Associated Press

Recent Articles

  • Missouri authorities investigate salmonella outbreak at church picnic

    PERRYVILLE, Mo. (AP) – Missouri authorities are investigating a potential connection between an ongoing salmonella outbreak and a church picnic. The Southeast Missourian reports that the number of people confirmed sick in Perry County has risen to 50. Sheila Hahs is the Perry County Health Department communicable-disease coordinator. She says a cause hasn’t yet been determined. Hahs says the county health agency is working with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which is surveying those who attended the […]

  • Plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education honored

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) _ Springfield, Missouri, is celebrating a man whose civil rights case changed the course of American history. Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Oliver Brown _ the lead plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The 1954 case led to the desegregation of schools. The Springfield News-Leader reports that the Brown family moved to Springfield in 1959 when he became pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In fact, […]

  • Kansas City police investigate 3 homicides over 12-hour span

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Kansas City police are investigating three separate homicides over a 12-hour span. KMBC-TV reports that police found 36-year-old Gabriel Edgar on Interstate 435 around 3:45 a.m. Sunday. About an hour later, police say a man was shot and killed. Police say the third victim was found shot to death around 3 p.m. Sunday. Police spokesman Lionel Colon says it has “been a tragedy of a week.” Police haven’t released information about a motive or suspect […]

  • Police investigate deadly hit-and-run crash in Kansas City

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Authorities say a hit-and-run driver has struck and killed a woman in Kansas City. Police identified the victim as 33-year-old Andrea Mitchell. Investigators say she was struck Saturday night as she crossed a street and that the driver didn’t stop. Police don’t have a description of the vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call a tips hotline.

  • Father sues over deadly 2015 police shooting of his son

    ST. LOUIS (AP) _ The father of a man killed in a St. Louis police shooting has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the federal lawsuit filed Friday alleges that Mansur Ball-Bey was unarmed in August 2015 when he was shot in the back as he ran. The suit says the 18-year-old was a church youth leader without a criminal record. His father, Dennis Ball-Bey, is suing the city, former police chief Sam Dotson and […]

  • Family of man slain by Stockley claims ‘cover-up’; wants $5M

    ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Relatives of a black suspect killed by a white former St. Louis police officer are demanding $5 million to resolve claims of a “cover up.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that an emailed letter Sunday from the family of Anthony Lamar Smith alleges that officials violated a judge’s order by failing to turn over some evidence before the original wrongful death lawsuit was settled for $900,000 in 2013. But when Officer Jason Stockley was later charged […]

  • Police say Chicago teen killed himself; family denies he did

    CHICAGO (AP) _ Authorities say a Chicago teenager killed himself after being chased by police, but his family thinks the officers shot him and they’re calling for an independent investigation. The Chicago Tribune reports that police say 15-year-old Steve Rosenthal fled Friday when officers who allegedly saw him holding a handgun tried to question him. They say shortly after that he fatally shot himself on the back stairwell of his West Side home. The teen’s family says based on witness […]

  • Illinois-Springfield orders halt to feeding feral cats

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The future of feral cat colony at the University of Illinois-Springfield is in question after employees and students have been ordered to no longer feed the animals. The State Journal-Register in Springfield reports university administrators in a letter cited health and sanitation concerns in issuing the order. But mathematics instructor Carol Saltsgaver is expressing doubts about the administration’s reasoning. She points out the approximately 30 cats don’t bother anybody, although they know humans feed them. She […]

  • Law allows firearm permit grace period during renewal

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law that allows Firearm Owners Identification cards to stay active even if Illinois State Police renewal isn’t completed by their expiration date. Rauner’s action Friday gives the state police 60 business days to review and approve FOID card renewals. The previous law was 30 calendar days and FOIDs were invalid if expiration occurred during the process. The measure was sponsored by Republican Rep. Barbara Wheeler of Crystal Lake and Chicago […]

  • Kansas and Missouri hope to attract nearly 700 USDA jobs

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Kansas and Missouri officials hope to attract the nearly 700 well-paying USDA jobs that are being moved out of Washington D.C. The Kansas City Star reports that Kansas and Missouri hope to land the jobs for the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture when they move as part of a reorganization announced this month. All those jobs pay more than $100,000 annually. Missouri U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler says the move makes […]

  • Missouri school district embraces gender-neutral bathrooms

    NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Many students in one Missouri school district won’t be using bathrooms designated by gender any longer. The Kansas City Star reports that the North Kansas City School District has installed gender-neutral restrooms at two new elementary schools that opened this past week. The school district also renovated bathrooms at North Kansas City High School and at two sixth-grade centers with a gender-neutral design. Inside the bathrooms, stalls are enclosed with floor-to-ceiling walls and lockable […]

  • SEMO dorm to allow dogs

    CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) _ Students in one Southeast Missouri State University who don’t want to leave their dogs or cats at home won’t have to. The Southeast Missourian reports that the university this fall is allowing students in Myers Hall to live with their pets during a one-year pilot program. University director of residence life Kendra Skinner says SEMO looked at similar programs at other universities in modeling its program. Myers Hall was chosen in part because its rooms […]