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Babies and children in the United States are nearly twice as likely to die before reaching adulthood compared with their peers in other wealthy countries, according to a new study. The health of U.S. children has deteriorated since the early 2000s across a range of measures, researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University […]

Two initiative petition campaigns seeking constitutional protections for public education are suing Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins alleging he crafted “deceptive and prejudicial” summaries that will appear on the ballot. One campaign, called “the Missouri Right to Education Initiative,” hopes to amend the state constitution to declare education a “fundamental right.” The other, filed […]

Andi Phillips has never really had the option of being sick.  A server at a Springfield-area restaurant, the single mother of four finally has a job allowing her to financially support her family. But if she or one of her children falls ill, that financial security goes out the window.  “When you miss a shift, […]

MACON — Separate tax rates for the four classes of taxed property would protect homeowners from large tax increases during reassessment, Chariton County Assessor Darrin Gladbach told a special Missouri House interim committee at its final field hearing. If residential, commercial, farm and personal property each had a separate rate, any rate cuts due to […]

WASHINGTON — Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, sued President Donald Trump Thursday, calling his move to fire her an “unprecedented and illegal attempt” that jeopardizes the independence of the board.  The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, sets up a fight between the Federal Reserve and the president who […]

Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court challenging its exclusion from last year’s Homecoming parade. The lawsuit was filed against University of Missouri System President Mun Choi. It claims he violated students’ First Amendment rights by barring the group from participating in the parade because of their views on […]

HARRISBURG — U.S. Rep. Mark Alford defended actions taken by President Donald Trump at a contentious town hall in Harrisburg on Wednesday night. More than 100 constituents packed the Lions Club event hall. The small venue — full of shouting and passionate pleas — drew in people from all over the county who voiced their […]

B. said he left Cameroon nine years ago because he was scared for his life. Authorities in the West African nation threw him in prison because of his sexual orientation, he said. After his release, he feared that if he stayed in the country, he would be killed. B., who is now 39 and who […]

While it’s great to see one of Missouri’s own, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, take a leading role at the federal level in pushing for much needed health care reform, our state should not follow along with his apparent plans for rewiring the pharmacy system. Last December, Hawley surprisingly partnered with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts […]

A Cole County judge heard arguments Wednesday over whether a proposed ban on abortion set to go to voters next year should be thrown out or revised over a provision targeting gender-affirming care for minors.  The ACLU of Missouri believes the proposal, which was drafted by state lawmakers, violates the state constitution because it includes […]

WASHINGTON — The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t appear inclined to leave her post, despite the Trump administration announcing Wednesday that she’s no longer running one of the country’s top public health agencies.  Attorneys for Susan Monarez, who received Senate confirmation in late July, posted that she hasn’t been fired […]

WASHINGTON — The updated form to apply for federal student aid will launch for all students by Oct. 1, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon told congressional leaders in a letter this week.  The department began testing in early August for the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — to address […]

WASHINGTON — Maryland federal Judge Paula Xinis barred the Trump administration Wednesday from re-deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully removed earlier this year, until she makes a decision in an evidentiary hearing set for October. Separately, Abrego Garcia filed a claim for asylum, a longshot bid to gain legal status as the Trump administration […]

Summer heat is bearing down on U.S. prisons, where temperatures in uncooled cells can climb well into the triple digits. Facing growing pressure from advocacy groups, lawsuits and climate projections that show hotter days ahead, some state prison systems are moving to install air conditioning and expand cooling measures — though many facilities remain years […]

A new Missouri income tax cut exempting profits from the sale of investments officially takes effect Thursday, along with smaller tax changes that will remove sales tax from diapers and feminine hygiene products. All state laws passed in a regular session take effect Aug. 28 unless another date is specified. The capital gains tax cut […]

Seventeen-year-old Christopher Herrera can no longer play sports.  After Christopher ingested concentrated green tea extract labelled as a “fat burning supplement”, his liver was compromised so severely that he nearly needed a liver transplant. Although doctors managed to save his liver, Christopher now lives with the lasting repercussions of this incident. He can no longer […]

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will challenge her removal, her attorney said Tuesday, arguing President Donald Trump “has no authority” to fire her. Trump announced late Monday that he would fire Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, over allegations that she falsified documents to obtain a favorable […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration demanded Tuesday that dozens of states remove from sex education materials any references to a person’s gender departing from their sex assigned at birth, or lose federal funding. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families warned in letters to 40 states, the District of Columbia […]

Three states are at risk of losing some federal transportation funding because they are not enforcing President Donald Trump’s executive order that commercial truck drivers must be proficient in English, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday. New Mexico, Washington and California will have 30 days to comply with the order or risk losing funding […]

The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school. Only 90% of Missouri kindergarten students were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the Missouri Department of […]