News

A Missouri House committee has dealt a setback to Gov. Jay Nixon's quest for $1 billion in federal high-speed rail money.

The House Budget Committee rejected an attempt Wednesday to insert the rail money into a state budget bill.

That comes just two weeks after Nixon held a news conference to announce Missouri was applying for $1 billion of the $2.4 billion of federal rail money that Florida decided not to use.

Missouri Lawmakers Give Final Approval to Federally Funded Jobless Payments

Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to a bill renewing federally funded jobless payments for thousands of people who lost their benefits because of a protest against federal spending by several Republican state senators. The House voted 138-13 Tuesday to send the legislation to Gov. Jay Nixon.

The Missouri Supreme Court has affirmed the murder conviction for Gregory Bowman, but reversed the sentence that put him on death row.

The court ruled today that St. Louis County jurors should not have heard about Bowman's two prior murder convictions during sentencing because those convictions were overturned.

Sen. Claire McCaskill reports raising more than $1 million for her re-election campaign in the first quarter in 2011, a strong showing for the first-term incumbent.

The Missouri Democrat's campaign released the numbers on Tuesday. Candidates are required to submit their fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission by April 15.

McCaskill raised $1.05 million in 2011. Her campaign also reported that she had nearly $1.8 million cash on hand.