Former Sen. Jim Talent, who might have been nominated as Defense Secretary in a Mitt Romney administration, finds himself on the outside now as Chuck Hagel faces Senate confirmation. But Talent is keeping his security irons in the fire, named to two congressional panels related to defense and U.S.-China relations.
Lawmakers from Illinois and Missouri want to review the Air Force's failure to list Belleville’s Scott AFB among its finalists to host the next-generation refueling tanker aircraft. They said that Scott's central location and current refueling mission should have made it a prime candidate.
The Senate gave final congressional approval Friday to a $633 billion defense bill that includes wartime contracting reforms sponsored by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. It also includes a watered-down version of a "conscience clause" by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin.
Making her pitch wherever she can, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is campaigning to preserve her wartime contracting provisions in the defense bill from possible efforts by military contractors to convince lawmakers to delete them.
The Senate's major defense bill, likely to be approved early this week, includes contracting-reform provisions sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill and an amendment by Sen. Dick Durbin that calls for a crackdown on a brutal rebel group in the Congo.
U.S. Rep. Todd Akin has tended to focus on military hardware -- including St. Louis-produced Super Hornet and Growler aircraft and Navy shipbuilding -- during his more than a decade on the House Armed Services Committee.
During her six years in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has taken aim at waste, fraud and contract abuse at the Pentagon, helping to straighten out problems at Arlington National Cemetery and create a commission to weed out contracting waste.
Last week, footsoldiers at Fort Leonard Wood were among the nation's first to train with a new "fully immersive" virtual system that allows a squad in a carpeted room to see their avatars in a virtual battle scenario
WASHINGTON – If Congress can’t come up with a deficit deal, $1 trillion in automatic cuts is scheduled for January. If it happens, Missouri’s defense industry would be hurt as sequestration’s biggest hits would strike Pentagon spending.
WASHINGTON – The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a defense bill Thursday to maintain the production lines of the F-18 in St. Louis, nix a new base-closing round, and block a plan to shut down an air guard unit at Jefferson Barracks.
Claire McCaskill · Todd Akin · Dick Durbin · Roy Blunt · Bill Enyart · Jim Talent · Chuck Hagel · Mark Kirk
Senate Armed Services Committee · Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan · Missouri Air National Guard
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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.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
Author M.M. Costantin, who has lived near the Loop for more than 40 years, compiled a photo book that shows Delmar when it was bustling, when it was dangerous and when it came back to life.
They arrived four years ago as fifth-graders, behind in their work and not used to rigorous classes, but they've advanced rapidly and have a strong academic grounding for high school.
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.
Organizers aren't trying to replace the rib fest, but music lovers will be able to find tangy sustenance as they listen to such greats as Mavis Staples (pictured), Big George Brock, Trombone Shorty, Kim Massie and Marquise Knox take the stage.
Isley, a world-class guitarist as well as a gifted songwriter, communicates and connects swith an audience on an intimate level at "An Evening of Music and Discussion." He is hosting the event on Thursday in O'Fallon, Mo.
Like many artists, dancer Antonio Douthit hears a different drummer. But the drumbeat that changed his life at 16 wasn’t in his head. It wafted from a window on Washington Avenue. Douthit comes home for a May 25 performance in "Spring to Dance."
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
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.
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.
The Academy of Science-St. Louis hosts tours of EarthDance, an organic farm, and the Monsanto Agronomics and Breeding Facility May 21-22. The workshop is meant to prompt discussion and answer questions about these two competing philosophies of food production.
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.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
You have to know your audience: McDonald's regulars don't need free-range chicken or a certain breed of beef; a second-chance high school needs personally motivated students as opposed to people ordered to attend and low-income Democrats by and large don't want a cigarette tax.
Last week, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura sacrificed his crown as the King of America. He faced an individual decision to play against the best in the nation or the best on the planet. Find out what happened at that world-level tournament.
Our world sees rapid change in many ways -- how we view women, races, sexual minorities and other populations, for instance. While a daily delivery of new and different can be exhausting, it can force us to reflect and consider how to move forward, often incrementally, toward what is good and what bring value to our lives.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.