Author
Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
An angry Trump pledges to appeal ‘this scam’ conviction as Republicans vow resistance
By: Ashley Murray, Jacob Fischler and Ariana Figueroa - May 31, 2024
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump, now a convicted felon, vowed to launch an appeal based “on many things” he considered unfair during his New York trial, he said Friday in the lobby of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile Friday, legal and political analysts predicted he will spend little if any time in jail […]
Free direct filing of federal taxes may be offered soon throughout the U.S.
By: Ashley Murray - May 30, 2024
WASHINGTON — Taxpayers across the United States could be guaranteed a free public option to file federal tax returns online as the Internal Revenue Service announced plans Thursday to make its Direct File program permanent. The pilot program offered in 12 states from March to April drew roughly 140,000 accepted returns this filing season and […]
Trump found guilty on 34 felony counts in NY hush money trial
By: Ashley Murray - May 30, 2024
WASHINGTON — Jurors in New York state court on Thursday found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star ultimately to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. The first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president wrapped up in […]
Missouri residents affected by radiation exposure push Congress to extend benefits
By: Ashley Murray - May 29, 2024
WASHINGTON — A fund to compensate Americans sickened by exposure to atomic bomb tests, uranium mining and radioactive waste expires in just under 15 days, and activists and lawmakers are scrambling to keep the fund active and open to additional victims. A bill to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, often shortened to […]
The jury now will decide Trump’s fate in hush money trial, after lengthy closing arguments
By: Ashley Murray - May 28, 2024
WASHINGTON — Closing arguments in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president concluded Tuesday, leaving the jury to now decide if Donald Trump is guilty of faking reimbursement to his personal lawyer for hush money paid to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election. Just outside the Lower Manhattan courthouse during […]
Trump declines witness stand as testimony in his first trial concludes
By: Ashley Murray - May 21, 2024
WASHINGTON — The end of the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president is in sight as Donald Trump’s defense team rested its case Tuesday in Manhattan, where jurors have heard weeks of testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses about Trump’s alleged reimbursement of hush money meant to silence a porn star before the […]
Prosecution rests in Trump hush money trial, after former fixer Cohen is grilled
By: Ashley Murray - May 20, 2024
NEW YORK — New York state prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump Monday after four days of testimony from their key witness, Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who says the former president was well aware of a hush money cover-up. The defense paints Cohen as a liar. The Manhattan criminal trial, the first ever […]
Advocates press U.S. House to act soon on compensation for nuclear testing victims
By: Ashley Murray - May 16, 2024
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and advocates rallied outside the U.S. Capitol Thursday, urging House lawmakers to extend a fund for victims of U.S. nuclear testing that is set to expire in less than a month. But critics say the program is too expensive and should be winding down, and it’s not clear if the House will […]
GOP politicians rush to Manhattan to line up behind Trump as hush money trial continues
By: Ashley Murray - May 14, 2024
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are taking turns supporting former president and presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in his trial in Manhattan criminal court, where he is charged with covering up payments intended to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Dressed alike in navy blue suits and red ties, North […]
Star witness in Trump trial tells of plot to conceal porn star hush money payments
By: Ashley Murray - May 13, 2024
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s former fixer took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom Monday and told jurors that Trump was well aware of a scheme to hide the repayment of money intended to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, told the jury that he […]
U.S. Senate in FAA bill adds flights at Washington National, bucking local opponents
By: Ashley Murray - May 10, 2024
WASHINGTON — After hours of uncertainty Thursday, the U.S. Senate struck a deal to reauthorize several Federal Aviation Authority programs for the next five years, though Maryland and Virginia senators were vehemently opposed and lawmakers hoping to attach unrelated provisions lost out. The bill heads to the House next week for final approval. Lawmakers from […]
UnitedHealth CEO savaged for failings in massive cyberattack that’s crippled health care
By: Ashley Murray - May 2, 2024
WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill lawmakers from both parties on Wednesday grilled UnitedHealth Group’s CEO over the largest-ever cyberattack on the U.S. health care industry, which has crippled payments to providers and pharmacies and left millions of patients clueless about whether their information is now on the dark web. A Russia-linked cybercrime organization dubbed “BlackCat” infiltrated a vulnerable […]