U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart, both Illinois Democrats, sounded the alarm bells about the impact of impending budget cuts on Scott Air Force Base, one of the metro area’s largest employers.
Illinois Sens. Durbin and Kirk also are not yet saying whether they will vote to accept or reject President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Pentagon, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (pictured). The nomination hearing is likely to be a tough one, and all area senators have said that they looked forward to questioning Hagel.
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., says the appropriate national response to the "huge tragedy'' of Friday's school shootings "is a lot more complicated” than calls for gun control. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was among those calling for a national discussion of gun control.
Cutbacks in defense spending, curtailed medical research and fewer FBI agents are among the potential impacts of the budget “sequestration” that would take effect Jan. 2 if Congress does not approve an alternative, a White House report warned.
The substantial federal subsidies for Amtrak are being targeted by Congress and the GOP platform, even though rail passenger ridership has been on the rise -- including an increase of nearly 11 percent in riders on the St. Louis to Chicago route.
Mitt Romney's GOP running mate Rep. Paul Ryan has been defined by a deficit-reduction plan that is a lightning rod for its proposals to revamp Medicare while avoiding tax hikes or major Pentagon cuts.
With livestock producers running out of forage, great rivers shrinking fast and food prices on the rise, the Drought of 2012 – likely the worst since the 1950s – is having an impact on millions of Americans. But the response so far by governments and lawmakers has been mixed.
Drivers watching gas prices have good and bad news. The good: Average cost of gas in St. Louis was in the lower third of U.S. cities. The bad: Gas prices will go up. Most political proposals won’t lower prices in the short term.
There appears to be wide agreement that Congress should approve a major extension of the nation’s surface transportation programs. But a long-term agreement to bolster funding for roads, bridges and mass transit is still far away.
Federal budget · Gas prices · Energy policy · Keystone pipeline · Boutique fuels · Drought · Connecticut school shootings · sequestration · federal debt
Roy Blunt · Claire McCaskill · Mitt Romney · Jim Talent · John Shimkus · Mark Kirk · Paul Ryan · Chuck Hagel · Ann Wagner
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Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
With the exception of its laser focus on gun rights, the 97th session of the Missouri General Assembly that ended at 6 p.m. Friday pretty much reflected the recent tradition: The Republican majority portrayed it an “immense success,’’ the Democrats called it an extremist failure and Gov. Jay Nixon declined to say.
The school, which was designed to help students who had dropped out come back to class to earn their degrees, started three years ago. But founder Stephanie Krauss said it was unable to overcome obstacles that had kept its target audience from succeeding in school.
When the first group of students who entered KIPP Inspire charter school in south St. Louis were ready to be promoted out to area high schools, seeing how they've done was a natural follow-up.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
The feeling is openness, with soaring, airy spaces planned for easy and logical circulation and planned to reveal art not only to its best advantage but also appropriately and respectfully. Still, the building is notable more for its architectural reticence than its audacity.
When a Chicago photographer found more than a thousand unidentified slides, he set out to discover the couple behind them -- with a little help from social media.
The first reunion came about after Tom Hall broke his collarbone and musicians came together for a fundraiser. Then came two more. Hall simply says, “We decided that it’s fun to pay. We make good music. And people want to hear it.”
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Eleven IT entrepreneurs vied for the attention of more than 70 investors at Capital Innovators' annual Demo Day. This year's crop of hopefuls wooed potential investors with eight-minute presentations on a wide variety of business ideas.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
St. Louis theater artist Andrea Purnell dramatizes mental health issues for a living. For her efforts and potential, she'll receive a Grand Center Visionary Award for Emerging Artist in May 13 event at The Sheldon.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
When the first group of students who entered KIPP Inspire charter school in south St. Louis were ready to be promoted out to area high schools, seeing how they've done was a natural follow-up.
Much as Americans may disagree over politics, we share a belief in the public's right to know. This week's controversies were a reminder that a healthy press is vital to a healthy democracy.
Hegel may explain the trajectory of politics: A thesis breeds its antithesis. The dissonance between these polar opposites results in a new state of affairs called a synthesis. That synthesis becomes the new thesis as the process repeats itself. Thus does history travel its tangled paths.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.