The U.S. Postal Service on Friday took its first major step to carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, proposing a rule that would require states to submit lists of voters before mailing ballots. But the proposed rule appears to smooth over some of the rougher edges of the executive order, […]

Whether Missourians will vote on a proposal to replace the state income tax with sales taxes — and what the ballot will say if they do — must be decided by June 9, attorneys said Friday morning to a Cole County judge. That is the deadline for courts to order changes to the Aug. 4 […]

WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi was on Capitol Hill Friday for a closed door interview with lawmakers about her role in the release of the federal investigation files of Jeffrey Epstein — the now deceased wealthy sex offender who surrounded himself with influential entrepreneurs, academics and celebrities, including President Donald Trump. But Democrats […]

Most of the systems we rely on every day receive attention only when something breaks. We don’t talk about roads when traffic flows, or water systems when the tap turns on. These systems fade into the background because they work. But behind that reliability is something we rarely think about: careful, coordinated planning. Our electric […]

Southern states are bracing for a potential invasion of the New World screwworm that could disrupt livestock markets and raise already high meat prices. So far, the parasite has yet to land in the United States, but it has been spreading across Mexico and Central America. Previously eradicated from the United States in the 1960s, […]

WASHINGTON — In a deal that could provide a major trade boost for American farmers, the White House said that during the recent summit, China committed to buying at least $17 billion in additional U.S. agricultural products annually for three years. But Beijing has not confirmed the figure and farm groups expressed skepticism that the […]

A federal judge on Thursday declined to block President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, finding that it was too early to challenge the directive. The decision by D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, represents a setback for Democratic groups, lawmakers and other groups including the NAACP that have sued to […]

As Missouri prepares to limit what low-income families can purchase with public food benefits this fall, grocers say they need to know which items to block at the register. The changes, planned for Oct. 1, would prohibit purchases of candy, prepared desserts and sugary drinks through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Next summer, […]

WASHINGTON — Following a dismissal of criminal charges the Trump administration lodged against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the wrongly deported Maryland resident Thursday pressed a federal judge to prevent his removal to any country that is not Costa Rica, which has agreed to accept him as a refugee. The filing in the federal District Court for […]

The Trump administration wants the U.S. Supreme Court to empower states to review their voter rolls for noncitizens just days before elections, a change that voting rights advocates say would risk disenfranchising Americans. The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to wade into a legal fight between the Republican National Committee and […]

WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. Senate Democrats has sent a letter to the head of the Congressional Budget Office, asking him to include outside projections for the cost of the Iran war in the agency’s official cost estimate. “The American people deserve to know the true costs of this conflict, and they deserve transparency […]

The 2026 legislative session saw one Republican consistently advocate for the traditions of the Senate, often in opposition to his party. State Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Republican from Springfield, is term-limited. What he experienced in his final session is a window into the consequences for someone who veers from party loyalty, not unlike what has […]

Rural hospitals in Missouri say a $50 billion federal investment in rural healthcare will be insufficient in offsetting upcoming reductions in federal Medicaid reimbursement that will put additional strain on already fragile rural healthcare systems across the state. In December 2025, Missouri was awarded $216 million for its first year in the five year Rural […]

The campaign opposing a November ballot measure that would reinstate Missouri’s abortion ban formally launched Wednesday, arguing Republican lawmakers are trying to overturn the 2024 vote that ended the state’s near-total ban through a “bait and switch” measure. The coalition, called Stop the Ban Missouri, has already amassed nearly $2 million. Its first ad leans heavily into […]

In the heart of the Bible Belt, a small Methodist college graduated its final class in May 2024, shutting its doors after 168 years. Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, was a Christian private liberal arts school that counted among its graduates members of Congress, famous musicians, Pulitzer Prize winners and the former executive editor of […]

WASHINGTON — A handful of Democratic state attorneys general said Tuesday that expert officials from their offices were denied access to a major White House anti-fraud meeting convened by Vice President JD Vance and attended by Republican AGs. Two dozen Democratic attorneys general had earlier declined invitations for their own attendance at the White House […]

In its latest effort to narrow pathways to immigration to the United States, the Trump administration says it will crack down on attorneys who file fraudulent asylum claims for their clients. The U.S. has long granted asylum to people who are unable or unwilling to return to their home countries because they have been persecuted, […]

The last case that could overturn Missouri’s newly gerrymandered congressional map without a statewide vote went before the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, with attorneys for the NAACP arguing lawmakers should never have been called together in the first place. The General Assembly convened Sept. 3 in a special session called at the urging of […]

The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday urged American corporations to condemn efforts to dilute Black voting strength, as Southern states eliminate congressional districts where most residents are Black. The CBC’s attempt to mobilize the business community comes as Black representation in Congress potentially faces its most severe threat since the end of Reconstruction following the […]

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche argued in a court filing that a shooting Saturday in the vicinity of the White House further proves the need for an East Wing ballroom with “a heavy steel, drone proof roof, missile resistant and drone proof columns, bullet, ballistic, and blast proof glass,” among other features. A […]

With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a recent article in The Beacon about Kansas City Public Schools potentially converting the long-vacant Bryant School into subsidized teacher housing had me thinking, “How has local government failed us? Let me count the ways” The Beacon story is ostensibly about teacher housing and the conversion of a long-unused […]

Bayer has agreed to suspend for seven years pillars of its loyalty programs, which Trump administration officials called “unfair provisions” that “pose a danger to competition,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday. The agreement relates to how Bayer sells the seeds it produces through years of research and development. Bayer sells corn and soybean […]

Missouri lawmakers spent part of this year’s legislative session arguing that the state should steer low-income families away from buying candy, soda and desserts with public benefits. Then they passed a budget that eliminates $2 million for a program designed to help those same families buy more fruits and vegetables. Double Up Food Bucks, run […]

After decades spent working with people seeking abortions, Allison Hile said one thing became clear: Some Missouri lawmakers have little understanding of what women go through to prevent pregnancy. “It is very difficult to take time off work, to find childcare, to drive somewhere to get birth control, to pay for birth control,” Hile told […]

A surge in voluntary departure agreements in immigration courts is raising concerns that Trump administration tactics are unfairly pressuring immigrants into leaving the United States, even if they have a legal right to stay. Voluntary departures during the second Trump administration reached 89,494 cases as of May 1, according to a Stateline analysis of immigration […]

This Memorial Day we need to seriously consider whether our actions and voices in this democratic republic are debasing or honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Are we guilty of taking the rights and privileges we enjoy for granted? Or worse yet, of totally abdicating our responsibility to continue to protect and preserve them? […]

Lesley Turek is planning for a busy June traveling the state to educate people about the final lottery for 77 microbusiness marijuana licenses. Turek, the chief equity officer for the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation, will hold education sessions in Kansas City, Jefferson City and St. Louis, along with five webinars to outline application requirements […]

HIGH HILL — A $5 million federal pandemic recovery grant helped Montgomery County prepare a rural industrial site along Interstate 70 for major development. Two years later, Amazon and Google are building data centers on nearly 2,000 acres near New Florence — and local officials are preparing to offer Google a 70% personal property tax […]

Philadelphia is poised to launch the nation’s first city-sponsored retirement plan for workers whose employers don’t offer them. Voters on Tuesday sanctioned the city council’s PhillySaves program by adopting a change to the city charter. The move will require employers without retirement benefits to enroll their workers in the new plan. Unless workers opt out, […]

A wide-ranging education package backed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe collapsed in the final days of the legislative session after negotiations over school accountability became a fight over which communities should be opened to charter schools. The breakdown killed legislation that would have shaped Kehoe’s push for an A-F grading system for public schools, one […]