Rowland ‘stunned’ by mayor’s exit
Perhaps more than anyone else, Rory Rowland was taken aback by Wednesday's news that Independence Mayor Eileen Weir decided to drop her bid for re-election a week after the primary election. “I'm stunned.
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Read MoreRowland ‘stunned’ by mayor’s exit
Senate group to examine US prison system
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the Bureau of Prisons following reporting by the Associated Press that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons.
U.S. Department of Justice sues Missouri over gun law
JEFFERSON CITY — The U.S. Department of Justice sued Missouri on Wednesday over the state’s 2021 law that attempts to invalidate certain federal firearms measures.
NATION & WORLD WATCH
Seattle-area companies to give $10 million to fight homelessness SEATTLE – Amazon, Starbucks and others said Thursday that they’ll spend more than $10 million to combat homelessness in Seattle. The Seattle Times reported that the money will help set up and fund a team from the new King County Regional Homelessness Authority, designed to triage and alleviate homeless camping in downtown and the city’s International District.
Winter storm slicks roads in Kansas, Missouri
WICHITA, Kan. – A winter storm sweeping across the country Thursday from the Texas Panhandle to the upper reaches of Maine turned streets in major Kansas and Missouri cities into ice-slicked rinks before dawn.
Vatican spy story takes stage at trial
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s big fraud and extortion trial resumes Friday after exposing some unseemly realities of how the Holy See operates, with a new spy story taking center stage that is more befitting of a 007 thriller than the inner workings of a papacy.
Missouri plotting to treat COVID as endemic
The state of Missouri is planning an official end to the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health crisis and will transition to treating the virus as endemic, much like it does the seasonal flu. The target date for when Missouri’s public health agencies would begin treating COVID-19 as endemic is mid-March, the two-year anniversary of when the virus first showed up in the U.S., according to internal meeting notes.
House moves to block Medicaid expansion
JEFFERSON CITY — A year and a half after Missourians voted to expand the state’s Medicaid program, the House is asking voters to let lawmakers refuse funding for that expansion and to place work requirements on health care benefits.
Area braces for winter storm
Heavy snow is in the forecast for Thursday following expected rain and sleet overnight. The National Weather Service on Wednesday posted a winter storm warning for the area through 6 p.m.
AREA COVID-19 VACCINATION SITES
All Missourians ages 5 and older (Pfizer vaccine) or 18 and older (Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines) are eligible to receive COVID vaccines without charge. If you are seeking a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna, you should first talk with your health-care provider. Vaccinations are being offered as follows: