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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The CEO of a rural hospital is warning that its financial security could hinge on the expansion of Missouri's Medicaid health care program.

Pemiscot Memorial Hospital CEO Kerry Noble joined lawmakers at a Capitol news conference Monday as House Democrats announced legislation to expand Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults.

The federal health care law cuts payments to hospitals for treating uninsured patients on the assumption they will get more money from an expanded Medicaid program.

If Medicaid is not expanded, Nobel says his hospital system would lose around $1 million annually because of the reduced federal payments for the uninsured. He says that would eventually put the hospital at risk.

Gov. Jay Nixon also wants to expand Medicaid.

But Republican legislative leaders have expressed concerns about its potential long-term costs.

CHICAGO (AP) - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois is on a week-long trip to the Middle East and Africa.

The assistant majority leader's office announced Monday that he was on the trip. Durbin's office said he will meet with U.S. military leaders about intelligence, training, counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and humanitarian efforts. Durbin is planning to travel to Bahrain, Djibouti and Uganda. He is scheduled to return to Illinois next weekend.

Durbin is chairman of the Senate's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. His office says one of the topics he will focus on during the trip is the increased use of drones for intelligence gathering and anti-terrorism operations.

By Dashiell Bennett | The Atlantic Wire --
It seems that the officially verified Twitter account of the Burger King has become the victim of a prank, since the account just announced they were sold to McDonald's and all their employees are on drugs.

Here's the initial series of tweets, preserved for posterity since typically these things get cleaned up pretty fast.

As of 12:30 p.m. ET, the account is still under the control of ... someone, possibly related to to empty account @DFNCTSC. Will we ever find out what those letters mean? Keep following @BurgerKing—not to be confused with the real @McDonalds—though why you're following any fast food chain on Twitter escapes us.