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MoInd šŸ“°

President Trump shrinks Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — again

2 weeks ago
President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders on Monday to again shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah — this time more dramatically, by about 3 million acres orĀ 90% of their original size. Utah’s all-Republican congressional delegation, Gov. Spencer Cox and House Speaker Mike Schultz stood around Trump’s desk in […]
Katie McKellar

Fed Chair Warsh vows to fight inflation even as new CPI report shows 3.5% rise

2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh promised Tuesday to ā€œput these years of high inflation behind usā€ and lower prices, including mortgage rates, for everyday Americans as inflation remains at the highest level in two years. Warsh appeared before lawmakers on Capitol Hill just after the government’s latest monthly inflation data showed a slight […]
Ashley Murray

US Supreme Court needs more security funding amid threats, justices tell lawmakers

2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress from both parties indicated Tuesday they will support additional security funding for the U.S. Supreme Court after two justices testified about a sharp rise in threats. Associate Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers on the House panel that writes the court’s annual funding bill an increase is […]
Jennifer Shutt

Darline Graham, Lindsey’s sister, sworn in as his US Senate replacement

2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Sen. Darline Graham joined the U.S. Senate Tuesday, temporarily filling the seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham.Ā  Darline Graham was sworn in just a day after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMasterĀ appointed her, as a Republican, to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term.Ā President Donald Trump recommended her to fill Lindsey Graham’s […]
Shauneen Miranda

Salad greens scrutinized as cyclosporiasis outbreak spreads

2 weeks ago
As state and federal officials work to identify the source of the recent outbreak of the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis, Michigan health officials have identified lettuces or salad greens as one potential culprit. ā€œEarly information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation,ā€ said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive […]
Anna Claire Vollers

Oregon, 11 other states sue to block Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

2 weeks ago
Twelve Democratic-led states on Monday sued to block Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.Ā  The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California, argues the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, a federal law prohibiting mergers that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly.Ā  […]
Mia Maldonado

Private equity might dodge state laws by partnering with healthcare nonprofits

2 weeks ago
It wasn’t billed as a takeover. The nonprofit hospice where Washington state nurse Milli Palmer has worked for nearly two decades announced in October 2024 that it was entering a ā€œjoint ventureā€ with Compassus, a private equity-backed home health company. The deal was billed as a 50/50 partnership between Compassus and Providence, Palmer’s employer. But […]
Anna Claire Vollers

To promote more housing, cities and states target parking minimums

2 weeks ago
In 1923, the city of Columbus, Ohio, enacted the first known off-street parking requirement for new apartment buildings. The city’s rules got stricter over time. In 1954, a Columbus apartment building with 100 one-bedroom units had to have at least 100 parking spaces; by 2022, the minimumĀ was 150. For a 2,500-square-foot restaurant, the mandate grew […]
Robbie Sequeira

Northeast Missouri state Senate race tests GOP appetite for confrontation

2 weeks ago
Two entire states — Connecticut and Rhode Island — could fit within the boundaries of northeast Missouri’s 18th state Senate District, almost 7,400 square miles where 14 counties have lost population almost continually for more than a century On Aug. 4, Republican primary voters there will all but choose their next state senator. The two […]
Rudi Keller

States try new measures to get chronically absent students back to class

2 weeks ago
This year, at least six states enacted laws trying to reduce the number of students chronically absent from school. The measures include requiring monitoring of absences and publicly releasing data, developing new guidance on the best ways to address the problem and increasing punishments for parents and guardians of chronically absent students.Ā  Chronic absenteeism is […]
Robbie Sequeira

Cori Bush targets Wesley Bell’s Israel stance in St. Louis congressional rematch

2 weeks ago
Wesley Bell and Cori Bush’s political careers were shaped by the protest movement that erupted in Ferguson in 2014 and grew into a national reckoning over race and policing.Ā  As a Ferguson City Councilman, Bell witnessed nightly protests in the streets and volatile council meetings following the killing of Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed Black […]
Rebecca Rivas, Anna Spoerre

Medicaid meal deliveries reduce hospital visits and costs

2 weeks 1 day ago
About a dozen states offer ā€œmedically tailored mealsā€ to people with conditions such asĀ diabetes and heart disease who get their insurance through Medicaid. Such programs significantly improve the health of the people in them, according to a new study. Medically tailored meals are fully prepared, home-delivered meals that are customized by a registered dietitian nutritionist […]
Anna Claire Vollers

After US Sen Lindsey Graham’s death, Trump recommends Graham’s sister to fill out term

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday he would like the South Carolina governor to select the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister to fill the Republican’s seat for the remainder of his term. ā€œI recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of […]
Jennifer Shutt

Missouri Gov. Kehoe signs controversial ā€˜born-alive’ abortion bill into law

2 weeks 1 day ago
On Monday, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law the only significant anti-abortion bill Republicans were able to pass this session as they faced heated debates with Democrats and fractured opinions over what to include in the final pared-down version of the bill. Under the ā€˜Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,’ any healthcare provider who ā€œknowingly […]
Anna Spoerre

Missouri governor signs wide-ranging bipartisan healthcare bill into law

2 weeks 1 day ago
Pregnant women on Medicaid could see a doula more often and anyone using birth control could obtain a year’s supply of contraceptives under a bill that expands women’s and maternal health coverage signed into law Monday by Gov. Mike Kehoe.Ā  The wide-ranging bill, which touches dozens of healthcare statutes and includes protections for nonprofit hospitals […]
Steph Quinn, Anna Spoerre

Judge blasts Trump for using the presidency to ā€˜manipulate’ courts in IRS case

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ā€œacted in bad faithā€ when he swiftly dropped his tax return lawsuit and directed his Cabinet members to establish a $1.8 billion ā€œanti-weaponizationā€ fund, a federal judge in Florida ruled Monday. Federal Judge Kathleen Williams of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida excoriated Trump, his sons […]
Ashley Murray

Young lawmakers talk online child safety and AI policy at annual bipartisan summit

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — Young Democratic and Republican state lawmakers from across the country found common ground Friday on the need to regulate artificial intelligence and kids’ online safety. Legislators at an annual conference hosted by Future Caucus, an organization that aims to strengthen bipartisan dialogue among Gen Z and millennial leaders, engaged in tech-related policy discussions […]
Amelia Twyman

What’s a professional graduate degree? Loan confusion reigns amid legal battle

2 weeks 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — Students pursuing several advanced degree programs can now access higher loan caps, but the temporary relief has ushered in a wave of uncertainty amid anĀ ongoing legal battle.Ā Ā  Graduate-level programs such as nursing, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology are, for now, considered ā€œprofessionalā€ degrees by the U.S. Department of Education after a court order […]
Shauneen Miranda

Appeals court reverses decision on immigrant detention, leaving no-bond policy in place

2 weeks 1 day ago
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a July 2 panel decision requiring bond hearings for immigrants held under the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy.Ā  For now, that means many immigration prisoners from all over the country can still be held indefinitely without bond in some of the nation’s largest detention centers in […]
Tim Henderson