MoInd 📰

WASHINGTON — The federal student loan system is set to see a dramatic overhaul beginning this summer, and critics warn it likely will make loans more expensive and difficult to obtain for borrowers — driving them to private lenders or altering their plans for higher education. Among the major changes are new loan limits for […]

Charlotte Cravins’ son Landry turned 2 in January. He’s a smiley little boy who loves singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and recently got his first pair of glasses. Landry was born with Down syndrome and has impaired vision. He receives publicly funded therapies that have helped him learn to crawl, to pull himself up to stand, […]

I suppose you’ve got to love The Kentucky Derby, the chance for human peacocks and princesses of all ages and hues to don their finest 19th century finery, sip mint juleps and watch a horse race that’s called “the greatest two minutes in sports.”   On Derby Day Saturday I stopped by The Royale Food and […]

TOPEKA — The former top executive of a company granted a banking charter by the Kansas Legislature was found guilty Thursday by a federal jury of orchestrating a scheme to funnel more than $150 million to himself through securities fraud, false claims and fabricated records. Brad Heppner, who founded Beneficient and convinced Kansas lawmakers five […]

WASHINGTON — State governments should shoulder more of the cost and responsibility for natural disaster recovery, according to a report released Thursday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency review council. The board, created by President Donald Trump last year, called on Congress and the administration to make several major changes, including offloading the National Flood […]

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s annual one-night count of those experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness is projected to show a decline after a record-high surge in 2024, according to a new report. Conducted during January, the Point-in-Time count is HUD’s annual one-night census of people staying in shelters and unsheltered locations; the latest official […]

The Tennessee Legislature passed a new U.S. congressional map that will favor Republicans in all nine of the state’s districts ahead of this year’s midterm election. The bill passed Thursday and is expected to be quickly signed by Gov. Bill Lee, as state lawmakers faced a tight deadline to get the maps approved ahead of […]

Two bills that could change primary elections in Alabama — should federal courts allow the use of congressional and legislative maps previously ruled discriminatory – moved closer to passage Thursday, but not without major protests erupting in legislative committees.  HB 1, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tempore Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, and SB 1, sponsored by Sen. […]

The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” remains Missouri Republicans’ signature piece of abortion legislation this year as they work to fast-track it to passage before the legislative session ends next week. A state Senate bill passed late Wednesday was modified to remove provisions allowing lawsuits over medication abortions. It has received pushback from some members […]

The day after the U.S. Supreme Court crippled the federal Voting Rights Act, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson addressed a virtual gathering for the group’s members and supporters where he ranked the landmark decision alongside the court’s most infamous cases. Dred Scott excluded Black people from American citizenship ahead of the Civil War. Plessy […]

Ty Wooten didn’t realize the weight of answering his first 911 call — until more than a decade later. A woman had dialed 911 to report that her husband had shot himself in front of her and their 7-year-old son, on the family’s living room couch. It was Wooten’s first call as a dispatcher. “I […]

A last-minute fight over public school funding Wednesday almost derailed final Missouri state budget votes as Democrats, with some Republican allies, questioned whether some funds dedicated to education will be available in the coming year. The debate centered on whether the budget relies too heavily on a good year from the Missouri Lottery.  Education budgets […]

Interim U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday that federal prosecutors intend to pursue terrorism charges against members of American street gangs as an extension of President Donald Trump’s move last year to designate foreign drug cartels as terrorist organizations.  Blanche told attendees at the 2026 Border Security Expo in Phoenix that federal prosecutors intend […]

By Naisha Roy/Medill News Service WASHINGTON — Dozens of people gathered on a sandy lot in front of the White House construction zone Tuesday evening, carrying posters peppered with monarch butterflies and unfurling massive banners reading “Set kids free.” The butterflies symbolized immigrants without legal status, as the protesters called to abolish all detention facilities […]

A bill to authorize video lottery games in gas stations and other locations suffered a decisive defeat Wednesday in a Missouri Senate committee, ending for another year hopes of vendors hoping to replace unregulated games. With no discussion, the Senate Select Committee on Gaming voted unanimously against the House-passed bill. The committee was set up […]

WASHINGTON — Voters, including those within the Make America Healthy Again movement, say the rising cost of healthcare is a significant concern that will have an impact on whom they support in November’s midterm elections, according to a poll released Wednesday by KFF.  Sixty-one percent of respondents to the survey, which asked how important several health-related […]

A bill to prohibit low-flying drones over power plants, pipelines and other infrastructure transformed into wide-ranging public safety legislation Tuesday as the Missouri House added 47 amendments over nearly three and half hours. As the debate wore on, the bill became loaded with proposals ranging from a domestic violence registry to expanded DNA testing after […]

Missouri Senate Democrats secured a victory Tuesday evening in a deal with Republicans to ax provisions in an anti-abortion a bill that sought to open the door for lawsuits against anyone involved in an illegal abortion. The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” is a top priority of anti-abortion lawmakers as the legislative session nears a […]

The U. S. Supreme Court just issued its decision in Louisiana v. Callais. By a 6-3 vote, the conservative majority of the court effectively gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by allowing states to dilute the voting power of minority voters.  Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion. While characterizing the decision as […]

WASHINGTON — The alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on four federal charges, including attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump and assaulting an officer or employee of the United States with a deadly weapon. The three-page indictment alleges 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of California, “knowingly and by means and […]