a Better Bubbleā„¢

MoInd šŸ“°

Employment status at issue as US Senate panel tackles knotty college sports landscape

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — Mikayla Pivec said she worked more than 50 hours per week as a women’s college basketball player, but earned less than $8 an hour from a $1,600 monthly stipend. The professional basketball player and former star at Oregon State University said she was testifying at Thursday’s U.S. Senate panel hearing onĀ reshaping college athletics […]
Shauneen Miranda

Bipartisan US senators want investigation into farm equipment companies moving jobs to Mexico

2 weeks 4 days ago
A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators from the Midwest on Thursday asked the Commerce Department to investigate major agricultural machinery manufacturers, saying they paid shareholders handsomely while offshoring jobs. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican,Ā asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to open an investigation under a law that allows tariffs […]
Jacob Fischler

Missouri U.S. Rep. Sam Graves to retire, igniting race for open GOP seat

2 weeks 4 days ago
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves is abandoning his run for a 14th term in Congress and will retire, the Northwest Missouri Republican told the Wall Street Journal. Graves, 62, has represented Missouri’s 6th District since 2001 and is now among a growing number of House members stepping aside ahead of the 2026 midterms. ā€œI think it […]
Jason Hancock

School exercise mandate barely clears Missouri House as sponsor promises changes

2 weeks 4 days ago
A proposal to mandate daily physical activity in public schools squeaked through the Missouri House Thursday after the legislation’s sponsor promised major changes in the Senate. State Rep. Bishop Davidson, a Republican from Republic, said he will ask senators to remove high schools from the bill. He alluded to seeking additional amendments as well, speaking […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri’s income tax amendment risks higher costs and fewer services for seniors

2 weeks 4 days ago
A proposed constitutional amendment approved earlier this month by the Missouri House would trigger sweeping tax increases and deep cuts to essential services, especially for older Missourians. For years, AARP has worked with the General Assembly to deliver meaningful, targeted tax relief for older adults. Together, we’ve modernized and expanded eligibility for the circuit breaker […]
Jay Hardenbrook

ā€˜Because I’m president’: Trump explains why he voted by mail yet opposes voting by mail

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who wants to ban mail-in voting, said he had the right to vote by mail-in ballot in Florida’s special election Tuesday ā€œbecause I’m president of the United States.ā€ The president’s statement at his Cabinet meeting Thursday comes as he aggressively pushes U.S. Senate Republicans to break the long-standing filibuster to […]
Ashley Murray

As No Kings protests grow, a bigger question looms: What comes next?

2 weeks 5 days ago
Thousands of protests are scheduled across the United States on Saturday as part of the ā€œNo Kingsā€ movement opposing President Donald Trump’s administration. Organizers expect millions of people to turn out for this third round of No Kings demonstrations, with more than 3,000 local-level events mapped on the movement’s official website. Previous No Kings protests, […]
Anna Claire Vollers

New census estimates show movers swelling population in small Southeast counties

2 weeks 5 days ago
Small counties in the coastal Southeast had some of the largest population gains between mid-2024 and mid-2025 in estimates being released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, mostly because of people moving from larger areas. Jasper County, South Carolina, where there’s a building boom taking advantage of the popularity of nearby Hilton Head, was the […]
Tim Henderson

Missouri House committee sinks latest bid to revive Second Amendment law

2 weeks 5 days ago
Missouri lawmakers’ latest attempt to bar state and local officials from helping enforce certain federal gun laws collapsed Wednesday in a House committee, defeated not only by Democrats but by Republicans who said the bill would hurt gun dealers, invite costly litigation and ignore the concerns of law enforcement. The House General Laws Committee voted […]
Jason Hancock

Trump EPA to ease restrictions on summer ethanol-blend sales as gas prices soar

2 weeks 5 days ago
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow gas stations to sell a blended fuel containing 15% ethanol into the summer season in an effort to lower gas prices, Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday. The blend, known as E15,Ā  is usually barred in many Midwest states over the summer to reduce smog, though the federal government […]
Jacob Fischler

Passengers pack airport security lines as US Senate remains snarled over DHS shutdown

2 weeks 5 days ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators showed no movement Wednesday toward a deal to end the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, despite the problems it’s causing for the thousands of federal workers set to miss yet another paycheck and travelers waiting hours to get through airport security lines.Ā  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said […]
Jennifer Shutt

Missouri child care advocates rally at Capitol, say cuts would worsen shortage

2 weeks 5 days ago
Hundreds of child care providers, parents and child advocates rallied in the Missouri Capitol Wednesday, a day after the House signed off on $51.5 million in cuts to the state’s child care subsidy program. The proposed budget, which needs another roll call vote in the House before heading to the Senate, would also derail plans […]
Steph Quinn

Why I’m standing behind the $7.25 billion Roundup settlement

2 weeks 5 days ago
I was diagnosed withĀ non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019, and ever since,Ā I’veĀ lived with theĀ understandingĀ that my cancer is permanent and my future uncertain.Ā After ruling out other causes and reviewing my decades of Roundup use, my medical team concluded that repeatedĀ exposure toĀ herbicidesĀ wasĀ very likelyĀ the cause of myĀ non-HodgkinĀ lymphoma. I’mĀ grateful for the proposedĀ $7.25 billionĀ Roundup settlement because it offers aĀ secure,Ā realĀ pathĀ toĀ compensation forĀ me andĀ my family. […]
Howard Kornblue

Evergy settles class action lawsuit over employees’ 401(k) plan

2 weeks 6 days ago
TOPEKA — Former Evergy employees suing the utility company for failing to properly oversee retirement investments in the company’s 401(k) plan settled their class action lawsuit in an as-yet undisclosed agreement. Evergy spokeswoman Gina Penzig said Monday in an emailed statement to Kansas Reflector that the settlement and proposed distribution of settlement funds will be […]
Morgan Chilson

Mullin pledges to ā€˜protect everybody’ as he takes over Department of Homeland Security

2 weeks 6 days ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hailed his new Homeland Security head, former U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, as ā€œstrong, professional and fairā€ during an Oval Office swearing-in ceremony Tuesday. Mullin, who until Monday was one of Oklahoma’s Republican senators, takes the reins at the Department of Homeland Security amid a weekslong partial shutdown in the aftermath […]
Ashley Murray

Lawmakers spar over Homeland Security funding deal as shutdown strains airport security

2 weeks 6 days ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday were waiting to hear back from Democrats after they sent them a new offer to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down since mid-February.Ā  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the proposal would fund many of the agencies within DHS, including the Federal […]
Jennifer Shutt, Shauneen Miranda

Gas prices rise again as some states consider tax holidays

2 weeks 6 days ago
Gas prices are climbing again across the United States — with little clarity on where prices are headed next — spurring proposals for state gas tax holidays in the hopes of offering drivers some relief. The national average hit $3.96 per gallon Monday, up from $3.72 the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information […]
Amanda Watford

Attempts to restore child care subsidy funding thwarted in the Missouri House

2 weeks 6 days ago
The Missouri House rejected attempts by Democrats on Tuesday to restore $51.5 million in cuts to the state’s child care subsidy program. The program helps cover the cost of child care for more than 27,000 low-income and foster children statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The department started a waiting […]
Steph Quinn

Missouri House advances budget that taps surplus to close $2 billion deficit

2 weeks 6 days ago
The Missouri House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a state operating budget that will close an almost $2 billion deficit by using almost all the state’s remaining surplus in the general revenue fund. At the end of more than five hours of debate, there were few changes in the spending plan for fiscal 2027 approved […]
Rudi Keller