SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A two-headed turtle born last month at the San Antonio Zoo has become so popular that she has her own Facebook page.

Zoo officials say the Texas cooter, named Thelma and Louise for the female duo in the 1991 Oscar-winning movie, has been doing well.

Spokeswoman Debbie Rios-Vanskike (van SKYKE’) says the turtle eats and swims, and added that the two heads — named Louise Left and Thelma Right — get along.

The Facebook page on Sunday showed photos of the quirky reptile and imaginary conversations between the two heads.

The turtle hatched June 18. The animal is on display at the zoo’s Friedrich Aquarium.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A tiny minnow is being reintroduced into northern Missouri waterways under a plan aimed at addressing its decline 15 years after the fish was first listed for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The Topeka shiner, a silvery fish less than than 3 inches long, was listed as endangered in 1998 after its numbers dropped because of habitat loss, sedimentation and pollution in waterways throughout its range in several states, including Missouri.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation and The Nature Conservancy are reintroducing at least few hundred Topeka shiners into three Missouri creeks: Big Muddy Creek, Little Creek and Spring Creek.

The reintroduction plan begins this summer and runs through October in waterways on lands owned by the state and The Nature Conservancy.

 

FULTON, Mo. (AP) — A nuclear power plant near Fulton has shut down after a small fire in the turbine building.

Ameren Missouri said in a news release that crews quickly distinguished the Friday night fire at the Callaway Energy Center. The utility stressed that no one was injured and that the public wasn’t threatened.

But the release said the center is “out of service in accordance with safety protocols and procedures.”

Ameren says an assessment is underway to determine when the facility can return to service.

The Callaway Energy Center typically generates about 20 percent of the electricity supplied to Ameren Missouri’s 1.2 million customers. The utility says that while it’s out of service, the energy it produces will be replaced by other Ameren Missouri facilities.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A former Joplin middle school teacher is accused of using a teenage girl to produce child pornography.

Charles Gastel of Carterville, 39,  was charged Friday in federal court with sexual exploitation of children.

It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

The affidavit says Gastel’s son saw a video on his father’s laptop computer that depicted a sexual assault.

The victim told authorities that two or three videos were created when she was 16. But the victim said she was 10 when the abuse began.

When told his laptop would be searched, Gastel told authorities there were things on it that would end his teaching career.

The Joplin school district says Gastel resigned at the end of the school year to seek employment elsewhere.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — With the help of some Democrats, Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature appears prepared to override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of a high-profile bill that seeks to nullify federal gun-control laws in Missouri and make criminals out of federal agents who try to enforce them.

The Democratic governor contends the bill violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Several of his fellow Democrats told The Associated Press that they don’t disagree, but they say a “no” vote on gun-control legislation in some parts of Missouri could be career ending.

The Republican-led Legislature is to meet in September to consider a veto override.  The gun bill originally passed with comfortable margins in the House and Senate.

GREEN RIDGE, Mo. (AP) — A western Missouri sheriff says a house fire earlier this week was deliberately set to hide a double homicide.

The bodies of 56-year-old Barbara Hudson and her 26-year-old son, Jeremiah Hudson, were discovered Monday in their fire-damaged home near Green Ridge, west of Sedalia.

Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond says authorities know how the two died but are withholding the information as part of the investigation. No arrests had been made as of Friday.

Bond also declined to say how the fire was set except that it was intentional. He said doors to the house were locked, making burglary appear unlikely.

More than 40 investigators with the Missouri Rural Major Case Squad are working on the case.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Council wants managers of the city pension funds to avoid investing in gun manufacturers.

The council’s vote on Thursday followed appeals by Mayor Sly James to pass the symbolic act as a response to gun violence in the city.

Councilman John Sharp was the only member to vote against the proposal. He said none of the city’s four pension funds currently hold stock in companies that make guns.

And he says he considered the measure a criticism of lawful gun owners like himself.

James said the measure was not aimed at lawful gun owners.

The resolution asks the boards of the city employees, firefighters, police and police civilian pension systems to consider adopting policies against investing in companies that make guns.

HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in Hannibal, Mo., are trying to determine who is responsible for burning an American flag that sits atop Lover’s Leap, a high bluff that overlooks the Mississippi River and downtown.

A tourist visiting Lover’s Leap on Tuesday found the charred remains of the flag.

Hannibal Parks and Recreation director Andy Dorian says he was “disgusted” by the vandalism. Police Chief Lyndell Davis says little evidence was left behind, but he remains hopeful leads can be developed.

Hannibal is the boyhood home of Mark Twain. The northeast Missouri town of 17,000 draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts couple have won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket that they dug out of the trash after inadvertently throwing it away.

The state lottery commission says Joseph and Joanne Zagami of North Attleborough bought the $5 ticket from a vending machine while doing their grocery shopping.

They stuck the ticket into one of the grocery bags and forgot about it.

The next day, Joseph Zagami asked his wife if she had scratched the ticket. She said no. They dug through the trash and found it mixed in with the discarded grocery bags.

The couple claimed their prize Wednesday. They opted for the one-time lump sum payment of $650,000 before taxes. They plan to pay off their mortgage and other bills, and to take a vacation.