Author
Jacob covers federal policy as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Based in Oregon, he focuses on Western issues. His coverage areas include climate, energy development, public lands and infrastructure.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
U.S. Supreme Court flips precedent that empowered federal agencies
By: Jacob Fischler - June 28, 2024
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a precedent Friday that had for decades limited judicial power to strike executive branch regulations, in a decision immediately criticized for potentially undermining decisions by scientists and agency experts. The 6-3 and 6-2 decisions in two cases brought by fishing operators in New Jersey and Rhode Island challenged a […]
Biden and Trump trade insults, accusations of lying in acrimonious presidential debate
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - June 27, 2024
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump pitched to undecided voters Thursday night during the first debate of the presidential campaign — trading insults over their policy differences, immigration and who represents a threat to democracy. During the debate from CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, the two men argued over who can do better for […]
Undecided voters are the prize for both Biden and Trump in Thursday presidential debate
By: Jacob Fischler - June 26, 2024
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will get a crucial opportunity to reach undecided voters and set the terms for the 2024 presidential campaign at Thursday night’s debate in Atlanta. Partisans on either side have already made up their minds about which candidate they’ll support. And with this year’s race serving as a […]
Congress silenced free speech in TikTok law, platform tells federal court
By: Jacob Fischler - June 21, 2024
TikTok and its parent company argued Thursday in a federal court in the District of Columbia that the recently enacted law forcing a nationwide ban or sale of the popular platform violates the First Amendment. TikTok Inc., which operates the video-sharing service in the United States, and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., which was founded […]
U.S. Supreme Court chief declines to discuss Alito flag uproar, ethics with Senate Dems
By: Jacob Fischler - May 31, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told leading Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday he will not meet with them to discuss the court’s code of ethics, following revelations of displays of politically oriented flags at the homes of Justice Samuel Alito. Individual justices will continue to decide their own […]
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 […]
Five-year FAA bill clears U.S. House, boosting flights into Washington, D.C.
By: Jacob Fischler - May 16, 2024
The U.S. House voted 387-26 Wednesday to clear a bill to reauthorize $105 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration for the next five years — and to finalize a hotly debated deal adding flights at busy Washington Reagan National Airport. Advocates for the bill, which won votes from every ideological corner of the often-divided House, touted its […]
Congressional panel debates who should foot the bill for rebuilding Baltimore bridge
By: Jacob Fischler - May 15, 2024
Conservative members of Congress at a hearing on Wednesday raised questions about using federal dollars to pay for rebuilding a state tollway, as the head of the Federal Highway Administration reiterated that the Biden administration is seeking congressional approval to reimburse 100% of the costs of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Congress […]
Still much unknown on how marijuana policies would change in states under Biden plan
By: Jacob Fischler - May 9, 2024
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has proposed loosening the illegal status of marijuana at the federal level – but that doesn’t mean the federal government now condones recreational or medicinal use in the many states that have legalized the drug. Moving marijuana from the government’s list of the most dangerous and least useful substances to a less […]
U.S. Senate Dems launch renewed push for full marijuana legalization
By: Jacob Fischler - May 2, 2024
Leading U.S. Senate Democrats reintroduced a bill Wednesday to remove marijuana from the list of federal controlled substances, following the Biden administration’s move a day earlier to significantly ease regulations on the drug. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, […]
Biden administration to greatly ease marijuana regulations
By: Jacob Fischler - April 30, 2024
The Biden administration plans to remove marijuana from a list of the most dangerous and highly regulated drugs, the Department of Justice said Tuesday night. The Drug Enforcement Administration will propose moving the drug from a Schedule I substance, which also includes heroin and methamphetamine, to Schedule III, which is the category for regulated-but-legal drugs […]
Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in NY hush-money trial
By: Jacob Fischler - April 30, 2024
Former President Donald Trump defied a gag order in his New York state hush-money trial by posting attacks on likely witnesses on his social media platform and campaign website, the judge in the case ruled Tuesday. Judge Juan M. Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine violations of an order barring him from making public statements about “reasonably […]