Interstate 49 to stretch into Arkansas Arkansas highway officials say the federal government has given it permission to label portions of a western Arkansas interstate highway as I-49.   Highway department director Scott Bennett said Wednesday that new signs will start going up next week on the stretch of highway from Alma to Bella Vista. The route is now labeled as Interstate 540.   Nearly 700 signs labeling the highway will cost the Arkansas Highway ...

Exeter woman cashes $50K lottery ticket An Exeter woman is turning her lottery winnings into a sister act. Charlotte Jones decided to splurge and buy a ticket for a new Missouri Lottery game on April 4. It paid off with a $50,000 winner on a day she was accompanying her sister to Springfield for a cancer treatment. Jones said she rarely plays the Lottery, but decided to splurge and buy a $20 ...

National Archives will release more Clinton White House documents The National Archives plans to release about 7,500 pages of documents on Friday from former President Bill Clinton's administration. The records will cover a wide range of topics, including former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's role in health care reform, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and foreign policy involving Rwanda, Iran and the Middle East. Other topics will include papers from presidential speechwriters, meetings and phone calls ...

Branson says liquor laws compliance is improving The City of Branson says bars, restaurants and package stores are getting the message about selling alcohol to minors.  The city reports a recent random compliance effort showed 92 percent of the businesses checked did not sell to or serve underage customers who were working with Branson Police.  The city says that’s an improvement from compliance of 72 percent a few years ago. The compliance check ...

Hall of Famous Missourians inducts osteopathic doctor A physician regarded as the father of osteopathic medicine is now in the Hall of Famous Missourians.  The induction ceremony was Wednesday morning at the state Capitol. Andrew Taylor Still founded the American School of Osteopathy, now called A.T. Still University, in Kirksville in 1892.  His form of medicine focused on the body, mind and spirit. There now are more than 82,000 osteopathic physicians. Family members, medical ...

Arkansas lotto eyes advertising with universities A committee of the Arkansas Lottery Commission is discussing the prospect of advertising with universities in the state.  Lottery Director Bishop Woosley said Wednesday that it would be a natural fit because proceeds from the lottery fund college scholarships. The agency surveyed other state lotteries and found that it's common for lotteries with ties to education to market through universities. For instance, Woosley says the lottery could ...

Some exempted from minimum wage, increased or not
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some low-paid workers won't benefit even if a long-shot Democratic proposal to raise the federal minimum wage becomes law.

Officials investigate response time in 911 killing
DENVER (AP) — Authorities are investigating whether Denver police responded quickly enough to a woman who was fatally shot nearly 15 minutes into a 911 call about her husband, who she said was hallucinating and asking her to shoot him.

Ukraine says investigating Russia's Sberbank for financing separatists
Ukraine has launched a criminal investigation against Russia's biggest lender Sberbank for facilitating financing of pro-Russian separatists, acting Attorney General Oleh Makhnitsky said on Wednesday. Makhnitsky said the Attorney General's office was investigating 14 banks for helping to finance separatists who have taken over a number of buildings in eastern Ukraine, but he did not say whether all the investigations were criminal. "A criminal investigation has been launched against, for example, Sberbank Russia, and work is underway in that direction ... for financing terrorism," Makhnitsky said in an interview on Fifth Channel television.

Arkansas voter ID law challenged in court by ACLU
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A civil liberties group filed suit Wednesday to block a new Arkansas law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls before it is enforced for the first time state-wide in the primary election next month.

Geneva talks on Ukraine face steep hurdles
MOSCOW (AP) — Thursday's high-level talks in Geneva on Ukraine come as the country's eastern regions are awash in turmoil and pro-Russian insurgents have seized police stations and government buildings in at least nine cities.