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. Doulas — who offer support for families during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, but do not deliver babies — have been lifted up as one solution to […]
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. “The attack surface is expanding as state […]
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. “I’m here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will […]
The cost of fertilizer is up; crop prices are down. Farmers have struggled through drought, and ranchers sold off huge swaths of their herd. To top it all off, Congress has yet to pass a new iteration of the Farm Bill, which expires in a matter of days. And it likely won’t take action on […]
On harvest days at Three Creeks Farm and Forest in the Missouri River valley, farm owner Emily Wright and her staff collect three varieties of leafy greens from the field. “We can’t really grow enough,” she said. “We try to have consistent supply throughout the course of our season — which is basically April to December — […]
One of my 6-year-olds was on the swings when a man approached and handed me a flier from Missouri Right to Life PAC titled “10 Reasons to Oppose the Pro-Abortion Initiative Petition.” The man told me that if Amendment 3, the ballot initiative that would end Missouri’s current abortion ban, passes in November, women will […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON — United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before Congress on Thursday that voters can “absolutely” 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 […]
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. “Arizona is in a crisis,” state Senate President Warren […]
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 […]
The Democratic National Committee will send $2.5 million to more than 30 of its state and territorial parties, including Missouri, in the closing weeks of the 2024 election cycle, the DNC said in a Friday statement. With the new grants, national Democrats will have contributed to all 57 state and territorial chapters for the first […]
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 […]
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. “I […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON — Standing alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris rejected any suggestion that Ukraine should end its war by relinquishing territory to Russia. Zelenskyy and Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, met for the seventh time during Harris’ tenure as vice president as the Ukrainian leader visited the White House and U.S. […]
Former President Donald Trump suggested without evidence Wednesday that Iran could be responsible for two apparent assassination attempts he has faced this year, saying foreign leaders objected to his position on tariffs. Authorities have made no public statements to support the claim that either would-be assassin — in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July and near Trump’s […]
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee Wednesday said it will continue reviewing allegations that Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick violated campaign finance laws, and the panel released more details about the inquiry. The original recommendation for committee review came from the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, which is an independent entity that reviews […]
Missouri has begun distributing summer food benefits for children and aims to finish by the end of the year, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services told The Independent this week. The aid was intended to be distributed during summer break, to help vulnerable kids avoid a drop-off in nutrition while they were out […]
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