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Missouri audit finds schools did not get traffic fine money

File photo
File photo

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — City revenues from traffic violations that exceeded Missouri limits have not been properly distributed by the state to schools in counties where the money originated.

The auditor’s office said in a report Wednesday that state agencies did not correctly dole out about $235,000 collected under a law that legislators are seeking to modify as part of a response to events in Ferguson.

Under current law, cities cannot get more than 30 percent of their general revenue from traffic fines and fees. The excess is supposed to go to schools in the county the money came from.

The report says the money instead went to a state fund from which basic aid is distributed to all of Missouri’s public school districts.

Man arrested after landing helicopter on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol

arrestWASHINGTON (AP) — A small one-person helicopter has landed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, prompting a temporary lockdown of the Capitol Visitor’s Center.

Capitol Police approached the aircraft shortly after it touched down and took its pilot into custody.

The man’s identity and motive were not immediately clear. The situation was under investigation and streets in the area were shut down.

Capitol Police identified the aircraft as a “gyro copter with a single occupant.”

Former Kansas City youth soccer coach sentenced for videotaping girls

courtKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former youth soccer coach in a Kansas City suburb was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for secretly videotaping young girls on his team while they changed clothes.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says 41-year-old Joel While was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty last summer to three counts of attempting to produce child pornography. He videotaped the girls on his team in Lee’s Summit.

White coached girls soccer teams in the under-12 and under-15 age divisions for the Lee’s Summit Soccer Association.

White admitted he taped about 11 girls, who were 11- and 12 years old, as they were changing in a bedroom at his home. The tapings occurred about 10 to 15 times. He also admitted inappropriately touching one girl while she slept at his home.

Missouri Senate approves reduced lifetime limit on welfare

Missouri Senate chamber File Photo
Missouri Senate chamber
File Photo

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A compromise between Missouri House and Senate Republicans that would lower the lifetime limit for temporary cash assistance for low-income families from 60 months to 45 months is moving forward.

The Senate on Tuesday approved by a vote of 25 to 9 the measure that would also impose stricter work requirements and higher sanctions for noncompliance.

Supporters say lowering the amount of time would encourage people to find work and get job training more quickly.

Opponents say it would push off families that need support and would harm children.

The bill would also require participants have face-to-face meetings with counselors when they are in danger of losing assistance.

The House must also approve the compromise worked out by House and Senate negotiators before it goes to Gov. Jay Nixon.

Kansas urges dismissal of federal lawsuit over gay marriage

marriage gayTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas argues in a new court filing that the ability of same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses in many counties should prompt a federal judge to dismiss a gay-marriage lawsuit.

But an American Civil Liberties Union attorney said Tuesday that lawyers representing state officials are not raising any new legal issues.

The state’s filing Monday in federal court was expected to be its last before U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree considers whether to permanently bar enforcement of the state constitution’s ban on gay marriage.

The Kansas Supreme Court in November left it to chief judges in each of the state’s 31 judicial districts to determine whether marriage licenses would be issued to same-sex couples.

The state argues that as a result there is now no legal controversy.

Missouri House OKs charge to prisoners for doctor’s visits

File photo
File photo

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Missouri lawmakers want to charge prisoners seeking non-emergency medical care 50 cents per visit with exceptions for chronic illness treatment and some other circumstances.

The Missouri House on Tuesday gave first round approval to a measure that supporters say would save the state money and teach inmates personal responsibility.

Republican Rep. Rick Brattin, of Harrisonville, says it will cut down on frivolous visits.

Those in state prisons would not have to pay the 50 cent fee if the care was for an emergency, preventive care, prenatal care, mental health or substance abuse treatment.

Opponents say the additional charge punishes people already being punished and does not guarantee any savings to the state.

The measure faces another vote before moving to the Senate.

Missouri State cancels Nelly concert days after his arrest

  Nelly Promotes Apple Bottom fragrance at | at North Riverside Mall, North Riverside, IL, USA, on June 5, 2010. Photo by Adam Bielawski
Nelly Promotes Apple Bottom fragrance at | at North Riverside Mall, North Riverside, IL, USA, on June 5, 2010. Photo by Adam Bielawski

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Nelly concert scheduled for next week at Missouri State University has been canceled days after he was arrested in Tennessee on suspicion of drug possession.

Missouri State officials announced the cancellation Tuesday in a statement but did not give a reason. The rapper was scheduled to perform in Springfield on April 23.

Nelly, whose name is Cornell Hayes, was arrested Saturday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The patrol said in a news release that investigators found five rocks that tested positive for methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and numerous handguns on the rapper’s bus.

His attorney, Scott Rosenblum said in a statement that Nelly will “not be associated with the contraband” once the facts come out.

Nelly was released from Putnam County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Anthem subsidiaries face Missouri lawsuit over data breach

Hackers accessed millions of records at Anthem, a health insurance company with policyholders in Missouri and Kansas. Credit File photo
Hackers accessed millions of records at Anthem, a health insurance company with policyholders in Missouri and Kansas.
Credit File photo

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri lawsuit seeking class-action status accuses three insurance agencies of failing to safeguard consumer data from hackers who recently breached health insurer Anthem’s computer networks.

A lawsuit first filed in February in St. Louis County on behalf of a Richmond, Missouri, woman was amended Tuesday to add three plaintiffs who allege personal data stolen during the breach is responsible for fraudulent tax returns filed in their name.

Hackers in December or January broke into an Anthem database that included names, employment details and Social Security numbers.

The Missouri suit alleges such information of nearly 100 million consumers “is now in the hands of thieves.”

Anthem says it has no evidence that the hackers shared or sold any of the data, or that fraud has occurred against its members.

CertainTeed plant renovation in Kansas City, Kansas to add jobs

CertainTeedKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — CertainTeed Corp. officials say the building materials company will renovate its plant in Kansas City, Kansas, creating more than 70 new jobs over the next three years.

The company announced Tuesday that it has begun renovating its plant to begin production of fiberglass insulation products during the second quarter of this year.

Greg Silvestri, president of CertainTeed Insulation, says the company is investing more than $30 million to re-engineer the plant’s furnace and restart related production lines to give it greater flexibility to support its growing business needs.

CertainTeed employs about 6,000 people in 65 facilities in the U.S. and Canada. It is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building materials company.

Audit says Missouri owes $34M for Medicaid noncompliance

720px-US-DeptOfHHS-Seal.svgJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A new audit claims Missouri owes the federal government $34 million for not complying with Medicaid regulations.

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services audit set for release Tuesday shows Missouri didn’t bill drug manufacturers for rebates.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that meant drug companies kept more money while there was less for Medicaid recipients.

The Missouri Department of Social Services oversees the program and says it disagrees with the audit.

A department spokeswoman says the amount owed is closer to $7 million.

States are supposed to collect rebates for medication given at hospitals by submitting drug data to manufacturers.

But the audit shows Missouri failed to do that for at least three years. State officials have said financial and administrative barriers made compliance challenging.

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