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Abortion pill.

The Missouri legislative session ended last week and one of the many successes the state GOP is celebrating is the passage of a bill to add restrictions to the "abortion pill." It's one of several Republican initiatives that Planned Parenthood is now slamming in the aftermath of the session. It's no surprise that these organizations are at odds with the Republicans at the Capitol, but now they are turning their attention to Governor Jay Nixon, who has the authority to veto the anti-abortion bill.

A key question, too, is whether the GOP representatives could override Nixon even if he opposes their efforts.

"It was a shame and a disappointment this year," Paula Gianino, president of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, tells Daily RFT.

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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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(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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Claire McCaskill

One of the biggest national news stories of the week centers on revelations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups -- scrutinizing organizations with the words "tea party" and "patriot" in their names, for example. And the reports say that the tax agency's focus on conservative organizations may have been broader than that.

Now, the IRS is facing some harsh criticism from a perhaps unlikely place. Claire McCaskill, Democratic U.S. Senator from Missouri, just sent off a statement calling for firings in the wake of this IRS controversy.

"People should be fired for this serious breach of public trust," she says in the short statement. "We don't do this in America."

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Sen. Kurt Schaefer.

Update below: Republican State Senator Kurt Schaefer is a big believer in the Second Amendment and has even proposed a constitutional amendment in Missouri that would make the right to bear arms even stronger. But that doesn't mean he's a huge fan of a pro-gun bill that has earned Missouri national attention: a proposal to block the enforcement of federal gun control in the state.

"You can't make a blanket statement that you are going to disregard all federal [gun-control] laws," Schaefer, a GOP senator from Columbia, tells Daily RFT. "Just because you have the right to bear arms...doesn't mean the government can't do anything."

Last week, the Missouri legislature sent the bill to block federal gun policies in the state to the governor's desk, and Schaefer -- like vocal Democrats in the state and across the country -- seems to think it's not the most logical idea at the capitol this session.

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Rep. Caleb Jones.

In the heat of legislative debates at the Capitol, Missouri lawmakers can sometimes get quite silly, but a joke about firearms yesterday was not received so warmly by some Democrats that favor gun control.

At the closing of a debate around a bill regarding sheriffs, Caleb Jones, a Republican representative in support of the measure said, "This is an important bill for those individuals who risk their lives to protect us."

Then, referencing a group of sheriffs in attendance, he added, "There are a few of them over on my left and your right, Mr. Speaker. They are all armed. I urge the body to support this bill."

Laughter erupted -- but a few Democrats were less than pleased. And one of them tells Daily RFT that the sheriffs' attendance in the first place was a direct violation of House rules. We've got audio of the exchange below.

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Courtesy of Senator Eric Schmitt.

Seersucker has taken over Jefferson City.

Last month, we reported on Missouri State Senator Ryan McKenna's handwritten proposal to ban seersucker suits for anyone over the age of eight.

His disdain for the fashion trend -- inspired by a growing love of seersucker at the Missouri State Capitol -- has apparently backfired. Big time. The so-called seersucker caucus is stronger than ever. And in an increasingly hostile and divided legislature, this may be one of the most powerful, bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Yesterday, was apparently seersucker-to-end-all-seersucker day. More photo proof below.

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Governor Jay Nixon.

It's the final countdown of the legislative session and Missouri lawmakers were quite productive last night -- giving final approvals to three controversial GOP-backed bills that liberal critics say are an embarrassment to the state.

According to Republican supporters, these bills honor civil liberties, property rights and constitutional protections.

To some watching the debates unfold -- and to the minority Democrats frustrated with the priorities of the legislative leaders -- it's a different story. One blocks Sharia law, the religious law of Islam. Another bans a 1992 international green pledge of the United Nations. And the third stops federal gun control policies from being enforced in Missouri.

And in some cases, lawmakers may be able to override a veto of Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat.

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Rep. Rick Stream.

Last week, we wrote about the bizarre e-mail that State Representative Rick Stream sent out to his GOP colleagues in the Missouri House that included a lengthy quote from Winston Churchill about the dangers of Islam. That 1899 quote said, "Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world."

KTVI (Channel 2)'s Charles Jaco has since picked up on our story with coverage that seems to have pressured Stream's office to address the e-mail. When we inquired about it last week, his office did not respond to multiple inquiries.

But yesterday, just before the KTVI story aired, Daily RFT did receive a copy of Stream's statement.

The e-mail, he says, does not contain his words, and he's not necessarily endorsing it. But he does find it interesting.

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The abortion pill.

It's the final weeks of the legislative session -- and Missouri lawmakers are ensuring there will be at least one more abortion fight.

Planned Parenthood says that a bill that advanced this week could make it more difficult for women in the state to access the "abortion pill." The measure would establish new requirements for the use of RU-486, also called mifepristone, or any other "abortion-inducing drugs."

"This is the legislature, once again, thinking their job is to practice medicine, thinking that their job is to create as many barriers and hurdles as possible that they can put in front of women," Paula Gianino, president of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, tells Daily RFT.

What would the legislation change -- and does it have a shot of becoming law?

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