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MoInd šŸ“°

As national death rate dips, some states did better than others

2 weeks 4 days ago
The nation’s death rate may have fallen to a historic low last year as many of the killers of young people such as drug overdoses, gun homicides and traffic accidents continued receding in 2025, according to new federal statistics.Ā Ā  States have not shared equally in the success, though, according to a Stateline analysis of provisional […]
Tim Henderson

Feds have a new teen pregnancy prevention plan: Fertility and ā€˜reproductive goals’

2 weeks 4 days ago
The Trump administration has a new plan for teenagers learning about pregnancy: Beginning this summer, it will steer millions of dollars toward organizations that focus on anatomy, fertility tracking, hormonal production and ā€œreproductive goals counseling.ā€ The plan will also emphasize abstinence from sex and the importance of marriage.Ā  In doing so, it will pivot away […]
Kelcie Moseley-Morris

US Senate Judiciary holds over vote on Blanche nomination for AG as Grassley slams Dems

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate tasked with advancing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be the nation’s top law enforcer on Thursday pushed the vote one week. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s delayed vote to send the controversial nominee to the full Senate is ā€œper standard committee practice,ā€ according to a spokesperson for […]
Ashley Murray

Leading Dem on US House education panel, advocates blast student loan changes

2 weeks 4 days ago
WASHINGTON — Education experts and advocates warned Wednesday that the recent federal student loan system overhaul stemming from the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law will drive borrowers to private lenders and could derail their higher education plans.Ā  U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and […]
Shauneen Miranda

Cyclosporiasis outbreak surges to over 4.1K confirmed cases

2 weeks 4 days ago
The number of cases of cyclosporiasis — a parasitic infection linked to contaminated water or food that causes severe intestinal issues — has more than doubled to over 4,173 cases across 41 states this week, up from the 1,645 confirmed cases in 34 states reported last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and […]
Shalina Chatlani

State AGs join legal fight against Trump’s wind farm freeze

2 weeks 4 days ago
A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general has joined a lawsuit seeking to end the Trump administration’s halt of onshore wind projects in the United States. Last week, 18 states and the District of Columbia moved to intervene in a lawsuit filed by wind industry companies against the Department of Defense.Ā  The companies and state […]
Alex Brown

Missouri maternal deaths remain mostly preventable, sixth state report finds

2 weeks 5 days ago
From 2019 to 2023, 340 Missourians died while pregnant or within a year after pregnancy. Of those, 108 deaths were classified as pregnancy-related — meaning caused or aggravated by the pregnancy itself — and nearly 80% of them were preventable. The findings were part of the sixth annual Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review, published this month by […]
Anna Spoerre

Trump administration claims court victory in mandatory detention

2 weeks 5 days ago
The Trump administration claimed a rare court victory for its embattled immigration detention policy when an appeals court, covering three states with large detention centers, agreed to stay court rulings that freed three Texas immigrants during an appeal.Ā  The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a terse July 21 ruling, agreed to stay three […]
Tim Henderson

US House GOP pushes through budget blueprint for Iran war funding, farm aid

2 weeks 5 days ago
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the U.S. House on Wednesday approved their outline for the third party-line budget measure of the second Trump administration, though they won’t be able to begin work on that package until they reach agreement with their Senate colleagues on a plan forward.Ā  The 216-214 vote on a budget resolution sets up […]
Jennifer Shutt

After a man dies in police custody, residents in a Missouri town demand answers

2 weeks 5 days ago
SIKESTON — Not everyone at Lloyd Gilmore’s funeral knew him well. One woman, who had ironed her clothes two days in advance, said she just wanted to be there for his family. School-age children, guided by their parents, approached his open casket in the sanctuary of Cornerstone Baptist Church and peeked inside. Other people looked […]
Cara Anthony

Citing a hunger ā€˜crisis,’ US mayors call for end to federal SNAP cuts

2 weeks 5 days ago
More than 200 American mayors are calling on the federal government to reverse changes that will cost states billions and push millions of people off the food stamp program. This week, the United States Conference of Mayors asked the U.S. Senate’s agriculture committee to reconsider the deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or […]
Kevin Hardy

Trump proposal to end employer race, gender reporting advances

2 weeks 5 days ago
A federal commission voted Tuesday in favor of a Trump administration proposal to rescind requirements that larger employers report the demographics of their workers — information that’s used to help enforce racial and gender antidiscrimination laws. Most employers with 100 or more workers have been required to submit data annually on staff sex, race and […]
Nada Hassanein

Gambling company bankrolls attacks in Missouri Senate District 16 GOP primary

2 weeks 6 days ago
An Illinois gambling company seeking to legalize video lottery terminals in Missouri is financing a radio campaign attacking former state Rep. Hannah Kelly in a four-way Republican primary for the state Senate. J&J Ventures of Effingham, Illinois, is the only donor to Legio XIII PAC, a political action committee created May 13, Missouri Ethics Commission […]
Rudi Keller