Fred Wellman is the host of the On Democracy podcast, which has been critical of the Republican Party gravitation to Donald Trump. He's the second candidate to join the Democratic primary for the 2nd District, which has become more competitive in recent years.

Kansas City is a regional hub for federal offices and the almost 30,000 federal workers who make up the largest workforce in the area. Many of those workers are furloughed without pay, their agencies closed until the government reopens.

Tuesday's election saw 85% of voters supporting the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr., which will set off a rush by county legislators to appoint his replacement. But White is asking the Missouri Supreme Court to stop the vote certification.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins will have to rewrite the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment a third time, because the judge ruled that it "fails to adequately alert voters" that the measure would ban abortion.

The Unified Government could vote this week on an ordinance that would make it illegal for people to sleep outside on public and private property. But without a single overnight shelter in Wyandotte County, community groups say the crackdown will only worsen conditions for unhoused residents.

The Democratic National Committee announced it will send people and money to Missouri, to help a referendum effort aimed at blocking a new congressional map from going into effect.

White has served as county executive since 2016. Tens of thousands of signatures were gathered to trigger the special election, which White believes was called illegally.

Kansas Republican lawmakers are circulating a petition for a special session to redistrict. The goal is to defeat the state's only Democrat in Congress.

The move comes amid President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement practices garnering increasing criticism. Kehoe said that Missouri National Guard troops will help with "administrative, clerical and logistical duties."

The federal shutdown will affect people across the United States. NPR's network of member stations explains what will be impacted and where.

A rarely-used maneuver could force a vote in the U.S. House on a bill requiring the Justice Department to publicly disclosed unclassified records and documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has signed onto the petition, but of Missouri's GOP representatives, only Rep. Mark Alford says he will vote to advance the bill.

Federal Medicare and Medicaid regulations mandate staff vaccinations for employers that receive funding. But the high court ruled that Katlin Keeran was protected by a 2021 Kansas law making it illegal for employers to question the sincerity of religious beliefs for opting out of vaccines.