Author

Samantha Dietel

Samantha Dietel

Samantha Dietel is a reporter intern in Washington, D.C. She is pursuing a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has previously covered the Missouri legislature in Jefferson City as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian.

U.S. Senate hearing on book bans probes censorship attempts in local libraries

By: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators at a committee hearing Tuesday discussed the consequences of book bans and parents’ desire to control what their kids read — though they also acknowledged it’s not an issue for Congress to settle. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony about book bans, focusing on how censorship limits liberty and literature. The […]

Trump absent but still dominates as GOP presidential rivals clash at first debate

By: , and - August 23, 2023

Eight Republican presidential candidates gathered onstage Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a heated first primary debate heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump, though the party’s front runner refused to attend the two-hour event. Trump instead recorded a competing 46-minute interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that aired on X, formerly known […]