Hancock and Kelley on FOX 2 St. Louis

The cost of St. Louis’ income tax soars as the city loses big in court. … There is word that the city’s aging school buildings may sink the school district. … Could fake signatures doom petition drives in Missouri to put everything from abortion rights to sports betting on the November ballot? … U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson reverses course on nuclear contamination from Coldwater Creek. … Former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies last week. What does it mean for the upcoming presidential race and the future of the country? … In our quote of the week, Pope Francis apologizes for using an Italian gay slur. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer announces she’s running for mayor, setting up a rematch of the 2021 race, won by incumbent Tishaura Jones. … Mayor Jones lifts a hiring freeze she implemented over fears state lawmakers might do away with the city’s 1% income tax. The legislative session just ended with the tax intact. … St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and County Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb hit a stalemate over the spending of $8 million in ARPA funds. The money will return to the federal government if Page doesn’t release the funds before the end of the year. … Missouri Governor Mike Parson is at odds with Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Bailey, whom Parson appointed, is representing three lawmakers in a defamation suit. They are accused of wrongly implicating a Kansas City Chiefs fan as being one of the gunmen in the mass shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade and rally. Parson says no state taxpayer dollars should be used in this case. … Former Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who was a critic of former President Trump on the campaign, now says she will vote him. Is she a potential Trump VP pick? Also, John and Michael talked about the latest developments in Mr. Trump’s criminal trial in New York. … President Joe Biden pummels Mr. Trump over a video reposted on a Trump social media account. The post referred to a “unified Reich” if Donald Trump is elected president again in November. Mr. Biden calls those words the language of Hitler’s Germany. … A St. Louis media institution, the “Riverfront Times” weekly newspaper, was shut down without warning, leaving St. Louis without a news source that had been around for 46 years. ... Our quote of the week comes from Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor regarding a therapy dog named Doug now working the cell blocks of the county jail. Doug helps ease tensions for jail staff and inmates alike. ... We all express our deep gratitude for those who have sacrificed all to protect our country on this Memorial Day weekend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With St. Louis losing population more quickly than almost any other city in America, Mayor Tishaura Jones says the city is in a renaissance and that she's running for a second term. ... Michael Cohen turns star of a “debacle” for the prosecution in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump. ... President Joe Biden tells Trump, “make my day, pal” in calling for two debates. ... And our quote of the week is from Kansas City Chief's kicker Harrison Butker, who has kicked up a firestorm as a college commencement speaker with his thoughts on the roles of men and women. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Missouri’s State Auditor held a news conference to call out Kim Gardner, the former St. Louis Circuit Attorney, for not complying with his audit of her office during her tenure. … St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis now plan to use a portion of the more than half-billion dollars from the Rams/NFL settlement on everyday needs like roads, sidewalks, and water mains. … St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones wants to create a taxpayer-funded loan fund to help people pay sales taxes, property taxes, and insurance premiums to properly license their vehicles. The city is plagued by people driving with no license plates or expired temp tags. … Governor Mike Parson lashes out at fellow Republicans in the legislature for repeating false claims that a Kansas City Chiefs fan was an illegal immigrant who opened fire during the mass shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade and rally. … President Joe Biden pledged “ironclad” support for Israel in its war against the terror group Hamas, but now he is withholding thousands of U.S.-made weapons from Israel. … Former President Donald Trump was reined in by a judge for audibly cursing and shaking his head as porn star Stormy Daniels testified about having sex with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump is on trial for allegedly disguising hush money payments to Daniels to benefit his 2016 presidential campaign. … Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a rising star in the GOP, removes a claim from her new book that she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. … Our quote of the week from St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III on the possibility of the team seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers in the coming years for upkeep and upgrades at Busch Stadium. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Progressive Democrats in St. Louis, like Aldermanic President Megan Green and Congresswoman Cori Bush, are railing against police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian tent-camp protests at colleges in St. Louis and across the United States, as Democrat New York Mayor Eric Adams takes a strong stance in support of police in ending protests that have resorted to vandalism, violence, and antisemitism. Should President Joe Biden stand more firmly with Adams or continue to lean toward Green and Bush? ... Fredbird and Louie were among the Missouri professional sports team mascots dropping off signatures in Jefferson City to put legalized sports betting on the Missouri ballot in November. Initiative petition drives will likely put the issues of minimum wage and abortion rights on the ballot as well. ... Democrats in the Illinois legislature use their supermajority to propose, pass, and sign into law a change in the rules for the election of state lawmakers within 24 hours. ... Former President Donald Trump gets fined for violating the gag order in his criminal trial in New York, but soars in polls, including our exclusive poll from Emerson College and The Hill, showing Trump leading President Biden in all seven so-called “swing states” likely to decide the 2024 presidential election. ... Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene may be wearing out her welcome among fellow Republicans as she pushes to remove Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in the week ahead. ... Our Quote of the Week was from legendary Mizzou men’s basketball coach, Norm Stewart, who was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians at the state capitol. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Missouri Legislature defunds Planned Parenthood ahead of voters getting a chance to restore abortion rights in the state. … The issue of a state-appointed police board taking over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department just keeps rolling in Jefferson City. … The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is proposing a hike in the city's sales tax rate. … The city removes a refugee couple and their makeshift shelter from the sidewalk, where they'd been living in front of someone's house for more than three years. … Universities—including Washington University in St. Louis—continue to grapple with tent camps and protests against Israel’s sustained bombing and ground campaign in Gaza in the months following a Hamas-led surprise attack in Israel last October. … Former President Donald Trump endures a week of damaging testimony in his New York trial and also argues for immunity before the U.S. Supreme Court. … President Joe Biden says he will debate the former president, but he's been saying a lot of things that may not be true. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hancock and Kelley on FOX 2 take on the top issues of the week. On the agenda: See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Wall Street Journal had an extremely unflattering front-page report about the demise of downtown St. Louis. ... First lady Jill Biden was in St. Louis to raise money for her husband’s reelection bid. ... Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey files a lawsuit to stop the latest incarnation of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. ... Iran attacks Israel with more than 300 drones and missiles. Israel claims its air defense system stopped 99% of those drones and missiles. ... Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both try to address potentially the most damaging issues for their campaigns: abortion rights for Mr. Trump and inflation for Mr. Biden. ... U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a new ATF rule that will effectively close the so-called gun show loophole by requiring more gun-sellers to run background checks on more gun buyers. ... Our Quote of the Week had to do with the death of O.J. Simpson and painful memories and emotions felt very close to home here in St. Louis. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We begin with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland taking note of violent crime in St. Louis and pledging to do something about it. ... The rise of the write-in candidates and the fall of right-wing school board candidates in Tuesday's local elections. ... We’re keeping up with former President Donald Trump's courtroom battles and a big endorsement in a key Missouri congressional race. ... Israel admits fault for a bombing that killed World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, as a rift between President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets wider. ... Democrats go all-in on the abortion issue for the November elections. Can it turn red states like Missouri and Florida blue? ... Is independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. fanning the flames of the January 6 Capitol riot? It's our quote of the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A call for retired cops to help St. Louis out of its reckless driving epidemic. ... Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a self-proclaimed "mega" Kansas City Chiefs fan, is receiving backlash after pardoning the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. The coach's son, Britt Reid, was drunk and speeding when he crashed into multiple cars on an Interstate 435 ramp near Arrowhead Stadium in 2021, which left 5-year-old Ariel Young with traumatic brain injury. Reid was sentenced to three years in prison in 2022. Parson commuted the rest of his sentence to house arrest after just 16 months. Republicans and Democrats are blasting the governor over this. He's offered deepest sympathy to Young's family but said Reid has already served more time than others convicted of similar offenses. ... Are Democrats fired up after President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address? Critics claim the speech was more appropriate for a campaign rally, with President Biden repeatedly blasting former President Donald Trump without ever naming him and instead referring to him as his predecessor. Though Biden struggled with words at times, he avoided any major gaffes, and displayed passion, wit, and stamina in the nearly 70-minute speech. ... Amid all of the accolades from Democrats for the president’s State of the Union performance comes a challenge from Trump, to see how Biden holds up in a debate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A FOX 2 New interview with a St. Louis alderwoman about the city’s reckless driving crisis is interrupted by blatant reckless driving: motorcyclists doing wheelies, running a red light, driving on the wrong side the road and circling cars waiting for the light to change. Alderwoman Cara Spencer is calling for booting the wheels of reckless drivers. The mayor and aldermanic president want to bring back red-light cameras, which would put citations in the mail for offenders, tickets offenders will likely be ignored, knowing they face no threat of jail time. ... Missouri Governor Mike Parson sends Missouri National Guardsmen and state highway patrol troopers to help with the border crisis in Texas, just as the crisis shifts to California. ... Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker calls for nearly $900 million in tax hikes to help cover the cost of processing more than 35,000 migrants who’ve crossed the southern U.S. border and are now flooding the sanctuary city of Chicago. ... Republican Congressman Mike Bost, who represents a large portion of the St. Louis area in Illinois, agrees with President Joe Biden on something. He says Congress should be in session instead of taking a two-week winter break with pressing issues like the border crisis and military aid for Ukraine and Israel demanding action. ... Former President Donald Trump wins the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina in a landslide over former S.C. Governor Nikki Haley in her home state. Missouri Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who is running for governor, creates a stir by saying military veterans should not get special treatment like discounts. "I don't think we ought to say if you're in the military, we'll give you this discount, but everybody else has to pay twice as much,” he said. “If it's good for veterans, it's good to do it for everyone." ... The Alabama Supreme Court rules that frozen embryos in fertility clinics are human children. ... Our Quote of the Week was from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who said Governor Parson’s use of the word “thugs” to describe the suspects in the deadly mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade/rally was a racist dog whistle. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

St. Louis City’s reckless driving crisis claims the lives of two visitors from Chicago after they attended a concert downtown. It comes a year of a teenage girl visiting from Tennessee lost her legs in a reckless driving crash. She was hit by a vehicle while walking downtown. Instead of addressing the glaring lack of enforcement of traffic laws, Mayor Tishaura Jones calls out the Board of Aldermen for stalling her plan for street safety improvements. ... Republicans and Democrats in the Missouri Legislature back Valentine’s Law, which would enact mandatory prison time for those knowingly fleeing police in a vehicle. It is named for St. Louis County Police Detective Tony Valentine who was killed by a fleeing driver in 2021. ... Missouri Senate Democrats filibuster initiative petition reform at the state capitol. Reform measures aim to make it more difficult to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. ... Democrat St. Louis Congresswoman Cori Bush lashes out at Republicans for Missouri’s lax gun laws in the wake of the mass shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade and rally, even though Kansas City and St. Louis have laws making it illegal for juveniles to carry weapons. Twenty-two people were shot and a woman was killed in what authorities say was an exchange of gunfire among juveniles. ... President Biden blasts Russian President Vladmir Putin over the death of Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison. Navalny had been poisoned and jailed after leading protests against Putin and the Kremlin. President Biden also called out former President Donald Trump for saying he would not protect NATO allies from invasion by Putin and Russia if those allies fail to pay their fair share toward mutual defense. ... A New York judge levied a $364 million judgement against Donald Trump and his family’s businesses in a civil business fraud trial. ... Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the witness stand and admitted hiring her lover as a special prosecutor in an election fraud case against Donald Trump. Attorneys for one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants are seeking to have Willis removed from the case and possibly the entire case thrown out of court. ... Our Quote of the Week was from Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore, as the team reports to Jupiter, Florida, for spring training. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department heads to Jefferson City to fight a state takeover of his department. ... There's another viral video of another Missouri Republican breaking out a flamethrower. ... Both Republicans and Democrats lament our do-nothing Congress, from border security to aid for Israel and Ukraine to impeaching a cabinet secretary. ... In our quote of the week, a local congresswoman calls into question President Joe Biden’s memory and also calls for his resignation. ... There's a new Democratic candidate for Congress from St. Louis. ... On this Super Bowl Sunday, St. Louis Aldermanic President Megan Green says the people have spoken: they want to spend NFL settlement money on city pay raises, among other things. ... Should Missouri and Illinois follow Michigan's lead in sending parents to prison for crimes their children commit? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Democrat St. Louis Congresswoman Cori Bush is the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice grand jury investigation of her massive spending on personal security. ... Missouri Governor Mike Parson heads to the southern U.S. border in Texas, saying Missouri has a role to play in the migrant crisis. ... Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey appears in St. Louis with former NCAAA swimmer Riley Gaines. Gaines is leading a national campaign against transgender athletes in women’s sports. ... Missouri Senator Josh Hawley calls out Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during a committee hearing on regulating social media companies. ... President Joe Biden orders air strikes in response to Iran-backed attacks on U.S. assets in the Middle East after one of the attacks killed three U.S. Army soldiers in Jordan and injured more than 40 others. The president has notably avoided air strikes on Iranian soil. ... The state election board in Illinois decides against removing former President Donald Trump’s name from the state primary ballot. ... Republicans are taking issue with mega-singing star Taylor Swift and her romance with Kansas City Chief’s star Travis Kelce. ... Our Quote the Week was from the late Jean Carnahan, former Missouri first lady and U.S. Senator, the first female senator in Missouri history. Carnahan died Tuesday at the age of 90. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Extreme infighting among Republicans in the Missouri Senate leads to senators being stripped of leadership positions and their preferred Capitol parking spots! One senator mockingly comes up with a resolution to allow senators to settle disputes by duel! … St. Louis County Executive Sam Page is pushing a small property tax increase to pay for a new or renovated St. Louis County headquarters building at a time when the county faces yearly budget deficits of nearly $40 million. … Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib comes to town to launch the reelection campaign of St. Louis Congresswoman Cori Bush. The two progressive Democrats are members of the so-called progressive Squad in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both women have received heavy criticism for their responses to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Tlaib has been censured by the House. … Missouri’s U.S. Senators come out against a deal with the White House to strengthen security at the U.S. border. … Vice President Kamala Harris takes a more high-profile role in the reelection campaign of President Joe Biden as the two shift their focus to the abortion issue. … Former President Trump wins the New Hampshire Primary but is incensed with candidate Nikki Haley, who refuses to end her campaign after two small-state contests. Trump threatens to cut ties with anyone who donates to Haley’s campaign. He also faces an $83.3 million defamation judgement in a case brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. She has already won a judgement against him for sexual abuse. … Former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has a prominent role with the No Labels political organization, which is considering placing a centrist, bipartisan presidential ticket on the November 2024 ballot. … Our Quote of the Week regards the latest attempts to legalize sports gaming in Missouri. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political debate on Hancock and Kelley, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. Republican consultant John Hancock and Democratic consultant Michael Kelley discuss the following topics: … St. Louis County drops $90,000 on a new logo and branding as the county executive calls for tax hikes. … St. Louis City’s highly-paid but rarely seen police chief issues a report card after his first year on the job. … Surviving Iowa: the first 2024 presidential election contest is now just hours away. Which candidates will be left in the Republican primary? … How can Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin be off work and in a hospital for days but not tell the president? Did Austin go AWOL? It's our quote of the week. … We'll also get into efforts to eliminate St. Louis’ city income tax, Hunter Biden's surprise visit to Congress, and trouble for the district attorney who's prosecuting Donald Trump in Georgia. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political debate on Hancock and Kelley for Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Republican consultant John Hancock and Democratic consultant Michael Kelley discussed the following topics: The City of St. Louis is reporting major drops in crime, but critics don’t trust the numbers. … Missouri Governor Mike Parson issues an executive order banning foreign adversaries from owning Missouri farmland within 10 miles of military installations. Fellow Republicans say it’s too little, too late. … There are growing calls for Governor Parson and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to take action against the owner of Northview Village nursing home in St. Louis. The home was closed with little warning and without full accounting for the 175 residents. One resident with schizophrenia has been living on the street since without his medication since Dec. 15. … Longtime Republican Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer makes a surprising announcement with his party clinging to a slim majority in the House of Representatives: he is not running for reelection. He represents Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from Jefferson and St. Charles counties to Jefferson City and the Lake of the Ozarks. … As the nation marks the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, President Biden makes the riots the top issue of his reelection campaign, jettisoning his focus on “Bidenomics.” … The U.S. Supreme Court will review the removal of former President Donald Trump from primary election ballots in Colorado. This comes as a new effort is launched to remove Mr. Trump from the primary ballot in Illinois. … Big names turn up on unsealed court documents in a lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. … Our quote of the week was from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who undid a mask mandate for city employees just hours after it was issued. “Upon further review…” she said masking was recommended but no longer “mandated.” … Remember, if It’s Sunday in St. Louis, it’s Hancock and Kelley on FOX 2. We hope to see you next Sunday morning at 8:30. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy New Year’s Eve and welcome to a special edition of Hancock and Kelley on FOX 2. Political analysts John Hancock and Michael Kelley discuss the following topics on this week’s episode: ... Our 2023 political winners and losers, from St. Louis to Washington. ... We'll peer into the crystal ball for the big year ahead and the 2024 elections. ... John and Michael make their new year's resolutions; not for themselves, but for each other! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.