The Associated Press

Missouri senators are considering a measure to impose tough attendance requirements for students receiving state-sponsored scholarships.

Sponsoring Republican Sen. David Pearce, of Warrensburg, says the bill is designed to help students finish their degrees on time. It would require them to take a defined number of credit hours per semester to remain eligible for aid.

The Bright Flight, Access Missouri and the A+ Schools Program would be affected.

The measure has already won first-round approval and is expected to be sent to the House this week.

A judge has expunged the arrest record of a former executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party.

An order Friday by St. Louis Circuit Judge Robert Dierker says the arrest of Matthew Teter following a domestic incident was based on false information. The order also says there's no probable cause to believe he committed an offense and that no charges will be pursued.

Teter said he was forced out of his job at the Democratic Party in February 2012 after the arrest.

Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill has halted the nomination of an Air Force lieutenant general who's been tapped to be the vice chairman of U.S. Space Command.

McCaskill said in a statement on Thursday that she wants more information about Lt. Gen. Susan Helms' decision last year to overturn a jury conviction in a sexual assault trial. 

Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo) is one of many co-sponsors of a bill that would allow states to collect sales taxes for online purchases.

Under current law, states can only require stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state.

As NPR's Planet Money puts it:

Updated 9:55 a.m. April 25 with more information about the investigation from Amanda Vinicky. Headline changed. Updated 12:22 p.m. with suspect dead. Will be updated further.

Autopsies are scheduled for Thursday morning on five people found murdered early Wednesday morning in their Manchester, Ill. home. Police say their shooter, who’s also from a rural part of west-central Illinois, is also dead.