ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis jury has sided with tobacco giant Philip Morris in a class-action lawsuit that sought about $1.5 billion.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the suit alleged the company deceived smokers by claiming light cigarettes were safer than regular cigarettes.

The jury sided with the company after deliberating less than an hour Thursday following a month-long trial.

The outcome would have impacted Missouri smokers who used Marlboro Lights from Feb. 14, 1995, through Dec. 31, 2003.

It was the second time a St. Louis jury heard the case. A 2011 trial ended with the jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of the plaintiff. Nine votes are needed for a civil case verdict in Missouri.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 56-year-old New Mexico man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for transporting a 13-year-old Missouri girl across state lines to engage in sexual activity.

U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson says Raymond C. Vallia III of Albuquerque was sentenced Wednesday in Kansas City. He pleaded guilty in November to transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity

The Henry County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in March 2015 to investigate a report of a missing girl. Officers determined the girl met Vallia on the Internet, and he had picked her up at her home.

New Mexico State Police stopped a vehicle matching a description of Vallia’s the next day. The girl was found in the vehicle, and Vallia was arrested.

HARRISBURG, Mo. (AP) — A Harrisburg woman has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree elder abuse after authorities say she tied her 76-year-old father to his bed so that she could take a shower.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the 54-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday. Sheriff’s Detective Tom O’Sullivan said that the woman told deputies who went to her home that she left her father tied to the bed until someone with an in-home health care company came and freed him.

O’Sullivan said the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services notified the authorities about the incident.

ELLSWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The Ellsworth County Attorney says that he is charging two juveniles with battery in connection to a school bus incident involving members of the Great Bend High School swim team.

The Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office investigated allegations that several students were victimized on the team bus as it passed through the county February 6th.

County Attorney Joe Shepack said in a press release Thursday that what started out as horseplay turned into “several incidents” of battery on one 14-year-old team member.

Arrest warrants will not be issued for the two juveniles, who will be allowed to turn themselves in at the county courthouse.

Allegations of misconduct in Barton County aboard a bus as the team traveled back to Great Bend from Saline County February 3rd are also being investigated.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a 2-year-old boy hospitalized after a small octopus became wedged in this throat is improving.

Police Lieutenant James Espinoza said Thursday the boy has been upgraded to good condition and doesn’t show signs of long-term injury caused by oxygen deprivation to the brain.

The boy has been hospitalized since Tuesday night. That’s when the child’s 21-year-old mother returned home from work and found her boyfriend performing CPR on her son.

Espinoza says the couple took the boy to the hospital, where doctors found and removed the dead octopus, which had a head about 2 inches in diameter, from the boy’s throat.

Police said the octopus was likely to be used for sushi.

The 36-year-old boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of child abuse.

FLORISSANT, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County police say a renter upset about a maintenance issue st the house on fire and shot a 78-year-old repairman before killing himself.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the repairman wounded in the shooting about 4 p.m. Wednesday near Florissant was critically injured but is expected to survive. He was not publicly identified.

St. Louis County police Sergeant Shawn McGuire says the repairman is a maintenance worker for the owner of several rental properties on the street.

Police identified the shooter as 56-year-old Triandos Sherrard, who McGuire said had argued since Wednesday with the repairman and the landlord about an unspecified, unresolved maintenance issue.

Police say that after the repairman was shot at Sherrard’s rental home, officers found Sherrard at a relative’s home eight miles away.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A person has died after being shot by an Omaha police officer.

The World-Herald reports that authorities say an Omaha police gang unit officer shot a “known suspect” Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of Sol’s Jewelry & Loan in Omaha. The shooting happened around 4:20 p.m.

The suspect was taken in critical condition to the Nebraska Medical Center where he later died.

No officer injuries have been reported.

Omaha police identify the man as 44-year-old Lance McIntire, a suspect who’d fled from police earlier.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Motorcyclists who are 21 and older could ride without wearing a helmet in some cases under a bill heading to the Missouri Senate.

House members passed the bill 103-43 Thursday.

Under the proposal, riders 21 and older wouldn’t have to wear a helmet if they’ve had their motorcycle license at least two years or if they complete a safety course. They’d also need to meet insurance requirements.

Sponsor Representative Eric Burlison says the government shouldn’t interfere in whether adults wear helmets while riding a motorcycle. He says it’s a matter of personal freedom.

Critics argued it could mean taxpayers foot the costs of injuries from non-helmet-wearing riders who later need state assistance.

A similar measure has passed the House in previous years but met opposition in the Senate.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate has passed a budget plan that would boost spending for public education. Senators voted Thursday to approve a $27 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1st.

Missouri’s colleges and universities would get a $56 million increase. Governor Jay Nixon has said would be enough to freeze tuition next year.

The Senate’s plan would also prevent universities from raising mandatory fees that don’t pass a student vote.

The spending plan includes a $70 million boost to core K-12 education funding. That is roughly $15 million less than the governor proposed, and about $440 million less than what it would take to fully fund public schools under the state’s legal formula.

The budget also increases spending for Medicaid, public defenders and state employee salaries.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man and woman have been arrested after fleeing from central Missouri officers in a stolen vehicle from which multiple gunshots were fired.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that the chase started Thursday after a Boone County deputy spotted a sport utility vehicle that had been reported stolen Wednesday.

As the deputy approached the vehicle, the female driver sped toward the front of a motel where she picked up a male suspect.

Dashcam video shows that multiple gunshots were fired from the stolen vehicle at deputies and cars on Interstate 70 during the pursuit. Authorities say gunfire ultimately disabled the lead deputy’s patrol vehicle.

The chase wound through Columbia before finally ending in eastern Callaway County. The two suspects are facing multiple felony charges in Boone County.