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WASHINGTON — After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations to how […]

The post As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Dyvia Huitron started having sex when she was 16. Worried about getting pregnant, she talked to her parents about getting on hormonal birth control. Instead, they grounded her. The now-19-year-old had expected pushback – she was living in a religious community in conservative McAllen, Texas. But she underestimated how many years it would eventually take […]

The post Health experts urge FDA to approve over-the-counter birth control in unanimous vote appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Four years ago, a viral video showed two Kansas City police officers slamming a Black transgender woman, Brianna BB Hill, onto the sidewalk, kneeling on her in the face, torso and ribs and forcing her cuffed hands above her head. In the time since, the officers pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. And Hill was shot […]

The post Trans women of color and the Kansas City Police Department’s rocky, violent history appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans have requested more than $10 billion in earmarks to be included in next year’s appropriations bills, despite demanding massive spending cuts as a contingent for raising the nation’s debt ceiling. All but a handful of House Republicans barely pushed through a bill that would temporarily raise the U.S. borrowing limit, but […]

The post U.S. House GOP wants spending cuts — and also $10B in home-state earmarks appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate remained bogged down in GOP infighting Wednesday night, with conservatives for the third day in a row blocking or slowing legislative action while time ticked down towards Friday adjournment.  Leading the effort was Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, who spent much of Wednesday blocking an uncontroversial hemp bill by reading an anti-vaccine […]

The post Gridlock plagues Missouri Senate once again with just days to go before adjournment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer and fellow House Republicans on Wednesday used newly unearthed bank records to claim that President Joe Biden’s family members sought to improperly benefit from his vice presidency — though the preliminary findings leave several major questions unanswered. No direct ties to Biden while he served as […]

The post New claims aired by GOP of Biden family influence-peddling, but questions remain appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A pandemic-era measure that allowed for the swift expulsion of millions of migrants at the Southwest border is set to end Thursday, and the Biden administration and state officials across the U.S. are bracing for a potential increase in asylum seekers. At the same time, House Republicans this week are pushing through a […]

The post Title 42 nears an end, marking a shift in U.S. immigration policy at the border appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri House sent legislation to the governor’s desk Wednesday morning barring transgender youth from beginning gender-affirming care. The bill passed 108-50. Only three Republicans joined every Democrat in opposition: House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, a doctor, Rep. Chris Sander, who is gay, and Rep. Gary Bonacker. Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth of St. Louis asked […]

The post Missouri House sends bill banning transgender health care for minors to governor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders were unable to reach a bipartisan debt limit agreement during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, leaving the dispute unresolved as the country moves closer to a default predicted as soon as early June. White House staff and aides to the four congressional leaders, however, will meet throughout […]

The post Biden and congressional leaders fail to reach a debt limit deal, but will meet again Friday appeared first on Missouri Independent.

BRIDGETON — Radioactive waste has migrated outside the boundaries of the West Lake landfill and contaminated soil and water on the edge of the St. Louis County site, federal environmental officials said Tuesday night.  And the contaminated area onsite is far larger than previously thought. Yet still, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency couldn’t assure the […]

The post EPA: Radioactive contamination at West Lake landfill is more widespread appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A last-ditch effort to legalize sports wagering passed the Missouri House on Tuesday but immediately ran against opposition from the senator whose bill was modified to include it. While the House has had no trouble passing sports wagering, identified as a priority by leaders of both parties as the legislative session began, the Senate has […]

The post Missouri House tries again to prod Senate into passing sports wagering bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A proposal making it harder to pass constitutional amendments, which one Democrat called “dog poop with icing,” is one step away from a statewide ballot. On Tuesday morning, the Missouri House voted 107-55 to pass a measure to set the majority needed to pass amendments at 57%. The current threshold is a simple majority and […]

The post Major overhaul of initiative process one step from Missouri ballot appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Students all over the country, including children in Missouri, continue to suffer from learning loss, as well as inadequate academic and social support at school brought on by the pandemic. Compounding this problem is the fact that although decades of research show teachers being the single most important school-based factor impacting student achievement, many of […]

The post Missouri teachers deserve better pay and sufficient support appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government could default as soon as next month if Congress and the Biden administration can’t reach a debt limit agreement before then, according to a new analysis from the Bipartisan Policy Center. The updated guidance, which puts the default window between early June and early August, adds pressure to President Joe […]

The post Bipartisan group projects U.S. default as soon as early June, citing ‘quite low’ cash flows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The labels and packaging for marijuana-related products, “shall not be made to be attractive to children,” the Missouri constitution states. That’s why state regulators are proposing requiring “plain or uniform labeling,” similar to those of cigarettes or medicines, said Amy Moore, director of Missouri’s cannabis regulation under the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. […]

The post Marijuana industry, state regulators at odds over rules targeting packaging aimed at kids appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, says he didn’t think he would win when he first appeared on the 2012 ballot for a state House seat. Voters in the 44th House District and the 19th Senate District have since proved him wrong. Eleven years later, he has risen to the most powerful seat in the Senate — […]

The post ‘He’s the good cop’: Caleb Rowden’s leadership of Missouri Senate reflects political realities appeared first on Missouri Independent.

CLAYTON, Mo. — Kaitlyn Anderson was six months pregnant when a driver killed her and a Missouri Department of Transportation colleague in 2021 while they were doing roadwork near St. Louis. Her fetus also died. Although Anderson’s family tried to sue the department on her behalf, workers’ compensation laws in Missouri and elsewhere shield employers […]

The post Can a fetus be an employee? States are testing the boundaries of personhood after ‘Dobbs’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

New banking regulations proposed by federal watchdogs don’t go far enough in countering potential problems, but could help lower bank fees and calm financial markets and nerves, leading to a more stable financial system, according to some economists. The Federal Reserve, FDIC and Government Accountability Office released reports blaming mismanagement of risk, including overreliance on uninsured deposits and rapid growth on problems at […]

The post Fed’s fault-finding on bank failures could lead to stronger regulations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers must adjourn for the year at 6 p.m. on Friday, leaving just five days to complete work on some of the highest-profile — and controversial — items on the GOP supermajority’s agenda.  And while the last two legislative sessions were defined in their final week by the simmering tension between Republicans in the […]

The post Missouri lawmakers enter final week of session with major GOP priorities unfinished appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Retired Missouri employee Rick Dahl draws over $467,000 a year from his state government pension. How did he end up drawing such a generous guaranteed lifetime benefit? Dahl served as the chief investment officer of the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System, also known as MOSERS, from 1995 until 2016. MOSERS retirees receive pensions based on […]

The post Former MOSERS employee draws nearly $500K a year from state pension appeared first on Missouri Independent.