A bill focused on making child care more affordable through tax credits was debated Tuesday by the Missouri House Committee of Economic Development. Introduced by state Rep. Brenda Shields, a Republican from St. Joseph, the bill seeks to make child care more accessible for employees in Missouri, thereby creating a reliable workforce for businesses as […]
The millions of immigrants who have crossed the border with Mexico since 2020 could change the balance of political power in Congress — but in a way likely to boost Republican states that emphasize border security, at the expense of more welcoming Democratic states. That’s because many of the new immigrants joined state-to-state movers gravitating […]
Missouri has just eight outpatient beds for people charged with crimes who have been ordered to undergo mental health treatment so their cases can move forward. Those beds are full. So are the state’s 440 psychiatric hospital beds that serve Missourians ruled incompetent to stand trial because of a mental illness or cognitive disability. There […]
Many parents and educators are concerned about standardized test scores released recently by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and rightly so. Less than half of students in Missouri are proficient in math or English language arts. The numbers are even lower for subgroups; only 1 in 4 students who are black, Hispanic, […]
A Missouri judge is being asked to decide which congressional district map — the one passed in 2022 or the one passed last year — will be in effect when candidates line up to file for office later this month. For about four hours Tuesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe listened to arguments over […]
Five retail shops in Dunklin County were sued Tuesday by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who alleges the businesses are operating illegal gambling machines on their premises. The businesses — Discount Spirits and Tobacco, Kennett Liquor and Tobacco, and Laura’s Mini Mart in Kennett; and Dixie Package and Swindle’s Quick Shop in Malden — are […]
WASHINGTON — The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined during a U.S. House hearing Tuesday to apologize to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the victims of fatal shootings by immigration officers in Minneapolis last month. Top Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, had said both Minneapolis residents […]
WASHINGTON — Democratic governors headed to an annual bipartisan gathering in the nation’s capital will not participate in a traditional White House black-tie dinner after President Donald Trump disinvited several Democrats from the event. A joint statement Tuesday from the Democratic Governors Association said the state leaders “have a long record of working across the […]
Two bills that target immigrants who send money out of the country are currently moving through the Missouri House and Senate. Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Ben Keathley, a Republican from Chesterfield, and state Sen. Nick Schroer, a Republican from Defiance, seeks to require financial institutions verify the immigration status of individuals sending electronic money […]
Last month, the parents of a 7-year-old girl whose nose wouldn’t stop bleeding took her to Portland Adventist Health in Portland, Oregon, for urgent care. Before the family could get through the doors, federal immigration agents reportedly detained them in the parking lot and took them to a detention center in Texas. At Hennepin County […]
Women with breast cancer living in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility were less likely to die from the disease — but not everyone benefited equally, according to a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Howard University, the University of Alabama, Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, and others looked at […]
Twenty states have enacted laws prohibiting the use of unique merchant category codes to distinguish firearm purchases, and Missouri could be the 21st. State Sen. Jill Carter, a Republican from Granby, presented legislation to a Senate committee Monday that would create the “Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act.” The bill prohibits government entities from keeping a […]
Missouri lawmakers scrounged for unspent or underutilized funds that could be cut from next year’s budget Monday, vowing to protect programs they said are vital to the health of Missourians. Republican state Rep. Darin Chappell of Rogersville vowed during a presentation of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to minimize proposed cuts to […]
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed a lawsuit seeking to require the Census Bureau to “redo” the $14 billion 2020 Census to exclude the persons she doesn’t consider persons. The U.S. Constitution requires that every 10 years “the whole number of persons in each state” be counted for the purpose of apportioning representatives. Hanaway’s […]
Attorneys for Secretary of State Denny Hoskins spent most of Monday afternoon trying to salvage some of the language he used to describe the impact of a referendum on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map. After conceding that some of the ballot summary Hoskins prepared for the referendum is flawed and should be revised, Kathleen Hunker from […]
A bill requiring public schools screen all students to determine if they qualify for gifted education by the time they reach the third grade passed the Missouri House on a 142-8 vote Monday. It bolsters a state law requiring schools to provide gifted classes when at least 3% of its students are identified as gifted. […]
States that were leaders in childhood vaccination before the pandemic are among those losing ground as exemptions and unfounded skepticism take hold, encouraged by the Trump administration’s stance under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Expanded exemptions for parents are likely to drop both Mississippi and West Virginia from the top […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump decided to exclude Democratic governors from a traditional annual meeting at the White House and to disinvite several others from a black-tie dinner, according to the White House, the governors and the National Governors Association. The National Governors Association organizes the bipartisan winter gathering that usually includes a working meeting […]
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Cindy Clemishire was 12 years old on Christmas night in 1982 when a traveling evangelist staying with her family first abused […]
“Don’t give me narcotics.” Emmalee Hortin, a doula, recalled one of her clients delivering that message to hospital staff. Doctors were operating on the woman to clear tissue after a miscarriage. But despite her patient’s pleas, clinicians still administered fentanyl via IV to manage pain, Hortin said. Her client had substance use disorder and had […]
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