Marshall Griffin

Good morning! Here are some of today's starting headlines:

Heat wave decreases flood threat on Missouri River

The heat wave that's plagued Missouri for most of July has had a positive side effect:  it's lessened the flood threat along the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis.

Mark Fuchs is a hydrologist with the National Weather Service office in St. Louis.  Fuchs said the extreme high temperatures have dried up the soil along the Missouri River's tributaries.

A Missouri Senate subcommittee heard testimony at the Capitol today from state officials who handle disaster response.

Andrea Spillars, Deputy Director of the Department of Public Safety, told the Subcommittee on Emergency Response that state and local officials coordinated their response efforts very well following the Joplin tornado.

Amtrak officials say full service between St. Louis and Kansas City will be restored on Wednesday, nearly a month after being disrupted due to flood waters.

Flooding along the Missouri River had forced more freight traffic onto tracks used by Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner.  Spokesman Marc Magliari says the high waters have subsided.

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) is warning citizens to beware of several threats to those seeking to invest their savings.

Carnahan says one such threat is called affinity fraud, which is used to target church congregations, senior centers and social networking websites.

The economic development deal struck by lawmakers will cut one of Missouri’s most popular tax credits nearly in half.

The deal between House and Senate leaders would cut the amount of Historic Preservation tax credits issued each year from $140 million down to $80 million.

Ruth Keenoy with the non-profit Landmark Associates of St. Louis, Inc., says the smaller cap would be detrimental to Missouri’s economy.  She wants the incentives to be left as-is.