U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) joined U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Deb Fischer (Neb.) in introducing the Kelsey Smith Act. The bill, named for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith who was abducted and murdered in 2007, would strengthen law enforcement’s ability to lawfully and quickly access cell phone location information, or ping information when a person […]
The Missouri Senate has passed a bill that would protect some businesses and organizations from COVID-19 exposure lawsuits. The legislation is designed to protect businesses like health care providers, manufacturers, schools, and churches from such lawsuits in many instances. Under the bill, the lawsuits must be filed within a year of an alleged COVID-19 exposure. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Last spring, as Missouri businesses shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, Gov. Mike Parson warned that the state was headed for the worst financial crunch since the 2008 recession. Ten months later, Parson presented a budget plan that anticipates a $1.1 billion surplus on July 1, the biggest in state history. And if the $1.9 trillion pandemic […]
A Tennessee resident with German citizenship was removed to Germany for participating in Nazi-sponsored acts of persecution while serving as an armed guard at a Nazi concentration camp in 1945. In February 2020, Friedrich Karl Berger, 95, was ordered removed from the U.S. based on his participation in Nazi-sponsored persecution while serving in Nazi Germany […]
Governor Mike Parson has signed HB 16 into law, a bill giving $324 million in emergency aid to help struggling renters and landlords in Missouri. The plan, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), could cover some rent and utility costs. “HB 16 will provide much-needed assistance to tenants and landlords across the state. COVID-19’s economic […]
Quiet weather persists through Monday evening, after which a storm system moves through the region Tuesday morning through Wednesday. Wintry precipitation is probable Tuesday morning, with some glazing possible due to freezing rain leading to some slick roadways, before transitioning to all rain by Tuesday afternoon and evening. There may be a transition back to […]
The U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and six other federal law enforcement agencies announced the completion of the third annual Money Mule Initiative, a coordinated operation to disrupt the networks through which transnational fraudsters move the proceeds of their crimes. Money mules are individuals who assist fraudsters by receiving […]
Congress has 10 days before their next break and lots they COULD do. The House and Senate must tackle government funding before Dec. 12 to avoid a third government shutdown. Missouri healthcare groups, small businesses, and unemployed workers would like to see another COVID-19 relief bill, the question now is the price tag. […]
The Board of Immigration Appeals has dismissed the appeal of Tennessee resident Friedrich Karl Berger, a German citizen who was ordered removed from the United States earlier this year on the basis of his service in Nazi Germany in 1945 as an armed guard of concentration camp prisoners in the Neuengamme Concentration Camp system (Neuengamme). […]
(Missouri Independent) – There’s no point trying to spin it: While the 2020 election was a mixed verdict nationally, with Republicans gaining congressional seats and minimizing Senate losses even as Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump, the Missouri verdict was unequivocal. It started atop the ticket with Trump’s dominance. He and Gov. Mike Parson set […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri voters on Tuesday repealed a constitutional amendment they enacted in 2018 that would have required legislative districts be drawn to ensure partisan fairness. They replaced it with one that critics contend could forgo the use of total population to draw districts and instead exclude all non-voters, specifically children and non-citizens — tilting the political […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri family that was denied a license to grow medical marijuana alleged in court this week that outside groups and individuals had undue access to top state officials — and that access led to an opaque process and contributed to the decision to cap the number of licenses granted. To buttress […]
