logo
Mo. Supreme Court Chief Justice calls for better juror pay

Mo. Supreme Court Chief Justice calls for better juror pay

Yahoo26-02-2025

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court expressed gratitude as she delivered the 2025 State of the Judiciary to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly Wednesday.
Chief Justice Mary Russell told lawmakers that her 20 years on the bench has been 'something this northeast Missouri farm girl never thought possible, even in her wildest dreams.'
While mostly shying away from political issues, Russell did ask legislators to pass something: increased compensation for jurors.
'Last year, you considered changing jurors' compensation, in part by tying their mileage rate to that of state employees,' the chief justice said. 'This year, please send these changes to the governor's desk.'
'Doing so will demonstrate respect for our jurors,' she said.
No savings expected from nearly 40% of DOGE-canceled contracts
Russell's main theme circled back to the 'frontline heroes' of Missouri's court system.
'During this term as chief justice, my goal has been to visit all 46 judicial circuits,' she said. 'I've been to 36 so far, with just 10 to go.'
Russell said what she has learned is an overwhelming commitment to serve.
'In every county, work begins before the courts open,' she said. 'Staff show up early, unlocking doors, turning up the heat and quite a few times so far this year shoveling snow.'
She also praised the technology side of the courts.
'Your support allows us to continue providing the high level of online services Missourians expect and deserve,' Russell said.
She also encouraged lawmakers assembled as well as members of the public to participate in the process.
'Please go watch a court proceeding,' Russell said. 'Experience it first-hand and thank the court staff for all they do.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump's radically regressive plans for FEMA's future come into sharper focus
Trump's radically regressive plans for FEMA's future come into sharper focus

Yahoo

time40 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump's radically regressive plans for FEMA's future come into sharper focus

Within days of his second inaugural, Donald Trump sent an unmistakable signal about the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: As far as he was concerned, FEMA's days were numbered. 'FEMA is getting in the way of everything,' the Republican president argued, failing to explain what that meant. Trump soon after said he saw the agency as an unnecessary department that should be 'TERMINATED.' In the weeks and months that followed, Trump and his team not only failed to properly respond to domestic national disasters, they also fired their own acting FEMA chief after he had the audacity to tell Congress that he believed his agency should exist. It was against this backdrop that The Washington Post reported on the White House's plans, which are now coming into sharper focus. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration plans to 'wean' states off Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance after this year's hurricane season, offering in the most explicit terms yet his plans for states to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies on their own. 'We're moving it back to the states, so the governors can handle,' Trump told reporters, seemingly indifferent to the fact that state governments lack the resources and wherewithal that only the federal government can provide in the wake of a disaster. 'We're going to give out less money,' the president added. 'We're going to give it out directly. It'll be from the president's office. We'll have somebody here.' Those comments were hardly reassuring: Trump seemed to suggest that White House officials, instead of federal disaster relief officials, will be exercising control over which communities receive assistance. A Reuters report noted, 'Distributing funds directly from the White House would ... mark a departure from current protocols, under which FEMA oversees the dissemination of financial aid to the states following the president's declaration of a disaster.' It's not like this won't open the door to problems, right? Trump concluded that the administration will 'start phasing it [FEMA] out' after hurricane season, which ends in the November. Between now and then, the agency is likely to struggle to tackle its important work as a result of recent FEMA job losses and DOGE-imposed cuts. This might not have been what Americans thought they were voting for last year, but it's apparently what they're getting. I won't pretend to know what's likely to happen once communities nationwide start struggling, looking to a Trump administration that decides to start ignoring disaster relief requests, but it's worth appreciating where this idea comes from. As Axios reported earlier this year, Project 2025 suggests 'reforming FEMA emergency spending to shift the majority of preparedness and response costs to states and localities instead of the federal government.' Evidently, Trump is inclined to agree. This article was originally published on

Steve Bannon Trashes Trump Admin's DOGE Effort—'Delivered Zero'
Steve Bannon Trashes Trump Admin's DOGE Effort—'Delivered Zero'

Newsweek

timean hour ago

  • Newsweek

Steve Bannon Trashes Trump Admin's DOGE Effort—'Delivered Zero'

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Steve Bannon called out the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse, saying that the White House task force that was helmed by Elon Musk "delivered zero." Newsweek has reached out to Bannon for comment via text message on Wednesday. Why It Matters In late-May, the billionaire tech CEO Musk announced he would be stepping down after his "scheduled time as a Special Government Employee" came to an end after five months of work as one of the most high-profile figures in the second Trump administration. His task force sought to champion mass cuts across the federal government, which led to mass layoffs and restructuring. DOGE faces ongoing legal challenges over some of its sweeping initiatives, including accessing sensitive data and mass termination of employees. Musk and President Donald Trump last week clashed publicly in a heated exchange on social media. The dispute began over Musk's criticism of a Trump-backed spending bill and escalated into threats over federal contracts and allegations involving Trump's ties to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bannon, who has always been critical of Musk and his connections to the Chinese Communist Party, called for Musk to be deported to South Africa amid the rift with Trump. Steve Bannon at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Steve Bannon at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Annabelle Gordon - CNP/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images What To Know As DOGE head, Musk oversaw large-scale federal workforce reductions, citing a mandate to eliminate inefficiency. Bannon, a longtime Trump ally who previously served as White House chief strategist, said during Wednesday's episode of his War Room podcast: "I hate to say, fanboys, but DOGE delivered zero. Nothing on waste, fraud, abuse." He added that "they had some recommendations on programmatic, but people have been on that for years on PBS, on NPR, on USAID. Where is the fraud? Nothing—one of the reasons the president is so disappointed." Earlier this year, DOGE helped dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), responsible for more than six decades of humanitarian aid and development work, with Musk calling it a "criminal organization." On May 1, Trump signed an executive order to cut federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The Trump administration claims that the broadcasters have become purveyors of "left-wing propaganda" and accuses them of violating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's mandate to remain nonpartisan. Bannon previously said that DOGE's reported "savings" came from funds already approved by Congress for federal programs, not from uncovering fraud in large agencies like the Defense Department. According to the DOGE website, the task force has saved $180 billion, amounting to $1,118 per taxpayer. What People Are Saying President Donald Trump, in a February Truth Social post: "DOGE: BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE BEING FOUND. CAMPAIGN PROMISE. IMPORTANT FOR AMERICA!!!" Elon Musk, in a May 28 post on X, formerly Twitter: "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." House Speaker Mike Johnson, reacted to Musk's comments on the spending bill, on X: "@ElonMusk and the entire @DOGE team have done INCREDIBLE work exposing waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government - from the insanity of USAID's spending to finding over 12 million people on Social Security who were over 120 years old. The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE's findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand." Republican Representative Pat Harrigan of North Carolina, on X on Wednesday: "Thank you for your service, @ElonMusk, and for everything you've done to expose waste, defend free speech, and challenge the broken machinery of Washington. DOGE set a new standard for what focused, impactful public service should be. I'll do my part to make sure it leads to real, lasting change." What Happens Next With Musk no longer at DOGE, oversight of the task force has shifted to Cabinet departments and their secretaries.

Trump Was Secretly ‘Hurt' by Musk's Savage Attacks
Trump Was Secretly ‘Hurt' by Musk's Savage Attacks

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Trump Was Secretly ‘Hurt' by Musk's Savage Attacks

President Donald Trump was left emotional after his 'first buddy,' Tesla CEO Elon Musk, engaged in a bitter online feud with him last week, an insider revealed. 'The president was actually hurt,' a Trump confidant who spoke with him about their spat told Axios. 'Yes, he has feelings, and he was hurt the way anyone would be when a friend turns on them.' In public, Trump appears to be projecting a defiant front amid the feud. He signaled Saturday that his relationship with Musk was finished and that he had no intention of patching things up. The president's epic falling out with Musk was sparked by a fiery clash over Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act.' Musk blasted the proposed spending package as fiscally reckless and a 'disgusting abomination' that would sabotage his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by adding trillions to the deficit. He even went as far as to post a bombshell claim on X that Trump is named in the so-called 'Epstein files.' But after the explosive allegations, Musk made a groveling U-turn on Wednesday morning. 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,' he wrote. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. Meanwhile, White House insiders told Axios that Trump's response to the Los Angeles protests against actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have helped Trump bounce back from the Musk meltdown. 'But that's gone now. L.A. wiped away the Elon drama,' the source said. 'What's driving the president is how the riots of 2020 are seared into his brain, and how he wished he could've sent in the troops to end it.' Musk, who had once enjoyed a cozy relationship with Trump as he headed DOGE, has been doing damage control amid the protests, resharing Trump's Truth Social posts about the riots and posts by Vice President JD Vance, likely in a bid to show some solidarity with the president. Trump unleashed his presidential powers in a dramatic showdown with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend, moving to federalize the state's National Guard in a rare and controversial move. Protests erupted in downtown Los Angeles amid reports that detainees were being held in the basement of a federal building. ICE has denied these claims. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Northern Command told The New York Times that some 700 Marines are expected to be deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday, joining National Guard troops already on the ground.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store