The legacy of African Americans who have made contributions in Missouri is highlighted in a new book written by retired local educators John and Sylvia Wright.

The name of the book is Extraordinary Black Missourians: Pioneers, Leaders, Performers, Athletes, & Other Notables Who’ve Made History.

Many of the people highlighted in the book such as Dred Scott, Langston Hughes and Scott Joplin are well-known.  Others such as concert pianist Blind Boone and teacher and entomologist Charles Henry Turner are not as well known.

The Social Security Administration has released its lists of the most popular baby names for babies born in 2012.

So, which names graced the most birth certificates in the Show-Me State last year?

In Missouri's case, its top two names, Mason for males and Emma for females, were also the second most popular names for male and female babies nationwide.

Two St. Louis officials are facing federal charges that they stole nearly a half million dollars in city funds over the past eight years.

A federal grand jury indicted 43-year-old Thomas "Dan" Stritzel, the city's chief park ranger, and 55-year-old deputy parks commissioner Joseph Vacca.

The indictment released Thursday accuses each man of three mail-fraud counts, alleging they men used various schemes to spend the stolen money on vehicle leases, credit card bills and other expenses.

One of two bills that would limit punitive damages in lead contamination cases is on its way to Governor Jay Nixon (D).

Legislation is on its way to Governor Jay Nixon (D) that would forbid the Missouri Department of Revenue from scanning and storing source documents of driver's license and non-driver's license applicants.

More than a million students nationwide are homeless.

Children who lack a permanent or stable household is an important yet, perhaps, overlooked issue and that’s true in the St. Louis area where several thousand students do not have a permanent home.

A former state senator from St. Louis has been fined more than $270,000 by the Missouri Ethics Commission for violating numerous campaign finance laws.

A decision released Wednesday by the commission found that former Democratic Sen. Robin Wright-Jones used campaign money for personal expenses such as food and clothing. She also received vehicle mileage reimbursements both from the state and her campaign committee. The commission also found numerous instances where the campaign failed to report contributions and expenditures by deadlines.