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Missouri’s top Democratic leaders on Monday urged Gov. Mike Parson to call lawmakers into a special session to pass legislation to protect access to contraceptives and treatment of ectopic pregnancies in the wake of Missouri’s ban on nearly all abortions. In a letter sent to Parson, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo of Independence and House […]

The post Missouri Democrats call for special session on contraception, ectopic pregnancies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

April Shabbaz lives in a Kansas City apartment with her brother, son, daughter and 20-year-old grandson.  All of the adults have low-wage jobs. This past fall, one of them abruptly lost their job, and the household fell behind on rent.  “Once you get behind on something, it is extremely hard to catch up because… you […]

The post Kansas City’s eviction legal service helps nearly 150 residents in first month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

My wife’s stepdad, Mike, was notoriously slow to soften. This was especially true if you were me, the bouncy, naive kid dating his stepdaughter. One particular interaction between us lives in family lore. I came to visit Kansas City as a mop-haired photojournalism freshman at the University of Missouri. However, a baby shower swamped the […]

The post Midwest college grudge matches vanish during conference realignment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former President Donald Trump tiptoed towards an endorsement in Missouri’s competitive GOP primary for U.S. Senate on Friday, ruling out U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler while praising former Gov. Eric Greitens. Early Friday evening, Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social that he did not believe Hartzler “has what it takes” to earn his […]

The post Trump says he won’t endorse Vicky Hartzler, calls Eric Greitens ‘smart’ and ‘tough’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s lawsuit blaming China for COVID-19 was dismissed Friday when a federal judge ruled his court has no jurisdiction over foreign governments. U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh, in a 38-page ruling, wrote that a federal law setting rules for when a sovereign foreign entity could be sued in U.S. courts doesn’t allow […]

The post Federal judge dismisses Missouri AG Eric Schmitt lawsuit blaming China for COVID-19 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly been criticized as slow to respond to a widely expected U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended the nationwide right to an abortion, signed an executive order Friday that could preserve some access to abortion in states where the procedure remains legal. Biden in a White House speech […]

The post Biden unveils executive order on abortion access, cites case of 10-year-old Ohio rape survivor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Eighteen months into the Biden administration, immigration reform has stalled despite campaign promises to reform the system, with the most recent movement on immigration policy doled out by the U.S. Supreme Court and in lower federal courts. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration in a 5-4 decision on June 30 that […]

The post Courts take the lead role as U.S. immigration policy remains in limbo appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is responding to the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic by proposing to hide from the public a rating that lets consumers compare hospitals’ safety records and to waive approximately $350 million in financial penalties for roughly 750 hospitals with the worst patient-safety […]

The post Feds want a policy advocates say would let hospitals off the hook for COVID-era lapses appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Nearly six years to the day after beloved St. Paul, Minn., school cafeteria worker Philando Castile was fatally shot by a police officer during an otherwise routine traffic stop, Jayland Walker died in a hail of bullets fired by police officers in Akron, Ohio. While the full picture of that shooting is still emerging as […]

The post More justice, more safety appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In late March, a poll from Trafalgar Group showed the Republican Senate primary in a dead heat. U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, with 24.9%, held a slight edge over former Gov. Eric Greitens, with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt just behind but all within the 3% margin of error. Three months later, after nearly $10 million […]

The post TV ad spending approaches $10 million in Missouri U.S. Senate primary appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As someone who considers himself pro-life, I should be celebrating the recent Dobbs case that the Supreme Court used to overturn Roe v. Wade.  But I’m very concerned today.  I believe such a ruling will not only fail to reduce the abortion rate, but could very well lead to an increase in maternal death rates […]

The post States with strong antiabortion laws have high maternal and infant mortality rates appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A new law signed by Gov. Mike Parson last week will shield nonprofits from being forced to disclose their donors to government agencies and allow for certain limited liability companies to contribute to candidates. Included in a bill modifying various tax credits is the “Personal Privacy Protection Act,” which would bar public agencies from requiring nonprofits […]

The post New Missouri law shields nonprofit donor identities, allows LLCs to give to candidates appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon.  The federal gun safety bill passed with bipartisan congressional support in June was heralded as the first notable piece of federal gun legislation in nearly 30 years. Yet Missouri won’t feel its full impact — yet. Missouri will benefit from the millions of dollars in the Bipartisan […]

The post How will the new federal gun law affect Missouri? It’s complicated appeared first on Missouri Independent.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In the nearly 14 years she’s been in the U.S., Ming Zhang has completed her law degree, started a family and moved to Kansas. A day before Independence Day, she celebrated her naturalization alongside 46 other new citizens. Zhang, an Overland Park resident, gave her Oath of Citizenship outside the Children’s […]

The post At naturalization ceremony, immigrants celebrate ‘beginning of a new life’ for Independence Day appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For two hours last week, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson calmly, matter-of-factly testified to the commission of high crimes by the former president and by many of those around him. She told her fellow Americans that Trump had been informed on the morning of Jan. 6 that the mob assembled by his command […]

The post Mark Meadows could come to regret acquiescence to Trump coup attempt appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Two key senators have unveiled the details of a bipartisan plan to lower costs for insulin, a lifesaving drug that some Americans have struggled to afford in recent years as prices have skyrocketed. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, introduced the measure in June, after months of work to […]

The post Lower insulin co-pays, list prices targeted in new bipartisan U.S. Senate bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As we pause to celebrate the birth of our nation, we need to seriously reflect on the state of its health and well-being. The greatest problems we face, while troubling, are not rising inflation, high gas prices, nor rampant gun violence. There is a deeper sickness growing in our land that threatens the very existence […]

The post On Fourth of July, let’s pause and reflect on America’s well-being appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Some Missouri medical providers are fearful that patients with high-risk pregnancies will face delayed care in life-threatening situations because doctors fear prosecution under Missouri’s newly-enacted abortion ban. “I’m following the rules that are made by people that have no understanding of medicine and science, and that’s extremely, extremely dangerous,” said Iman Alsaden, a doctor and […]

The post Missouri doctors fear vague emergency exception to abortion ban puts patients at risk appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri would have a flat income tax that exempts many lower income earners under a proposal floated Friday by Gov. Mike Parson after he vetoed a tax rebate plan overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers. Parson vetoed four bills in all, including a bill extending a variety of tax incentives important to farmers and rural businesses, such […]

The post Missouri governor proposes special session to cut taxes after vetoing rebate plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation Friday weakening the state’s hazardous waste regulations and opening the door for a controversial type of recycling backed by the plastic industry and decried by environmentalists.  Parson, a Republican, signed legislation to bar the Missouri Department of Natural Resources from enacting hazardous waste rules that differ in any way from […]

The post Missouri governor weakens hazardous waste rules, cuts regulation for ‘advanced recycling’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.