Carthage man charged with assaulting pregnant girlfriend

A Carthage man charged with first degree domestic assault, second degree domestic assault and possession of a controlled substance pleaded not guilty today during his arraignment in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Eric Xavier Neal (DOB 1997) is being held on a $10,000 cash-only bond. A bond review hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

From the probable cause statement:

On 7/25/2026 at 12:18 a.m., officers were dispatched to a residence in the 1400 block of Kimberly Lane. The reporting party stated they could hear a female in the area yelling for help. Dispatch received a second 911 call from the victim stating her boyfriend Eric Neal had assaulted her.

Officers located and contacted Neal at the 1400 block of south Baker Boulevard. Upon officer arrival, the vitim stated she was 10 weeks pregnant with Neal's child and had sustained multiple injuries. The victim stated she went to check on Neal at his apartment due to him being intoxicated and making suicidal statements.

The victim began to leave and Neal proceeded to grab hold of her to prevent from leaving. The victim was able to push her way out and exit the apartment.

Neal told the victim he would show her why everyone called him crazy. The victim stated Neal grabbed a hold of her cell phone and threw it on the ground. Neal then grabbed the victim and began slamming her head into one of the vehicles in the parking lot.

Neal then lifted the victim and threw her onto the ground. The victim stated Neal began punching her in the face several times. The victim stated Neal then grabbed a hold of her neck and attempted to choke her.

The victim stated when she was thrown onto the ground she lost consciousness .

The victim had redness on both of her arms, redness on top of her left hand and redness and swelling on her forehead and left ear. The victim also stated she possibly fractured her right thumb due to having limited mobility.

As officers were conducting a consent search of Neal's person, a small, clear plastic baggie with white powdery residue was located on his person.

The investigation was conducted by the Carthage Police Department.

Pineville man killed in crash near Jane

A Pineville man was killed in a one-vehicle accident 6:17 p.m. Saturday on Rains Road, a half-mile north of Jane.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2007 Dodge Caliber driven by a 20-year-old Pineville man traveled off the left side of the roadway, returned to the roadway, traveled off the right side of the roadway and overturned.

McDonald County Coroner David Goens pronounced him dead at the scene.

The fatality was the 72nd this year for Highway Patrol Troop D.

 

City of Joplin lists cooling centers, offers tips for dealing with heat

(From the City of Joplin)

With extreme temperatures predicted again this week, the City of Joplin is sharing several important reminders for citizens.

Republic Services has determined that it will continue their 5 a.m. trash pickup time each day this week – from Monday, July 27 through Saturday, August 1. The City of Joplin contracts with Republic Services to provide curbside trash and recycling services to residents of the community. All curbside trash and recycling customers within Joplin city limits should expect their garbage truck to arrive earlier than normal, so it’s important to get your trash out to the curb on the night before your scheduled service.

The Homeless Coalition of Jasper and Newton Counties maintains a list of area cooling centers, which is posted on their Facebook page. The Joplin City facilities available as cooling centers are included on this list and are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Link to Homeless Coalition Facebook Post with list of area cooling centers: https://www.facebook.com/thcjaspernewton/posts/pfbid0cSGayTd43mY5Dcm5VGaF1DKRLQWcwcF2JRgm1DeLtemUoKsNt5nRHGsVJjUbyXSBl

Officials with the Joplin Health Department are also encouraging citizens to remember to be extremely cautious in this weather. Take breaks from the heat, drink plenty of water, and be sure to check on friends and family. Leaving pets outdoors during such extreme heat can be dangerous, especially if these animals do not have good shelter options or enough water. Consider bringing pets inside during this time to keep them hydrated and safe from overheating.

“We are fortunate that Joplin residents do call us concerned when they see an animal in distress, or a situation that needs attention, especially in extreme weather,” said Health Department Assistant Director Devin Blankenship. “We can’t overemphasize how important it is to take care of the people and the pets in your circle when temperatures get this hot. It can get very dangerous very quickly, so we encourage the community to look after one another’s health.”

For more information about City facilities or services during extreme heat, contact Cassie Faucett at 417-624-0820 ext. 1204.


To explore the map of cooling centers recognized by the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, visit https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/1139cabb927b4395b75434a3cde4bfe1/page/Map.


For questions about solid waste services and the Republic Services schedule, visit their website at https://www.republicservices.com/municipality/joplin-mo.

Burlison grills Smithsonian director

(From Seventh District Congressman Eric Burlison)

On Tuesday, the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency held a hearing titled "Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian's Efforts to Reshape the Past." 

The hearing exposed that the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has lost sight of its responsibility to tell America's story with confidence, favoring ideology over history. 

During the hearing, I questioned Director Anthea Hartig about her past remarks on moving beyond an "America First mentality" and made the case that our national museum should instead lead in celebrating the principles and people that shaped the United States.

Jason Smith: Our tax laws are being abused by our enemies

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

Too often these days, when Missourians turn on the television, they see images from our cities of protestors flooding the streets, rioters damaging buildings, or masked thugs burning the American flag and waving a Palestinian one. 

So many Missourians I talk to wonder how these images have become commonplace in our society. The truth is, many of these individuals are being sponsored or encouraged by shadow groups who are using tax-exempt privileges to sow chaos and division throughout our country. I will absolutely not stand by and allow our tax code to be abused to push anti-American rhetoric on our home soil.

For years, as Ways and Means chairman, I have been investigating tax-exempt groups exploiting America’s tax laws on a massive scale. One of the most shameful cases we uncovered is that of an American tech mogul, Neville Roy Singham, living in Shanghai who even shares office space with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) headquarters. My investigation has traced hundreds of millions of dollars that Shanghai Singham funneled through a web of shell companies and intermediaries designed to hide where the money really came from. These groups then turned around and used that money to fund protests, organize rallies, and blast out propaganda encouraging violence. Three nonprofits in particular — BreakThrough News, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, and The People’s Forum — were particularly central to Singham’s network, parroting CCP talking points.

I demanded answers from these groups about where their money came from, yet for months they have stonewalled us, hiding behind excuses instead of turning over a single document. That’s why this week, I issued subpoenas compelling all three organizations to produce the records they’ve been refusing to share. It is my duty as your congressman to determine whether the CCP has hijacked America’s tax-exempt sector to advance its agenda inside our own country.

Americans have a constitutional right to say what they think, but when a foreign adversary is laundering money through our tax code to sow chaos and division in our communities, we cannot sit idly by. That’s not free speech. That’s exploitation by a hostile foreign government.

In addition to subpoenas, the Ways and Means Committee passed three bills to close the loopholes that made this network possible. The Foreign Funding Transparency Act requires tax-exempt organizations to publicly disclose contributions from countries of concern like China, Russia, and Iran. The Stopping Foreign Influence in Elections Act cuts off tax-exempt groups from funneling foreign money into Super PACs and political committees, in order to influence our American elections. The Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act closes the shell-game loophole that let Singham’s money hide behind layers of intermediaries before it ever showed up on paper.

I didn’t go to Washington to look the other way while our tax laws get abused by our adversaries. I led these bills through committee and issued these subpoenas because we owe it to the American people to ensure the Chinese Communist Party cannot weaponize our own tax code against us.

Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right. I’ll keep fighting to expose these networks and close these loopholes for good.

States, including Missouri, Oklahoma move to limit classroom screen time

By Robbie Sequeira 

Oklahoma Voice

After school cellphone bans passed many statehouses with bipartisan support in recent legislative sessions, state lawmakers are turning to legislation governing how long students should spend looking at screens.

This year, four states passed laws restricting or regulating screen time for students from childcare through fifth grade.

Iowa capped digital instruction at 60 minutes per day for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with exceptions for special education, assessments and computer science. 

Utah lawmakers this year directed the state education board to develop grade-specific technology rules, including restrictions on screen time in kindergarten through third grade and prohibiting one-device-per-student ratios in elementary school. 

A new Tennessee law requires every district and charter school serving K-5 students to adopt an age-appropriate digital device policy to minimize unnecessary screen time. And Alabama this year adopted a law requiring the establishment of screen time standards and teacher training for childcare facilities, prekindergarten and kindergarten.

But a Missouri bill to require school districts and charter schools to adopt screen time policies for kindergarten through fifth grade and an Oklahoma proposal to cap screen time at 60 minutes per day for students in prekindergarten through fifth grade both failed. 

The Missouri bill easily cleared the House but stalled in the Senate. Despite passing the Oklahoma House unanimously, that bill stalled in the Senate and faced pushback from a technology industry trade group. The Software and Information Industry Association referred to the bill as an “unfunded mandate” and said it would increase administrative burdens and undermine workforce readiness.

Some school districts also are adopting screen time policies for the upcoming school year. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district,  is the one of the first to impose systemwide, grade-by-grade instructional screen limits.

Los Angeles has barred instructional screen time before second grade. The district also set limits that increase incrementally to 60 minutes per subject each week for middle school students and 90 minutes per subject each week for high school students.

Inanna Balkin, a rising high school senior at Amherst Regional High School in Massachusetts, told Stateline that “it’s really important for students to learn how to manage their screen time,” and that schools should help students develop habits for managing screen time rather than simply removing access to technology.

“Automatically not having access to your phone or a screen during the day kind of doesn’t allow for students to be responsible for their own management when school is over,” said Balkin, who uses an app called Opal to block distractions while doing homework.

There are no clear national statistics measuring how many minutes students spend using screens for classroom instruction, yet screen time has become a focus of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including a warning from the surgeon general’s office.

Tracy Weeks, senior director of education policy and strategy at education technology company  Instructure, told Stateline that states should consider metrics other than minutes when proposing screen time policies.

“The policy focus has been on minutes, and that’s the wrong conversation to be having, because not all minutes are created equal,” Weeks said. “Scrolling for 10 minutes is not the same as actually interacting with a tool for learning.”

Virginia now requires public schools to provide instruction about time spent using electronic devices and their addictive potential. Maine is directing the Maine Education Policy Research Institute to study classroom technology use, including average instructional time on school-issued devices and existing safeguards. 

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org. 

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Oklahoma Voice, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

Former DOJ lawyer blames Hawley, Schmitt for inciting death threats against her

By Kennedy Voss 

Missouri Independent

WASHINGTON — Former Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Oyer has posted a video to YouTube blaming Missouri Republican Sens. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley for an onslaught of hate messages and death threats she has received.

“Hey everybody,” Oyer said in the video. “I started getting death threats after I testified against Todd Blanche last week."

Blanche has been nominated to be attorney general by President Donald Trump, and Schmitt and Hawley sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which must make an initial vote on his nomination.

Oyer’s video shows images of several emails she received, many of which came from fake email addresses and contained messages such as, “Die in hell you pos,” “I hope you die tragically,” “Let’s hope somebody murders your family and gets clemency,” and other threatening messages containing obscenities.

“Two Republican senators with a political agenda rage-baited their followers into believing nasty and dangerous lies,” she states, referencing Hawley and Schmitt.

The committee’s July 16 hearing had five witnesses, including Oyer, who was the pardoning attorney for the Department of Justice for 13 years. In her written testimony to the committee, Oyer said she was fired by Blanche after she refused to restore firearm rights for actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson, a close friend of Trump.

The hearing was meant to consider the pending nomination of Blanche. Schmitt and Hawley, however, did not ask Oyer about Blanche. Instead, they drilled her about the recommendation she made to President Joe Biden to commute 40 people’s federal death sentences to life in prison without parole.

“You personally recommended commuting all 40 death sentence cases, an even broader action than Biden took,” Schmitt said in the hearing.

Biden commuted 37 of the death sentences.

Schmitt was unable to be immediately reached for comment, but a spokesperson commented on his behalf.

“(Liz Oyer’s) disgraceful clemency recommendations ignored the victims’ families’ concerns and were so extreme that even Joe Biden’s autopen handlers couldn’t stomach them,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Hawley confronted Oyer with photos of the parolees, many of whom committed violent acts of rape and murder. He showed photos of the victims and referenced them by name. In an interview with the Missourian, Hawley said that these were the real victims, not Oyer.

“The people who were murdered, and devastated and raped by the criminals that she recommended that President Biden give clemency to, those folks are the real victims here,” Hawley said. “I was proud to tell their stories.”

In her video, Oyer said that Hawley had misrepresented her by claiming that she had sympathy for the perpetrators of the crimes.

“That is dangerous misinformation, and Josh Hawley knows it,” Oyer said in the video.

In response, Hawley said that he had read from memos that Oyer sent.

“She tried to weasel her way out of it, and say she hadn’t said this or that,” Hawley said. “We have the memos, and I put them in the record.”

This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online. 

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

Nancy Hughes: Captured by a camera

“. . . Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to
become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

James 1:20 (NIV)

“I am so embarrassed,” my friend greeted me as I opened my front door. “I just made a fool of myself today,” she continued. “That’s an everyday occurrence for me,” I smiled, “so just once isn’t too bad.” But there was no smile in return as she walked in, sat down on the sofa, and with her head in her hands, explained what had just happened.

She had made an appointment to go to the principal’s office at school because she had received a report from the bus driver that her daughter, Sara, had been jumping over seats while the bus was in motion and had not listened to his repeated requests to sit down.

“I was so angry when I walked into the office and never gave anyone a chance to speak,” she said. “I glared at the principal and the bus driver and told them that Sara was not a child who would ever jump over bus seats nor would she disrespect her bus driver by not obeying what he told her to do.”

At this point, as tears began to fall, she looked at me: “I followed that with a comment about how awful it was that they would accuse my daughter of doing such a thing and ended by saying that evidently someone was lying.” I took her hand and silently waited as she finished her story. “As I made that last statement, the principal leaned over and pushed the start button on his DVD player,” she quietly shared.

“I watched what the bus camera had recorded. Sara. My daughter. Jumping over bus seats. Ignoring her bus driver’s repeated demands to sit down.” Oh my. She looked at me as regret and shame poured from her eyes and onto her shirt. “I’m a Christian. A Christian! And today I was a horrible example of Jesus to everyone who heard me at the school.”

Ever been there? Ouch. Me, too. Instead of memorizing James 1:20 from Scripture and putting it into practice every single day, I find myself changing the words around a bit so that it sounds more like this: “I am quick to become angry, quick to speak, and slow to listen.”

When my mouth engages without ever consulting my Spirit, I know that, within minutes, regret is going to rise to the surface. Regret for what I said and for my very un-Christian behavior. That is why James 1:20 is so important for us all.

My friend and I prayed together, and then she immediately went back to the school and personally apologized to both gentlemen. She also shared her shame about being a Christian and acting as she did. They were gracious and instantly offered forgiveness and mercy.

We need to remember that, as Christians, we represent the Creator of the Universe. No matter what we say or do, there will always be someone watching and listening, even if we are never captured by a camera.

Father, for every single situation that I face today, help me to remember that I am an example of your Son, no matter where I am. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

Have you ever become angry or frustrated and shared everything that came to your mind without stopping to consider what you were saying?

How did you feel afterwards as you thought about what you had just done?

Apply

The next time you face a situation – no matter what the issue – mentally tell your lips that they are super glued together and open your ears to what is being said.

Then picture everyone around you watching and listening to see if you will be a Christian example to them.

Power

James 1:20 (NIV) “. . . Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

Proverbs 15:18 (NIV) “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares.”

Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NIV) “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.) 

Four establishments fail Joplin Health Department inspections

Four establishments failed Joplin Health Department inspections this week, according to information posted on the department website. 

Casey's General Store, 403 N. Main Street; Lalo's Taqueria, 2501 E. 7th Street; Greenstay Hotel and Suites Breakfast, 3510 S. Range Line Road; and Microtel Inn & Suites Breakfast, 4101 S. Richard Joseph Boulevard;  flunked inspection. For Microtel Inn & Suites Breakfast, it was a re-inspection after failing last week.

Nine establishments passed their inspections.

Casey's General Store

Casey's General Store received two priority violations and two core violations.

The priority violations were for having potentially hazardous foods being cold held above 41 degrees and in the open air grab and go cooler and for having cheese sauce with missing or improper date marking.

The core violations can be found at this link. 

Lalo's Taqueria

Lalo's Taqueria had two priority violations and one core violation.

The priority violations were for having containers of food stored uncovered in the under the counter cooler and for storing food in non-food bags in the prep cooler. The core violation can be found at this link.

Greenstay Hotel and Suites Breakfast

Greenstay Hotel and Suites Breakfast had two priority violations and two core violations.

The priority violations were for having yogurt in the lobby cooler being cold held above 41 degrees and for not having a working chemical container labeled as to its contents. The core violations can be found at this link.

Microtel Inn & Suites Breakfast

Microtel Inn & Suites Breakfast received two priority violations. One was for having orange juice at the buffet being cold held above 41 degrees and the other for having cream cheese spread in the upright cooler being cold held above 41 degrees.

***

The following establishments passed their inspections"

Sonic Drive-In, 3333 S. Range Line Road

Hunan Garden, 2830 S. Main Street (re-inspection)

Schifferdecker Golf Course, 506 S. Schifferdecker Avenue

Crumbl Cookies, 430 Geneva Avenue

London Calling Pasty Company: Fish and Chips

Downtown Corner Market, 419 W. 4th Street

Burger King, 1931 S. Range Line Road

Food 4 Less- Meat, 2800 E. 32nd Street

Missouri congressional incumbents flush with cash heading into primary

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

Missouri congressional incumbents seeking reelection hold a huge cash advantage over their leading challengers, final preprimary campaign finance reports show.

The seven incumbents seeking reelection held $13.6 million in their campaign accounts on July 15, filings with the Federal Election Commission show. Challengers held $1.9 million.

Republicans hold six of Missouri’s eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Last year, the Republican-led majority in the General Assembly forced through a gerrymandered redistricting plan intended to flip the 5th District, currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City.

Cleaver’s campaign had $1.1 million on hand as he awaits the winner of the Republican primary.

Among the six Republicans competing for the nomination to oppose Cleaver, Taylor Burks of Boone County held the most cash on July 15, the final day of the reporting period. Burks was sitting on $718,631, mainly because he loaned his campaign $900,000 when he launched it.

State Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville held $222,510 in his campaign account.

Brett Hueffmeier, a one-time staff member for U.S. Sens. John Ashcroft and Kit Bond who now works in commercial real estate, loaned his campaign $275,000 but repaid $100,000 during the period and had $492 on hand.

None of the other candidates have raised more than $8,000. 

Outside groups seeking to help Burks or Brattin in the primary have spent $3.5 million.

The only incumbent facing a strong primary challenge on Aug.4 is U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell in the 1st District in St. Louis. Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush is seeking to regain the seat she lost two years ago. 

Bush has raised $1.3 million but had only $98,433 on hand on July 15, the final day of the reporting period. Bell has raised $3.6 million and had $1.1 million on hand.

Outside spending in the primary has surpassed spending by both candidates. The United Democracy Project, funded by the American-Israel Political Action Committee, has spent $2.5 million and the New Democrat Majority PAC has spent $1.1 million, both to support Bell.

No other incumbent faces a well-funded primary opponent.

Among the other six incumbents, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith of Cape Girardeau, who represents the 8th District, held the most cash, just over $5 million. Smith’s best-funded Democratic challenger is former state Sen. Frank Barnitz of Lake Spring, who has raised $48,420 and had $19,800 on hand on July 15.

A primary opponent, Gordon Heslop of Rolla, has raised $70,606 as he seeks to replace Smith on the Republican ballot.

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner of St. Louis County, who represents the 2nd District, was sitting on $4.2 million. She faces the best-funded general election challenger, with Democratic candidate Fred Wellman holding $242,217 after raising $1.2 million.

Both Wagner and Wellman have primary opponents but no one else in the race has raised $10,000 in the six-county district of eastern Missouri.

Other incumbents, and their best-funded opponents, are:

• U.S. Rep. Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis, in the 3rd District. Onder’s campaign fund held $471,459, while Bethany Mann of St. Peters, making her third run for Congress, had $2,776.
• U.S. Rep. Mark Alford of Kansas City, in the 4th District. Alford had $747,401 on hand, while Hartzell Gray III of Lee’s Summit had $44,969.
• U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison of Springfield in the 7th District. Burilson had $953,675 in the bank on July 15. Missi Hesketh of Forsyth is the only Democrat running and had $33,543 on hand.

In the 6th District, where U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Tarkio is the only incumbent not seeking reelection, the two Republican candidates with the most successful fundraising have collected almost identical amounts.

Radio host Chris Stigall raised $599,336, and Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett reported $575,569. Their total expenses are nearly identical as well, with Stigall spending $433,286 and Willett spending $436,244.

Two outside groups, Come and Take It PAC and Conservative Future Fund, have spent $1.7 million. Come and Take It PAC has spent $1.5 million on behalf of Stigall and Conservative Future Fund has spent $235,181 backing Willett.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.