St. Louis

Baton Rouge has been selected to receive federal funding through the Justice Department's Model Cities Initiative, a $300 million competitive grant program aimed at addressing police staffing shortages. Jackson, Mississippi; Jacksonville, Florida; and St. Louis, Missouri, were also chosen. Exact grant amounts have not yet been announced by Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Funds can go toward hiring, training and retention, equipment and technology such as license plate readers and drones, and mental health and substance use services. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy helped East Baton Rouge Parish leaders apply. Some eligible cities, including Houston, declined funding over concerns about conditions tied to administration policies. Applications were open to jurisdictions over 100,000 people, due by September 1.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race could shape how the state's voter-approved reproductive-rights amendment is implemented, since the governor appoints health officials, directs funding, and decides how vigorously to defend abortion restrictions in court. Democrat Amy Acton supports abortion rights and pledges to protect the 2023 amendment while expanding access to contraception and IVF, though she has offered few policy specifics. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not respond to questions, has previously called himself "unapologetically pro-life" and backed six-week abortion bans during his 2024 presidential run, but has not detailed an Ohio agenda. Libertarian Don Kissick opposes both abortion bans and government efforts to expand abortion access, arguing government should stay out of the issue entirely.

Friday marks 26 years since the Oct. 16, 2000, plane crash that killed Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, his son Randy and campaign advisor Chris Sifford. The Cessna, piloted by Randy, went down near Hillsboro, Missouri, en route to a campaign event as Carnahan — then the Democratic Senate nominee challenging incumbent Republican John Ashcroft — campaigned in the race's final weeks. A 2002 NTSB brief attributed the crash to spatial disorientation, attitude indicator problems and poor weather. Lt. Gov. Roger B. Wilson was sworn in as governor two days later once the deaths were confirmed, and memorials drew thousands to Jefferson City, including President Clinton and Vice President Gore.

With the ballot deadline already passed, Wilson pledged to appoint Carnahan's widow, Jean, to the Senate if her late husband won. On Nov. 7, 2000, Carnahan defeated Ashcroft, becoming the first candidate to win a U.S. Senate seat posthumously. Jean Carnahan was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2001, cementing the family's legacy of public service.

Missouri voters will decide on Amendment 8, a constitutional measure that largely mirrors existing state law requiring most counties to elect their sheriffs, while exempting St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County, where sheriffs are appointed. The measure's key change is to the removal process: sheriffs could only be removed via a writ of quo warranto, a legal challenge to a person's right to hold office, and only the state attorney general — not local circuit attorneys or county prosecutors — could initiate that process. A judge would ultimately decide whether a sheriff should be removed, based on grounds such as unlawful election, abuse of authority, corruption, fraud or neglect of duty.

The measure passed the Missouri House and Senate largely along party lines. Supporters say it protects elected sheriffs from future legislative interference, while some Democratic opponents object to undefined language requiring sheriffs to apprehend "traitors" and warn the change could shift power away from local prosecutors toward the attorney general.

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has approved Board Bill 75, expanding who can request traffic-calming measures like speed humps on city streets. Currently, such requests go through aldermen only. Under the new rules, residents, neighborhood organizations and police captains could also submit requests directly.

The city plans to launch an online map, updated regularly, so residents can track the status of requests and see whether they have been approved, funded or designed. Aldermen would retain final authority over funding decisions. 7th Ward Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, who said she has received more than 450 traffic-calming requests through her own ward form covering speed humps, stop signs and roundabouts, said the new process would give residents a clearer way to track their concerns.

The bill now awaits review by Mayor Cara Spencer. If approved, it would take effect July 1, 2027.

A third defendant has been sentenced in a forced labor case out of St. Charles County, Missouri, involving an Indian national held captive and abused for months. Venkatesh Sattaru, 38, of O'Fallon, Missouri, pleaded guilty in April to confiscating immigration paperwork to obtain forced labor and to theft of government funds. Prosecutors said Sattaru brought his cousin to live with him in December 2022, forced him to do household chores and work for his company, and moved him between properties being renovated for rental. When the victim failed to complete tasks, Sattaru and co-defendants Nikhil Penmatsa and Sravanvarma Penumetcha confiscated his documents and subjected him to sleep deprivation, physical abuse, and restricted access to food and bathroom use.

Sattaru, a U.S. Army veteran, also fraudulently claimed disability benefits, collecting over $83,000 from a veterans' caregiver assistance program. He received 50 months in federal prison, concurrent with a separate state domestic assault sentence, and has paid restitution. Penmatsa received 37 months and Penumetcha 30 months on related charges.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has filed a federal lawsuit against the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center, ICE and DHS officials, alleging the facility's no-contact visitation policy unconstitutionally blocks Catholic clergy from hearing confessions, celebrating Mass and administering Communion to detainees. Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and Fr. Christopher Schroeder filed suit Oct. 5, saying the jail allows lawyers and consular officials more access than priests. It appears to be the first time a U.S. diocese, rather than an independent clergy coalition, has sued ICE over pastoral access.

The archdiocese rejects a jail proposal to pass consecrated wafers to detainees via guards, saying Communion must be given directly by an authorized minister, and that confession conducted by phone across glass violates Catholic requirements for privacy. DHS disputes the claims, saying it ensures religious access and calling the allegations false. The facility, holding about 150 of roughly 3,000 total ICE detainees since mid-2025, cites safety concerns. The suit follows similar clergy-access rulings favoring plaintiffs in Chicago and Minnesota.