Republican lawmakers and candidates across the country have escalated their anti-Islam rhetoric in recent months, a strategy aimed at energizing voters by claiming without evidence that Muslim culture and religious tenets threaten American political values. Political observers say Republicans are seizing on anti-Islamic sentiment to gin up enthusiasm among their voters as they head into […]
Missouri would join at least 14 other states with a “Super Tuesday” presidential primary in 2028 under a bill that would also bind the state’s delegates on the first ballot at national political conventions. During testimony Monday to the state Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee, leaders of the state’s two largest political parties […]
While federal efforts to strengthen victim compensation are underway, states play a critical role in determining whether survivors of gun violence can actually access that support, according to a new report from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit gun research and advocacy organization. Access to victim compensation varies widely by state, with nearly 30% of […]
The U.S. Supreme Court could be ready to overturn a Missouri state court verdict that favored a man who sued the manufacturer of the popular herbicide Roundup for lacking any warning that the product carried a risk of cancer after oral arguments in the case Monday. The arguments focused on whether states could enforce their […]
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared likely to allow law enforcement to continue seeking warrants for the location history of cellphones near crime scenes, even as the justices wrestled with how far the government must go to protect Americans’ privacy. Some of the justices appeared to be searching for a middle ground during oral arguments […]
A New York City mom and domestic violence survivor felt a flashback of fear when she received a notice in March that the emergency housing voucher she and her son have relied on since 2023 will run out soon. “It felt like the rug was pulled out from under me,” said Nyla B., who did […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday will hear oral arguments on the Trump administration’s efforts to strip temporary legal status from 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, a move that could open them up to deportation. The case has the potential to have an impact on multiple lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to end […]
The accidental exposure of student information from Missouri’s MOScholars program has reopened a broader fight over how much scrutiny the state’s private school voucher program should face. After The Independent reported last week that student names, schools and parent email addresses were accessible through the underlying data of a spreadsheet posted by the Missouri State […]
Nicci Rexroat, owner of A Place To Grow pre-kindergarten center, has worked in child care for 19 years, and she’s beginning to believe most of Missouri has become a child care desert. “You know, I have families calling me every day looking for spots, and we’re full in Jefferson City until August of 2027,” Rexroat […]
Recently, columnist Janice Ellis asked the question: “Who is the real Republican Party? Look at how it governs.” As the Missouri state chair for Our Republican Legacy, here is my answer. The Republican Party belongs to history, not to one man. The principled Republicans and conservatives are still here. And we’re not going anywhere. There […]
An accountable state government is like a seesaw: government on one side, people on the other. When it works, it moves in a steady rhythm — government acts, people respond. But when one side grows too heavy, the system stops working. The people can push, organize, and speak out, but the balance no longer shifts. […]
A bill to more than quadruple the time childhood sexual abuse victims have to sue their abusers stalled this week in the Missouri Senate after Democrats accused insurance lobbyists of using it to impose shorter limits on personal injury lawsuits. It’s the fourth year Republican state Rep. Brian Seitz of Branson has sponsored legislation aiming […]
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice dropped its investigation Friday of the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell over building renovation costs, a move that could open the door for new Fed leadership next month — and signaled a victory for North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office closed the […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is looking to eliminate funding in fiscal 2027 for the agency that serves as the primary federal funding source for libraries and museums nationwide. But congressional appropriators — who rebuffed similar efforts to gut the agency in fiscal 2026 — expressed little enthusiasm for the proposed cut in interviews with […]
President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail voting would shatter decades of U.S. Postal Service independence intended to shield it from partisan politics, postal experts and attorneys say. Postal experts said Trump ordering the postmaster general to take any action — let alone on a matter as sensitive as elections — violates guardrails in federal […]
A handful of states are considering legislation this session related to menopause and perimenopause, including proposals to mandate coverage and others to include work protections for people experiencing symptoms related to the conditions. Others have already said no to similar bills. Menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, according to the National Institute […]
A Missouri Senate decision to use money set aside for Capitol renovations to shore up funding for public schools isn’t popular with Gov. Mike Kehoe or the budget chief in the Missouri House. But they aren’t dismissing it outright. Speaking to reporters at a news conference in his office, Kehoe said lawmakers who set $600 […]
The Missouri Senate approved legislation Wednesday that included corrections for multiple errors in another bill Gov. Mike Kehoe signed earlier this month. That bill, originally sponsored by Republican state Sen. Nich Schroer of Defiance, was an wide-ranging crime bill that included changes to juvenile detention centers in the state and mandatory prison time for adults […]
Months after having its federal family planning funding restored, the only Title X grantee program in Missouri is facing new threats from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley. During a congressional hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services Budget on Wednesday, Hawley asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop providing Title X funding […]
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