No Missouri law is more important to holding government accountable than the state’s Sunshine Law. As a newspaper editor, I had a deep appreciation of the impact of the law as a reporting tool. But the Sunshine Law exists for ordinary citizens, not just journalists. Every Missourian should value the power of this law, which […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday refused to provide further details about deportation flights that were in flight when a federal judge issued an order blocking the invocation of the wartime law used to authorize the removals. In new court filings, the Department of Justice said two deportation flights to El Salvador […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts on Tuesday rejected calls to impeach federal judges who issue rulings that block Trump administration policies, a rare public statement from the nation’s highest sitting judge. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning […]
Students began asking questions soon after President Donald Trump took office. “How old do I have to be to adopt my siblings?” an area student asked a teacher, worried that their parents could be deported. “Can I attend school virtually?” asked another student, reasoning that they would be safer from being targeted by immigration agents […]
As vaccine skepticism gains a greater foothold in the Trump administration and some statehouses, some Americans may already be paying the price, with deaths from influenza on the rise. Flu-related deaths hit a seven-year high in January and February, the two months that usually account for the height of flu season, according to a Stateline […]
From March 16-22, journalists, news and media organizations, civic groups, libraries, watchdogs, schools and open government advocates across Missouri will recognize Sunshine Week because, as James Madison once said, “government works best when it’s being watched.” For the most part, I think many media outlets have established a working relationship with public officials in their […]
President Donald Trump is more popular in Missouri than ever even if the policies his new administration pursues aren’t, according to the latest Saint Louis University YouGov poll. The survey of 900 likely Missouri voters, polled between Feb. 18 and March 2, showed 56% of those polled approve or strongly approve of Trump. The survey […]
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday denied the Trump administration’s emergency effort to block the reinstatement of federal employees at six government agencies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected the government’s request to stay a Northern California district court’s March 13 ruling ordering the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and […]
WASHINGTON — A federal judge late Monday ordered the U.S. government to provide answers about details of the Trump administration’s deportation of immigrants under an 18th-century wartime law after civil rights groups alleged that the administration defied the court’s restraining order reversing the deportations. The Department of Justice was given four directives by U.S. Judge James Emanuel Boasberg […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s move late Friday to dismantle the agency that serves as the primary federal funding source for libraries and museums nationwide prompted questions over the weekend about how the agency can continue to carry out its core work. After Trump signed an executive order Friday that called for severe reductions in seven […]
The head of the Missouri agency that for years has struggled to administer public benefit programs like food assistance and Medicaid announced her retirement on Friday afternoon, effective immediately.
Immigration was the biggest factor in population growth for many booming Sun Belt counties as well as for the agricultural Midwest, according to a Stateline analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau county estimates. The analysis shows the significant impact immigration had between mid-2020 and mid-2024 in fast-growing states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas, as […]
When Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey took office in January 2023, he inherited a pile of more than 200 unfilled open records requests left over from his predecessor. Some of the requests had been languishing for more than a year before Bailey took over. It wasn’t a good look for the state official specifically empowered […]
Missouri’s Republican legislators do a whole lot of grandstanding about being “pro-life,” but consistently refuse to put our money where their mouth is. A budget is a statement of values. And our budget and two bills passed by the House say Missouri does not value having healthy and fed children. One in seven Missouri children […]
WASHINGTON — Dozens gathered Friday outside the U.S. Department of Education to protest the ousting of more than 1,300 employees and President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the agency. As the fate of the 45-year-old department hangs in the balance following the cuts this week, demonstrators held signs at a rally outside of the Education Department […]
WASHINGTON — A second federal judge ordered late Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration reinstate probationary federal workers who were fired as part of the president’s and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s government downsizing agenda. District Judge James Bredar for the District of Maryland issued a temporary restraining order mandating nearly 20 federal departments and agencies to […]
The Democratic National Committee and other campaign groups will roll out events in Republican-held U.S. House districts beginning Friday, aiming to focus attention on GOP incumbents advised to skip town halls amid blowback over President Donald Trump’s moves in his first months back in office. The DNC, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Association of State […]
The demand for electricity is rising and as Missouri utilities plan for more power, consumer advocates worry about the cost — especially as nuclear power may be a larger part of the state’s energy future. Ameren Missouri — the electricity provider for most of mid-Missouri — operates the state’s only nuclear power plant in Callaway […]
A second proposal backed by Missouri’s hemp industry to regulate products like hemp-THC seltzers and edibles was defeated in a House committee Thursday morning, after the hemp-beverage distributor who helped draft the bill emailed committee members that morning asking them to kill it. The 5-7 vote in the House General Laws committee came after Republican […]
To say the GOP legislative supermajority in Missouri is functioning again would be an understatement. After years of Republican infighting left the General Assembly mired in gridlock and setting new records for futility, a unified party entered the 2025 legislation session determined to move past the dysfunction. On Thursday, as the session approached its midpoint […]
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