The campaign to repeal Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map turned in 300,000 signatures Tuesday to put it on the 2026 ballot. But Secretary of State Denny Hoskins says that won’t stop the map from going into effect on Thursday. Hoskins also argued he has the power to unilaterally declare the referendum unconstitutional if it is determined […]
Derrin Robinson has worked in Oregon elections for more than 30 years, long enough to remember when voters in the state cast their ballots at physical polling sites instead of by mail. As the nonpartisan clerk of Harney County, a vast, rural expanse larger than Massachusetts, Robinson oversees elections with about 6,000 registered voters. Oregon […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Education Department is bringing back hundreds of employees in its Office for Civil Rights who were placed on paid administrative leave earlier this year, according to a Dec. 5 email to those employees obtained by States Newsroom. The effort came as the Office for Civil Rights, or OCR — which is […]
A popular program allowing Medicare patients to get hospital care at home would be extended until 2030 under a bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and awaiting consideration by the Senate. The bill was passed by the House on Dec. 1 and referred to a Senate committee the next day. The federal government […]
The federal government will provide $12 billion to U.S. farmers who have been hurt by “unfair market disruption,” President Donald Trump said at a White House roundtable event Monday. Trump said repeatedly the funding was available thanks to tariff revenues, framing his aggressive trade policy as a boon to farmers rather than a drag on […]
As a parent in 2025, it often feels like I’m keeping the darkest tentacles of the internet away from my kid with a whip and a chair. Most parents I know feel the same way. Among the thousands of bills pre-filed for the next legislative session, Missouri lawmakers are targeting some of the ugliest corners […]
A federal judge Monday refused to back Missouri’s Republican leaders efforts to block a statewide vote on a gerrymandered congressional district map, dismissing a case filed by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway. U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone ruled he had no jurisdiction over the lawsuit brought on behalf of Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and the […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared ready to expand presidential power after hearing a case Monday on whether President Donald Trump can hire and fire members of independent federal agencies without cause. The high court’s decision, expected by the end of the term in late June, could heighten presidential influence over agencies created by […]
As the housing shortage pushes more Americans into homelessness for the first time, the Trump administration wants to focus federal housing aid on mental health treatment and enforcement against street homelessness, rather than on finding people permanent homes as quickly as possible. The administration’s new plan to tie federal housing aid to work requirements and […]
Zoe Clarke became a hospital registered nurse two and a half years ago, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. Clarke, an ICU nurse in Asheville, North Carolina, wants to get her master’s degree to become a nurse practitioner or a certified registered nurse anesthetist — occupations in high demand — and eventually work […]
When Steven Caldwell-Bey wasn’t able to get a regular refill for his blood thinners, he began taking one pill a day instead of two to stretch them out. The problem, he said, is that it’s been difficult to get medical attention at Jefferson City Correctional Center because so many nurses have quit. Other men serving […]
Jerry Chiasson had been living under a bridge in Gainesville, fighting larceny charges and trying to get clean. Biking from Springfield to Mountain Home, Arkansas, where he’d planned to stay with a friend, Chiasson, 52, was pulled over and arrested on a warrant for a stolen car — charges that were eventually dropped. While fighting […]
Before the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade, a lot of women and girls died trying to end their pregnancies themselves. How many is impossible to know. Since our current court overturned Roe, women are once again dying, as ProPublica has reported. But not in numbers anywhere near […]
As food prices remain high, the Trump administration has made it easier for farmers to hire foreign guest workers and to pay them less. Now, other industries with large immigrant workforces also are asking for relief as they combat labor shortages and raids. Visas for temporary foreign workers are a quick fix with bipartisan support […]
One year ago, abortion became legal in Missouri. But since then, only 80 elective abortions have been performed in the state. Thousands of Missourians had to seek care out of state. This is the reality until a trial plays out next year to determine which of Missouri’s anti-abortion laws violate a voter-approved reproductive health care […]
The minimum wage for workers will increase in 19 states and 49 cities and counties next month, with the wage floor reaching $15 per hour in dozens of localities, a new report found. Though the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not increased since 2009, many state and local governments continue to increase […]
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Thursday announced new restrictions for immigrants, reducing the work authorization periods from five years to 18 months, the latest crackdown on legal immigration. The new policy follows the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members by an Afghan national granted asylum earlier this year. The shift will not only […]
A Medicare pilot program will allow private companies to use artificial intelligence to review older Americans’ requests for certain medical care — and will reward the companies when they deny it. In January, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will launch the Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction (WISeR) Model to test AI-powered prior […]
In January, hackers gained access to a cache of Cerner electronic health records stored on a legacy network. But some patients whose sensitive health and financial information may have been exposed are only now being notified — and many others still haven’t been told. NKC Health, formerly North Kansas City Hospital, is one of the […]
Federal agents this week seized 73,000 products containing 7-hydroxymitragine, commonly known as 7-OH, from three Kansas City-area warehouses. The seized products included things like power bars, pills and liquids shots that are made with a concentrate of 7-OH, which is the main opioid-inducing element in kratom. The action came out of a partnership between the […]
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