State News

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Efforts to put a new Missouri law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy to a public vote hit another roadblock. Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by prominent Republican donor David Humphreys, who is seeking to force GOP Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to approve his referendum petition on the new law...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum will close for about a year starting at the end of next month to undergo a $22 million renovation and expansion. The Independence museum announced in a news release the museum's last day open to the public will be July 22. The project will include a new entrance and lobby, a larger store and expanded exhibition galleries...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- The former president of a Missouri police charity is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from that organization as well as proceeds intended for an officer paralyzed in the line of duty. Angela McMunn of De Soto faces four felony counts. She does not have a listed attorney...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A 17-year-old has pleaded guilty to threatening to commit mass shootings at several schools in northwest Missouri. Andrew Lemon pleaded guilty Tuesday to making a terrorist threat. The St. Joseph News-Press reported Lemon admitted on April 28 he sent messages to five friends via SnapChat saying he would commit mass shootings at several schools including Lafayette, Benton, Central and Savannah high schools and Truman Middle School in St. Joseph and Savannah...

PORTLAND, Maine -- The U.S. Department of Justice is supporting three families who are suing to force the State of Maine to pay tuition for some students to attend religious high schools. The "Statement of Interest" filed Monday supports a lawsuit targeting the state's longstanding tuition policy for students in districts without have a high school. In those cases, the state will pay for tuition to a private school, but not a religious school...

PARK FOREST, Ill. -- How do you handcuff a snake? Police in Park Forest, a Chicago suburb, spent 30 minutes removing a snake from the engine of a patrol car Wednesday night. Chief Chris Mannino and another officer stopped their car when they spotted the 3-foot-long snake in the road. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A report from Missouri's attorney general shows black drivers across the state are 91% more likely than white motorists to be pulled over by police and newly collected data show African-Americans are even more likely to be stopped in many communities where they live...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis judge issued another order Monday to keep Missouri's only abortion clinic operating while a fight over the facility's license plays out in court. Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer granted Planned Parenthood's request for a preliminary injunction, which extends his earlier order to temporarily block the state from allowing the St. Louis facility's license to lapse. The courtroom win for abortion-rights advocates comes after a string of setbacks in legislatures around the U.S...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A prominent donor to Republican causes has contributed $1 million to a newly formed political action committee aimed at overturning Missouri's restrictive new abortion law. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a filing with state campaign regulators shows David Humphreys of Joplin, Missouri, contributed to the Committee to Protect the Rights of Victims of Rape & Incest. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The number of untested rape kits with the Missouri State Highway Patrol's crime lab has more than doubled since August, when a new law requiring police to submit kits within 14 days took effect. As of May 1, 403 kits sat untested, the Kansas City Star reported. There were 179 in August, according to the agency's website, which posts monthly updates...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation is proposing new rules on the handling of deer carcasses in an effort to combat chronic wasting disease. The department's Conservation Commission is seeking public comments through early August on the proposed regulations to further restrict how deer carcasses are transported, the Springfield News-Leader reported. The rules also outline how meat processors and taxidermists should dispose of deer parts...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An annual paddle boat race on the Missouri River is being postponed because of flooding. The organizers of Missouri River 340 announced the decision Friday. Race director Scott Mansker said in a Facebook post the river would be in a "dangerous condition," through July 16 to 19, the event's scheduled dates...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- As the waters of the swollen Arkansas River rose in Little Rock, and threatened to reach record heights, Samuel Ellis had to make the tough, but prudent, decision to indefinitely shutter kayak rentals from his tour company. Weeks of flooding along the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers has hit tourism and recreation businesses in the central U.S., regardless of whether they're directly dependent on the river...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Health officials Friday said they're still seeking answers from Missouri's only abortion clinic about why some patients were unaware they remained pregnant after what the agency described as "failed surgical abortions." The state Department of Health and Senior Services said a March health inspection of the St. ...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis has pulled several police officers off the streets while an internal investigation continues after they were accused of posting objectionable Facebook messages, Mayor Lyda Krewson said Friday. The decision to place the officers on administrative duty follows publication of a database appearing to catalog thousands of bigoted or violent posts by active-duty and former officers in St. Louis and elsewhere. Police departments in at least five states are investigating...

KEVIL, Ky. -- The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 2.4 earthquake has occurred in Kentucky along the New Madrid fault line. News outlets said the quake was reported northeast of Kevil shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday. There were no reports of damage...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The St. Joseph school district has agreed to a nearly $130,000 settlement with a family who alleged in a lawsuit an autistic student was bullied at an elementary school. The family said the student was the target of name-calling and other harassment at Eugene Field Elementary School during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years...

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- A vehicle loaded with West Point cadets on summer training overturned in rough, wooded terrain Thursday, killing one cadet and injuring several others, according to the U.S. Military Academy. The tactical vehicle operated by two soldiers overturned around 6:45 a.m. as it was headed to a land navigation site as part of standard summer cadet training, said West Point's superintendent, Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams...

DENVER -- A boulder the size of a house that crashed onto a southwestern Colorado state highway last month will stay put. State officials plan to reroute the highway around it -- saving taxpayers money and possibly creating a tourist attraction. Democratic Gov. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri utility regulators have approved the acquisition of a large wind energy project by a Chicago firm. The decision Wednesday by the state Public Service Commission was a necessary step for Invenergy to buy the rights to construct the proposed Grain Belt Express power line...

ST. LOUIS -- Patient safety takes priority over access to abortion, Missouri's health department director said Wednesday after a court hearing on an effort by the state's only abortion clinic to keep operating. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services director Randall Williams spoke to reporters after a court hearing on Planned Parenthood's request for a preliminary injunction to retain its license to perform abortions at its St. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A 49-year-old Sikeston man is facing nine charges after he allegedly shot at a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who had stopped to help him. Larry Maddox was charged Monday after the shooting Sunday night in New Madrid County. Patrol Sgt. ...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis judge ruled Tuesday testimony from non-staff doctors at Missouri's only abortion clinic will not be necessary for a hearing that will determine whether the clinic can remain open. Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer agreed to throw out subpoenas for four doctors who worked briefly at the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers are forbidden from accepting free meals worth more than $5 from lobbyists -- unless they're giving an official speech at the dinner. Then it's OK. Free tickets to sports events such as St. Louis Cardinals or Kansas City Royals baseball games also are banned -- unless a lawmaker is throwing out the first pitch...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri county legislator has said her local jail has a sexist screening policy requiring any woman wearing an underwire bra to remove the undergarment before entering the facility -- a claim the sheriff and corrections department director dispute...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Settlement discussions are underway over a lawsuit challenging a Missouri measure making it a misdemeanor crime to promote plant-based food products as "meat." A federal court document dated Monday stated attorneys for Missouri and vegetarian food entities who sued are working diligently toward a settlement agreement as part of a court-ordered mediation process...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The swollen Mississippi River is straining levees, snarling traffic and forcing people from their homes as the water level in some places approaches record levels set during devastating flooding in 1993. Gov. Mike Parson was touring flooded areas Monday in the northeast part of the state, where there have been around a dozen water rescues. Statewide, nearly 400 roads are closed, including part of U.S. 136...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Mosquitoes are challenging volunteers helping in recovery and cleanup efforts after a tornado outbreak slammed southwest Missouri. State health officials have warned about mosquitoes after heavy rain in the region, the Joplin Globe reported. The insects are a nuisance and can carry disease...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Applications for medical marijuana identification cards will soon be available in Missouri. The state health department will post application forms today. Voters in November overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana and marijuana-infused products for patients who suffer from serious illnesses. Missouri is now among 33 states approving medical marijuana...

BOONVILLE, Mo. -- Flooding along the Missouri River has prompted the cancellation of this year's Katy Trail Ride, which was scheduled for June 17 to 21. Missouri State Parks and the Missouri State Park Foundation said in a news release about 100 miles of the Katy Trail State Park between Boonville and St. Charles is closed because of flooding...

ST. LOUIS -- A judge issued an order Friday to keep Missouri's only abortion clinic operating over the objections of state health officials, delivering abortion-rights advocates a courtroom victory after a string of setbacks in legislatures around the U.S...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Mike Parson has signed legislation preventing local officials from enacting more stringent regulations than the state on large farms raising hogs, poultry and cattle. The Republican governor described the bill enacted Friday as "a big win for Missouri farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses." Parson raises cattle...

TROY, Mo. -- A growing feud has led a presiding circuit court judge in Missouri -- accompanied by two armed sheriff's deputies -- to remove an elected circuit clerk from her office and appointed a replacement. The move has some questioning the legality of the move by Judge Patrick Flynn, who had Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Karla Allsberry escorted from the courthouse Tuesday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the judge also banned her from returning to the building...

NEW YORK -- Quantifying its vast sex-abuse crisis, the U.S. Roman Catholic Church said Friday allegations of child sex abuse by clerics more than doubled in its latest 12-month reporting period, and its spending on victim compensation and child protection surged above $300 million...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Relentless flooding in the central U.S. on Friday inundated communities and damaged or spilled over levees on three major rivers in two states, and authorities discovered the body of a drowning victim at a Missouri lake. The fast-flowing Arkansas River smashed a 40-foot hole in a levee in rural western Arkansas, causing water to spill into a nearby community. ...

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Authorities say a ball python slithered out of a toilet and bit a South Florida man on the arm. Coral Springs police spokesman Chris Swinson said the man was treated at the scene after the 4-foot snake bit him when he lifted the toilet seat on Sunday morning. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican Gov. Mike Parson hasn't announced whether he will seek a full term in 2020, but his fundraising outpaces that of those who were seeking the GOP nomination at this point in the 2016 race. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Parson has $3 million spread across two campaign accounts...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis judge is deciding whether to grant an order to allow Missouri's only abortion clinic to keep its license to perform abortions past Friday. Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer heard an hour of arguments Thursday on Planned Parenthood's request for a temporary restraining order to prohibit the state from allowing the St. Louis clinic's license to lapse. It isn't clear when Stelzer will rule...

SEATTLE -- A Seattle man took exception to a car-share vehicle parked without permission at his duplex. So he built a fence around it. Dan Smith told KIRO-TV he doesn't know who parked the car2go Mercedes on May 17, but it wasn't one of his tenants. He contacted Share Now, the company operating car2go, and gave them two hours to move the vehicle. A few hours after that, he erected the barricade, preventing other customers from using it...

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Between the country's trade dispute with China and the seemingly endless storms drenching the central U.S., Iowa farmer Robb Ewoldt has had plenty of time to think about whether it's too late to plant this season, how much federal aid he might get if he does or whether to skip it altogether and opt for an insurance payment...

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Temporary shelters were housing hundreds of people Thursday following evacuations along the swollen Arkansas River, where officials kept a close eye on an aging levee system facing enormous pressure from enduring floodwaters. The river held steady at record levels, offering little relief to areas enduring historic flooding. ...

EUREKA, Mo. -- A small bear is back in the woods after a visit to a Catholic school in suburban St. Louis. School is out for the summer at Most Sacred Heart Parish in Eureka, so the children missed all of the excitement Tuesday when the bear arrived and got trapped inside. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's health department said Wednesday the license for the state's only abortion clinic is in jeopardy because of a litany of problems, including "failed surgical abortions in which patients remained pregnant" and concerns about patient safety...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's only abortion clinic could be closed by the end of the week because the state is threatening to not renew its license, Planned Parenthood officials said Tuesday. Planned Parenthood officials said in a teleconference the current license for the St. Louis facility expires Friday. If it isn't renewed, the organization said Missouri would become the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since Roe v. Wade in 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion...

ST. LOUIS -- Already-severe flooding on the Mississippi River is getting worse for several Missouri and Illinois cities and towns. Heavy rain over the Memorial Day weekend caused the river level to spike again. The National Weather Service now predicts flooding in St. Louis to reach the second-highest level ever -- 14 feet above flood stage Tuesday, topped only by the 1993 flood. The Mississippi is forecast to crest at 45.5 feet June 6 in Cape Girardeau...

BOISE, Idaho -- The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will not recognize as a state record a bighorn sheep killed nearly three years ago by a Nez Perce Tribe member because the agency said the ram was shot in violation of state hunting regulations, even though those regulations do not apply to tribe members hunting on ancestral lands...

SALEM, Ore. -- Republicans have forced a clerk in the Oregon Legislature to read aloud every word in nearly every piece of legislation, giving granular details about farm loans, motor vehicle taxes and other government minutiae as the minority party uses the stalling tactic to try to gain leverage...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Corrections owes counties tens of millions of dollars for housing inmates before they're transferred to state prisons. The state is about nine months behind with reimbursements, Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann told KCUR radio...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Zoo is planning an $11.5 million expansion of its area for primates, adding 35,000 square feet of outdoor space including trails and tunnels for observers to get a close-up view. Monkeys, chimps and their cousins have long been among the most popular of the 17,000 animals at the zoo, even if the Primate House where they live is aging. ...

MILWAUKEE -- A Wisconsin judge has ordered Anheuser-Busch to stop suggesting in advertising MillerCoors' light beers contain corn syrup, wading into a fight between two beer giants that are losing market share to small independent brewers. U.S. District Judge William Conley for the Western District of Wisconsin on Friday granted a preliminary injunction sought by MillerCoors temporarily stopping Anheuser-Busch from using the words "corn syrup" in ads without giving more context...