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Monday's afternoon's storm and flooding left thousands without power in the St. Louis area. Ameren reports only a handful of homes and businesses remain without power Tuesday morning.

At the height of the Monday afternoon storm over 4,000 were without power in Missouri and another 1,000 in Illinois.

They were most heavily concentrated in Webster Groves and Affton. Lights were also out at several businesses at the intersection Hampton and Chippewa.

The greatest threat from the storms was flooding. 

Some areas in and around St. Louis absorbed several inches of rain in short order. Flash flooding, a problem in several areas including South City on Kingshighway near Chippewa, where Jerry Ackerman says his Toyota showroom got a little wet.  (Yeh, it kinda happened real quick here. The rain came down, water starts shooting out of the manholes and the next thing you know it's up to our front window here in the showroom.)

Ackerman says everything was fine until drivers ventured through the water, creating waves which pushed the H2O into his business. There was about three inches of water to mop up.  Reporting in South St. Louis city, I'm Vicki Pimentel, KTRS news.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - University of Missouri workers throughout the four-campus system will soon be able to receive domestic partner benefits.

The university's Board of Curators voted unanimously last week to expand health insurance coverage and other benefits to same-sex couples. The expansion also extends to a broader group known as "sponsored adult dependents," which includes unmarried heterosexual couples who live together.

The expanded benefits begin in 2014 and come after years of lobbying efforts by system employees.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to decide whether to appeal a lower court's order saying citizens should be allowed to publicly carry concealed guns.

Madigan already got one extension - until June 24 - to challenge the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said a ban on concealed firearms is unconstitutional. Now she wants until July 24.

The request was filed late Friday, but The Associated Press obtained a copy Monday before it was posted electronically.

The appellate court ordered the ban be lifted by July 9. Lawmakers complied by sending Gov. Pat Quinn a plan on permitting concealed carry.

A spokeswoman says one reason Madigan's seeking another delay is because of uncertainty over Quinn's plans for the measure.