KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two men are dead after a shooting early Sunday morning near E. 69th St. and College Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City Police say patrol officers were dispatched to the area shortly after midnight on a reported sound of gunshots.

Protesters fill the stairs leading up to the Missouri State Capitol during the “No Kings” protest Saturday in Jefferson City. The protest and march drew over 1,000 attendees, according to event organizers (Michael Baniewicz/Missourian) Thousands turned out in Columbia,

Mayor Quinton Lucas called the action by Republican Mike Kehoe an "unnecessary escalation." He also criticized the state's lack of response when a white nationalist hate group marched through Kansas City last month.

Meanwhile, conservation success stories included the hatching and tracking of downtown falcon chicks and the launch of Missouri’s only live bald eagle nest camera for public viewing. Currently, the creature most at risk is the alligator itself.

Kansas City’s Independence Day Celebration is the Stars and Stripes Picnic at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Grounds open at 3 p.m., rain or shine. The fireworks display is expected to begin around 9:35 p.m.

A man who got out of his truck, ran next to, and tried to get into a tractor-trailer Friday afternoon on Interstate 70 was run over and killed by the rear axle of the tractor-trailer.

Kansas and Missouri voters have spoken on abortion. But nearly three years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal right to the procedure, sending the issue back to the states, abortion continues to dominate politics on both sides of the state line.

The annual child wellness report Kids Count found child poverty has improved in Kansas and Missouri compared to the years before the pandemic. But federal budget cuts could threaten access to food and health assistance for families in need.