State News

ST. LOUIS -- Attorneys for a condemned Missouri inmate warn the state is preparing to execute a potentially innocent man. Marcellus Williams, 48, is scheduled to die today at the state prison in Bonne Terre for stabbing to death former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle during a 1998 robbery at her home in the suburb of University City...

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- Police are on the hunt for a man accused of stealing a TV while wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "I'm Broke Baby" on it. The Lee's Summit Police Department said on its Facebook page Monday, "Yes, we realize his shirt is ironic!" The post said he's suspected of stealing the large TV from a retailer. The post had been shared nearly 270 times by Monday afternoon and generated comments including: "Get a job, baby!" and "Shirt says it all."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is investing in fundraising and campaign management more than a year before voters will decide whether to keep her in office. McCaskill in 2018 likely will face Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is favored among some big-name Missouri Republicans to take on the Democratic incumbent...

BELTON, Mo. -- A Missouri plumbing company has been fined more than $700,000 for workplace safety violations, including an employee's death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Arrow Plumbing LLC for the death of 33-year-old Donald "D.J." Meyer and for allegedly failing to take steps to prevent other employees from dying the same way, the Kansas City Star reported...

LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles jury on Monday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $417 million to a hospitalized woman who claimed in a lawsuit the talc in the company's iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene...

FERRELVIEW, Mo. -- A member of a small western Missouri town's governing board is leading an effort to oust the police chief who investigated statutory-rape allegations against her son. Theresa Wilson, chairwoman of the Ferrelview Board of Trustees, said she's not claiming her son, Jeffrey Gabbard, is innocent. She said there are other reasons, including budget problems, to oust police chief Daniel Clayton, The Kansas City Star reported...

ST. LOUIS -- Pastor Henry Price of St. Louis is ready to take your prayer request, and you don't have to step foot inside a church to do it. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Price, 79, stands on the corner outside his church in a crime-ridden neighborhood of north St. Louis each morning from 8 to 10 a.m. He uses a hand-held microphone and a tambourine to reach out to passers-by...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For years, callers with out-of-state area codes couldn't connect with Missouri's toll-free hotline to report cases of potential child abuse and neglect, an issue advocates worried could discourage good Samaritans and mean some children might not get the help they need...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Opponents forced the suspension Friday of a new Missouri law banning mandatory union fees after they delivered dozens of boxes of signed petitions demanding it be put to a public vote. More than 1,000 people hoping to block the right-to-work law rallied at the Capitol and marched to the Secretary of State's Office to hand off signatures...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri State Parks officials on Friday said they can't verify solar eclipse glasses and viewers the agency sold across the state meet safety standards and are warning people not to use them when viewing Monday's eclipse. Renee Bungart, spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees Missouri State Parks, said it's unclear how many of the PMS Promo Mart glasses and viewers were sold, but the agency purchased 25,000. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri lawmaker who temporarily posted a Facebook comment expressing hope President Donald Trump would be assassinated could face an effort to remove her from office. Gov. Eric Greitens and Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, both Republicans, said Friday state senators should oust Democratic Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who has continued to reject calls for her resignation...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri lawmaker acknowledged Thursday she posted and later deleted a comment on Facebook about hoping for President Donald Trump's assassination, saying she was frustrated with the president's response to the white-supremacist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and her potential Republican rival, Attorney General Josh Hawley, met for the first time Thursday at the Missouri State Fair and discussed a rare area of agreement: efforts to combat human trafficking...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bones found in a rural area in the spring are those of a 17-year-old northwest Missouri girl, family members and authorities said Wednesday, bringing them closer to solving a 10-year mystery that began when the teen walked out of her high school and disappeared...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- World War II veterans exposed to mustard gas by the military will find it easier to receive help under legislation President Donald Trump has signed into law. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Trump on Wednesday signed the legislation Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri pushed through Congress. It requires the Veterans Affairs Department to reconsider disability benefits denied to those who claimed the testing caused health problems...

CLINTON, Mo. -- A man accused of providing the weapon used to kill a western Missouri police officer is facing new charges, and prosecutors also charged his wife. Henry County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Shields announced Thursday that William Noble of Clinton, Missouri, is charged with hindering prosecution, fraudulent purchase of a firearm and four counts of endangering a child. He already was charged with tampering with physical evidence...

LOS ANGELES -- Ronald Dantowitz has been looking forward to Monday's solar eclipse for nearly 40 years. An astronomer who specializes in solar imaging, he's been photographing eclipses for more than three decades, and will be using 14 cameras to capture the Aug. 21 celestial event...

ST. LOUIS -- The nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager soon will limit the number and strength of opioid drugs prescribed to first-time users as part of a wide-ranging effort to curb an epidemic affecting millions of Americans. But the new program from Express Scripts is drawing criticism from the American Medical Association, the largest association of physicians and medical students in the U.S., which believes treatment plans should be left to doctors and their patients...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri utility regulators Wednesday rejected a proposed high-voltage power line to carry wind power across the Midwest to eastern states, delivering a significant setback to developers of one of the nation's longest transmission lines...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Treasurer Eric Schmitt said he’s backing fellow Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Claire McCaskill. Schmitt had expressed interest in a U.S. Senate run, but Tuesday announced he won’t seek the Republican nomination. ...

BRANSON, Mo. — Administrators of the Silver Dollar City theme park in southwestern Missouri say a new roller coaster being built will spin riders during the run that begins with a 10-story, 50-mph drop. Officials announced Wednesday the $26-million coaster named “Time Traveler” will open in the spring. ...

ST. LOUIS — Owners of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues are taking the city’s comptroller to court for refusing to sign a $64 million financing agreement to renovate the Scottrade Center. Aldermen approved funding in February after contentious negotiations. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man charged with hindering prosecution in the killing of a western Missouri police officer told an informant he dropped the suspected gunman off at a nearby marina after the shooting, according to court records. Jacob Johnson, 27, of Clinton, Missouri, was arrested Tuesday on the hindering charge. He remained jailed Wednesday on a $25,000 cash bond. Online court records don't list an attorney for him...

ST. LOUIS -- Anyone who recognizes a man accused of robbing stores in the St. Louis area while wearing jean shorts is being urged to call "the fashion police." St. Louis County police dubbed the suspect the "jorts-wearing bandit" in a tweet Monday, and included a photo. The tweet states the suspect's "disregard for the law is as offensive as his disregard for fashion trends."...

CREVE COEUR, Mo. — With his suburban St. Louis meeting with the Israeli ambassador as a backdrop, Missouri’s first Jewish governor condemned anti-Semitism after the weekend’s violence during a Virginia white nationalist rally. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Republican Eric Greitens’ comments Tuesday in Creve Coeur came three days after protesters, including neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members, clashed in Charlottesville during a rally over a decision to remove a Confederate monument. ...

ST. LOUIS — Authorities said a woman has been arrested on charges of embezzling more than $2 million while working as an office administrator for a commercial real-estate property management company in suburban St. Louis. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 70-year-old Carol Dotson was arrested Monday. ...

WASHINGTON -- The sun is about to spill some of its secrets, maybe even reveal a few hidden truths of the cosmos. And you can get in on the act next week if you are in the right place for the best solar eclipse in the U.S. in nearly a century. Astronomers are going full blast to pry even more science from the mysterious ball of gas that's vital to Earth. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Questions are being raised again about whether Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is violating state law by living in rural Boone County rather than in Jefferson City. The issue, which first arose after Hawley took office in January, resurfaced after The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported Hawley, a Republican in his first term, voted last week in a special election in Boone County. Jefferson City is in Cole County...

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a motion from attorneys seeking to halt the execution of a man scheduled to die next week but did not explain its decision. Attorneys for Marcellus Williams had asked the state Supreme Court and Gov. ...

St. Louis' hospitality industry says it's starting to see lost business that's perhaps tied to the NAACP's travel warning to would-be visitors to Missouri. The warning, issued last month as the civil-rights organization's first-ever such advisory, largely hinges on the group's concerns about a state law that soon will roll back discrimination protections for workers...

ST. LOUIS -- The family of a homeless woman has settled a lawsuit over her death on a jail cell floor in 2011. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a confidentiality agreement bars the parties from disclosing details of the settlement, but the city of Richmond Heights, Missouri, paid the family of Anna Brown nearly $570,000. The city's settlement amount is public information...

ST. LOUIS -- Some St. Louis hotels are losing meetings because of a travel advisory issued by the NAACP over concerns about a state law that rolls back discrimination protections for workers, a local tourism board said Monday, though its counterpart in Kansas City has reported no issues...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Administrators at the University of Missouri in Columbia are working to maintain research and education opportunities despite proposed budget cuts and job eliminations. The university released a budget proposal in May calling for the elimination of more than 300 jobs and about $60 million in budget cuts for fiscal year 2018, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported...

KEARNEY, Mo. -- A Missouri school district is apologizing for removing senior quotes two openly gay students wanted printed under their yearbook pictures. Kearney High graduates Joey Slivinski and Thomas Swartz were surprised when they opened the newly printed 2017 yearbook, KCTV reported...

ST. LOUIS -- Humble mom-and-pop hardware stores are competing with megastores by meeting modern-day demand and vintage-rehab needs. Steve Schneider, 61, is the fourth generation of his family to preside over the 103-year-old New Market Hardware, and he said the formula hasn't changed. Customer service is key...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri police officer slain during a traffic stop was eulogized Saturday as an optimistic man who always prized law enforcement, with the state's governor pressing mourners to appreciate the perils of police in a culture "too quick to condemn" them...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A judge entered a not-guilty plea Friday for the man accused in the killing of a western Missouri police officer during a traffic stop. Ian McCarthy, 39, of Clinton appeared via video at the Henry County Courthouse to answer charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of officer Gary Michael in Clinton. McCarthy's next court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 20...

ST. LOUIS -- A lawsuit is seeking to halt a $64-million makeover of the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, arguing the publicly funded project is unconstitutional. Friday's lawsuit on behalf of Alderwoman Cara Spencer, former state House Rep. Jeanette Oxford and former city counselor James Wilson names the city, the St. Louis Blues and the Blues' ownership group, Kiel Center Partners, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported...

ST. LOUIS -- The mother of a former St. Louis police chief is accused in a federal indictment of embezzling millions of dollars from a Missouri real-estate company. A grand jury has indicted Carol Dotson with one count of wire fraud that alleges she bilked an Olivette real-estate business between July 2003 and February of this year while she worked there since 1990...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is holding another round of town halls in rural Missouri. McCaskill's office said Wednesday the Democrat will spend the Senate's August recess touring the state. She'll be in cities including Cuba, Potosi, Sullivan and Farmington today...

GRAVOIS MILLS, Mo. -- In 1923, Boy Scouts earned the first woodworking merit badge by designing a project on paper and using hand tools to build it. Today, in a small workshop overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks, Scouts are using design software and digital lasers to earn that same badge...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway on Wednesday released a report alleging a rural hospital under financial strain in northern Missouri billed insurance companies for lab tests that didn't occur at the hospital and received a cut of payments funneled to another lab company...

CLINTON, Mo. -- Investigators said they have found a rifle believed to have been used in last weekend's shooting death of a western Missouri police officer. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said the unspecified gun was found Thursday in a creek about two miles north of Clinton, where 37-year-old officer Gary Michael was shot and killed Sunday night...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man charged in the shooting death of a western Missouri police officer was arrested after an alert driver provided a tip the fugitive was wandering within miles of where the killing took place, a law-enforcement official said. The driver reported seeing Ian McCarthy walking along a state highway near Bucksaw Marina, just east of Clinton, and he was arrested without incident late Tuesday, Sgt. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Attorneys made their final pitches Wednesday for why a former St. Louis police officer should or shouldn't be found guilty of murder in the 2011 killing of a suspect, leaving his fate in the hands of a judge, who won't rule until late next week at the earliest...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man charged with killing a western Missouri police officer during a traffic stop was arrested Tuesday evening, authorities announced. Missouri State Highway Patrol dispatchers said Ian McCarthy, 39, was taken into custody in Henry County, which includes the city of Clinton...

ST. LOUIS -- Attorneys for a white former St. Louis police officer accused of murder in the shooting death of a black man nearly six years ago rested their client's case Tuesday after he testified he saw the man with a handgun before the deadly gunfire and perceived him as an imminent threat...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Two southwestern Missouri men are accused of throwing explosive devices at Joplin police during a traffic stop and ensuing chase. The Joplin Globe reported Jasper County deputies arrested 34-year-old Keith Wald of Joplin and 22-year-old Nathan Felton of Neosho on Monday afternoon...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Former governor Jay Nixon spent millions of dollars more on his office than what lawmakers budgeted and used taxpayer dollars for personal food and security costs, according to a report by Missouri Democratic Auditor Nicole Galloway's office released Monday...

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. -- A Jewish cemetery near St. Louis has been rededicated nearly six months after it was vandalized. Law enforcement still is working to determine whether the tipping of more than 150 tombstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City in February was motivated by anti-Semitism...