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WASHINGTON — U.S. House members tasked with addressing what happens to loads of user data collected by big tech companies see a “long overdue” opportunity for a national privacy standard, particularly for children and teens. Lawmakers on a subpanel of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce met Wednesday to hear from advocates and online […]

The post National privacy standard eyed by Congress for data harvested by big tech companies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could radically change how cities respond to the growing problem of homelessness. It also could significantly worsen the nation’s racial justice gap. City of Grants Pass v. Johnson began when a small city in Oregon with just one homeless shelter began enforcing a […]

The post SCOTUS to consider whether local governments can make it a crime to sleep outside appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate voted Wednesday night to ensure homeschool families are allowed to own firearms. On a 27-4 vote, lawmakers approved legislation that originally was focused on cleaning up issues with Missouri’s virtual school program.  But over the course of a five-hour recess in the Senate Wednesday, Republicans turned that legislation into a catch-all measure […]

The post Missouri Senate amends House bill to ease passage of K-12 tax credit expansion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday dismissed two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Democrat-controlled chamber voted, 51-49 along party lines, to adjourn the impeachment trial after finding that the impeachment articles accusing Mayorkas of not complying with federal immigration law and breaching the public trust did not rise to […]

The post Senate rejects two impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Mayorkas appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans unveiled three bills Wednesday that would provide $95 billion overall in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, instead of voting on a similar bipartisan Senate-approved package that’s been waiting around for months. The Ukraine bill would provide $60.84 billion, the Israel bill would appropriate $26.38 billion and the Indo-Pacific bill […]

The post U.S. House GOP rolls out aid for Ukraine, Israel; votes planned on TikTok, border security appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill dedicating $2.2 million to support deployment of Missouri National Guard soldiers and State Highway Patrol troopers to Texas for border security on Wednesday became the first bill sent this year to Gov. MIke Parson. In February, Parson announced he would send 200 soldiers and 11 troopers to work with Texas law enforcement at […]

The post Missouri Senate sends bill for Texas border deployment to Gov. Parson appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Three initiative campaigns say they are on track to submit signatures that would put measures to legalize abortion and sports wagering, and to increase the minimum wage, on Missouri’s ballot this year. Campaign finance reports filed this week show more than $10 million, much of it from out-of-state organizations, has been raised to fuel the […]

The post Missouri initiative campaigns confident of achieving signature goals appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Johnson County spent the biggest piece of its opioid settlement windfall so far cracking down on drugs. Jackson County chose to put its dollars into treatment. In both cases, the money came from massive legal settlements with opioid makers, distributors and retailers. The counties’ choices illustrate opposite approaches to tackling opioid addiction, which kills an […]

The post KC-area politicians pick between war on drugs or treatment when spending opioid settlement appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher and his allies complained for weeks that the ethics investigation into his alleged misconduct was dragging out unnecessarily. As it turns out, the biggest reason for the delay may have been Dean Plocher himself.  The Republican from Des Peres for three months refused to speak to an attorney hired by […]

The post Dean Plocher delayed ethics investigation he publicly complained dragged on too long appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s statewide Republican candidates have a huge cash advantage over Democrats, while Democratic candidates reverse that edge in contested state Senate seats. Quarterly financial reports were due from all campaigns Monday, providing the last financial snapshot of upcoming primary battles until just a few weeks before Missourians vote on Aug. 6.  This year’s ballot includes […]

The post Missouri Republicans build cash advantage over Democrats as primary races heat up appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a Jan. 6, 2021, case that could potentially upend convictions for a mass of Capitol riot defendants and slash some election interference charges against former President Donald Trump. The case, Fischer v. United States, centers on whether former Pennsylvania police officer and Jan. 6 defendant Joseph […]

The post Divided U.S. Supreme Court wrestles with case of Pennsylvania man who joined Jan. 6 mob appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Despite growing tensions between elected officials nationwide and the media, Missouri lawmakers are looking to educate students on media and digital literacy through a new pilot program. Bills in the House and Senate contain provisions to help elementary and secondary students navigate an online world. The bills contain identical language that originated from a model […]

The post Media literacy bill gets hearing in Missouri legislature appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky called on U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to resign during a closed-door meeting of GOP lawmakers on Tuesday, throwing more uncertainty into that chamber just months before the November elections. Massie told reporters after the meeting and just before a Johnson press conference he believed the votes […]

The post U.S. Rep. Massie joins move to oust Speaker Johnson, who vows: ‘I am not resigning’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After a 2014 leak of hundreds of celebrities’ intimate photos, Uldouz Wallace learned that she was among the public figures whose images had been stolen and disseminated online. Wallace, an actress, writer and social media influencer, found out the images were ones her ex had taken without her consent and had threatened to leak. Over […]

The post States race to restrict deepfake porn as it becomes easier to create appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher obstructed an investigation of his official acts through pressure on potential witnesses and refusing to issue subpoenas, bipartisan leaders of the House Ethics Committee alleged Monday.  Some potential witnesses allegedly refused to speak out of fear Plocher would use his power as speaker to retaliate against them. Others were out […]

The post Speaker Dean Plocher accused of ‘absolute obstruction’ in House ethics investigation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A controversial landfill proposed for south Kansas City is likely dead after approval of a deal developers struck with a suburban municipality that has been fighting to kill the project.  The Raymore City Council voted unanimously Monday for an ordinance setting out the terms for  a settlement that would pay developers of the proposed landfill […]

The post Raymore city officials approve agreement meant to kill Kansas City landfill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A group including survivors of childhood sexual abuse is hoping Missouri lawmakers will change state law to give victims more time to sue their assailants and that the attorney general will provide more oversight of boarding schools and camps. Douglas Lay, assistant director of Missouri Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told reporters Monday […]

The post Survivors of childhood sexual abuse ask Missouri Attorney General, lawmakers for change appeared first on Missouri Independent.

NEW YORK — The trial of former President Donald Trump kicked off Monday in a lower Manhattan courtroom, marking the first time in U.S. history that an ex-president has been tried on criminal charges. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, appeared in the state of New York courtroom, where he is charged with falsifying business records to […]

The post Trump on trial: Former president faces criminal charges of falsifying business records appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In early February, Raytown High School sophomore Harper York crossed the street to pick up some M&Ms from a Casey’s store before her next rehearsal. Suddenly, she turned around from the checkout and saw a “mob fight” had broken out. When the chaos died down and she got over her initial shock, Harper made a […]

The post Raytown students wanted crackdown on violence, guns in school. Making the right changes is tricky appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Donald Trump on Monday in a New York City courtroom will make history as the first former U.S. president to stand trial in criminal proceedings. And it raises new issues for the presumptive Republican nominee for president in November, even as he builds a political brand that so far has seemed immune from accusations of […]

The post Trump’s repeated escapes from political damage to be tested in NYC trial appeared first on Missouri Independent.