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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is on hold due to a pending Supreme Court decision. President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, but the 52-46 vote forced vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024 to take a public stance on […]

The post U.S. Senate votes to block student loan relief, White House will veto appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The federal agency that oversees Medicaid is moving to close a loophole that likely is worth billions to prescription drug middlemen. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week proposed a new rule that it said would help ensure compliance with a requirement under federal law that Medicaid dollars be spent in “proper and […]

The post Federal authorities move to close mammoth drug-pricing loophole appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Anyone with a Missouri address can now request emergency contraception pills be shipped to them by mail, for free, under a pilot program launched Thursday by a health care nonprofit. Missouri Family Health Council Inc. launched the “Free EC” initiative using federal Title X funds for family planning programs. Missourians can request the pills through […]

The post Missouri nonprofit launches initiative to provide free emergency contraception by mail appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals. Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to balance the […]

The post Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ron DeSantis was railing on about illegal immigration while grilling pork chops at the annual picnic May 13 in deep-red Sioux Center, Iowa, hosted by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra. The crowd cheered him on, knowing full well that immigrants cut the chops and work the dairy barns around Northwest Iowa. It’s an open secret that […]

The post Who cut your pork chop, Governor DeSantis? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Since Missouri’s marijuana sales began in 2019, the state has collected nearly $100 million in revenue from taxes and program fees, according to state authorities.  Etched in the state’s constitution is a road map for where the revenue can go.  The first stop is operational costs. By law, any expense it takes to run both […]

The post Where does the revenue from Missouri marijuana sales and license fees go? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

CLIVE, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received an energetic welcome at his first Iowa event as a 2024 candidate Tuesday, with crowds cheering as he spoke about bringing his fight against “woke” ideology to the White House. More than 500 people filled the Eternity Church auditorium Tuesday, with people standing along the edges of […]

The post Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis talks Disney, book bans at Iowa campaign kickoff appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri public libraries survived a legislative fight over state aid but now face a new hurdle to obtain the money – they must certify to the Secretary of State that they have policies in place that put parents in charge of what their children read and see. The most likely response from libraries, leaders of […]

The post Missouri rule takes effect putting library funds in jeopardy over ‘obscene’ material appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The holiday weekend debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy preserves in part new work requirements for some food stamp recipients but now with exceptions for certain populations, including veterans. The agreement released late Saturday night showed concessions from both sides — from GOP members, who wanted […]

The post New work requirements for some SNAP recipients included in debt limit deal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats both aired their disappointment with the agreement forged over the weekend, but only GOP lawmakers are looking to possibly remove […]

The post Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Iowa-based newspaper chain that owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges it violated customers’ privacy rights through information sharing with Facebook. Lee Enterprises is facing a potential class-action lawsuit alleging it has shared readers’ personal information with Facebook in violation of federal law. The lawsuit, filed last […]

The post Owner of St. Louis Post-Dispatch seeks dismissal of privacy-violation lawsuit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri legislators this year rolled back two high-profile laws passed during tough-on-crime crusades of the 1980s and 1990s. One would end the sentencing disparity that imposes the same penalty for selling an ounce of crack cocaine as a pound of powder cocaine. The other would bar the courts from trying children aged 12 or 13 […]

The post Missouri bill ends crack penalty disparity, raises age for trying youths as adults appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If you’re a service member with a family, the military’s got your back. If you’re trying to start one, it can be another story. Active duty service members unable to conceive children naturally can face significant hurdles as the military health plan doesn’t cover reproductive assistance, such as in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, a surrogate or adoption. […]

The post In the military, fertility policies and family building collide appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When a marijuana legalization amendment was being criticized last year over concerns it would calcify the lack of Black participation in the burgeoning industry, Adolphus Pruitt was one of its most vociferous defenders. Pruitt, the president of the St. Louis City NAACP, and other local NAACP leaders insisted the constitutional amendment establish a “microbusiness license” […]

The post New rules stir fear Black Missourians will once again lose out in marijuana licensing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Flash droughts develop fast, and when they hit at the wrong time, they can devastate a region’s agriculture. They’re also becoming increasingly common as the planet warms. In a new study published May 25, 2023, we found that the risk of flash droughts, which can develop in the span of a few weeks, is on pace to rise in every major agriculture […]

The post Farmers face soaring risk of flash droughts in every major food-growing region, new research shows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

At a 2014 gathering of licensed drug counselors at the Tan-Tar-A resort in Osage Beach, Chuck Daugherty delivered a warning.  Marijuana legalization activists in Missouri, he said, were using tactics akin to 1960s radicals to advance their cause.  Daugherty is executive director of ACT Missouri, a nonprofit established in 1991 to promote drug and alcohol awareness. […]

The post Appeals court says government-funded nonprofit not subject to Missouri Sunshine Law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The closing days of Missouri’s legislature were among the most dysfunctional I’ve covered in more than one half century. Filibusters by Senate Republican conservatives blocked action on a number of issues. Ironically, the issues killed included conservative issues to allow firearms on public transportation and to increase the vote percentage required for approval of a […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: A dysfunctional Missouri Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt lacked any legal authority to order school districts to end COVID-19 mitigation measures, a Jackson County judge ruled Friday.  In his 18-page decision, Judge Marco Roldan concluded that the attorney general’s office did not follow Missouri law when it demanded last year that Lee’s Summit R-7 School District rescind […]

The post Judge rules Missouri AG had no authority to order end of school mask mandates appeared first on Missouri Independent.

One thing opponents and proponents of a recently proposed U.S. Bureau of Land Management rule agree on: It would be a major shift in how the agency manages nearly 250 million acres of federal lands. The rule would allow for conservation leases, similar to how the agency auctions off parcels of land for mining, livestock […]

The post Western lands fight erupts over Bureau of Land Management’s conservation proposal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Fast-growing Texas and Florida had the biggest increases in the number of births last year, while a dozen other states — half of them in the South — continued to rebound from pandemic lows. In the United States as a whole, however, the number of births has plateaued after a modest increase following the worst […]

The post Births decline in most states, continuing a long-term trend appeared first on Missouri Independent.