State briefs 9/14/17

Man admits making thousands of fake IDs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri man pleaded guilty to federal charges after police officers found thousands of fake driver's licenses at his home. Prosecutors said 27-year-old Tracy Allan Ford of Lee's Summit entered his plea Wednesday to one count of producing fraudulent identification documents. During a search Sept. 29, 2015, Lee's Summit police found more than 2,300 counterfeit Missouri driver's licenses in various stages of production at his home. They also found equipment needed to make the licenses. Ford told investigators he had produced fake Missouri driver's licenses for three years, using specialized materials he ordered online, including holograms from a company in China. The investigation began after a Lee's Summit officer saw an underage woman buy liquor, and she admitted using a fake license provided by Ford.

Appeals court to rehear Ferguson suit

ST. LOUIS -- A federal appeals court will rehear a lawsuit stemming from the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Tuesday to hear Dorian Johnson's lawsuit. Johnson was with Brown when Brown was shot by officer Darren Wilson in 2014. Wilson was not charged and later resigned, but the shooting of the unarmed, black 18-year-old by a white officer led to months of protests. Johnson's lawsuit alleges Wilson illegally detained Johnson, and Wilson's actions were part of a pattern of misconduct by Ferguson police. Lawyers for Ferguson, former police chief Tom Jackson and Wilson sought dismissal of the lawsuit. A federal judge and an appeals court panel refused to throw out the case.

Thrown rocks on I-70 damage 35 vehicles

WENTZVILLE, Mo. -- Three teenagers have been arrested in the eastern Missouri town of Wentzville for allegedly throwing rocks from an Interstate 70 overpass that damaged up to 35 vehicles. Police said vehicles with cracked windows had to pull over and lined the shoulder of the highway for several hours after the damage that occurred late Tuesday. Police Sgt. Jennifer Bell told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch there were reports of injuries from shattered glass, but details about the injuries were not available Wednesday. Officers were called to the overpass about 11:30 p.m. and found the teens standing near the railroad tracks on the overpass. Two are age 17 and one is a 16-year-old juvenile.

Middle-schoolers help ill bus driver

ST. LOUIS -- Three eighth-graders in St. Louis are being called heroes for helping their school bus driver during a medical emergency. KSDK-TV reported six students were on the bus home from Rogers Middle School when one of them, Alex Fisher, noticed the driver shaking and not responding. The student kept the brakes pressed until a bystander jumped through the window and turned off the engine. Students Emilio Stewart and Vernon Brown called 911 and monitored the driver's condition. While bystanders Michael Harell and Patricia Newton helped stop the bus, Harell said the students are the "real heroes." No students were injured. Another bus driver took the students home. The driver's medical condition wasn't released, but Rodgers principal Jason Buck said the driver called him to ask whether the students were safe.

Centene to acquire Fidelis Care of NY

Shares of Centene rose sharply Wednesday morning after the Medicaid coverage provider said it will expand into New York through a $3.75 billion acquisition of Fidelis Care. Leerink analyst Ana Gupte said the deal, announced late Tuesday, puts Centene in the market with a solid Medicaid presence and a profitable business on the Affordable Care Act's public insurance exchange. Centene said the privately held, not-for-profit Fidelis had $4.8 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year. Centene Corp., based in St. Louis, focuses most of its business on the state and federal Medicaid programs for the poor, but it also has expanded into several states over the past year through the ACA's exchanges.

Carver bust back on display at monument

DIAMOND, Mo. -- A bust of agriculture pioneer George Washington Carver was reinstalled at a Missouri park that tells his life story after undergoing a two-month, $6,500 restoration. The Joplin Globe reported the bust was returned Friday to the George Washington Carver National Monument, a 210-acre park near the tiny southwest Missouri town of Diamond where he was raised. The bust was sculpted by Audrey Corwin in 1952 and was placed in the park in 1953. Born into slavery near the end of the Civil War, Carver walked 10 miles to Neosho to attend an all-black school. He went on to become a world-renowned scientist and educator. He is credited with teaching people to make peanut butter and rotate crops.

-- From wire reports