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The U.S. House moved Wednesday to avoid an economically disastrous nationwide rail strike, voting to codify an agreement that members of some unions had already rejected and separately add paid sick leave that workers had demanded. The two-track approach allows Democrats to avert a strike that could cost the U.S. economy up to $2 billion […]

The post U.S. House votes to avert calamitous rail strike, but Senate prospects murky appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The three U.S. House Democrats who have led their party through four presidencies and thousands of floor votes formally passed the torch to the next generation Wednesday, when the party gathered behind closed doors to elect its top leaders for the 118th Congress.  House Democrats named Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, as their […]

The post U.S. House Democrats make history electing first Black party leader in Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON —  Members of a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee panel raised concerns during a Tuesday hearing that a proposed merger between two of the largest U.S. supermarket chains could mean a monopoly on groceries and lead to higher food prices for Americans. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who chairs the Subcommittee on Competition […]

The post Albertsons-Kroger mega-deal raises questions from lawmakers about higher food prices appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A coal-fired power plant must cut emissions and an aluminum smelter must spend millions to rid a community in Missouri’s Bootheel of sulfur dioxide pollution by 2026 under a deal with state environmental regulators.  Part of New Madrid County is out of compliance with Environmental Protection Agency standards for having triple the limit of sulfur […]

The post Sulfur dioxide pollution in the Bootheel breaks EPA rules. Regulators look to fix it appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Corporate executives with political beliefs aligned with the person serving as president of the United States tend to express that partisan affinity with more optimistic business forecasts and disclosures, university researchers say. Research published by faculty at the University of Kansas and San Diego State University indicated business officers, whether identified as supporters of Republican […]

The post Corporate executives offer rosier business forecasts if politically aligned with a U.S. president appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would enshrine protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, codifying many of the rights that would disappear if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn those landmark decisions the way it overturned the nationwide right to an abortion this summer.  The 61-36 bipartisan vote sends the bill […]

The post Same-sex marriage protected under bill passed by U.S. Senate with GOP support appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said Tuesday he is “flabbergasted” retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt supports a bill adding federal legal protections to same-sex marriages. Ashcroft, a Republican considering a bid for governor in 2024, sent Blunt a letter Tuesday asking him to reverse his stance and work to block the Respect for Marriage […]

The post Ashcroft criticizes Blunt support for Senate bill protecting same-sex marriage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon.  Gregg Lombardi estimates the Lykins neighborhood in northeast Kansas City is on track to win the battle against blight by next year. The Lykins Neighborhood Association and Neighborhood Legal Support of Kansas City, both of which Lombardi directs, have been working to support residents and make abandoned homes […]

The post Kansas City’s historic northeast pushes back against proposed school closures appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Supreme Court late Monday night refused to delay the execution of Kevin Johnson, a St. Louis man sentenced to die for a murder he committed when he was 19.  The execution of Johnson, who was convicted in 2007 of killing a police officer, will be carried out during the 24-hour period beginning at […]

The post Missouri Supreme Court denies stay for Kevin Johnson’s execution appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]

The post Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Among the items on Congress’ lengthy to-do list by the end of the year is U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s proposal to speed up the federal government’s permitting process that certifies energy projects do not harm the environment. But the bill, which was a condition of the centrist West Virginia Democrat’s support for his party’s larger […]

The post Little appetite for Manchin permitting bill in congressional lame-duck session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For the first time in its history, the only real limit on what Missouri can buy on a cash-and-carry basis is the imagination of the people spending the money. The state treasury is bulging with more than $6 billion in surplus cash, the result of 28 months of double-digit revenue growth and federal payments tied […]

The post Missouri state budget is bulging with $6 billion in surplus cash appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There are any number of takeaways one can glean from the recent midterm elections. But one that should be getting more attention is that the public is sick and tired of bitter bickering and obsession with false issues at the expense of the real ones that need fixing. As Congress and state legislatures around the […]

The post Dear elected officials: Stop the infighting and do your jobs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Sunday night, I sat on the couch, a cocktail in hand, watching Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes trot onto the field. Trailing the Los Angeles Chargers by four, Kansas City needed to drive 75 yards in the final 1:46 to score a touchdown. A field goal would not be enough. And yet, there I reclined on […]

The post For Kansas City area fans, sports wins feel inevitable. Let’s appreciate them appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If you could prevent millions of children from falling back into poverty, would you? Most of us, I imagine, would answer “yes” without hesitation. But not Congress. For nearly a year, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have dithered as the policy directly responsible for a dramatic decline in poverty last year lapsed. It’s time for Congress […]

The post Congress knows how to slash child poverty. It just needs to do it appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A top staff member in the governor’s office will be Missouri’s next attorney general. Andrew Bailey, 41, who has served as general counsel for Gov. Mike Parson for the last year, will replace Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who was elected to the U.S. Senate earlier this month. Bailey will complete Schmitt’s term, which ends in […]

The post Gov. Mike Parson picks staffer to replace Eric Schmitt as Missouri attorney general appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In May, Missouri residents applying for food assistance by phone had to wait on hold an average of 56 minutes to reach the required interview process, a delay a federal judge deemed “unacceptably long.” Yet over the summer, wait times continued to increase each month, according to data obtained this week by The Independent. Callers […]

The post Missourians seeking food assistance saw call center wait times increase over the summer appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by […]

The post Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri NAACP has a travel advisory in the state highlighting that if you are a person of color in Missouri, you have got to be careful. You will not have the complete protection of the law in the courts nor on the streets. The execution of Kevin Johnson, planned for Nov. 29, is but […]

The post Missouri’s culture of death must stop. Granting Kevin Johnson mercy is a good first step appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon.  On Nov. 8, Missourians voted “yes” on Amendment 3, which legalized recreational use of marijuana, meaning you’ll now be able to buy weed, like marijuana flower or edibles, in the coming months. Starting Dec. 8, the state will begin transitioning its medical marijuana licenses to recreational […]

The post What to know about buying recreational marijuana in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.