Minor traffic tickets and ordinance fines would be capped at $200 under a bill that has passed the Missouri Senate. Senators voted 25-6 on Thursday to send the bill to the House. Four Republicans and two Democrats voted against it. ...
Read More »Court weighs practice of Christian prayers at meetings
A federal appeals court wrestled on Wednesday with whether local government leaders in North Carolina are violating the Constitution by holding exclusively Christian prayers at their meetings — the first time a court at that level has addressed the issue since ...
Read More »Missouri lawmakers consider concealed weapons in colleges
Missouri lawmakers have begun discussing whether colleges and universities must allow people to carry concealed weapons on campus. A Senate committee heard testimony Wednesday on two bills that would expand gun access on campuses. One bill would permit a school ...
Read More »Missouri business groups divided on LGBT-discrimination ban
Missouri businesses are divided over a proposed ban on discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, with some companies during a Wednesday hearing backing the measure as needed to recruit top candidates and some powerful business groups countering it ...
Read More »Ferguson police agree to overhaul policies, training
The Ferguson Police Department has agreed to overhaul its policies, training and practices as part of a sweeping deal with the Justice Department following the 2014 fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The recommendations, detailed in a 131-page proposed ...
Read More »Nebraska’s moot gay marriage ban could go to voters again
Nebraska’s defunct same-sex marriage ban could once again go before voters under a measure in the Legislature that seeks to remove it from the state constitution. The proposal triggered several heated exchanges Wednesday during a legislative hearing, with one senator ...
Read More »Women’s wear ‘distracts’ state lawmakers
Republican Sen. Mitch Holmes clearly recalls when women have worn “over the top” attire during his decade in the Kansas Statehouse. “A blouse that came way past the rib cage was one of the most outlandish ones,” he told The ...
Read More »Creator of covert Planned Parenthood videos in the spotlight
David Daleiden became an anti-abortion activist back in high school in Davis, California, learning tactics from his elders and helping mobilize his peers. In college, he co-wrote an article with a professor depicting self-doubt among some abortion providers. Now, as ...
Read More »Missouri bill would require free speech class in college
Missouri college students would need to take a class on freedom of speech in order to graduate under a bill a lawmaker says is in response to a confrontation between educators and student journalists during protests at the University of ...
Read More »Task force recommends how to cut US prisoner count by 60,000
The Justice Department should limit the types of cases it brings and more nonviolent criminals should be steered toward probation and away from prison, according to task force recommendations designed to cut the federal inmate count and save more than ...
Read More »Missouri Senate debates limiting municipal fines
A bill capping fines for municipal ordinance violations has won initial approval in the Senate, paving the way for a final vote before going to the House. Senators finalized the bill’s language Tuesday by a voice vote. It would limit ...
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