The Associated Press

Some Missouri lawmakers say the state should do away with its tenure system for teachers and make students' academic performance a big part of their evaluations.

A House panel heard testimony Wednesday on legislation that would require 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation to be based on students' scores on state tests. Teachers would not be guaranteed salary increases based on their classroom experience. The changes would take effect in July 2012.

Flags are being lowered in Missouri for the last surviving American to serve in World War I.

Missouri native Frank Buckles died Sunday at the age of 110 at his farm in West Virginia. He was born in the Harrison County town of Bethany and also lived as a child in Vernon County.

Buckles lied about his age to enlist in the Army and served during the war in England and France.

Updated 4:07 p.m. March 1, 2011 with statement from Illinois State Police

The Illinois State Police released a statement this afternoon in disagreement with the Attorney General's recommendation:

"The Illinois State Police respectfully disagrees with the recent opinion of the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor (PAC) regarding the release of names of Firearm Owner Identification cardholders. The Department intends to request that the PAC issue a binding opinion so that the issue may be resolved through the judicial process."

Federal officials say Arch Coal will pay $4 million in fines and change some mining practices to settle alleged Clean Water Act violations in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

The deal announced Tuesday is between St. Louis-based Arch, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice.

Updated at 1:06 p.m. March 1, 2011 with information that Tenn. has overtaken Mo.

Data from state officials shows Tennessee has knocked Missouri out of the lead for meth lab busts and seizures for the first time since 2003.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the state had 1,960 meth lab incidents in 2010. That's a 10 percent increase over the previous year.