Missouri lawmakers debated two bills this week that would align the state with the federal limits on intoxicating hemp products set to go into effect in November. Both Missouri bills would prohibit hemp products from containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, which is among the limits included in a provision in the […]
As Missouri’s legislative session begins, lawmakers face a clear and urgent challenge: rising electricity costs, growing demand and the responsibility to ensure reliable, affordable power for Missouri families and businesses. Meeting that challenge will require discipline, market-driven solutions and a firm commitment to policies that strengthen, not restrict, the state’s energy supply. Missouri consumes far […]
KANSAS CITY — In 2015, the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia reached out to every OBGYN in Missouri with a request. Would any of the doctors be willing to help provide abortion services? The responses were similar, said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates the Columbia location. “Could this […]
WASHINGTON — Republicans on a key U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday called on the Food and Drug Administration to wrap up its ongoing safety review of medication abortion and pressed for the Trump administration to once again require in-person dispensing. Democrats on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee argued women, not politicians, are in […]
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance broke a tied Senate vote to block advancement of a war powers resolution that would have stopped President Donald Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization. Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver Wednesday night to halt debate on the Vietnam War-era statute that gives Congress a […]
A milestone moment for the Missouri state budget passed unmentioned Wednesday in a House committee — for the first time since Medicaid expansion was passed by voters in 2020, the general revenue fund is being tapped to pay for it. In the four years that the voter-mandated program has been set aside in a separate […]
WASHINGTON — The State Department announced Wednesday it would suspend all visa processing for immigrants hailing from 75 countries because they are deemed likely to need governmental assistance in the United States, known as a “public charge.” The State Department did not answer States Newsroom’s inquiry as to when the policy would take effect or […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats Wednesday introduced three articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after a deadly shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal immigration officer. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment. The three articles of impeachment were introduced by Illinois […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb Wednesday probed whether the Trump administration has violated her court order, after Minnesota lawmakers said they were denied an oversight visit to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility following a deadly shooting by an immigration officer in Minneapolis. Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig and Kelly […]
The Missouri Office of Childhood has received federal funding owed to more than 1,700 child care providers after submitting a “comprehensive breakdown” of expenditures, state officials said Tuesday. “All subsidy funds requested” were released, and providers can expect to receive delayed payments by Jan. 16, an email from the state office said. The delay left […]
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is asking for nearly $1 million by June to furnish new offices for one of her highest-paid employees. The request is in the supplemental budget — money needed for programs running short of funds before the end of the fiscal year — for furniture and equipment in 5,000 square feet […]
WASHINGTON — Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced Tuesday they will oppose any federal funding for immigration enforcement following the deadly shooting of a woman by an immigration officer in Minneapolis. “Our caucus will oppose all funding for immigration enforcement in any appropriations bills until meaningful reforms are enacted to end militarized policing practices,” […]
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld a law barring minors from receiving cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and gender transition surgeries and prohibiting Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care for all ages. The decision, written by Judge Kelly Broniec, affirms a 2024 Cole County Circuit Court ruling from that sided with the state on all […]
Missouri’s revenue surplus, nearly $8 billion a few years ago, will be exhausted at the end of the coming fiscal year even with a proposed budget that has no new money for public schools, higher education or state employee pay raises. That’s the forecast for the budget plan unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Mike Kehoe in […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared likely Tuesday to keep in place laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. The outcomes from the nation’s highest court expected later this year could have sweeping implications for transgender rights more broadly as President Donald Trump’s […]
Gov. Mike Kehoe wants voters to determine whether Missouri should completely phase out its income tax and replace it with an expanded sales tax, leaving details on how to do it for lawmakers to decide next year. Kehoe laid out the plan in his annual State of the State address to a joint session of […]
Missouri politicians wouldn’t be able to lure donors into recurring contributions with emotional appeals that don’t disclose who would benefit from the money under a bill heard Tuesday. State Rep. Jim Murphy, a Republican from St. Louis County, said the scheme leaves contributors, who are often elderly people, confused when thousands of dollars are drawn […]
The Missouri State Board of Education stripped St. Louis Public Schools of its status as fully accredited on Tuesday, a move the only opposing board member called a “messaging device.” The school district has been downgraded to provisionally accredited. “Lowering accreditation is a broad signal and by itself does not fix audits, stabilize transportation or […]
New federal guidance to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for all children from 17 vaccines down to 11 comes as states already are charting their own courses on vaccine policy. The new federal guidelines mention a directive issued by President Donald Trump in December calling to align the U.S. vaccination schedule with “peer” countries, […]
I was struck by the inspirational tone of the year-end report issued by Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts went back to basics with his review of the fundamentals spelled out by Thomas Paine in his “Common Sense” pamphlet and the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Although the Declaration of Independence is not […]
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