Springfield News-Leader
Israel vote unlikely to alter Iran policy
DUBAI – Israel’s election on Oct. 27 may change its leader, but not its strategy: Iran will remain its chief adversary, military force will continue to be its preferred tool and Palestinian statehood a distant prospect, regional policymakers and...
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Trump approval rating hits career low in poll
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a new record low, with less than one-third of Americans approving of the president’s job performance, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The poll, released on Oct. 19, found Trump’s approval...
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Historical elections brought on new eras in U.S. politics
The conventional wisdom is that the Democratic Party has the advantage in the 2026 midterm elections and could become the majority party in one, or both, chambers of Congress. The margin of that anticipated victory is harder to predict. And the size...
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Builder confidence hits lowest mark in 14 years
WASHINGTON – U.S. homebuilder sentiment plunged to the lowest level in nearly 14 1⁄2 years in October as the Middle East conflict boosted mortgage rates and prices of energy-related building materials, a survey showed Oct. 19. The National Association...
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Newly found green star amazes astronomers
WASHINGTON – Astronomers for the first time have identified a green star, documenting a dense stellar remnant called a white dwarf that became a ghostly shade of chartreuse after ingesting rocky debris from planets that once had orbited it. A star’s...
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BUILDING UP VOTER TRUST
Recently, I moderated a national event that had college students speaking with election officials, something I often find myself doing this time of year. This year, a new question kept coming up: “If I’m voting by mail, can I trust my ballot will...
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Behind the scenes at the White House
We know that people work at the White House: presidents and press secretaries, chiefs of staff and policy advisers, Cabinet members and communications staffers. But the White House is more than a place where government functions. It’s where the first...
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YOUNG INNOVATORS
The 2026 winner of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge has been announced, and the winning project could change the world. h This year, contestants aged 11 to 14 used science to solve everyday problems, from smart utensils that detect allergens to tools...
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New Missouri energy plan goes all in on nuclear power
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court once again sided with the Trump administration in a dispute over radio and television advertising rates in the run-up Missouri energy leaders are all in on nuclear power. A new state energy plan from Missouri’s...
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Trump clemency erases $1.7 billion in penalties
President Donald Trump loves a good pardon. His generosity is so well known, in fact, that an industry of lobbyists, lawyers and other insiders has reportedly sprung up to facilitate clemency for wealthy criminals. Clemency, meaning mercy or leniency,...
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Federal judge orders halt to taxpayer-funded ads
A federal judge on Oct. 11 blocked the Trump administration from using taxpayer money to pay for political advertisements, after publicly funded television ads glorifying President Donald Trump began airing in late September and sparked a bipartisan...
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Midterms may be test of 2028 viability
NEW YORK – Democrat Cait Conley, who is seeking to unseat Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in one of the nation’s most crucial House races, in the suburbs just north of New York City, was asked last month if she would campaign with Rep. Alexandria...
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Trump uses federal power to boost GOP
WASHINGTON – Americans are seeing taxpayer-funded television ads promoting President Donald Trump, government checks are hitting nearly 1 million mailboxes across the country, and federal agents are scouring voting rolls as a midterm election marked by...
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Amendments, races that will shape MO
Despite a lack of major statewide races, the November election in Missouri is expected to be anything but quiet. A number of hotly contested ballot initiatives and downballot races – plus a contentious congressional race – figure to keep things...
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Trump says new retreat will be like Camp David
President Donald Trump said a new retreat he hopes to create for future White House occupants at one of his Florida golf courses would be safe, secluded and similar to Camp David, the storied presidential getaway in Maryland. Although details of the...
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Loud sounds have hidden health risks
The human body is remarkably good at getting used to the environment around it. You’ve probably experienced this if you’ve ever gone to a matinee and emerged from the dark theater into sunshine. Your eyes sting, so you squint and shield your face until...
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Supreme Court weighs climate change lawsuits
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court gave no clear indication on Oct. 5 about whether it will allow local governments to go after oil companies for contributing to climate change, hearing nearly two hours of arguments in their first major case about...
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High-profile cases await Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court’s new term features a closely watched climate change case, but it is just one of several politically charged disputes that will be decided over the next few months. The court – which has a 6-3 conservative majority − is...
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Historic downtown property set to be auctioned off Nov. 21
A downtown Springfield building dating back to 1889 is set to be auctioned off in November. After nearly five years of owning the property that holds two lofts and street-level retail spaces, the owners of 212 and 214 S. Campbell Ave. are selling the...
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AI boom meets Mammoth Cave
MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK, KY – For thousands of years, people have ventured into the caves beneath the rolling hills of central Kentucky. In the 1840s, Stephen Bishop, an enslaved Black guide, explored the vast system by lantern and drew one of the...
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Lower MPG rules may cost drivers at pump
President Donald Trump’s move to reduce the sticker shock on new cars by rolling back federal economy rules could end up costing most drivers more money in fuel costs than they would save on new vehicles, according to analysis from Trump’s own Highway...
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The long afterlife of QAnon
On Election Day in 2024, as voters cast their ballots, Elon Musk posted a campaign music video supporting Donald Trump’s bid for president. h Set to Van Halen’s “Jump,” with a montage of 1980s cultural references and images of Trump in various...
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Administration cuts mileage standards
President Donald Trump’s administration finalized a new set of rules regarding mile-per-gallon standards for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks, reducing standards set by the Biden administration two years ago by nearly a third. While the Trump...
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Fall in the Ozarks is packed with festivals
It’s finally feeling like fall in the Ozarks. If you’re looking for things to do during the weekends, here’s a list of all the fall festivals within an hour drive of Springfield. From crafts to pumpkins to apple butter, there’s no shortage of ways to...
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Finding community alongside bulk buys
With their busy schedules, Los Angeles besties and social media influencers Analyse Talavera and Carmen Rene Smith don’t always spend as much time together as they’d like. Their solution? Tag-teaming their Costco errands. The outings double as...
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Report alleges censorship at colleges across America
A “widespread, McCarthyite censorship” campaign by the Trump administration led to the suppression of speech at colleges and universities across the nation, a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International concluded. The...
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Cursive is making a comeback in schools
Learning to read and write cursive was once a rite of passage for practically every American schoolchild. Until the early 20th century, children in the United States were generally taught to write in cursive or script, rather than the print writing...
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Delay of Flock camera report results in chaos at council meeting LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Boos and shouts erupted during a Springfield City Council meeting Monday, Sept. 21, that saw police detain two attendees after elected leaders stalled an effort to gather more information about the use of automatic license plate reader cameras like...
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Three news outlets sue Trump, administration
WASHINGTON – CNN, MS NOW and Politico are suing President Donald Trump and other administration officials in a bid to regain access to the White House after reporters from each outlet were denied entry over the weekend. The news outlets, in a lawsuit...
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Jury duty can exact an emotional toll on jurors
Nearly 30 years after leaving the deliberation room, Erin Reilly Lee can easily recall what it felt like to climb into the cooler that had once held Anne Marie Fahey’s body. Lee and her fellow jurors had heard wealthy lawyer Thomas J. Capano testify...
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Dedication held for Judith Enyeart Reynolds complex
The biggest donation in Missouri State University’s history came to life Thursday, Sept. 17, accompanied by musical numbers and jubilee as the university dedicated its new Judith Enyeart Reynolds Performing Arts Complex. The arts complex stands in...
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Hospital buyouts drive up costs for patients
DES MOINES – Tim Day was determined to bring a positive attitude to his treatment after a scary stage 4 cancer diagnosis in 2019. But he learned soon enough he’d need to bring a lot of money, too. Aggressive prostate cancer, already metastasized,...
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Ponzi schemer hired PR firm in bid for lighter sentence
Weeks before a federal judge in St. Louis sentenced Siddharth Jawahar to 11 years in prison for running a $35 million Ponzi scheme, he hired a prominent Missouri political consulting firm to help generate favorable publicity and support for a lighter...
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Trump proposes Space Academy, led by NASA
President Donald Trump wants a U.S. Space Academy. Even though many details, including what exactly it is, remain unclear, already the lobbying has begun – including from Florida. Florida leaders moved quickly after the president’s Aug. 28...
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U.S. human rights scores plummet
In the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections, how is the U.S. government performing in terms of human rights? Listening to politicians, it can be difficult to know. On one hand, some have pointed to a number of potential human rights abuses committed...
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Johnson: Congress shouldn’t lead AI safety
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said that artificial intelligence developers, not Congress, bear responsibility for ensuring their products are safe and rejected a national moratorium on AI buildout during a Sept. 13 appearance on CNN’s “State of the...
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More cops arrested, fired after Flock investigation
At least three more police officers were arrested and a fourth was fired for alleged misuse of Flock license plate reader cameras after USA TODAY reporters asked their employers why they repeatedly tracked individual cars. Those latest developments...
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Missouri Secretary of State found in contempt before yielding to court order
The Trump administration no longer plans to convert massive warehouses in Georgia and Utah into immigration detention centers, recent court filings The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday, Sept. 10, found Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt...
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ICE releases seriously ill detainees in hospitals
Jose Chajon-Raxon’s casket was carried on the back of a pickup truck through his hometown of San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. An American flag covered the casket – a symbol of the country where the 39-year-old immigrant had sought a future, and where...
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FROM ASHES TO ILLNESS
Ageneration later data now show that three times as many people have died with a confirmed 9/11-related illness than perished during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. h Some 9,677 people have died since their exposure to the toxic mix of chemicals...
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How 9/11 still affects our lives, laws and liberties
A quarter-century later, 9/11 still echoes. The worst terrorist attack in U.S. history has been followed by other seismic events, from a once-in-a-century global pandemic to the rise of artificial intelligence that is transforming commerce, education...
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SEX-TRAFFICKING CRACKDOWN STALLS
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has repeatedly said the fight against sex trafficking is one of its top priorities. But investigations have stalled and prosecutions declined because of staffing shortages, funding cuts, immigration enforcement...
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Lower-earning workers may be gaining ground
Wage growth for lower-income households may be turning a corner, according to Bank of America. Lower-income households saw 4.7% annual growth in wages in August, compared with 3.5% for higher-income households, based on the bank’s consumer deposit...
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UNPLUGGED
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced in-person classroom instruction to go virtual, students suddenly needed to have their own laptops or tablets in order to interact with teachers and complete assignments. Most states used federal pandemic funding to...
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Trump preparing for midterm travel blitz across the U.S.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he’s launching an aggressive travel blitz to battleground districts and states in the final month of the midterm election campaign as he looks to energize Republicans and fend off a blue wave. Among his stops...
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GRIT, GRACE & GRATITUDE
Jeffrey Coniglio is dressed in white down to his shoes, his daughter Giada in a flowing pale green gown. They are twirling across the dance floor to music from “The Great Showman” when, suddenly, Giada flips head over heels and then swings out into a...
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AN IDLE THREAT
Abus company that left its buses’ engines running while parked in Boston neighborhoods has settled a lawsuit by agreeing to pay $5.6 million in damages for the resulting air pollution. The settlement came in a citizen-enforcement lawsuit under the...
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Jordan Creek daylighting downtown nears finish line
The vision of Jordan Creek as a greenspace and pedestrian amenity in downtown Springfield is finally taking shape. After nearly two years of construction, the creek that once ran through underground tunnels is expected to bring more life to the urban...
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Whistleblower warns of ‘chaotic’ mail ballot plan
A whistleblower is warning that the technology developed by the U.S. Postal Service to carry out President Donald Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail ballots could “derail the midterm elections,” saying it hasn’t been properly tested and...
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2026 measles cases surpass 2025 totals
Measles outbreaks continue to expand across parts of the United States as health officials respond to growing clusters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia. The outbreaks come during the nation’s worst measles year in more than three decades. The...
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ICE requests robot dogs for use in border security
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to spend up to $2 million on robot dogs designed to help officers safely inspect hazardous locations during law enforcement operations, according to a newly released Department of Homeland Security...
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War effort hampered by shifting objectives
WASHINGTON – Bombs had been dropping for more than a week when President Donald Trump assured congressional Republicans and donors the war on Iran wouldn’t last long. “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some...
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Cup of care ambition
In 1973, Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” to soften the blow of leaving her business partner Porter Wagoner after years of producing hit country duets together. Parton was ready to pursue a solo career. So she played the song for Wagoner to...
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Cattle ranchers fume over Trump beef plan
POWER, MT – When Tim Brunner was at an auction barn recently, he was surprised to see decent cows selling several hundred dollars cheaper than they were just a few weeks earlier. He largely blames President Donald Trump, and he’s not the only...
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Colleges confront decline in reading
Anyone who has spent time on a college campus lately has probably heard laments from faculty about their students’ reading habits, or rather nonreading habits. Such complaints are more than an unfounded nostalgia for a bygone age. Reading – not just...
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LOVE, ALWAYS
Dolly Parton, the “Queen of Country” singing and songwriting icon with a personality as bold as her signature blond coif and rhinestone-encrusted outfits, has died. She was 80. Parton’s death was announced by her family on her social media pages and...
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Bessent: U.S. launching Iran pressure campaign
WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States is launching an “economic onslaught” against Iran, with a goal of severing every economic lifeline the country has so Tehran is forced to choose between global isolation and an...
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Ex-deputy convicted in Massey’s killing dies
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County Sheriff ’s deputy convicted of murdering Sonya Massey in her home in 2024, died on Aug. 23, his lawyer said. Daniel Fultz of Springfield, one of Grayson’s defense attorneys, confirmed the...
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Embryo personhood debate gains notice
About 100,000 babies were born through in vitro fertilization in 2024, according to the most recent U.S. data. But IVF commonly involves trying to create multiple embryos, because success is never guaranteed. If unused, those embryos can be frozen,...
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A look at the road ahead
The political appeal of the idea — slap restrictions on institutional investors who buy up single-family homes to make more housing stock for regular folk who want to actually live in them — is plain to see. Both houses of Congress endorsed it by...
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Most Americans say Trump is profiting from presidency
WASHINGTON – A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump and his family have inappropriately profited from cryptocurrency since his return to power and that his policy decisions are influenced by his private business dealings, a new...
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MI teenage ‘hero’ called police after being shot
A 13-year-old girl, the lone survivor of a shooting spree in rural northern Michigan, called 911 after being shot multiple times and alerted authorities, according to her family and state police. The girl was discovered at a home in Lake Township in...
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Trump plan could hit science funding
Most Americans don’t read the rules that govern the federal grants funding science. Those rules, called the Uniform Guidance, shape how cancer research is funded, graduate students are trained, clinical trials are sustained, universities stock their...
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Poll: Trump approval rating hits new low
President Donald Trump’s polling woes continue as he fell to a new record low since his return to the White House, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey, with only one in three Americans approving of his job performance. The poll, released Aug. 17,...
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Hailstorm costs climbing
More than three months after the devastating spring hailstorm struck north Springfield, the community is still recovering from the fallout — and calculating the cost. On April 28, 2026, the National Weather Service recorded hail between 2.75 inches...
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Silver Dollar City unveils new ride opening in spring
A new ride is coming to Silver Dollar City, leaning into Missouri’s identity as the Cave State and the history of the park itself. The theme park announced Friday, Aug. 14, that Miner’s Mountain Express is coming to the park in spring 2027. The new...
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TheU
Ozarks Technical Community College is putting itself on the map. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, the school opened the doors to the new Michael L. Parson Student Union, also known as The U, as an asset encouraging Ozark Tech’s students to engage and connect. h...
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Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame adding 3 honorees
Newly reported cases of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection known for causing explosive diarrhea, may be slowing – though not by much – as the investigation into the unprecedented outbreak that has affected thousands drags on. The Centers for...
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Al-Qaida, Islamic State group adopting AI
Artificial intelligence may not create a new kind of terrorism, but it makes existing tactics cheaper, faster and easier. That is the central argument of a July report from the U.S.-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. h It...
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SPS, law enforcement campaign urges safe driving around school zones ‘A shared responsibility’
Springfield Public Schools and area law enforcement are reminding drivers to keep an eye out for students as the first day of school approaches. With kids heading back to school on Aug. 25, SPS, Springfield Police Department and the Greene County...
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‘Scary’ blood crisis hits U.S., delaying surgeries
A Nashville surgeon is pleading with residents to donate amid a “scary” blood shortfall hitting the nation, causing the American Red Cross to declare a blood crisis for only the second time in its 145year history. Heart surgeon Dr. Brian Wilcox, the...
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Major fights await Senate
WASHINGTON – The Senate just went out with a bang – passing a government funding bill to try to avert another shutdown, confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general and bucking a voter ID measure. Overnight, a quick flurry of legislative activity...
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Blanche confirmed as attorney general
WASHINGTON – After weeks of Republican infighting, the Senate finally squeezed through a vote to confirm Todd Blanche as the nation’s next attorney general. The largely party-line vote early in the morning Aug. 8 included just two Republican...
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FUTURE READY
Children’s Mercy with Mercy allowed news outlets to tour their new O’Reilly Pediatric Center on Wednesday, Aug. 5. While the center isn’t expected to open until December, construction has continued at a fast clip since the final beam was raised into...
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Reports: U.S. missile supply badly depleted
The war on Iran has severely depleted key U.S. missile stockpiles and left the nation and its allies in a vulnerable position for potentially years to come, several experts and reports say. U.S. missile stockpiles were low before President Donald...
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