The Associated Press

The president and CEO of Patriot Coal says without union concessions from current and retired miners, the company will be forced into liquidation.

Bennett Hatfield made the assertion in a commentary published Thursday in the Charleston Daily Mail. He wrote that the company's liquidation would result in the loss of thousands of jobs and have a devastating impact on workers, their families, retirees and their communities.

Missouri's criminal code would get a major makeover under a bill advanced by a House committee.

Monsanto says its net income increased 22 percent in the second quarter on strong sales of its biotech seeds.

The agricultural products company boosted its full-year earnings guidance, citing its strong performance in the first two quarters.

The St. Louis company says it earned $1.48 billion, or $2.74 per share in the three months ended Feb. 13. That compares to earnings of $1.21 billion, or $2.24 per share, a year ago.

Revenue climbed 15 percent to $5.47 billion.

Former Missouri Congressman Todd Akin roughly doubled his office payroll after losing a campaign for U.S. Senate.

Salary figures available through the online tracking site Legistorm.com show Akin paid his 14-person staff nearly $400,000 in the final quarter of 2012. That's twice as much as the $200,000 quarterly payroll that Akin averaged through the rest of the year.

Police are warning motorists of traffic congestion and diversions Monday as the United Mine Workers of America protests Patriot Coal's bankruptcy reorganization plan in West Virginia.

Some 5,000 participants are expected to begin arriving at the Civic Center in Charleston around 9 a.m. The UMWA says people from southern West Virginia will drive in, and 50 buses are carrying people from seven states.

Participants will rally at 11:30 a.m. at Laidley Tower, where Patriot's West Virginia offices are located.