a Better Bubble™

MoInd đź“°

Air travel snarls as cutbacks due to government shutdown begin

2 weeks 2 days ago
The first flights affected by a new Federal Aviation Administration directive led to widespread delays and cancellations Friday. The FAA will ramp up to a 10% reduction in flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports by Nov. 14, starting with a 4% reduction Friday.  More than 1,000 flights had been canceled by 5 p.m. Eastern  […]
Jacob Fischler

Trump administration issues November SNAP benefits, then asks Supreme Court to intervene

2 weeks 2 days ago
This report has been updated. The U.S. Department of Agriculture told states Friday it was releasing full November funding for the nation’s major food assistance program that helps 42 million people afford groceries, complying with a federal court order issued Thursday. The midday memo to states contradicted the Trump administration’s weeks-long position that funding the […]
Jacob Fischler

Missouri anti-LGBTQ+ laws linked to population loss and decline in tax revenue, studies find

2 weeks 3 days ago
When Rob Connoley shut down his award-winning St. Louis restaurant last year, business was thriving. Tourists and locals alike lauded Bulrush as a destination for Ozark cuisine, making its way into local and national publications as a top restaurant. Profit margins were beyond national averages, and Connoley was a newly awarded James Beard Award finalist. […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Safety net policies don’t catch every Missouri farmer

2 weeks 3 days ago
A rainbow of crops fills farmer Abbey Innes’ table at the Columbia Farmers Market: tomatoes, squash, garlic, kale and flower bouquets — all from her and her husband’s 15-acre farm in Howard County. But for a few markets last year, the table was a bit emptier. “We planted hundreds of pounds of seed potatoes and […]
Harshawn Ratanpal

State death penalty policies are heading in sharply different directions

2 weeks 3 days ago
States are moving in sharply different directions on the death penalty, with some looking to broaden when and how executions occur while others try to scale them back or end them entirely. Lawmakers in more than half of the states have introduced over 100 bills this year to either expand or limit capital punishment, to […]
Amanda Watford

States, donors and schools scramble to keep Head Start centers open — for now

2 weeks 3 days ago
With some early childhood education centers already closing their doors because of the federal government shutdown, local leaders are scrambling to find money to keep Head Start programs available to some of the country’s most vulnerable children. Head Start programs, which serve more than 700,000 low-income children across the country, are almost entirely federally funded. […]
Kevin Hardy, Nada Hassanein

Missouri schools show improvement in annual performance reports

2 weeks 3 days ago
Missouri public schools showed continued improvement in annual performance reports released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Thursday, with 56% of districts and charter schools raising their scores. The state is in its fourth year of the Missouri School Improvement Program 6, which education officials deem “more rigorous” than the previous iteration of […]
Annelise Hanshaw

National Republicans gear up to fight referendum on Missouri congressional map

2 weeks 4 days ago
A newly formed political action committee created to defend the gerrymandered congressional map drawn by Missouri lawmakers received $100,000 this week from national Republicans. On Wednesday, Put Missouri First reported two $50,000 contributions — one from the National Republican Congressional Committee and the other from the Republican National Committee. It marks the first contributions to […]
Jason Hancock

Report: The number of US jobs rose last month for the first time since July

2 weeks 4 days ago
The United States gained 42,000 jobs in October, the first increase since July as measured by ADP, a private payroll processing company and the only source of jobs estimates during the government shutdown, as federal jobs reports have been paused. ADP’s report, released Wednesday, showed job increases mostly in West Coast states, which gained 37,000 […]
Tim Henderson

Trump administration speeds up rule to permit more fines, arrests of protesters at federal buildings

2 weeks 4 days ago
As masked and costumed protesters demonstrate outside federal immigration facilities nationwide, the federal government has sped up the start of a new rule that may expose those protesters to fines and additional penalties. Under the new rule, which took effect Wednesday, those fines can apply to people who commit crimes near federal property as well […]
James Brooks

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to retire from Congress

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who made history as the first woman to hold the speaker’s gavel, announced Thursday she will retire, ending a 40-year legislative career as one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress.  Her announcement came after Tuesday’s elections. Pelosi had a hand in crafting what was known as […]
Ariana Figueroa

Referendum backers reject ballot title for vote on gerrymandered Missouri congressional map

2 weeks 4 days ago
If Missouri’s newly gerrymandered congressional map makes it to the ballot next year, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wants to tell voters it “better reflects statewide voting patterns” and replaces a “gerrymandered” version that “protects incumbent politicians.” Hoskins on Friday sent the proposed ballot language for a referendum petition to Republican Attorney General Catherine […]
Rudi Keller

Halloween might be over, but the masks are still on in Jefferson City

2 weeks 4 days ago
Halloween might be over, but the tricks aren’t. As Missourians pack away the costumes and candy, our state’s anti-abortion politicians are still playing dress-up, hoping to trick voters into giving up the rights we fought to win just one year ago. A year ago this week, Missourians made history. We became the first state in […]
Jess Dewes

Trump tariffs undergo intense scrutiny from US Supreme Court justices

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court during lengthy arguments Wednesday weighed whether President Donald Trump violated the Constitution when he became the first U.S. president to impose sweeping global tariffs under an economic emergency powers statute usually reserved to combat rare and unusual threats. Justices in both the conservative 6-3 majority and liberal minority questioned […]
Ashley Murray

Trump administration limits some flights during shutdown as controllers show strain

2 weeks 4 days ago
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday the Federal Aviation Administration would restrict air travel in 40 “high-traffic” areas of the country to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without a paycheck since Oct. 1.  The cutbacks will start Friday, Duffy said at an afternoon press conference.  He and FAA Administrator […]
Jacob Fischler

Democratic leaders fresh from election wins demand Trump meeting over shutdown

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — Following major Democratic wins in local and state elections across the country on Election Day, top Democratic congressional leaders pushed for a meeting with the president to end the federal government shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest in U.S. history at day 36. “The election results ought to send a much-needed bolt […]
Ariana Figueroa

Missouri voters approve four-day school week in two districts, showing rising support

2 weeks 4 days ago
When the Independence School District announced it was switching to a four-day week during the 2023-24 school year, it drew questions from local families and statewide officials. Parents wondered what kind of child care they would have on days without classroom instruction. And lawmakers debated whether the state needed to intervene. Ultimately, Missouri’s General Assembly […]
Annelise Hanshaw