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MoInd šŸ“°

U.S. Senate GOP blocks resolution condemning Trump pardons of Jan. 6 attackers

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans Tuesday blocked a resolution condemning pardons for supporters of President Donald Trump who violently attacked and injured police officers when they broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray requested unanimous consent for theĀ resolution on the floor but was met with opposition from Majority Whip […]
Ashley Murray

Appeals court rules Missouri attorney general did not violate Sunshine LawĀ 

5 months 1 week ago
The Attorney General’s Office did not violate the Missouri Sunshine Law when it refused to turn over records showing how it fulfilled a request, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. In a split decision, a three-judge panel ruled that the office reasonably concluded the records being sought by St. Louis attorney Elad Gross […]
Rudi Keller

Missouri child care subsidy payment backlog will be resolved next month, commissioner says

5 months 1 week ago
A backlog of payments due to child care providers is 70% clear after a year-long struggle with the state’s new software, Missouri Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger told lawmakers Tuesday morning. The Missouri Senate Education Committee questioned Eslinger about everything from school accreditation to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Standing out among the interrogation was an […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Trump issues order prohibiting openly transgender service members in the military

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed orders late Monday banning openly transgender service members from the U.S. military and suppressing any diversity initiatives, including prohibiting ā€œun-Americanā€ concepts from military educational institutions. An executive order published just before 11 p.m. Eastern under the title ā€œPrioritizing Military Excellence and Readinessā€ expressly forbids from the armed services individuals […]
Ashley Murray

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on broad swath of federal payments

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — A federal district judge ruled Tuesday the Trump administration must wait until at least next week before it can move forward with pausing federal spending on trillions in grants and loans, though she emphasized the short-term administrative stay might not continue after a Feb. 3 hearing. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan’s decision temporarily […]
Jennifer Shutt

Missouri bill putting a bounty on undocumented immigrants faces fierce resistance

5 months 1 week ago
A confrontational legislative hearing Monday — with a witness calling a state senator a fascist and lawmakers battling over whether the state should put a bounty on undocumented immigrants — set the tone for this year’s debate on immigration and the state’s role in border security. The most aggressive approach, in a bill filed by […]
Rudi Keller

Missouri lawmakers consider funds for radioactive waste testing in St. Louis

5 months 1 week ago
Missouri lawmakers are again considering legislation that would increase funding to allow local governments to test for additional radioactive waste around contaminated sites in the St. Louis region. The Missouri House Special Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs on Monday discussed the bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mark Matthiesen of O’Fallon. It’s similar to legislation Matthiesen […]
Allison Kite

Immigration lawyers decry cutoff of legal help as Trump administration ramps up raids

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Immigration attorneys Monday detailed the impact on their clients, some of them undocumented children, after the Trump administration last week halted Department of Justice programs that fund nonprofits that provide legal services to immigrants. Meanwhile, over the weekend, the federal government began moving in earnest on President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge of an […]
Ariana Figueroa

Get rid of FEMA? Trump-appointed group to look at shifting disaster response to states

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Governors and state legislatures may have to bolster their natural disaster response and recovery efforts in the coming years as President Donald Trump looks for ways to shift the federal government’s role onto states. Trump, who proposed doing away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency altogether while on a tour of disaster scenes […]
Jennifer Shutt

Here’s a look at the busy week ahead for Trump’s Cabinet nominees

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — The confirmations for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks are moving at warp speed, with U.S. Senate floor votes for some and appearances for others before Senate panels this week. Trump’s Cabinet members will be crucial to carrying out his sweeping GOP agenda, which already started bursting out of the floodgates in wide-ranging executive […]
Shauneen Miranda

U.S. Senate Democrats push for vote condemning Trump Jan. 6 pardons

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — Democratic and independent U.S. senators introduced a resolution Monday to condemn President Donald Trump’s clemency for the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, injuring numerous law enforcement officers and sending lawmakers into hiding as they tried to certify the 2020 presidential election results. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New […]
Ashley Murray

Dysfunction derailed the Missouri Senate for years. So far, 2025 has been quiet

5 months 1 week ago
This time last year, the Missouri Senate was barely functioning. Members of the Freedom Caucus, a renegade group of GOP senators who’ve been at war with party leadership for years, used procedural hijinks to grind the chamber to a halt almost daily.Ā  In retaliation, Senate leaders stripped committee assignments from Freedom Caucus members — and […]
Jason Hancock

A ā€˜Wicked’ reckoning in Missouri progressive politics

5 months 1 week ago
Like so many Americans right now (at least those who appreciate a beautifully crafted movie musical), we remain obsessed with “Wicked.”Ā  As elder millennials whose day jobs require challenging patriarchal norms around reproductive health, we were excited to see a Hollywood reframe on feminine heroism and the internalized misogyny we grew up on, especially through […]
Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, Erika A. Christensen

Social media experts are skeptical about the power of new state laws

5 months 1 week ago
Ritika Shroff had the typical Gen Z experience with social media. At 13, she signed up for Instagram, then Snapchat. Later, she downloaded TikTok and worked her way through other popular platforms. But in high school, she began to see downsides, feeling pressure when comparing her number of followers, test scores and experiences with those […]
Madyson Fitzgerald

In some Missouri counties, 911 doesn’t exist. Upgrades to emergency dispatching will change that

5 months 1 week ago
The average caller would never know, but dialing 911 during an emergency isn’t possible in several Missouri counties. While the call will go through, in parts of southeast Missouri, the number is instead rerouted to a traditional 10-digit landline. But that won’t be the case for long. Thanks to federal funds, 911 dispatchers and call […]
Meg Cunningham

Trump pick for USDA secretary says she has ā€˜a lot to learn’ about bird flu

5 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture said during her confirmation hearing Thursday that she has ā€œa lot to learnā€ about highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu, the virus that’s wreaking havoc on the country’s poultry industry and dairy farms. The outbreak has affected more than 136 million […]
Jennifer Shutt