As voters in nine states determine whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions, opponents are using parental rights and anti-transgender messages to try to undermine support for the ballot proposals.

Texas rarely grants clemency for death row inmates, but that's not stopping a group of bipartisan lawmakers from showing their support for a man scheduled to be executed in October.

Questions are still swirling around the execution of a Missouri man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in 1998.

A Missouri man has been executed for the 1998 fatal stabbing of a woman despite calls by her family and the prosecutor’s office that put him on death row to let him serve out the rest of his life in prison.

Missouri's top court and governor have each rejected requests to cancel a Missouri man's scheduled lethal injection.

The president of the NAACP is urging Missouri's governor to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams scheduled for Tuesday, writing that executing a Black man who says he was wrongfully convicted would amount to a “horrible miscarriage of justice.”.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court a judge’s ruling upholding the conviction and death sentence for Marcellus Williams, whose execution is one week away.

A judge has declined to vacate the conviction and death sentence of Missouri inmate Marcellus Williams, who is facing execution for killing of a woman in her home in 1998.

A Missouri death row inmate has dropped his innocence claim and entered a no-contest plea in an agreement that calls for a new sentence of life in prison without parole.

While a high-profile primary challenge in Missouri highlights a divide among Democrats, Republicans running for office in the state are showing just how united they are — at least when it comes to their loyalty to former President Donald Trump.

A Missouri judge has overturned the conviction of Christopher Dunn, who has spent more than 30 years in prison for a killing he has long contended he didn’t commit.

The Chiefs have set a deadline of six months from now to decide on a plan for the future of Arrowhead Stadium.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says he expects the state to put together an aid plan by the end of the year to try to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.

The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, says an economic ‘border war’ between his state and Kansas has restarted.

A man convicted of killing his former lover and her husband in what prosecutors called a fit of rage has been executed in Missouri.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has turned down a clemency request for condemned inmate David Hosier, a move that likely clears the way for his execution.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has shortened the prison sentence of former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid for a drunken driving crash that seriously injured a girl.

The Missouri Republican Party will hold presidential caucuses this Saturday, giving voters their chance to weigh in on who should represent the party on the November presidential ballot.

A shooting that killed a person and wounded more than 20 others during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory celebration occurred in a state with few gun regulations and historic tension over how cities handle crime.

A Missouri prosecutor now believes that inmate Marcellus Williams is innocent of the crime that landed him on death row and very nearly cost him his life, and is seeking to overturn his conviction.

Dozens of Missouri Department of Corrections staff members are urging Gov_ Mike Parson to grant clemency to a man scheduled to die in April for killing his cousin and her husband, with a former warden calling him a “model inmate.”.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is granting pardons at a pace not seen since the World War II era.

A longshot Republican candidate for Missouri governor and his supporters describe his use of a flamethrower at a recent “Freedom Fest” event outside St. Louis as no big deal.

At least two Missouri health care centers have stopped prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors for purposes of gender transition, citing a new state law that gives former patients broad leeway to sue.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has denied a clemency request from a man scheduled to be executed for the 2002 death of a 6-year-old girl in St. Louis County.

Transgender minors and some adults soon will be limited from accessing puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries under a bill signed by Missouri’s Republican governor.

Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday named Gabe Gore, a former assistant U.S. attorney, as the new chief prosecutor in St. Louis, three days after Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s sudden departure.

Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who this month announced she would resign effective June 1, says she is leaving office immediately, ending a turbulent tenure marked by frequent criticism, especially from Missouri’s Republican leaders.

Officials in Missouri’s largest city approved a resolution Thursday to declare it a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, defying state lawmakers who voted a day earlier to ban such care for minors and restrict it for some adults.

Officials in Missouri’s largest city are moving to declare it a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care.

Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is resigning effective June 1 amid calls from Republican leaders for her ouster.

Authorities say five people were killed when a tornado tore through an area of rural southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday.

Attorneys general in 20 conservative-led states are warning CVS and Walgreens that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills by mail in those states.

Unless Missouri Gov. Mike Parson grants clemency, Amber McLaughlin will become the first openly transgender woman executed in the U.S. She is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for killing a former girlfriend in 2003.

The first openly transgender woman set to be executed in the U.S. is asking Missouri’s governor for mercy.

Attorneys for a Black man on Missouri's death row say he might not be facing execution if he were white.

About two-thirds of U.S. states have adopted some sort of tax relief this year.

State governments flush with money are returning billions of dollars to their residents.

The push to make personal protective equipment in the U.S. is running out steam after an initial surge at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has named a longtime state health official as the new acting director of the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has declined to grant clemency to death row inmate Ernest Johnson, despite requests for mercy from the pope, two federal lawmakers and thousands of petition signers.

Millions of jobless Americans who have depended on federal unemployment aid as a financial lifeline are about to lose those benefits just as the delta variant of the coronavirus poses a renewed threat to the economy and the job market.

Federal officials are pushing back after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said he doesn’t want government employees going door-to-door to urge people to get vaccinated.

The Justice Department is warning Missouri officials that the state can’t ignore federal law, after the governor signed a bill last week that bans police from enforcing federal gun rules.

A federal appeals court panel has blocked Missouri from enforcing a sweeping state abortion law that bans the procedures at or after eight weeks of pregnancy.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has dropped plans to expand the state's Medicaid program after the Legislature declined to provide money for a measure approved by voters.

CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is working with U.S., Indian and Japanese partners to provide emergency coronavirus vaccine to Papua New Guinea. Australia has provided 8,000 AstraZeneca doses from its own stockpile to its nearest neighbor after an explosion of infections in the South Pacific island nation in recent weeks. Morrison said Friday that the European Union has yet to respond to his recent request for 1 million AstraZeneca doses contracted by Australia to be sent to Papua New Guinea as soon as possible. It has an agreement with ImmunityBio, which has a COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials, to produce the vaccine sometime next year. Biovac, based in Cape Town, has the capacity to produce between 20 million and 30 million vaccines in a year.

Houston and several surrounding cities are under a boil water notice as many residents are still without running water in their homes. Even bottled water prices doubling or tripling overnight. The Texas Attorney General's Office urged residents who suspect they are victims of price gouging to file a complaint with their office. AdDallas hotelier Larry Hamilton said that while there may be legitimate complaints of price gouging, he also wondered if some complaints lacked merit. If not, a visit from a state or local investigator to a company accused of price gouging is usually all it takes for prices to return to normal.

Senior Airman Marisol Salgado, medical technician, administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Army Capt. Parrish was the first BAMC staff member to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. (U.S. Army photo by Corey Toye)WASHINGTON — The justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are being provided with doses of the coronavirus vaccine. Health officials have raised alarm about a looming shortage in hospital beds and intensive care units. ___RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s Supreme Court says coronavirus vaccination can be made mandatory, delivering a blow to the nation’s nascent anti-vaccine movement.

Nurse Banu Mufale administers a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to physical therapist Becca Mamrol on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. ___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:A health worker in Alaska suffered a severe allergic reaction after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. U.S. health officials have given the OK to another rapid coronavirus test that people can use at home with results in 20 minutes. The governor’s office announced Wednesday that the state has received all of its initial allotment of coronavirus vaccine doses. The state Health Department on Wednesday said 58 more people died from the illness caused by the virus.

Experts have urged the government to reduce social and business activity before the holiday season because of a rise in serious coronavirus cases. The 583 new cases reported Thursday was the first time that South Korea’s daily tally had exceeded 500 since March. KCCI reports that the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 3,331 new positive COVID-19 cases as of 10 a.m. to bring the total to 222,278. The 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 of population, a recognized measure of the pandemic’s spread, also fell Thursday, to 325. The Reno-Sparks area has recorded 59 COVID-19 deaths the last 30 days — half of those this past week.

Mike Parson, and State Auditor Nicole Galloway are seen onstage before the Missouri gubernatorial debate at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia, Missouri. Democrats are hoping to gain control of more state legislative chambers after Republicans scored huge wins in 2010. The only governor's job to change parties is in Montana, where Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte defeated Democratic Lt. Gov. The national Democratic and Republican governors associations and the campaigns themselves have contributed more than $24 million to the race. In Missouri, incumbent Mike Parson, a Republican, defeated Nicole Galloway, the state auditor who was the Democrats' best chance to pick up a seat.

Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota and New Mexico all reported record high hospitalizations this week. Wisconsin health officials reported 5,771 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, a new record. Meanwhile, Iowa hospital officials warned that facilities and staff could be overwhelmed without serious efforts to curtail the virus spread. Suresh Gunasekaran, CEO of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, said the state is entering its third peak, one that is higher than previous ones in May and July. Missouri's health department reported 1,659 hospitalizations statewide Monday, surpassing by 10 the previous record set a day earlier.

Midwest governors credit their lack of restrictions for low unemployment rates, but economists and others say other factors might be more important in the states low jobless rates. That would be very deadly and push unemployment rates back up,” said Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha. That contrasts with states that rely on tourism, such as California, Nevada and Hawaii, which have the nation’s highest unemployment rates. More recently, though, many of those rural areas have seen some of the nation’s highest virus rates. Despite the low unemployment figures, all of the states now have fewer jobs than before the pandemic hit.

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 file photo, Missouri Republican Gov. Its the most hotly contested of the nations 11 governors races this fall. Which party holds the governor's office could be especially consequential over the next few years. In governor’s races, many of the attack ads are funded by each party’s governors association. In the governor’s race, he said Gianforte’s financial support of a Montana museum dedicated to creationist beliefs was a big problem.

ST. LOUIS – The attorney for a St. Louis couple facing felony charges for waving guns at racial injustice protesters who marched near their home asked a judge Wednesday to remove the city's top prosecutor and her entire office from the case. The McCloskeys' attorney, Joel Schwartz, cites emails referencing the case that were sent to potential donors ahead of Gardner’s primary election victory in August. “There's no place in our system, in our judicial system, for a political trial,” Schwartz told Judge Thomas Clark II. In charging the McCloskeys, Gardner drew criticism from President Donald Trump, Missouri Gov. They've been in frequent contact with Trump, Schwartz said earlier this month and again on Wednesday.

Mike Parson speaks during a news conference in St. Louis. Parson, a former sheriff running for reelection on a law-and-order platform against Nicole Galloway, Missouri's state auditor. Nicole Galloway, Missouri’s state auditor, is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Aldridge represents a St. Louis district in the Missouri House. A Star editorial on Wednesday accused Uniting Missouri of “using an ugly tactic in their campaign” against Galloway.

The governor’s office said Newsom was tested on Wednesday after someone in the governor’s office tested positive. The staff member who tested positive had not interacted with Newsom or anyone else who often sees the governor. ___HARTFORD, Conn. -- Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House coronavirus task force says she is concerned about the uptick in coronavirus cases in the Northeast. The virus has killed at least 5,416 people in Louisiana, according to the state health department. A cluster of fewer than 20 people tested positive for the virus at the Nashville Rescue Mission’s facility for women and children, Brian Todd said.

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2020 file photo, Missouri Gov. Parson, a Republican who has steadfastly refused to require residents to wear mask, and First Lady Teresa Parson tested positive for COVID-19, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Sunday he has been cleared to return to the office after battling the coronavirus. Missouri continues to have one of the highest rates of positive cases of the virus in the nation.

Also Friday, Republicans who control the Louisiana House of Representatives supported a package of measures aimed at unraveling the state’s coronavirus restrictions imposed by Gov. It's not clear how many Republican lawmakers from the state interacted with Trump — who was there Tuesday for the debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden — or his entourage in recent days, Smith said. Rep. John Becker, a Republican from Cincinnati who has led efforts to undo the coronavirus restrictions and mask mandate imposed by Gov. Tom Wolf's power to impose coronavirus restrictions. The virus is a leading issue in the campaign for governor in Missouri, where Republican Gov.

Nearly 550 students have tested positive for the virus since in-person classes resumed last month. The reservation is located on parts of six counties that accounted for 62 new coronavirus cases and one death in Tuesday’s update. J.B. Pritzker will quarantine for two weeks after a member of his administration tested positive for the coronavirus. Naidu recently attended a session of India’s Parliament that was cut short after more than 20 lawmakers tested positive. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah tested positive last month and recovered in a hospital.

Now the coronavirus outbreak is heating up fast in smaller cities in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high. Wisconsin is averaging more than 2,000 new cases a day over the last week, compared with 675 three weeks earlier. Health officials said if virus cases in these neighborhoods continue to build, the city might roll back the reopening in some places and require businesses to close back down. In Joplin, Missouri, a mask ordinance was allowed to expire in mid-August as virus fatigue grew. Since then, the number of positive cases there and in surrounding Jasper County — a deeply conservative county that Trump won by more than 50 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — has risen about 80%.

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2020 file photo, Missouri Gov. Parson, a Republican who has steadfastly refused to require residents to wear mask, and First Lady Teresa Parson tested positive for COVID-19, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. – Missouri Gov. Two other Republican governors also have tested positive for COVID-19, though one of those turned out to be a false positive. Kevin Stitt in July became the first governor to announce he'd tested positive.

Nebraska's online virus tracker on Monday showed 800 cases were confirmed Friday through Sunday, bringing the state's total to 24,618 since the outbreak began. Florida reported 191 new deaths, another one-day high for the state, while Arizona recorded 104, and Arkansas had a single-day record with 20. Mississippi Republican Gov. His return came on the same day the state reported over 1,400 new cases the second consecutive day of record highs. The storm pounded the Rio Grande Valley, where hospitals have been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases.

O'President Donald Trump believes St. Louis top prosecutor committed an egregious abuse of power in charging a couple who displayed guns during a protest against racial injustice last month outside their mansion, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday. McEnany appeared on the Fox News program Fox & Friends and was asked about St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardners decision to file felony unlawful use of a weapon charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey. Gardner, St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney, said in an interview with The Associated Press that she will not seek jail time but will recommend a diversion program such as community service. The demonstration on June 28 was among many in St. Louis and across the country in the nearly two months since George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Parson said Monday evening on The Hannity Show, we were not some bloodthirsty, rampaging mob, state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge said.

Although Missouris social distancing order gives enforcement authority to both the state and local health departments, Republican Gov. Osage County has had so few coronavirus cases that an ordinance allowing for enforcement lapsed last month, Health Administrator Shawn Brantley said. Kansas City Health Director Rex Archer echoed Krewsons call for a 14-day self-quarantine for anyone who failed to practice social distancing at the lake, as did the Kansas health department. Parson allowed businesses and attractions to reopen May 4, but the state order requires 6-foot social distancing through at least the end of May. St. Louis and St. Louis County are just now phasing in reopening because COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, was so devastating there.