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Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision granting the presumption of criminal immunity for official actions taken by a president fundamentally altered U.S. democracy, President Joe Biden said from the White House Monday evening. Speaking for less than five minutes, Biden said the 6-3 decision contradicted the spirit of the country’s founding — set to be celebrated nationwide this week on […]

The post ‘No kings in America’: Biden slams U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting Trump immunity appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Violent crime in the United States dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to the FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime Report released earlier this month. The FBI’s data, collected from nearly 12,000 law enforcement agencies representing about 77% of the country’s population, suggests violent crime dropped by […]

The post Despite what some politicians say, crime rates are decreasing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

NEW YORK — As temperatures soared into the 90s, the heat and humidity hit the concrete in Astoria, Queens, and bounced into the air. People moved along the scorched sidewalk slowly, their clothes drenched with sweat. Elianne Alvarado, 44, who was raised in New York City and has lived here for most of her life, […]

The post Cooler states now forced to grapple with extreme heat fueled by climate change appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Despite resistance from lawmakers in both Kansas and Missouri, Liberty Hospital has officially joined the University of Kansas Health System, executives announced Monday. Leaders of the health system announced the completion of the merger Monday in a short video Monday alongside the CEO of Liberty Hospital, located in the Kansas City suburbs north of the […]

The post Liberty Hospital officially joins University of Kansas Health System appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. presidents enjoy full immunity from criminal charges for their official “core constitutional” acts, but no immunity for unofficial acts, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, sending former President Donald Trump’s case back to the lower courts. The justices left open the question of how far official acts can reach, possibly reshaping the contours […]

The post Presidential immunity extends to some official acts, Supreme Court rules in Trump case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Crews working to clean up the West Lake Landfill in St. Louis County detected contamination in nearby groundwater, forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether radium might have left the site. In a periodic update to nearby communities last month, the EPA said it would add groundwater monitoring wells around the site, which […]

The post Radium in groundwater near West Lake Landfill in St. Louis County forces more testing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Now that we have had the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, did either exhibit the qualities and competencies to earn your vote? Electing the best candidate is not up to big money contributors, political parties and partisan talking heads drowning the airways. It is left up to us as Missourians, joining […]

The post Think about what non-negotiable qualifications will determine who you vote for appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Four former Missouri correctional officers face murder charges and a fifth is charged with involuntary manslaughter for the December death of a man incarcerated at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. Othel Moore, 38, was pepper-sprayed in the face multiple times, had his face improperly covered by a hood that blocked his nose and mouth and […]

The post Missouri corrections officers charged with murder in death of inmate in restraints appeared first on Missouri Independent.

More than 170 items were struck from the Missouri state budget Friday as Gov. Mike Parson cut $1 billion from the spending plan passed this year by lawmakers. In a statement explaining his cuts, Parson said he vetoed earmarked items that he believes were loaded into the budget for special projects and organizations without considering […]

The post Missouri governor slashes $1 billion from state budget approved by lawmakers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden touched on a flood of criticism of his debate performance during a rally on Friday, while Democrats interviewed on Capitol Hill said the party must figure out a way to reassure voters after what they described as a “terrible” showing and a “bad night.” Biden, speaking from Raleigh, North Carolina, […]

The post Democrats reel from ‘terrible’ Biden debate performance as he defends candidacy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A former Pennsylvania police officer who joined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that delayed the certification of the 2020 presidential election results cannot be charged with obstructing an official proceeding unless a lower court finds otherwise, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday. The ruling throws into question the cases […]

The post U.S. Supreme Court ruling on obstruction law helps cases of Jan. 6 defendants appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The right-wing conspiracy website Gateway Pundit is accused of abusing the bankruptcy process to escape accountability in defamation lawsuits stemming from its false claims about the 2020 election.  Gateway Pundit, founded in St. Louis by brothers Jim and Joe Hoft, filed for bankruptcy in April as it was facing defamation lawsuits in Missouri and Colorado. […]

The post St. Louis-based Gateway Pundit accused of using bankruptcy to derail defamation suits appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a precedent Friday that had for decades limited judicial power to strike executive branch regulations, in a decision immediately criticized for potentially undermining decisions by scientists and agency experts. The 6-3 and 6-2 decisions in two cases brought by fishing operators in New Jersey and Rhode Island challenged a […]

The post U.S. Supreme Court flips precedent that empowered federal agencies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Friday sided with a local ordinance in Oregon that effectively bans homeless people from sleeping outdoors, and local governments will be allowed to enforce those laws. In a 6-3 decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the opinion that the enforcement of those local laws that regulate camping on public property does […]

The post U.S. Supreme Court sides with Oregon city, allows ban on homeless people sleeping outdoors appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Michael Mullen donates blood plasma every Tuesday and Thursday. He has for 12 years. The money it brings in — a little over $100 a week — augments what he makes as a chef. He’s come to rely on it. “It helps supplement bill paying,” he said recently, smoking a cigarette outside the Biomat USA […]

The post Plasma donors in Kansas City are helping fuel a $34 billion industry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It is not every day that a prosecutor takes the extraordinary step of asking a court to vacate a criminal conviction, let alone one carrying a death sentence. In the case of Marcellus Williams, St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell did so after he reviewed the case and found “clear and convincing evidence” that […]

The post St. Louis County prosecutor thinks Marcellus Williams is innocent. He’s still set to be executed appeared first on Missouri Independent.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump pitched to undecided voters Thursday night during the first debate of the presidential campaign — trading insults over their policy differences, immigration and who represents a threat to democracy. During the debate from CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, the two men argued over who can do better for […]

The post Biden and Trump trade insults, accusations of lying in acrimonious presidential debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Hundreds of earmarked items in the $51.7 billion budget passed by lawmakers this year will be vetoed, Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday, just days before the new fiscal year begins. Speaking with reporters after groundbreaking for a new multi-agency state laboratory, Parson had two criticisms for the budget plan — it goes overboard on earmarks […]

The post Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says he plans to veto hundreds of earmarked spending items appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Prominent members of the GOP on Wednesday strongly criticized the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. As the fate of a key Biden administration effort to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination […]

The post House Speaker Johnson, Betsy DeVos lead attack on Title IX rule that protects LGBTQ+ kids appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As expected after the court said it inadvertently uploaded the opinion prematurely on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday remanding a case about emergency abortions in Idaho back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for now. The decision was 6-3, with conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissenting. It was issued […]

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