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Morning headlines: Monday, May 7, 2012

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. 

Minimum wage, payday loan petitions approved

Supporters of raising Missouri's minimum wage and limiting payday loans have submitted petitions to
get the measures on the November ballot. The minimum wage proposal would boost Missouri's minimum pay to $8.25 an hour starting 2013, with an annual cost-of living adjustment in subsequent years. Missouri currently follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Voters also approved a 2006 ballot measure increasing the state minimum wage. Under the payday loan proposal, annual rates on short-term loans
would be capped at 36 percent. That would include interest, fees and finance charges. Backers of the measures say they submitted about 180,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office for the payday loan
measure and 175,000 for the petition on minimum wage.

Blues season ends with loss in Los Angeles

Dustin Brown scored two goals, Jonathan Quick made 23 saves, and the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings finished an improbable four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 3-1 victory Sunday, advancing to the conference finals for just the second time in club history. Rookie Jordan Nolan scored an early goal for the Kings, the first team in recent NHL history to eliminate their conference's top two seeds in the same postseason.  After steamrolling top-seeded Vancouver and second-seeded St. Louis with eight wins in nine games, the Kings will face the winner of Phoenix's series with Nashville in the Western Conference finals.