SPRINGFIELD, IL (AP) — J.B. Pritzker, the billionaire Democratic candidate for governor, engaged in a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers when he removed toilets from a Chicago mansion as part of a property tax reassessment that saved him $330,000, according to media reports citing a local government report. The review by Cook County Inspector General Patrick…
ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Melania Trump opened her first big solo international trip as U.S. first lady on Tuesday with a wave, a smile and a baby in her arms, aiming to promote child welfare during a five-day tour of Africa. She arrived in the West African nation of Ghana after an overnight flight from…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats on Tuesday of opening “the flood gates of mud and muck” against Brett Kavanaugh as Republicans sought to portray efforts to derail the Supreme Court nominee over accusations of sexual assault in the 1980s as “the politics of personal destruction.” The Kentucky Republican’s combative remarks…
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (AP) — Missouri has more time to comply with stricter identification requirements under the Real ID Act. KMBC-TV reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted Missouri an extension on Monday through Aug. 1, 2019. At issue is a federal law with tougher proof-of-identity requirements needed at airports, some federal facilities and…
BELLEVILLE, IL (AP) — The Air Force is reprimanding a former commander at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois as part of a plea agreement over sexual misconduct accusations against him. The agreement comes after Col. John Howard was removed in December as commander of the 375th Air Mobility Wing. The (Belleville) News-Democrat reports the reprimand states…
TOKYO (AP) — Tesla is reporting encouraging production figures for its third quarter as founder Elon Musk tells employees to work hard to prove “the naysayers wrong.” Tesla announced Tuesday that it produced 80,142 vehicles in the third quarter, which is 50 percent more than the previous quarter. The company made 53,239 Model 3 vehicles,…
BY JOSEPH PISANI and MICHELLE CHAPMAN NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon, which has faced political and economic pressure to raise pay for thousands of employees, is boosting its minimum wage for all U.S. workers to $15 per hour starting next month and said it will push for an increase in the federally mandated minimum wage,…
East St. Louis, MO (KTRS) One person is dead and five were injured following a violent night in East St. Louis. Police say the first shooting happened around 6 p.m. Monday when a man showed up at the East St. Louis Police Station with a graze wound to the back of his head and hand. A…
St. Louis, MO (KTRS) Police are investigating after a man’s body was found on a platform at the Busch Stadium MetroLink Station in downtown St. Louis. Police say the victim was discovered at just after 5 a.m. Tuesday. Services were suspended at that station, but have resumed. There’s no word on what may have caused the…
Missouri Department of Transportation says Heavy congestion is expected on westbound Highway 44 over the Meramec Bridge starting today. Bridge replacement and improvements to the exit ramps, between 270 and Bowles, is expected to take three years for both directions to be completed. Work will be conducted seven days a week, 24 hours a day.