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A year after Missouri Senate collapse, Eric Greitens reemerges to bash Ron DeSantis

2 years 4 months ago

Eric Greitens, the disgraced former Missouri governor whose Senate campaign cratered last year under allegations of domestic abuse, tip-toed back onto the political stage this week with a column for a pro-Trump news site declaring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential hopes dead.Ā Ā  In the column entitled ā€œAccept It, Already: DeSantis is Done,ā€ Greitens writes that […]

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Jason Hancock

Divide over lack of Black ownership in Missouri marijuana bubbles up in radio debate

2 years 4 months ago

When it comes to racial equity, state Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove of Kansas City and St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt typically land on the same side. But on Amendment 3— the constitutional amendment that legalized recreational marijuana in November — they couldn’t be further apart.Ā  On Monday morning, they both appeared on KCUR […]

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Rebecca Rivas

USDA to provide $33M for agriculture projects at 19 HBCU land-grant institutions

2 years 4 months ago

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Monday announced $33 million in funding to 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities designated as land-grant institutions to support research and education projects. The funding through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will supportĀ 82 projectsĀ in sustainable farming practices such as reducing use of plastics, enhancing nutritional value […]

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Ariana Figueroa

Male anti-abortion religious leaders mull murder charges for pregnant people at national event

2 years 4 months ago

An all-male panel of anti-abortion religious leaders from around the country met Friday night to discuss the strategies that should be used to end abortion in every state at any stage of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape and incest, and with criminal punishment for the pregnant person in line with existing criminal penalties for murder, […]

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Kelcie Moseley-Morris

Plagued by teacher shortages, some states turn to fast-track credentialing

2 years 4 months ago

Faced with alarming teacher shortages, Virginia last month agreed to partner with a for-profit online teacher credentialing company, hoping to get more teachers into classrooms faster and without the higher tuition costs of traditional colleges and universities. While some of the Virginia school board members had qualms about the process, they agreed to give it […]

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Elaine Povich

A $78 million boost to Missouri’s child care subsidy slated to reach providers next month

2 years 4 months ago

Child care providers who accept a subsidy from the state to serve low-income families will see a boost in payments next month, thanks to a $78.5 million funding increase approved by Missouri lawmakers earlier this year.Ā  The funding hike, included in the state budget signed by the governor, went into effect July 1. It won’t […]

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Clara Bates

America is treading in perilous and unprecedented historical waters

2 years 4 months ago

Much of what we are witnessing in local and national politics goes beyond typical partisan policy differences and divides. There are real efforts to dismantle what America has purported to be about — A land where all of its citizens have the same rights under the Constitution. Some of the rhetoric and proposed policies in […]

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Janice Ellis

Some states protect Section 8 renters, but enforcement is elusive

2 years 4 months ago

Marcella Roberson is ready to move. She and her 17-year-old son have been looking for a new apartment for four years because, she says, they’ve suffered domestic violence in their current living situation in Camden, New Jersey. She hopes her federal housing voucher can bring them a new home and a chance at safety. But […]

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Robbie Sequeira

Fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri with record numbers of overdoses

2 years 4 months ago

The fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri, with record numbers of overdoses in the last four years and 2023 on course to be another record year. Data points to a nearly 75% increase in overdoses in Missouri since 2019, and last year was the second consecutive year that fentanyl accounted for over two-thirds of […]

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Clayton Vickers

Ethics rules for Supreme Court justices approved on party-line vote by U.S. Senate panel

2 years 4 months ago

WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday approved a proposal to impose a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court, amid revelations that justices failed to disclose luxury travel and real estate deals, as well as directing staff to promote book sales. The panel split along party lines, in anĀ 11-10 vote, […]

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Ashley Murray

Federal aviation bill passed by U.S. House, with boost for smaller airports

2 years 4 months ago

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years, including a big increase in subsidies for airlines providing flights to smaller markets. The chamberĀ voted 351-67Ā to approveĀ the bill, which would authorize $104 billion for the agency through 2028, increase authorized spending levels for rural aviation programs and […]

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Jacob Fischler

National abortion ban eyed as group marks ā€˜Siege of Atlanta’ protests 35 years ago

2 years 4 months ago

Members of a national anti-abortion religious organization called Operation Save America are in Atlanta this week to protest at a local abortion clinic and to discuss new strategies for achieving a national prohibition on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Operation Save America began as Operation Rescue in 1986 and became more well known in […]

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Kelcie Moseley-Morris

Preparation for pandemics, natural disasters updated in bill passed by U.S. Senate panel

2 years 4 months ago

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that would update how the federal government prepares for and then responds to pandemics and natural disasters. The broadly bipartisan legislation moved through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee following a 17-3 vote after members adopted two bipartisan amendments. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of […]

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Jennifer Shutt

Missouri Supreme Court rejects AG’s push to inflate cost of abortion-rights amendment

2 years 4 months ago

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to inflate the cost of an abortion-rights initiative petition were unanimously rejected by the state Supreme Court Thursday, just two days after judges heard arguments in the case.Ā  The quick verdict, which was written by Judge Paul Wilson, was scathing in its opinion of Bailey’s refusal to sign off […]

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Jason Hancock

Missouri has a $500k incentive for urban farmers — if growers can figure out how to get it

2 years 4 months ago

News that the Missouri legislature has authorized $500,000 for urban farming grants ought to be welcomed by small growers like Darian and Nicolette Davis, who run an orchard in Kansas City’s Swope Park to provide fresh fruit to their community. The couple hatched the idea of the Kansas City Urban Farm Co-op during the unrest […]

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Meg Cunningham

Public schools banned from sheltering migrants under bill passed by U.S. House

2 years 4 months ago

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday night passed a bill to bar the use of public K-12 school facilities to provide shelter for migrants seeking asylum. The bill, approved 222-201, is known as the ā€œSchools Not Shelters Actā€ and is a rebuke of the Biden administration’s immigration policy. If enacted into law, public schools […]

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Ariana Figueroa

Gabe Gore touts his first six weeks as St. Louis prosecutor after taking over for Kim Gardner

2 years 4 months ago

When Gov. Mike Parson announced his appointment of Gabe Gore as St. Louis circuit attorney, he declared that ā€œcrime anywhere affects Missourians everywhere, and for too long, dysfunction has plagued the circuit attorney’s office.ā€ Now six weeks into the job, Gore says the office has taken steps that will make St. Louis safer and that […]

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Debra Chandler Landis

Read the thousands of documents journalists used to investigate St. Louis radioactive waste

2 years 4 months ago

ā€œAtomic Falloutā€ is a historical re-investigation of the St. Louis region’s 75-year history with nuclear waste, conducted by a consortium of newsrooms, including The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press. It relies on thousands of pages of federal government documents, most of which were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Many of the […]

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Derek Kravitz

A ā€˜she-cession’ no more: After COVID dip, women’s employment hits all-time high

2 years 4 months ago

After fears of a ā€œshe-cessionā€ during the pandemic, women have returned to the workforce at unprecedented rates. Much of the gain reflects a boom in jobs traditionally held by women, including nursing and teaching.Ā  Many good-paying jobs in fields such as construction and tech management are still dominated by men, a continuing challenge for states […]

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Tim Henderson

DACA recipients’ Medicaid eligibility slammed by U.S. House Republicans

2 years 4 months ago

WASHINGTON — A panel on the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday grilled a Biden administration official about the White House’s decision to allow undocumented people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in Medicaid or private insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act. The chair of the subcommittee, Republican […]

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Ariana Figueroa