There is something deeply dishonest about demanding extraordinary performance from institutions you have no intention of stabilizing. For years, charter schools across Missouri have operated under a system requiring them to surrender 1.5% of their funding to the Missouri Public Charter School Commission for oversight and sponsorship. The fee is justified as necessary for accountability, […]

The most recent budgets proposed by governors across the country reflect ongoing financial pressures for states as they expect modest revenue growth, rising prices and federal policy changes. Most governors recommended state budgets for fiscal year 2027 that would essentially keep spending flat from the general funds that pay for most state services. That’s according […]

Nearly 200 residents at the St. Joseph’s Center nursing home in the affluent Connecticut suburb of Trumbull were evacuated last year after Legionella bacteria was found in the facility’s water system. Two months later, they were evacuated again over critical failures in the building’s fire safety systems. Three years earlier, residents at another Connecticut nursing […]

Kansas City hospitals said they are prepared for the influx of international patients expected this summer during the World Cup. But they worry that the patients may not be ready for America’s labyrinthine healthcare system. In addition to bulking up translation services and scheduling more doctors and nurses for shifts during the monthlong tournament, hospitals […]

The Missouri Association of Realtors donated $2 million Monday to defeat Amendment 4, pouring new money into a fight over citizen-led ballot initiatives just days after spending nearly the same amount to oppose a separate tax overhaul on Missouri’s Aug. 4 ballot. Together, the two contributions put one of the state’s most powerful trade groups […]

WASHINGTON — A hastily constructed immigrant detention facility on a military base in Texas wasted millions in federal funding and failed to meet basic standards, according to a report released Tuesday by a nonpartisan government watchdog. The report by the Government Accountability Office documenting problems at Camp East Montana is one of the first independent […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces launched renewed strikes on Iran late Tuesday, in response to the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter a day earlier, according to U.S. Central Command. President Donald Trump ordered the operation, which began at 5 p.m. Eastern and was “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” a social media account for […]

WASHINGTON — Congress must act to shore up Social Security during the next six years to avoid an automatic drop-off in benefits in 2032, according to a report released Tuesday. The annual update on the Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund shows that it will “become depleted” in the fourth quarter of that year, […]

The Missouri Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a last-minute appeal filed by proponents of a measure to repeal the state income tax seeking to revise the summary voters will see on the Aug. 4 ballot. Acting on a request filed Sunday, the court declined to review changes made by the Western District Court of […]

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon changed course Monday after its removal of dozens of religious denominations from a list of recognized faiths drew intense criticism over the weekend from Utah Republicans incensed by the failure to classify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian denomination. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a member of […]

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts Monday struck down the Trump administration’s efforts to require a $100,000 visa fee for highly skilled immigrant workers, finding the policy is an unlawful tax. Judge Leo T. Sorokin found the hefty fee placed on the H-1B visa by President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by creating a […]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will allow states to access federal citizenship data by June 30 and plans to monitor the flow of mail ballots for signs of voter fraud, according to a court document. Amid a series of lawsuits, President Donald Trump’s administration is now moving to carry out a March 31 executive order […]

Casie Murff has had the entrepreneurial bug for as long as he can remember. He tried his hand in insurance, in real estate and with an online storefront. Murff worked jobs that paid the bills but didn’t find them fulfilling. So, after some planning, he returned full-time to one of the first side hustles from […]

When President Trump floated the idea of a nearly $2 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for people “horribly treated” by the federal government, he inadvertently reopened the debate about reparations for Black Americans. Suddenly, in a galling case of white grievance envy, it’s not such a far-fetched idea. Trump, who has since backed off the measure, created the fund as a means of providing a […]

Missouri is postponing its plan to prohibit the use of federal food aid to purchase candy, prepared desserts and sugary drinks until Feb. 15, 2027, after grocers warned they needed clearer guidance to enforce the new restrictions at the checkout. The delay will allow the Missouri Department of Social Services to develop educational materials to […]

When her son was a teenager, Connecticut mom Amy Wadsworth said, he was the type of kid parents rarely worry about. He played sports, cared about his health and stayed away from drugs. In 2018, when he left West Hartford to start his freshman year at American University in Washington, D.C., she expected his biggest […]

Growing up, I had a middle school and high school teacher who used to always talk about what really mattered was what we did when no one was looking. He said we could talk the talk, but he asked if we could walk the walk. That hit home for me. In a world where words […]

The federal government will spend $700 million on building or refurbishing coal power infrastructure across the country in a boost to “clean, beautiful coal,” President Donald Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office. Trump said he was invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, which gives the president authority over domestic industry, to save 13 […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved a nearly $70 billion package early Friday, moving Republicans one step closer to funding immigration and deportation activities for the next three years without negotiating new constraints on federal agents with Democrats. The 52-47 mostly party-line vote sends the measure to the House, where GOP lawmakers could send it to […]

The rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers is far outstripping efforts to regulate them in Missouri and other states. As a result, communities are left with failed legislation, hastily called moratoriums and divisive local elections to address the massive industrial facilities popping up across rural America. “Legislation traditionally lags very far behind technology, and that […]

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Rhode Island Friday struck down several Trump administration policies that halted processing for asylum seekers following a shooting in Washington, D.C., that left one West Virginia National Guard member dead and another seriously injured. In a searing opinion, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said the Trump administration “threw the lives […]

The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections. Senators voted 48-50 against advancing an amendment that would have incorporated Trump’s top legislative priority into an immigration-focused spending bill. The vote offered the clearest sign yet that despite […]

The proposal directing lawmakers to eliminate the state income tax by expanding or increasing sales taxes will remain on the Aug. 4 ballot but the summary voters will see must be changed, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The decision, which is subject to appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court, upholds the […]

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine published new clinical guidance this week affirming that acetaminophen, better known by its brand Tylenol, should be the “first-line” defense against pain and fever during pregnancy. The directive contradicts the Trump administration’s notice to physicians last year cautioning against the use of the primary pain reliever recommended for pregnant women, […]

This year, Missouri joins Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida in use of an A-F public school and district grading framework. In this accountability system, states consider usual metrics like graduation rates and state testing scores to determine a district’s “grade.” These data points are also used by the Missouri […]

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has announced a partnership she hopes will lessen human trafficking during the FIFA World Cup in Kansas City. Large events such as the World Cup are known to have an increased rate of human trafficking and Missouri is working to get ahead of this trend. Safe House Project is a […]

The idea started with a sermon Micah Longmire heard at his Presbyterian church in Ogden, Utah, about the importance of grandparents in a child’s life. Longmire, now 31, exchanged a look with his mother-in-law. “We were like, ‘I’d be OK living with you after that sermon,’ and the ball rolled downhill from there,” Longmire said. […]

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday that Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman – the largest distributor of kratom products in Missouri – has agreed to immediately suspend all in-state sales of kratom and 7-OH. Hanaway sued American Shaman in March, taking particular aim at 7-OH, the company’s more potent products that the attorney general […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, to fill the top role at the Department of Justice on a permanent basis, he said Wednesday night. Trump revealed Blanche as his choice at an outdoor event at the White House, saying “we are going to make him […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans fended off an attempt Thursday to block the Department of Justice from using an “anti-weaponization” fund to pay people who feel they were wrongly prosecuted, as well as another proposal that sought to require congressional authorization for a new White House ballroom. Debate on amendments and motions, by Democrats and […]