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MoInd 📰

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

2 weeks 2 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 2 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

Missouri delays SNAP restrictions on candy, sugary drinks until 2027

2 weeks 2 days ago
Missouri is postponing its plan to prohibit the use of federal food aid to purchase candy, prepared desserts and sugary drinks until Feb. 15, 2027, after grocers warned they needed clearer guidance to enforce the new restrictions at the checkout. The delay will allow the Missouri Department of Social Services to develop educational materials to […]
Steph Quinn

Minority-owned businesses surge in Kansas City despite headwinds

2 weeks 2 days ago
Casie Murff has had the entrepreneurial bug for as long as he can remember. He tried his hand in insurance, in real estate and with an online storefront. Murff worked jobs that paid the bills but didn’t find them fulfilling. So, after some planning, he returned full-time to one of the first side hustles from […]
Thomas White

Trump’s proposed $1.7 billion slush fund revives national discussion over reparations

2 weeks 2 days ago
When President Trump floated the idea of a nearly $2 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for people “horribly treated” by the federal government, he inadvertently reopened the debate about reparations for Black Americans. Suddenly, in a galling case of white grievance envy, it’s not such a far-fetched idea. Trump, who has since backed off the measure, created the fund as a means of providing a […]
Mark McCormick

Missouri appeals court keeps tax overhaul on Aug. 4 ballot with revised summary

2 weeks 5 days ago
The proposal directing lawmakers to eliminate the state income tax by expanding or increasing sales taxes will remain on the Aug. 4 ballot but the summary voters will see must be changed, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The decision, which is subject to appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court, upholds the […]
Rudi Keller

US Senate blocks Trump’s SAVE America Act, thwarting restrictions on voting

2 weeks 5 days ago
The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections. Senators voted 48-50 against advancing an amendment that would have incorporated Trump’s top legislative priority into an immigration-focused spending bill. The vote offered the clearest sign yet that despite […]
Jonathan Shorman

Trump administration processing freeze on asylum seekers violated law, judge rules

2 weeks 5 days ago
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Rhode Island Friday struck down several Trump administration policies that halted processing for asylum seekers following a shooting in Washington, D.C., that left one West Virginia National Guard member dead and another seriously injured. In a searing opinion, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said the Trump administration “threw the lives […]
Ariana Figueroa

‘They’re already here’: Regulating data centers stalls in Missouri

2 weeks 5 days ago
The rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers is far outstripping efforts to regulate them in Missouri and other states. As a result, communities are left with failed legislation, hastily called moratoriums and divisive local elections to address the massive industrial facilities popping up across rural America. “Legislation traditionally lags very far behind technology, and that […]
Sterling Sewell, Max Quinn

Republicans push $70B for immigration enforcement through US Senate, with no limits on ICE

2 weeks 5 days ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved a nearly $70 billion package early Friday, moving Republicans one step closer to funding immigration and deportation activities for the next three years without negotiating new constraints on federal agents with Democrats.  The 52-47 mostly party-line vote sends the measure to the House, where GOP lawmakers could send it to […]
Jennifer Shutt

Trump to pump $700M into coal power in the states, blasts renewable energy

2 weeks 5 days ago
The federal government will spend $700 million on building or refurbishing coal power infrastructure across the country in a boost to “clean, beautiful coal,” President Donald Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office. Trump said he was invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, which gives the president authority over domestic industry, to save 13 […]
Jacob Fischler

US Senate launches marathon session to pass nearly $70B for ICE, Border Patrol

2 weeks 6 days ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans fended off an attempt Thursday to block the Department of Justice from using an “anti-weaponization” fund to pay people who feel they were wrongly prosecuted, as well as another proposal that sought to require congressional authorization for a new White House ballroom.  Debate on amendments and motions, by Democrats and […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

President Trump picks acting AG Todd Blanche to stay on full time

2 weeks 6 days ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, to fill the top role at the Department of Justice on a permanent basis, he said Wednesday night. Trump revealed Blanche as his choice at an outdoor event at the White House, saying “we are going to make him […]
Ashley Murray

Kansas City-based American Shaman agrees to stop selling kratom and 7-OH

2 weeks 6 days ago
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday that Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman – the largest distributor of kratom products in Missouri – has agreed to immediately suspend all in-state sales of kratom and 7-OH.  Hanaway sued American Shaman in March, taking particular aim at 7-OH, the company’s more potent products that the attorney general […]
Rebecca Rivas

First-time homebuyers face hurdles despite gradual improvement

2 weeks 6 days ago
The idea started with a sermon Micah Longmire heard at his Presbyterian church in Ogden, Utah, about the importance of grandparents in a child’s life. Longmire, now 31, exchanged a look with his mother-in-law. “We were like, ‘I’d be OK living with you after that sermon,’ and the ball rolled downhill from there,” Longmire said. […]
Tim Henderson

New medical guidance affirms Tylenol safety during pregnancy months after Trump sows doubt

2 weeks 6 days ago
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine published new clinical guidance this week affirming that acetaminophen, better known by its brand Tylenol, should be the “first-line” defense against pain and fever during pregnancy.  The directive contradicts the Trump administration’s notice to physicians last year cautioning against the use of the primary pain reliever recommended for pregnant women, […]
Sofia Resnick

Missouri to start using anti-trafficking app ahead of World Cup

2 weeks 6 days ago
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has announced a partnership she hopes will lessen human trafficking during the FIFA World Cup in Kansas City. Large events such as the World Cup are known to have an increased rate of human trafficking and Missouri is working to get ahead of this trend. Safe House Project is a […]
Jayden Bates-Bland

State takeovers of local school districts impact more than grades and finances

2 weeks 6 days ago
This year, Missouri joins Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida in use of an A-F public school and district grading framework. In this accountability system, states consider usual metrics like graduation rates and state testing scores to determine a district’s “grade.” These data points are also used by the Missouri […]
Madelyn Yoo