As President Donald Trump tries to assert power over U.S. elections, he has raged on social media, cajoled Republican lawmakers and unleashed the Department of Justice on his political enemies. What has he accomplished with all that effort? Not a lot. Six months before the November midterm elections, the Trump administration’s quest to exercise authority […]
After years of budget chaos, Republican infighting and historically low productivity, Missouri lawmakers are entering the final week of session with something that has often been missing from the Capitol: a sense of normalcy. State Sen. Stephen Webber, a Columbia Democrat who served in the Missouri House from 2009 to 2017, said this year’s session […]
Energy demand has been growing and is expected to shoot even higher in the coming years, but the debate over how to pay for new nuclear power plants is likely stalled in the Missouri legislature for now. As electricity demand has increased, so have utility bills — which has caught the attention of customers and […]
Bolstered by a justice system that has unabashedly taken off its blindfold, national and state Republican leaders are moving full-speed ahead to disenfranchise Black Americans, and their meaningful participation in the political process. Denying and diluting the power of the Black vote in Missouri and in many states has taken on new life. The recent […]
The University of Missouri Health Care’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment unveiled a 74,000 square-foot building Friday its leaders say will pave the way for better autism care in Missouri. In a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Columbia, the center’s top advisors and staff joined state officials to showcase the facility and the launch of the […]
A Jackson County judge on Friday denied Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s attempt to immediately stop Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman and several affiliated companies from selling kratom products. The motion for a temporary restraining order, which was filed alongside the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, took particular aim at the more potent […]
TOPEKA — Evergy and one of its contractors agreed to pay $2.6 million to employees to settle a class-action lawsuit filed over how company retirement funds were managed. Evergy will pay $1.7 million and SageView Advisory Group, which contracted with Evergy to manage its 401(k) retirement plans, will pay $900,000, according to a preliminary settlement […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s trade agenda faced another major setback Thursday when the U.S. Court of International Trade handed a win to two small businesses and the state of Washington after they challenged the president’s 10% global tariffs, imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous emergency tariff regime. In a 2-1 […]
Advocates and opponents of abortion access say they’re wondering what happens next in a critical telehealth medication case that created chaos and confusion over the past week after an appeals court blocked nationwide access to the drug and, days later, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay. Alito’s stay preserves telehealth access […]
A bill intended to connect Missourians in need with community resources passed the Missouri House Thursday, setting up a final vote in the state Senate that would send it to Gov. Mike Kehoe. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Jill Carter of Granby, would direct the Missouri Department of Social Services to set up […]
After years of protests and a hard-won court battle, anti-nuclear activists in Kansas City will get a chance this week to tell the federal government why they oppose a plan to ramp up production of plutonium pits — the bowling-ball-sized cores of nuclear weapons. The National Nuclear Security Administration, a division of the Department of […]
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for the Trump administration argued before a federal appeals court Thursday the Pentagon should be able to reprimand Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly for reminding members of the military they can refuse illegal orders, and for criticizing the Defense Department. Lawyers from the Justice Department told the three-judge panel that even though […]
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. […]
stLouIST