The Trump administration has a new plan for teenagers learning about pregnancy: Beginning this summer, it will steer millions of dollars toward organizations that focus on anatomy, fertility tracking, hormonal production and “reproductive goals counseling.” The plan will also emphasize abstinence from sex and the importance of marriage. In doing so, it will pivot away […]
Back when I was growing up, it seemed a bit easier to get by on next to nothing. People could afford food and shelter on a working-class wage and get a little help from safety net programs when needed. But since the 1990s, the cost of housing and healthcare has increasingly exceeded wage growth. We’re […]
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate tasked with advancing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be the nation’s top law enforcer on Thursday pushed the vote one week. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s delayed vote to send the controversial nominee to the full Senate is “per standard committee practice,” according to a spokesperson for […]
WASHINGTON — Education experts and advocates warned Wednesday that the recent federal student loan system overhaul stemming from the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law will drive borrowers to private lenders and could derail their higher education plans. U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and […]
The number of cases of cyclosporiasis — a parasitic infection linked to contaminated water or food that causes severe intestinal issues — has more than doubled to over 4,173 cases across 41 states this week, up from the 1,645 confirmed cases in 34 states reported last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and […]
WASHINGTON — Former career Department of Justice officials and a survivor of abuse by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sounded the alarm Wednesday on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s fitness to lead the Department of Justice, one day ahead of a scheduled committee vote to advance his nomination to the full Senate. The narrow […]
A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general has joined a lawsuit seeking to end the Trump administration’s halt of onshore wind projects in the United States. Last week, 18 states and the District of Columbia moved to intervene in a lawsuit filed by wind industry companies against the Department of Defense. The companies and state […]
From 2019 to 2023, 340 Missourians died while pregnant or within a year after pregnancy. Of those, 108 deaths were classified as pregnancy-related — meaning caused or aggravated by the pregnancy itself — and nearly 80% of them were preventable. The findings were part of the sixth annual Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review, published this month by […]
The Trump administration claimed a rare court victory for its embattled immigration detention policy when an appeals court, covering three states with large detention centers, agreed to stay court rulings that freed three Texas immigrants during an appeal. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a terse July 21 ruling, agreed to stay three […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans passed a measure to curb stock trading by members of Congress that was packaged with an unrelated voter ID bill, part of President Donald Trump’s push for major federal involvement in elections. The legislation passed by a vote of 232-198. All Republicans and 13 Democrats voted in favor. The bill faces […]
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the U.S. House on Wednesday approved their outline for the third party-line budget measure of the second Trump administration, though they won’t be able to begin work on that package until they reach agreement with their Senate colleagues on a plan forward. The 216-214 vote on a budget resolution sets up […]
SIKESTON — Not everyone at Lloyd Gilmore’s funeral knew him well. One woman, who had ironed her clothes two days in advance, said she just wanted to be there for his family. School-age children, guided by their parents, approached his open casket in the sanctuary of Cornerstone Baptist Church and peeked inside. Other people looked […]
More than 200 American mayors are calling on the federal government to reverse changes that will cost states billions and push millions of people off the food stamp program. This week, the United States Conference of Mayors asked the U.S. Senate’s agriculture committee to reconsider the deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or […]
The first day of early voting in Missouri indicates a strong primary turnout, comparable to or possibly exceeding past primaries where hotly contested ballot measures drew more votes than candidate races. Four times as many voters cast ballots in St. Charles County on Tuesday than on the first day of early voting before the 2024 […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate committee in charge of funding the government spent hours in a hearing room Tuesday, trying to parse out just how much extra spending lawmakers should provide for the military amid the ongoing war in Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators the bombing of Iran has cost $37.5 billion. He […]
A federal commission voted Tuesday in favor of a Trump administration proposal to rescind requirements that larger employers report the demographics of their workers — information that’s used to help enforce racial and gender antidiscrimination laws. Most employers with 100 or more workers have been required to submit data annually on staff sex, race and […]
State unemployment rates in June were little changed in a month in which some hoped for a boost from World Cup-related tourism and socializing. That failed to materialize nationally, but some states saw a positive effect from fans. Texas saw a bump in jobs after hosting matches in Houston, while New York and New Jersey […]
An Illinois gambling company seeking to legalize video lottery terminals in Missouri is financing a radio campaign attacking former state Rep. Hannah Kelly in a four-way Republican primary for the state Senate. J&J Ventures of Effingham, Illinois, is the only donor to Legio XIII PAC, a political action committee created May 13, Missouri Ethics Commission […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a stopgap spending bill Tuesday that would keep the government up and running through the fall, sending it to the Senate, where lawmakers expect to rework the measure. Congress must pass a government funding bill before the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1 in order to avoid a […]
Immigration arrests reached 1,593 per day in early July in a new push to detain and deport immigrants that has led to deaths in traffic stops. There were more than 43,000 arrests in June, the highest recorded by the Trump administration, according to statistics released Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reflecting new bookings […]
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