Gas prices are climbing again across the United States — with little clarity on where prices are headed next — spurring proposals for state gas tax holidays in the hopes of offering drivers some relief. The national average hit $3.96 per gallon Monday, up from $3.72 the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information […]
The Missouri House rejected attempts by Democrats on Tuesday to restore $51.5 million in cuts to the state’s child care subsidy program. The program helps cover the cost of child care for more than 27,000 low-income and foster children statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The department started a waiting […]
The Missouri House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a state operating budget that will close an almost $2 billion deficit by using almost all the state’s remaining surplus in the general revenue fund. At the end of more than five hours of debate, there were few changes in the spending plan for fiscal 2027 approved […]
Across the country, governors and mayors are embracing a familiar pitch: high-profile development projects financed with bonds that supposedly come at “no cost to taxpayers.” This is certainly the case with huge investments in stadiums for professional sports teams, such as Kansas’ proposal to issue $1.8 billion in bonds to help finance a new domed […]
Transportation Security Administration officers are struggling to afford basic necessities as they approach their second missed full paycheck since a funding lapse began last month, union leaders said at a virtual press conference Tuesday. Officials from the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 44,000 TSA officers nationwide, urged Congress to immediately find […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed split Tuesday on whether the Trump administration should be allowed to turn away asylum-seekers who present themselves at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. The question presented to the justices was whether migrants have to fully cross into the United States in order to have the right […]
The Missouri Supreme Court handed down three rulings Tuesday that could shape the 2026 election, saying lawmakers had the authority to pass a new congressional map last year, leaving intact the state’s photo-ID requirement for voters and striking down limits on voter-registration and absentee-ballot outreach. The decisions gave Missouri Republicans a major win in the […]
For Quinton Hayes Jr. and his classmates, social media “is where a lot of our lives happen.” The 12-year-old middle school student from Bloomington said that includes having fun, talking with friends — and bullying. “It follows you home,” he said, “onto your phone, into your head.” Hayes described how his friend was affected when […]
A perfect storm has arrived on the ledgers of many state budgets, bearing down on the people who often need help the most. Federal and state policy decisions, the end of pandemic aid and long-term fiscal trends — such as people aging into Social Security benefits — are requiring states to take a tougher look […]
Airport security workers missed work Monday at the highest rate since a partial government shutdown began in mid-February, the Department of Homeland Security said, and the Trump administration sent immigration officials to some airports in an attempt to keep lines moving. Travelers reported hourslong security lines at major airports in Atlanta and Houston, while waits […]
A simple idea is gaining traction in Jefferson City: fund colleges based on how many students they enroll, and let the money follow the student. It sounds fair. It sounds efficient. And it is more complicated than it appears. Missouri lawmakers are right to revisit how the state funds higher education. The current approach lacks […]
Missouri residents can receive state income tax credits on donations to food pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Two bills seeking to make adjustments to those credits were discussed Monday afternoon by a Missouri House committee. One bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. John Voss of Cape Girardeau, would eliminate the Dec. 31 expiration date […]
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Monday appeared skeptical of the validity of mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, in a case that could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of voters during the upcoming midterm elections. The high court heard arguments on whether federal law overrides a Mississippi law that requires mail-in ballots […]
Backers of a proposed referendum on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional plan believe they have met the minimum number of signatures needed to make the November’s ballot. Updated data, posted Monday morning by People Not Politicians, the political action committee that organized a referendum petition drive, shows that the petition has at least 129% of the required […]
Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it. Psychiatric units are costly and, like labor and delivery services, typically lose money for hospitals and tend […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration is in talks with Iran about resolving the war, a claim that significantly tamped down oil prices and spurred market increases in Europe and the United States — though Iran denied any progress in negotiations. Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, the president […]
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is again trying to send the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the west African nation of Liberia and urging a federal judge to dismiss a bar on his removal, according to legal documents filed over the weekend. Abrego Garcia, of Maryland, has agreed to be deported to Costa Rica, […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case to determine if a migrant on Mexico’s side of a border crossing with the United States can legally apply for asylum when arriving at a U.S. port of entry. The case, which stems from a policy during President Donald Trump’s first term […]
Legislative spring break is over, and Missouri lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Monday with a packed agenda and a May 15 deadline to adjourn. The second half of the session begins with a tighter budget picture, unresolved fights over taxes and public benefits, and a Senate that has already shown it can consume time […]
Since their peak less than three years ago, opioid overdose deaths dropped nearly by half as of October, according to a Stateline analysis. The drop comes as a shrinking fentanyl supply has made the drug weaker and less deadly and volunteer efforts get more people into treatment. The weaker fentanyl tracks to a crackdown on […]
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