a Better Bubble™

MoInd 📰

Federal family planning funding freeze in Missouri impacts more than Planned Parenthood

2 months 1 week ago
Until April, much of the $5,000 a month in federal Title X family planning funding received by the Dent County Health Center went toward purchasing contraceptive devices for some of the 200 people they serve annually.  But the health center’s administrator, Zachary Moser, said a recent decision to freeze family planning funds has the center […]
Anna Spoerre

Missouri is sleepwalking into a half-billion dollar tax cut for the rich

2 months 1 week ago
Missouri lawmakers are debating a tax cut that will mostly benefit the wealthiest in the state, while relying on an unrealistic estimate of what it will cost. The bill would eliminate all state taxes on capital gains, or profits from selling investments such as corporate stock, real estate, antiques and artwork. No state with an […]
Carl Davis

U.S. Education Department to restart defaulted student loan collections

2 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education said Monday that it will resume collections May 5 for defaulted federal student loans. After pausing during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency has not collected on defaulted loans in over five years. More than 5 million borrowers sit in default on their federal student loans, and […]
Shauneen Miranda

U.S. Education Department to restart defaulted student loan collections

2 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education said Monday that it will resume collections May 5 for defaulted federal student loans. After pausing during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency has not collected on defaulted loans in over five years. More than 5 million borrowers sit in default on their federal student loans, and […]
Shauneen Miranda

Advocates urge restart of suspended refugee resettlement program

2 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — State and local leaders and advocates from across the country called on the Trump administration Monday to immediately restart the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, saying the program’s suspension has harmed communities. President Donald Trump signed an order suspending the program on his first day back in office and the administration withheld funds appropriated by […]
Shauneen Miranda

Advocates urge restart of suspended refugee resettlement program

2 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — State and local leaders and advocates from across the country called on the Trump administration Monday to immediately restart the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, saying the program’s suspension has harmed communities. President Donald Trump signed an order suspending the program on his first day back in office and the administration withheld funds appropriated by […]
Shauneen Miranda

Trump backs Hegseth after second group chat revelation

2 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he fully supports the secretary of Defense, despite The New York Times reporting over the weekend that Pete Hegseth shared details of a bombing campaign in Yemen in a second group chat, this time with his wife and brother. “Ask the Houthis how much dysfunction there is?” Trump […]
Jennifer Shutt

A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea

2 months 2 weeks ago
Some Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for their health care don’t realize their insurance is funded by that very program, which congressional Republicans are looking to shrink. One reason is that state programs aren’t always called “Medicaid.” Many states have rebranded their programs with consumer-friendly names such as SoonerCare in Oklahoma, Apple Health […]
Anna Claire Vollers

St. Louis jail is a ‘potential powder keg,’ reflecting the city’s deepest struggles

2 months 2 weeks ago
The St. Louis City Justice Center was supposed to make things better. Forty-five people in custody have died since the high-security facility opened in 2002 through February of this year, including 29 who were pronounced dead after being transported to area hospitals, according to public records. A federal lawsuit against the city over jail conditions […]
Jesse Bogan

St. Louis jail is a ‘potential powder keg,’ reflecting the city’s deepest struggles

2 months 2 weeks ago
The St. Louis City Justice Center was supposed to make things better. Forty-five people in custody have died since the high-security facility opened in 2002 through February of this year, including 29 who were pronounced dead after being transported to area hospitals, according to public records. A federal lawsuit against the city over jail conditions […]
Jesse Bogan

Federal education cuts and Trump DEI demands leave states, teachers in limbo

2 months 2 weeks ago
Early this month, the U.S. Department of Education issued an ultimatum to K-12 public schools and state education agencies: Certify that you are not engaging in discrimination under the banner of diversity, equity and inclusion, or risk losing federal funding — including billions in support for low-income students. The backlash was immediate. Some states with […]
Robbie Sequeira

Federal education cuts and Trump DEI demands leave states, teachers in limbo

2 months 2 weeks ago
Early this month, the U.S. Department of Education issued an ultimatum to K-12 public schools and state education agencies: Certify that you are not engaging in discrimination under the banner of diversity, equity and inclusion, or risk losing federal funding — including billions in support for low-income students. The backlash was immediate. Some states with […]
Robbie Sequeira

Trump is shifting cybersecurity to the states, but many aren’t prepared

2 months 2 weeks ago
For the first half of his career in law enforcement, working as a police officer in South Florida, Chase Fopiano did not think cyberattacks on police agencies were a serious threat. Many of his law enforcement colleagues were under the same impression — that since they were the most likely to investigate the attacks, there […]
Madyson Fitzgerald

Trump is shifting cybersecurity to the states, but many aren’t prepared

2 months 2 weeks ago
For the first half of his career in law enforcement, working as a police officer in South Florida, Chase Fopiano did not think cyberattacks on police agencies were a serious threat. Many of his law enforcement colleagues were under the same impression — that since they were the most likely to investigate the attacks, there […]
Madyson Fitzgerald

Primary care shortage has an outsized impact on rural Missouri

2 months 2 weeks ago
Communities across the country are suffering from a lack of primary care providers, and Missouri is no exception. In fact, it ranks fourth worst nationwide in terms of its primary care provider shortage. All but seven Missouri counties have shortages of primary care providers. Those mostly rural counties that lack providers see higher rates of chronic […]
Meg Cunningham

University of Missouri System implementing hiring restrictions, spending slowdown

2 months 2 weeks ago
In response to economic uncertainty, the University of Missouri System is imposing immediate hiring restrictions, purchasing controls and slowing spending. The cost-saving measures, which aim for a minimum $16 million in savings for fiscal year 2025, were presented Thursday at the Board of Curators meeting in Rolla. While the system “remains well positioned with a […]
Aiden Kauffman

University of Missouri System implementing hiring restrictions, spending slowdown

2 months 2 weeks ago
In response to economic uncertainty, the University of Missouri System is imposing immediate hiring restrictions, purchasing controls and slowing spending. The cost-saving measures, which aim for a minimum $16 million in savings for fiscal year 2025, were presented Thursday at the Board of Curators meeting in Rolla. While the system “remains well positioned with a […]
Aiden Kauffman