News

The U.S. House of Representatives has plans to take a look at patient safety lapses at the John Cochran VAMC in north St. Louis.

Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Democrat, pushed for the hearings after two separate problems with sterilization at Cochran.

Despite the onslaught of rain and thunderstorms, the Missouri Department of Transportation says it will move ahead with planned road closures over the weekend.

Several interstate lanes and ramps will be closed while dozens of repairs to the roadways are made.

Deanna Venker, with MoDOT, says the numerous closures might seem like they’d cause a huge headache, but they will actually reduce the impact on drivers.

“We’re trying to incorporate as much work as we can in to these closures when we have to do them,” Venker said.

Updated 6:38 p.m.:

Missouri lawmakers have sent Gov. Jay Nixon a new version of a bill rewriting a voter-approved law on dog-breeding.

Wednesday's quick action by the state House and Senate came after Nixon began the day by signing a previously passed bill repealing key sections of the "Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act" approved by voters last November.

Illinois businesses waiting for long-overdue tax refunds aren't getting any good news from the state capitol.

Illinois owes about $850 million to roughly 36,000 businesses that overpaid their income taxes. Some have been waiting since 2008 to get their money.

Gov. Pat Quinn proposed borrowing money to pay the refunds, but legislators have shown little interest in that idea.

Budget proposals being considered by Democratic lawmakers would do little to chip away at the backlog.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation repealing part of a voter-approved dog-breeding law in an agreement with lawmakers to consider more changes to breeder regulations.

Nixon signed the legislation Wednesday. It eliminates a cap on owning 50 breeding dogs and rolls back various requirements on dogs' living conditions. Instead, breeders would need to provide appropriate space for dogs based on regulations set by the Department of Agriculture. Operators would pay more for licenses and help finance a program that crack down on unlicensed breeders.