Tag Archives: Missouri

Bloomberg News reports: The US Supreme Court turned away a Missouri appeal that sought to ensure states can cut taxes even as they receive $195 billion in federal pandemic-relief money. The justices without comment left in place a federal appeals court decision that said Missouri lacked legal standing to press a lawsuit over the requirements imposed under the American Rescue …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: A former Catholic priest was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after admitting to possessing thousands of pieces of child pornography and putting them into PowerPoints that he edited over the course of more than a decade. Father James Beighlie, 72, was a Vincentian priest who most recently served as an associate pastor at …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Democrats on Wednesday slammed a Republican-backed change to the Missouri House dress code for women legislators. Rep. Ann Kelley, R-Lamar (photo), proposed explicitly requiring women legislators to wear jackets on the House floor, saying “it is essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere.” Lawmakers debate changes to House rules at the beginning of …

The Kansas City Star reports: Just months after a losing bid for U.S. Senate in Missouri, former Marine Lucas Kunce is launching another campaign — this time in an attempt to take down Republican Sen. Josh Hawley. Kunce announced his new campaign Jan. 6, two years after Hawley objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election amid an insurrection. …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Mark McCloskey, a lawyer who was pardoned alongside his wife for pointing guns at racial justice protesters outside their Central West End mansion in 2020, won’t be getting his guns or money back, a St. Louis judge ruled Wednesday. McCloskey filed suit last year seeking the return of a Colt AR-15 rifle and a Bryco …

The Roys Report reports: A former youth pastor at a Southern Baptist church in southwest Missouri pleaded guilty this week to six child sex abuse-related charges, court documents show. Jeff Taylor, 48, was sentenced to nine years in state prison as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to four statutory sodomy charges and two statutory rape charges, the …

ABC News reports: Voters approved recreational marijuana in Maryland and Missouri but rejected it in two other states, signaling support gradually growing for legalization even in conservative parts of the country. The results mean that 21 states have now approved marijuana’s recreational use. Arkansas and North Dakota voters rejected legalization proposals in Tuesday’s elections. A similar initiative went before voters …

St. Louis’s ABC affiliate reports: Missouri Attorney General and Republican candidate Eric Schmitt won the U.S. Senate against Democratic candidate Trudy Busch Valentine, the Associated Press projects. With 26% of precincts reporting at 9:15 p.m., Schmitt has 55% percent of the vote, while Busch Valentine has 43%. With the Constitution Party, Paul Venable so far secured 1% of the vote, …

St. Louis’s Fox affiliate reports: Like most people, McDonald County Clerk Kimberly Bell had never heard of a “cast vote record” before this summer. It’s not a report she’s ever generated after an election in the small county in southwestern Missouri, where she has administered elections for eight years. But like many county clerks and election officials across the country, …

Joplin’s NBC affiliate reports: A former area youth pastor and college instructor is accused of soliciting a 15-year-old girl for sex and paying her $500, according to Arkansas court documents. Daniel Williams Smathers, 44, of 3602 Cherry Lane, Joplin was charged in Benton County, Arkansas Circuit Court with traveling for the purpose of an unlawful sex act with a minor …

The Associated Press reports: The 19-year-old gunman who killed a teacher and a 15-year-old girl at a St. Louis high school was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and what appeared to be more than 600 rounds of ammunition, Police Commissioner Michael Sack said Tuesday. Orlando Harris also left behind a hand-written note offering his explanation for the shooting Monday at …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Police identified the suspect late Monday as Orlando Harris, 19, a graduate last year of the school, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, at Arsenal Street and South Kings highway near Tower Grove Park.  One survivor heard the shooter say he was “tired of everybody” in the school. Police said the damage could have …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: At least three people were killed, including the suspect, and six others injured after a shooting Monday morning at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis. A woman died at a hospital, and a teen girl was pronounced dead inside the school, both of gunshot wounds. Injuries ranged from gunshot wounds …

From GOP Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office has submitted a proposed rule that would establish a certification requirement for libraries receiving state funds and institute measures to protect minors from non-age-appropriate materials. As stated in the proposal, libraries would adopt written policies determining what material is age-appropriate. As well, state funds could not …

The Joplin Globe reports: The former pastor of a fringe church in McDonald County at the center of a sexual abuse scandal 16 years ago is facing a new charge that he raped an underage girl. Raymond L. Lambert II, 67, of rural Washburn, was arrested and charged last week with first-degree rape of a 10-year-old girl in the summer …

ABC News reports: A considerable amount of radioactive waste was found at a Missouri elementary school near St. Louis, according to a new report. In August, Boston Chemical Data Corp. studied soil, dust and plant samples at Jana Elementary School in Florissant, Missouri, according to the company’s report. The school is in the flood plain of Coldwater Creek, which was …

From the Justice Department: A retired St. Louis priest pleaded guilty to federal charges Wednesday and admitted possessing thousands of images containing child pornography. James T. Beighlie, 72, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography in front of U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp. In his plea agreement, Beighlie admitted that on May 17, 2021, while he …

The Missouri Independent reports: Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has lined up behind a U.S. Supreme Court case legal experts believe could radically reshape how federal elections are conducted by handing more power to state legislatures and blocking state courts from intervening. Ashcroft has filed an amicus brief in support of Republicans in North Carolina who are asking the …

The Associated Press reports: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed an open records request seeking correspondence between two journalism professors connected to the University of Missouri and the executive director of a fact-checking group. In a move that appears to be unprecedented in Missouri, Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, filed a request in June asking for three …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: John Wood, a former investigator for the Jan. 6 committee who launched an independent bid for U.S. Senate in Missouri, said Tuesday he was withdrawing from the race. Wood, who positioned himself as a conservative alternative to the Democratic and Republican nominees, said there was no path forward for his bid after controversial ex-Gov. Eric …