St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Illinois State Police reported at least two SUV crashes were caused by the weather today. Full Story »

November 23, 2009 - Front row, Orville Sherman and Fenesad Hamidovic practice a Hatha Yoga posture during a session at The Enlightened Sentencing Project, an alternative sentencing program that uses meditation and yoga to help rehabilitate offenders on probation and parole. Full Story »

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In addition to calling for an increase in the income tax rate, Gov. Pat Quinn is asking some of his state agencies to cut back their spending by as much as 14 percent for next year's budget. Quinn won't present plans for his next budget until the spring. Full Story »

Photo by Juanita Gillaspy of Sullivan High School. The photo is untitled and is the First place winner. The R family has never had much, but has always gotten along. Much of the credit for that goes to Mrs. R, who has kept things together despite suffering from a bipolar disorder. Full Story »

ST. LOUIS -- A man on federal parole was killed Tuesday night after someone shot him several times in the face and head. The victim was identified as James Brown, 36, of the 5900 block of Hamilton. Full Story »

ST. LOUIS — SSM Health Care has paid $1.7 million in back pay to nurses under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor. The agreement, announced Tuesday, follows an investigation by the government. Full Story »

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo . — An attorney for a Missouri teenager charged with killing a 9-year-old neighbor says the trial should be moved because local residents are biased against her. Fifteen-year-old Alyssa Bustamante is to be tried for murder in Cole County for the October killing of Elizabeth Olten. Full Story »

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Prompted by a surge in homelessness, the Springfield City Council will consider an ordinance that would allow churches and other facilities to provide shelters. Full Story »

Doctors aren't usually known for their magic tricks, colorful coats and funny jokes. But Dr. Armand Brodeur would do anything to cheer up his patients. Full Story »

TRENTON -- A southwestern Illinois man is accused of targeting the elderly in an investment scheme federal prosecutors say let him pocket more than $1.9 million. Full Story »

Jack J. Whitted, an educator and coach who launched the track and field program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, died of bone cancer Monday (Dec. 7, 2009) at Missouri Baptist Hospital. He was 83 and lived in Chesterfield. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — The advertisement for an athlete's foot drug depicted attacks on a giant fungus alongside the words Crush, Kill and Destroy in bold type. Full Story »

December 7, 2009 - Lady, a rescued greyhound, waits to demonstrate use of pet rescue oxygen masks which come in different sizes to for small, medium, and large pets. Diane Walters, of Rock Community, donated five sets of pet rescue kits to the Rock Community Fire Protection District. Full Story »

UPDTED, 7 a.m. ST. LOUIS -- High winds have knocked out power to about 4,000 Ameren customers in eastern Missouri. Full Story »

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri's overburdened public defender system cannot refuse to handle certain categories of crime but can quit taking all new cases if judges and prosecutors refuse to help reduce its workload. Full Story »

Dec. 3, 2009 - A crew member pulls a fish from the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal as they search for Asian carp in Lockport, Ill. A toxic chemical was dumped on a nearly 6-mile stretch of the canal as part of state and federal efforts to keep the voracious and invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. Full Story »

ST. LOUIS -- Arlanda McCelleary, 41, has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for allegedly stabbing her ex-boyfriend to death, police said. Full Story »

FARMINGTON, MO. -- A&K Trucking Co. has hired an environmental coordinator to oversee cleanup of five tons of lead concentrate that spilled Monday when a truck overturned near Farmington, an official of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday. Full Story »

JEFFERSON CITY -- Alyssa Bustamante, 15, pleaded not guilty Tuesday of killing Elizabeth Olten, 9, a neighbor in St. Martins, Mo., on Oct. 21. Bustamante is charged as an adult with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Officials claim she just wanted to know how it felt to kill someone. Full Story »

Identification was withheld pending notification of relatives. Full Story »

O'FALLON, MO. -- Reginald P. Hicks Jr., 23, who was an assistant football coach and hall monitor at Fort Zumwalt West High School, was charged Tuesday with nine counts of statutory sodomy and two counts of statutory rape on allegations that he had sex with a female student, 16, during the past two weeks in her home, his home and his car. Full Story »

December 8, 2009 - Rhea Willis (left) a Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District director, talks with board lawyer Anthony Gray (right) during Tuesday night's board meeting in Beverly Hills. Members of the board hired Angelia Elgin as the new fire chief for the district. Full Story »

Dec. 8, 2009 - Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and John McCain, R-Ariz., are seen in an elevator following the tabling of an abortion amendment on Capitol Hill in Washington. Full Story »

ST. CLAIR COUNTY — A female Boy Scout troop leader was charged Tuesday with criminal sexual assault for allegedly having sex with an underage boy. Full Story »

In this Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 picture, pit bull puppies are seen at an emergency shelter that has been housing hundreds of dogs seized in St. Louis as part of the largest dogfighting raid in U.S. history. Full Story »