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MoInd šŸ“°

Trump, Zelenskyy exit White House talks hopeful about security guarantee for Ukraine

5 months 1 week ago
President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies at the White House Monday celebrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s concession of NATO-like security protections for Ukraine as part of a future peace deal between the two countries. In a social media post on Monday night, Trump said he called Putin after the meetings were […]
Jacob Fischler

Six GOP states send more than 1,000 National Guard to D.C. for Trump crackdown

5 months 1 week ago
This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — Six Republican governors are sending more than 1,000 National Guard members to the District of Columbia after President Donald Trump last week activated 800 members from the district’s Guard as part of his federal takeover of the nation’s capital. The deployment would bring the total number of National Guard troops […]
Ariana Figueroa

Missourians buying health insurance on ACA marketplace face highest rate hikes since 2018

5 months 1 week ago
If you are one of the 617,000 people in Missouri or Kansas buying health insurance onĀ  healthcare.gov, expect sticker shock when next year’s premiums are announced. With few exceptions, insurance companies selling health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace plan to increase rates in 2026. In the Kansas City area, all but one carrier […]
Suzanne King

AmeriCorps is under siege. What happens in the communities it serves?

5 months 1 week ago
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Daniel Zare worked one-on-one as an AmeriCorps member with students going through rough times in school, lightening teachers’ workload in the classroom. At AmeriCorps Project CHANGE, based in Silver Spring’s Sligo Middle School, Zare was one of several in his group who tracked adolescents’ emotional and social wellbeing over months using […]
Ashley Murray

Missouri Freedom Caucus left with only two Senate members after summer of defections

5 months 1 week ago
Just as the Missouri Freedom Caucus appears on the cusp of its biggest legislative victories, half of its members in the Senate have quit.Ā  Missouri lawmakers are poised to return to Jefferson City next month to redraw the state’s eight congressional districts in order to gerrymander the Kansas City-based seat of Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel […]
Jason Hancock

The president has spoken. Will Missouri Republicans obey on redistricting?

5 months 1 week ago
Once upon a time, Missouri Republicans were proud to declare their independence from Washington, D.C., and anyone associated with it. During Barack Obama’s administration, they authorized specialty ā€œDon’t Tread on Meā€ license plates, decorated with the Gadsden Flag. A lot of red states have those now, but Missouri was a trendsetter. Lawmakers were also fond […]
Barbara Shelly

Trump’s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled ā€˜unlawful’ by federal judge

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON —  A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department’s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools. The Thursday ruling marks a blow to President Donald Trump’s administration as it continues to take significant strides to try to crack down on DEI efforts across the federal […]
Shauneen Miranda

Trump administration agrees in court that D.C. will keep control of its police force

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice will rewrite an order from Attorney General Pam Bondi that initially placed a Trump administration official in charge of the District of Columbia’s police force, after an emergency hearing late Friday afternoon on a lawsuit filed by the district. Attorneys on behalf of the Justice Department told District of […]
Ariana Figueroa

Missouri governor won’t confirm redistricting, but Republicans say it’s likely

5 months 1 week ago
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe still hasn’t confirmed whether he’ll call a special session to change the state’s congressional map, but Republican lawmakers who’ve spoken to the governor say it’s very possible. State lawmakers and officials gathered in Sedalia on Thursday morning for the annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast. Planned remarks from the podium focused on celebrating […]
Harshawn Ratanpal

Trump wants states to feed voter info into powerful citizenship data program

5 months 1 week ago
BILOXI, Miss. — The Trump administration is developing a powerful data tool it claims will let states identify noncitizens registered to vote. But Democratic critics and data experts warn it could allow the federal government to vacuum up vast quantities of information on Americans for unclear purposes. Some Democratic election officials and opponents of the […]
Jonathan Shorman

State leaders brace for ā€˜heavy lift’ from Medicaid, food stamp changes

5 months 1 week ago
BOSTON — During this year’s budget cycle, Oklahoma state Sen. John Haste said lawmakers had two major things on their minds. ā€œNumber one was tax cuts. Number two, what the hell is going on in Washington?ā€ he told a national gathering of state lawmakers last week in Boston. While Oklahoma lawmakers secured another round of […]
Kevin Hardy

Visa delays, hospital closures and the abandonment of rural Missouri

5 months 1 week ago
Shannon County has no hospital-based maternity care. While the local health center offers limited prenatal services, pregnant women often drive 60 to 90 minutes to reach a hospital equipped for labor and delivery. That kind of loss does not just change where babies are born. It changes whether they survive. Across rural Missouri, the health […]
Abby Ehrhardt

Immigration crackdown intensifies in D.C. under Trump order for federal control

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Local leaders and advocates Thursday said that President Donald Trump’s decision to seize the District of Columbia’s 3,400-member police force and deploy 800 National Guard members is a continuation of his administration’s immigration crackdown. Since the president’sĀ decision Monday to invoke the district’s Home Rule Act, checkpoints are being set up in busy neighborhoods, […]
Ariana Figueroa

Unless Congress acts, full Social Security benefits could end in 7 years

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation celebrating the 90th anniversary of Social Security on Thursday, though he offered no plans for avoiding insolvency and a steep drop-off in benefits within the next decade. Trump, who campaigned on ā€œsavingā€ the income stabilization program for America’s seniors, said during an appearance in the Oval Office […]
Jennifer Shutt

Running dry on data: Missouri drought hard to measure

5 months 1 week ago
After a spring and summer of wet conditions throughout almost the entire state, drought is returning to Missouri. About 10% of Missouri is now classified as abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a map that tracks drought and updates weekly. ā€œWe hadn’t had a week in July or August with a map that […]
Harshawn Ratanpal

Trump in court ruling allowed to hold back foreign aid funds approved by Congress

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a lower court’s ruling that had required the Trump administration to spend foreign aid dollars approved by Congress. But instead of addressing the central argument of the lawsuit — that a president cannot refuse to spend money approved by lawmakers, who hold the power of the […]
Jennifer Shutt