Carefully assess the actions of Missouriās governor, Republican members of the state legislature and our Congressional delegation. Then ask yourself: Whose priorities, interests and concerns have they supported, fought for and voted for? Certainly not those of most Missourians. Missourians voted for candidates in various elective offices to represent and fight for their interests in […]
WASHINGTON ā President Donald Trump will remove former Missouri Republican U.S. Rep. Billy Long from his post as head of the Internal Revenue Service less than two months after his confirmation, according to the White House Friday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will step in as commissioner of the agency tasked with enforcing tax law and […]
Residents of historically redlined communities experience slower response times from emergency medical services, according to a study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open. Redlining refers to the discriminatory practice under which the federal government and banks systematically denied mortgages to Black and Hispanic residents. The practice deemed neighborhoods with higher proportions of nonwhite residents to […]
Violent crime in the United States fell 4.5% in 2024, according to a new FBI report, while property crime dropped 8.1% from the previous year. The declines continue a trend seen since crime surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when homicides jumped nearly 30% in 2020 ā one of the largest one-year increases since the FBI […]
WASHINGTON ā A nonprofit government watchdog sued the Trump administration Friday for failing to respond to public records requests for communications between the White House, Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation about Florida sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including any review of President Donald Trumpās past relationship with the financier. The lawsuit came as […]
When Deandre Pointer appeared in front of a Jackson County judge in June 2023, his world was bright. After years of protesting his innocence of murder charges and failing to convince any court, Pointer cut a deal to trade his life without parole sentence for a 23-year term on two counts of second degree murder […]
Missouriās 67 rural hospitals are pondering a dramatically different future under President Donald Trumpās new budget plan. The recently approved budget bill will slash federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. By some estimates, it could lead to 8.6 million people nationwide losing health coverage. Various estimates conclude that between […]
Despite Missouri lawmakers failing this year to pass legislation targeting antisemitism in public schools and colleges, the Anti-Defamation League concluded in a new report released Friday that the state has still made progress at combating what it called “anti-Jewish sentiment.” The report, which aims to evaluate all 50 states on a series of criteria, points […]
At U.S. President Donald Trumpās request, Congress voted in July 2025 to claw back $1.1 billion it had previously approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That measure, which passed in the House and the Senate by very narrow margins, will cut off all federal tax dollars that would have otherwise flowed to PBS and […]
Black leaders in the Missouri legislature said Thursday that they will fight any attempt to redraw the stateās congressional districts, pointing to the courts as the venue where they have greatest hopes to prevail. State Rep. Michael Johnson, a Kansas City Democrat who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, said any effort to remake maps is […]
American companies are split between support and criticism of a new voluntary European AI code of practice, meant to help tech companies align themselves with upcoming regulations from the European Unionās landmark AI Act. The voluntary code, called the General Purpose AI Code of Practice, which rolled out in July, is meant to help companies jump-start […]
As more hospitals have gobbled up private physician practices, costs for childbirth and other services have gone up, according to a new study. Since the early aughts, the share of physicians in the United States working for hospitals has nearly doubled, according to the study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit […]
WASHINGTON ā Fueled by President Donald Trumpās aims to bolster the U.S. Houseās razor-thin GOP majority in the 2026 midterm elections, aĀ rare mid-decade redistricting fight in Texas grew increasingly bitter in recent days and engulfed other states. As Democratic legislators in the Lone Star State fled to block a new congressional map, a handful of […]
A final vote on a St. Louis County bill to regulate intoxicating hemp products stalled out Tuesday night after about a dozen business owners and lobbyists opposed it at the county council meeting. The billās sponsor, St. Louis County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, told The Independent on Wednesday morning that she plans on revisiting the billās […]
The abrupt termination of tax credits for clean energy projects is perhaps the most drastic blow that President Donald Trump has struck in his campaign against wind and solar electricity. As states brace for the uncertainty ahead, they are scrambling to get pending projects off the ground before the tax credits expire. āThe real opportunities […]
U.S. families lose nearly $350 billion each year due to the incarceration of a loved one in jail or prison, according to a recent report from the criminal justice advocacy group FWD.us. The estimate includes both direct expenses and long-term losses in household income. The findings are based on a national survey of just over […]
The Missouri attorney generalās office is asking a Cole County judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging a state agency violated competitive bidding laws to steer lucrative technology contracts to a well-connected company. The lawsuit, filed in May by a longtime state employee named Rodney Rice, alleges ādeliberate biasā toward St. Louis-based World Wide Technology in […]
BERKELEY ā Christy Williams stood outside the Boeing facility in St. Louis for hours on Tuesday next to her handwritten sign declaring: “We aren’t building toasters!” For the last three years, Williams and her son have helped build F-15 fighter jets at Boeing in the St. Louis area ā something she called her life’s dream.Ā […]
The Trump administration recently slashed funding for the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an agency that works to improve our health care system. Such budget cuts threaten to make Missouri hospitals less safe, less effective and potentially more prone to devastating medical errors. While not as well-known as other federal health care […]
WASHINGTON ā The House Committee on Oversight issued subpoenas Tuesday for testimony from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among other ex-government officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations, regarding knowledge of Florida sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky alsoĀ subpoenaed the U.S. Department of Justice for […]