I am Jane Doe. I was a freshman in college, second semester, when I got a call from my mom that my dad was in the hospital. I should find my older brother and we should come home. In the hour and a half it took me to locate my brother on campus (landlines, kids), […]
WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is demanding his colleagues across the aisle apologize to former special counsel Jack Smith after Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt launched false accusations at a recent hearing and called the former Justice Department official a “dirtbag.” Committee ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., accused his […]
WASHINGTON — A federal judge will rule in the coming days on whether the Trump administration can legally rescind White House press passes for journalists at three news organizations, or if those reporters will be able to continue accessing the grounds while the case continues. U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Timothy J. […]
WASHINGTON — Leading immigration advocates and experts sounded the alarm Wednesday on the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to undo state laws allowing some immigrants to pay in-state college tuition in the states where they reside. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued 24 states, Washington, D.C., and the University of Delaware since President Donald Trump […]
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of unspecified records as part of a sweeping nationwide effort to find voter fraud, according to internal DHS reports, and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. The reports from May and June by Homeland Security Investigations, a sub-agency of Immigration […]
WASHINGTON — Nearly all of the U.S. senators elected this year will be in office when Congress debates how to restructure Social Security to prevent an automatic drop-off in retirement benefits in 2032. Very few candidates in competitive races, however, have policy proposals on their campaign websites and many, when contacted by States Newsroom, declined […]
Jamie Reed stood before a room full of Republicans in St. Louis County in September, clicking through a presentation about pediatric gender medicine. The former caseworker at a St. Louis transgender clinic described puberty blockers and hormones in stark terms and warned of what she sees as lasting harm to children. The audience gasped, groaned […]
For most people, the AI debate began with tools such as ChatGPT and questions about jobs, academic integrity, misinformation, and privacy. But AI is increasingly becoming a physical presence as well, through massive data centers, new demands on the electric grid, infrastructure investment and decisions about who bears the cost. That makes the latest developments […]
Current and former Lincoln University students are suing the State of Missouri for nearly $550 million to address what they allege are decades of inequitable funding that they say has hurt the college’s academic programs and facilities. In a complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, their attorneys […]
Household water bills are increasing faster than inflation and income, according to a new analysis. The environmental advocacy nonprofit Food and Water Watch analyzed water bill data among the nation’s 500 largest community water providers. Those systems serve a collective 155 million people — nearly half the nation’s population. Between 2015 and 2025, water bills […]
A leading Democratic campaign committee is projecting confidence in U.S. Senate toss-up races four weeks before Election Day, though it has yet to commit resources to the reddest states that have recently entered the Senate map. Senate Majority PAC, which is run by allies of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, has bought […]
As President Donald Trump refuses to rule out taking extreme action in the midterm elections, voting rights advocates and civil rights leaders are bolstering their voter protection efforts in anticipation of possible federal interference. The focus by activists comes amid uncertainty among advocates and election officials over what Trump may do before, during and after Election […]
WASHINGTON — The number of women in the U.S. Senate is unlikely to increase and may decline following the November midterm elections, though there are still opportunities for candidates to make history in the upper chamber. Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics, said on a call with reporters […]
Andrew Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general who left his post at the FBI last week, told fellow Republicans Tuesday night that he vowed to continue holding wrongdoers, whether criminal or political, to the letter of the law. “The cornerstone of prosperous communities is the criminal justice system and holding wrongdoers accountable,” Bailey said. “It […]
In early August, Missouri voters decisively rejected two efforts to rewrite some of the basic rules of state government. Although Republicans hold supermajorities in the Senate (24-10) and House (111-52), Amendment 4 would have required citizen-led constitutional amendments to win both statewide and in all eight congressional districts. Voters also rejected Amendment 5, which would have required lawmakers […]
A St. Louis jury awarded $10 million Tuesday to three plaintiffs in a sprawling ownership battle over six Missouri cannabis licenses involving more than 20 businesses and individuals. Over a week of testimony, jurors heard about a tangled series of business agreements and allegations that partners went behind one another’s backs to secure competing deals. […]
With Election Day less than a month away, lawmakers in several states are suspending gas taxes or rolling back regulations on diesel fuel as voters grow increasingly frustrated with rising fuel costs amid President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order to expand access to tax-free diesel fuel nationwide, following […]
As the political prospects for Republicans worsen ahead of November’s midterm elections, the GOP is increasingly playing defense over its yearslong grip on state governments. That’s particularly true for gubernatorial elections, as Democrats could win a majority of governorships for the first time since 2010. Currently, Republicans boast a 26-24 gubernatorial advantage over Democrats. This […]
WASHINGTON — Democrats expect they’ll gain a majority of seats in the U.S. House following November’s midterm elections, giving the party a platform to serve as a check on the president’s power. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said during an interview Monday that curbing the war in Iran and working on legislation to […]
President Donald Trump wants to sharply curtail mail ballots. He’s called them “inherently corrupt” and baselessly condemned them as a major source of fraud. But with Republicans falling behind in the polls, the president is now urging his supporters to vote in the midterm elections any way they can, including by mail. The White House […]
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