News

The Missouri Senate has passed legislation extending several health care taxes that help generate about $3 billion annually for state's Medicaid program.

The special taxes are levied on such things hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies. They are used to draw down federal Medicaid money, which is then distributed to health care providers through various programs.

Missouri's health care taxes are to expire Sept. 30.

A former police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton faces sentencing in July after pleading guilty to taking a $5,000 bribe.

The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis says 38-year-old Scott William Haenel of O'Fallon also admitted obstructing a federal investigation in his guilty plea on Wednesday.

Federal authorities say a person cooperating with the FBI met several times with Haenel between November and January and paid him $5,000. In exchange, Haenel agreed to help conceal a money laundering scheme involving drug trafficking money.

A Missouri House committee has dealt a setback to Gov. Jay Nixon's quest for $1 billion in federal high-speed rail money.

The House Budget Committee rejected an attempt Wednesday to insert the rail money into a state budget bill.

That comes just two weeks after Nixon held a news conference to announce Missouri was applying for $1 billion of the $2.4 billion of federal rail money that Florida decided not to use.

Missouri Lawmakers Give Final Approval to Federally Funded Jobless Payments

Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to a bill renewing federally funded jobless payments for thousands of people who lost their benefits because of a protest against federal spending by several Republican state senators. The House voted 138-13 Tuesday to send the legislation to Gov. Jay Nixon.