Rachel Lippmann

Updated 2:15 p.m. May 2 with information from conference call with Sen. Blunt

From Senator Roy Blunt:

"Osama bin Laden's death is a major victory for America. This development is the culmination of the sacrifices and dedication from our brave troops and intelligence professionals. After nearly a decade, it also brings a great measure of justice and closure for all Americans who lost loved ones as a result of the brutal attacks against our nation on 9/11. While this does not mean the end of our fight against global terrorism, bin Laden's death is a major blow to al-Qaeda and the terrorist organizations he financed."

In a Monday conference call, Blunt praised the president for sending Special Forces into bin Laden's Pakistani compound, rather than conducting a bombing raid.

Students at Carnahan High School of the Future in south St. Louis were front and center today in a national earthquake preparedness drill.

Governor Jay Nixon, Congressman Russ Carnahan, and two members of President Obama's cabinet - education secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano - watched as the 19 students in Lucy Duffey's class dropped to the ground, covered their heads, and held onto tables in the library.

Three schools would be closed, and several others would undergo vast transformations, under a $273 million dollar budget proposal  unveiled last night by St. Louis Public Schools superintendent Kelvin Adams.

The proposed spending plan also marks a shift in budgeting philosophy for the district. Money in the past has been distributed to schools based on the number of people that work in the building.

Starting next year, the money would be allocated as a grant to schools based on several factors, including the percentage of special education and low-income students, average daily attendance, and whether the school is a magnet/choice school. Within reason - for example, they'll still have to meet state class size limits - principals will be able to set their own staffing plan.

"The whole challenge for a principal is to have ownership, and have control of the resources," said Adams, a former principal. "If I decide I want to have a larger third grade class - I have a great, dynamic third grade teacher, I'll put that teacher in that classroom," Adams said.  "But I may have a smaller fourth grade class because maybe things aren't working as well in my fourth grade group."

More details are after the break.

The U.S. House of Representatives has plans to take a look at patient safety lapses at the John Cochran VAMC in north St. Louis.

Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Democrat, pushed for the hearings after two separate problems with sterilization at Cochran.

The Delmar Blvd. bridge over Interstate 170 will be closed until it is replaced, the Missouri Department of Transportation announced today.

The department had closed the bridge yesterday to do some emergency repairs. A bridge inspection team, however, determined that the bridge would remain unsafe even with the repairs.