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Missouri Senate passes sweeping education funding bill (3/15/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- Students across Missouri could have access to scholarships for private schooling through an expanded tax credit program passed Thursday in the GOP-led state Senate. Senators voted 19-10 to pass the sweeping education bill, an approval earned after weeks of bipartisan negotiation. The measure now heads to the Republican-led House for approval...
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St. Patrick's parade will be Kansas City's first big event since the deadly Super Bowl celebration (3/15/24)KANSAS CITY -- Hundreds of thousands of people are expected at this weekend's St. Patrick's Day parade in Kansas City, where they should expect much tighter security measures than in past years due to last month's deadly mass shooting at the Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration...
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Facts about straw purchases of weapons, and what's being done to stop them (3/15/24)ST. LOUIS (AP) -- It's a scenario that plays out over and over again at American crime scenes: The investigation reveals that the shooter didn't get his firearm legally from a store or gun show, but instead obtained it from someone who did. It's known as a straw purchase. ...
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Former Missouri child brides call for outlawing marriages of minors (3/14/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- Adult women who left marriages they entered as children on Wednesday called on Missouri lawmakers to outlaw child marriage, a practice currently legal in most states. Missouri lawmakers in 2018 prohibited marriages of children 15 and younger, only allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental permission. Most states have a similar policy, according to the nonprofit group Unchained At Last...
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Police search for a University of Missouri student in Nashville (3/14/24)NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police in Tennessee are searching for a University of Missouri student who was last seen by friends at a Nashville bar Friday night. Metropolitan Nashville Police released video Tuesday that shows Riley Strain, 22, crossing a downtown street Friday night. Police have said Strain was last seen just before 10 p.m. Friday after drinking downtown. They searched the area, including the banks of the Cumberland River, by helicopter and on the ground, but did not find him...
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3 men charged with federal firearms counts after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting (3/14/24)Three Missouri men have been charged with federal counts related to the illegal purchase of high-powered rifles and guns with extended magazines after last month's shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade and rally left one person dead, roughly two dozen others injured and sent hundreds of people scrambling for cover, federal prosecutors said Wednesday...
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Storm carrying massive 'gorilla hail' threatens parts of Kansas and Missouri (3/14/24)ST. LOUIS -- Volatile weather was honing in on parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, with some storms bringing massive chunks of hail. The National Weather Service just after 8 p.m. said that the Kansas City metro area was under a severe thunderstorm warning for a storm that contained hail described as the size of apples, softballs or baseballs...
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Fears of noncitizens voting prompt GOP state lawmakers in Missouri to propose driver's license label (3/13/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- All Missouri driver's licenses would be labeled with a U.S. citizenship stamp under a bill approved Tuesday by Republican House members, who argued the change is needed because of an increase in illegal border crossings. The bill, which needs another vote of approval to move to the Senate, is part of an effort by GOP lawmakers nationwide who fear more immigrants could lead to noncitizens voting -- a practice that is already federally prohibited...
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St. Louis driver found guilty in crash that severed teen athlete's legs (3/12/24)ST. LOUIS — A man who was out on bond when he crashed into a teen athlete last year, severing her legs, has been found guilty in the crash. A jury convicted 22-year-old Daniel Riley on Thursday of second-degree assault, armed criminal action, fourth-degree assault and driving without a valid license, prosecutors said in a statement. Jurors recommended a term of nearly 19 years in prison when he[[OpenSingle]]s sentenced next month...
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4 Missouri prison workers fired after investigation into inmate's death (3/11/24)KANSAS CITY — Four Missouri prison workers were fired after an investigation into the death of an inmate whose family is demanding to know what happened. Othel Moore died Dec. 8 at the Jefferson City Correctional Center after cells in a housing unit were searched for weapons, drugs and other contraband, Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said in an email Friday. ...
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Lawyer says Missouri man thought his mom was an intruder when he shot and killed her (3/11/24)OLIVETTE — A 25-year-old Missouri man has been charged with shooting and killing his mother as she tried to enter the back door of their home. Jaylen Johnson’s attorney, William Goldstein, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Johnson believed his mother was an intruder when she tried to enter the home in the St. Louis suburb of Olivette around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. ...
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Senate passes bill to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by the government (3/8/24)WASHINGTON -- The Senate passed legislation Thursday that would compensate Americans exposed to radiation by the government by renewing a law initially passed more than three decades ago. The bill by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., would expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include more people who believe their illnesses were caused by that exposure. ...
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A Missouri boarding school employee is charged with abuse (3/7/24)An employee of a rural Missouri boarding school is accused of bloodying a boy’s face while boxing — the third person associated with the same school to be charged this month. Caleb Sandoval, 22, was charged Monday with abuse or neglect of a child. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Thursday. ...
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Missouri Supreme Court declines to hear appeal of ex-Kansas City detective convicted of manslaughter (3/6/24)KANSAS CITY -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday announced it will not hear an appeal from a former Missouri detective convicted in the 2019 shooting death of a Black man. The state Supreme Court denied former Kansas City detective Eric J. DeValkenaere's motion to hear his case. The Western District Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in September...
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Homes near St. Louis County creek are being tested after radioactive contamination found in yards (3/6/24)ST. LOUIS -- A federal agency is examining soil beneath homes in a small suburban St. Louis subdivision to determine if residents are living atop Cold War era nuclear contamination. But activists say the testing needs to be far more widespread. The U.S. ...
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Teamsters vote to ratify a 5-year labor agreement with Anheuser-Busch, avoiding strike (3/6/24)ST. LOUIS -- Teamsters working for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday voted to ratify a labor agreement with the company, the union said. The five-year contract was ratified with 86% support, the Teamsters said. The deal covers 5,000 unionized employees at Anheuser-Busch, including brewers, packagers, and warehouse workers, and provides wage increases totaling 23% over the life of the contract, plus a $2,500 ratification bonus, the union said. ...
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Owners of Christian boarding school in Missouri jailed, charged with kidnapping crimes (3/5/24)The husband and wife owners of a Missouri boarding school for boys have been jailed and charged with felony crimes after a lengthy investigation by a county sheriff. Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch said in a news release that Larry Musgraves Jr., 57, was arrested Friday evening on the ABM Ministries campus in Piedmont, about 76 miles west of Cape Girardeau. ...
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Why Missouri currently doesn't allow pregnant women to be legally divorced (3/4/24)A Missouri lawmaker has introduced legislation to clarify that the state's judges can grant divorces even when one spouse is pregnant. The notion that they can't already has sparked anger from people who see it as an antiquated policy that controls women unfairly, possibly trapping them in abusive marriages...
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Missouri House passes property tax cut aimed at offsetting surge in vehicle values (3/1/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri residents could see a roughly $138 million tax break under legislation passed Thursday by the House in an attempt to offset a recent surge in local tax collections caused by higher vehicle values. The legislation changing the way Missouri's personal property tax collections are calculated comes as lawmakers in numerous states this year are considering ways to reduce property taxes charged on homes, real estate and other property...
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Missouri Republicans try to remove man with ties to KKK from party ballot (3/1/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Republican Party on Thursday denounced a GOP candidate for governor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, saying party officials will go to court if necessary to remove him from the ticket. Southwestern Missouri man Darrell Leon McClanahan, who has described himself as "pro-white," was among nearly 280 Republican candidates who on Tuesday officially filed to run for office...
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Missouri suing Planned Parenthood based on conservative group's sting video (3/1/24)ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's attorney general filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally taking minors into Kansas to obtain abortions without parental consent, basing the allegation on a video from a conservative group that has promoted false claims on other issues...
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Court worker serving eviction notice, officer fatally shot in Independence, police say (3/1/24)INDEPENDENCE -- A court employee and a police officer were fatally shot Thursday after the court process server tried to serve an eviction notice at a home in Missouri, authorities said. A second officer was critically injured, but is expected to survive, police said...
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Missouri lawmakers try again to block Medicaid money from going to Planned Parenthood (3/1/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri's Republican lawmakers are once again trying to block federal health care dollars from going to the state's Planned Parenthood clinics, this time weeks after the Missouri Supreme Court thwarted a previous attempt to end that funding...
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Ferguson agrees to pay $4.5 million to settle 'debtors' prison' lawsuit (2/28/24)ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of operating a so-called debtors' prison. The legal nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement Tuesday with the city of Ferguson, Missouri. ...
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Exiled Missouri lawmaker blocked from running for governor as Democrat (2/28/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri Democrats on Tuesday blocked a blacklisted state lawmaker from running for governor as a Democrat. The Democratic Party on Tuesday refused to accept a filing fee from state Rep. Sarah Unsicker, who was exiled after social media posts last year showed her with a man cited by the Anti-Defamation League as a Holocaust denier...
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Work stoppage to support mechanic who found noose snarling school bus service in St. Louis (2/28/24)ST. LOUIS -- A Black mechanic for the company that provides school bus services for the St. Louis school district said he found a noose at his workstation, leading at least 100 drivers to stop work in a show of support and NAACP leaders to call for an investigation into whether it was a hate crime...
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Hundreds attend funeral mass for the woman killed during a celebration of Chiefs' Super Bowl win (2/26/24)KANSAS CITY — Hundreds of mourners attended a funeral Mass on Saturday for a Kansas City-area DJ who was killed when she was shot during a celebration of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory. Lisa Lopez-Galvan was one of about two dozen people who were shot when gunfire erupted Feb. 14 outside the city’s Union Station. She was remembered during the 90-minute service as a loving wife and mother whose smile could light up a room and who saw each day as a chance for excitement and laughter. ...
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Missouri woman killed in 1989. Three men now charged in crime (2/23/24)AVA, Mo. -- Authorities in Missouri say a 35-year cold case killing has been solved, thanks to someone who came forward with information about the crime. Douglas County authorities announced Wednesday that three men have been arrested and indicted on first-degree murder, forcible rape and first-degree kidnapping charges in the 1989 killing of 24-year-old Kelle Ann Workman. Court records show that the men do not yet have listed attorneys. All three are jailed on $250,000 cash-only bond...
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Republicans vote to make it harder to amend Missouri Constitution (2/23/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- Republican lawmakers on Thursday voted to make it harder to change the Missouri Constitution amid a campaign to restore abortion rights through a voter-backed constitutional amendment. Currently, Missouri constitutional changes are enacted if approved by a majority of votes statewide. ...
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St. Louis man sentenced to 10 years for causing crash that killed 4 people and injured 4 others (2/23/24)ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis man who ran a red light before causing a 2023 crash that killed four people was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison. Cedric Dixon, 35, agreed to a deal in which he pleaded guilty to four counts each of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault and one count of leaving the scene of a crash. In exchange, the prosecutor dropped armed criminal action charges...
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Police: Missouri fire that killed woman, her 4 children was murder-suicide (2/23/24)FERGUSON -- A fire that killed a Missouri mother and four children was intentionally set by the mother, police said. St. Louis County police announced late Wednesday that a preliminary investigation ruled that the deaths of Bernadine "Birdie" Pruessner, her twin 9-year-old daughters Ivy and Lillie Pruessner, and her children 5-year-old Jackson Spader and 2-year-old Millie Spader was a murder-suicide...
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Adult and four kids die in Missouri house fire that police deem 'suspicious' (2/21/24)FERGUSON -- Police are investigating a "suspicious" fire near St. Louis that killed a woman and four children. Firefighters were called to a home in Ferguson at 4:23 a.m. Monday and found the building engulfed in flames. St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus said the five people who died were found inside the home...
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Gun rights are expansive in Missouri, where shooting at Chiefs' Super Bowl parade took place (2/21/24)JEFFERSON CITY -- The shooting that wounded more than 20 people and killed one during the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade occurred in a state with few gun regulations and historic tension over how major cities handle crime. The shooting, which Kansas City police on Thursday said appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers on hand...
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2 men are charged with murder in the deadly shooting at Kansas City's Super Bowl celebration (2/21/24)KANSAS CITY -- Two men charged with murder in last week's shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade were strangers who pulled out guns and began firing within seconds of starting an argument, according to court documents released Tuesday...
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Missouri House votes to ban celebratory gunfire days after Chiefs' parade shooting (2/20/24)COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's Republican-led House on Monday passed a bill to ban celebratory gunfire in cities less than a week after a deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade left some attending lawmakers hiding in bathrooms. Kansas City police have said the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between several people and not celebratory gunfire. One woman was killed and 22 people were injured. About half of the injured people were under the age of 16...