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Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel, founders of Just Moms STL, join Chris & Amy as plans for removal of radioactive nuclear waste from North St Louis County are finally progressing.
Coldwater Creek lies at the heart of one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. It's also where Jim Gaffney played as a child growing up in north St. Louis County. “We thought we'd stay there the rest of our lives. We had no idea we were swimming in uranium waste,” said Gaffney, who has battled multiple cancer diagnoses throughout his life. Gaffney and other former residents of Coldwater Creek spoke with journalist Mike Fitzgerald, who joined “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss his recent reporting. Along with Fitzgerald, Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the group Just Moms STL, shared her insight and takeaways from the recent visit to the West Lake Landfill by EPA administrator Lee Zeldin.
Chris and Amy sit down with Dawn Chapman, founder of Just Moms STL, to discuss the latest developments in the fight to clean up radioactive material at the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri. Chapman sheds light on the EPA's recent map release, the risks posed by the ongoing underground fire, and the urgent need for federal intervention. She also shares the emotional toll on residents and how the community can take action to demand transparency and cleanup efforts.
Dawn Chapman of Just Moms StL (l) and Nuclear Hotseat host Libbe HaLevy at symposium on West Lake Landfill issues in North St. Louis, February 19, 2016. Keystone Photo – activists Dawn Chapman and Kay Drey on-site at radioactively contaminated Coldwater Creek in N. St. Louis, MO. February 19, 2016. This Week’s Featured Interview: Nuclear...
Dawn Chapman, Co-Founder of Just Moms STL is attending the State of the Union as a guest of Josh Hawley. She talks with Megan Lynch about living next to radioactive landfill, a possible vote on compensation for victims of radioactive waste, and not knowing and what it will mean to be in attendance for Biden's speech.
Friday Flyover of politics and elections news from America's heartland | TX GOP Rep Chip Roy says he'd boot MAGA Mike over funding bill | Missouri Sec of State on track to waste more money and lose more court cases | Lauren Boebert switches districts, CO GOP Rep Doug Lamborn announces retirementSOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Axios, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Independent, Fox17 WZTV Nashville, Iowa Capitol DispatchIs Speaker Mike Johnson Already on the way out? https://www.axios.com/2024/01/11/mike-johnson-house-speaker-motion-vacateFrom ArticleDriving the news: A dozen right-wing House Republicans blocked a package of their party's bills and ground the House floor to a sudden halt on Wednesday in protest of Johnson's spending deal with Senate Democrats.It's a repeat of of what hardliners did under former Speaker McCarthy over his bipartisan debt ceiling deal – which ultimately foreshadowed his removal months later through a motion to vacate.The move came as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has been flirting with the idea of trying to remove Johnson, saying in a radio interview on Tuesday: "If they totally botch [the appropriations bills] ... I don't know why we would keep him as speaker."One Republican leadership ally described the revolt as a "shot across the bow."Missouri AG and recent melted blob of flesh on CNN, Jay Ashcroft, gets smacked down in courthttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/judge-rejects-jay-ashcroft-s-bid-to-dismiss-high-profile-lawsuit-against-his-office/article_01f1fdc6-af1c-11ee-8076-27fdb2bf7fa8.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-shareComplaint https://business.cch.com/srd/20231023_SIFMA-v-Ashcroft_amended-complaint.pdfFrom the articleA federal judge rejected an effort by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to dismiss a lawsuit against his office over new, politically charged rules aimed at limiting the impact of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions.In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Steven Bough ruled unanimously in favor of a trade group that is suing the Republican gubernatorial candidate and his office on the grounds that the rule imposed by Ashcroft fails to acknowledge that federal law already requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients when providing personalized investment advice.“The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules violate the First Amendment,” Bough wrote. “The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules are unconstitutionally vague.”And Bough said the trade organization can continue its pursuit of the case because it has the legal standing to represent financial advisers who object to Ashcroft's rule.Ashcroft issued the rules — the first in the nation — after a similar “anti-woke” investing proposal died in the Legislature last year.Ashcroft, who is facing Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Bill Eigel in the August 2024 GOP primary, has used the lawsuit to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign, where culture war issues have played a prominent role.And, he is using taxpayer funds to pay a campaign donor to represent his office in the lawsuit.Instead of using the Missouri attorney general's office to fight the challenge to the rules, Ashcroft hired the politically connected Kansas City law firm of Graves Garrett to represent his office.Law firm partner Todd Graves, a former head of the Missouri Republican Party, was named to the University of Missouri board of trustees in 2021 and Greim was mentioned as a possible pick for attorney general when Eric Schmitt vacated the post to become U.S. senator in 2021.Greim also represented the Office of the Governor in 2018 when former Gov. Eric Greitens was under investigation for possible impeachment.Tennessee Dems Pushing Back on Abortion Bans With New Reproductive Rights BillsThe bill is sponsored by new Tenn. Dem. State rep, Aftyn Behn, who can be heard at length on this week's episode of the Dirt Road Democrat with Jess Piperhttps://fox17.com/news/local/2024-nashville-tennessee-rep-introduces-new-abortion-reproductive-rights-bill-politics-general-assembly-government-davidson-county-middle-tnFrom ArticleA new abortion bill aims to amend Tennessee's current law which bans the procedure in early stages of pregnancy.House Bill 1626 enacts the "Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act," meaning the state cannot interfere with abortion services because it falls under an individual's "fundamental right."The bill states every person has a right to make decisions about their reproductive health care, including "the fundamental right to use or refuse contraceptive procedures or contraceptive supplies as defined in 68-34-102." It adds a pregnant person has a right to continue a pregnancy or to terminate it. Michigan GOP Collapsing? https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/09/michigan-gop-is-collapsing-in-on-itself/From article:Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican party, said an effective new leader could help the party “right the ship” before the November 2024 elections, but that a drawn-out fight in court could hinder that progress.To date, the chaos engulfing the party has prevented it from fulfilling its traditional role of organizing and fundraising for Republican candidates, former party officials have said.“I think the chaos is far from over,” Roe said. “If this turns out to be a binding vote, I don't think she [Karamo] or her supporters will go quietly and there will probably continue to be skirmishes throughout the election cycle.” Boebert Says Bye Bye - Tucks Tail And Seeks Easier Path Back To DCIn a move stunning no one, CO GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, best known for her lewd and lascivious behavior, plus that time she cranked her dates honker in public, is running from the fight in her seemingly doomed reelection bid in the Colorado 3rd against Adam FrischArticle on THChttps://theheartlandcollective.com/2023/12/29/lauren-boebert-says-bye-bye-to-her-current-swing-district-and-hello-to-colorados-4th/Frisch was close to winning in 2022 and most assumed he would take the 2024 race against the highly damaged BoebertThe seat in the 3rd was home to Ken Buck who's own failed speaker bid was his last hurrah as he calls it quits. Missouri water way gets needed recognition, but for horrible reasonshttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/08/coldwater-creek-to-finally-have-warning-signs-after-decades-of-nuclear-contamination/Nuclear waste stored outside St. Louis was found to pose a risk to nearby Coldwater Creek as early as 1949. The contaminated creek will finally have warning signs almost 75 years later.From articleThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement Monday that it was working with the Environmental Protection Agency to add signs along the creek to help it monitor areas “that may pose a risk if disturbed.”Coldwater Creek has been contaminated for decades with radioactive waste left over from the World War II-era effort to build an atomic bomb. But though the creek winds through some of St. Louis' busiest suburbs and past public parks and schools, the federal government had resisted calls to post signs warning visitors of the contamination.“This is decades of potential exposure that could have been prevented that they drug their feet on,” said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, an organization formed to advocate for communities affected by St. Louis-area radioactive waste.Despite the delays, Chapman said she's thankful that the signs are finally going to be installed. The St. Louis area has long struggled with a radioactive waste problem. Uranium for the Manhattan Project, the name given to the effort to develop the first atomic bomb, was refined in downtown St. Louis.After World War II, radioactive waste left over from those efforts was trucked to the St. Louis airport and dumped — some on the open ground and some in barrels — next to Coldwater Creek. As early as 1949, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, the company that refined uranium for the federal government, was aware the waste could escape the barrels it was stored in and contaminate the nearby creekThe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded in 2019 that children and adults who played in or near Coldwater Creek or lived in its floodplain between the 1960s and 1990s may have been exposed to radioactive materials that raise the risk of certain cancers. The agency — part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — recommended signs be placed along the creek to warn residents of the potential exposure risk.The Army Corps said there was nothing specific that caused the agency to change its mind on installing the signs. The decision was “driven by our commitment to continuous improvement,” George Stringham, a spokesman for the Army Corps, said in an email. Stringham said the Army Corps would “continue to prioritize the health and safety of the community.”Iowa - Gov. proposed budget is a major cut for higher edhttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/10/gov-kim-reynolds-budget-for-state-universities-falls-30m-short-of-regents-request/From article: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed allocating about $30 million less than what the Iowa Board of Regents requested for itself and the universities next year, though each of the universities would receive some increase in state funding.Reynolds' budget proposal, released Monday, included recommendations for administering money from the state's general fund and other sources to the regents, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University. The regents requested just over $609 million from the state's general fund and about $40 million from other state sources. Reynolds recommended allocating almost $619 million.Colorado - Congresswoman Diana DeGette introduces discharge petition to ban high-capacity magazines:https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/degette-house-vote-high-capacity-magazine-ban/From article:U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette used a mechanism in the House of Representatives that would force a vote on a bill without leadership's approval to bring forward a vote on a gun safety bill. DeGette, who represents Denver in Congress, alongside House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Keep Americans Safe Act. The bill would ban large capacity magazines - those that can hold 30-100 rounds - with a few exceptions and will likely struggle to get through the Republican-controlled House.DeGette said high-capacity magazines were used in all of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the country. She said the only purpose of these magazines is to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. “These events continue to re-traumatize our community and our nation, because no community has been untouched by this deadly epidemic,” DeGette said. “In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high-capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people being killed and nearly 10 times as many people being wounded per incident on average.”The petition requires 218 signatures to force a vote on the floor, and with 213 Democrats in the House, at least five Republicans would need to sign. DeGette said she thinks some Republicans in the House represent districts impacted by mass shootings and may be under pressure from their constituents to ban high-capacity magazines. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat, joined DeGette and members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol after DeGette filed the petition and applauded Colorado leadership for its gun safety measures, particularly banning high-capacity magazines. “In Colorado, we are fortunate to have a state legislature focused on gun reform when Congress fails to make significant change due to Republican stonewalling over and over again,” Crow said. Crow highlighted several high-profile mass shootings in Colorado where the perpetrator used high capacity magazines: the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, the 2021 Boulder King Soopers shooting, and the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Closing Note: Doing anything this weekend? @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/
Friday Flyover of politics and elections news from America's heartland | TX GOP Rep Chip Roy says he'd boot MAGA Mike over funding bill | Missouri Sec of State on track to waste more money and lose more court cases | Lauren Boebert switches districts, CO GOP Rep Doug Lamborn announces retirementSOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Axios, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Independent, Fox17 WZTV Nashville, Iowa Capitol DispatchIs Speaker Mike Johnson Already on the way out? https://www.axios.com/2024/01/11/mike-johnson-house-speaker-motion-vacateFrom ArticleDriving the news: A dozen right-wing House Republicans blocked a package of their party's bills and ground the House floor to a sudden halt on Wednesday in protest of Johnson's spending deal with Senate Democrats.It's a repeat of of what hardliners did under former Speaker McCarthy over his bipartisan debt ceiling deal – which ultimately foreshadowed his removal months later through a motion to vacate.The move came as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has been flirting with the idea of trying to remove Johnson, saying in a radio interview on Tuesday: "If they totally botch [the appropriations bills] ... I don't know why we would keep him as speaker."One Republican leadership ally described the revolt as a "shot across the bow."Missouri AG and recent melted blob of flesh on CNN, Jay Ashcroft, gets smacked down in courthttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/judge-rejects-jay-ashcroft-s-bid-to-dismiss-high-profile-lawsuit-against-his-office/article_01f1fdc6-af1c-11ee-8076-27fdb2bf7fa8.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-shareComplaint https://business.cch.com/srd/20231023_SIFMA-v-Ashcroft_amended-complaint.pdfFrom the articleA federal judge rejected an effort by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to dismiss a lawsuit against his office over new, politically charged rules aimed at limiting the impact of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions.In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Steven Bough ruled unanimously in favor of a trade group that is suing the Republican gubernatorial candidate and his office on the grounds that the rule imposed by Ashcroft fails to acknowledge that federal law already requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients when providing personalized investment advice.“The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules violate the First Amendment,” Bough wrote. “The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules are unconstitutionally vague.”And Bough said the trade organization can continue its pursuit of the case because it has the legal standing to represent financial advisers who object to Ashcroft's rule.Ashcroft issued the rules — the first in the nation — after a similar “anti-woke” investing proposal died in the Legislature last year.Ashcroft, who is facing Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Bill Eigel in the August 2024 GOP primary, has used the lawsuit to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign, where culture war issues have played a prominent role.And, he is using taxpayer funds to pay a campaign donor to represent his office in the lawsuit.Instead of using the Missouri attorney general's office to fight the challenge to the rules, Ashcroft hired the politically connected Kansas City law firm of Graves Garrett to represent his office.Law firm partner Todd Graves, a former head of the Missouri Republican Party, was named to the University of Missouri board of trustees in 2021 and Greim was mentioned as a possible pick for attorney general when Eric Schmitt vacated the post to become U.S. senator in 2021.Greim also represented the Office of the Governor in 2018 when former Gov. Eric Greitens was under investigation for possible impeachment.Tennessee Dems Pushing Back on Abortion Bans With New Reproductive Rights BillsThe bill is sponsored by new Tenn. Dem. State rep, Aftyn Behn, who can be heard at length on this week's episode of the Dirt Road Democrat with Jess Piperhttps://fox17.com/news/local/2024-nashville-tennessee-rep-introduces-new-abortion-reproductive-rights-bill-politics-general-assembly-government-davidson-county-middle-tnFrom ArticleA new abortion bill aims to amend Tennessee's current law which bans the procedure in early stages of pregnancy.House Bill 1626 enacts the "Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act," meaning the state cannot interfere with abortion services because it falls under an individual's "fundamental right."The bill states every person has a right to make decisions about their reproductive health care, including "the fundamental right to use or refuse contraceptive procedures or contraceptive supplies as defined in 68-34-102." It adds a pregnant person has a right to continue a pregnancy or to terminate it. Michigan GOP Collapsing? https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/09/michigan-gop-is-collapsing-in-on-itself/From article:Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican party, said an effective new leader could help the party “right the ship” before the November 2024 elections, but that a drawn-out fight in court could hinder that progress.To date, the chaos engulfing the party has prevented it from fulfilling its traditional role of organizing and fundraising for Republican candidates, former party officials have said.“I think the chaos is far from over,” Roe said. “If this turns out to be a binding vote, I don't think she [Karamo] or her supporters will go quietly and there will probably continue to be skirmishes throughout the election cycle.” Boebert Says Bye Bye - Tucks Tail And Seeks Easier Path Back To DCIn a move stunning no one, CO GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, best known for her lewd and lascivious behavior, plus that time she cranked her dates honker in public, is running from the fight in her seemingly doomed reelection bid in the Colorado 3rd against Adam FrischArticle on THChttps://theheartlandcollective.com/2023/12/29/lauren-boebert-says-bye-bye-to-her-current-swing-district-and-hello-to-colorados-4th/Frisch was close to winning in 2022 and most assumed he would take the 2024 race against the highly damaged BoebertThe seat in the 3rd was home to Ken Buck who's own failed speaker bid was his last hurrah as he calls it quits. Missouri water way gets needed recognition, but for horrible reasonshttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/08/coldwater-creek-to-finally-have-warning-signs-after-decades-of-nuclear-contamination/Nuclear waste stored outside St. Louis was found to pose a risk to nearby Coldwater Creek as early as 1949. The contaminated creek will finally have warning signs almost 75 years later.From articleThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement Monday that it was working with the Environmental Protection Agency to add signs along the creek to help it monitor areas “that may pose a risk if disturbed.”Coldwater Creek has been contaminated for decades with radioactive waste left over from the World War II-era effort to build an atomic bomb. But though the creek winds through some of St. Louis' busiest suburbs and past public parks and schools, the federal government had resisted calls to post signs warning visitors of the contamination.“This is decades of potential exposure that could have been prevented that they drug their feet on,” said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, an organization formed to advocate for communities affected by St. Louis-area radioactive waste.Despite the delays, Chapman said she's thankful that the signs are finally going to be installed. The St. Louis area has long struggled with a radioactive waste problem. Uranium for the Manhattan Project, the name given to the effort to develop the first atomic bomb, was refined in downtown St. Louis.After World War II, radioactive waste left over from those efforts was trucked to the St. Louis airport and dumped — some on the open ground and some in barrels — next to Coldwater Creek. As early as 1949, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, the company that refined uranium for the federal government, was aware the waste could escape the barrels it was stored in and contaminate the nearby creekThe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded in 2019 that children and adults who played in or near Coldwater Creek or lived in its floodplain between the 1960s and 1990s may have been exposed to radioactive materials that raise the risk of certain cancers. The agency — part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — recommended signs be placed along the creek to warn residents of the potential exposure risk.The Army Corps said there was nothing specific that caused the agency to change its mind on installing the signs. The decision was “driven by our commitment to continuous improvement,” George Stringham, a spokesman for the Army Corps, said in an email. Stringham said the Army Corps would “continue to prioritize the health and safety of the community.”Iowa - Gov. proposed budget is a major cut for higher edhttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/10/gov-kim-reynolds-budget-for-state-universities-falls-30m-short-of-regents-request/From article: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed allocating about $30 million less than what the Iowa Board of Regents requested for itself and the universities next year, though each of the universities would receive some increase in state funding.Reynolds' budget proposal, released Monday, included recommendations for administering money from the state's general fund and other sources to the regents, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University. The regents requested just over $609 million from the state's general fund and about $40 million from other state sources. Reynolds recommended allocating almost $619 million.Colorado - Congresswoman Diana DeGette introduces discharge petition to ban high-capacity magazines:https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/degette-house-vote-high-capacity-magazine-ban/From article:U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette used a mechanism in the House of Representatives that would force a vote on a bill without leadership's approval to bring forward a vote on a gun safety bill. DeGette, who represents Denver in Congress, alongside House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Keep Americans Safe Act. The bill would ban large capacity magazines - those that can hold 30-100 rounds - with a few exceptions and will likely struggle to get through the Republican-controlled House.DeGette said high-capacity magazines were used in all of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the country. She said the only purpose of these magazines is to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. “These events continue to re-traumatize our community and our nation, because no community has been untouched by this deadly epidemic,” DeGette said. “In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high-capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people being killed and nearly 10 times as many people being wounded per incident on average.”The petition requires 218 signatures to force a vote on the floor, and with 213 Democrats in the House, at least five Republicans would need to sign. DeGette said she thinks some Republicans in the House represent districts impacted by mass shootings and may be under pressure from their constituents to ban high-capacity magazines. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat, joined DeGette and members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol after DeGette filed the petition and applauded Colorado leadership for its gun safety measures, particularly banning high-capacity magazines. “In Colorado, we are fortunate to have a state legislature focused on gun reform when Congress fails to make significant change due to Republican stonewalling over and over again,” Crow said. Crow highlighted several high-profile mass shootings in Colorado where the perpetrator used high capacity magazines: the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, the 2021 Boulder King Soopers shooting, and the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Closing Note: Doing anything this weekend? @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/
Friday News Flyover, December 8, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, December 8th, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Texas abortion bans creating legal confusion | MO Pastor jailed facing sexual abuse charges | Sen Josh Hawley and Rep Cori Bush speak against defense bill without funds for St. Louis residents exposed to radiation | AL Senator Tommy Tuberville gives up his misguided military holds | Dolly Parton gives books to millions of kids, if you didn't knowWelcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado. With me as co-host today is Adam Sommer, how you doing Adam?We're glad to have you with us. If you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media with @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com Alright! Let's get into the storieshttps://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/12/06/1217637325/texas-woman-asks-court-for-abortion-because-of-pregnancy-complicationsUpdated Thursday, Dec. 7 at 1:55 p.m."Kate Cox needs an abortion, and she needs it now." Thus began a petition filed in a Texas district court this week, asking a judge to allow the abortion to be performed in the state, where abortion is banned with very limited exceptions.On Thursday, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County, Texas, ruled from the bench, granting permission for Cox to have the abortion she is seeking. Cox's fetus has a genetic condition with very low chances of survival and her own health and fertility are at risk if she carries the pregnancy to term.The petition was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is the group behind a high profile case heard at the Texas Supreme Court last week.In that case the group's senior staff attorney Molly Duane argued on behalf of 20 patients and two OB-GYNs that the medical exception to the ban on abortion in the state's laws is too narrow and vague, and that it endangered patients during complicated pregnancies. An attorney for the state argued the exception is already clear and that the plaintiffs didn't have standing to sue.On the very day of those arguments, Nov. 28, Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two who lives in the Dallas area, got "devastating" news about her pregnancy, the filing says. At nearly 20-weeks gestation, she learned that her fetus has Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome, a condition with extremely low chances of survival.So, as the Texas Supreme Court considered whether its abortion laws endangered patients with pregnancy complications in the past, Cox was trying to figure out what to do in her present situation.Cox had already been in the emergency room three times with cramping and other concerning symptoms, according to court documents. Her doctors told her she was at high risk of developing gestational hypertension and diabetes, and because she had had two prior cesarean sections, carrying the pregnancy to term could compromise her chances of having a third child in the future, the brief says.Last Thursday, she reached out for the Center for Reproductive Rights. Five days after that, the group filed this petition on her behalf.The filing asked a Travis County district court for a temporary restraining order against the state of Texas and the Texas Medical Board, blocking enforcement of Texas's abortion bans so that Cox can terminate her current pregnancy. It also would block enforcement of S.B. 8, which allows civil lawsuits to be filed against those who help patients receive abortions.That would protect the other plaintiffs in the case, Cox's husband, Justin, and Dr. Damla Karsan, who is prepared to provide the abortion if the court grants their request. Karsan is one of the OB-GYN plaintiffs in the Zurawski v. the State of Texas case.Thursday's ruling will allow Karsan to provide an abortion without threat of prosecution. It only applies to Cox, her husband and Karsan. Issuing the ruling, Judge Guerra Gamble said: "The idea that Ms. Cox wants so desperately to be a parent and this law may have her lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice."There are currently three overlapping abortion bans in Texas. Abortion is illegal in the state from the moment pregnancy begins. Texas doctors can legally provide abortions only if a patient is "in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function, " the law says."I don't know what that means," Duane says of the language of the medical exception. "But I think [Cox's] situation must fall within whatever it is that that means."The Texas Attorney General's office did not respond to a request for comment on Cox's case, but the office argued in the Zurawski case that the medical exception needs no clarification.Sponsor MessageTexas Alliance for Life, a group that lobbied in the state legislature for the current abortion laws, published a statement about Cox's case Wednesday. "We believe that the exception language in Texas laws is clear," wrote the group's communication director Amy O'Donnell, and accused the Center for Reproductive Rights of pretending to seek clarity while really attempting to "chisel away" at Texas's abortion laws.The timeline of this case was very quick. "I have to be honest, I've never done this before, and that's because no one's ever done this before," Duane says. "But usually when you ask for a temporary restraining order, the court will act very, very quickly in acknowledgement of the emergency circumstances."The hearing was held via Zoom on Thursday morning.The State of Texas cannot appeal the decision directly, says Duane. "They would have to file what's called a writ of mandamus, saying that the district court acted so far out of its jurisdiction and that there needs to be a reversal," Duane explains. "But filing a petition like that is not does not automatically stay the injunction the way that an appeal of a temporary injunction does."In the meantime, the justices of the Texas Supreme Court are considering the Zurawski case, with a decision expected in the next few months. "I want them to take their time to write an opinion that gets this right and will protect patients, doctors and their families going forward," Duane says."But the reality is that in the meantime, people are going to continue to be harmed," and Cox couldn't afford to wait for that decision, Duane says.Duane praises Cox for her bravery in publicly sharing her story while in the midst of a personal medical crisis. "She's exceptional – but I will also say that the pathway to this has been paved by all the other women in our lawsuit," she says. "There is strength in numbers."https://www.kmbc.com/article/court-documents-independence-missouri-pastor-charged-child-molestation/46058889Court documents state that multiple people under the age of 18 accused Virgil Marsh of sexually assaulting them between 2011 and 2018.Marsh, 71, is now in the Jackson County jail.He was charged with two counts of first-degree of child molestation and first-degree statutory sodomy.A probable cause statement indicates that Marsh told police he was a current pastor in Independence and admitted he had "inappropriately touched" one of the victims.He did tell police he 'potentially kissed' a second victim on the mouth but denied sexually touching them.He also told police he has asked for forgiveness with God and is no longer the man who "had previously done things to the victim," the probable cause reads.https://missouriindependent.com/2023/12/07/compensation-for-st-louis-victims-of-nuclear-waste-stripped-from-federal-defense-bill/Compensation for St. Louis victims of nuclear waste stripped from federal defense billProvisions that would have compensated those exposed to radioactive waste left over from the Manhattan Project were removed on WednesdayBY: ALLISON KITE - DECEMBER 7, 2023 9:03 AM A joint investigation by The Independent and MuckRock.U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday he would do everything he could to stop a federal defense spending bill after a provision offering compensation to Americans exposed to decades-old radioactive waste was removed. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, the Missouri Republican called the decision to remove compensation for Americans who have suffered rare cancers and autoimmune diseases a “scar on the conscience of this body.”“This is an injustice,” Hawley said. “This is this body turning its back on these good, proud Americans.”This summer, the Senate amended the National Defense Authorization Act to expand the existing Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include parts of the St. Louis region where individuals were exposed to leftover radioactive material from the development of the first atomic bomb. It would have also included parts of the Southwest where residents were exposed to bomb testing. But the provision was removed Wednesday by a conference committee of senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives working out differences between the two chambers' versions of the bill.Even before the text of the amended bill became available Wednesday night, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was decrying the removal of the radiation compensation policy. “This is a major betrayal of thousands and thousands of Missourians who have been lied to and ignored for years,” Hawley said in a post on social media Wednesday. Dawn Chapman, a co-founder of Just Moms STL, fought back tears Wednesday night as she described hearing the “gut-wrenching” news from Hawley's staff. Chapman and fellow moms have been advocating for families exposed to or near radioactive waste for years. “I actually thought we had a chance,” Chapman said. But she said the group hopes to get the expansion passed another way. “Nobody has given up on it,” Chapman said.The St. Louis region has suffered from a radioactive waste problem for decades. The area was instrumental in the Manhattan Project, the name given to the effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Almost 80 years later, residents of St. Louis and St. Charles counties are still dealing with the fallout. After the war, radioactive waste produced from refining uranium was trucked from downtown St. Louis to several sites in St. Louis County where it contaminated property at the airport and seeped into Coldwater Creek. In the 1970s, remaining nuclear waste that couldn't be processed to extract valuable metals was trucked to the West Lake Landfill and illegally dumped. It remains there today.During the Cold War, uranium was processed in St. Charles County. A chemical plant and open ponds of radioactive waste remained at the site in Weldon Spring for years. The site was remediated in the early 2000s, but groundwater contamination at the site is not improving fast enough, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.For years, St. Louis-area residents have pointed to the radioactive waste to explain rare cancers, autoimmune diseases and young deaths. A study by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found people who lived along Coldwater Creek or played in its waters faced an increased risk of cancer.Chapman said she knew two individuals who made calls to members of Congress while receiving chemotherapy. It's hard to ask people to keep fighting for the legislation, she said. “They're not going to see another Christmas, and they're not going to see the compensation from this,” Chapman said. “This won't help them.” An investigation by The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press this summer found that the private companies and federal agencies handling and overseeing the waste repeatedly downplayed the danger despite knowledge that it posed a risk to human health.After the report was published, Hawley decried the federal government's failures and vowed to introduce legislation to help. So did U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis. In a statement Wednesday night, she said the federal government's failure to compensate those who have been harmed by radioactive waste is “straight up negligence.”“The people of St. Louis deserve better, and they deserve to be able to live without worry of radioactive contamination,” Bush said. Missouri's junior senator, Republican Eric Schmitt, grew up near the West Lake Landfill. He said in a statement that the “fight is far from over” and that he will look into other legislation to get victims compensation.“The careless dumping of this waste happened across Missouri, including in my own backyard of St. Louis, and has negatively impacted Missouri communities for decades,” Schmitt said. “I will not stop fighting until it is addressed.”Already, two state lawmakers have pre-filed legislation related to radioactive waste in advance of the Missouri General Assembly reconvening in January. One doubles the budget of a state radioactive waste investigation fund. The other requires further disclosure of radioactive contamination when one sells or rents a house.In July, the U.S. Senate voted 61-37 to adopt Hawley's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include the St. Louis area. It would have also expanded the coverage area to compensate victims exposed to testing of the atomic bomb in New Mexico. The amendment included residents of New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Guam and expanded the coverage area in Nevada, Utah and Arizona, which are already partially covered.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that expanding the program could cost $147.1 billion over 10 years with St. Louis' portion taking up $3.7 billion of that. The amendment would have also renewed the program for existing coverage areas. Without renewal, it will expire in the coming months. Hawley said, however, the “fight is not over.” “I will come to this floor as long as it takes. I will introduce this bill as long as it takes,” he said. “I will force amendment votes as long as it takes until we compensate the people of this nation who have sacrificed for this nation.” https://www.azmirror.com/2023/12/06/in-bid-to-flip-the-legislature-blue-national-dems-announce-spending-on-az/With Republicans holding the barest of majorities in the Arizona Legislature, national Democrats are already making major investments in a bid to flip the state's legislature blue. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee on Wednesday announced it would spend $70,000 in Arizona to aid in candidate recruitment for key races, hiring staff, digital investments and more. The spending is the start of the DLCC's push in swing states where the committee hopes to either solidify Democratic majorities or pick up seats and win legislative control. The money is part of an initial $300,000 push in swing states by the DLCC, with Arizona and Michigan getting the lion's share of the money. The DLCC is also spending money in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. In Arizona, Republicans have one-seat majorities in both the 60-member state House of Representatives and the 30-member state Senate. DLCC interim President Heather Williams told the Arizona Mirror that the committee is hoping to flip the House and Senate in part by highlighting the extreme positions of Republican lawmakers. Many proposed law changes inspired by those extreme positions earned vetoes from Gov. Katie Hobbs earlier this year. “The Republican majority in both chambers is vulnerable,” Williams said, adding that this is only the committee's “initial investment,” as the group anticipates spending much more in 2024. Williams did not elaborate on which Arizona races the group plans to target, but mentioned that the group aims to do something similar to what happened in Virginia this year. Last month, Virginia Democrats gained control of the House and solidified their control of the Senate. The DLCC hopes to mirror that in Arizona. In that election, all 140 seats in the Virginia legislature were up for grabs, and Democrat wins will block Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's ability to fully enact his conservative agenda. The DLCC ended up spending more than $2 million in Virginia. “Here is what we know about Republicans, they are legislating in a way across the country that is not where their constituents are,” Williams said, citing access to abortion and health care for women as key. Republicans and Democrats are eyeing a number of key state house races for 2024 but Williams is confident that her party will come out on top, adding that the DLCC intends to have a dialogue with voters and to help people get registered to vote. “I think we feel really strong with our position as an organization,” Williams said, adding that having Hobbs, a former state lawmaker as a Democratic ally in the governorship will offer advantages. https://alabamareflector.com/2023/12/05/tuberville-relents-on-months-long-blockade-of-most-military-nominees-blaming-democrats/WASHINGTON — After blocking hundreds of U.S. military promotions for most of 2023 in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said Tuesday he will lift his holds on all of them except for a handful of four-star general nominees.The senator, who sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Forces, said he told his fellow Senate Republicans “it's been a long fight” but ultimately he said Democrats were to blame for stalling hundreds of service members from moving up in the chain of command. Tuberville had said repeatedly that Democrats could bring each of the nominees to the floor for votes, which would take hours of debate.“We fought hard. We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military, fighting back against executive overreach, and an abortion policy that's not legal,” Tuberville said after announcing his about-face to his fellow Senate Republicans during their regularly scheduled weekly lunch.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Tuesday that he would move the nominations to the floor “as soon as possible, possibly later this afternoon.”“I hope no one does this again, and I hope they learned the lesson of Sen. Tuberville. And that is he held out for many, many months, hurt our national security, caused discombobulation to so many military families who have been so dedicated to our country, and didn't get anything that he wanted,” Schumer said.Tuberville has blocked hundreds of nominees since the spring because he opposes a recent Pentagon policy that allows armed services members time off and travel reimbursement should they need to seek an abortion in a state where it remains legal.Roughly 80,000 active-duty female service members are stationed in states where legislatures enacted full or partial bans following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a RAND analysis.The Biden administration and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin maintain the policy is legal, as did a 2022 Department of Justice opinion.The list of nominees affected by Tuberville's months-long hold grew to 451 members of the military as of Nov. 27, according to a Department of Defense official. Majority staff for the Senate Armed Services Committee list 445 affected nominees.Tuberville's agreement to halt his protest means that all but 11 of those nominees are expected to clear final Senate approval, according to figures from committee's majority staff.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Tuesday that GOP senators are “pleased obviously that that situation seems to have been ameliorated by recent announcements by the senator from Alabama.”Sen. Jack Reed, chair of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said in a statement Tuesday he's “glad that hundreds of our nation's finest military leaders will finally receive their hard-won, merit-based promotions.”“They, and their families, have shown us what grace and grit look like in the face of hardship. Senator Tuberville's actions have been an affront to the United States military and the Senate,” said Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island.“He has jeopardized our national security and abused the rights afforded to all Senators. No Senator should ever attempt to advance their own partisan agenda on the backs of our troops like this again.”Threat of Democratic-led procedure changeTuberville's change in course arrived as Schumer was poised to bring to the floor a Democratic-led rules resolution to bypass the Alabama senator's blockade.The proposed temporary change in floor process would have allowed senators to quickly approve large blocs of nominations simultaneously on the floor, saving hours and hours that would have been required to vote on each individually.Tuberville said Tuesday that he and fellow Republican senators decided they did not want to see any changes to Senate floor procedures and that is the reason he decided to lift his blockade.“All of us are against a rule change in the Senate, OK. We're all against it,” Tuberville said.The Alabama senator's own Republican colleagues have grown publicly frustrated with his stalling of military promotions.GOP senators, including Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana, have on two occasions held the Senate floor into the wee hours bringing forward the names of nominees, only to meet Tuberville's objections.Some frustrated Republicans last week mulled whether to support the Democratic-led effort to override Tuberville's blockade. Democrats would have needed nine of them to pass the change in procedure.“I have said that right now I support Tommy Tuberville, but if he makes a statement that he's going to maintain this posture through this Congress I intend to vote for nominations under the rules suspension,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told States Newsroom Nov. 29.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/12/06/ohio-senate-wants-to-stop-you-from-growing-weed-house-fights-back/Ohio Senate wants to stop you from growing weed; House fights backBY: MORGAN TRAU - DECEMBER 6, 2023 4:55 AMWhile Ohio Senate Republicans move to dramatically change recreational marijuana policy, the House is fighting back in a bipartisan fashion — saying the will of the voters must be followed.On Thursday, adults 21 and older in Ohio will be able to smoke weed and grow up to six plants.When Issue 2 passed in November, state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) knew he could be part of clarifying public policy. He invited WEWS/OCJ's Morgan Trau to his introduction of H.B. 354 in a “skeleton” session Tuesday morning. Skeleton sessions are when typically two lawmakers gather with the House clerk and take less than five minutes to introduce policy.“We preserve the things that the people voted on,” he told Trau after he banged the gavel and Finance Chair state Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) watched.Callender, who has been an outspoken supporter of marijuana, has been working on recreational implementation for years. Issue 2 came after all of his efforts were purposely stalled in the Statehouse.“The Marijuana Legalization Initiative” allows Ohioans to grow up to six plants, with 12 per household. In addition, the proposal would impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction. It also establishes the Division of Cannabis Control within the Ohio Department of Commerce.Ohioans voted in favor of the statute 57-43%.“I'm glad it passed and I'm excited that we're going to be able to take some of these measures that make it a more responsible act,” Callender said. “I want to make sure that here in this chamber, the People's House, that we carry out the will of the people — and the people have spoken.”His bill doesn't make major changes, but it does add safeguards — like guidelines on advertising, public smoking bans and provisions that give local governments more of a say in where tax revenue goes. It also explains that home grow must take place at residential addresses.“We've seen folks aggregate those six plants and, in essence, create a mega farm which is simply an aggregation or a co-op of a whole lot of home grows,” he said, saying that he is trying to prevent that.The bill, one that Callendar says has bipartisan support in the House, deeply contrasts the Senate's version.The proposal by state Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) also includes guard rails to prevent exposure to children, including advertising guidelines. It would require marijuana to be packaged in a child-resistant container and prevents “cartoon character” or other pop culture figures whose target audience is a child from being used in weed marketing.However, those safety guidelines are the end of the common ground.The Senate proposal would reduce how much weed you could possess from 2.5 ounces to 1 ounce and 15 grams of marijuana concentrates to 5 grams; It would make weed less strong by limiting THC levels for plants to 25%, when the minimum was 35%. In addition, it would limit extracts to 50%, when the minimum was 90%; and it would make marijuana more expensive by raising the tax from 10% to 15%.It also changes where the taxes go.As mentioned, it was a 10% tax at the point of sale. It was 36% revenue to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund; 36% to the host community cannabis fund to provide funds to jurisdictions with adult-use dispensaries; 25% to the substance abuse and addiction fund; and 3% to the division of cannabis control and tax commissioner fund. Issue 2 capped the number of dispensaries permitted at once to 350, but the bill cuts that down to 230.The Senate version ups to 15% tax at the point of sale. It is 30% to the law enforcement training fund, 15% to the marijuana substance abuse treatment and prevention fund, 10% to the safe driver training fund, and the remaining 45% goes to the grand revenue fund — aka, the state lawmakers.“The social equity program — when you really got down to the nuts and bolts of it — it was tax revenue being collected to be put right back into the hands of the industry,” McColley said. “It was a tax grab by the industry to prop up more dispensaries within the industry.”The “Social Equity and Jobs Program” was established by Issue 2. It is designed to fix “the harms resulting from the disproportionate enforcement of marijuana-related laws” and “reduce barriers to ownership and opportunity” to those “most directly and adversely impacted by the enforcement of marijuana-related laws,” according to the initiative.The most significant change is the proposal eliminates home grow.“The opposition has been all around the black market,” McColley said. “It's been around, ‘how do we keep these plants from then being transferred and sold illegally?'”After facing backlash, McColley assured he wasn't going against the will of the people, since he believes that the voters didn't really know everything that they were voting on.“I think what the voters really voted for would have been access to products,” the senator added.Clearly, the voters want home grow, Callender argued. Access to products means access to home grow, he said.It isn't just Callender who is frustrated with the legislation moving through the other chamber. Dozens of Republican and Democratic representatives are infuriated with the Senate.One with a unique perspective is state Rep. Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Twp.) The Senate took his legislation, H.B. 86, that revised the limit on the gallons of spirituous liquor that a micro-distillery may manufacture each year and added their marijuana proposal onto his bill.“Slap in the face of Ohio voters,” LaRe told WEWS/OCJ.The lawmaker doesn't support recreational marijuana, but he does respect the will of Ohioans, he added.“It's unfortunate they want to use a bill that is focused on helping certain small businesses recover from the pandemic to fast-track language that changes the intent of the ballot initiative,” he said. “I believe we should look into where the tax dollars are spent, but this goes way beyond those details.”Democrats agree. House Minority Whip State Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) says she can't and won't support the Senate version.“I'm not a fan of turning my back on the Ohio voters and the will of what they said when they overwhelmingly passed Issue 2,” Miranda said.When asked what happens if the two chambers don't reach a compromise, Callender said he will be in better standing — since the House can just block the Senate version.“I'm okay with just letting the initiated statute go into effect, which is a pretty strong bargaining position,” he said. “If we don't come up with an agreement, I'll trust the rule-making process, trust Commerce to make good rules to do this.”The Senate is expected to pass the marijuana bill out of committee Wednesday morning, putting it on the floor for a full vote later in the day. The House version is set to be heard Wednesday, as well.This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/dolly-parton-imagination-library-officially-launches-statewide-in-illinoisPritzker says goal is to send free books to all children, ages 0-5By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Illinois families with infants and toddlers now have access to free children's books that can be sent directly to their home, regardless of their income.Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday announced the official launch of the state's partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program founded by the country music legend in 1995 in her home county in east Tennessee. It now sends free books every month to nearly 3 million children in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.“Today, I couldn't be prouder to announce that the Imagination Library is working with the state of Illinois to begin our journey to provide every child under the age of five an opportunity to receive a free book delivered to them every single month,” Pritzker said at an event at the Bloomington Public Library.Pritzker first announced in June that the state had formed a partnership with the Dollywood Foundation, Parton's philanthropic organization, after Illinois lawmakers included $1.6 million in this year's budget to fund the state's share of the program. Other funding comes from the Dollywood Foundation and local, county-based organizations.Since then, about 44 local programs have been operating in the state, serving roughly 4 percent of eligible children. But Dollywood Foundation executive director Nora Briggs said the goal is to reach all of the estimated 755,000 children under age 5 in Illinois.“We know that nothing is more basic, more essential, more foundational to a child's success in life than the ability to read,” Briggs said. “The research is clear. We cannot wait until kindergarten for children to have access or exposure to books. It must happen early. It must start in the home environment. And reading at home requires books.”People who are interested in enrolling their child in the program can find their local provider on the “check availability” tab located at imaginationlibrary.com. From there, applicants submit basic information including their address, their child's name and date of birth, and the parents' information.Once a child's eligibility is approved, they will start receiving one book each month, addressed to them. Each child within an age group receives the same monthly book. Books on the distribution list are chosen by a panel of early childhood literacy experts who review potential titles for inclusion in the distribution list. In addition to funding the Imagination Library program this year, lawmakers also approved Pritzker's “Smart Start Illinois” initiative that will provide $250 million this year for early childhood programs, including expanded access to preschool, wage support for child care workers, early intervention programs, and home visiting programs.“We're making our mark on every aspect of early childhood, and working with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library literacy efforts will begin now at the earliest ages,” Pritzker said. “Illinois is well on its way to solidifying our status as the number one state in the nation to raise young children.” Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.Stories in today's show originally appeared in the Missouri Independent, Capitol News Illinois, Alabama Reflector, Michigan Advance, Arizona Mirror, KMBC9 Kansas City, Ohio Capital Journal, and NPR News @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/
Friday News Flyover, December 8, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, December 8th, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Texas abortion bans creating legal confusion | MO Pastor jailed facing sexual abuse charges | Sen Josh Hawley and Rep Cori Bush speak against defense bill without funds for St. Louis residents exposed to radiation | AL Senator Tommy Tuberville gives up his misguided military holds | Dolly Parton gives books to millions of kids, if you didn't knowWelcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado. With me as co-host today is Adam Sommer, how you doing Adam?We're glad to have you with us. If you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media with @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com Alright! Let's get into the storieshttps://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/12/06/1217637325/texas-woman-asks-court-for-abortion-because-of-pregnancy-complicationsUpdated Thursday, Dec. 7 at 1:55 p.m."Kate Cox needs an abortion, and she needs it now." Thus began a petition filed in a Texas district court this week, asking a judge to allow the abortion to be performed in the state, where abortion is banned with very limited exceptions.On Thursday, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County, Texas, ruled from the bench, granting permission for Cox to have the abortion she is seeking. Cox's fetus has a genetic condition with very low chances of survival and her own health and fertility are at risk if she carries the pregnancy to term.The petition was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is the group behind a high profile case heard at the Texas Supreme Court last week.In that case the group's senior staff attorney Molly Duane argued on behalf of 20 patients and two OB-GYNs that the medical exception to the ban on abortion in the state's laws is too narrow and vague, and that it endangered patients during complicated pregnancies. An attorney for the state argued the exception is already clear and that the plaintiffs didn't have standing to sue.On the very day of those arguments, Nov. 28, Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two who lives in the Dallas area, got "devastating" news about her pregnancy, the filing says. At nearly 20-weeks gestation, she learned that her fetus has Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome, a condition with extremely low chances of survival.So, as the Texas Supreme Court considered whether its abortion laws endangered patients with pregnancy complications in the past, Cox was trying to figure out what to do in her present situation.Cox had already been in the emergency room three times with cramping and other concerning symptoms, according to court documents. Her doctors told her she was at high risk of developing gestational hypertension and diabetes, and because she had had two prior cesarean sections, carrying the pregnancy to term could compromise her chances of having a third child in the future, the brief says.Last Thursday, she reached out for the Center for Reproductive Rights. Five days after that, the group filed this petition on her behalf.The filing asked a Travis County district court for a temporary restraining order against the state of Texas and the Texas Medical Board, blocking enforcement of Texas's abortion bans so that Cox can terminate her current pregnancy. It also would block enforcement of S.B. 8, which allows civil lawsuits to be filed against those who help patients receive abortions.That would protect the other plaintiffs in the case, Cox's husband, Justin, and Dr. Damla Karsan, who is prepared to provide the abortion if the court grants their request. Karsan is one of the OB-GYN plaintiffs in the Zurawski v. the State of Texas case.Thursday's ruling will allow Karsan to provide an abortion without threat of prosecution. It only applies to Cox, her husband and Karsan. Issuing the ruling, Judge Guerra Gamble said: "The idea that Ms. Cox wants so desperately to be a parent and this law may have her lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice."There are currently three overlapping abortion bans in Texas. Abortion is illegal in the state from the moment pregnancy begins. Texas doctors can legally provide abortions only if a patient is "in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function, " the law says."I don't know what that means," Duane says of the language of the medical exception. "But I think [Cox's] situation must fall within whatever it is that that means."The Texas Attorney General's office did not respond to a request for comment on Cox's case, but the office argued in the Zurawski case that the medical exception needs no clarification.Sponsor MessageTexas Alliance for Life, a group that lobbied in the state legislature for the current abortion laws, published a statement about Cox's case Wednesday. "We believe that the exception language in Texas laws is clear," wrote the group's communication director Amy O'Donnell, and accused the Center for Reproductive Rights of pretending to seek clarity while really attempting to "chisel away" at Texas's abortion laws.The timeline of this case was very quick. "I have to be honest, I've never done this before, and that's because no one's ever done this before," Duane says. "But usually when you ask for a temporary restraining order, the court will act very, very quickly in acknowledgement of the emergency circumstances."The hearing was held via Zoom on Thursday morning.The State of Texas cannot appeal the decision directly, says Duane. "They would have to file what's called a writ of mandamus, saying that the district court acted so far out of its jurisdiction and that there needs to be a reversal," Duane explains. "But filing a petition like that is not does not automatically stay the injunction the way that an appeal of a temporary injunction does."In the meantime, the justices of the Texas Supreme Court are considering the Zurawski case, with a decision expected in the next few months. "I want them to take their time to write an opinion that gets this right and will protect patients, doctors and their families going forward," Duane says."But the reality is that in the meantime, people are going to continue to be harmed," and Cox couldn't afford to wait for that decision, Duane says.Duane praises Cox for her bravery in publicly sharing her story while in the midst of a personal medical crisis. "She's exceptional – but I will also say that the pathway to this has been paved by all the other women in our lawsuit," she says. "There is strength in numbers."https://www.kmbc.com/article/court-documents-independence-missouri-pastor-charged-child-molestation/46058889Court documents state that multiple people under the age of 18 accused Virgil Marsh of sexually assaulting them between 2011 and 2018.Marsh, 71, is now in the Jackson County jail.He was charged with two counts of first-degree of child molestation and first-degree statutory sodomy.A probable cause statement indicates that Marsh told police he was a current pastor in Independence and admitted he had "inappropriately touched" one of the victims.He did tell police he 'potentially kissed' a second victim on the mouth but denied sexually touching them.He also told police he has asked for forgiveness with God and is no longer the man who "had previously done things to the victim," the probable cause reads.https://missouriindependent.com/2023/12/07/compensation-for-st-louis-victims-of-nuclear-waste-stripped-from-federal-defense-bill/Compensation for St. Louis victims of nuclear waste stripped from federal defense billProvisions that would have compensated those exposed to radioactive waste left over from the Manhattan Project were removed on WednesdayBY: ALLISON KITE - DECEMBER 7, 2023 9:03 AM A joint investigation by The Independent and MuckRock.U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday he would do everything he could to stop a federal defense spending bill after a provision offering compensation to Americans exposed to decades-old radioactive waste was removed. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, the Missouri Republican called the decision to remove compensation for Americans who have suffered rare cancers and autoimmune diseases a “scar on the conscience of this body.”“This is an injustice,” Hawley said. “This is this body turning its back on these good, proud Americans.”This summer, the Senate amended the National Defense Authorization Act to expand the existing Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include parts of the St. Louis region where individuals were exposed to leftover radioactive material from the development of the first atomic bomb. It would have also included parts of the Southwest where residents were exposed to bomb testing. But the provision was removed Wednesday by a conference committee of senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives working out differences between the two chambers' versions of the bill.Even before the text of the amended bill became available Wednesday night, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was decrying the removal of the radiation compensation policy. “This is a major betrayal of thousands and thousands of Missourians who have been lied to and ignored for years,” Hawley said in a post on social media Wednesday. Dawn Chapman, a co-founder of Just Moms STL, fought back tears Wednesday night as she described hearing the “gut-wrenching” news from Hawley's staff. Chapman and fellow moms have been advocating for families exposed to or near radioactive waste for years. “I actually thought we had a chance,” Chapman said. But she said the group hopes to get the expansion passed another way. “Nobody has given up on it,” Chapman said.The St. Louis region has suffered from a radioactive waste problem for decades. The area was instrumental in the Manhattan Project, the name given to the effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Almost 80 years later, residents of St. Louis and St. Charles counties are still dealing with the fallout. After the war, radioactive waste produced from refining uranium was trucked from downtown St. Louis to several sites in St. Louis County where it contaminated property at the airport and seeped into Coldwater Creek. In the 1970s, remaining nuclear waste that couldn't be processed to extract valuable metals was trucked to the West Lake Landfill and illegally dumped. It remains there today.During the Cold War, uranium was processed in St. Charles County. A chemical plant and open ponds of radioactive waste remained at the site in Weldon Spring for years. The site was remediated in the early 2000s, but groundwater contamination at the site is not improving fast enough, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.For years, St. Louis-area residents have pointed to the radioactive waste to explain rare cancers, autoimmune diseases and young deaths. A study by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found people who lived along Coldwater Creek or played in its waters faced an increased risk of cancer.Chapman said she knew two individuals who made calls to members of Congress while receiving chemotherapy. It's hard to ask people to keep fighting for the legislation, she said. “They're not going to see another Christmas, and they're not going to see the compensation from this,” Chapman said. “This won't help them.” An investigation by The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press this summer found that the private companies and federal agencies handling and overseeing the waste repeatedly downplayed the danger despite knowledge that it posed a risk to human health.After the report was published, Hawley decried the federal government's failures and vowed to introduce legislation to help. So did U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis. In a statement Wednesday night, she said the federal government's failure to compensate those who have been harmed by radioactive waste is “straight up negligence.”“The people of St. Louis deserve better, and they deserve to be able to live without worry of radioactive contamination,” Bush said. Missouri's junior senator, Republican Eric Schmitt, grew up near the West Lake Landfill. He said in a statement that the “fight is far from over” and that he will look into other legislation to get victims compensation.“The careless dumping of this waste happened across Missouri, including in my own backyard of St. Louis, and has negatively impacted Missouri communities for decades,” Schmitt said. “I will not stop fighting until it is addressed.”Already, two state lawmakers have pre-filed legislation related to radioactive waste in advance of the Missouri General Assembly reconvening in January. One doubles the budget of a state radioactive waste investigation fund. The other requires further disclosure of radioactive contamination when one sells or rents a house.In July, the U.S. Senate voted 61-37 to adopt Hawley's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include the St. Louis area. It would have also expanded the coverage area to compensate victims exposed to testing of the atomic bomb in New Mexico. The amendment included residents of New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Guam and expanded the coverage area in Nevada, Utah and Arizona, which are already partially covered.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that expanding the program could cost $147.1 billion over 10 years with St. Louis' portion taking up $3.7 billion of that. The amendment would have also renewed the program for existing coverage areas. Without renewal, it will expire in the coming months. Hawley said, however, the “fight is not over.” “I will come to this floor as long as it takes. I will introduce this bill as long as it takes,” he said. “I will force amendment votes as long as it takes until we compensate the people of this nation who have sacrificed for this nation.” https://www.azmirror.com/2023/12/06/in-bid-to-flip-the-legislature-blue-national-dems-announce-spending-on-az/With Republicans holding the barest of majorities in the Arizona Legislature, national Democrats are already making major investments in a bid to flip the state's legislature blue. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee on Wednesday announced it would spend $70,000 in Arizona to aid in candidate recruitment for key races, hiring staff, digital investments and more. The spending is the start of the DLCC's push in swing states where the committee hopes to either solidify Democratic majorities or pick up seats and win legislative control. The money is part of an initial $300,000 push in swing states by the DLCC, with Arizona and Michigan getting the lion's share of the money. The DLCC is also spending money in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. In Arizona, Republicans have one-seat majorities in both the 60-member state House of Representatives and the 30-member state Senate. DLCC interim President Heather Williams told the Arizona Mirror that the committee is hoping to flip the House and Senate in part by highlighting the extreme positions of Republican lawmakers. Many proposed law changes inspired by those extreme positions earned vetoes from Gov. Katie Hobbs earlier this year. “The Republican majority in both chambers is vulnerable,” Williams said, adding that this is only the committee's “initial investment,” as the group anticipates spending much more in 2024. Williams did not elaborate on which Arizona races the group plans to target, but mentioned that the group aims to do something similar to what happened in Virginia this year. Last month, Virginia Democrats gained control of the House and solidified their control of the Senate. The DLCC hopes to mirror that in Arizona. In that election, all 140 seats in the Virginia legislature were up for grabs, and Democrat wins will block Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's ability to fully enact his conservative agenda. The DLCC ended up spending more than $2 million in Virginia. “Here is what we know about Republicans, they are legislating in a way across the country that is not where their constituents are,” Williams said, citing access to abortion and health care for women as key. Republicans and Democrats are eyeing a number of key state house races for 2024 but Williams is confident that her party will come out on top, adding that the DLCC intends to have a dialogue with voters and to help people get registered to vote. “I think we feel really strong with our position as an organization,” Williams said, adding that having Hobbs, a former state lawmaker as a Democratic ally in the governorship will offer advantages. https://alabamareflector.com/2023/12/05/tuberville-relents-on-months-long-blockade-of-most-military-nominees-blaming-democrats/WASHINGTON — After blocking hundreds of U.S. military promotions for most of 2023 in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said Tuesday he will lift his holds on all of them except for a handful of four-star general nominees.The senator, who sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Forces, said he told his fellow Senate Republicans “it's been a long fight” but ultimately he said Democrats were to blame for stalling hundreds of service members from moving up in the chain of command. Tuberville had said repeatedly that Democrats could bring each of the nominees to the floor for votes, which would take hours of debate.“We fought hard. We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military, fighting back against executive overreach, and an abortion policy that's not legal,” Tuberville said after announcing his about-face to his fellow Senate Republicans during their regularly scheduled weekly lunch.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Tuesday that he would move the nominations to the floor “as soon as possible, possibly later this afternoon.”“I hope no one does this again, and I hope they learned the lesson of Sen. Tuberville. And that is he held out for many, many months, hurt our national security, caused discombobulation to so many military families who have been so dedicated to our country, and didn't get anything that he wanted,” Schumer said.Tuberville has blocked hundreds of nominees since the spring because he opposes a recent Pentagon policy that allows armed services members time off and travel reimbursement should they need to seek an abortion in a state where it remains legal.Roughly 80,000 active-duty female service members are stationed in states where legislatures enacted full or partial bans following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a RAND analysis.The Biden administration and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin maintain the policy is legal, as did a 2022 Department of Justice opinion.The list of nominees affected by Tuberville's months-long hold grew to 451 members of the military as of Nov. 27, according to a Department of Defense official. Majority staff for the Senate Armed Services Committee list 445 affected nominees.Tuberville's agreement to halt his protest means that all but 11 of those nominees are expected to clear final Senate approval, according to figures from committee's majority staff.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Tuesday that GOP senators are “pleased obviously that that situation seems to have been ameliorated by recent announcements by the senator from Alabama.”Sen. Jack Reed, chair of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said in a statement Tuesday he's “glad that hundreds of our nation's finest military leaders will finally receive their hard-won, merit-based promotions.”“They, and their families, have shown us what grace and grit look like in the face of hardship. Senator Tuberville's actions have been an affront to the United States military and the Senate,” said Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island.“He has jeopardized our national security and abused the rights afforded to all Senators. No Senator should ever attempt to advance their own partisan agenda on the backs of our troops like this again.”Threat of Democratic-led procedure changeTuberville's change in course arrived as Schumer was poised to bring to the floor a Democratic-led rules resolution to bypass the Alabama senator's blockade.The proposed temporary change in floor process would have allowed senators to quickly approve large blocs of nominations simultaneously on the floor, saving hours and hours that would have been required to vote on each individually.Tuberville said Tuesday that he and fellow Republican senators decided they did not want to see any changes to Senate floor procedures and that is the reason he decided to lift his blockade.“All of us are against a rule change in the Senate, OK. We're all against it,” Tuberville said.The Alabama senator's own Republican colleagues have grown publicly frustrated with his stalling of military promotions.GOP senators, including Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana, have on two occasions held the Senate floor into the wee hours bringing forward the names of nominees, only to meet Tuberville's objections.Some frustrated Republicans last week mulled whether to support the Democratic-led effort to override Tuberville's blockade. Democrats would have needed nine of them to pass the change in procedure.“I have said that right now I support Tommy Tuberville, but if he makes a statement that he's going to maintain this posture through this Congress I intend to vote for nominations under the rules suspension,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told States Newsroom Nov. 29.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/12/06/ohio-senate-wants-to-stop-you-from-growing-weed-house-fights-back/Ohio Senate wants to stop you from growing weed; House fights backBY: MORGAN TRAU - DECEMBER 6, 2023 4:55 AMWhile Ohio Senate Republicans move to dramatically change recreational marijuana policy, the House is fighting back in a bipartisan fashion — saying the will of the voters must be followed.On Thursday, adults 21 and older in Ohio will be able to smoke weed and grow up to six plants.When Issue 2 passed in November, state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) knew he could be part of clarifying public policy. He invited WEWS/OCJ's Morgan Trau to his introduction of H.B. 354 in a “skeleton” session Tuesday morning. Skeleton sessions are when typically two lawmakers gather with the House clerk and take less than five minutes to introduce policy.“We preserve the things that the people voted on,” he told Trau after he banged the gavel and Finance Chair state Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) watched.Callender, who has been an outspoken supporter of marijuana, has been working on recreational implementation for years. Issue 2 came after all of his efforts were purposely stalled in the Statehouse.“The Marijuana Legalization Initiative” allows Ohioans to grow up to six plants, with 12 per household. In addition, the proposal would impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction. It also establishes the Division of Cannabis Control within the Ohio Department of Commerce.Ohioans voted in favor of the statute 57-43%.“I'm glad it passed and I'm excited that we're going to be able to take some of these measures that make it a more responsible act,” Callender said. “I want to make sure that here in this chamber, the People's House, that we carry out the will of the people — and the people have spoken.”His bill doesn't make major changes, but it does add safeguards — like guidelines on advertising, public smoking bans and provisions that give local governments more of a say in where tax revenue goes. It also explains that home grow must take place at residential addresses.“We've seen folks aggregate those six plants and, in essence, create a mega farm which is simply an aggregation or a co-op of a whole lot of home grows,” he said, saying that he is trying to prevent that.The bill, one that Callendar says has bipartisan support in the House, deeply contrasts the Senate's version.The proposal by state Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) also includes guard rails to prevent exposure to children, including advertising guidelines. It would require marijuana to be packaged in a child-resistant container and prevents “cartoon character” or other pop culture figures whose target audience is a child from being used in weed marketing.However, those safety guidelines are the end of the common ground.The Senate proposal would reduce how much weed you could possess from 2.5 ounces to 1 ounce and 15 grams of marijuana concentrates to 5 grams; It would make weed less strong by limiting THC levels for plants to 25%, when the minimum was 35%. In addition, it would limit extracts to 50%, when the minimum was 90%; and it would make marijuana more expensive by raising the tax from 10% to 15%.It also changes where the taxes go.As mentioned, it was a 10% tax at the point of sale. It was 36% revenue to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund; 36% to the host community cannabis fund to provide funds to jurisdictions with adult-use dispensaries; 25% to the substance abuse and addiction fund; and 3% to the division of cannabis control and tax commissioner fund. Issue 2 capped the number of dispensaries permitted at once to 350, but the bill cuts that down to 230.The Senate version ups to 15% tax at the point of sale. It is 30% to the law enforcement training fund, 15% to the marijuana substance abuse treatment and prevention fund, 10% to the safe driver training fund, and the remaining 45% goes to the grand revenue fund — aka, the state lawmakers.“The social equity program — when you really got down to the nuts and bolts of it — it was tax revenue being collected to be put right back into the hands of the industry,” McColley said. “It was a tax grab by the industry to prop up more dispensaries within the industry.”The “Social Equity and Jobs Program” was established by Issue 2. It is designed to fix “the harms resulting from the disproportionate enforcement of marijuana-related laws” and “reduce barriers to ownership and opportunity” to those “most directly and adversely impacted by the enforcement of marijuana-related laws,” according to the initiative.The most significant change is the proposal eliminates home grow.“The opposition has been all around the black market,” McColley said. “It's been around, ‘how do we keep these plants from then being transferred and sold illegally?'”After facing backlash, McColley assured he wasn't going against the will of the people, since he believes that the voters didn't really know everything that they were voting on.“I think what the voters really voted for would have been access to products,” the senator added.Clearly, the voters want home grow, Callender argued. Access to products means access to home grow, he said.It isn't just Callender who is frustrated with the legislation moving through the other chamber. Dozens of Republican and Democratic representatives are infuriated with the Senate.One with a unique perspective is state Rep. Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Twp.) The Senate took his legislation, H.B. 86, that revised the limit on the gallons of spirituous liquor that a micro-distillery may manufacture each year and added their marijuana proposal onto his bill.“Slap in the face of Ohio voters,” LaRe told WEWS/OCJ.The lawmaker doesn't support recreational marijuana, but he does respect the will of Ohioans, he added.“It's unfortunate they want to use a bill that is focused on helping certain small businesses recover from the pandemic to fast-track language that changes the intent of the ballot initiative,” he said. “I believe we should look into where the tax dollars are spent, but this goes way beyond those details.”Democrats agree. House Minority Whip State Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) says she can't and won't support the Senate version.“I'm not a fan of turning my back on the Ohio voters and the will of what they said when they overwhelmingly passed Issue 2,” Miranda said.When asked what happens if the two chambers don't reach a compromise, Callender said he will be in better standing — since the House can just block the Senate version.“I'm okay with just letting the initiated statute go into effect, which is a pretty strong bargaining position,” he said. “If we don't come up with an agreement, I'll trust the rule-making process, trust Commerce to make good rules to do this.”The Senate is expected to pass the marijuana bill out of committee Wednesday morning, putting it on the floor for a full vote later in the day. The House version is set to be heard Wednesday, as well.This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/dolly-parton-imagination-library-officially-launches-statewide-in-illinoisPritzker says goal is to send free books to all children, ages 0-5By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Illinois families with infants and toddlers now have access to free children's books that can be sent directly to their home, regardless of their income.Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday announced the official launch of the state's partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program founded by the country music legend in 1995 in her home county in east Tennessee. It now sends free books every month to nearly 3 million children in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.“Today, I couldn't be prouder to announce that the Imagination Library is working with the state of Illinois to begin our journey to provide every child under the age of five an opportunity to receive a free book delivered to them every single month,” Pritzker said at an event at the Bloomington Public Library.Pritzker first announced in June that the state had formed a partnership with the Dollywood Foundation, Parton's philanthropic organization, after Illinois lawmakers included $1.6 million in this year's budget to fund the state's share of the program. Other funding comes from the Dollywood Foundation and local, county-based organizations.Since then, about 44 local programs have been operating in the state, serving roughly 4 percent of eligible children. But Dollywood Foundation executive director Nora Briggs said the goal is to reach all of the estimated 755,000 children under age 5 in Illinois.“We know that nothing is more basic, more essential, more foundational to a child's success in life than the ability to read,” Briggs said. “The research is clear. We cannot wait until kindergarten for children to have access or exposure to books. It must happen early. It must start in the home environment. And reading at home requires books.”People who are interested in enrolling their child in the program can find their local provider on the “check availability” tab located at imaginationlibrary.com. From there, applicants submit basic information including their address, their child's name and date of birth, and the parents' information.Once a child's eligibility is approved, they will start receiving one book each month, addressed to them. Each child within an age group receives the same monthly book. Books on the distribution list are chosen by a panel of early childhood literacy experts who review potential titles for inclusion in the distribution list. In addition to funding the Imagination Library program this year, lawmakers also approved Pritzker's “Smart Start Illinois” initiative that will provide $250 million this year for early childhood programs, including expanded access to preschool, wage support for child care workers, early intervention programs, and home visiting programs.“We're making our mark on every aspect of early childhood, and working with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library literacy efforts will begin now at the earliest ages,” Pritzker said. “Illinois is well on its way to solidifying our status as the number one state in the nation to raise young children.” Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.Stories in today's show originally appeared in the Missouri Independent, Capitol News Illinois, Alabama Reflector, Michigan Advance, Arizona Mirror, KMBC9 Kansas City, Ohio Capital Journal, and NPR News @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/
Co-founder of Just Moms STL, Dawn Chapman, joined us today ahead of a town hall on radioactive waste and contamination left from the Manhattan Project.
In our second hour we get a sports update from our very own Matt Pauley and a potential pitcher on the Cardinals radar. Plus, Dawn Chapman of Just Moms STL on a town hall taking place tonight on radioactive contamination.
This morning we were joined by Karen Nickel of Just Moms STL to update us on the bipartisan efforts to clean up radioactive waste in the area.
St. Louis County council approved more tax breaks for Boeing as they look to expand in west county. Plus, we talk with Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson and Just Moms STL co-founder Karen Nickel.
Dawn Chapman, Co-Founder of Just Moms STL joins Tom Ackerman and Megan Lynch talking about the radioactive contamination findings and what needs to be done because it has been overlooked for decades. © Nathan J Fish/Sun-News / USA TODAY NETWORK
In The Show's First Hour, Kevin, Amy, & Chris discuss Jay Ashcroft's plan, according to the Post Dispatch, that may try and ban inappropriate materials from public libraries. Who gets to define what's appropriate for what age? The gang was joined by the Co-Founders of Just Moms STL, Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman to discuss the ongoing trouble of the radioactive waste found at Jana Elementary School. Also What's Trending. Are the Boys of BTS Going into the Army? WIll Ezra Miller Go to Jail?
There are 1344 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List in the United States. Forty-eight additional sites have been proposed for entry on the list. For years activists have worked to draw attention to the Westlake Landfill, in MO, a superfund site, that encases a radioactive fire that is currently burning underground. The radioactive Superfund site has sat in the middle of a St. Louis Community for over 45 years leaving surface level radioactive waste to blow and be subject to all the elements. Presently, the Westlake Landfill is experiencing an active fire deep underground. It causes waste to decompose at an accelerated rate, producing excess gas and liquid. This results in a pungent odor byproduct of this gas and liquid. The Westlake Landfill sits in the floodplain of the Missouri River where radioactive contaminants (from the landfill?) are spreading into other neighboring communities along the river. The waste was created during World War II, when St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt Chemical Works purified all the uranium for the first nuclear weapons. The waste was eventually purchased by Cotter Corporation, then illegally dumped in north St. Louis County in 1973 The EPA classified it as a Superfund Site–a classification only given to the most polluted sites in the U.S.-- and put it on the National Priority List in 1992 30 years ago. Since then residents most impacted by the toxic waste site have organized to demand government action. In 2018 the EPA declared plans to remove a majority of the radioactive material and ensure the safety of the surrounding community. The clean up plan intended to remove contamination by digging out waste at varying depths between 8 and 20 feet below the surface, depending on the amount of radioactivity that exists at each location. Concerned residents continue to urge the EPA to revise and adjust their clean up plan to include the river and surrounding areas. Unhealthy levels of radium and other radioactive material remain despite these clean up efforts, resulting in constant exposure for the soil and the people living closest to the site, increasing their chances of developing lung cancers, lupus, asthma, and tumors. Advocates continue to urge the EPA to continue to clean the superfund site and make revisions to their clean up plan that take into account data reflecting current radioactive levels. Our guest joining Sojourner Truth Radio today is Dawn Chapman, a resident who lives near the landfill who will tell us what the EPA has done this far; the impacts of contamination on her community and discuss her ongoing advocacy work to push the EPA to clean up the West Lake site. Dawn Chapman, runs non-profit organization “Just Moms STL, (St. Louis) working in tandem with co-founder Karen Nickel. Just Moms is an advocacy group formed with the goal of raising awareness and community engagement regarding the nearby West Lake Landfill Superfund site. Living mere miles from the landfill, Dawn became engaged in this effort in 2013 after contacting the MO Dept of Natural Resources regarding pungent odors. That call lead Dawn on an unlikely journey from housewife and mother of three to becoming an advocate, a repository of knowledge and history about this site, and even a mentor to people dealing with the impact of other Superfund sites on their own communities across the country. Dawn has collaborated with and advised local, state and federal agencies, media organizations, and both locally affected community members as well as passionate environmental advocates worldwide. She has presented to groups as widely varied as high school and college classes, church and municipal groups, the MO State Legislature, all the way up to appearing before the United Nations Human Rights and Environmental Justice division. She was also invited to present to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Her story is documented in the HBO Documentary: Atomic Homefront.
There are 1344 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List in the United States. Forty-eight additional sites have been proposed for entry on the list. For years activists have worked to draw attention to the Westlake Landfill, in MO, a superfund site, that encases a radioactive fire that is currently burning underground. The radioactive Superfund site has sat in the middle of a St. Louis Community for over 45 years leaving surface level radioactive waste to blow and be subject to all the elements. Presently, the Westlake Landfill is experiencing an active fire deep underground. It causes waste to decompose at an accelerated rate, producing excess gas and liquid. This results in a pungent odor byproduct of this gas and liquid. The Westlake Landfill sits in the floodplain of the Missouri River where radioactive contaminants (from the landfill?) are spreading into other neighboring communities along the river. The waste was created during World War II, when St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt Chemical Works purified all the uranium for the first nuclear weapons. The waste was eventually purchased by Cotter Corporation, then illegally dumped in north St. Louis County in 1973 The EPA classified it as a Superfund Site–a classification only given to the most polluted sites in the U.S.-- and put it on the National Priority List in 1992 30 years ago. Since then residents most impacted by the toxic waste site have organized to demand government action. In 2018 the EPA declared plans to remove a majority of the radioactive material and ensure the safety of the surrounding community. The clean up plan intended to remove contamination by digging out waste at varying depths between 8 and 20 feet below the surface, depending on the amount of radioactivity that exists at each location. Concerned residents continue to urge the EPA to revise and adjust their clean up plan to include the river and surrounding areas. Unhealthy levels of radium and other radioactive material remain despite these clean up efforts, resulting in constant exposure for the soil and the people living closest to the site, increasing their chances of developing lung cancers, lupus, asthma, and tumors. Advocates continue to urge the EPA to continue to clean the superfund site and make revisions to their clean up plan that take into account data reflecting current radioactive levels. Our guest joining Sojourner Truth Radio today is Dawn Chapman, a resident who lives near the landfill who will tell us what the EPA has done this far; the impacts of contamination on her community and discuss her ongoing advocacy work to push the EPA to clean up the West Lake site. Dawn Chapman, runs non-profit organization “Just Moms STL, (St. Louis) working in tandem with co-founder Karen Nickel. Just Moms is an advocacy group formed with the goal of raising awareness and community engagement regarding the nearby West Lake Landfill Superfund site. Living mere miles from the landfill, Dawn became engaged in this effort in 2013 after contacting the MO Dept of Natural Resources regarding pungent odors. That call lead Dawn on an unlikely journey from housewife and mother of three to becoming an advocate, a repository of knowledge and history about this site, and even a mentor to people dealing with the impact of other Superfund sites on their own communities across the country. Dawn has collaborated with and advised local, state and federal agencies, media organizations, and both locally affected community members as well as passionate environmental advocates worldwide. She has presented to groups as widely varied as high school and college classes, church and municipal groups, the MO State Legislature, all the way up to appearing before the United Nations Human Rights and Environmental Justice division. She was also invited to present to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Her story is documented in the HBO Documentary: Atomic Homefront.
Michelle and Emily welcome Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel founders of JustMomsSTL to the podcast. JustMomsSTL have been working tirelessly to bring awareness about the environmental radioactive crisis sitting on the surface of a landfill located 1000 feet from residential communities. Backstory - In 2012, Just Moms STL founders became alarmed by the intense odor emitted from the West Lake Landfill and called authorities. That is when they found out in discussions with the authorities about not only the toxic odors emitting from the landfill but that 2 sections had radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project; soon came the revelation that the dump housed toxic waste in an unprotected site residing in a floodplain near the Missouri River. There is currently a subsurface smoldering fire in the adjacent Bridgeton Landfill approximately 1000 feet away from the radioactive waste. The EPA and other agencies have yet to come up with a solution to ward off a potential nuclear disaster. St. Louis County has gone as far as preparing a West Lake Landfill Shelter in Place/Evacuation Plan in 2014 that was accidentally leaked to a news station. No one knows exactly what will take place if the fire were to reach the nuclear waste. http://www.stlradwastelegacy.com Dawn & Karen are featured in the documentary "Atomic Homefront" available on HBO. Michelle also recommends everyone watch the Chernobyl miniseries on HBO to get an idea of the potential devastation awaiting the St. Louis region if this landfill and radioactive waste is not removed before the fire reaches it. Amazingly, we learned today (8-28-2020) that the EPA has finally started the cleanup of the SUPERFUND landfill this week. We're glad to bring you this important conversation not only for residents in the St. Louis region but for all our listeners because nuclear waste/environmental disasters are not limited to just our backyard. Thank you for listening and subscribing to Cliterally Speaking the Podcast. Visit our website: www.cliterallyspeakingpodcast.com Facebook: @cspeakpodcast Instagram: @cliterallyspeakingthepodcast Twitter: @cliterallyspea1 Please call our comment line: 812-727-0794 Watch our youtube channel (Cliterally Speaking the Podcast) for all the behind the scenes discussions during our recording sessions. Be on the lookout for the launch of our live-streaming channel on Twitch, CliterallySpeakingPodTV. Our patreon site is up - visit it here - http://bit.ly/32uOnVT
This Week’s Featured Interviews:Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the group Just Moms StL, has helped shepherd community protest of radioactive waste from Republic Services’ two landfills that had contaminated the neighborhood, back yards, even inside the houses where they and others live. She provides background and context for this week’s report issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services regarding the health effects of the Bridgeton landfill stench. There’s good news – and bad news.Dawn Chapman, self-described “soccer mom” and co-founder of Just Moms StL, fighting Republic Services and the West Lake and Bridgeton LandfillsUK’s Dr. Chris Busby, a successful science-based foe of the nuclear industry and the government’s lack of support for nuclear workers, speaks out on aspects of his attempted arrest on trumped-up suspicions of bomb making — all because, as a scientist, he has a laboratory in his home.Numnutz of the Week (for Outstanding Nuclear Boneheadedness):Right hand to left hand, nuclear right hand to nuclear left hand — WTF are you saying about bombs and reactors NOW?Activist Links:Dr. Jim Green of Friends of the Earth, Australia, rips former environmentalist and nuclear shill-burger, Michael Shellenberger, a new one. https://theecologist.org/2018/sep/20/nuclear-power-lobbyist-michael-shellenberger-learns-love-bombGeraldine Thomas goes mirror image on the shill-burger’s talking points – how like the nuclear industry to not get its lies straight! http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Help-the-public-understand-radiation,-advises-cancPodcasts also on YouTube: nutzforart
Chris Busby in iconic – and so-called “suspicious” – beret. This Week’s Featured Interviews: Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the group Just Moms StL, has helped shepherd community protest of radioactive waste from Republic Services' two landfills that had contaminated the neighborhood, back yards, even inside the houses where they and others live. She provides background...
UK’s Dr. Chris Busby, a successful science-based foe of the nuclear industry and the government’s lack of support for nuclear workers, speaks out on aspects of his attempted arrest on trumped-up suspicions of bomb making — all because, as a scientist, he has a laboratory in his home. And Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the group Just Moms StL, has helped shepherd community protest of radioactive waste from Republic Services’ two landfills that had contaminated the neighborhood, back yards, even inside the houses where they and others live. She provides background and context for this week’s report issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services regarding the health effects of the Bridgeton landfill stench. There’s good news – and bad news.
UK's Dr. Chris Busby, a successful science-based foe of the nuclear industry and the government's lack of support for nuclear workers, speaks out on aspects of his attempted arrest on trumped-up suspicions of bomb making — all because, as a scientist, he has a laboratory in his home. And Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the group Just Moms StL, has helped shepherd community protest of radioactive waste from Republic Services' two landfills that had contaminated the neighborhood, back yards, even inside the houses where they and others live. She provides background and context for this week's report issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services regarding the health effects of the Bridgeton landfill stench. There's good news – and bad news.
UK’s Dr. Chris Busby, a successful science-based foe of the nuclear industry and the government’s lack of support for nuclear workers, speaks out on aspects of his attempted arrest on trumped-up suspicions of bomb making — all because, as a scientist, he has a laboratory in his home. And Dawn Chapman, co-founder of the group Just Moms StL, has helped shepherd community protest of radioactive waste from Republic Services’ two landfills that had contaminated the neighborhood, back yards, even inside the houses where they and others live. She provides background and context for this week’s report issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services regarding the health effects of the Bridgeton landfill stench. There’s good news – and bad news.
Artist Helen Berggruen creates scenes that span countries, households, and time. Listen to what she sees in the land and cities she captures in her paintings as well as her love for music. http://www.helenberggruen.com/ Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman formed Just Moms-STL to educate the community about the potential hazards and health risks of radioactive materials. They are trying to bring awareness to the radioactive material that is interspersed throughout the St Louis Metropolitan area, and areas that have been deeply affected by these materials. http://www.stlradwastelegacy.com/
Featured Image: Two exhausted warriors – Karen Nickel (l) and Dawn Chapman (r) of Just Moms StLin video mere moments after EPA’s announcement of the West Lake Landfill clean-up plan This Week’s Featured Interview: Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste...
Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste illegally buried in a neighborhood landfill. They founded the group Just Moms StL and shepherded the protests by friends and neighbors to radioactive waste in the neighborhoods, the back yards, even inside the houses where others in their community live. With this week's monumental EPA announcement, nobody better to comment on what it all means… and where the battle for the clean-up turns next. You didn't think it was over, did you???
Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste illegally buried in a neighborhood landfill. They founded the group Just Moms StL and shepherded the protests by friends and neighbors to radioactive waste in the neighborhoods, the back yards, even inside the houses where others in their community live. With this week’s monumental EPA announcement, nobody better to comment on what it all means… and where the battle for the clean-up turns next. You didn’t think it was over, did you???
Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are two North St. Louis mothers who discovered the fact of WWII radioactive atomic weapons waste illegally buried in a neighborhood landfill. They founded the group Just Moms StL and shepherded the protests by friends and neighbors to radioactive waste in the neighborhoods, the back yards, even inside the houses where others in their community live. With this week’s monumental EPA announcement, nobody better to comment on what it all means… and where the battle for the clean-up turns next. You didn’t think it was over, did you???
This week's interviews: Laura Welch of Nuclear Care Partners, a company that provides in-home health care to approved government atomic industry workers. Dawn Chapman of Just Moms StL, on the sad fate of SB 22, the home buyout bill for families living in closest proximity to the West Lake Landfill and its 70,000 tons of illegally buried WWII nuclear weapons waste.
This week's interviews: Laura Welch of Nuclear Care Partners, a company that provides in-home health care to approved government atomic industry workers. Dawn Chapman of Just Moms StL, on the sad fate of SB 22, the home buyout bill for families living in closest proximity to the West Lake Landfill and its 70,000 tons of illegally buried WWII nuclear weapons waste.
This week's interviews: Laura Welch of Nuclear Care Partners, a company that provides in-home health care to approved government atomic industry workers. Dawn Chapman of Just Moms StL, on the sad fate of SB 22, the home buyout bill for families living in closest proximity to the West Lake Landfill and its 70,000 tons of illegally buried WWII nuclear weapons waste.
Dawn Chapman, one of the founders of Just Moms StL who lives only a few miles away from the West Lake Landfill, on the "Nuclear Boogeyman" of radiation and the struggle to gain a buyout of contaminated homes. Jan Huber bought her home in North St. Louis in 2000, never understanding that it was one mile away from a nuclear time bomb that had been going off for years.
Dawn Chapman, one of the founders of Just Moms StL who lives only a few miles away from the West Lake Landfill, on the "Nuclear Boogeyman" of radiation and the struggle to gain a buyout of contaminated homes. Jan Huber bought her home in North St. Louis in 2000, never understanding that it was one mile away from a nuclear time bomb that had been going off for years.
Dawn Chapman, one of the founders of Just Moms StL who lives only a few miles away from the West Lake Landfill, on the "Nuclear Boogeyman" of radiation and the struggle to gain a buyout of contaminated homes. Jan Huber bought her home in North St. Louis in 2000, never understanding that it was one mile away from a nuclear time bomb that had been going off for years.
Dawn Chapman, from the Just Moms STL group, is the guest on this Environmental Echo podcast edition with Don Corrigan. She talks the latest on the West Lake Landfill issues where an underground fire is slowly creeping toward buried nuclear waste. Pictured: Dawn Chapman (Left) and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL.
Just Moms StL meet w/UN Human Rights Commission - Is West Lake Landfill in violation of human rights? You Are There w/Dawn Chapman.
Just Moms StL meet w/UN Human Rights Commission - Is West Lake Landfill in violation of human rights? You Are There w/Dawn Chapman.
Don Corrigan interviews Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL, in this edition of "Behind The Editor's Curtain." The duo shares their insight, research, perspectives, updates, and history about the issues surrounding the West Lake Landfill and their struggle to protect their kids, their family, and their community. "The hardest thing is not getting people to action, but getting people not to lose hope," Just Moms STL said. "The bureaucracy in this issue is huge and it's so disgusting that people lose heart and say that nobody is going to come in and save us." Picture provided by Just Moms STL. Dawn Chapman (Left) and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL.
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