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An investigation into alleged misconduct by Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher remains ongoing, as a panel of state lawmakers emerged from a nearly three hour behind-closed-doors hearing on Wednesday and gave no indication of when the inquiry will conclude.  The investigation of Plocher could stretch into the next legislative session, which begins on Jan. 3. […]

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate failed to move forward Wednesday with a $111 billion spending package that would have bolstered aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the Southern border amid deep disagreement about immigration policy. The 49-51 procedural vote, which needed at least 60 senators to advance the bill toward final passage, represents a significant […]

The post Divided over immigration, U.S. Senate blocks advancing aid for Ukraine, Israel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The chair of the House Oversight Committee is calling on a government watchdog to investigate any “political interference” in the site selection process for the new FBI headquarters. In addition, as House Republicans step up their interest in the growing dispute between Maryland and Virginia over where the headquarters should be moved from […]

The post U.S. House Oversight leader demands probe into ‘political interference’ in FBI HQ move appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The success of the U.S. Senate in passing a $106 billion global security supplemental aid package hinges on a bipartisan agreement about U.S. border security, but any deal was at an impasse Tuesday. “There will not be a national security bill unless and until there is serious and significant changes in security at […]

The post Border talks stuck as Senate nears vote on package for Israel, Ukraine aid appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This summer, Airbnb sued New York City over its short-term rental rules. But a judge dismissed the case, and New York’s crackdown on short-term rentals was big news in the fall. While a metropolis like New York might make for a nice headline, arguably less noteworthy places like U.S. college towns are also trudging their […]

The post Airbnb owners want to make a profit. College towns try to rein them in appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan measure that would require screening of U.S. private investments in high-tech enterprises in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia may not be included in Congress’ annual defense policy legislation. The Senate approved the so-called “outbound investment” amendment, 91-6, to its version of the National Defense Authorization Act in July, with proponents arguing it was needed […]

The post Senators review of U.S. investments in China but hit roadblock in House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped federal oversight from millions of acres of wetlands long protected under the Clean Water Act. Now, any safeguards to ensure those waters are not polluted, drained or filled in by development fall to the states. They’re finding that it’s not easy. “States and tribes already didn’t have […]

The post After Clean Water Act ruling, states that want to protect affected wetlands need millions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Sen. Karla Eslinger will be Missouri’s next commissioner of education beginning in June, the State Board of Education announced during its meeting Tuesday. Board President Charlie Shields told reporters Eslinger was the only candidate the board considered. The board has met in closed session twice since the last public meeting — in which current […]

The post Karla Eslinger announced as Missouri’s next commissioner of education appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Pulling off a successful ballot initiative campaign in Missouri is an undertaking so difficult that one Democratic political consultant compares it to skiing the slalom at the Olympics.  There is a laundry list of deadlines to meet, an army of signature gatherers to hire, a host of legal battles to fight — all with a […]

The post Missouri abortion-rights amendments face ‘torturous’ process to make it to 2024 ballot appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, Americans can be found at all points along the continuum when it comes to global climate change and the environmental crisis that accompanies it. Like many who’ve contemplated a grim healthcare diagnosis that seems to belie of how they feel in the moment, millions […]

The post Climate grief and the stark choice that confronts us appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation are leading a bipartisan effort to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency recruited the Hmong people as soldiers to help combat communism’s spread through Southeast Asia. The Hmong, who lived and worked as […]

The post Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War would receive Congressional Gold Medal under push by lawmakers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Andy Gipson gets concerned even when American allies such as the Netherlands and Germany invest in large swaths of Mississippi’s farmland. “It just bothers me at a gut level,” he said. For Gipson, Mississippi’s commissioner of agriculture and commerce, the growing trend of foreign ownership could threaten what he views as the state’s most valuable […]

The post This land is our land: States crack down on foreign-owned farm fields appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — As Congress negotiates the White House’s $106 billion supplemental aid request for Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security, fights over immigration policy have tied up the request. The White House sent its proposal that includes nearly $14 billion in supplemental border security funding to Congress in late October, but it will likely look different after going through […]

The post Congress is haggling over border security: Where does it stand? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The first day was a breeze.  Sean Shannon and Danny Foster walked into several marijuana dispensaries around Missouri with their matching “Union For Cannabis Workers” shirts and talked to employees about the possibility of unionizing. “The first day, there were 57 stops amongst the teams,” said Shannon, lead organizer with UFCW Local 655, which actually […]

The post Cannabis workers across Missouri begin push to unionize dispensaries  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Hundreds of election workers in Washington state’s second-largest county were busy opening mail-in ballots earlier this month when one of them came across a plain white envelope. As she cut it open, white powder leaked out. She carefully took off her gloves, put them down, backed away and called her supervisor. Workers evacuated the building […]

The post In face of threats, election workers vow: ‘You are not disrupting the democratic process’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Utilities in Kansas and Missouri would have to pull hundreds of thousands of lead pipes out of the ground within 10 years under a proposed rule the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday. The EPA announced a proposed update to the lead and copper rule strengthening President Joe Biden’s earlier goal of eradicating lead pipes. The […]

The post Kansas and Missouri have 256,000 lead pipes. EPA wants them removed within 10 years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — New York Republican George Santos on Friday became the sixth lawmaker in history and the first member of the GOP to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. The 311-114 bipartisan vote, which required two-thirds support, followed months of scandal that culminated in a federal criminal indictment and a damning report from the […]

The post New York Republican George Santos expelled by U.S. House in bipartisan vote appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging period for Missouri and the entire nation, with few positive outcomes to highlight. However, one notable exception has been the advancement of telehealth services, especially audio-only telehealth, which emerged as a critical healthcare solution during this crisis. Although the use of telehealth has declined with society returning to […]

The post Promoting telehealth in Missouri is a step to making health care more accessible, cost-effective appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Jody Dorcy has been living with HIV for 20 years. He said the hardest part about having HIV is the stigma surrounding it. Society thinks he’s “contagious,” “dirty” and “infectious.” But, Dorcy said, people with HIV shouldn’t be treated differently. “Just not being part of the HIV-negative world, being that person that’s different … it’s […]

The post HIV prevention, education improve in Missouri. But stigma still stands appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Thursday passed a bill to bar the use of public lands for temporary housing for migrants applying for asylum. The bill, H.R. 5283, passed with a majority of Republicans in support, 224-203.  Six Democrats voted with Republicans: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Vicente […]

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