News
Judge tosses Torch lawsuit seeking to block Missouri Highway Patrol gambling investigations
A civil case that could have settled whether video games that offer cash prizes to players are illegal gambling devices won’t settle anything. At least not any time soon. On Monday, with a trial set to begin Tuesday morning, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green dismissed the lawsuit seeking to stop the Missouri State Highway […]
Next battle in Congress over Ukraine aid, as Biden presses House speaker for vote
WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers are searching for a way to clear more aid for Ukraine, after Congress approved a short-term spending bill that didn’t include any additional money for the country. President Joe Biden on Sunday said that U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to find the votes needed to pass a supplemental […]
It’s hazing season on college campuses. State safeguards are uneven
Max Gruver spent the early morning hours of Sept. 14, 2017, heavily intoxicated and passed out on a couch inside the Phi Delta Theta chapter house at Louisiana State University. He had been forced to repeatedly chug 190-proof Diesel liquor in a hazing ritual called “Bible Study,” during which pledges are quizzed on fraternity facts. […]
Missouri regulators OK Evergy changing default time-of-use pricing plan
Missouri regulators approved Evergy’s request to change customers’ default plan days before its mandatory time-of-use pricing goes into effect. The Missouri Public Service Commission last week approved the Kansas City-based electric utility’s request to change the default selection for customers who fail to select one of the company’s four time-of-use pricing plans. The commission, which […]
Gaming parlors are popping up across Missouri. Courts have yet to determine if they are illegal
MOBERLY – Nestled between the offices of a small loan company and an insurance brokerage, Hot Shots Internet Cafe offers neither internet access nor any sort of nourishment. But what Hot Shots does offer is more than a dozen games that look like slot machines offering cash prizes to anyone willing to risk a dollar. […]
Out-of-state donors fuel pair of GOP candidates running for Missouri governor, AG
Becoming a registered Republican was the worst decision B.J. Adams says he ever made. Adams, a resident of Burlington, North Carolina, isn’t upset with GOP policies. And he loves former President Donald Trump. But when the 87-year-old conservative who grew up a Democrat finally switched his party registration, he said it unleashed a torrent of […]
Congress clears bill to avert shutdown, with vote promised later on Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — Congress approved a bill Saturday night that would stave off a government shutdown until at least mid-November, though the measure doesn’t include Ukraine aid backed by both Republicans and Democrats. The bipartisan 88-9 vote in the U.S. Senate, just hours before a midnight deadline, took place after the U.S. House earlier in the […]
Government shutdown nears: U.S. House GOP fails to pass one-month spending plan
WASHINGTON — A sweeping government shutdown appeared inevitable on Friday, with the U.S. Senate stuck in a procedural holding pattern on its bipartisan stopgap bill and divided U.S. House Republicans unable to pass their short-term spending bill. Both chambers of Congress must approve and President Joe Biden must sign government funding legislation before midnight on […]
Women workers could bear economic brunt as federal child care funding ends
A huge chunk of pandemic relief funding that kept child care programs afloat for the past few years is set to run out Saturday, and policy advocates say the economic impact will be profound — with the ripple effect hurting labor force participation and consumer spending at a time when the country is still trying […]
Shutdown would mean even more delays in overwhelmed U.S. immigration courts
WASHINGTON — A looming partial government shutdown will put added pressure on an already strained system — U.S. immigration courts. Canceling or rescheduling court cases that many immigrants have awaited for years will cause even more backlogs, immigration attorneys and judges have warned. “Where we’ll really kind of see the backlog continue to build will […]
Congenital syphilis rates are soaring, but resources to stem infections are lacking
States are seeing an alarming surge in cases of congenital syphilis, a preventable infection that can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, newborn death — or lifelong complications such as blindness or deafness. Congenital syphilis, which occurs when a pregnant mother infected with the sexually transmitted infection syphilis passes it on to her fetus, disproportionately affects Black and […]
Congress takes aim at state animal welfare laws
Earlier this year, Oregon Democrats pushed through state legislation that allows local governments to require setbacks between neighbors and factory farming operations. The law prohibits farms from drawing unlimited amounts of free groundwater and requires farmers to apply for a permit before applying manure to their fields. It’s the kind of state regulation at risk […]