JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri is taking part in a multi-state earthquake drill designed to teach participants to “drop, cover and hold on.”
The Missouri Department of Public Safety says more than 400,000 residents are registered to participate in the Great Central U. S. “ShakeOut” earthquake drill on Oct. 16. Last year, more than 2.4 million people in 10 states took part.
Many Missouri residents live within the New Madrid seismic zone, one of the most active in the country.
State Emergency Management Agency Director Ron Walker said in a news release that he encourages schools, businesses and families to consider participating in the drill.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Prosecutors say they’re investigating a Twitter post claiming that grand jurors hearing evidence in the police shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old near St. Louis haven’t seen enough evidence to justify prosecuting the officer.
The Twitter user claimed Wednesday that a friend serving on the grand jury told her the panel lacked evidence to warrant an arrest of Darren Wilson, the white officer who shot Michael Brown on Aug. 9.
The tweet and Twitter account have since been deleted. A county prosecutor’s spokesman says there’s no evidence to suggest information in the tweet is credible.
The AP hasn’t confirmed the poster’s identity.
Grand jurors are expected to complete their work by early November. A juror’s sharing of information from the secret proceedings could amount to misconduct.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The Democrat and Republican parties are weighing in on a pair of proposed constitutional amendments on Missouri’s ballot.
The Missouri Democratic State Committee has passed a resolution opposing proposed Constitutional Amendment 3. The measure would require public school teachers to be evaluated based on student performance and would limit tenure protections.
The Missouri Republican State Committee has voted to endorse proposed Constitutional Amendment 2. That measure would allow allegations of past criminal acts to be used against people facing sex-related charges involving victims younger than 18.
The official actions by the political parties will allow them to campaign on the measures as part of their get-out-the-vote efforts for the Nov. 4 election.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Mike Trout asked Albert Pujols for advice on his playoff debut before the Los Angeles Angels stepped into the October spotlight, and the veteran slugger with two World Series rings had some simple guidance for baseball’s best young player.
”He told me to just be myself, and not try to hit that home run when you don’t need it,” Trout said. ”Just keep that same swing that got you here, and go from there. (But) it’s definitely a bigger game, for sure. All eyes are on you.”
Trout reaches the milestone he craves most Thursday night when he runs out to center field at the Big A for the Angels’ American League Division Series opener against the Kansas City Royals, who must concoct a quick encore to their incredible 12-inning comeback victory in the wild-card game.
Trout led the majors in RBI, runs and extra-base hits this season for the major league-leading Angels (98-64), capping nearly three full seasons of electrifying play with a likely MVP campaign — and a playoff berth.
It sure beats last October, which the New Jersey native spent back home in a tree stand when he wasn’t watching the playoffs on television.
”Now I’m hunting a ring instead of deer,” Trout said with a laugh.
While the Royals are in their first postseason since 1985, the Angels hadn’t been in the playoffs since 2009, and several regulars share Trout’s lack of experience on the big stage. But Pujols has a vaunted postseason history from his time in St. Louis, and third baseman David Freese was the MVP of the World Series and the NL Championship Series for the Cardinals just three years ago.
While Freese was having the best month of his career in 2011, Trout was coming off his season in the Double-A Texas League. Trout spent just 20 more games in the minors before heading to Orange County to stay.
”I don’t think I need to say anything to Mike Trout,” Freese said. ”He’s been in the spotlight since Day One, and he’s going to be in it again. The game is better with Mike Trout in the postseason. I think we all understand that, and it’s exciting to get him in there and get Albert back in there.”
Indeed, the big-budget Angels are getting a return on their lavish investments in Trout, Pujols and Josh Hamilton, who will return to the Angels’ lineup for the opener, batting seventh and playing left field after missing 21 of the last 22 games with injuries.
Angels ace Jered Weaver (18-9, 3.59 ERA) starts against Kansas City’s Jason Vargas (11-10, 3.71), who pitched for Los Angeles last year. The pitchers have been close friends since their days at nearby Long Beach State — but before their families take their joint vacation already planned for this winter, they’ll attempt to keep their clubs rolling.
”There aren’t very many players like (Trout) that come along,” Vargas said. ”(But) you’re going to have to negotiate that whole lineup, and if you think about one hitter, your work is going to be cut out for you.”
The Royals’ long-awaited playoff return has already been memorable. Kansas City is still buzzing after the club’s rally from a late four-run deficit and another 12th-inning hole for a dramatic 9-8 victory over Oakland on Tuesday night.
The Royals celebrated with champagne and goggles after a game that lasted nearly five hours, but they were clear-headed and clear-eyed by the time they arrived Wednesday for a light workout.
”Not a lot of sleep, but that’s OK,” left fielder Alex Gordon said. ”We’ll take the lack of sleep for moving on and coming to L.A.”
Kansas City realizes the stiff challenge posed by the Angels, who overcame numerous pitching injuries with a boost from the majors’ most productive offense. The Royals struggled to score all season, but made up for it with steady starting pitching and a dynamic bullpen, which means the ALDS matches strengths against strengths.
If the Royals hope to return to raucous Kauffman Stadium with some of the momentum still intact from their win over the Athletics, an early victory in Anaheim would be helpful. Manager Ned Yost is confident that his raw roster gained experience quickly this week.
”You couldn’t have had a more charged atmosphere, more pressure, more intensity than we had,” Yost said. ”Our backs couldn’t be more against the wall than being four runs down against Jon Lester in the eighth inning, and they didn’t fold. They kept fighting and getting after it and found a way to win.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Right tackle Donald Stephenson is back with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He’s just not back in the starting lineup.
Stephenson returned from a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs Wednesday, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that Ryan Harris remains the starter on the right side and that Stephenson would have to work his way back into the mix.
“He’s just going to get himself back in the swing of things,” Reid said. “He’ll rotate back in there in practice. He hasn’t done any football for a month, so we’ll let him get acclimated.”
Stephenson was suspended in late August, and said at the time that he took a medication that requires a therapeutic-use exemption and failed to properly investigate it.
He was able to practice with the Chiefs throughout training camp, but Reid held him out of one of the preseason games so that he could get a better look at players he had available.
Stephenson said that he stayed in shape during his monthlong hiatus, during which he was barred from the team facility, by working out twice a day in Dallas. When asked whether he would be able to play Sunday in San Francisco, the third-year pro replied with a shrug.
“I feel like I’m in shape. I worked my butt off for the past month. Whenever they’re ready, I’m ready to go,” he said. “The only way to get in football shape is to play football. The only thing I could do was workout and stay in shape.”
It’s hardly surprising that Reid was hesitant to shake things up. After losing left guard Jeff Allen to a season-ending injury in their opener, and Stephenson to his suspension, their rejiggered offensive line has finally started to play well the past couple of weeks.
The Chiefs ran for 174 yards in a 35-14 pasting of Miami two weeks ago, and piled up 207 yards rushing in Monday night’s 41-14 rout of New England. In that game, quarterback Alex Smith enjoyed a nice pocket most of the night, throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s been a little battle with the personnel and we’ve had some injuries and things change,” Smith said, “but the guys up front have been doing a good job moving around.”
Eric Fisher is starting to look comfortable back at left tackle, the position the former No. 1 overall pick played in college. Mike McGlynn has hardly looked like a journeyman at left guard, and Zach Fulton has barely resembled a rookie sixth-round pick at right guard. Rodney Hudson has been a reliable center, and Harris has filled in admirably in Stephenson’s absence.
“We had some injuries in the beginning, some spots to fill and had to go through that. It’s kind of hard to click when you’re moving guys around the line constantly,” Fisher said. “The last few weeks, we’ve been able to stick together and that’s always going to help an offensive line.”
Good for the offensive line. Maybe not so good for Stephenson’s chances of starting soon.
Regardless, Reid said he welcomed the big right tackle’s return. He pointed out the attrition rate of offensive linemen is high, and that you can never have too much depth.
“You need everybody,” Reid said. “You need all the players as you go, and you want to make sure they’re all ready to play and ready to go.”
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says a new high-performance version of the Chevrolet Corvette can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds.
The 2015 Corvette ZO6 is the fastest car GM has ever made. The company says it can hit 60 mph in 2.95 seconds and can finish a quarter-mile in just under 11 seconds. It can reach 127 mph in one-quarter mile.
GM spokesman Monte Doran says GM believes it to be the first front-engine, rear-wheel-drive production car to break the three-second barrier.
The Z06 that achieved the times is equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. It has a supercharged V8 engine that puts out 650 horsepower.
The Z06 goes on sale early next year and will cost just shy of $80,000.
SAVANNAH- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 2 p.m. on Wednesday in Andrew County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Saturn driven by Deborah M. Peak, 22, Atchison, was eastbound on U.S. 59 three miles west of Savannah.
The vehicle traveled off the south side of the road, the driver overcorrected and the vehicle went off the road again. The vehicle went down an embankment and overturned.
Peak was transported to Heartland Regional Medical Center.
The MSHP reported Peak was properly restrained at the time of the accident.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not Obamacare or climate change. It’s not yet terrorism or fear of the Islamic State group. Those issues are on the minds of voters as they begin casting ballots in this year’s midterm elections, but nothing matters to American voters as much the economy.
An Associated Press-GfK poll released Wednesday finds 9 in 10 likely voters call the economy an extremely or very important issue.
Few see change coming once voting closes November 4. A majority of likely voters expect Democrats to retain control of the Senate, with 68 percent saying the GOP will keep the House. Voters are split on which party they would like to see win control of Congress, 45 percent prefer Republicans and 42 percent say Democrats.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas Bureau of Investigation administrator has been disbarred by the state Supreme Court after pleading guilty earlier this year to sexual exploitation of a child.
Former KBI deputy director Kyle G. Smith was third in line at the bureau last November when an agency secretary found a photo of a teenage girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct that was traced to Smith’s email account.
Smith pleaded guilty earlier this year and was sentenced to 32 months in prison, which was suspended and he was placed on probation for three years. He also must register as a sex offender for 25 years.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the Supreme Court issued its disbarment order Friday. Smith had surrendered his Kansas law license Sept. 17.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas university says it’s leading a five-year food project that includes other schools and developing countries in examining ways small farms can increase production.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1ozCROW ) Kansas State University recently announced that it received a $50 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Vara Prasad, who will be the project’s director, says part of the issue is also reducing the amount of spoiled food. The project will also look at the nutritional needs of people farming the land.
The school will coordinate studies in Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The grant will fund one or two projects proposed by colleges and nonprofits in each country.
