ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — A suburban St. Louis couple has come forward with the winning $96.5 million ticket in the March 22 drawing of the multistate Powerball game.

The Missouri Lottery on Friday identified John and Susan Brands, of St. Charles, as the jackpot winners.

The windfall has already changed life for the lucky couple, who are both 49 years old. John Brands, originally from Portageville, Mo., has quit his job as a civil engineer and is thinking of buying some farmland.

Susan Brands — a native of Wichita, Kan. — says they’re making plans to visit New Zealand, buy new cars, and take time to learn new skills.

The winning numbers in the March 22 drawing were 13, 28, 31, 55, 58, Powerball 15.

WEST PLAINS (AP) – A south-central Missouri woman will be sentenced in May for the death of an infant she admitted dropping because the baby wouldn’t stop crying.

KYTV reports 21-year-old Bobbie Derryberry, of Mountain View, pleaded guilty this week in Howell County Circuit Court to second-degree murder. Other charges were dropped.

Derryberry was accused of killing her 5-month-old daughter, Autumn Nash, in June 2013. Hospital records showed the baby had a fractured skull, broken ribs and extensive bruising.

Investigators said Derryberry told officers she dropped the baby to the floor because she wouldn’t stop crying. She also hit the child two or three times on the back, face and nose.

Derryberry had two other children who were placed with a guardian in 2011 after Derryberry was convicted of child endangerment.

ELK POINT, S.D. (AP) — A circuit judge has refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit against ABC related to its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef, which critics have dubbed “pink slime.”

Beef Products Inc. sued the television network in 2012 seeking $1.2 billion in damages. Dakota Dunes-based BPI says ABC’s coverage led to the closure of three plants and roughly 700 layoffs by misleading consumers into believing the product is unsafe.

Attorneys for ABC say the network in each of its broadcasts stated the FDA deemed the product safe to eat. They say BPI might not like the phrase “pink slime,” but like all ground beef it’s pink and has a slimy texture.

In her Thursday ruling, Judge Cheryle Gering dismissed some claims but allowed most to go forward.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri House Democrat has introduced legislation that would repeal the state’s ban on gay marriage.

Mike Colona, a House member from St. Louis who is gay, filed a proposed constitutional amendment this week that would go before voters in November. Colona was joined by 30 of his Democratic colleagues as co-sponsors.

Missouri in 2004 became the first state to enact a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage after the Massachusetts high court permitted gay marriage there. The Missouri measure passed with 70 percent of the vote.

With only seven weeks left in the legislative session, Colona’s proposal is unlikely to gain traction. And Missouri Republicans, who control both legislative chambers, remain opposed to overturning the state’s ban.

Thousands of computer notebook battery packs have been recalled in the U.S. and Canada after they were found to overheat and could be a fire hazard.

The recall involves Lenovo battery packs sold with the following ThinkPad notebook computers: the Edge 11, 13 and 14 series, the T410, T420, T510 and W510 series, and the X100e, X120e, X200, X201 and X201s series. The battery packs were also sold separately.

Consumers should immediately turn off their ThinkPad notebook computer, remove the battery pack and contact Lenovo for a free replacement battery pack.  Consumers can continue to use theirThinkPad notebook without the battery pack by plugging in the AC adapter and power cord.

The black battery packs measure between 8 to 11 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide and about 1 inch high. Recalled battery packs have one of the

following part numbers starting with the fourth digit in a long series of numbers and letters printed on a white sticker below the bar code

on the battery pack: 42T4695, 42T4711, 42T4798, 42T4804, 42T4812, 42T4822, 42T4828, 42T4834, 42T4840 and 42T4890.

REPUBLIC, Mo. (AP) — A 3-year old southwest Missouri boy who was run over by a car in a driveway has died.

Police say the boy died after being run over Thursday evening at a home in Republic.

He was taken to a Springfield hospital and died Friday morning. The boy’s name was not released.

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — An Independence man was sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing a statue from a museum and trying to sell it for scrap.

Thirty-year-old Randy Perez was sentenced Thursday for his role in the theft of the Pioneer Woman statue from the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence.

The Independence Examiner reports  that police believe the statue was destroyed and the three suspects tried to sell it to a recycling plant in Kansas City.

An artist has been commissioned to create a similar statue for the museum.