Lawmakers vote to expand industry say in water regulations

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Agriculture and mining industries could gain more influence over Missouri’s water regulations under legislation awaiting the governor’s approval. The Legislature voted this month to allow industry-backed commissioners to replace public representatives on the Clean Water Commission. Some in the agriculture community criticized the commission for revoking a permit for a…

Jury selection begins in Drew Peterson trial

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Jury selection has begun in the murder-for-hire trial of a former suburban Chicago police officer who’s accused of plotting to kill the prosecutor who put him behind bars in his third wife’s death. Sixty-two-year-old Drew Peterson was convicted in 2012 of first-degree murder. Kathleen Savio’s death eight years earlier initially was…

Charges dropped against 2 reporters covering Ferguson unrest

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Prosecutors have dropped charges of trespassing and interference with police officers against two reporters arrested while covering the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri. St. Louis County spokesman Cordell Whitlock tells The Associated Press the charges were dismissed Thursday against The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery and The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly. The…