Severe Weather Hits Missouri

Tornados swept through eastern Missouri yesterday, damaging homes and yanking down power lines. No injuries were reported.

The Pike County Sheriff's Department says the storm hit the Bowling Green area late yesterday afternoon, and that three tornadoes were seen in the county in a 45-minute period. Some homes in the Clarksville area had roof damage, and barns and outbuildings in rural Pike County also were damaged.

Updated at 6:01 p.m. April 20, 2011:

Police have arrested Elex Murphy of North St. Louis and are holding him without bond.

A police investigation revealed the attack was part of a game which involves unprovoked attacks on innocent bystanders.

An investigation to identify other suspects is ongoing.

Original Story:

St. Louis police say they have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the beating death of a 72-year-old Vietnamese immigrant and the assault of the 59-year-old wife.

Legislation that would allow Missouri utility customers to be billed for a site permit for a second nuclear reactor may be dead for the session.

The measure had recently been added to a separate bill dealing with utility deposits and the Office of Public Counsel.

The threat of severe weather has moved south and east of the St. Louis Public Radio listening area, though flood warnings remain in effect along many of the area rivers. The National Weather Service is also warning of possible flash flooding, and has issued an urban and small stream flood advisory until 1 a.m.

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan says brokerage firm A.G. Edwards has reached a $755,000 settlement with the state of Missouri.

Carnahan said Tuesday in a release that the settlement ends an investigation that resulted from a complaint by an 81-year-old southwest Missouri investor. Carnahan said the consent order stemmed from her investigation that found the firm sold annuities to elderly customers without proper documentation.

The Illinois High School Association has approved a new policy requiring high school athletes who leave a game with head injuries to be cleared in the days that follow by a doctor or an athletic trainer working with a physician.

The IHSA board approved the new policy Tuesday. Previously the organization's concussion policy didn't require medical checks after the day the injury occurred.

The policy change follows months of reports on long-term damage athletes suffer from concussions in both pro sports and in college and high school.

As lawmakers circle around a possible compromise on the local control legislation in the Missouri Capitol today, St. Louis' Mayor Francis Slay shared some of his thoughts on the possible ramifications.

View University City Flood Damage in a larger map

A Missouri appeals court has ruled that  a class-action lawsuit stemming from 2008 flash floods that killed two people and severely damaged more than 100 houses in University City can go forward.

The lawsuit alleges that the Metropolitan Sewer District's failure to maintain the River Des Peres  made it impossible for the system to handle what amounted to predictable heavy rain. The floods were the result of the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. announced today that St. Louis has been awarded a $4 million federal grant for public transportation upgrades.

The money will be provided jointly by the Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration, according to a press release from McCaskill's office. 

So, how will St. Louis use the money?

The release states that the grants will be used to aid in the replacement of up to 12 buses in the Metro's current bus fleet.

The latest update in the Coleman trial announces that a jury has been seated.

The 12-member panel selected Tuesday includes 10 women and two men, along with four male alternates. Starting next week, they'll hear opening statements and testimony in the case against Christopher Coleman.

Jurors were chosen in Perry County and will be brought to Monroe County, where Coleman has pleaded not guilty in the May 2009 killings at the family's Columbia home.