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Missouri gets F, Illinois gets A- in annual gun law scorecard

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Gun control laws might look a little different on a state-to-state basis, though one new analysis suggests there's a stark contrast between both states of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. GIFFORDS Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence recently released its annual gun law scorecard, evaluating states based on their gun control laws. Missouri received a failing grade in the scorecard, while Illinois received an "A-" grade. A research team with GIFFORDS, an American advocacy organization promoting gun control, has released an annual gun law scorecard for several years. The scorecard offers grades and ranks for each state on their crimes rates, in addition to their enforcement and strength of gun laws. Top Story: Missouri students physically restrained, secluded thousands of times “There is no debate. Lawmakers can save lives, reduce violence, and make their states safer by following a simple blueprint: pass gun violence prevention laws," said Peter Ambler, Executive Directo...

Ban on transgender care passes Missouri House, setting up possible clash with Senate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

Differences between the House and Senate on how strict a ban on certain transgender health care should be could spell trouble for the proposal’s chances as the Missouri legislative session nears completion.Leaders in both chambers told reporters Thursday they are pushing for their respective body’s legislation.The Senate passed a version last month that allows transgender minors currently receiving care to continue treatments and includes an expiration date for the ban on hormone therapy. Both provisions were included as a compromise to end a Democratic filibuster. The House version, passed Thursday, leaves the compromise language out. Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said the House needs to pass his chamber’s version for any bill to have a chance this year. “We don’t get second chances on huge, huge issues like that very often,” Rowden said.Republicans in the House, however, stand by their version of the bill without any compromise.“I stand by what ...

Kevin Strickland sues K.C. Police Board over wrongful imprisonment

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who spent more than 40 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit alleges in a lawsuit that Kansas City police conducted a reckless investigation that led to his conviction.Kevin Strickland, 63, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Jackson County Court against the Kansas City Police Board of Commissioners, which oversees the police department, and five officers who have retired.Strickland alleges that officers attributed false statements to him during the investigation and pressured the only eyewitness to the murders to identify him as the killer, The Kansas City Star reported.The Kansas City Police Department said it does not comment on pending lawsuits.Strickland was released from prison in November 2021 after a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted of killing three people in Kansas City in 1978. That decision followed a hearing held after Jackson County prosecutors said a review of the case led them to believe Str...

The MASH spin-off set in St. Louis you probably forgot about

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- There have been several TV shows and movies set in St. Louis. Many people will recall that Up in the Air was filmed at Lambert Airport, or that Escape from New York used St. Louis as a stand-in for a bombed-out Manhattan. You may not know that a spinoff of one of the most popular TV shows of all time is also set in St. Louis. That's probably because the show Walter was never picked up as a regular series.Who is Walter? Well, that is the first name of a fictional character from the Mash TV show and movie. It takes place during the Korean War from 1950-1953. Gary Burghoff played the beloved Walter "Radar" O’Reilly. The actor left the show in a special two part episode that aired in 1979. The character left the 4077th after a hardship discharge because is uncle died.The pilot for the Mash spin-off Walter aired only once on CBS in July 1984. You can see it here. Trending: St. Louis County battles over marijuana sales tax The new show picks up in 1954 after O’Reilly moves...

Missouri farm net income projected to decrease in 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

The net income for Missouri farms is predicted to fall this year, according to a spring 2023 report by the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at MU.The year 2022 saw a record high for the state in agriculture, which was attributed to high commodity prices and the top seven crops in Missouri expanding 270,000 acres that year, according to the report.Despite this, experts from the center warned about an expected decline in these numbers for 2023 in the 2022 report. They have now officially projected it in the latest report.Missouri farm income is projected to decrease $546 million in the coming year, leveling out with the 2011-2014 averages. The state’s agriculture sector still fares better than the national numbers, with a 14% decrease in the state’s farm income comparing to a 19% decrease on a national scale.What’s to blame for this drop?The analysis center believes it might be due to the widespread drought impacting cattle inventory. It also reported that crop and livest...

Missouri Senate considers ‘Chris Sifford Day’ honoring Carnahan aide who died in plane crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

In the fall of 2000, tragedy struck Missouri politics when an airplane carrying then-Gov. Mel Carnahan, his son Randy Carnahan and adviser Chris Sifford crashed in bad weather.The death of Carnahan as he closed out eight years as governor during a monumental struggle with then-Sen. John Ashcroft grabbed the attention of the state and the nation. Family, friends and coworkers, however, also deeply mourned the death of Sifford, 37 at the time, who had been at Carnahan’s side throughout his two terms as chief executive.Born in Puxico in Stoddard County, educated at what was then called Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Sifford worked as a journalist before joining Carnahan’s 1992 campaign for governor.Sifford is recalled as funny, humble and devoted to his family. On Wednesday, Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, said that legacy and his hard work in public service should be honored by designating his birthday, Aug. 6, as “Chris Sifford Day.” The Senate Progress and ...

Colorado teen cyclist suffers brain injury after crash involving hikers on a mountain biking-only trail

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

A teenager and competitive mountain bicyclist suffered a brain injury and is hospitalized after a collision involving hikers on a downhill biking-only trail.Cayel Holmgren, 17, was injured Saturday in a crash on a trail in the Floyd Hill Open Space, according to a GoFundMe page post.Cayel, an experienced and avid mountain biker who dreams of competing in college and professionally, is recovering in intensive care at a local hospital. He was biking with his father, Brian Holmgren, when the incident happened.Brian suspects the crash “was a result of 2 hikers ignoring all signage and hiking up a known downhill biking-only trail,” according to a GoFundMe page created to help Cayel and his family with medical expenses and other costs. “The consequences of these 2 hikers have been devastating, not only to Cayel’s life, but to his promising cycling career.”The incident happened on the Sluice trail, according to Clear Creek County officials.“Our thoughts and we...

2 ex-L.A. County sheriff’s deputies involved in fatal shooing of Andres Guardado indicted in separate false imprisonment case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

Two former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who were involved in the fatal shooting of Andres Guardado in 2020 have been indicted in a separate case alleging false imprisonment.Miguel Angel Vega and Christopher Blair Hernandez face federal charges alleging they violated the civil rights of a skateboarder at a Compton park by falsely imprisoning him and obstructing justice to cover it up, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.The former Compton deputies surrendered to federal authorities Thursday morning after being named in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last month.Vega and Hernandez are being charged with conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, witness tampering and falsification of records, officials said. Vega is also charged with an additional count of falsification of records.The incident involving the skateboarder occurred on April 13, 2020, at Wilson Park in Compton.The defendants...

Arnold Schwarzenegger filled a service trench, not a pothole 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

Movie star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went viral on Tuesday for posting a video of him personally filling a hole that he said was a pothole that had been bothering him and his neighbors in Brentwood "for weeks."But as it turns out, the hole was not technically a pothole. The video, which has amassed over 11 million views since it was posted on Tuesday afternoon, shows “The Terminator” actor filling the hole with packaged blacktop. “I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it,” Schwarzenegger tweeted.  However, the hole that was pestering drivers wasn’t there by accident. According to a statement made by SoCalGas, the hole was an active service trench. “This location is a utility trench that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the location by the Southern California Gas Company,” SoCalGas said in a statement. “The Gas Company placed a temporary asphalt surface, which will ...

Homeless encampments growing next to Beverly Hills

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

Some Beverly Hills residents and business owners are expressing concern for their safety as homeless encampments expand along the city’s border with Los Angeles.The encampments have appeared along San Vincente Boulevard near Orlando Avenue, just south of the upscale Beverly Center shopping mall.A homeless encampment along the Beverly Hill/Los Angeles border. April 13, 2023. (KTLA)A homeless encampment along the Beverly Hill/Los Angeles border. April 13, 2023. (KTLA)A homeless encampment along the Beverly Hill/Los Angeles border. April 13, 2023. (KTLA)Residents reported seeing a homeless woman, who they believe was intoxicated, lying naked on an abandoned couch.The most recent survey conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority found approximately 69,000 people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County and 41,000 in the city in 2022. Unprovoked, violent attacks by homeless part of a broader problem, advocate says L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has launched a program dubbed Inside...