Private equity firms own nearly 3 million apartment units, about 13% of the total apartments across the country, according to a new analysis from watchdog group Private Equity Stakeholder Project. And most have been fairly recent purchases. The companies acquired more than 1.7 million of those, or 57%, since 2018, and about 45% of them […]

Budget constraints are forcing liberal-leaning states that spend their own money on healthcare for noncitizens to scale back that aid, as they grapple with federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of federal subsidies that helped people buy Obamacare plans. Under federal law, immigrants who are in the country illegally are not eligible for federally funded […]

Katie Hazelwonder was ready for a change after 12 years working as a welder. The opportunity came unexpectedly, when one day she walked into a Proper Cannabis dispensary in St. Louis. “The people were great,” Hazelwonder said. “They were just so nice and welcoming, and no judgment. I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna […]

Gov. Mike Kehoe will ask Missouri voters in August to decide whether lawmakers should have new power to expand sales taxes to replace the income tax and whether citizen-led constitutional amendments should face a higher bar for passage. Kehoe moved four proposed constitutional amendments to the Aug. 4 primary ballot: Amendment 1, renewing a sales […]

Cameron Seip describes his job as being a connector. As the executive director of Mo-Kan LECET — the Western Missouri and Kansas Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust — he tries to make “connections that make sense” among union workers, contractors, developers and governments. All so the union members and contractors he represents are able to […]

U.S. violent crime fell sharply in 2025, according to preliminary federal data, with murders dropping an estimated 18.1% — a decline that could push the national homicide rate to its lowest level on record if the figures hold. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program reported that overall violent crime fell an estimated 9.3% compared with […]

President Donald Trump is again demanding Congress pass a sweeping set of voting restrictions and refuses to rule out sending troops to the polls, as Democrats and voting rights groups assemble a sprawling effort to guard against federal election interference. The fight over election security is intensifying in Washington, D.C., as the White House and […]

There could be as many as nine ballot measures before Missouri voters in August and November, including proposals on abortion, taxes, initiative petitions, state parks and congressional redistricting. Seven are already slated for the ballot, while an initiative petition and a possible referendum on congressional redistricting are still awaiting decisions. If all nine appear, it […]

Gov. Mike Kehoe will soon choose when several proposed constitutional amendments will appear on the statewide ballot, a decision that could affect whether they pass and the turnout in this year’s elections. Seven constitutional amendments are slated to go before Missouri voters this year, with two more possible ballot measures still awaiting decisions. Five could […]

KANSAS CITY — When Vice President JD Vance pitched voters on electing Republicans to Congress this November during a trip to a Kansas City manufacturing plant on Monday, he delivered the message while standing in a newly gerrymandered U.S. House district. “If you want congressional leadership that fights to lower your taxes, that fights to […]

U.S. House Republicans on Thursday denounced expanding the Supreme Court, an idea some Democrats support to dilute the court’s conservative majority after years of decisions that have angered liberals. Republican and Democratic lawmakers at a hearing clashed over the future of the high court following Louisiana v. Callais, a landmark decision gutting the federal Voting […]

WASHINGTON — A multibillion-dollar package to fund immigration enforcement for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term faced new delays Thursday as Senate Republicans showed a rare split with the president over his new “anti-weaponization” fund. The administration dispatched Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans as many fought to […]

Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay people said to be victims of judicial weaponization, saying the fund would aid and encourage the pro-Trump rioters who attacked that Capitol that day and still […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday that would require parental consent before a public elementary or middle school can update a student’s pronouns, gender markers or preferred name on records in order to receive federal funding. The measure — which succeeded 217-198 — would also bar federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act […]

WASHINGTON — About 100 rallygoers gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday to hear from activists and members of Congress protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down federal protections for the voting power of minorities. The justices diluted a major part of the Voting Rights Act in their 6-3 decision on April 29 that declared […]

An anti-abortion group last month sued seven Utah fertility clinics, claiming their disposal of embryos as part of the in vitro fertilization process violates the state’s wrongful death law. The ministry Voice for the Voiceless believes it has a strong case because Utah is one of four states — Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri are the […]

Today the Trump administration is hosting an all-day prayer festival on the National Mall, partially funded with millions in taxpayer dollars, to “rededicate” America to God — and to promote Christian nationalism. It’s all part of America’s 250th birthday celebration, which has been co-opted by the current administration and its minions to convey an overtly […]

Republicans on a U.S. Senate panel suggested Tuesday a recent Supreme Court decision weakening the federal Voting Rights Act invalidated U.S. House districts in Democratic states where most residents belong to a racial minority group. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, signaled that Republicans will target […]

As the Missouri House began the final day of this year’s session last week, state Rep. Tim Taylor reluctantly reported that last-minute efforts to salvage a package of changes to property tax laws had failed. For most of the past year, property taxes and how they are levied had dominated the three-term Republican’s legislative work. […]

Pregnant patients experiencing miscarriage who live in states with abortion bans have fewer options for healthcare management, according to a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, published May 18, found a shift away from managing miscarriages with a two-drug approach that includes mifepristone — which has been the […]

A bill to create a new faction of school protection officers with “physical fitness superior to a U.S. Marine” got final approval from Missouri lawmakers in the final days of the legislative session. The legislation seeks to allow schools to hire volunteer or paid guards called “Missouri Rangers” who could carry a gun on school […]

Across the country, potholes are more than a seasonal nuisance. They are a visible symptom of aging roads and bridges that many state and local governments say they cannot afford to fully maintain. From local streets in small towns to major urban corridors, transportation agencies are grappling with deferred maintenance, rising construction costs and limited revenue […]

WASHINGTON — A coalition of Democratic attorneys general and governors sued the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday over forthcoming regulations that will impose new borrowing limits for students pursuing certain advanced degree programs. The lawsuit — filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland — challenges a portion of the incoming federal student […]

WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus and NAACP on Tuesday urged pushback against GOP-led redistricting efforts in Southern states via college sports, including a boycott of public universities by athletes and supporters. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and fellow Congressional Black Caucus members blasted a bill that sets forth a national framework for college […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday a new “anti-weaponization” settlement fund as a condition of President Donald Trump voluntarily dropping his multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service for the leak of his tax returns several years ago. Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization moved to drop […]

KANSAS CITY — Vice President JD Vance ticked through a list of political topics — from Missouri’s redistricting efforts to the importance of bringing manufacturing back to the United States — at a campaign-style rally Monday afternoon. Vance spoke to a small, loud and enthusiastic crowd at a “protecting American workers” event, held at the […]

A new lawsuit filed Monday asks a Cole County judge to force Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to decide whether a referendum challenging Missouri’s new congressional map qualifies for the November ballot before voters cast ballots in the Aug. 4 primary. The political action committee People Not Politicians, which submitted petitions to put the […]

Desperate to get a handle on rising property insurance costs driven by natural disasters, some state lawmakers are opening up a new line of attack in the effort to force oil companies to bear the cost of climate change effects. In three states, Democratic lawmakers introduced bills this session that would allow insurance companies or […]

Conversations with survivors of sexual abuse left Missouri state Sen. Tracy McCreery wondering what could have prevented the harm, leading her to sponsor a bill that would require clergy and religious workers to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Her bill would have forced ministers to report even if they learned of abuse during confession […]

It takes a special kind of cruelty to meddle in end of life care for political reasons. The so-called “Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” passed last week does just that. It is part of a longstanding strategy of abortion opponents using the tragedies of aspiring parents who have to end wanted pregnancies in order […]