MoInd 📰

WASHINGTON — Protesters demonstrated against the “big beautiful bill” outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday as House Republicans whipped votes to get the bill across the finish line and to President Donald Trump’s desk by a self-imposed July Fourth deadline. Shelley Feist stood on Independence Avenue near the entrance to the House of Representatives holding signs […]

After years of pressure over lost or untested sexual assault kits, a growing number of states are adopting systems to track the kits — giving survivors a way to follow their evidence through the justice process. But despite nearly $400 million in federal support since 2015, backlogs persist, and some states still lack basic oversight. […]

WASHINGTON — The final “big beautiful bill” approved by Senate Republicans Tuesday included some last-minute changes on hot-button issues such as safety net programs and clean energy tax credits. Senate Republicans had wrangled for weeks to deliver legislative text to satisfy concerns from lawmakers who objected to cutting Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for low-income […]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has put on hold $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 schools, according to an Education Department notice obtained by States Newsroom. The agency informed states on Monday that it would be withholding funding for several programs, including before- and after-school programs, migrant education and English-language learning, among other initiatives. […]

The Missouri National Education Association is suing the state in an effort to block the appropriation of $51 million to MOScholars, the state’s K-12 scholarship program. In a lawsuit filed in Cole County Circuit Court Monday, MNEA argues that state funds cannot be directly given to MOScholars under the current statute. MNEA vice president Rebeka […]

A federal judge gave Justice Department lawyers until noon Tuesday to confirm, in writing, the administration’s plans for implementing an executive order on birthright citizenship after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted nationwide injunctions on the order Friday. Justice Department attorney Brad Rosenberg said at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on Monday that […]

Slow revenue growth continues to pinch state budgets across the country, leading governors to propose spending cuts, hiring freezes and some tax increases. In its spring survey of states, the National Association of State Budget Officers found that general fund spending will hold steady in fiscal 2026 as states expect limited revenue growth but increased […]

As federal funding for HIV prevention and treatment programs becomes less certain, the number of people newly diagnosed with the virus in the Kansas City region is trending up. Provisional data from the Kansas City Health Department show that an 11-county region in Missouri and Kansas saw 227 new cases in 2024, up from 206 […]

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear Iowa Pork Producers Association’s case against a California law that mandates the amount of space livestock animals, in particular hogs, have while being raised. The Supreme Court has ruled on a previous case in favor of upholding the California law, which opponents argue puts an unfair burden on […]

As President Donald Trump sends mixed messages about immigration enforcement, ordering new raids on farms and hotels just days after saying he wouldn’t target those industries, he has hardly mentioned the industry that employs the most immigrant laborers: construction. Nevertheless, the Trump administration is going after construction workers without legal status to meet its mass […]

A moratorium on state-based artificial intelligence laws was struck from the “Big Beautiful Bill” Monday night in a 99-1 vote in the U.S. Senate, after getting less and less popular with state and federal lawmakers, state officials and advocacy groups since it was introduced in May. The moratorium had evolved in the seven weeks since […]

This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans approved their signature tax break and spending cuts package Tuesday with a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President JD Vance, following days of tense, closed-door negotiations that went until the few last minutes of a marathon amendment voting session. The 51-50 mostly party-line vote sends […]

New York-based Cannabis Public Policy Consulting LLC was awarded a contract this month to study Missouri’s marijuana market for the next year. The group’s $238,700 contract to conduct an economic-impact study will help the state determine “whether or when the state will be required to issue additional cannabis facility licenses and, if so, how many, […]

For years, Missouri has sought to address a growing mental and behavioral health crisis that touches every corner of the state. In 2024, Missouri was ranked 38th nationwide when it came to prevalence of mental illness and overall access to treatment. So the state made multimillion-dollar investments to improve responses when Missourians are in moments […]

As a professional in the disability field for more than 40 years, I know firsthand how much of a lifeline Medicaid is for people with disabilities and those who care for them. At Easterseals Midwest, we support people with disabilities to live independently, find meaningful employment, get support in their everyday lives, and more. The […]

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans were closing in Monday on passing their version of the “big beautiful” tax break and spending cut bill that President Donald Trump wants to make law by a self-imposed July Fourth deadline. But the chamber’s Democrats first kicked off a marathon of amendment votes, forcing their GOP colleagues to go on […]

Gov. Mike Kehoe made his first round of budget vetoes hurt Missouri lawmakers where it matters most, in the earmarked state funds they added to spending plans this year. Kehoe on Monday signed the package of 13 spending bills passed by lawmakers this year, but not before vetoing $300 million in general revenue items and […]

A contract dispute that has tens of thousands of central Missouri residents looking for new health care providers remains at an impasse, and agreement has “never been close,” a state Senate committee was told Monday. University of Missouri Health Care has not been part of the Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield network since April 1, […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate launched a marathon amendment voting session Monday during which lawmakers will debate dozens of proposals from Republicans and Democrats that could significantly reshape the “big, beautiful bill” even as a final vote nears. The vote-a-rama is expected to last throughout Monday and potentially into Tuesday, challenging senators who aren’t accustomed […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mike Leslie, 66, sits at a desk beneath the buzz of fluorescent office lights, his fingers hovering over his new laptop keyboard. He smiles, eyes crinkling beneath a worn baseball cap. It’s a place he never imagined he’d be sitting. Before last year, he’d never used a computer. For most of his […]