The Senate's long-anticipated debate on immigration reform began this week with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin calling on proponents to rally around the "Group of Eight" plan, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt saying he had "serious concerns" related to border security, and the White House stepping up the public pressure to alter immigration laws.
The extent of phone and internet information collected and stored by intelligence agencies is "troublesome" and should be debated, says U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who had been briefed on such activities as a longtime member of congressional intelligence panels.
While President Barack Obama defended government surveillance programs Friday, his friend and frequent ally U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin -- who has long argued for more limits on post-9/11 Patriot Act -- said this week that "this important debate must begin again" in the wake of what he called “disturbing” revelations of widespread National Security Agency scrutiny of telephone records.
Engaging in political theater, the Senate deadlocked Thursday over rival Democratic and GOP bills Thursday on subsidized student loan interest rates, setting the stage for backroom talks to prevent a doubling of the rate for new loans on July 1.
With the U.S. Senate moving toward a big vote in June and the House developing an alternative plan, the fate of immigration reform – a major goal of the White House – may hinge partly on the debate over its costs and benefits to the U.S. economy.
A major water resources bill approved Wednesday by the U.S. Senate calls for more public-private partnerships in river and harbor infrastructure, speeding up environmental reviews and studying ways to maintain Mississippi River navigation during severe droughts and floods.
The Senate’s approval of a “marketplace fairness” bill to make it easier for states to collect taxes on internet sales now shifts the focus to the U.S. House and – ultimately – to states such as Missouri that don’t enforce their existing internet sales taxes.
At the first Senate hearing on the "targeted killing" program, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and others called for more transparency and oversight of the drone program and questioned whether an unintended consequence of the attacks was to alienate many people in the Middle East who might otherwise have been sympathetic.
Missouri and Illinois U.S. senators are among the 67 urging the White House to “take direct action” to end the disturbing backlog in processing veterans’ disability claims. In the VA's central region, the Chicago office has the highest and the St. Louis office the fifth-highest percentage of disability claims pending for more than 125 days.
As the Senate moved toward approving the “marketplace fairness” bill that aims to help states force online retailers to collect sales taxes, Missouri backers agreed that plan would require action from the state Legislature to have much impact in the state. Illinois is closer to enforcing collection of state sales tax in some cases.
immigration · gun control · sequestration · Federal budget · federal debt · gun violence · military defense · deficit · Flood insurance · Second Amendment
Claire McCaskill · Roy Blunt · Mark Kirk · Roy Blunt · Barack Obama · William Lacy Clay · Bill Enyart · Mitt Romney · Marco Rubio
Mississippi River · Missouri River · Scott Air Force Base · Harrisburg, Ill. · Iraq · Afghanistan
Army Corps of Engineers · U.S. Senate · FEMA · U.S. Congress · National Journal
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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.
The suggestions come in the wake of Missouri Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law allowing students who live in unaccredited school districts to transfer to accredited ones.
The St. Louis County Council gave its final blessing to merge some duties of city and county economic development agencies, a move that ratifies the plan announced earlier this year. The partnership will focus on business retention, expansion and entrepreneurship.
Some in Missouri and Illinois were singled out for excellence; others were branded with a consumer alert, that would-be teachers should be wary. The national group that did the survey said it will be repeated annually, said the evaluating group's president Kate Walsh.
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 Kranzberg Arts Center, the Ethical Society and the Tavern of Fine Arts have been added as venues this year, with the last location hosting a free concert. The programs, which feature established works and new composers, will also be at the Wool Theater at the Jewish Community Center.
Bryan Payne, a St. Louis native, and Kristin Cassidy, who is not, use their city dwelling as a continually evolving canvas to display their finds. Here, Payne says, people can readily find the tools for art so "it's just up to them if they want to make it."
Duff's, a mainstay of the Central West End since Karen Duffy opened it in 1972, is closing its doors this month. Over the years, Duff's developed a reputation for reasonably priced, imaginative menus and a good selection of wines. But what made Duff's invaluable were the poetry readings on Monday evenings.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
As St. Louis gears up to be a part of events for National Small Business Week in which local entrepreneurs Jack Dorsey and David Steward will play prominent roles, the area's SBA director feels that the Gateway City's climate for entrepreneurs and small businesses is improving.
Mark Lynas, a noted British author and environmentalist, spoke Thursday at the Donald Danforth Plant Science center about his conversion from an anti-genetically modified crop activist to a proponent of GM plants.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said the initiative is about keeping start-up businesses “here when they become successful and grow jobs here as well, rather than just being some sort of training ground for Silicon Valley companies.”
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.
Tossing a high school graduation cap into the air typically signals the launch of a bigger life. But a new study shows that's often not the case for young people with autism.
Recent research out of Mizzou suggests that excessive use of Facebook can have negative effects on romantic relationships, including cheating, breaking up and divorce. The negative impact tends to be on newer relations, under three years duration. Doctoral student Russell Clayton advocates more moderate Facebook use to prevent its threats.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a company that had patents on genes linked to higher risks for breast and ovarian cancers. The ruling is disliked by a biotechnology industry group, but is praised by university researchers.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will bring in four of the world’s top-10 chess players for the strongest-ever tournament on U.S. soil. This September matchup will feature Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky -- America’s top-two players -- as well as Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Armenia’s Levon Aronian – the world’s top-two.
When the mining company filed for bankruptcy, 22,000 workers and retirees lost their earned and negotiated benefits and joined the nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance. The cost of treating the uninsured adds to insurance and health costs for everyone.
Asking for contributions for a child’s college education is legal in Missouri. But not right. Because a parent should help his or her children in almost any way they can, such obligations must be kept far away from a politician’s public responsibilities — it is not hard to figure out which one would lose if they conflicted.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.