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RICHMOND, Va. — Although a new Virginia law requires schools to inform parents when sexually explicit materials are used in the classroom, some districts are using that law as the basis to go further and remove certain books from schools altogether. Book ban requests across the state often have cited the Virginia law, which was signed last year by Republican […]

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Missouri began distributing pandemic-relief summer food benefits that were designed to cover summer 2022 just last week. Since last fall, thousands of families have been asking the state if and when they would receive the promised benefits, called summer Pandemic EBT — a federal COVID relief program administered by states.  The summer 2022 benefits were […]

The post Missouri begins distributing summer 2022 food benefits as deadline for 2023 application looms appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Thursday marks the 11th anniversary of a program that was created during the Obama administration to temporarily protect undocumented children from deportation. But congressional inaction and legal challenges have led to more than a decade of limbo for the 600,000 people enrolled, with no end in sight. They are often called “Dreamers,” based […]

The post ‘We’re just trying to live our lives’: DACA hits 11-year mark still mired in the courts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Though they only make up a fraction of cars and trucks on the road now, many projections — from Wall Street firms, trade groups and automakers themselves — predict an imminent surge in electric vehicles over the next decade. S&P Global estimates that the nearly 2 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads today will grow […]

The post Statehouses debate who should build EV charging networks appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest.  A May 30, 2021, ransomware attack on JBS, one of the world’s largest meat companies, disrupted the company’s operations internationally and ended when the company paid an $11 million ransom to Russian hacker group REvil. While food production companies are potentially lucrative targets for cyberattacks, JBS was poorly […]

The post Cybersecurity at JBS was unusually poor before ransomware attack, records show appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans outlined Wednesday how they would cut $130 billion from the dozen annual government funding bills — producing a plan with significantly lower spending than the level both parties agreed to in the debt limit deal just two weeks ago. The spending levels likely set up a stalemate later this year […]

The post D.C. spending standoff ahead as U.S. House Republicans demand $130 billion in cuts  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats for the third time this year made their case that U.S. Supreme Court justices must follow stronger ethics rules, including recusing themselves from cases where they have a financial stake or other connection to a case. The series of hearings by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and its subcommittees came […]

The post Tougher ethics rules for U.S. Supreme Court justices advocated in Senate hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Now that cannabis is legal in Missouri, drug-sniffing police dogs face early retirement if they are attracted to the smell of marijuana. Because some police dogs are sensitive to the odor of pot, they can compromise an investigation and prevent a successful drug prosecution. If a dog is trained to detect marijuana as well as […]

The post Legal marijuana puts drug-sniffing police dogs out of work in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In one sense, the Supreme Court’s surprise ruling striking down Alabama’s 2022 congressional maps maintains the legal status quo. By 5-4, the justices rejected the state’s attempt to restrict the ability of the Voting Rights Act to block gerrymanders that suppress the power of minority voters. But that dramatically understates the impact of the case, titled Allen v. Milligan, […]

The post Ruling in Alabama case could boost suits increasing Black voters’ power in other states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

New research shows Missouri has among the lowest court fees for landlords to file for eviction in the nation — and that raising filing fees would reduce eviction rates. In Missouri, the average cost for a landlord to file for eviction is $56, and is as low as $33 in some counties.  The fees vary […]

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When Donald Trump told us during the 2016 campaign that he could shoot someone on the street and still get elected, he was right, back then. But after a series of indictments and a ruling against him in civil court, it’s clear that “The Teflon Don” is gone. Even Republican voters have begun to sour […]

The post Evidence shows Trump’s legal problems hurt him, even with GOP Voters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami on Tuesday to 37 felony counts of taking highly classified national security documents from his time in office and obstructing efforts to recover the documents, according to media reports from inside the courtroom. Trump, the first former president charged with a federal crime, […]

The post Trump pleads not guilty in federal documents case, heads back out on campaign trail appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday defended access to health care for transgender people, as well as his agency’s actions in connection with unaccompanied migrant children. Republicans at a U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing grilled Becerra about gender-affirming care for transgender minors, including puberty […]

The post U.S. House Republicans spar with HHS secretary over transgender youth, child labor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lawmakers “invaded” the authority of the Missouri Conservation Commission when they tried to limit the use of its dedicated funds, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In the long-anticipated decision, the court split 4-3 over whether appropriation bills could bar the commission from spending money on land acquisition or for payments to replace lost property […]

The post Missouri Supreme Court rules lawmakers had no power to limit conservation spending appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson could soon make Missouri one of the first states to establish 50/50 shared parenting time as the standard in child custody cases.  But the bill on his desk, passed in the final hour of the legislative session, did not include changes that some family law attorneys and domestic violence advocates worked on […]

The post Missouri moves toward 50/50 child custody law, raising concerns about abuse victims appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Every year, Kansas City residents spend nearly 5% of their income on electricity, ranking the city among the most energy-cost-burdened in the nation. And the cost doesn’t only affect the wallet — energy consumption within buildings and homes causes nearly two-thirds of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. For years, Kansas City has focused on reducing energy […]

The post Kansas City is trying to reduce energy use, but building owners won’t comply appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Andrew Bailey took over the Missouri attorney general’s office from Eric Schmitt in January, he inherited more than 200 unfulfilled records requests submitted by members of the public.  Six months later, that backlog continues to grow. The result: Missourians seeking public records from Bailey’s office face delays that can stretch up to a year.  It’s […]

The post ‘Black hole’: Public faces long delays obtaining records from Missouri attorney general appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A question that I overheard this week seemed innocent enough: Should a business owner use artificial intelligence to create photographic-looking images of himself for publicity? Imagine the image he is aiming for. Portraits of our friendly business owner — let’s call him Albert — presenting his project plan in a trendy sun-drenched conference room. Pixels arrange to […]

The post AI has transformed the ethics around deceptive images from a slippery slope into a trap door appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury, making him the first former president to face federal criminal charges. The 37-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida, handed up by a grand jury there, was unsealed Friday. According to the indictment, Trump schemed with an aide to keep possession of top secret […]

The post The indictment is unsealed: Trump faces 37 felony counts in classified documents probe appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state has collected more than 73,000 survey responses that reflect details such as who is substitute teaching in Missouri public schools, what they’re paid and where they work. The data, released Wednesday by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, may not offer a clear reason why some school districts struggle to recruit […]

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