News

Updated 2:15 p.m. May 2 with information from conference call with Sen. Blunt

From Senator Roy Blunt:

"Osama bin Laden's death is a major victory for America. This development is the culmination of the sacrifices and dedication from our brave troops and intelligence professionals. After nearly a decade, it also brings a great measure of justice and closure for all Americans who lost loved ones as a result of the brutal attacks against our nation on 9/11. While this does not mean the end of our fight against global terrorism, bin Laden's death is a major blow to al-Qaeda and the terrorist organizations he financed."

In a Monday conference call, Blunt praised the president for sending Special Forces into bin Laden's Pakistani compound, rather than conducting a bombing raid.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation allowing the use of $189 million in federal education money to fill shortfalls in state funding.

Nixon signed the measure Monday at a high school in Linn, about a half-hour east of Jefferson City.

The federal money won't yield a net increase in the funding of local school districts. But it will help avoid a reduction in basic state aid to schools during this and future academic years.

Will be updated.

Funding for education is being pitted against aid to the elderly and disabled as Missouri lawmakers attempt to negotiate a final version of the state budget.

Negotiations stalled shortly after they started Monday because of a disagreement among House and Senate members about how much Missouri can afford to spend in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

At issue are the amounts of money going toward public school busing, colleges and universities, in-home care providers for the disabled and prescription drug aid for seniors and the disabled.

Osama bin Laden is Dead

Missouri lawmakers are reacting to the news that the mastermind of 9-11 has been killed by US Forces. In a statement, Republican Senator Roy Blunt calls Osama bin Laden’s death a major victory for America. Missouri’s Democratic Senator, Claire McCaskill, calls bin Laden’s death quote “justice delivered.”

Governor Jay Nixon vetoed the new congressional districts map over the weekend, saying that it didn’t appropriately reflect the state’s various regions. The governor is hoping state lawmakers will give it another try before the legislative session ends.

Getting the map to the Governor’s desk wasn’t easy. But eventually the Republican-controlled legislature agreed on how to reduce the number of congressional districts from nine to eight. Governor Nixon said on Sunday in St. Louis that he vetoed it because it had too many problems.