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Larry Conners.

On Tuesday we reported on KMOV-TV (Channel 4) anchor Larry Conners' controversial comments on his Facebook page pondering whether the IRS was targeting him in response to a critical interview he did with President Obama. Later that night -- after getting national attention for his comments -- he issued a short on-air statement admitting that he had issues with the IRS for several years prior to the Obama interview and saying his views were his own.

Now he is temporarily off the air. KMOV officials and Conners' attorney say it's not a suspension.

"He's dying to talk to everybody," Conners' attorney Merle Silverstein tells Daily RFT, "but until he gets released from this order of the station, he is barred from making any comment."

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St. Peters Police

Kevin Flatley.

A naked man sitting in his car outside a library in St. Peters this week asked a teenage girl if she wanted a ride while he fondled himself.

That is according to St. Peters police officials who yesterday arrested Kevin Flatley, 49, two days after he allegedly decided it would be a good idea to sit nude in his car and talk to passersby in the parking lot of a library on Spencer Road.

After an investigation involving surveillance footage at the library and testimony from the victim, police located Flatley at his house and took him into custody, officials say.

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via blues.nhl.com

David Backes to the rescue.

As we reported yesterday, Phineas the Dog, who lives in Salem, could be put to sleep -- after a long, bizarre battle in the south-central Missouri city. In response to a biting incident a year ago, Salem officials ruled that the three-and-a-half-year-old labrador retriever must be euthanized, sparking outrage from the family and now supporters from around the globe.

The parents of a little girl who was bitten have even urged the city not to put dog to sleep. And now, the dog has a high-profile fan that is bringing even more attention to this small-town saga: David Backes, captain of the St. Louis Blues.

Backes and his wife, Kelly, have offered to fly down to Salem, rescue Phineas and bring him to a no-kill animal shelter in St. Charles.

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SLMPD

Stacy Davis, 29.

Police say that Stacy Davis, a 29-year-old St. Louis man, provided Carmen Cross, 30, with heroin and cocaine, which she combined into a cocktail and injected. After the first dose, she allegedly went comatose and was only revived after she took a cold shower and had a warm saline solution injected into her.

About one hour later, Davis -- who was present when the woman went comatose -- sold her more heroin and cocaine, police say.

Two days later, police found her body dumped in an alley on a trash heap, hidden under a flat-panel television.

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Courtesy Fr. Gary Meier

Father Gary M. Meier at a wedding he officiated in 2012.

In 2011, a slender book came out called Hidden Voices: Reflections of a Gay, Catholic Priest. The author was "Anonymous."

"This book is for all of those who are being or have been driven away," reads the introduction. "And that's not just the gay population; it's all of those who have accepted a member of their family, all of those who have allied as friends. They too have been silenced and shamed, ostracized by a Church teaching and hierarchal positioning that will not allow us to support, love, nurture and foster positive gay relationships in our Church."

Earlier this week, Father Gary Meier, most recently of Saints Teresa & Bridget Parish in north St. Louis, revealed that he is the author. Although he says he was never truly "in the closet," the announcement is a form of coming out.

"I know in my heart and my gut I need to stand in solidarity with those who're being fired from their jobs, denied sacrament, excommunicated," he tells Daily RFT.

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via YouTube

KCPD's finest takes a tumble.

Earlier this month, a Kansas City police officer trying to pull a fallen tree from the road fell to the ground in the process when a branch broke. It's some pretty classic slapstick hilarity -- see for yourself below.

And officials in the department seem to think it's pretty hilarious, too!

They've been spreading the joy on YouTube and Twitter, enough so that the folks at the Tonight Show apparently heard about it and decided to air it.

That's right, national fame for one of KCPD's finest.

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Protesters are staging a rally in St. Louis today urging the Boy Scouts of America to reject a policy change that would allow openly gay members.

Linda Briggs-Harty, a Brentwood mother who will be attending the rally, tells Daily RFT, "We are not out to discriminate."

She says, "We are talking about open and avowed homosexuality and the risks that come with that kind of shift."

What are these "risks," and how is her cause not a discriminatory one?

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One step closer to decriminalization.

A proposal to decriminalize marijuana across the state will have a hearing this morning at the Missouri House of Representatives -- which appears to be the farthest this effort has ever gone in the legislature.

It will not, however, make it much farther this time around given that today is the last day of the legislative session.

Still, supportive lawmakers and marijuana reform advocates from Show-Me Cannabis are celebrating the opportunity to have the issue finally debated in this setting.

"It's a big step forward for Missouri," State Rep. Rory Ellinger, a University City Democrat, tells Daily RFT.

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Rep. Sue Allen.

An anti-bullying bill at the Missouri legislature has died -- and Representative Sue Allen, the sponsor of the proposal, is now casting blame on openly gay lawmakers.

At the center of the fight is a debate around specified protections for LGBT students, which Allen opposes. "These are people who think everything is about that issue," Allen, a Republican, tells Daily RFT, referring to LGBT issues. "Because they want sexual orientation added, they are keeping all children from being protected."

LGBT advocates and lawmakers -- who want schools to have the opportunity to outline protections for gay students in their policies -- see it very differently and argue that Allen's stubbornness on this is offensive and backwards.

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via @DavidALieb

(Fake?) body on house ceiling.

It's the second to last day of the Missouri legislative session, and things are getting pretty weird. And, no, we're not talking about seersucker suits.

This morning, a body appeared on the glass ceiling of the Missouri House of Representatives in Jefferson City. It is hopefully just a dummy of sorts as part of some practical joke. (Remember things, do get silly in Jefferson City, sometimes!)

A House spokesman tells Daily RFT just now that he is not aware of the situation, but will look into it. Meanwhile, the leadership, it seems, has made a joke about it, soooo...we're hopeful it's just a bizarre final-week gag and not a horrible tragedy. We'll update when we know more. In the meantime, more photos and tweets below.

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