“Missouri” on The Daily Caller

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A massive tornado that tore a 6-mile path across southwestern Missouri killed at least 89 people as it slammed into the city of Joplin, ripping into a hospital, crushing cars like soda cans and leaving a forest of splintered tree trunks behind where entire neighborhoods once stood. (more)

ROLLA, Mo. (AP) — A gunman tried to break into a Missouri Army base Thursday and fired on police who pursued him before crashing a vehicle at a nearby university, which went on lockdown after he was seen entering a campus building, officials said. (more)

Ann Wagner, a Republican operative who ran for Republican National Committee chair in January, announced today the formation of an exploratory committee for Congress. She plans to run for Republican Rep. Todd Akin’s seat in Missouri’s second congressional district, assuming that he vacates the seat to run for Senate, as expected. (more)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The mood across the country has turned decidedly anti-tax, but you wouldn’t know it in Missouri’s two largest cities. (more)

In 2008, Barack Obama pulled out a narrow win in North Carolina. Some would call it a fluke, pinning the GOP defeat in the Tar Heel State to John McCain’s dysfunctional field campaign strategy. After all, North Carolina had long been a conservative bastion, and the last Democratic presidential candidate to capture the state prior to Obama was Jimmy Carter, a native Southerner, in 1976. Still, Team Obama surely read something in the “tobacco leaves” because it invested significant resources into a state not typically considered a presidential battleground. (more)

Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill admitted Monday that she had failed to pay about $287,000 in back taxes and will sell a private plane that has created considerable controversy as she prepares to run for a second term in 2012. (more)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — On Jan. 21, the following message appeared on Rep. Donna Lichtenegger’s Facebook page: “I love lobbyists! All the free food and stuff you get. This job is awesome!” (more)

Tea Partiers and Republicans in Missouri can breathe a sigh of relief. A competent, articulate conservative has entered the race to face Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in 2012. (more)

Rep. Sam Graves has been considering a 2012 campaign against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) since the November midterm elections, when his supporters began gauging his interest, the Missouri Republican said Wednesday. (more)

My experience working under five chairs in four different positions at the Republican National Committee, as well as being a “client” of the RNC while serving as Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican Party, has given me a unique vantage point to assess the effectiveness of the organization in an election cycle, as well as the benefits of different leadership styles and skill sets. The chairmen I have worked with — Fahrenkopf, Barbour, Gilmore, Racicot and Gillespie — all had their own unique attributes. But there are several constants to successful party leadership: political savvy, tactical knowledge, communication skills, people skills, fundraising ability and drive. The reality is that while all these attributes are important, major donor fundraising is the essential component that allows the others to follow, and unfortunately major donor fundraising at the RNC has become nonexistent over the past two years. My purpose here is to respectfully suggest to RNC members that Ann Wagner is the one candidate for RNC chair with a proven track record of national major donor fundraising. (more)

How can an organization that has lost credibility, is $20 million in debt and is plagued by distractions and drama help change America’s direction in 2012? It is time for tough love at the Republican National Committee. Bringing conservative Republican leadership to the presidency, Congress, and the states will require a new direction, new leadership and a new team at the RNC. (more)

CBS anchor Katie Couric believes a “Muslim version of ‘The Cosby Show’” could open the eyes of Americans and perhaps put an end to all the ”seething hatred many people feel towards all Muslims.” (more)

When Ann Wagner, the former United States ambassador to Luxembourg, returned from abroad in 2009, she felt that she has not entirely left Europe behind. (more)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City police arrested a man in connection with a carjacking near 33rd Street and Jackson Avenue on Monday morning, where the owner was chained to his front porch. (more)

Barack Obama’s best chance to win Missouri may have passed…unless the Republicans nominate Sarah Palin or Newt Gingrich. After losing the state by the smallest of margins in 2008 Obama is now unpopular in the state, with 52% of voters disapproving of him to only 43% who approve. He trails Mike Huckabee by 7 points (49-42) and Mitt Romney by 6 points (47-41) in hypothetical match ups. But Palin and Gingrich are even more unpopular in the state than he is and as a result he leads Palin by a 46-43 margin and trails Gingrich only 45-44. (more)

The day Ohio lawmakers were set to vote, two dozen shapely young women sporting tight pink t-shirts filed into the House chamber. The battle was already lost – they didn’t need a whip count to tell them that – but they weren’t about to go down without a fight. Or at least a well-executed publicity stunt. (more)

Missouri Republican Sarah Steelman is set to launch her bid to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). The former state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate made the announcement in a post on her website Tuesday evening. (more)

Just last week, the Transportation Security Administration had an 80 percent approval rating. Then, after a few days of media scrutiny, its numbers began to crash. As The Daily Caller noted yesterday, the number of Americans who approve of the TSA dropped 16 points in a single week, and is still plummeting. (more)

Drinking alcohol is thought to interfere with a good night’s sleep. But a new survey has found that most adults don’t experience sleep problems due to drinking. (more)