Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo courtesy Wikipedia

Senate winds up grueling Supreme Court hearings on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination

(Missouri Independent) –  Representatives of the American Bar Association reiterated their finding that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is well qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and law enforcement groups rebutted GOP accusations Jackson is soft on child pornographers during the final day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings Thursday. Republicans, however, called in witnesses to […]

Josh Hawley Courtesy of Missourinet

Hawley introduces bill to strengthen investigations of fraud in COVID-19 relief programs

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced new legislation to continue to fund and restore the jurisdiction of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery so that it can investigate fraud within the Treasury Department’s pandemic programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This anti-fraud legislation comes as the Biden Administration is lobbying for more federal […]

Class Action Lawsuit Graphic

St. Louis jail inmates file class action lawsuit alleging guards torture them with mace

(Missouri Independent) – Inmates at St. Louis’ primary jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday accusing guards of torture with mace and depriving them of water for days. The inmates are represented by a team of attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, ArchCity Defenders, the SLU Law Legal Clinics, and Rights Behind Bars.  “They spray chemical agents […]

President Joe Biden - (Official White House photo by Cameron Smith)

Biden urges city leaders to take advantage of billions in federal relief funds

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Monday urged local and city governments to continue to use the $130 billion in funds allocated to them from the American Rescue Plan to help during the pandemic. The president of the National League of Cities, Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia, introduced the president to attendees of […]

White House in Washington DC (Photo by Edoardo Cuoghi on UnSplash)

White House wants $10 billion for Ukraine aid, $22.5 billion for more COVID help

(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration is asking Congress to provide $10 billion in assistance to Ukraine and $22.5 billion in COVID-19 funding on a fast timeline — within the next week. White House acting budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to lawmakers that this likely won’t be the last emergency funding request for either […]

Syringes on table (Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash)

Bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs passes Missouri Senate committee

(Missouri Independent) – A bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs that aim to reduce the spread of infectious diseases was voted out of the Senate General Laws Committee Tuesday. Needle exchange programs allow drug users to swap out used syringes with clean, new ones in an effort to decrease the chances of contracting or […]

Unitee States Aid Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

Billions in U.S. aid for Ukraine eyed in struggle against Russian invasion

(Missouri Independent) – Congress is working quickly to determine how much military and humanitarian aid it should send to Ukraine as the war in that country continues to claim lives and send hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing as refugees. Lawmakers are working with the Biden administration to provide billions in funding at the same […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

Video: Biden taps Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as first black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden formally announced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. “President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 51, […]

American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall spoke at the organization’s 2022 annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia (photo provided by American Farm Bureau Federation)

American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ

(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]

Food Desert News Graphic

Missouri bills would offer incentives for grocery stores, urban farms to eliminate food deserts

(Missouri Independent) – The closure of Save A Lot in Pagedale left a hole in northern St. Louis County.  Beyond Housing, a community-building group that serves about two dozen cities in the area had worked through the Great Recession to bring a grocery store closer to low-income residents in a part of the St. Louis area dotted with […]

Coronavirus or COVID-19 Testing news graphic

Audio: Missouri testing company closed, workers claiming samples were spoiled, told to lie about test results

A COVID-19 testing company with operations in the St. Louis area has temporarily shut down due to complaints about its rapid test sites and labs.     Former employees of the Center for COVID Control told the website Book Club Chicago that samples were routinely spoiled and that they were instructed to lie to people […]