(Missouri Independent) – U.S. House Republicans passed a bill Friday to force the White House to make more federal land and waters available for oil and gas development if the president orders the withdrawal of more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill, passed 221-205, mostly along party lines, would strip the president’s power to […]
Category: National News
Hawley demands Office of Management and Budget expedite implementation of TikTok ban on government devices
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, demanding the swift implementation of the TikTok ban on government devices, as required by his recently passed legislation, the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act.” “I write to urge the Biden Administration to expeditiously implement the recently […]
Teachers would get $60K minimum salary under bill in Congress making grants to states
(Missouri Independent) – A panel of policymakers and educators, including author Dave Eggers and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to promote the American Teacher Act. The bill, if passed, would authorize the federal government to create four-year grants for states to enact and enforce minimum school […]
Democrats in Congress condemn Biden administration expansion of Title 42
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly 80 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the White House expressing their “great concern” that the Biden administration is walking back on its promise to restore migrants’ access to asylum. In the letter, they also condemned the administration’s expansion of a controversial policy that immediately turns away migrants at the […]
New York woman sentenced to almost 4 years in prison for $9.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud
A New York woman was sentenced to 45 months in prison for her role in the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $9.2 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Sherry Joseph, 34, of New York, […]
U.S. House GOP takes aim at fake pills containing deadly fentanyl sold on social media
(Missouri Independent) – On a June 2020 morning, Amy Neville entered her son’s bedroom to wake him for an orthodontist appointment. Fourteen-year-old Alex didn’t wake up. He died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit pill he bought from someone he met on Snapchat, Neville told GOP lawmakers Wednesday during a roundtable discussion of the […]
Wave of mass shootings prompts Biden to call yet again for assault weapons ban
(Missouri Independent) – Following a mass shooting on the eve of the Lunar New Year in which 11 people in a predominantly Asian neighborhood in California were killed, President Joe Biden again urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons. Communities across America “have been struck by tragedy after tragedy, including mass shootings from Colorado […]
Classified material found in the Indiana home of former VP Mike Pence
(Missouri Independent) – Former Vice President Mike Pence is the latest top public official to have been discovered possessing classified material in his personal home, according to a letter his lawyer sent to the National Archives. A dozen documents with classified markings were discovered in Pence’s residence in Carmel, Indiana, in mid-January. The former vice […]
Members of Congress sign up for TikTok, despite security concerns
(Missouri Independent) – Just like teens, members of Congress are setting up TikTok accounts — even as the popular app is increasingly barred from government devices and heads of federal intelligence agencies raise concerns about data collection and surveillance obtained by a Chinese-owned company. At least 32 members of Congress — all Democrats, including U.S. […]
White House defends delay in revealing classified documents at Biden private office, home
(Missouri Independent) – The White House on Tuesday defended sitting on information about Obama administration classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s private residence and a think tank, saying officials are attempting to balance working with the Justice Department and sharing information publicly. “We understand that there’s a tension between the need to be cooperative […]
U.S. House agriculture leaders discuss anti-hunger measures in upcoming farm bill
(Missouri Independent) – The new Republican chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee and a top Democrat on the panel on Wednesday laid out anti-hunger initiatives Congress could tackle in the upcoming farm bill. During a panel discussion, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, the new head of the Agriculture Committee, said he believes members […]
Military contractor pleads guilty to rigging bids on public military contracts
A Texas military contractor pleaded guilty on Jan. 12 to rigging bids on public military contracts in the state of Texas. According to court documents, Aaron Stephens, 53, conspired with others to rig bids on certain government contracts from May 2013 to January 2018 in order to give the false impression of competition and to […]
Iowa’s Governor makes “School Choice” a top priority
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed a measure that would allow Iowa parents to send their kids to private schools and make state money available to pay for it. Other states have passed similar measures, but not without controversy, in what is often seen as a “showdown” – public versus private education. In her Condition […]
U.S. to hit debt limit much sooner than expected, thrusting Congress into showdown
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. government will hit its borrowing limit next week, forcing the new, divided Congress into negotiations over the debt limit much sooner than expected, though a potential date for the nation to default isn’t expected until this summer. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to Congress on Friday afternoon, telling leaders the […]
Woman from Iowa indicted on 49 counts of voter fraud
An Iowa woman was arrested in Sioux City for her role in an alleged voter fraud scheme during the Iowa 2020 primary and general elections. Kim Phuong Taylor, 49, of Sioux City, made her initial court appearance on Thursday. According to court documents, Taylor allegedly perpetrated a scheme to generate votes in the primary election […]
U.S. Attorney General names special counsel for classified docs found in Biden’s garage
(Missouri Independent) – The White House revealed Thursday morning that more classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered outside of secure government facilities, this time in the garage at his Wilmington, Delaware home. The files have since been turned over to the U.S. Justice Department, which opened a special counsel investigation […]
Texas biologist sentenced to prison for wildlife trafficking
A federal judge in Amarillo sentenced Dr. Richard Kazmaier, 55, to six months in prison, three years of post-release supervision, and a $5,000 fine. Kazmaier pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, 2022, to a Lacey Act felony for importing protected wildlife into the United States without declaring it or obtaining the required permits. According to court […]
U.S. House GOP plan calls for federal spending cuts, conditions on debt limit increase
(Missouri Independent) – U.S. House Republican leaders during a closed-door meeting Tuesday shared more details of the secret agreements Speaker Kevin McCarthy made with conservative lawmakers last week to secure the votes he needed to hold the gavel. The so-called handshake deal, displayed on slides during the GOP weekly conference meeting, if adhered to could […]
New order puts Keystone pipeline cleanup under EPA oversight
(Missouri Independent) – Owners of the Keystone oil pipeline must complete their cleanup of a massive spill in northern Kansas under the oversight of the federal government, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday. The EPA and TC Energy, which operates the Keystone pipeline, signed a cleanup agreement last week, according to a news release from the EPA. […]
Biden administration to rapidly expel more migrants at the border, add legal pathways
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden last Thursday announced dual immigration strategies that would increase expulsions of migrants who attempt to cross the Southern border, while also expanding opportunities for migrants from several countries to legally enter the United States. But the sweeping new immigration plan brought condemnation from advocates who said he should not […]