Maria Altman

Updated on Friday, March 22 at 9:45 a.m. to add information about air sampling results, and a statement from Republic Services.

The Missouri Department of Resources is asking the state’s attorney general to enforce environmental laws at the Bridgeton Sanitary Landfill.

DNR’s letter asks Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to "institute appropriate legal action to resolve any past, present or future environmental violations" at the landfill.

Updated 2:48 p.m.

Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich is questioning millions of dollars of welfare payments made to low-income residents.

Schweich released an annual audit Tuesday examining Missouri's use of $12.7 billion of federal funds during the 2012 budget. He raised concerns about $68 million of expenses, mainly through programs run by the Department of Social Services.

(We have the full audit for you below)

Not many of us are chemists.

Yet by removing one oxygen atom average people here in Missouri regularly are turning common decongestants like Sudafed and Claritin-D into the illicit drug methamphetamine.

Nationwide those explosive mom and pop meth labs were estimated by a Rand study to cost taxpayers more than $23 billion a year in health care costs, child endangerment and clean-up.

Reporting in part from Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky. Last update 4:04 p.m.

Legislation to expand gambling the General Assembly approved nearly two years ago is finally dead. Governor Pat Quinn vetoed a measure that would have given Illinois five new casinos.

When Governor Quinn gives his annual budget address later this week, he's expected to highlight Illinois' plethora of financial problems.