BENTON, Mo. (AP) — A southeast Missouri deputy has been honored for heroic actions to save two railroad workers from burning wreckage.

Scott County Deputy Justin Wooten this week received a plaque from Union Pacific Railroad and another from the county.

Wooten responded to a call on May 25 after two trains collided at Rockview.

The engine of the Union Pacific train was lodged next to a second engine, which was burning.

The deputy crawled down a hill to the engine and lifted the crew members to safety.

All told, seven people were hurt in the accident, but none of the injuries were serious.

WASHINGTON (AP) -The Supreme Court has cleared the way for same-sex unions in Calif., but avoids ruling on gay marriage .

In the ruling, the Supreme Court says legally married same-sex couples should get the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.

The court invalidated a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act Wednesday that has prevented married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and retirement benefits that are generally available to married people. The vote was 5-4.

Chanting “DOMA is Dead,” supporters of same-sex marriage burst into cheers Wednesday at news of the Supreme Court’s decision invalidating part of a law denying gay marriage partners the same federal benefits heterosexual couples enjoy.

Sarah Prager, 26, cried when she heard the news standing outside the court. Prager married her wife in Massachusetts in 2011 and now lives in Maryland.

“I’m in shock. I didn’t expect DOMA to be struck down,” she said through tears and shaking. Prager was referring to the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, which was aimed at preserving the legal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

A large crowd had thronged to the high court’s plaza earlier to await not only the decision on DOMA, but also a ruling on whether a constitutional amendment in California prohibiting gay marriage could stand the test of challenge.

Most of the crowd that spilled across the sidewalk in front of the court were gay marriage supporters. One person held a rainbow flag and another wore a rainbow shawl, and a number of people carried signs with messages including “2 moms make a right” and “‘I Do’ Support Marriage Equality.” Others wore T-shirts including “Legalize gay” and “It’s time for marriage equality.” At several points the crowd began a call and response: “What do we want? Equality. When do we want it? Now.”

Larry Cirignano, 57, was in the minority with a sign supporting marriage only between a man and a woman. He said he drove four hours from Far Hills, N.J., because he believed all views should be represented. He said he hopes the court follows the lead of 38 states that have defined marriage as between one man and one woman

FENTON, Mo. (AP) — Search crews were back in the Meramec River near St. Louis on Wednesday, where a man jumped from a bridge after running from police during a traffic stop.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped the man for speeding about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 21 near Highway 141. When the trooper approached the car the man ran to the bridge and jumped.

The search was temporarily halted by strong storms around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

BRIDGETON, Mo. (AP) — Residents who live near a landfill where an underground fire is burning near nuclear waste want the atomic material removed.

Hundreds of people turned out Tuesday night at Pattonville High School for a meeting hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The meeting was aimed at calming fears about the fire at the Bridgeton Landfill.

Instead, many in the crowd implored the EPA to remove the nuclear waste that sits in an adjacent landfill about 1,200 feet from the underground fire.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources believe a system of gas wells installed in April is helping limit movement of the fire. EPA officials say provisions are in place to keep the fire from the nuclear waste.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is heading back to court to defend new restrictions on abortion providers, having already spent more than $758,000 on private attorneys in lawsuits over anti-abortion laws.

Chief Judge Kathryn Vratil scheduled arguments Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on whether she should temporarily block parts of a sweeping state law set to take effect in July.

Planned Parenthood sued last week over provisions spelling out what information patients must receive before their pregnancies are terminated. It wants Vratil to prevent the state from enforcing the restrictions until its lawsuit is resolved.

The required information includes a statement that abortion ends the life of a “living human being.”

Planned Parenthood’s litigation is one of several lawsuits over abortion restrictions enacted since 2011.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in Cape Girardeau are trying to determine if a large hole behind a vacant home is yet another sinkhole.

Firefighters were called to the home last week. Authorities ruled out a collapsed sewer line.

The home is less than a mile from an area plagued by sinkholes.

The new hole is about 10 feet deep and 8 feet wide. Last Wednesday, state and federal emergency management officials met with Cape Girardeau leaders to inspect the sinkholes and conduct preliminary damage assessments. The state may seek a federal disaster declaration.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A 51-year-old Springfield mother and her daughter are being held without bond until a preliminary hearing next month on charges that they fatally poisoned two family members and tried to kill another in the same manner.

Diane Staudte and her 22-year-old daughter, Rachel Staudte, were arraigned Monday in Greene County. Each is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of armed criminal action.

Prosecutors say they used antifreeze to poison Diane Staudte’s husband, 61-year-old Mark Staudte, who died in April 2012, and her son, 26-year-old Shawn Staudte, who died in September. The two also are accused of poisoning 24-year-old Sarah Staudte, who survived.

A public defender representing the women didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday morning.

BRIDGETON, Mo. (AP) — A 7-year-old St. Louis County boy is being credited with helping to save the life of a man inside a Schnuck’s grocery store.

Matthew Frazee of Bridgeton was in the store with his mother Saturday when a woman in a panic approached. The man with her had collapsed in the aisle.

Cindy Frazee called 911 while Matthew went running inside the store to look for help. He happened upon three firefighters who followed him to the man in the aisle.

The firefighters treated the man until an ambulance arrived.

Details about the man’s condition were not available.

FARMINGTON, Mo. (AP) — One eastern Missouri jail is so overcrowded that authorities are using a huge tent to house weekend prisoners.

St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock plans to use the tents again next weekend.

The 180-bed jail had a record 291 inmates on Saturday.

The department used Homeland Security grant money to purchase the tent through Army Surplus. The tent sits on gravel in the jail’s impound lot.

Inmates use a portable toilet. A homemade sink is set up for washing. A razor-wire fence surrounds the area, which is monitored through surveillance cameras. Jail workers make random checks on the outdoor inmates

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act cannot be enforced unless Congress comes up with an up-to-date formula for deciding who still needs federal monitoring.

The justices said in 5-4 vote that the law Congress most recently renewed in 2006 relies on 40-year-old data that does not reflect racial progress and changes in U.S. society.

The court did not strike down the advance approval requirement of the law that has been used, mainly in the South, to open up polling places to minority voters in the nearly half century since it was first enacted in 1965. But the justices did say lawmakers must update the formula for determining which parts of the country must seek Washington’s approval, in advance, for election changes.