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State efforts to prop up child care might spare some providers from the worst effects of last month’s expiration of pandemic-related aid — at least temporarily. But the unraveling of a system plagued by a lack of affordability and access, low wages, staffing turnover and burnout will continue, experts say. “The basic business model of […]

The post States are trying to prop up the child care industry. It isn’t enough appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On a pretty fall day in Massachusetts last week, Morad Majjad began work by checking in with a middle school nurse to see if he was needed as a translator. By the time the day was over, Majjad — whose title is family liaison for the West Springfield school district but who is better described […]

The post As migrants arrive, some schools need more buses, books and bilingual teachers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. The voicemail left on St. Louis police detective Roger Murphey’s cellphone carried a clear sense of urgency. A prosecutor in the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office was pleading with Murphey to testify […]

The post St. Louis police detective sabotaged his own case in order to undermine Kim Gardner appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey expects to finally complete work on public records requests submitted to the office under his predecessor by the end of the year.  A review by The Independent of the massive Sunshine Law backlog — which stood at 315 pending requests on Friday — found inquiries from reporters and political operatives, […]

The post Missouri attorney general vows to complete 2022 public records requests by end of this year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The United Auto Workers union isn’t backing down as it bargains for more compensation and better benefits in its new contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. Under the deft leadership of its president, Shawn Fain, and other officials elected in March 2023, the union has thrown the three companies off balance with a strike […]

The post Why the UAW union’s tough bargaining strategy is working appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans will gather behind closed doors beginning Monday night in an attempt to decide who should become the chamber’s next speaker, a race with a renewed sense of urgency with ally Israel now at war and the House in paralysis. Louisiana’s Steve Scalise and Ohio’s Jim Jordan are the only candidates […]

The post McCarthy may jump into U.S. House speaker race, as crises overseas mount appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Back in March, Hawaii state Sen. Chris Lee introduced legislation urging the U.S. Congress to consider the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence technologies. But he didn’t write it. Artificial intelligence did. Lee instructed ChatGPT, an AI-powered system trained to follow instructions and carry out conversations, to write a piece of legislation that highlights the […]

The post What is artificial intelligence? Legislators are still looking for a definition appeared first on Missouri Independent.

More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided states could set their own abortion laws, including bans, the nation’s highest court now could cut off access in states where it is still legal. The Supreme Court began its new term this week and has yet to announce whether it will hear Alliance for Hippocratic […]

The post Abortion rights advocates say consequences dire if SCOTUS declines to hear pill case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a ballot […]

The post States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Our society faces a number of health care challenges, but the one I find most troubling is maternal mortality — women dying as a result of child birth. The actual numbers are quite small but the tragedy associated with them is immense.  Furthermore, these deaths provide a window into the overall functioning, or rather the […]

The post A disturbing conclusion about rising maternal deaths: Most are preventable appeared first on Missouri Independent.

NEW YORK CITY — States and cities are taking advantage of expedited work authorizations for a flood of new migrants, seeking to match them with jobs so they can support their families while they wait for asylum hearings. Allowing migrants to work might enable many of them to leave shelters in cities that were already strained […]

The post States hope finding jobs for migrants will help clear shelter overload appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are pushing a bill that would boost support for organic farmers amid rising demand for their products. U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Angus King of Maine in the Senate, alongside U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree of Maine and Annie Kuster of New Hampshire in the House, introduced the Organic Market Development […]

The post As consumers flock to organic foods, lawmakers urge more federal grants for farmers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Companies around Missouri have been required to store nearly 63,000 recalled cannabis products since early August.  But if they want to destroy that product, they can now consult with state cannabis regulators about how to do it, after a Sept. 29 hearing on the recall was postponed until at least December. Licensed cannabis businesses may […]

The post Companies can now work with state to destroy recalled Missouri marijuana products appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 1890, Missouri had a choice: Allow Black students to attend the University of Missouri, its 1862 land-grant university, or open a second college for Black students with a federal grant.  So, Lincoln University in Jefferson City received the designation — and years of separate and unequal treatment from the state began. Federal officials estimate […]

The post Missouri lawmakers push for study of Lincoln University funding inequity appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA, Kansas — Deb Gruver believes she suffered lasting emotional and physical injury when Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody snatched her cell phone out of her hand during the unprecedented raid on the Marion County Record newspaper. Now, in an answer to Gruver’s federal lawsuit against him, Cody denies most of the allegations against him for his […]

The post Former Marion police chief responds to federal lawsuit filed against him by Kansas reporter appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri volunteer prison labor tends gardens that yield about 100 tons of fresh produce a year. For the most part, that food goes to local charities. The prisoners who grow it complain they get little fresh food. Instead, they get a lot of bologna. They say they’re served portions they consider too small and unappetizing. […]

The post Missouri prisoners say food went from bad to worse when contractor took over appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine was on shaky ground earlier this week, before U.S. House Republicans evicted Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office. The revolt by eight members of the House GOP Conference, largely spurred by bipartisan deals McCarthy struck on the debt limit and a short-term government funding bill, complicated […]

The post A murky outlook for Ukraine aid with U.S. House leadership in turmoil appeared first on Missouri Independent.

  WASHINGTON — The stunning ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday — the first time a speaker has been removed in Congress’ 234-year history — created a leadership vacuum in the chamber and left multiple questions about how legislative business would proceed. North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry ascended to the role of speaker pro […]

The post How does a ‘frozen’ U.S. House function without a speaker? Everyone’s got an opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

To pass a package of tax credits designed to expand affordable child care will require getting by the “knuckleheads” in the state Senate, Missouri Chamber of Commerce President Dan Mehan said Wednesday. As he greeted the audience and panelists at a forum on the state’s child care needs in Columbia, Mehan blamed the defeat of […]

The post ‘Critical infrastructure’: Missouri child care shortage called a crisis for employers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — One of Thomasina Brown’s favorite books is a memoir about a girl who deals with the grief of losing her father and struggles with her sexual identity. Brown, a 16-year-old student at Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri, said in an interview that she felt a connection with the book, as she grieved […]

The post First Amendment advocates fight growing number of U.S. book bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.