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State lawmakers eye promise, pitfalls of AI ahead of November elections

8 months 1 week ago
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Inside a white-walled conference room, a speaker surveyed hundreds of state lawmakers and policy influencers, asking whether artificial intelligence poses a threat to the elections in their states. The results were unambiguous: 80% of those who answered a live poll said yes. In a follow-up question, nearly 90% said their state laws […]
Kevin Hardy

Thinking about the frightening past while living in Missouri after the fall of Roe

8 months 1 week ago
What happened to Evelyn? What happened to Marsha? These questions still come up among my friends from high school 55 years later. Both disappeared from our high school class after they became pregnant. The question of how their teenage pregnancies impacted their lives is increasingly on my mind, living in Missouri after the fall of […]
Frances Levine

Added delays in store for Trump in 2020 election interference case

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith was granted more time on Friday before having to give an outline on the next steps his office is taking in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee. The delay pushes the case proceedings further into the thick of the presidential race, […]
Shauneen Miranda

Congress aims to boost enforcement at the border – with Canada

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON – While much of U.S. border security talk focuses on the southwest corner of the country, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill in June aimed at a different target —  growing migration along the U.S.-Canada border. The legislation, titled the Northern Border Coordination Act, was co-authored by Sens. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, and […]
Lia Chien

Fertilizer from human waste faces scrutiny but remains a profitable industry

8 months 1 week ago
The cool morning spring breeze hit Saundra Traywick “like a punch to the face.” Walking through her wooded 38-acre donkey farm in central Oklahoma, Traywick suddenly found it hard to breathe as the air smelled “toxic” and “like death.” Less than a mile away, a truck was spreading a chunky dark fertilizer on a hay […]
Ben Felder

After Kansas newspaper raid, journalists remain defiant in battle for accountability

8 months 1 week ago
This story is part of a series by Kansas Reflector and The Handbasket to examine the one-year anniversary of the raid on the Marion County Record. Support independent journalism by subscribing to The Handbasket or donating to Kansas Reflector. MARION, Kan. — Marion County Record editor and publisher Eric Meyer began speaking out about the […]
Marisa Kabas

Josh Hawley, Lucas Kunce remain at an impasse on Missouri U.S. Senate debates

8 months 1 week ago
BOONVILLE – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday that he will participate in moderated television debates with Democrat Lucas Kunce, but first he wants Kunce to agree to debate without moderators at the Missouri State Fair. In response, Kunce said he will take part in the Lincoln-Douglas style debate Hawley wants, but first the incumbent […]
Rudi Keller

Missouri standardized test scores show progress, continued challenges statewide

8 months 1 week ago
Missouri students are showing progress on standardized tests administered by the state, with results in some categories approaching — and even exceeding — pre-pandemic levels. But in other areas — most notably English language arts — students continue to struggle. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education revealed preliminary scores in the Missouri Assessment […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Senators urge better access to disability payments for Long COVID patients

8 months 1 week ago
Several U.S. senators have called on the Social Security Administration to take steps to make it easier for people with Long COVID to access disability benefits, actions that disability rights advocates and patients say are desperately needed. Sens. Tim Kaine , Ed Markey, Tammy Duckworth, Bernie Sanders, Tina Smith, Angus King, and Richard Blumenthal signed the letter […]
Casey Quinlan

Trump agrees to Sept. 10 debate with Harris, claims two more upcoming

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Thursday he has agreed to debate Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Sept. 10, a reversal from his position last week that he would not participate in the ABC News event. During a press conference at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the former president said […]
Ariana Figueroa

Missouri Freedom Caucus celebrates its showing in statewide primary elections

8 months 1 week ago
The right-wing Freedom Caucus fared well in Missouri’s GOP primaries Tuesday, grabbing its first statewide nomination and displaying the reach of its message in other races. State Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg emerged from an eight-person field to get the Republican nomination for Secretary of State. Freedom Caucus member state Sen. Bill Eigel finished second […]
Ezra Bitterman

U.S. Education Department to gradually roll out new FAFSA form by Dec. 1

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday it will use a phased rollout to launch the 2025-26 form to apply for federal financial student aid, which will make the application fully available two months later than usual. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — will be available to […]
Shauneen Miranda

Missouri attorney general asks to dismiss lawsuit a day before scheduled deposition

8 months 1 week ago
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wants to dismiss his lawsuit against Jackson County a day before he was set to answer questions under oath about a potential ethical breach in the case.  Bailey, who is suing the county over its property assessment process, on Tuesday asked the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District […]
Allison Kite

Lack of eviction data obscures extent of the affordable housing crisis

8 months 1 week ago
Evictions are a window into America’s rental housing crisis: In 2022, more than half of all renters spent over a third of their income on housing, and millions of tenants who miss rent payments are evicted each year. When renters are kicked out of their homes, the consequences can be disastrous. Families might lose their […]
Robbie Sequeira