COLUMBIA (AP) – A woman who was the victim of an infamous kidnapping in Utah will visit Columbia on Friday to speak at the University of Missouri.

Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped at age 14 by a homeless street preacher and spent nine months in captivity before being discovered with her two captors in Utah. She released her memoir in October 2013.

Smart is now an advocate for abducted and missing children. She will appear at a Friday afternoon book signing at the campus bookstore before her evening lecture at Jesse Auditorium. Admission to the lecture is free for students with a university ID and $10 for members of the public.

JOPLIN (AP) – A former Joplin woman has pleaded guilty to her role in defrauding a relief fund set up to help victims of the May 2011 tornado that devastated the city.

Thirty-two-year-old Herlana L. Latham, who now lives in Memphis, Tenn., pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

She was an employee of the Economic Security Corp. in Joplin, which administered a relief fund meant for landlords who rented to people displaced by the tornado.

Prosecutors say Latham and two men stole $8,565 from the program. Her co-defendants, Christopher L. Smith and John L. Williams, also of Memphis, previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

The Joplin Globe reports Latham submitted applications for rental assistance that indicated Smith and Williams were landlords or property managers when they were not.

INDEPENDENCE (AP) – Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has been named recipient of the 2014 Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor award.

The Truman Foundation said in a release Tuesday that Panetta, defense secretary from 2011 to 2013, was named recipient of the award. Panetta also served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011 and was President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff from 1994 to 1997. Clinton received the Truman award in 2013.

Karl Zobrist, president of the Truman Foundation, says in a release the defense department and the CIA were established during the Truman administration and that Panetta guided both organizations “in a manner that exemplifies the public spirit and high principles of President Truman.”

Panetta’s scheduled to receive the award at a ceremony May 14 in Kansas City.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has endorsed legislation that would implement performance-based funding for public universities and community colleges.
Under the bill advanced Monday, the schools would work with the Department of Higher Education to develop goals, such as graduation and retention rates, that would then be used to determine part of their funding.
The performance-based goals would only apply in years the state can afford to increase funding for higher education.
Missouri used performance standards to determine college funding increases during the current budget year, but the legislation would ensure the practice continues.
The bill needs one more House vote before moving to the Senate, which passed a similar measure last month. The Senate version does not include community colleges and would expire in 2016.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) released the following statement today applauding the bipartisan passage of the “Victims Protection Act” (S.1917) to address military sexual assault:

“I’m pleased the Senate passed this important provision, and I applaud Senator McCaskill’s continued leadership on this critical issue,” said Blunt, who serves on both the defense appropriations and authorizing committees.

The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Mo.), provides for additional enhancements to sexual assault prevention and response activities in the Armed Forces by building upon critical reforms that were included in the FY14 National Defense Authorization Act.

In May 2013, Blunt signed on as an original co-sponsor of McCaskill’s “Better Enforcement for Sexual Assault Free Environments” (BE SAFE) Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at combatting sexual assaults in the military by better holding perpetrators accountable and protecting victims.

A Monday evening motorcycle vs deer crash in Clay County sent a man to the hospital.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the crash occurred as a 2006 Harley Davidson driven by John D. DeJaynes, 56, of Liberty was riding on Route A at 144^th Street at 8:30 p.m. when he hit a deer and was ejected. DeJaynes was transported to the hospital in Liberty.

The MSHP reports DeJaynes was wearing a helmet.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is recommending the addition of $3.5 million to a mid-year spending measure for fuel and utility assistance for low-income residents.

Nixon’s proposal calls for adding funding for the Utilicare program administered by the Department of Social Services.

The mid-year spending measure was approved last week by the House and was sent to the Senate. House members included about $2.7 million for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Nixon’s budget director says the governor’s proposal is more consistent with how officials have handled it when state money is available for the program.

The governor’s office says the funding would be allocated to Community Action Agencies and the Urban Leagues. It would help about 5,600 households statewide.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri retailers could start selling beer by the bottle under legislation given initial approval in the state Senate.

State law currently prohibits stores from selling beer in packages that contain fewer than three bottles.

The bill by Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, of Glendale, would allow the sale of a single bottles, cans or pouches of beer.

Senators gave the bill preliminary approval Monday. A second vote is needed to send it to the House. If the measure is passed by both chambers and signed by the governor, single-serving beer sales could start in stores in 2015.

Schmitt described the legislation as promoting freedom and liberty.

Democratic Sen. Jolie Justus, of Kansas City, said it’s a neat way to help a lot of small businesses.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A newspaper report says the attorney for a man whose conviction in a Missouri sports editor’s slaying was overturned has filed a civil rights lawsuit in her client’s name.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Kathleen Zellner alleges fabricated evidence in Ryan Ferguson’s case and a lack of a complete police investigation into the 2001 killing of Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt, among other things.

The Tribune reports that Zellner also demands a jury trial and names a total of 13 defendants, including the City of Columbia, the Columbia Police Department and Boone County.