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Interstate 55 will be closed from Carondelet to Broadway this weekend to allow for the removal of the Holly Hills Bridge.

Interstate 55 from Carondelet to Broadway will be closed in both directions this weekend as the Missouri Department of Transportation demolishes the Holly Hills Bridge.

The project is part of the Interstate 55 Bridge Replacement Project, which also includes the reconstruction of the Delor Bridge, which got underway last month. The total cost of replacing both bridges is $3 million.

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.

The Missouri Supreme Court has affirmed the murder conviction for Gregory Bowman, but reversed the sentence that put him on death row.

The court ruled today that St. Louis County jurors should not have heard about Bowman's two prior murder convictions during sentencing because those convictions were overturned.

Sen. Claire McCaskill reports raising more than $1 million for her re-election campaign in the first quarter in 2011, a strong showing for the first-term incumbent.

The Missouri Democrat's campaign released the numbers on Tuesday. Candidates are required to submit their fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission by April 15.

McCaskill raised $1.05 million in 2011. Her campaign also reported that she had nearly $1.8 million cash on hand.

The Missouri Court of Appeals has ruled that St. Louis County is not required to share revenue from a new casino with the Lemay Fire Protection District.