Missouri House Speaker

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Republicans have chosen House Majority Leader Todd Richardson to take over the chamber's top spot following the resignation of House Speaker John Diehl. Diehl announced Thursday that he was resigning after acknowledging that he had exchanged sexually suggestive text messages with a college freshman serving as a Capitol intern...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — House Speaker John Diehl says the state will strip $4.5 million in funding for membership to a group that makes tests for the national Common Core education standards. Diehl says cutting the money will ensure Missouri's partnership with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium ends...