For just the third time in 40 years, millions of Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect no increase in benefits next year, which is unwelcome news for more than one-fifth of the nation’s population. They can ...
Read More »Analysis: GOP is party desperately in search of a leader
The GOP is a party in chaos, desperately in search of a leader. In the unruly U.S. House, Republicans enjoy a near-historic majority, yet deep divisions between ultra-conservatives and more traditional GOP lawmakers have left them at a loss over ...
Read More »New proposed Missouri math, English standards up for review
It’s been more than a year full of public meetings and reviews aimed at ultimately axing the current benchmarks for what Missouri schoolchildren should learn in each grade, but some opponents still are not satisfied with the proposed changes. The ...
Read More »Olive Garden apologizes to Kansas City police officer
The president of the Olive Garden restaurant chain has apologized to a Kansas City police officer after a restaurant employee asked him to leave because he was armed. Officer Michael Holsworth says he was on duty and in uniform Sunday ...
Read More »Suit settled with Catholic school over alleged abuse
UPDATED A lawsuit alleging that a St. Louis County Catholic school allowed a student to be abused by a teacher settled for $300,000. Ken Chackes of Chackes Carlson, & Gorovsky said in a press release Friday that he believed ...
Read More »Global worries kept Fed from hiking rates in September
Federal Reserve officials were almost ready to raise interest rates in September but held off because of China’s economic slowdown and its potential to derail U.S. growth and inflation. Minutes of the Sept. 16-17 discussions released Thursday showed the central ...
Read More »Kansas judges plan new lawsuit over judicial funding
Four judges who sued Kansas over the Legislature’s move to defund the state judiciary’s budget voluntarily withdrew their lawsuit Thursday after the state moved it to federal court, and they instead plan to file new claims in district court. The ...
Read More »Judge gives final approval for $338M oil train settlement
A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a $338 million settlement fund for victims of the fiery 2013 oil train derailment that claimed 47 lives in Quebec. Judge Peter Cary announced his decision after Canadian Pacific dropped its objection to ...
Read More »Private database lets police skirt license plate data limits
For years, police nationwide have used patrol car-mounted scanners to automatically photograph and log the whereabouts of peoples’ cars, uploading the images into databases they’ve used to identify suspects in crimes from theft to murder. Nowadays, they are also increasingly ...
Read More »Missouri pastor asks to retract guilty plea in fraud case
A Missouri pastor sentenced to seven years in prison after admitting he bilked $3.3 million from at least 18 mostly elderly investors wants to rescind his guilty plea, challenging the constitutionality of the federal laws under which he was prosecuted. ...
Read More »Thousands of drug inmates approved for early prison release
Drug criminals once described by prosecutors as unrepentant repeat offenders are among those poised to benefit from new sentencing guidelines that are shrinking punishments for thousands of federal prisoners, according to an Associated Press review of court records. Many defendants ...
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