WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Department of Education officials in Republican and Democratic administrations sounded the alarm Monday over the agency’s efforts to outsource its special education programs and civil rights enforcement to other agencies. U.S. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state convened the former officials, along with advocates and educators, at a virtual press […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ordered 50% tariffs on several Canadian products Monday in response to what his administration describes as retaliatory restrictions on imports of American goods, including alcohol, dairy and automotives. Trump’s three separate proclamations to impose steep tariffs on items like hockey sticks, wine and cement, came just days after he threatened to slap more […]
The Republican nomination in Missouri’s 5th Congressional District could, in the weeks after the Aug. 4 primary, become a prize not worth having. Six candidates are competing for the nomination in a district Republican lawmakers redrew last year at President Donald Trump’s urging to give their party an advantage over incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel […]
WASHINGTON — In the wake of two fatal shootings in Texas and Maine, U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers will wear “at least one body camera” during traffic stops, Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, said over the weekend. Homan, who President Donald Trump has tasked with leading his mass deportation campaign, said in a […]
WASHINGTON — A D.C. Superior Court judge on Monday encouraged the Trump administration to preserve the sections of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that it says a Maryland man damaged to ensure the case moves forward. Associate Judge Todd E. Edelman warned during a status hearing in the case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn […]
WASHINGTON — A top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said Monday that a false positive report for the parasite cyclospora from a Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sample does not change the basis for an ongoing agency investigation. FDA had announced Sunday the false positive on a Taylor Farms lettuce sample, amid an outbreak of cyclosporiasis […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on July 13 killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national with legal work authorization, in Maine, making him the 22nd person shot at by federal immigration officers during President Donald Trump’s second term. Nearly all of those 22 incidents – 19 – involved Department of Homeland […]
One in five Missouri children eligible for state-paid childcare services isn’t receiving help because there isn’t enough money in the state budget. There are 7,389 children on the waiting list to be enrolled in the state’s childcare subsidy program, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education told The Independent on Friday. No children have been […]
As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, states and cities that have pushed back with so-called sanctuary policies have faced a barrage of lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice. The administration has filed a total of 27 lawsuits against more than 20 cities, counties and states with such policies since Trump returned to […]
Sam Alexander paints a grim picture of Missouri’s 28th Senate District. Alexander, an emergency room physician and farmer running for state Senate, said he lays awake at night thinking of the hospitals in financial straits, young people leaving their small towns behind for more work opportunities and senior citizens living month-to-month. “We’re America. We can […]
Following a string of special election victories, Democrats have a path to flip several Republican-held legislative chambers and break GOP supermajorities in states across the country this November. High prices and overall voter dissatisfaction with Washington have put control of the U.S. House and Senate in play this year — a dynamic that has trickled […]
We have some very important elections this year. Elections have consequences, and a lot is riding on how we vote, or worse, if we choose not to vote at all. There are concerted efforts at the national level and across many states to make it more difficult to exercise that power. We cannot afford to […]
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision makes it easier for political parties to put their stamp on the most important campaigns, just as the struggle heats up for control of Congress in the midterm elections. Simply put, the ruling “gives the parties more money to spend,” said David Kolker, senior counsel at the nonpartisan Campaign […]
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened on Friday to prosecute election officials in states that don’t “participate in securing the elections” ahead of the November midterms. Election officials who do not comply with administration directives to enhance security of voting machines and to share voter data with the federal government through the powerful Systematic Alien […]
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that public health officials have linked the ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis in five states to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants. The fast food chain wrote in a statement that it plans to remove the “potentially impacted lettuce” from its “supply chain nationwide […]
The tiniest menace of summer doesn’t care if you’re hiking through the woods, walking the dog or pulling weeds in your backyard. It just wants a ride and a meal. As ticks spread into new parts of the country and emergency room visits for tick bites climb higher than usual, states are scrambling to monitor […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department on Thursday defended the agency’s major role in a broader drive by the administration to dismantle the Education Department.  Grilled by U.S. Senate Democrats, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling stood behind the multiple interagency agreements, or IAAs, Education has so far signed with Labor, […]
A coalition of hemp businesses filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in an attempt to halt a statewide ban on intoxicating hemp products from going into effect in November. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District, claims the ban state lawmakers passed this spring contains “unconstitutionally vague” definitions for hemp and […]
In the spring of 2021, Cecilia Williams lost her son, daughter-in-law and grandson to a drunken driver. Williams, who lives in Bonne Terre, is now raising the two orphaned grandchildren who survived, Bentley and Mason. A year later, Melanie Wankum was hit head-on by a drunken driver, killing her instantly and injuring a passenger on their […]
As federal officials consider whether to reclassify marijuana under federal drug law, a new study has found that more American teenagers seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder, known as CUD, are facing longer wait times before receiving care. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed national data from more than 124,000 […]
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