’s the kind of state regulation at risk […]

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Kevin Hardy

Advocacy group tells feds Missouri’s proposed disability changes could violate law

1 year 11 months ago

The federally-funded organization responsible for protecting the rights of people with disabilities in Missouri believes a proposed change in how the state pays for at-home care could violate the law.  Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services, which was established in 1977, said in a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that it is […]

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Clara Bates

Student debt relief scams on the rise. Here’s what borrowers need to know

1 year 11 months ago

Complaints about student debt relief scams are increasing as the date approaches for borrowers to restart payment on their student loans after more than a three-year pause. Consumer protection advocates say that the Biden administration’s student debt relief efforts, the subsequent halting of those policies by the courts, and the restart of student loan payments […]

The post Student debt relief scams on the rise. Here’s what borrowers need to know appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Casey Quinlan

Appeals court sets hearing date on Missouri abortion rights initiative ballot title

1 year 11 months ago

The next legal wrestling match over what Missouri voters would see if an abortion-rights initiative petition makes next year’s ballot is scheduled for Oct. 30 before judges of Western District Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel will hear oral arguments that day on Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s appeal of Cole County Circuit Judge Jon […]

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Rudi Keller

Who polices hospitals merging across markets? States give different answers

1 year 11 months ago

St. Louis’ largest health system, BJC HealthCare, plans to merge with Kansas City’s second-largest, Saint Luke’s Health System, uniting more than 28 hospitals on both sides of Missouri by the end of this year. The merger, which would span markets 250 miles apart and include facilities in neighboring Kansas and Illinois, is just one of […]

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Samantha Liss