Voting rights groups and Democratic officials are looking to defend against what they see as possible election interference from the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, now that they’ve won a major battle over mail ballots. Common Cause, a nonpartisan pro-democracy organization, announced a “voter protection” campaign Thursday that would place thousands of […]
I’ve worked in education for 30 years, which means I can now retire and receive my full benefits. But I’m not writing this from my favorite spot on my patio with my dogs beside me and my feet up; instead, I’m writing from my office as an elementary school principal in Phelps County, where I’ve […]
The last legal battle over Missouri’s 2025 redistricting plan played out Thursday, with a panel of federal appeals court judges hearing from Republicans that they should reinstate the map designed to help the GOP flip a Democratic-held congressional seat. The hearing via videoconference before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals featured sharp exchanges over […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday took another step forward on a sweeping bipartisan bill to overhaul the college sports world. The measure, clearing its second procedural hurdle on a 77-22 vote, would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA, establish a five-year eligibility timeline for athletes and bar professional […]
WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday withdrew the nomination of Richard “Lance” Schroyer to lead the agency the president tasked with carrying out his mass deportation campaign, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, had yet to have his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. […]
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was sued again Wednesday over his handling of the state’s congressional redistricting referendum. The proposed class action is the second filed against Hoskins in less than a week and the third lawsuit against him overall during that span. It seeks damages for voters who cast August primary ballots in […]
In its latest effort to overhaul federal homelessness funding, the Trump administration is proposing to provide more money to localities that prioritize treatment-first policies such as sober living, more cooperation with law enforcement and more temporary and transitional housing. It’s a reversal from a decade-long federal approach known as Housing First that sought to permanently […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it’s helping manufacturers increase the supply of estrogen-based hormonal patches and acknowledged a current nationwide shortage as more women seek hormonal therapies for symptoms related to menopause. In a release earlier this month, the FDA said it is expediting actions to increase supply, and said all six manufacturers […]
Weeks before a federal judge in St. Louis sentenced Siddharth Jawahar to 11 years in prison for running a $35 million Ponzi scheme, he hired a prominent Missouri political consulting firm to help generate favorable publicity and support for a lighter sentence. Jawahar’s $10,000 agreement with Axiom Strategies – obtained by federal prosecutors and later […]
Every year, the trustees of our carpenters’ health and welfare fund sit down to figure out how much it will cost to keep our members and their families covered. And every year, the number goes up. Not because our members are getting sicker. Not because they’re using more care. It goes up because health care […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years as inflation continues to dog the economy, largely driven by soaring gas and fuel oil prices while the war in Iran drags on. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 to increase its benchmark interest rate by a […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House departed Wednesday for a seven-week campaign break after spending less than two weeks in session during August and September. The extended “district work period” is intended to give incumbents from both political parties time to meet with constituents and fundraise back home before voting in this year’s midterm elections ends […]
WASHINGTON — Voters are much more likely to support U.S. Senate candidates in the November midterm elections if they have a plan to avoid an automatic cut to Social Security benefits in 2032, according to a poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “Senators elected this fall will be in office in […]
The official poverty rate in the United States dipped slightly by half a percentage point last year to a historic low of 10.2%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. The supplemental poverty rate, a more holistic figure that includes an individual’s non-cash resources, remained essentially unchanged at 13.1%, according to the bureau’s annual […]
WASHINGTON — Three former U.S. Education Department secretaries and the union representing agency workers on Tuesday urged the department’s top watchdog to investigate the cost and impact of mass firings last year. Former U.S. Education Secretaries Arne Duncan and John B. King Jr., who led the department during the Obama administration, and Miguel Cardona of the […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday moved forward on a sweeping bipartisan bill that would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation. The measure breezed through its first procedural vote that needed 60 senators to advance, 74-24. The legislation is the latest congressional push to overhaul the college sports landscape, which continues to wrestle with […]
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wants the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to remove a congressional redistricting referendum from the Missouri ballot and order the state to hold the November election under the gerrymandered map Republicans muscled through the Legislature last year. In a filing Tuesday afternoon, state Solicitor General Lou Capozzi, writing on […]
In a pair of unanimous decisions, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the reasons given by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins for his refusal to approve two petitions. First, the court ordered Hoskins to certify a petition on whether voters want to accept or reject the legislature’s redistricting plan. Then the court ordered him to certify […]
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel sidestepped questions about FBI agents at polling places in the midterm elections at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday that also featured a tense exchange between GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. With the November midterm elections fast approaching and the parties […]
WASHINGTON — The cost of U.S. military operations in Iran has exceeded $40 billion and the war will continue to cost taxpayers between $2 billion and $3 billion per month, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The ongoing bombing campaign, which President Donald Trump launched alongside the Israeli government […]