WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate today voted to correct what Senator Claire McCaskill called “a grievous error,” as she successfully rallied support for the confirmation of former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronnie White to a federal judgeship.

White, whose earlier nomination to the federal bench was defeated in a controversial vote in 1999, was approved today to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by a vote of 53-44. Today’s vote was an exceedingly rare instance in which the Senate voted on a judicial nominee whose earlier nomination was defeated in a floor vote.

“It’s not often that the Senate has a chance to go back and fix a grievous error,” McCaskill said today in a speech on the Senate floor. “And that grievous error occurred when a good and qualified man was defeated in the U.S. Senate… There was an attack on Ronnie White for being ‘soft on crime,’ [but his record] flies in the face of that assertion.”

McCaskill called White an “iconic leader” in Missouri who “handled what happened to him with as much character” as possible, and praised her colleagues for “righting this wrong” and granting White a “well-deserved place on the federal bench.”

A graduate of St. Louis Community College, St. Louis University, and the University of Missouri – Kansas City Law School, Ronnie White served three terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. He served on the Missouri Court of Appeals, and he became the first African-American to sit on the state’s Supreme Court, sworn in at a courthouse where slaves were once sold on the steps. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves.

White was nominated in 1997 by then-President Bill Clinton for a United States district court seat. White’s nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but was ultimately defeated after a controversial debate in which White was accused of being “pro-criminal,” a campaign later labeled by current Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy of Vermont as “outrageous,” and by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois as “disgraceful.”

Last year, President Barack Obama re-nominated White to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri—a nomination supported by the Fraternal Order of Police, and approved today by the Senate.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri couple have been shot after taking their son to inspect a car for sale on Craigslist.

Police say the shooting occurred Tuesday evening after the couple responded to the online advertisement. They said two men shot the couple while the seller was showing the vehicle.

The shooters and the seller stole the couple’s car, which contained the woman’s purse. Police say they found the couple’s car abandoned and are searching for the men.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has named a legislator and two district court judges to the commission that reviews complaints against judges.

The Supreme Court announced the appointments Wednesday for the Commission on Judicial Qualifications. Members serve four-year terms.

The new appointees include state Rep. Valdenia Winn, a Kansas City Democrat who has served in the Legislature since 2001. She’s a history professor at Kansas City, Kansas Community College and will fill one of four spots on the 14-member commission for non-lawyers.

The district judge-appointees were Brenda Cameron of Johnson County and Larry Hendricks of Shawnee County.

The Supreme Court also announced that it had reappointed Jeffrey Mason, of Goodland, as one of the commission’s four lawyer-members. Mason has served on the commission since 2008.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 47-year-old suburban Kansas City man who engaged police in a seven-hour standoff has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson announced that Edward Garlock Jr. of Independence was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to the charge in April.

Garlock’s girlfriend told officers he had vowed not to be taken peacefully because he was paranoid about going back to prison.

He has prior felony convictions for tampering, burglary, resisting arrest, stealing and distributing a controlled substance. He later admitted being a habitual drug user who was addicted to methamphetamine.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — New figures from the Kansas secretary of state’s office show that Republicans have maintained their significant voter-registration advantage since March.

But the preliminary numbers released Wednesday also show a small increase in the number of unaffiliated voters since March 1. The registration deadline was Tuesday for the Aug. 5 primary.

The number of registered voters grew by about 6,600 since March 1, to more than 1.73 million.

The number of registered Republicans grew slightly, to nearly 765,000. They represent 44.1 percent of registered voters.

There are about 422,000 Democrats, slightly less than on March 1 and about 24.3 percent of the total.

The number of unaffiliated voters grew by nearly 7,200, to about 535,000, up 1.4 percent. They’re now nearly 31 percent of registered voters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — General Motors has become the first big automaker to support legislation barring rental-car companies from renting or selling vehicles subject to a recall.

GM’s support was announced Wednesday by bill author Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. GM endorsed the bill after language was inserted clarifying that automakers wouldn’t face liability when they repaired rental cars, Schumer said in a news release.

GM sent Schumer a letter June 26 expressing its support. Schumer’s announcement came a day before GM CEO Mary Barra and the company’s general counsel appear before a Senate subcommittee investigating GM’s decade-delayed recall of millions of small cars for flawed ignition switches. The problem has been blamed for at least 13 deaths.

Under the legislation, defects in cars under recall would have to be repaired before being rented.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Locally grown foods aren’t just for farmers markets anymore.

A growing network of companies and organizations is delivering food directly from local farms to institutions like hospitals and schools, eliminating middlemen from farm to fork. They’re increasing profits for smaller farms and bringing consumers healthier foods.

These so-called food hubs have helped transform locally grown foods into a bigger business with more than $25 million in federal aid.

The model is simple. The organizations pick up food from regional farmers and take it directly to city customers, along with detailed information about where it was grown or produced.

Since 2009, the Agriculture Department has upped its commitment to small farms and locally grown food.

It’s a cultural transformation for the agency, which has long been focused on the biggest farms.

LANSING, Kan. (AP) — There have been two more reports of violence among inmates at the Lansing Correctional Facility.

Jeremy Barclay, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections, told The Topeka Capital-Journal

that a Lansing guard suffered a concussion and two other guards suffered more minor injuries Tuesday while subduing an uncooperative inmate. Barclay also says an inmate fight last week resulted in no injuries.

Barclay says staff at the facility are on edge after incidents of inmate-on-guard violence on three consecutive days last month.

Those incidents led the Kansas Organization of State Employees to call for more corrections funding and staff, saying inmates were becoming rebellious.

Barclay said Wednesday that “staffing patterns are fine” at Lansing.