Bill Raack

The new Fortune 500 list has been released. Fortune Magazine has released its annual ranking of the top U.S. companies by revenue Monday.

Last year, St. Louis had ten companies on the list. It’s down to nine this year, as Smurfit Stone Container dropped off because it was purchased by Rock-Tenn in 2011. The companies are:

St. Louis man charged in shooting deaths, arson

St. Louis police say a man upset with his ex-girlfriend shot her and her mother to death then set a fire before leaving two young children locked in an apartment. The suspect's 10-month-old son died of smoke inhalation and a 3-year-old girl was critically injured. Prosecutors charged 23-year-old Eric Lawson on Sunday with three counts of first-degree murder and nine other charges, including arson. Police say 22-year-old Breiana Ray and her mother, 50-year-old Gwendolyn Ray, died Saturday of gunshot wounds to the head. Aiden Lawson died of smoke inhalation. The 3-year-old girl was taken to a hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Her name was not released. 

Supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community Friday called on St. Louis County and individual municipalities to enact anti-discrimination laws.

Five area cities, including the city of St. Louis, have updated their discrimination ordinances to include protections for the LGBT community. Andrew Shaughnessy, with the LGBT advocacy group PROMO, says there are several others considering doing the same thing.

"They realize that not only is it good for the workplace but its also good for having a vibrant community and keeping a vibrant and strong workforce within their community," Shaughnessy said.

Missouri congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan have some differences of opinion when it comes to the potential political impact of their Democratic primary battle. 

Both are running for the Democratic nomination in the 1st congressional district, which Clay has represented since 2001. Carnahan decided to challenge Clay after Carnahan’s south St. Louis city and county district was split up following the 2010 census. Clay calls the situation “unfortunate".

"It doesn’t do us any good in Missouri to have two incumbent Democrats running for the same seat. There were other options for my opponent. Remember, I only got 20 percent of his district. His district was split three other ways," Clay told St. Louis Public Radio's Don Marsh Thursday.

Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville has named a new chancellor. She is Julie Furst-Bowe, currently an administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Furst-Bowe was introduced to the campus today after a four-month search. She replaces Dr. Vaughn Vandegrift, who led SIUE for eight years. Furst-Bowe says she was sold on the school after a visit to campus this year.

“I was so impressed by the dedication of the faculty, and by the energy of the students, " Furst-Bowe said. "You’ve got great, great students here. The campus is absolutely beautiful and I really appreciate all of the deer and the geese and everything -- the wildlife,” she joked.