Savannah Hawley

Much of south Kansas City, Missouri, and its neighborhoods north of the Missouri River are transit deserts. City council members who represent those areas are focused on improving transit. But without more regional funding, it'll be a struggle just to keep the few bus lines that already exist.

The city won't work with CJR Construction Group for two years, after the company repeatedly violated its prevailing wage rules. This is the first time Kansas City has debarred a contractor in years.

The National Weather Service says a "confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado" was located near Raytown, moving east at 45 mph towards Independence. Tornado warnings have been canceled for Jackson County and surrounding areas, but the threat of flash flooding remains.

Mario Vasquez is the first Latino person to permanently hold the role. The city manager is one of the most powerful positions in Kansas City, and Vasquez will have to balance large projects with regaining the public's trust.

The State Tax Commission has sent another order to Jackson County, this time about the 2025 assessments. The county's fight over the tax commission's previous order has cemented a feud between a majority of legislators and County Executive Frank White Jr.

Business owners are required to tell their workers about their right to paid sick leave today. But a bill in the state Legislature and a case in the Missouri Supreme Court could take away the provision, which voters widely approved last fall, before it begins May 1.

In Omaha, Neb., worshippers from a mosque, a synagogue and church support each other as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

Hundreds of people in Kansas City protested over the weekend to demand hate crime charges against a man who shot a Black teenager after he apparently knocked on his door by mistake.