by Kira Lerner, Missouri Independent February 21, 2022 In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently …

President Joe Biden on Monday announced financial sanctions against rebel territories freshly recognized by Russia in eastern Ukraine and warned that more were ready if necessary. President Biden issued an executive order to “prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and …

Former President Donald Trump‘s latest foray into the world of social media appears to be having a rocky rollout. Trump’s long-teased social media platform, Truth Social, rolled out on the App store Monday, Presidents Day. It claims to be different from other social media platforms because it is “free from …

The U.S. Department of Education has announced another round of student loan forgiveness for scholars who were tricked into debt to fund their education. Last week the agency announced $415 million in student loan debt from select borrowers would be canceled. Almost 16,000 people claimed to have been swayed into …

According to new research released Thursday by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, the number of children in poverty spiked dramatically in January after the expiration of President Joe Biden‘s expanded child tax credit at the end of last year. The number of American kids in …

The Federal Reserve has barred senior officials from a number of investment activities, particularly those involving individual stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies and commodities. The Federal Open Markets Committee announced the new rules on February 18. They specifically bar covered officials: “[F]rom purchasing individual stocks or sector funds; holding investments in individual …

A new bill in California would allow private citizens to go after gun makers in the same way Texas lets them target abortion providers. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday backed legislation that would let private citizens enforce the state’s ban on assault weapons. It’s modeled after a Texas law …

By Reese Oxner and Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune Feb. 17, 2022 Nearly two years after demonstrators and police clashed in Austin during nationwide protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, a Travis County grand jury on Thursday indicted 19 officers accused of excessive force, according to the police …

Sara Luterman Originally published by The 19th Secretary Xavier Becerra, America’s top health official, met with leaders in aging, labor and disability to discuss the future of home care funding on Thursday. This meeting was the first of its kind since negotiations over President Joe Biden’s $1.8 trillion Build Back …

President Joe Biden on Friday said he is “convinced” Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, stating he has “reason to believe” it will occur in the “coming days” and include an assault on capital city Kyiv. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Poli Alert …

A federal judge ruled Friday that Democratic lawmakers and Capitol Police officers can move forward with civil lawsuits against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issued a 112-page opinion on early motions from defendants to …

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has confirmed that former President Donald Trump took classified national security documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in January 2021. The New York Times reports that the National Archives sent a letter to Congress in which it confirmed that it has …

by Kavahn Mansouri, Missouri Independent February 17, 2022 A controversial Missouri gun law that penalizes police for enforcing federal gun laws is facing a new legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department(DOJ). On Wednesday, the department filed suit to prevent Missouri from enforcing its Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), a …

United States Congressman Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn. 1st District, has died following a years-long battle with cancer. Hagedorn’s wife and former GOP chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan announced the news on social media Friday morning. He was 59. Hagedorn was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in 2019 and began receiving care at …

The Senate on Thursday approved a stopgap extension of government funding through March 11, giving lawmakers three more weeks to work out a full-year spending deal. The vote was 65-27. With lawmakers racing this week to meet a Friday deadline — current funding was set to expire — and eager …