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‘What’s the alternative?’: US Sens. Cruz, Cantwell urge buy-in on college sports bill

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators promoted their legislation Wednesday to set national standards for college athletes’ compensation, calling the compromise bill the best available option. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state — the top members of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the matter […]
Shauneen Miranda

US House passes bill to combat ‘ghost’ federal student aid applicants

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — A bill to crack down on financial aid fraud passed the U.S. House on Wednesday.  The measure, which passed 249-172, would require the U.S. Department of Education to set up an identity fraud detection system for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA. Nearly 40 Democrats voted for the GOP-led […]
Shauneen Miranda

US House Dems urge Congress to increase protections for trans and diverse students

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — Democrats in the U.S. House on Wednesday called for greater protections for transgender and diverse students, criticizing congressional Republican and Trump administration efforts to dissolve diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “Today I tell you, rain or shine, we’re standing up for Chicago,” Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois said at the early-morning press conference […]
Amelia Twyman

Missouri auditor warns deep budget cuts loom as surplus nears end

2 weeks 2 days ago
Missouri is about to exhaust the surplus lawmakers relied on to balance the state budget, and elected officials are going to have to make deep cuts to align spending with revenue, State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said in a report released Wednesday. The report shows a worsening picture of state finances since Fitzpatrick wrote a similar […]
Rudi Keller

Billions for the next 3 years of Trump’s mass deportation campaign signed into law

2 weeks 2 days ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump significantly bolstered funding for immigration enforcement Wednesday when he signed into law a nearly $70 billion package that will keep key federal agencies operating without any new restrictions.  Democrats pressed for guardrails after immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. But when talks broke down, […]
Jennifer Shutt

Homeland Security retreats on plan to get data on mail-in voters

2 weeks 2 days ago
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is walking back, for now, a plan to sweep up data on millions of Americans who vote by mail under President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots. In a federal court filing Monday night, the Justice Department significantly hedged the data-sharing plan, pulling back from a position the Trump […]
Jonathan Shorman

Medicaid paperwork problems continue to cost thousands of Missourians coverage

2 weeks 2 days ago
More than 333,000 Missourians lost Medicaid coverage from January 2025 through February 2026, with nearly 92% dropped because of paperwork issues — not because the state determined they no longer qualified. The data, from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, shows 333,265 Missourians lost coverage during that period. Of those, 91.9% were classified […]
Steph Quinn

Trump launches new strikes on Iran after US Army helicopter downed

2 weeks 2 days ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. forces launched renewed strikes on Iran late Tuesday, in response to the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter a day earlier, according to U.S. Central Command.  President Donald Trump ordered the operation, which began at 5 p.m. Eastern and was “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” a social media account for […]
Ashley Murray

Projected Social Security benefits cliff creeps up to 2032

2 weeks 3 days ago
WASHINGTON — Congress must act to shore up Social Security during the next six years to avoid an automatic drop-off in benefits in 2032, according to a report released Tuesday.  The annual update on the Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund shows that it will “become depleted” in the fourth quarter of that year, […]
Jennifer Shutt

GAO finds millions of dollars wasted, safety and security at risk in Texas detention center

2 weeks 3 days ago
WASHINGTON — A hastily constructed immigrant detention facility on a military base in Texas wasted millions in federal funding and failed to meet basic standards, according to a report released Tuesday by a nonpartisan government watchdog.  The report by the Government Accountability Office documenting problems at Camp East Montana is one of the first independent […]
Ariana Figueroa

Kansas City hospitals are ready for the World Cup. The world may not be ready for U.S. healthcare

2 weeks 3 days ago
Kansas City hospitals said they are prepared for the influx of international patients expected this summer during the World Cup. But they worry that the patients may not be ready for America’s labyrinthine healthcare system. In addition to bulking up translation services and scheduling more doctors and nurses for shifts during the monthlong tournament, hospitals […]
Suzanne King

After nursing home crises, states target private equity’s role

2 weeks 3 days ago
Nearly 200 residents at the St. Joseph’s Center nursing home in the affluent Connecticut suburb of Trumbull were evacuated last year after Legionella bacteria was found in the facility’s water system. Two months later, they were evacuated again over critical failures in the building’s fire safety systems. Three years earlier, residents at another Connecticut nursing […]
Anna Claire Vollers

States face more budget pressures amid rising costs, slow growth

2 weeks 3 days ago
The most recent budgets proposed by governors across the country reflect ongoing financial pressures for states as they expect modest revenue growth, rising prices and federal policy changes. Most governors recommended state budgets for fiscal year 2027 that would essentially keep spending flat from the general funds that pay for most state services. That’s according […]
Kevin Hardy

What is the Missouri Public Charter School Commission doing with the 1.5%?

2 weeks 3 days ago
There is something deeply dishonest about demanding extraordinary performance from institutions you have no intention of stabilizing. For years, charter schools across Missouri have operated under a system requiring them to surrender 1.5% of their funding to the Missouri Public Charter School Commission for oversight and sponsorship. The fee is justified as necessary for accountability, […]
Jazzmine Nolan-Echols

Trump administration $100,000 visa fee for highly skilled foreign workers struck down

2 weeks 3 days ago
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts Monday struck down the Trump administration’s efforts to require a $100,000 visa fee for highly skilled immigrant workers, finding the policy is an unlawful tax. Judge Leo T. Sorokin found the hefty fee placed on the H-1B visa by President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by creating a […]
Ariana Figueroa

DoD tweaks organized religion list after complaints of Latter-day Saints snub

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon changed course Monday after its removal of dozens of religious denominations from a list of recognized faiths drew intense criticism over the weekend from Utah Republicans incensed by the failure to classify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian denomination. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a member of […]
Ashley Murray

Missouri Supreme Court declines to hear appeal over Amendment 5 ballot summary

2 weeks 4 days ago
The Missouri Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a last-minute appeal filed by proponents of a measure to repeal the state income tax seeking to revise the summary voters will see on the Aug. 4 ballot. Acting on a request filed Sunday, the court declined to review changes made by the Western District Court of […]
Rudi Keller