MoInd 📰

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this week that interest rate increases could be higher and come faster if Friday’s unemployment data shows the nation’s labor market isn’t cooling off. Stock indexes fell after his comments. That’s been a familiar pattern over the past year as the federal bank has tried to combat inflation.  A […]

The post Powell signals higher interest rates. Here’s why Friday’s jobs report will affect Fed’s decision appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans mostly agreed Wednesday that scientists and the intelligence community should fully investigate the origins of COVID-19 without political interference over whether the virus emerged from nature or through a lab leak. Members from both political parties said throughout the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing that determining […]

The post Lawmakers hear theories on COVID-19 origins in U.S. House hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Kim Visintine said her son had his first chemotherapy treatment at three weeks old. A year later, Visintine and her husband had $100,000 in medical debt.  Six years later, their son died. But it wasn’t until she found hometown friends on Facebook that Visintine connected her son’s cancer – a rare form of brain tumor called […]

The post ‘World War II hasn’t stopped’: St. Louis residents want relief for radiation sickness appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The so-called mining for digital assets, or cryptocurrency, consumes as much electricity as some entire nations, and U.S. senators explored the issue Tuesday in what they said was their first-ever hearing focused on the energy implications of digital currency. Crypto mining in both Nebraska and Pennsylvania was discussed in particular by the members […]

The post U.S. Senate panel probes how crypto mining increases energy consumption appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Economists on Tuesday urged Congress to address the debt limit quickly, cautioning that simply because U.S. lawmakers have successfully brokered deals before doesn’t mean they will be able to this year. “There is a temptation to brush off the developing debt limit drama, thinking it will end the same way as the others […]

The post Economist warns that ‘heightened dysfunction’ in Congress raises risk of debt default appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a controversial Missouri law — known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act — that penalizes police for enforcing federal gun laws. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Wimes ruled that the 2021 Missouri law is unconstitutional and “invalid, null, void, and of no effect.” “State and local law enforcement […]

The post Federal judge rules Missouri’s ‘Second Amendment Preservation Act’ unconstitutional appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill aimed at allowing students to transfer out of their home school district, adding a pair of amendments limiting its scope. The bill was approved Tuesday with 82 legislators voting in support — the exact number needed to reach a majority. Only one Democrat supported the measure, […]

The post Open enrollment legislation wins first-round approval in Missouri House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri students did worse across the board on the latest round of standardized testing released Tuesday, with 112 districts and charter schools scoring low enough to be classified as provisionally accredited.  But the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or DESE, said it would not downgrade any districts this year because it is the first […]

The post Latest testing data show K-12 student performance dropped dramatically across Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A federal grand jury issued three subpoenas to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in December demanding records about a pair of St. Louis-area nonprofits and their involvement in a federal child nutrition program.  The state turned over the subpoenas to The Independent as part of a request under the Sunshine Law. Issued […]

The post Federal subpoenas target records of Missouri nonprofits involved in child nutrition program appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday announced new steps the Department of Agriculture is taking to recenter U.S. agriculture and benefit small and midsized operations, including a proposed new “Product of USA” labeling rule and an $89 million expansion of the USDA intermediary lending program. At the National Farmers Union conference in San Francisco, […]

The post U.S. agriculture secretary unveils initiatives aimed at small and midsized operations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri will no longer participate in a voluntary system aimed at helping states combat voter fraud by maintaining accurate lists of registered voters. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced Monday afternoon that Missouri, along with Florida and West Virginia, were withdrawing from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC.  The system was established in 2012 […]

The post Jay Ashcroft withdraws Missouri from group designed to help combat voter fraud appeared first on Missouri Independent.

President Joe Biden on Sunday praised the courage of civil rights activists and condemned efforts to restrict voting and attack the election process in a speech commemorating the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. In his 20-minute address delivered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a law enforcement posse attacked […]

The post In Selma, President Joe Biden vows to continue work on voting rights appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The prospect of a landfill on the edge of Kansas City and a stone’s throw from a golf course community has pitted half a dozen Missouri mayors against a private company with an army of Jefferson City lobbyists. And that’s all before the would-be owners even approach the city with a plan.  For more than […]

The post Outrage over proposed Kansas City landfill sets up showdown in Missouri Capitol appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The recent revelation that multiple hosts on Fox News deliberately misled their audience — reporting and promoting the lie that there was rampant voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election when they knew there was none — may not be surprising but is definitely damning. Every American who cares about the role of the press […]

The post When major news sources report and promote lies, what is the public to do? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For more than three months, Denise Davis waited to receive federal food benefits in Missouri. Health issues late last year left Davis unable to work. She is also experiencing homelessness, has no income or savings and has significant medical debt.  But she could not get through to Missouri’s call center to receive the required interview […]

The post Federal lawsuit over Missouri’s ‘dysfunctional’ SNAP call center adds two new plaintiffs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate passed its version of postpartum Medicaid extension Thursday, but new language in the bill threatens its implementation. Sponsored by Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, the legislation would extend coverage for women receiving Medicaid benefits through pregnancy and for a year after the pregnancy ends. Currently, coverage ends 60 days after a pregnancy […]

The post Postpartum Medicaid extension clears Missouri Senate with anti-abortion amendment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s Gov. Mike Parson has engaged in escalating restrictions against journalists covering Missouri’s Capitol. His hindrances on statehouse reporters is unprecedented in the five decades I’ve covered Missouri state government. From Warren Hearnes until now, governors of both parties I’ve covered went out of their way to facilitate the efforts of journalists covering state government. […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Mike Parson’s attacks on statehouse reporters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The expanded child tax credit that families received in 2021 helped reduce child poverty across the country, but particularly in the South where families lack a sufficient safety net, according to a paper released on Wednesday. The report by the Hamilton Project, the Brookings Institution’s economic policy initiative, comes as some Democrats appear ready to attempt another […]

The post Child poverty dropped to a record low last year. A new report shows how to keep it that way appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republicans determined to strip the Highways and Transportation Commission of its long-standing control of the multibillion-dollar state road fund are closer to getting their chance. On Wednesday,  the House gave initial approval to legislation making the fund that combines fuel taxes, license fees and vehicle sales taxes to maintain highways subject to annual appropriations. It […]

The post Missouri House advances plan for lawmakers to take control of MoDOT funding appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missourians of all races, classes and political persuasions want safer schools and stricter gun laws, according to a poll released Thursday. The latest St. Louis University YouGov poll shows support ranging from 63% to 83% for policies that include metal detectors, dedicated police officers, pre-approval of visitors and video security systems in schools. The survey […]

The post New poll shows broad support in Missouri for gun controls, school safety measures appeared first on Missouri Independent.