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Tag: Missouri

  • Social media posts misinterpret voter data

    Social media posts misinterpret voter data

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    As the 2024 presidential election draws closer, social media users are crying foul over what they claim is an instance of voter fraud in Missouri. 

    An Instagram reel shared a screenshot from X that claimed state voter registrations spiked unusually.

    “Missouri registered 78,421 in just ONE WEEK of February of this year,” the screenshotted post claimed. “Out of that number, 23,253 were DEAD PEOPLE! Here we go, AGAIN!”

    This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

    The screenshot cited Tim Pool, a conservative commentator and podcaster, as its source. 

    Pool talked about the registrations during an April 3 episode of his podcast, saying the figures came from the Social Security Administration’s Help America Vote Verification database for the week of Feb. 17. 

    “These are voter registrations where someone is trying to use a Social Security number and a name, and when it came back to the (Social Security Administration), they said that person is dead,” Pool said. 

    He questioned how it didn’t strike officials as “odd” that nearly a third of the people who tried to register to vote in Missouri that week were not alive. (Pool is one of six Tenet Media content creators whose work is under scrutiny following a federal indictment alleging two employees of Russia-owned broadcaster RT paid Tenet to push pro-Russian propaganda.) 

    Social Security Administration and Missouri secretary of state officials said Pool’s framing of the data was incorrect.

    The Help America Vote Verification database shows the number of verification requests sent by a state’s election office to confirm a person’s eligibility to vote — not the number of people who registered to vote in a given week — a Social Security Administration spokesperson said in a statement sent to PolitiFact. 

    “Under the Help America Vote Act, when a voter registrant does not have a driver’s license, states are permitted to submit the voter registrant’s name, date of birth and last four digits of their Social Security number to the Social Security Administration for verification,” the statement said. 

    Forty-three states use the database, which  tracks the total number of verification requests processed in a given week. It breaks down how many requests can be matched to people who are alive or dead. It does not tally the number of people who are registered to vote or who are trying to register to vote. 

    In a previous fact-check related to the database, PolitiFact found that states can run a verification request for a person multiple times, contributing to the overall numbers. 

    JoDonn Chaney, communications director for the Missouri secretary of state’s office, told PolitiFact that the state’s local election authorities have a mandate to clean their voter rolls. As part of that process, they would periodically ping the database to determine who should be removed, based on whether they had left the state or died. 

    “We don’t have that information of people attempting to register based on the number (referred to in the claim),” he said. “We don’t see that as people attempting to register to vote.” 

    Chaney provided a month-by-month breakdown of the state’s number of registered voters, showing the video’s claim was off base. 

    Missouri had 4,270,843 voters in January and 4,268,935 million in February — a decline of 1,908. The total number of voters in the state dropped by 574 people in March to 4,268,361.

    The state in April had an increase of 20,250 registered voters, bringing the total number for that month to 4,288,611.

    Madison Walker, a Missouri secretary of state’s office communication specialist, said there’s no specific reason for the spike, but the timing coincided with presidential caucuses and general municipal elections.

    The state never had 78,421 people register to vote within a single week.   

    Our ruling

    An Instagram reel claimed data from the Social Security Administration showed that Missouri “registered 78,421 in just one week of February of this year” and that “23,253 were dead people!”

    The numbers cited in the claim come from the administration’s Help America Vote Verification database, which states use to verify people’s voter information. States can send multiple verification requests for a single person, which adds to the overall numbers shown in the database. 

    These numbers don’t represent voter registrations.

    We rate this claim False. 

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  • Marcellus Williams’ Death: Political Execution of a Black Man Carried Out by the Supreme Court

    Marcellus Williams’ Death: Political Execution of a Black Man Carried Out by the Supreme Court

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    In a damning display of justice gone wrong, Marcellus Williams, a Missouri death row inmate, was executed, despite overwhelming evidence suggesting his innocence. His death by lethal injection has sparked outrage, with the blame falling squarely on the shoulders of former President Donald Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, and the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who refused to halt the execution.

    Williams, 55, was convicted in 2001 for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle in her St. Louis apartment. However, no DNA evidence ever tied him to the crime. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which urged a stay of execution, had supported his legal team in its tenacious fight for clemency. The victim’s own family had requested Williams’ sentence be commuted to life without parole, writing, “Marcellus’ execution is not necessary.”

    Yet, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court—Chief Justice John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—voted to deny Williams a stay. Their decision condemned an innocent man to death, and it is a stark reminder of how deeply broken the justice system has become under their influence. Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, recognizing the glaring miscarriage of justice.

    This execution didn’t happen in a vacuum. It is a direct result of the political power play that Trump and McConnell orchestrated. Trump’s appointment of three ultra-conservative justices—Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett—solidified a Supreme Court more interested in ideology than fairness. McConnell’s refusal to consider Barack Obama’s 2016 nominee, Merrick Garland, to replace Justice Antonin Scalia was a pivotal move in ensuring this conservative stronghold. He later rushed through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation weeks before Trump’s election loss, fully aware of the long-term consequences.

    Gov. Mike Parson, a staunch MAGA Republican, ignored every plea for mercy, including those from the prosecutor’s office and over a million citizens and faith leaders who called for clemency. Despite abundant evidence of Williams’ innocence, Parson’s decision to carry out the execution was viewed by many as cruel and motivated by bloodlust.

    “This was a lynching. Make no mistake, this was state-sanctioned murder of an innocent Black man,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson declared. “Governor Parson had the responsibility to save a life, and he didn’t. When DNA evidence exonerates a man, capital punishment is not justice—it is murder. Trump, McConnell, and the conservative Supreme Court justices now have blood on their hands.”

    Johnson added that Williams’ final moments were a tragic reminder of the human cost of this injustice. Reportedly, Williams lay conversing with a spiritual advisor as the lethal injection took effect. His chest heaved a few times before he went still, as his son and two attorneys watched helplessly from another room. No one from Gayle’s family was present to witness the execution—likely because they had asked for his life to be spared.

    Cori Bush, Missouri’s Democratic Representative and staunch opponent of the death penalty, minced no words in condemning Parson’s role. “Governor Parson didn’t just end Marcellus Williams’ life—he demonstrated how the death penalty is wielded without any regard for innocence, compassion, equity, or humanity,” Bush stated. “He ignored the facts, the evidence, and the pleas from all sides. The so-called ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard was tossed out, because Marcellus was a Black man in a system rigged against him.”

    Many also said the hypocrisy of the so-called “pro-life” conservatives was laid bare. A U.S. Army veteran and activist, Charlotte Clymer blasted the justices responsible, saying, “These people don’t care about life. They only care about control.”

    Williams’ case, much like so many others involving Black men and the death penalty, exposed the deep racial bias embedded in America’s legal system. His attorneys had raised significant concerns about racial discrimination during jury selection, and the lack of credible evidence—especially DNA that didn’t match Williams—only underscored the injustice of his conviction. Yet, the political machinery of Trump, McConnell, Parson, and the Supreme Court moved forward without pause, ensuring his death.

    As Bush and others stated, Williams’s death wasn’t just an issue of a broken justice system—this was a political execution. Like Parson, the U.S. Supreme Court chose to ignore the evidence, the pleas, and the humanity of Williams. A litany of social media users posted comments demanding that Williams’ blood is on the hands of Republicans, and the country must reckon with the brutal truth that our highest court, and the leaders who enable it, can no longer be trusted to protect the innocent.

    Williams’ execution, despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence, is a searing indictment of a broken system where political power and racial bias outweigh truth and justice, Bush noted. ‘This was not just an execution,” she railed. “This was a state-sponsored lynching, and every person responsible for it must be held accountable.’”

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    Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

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  • Supreme Court allows execution of Marcellus Williams in Missouri, denying bid for delay

    Supreme Court allows execution of Marcellus Williams in Missouri, denying bid for delay

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    Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a bid to stop the execution of Missouri death row inmate Marcellus Williams, who was convicted in the 1998 stabbing death of Felicia Gayle in a St. Louis suburb.

    Williams, who has maintained his innocence, is set to be put to death by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CT. 

    Earlier efforts to halt the execution were denied Monday by the Missouri Supreme Court and Republican Gov. Mike Parson. His execution is the third in Missouri this year, and among five taking place nationwide across a seven-day span if the remaining three are carried out on schedule, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

    Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have granted the request to halt the execution.

    “Tonight, Missouri will execute an innocent man … The victim’s family opposes his execution. Jurors, who originally sentenced him to death, now oppose his execution. The prosecutor’s office that convicted and sentenced him to death has now admitted they were wrong and zealously fought to undo the conviction and save Mr. Williams’ life,” said attorney Tricia Rojo Bushnell of the Midwest Innocence Project in a statement. “That is not justice. And we must all question any system that would allow this to occur.” 

    Williams had been faced with execution twice before following his 2001 conviction for the murder of Gayle, a social worker and former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. First, in 2015, the Missouri Supreme Court halted execution plans and appointed a special master to review DNA testing on the handle of the murder weapon, the butcher knife that was used to stab Gayle 43 times and was left lodged in her neck.

    Williams’ attorneys said DNA experts who reviewed the results determined that he was not the source of DNA found on the knife. But the special master sent the case back to the Missouri Supreme Court, and a second execution date was set for August 2017.

    Then, hours before Williams was set to be executed, then-Gov. Eric Greitens called it off and appointed a panel of five retired judges to investigate the DNA evidence. The board, however, was dissolved by Parson in June 2023 and never issued its final report.

    Faced with the DNA evidence and other new information in Williams’ case, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell sought to toss out the conviction on numerous grounds, including the results of the DNA testing and constitutional violations during the jury selection process. 

    But the night before an evidentiary hearing was set to take place, Bell’s office received new test results indicating DNA on the knife handle was consistent with that of a prosecutor who worked on Williams’ case and a former investigator with the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

    Williams’ attorneys said in a filing that the DNA results confirmed they handled the knife without gloves, contaminating the evidence. 

    With the DNA evidence spoiled, Williams and Bell, the prosecuting attorney, reached an agreement under which Williams would enter a no-contest plea to murder in the first degree with a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

    Gayle’s family indicated they did not support executing Williams, according to court filings, and in August, a judge signed off on the agreement. But Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, objected to the plea.

    The state supreme court went on to block the plan and ordered an evidentiary hearing on Williams’ claims of innocence.

    During the proceeding last month, a trial attorney who tried the 2001 case said that he removed one Black prospective juror because he looked like Williams. When asked whether he struck the juror because of his race, the prosecutor, Keith Larner said, “No. Absolutely not,” according to court records. Larner said that he believed the jury, composed of 11 White people and one Black person, was fair. 

    The prosecutor also acknowledged that he handled the murder weapon without gloves at least five times during witness preparation sessions before the trial, as he believed the investigation into Gayle’s killing was finished.

    At the end of the hearing, the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told the court that it conceded the “constitutional error of mishandling evidence” in Williams’ trial, and said “clear and convincing evidence” of numerous constitutional errors in his prosecution were presented.

    Still, on Sept. 12, the judge declined to toss out Williams’ conviction and sentence. The Missouri Supreme Court then denied relief.

    In urging the Supreme Court to intervene, Williams’ lawyers had asked the justices to wait until they have decided another death penalty case involving an Oklahoma inmate, which they said raises the same issues. The high court is poised to hear arguments Oct. 9 in Richard Glossip’s effort to toss out his conviction due to concerns about the fairness of his trial.

    “The ever-present undercurrent of residual doubt as to Mr. Williams’ innocence plagues this case, even as his execution looms,” his attorneys wrote in a filing with the high court. “Mr. Williams’ conviction and death sentence were secured through a trial riddled with constitutional errors, racism, and bad faith, much of which only came to light recently.”

    They called his conviction a “grave miscarriage of justice” and said executing him would be an “unthinkable, irreversible travesty.”

    Top officials in Missouri opposed the request to call off the execution, claiming that Williams has engaged in a “strategy of extreme delay” in bringing the claims and accusing him of attempting to “manufacture another emergency through dilatory tactics.”

    “The state of Missouri, crime victims, for whom the case goes on for decades without resolution, and the criminal justice system are all harmed by endless litigation of meritless claims,” Bailey wrote in a filing with the Supreme Court.

    Williams’ was charged more than a year after Gayle’s death. Prosecutors claim that he broke into her home in University City, a suburb of St. Louis, and, after hearing water running in the shower upstairs, found a butcher knife and waited. After Gayle came down the stairs, Williams attacked and stabbed her 43 times, then left with her purse and husband’s laptop, law enforcement officials said.

    Prosecutors said Williams also took a jacket that he used to conceal the blood on his shirt. His girlfriend later noticed that he was wearing a jacket despite the summer weather, and after he removed it, saw that Williams’ shirt was bloody, according to court filings.

    The girlfriend also testified that she saw the laptop in the car and the purse in its trunk, and claimed Williams confessed to killing Gayle, according to court records. Roughly 10 months after Gayle’s death, and after her family offered reward money, a man named Henry Cole, who was a cellmate with Williams when he was in jail on unrelated charges, claimed he confessed to murdering Gayle, prosecutors said.

    Melissa Quinn

    Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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  • Marcellus Williams’ execution set to proceed Tuesday, Missouri Supreme Court rules

    Marcellus Williams’ execution set to proceed Tuesday, Missouri Supreme Court rules

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    The execution of Marcellus Williams is set to proceed as scheduled Tuesday after the Missouri Supreme Court and the state’s governor both rejected pleas to halt the procedure.

    An attorney for Williams argued Monday that the state Supreme Court should halt the lethal injection because a trial attorney prevented a Black man who he thought looked similar to the defendant from serving on the jury. Williams is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. on Tuesday for the 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle in the St. Louis suburb of University City.

    Williams, 55, has asserted his innocence. But his attorney did not pursue that claim Monday before the state’s highest court, instead focusing on alleged procedural errors in jury selection and the prosecution’s alleged mishandling of the murder weapon.

    The state Supreme Court should “correct an injustice” either by declaring that a prosecutor wrongly excluded a potential juror for racial reasons or by sending the case back to a lower court to determine that issue, attorney Jonathan Potts argued on behalf of Williams.

    Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office has argued for the execution to proceed. The trial prosecutor has denied that he had racial motivations in removing potential jurors and did nothing improper — based on procedures at the time — by touching the murder weapon without gloves after it had already been tested by a crime lab, Assistant Attorney General Michael Spillane said in arguments to the state Supreme Court.

    Attorneys for Williams also have an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

    Williams had also requested clemency from Republican Gov. Mike Parson, an ask that focused largely on how Gayle’s relatives want the sentence commuted to life in prison without parole. But Parson on Monday said the execution would proceed following the state Supreme Court’s ruling.

    “Capital punishment cases are some of the hardest issues we have to address in the Governor’s Office, but when it comes down to it, I follow the law and trust the integrity of our judicial system,” Parson said in a statement Monday. “Mr. Williams has exhausted due process and every judicial avenue, including over 15 hearings attempting to argue his innocence and overturn his conviction. No jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, have ever found merit in Mr. Williams’ innocence claims. At the end of the day, his guilty verdict and sentence of capital punishment were upheld. Nothing from the real facts of this case have led me to believe in Mr. Williams’ innocence, as such, Mr. Williams’ punishment will be carried out as ordered by the Supreme Court.”  

    The NAACP had also urged Parson to stop the execution.

    The execution would be the third in Missouri this year and the 100th since the state resumed executions in 1989.

    Williams was less than a week away from execution in January 2015 when the state Supreme Court called it off, allowing time for his attorneys to pursue additional DNA testing.

    He was just hours away from being executed in August 2017 when then-Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, granted a stay after reviewing DNA evidence that found no trace of Williams’ DNA on the knife used in the killing. Greitens appointed a panel of retired judges to examine the case, but the governor stepped down over an unrelated scandal and that panel never reached a conclusion.

    Questions about DNA evidence also led Democratic St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to request a hearing challenging Williams’ guilt. But days before the Aug. 21 hearing, new testing showed that the DNA evidence was spoiled because members of the prosecutor’s office touched the knife without gloves before the original trial.

    With the DNA evidence unavailable, Midwest Innocence Project attorneys reached a compromise with the prosecutor’s office: Williams would enter a new, no-contest plea to first-degree murder in exchange for a new sentence of life in prison without parole.

    Judge Bruce Hilton signed off on the agreement, as did Gayle’s family. But at Bailey’s urging, the Missouri Supreme Court blocked the agreement and ordered Hilton to proceed with an evidentiary hearing, which took place Aug. 28.

    Hilton ruled on Sept. 12 that the first-degree murder conviction and death sentence would stand, noting that his arguments all had been previously rejected.

    “There is no basis for a court to find that Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a finding,” Hilton wrote.

    On Tuesday, Williams’ attorney argued that circumstances are different, because the trial prosecutor had not previously been questioned in court by Williams’ attorney about the reason he removed a specific juror.

    The prosecutor in the 2001 first-degree murder case, Keith Larner, testified at the August hearing that the trial jury was fair, even though it included just one Black member on the panel. Larner said he struck one potential Black juror partly because he looked too much like Williams. He didn’t explain why he felt that mattered.

    The clemency petition from the Midwest Innocence Project focuses heavily on how Gayle’s relatives want the sentence commuted to life without parole. Parson, a former sheriff, has been in office for 11 executions, and has never granted clemency.

    Prosecutors at Williams’ original trial said he broke into Gayle’s home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower, and found a large butcher knife. Gayle, a social worker and former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was stabbed 43 times when she came downstairs. Her purse and her husband’s laptop computer were stolen.

    Authorities said Williams stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the purse and laptop in his car and that Williams sold the computer a day or two later. Police have said they found Gayle’s clothing and the computer in Williams’ car.

    Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.

    Williams’ attorneys responded that the girlfriend and Cole were both convicted of felonies and wanted a $10,000 reward. Parson on Monday said in a statement the girlfriend “never requested the reward for information.”

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  • DraftKings Contributes $5M to Missouri Sports Betting Legalization Campaign

    DraftKings Contributes $5M to Missouri Sports Betting Legalization Campaign

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    DK Crown Holdings Inc., the parent company of industry-leading operator DraftKings, has made a significant move in the ongoing effort to legalize sports betting in Missouri by donating $5 million to the “Winning for Missouri Education” campaign. The contribution is Missouri’s most substantial political donation in over 16 years in the push to legalize sports wagering in the state.

    Missouri Represents a Lucrative Opportunity

    The massive donation is only part of a broader campaign by DraftKings, FanDuel, and their affiliated companies to support the passage of Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment aimed at legalizing and regulating sports betting in Missouri. Since January, that campaign has raised over $16.5 million, entirely from those leading sports wagering companies.

    This newest $5 million donation surpasses the $3.5 million check that DraftKings contributed in August, which then was the single largest donation to the campaign in 2023. The continued flow of seven-figure donations into the committee’s cause underscores the value an open Missouri market represents to sports betting companies.

    Public opinion remains mixed. A March poll evaluated support for sports wagering among Missouri voters at 60%, with 25% opposing it. However, an Emerson College poll conducted in June put the score at 52%, suggesting it could be a close vote. While most industry experts agree that Missouri sports betting is a matter of time, stakeholders hope this will happen sooner rather than later.

    The Legislation Faces Significant Opposition

    The path to legalization faces some opposition. A coalition called “Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment” argues that the promises of increased education funding from this proposed sports betting law are deceptive. The group notes that the proposed sports wagering legislation may not provide the revenues the state expects.

    Amendment 2 is a bad deal for Missouri. This deceptive measure was written by and for the financial benefit of its out-of-state corporate sponsors and funders.

    Brooke Foster, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment spokesperson

    Caesars Entertainment, another gaming industry giant, surprisingly opposes Amendment 2. The company operates casinos in Missouri, including Horseshoe St. Louis, and has contributed over $4 million to the opposition group. Industry insiders believe the operator does not oppose legalized sports wagering but rather finds the proposed legislation too restrictive due to a limit on how many apps can be associated with a single operator.

    As the November vote approaches, both sides continue to rally support. The sports betting industry is betting on a favorable outcome, with DraftKings and FanDuel significantly investing in the pro-gambling campaign with the support of local teams like St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Chiefs, and the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the future of legal sports betting in Missouri remains uncertain.

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    Deyan Dimitrov

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  • More Bad News for Intoxicating Hemp (California, Missouri, New Jersey) – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    More Bad News for Intoxicating Hemp (California, Missouri, New Jersey) – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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    More Bad News for Intoxicating Hemp (California, Missouri, New Jersey) – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news





























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    AggregatedNews

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  • California reports a total of eight H5N1 bird flu outbreaks among dairy herds

    California reports a total of eight H5N1 bird flu outbreaks among dairy herds

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    The number of California dairy herds reported to have outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu has grown to eight.

    Officials have refused to disclose the locations of the infected herds, but have said they are in close proximity somewhere in California’s Central Valley — an 18,000-square-mile expanse that is roughly the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

    They say they are still investigating the source of the virus, but at a news conference Thursday, federal officials said genetic sequencing from the first three outbreaks suggests the strain is similar to that seen in other states. They say it does not appear to have been caused by wild birds or animals.

    “This is the same virus that we’ve detected in herds since the beginning of the emergence of H5N1 in dairy cows,” said Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the United States Department of Agriculture. “Sequencing of the samples from the additional five premises will likely be completed later this week or over the weekend.”

    He said the California Department of Food and Agriculture has been “conducting a very thorough traceback, and all the herds that have been detected in California to date have been through their investigation.”

    There have been 201 herds infected by the virus across 14 states since the outbreak was first reported in March.

    State officials continue to reassure the public that the risk to the general population is low, and that pasteurized milk and dairy products are safe for human consumption.

    Deeble said his agency is in the process of authorizing field safety studies for a H5N1 cow vaccine.

    An agency spokesman said vaccine development does not suggest that the biosecurity protocols that the USDA and state governments have followed have failed. Nor does it mean the virus is here to stay.

    “Vaccine development is one part of an overall strategy that includes enhanced and strengthened biosecurity efforts to contain the virus and help mitigate spread,” said Will Clement, a USDA spokesman.

    “Bovine vaccines may prove to be an important tool to eventually help eliminate the virus from the nation’s dairy cattle herd, but developing a vaccine requires many steps and it will take time to test, approve, and distribute a successful vaccine,” he said. “This is why we have opened the pathway to vaccine field trials even as we continue to deploy all available efforts, including emphasizing biosecurity and mandating the testing lactating dairy cattle moving across state lines.”

    In addition, federal health officials say they have not been able to sequence the entirety of the H5N1 sample isolated from a human case in Missouri. That person had no known contact with dairy or poultry, and a preliminary investigation has not been able to determine the source of infection.

    There have been no reports of infected dairy herds in Missouri.

    “Right now, evidence points to this being a one off,” said Nirav Shah, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Shah said the patient, who was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms and has since recovered, had only low levels of the virus circulating through their body. As a result, sequencing has been difficult.

    While officials can safely say the virus is of the H5 sub-type, they have not been able to sequence the N-part.

    But the H5 part appears to resemble the H5 subtype in infected dairy cows.

    “We’re throwing everything we’ve got at this, but ultimately, a full sequence may not be technically feasible because of the low concentration of viral RNA,” Shah said.

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    Susanne Rust

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  • Judge rejects attempt to free Marcellus Williams, Missouri inmate facing execution

    Judge rejects attempt to free Marcellus Williams, Missouri inmate facing execution

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    A judge on Thursday declined to vacate the conviction and sentence of Marcellus Williams, a condemned inmate in Missouri whose execution is scheduled for later this month. Williams’ case has drawn national attention as he faces the death penalty over the stabbing death of a woman in 1998, despite doubts about DNA evidence on the knife used in the attack and longstanding questions about whether his original trial was fair.

    “Every claim of error Williams has asserted on direct appeal, post-conviction review, and habeas review has been rejected by Missouri’s courts,” wrote St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton. “There is no basis for a court to find that Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a finding. Williams is guilty of first-degree murder, and has been sentenced to death.”

    Attorneys for Williams, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office did not respond to messages left Thursday seeking comment. Williams’ lawyers are expected to request clemency from Republican Gov. Mike Parson and could appeal further.

    The latest decision came after the Missouri Supreme Court in August blocked an agreement that could have spared Williams’ life, instead calling a hearing to proceed on his innocence claim. Williams, now 55, has since his conviction maintained his innocence in the killing of Lisha Gayle, a social worker and former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who was found stabbed to death in her home in August 1998. He is set to be executed by lethal injection on Sept. 24.

    marcellus-williams.png
    Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Missouri on Sept. 24.

    Missouri Department of Corrections via AP


    Hilton presided over an evidentiary hearing last month challenging Williams’ guilt, following his approval of a plan that allowed Williams to enter a new no-contest plea to first-degree murder. The inmate’s lawyers at the time said that he maintained his innocence but the plea acknowledged that evidence was sufficient for a conviction.

    In January, Democratic St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell cited questions about DNA evidence on the murder weapon in seeking a hearing to consider vacating Williams’ conviction. Bell said the evidence indicated that someone else’s DNA was on the butcher knife used to kill Gayle, and he had asked the judge to vacate Williams’ murder conviction based on that testing.

    Bell brought the challenge under a 2021 Missouri law that allows prosecutors to ask a court to review a conviction they believe is unjust. That and the setting of an execution date saw Williams facing the prospect of everything from having his conviction overturned and being set free, to having it confirmed and facing pending execution.

    Despite Bell’s motion, the Missouri Supreme Court in June set the Sept. 24 execution date. An initial August hearing date was set on the motion by Bell involving questions over that DNA evidence, but just before it was set to take place, a new report revealed that the DNA evidence was contaminated because officials in the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office touched the knife without gloves before the original trial in 2001.

    With the DNA evidence spoiled, lawyers working on behalf of Williams from the Midwest Innocence Project reached a compromise with the prosecutor’s office: Williams would enter a new, no-contest plea to first-degree murder in exchange for a new sentence of life in prison without parole.

    Hilton signed off on the agreement. So did Gayle’s family. But the Missouri Attorney General’s Office did not.

    At Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s urging, the Missouri Supreme Court blocked the agreement and ordered Hilton to proceed with the evidentiary hearing on Aug. 28.

    An attorney for Williams, Jonathan Potts, said during the hearing that the mishandling of the murder weapon was devastating for Williams because it “destroyed his last and best chance” to prove his innocence.

    Missouri Death Row Inquiry
    Joseph Amrine, who was exonerated two decades ago after spending years on death row, speaks at a rally to support Missouri death row inmates Marcellus Williams on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Clayton, Mo.

    Jim Salter / AP


    Hilton, in his ruling, agreed.

    “In light of this report, (Williams) cannot demonstrate that the genetic material on the knife handle can form a basis for a ‘clear and convincing showing’ of Williams’ innocence,” Hilton wrote.

    Assistant Attorney General Michael Spillane said other evidence pointed to his guilt.

    “They refer to the evidence in this case as being weak. It was overwhelming,” Spillane said at the hearing.

    Prosecutors at Williams’ original trial said he broke into Gayle’s home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower, and found a large butcher knife. When Gayle came downstairs, she was stabbed 43 times. Her purse and her husband’s laptop were stolen.

    Authorities said Williams stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the laptop in the car and that Williams sold it a day or two later.

    Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.

    Williams’ attorneys responded that the girlfriend and Cole were both convicted felons out for a $10,000 reward.

    Three other men — Christopher Dunn, Lamar Johnson and Kevin Strickland — have been freed after decades in prison under the 2021 Missouri law.

    Williams has been close to execution before. In August 2017, just hours before his scheduled death, then-Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, granted a stay after reviewing the same DNA evidence that spurred Bell’s effort to vacate the conviction.

    A rising star in Missouri Democratic politics, Bell defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in a primary this month and is heavily favored in the November general election.

    Williams is Black and at the hearing, the man who prosecuted him, Keith Larner, was asked why the trial jury included just one Black juror. Larner said he struck just three potential Black jurors, including one who he said looked like Williams.

    Williams’ trial attorney, Joseph Green, told Hilton that when Williams was tried, he also was representing a man who killed his wife and injured several others in a St. Louis County courthouse shooting in 1992. That case took time away from working on Williams’ defense, Green said at the hearing.

    “I don’t believe he got our best,” said Green, now a judge.

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  • Phi Theta Kappa Launches CCsmart Campaign to Promote Community College in Missouri

    Phi Theta Kappa Launches CCsmart Campaign to Promote Community College in Missouri

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    JACKSON, Miss., September 9, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    CCsmart, powered by Phi Theta Kappa, has launched a statewide awareness campaign in Missouri. This initiative aims to highlight community colleges as a smart choice for Missouri students, helping them achieve their educational and career goals. 

    The campaign is partially funded by a grant from the Lumina Foundation, an independent private foundation dedicated to ensuring that learning opportunities beyond high school are available to all. According to Lumina’s research, 50% of working-aged adults in Missouri currently hold some type of college degree or workforce credential. The goal, set by Missouri Department of Higher Education and supported by Lumina, is to increase this to 60% by 2025.

    “CCsmart lets Missouri’s communities know what we’ve known for a long time: community colleges are more than just accessible and affordable—they offer a quality education,” said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, Phi Theta Kappa’s President and CEO. “Students and parents need to consider them not just a choice for their higher education, but a smart choice and a smart start to a career or a four-year degree.”

    This six-week digital campaign connects with students, their parents, and young adults who have not yet attended college and highlights the benefits of choosing community college. The campaign is estimated to reach over 1.5 million people through the social media campaign and result in over 8 million impressions across all media channels.

    By emphasizing the economic value, educational quality, and career opportunities that community colleges provide, the project aims to position community colleges as a smart choice.

    CCsmart has provided training for Missouri’s college presidents, research and media specialists, and a toolkit for social media. This branded campaign collateral is ready-made for sharing or co-branding. 

    “Community colleges are a key part of Missouri’s educational landscape that offers a wealth of value and opportunities for our students,” said Brian Millner, President and CEO of Missouri Community College Association. “The CCsmart campaign drives home the message that choosing a community college isn’t just a viable option, but it’s the smart choice for anyone looking to achieve their academic and career goals. We’re proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa in this effort to elevate the awareness and benefits of our community colleges across the state.”

    About CCsmart and Phi Theta Kappa

    CCsmart is a subsidiary and sub-brand of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society with more than 4.3 million members in nearly 1,250 chapters in 11 nations. CCsmart is an information resource designed to guide students and parents in making informed decisions regarding the college path and highlighting the resources and opportunities available through local community colleges. The mission of PTK and CCsmart is to recognize academic achievement of college students and provide opportunities for them to grow as scholars and leaders. Learn more at ptk.org and ccsmart.org for Missouri. 

    Source: Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

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  • Campaign to bring casino to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks sues to get measure on ballot

    Campaign to bring casino to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks sues to get measure on ballot

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    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A campaign to bring a casino to the Missouri tourist destination of the Lake of the Ozarks on Tuesday sued to get the proposal on November’s ballot.

    The secretary of state’s office last week said the campaign did not collect enough voter signatures for the constitutional amendment to go before voters.

    But the Osage River and Gaming Convention said it collected plenty of signatures.

    “Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the group said in a statement. “However, ORGC has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the November 5, 2024, general election ballot and are now asking the Court to do so.”

    The state constitution allows casinos only on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The petition seeks authorization for one casino on the Osage River, which feeds into the Lake of the Ozarks.

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  • Missouri father uses a funeral to wean daughter off pacifier

    Missouri father uses a funeral to wean daughter off pacifier

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    The Bishop family of Festus, Missouri, can smile now, but a few months ago the mood was much more somber as Courtney, Jake and their 3-year-old daughter Hazel said goodbye to a very important member of the family: Hazel’s beloved pacifier.

    “It’s not good for her teeth and her jaws and all of that, so we had been trying to wean her off of it for some time,” Jake, 35, said.

    Hazel’s beloved pacifier, affectionately known as “Paci,” had been with her for years. Jake knew saying goodbye could come with tears and tantrums, so he searched for creative approaches to ease the transition. He considered options such as cutting off the end of the pacifier, soaking it in vinegar or planting it in a pot.

    Instead, Jake chose to give Paci a funeral.

    Of course, before the internet, parents used to just take the thing away and deal with the tantrum. But today, for better or worse, young parents like Jake would rather not go to war over a binky. They’re “pacy-fists,” if you will.

    “You need them to go through some tough times to really grow as a person but you don’t need to make extra tough times for them,” Jake said. “They’ll have plenty of those coming up.” 

    Parents delight in making milestones, but those milestones are often bittersweet because each turning point is a point of no return.

    “She’s transitioning to the next stage of her life,” Jake said of Hazel, their first child. “We just got to hold onto those moments and those memories, because it goes fast.”

    Hazel hasn’t asked for Paci again since. Although, shortly after the ceremony, Jake dug it up and buried it again in a keepsake box, making dad the one who just can’t let go. 

    Steve Hartman


    Steve Hartman

    Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment “On the Road.”

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  • Kelces cash in: Travis and Jason Kelce take popular ‘New Heights’ podcast to Amazon’s Wondery

    Kelces cash in: Travis and Jason Kelce take popular ‘New Heights’ podcast to Amazon’s Wondery

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, are taking their popular “New Heights” podcast to Amazon’s Wondery under a three-year deal that gives the company exclusive advertising sales and distribution rights.

    The financial terms of the deal were not immediately available, though some reports put the total at nine figures.

    The deal, announced by Wondery on Tuesday, will begin with this week’s episode, which drops Wednesday. It includes the back catalog of podcast content along with exclusive rights to monetize and distribute audio and video episodes.

    “We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Wondery for the next phase of ‘New Heights,’” the Kelce brothers said in a statement. “We love this show and the fanbase that has grown with us over the last two seasons. Wondery understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to ‘New Heights!’”

    The personable Kelce brothers launched their podcast two years ago. It initially was designed to peel back the cover on the world of professional football players, but has since expanded to touch other corners of the pop culture universe.

    The weekly series was chosen podcast of the year at the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards.

    “‘New Heights’ on the surface is a sports podcast, and sports is such a well-listened-to category,” Wondery chief executive Jen Sargent said, “but it’s become a cultural phenomenon. They’re in that cultural zeitgeist.”

    Travis Kelce’s celebrity status reached another level early last season, when the tight end of the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs began dating pop superstar Taylor Swift. He has several crossover projects in the works, including a 20-episode game show for Amazon Prime Video called “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?”

    Jason Kelce recently retired after a 13-year career spent entirely with the Eagles. But his popularity also has been on the rise; he was frequently seen attending the Paris Olympics and will appear on “Monday Night Countdown” on ESPN.

    ___

    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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  • Missourians Sue to Block Sports Betting Measure from November Ballot

    Missourians Sue to Block Sports Betting Measure from November Ballot

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    Two Missouri citizens are suing to remove a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing sports betting on the state’s 5 November ballot. Political consultants Blake Lawrence and Jacqueline Wood have accused Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft of incorrectly conducting the certification procedure whether the petition had met the necessary criteria for inclusion on the ballot.

    The Measure May Not Have Amassed Enough Votes

    Local news outlet The St. Louis Post Dispatch revealed that the suit, filed in Cole County Circuit Court, claims Ashcroft used the new boundaries for congressional districts, created after the 2020 Census, to determine where petition signers lived but then used the old boundaries to calculate the number of signatures necessary in various districts.

    According to the complaint, had the correct procedure been followed, the 1st Congressional District of St. Louis and the 5th Congressional District of Kansas City in Missouri would have missed the threshold of required signatures to forward this new amendment. The lawsuit further asserts that most signatures verified within the congressional districts were legally invalid, further affecting the proposal’s eligibility.

    The threshold for a petition to make the ballot in Missouri requires signatures from 8% of the legal voters in six of the state’s eight congressional districts following the most recent gubernatorial election. The lawsuit accuses Ashcroft of not using a uniform statewide figure to calculate the signature requirements. Instead, he used varying thresholds based on previous district boundaries.

    Legalized Wagering Could Bring Significant Benefits

    The proposed amendment would set a sports-betting tax rate of 10% and allow Missouri’s professional sports franchises and the state’s 13 casinos to operate their retail and online sports-betting platforms. Proponents say the move would generate millions of dollars for the state and would merely legalize something many residents already do, either illegally or via out-of-state operators.

    Team mascots for the Royals, Blues, and Cardinals helped deliver the boxes with the signatures, highlighting sports teams’ robust support for legalized sports betting. Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals and a key backer of the sports betting amendment, called the lawsuit’s merit into question, noting that the petition had received significant support from all across the state.

    The lawsuit has been assigned to Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker, who will issue a verdict on whether the sports betting measure will remain on the ballot or be struck down. This case may have sweeping implications for Missouri’s gaming landscape and the broader debate around the legalization of sports betting in the state.

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    Deyan Dimitrov

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  • Hi-O Silver | Show Me Nature Photography

    Hi-O Silver | Show Me Nature Photography

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    Today’s post features some images I captured last week in the church butterfly garden that I maintain at our Ozarks church, the Silver-spotted Skipper.

    This skipper butterfly is a common visitor to the flower gardens, and I always enjoy photographing them as they collect nectar, usually from the zinnia flowers in the garden.

    Here are some images I collected last week:

    Silver-spotted Skipper

    Silver-spotted SkipperSilver-spotted Skipper

    Silver-spotted SkipperSilver-spotted Skipper

    Still waiting for more Monarchs to show up … should be seeing the southward migration soon!

    Photographic Equipment Used:

    • Canon 7D Mark2 camera body
    • Canon 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens
    • Handheld, with IS “On”
    • ISO 800
    • Aperture f/5.6
    • Shutter 1/4000 sec. to 1/8000 sec.

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    James Braswell

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  • Woman charged in brazen plot to extort Elvis Presley’s family and auction off Graceland

    Woman charged in brazen plot to extort Elvis Presley’s family and auction off Graceland

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — A Missouri woman has been arrested on charges she orchestrated a brazen scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale, the Justice Department said Friday.

    Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death last year, prosecutors said. She then threatened to sell Graceland to the higher bidder if Presley’s family didn’t pay a $2.85 million settlement, according to authorities.

    Finley posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents, and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May, prosecutors said. A judge stopped the sale after Presley’s granddaughter sued.

    Experts were baffled by the attempt to sell off one of the most storied pieces of real estate in the country using names, emails and documents that were quickly suspected to be phony.

    Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises. The announcement of charges came on the 47th anniversary of Presley’s death at the age of 42.

    “Ms. Findley allegedly took advantage of the very public and tragic occurrences in the Presley family as an opportunity to prey on the name and financial status of the heirs to the Graceland estate, attempting to steal what rightfully belongs to the Presley family for her personal gain,” said Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group.

    AP correspondent Jackie Quinn reports an arrest had been made in an effort to steal away the ownership of Elvis Presley’s Graceland property.

    An attorney for Findley, who used multiple aliases, was not listed in court documents. A voicemail left with a phone number believed to be associated with Findley was not immediately returned, nor was an email sent to an address prosecutors say she had used in the scheme.

    She’s charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. The mail fraud charge carries up to 20 years in prison. She remained in custody after a brief federal court appearance in Missouri, according to court papers.

    In May, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5-hectare) estate said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year. An attorney for Keough didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Friday.

    Keough filed a lawsuit claiming fraud, and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction. Naussany Investments and Private Lending — the bogus lender authorities now say Findley created — said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.

    Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on Naussany’s documents, indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, according to the estate’s lawsuit. The judge said the notary’s affidavit brings into question “the authenticity of the signature.”

    The judge in May halted the foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction, saying Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.

    The Tennessee attorney general’s office had been investigating the Graceland controversy, then confirmed in June that it handed the probe over to federal authorities.

    A statement emailed to The Associated Press after the judge stopped the sale said Naussany would not proceed because a key document in the case and the loan were recorded and obtained in a different state, meaning “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states.” The statement, sent from an email address listed in court documents, did not specify the other state.

    After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said. An email sent May 25 to the AP from the same email as the earlier statement said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the U.S. and uses the Internet to steal money.

    _____

    Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee.

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  • A Tiger Loose in the Garden | Show Me Nature Photography

    A Tiger Loose in the Garden | Show Me Nature Photography

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    Today’s post features some images of a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly that I captured recently in the church butterfly garden.

    I’m starting to regularly see these beauties as they flit about the zinnias.

    “Find Flower … Collect Nectar … Find Another Flower”:

    Tiger Swallowtail butterfly

    Tiger Swallowtail butterflyTiger Swallowtail butterfly

    Tiger Swallowtail butterflyTiger Swallowtail butterfly

    Photographic Equipment Used:

    • Canon 7D Mark 2 camera body
    • Canon 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens
    • Handheld, with IS “On”
    • ISO 500
    • Aperture f/5.6
    • Shutter 1/3200 sec.

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    James Braswell

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  • St. Louis lawyer David Wasinger wins GOP primary for Missouri lieutenant governor

    St. Louis lawyer David Wasinger wins GOP primary for Missouri lieutenant governor

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    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis lawyer David Wasinger has won the Republican primary for Missouri lieutenant governor, defeating state Sen. Lincoln Hough by slim margins.

    “Missourians want change,” Wasinger told KCUR public radio. “I’ll use the lieutenant governor’s office as a bully pulpit to expose the corruption and insider deals taking place in Jefferson City.”

    Wasinger is favored to win the November general election against Democratic nominee state Rep. Richard Brown in the heavily GOP state where no Democrats currently serve in any statewide office.

    Wasinger, a certified public accountant, previously campaigned for state auditor in 2018 but lost the Republican primary.

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  • Wesley Bell defeats ‘Squad’ member Cori Bush. A pro-Israel group spent $8.5 million to help oust her

    Wesley Bell defeats ‘Squad’ member Cori Bush. A pro-Israel group spent $8.5 million to help oust her

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    ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in a Democratic primary in St. Louis, marking the second time this year that one of the party’s incumbents has been ousted in an expensive contest that reflected deep divisions over the war in Gaza.

    Bush, a member of the progressive congressional group known as the “Squad,” was seeking a third term in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes St. Louis city and part of St. Louis County. Bell is heavily favored to carry this overwhelmingly Democratic district in November, when his party is aiming to retake control of the U.S. House.

    “I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency, and dedication,” Bell said in a statement. “Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

    Bush, in a fiery concession speech, said she still has work to do, even if she’ll no longer be in Congress.

    “At the end of the day, whether I’m a congresswoman or not, I’m still taking care of my people,” Bush said.

    Bell’s campaign received a big boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose super political action committee, United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to oust Bush. She was targeted after repeated criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

    It was a gameplan that worked earlier this year in New York. In June, United Democracy Project spent $15 million to defeat another Squad member — U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman. Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.

    A statement from United Democracy Project said the wins by Bell and Latimer, along with John McGuire’s defeat of U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a Republican primary last week in Virginia, “is further proof that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics on both sides of the aisle. UDP will continue our efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance while countering detractors in either political party.”

    Bush, in her concession speech, said she won’t change.

    “We will keep supporting a free Palestine,” Bush said. A crowd member answered back: “Free, free Palestine.”

    In October, Bush called the Israeli retaliation an “ethnic cleansing campaign.” Soon after the Hamas attack, Bush wrote on social media that Israel’s “collective punishment against Palestinians for Hamas’s actions is a war crime.”

    What to know about the 2024 Election

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    Her comments prompted backlash, even among some supporters in her district. Bell, who had been planning a Senate run against incumbent Republican Josh Hawley, instead opted to challenge Bush. He told The Associated Press last month that Bush’s comments about Israel were “wrong and offensive.”

    Bush responded by saying that the donors behind AIPAC support former President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

    “This is only the beginning,” Bush told the AP. “Because if they can unseat me, then they’re going to continue to come after more Democrats.”

    Bush and Bell both honed their leadership skills in Ferguson, Missouri, in the unrest that followed Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a police officer in 2014. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of Brown’s death.

    Brown, a Black 18-year-old, was walking with a friend on Aug. 9, 2014, when a white officer, Darren Wilson, confronted them. Wilson said he fired in self-defense because Brown was so enraged. Some witnesses said Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands up in surrender. Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing and resigned, and Brown’s death led to months of protests.

    Bush, 48, became a protest leader. She was outspoken and critical of how police in Ferguson and other parts of the St. Louis region treated Black people. Her activism prompted an unsuccessful run against longtime incumbent 1st District Democrat William Lacy Clay in 2018, before she defeated him in 2020. She easily won reelection in 2022.

    Bell, 49, began hosting conversations about community policing after Brown’s death. The lawyer, who previously served as a municipal prosecutor and judge, ran successfully for a seat on the Ferguson City Council before defeating seven-term incumbent St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch in the August 2018 Democratic primary.

    As prosecutor, Bell reopened an examination into Brown’s death. He announced in July 2020 that while the investigation didn’t exonerate Wilson, there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.

    “My heart breaks” for Brown’s parents, Bell said at the time. “I know this is not the result they were looking for and that their pain will continue forever.”

    Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., was featured in an ad for Bush.

    “He used my family for power,” Brown says of Bell in the ad. “And now he’s trying to sell out St. Louis.”

    Bush’s campaign focused on what she’s accomplished for St. Louis. She said her efforts have brought $2 billion to the 1st District and that it was her protest on the steps of the Capitol in 2021 that helped extend the federal eviction moratorium as part of the COVID-19 pandemic, aiding thousands of St. Louisans.

    Bell touted his own progressive credentials. He noted that as a prosecutor he has said he will not prosecute any abortion cases in a state that bans the procedure in most instances. He created diversion programs to point people with mental health and substance abuse problems toward treatment instead of jail. And his office has expanded efforts to examine potential cases of wrongful convictions.

    In Missouri’s 3rd District, which stretches from the western outskirts of the St. Louis region through central Missouri, the candidate with Trump’s endorsement won. Bob Onder, a physician and also a former state senator, defeated former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer.

    Trump wrote on Truth Social last month that Onder was “an incredible America First Patriot.” The former president wrote that Schaefer “is WEAK ON MAGA,” adding, “That’s all you have to know!”

    The 3rd District is heavily Republican, and Onder will be favored against Democrat Bethany Mann, a political newcomer, in November. ___

    This story has been updated to correct that Onder won in Missouri’s 3rd District, not Schaefer

    ___

    Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed to this report.

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  • The First of Many? | Show Me Nature Photography

    The First of Many? | Show Me Nature Photography

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    Today’s post features some images I captured yesterday morning while working the butterfly garden at my church in the Missouri Ozarks.

    This was the first Monarch that I have seen for a month or so. I’m hoping this is a sign that more will be moving through the area, as their late summer/early fall migration begins!

    Male Monarch Butterfly collects nectar from a zinnia flower

    Male Monarch Butterfly collects nectar from a zinnia flowerMale Monarch Butterfly collects nectar from a zinnia flower

    Male Monarch Butterfly collects nectar from a zinnia flowerMale Monarch Butterfly collects nectar from a zinnia flower

    Have you seen any Monarchs lately?

    Photographic Equipment Used:

    • Canon 7D Mark 2 camera body
    • Canon 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens
    • Handheld, with IS “On”
    • ISO 500
    • Aperture f/5.6 and f/8
    • Shutter 1/640 sec. thru 1/1000 sec.

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    James Braswell

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  • Missouri bans sale of Delta-8 THC and other unregulated CBD intoxicants – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

    Missouri bans sale of Delta-8 THC and other unregulated CBD intoxicants – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

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    Missouri bans sale of Delta-8 THC and other unregulated CBD intoxicants – Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news





























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