NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A fearsome Hurricane Ida has left scores of coastal Louisiana residents trapped by floodwaters and pleading to be rescued, while making a shambles of the electrical grid across a wide swath of the state in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Officials face a tall order to get all Missouri nursing home workers vaccinated because fewer than half of them have received the shots. By that metric, Missouri’s 48% ranks third-lowest in the nation, trailed only by Florida and Louisiana, both at 47%. Hawaii leads the states, at 89%. But at the…
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A judge has ruled that Florida school districts may impose mask mandates. Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper on Friday agreed with a group of parents who claimed in a lawsuit that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on the mandates is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The governor’s order gave…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — New Missouri laws taking effect Saturday include to-go cocktails, coronavirus liability protections for businesses, and penalties for cities that cut police funding. Restaurants will be able to sell sealed mixed drinks to go under one new law. Many coronavirus-related lawsuits also will be banned. Another new law punishes cities for cutting…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The attacks that killed at least 12 U.S. service members outside the Kabul airport have left President Joe Biden with increasingly difficult choices. He can continue the evacuation and risk more deaths or he can end it earlier than planned and risk leaving behind Americans still seeking to leave the country. The…
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois will require all educators from kindergarten through college and health care workers to get COVID-19 vaccines or submit to weekly testing. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday also announced a fresh statewide mandate on wearing masks indoors in response to a spike in cases, particularly in southern Illinois. Pritzker says hospital systems…
Sen. Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, has called the situation unfolding in Kabul “a full-fledged humanitarian crisis.” He said that his prayers are with the victims of the twin suicide bombing outside Kabul’s airport on Thursday that killed at least 13 people and wounded 15. Menendez describes the bombings…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A veteran Missouri political consultant has pleaded guilty to a federal tax charge, saying he takes “full responsibility” for his actions. David Barklage was indicted in May on a felony count accusing him of failing to pay $151,843 for income earned from 2012 through 2014. Barklage said in a statement after…
Delta Air Lines won’t force employees to get vaccinated, but it’s going to make unvaccinated workers pay a $200 monthly charge. Delta said Wednesday that it will also require weekly testing for unvaccinated employees starting next month, although the airline says it’ll pick up the cost of that testing. Delta isn’t going as far as…
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a lawsuit that seeks to stop school districts from enforcing mask mandates, requirements aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. The lawsuit filed Tuesday names Columbia Public Schools along with the district’s Board of Education and board members, but is a class action lawsuit that would apply to…