News

Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to legislation requiring parental consent for children younger than 17 to use commercial tanning beds. House members approved the bill 103-38 on Monday. It passed the Senate 22-10 last week and goes now to Gov. Jay Nixon. The measure includes penalties for businesses that allow customers under 17 use

The suspect in a string of campus-area sexual assaults and burglaries reportedly hanged himself on the University of Missouri campus on Saturday. Columbia police said Zane Black, 36, of Columbia, may be connected to dozens of crimes in the East Campus area dating back to May 2013. Black’s online resume indicated he was a registered

A Fulton man confessed Monday to his part in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his estranged wife. Michael Gordon was accused of trying to hire a hit man, who later turned out to be an undercover officer with the Missouri Highway Patrol. The two allegedly agreed to shoot Gordon’s wife in the head. Judge Kevin

Marshall and Slater were not directly affected by Saturday’s tornado. In order for a town to receive state recovery funds, twenty-four residential homes need to be severely damaged. Around three thousand Slater residents were without power for about three hours. Farm buildings and barns were the main structures affected. Route O in Saline County, is

Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to legislation barring people younger than 18 from buying electronic cigarettes. The House voted 127-19 on Monday to send the bill to Gov. Jay Nixon. It passed the Senate earlier this year. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices used to heat a liquid nicotine solution and create vapor that is inhaled.

Dozens of people are out of a job after Fired Up! BBQ restaurant caught fire early Monday morning. Officials say an equipment malfunction is to blame for the fire that destroyed the building just after 4am. Fire officials say it was a difficult fire to put out because the building was rather old. They also

Jefferson City firefighters battled a blaze in the 1000 block of Hawthorne Parkway Monday afternoon. According to fire crews, the fire was electrical and started in the basement. Contractors were working in the basement, but the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The interior of the home was heavily damaged by smoke.

The Columbia Fire Department was called to Jefferson Middle School Monday afternoon for reports of smoke in two classrooms. Students and staff were evacuated from the building around 1:00 p.m. Fire crews arrived and found no visible signs of smoke or fire. Crews told ABC 17 News construction work was being done in the lower

Editor’s note: The following is the transcript from the video reflection put together by ABC 17 Sports Director Austin Kim. Football has a culture of masculinity and brawn. But the decision to draft the first openly gay football player takes a similar toughness and a disregard for critics. Michael Sam, who was drafted No. 249

In Marshall, residents were cleaning up debris of fallen trees and destroyed barns after a tornado touched down miles away. “I looked out and could see white clouds starting to spin and turn around,” said Richard Clemens. As the sun came up Sunday, hundreds remain without power near Marshall and across Saline county. Clemens and

No. 15 seed Missouri softball could renew an old rivalry with Kansas this weekend. Mizzou will host the Jayhawks, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Bradley Braves in its NCAA Championship regional. The Tigers will open with the Braves at 2 pm on Friday. If the Tigers win on Friday, they will face the winner of the Kansas/Nebraska

Mizzou football beat writer David Morrison recaps the 2014 NFL draft and breaks down each Mizzou draftee.

The University of Missouri police have arrested former Mizzou defensive back, David Sowell, on rape accusations. Investigators said the report came from Campusview Drive just off Providence Road. The woman told officers she knew Sowell before the incident. MUPD said the investigation is still ongoing. As of Sunday night, Sowell was in the Boone County

The 22nd annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive wrapped up Saturday in Columbia. The Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri told ABC 17 News it received donations of 44,000 pounds of food. About $25,000 cash was also donated during the event. The food bank teamed again with the United States Postal Service mail carriers

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touch down Saturday evening in Saline County, near Marshall. Viewer reports indicated the northern part of the city had more damage than areas farther south. An ABC 17 News crew report a barn collapsed on Highway 240 and many trees were down in the area. Across the area,

A Eugene man died late Friday night after being thrown from a pickup truck that rolled in Miller County. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, 20-year-old Kristopher Ryder was thrown from the truck when it went off Highway M, near Eldon, and rolled into a ditch. The driver, 26-year-old Joseph Christian of Eldon, and

Columbia Police believe a recent string of break-ins at student apartments are related. The most recent break-ins have all happened in the 3000 block of Stadium Boulevard and 2200 block of Grindstone Parkway. In all of the instances, the suspect entered apartments occupied by college-age women. Columbia Police believe the same suspect is connected to

A Friday night party ended in gunfire in north Columbia. Columbia police told ABC 17 News on Saturday that multiple shell casings were found in the area of Comanche Court and Mohawk Court, just north of Interstate 70. The investigation continued this weekend. Police said there were few leads in the case because witnesses did

One woman was taken to a Columbia emergency room Saturday night after she crashed her Ford SUV into a parked car and a home. Police at the driver at gunpoint in the 700 block of West Green Meadows Road around 6:45 p.m. Saturday. Officers at the scene told ABC 17 News the driver may have

An Jeep Cherokee crashed into a Columbia insurance office Saturday evening and sent one man to the hospital with serious injuries. The crash happened around 7:27 p.m. at the Shelter Insurance Office at 1905 West Ash Street, just off Stadium Boulevard and near Columbia Mall. According to a Columbia Fire Department news release later, the