Midwest
Missouri lawmakers vote to renew Medicaid program held hostage by monthslong filibuster
Missouri’s GOP-led Legislature on Wednesday renewed a more than $4 billion Medicaid program that had been blocked for months by a Republican faction that used it as a bargaining tool.
The bill which now heads to Gov. Mike Parson will renew a longstanding tax on hospitals and other medical providers.
Money from the tax is used to draw down $2.9 billion in federal funding, which is then given back to providers to care for low-income residents on Medicaid health care.
FILIBUSTER AGAINST $4B MISSOURI MEDICAID BILL ENDS
Because the tax is crucial to the state’s budget, the Senate’s Freedom Caucus had been leveraging the bill to pressure Republican leaders to pass a bill kicking Planned Parenthood off the state’s Medicaid program, which the Legislature did last month.
Later, the Freedom Caucus also demanded that the Legislature pass a measure to raise the threshold for amending the state constitution. Currently, amendments need support from 51% of voters stateswide.
Lawmakers debate on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
If approved by voters, the Republican proposal would make it so constitutional amendments also need support from 51% of voters in a majority of congressional districts.
Senate Freedom Caucus members allowed a final Senate vote of approval on the Medicaid tax last week, even though the constitutional amendment change still has not passed the Legislature.
The House took the hospital tax renewal up Wednesday, voting 136-16 to send the measure to Parson.
Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade on Wednesday told colleagues on the chamber floor that the tax is essential “to function as a government” and “provide the most basic services.”
“This shouldn’t be used as a hostage in a terrorist negotiation,” Quade said.
Republican Rep. Tony Lovasco argued that Missouri’s reliance on the tax, and on federal Medicaid funding, hurts the state.
“The fact that we are yet again leaning on the federal government and their manufactured, printed money in order to get by in Missouri is just not a positive,” Lovasco said on the House floor.
Parson is expected to sign the bill.
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Detroit, MI
Where to watch Detroit Tigers vs Atlanta Braves: TV channel, start time, streaming for Apr. 28
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.
We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Tuesday as the Detroit Tigers visit the Atlanta Braves.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Detroit Tigers vs Atlanta Braves?
First pitch between the Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, Apr. 28.
How to watch Detroit Tigers vs Atlanta Braves on Tuesday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for Apr. 28 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
World Boxing Council president attends Diamondbacks-Mexico exhibition game
World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman shares his love of baseball and how it compares to boxing at the Diamondbacks-Mexico exhibition game.
Daniel Blancas will be back on the big stage May 2.
Fighting in Las Vegas. Every boxer’s dream.
At T-Mobile Arena, no less, the biggest room in the entertainment capital short of an NFL stadium.
Not bad for a kid who trained at the United Community Center on Milwaukee’s south side and frequently still does as an adult.
But Blancas has been here before. Two experiences of the night stand out.
“The atmosphere is amazing,” Blancas said recently. “Just watching through the tunnel leading into the ring, your mind is just everywhere. You’re feeling a bunch of emotions.
“Especially because at the end of the day, it’s just you and your opponent in the ring. It’s just myself and them fighting. Honestly, you’re excited. You’re anxious to get in the ring.
“Some people might feel nervous, you know?”
Not Blancas, though. At that point he’s prepared, he says, and if you’re prepared, why be nervous?
That’s the start of the night. The memorable start.
Then if all goes as planned – as has happened 14 times in 14 fights – comes the experience the 24-year-old Blancas loves most about the sport. The feeling that makes all the sweat and the miles and the getting hit in the face and the gut worthwhile.
“That feeling of when I get my hand raised at the end of the fight, knowing that I won, that’s one of the greatest feelings ever,” Blancas said. “Being able to experience that is, I’d say it’s really hard to describe, but it’s just an amazing feeling.
“Like you just feel untouchable during those moments because of how hard you work and all the hard work paid off.”
Blancas grew up the son of a boxer – Ignacio fought in Mexico before coming to the United States and helps train his son – and the grandson of a big boxing fan. Daniel is the oldest of three brothers. Aldo is 19 and made his pro debut in March. Mateo is 9.
Blancas put on the gloves for the first time at 8 and, influenced by the likes of multiclass champions Julio César Chávez and Juan Manuel Marquez, he hasn’t stopped hitting the bag since.
Blancas was 15, give or take, faring well in amateur tournaments, when he decided he could make a career in the sport. He won a championship for Team USA at the 2017 Junior Olympics.
Now the lanky, 6-foot-3 super middleweight nicknamed “Ice Man” is in his fifth year as a pro. His 14-0 record includes seven knockouts.
Next up is Blancas’ biggest fight and his longest, a scheduled 10-rounder against Raul Salomon (16-3-1, 14 KO), who has fought most recently as a light heavyweight.
“What I know is he’s a tough guy,” Blancas said. “He has some good experience. I know he could take a punch.
“He’s going to be a great fight for me, a great test, and I know he’s going to be ready for it, and so am I. I’ve been training really, really hard, getting ready for it.”
The fight is part of the undercard on a night headlined by the WBO cruiserweight title fight between two-class champion David Benavidez (31-0), the challenger, and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-1).
Blancas connected with Benavidez a few years back as the world was starting to return to normal after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and became one of about a half-dozen boxers considered part of his team.
“When I was in Los Angeles, visiting some family, the opportunity came up to actually spar him,” Blancas said. “And I went and did that, and him and his father really liked the sparring session. So we kept in touch.
“And then they reached out to my dad, because he’s one of my trainers as well. And they were like, ‘Come down to another training camp with us. We really liked how you did.’”
The relationship has paid off with training and sparring opportunities with one of the best and chances to fight on the undercard at some of the most prestigious venues in the country.
Blancas has never fought professionally in Wisconsin. The exceedingly few opportunities there might have been as he was coming up conflicted with other, more prestigious opportunities in one way or another.
Considering he spends only a couple of months at a time in Milwaukee between training camps, Blancas is proud of the fan base he has built in the community he still calls home.
“The city, they support me, a lot of the people support me. A lot of my friends support me,” Blancas said. “It feels good knowing that I’m loved back home in Milwaukee and it’s also an honor to represent the city because with everything going on sometimes in Milwaukee it’s a good thing to have someone doing something positive as well.”
This will be Blancas’ sixth fight in Las Vegas and second at T-Mobile.
“I feel really, really blessed because it’s been a long journey,” he said. “Now that I’m able to fight here in Las Vegas, especially on the big stages – like T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay; I fought in all those spots – that’s a dream come true for me and for a lot of boxers growing up, because that’s where the big fights have always happened.
“Just being able to be part of history and being able to live that, it just feels like sometimes unreal.”
Boxing closer to home in Racine
Coincidentally, the same weekend as Blancas’ fight with Salomon, BMB promotions has a Cinco de Mayo program scheduled for Memorial Hall in Racine with amateurs on May 1 and professionals on May 2.
Fights start at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday, culminating with a 10-round super-welterweight bout between Michigan native Joey Spencer (20-2, 11 KO) and Dominican fighter Eudy Bernardo (27-9, 19 KO).
Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch speaks with reporters after Monday night’s Game 5 125-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Timberwolves committed 25 turnovers, but still lead the series 3-2 as it shifts back to Minneapolis Thursday night.
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