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Michael Conroy/Associated PressThe Senate has approved a bill to codify federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages by a 61-36 vote. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Kansas Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran voted against the bill. It now heads back to the House where it is expected to be passed quickly. -
Brian Munoz/St. Louis Public RadioMissouri's state treasury has a large surplus after 28 months of double-digit revenue growth and federal payments tied to COVID-19 relief and recovery. The extra money should help smooth any economic downturn while also allowing for new spending initiatives.
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From the moment Schmitt entered Missouri politics, the Republican Party always called the shots. But that won’t be what he’ll encounter in the U.S. Senate, which will remain controlled by Democrats. -
The proposed amendment failed by less than 10,000 votes in the initial ballot count. It would have allowed the Kansas Legislature to take away some policy-making capabilities from the governor's administration.
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“This is a big win for our office and for Americans across the country, and we will keep up the fight," said Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, one of six Republican attorneys general who sued over the loan relief program.
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Following Derek Schmidt's narrow loss to Gov. Laura Kelly, the Kansas GOP will flex its organizational muscle by invoking provisions of the party’s “loyalty clause” to oust from party committees any Republican lawmakers who signed a candidate petition for independent Dennis Pyle.
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Kansas City has the only police department in Missouri that's under state control. Although voters statewide raised how much of the city's budget must be spent on the KCPD, activists say local opposition to Amendment 4 created an opportunity to put policing decisions back in the city's hands.
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Hawley was calling for change within his party even before Election Day, telling reporters he was unlikely to support Sen. Mitch McConnell for another term as Senate Republican leader.
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State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin will be responsible for deciding which bills get Senate floor time — and bridging divisions within her caucus.
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Supermajorities in the House and Senate mean Republicans have greater opportunity to block or impose laws on taxation, abortion, education, budgets, guns, medical or recreational marijuana and health care, including Kelly’s quest to expand eligibility for Medicaid.
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Republicans scored big wins from Eric Schmitt in the U.S. Senate contest and Scott Fitzpatrick in the auditor’s race, but Democrats came out on top in Missouri’s only competitive state Senate contest and gained in the House.
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Missouri's Amendment 3 passed Tuesday, legalizing recreational marijuana. Legal weed is expected to bring jobs in the marijuana industry as well as new business to companies that will supply vendors.
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Midterms typically attract fewer voters than presidential races, but fewer people voted on Tuesday than in the 2018 midterm election. In some parts of the metro, turnout was lower than in the August primary.
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Amendment 3, which Missouri voters passed on Tuesday, will go into effect on Dec. 8. Under the newly-approved constitutional amendment, Missourians over 21 will be able to go to a dispensary without a medical marijuana card and buy flower, pre-rolled joints, edibles and other marijuana products.
Government
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer's latest book examines the moral evolution of the 16th president from childhood through his time in office.
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The comprehensive collaborative plan would work on reducing homelessness not only in Kansas City but in the region.
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Kansas City attorney Stacy Lake has a plan to do better than the incumbent. That plan focuses on putting county residents first.
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David A. Paterson says he was ready to be governor, but the media's focus on his blindness obscured what he was trying to accomplish.
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Mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have reinvigorated gun control advocates across the country. March For Our Lives rallies in hundreds of U.S. cities will take place Saturday to 'demand a nation free of gun violence.'
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A deep dive from the 2020 election through Joe Biden's first year as president reveals the struggle to hold the country together.
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Veterans were exposed to toxic air from burn pits overseas and comedian Jon Stewart and the Veterans of Foreign Wars say Congress needs to approve funds to treat them.
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With a one-party majority and a bag of legislative tricks, Kansas lawmakers conceal much of their bill-making process.
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The leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the landmark case would see a complete ban on abortion in Missouri and offer Kansas legislators the opportunity to do the same.
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Local leaders from the Northland to Johnson County are working to make their communities more environmentally sustainable.
Elections
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The CBS chief elections and campaign correspondent is looking ahead to see who will challenge Donald Trump in 2024 and whether the actions of a divided Congress next session will change how people view the two major political parties.
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Former President Donald Trump, who attempted to overthrow the results of the last U.S. presidential election, has announced he is running for the third consecutive election cycle.
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Kelly joins 11 other female governors as women in Kansas and Missouri won offices at local, state and federal levels.
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Incumbent Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, who represents Kansas' 3rd Congressional district, defeated Republican Amanda Adkins by 12% in the midterm election.
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Two very close races have been called in Kansas: Incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly won a second term, with about a 1.5% lead over her Republican opponent, state Attorney General Derek Schmidt. And Republican Kris Kobach beat Democrat Chris Mann by about 2 points in his bid for attorney general.
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KCUR editors discuss their approach to the station's political coverage during the 2022 midterm election.
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Four political scientists from Kansas and Missouri broke down the results in several key races and provided analysis on the biggest stories of Election Day 2022.
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In Missouri, voters have approved the recreational use of marijuana by adults and will send Republican Eric Schmitt to the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile in Kansas, voters gave Democrat Sharice Davids another term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Paper ballots in the fourth-largest county in Kansas had to be folded for transport to polling locations. The creases have made some unreadable by vote counting machines.
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The Department of Justice announced Monday that it would be in Cole County and 63 other jurisdictions around the country to monitor compliance with federal voting laws. The U.S. Attorney's office previously notified election officials that was opening an investigation over voter accessibility issues in the county.
