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MoInd šŸ“°

The Trump administration’s playbook of coercing speech comes into focus

3 months 3 weeks ago
Sometimes one event brings clarity to other, more ambiguous, actions. ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel is such an event. By threatening ABC over a comedian’s on-air comments, Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr violated core First Amendment limits on the government. And this event is simply the latest example of a playbook that has […]
Steve Leben

USDA cancels food security report that anti-hunger advocates say showed the effects of food policies

3 months 3 weeks ago
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled a report that hunger-fighting organizations say was ā€œessentialā€ data to see the results of federal and local policies aimed at ending hunger.Ā  USDA, in a news release about the decision said the reports were ā€œredundant, costly, politicizedā€ and did ā€œnothing more than fear monger.ā€ Paige Chickering, vice chair […]
Cami Koons

A majority of US children rely on Medicaid or CHIP, new study finds

3 months 3 weeks ago
A majority of children in the United States rely on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program at some point by their 18th birthday, and many experience periods of coverage loss, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA. By their 18th birthday, about 3 in 4 children nationwide relied on Medicaid, CHIP […]
Nada Hassanein

ā€˜A fundamental right’: Judge strikes down law giving Missouri AG special appeal power

3 months 3 weeks ago
A new law that gave Missouri’s attorney general the sole power to appeal preliminary injunctions is unconstitutional, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. ā€œAccess to courts, including the right to appeal, is a fundamental right for the purposes of equal rights and opportunity under the law,ā€ Circuit Judge Daniel Green wrote. This law, he said, […]
Anna Spoerre

Ruling upholding Missouri transgender care ban had ā€˜factual errors,’ attorneys argue

3 months 3 weeks ago
Attorneys representing transgender minors, their loved ones and physicians who provide gender-affirming care say a circuit court judge’s decision to uphold the state’s gender-affirming-care restrictions was ā€œpermeated by legal and factual errors.ā€ In oral arguments in the Missouri Supreme Court Wednesday morning, Lambda Legal attorney Nora Huppert said the November judgment ā€œrelies on evidence that […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri House property tax committee weighs options for tax relief

3 months 3 weeks ago
Members of a special House committee talked Tuesday through a multitude of potential solutions to relieve the tax burden facing Missourians. ā€œThe committee’s goal is to find common sense reforms and solutions that will protect homeowners, promote economic stability and share capability,ā€ said Rep. Tim Taylor, R-Bunceton, chair of the Special Interim Committee on Property […]
Cameron Smith, Jack Schouten

Federal government accuses Kansas town of ā€˜aggressive and unlawful’ interference with CoreCivic

3 months 3 weeks ago
TOPEKA — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday joined a private prison company in its legal fight with Leavenworth, Kansas, city officials, accusing the city of ā€œaggressive and unlawfulā€ interference with immigration enforcement. The DOJ filed a statement of interest in the case in U.S. District Court, signed by the assistant U.S. attorney general’s […]
Morgan Chilson

State of democracy takes center stage at Congressional Black Caucus conference

3 months 3 weeks ago
With national anxieties over the state of democracy and National Guard troops deployed to the city, the Congressional Black Caucus began its conference Wednesday in a neighborhood center. Elected officials and community leaders have called for unity and urgency to fight President Donald Trump’s agenda that has struck down diversity, equity and inclusion policies, detained immigrants […]
William J. Ford

Cashless bail, explained: What it is, how it works and why Trump is targeting it

3 months 3 weeks ago
When President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month threatening to withhold federal funding from states and localities that have adopted ā€œcashless bailā€ policies, he escalated a national fight over how courts decide who should remain behind bars before trial. The move has already rippled into state capitols. In North Carolina, Republican lawmakers are […]
Amanda HernƔndez

Work groups contemplate changing Missouri schools’ need-based funding

3 months 3 weeks ago
Education and business leaders shaping Missouri’s public school funding formula are hoping to rework the way the state funds students with higher needs. The Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force’s four working groups held their initial meetings Tuesday and last Wednesday, and there were some common themes in their discussions. During Tuesday’s meetings of the […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri First Lady Claudia Kehoe tapped as treasurer for 2026 abortion ban campaign

3 months 3 weeks ago
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s political team is taking a lead role in the campaign to pass a constitutional amendment banning abortion, enlisting key advisors and tapping First Lady Claudia Kehoe as treasurer. Claudia Kehoe is the only officer listed in organization filings at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Her Health, Her Future PAC, created Sept. […]
Anna Spoerre

Biden offered health insurance access to DACA immigrants. Trump took it away.

3 months 3 weeks ago
A new Trump administration rule bars immigrants living in the United States under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from buying health insurance from Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The change, announced in June, took effect at the beginning of this month. It reverses a policy change enacted by the Biden administration for last November’s annual […]
Shalina Chatlani

Teachers’ union’s lawsuit hurts Missouri’s most vulnerable kidsĀ 

3 months 3 weeks ago
Frustration runs deep for Missouri parents like Libby Eversgerd. Her youngest child has beenĀ  using a scholarship to attend a small, private school after he ā€œbegan to resist attending school dueĀ  to mounting pressure and lack of accommodations for his learning differences.ā€ It’s not easy to find solutions to complex education problems, but once parents […]
Jean Evans

St. Louis County drops bill to ban unregulated intoxicating cannabis products

3 months 3 weeks ago
A St. Louis County bill aimed at preventing intoxicating cannabis products from being sold outside of dispensaries is dead, after meeting heavy resistance from retailers and distributors. St. Louis County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, the bill sponsor, dropped the bill during the council’s Tuesday meeting.Ā  ā€œAfter engaging with stakeholders and hearing a lot of thoughtful discussion […]
Rebecca Rivas

ā€˜No risk free path:’ Fed Chair Jerome Powell calls for moderation on monetary policy

3 months 3 weeks ago
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave no indication that future interest rate cuts are coming, despite mounting pressure from President Donald Trump and Trump-appointed officials for the central bank. Speaking to more than 500 business, nonprofit and political leaders at The Crowne Plaza in Warwick Tuesday, Powell emphasized the need for a cautious approach to […]
Nancy Lavin

Trump and RFK Jr. are making claims about autism. What do medical experts say?

3 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stirred up major concerns and considerable speculation earlier this year when he announced the administration would release a report revealing the causes of autism by the end of September.  Kennedy, an environmental lawyer with no medical degree, stood next to President Donald Trump on […]
Jennifer Shutt

Kansas governor urges GOP to convene public hearings on U.S. House redistricting

3 months 3 weeks ago
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday recommended the Kansas Legislature gather public testimony about Republican plans to redraw the state’s four congressional districts to disadvantage Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids in the next election. “I am calling on legislative leadership to host town halls prior to circulating a petition for a special session,” Kelly […]
Tim Carpenter

ā€˜Your countries are going to hell’: Trump lashes out at world leaders at UN

3 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump harshly criticized fellow world leaders Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly days after key allies of the United States recognized a Palestinian state, and as NATO vows to defend Europe amid recent Russian air incursions. During his nearly hour-long address at the annual meeting in New York City, Trump […]
Ashley Murray

ā€˜Sick to my stomach’ : Trump distorts facts on autism, Tylenol and vaccines, scientists say

3 months 3 weeks ago
Ann Bauer, a researcher who studies Tylenol and autism, felt queasy with anxiety in the weeks leading up to the White House’s much-anticipated autism announcement. In August, Bauer and her colleagues published an analysis of 46 previous studies on Tylenol, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Many found no link between the drug and the conditions, while […]
Amy Maxmen

Trump ties autism to Tylenol use in pregnancy despite inconclusive scientific evidence

3 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration believes it’s found one contributing factor of autism and a possible treatment, though experts have said such claims are inconclusive and not backed by scientific evidence. Trump and officials from his administration said during a press conference the Food and Drug Administration will move to […]
Jennifer Shutt