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Another judge grants request to unseal Epstein grand jury files

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — A second federal judge in New York on Wednesday granted a U.S. Department of Justice request to unseal grand jury records in the case against Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges and whose case files have become a target of Congress and victims in […]
Ashley Murray

US House GOP promises vote on reducing health care premiums, but few specifics disclosed

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson committed Wednesday to hold a vote next week on a package of bills that he said would lower health insurance premiums for hundreds of millions of Americans, not just those enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans.  But the Louisiana Republican’s promise didn’t come with any details about which […]
Jennifer Shutt

Federal, state budget pressure threatens Missouri at-home disability care program

2 months 3 weeks ago
Families of Missourians with developmental disabilities are urging legislators to protect a Medicaid program that allows them to manage their loved ones’ care as the state faces billions of dollars in federal cuts over the next decade. The program, self-directed services, lets people with disabilities or their family members hire, train and manage their own […]
Steph Quinn

Rising electric bills lead to state scrutiny — but little relief for residents

2 months 3 weeks ago
The last time the Maine Public Utilities Commission considered an electricity price hike, the proposal received fewer than 90 comments from the public. Three years later, amid skyrocketing energy prices, more than 800 people weighed in on the plan, showing up to public hearings and even protesting outside. The commission last month ultimately rejected the […]
Kevin Hardy

US Senate GOP rolls out health care plan that fails to extend premium subsidies

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans announced Tuesday they will hold a vote on their own health care proposal later this week to counter a Democratic bill that would extend enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans for three more years. The 32-page GOP bill would not address the expiring ACA marketplace tax credits but […]
Jennifer Shutt

Trump administration aims to officially scrap Biden-era student loan forgiveness program

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education announced a proposed agreement Tuesday that would permanently axe an income-driven student loan repayment plan in which more than 7 million student loan borrowers are enrolled.  Under a joint proposal with seven Republican-led states that challenged the program, the department would not enroll any new borrowers in the Saving […]
Shauneen Miranda

Public school open enrollment wins tentative support from Missouri education board

2 months 3 weeks ago
The Missouri State Board of Education approved legislative priorities Tuesday that signal support for “legislation on voluntary public school open enrollment.”  What this means, though, is unclear. Board members during a Tuesday morning meeting expressed differing opinions on open enrollment,  a policy that broadly speaking would allow students to enroll in neighboring school districts. After […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Epstein co-conspirator grand jury records to be unsealed in New York under court order

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — A Manhattan federal judge granted an order Tuesday to unseal grand jury records in the case of Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking minors among other offenses in 2021. Federal Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote in a 24-page order that unsealing the documents fell within the scope of a new […]
Ashley Murray

Leaders of 2 major anti-abortion groups call for Trump’s FDA chief to be fired

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Two of the country’s largest anti-abortion organizations want President Donald Trump to fire U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary over access to medication abortion.  Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, expressed frustration Tuesday that the FDA hasn’t completed a review of the prescription drug mifepristone. “The FDA needs […]
Jennifer Shutt

Missouri set to enact gerrymandered map despite 300K signatures for repeal referendum

2 months 3 weeks ago
The campaign to repeal Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map turned in 300,000 signatures Tuesday to put it on the 2026 ballot. But Secretary of State Denny Hoskins says that won’t stop the map from going into effect on Thursday. Hoskins also argued he has the power to unilaterally declare the referendum unconstitutional if it is determined […]
Rudi Keller, Jason Hancock

Voting by mail faces uncertain moment ahead of midterm elections

2 months 3 weeks ago
Derrin Robinson has worked in Oregon elections for more than 30 years, long enough to remember when voters in the state cast their ballots at physical polling sites instead of by mail. As the nonpartisan clerk of Harney County, a vast, rural expanse larger than Massachusetts, Robinson oversees elections with about 6,000 registered voters. Oregon […]
Jonathan Shorman

Hospital-at-home program extended by US House, awaits Senate consideration

2 months 3 weeks ago
A popular program allowing Medicare patients to get hospital care at home would be extended until 2030 under a bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and awaiting consideration by the Senate.  The bill was passed by the House on Dec. 1 and referred to a Senate committee the next day. The federal government […]
Tim Henderson

Trump to send $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers to offset ag losses

2 months 3 weeks ago
The federal government will provide $12 billion to U.S. farmers who have been hurt by “unfair market disruption,” President Donald Trump said at a White House roundtable event Monday. Trump said repeatedly the funding was available thanks to tariff revenues, framing his aggressive trade policy as a boon to farmers rather than a drag on […]
Jacob Fischler

Federal judge rejects Missouri AG’s push to block referendum on gerrymandered map

2 months 3 weeks ago
A federal judge Monday refused to back Missouri’s Republican leaders efforts to block a statewide vote on a gerrymandered congressional district map, dismissing a case filed by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway. U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone ruled he had no jurisdiction over the lawsuit brought on behalf of Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and the […]
Rudi Keller

US Supreme Court seems ready to back Trump in case of fired FTC commissioner

2 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared ready to expand presidential power after hearing a case Monday on whether President Donald Trump can hire and fire members of independent federal agencies without cause. The high court’s decision, expected by the end of the term in late June, could heighten presidential influence over agencies created by […]
Ashley Murray

With homelessness rising, new federal rules could benefit states that take tougher approaches

2 months 3 weeks ago
As the housing shortage pushes more Americans into homelessness for the first time, the Trump administration wants to focus federal housing aid on mental health treatment and enforcement against street homelessness, rather than on finding people permanent homes as quickly as possible. The administration’s new plan to tie federal housing aid to work requirements and […]
Robbie Sequeira

New student loan rule could dissuade people from advanced nursing degrees

2 months 3 weeks ago
Zoe Clarke became a hospital registered nurse two and a half years ago, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. Clarke, an ICU nurse in Asheville, North Carolina, wants to get her master’s degree to become a nurse practitioner or a certified registered nurse anesthetist — occupations in high demand — and eventually work […]
Nada Hassanein