Cards clinch NL wild card
Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals completed one of the more remarkable comebacks in baseball history, clinching the NL wild card Wednesday night with an 8-0 win over Houston and a later loss by Atlanta.
The Cardinals got their playoff spot when the Braves fell to Philadelphia 4-3 in 13 innings. St. Louis trailed Atlanta by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 25. The Cardinals won 23 of their last 31 games.
The Cardinals will open the postseason on Saturday at NL East champion Philadelphia. In the other NL playoff matchup, Arizona visits Milwaukee.
Fourth man faces federal indictment in ATM Solutions robbery
The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis says 21-year-old Aaron Hassan Johnson is accused of being the fourth robber of the ATM Solutions business in St. Louis. Four armed men took $6.6 million in the holdup in August of last year. Johnson pleaded not guilty Wednesday of obstructing commerce by robbery and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Three of the robbers have already pleaded guilty, and two have been sentenced - one to 32 years in prison and one to nearly 20. About half of the stolen money has been recovered.
Mo. Gov. asks legislature to send over job-creation bill or end special session
Gov. Jay Nixon said Wednesday the session has cost taxpayers about $170,000 since it began Sept. 6.
Legislators last week sent Nixon a bill revising a contentious new law about online communications between teachers and students. But they parted ways without passing the top priority of the session. That bill would have scaled back Missouri's existing tax credits and offered new incentives for businesses to hire workers or export products through the St. Louis airport.