Kelsey Proud

UPDATE Jan. 6, 2011 6:47 p.m. :   Via the Associated Press, The Illinois House, reversing an earlier tally, has voted 60-54 to repeal the death penalty. The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate.

A decades-long effort to abolish the death penalty in Illinois has fallen one vote shy of House approval.

House members voted 59-58 Thursday on abolition. The bill needed 60 votes for approval.

You'd think being designated as a L'Oreal "Women of Worth" finalist and starting her own organization would be impressive enough for 18-year-old Simone Bernstein.

Well, now Bernstein can add another item to her list of accomplishments - today she was named The Huffington Post's "Greatest Person of the Day."

A former CIA officer from O'Fallon, Mo. is under indictment, accused of leaking classified information about Iran to a New York Times reporter.

Federal prosecutors charged Jeffrey Sterling with 10 counts related to improperly keeping and disclosing national security information.

The Missouri state budget is already due for more cuts this year, and that's the reason Republican Sen. Jim Lembke, of St. Louis, cites for filing a resolution to block a recommended pay raise for judges.

The Associated Press reports that "Judges have argued for several years that higher salaries are needed to persuade qualified people to serve as judges instead of working as private-sector attorneys where they might earn more money."