Public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity, according to an Obama administration directive issued amid a court fight between the federal government and North Carolina. The guidance from leaders ...
Read More »Legislature upholds veto on changing union dues collection
Missouri senators fell one vote short of overriding Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto early Friday morning after a Democrat withdrew her support of changing how public-sector unions collect dues. The bill would have required public employees to annually reauthorize paying their ...
Read More »Post-trial motions continue for KC firm dissolution case
The dispute between two Kansas City attorneys over the 2012 dissolution of their firm is continuing to play out post trial. In a flurry of filings in April, plaintiff Floyd Finch made separate motions for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, ...
Read More »Legislature OKs allowing some criminal records to be sealed
Some Missourians could have their criminal records sealed under a bill the Missouri Legislature passed Wednesday. The proposal won bipartisan approval, with supporters saying it would allow reformed criminals to get jobs while ensuring people with histories of violence or ...
Read More »Lawmakers OK new teen murder sentences
In a nearly unanimous vote that belied the three previous sessions of failed efforts, the Missouri Legislature on Thursday gave final approval to legislation that sets a constitutional penalty for juveniles who commit first-degree murder. The bill would allow those ...
Read More »US won’t appeal court rulings on lesser prairie chicken
The U.S. government said Wednesday that it won’t appeal recent court rulings in Texas that stripped the lesser prairie chicken of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wild Service said in an emailed statement that the ...
Read More »Missouri House rejects medical marijuana plan for 2nd time
A proposal to legalize medical marijuana was quashed Wednesday in the Missouri House, marking the second time this year it has been defeated by lawmakers. Supporters of the measure had portrayed it as a more restrained approach than a proposed ...
Read More »North Carolina’s transgender law creates tangle of lawsuits
The dueling lawsuits over North Carolina’s law on bathroom use by transgender people have landed in the hands of three federal judges appointed by Republican presidents, with both sides trying to maneuver into the most favorable courtroom possible. Legal experts ...
Read More »Missouri man put to death for killing deputy, 2 others
A man who killed two people in a drug dispute and a sheriff’s deputy in a subsequent shootout was put to death Wednesday in what could be Missouri’s last execution for some time. Earl Forrest died by injection for the ...
Read More »Federal judge rules in favor of Missouri Planned Parenthood
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of a Columbia, Missouri, Planned Parenthood clinic after the state last year tried to revoke its abortion license, a move the judge found likely was due in part to “political pressure.” U.S. ...
Read More »Court rejects ex-coal CEO’s bid to remain free during appeal
A federal appeals court rejected a bid Thursday by former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship to remain free while the court considers an appeal of his conviction related to the deadliest U.S. mine explosion in four decades. A three-judge panel of ...
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