PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lawyers have been given the green light to scan the social media sites of jurors.

The American Bar Association says it’s ethical for lawyers to scour online for publicly available musings of citizens called for jury service — and even jurors in deliberations.

But the ABA does warn lawyers against actively “following” or “friending” jurors or otherwise invading their private Internet areas.

The “formal opinion” was issued in April and will serve as an ethical guideline for the nation’s lawyers. The ABA’s ethics committee began reviewing the issue about two years ago and concluded that looking at Facebook posts, Twitter tweets and other information gathered passively is ethical research.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri consumers will soon be able to buy motorcycles on Sundays.

Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation Monday that will lift a ban on Sunday sales of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft and other items typically sold by power-sports dealers.

Like most Missouri legislation, the measure is scheduled to take effect Aug. 28.

The legislation was championed by motorcycle riders and at least one Harley-Davidson dealer from the Kansas City area, who told lawmakers that he was losing Sunday business to a competitor in Kansas.

The Missouri legislation does not repeal the state’s ban on Sunday sales of cars and trucks.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri woman who faced deportation to her native Thailand after a felony theft conviction will remain in the U.S. following a last-minute reversal by immigration officials.

Komdown “Dow” Boyer lost her green card after being convicted of stealing money from the restaurant where she worked. Boyer said the money was for her husband’s hospital bills from a workplace injury.

Boyer moved to the U.S. after her mother married an American soldier. She has two sons in the U.S. military.

Defense attorney Javad Khazaeli tells The Associated Press his client was taken Monday from a Missouri jail to an international flight leaving Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport before the decision was overturned. Khazaeli says the Department of Homeland Security has that discretion in some low-level offenses.

Agency officials didn’t immediately comment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The former treasurer of a northwest Missouri town’s fire and road districts will serve three years in jail without parole for embezzling more than $1.5 million.

Federal prosecutors said in a news release that 59-year-old Leland Ray Kolkmeyer, of Wellington, was sentenced Monday and must surrender to federal authorities Aug. 7 to serve his sentence for two counts of mail fraud.

Kolkmeyer was elected treasurer of both organizations in 1998. He resigned from both positions in February 2013.

Court documents say Kolkmeyer used the money for home improvements, vehicles and weddings for his children.

NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says many American women can’t even get a day off to give birth.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight, today called for swift action and requested additional information from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) on its investigation of whistleblower retaliation by Veterans Affairs employees. OSC is currently investigating 37 cases of whistleblower retaliation at the VA.

“As you know, the federal government relies on whistleblowers to report government waste, fraud, abuse, and the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars,” wrote McCaskill, a longtime advocate for stronger whistleblower protections. “Their protection is not only mandated by law but also necessary to ensure the successful oversight of government affairs. I therefore request that you take prompt action in investigating and adjudicating these cases and that you keep me apprised of any developments that might arise.”

McCaskill requested the information from OSC to determine the scope of the retaliation problem and protect future whistleblowers.

McCaskill also asked OSC to identify the number of whistleblower retaliation complaints brought to OSC by VA employees related to the VA waiting list issues, the number of complaints by worksite location, the number of managerial employees implicated by multiple complainants, the number of SES employees accused, the number of complainants who asked the VA Inspector General to investigate alleged retaliation, and the number of claims that have been resolved and what disciplinary or administrative actions were taken.

Earlier this week, McCaskill used a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing to call for expanded whistleblower protections for intelligence contractors – to better protect those who blow the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse in the intelligence community. She also recently introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster the independence of the National Security Agency’s Inspector General-in part by requiring the office to conduct annual reviews of whistleblower protections for agency employees and contractors, and provide recommendations to improve those mechanisms.

DETROIT (AP) — A recall of defective air bags is spreading to more manufacturers.

BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota will all recall cars at the U.S. government’s request because their air bag inflators could rupture. If that happens, the air bags might not work properly in a crash, and shards from the ruptured system could fly out and cause injury.

In each case, the air bags are made by Japanese supplier Takata.

The government opened an investigation this month after getting six reports of air bags rupturing. It estimates 1.1 million vehicles in the U.S. could be affected.

The recalls are limited to states and territories that have hot, humid weather for long periods of time. The government says data suggests vehicles in those areas are most at risk.

COLUMBIA (AP) – The University of Missouri is planning a new center to help faculty improve their teaching practices and use of technology.

Jim Spain, vice provost of undergraduate studies, says the plans are only in their beginning stages but the center is one of his top priorities.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the 2020 Strategic Plan for the campus includes a proposal for the teaching and learning excellence center.

The project is so new that the center does not have a name but Spain says he’s set a deadline to have a list of proposed functions for the center ready by the end of the year.

Spain says the university will likely spend between $400,000 and $500,000 on the center.

OZARK, Mo. (AP) — Christian County authorities have identified the body found in a burned house in southwest Missouri last week.

Coroner Brad Cole says Monday the DNA samples confirmed that the woman was 29-year-old Bailey Clemons. Her body was found in the home in Ozark on June 17.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Clemons received an order of protection against her husband in Greene County in 2010 but later asked that the order be terminated because she had not had any conflict with him for more than a year.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has released a previously secret memo that provided legal justification for using drones to kill Americans suspected of terrorism overseas.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan released the memo Monday. Portions of it are blacked out.

The memo concluded that the killing of an al-Qaida leader who had been born in the United States had legal justification. It said the authority to use lethal force abroad may apply in appropriate circumstances to a U.S. citizen who is part of the forces of an enemy organization. It said the killing was justified as long as it was carried out in accord with applicable laws of war.

The memo was released after the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.