a Better Bubbleā„¢

MoInd šŸ“°

U.S. Department of Education begins testing of new FAFSA form

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education is launching the first testing period for its phased rollout of the 2025-26 form to apply for federal financial student aid on Tuesday, with more students set to partake in this beginning testing stage than initially expected. The departmentĀ announced in AugustĀ it would be using a staggered approach to […]
Shauneen Miranda

Missouri regulators targeting mislabeled THC products is a good start, but it’s not enough

8 months 1 week ago
Last month, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced that their enforcement of Gov. Mike Parson’sĀ  executive order on hemp products will focus on the misbranded THC products that pose a danger to children. At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, we thank the governor for his executive order and this important step forward in […]
Trish Lollo

Former caseworker testifies in defense of Missouri transgender health care ban

8 months 1 week ago
The former caseworker whose account of her time working at a pediatric gender clinic in St. Louis jumpstarted the legislative push to outlaw gender-affirming care for minors testified in defense of Missouri’s restriction on Monday. Jamie Reed, who for four and a half years worked as a case manager at the Washington University Transgender Center, […]
Annelise Hanshaw

How long will it take for Washington to act on emergency aid for Helene victims?

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Congress may break from its six-week recess and return to D.C. in the last days before an extremely close election to approve emergency spending for Hurricane Helene recovery and response. Lawmakers aren’t set to return to Washington, D.C., until after Election Day on Nov. 5, but President Joe BidenĀ indicated MondayĀ during remarks on the […]
Jennifer Shutt

Missouri Medicaid will cover cost of doula services under new rule

8 months 1 week ago
In an effort to address Missouri’s deplorable maternal mortality rates, the state issued an emergency rule Monday allowing doulas to be reimbursed through Medicaid for the next six months.Ā  Doulas — who offer support for families during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, but do not deliver babies — have been lifted up as one solution to […]
Anna Spoerre

Budget restrictions, staff issues and AI are threats to states’ cybersecurity

8 months 1 week ago
Many state chief information and security officers say they don’t have the budget, resources, staff or expertise to feel fully confident in their ability to guard their government networks against cyber attacks, according to a new Deloitte & Touche survey of officials in all 50 states and D.C. ā€œThe attack surface is expanding as state […]
Paige Gross

Biden pledges federal help for states in the Southeast stricken by catastrophic storm

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden pledged Monday that the federal government would help people throughout the Southeast recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, and said he expects to ask Congress for emergency funding in the weeks ahead. ā€œI’m here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will […]
Jennifer Shutt

Farming among the trees: How perennial crops can help breathe life into depleted soil

8 months 1 week ago
On harvest days atĀ Three Creeks Farm and ForestĀ in the Missouri River valley, farm owner Emily Wright and her staff collect three varieties of leafy greens from the field. ā€œWe can’t really grow enough,ā€ she said. ā€œWe try to have consistent supply throughout the course of our season — which is basically April to December — […]
Jana Rose Schleis

U.S. government unveils charges against Iranians who hacked into Trump 2024 campaignĀ 

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. law enforcement on Friday announced charges against three Iranians who allegedly stole materials from former President Donald Trump’s campaign and tried to pass them to news media and Democrats in an attempt to influence the 2024 election. The Department of Justice unsealed the indictment detailing a yearslong hacking scheme by Iran that […]
Ashley Murray

Missouri Sunshine Law appeal from Cass County digs into public notice requirements

8 months 1 week ago
A rural Missouri fire district near Kansas City committed so many violations of the Missouri Sunshine Law that listing them separately wasn’t the best way to present them, attorney Jim Layton told Western District Court of Appeals during oral arguments. Under questioning from Presiding Judge Thomas Chapman, Layton said he counted 46 violations committed in […]
Rudi Keller

Taxes: Where do Trump and Harris stand?

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — With the clock ticking on former President Donald Trump’s signature 2017 tax law, and high housing, food and child care costs darkening Americans’ mood, tax cuts have become the star of the 2024 presidential contest between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump wants to overall extend his tax provisions beyond the 2025 […]
Ashley Murray

Postal chief insists to Congress that mail-in ballots will get delivered in time

8 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before Congress on Thursday that voters can ā€œabsolutelyā€ trust their mail-in ballots will be secure and prioritized, though he emphasized they must be mailed at least a week ahead of the various state deadlines to be delivered on time. DeJoy’s testimony to House lawmakers […]
Jennifer Shutt

Changing demographics and the political calculus of anti-immigrant rhetoric in swing states

8 months 1 week ago
As former President Donald Trump worked to scuttle a bipartisan border deal in Congress because it threatened to derail his campaign’s focus on immigration, Republicans in Arizona unveiled a plan to empower local officials to jail and deport migrants, decrying the federal government’s lack of solutions. ā€œArizona is in a crisis,ā€ state Senate President Warren […]
Gloria Rebecca Gomez

Missouri and Kansas keep losing pharmacies, and a key part of health care

8 months 1 week ago
Less than two years ago, neighbors near Brush Creek Boulevard and Troost Avenue had choices when they needed to pick up a prescription — or a carton of milk. A CVS pharmacy stood on the northeast corner of their intersection. Its retail rival, Walgreens, was just a block south at Troost and Emanuel Cleaver II […]
Suzanne King

Patients hurt by Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming care, providers testify

8 months 1 week ago
After three days of battling over scientific papers and expert testimony, the trial of a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s restrictions on gender-affirming treatments on Thursday turned to the impact the law has on patients and providers. Nicole Carr, a nurse practitioner at Southampton Community Healthcare in St. Louis, said anxiety, fear and depression first increased in […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Harris pitches an ā€˜opportunity economy’ in debut one-on-one TV interviewĀ 

8 months 1 week ago
The Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, laid out more of her economic vision Wednesday during her first one-on-one cable TV interview. Harris and former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, are laying out dueling economic agendas this week as the two vie for the Oval Office in an extremely close race. ā€œI […]
Shauneen Miranda

U.S. House panel on Trump assassination attempt points to multiple failures by Secret Service

8 months 1 week ago
Members of the U.S. House task force investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the U.S. Secret Service for poor planning and breakdowns in communication and coordination with local law enforcement. Republicans and Democrats on the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump at their first […]
Jacob Fischler