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ST. LOUIS (AP) - A substitute teacher at a St. Louis elementary school was removed from the classroom after bringing a Taser to class.

Christina Garland, a principal at Kehrs Mill Elementary, sent a letter explaining the situation to parents.

The letter did not say how the Taser was discovered Wednesday in a fifth-grade classroom. But Garland said the teacher was immediately removed and another substitute was brought in.

The Rockwood School District is investigating.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A special panel created by Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is recommending that the state allow early voting and expand absentee voting by mail.

The bipartisan commission released its recommendations Thursday for overhauling Missouri's voting laws.

Missouri now allows people to vote by mail only if they meet certain conditions, such as a disability or absence from their district on election day. The commission says voters should be allowed to mail their ballots without such restrictions.

It also recommends requiring all local election authorities to establish one location where voters can cast ballots in-person beginning six weeks before election day. For presidential elections, highly-populated areas would be required to establish an additional polling place for early voting.

The 11-member commission is made up of local election authorities, attorneys and former lawmakers.

A senior citizen's was stabbed death overnight, now that woman's niece is in custody while police question her about the murder.

The woman's body was found inside her North County apartment this morning by a maintenance worker. Police say she had been stabbed several times. Fox 2 reports that the niece, who lives with the woman, was sitting in the apartment acting like nothing happened.

The woman has been identified as Bernice Winston of Ferguson.