JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are considering raising the standard to sue for discrimination and capping damages in those cases.

St. Louis attorney Jon Berns told The Associated Press Friday that policy would mean limits on harassment and discrimination lawsuits that have plagued the troubled Corrections Department.

The Kansas City alternative weekly The Pitch reported the state has paid more than $7.5 million in settlements and judgments from 2012 to 2016 on harassment and discrimination claims by prison employees.

The legislation would require plaintiffs bringing discrimination lawsuits to prove that race, religion, sex or other protected status was the motivating reason for discrimination or termination, rather than just a contributing factor. It also would cap damages.

Backers say the change is needed because it’s too easy to sue for discrimination.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. (AP) — The National Weather Service has reclassified a tornado that killed one person and destroyed dozens of homes in the Perryville area as an EF-4 twister.

The weather service’s preliminary finding classified Tuesday night’s tornado as an EF-3.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the new information was released Saturday by the Perryville Police Department, which was briefed by the weather service Friday.

Meteorologist Rick Shankland says the tornado carried winds up to 180 mph. Shankland told police the tornado was six-tenths of a mile wide and traveled 50.4 miles, the longest track in 25 years.

A 24-year-old Perryville man died when the he was thrown from his vehicle as it was blown off of Interstate 55.

More than 100 homes in the area were damaged, with many of them destroyed.

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — A modern day cattle roundup shut down traffic ramps for about four hours on a busy section of Kansas highways in Johnson County.

The Kansas Department of Transportation closed ramps about noon Friday near Kansas 10 and Interstate 435.

A semi-trailer truck overturned on the westbound Interstate 35 lanes to Kansas 10, releasing dozens of cows. At one point, between 55 and 60 cows were running loose.

The ramps were reopened about 4 p.m. Friday after the cattle were all rounded up and the truck was hauled away.

Several law enforcement agencies were involved in the roundup. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the truck to overturn.

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — A South Texas woman who says she gave up beer for Lent then won a case of Budweiser delivered to her home by a team of Clydesdales.

The Valley Morning Star reports Leandra Ruiz received the beer Thursday in a special drop-off, via the huge horses, at her neighborhood in Harlingen.

The 35-year-old Ruiz says that several weeks ago she entered an online contest for a chance at home delivery of some beer. Ruiz, who says she was surprised to learn she won, was on hand with family and friends to watch the Clydesdales pull up to her home.

The Budweiser carriage drivers also took Ruiz for a ride around the block.

The Clydesdale were in South Texas for this weekend’s BorderFest celebration in Hidalgo.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis jury has rejected a woman’s claim that Johnson & Johnson baby powder contributed to her ovarian cancer.

The 11-1 verdict came Friday in a lawsuit filed by 55-year-old Nora Daniels, of Columbia, Tennessee, against Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc, a talcum powder supplier.

Two prior juries ruled against the company, awarding a total of $197 million to the plaintiffs.

About 2,000 state and federal lawsuits have been filed against the company claiming a link between the powder and ovarian cancer.

Daniels said that she used Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder from 1978 to 2013, when she was diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The youngest of five people convicted in a 1988 arson fire that killed six Kansas City firefighters could be released from prison soon.

A federal judge ruled Friday that Bryan Sheppard, who is now 45, should have his sentence reduced to 20 years in prison. Because Sheppard has already served 22 years, he could be released. Details of his possible release were not available Friday.

Sheppard was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison for the November 1988 explosion.

The Kansas City Star reports he was granted a new sentencing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled mandatory life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional unless a judge first considered their individual situation.

The five people sentenced in the case have long maintained their innocence.

NEW YORK (AP and Post) — An arrest has been made in connection with threats made to at least eight Jewish community centers nationwide and the Anti-Defamation League’s headquarters in New York City.

Federal authorities in New York said Friday that Juan Thompson has been arrested.

According to a complaint, the threats were made to harass a former girlfriend. The caller used the victim’s name while making some of the threats.

The phone threat to the ADL’s Manhattan headquarters was made Feb. 22.

The ADL said in a statement Friday that Juan Thompson, a fired former journalist, had been on its radar ever since he fabricated a story about Charleston, South Carolina, church shooter Dylann Roof.

Thompson was expected to appear in a Missouri court later Friday on charges that include cyberstalking.

There was no immediate information on attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Following news of the arrest of a Missouri man in connection with recent threats on Jewish Community Centers, Missouri Governor ERic Greitens posted the following statement to Facebook:

“An arrest was made this morning in connection with threats against Jewish centers and schools. The suspect is from St. Louis, and while the facts are still being determined and the authorities are still doing their work, it is shocking to learn that these disgusting actions might have originated here.

We have said before, and we will say again: Anti-Semitism has no place in this state. If you threaten religious institutions in our state, you will be found and brought to justice. We are grateful for the work of FBI and law enforcement on this case, and we pledge to support them however they need,” Greitens said.

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man is charged with raping a woman he met on a dating app.

A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of 30-year-old Bradley Everhart during his arraignment Thursday in Platte County on a second-degree rape charge. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Prosecutors allege the man sexually assaulted the woman in August 2016 after inviting her to his home. They had met through an app called Plenty of Fish.

The woman told investigators she received 45 text messages from Everhart while headed home. Court records say he told police that his ex-girlfriend had sent the messages to get him in trouble and that the alleged victim initiated sex.

MACON, Mo. (AP) — A judge has ruled that blood alcohol evidence will be allowed in the drunken-driving assault trial of the Moniteau County prosecuting attorney.

Attorneys for Shayne Healea argued the blood evidence shouldn’t be allowed because the officer who filed it didn’t have a valid signature or date, as required by law.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Judge Frederick Turner ruled Thursday the evidence was admissible because the officer acted in good faith when he obtained the warrant for the blood alcohol tests.

Healea is charged with leaving the scene of an accident and four counts of second-degree assault. Investigators say his truck hit a Columbia restaurant in October 2014, injuring four people. Healea drove away and later refused a breath-alcohol test.

Helea’s trial is scheduled to begin June 5.