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Morning headlines: Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon delivering the annual State of the State Address on January 19, 2011. Missouri lawmakers are meeting September 14, 2011 to consider overriding vetoes by Nixon.
UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon delivering the annual State of the State Address on January 19, 2011. Missouri lawmakers are meeting September 14, 2011 to consider overriding vetoes by Nixon.

Mo. lawmakers meeting to discuss Nixon veto override

Missouri lawmakers are convening today in an annual session to consider overriding vetoes by Gov. Jay Nixon. Nixon vetoed 14 bills approved during this year's regular session.

Some senators have talked of attempting to override his veto of a bill that moves Missouri's presidential primary from February to March and gets rid of June as a potential date for local elections. Nixon has said the bill could also prevent write-in candidates in some local elections and require costly special elections - instead of gubernatorial appointments - to fill vacancies in statewide offices.

The governor has asked lawmakers to approve a separate bill changing the presidential primary during the special session. That change is needed to comply with political party guidelines.

Joplin insurance payouts top $1 billion

The Missouri insurance department said Tuesday that more than $1 billion of payments had been made on nearly 17,000 claims as of Sept. 1 on home, auto and commercial insurance policies. Those figures come from preliminary reports submitted by insurers.

The state agency has said it expects total insurance payments for the May 22 tornado to eventually reach around $2 billion.

The tornado killed 160 people in the Joplin area and damaged or destroyed about 8,000 homes and businesses.

STL police searching for man in shooting death of pregnant woman

St. Louis police are searching for the estranged husband of a pregnant woman who died when she was shotwhile standing near her car in a parking lot.

Police say another man was shot and wounded during the attack Tuesday evening in a gated lot in Lafayette Square.

The 29-year-old woman and her fetus died at a St. Louis hospital. The 43-year-old man was treated and released.  

Police say the gunman is a 41-year-old man whose last known address was in north St. Louis County.