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This Hour: Latest Missouri news, sports, business and entertainment

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ILLINOIS JUDGE-INVESTIGATION

Illinois judge charged with heroin, gun possession

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A southwestern Illinois judge whose colleague died of a cocaine overdose while the two were on a hunting trip together has been charged with possession of heroin and guns.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Michael Cook pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Friday in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis.

A criminal complaint accuses Cook of using a controlled substance while in possession of firearms.

A judge ordered him freed on his own recognizance.

Authorities say Cook and newly appointed St. Clair County Judge Joe Christ were staying at the Cook family's hunting lodge in western Illinois' Pike County on March 10 when Christ was found dead. A coroner said Friday that Christ died of a cocaine overdose.

Cook has not been charged in Christ's death.

MISSOURI WOMAN-MURDER

Missouri woman gets life sentence in killing

FARMINGTON, Mo. (AP) - An eastern Missouri woman has been sentenced to life in prison after admitting that she killed a man.

The Daily Journal newspaper in Park Hills reports that 37-year-old Robin Lucas of rural Bonne Terre pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder. She was originally charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Thomas Triplett Jr. but reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Drug investigators went to Lucas' camping trailer on April 21, 2011, on an anonymous tip about a methamphetamine lab. No arrest was made but Triplett was shot the next day.

Witnesses told police that Lucas thought Triplett was the anonymous tipster. She admitted during her plea hearing that she shot Triplett.

SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENT

3 kids, 3 adults hurt in school bus-car accident

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Six people, including three children, are injured after a school bus and car collided in St. Louis.

The accident happened Friday morning on Interstate 55. Authorities say the injuries are not life-threatening.

It wasn't immediately clear how the accident happened. The bus was knocked over onto its side.

The injured include three young children, two adults on the bus and an adult in the car that collided with the bus.

STOLEN CAR-CRASH

Stolen car crashes during pursuit

TROY, Mo. (AP) - An eastern Missouri teenager is in jail after allegedly stealing a car, taking it on a joy ride, then crashing when police gave chase.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 18-year-old Deandre M. Blevins of Troy is charged with tampering with a motor vehicle and attempted assault on a law enforcement officer. He is jailed on $30,000 bond.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper saw a red Chevrolet speeding Wednesday night on U.S. 61 and began a pursuit. As the car exited it veered off the ramp and struck an embankment. Blevins and a 14-year-old passenger had minor injuries. Court documents say a small amount of marijuana and a glass smoking pipe were on the floorboard.

The car's owner didn't know it was missing until police arrived.

MISSOURI HALLS-RENOVATION

Missouri plans $23 million renovation of 3 halls

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - The University of Missouri plans to renovate three buildings around its central quadrangle, including the main administration building.

The $23 million plan must still be approved by the Board of Curators.

The university said in a news release that Pickard, Swallow and Jesse Hall would be renovated. Jesse Hall is the administration building, Pickard houses the Museum of Art and Archaeology and Swallow holds the Museum of Anthropology.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that when the work is done, the Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Art and Archaeology will be relocated to the former Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. The former cancer center will be renamed Mizzou North.

GOODWILL-MEDALS

WWII hero's medals found inside Goodwill store

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Officials with Goodwill are searching for relatives of a World War II veteran whose medals - including the Silver Star and Purple Heart - somehow wound up inside a suburban St. Louis Goodwill store.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Goodwill's director of loss prevention, Ron Scanlon, saw a shadow box on a bin Wednesday at the Chesterfield store and took a closer look. Inside, he found a picture of a smiling Marine surrounded by medals taped to a red velvet liner.

A scrap of paper told the story of Marine Sgt. James Joseph McKenzie, a former prisoner of war who performed heroism during a heavy artillery barrage from the Japanese in the Philippines.

It isn't clear how the box of medals ended up at Goodwill.