News
Record-breaking egg profits prompt accusation of price gouging
This story was first published by the Daily Yonder. A farmer-advocacy organization says record-breaking increases in the price of eggs isn’t being caused by inflation or avian flu, as claimed by egg companies, but by price collusion among the nation’s top egg producers. In a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week, […]
Chinese surveillance balloon now drifting across the middle of the U.S., Pentagon confirms
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will postpone his planned trip to Beijing after the U.S. detected a Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over Montana. A senior State Department official said Friday that despite the Chinese government claiming the balloon had entered U.S. airspace accidentally, its presence was a “clear violation of sovereignty.” The […]
‘Ballot candy?’ Missouri GOP adds citizen-only voting into initiative petition changes
Missouri Republicans have long argued a successful 2018 initiative petition establishing a nonpartisan redistricting process duped voters by pairing it with politically popular proposals like limits on lobbyist gifts to legislators. Two years later, the GOP got in on the act, pushing its own ballot measure repealing the nonpartisan plan by tying it to a […]
Congressional Black Caucus meets with Biden to push for police accountability
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday evening to urge the administration to use its executive power for law enforcement reform, following criminal charges for police officers in the killing of a Black man in Memphis, Tennessee. “My hope is this dark memory spurs some […]
State medical cannabis programs failing to make enough progress, advocacy group finds
WASHINGTON — A report from a patient advocacy group found the future of medical cannabis in the states is hazy unless costs are decreased, product safety standards are improved, and civil rights are strengthened for patients and prescribers. Americans for Safe Access issued its annual State of the States report on Thursday. The organization, a nonprofit, has […]
U.S. House agrees on something: Lawmakers condemn ‘the horrors of socialism’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House held a strongly bipartisan vote Thursday, condemning socialism and former socialist leaders, though Democrats rebuked majority Republicans for spending time on a “political stunt” and refusing to allow debate on an amendment that would have clarified Social Security and Medicare are not socialist programs. Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer said he lamented […]
200,000 Missourians estimated to lose Medicaid as eligibility renewals resume
The director of Missouri’s Medicaid program said he expects “about 200,000” Medicaid enrollees to lose coverage over the course of a year as a result of the state resuming annual eligibility renewals after a three-year pause. The state’s Department of Social Services has not previously provided a public estimate of those projected to lose coverage. […]
Trade agreements, access to foreign markets debated in U.S. Senate farm bill hearing
WASHINGTON – In its first meeting of the new congressional session, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry gathered Wednesday for a hearing on the trade and horticulture titles in the upcoming farm bill. The legislators prioritized enforcing the nation’s agricultural trade agreements, expanding access to international markets and supporting underserved producers. “The […]
U.S. House Judiciary’s debut hearing on the border centers on blame for fentanyl crisis
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl drug smuggling at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday hearing. Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio also blamed U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the number of migrants at the border, and said there are already hundreds of […]
Biden, McCarthy hold ‘productive’ and ‘frank’ debt limit talks as fiscal cliffs loom
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy huddled behind closed doors at the White House on Wednesday in the first of what will likely be several conversations as the country approaches two fiscal cliffs this year amid divided government. The top issue at the moment is when and how to address […]
Black Senators hold up Missouri GOP’s critical race theory legislation
Black Democrats in the Missouri Senate held the chamber for roughly three hours Wednesday as they condemned a Republican-sponsored bill targeting diversity training and race curriculum. The debate at times got heated, such as when Democratic Sen. Barbara Washington accused Republican Sen. Rick Brattin of disrespectfully interrupting her during a discussion of the nation’s history […]
U.S. House panel probes extent of fraud in federal COVID-19 relief programs
WASHINGTON — From 2020 to 2022, a group of Minnesotans pretended to be serving meals to low-income children, all the while filing for reimbursement under a federal COVID-19 relief program aimed to buoy child nutrition as schools and childcare centers closed. In all, the schemers defrauded the government of $250 million, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Three […]