ST. LOUIS (AP) — Leaders of Missouri’s two urban areas have a message for refugees from Afghanistan: You are welcome here. St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page released a joint statement Tuesday saying they are “ready, willing, and prepared” to welcome at least 1,000 Afghanistan citizens through the Special…
The temporary restraining order blocking the St. Louis County mask mandate has been extended for two days by a St. Louis County judge. The order was to expire on August 17. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit to block the mandate. Circuit Judge Ellen “Nellie” Ribaudo has asked the two sides to reach…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says U.S. commanders at the Kabul airport are coordinating with the Taliban while accelerating the evacuation of Americans and at-risk Afghan allies. Spokesman John Kirby says there have been no hostile actions by the Taliban, and that several hundred members of the now-defeated Afghan army are at the airport assisting…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.. Speaking about the chaotic situation in Afghanistan, Biden says he faced a choice between following an agreement to withdraw or sending thousands more U.S. troops for a “third decade” of war. Biden spoke Monday after the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of the Catholic church’s top officials and fiercest critics of Pope Francis has COVID-19 and is breathing through a ventilator. Cardinal Raymond Burke tweeted on Aug. 10 that he had caught the virus, was resting comfortably and was receiving excellent medical care. His staff tweeted Saturday that he has been…
A young Afghan woman stands between two worlds at Kabul’s airport, engulfed in panic as thousands of Afghans scramble desperate to get out following the Taliban takeover of the country. In one world, Massouma Tajik would board a flight to a country she does not know, destined to become a refugee. In another, she would…
ARNOLD, Mo. (AP) — With the start of the new school year fast approaching, some parents in two suburban St. Louis districts are questioning why most students will not be required to wear face coverings, decisions that conflict with federal and local health guidelines. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that some parents in St. Charles…
Missouri hospitals are filling to the brim with COVID-19 patients, and so are their intensive care units, which are treating a record number of patients. Information posted Friday on the state health department’s coronavirus dashboard shows 2,318 people hospitalized with the virus, 50 more than a day earlier and the highest number in seven months.…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is refusing landlords’ request to put the Biden administration’s new eviction moratorium on hold, though she made clear she thinks it’s illegal. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich on Friday said her “hands are tied” by an appellate ruling the last time courts considered the evictions moratorium in the spring.…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. The statewide vaccine mandate for K-12 educators comes as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns of the highly contagious delta variant. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom…