Mo. National Guardsmen safe after insurgent attack
All 55 members of a Missouri National Guard agriculture team are safe following an insurgent attack on the forward operating base where they are stationed in Afghanistan.
Missouri Agribusiness Development Team VI deployed to Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province on March 9th.
A statement from the Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force says the Sunday afternoon attack included a suicide bomber and small arms fire. One civilian was allegedly killed. The attack appears to have been one of several launched in Afghanistan on Sunday, including a sustained assault on the capital city of Kabul.
The National Guard says Gov. Jay Nixon has been briefed about the attack.
Final Mega Millions winner to come forward
The final winner of the record $656 million dollar Mega Millions jackpot will make their identity known today.
Lottery officials say the single winner is from Illinois. He or she purchased the ticket at a convenience store in Red Bud, Ill., about 40 miles outside St. Louis.
Winners in Maryland and Kansas have already claimed their $218.6 million shares of the prize. State laws there allow for anonymity, but Illinois generally requires winners to be identified. State lottery officials say that helps them prove the lottery is paying out its prizes.
Schweich to appeal ruling on tax initiative
Auditor Tom Schweich says he will appeal a court ruling that struck down his financial estimate for a ballot initiative that would substantially alter Missouri’s tax system.
Schweich had estimated that Missouri could gain as much as $300 million or lose up to $1.5 billion if voters approved the measure, which would replace Missouri’s income tax with an expanded sales tax.
But Cole County judge Pat Joyce ruled those figures were based on a biased analysis submitted by a supporter of the initiative. In her ruling, she said the only thing certain about the proposal was that the current tax structure would be repealed.
