Politics

A new president is about to take power in Mexico amid a raging drug war. The biggest question facing Enrique Pena Nieto is this: what will the federal government do to curtail the gangland violence?

Republican congressman Todd Akin stopped off in Columbia Thursday in one of his last campaign rallies ahead of Tuesday's primary election that pits Akin against two other high-profile GOP candidates vying to challenge U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in November.

A bill making it illegal for U.S. airlines to pay a European tax passed unanimously through the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is a key sponsor of the measure.

Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed a former Republican state lawmaker to the Missouri Veterans' Commission.

Chuck Wooten is a World War II veteran from Nixa who served five terms in the Missouri House.

The commission provides information to veterans and their families about their rights and helps them obtain state and federal benefits. It also oversees skilled nursing facilities for veterans and veteran cemeteries.

Nixon announced Wooten's appointment Wednesday. If confirmed by the state Senate, he would serve until November 2015.

Today's Topics:

Sale of KMIZ to UM Curator

Cameras in Holmes Courtroom

Head of CNN Resigns

NBC's Olympic Coverage

Lehrer Out at New Yorker

Updated 4:33 p.m. with reporting by KCUR's Elana Gordon.

Missouri’s Supreme Court has effectively overturned state caps on non-economic damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice cases.  The court ruled today in favor of Deborah Watts, who filed suit against Cox Medical Centers in Springfield for injuries her son suffered at birth in 2006.