JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s proposed Do Not Track Act (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has introduced legislation to give internet users the ability to opt out of tracking and collection of personal data.

Hawley introduced the Do Not Track Act on Tuesday. The proposal is designed after the national Do Not Call list, which allows people to opt out of telemarketing calls.

Hawley’s office says it would allow internet users to opt out of tracking by clicking a setting in their browsers or by downloading an app.

The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general would have the authority to enforce the legislation. Companies would face fines of up to $1,000 per day per person for knowingly violating the rules.

The proposal is the latest move by Hawley in his larger campaign against big tech .

GREENE COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just before 11:30a.m. Tuesday during a rainstorm Greene County

The Missouri State Patrol reported a 2205 Mazda Tribute driven by Christin O. Beasley, 24, Williard, was westbound on U.S. 160 at Farm Road one mile west of Springfield. The vehicle skidded across the center of the road struck a 2006 Kenworth semi driven by Donald J. Bohenna, 43, Kimberling.

Beasley and her husband Brandon A. Beasley, 23, were pronounced dead at the scene. Bohenna was not injured. All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

The

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a couple has died in a crash northwest of Springfield.

KYTV reports that the crash happened around 11 a.m. Tuesday when the couple’s car crashed into a tractor-trailer on Farm Road 123 where it crosses U.S. 160. Their names weren’t immediately released.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The Latest on severe weather in the central United States (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

One day after President Donald Trump approved a federal disaster declaration for 13 Missouri counties, the state’s governor declared a state of emergency amid new weather problems.

I urge all Missourians to closely follow their local weather forecasts, take storm warnings seriously, and quickly act to protect themselves and their families when necessary.

— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) May 21, 2019

Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday cited worsening flood concerns and soil inundation, as well as forecasts calling for severe storms and possible tornadoes into Wednesday morning.

Parson cited numerous instances of flash flooding due to a band of storms crossing the state, storms that resulted in tornadoes and flooding in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Trump’s federal disaster declaration was in response to a March flood that was particularly damaging along the Missouri River in the state’s northwestern corner. The declaration allows for federal aid to help repair roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

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3:10 p.m.

With a potentially dangerous storm bearing down on St. Louis, baseball’s Cardinals are taking no chances, calling off a game against the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals.

The Cardinals announced the decision Tuesday afternoon, while the weather was calm. Forecasters were warning of potentially strong storms expected to arrive shortly after the game was scheduled to start.

The game will be made up Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.

The postponement means only one of St. Louis’ two major sports teams will play Tuesday night. It’s a big one. The Blues can earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals if they beat the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the NHL Western Conference Finals.

The Blues say they’re working with police and emergency crews to monitor the storm. They say fans should stay in their seats if a storm occurs during the game.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has signed into law a bill that would allow profoundly ill people who have been unable to find relief with pharmaceutical medications to avoid prosecution for possessing certain blends of oil extracted from cannabis plants.

The cannabidiol oils, also known as CBD, shielded by the Kansas bill could contain no more than 5% THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high.

I recently had the privilege to meet Lola and her family to discuss the much needed benefits of #ClaireAndLolasLaw. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/bhdEa1iGTj

— Susan Wagle (@SenatorWagle) April 29, 2019

Known as “Claire and Lola’s Law,” it was pushed by Gwen and Scott Hartley, whose 12-year-old daughter, Lola, suffers from microcephaly, a medical condition in which a child’s brain doesn’t fully develop. The condition has already claimed the life of Lola’s older sister, Claire, who died in December 2018 at the age of 17.

The law goes into effect on July 1.

JASPER, Mo. (AP) — The wife of a southwest Missouri man imprisoned for sexually molesting a young girl admitted to trying to keep the girl from testifying.

31-year-old Audrey Taffner pleaded guilty Monday in a plea agreement with a five-year cap on any sentence she might receive.

Circuit Judge Dean Dankelson delayed formal ruling on the plea and ordered a sentencing assessment before her sentencing hearing July 1.

 

Investigators say Audrey Taffner was caught discussing ways to keep the girl from testifying during a jailhouse with her husband during a visit about a year ago. The conversation was recorded.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Four men were sentenced in federal court Monday for stealing 654 firearms from United Parcel Service trailers in Springfield, Mo., en route to Bass Pro Shops, according to the United State’s Attorney.

A federal prosecutor says authorities have recovered only 73 of the hand guns and 2-gauge shotguns.

During a sentencing hearing Monday, U.S. Assistant Attorney James Kelleher said most of the guns are in public circulation.

Frank McChriston, 35, and Derrick White, 33, both of Dallas, Texas; Quinton Haywood, 27, of Glenn Heights, Texas; and Eric White, 28, of Arlington, Texas were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips. McChriston was sentenced to seven years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Derrick and Eric White were each sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole. Haywood was sentenced to seven years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered the defendants to pay $206,132 in restitution, for which they are jointly and severally liable.

All four defendants admitted they aided and abetted each other to steal cargo that was being shipped across state lines, from Beretta USA in Maryland to the state of Missouri. They also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting each other to possess stolen firearms.

Co-defendants Raynord Hunt, 36, and Keith Lowe, 29, both of Dallas, have pleaded guilty to the same charges and await sentencing.

According to court documents, the defendants stole 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns and 54 Beretta 12-gauge shotguns from United Parcel Service (UPS) trailers in Springfield in October 2017.

The firearms were in the process of being shipped from Beretta Firearms in Maryland to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. The trailers in which the firearms were shipped had been parked in the UPS freight lot in a configuration to prevent access to the trailer doors, by being parked back-to-back, with the roll-up doors facing each other. The trailers were then blocked by longer trailers, which should have acted as a preventative measure from someone backing a truck-tractor to the trailer and pulling it forward.

Sometime between noon on Oct. 28, 2017, and 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2017, thieves hot-wired two truck-tractors and used them to push and pull various trailers around the lot, allowing the thieves access to the trailer doors. UPS employees discovered the theft on Oct. 29, 2017, and notified law enforcement.

CRAWFORD COUNTY– A tornado touched down south of Pittsburg, Kansas Monday evening taking a path from 180th and 400 highway in Cherokee, Kansas and moving northeast toward 270th and 530th Avenue. east of Pittsburg, according to a statement from the city. No injuries have been reported, according to the sheriff’s department.

Storm damage reported includes damage to outbuildings and secondary structures, shingles blown off houses, wind damage, large trees down, and downed power lines. Westar Energy is responding to downed power lines and addressing power outages.

Search and rescue crews have been activated. Local first responders are checking residences to make sure everyone is accounted for. Anyone needing to locate loved ones or report missing residents should call (620) 230-5625.

Residents were advised to stay away from Langdon Lane and the surrounding area effected. Current weather hazards include downed power lines, debris, lightening and heavy rain. More weather risks are headed our way with a second round of thunderstorms in the forecast for this evening.

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Late Monday, the National Weather Service reduced the severe threat of violent storms to a small area of southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. But it kept an area stretching from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Wichita Falls, Texas, under tornado watch — the level of threat just below a tornado warning — until 5 a.m. CDT Tuesday morning

The biggest threat overnight appeared to be flash flooding from torrential rains that accompanied the storms, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service had warned that Monday evening could bring perilous weather to a large swath of western Texas, most of Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The storm was expected to move later Monday into western Arkansas.

As predicted, more than a dozen sightings of tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Missouri early Monday evening, although they were in sparsely populated areas. Oklahoma residents were particularly nervous Monday because it was the sixth anniversary of a massive tornado in Moore, south of Oklahoma City, that killed 24 people.

A tornado struck western and northern portions of the southwestern Oklahoma town of Mangum on Monday afternoon. Glynadee Edwards, the Greer County emergency management director, says some homes incurred roof damage and the high school’s agriculture barn was destroyed, but the livestock survived.

“The pigs are walking around wondering what happened to their house,” she said.

Emergency officials reported a tornado near Lucien, in northern Oklahoma, severely damaging a house and destroying a barn. One storm cell near Crescent, 32 miles north of Oklahoma City, spawned twin tornadoes.

National Weather Service meteorologist John Pike in Norman, Oklahoma, said a developing layer of relatively warm air aloft late Monday afternoon and evening over central Oklahoma was capping development of the kind of supercells that spawned tornadoes earlier in the afternoon in western and northern Oklahoma. Storm cells that did develop, however, followed one after the other in what is called “training,” leading to scattered reports of flash flooding Monday night.

The Storm Prediction Center website shows the main severe thunderstorm threat Tuesday will be over Missouri and northern Arkansas, with a slight threat in a surrounding area bounded by Dallas; Springfield, Illinois; Garden City, Kansas; and Oklahoma City.

The threat of nasty weather had prompted measures to prepare for the worst. School districts in Oklahoma City, nearby Norman and elsewhere in Oklahoma canceled classes with forecasts of hail and wind gusts of up to 80 mph (128 kph). A flood watch was in effect for the greater Oklahoma City region. Schools in Abilene and elsewhere in West Texas sent students home early.

Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City moved several planes to other military installations in anticipation of storm damage. Meanwhile, state workers in several Oklahoma counties were sent home early.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement that the state emergency operations center was activated and urged motorists not to drive around barricades or into flooded roadways.

In Oklahoma City, emergency management officials opened the Multi-Agency Coordination Center, an underground bunker on the city’s northeast side that serves as a clearinghouse for coordinating information about severe weather events and other major emergencies.

Some flights at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City were canceled to avoid damage to aircraft and the possibility of extended delays elsewhere.

The Monday storms followed a spate of tornadoes in the Southern Plains on Friday and Saturday, leaving widespread damage and some people injured.