MoInd 📰

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture said during her confirmation hearing Thursday that she has “a lot to learn” 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 […]

The Missouri state budget will be tighter in coming years as the state finishes spending federal aid distributed for recovery from the COVID pandemic, but Gov. Mike Kehoe said Thursday he remains committed to his promise to end the state income tax. Speaking to editors and publishers attending the Missouri Press Association Day at the […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday blasted Russ Vought, President Donald Trump’s nominee to again lead the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, over his involvement in Project 2025 and called on their colleagues to reject his nomination. Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in the Heritage Foundation’s nearly 900-page conservative […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday advanced the nomination of veteran and onetime Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the nation’s military, despite numerous allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct, and his history of disparaging women in the armed forces. Senators in a 51-49 procedural vote along party lines agreed to begin […]

WASHINGTON — Falling in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, House Republicans on Thursday unveiled legislation that would amend federal immigration law to narrow the scope of citizenship, although the right is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Trump’s Monday executive order has already faced staunch legal challenges from Democratic state attorneys general […]

Bayer pleaded with Missouri lawmakers Thursday to pass legislation critics say would shield the company from lawsuits claiming its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup causes cancer. Representatives for Bayer argue the legislation would clarify labeling requirements and prevent courts from creating a patchwork of obligations for the manufacturer.  But environmental groups and attorneys for Roundup users who […]

NEW MADRID — The town of New Madrid seems obsessed with the fault lines that loom under its surface. Signs with the slogan “It’s Our Fault” line the road into town, past the cotton fields and defunct factories that were once reliable employers. The local businesses, the ones that still exist, aren’t shy about referencing […]

Legislation that would ban Missouri from seizing the Social Security benefits of foster children was debated Wednesday in a House committee hearing.

Missouri officials are warning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of a “high likelihood” there is radioactive contamination in a smoldering landfill outside St. Louis. In a letter last week, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources asked that the EPA assume oversight of the Bridgeton Landfill, arguing it may contain nuclear waste like the adjacent West […]

Arguably the biggest opponent of unregulated intoxicating hemp products said it’s willing to concede to allowing hemp-THC drinks to continue to be sold in grocery and liquor stores. “We are working through and very excited about the possibility of developing a carve out for low-THC hemp drinks,” said Tom Robbins, a lobbyist for the Missouri […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats blocked legislation Wednesday that would have established penalties for health care professionals who don’t provide medical care for infants born following an attempted abortion, arguing the bill would have kept parents from making decisions about care for newborns delivered early following a fatal fetal diagnosis. Republicans said the issue should […]

With billions of dollars at stake, a legislative battle in Missouri over payments for prescription drugs kicked off again Wednesday between pharmacies, health care providers and insurance companies. For those unfamiliar with the conflict, terms like white bagging, brown bagging, 340B and biosimilarity can make the debate impossible to fathom. But each of those phrases, […]

WASHINGTON — New allegations of alcohol abuse and misconduct by defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth drew fresh scrutiny Wednesday about the veteran, former Fox News host and author who President Donald Trump wants to install at the top of the U.S. military. New revelations in a sworn affidavit from Hegseth’s ex-sister-in-law accuse Hegseth of causing […]

WASHINGTON — All federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion positions are ordered to be placed on paid administrative leave by the close of business Wednesday, according to a memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The move came as President Donald Trump spent the early days of his second term issuing executive orders […]

Missouri state senators on Wednesday held a public hearing on a bill that would expand who could qualify for restitution after a wrongful conviction, and increase the payment amounts.

Missouri Republicans took their first legislative steps toward a promised tax cut on Tuesday, with a Senate committee debating a $300 million exemption for  profits from the sale of a farm, business or assets like cryptocurrency. The proposal to exempt long-term capital gains from Missouri income tax would help bring investment and jobs to the […]

In the first hours of his second term, President Donald Trump pardoned nearly everyone convicted of crimes associated with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol – including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio – and commuted the sentences of 14 more, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. CNN reported that nearly 1,600 […]

WASHINGTON — Republican congressional leaders huddled with President Donald Trump on Tuesday in search of a clear path forward to make sweeping changes to the country’s border security, energy policy and tax code, though they remained stuck on a question they’ve been mulling for weeks. Republicans secured unified control of government by promising voters they’d […]

WASHINGTON — Barring a few exceptions, Senate Republicans on Tuesday largely deflected or altogether avoided questions about President Donald Trump’s broad clemency for over 1,500 defendants who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — including many who beat police officers, smashed windows and trashed offices as lawmakers hid in designated safe areas. Just […]

WASHINGTON — A day after President Donald Trump signed a slew of immigration-related executive orders, immigration researchers said during a Tuesday briefing they are scrutinizing the legal implications of the White House’s move to end birthright citizenship as well as sweeping directives barring asylum and more. The ACLU and immigrant rights groups sued the Trump […]