(AP) — Santiago Vescovi scored 15 points and Yves Pons and Jaden Springer added 13 apiece as No. 7 Tennessee routed No. 12 Missouri 73-53 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. The Volunteers shot 50% from the field and 5 of 7 from long range on the way …

(AP) One of Missouri’s U.S. senators says he’ll object when Congress meets next week to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the election. Sen. Josh Hawley says he’ll protest the Electoral College certification because “some states, including notably Pennsylvania” didn’t follow their election laws. A Biden spokeswoman is dismissing Hawley’s …

 (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has all but shut the door on President Donald Trump’s push for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks. The Republican leader says Congress has provided enough pandemic aid and he’s blocked another attempt by Democrats to force a vote. McConnell is unwilling to budge, despite …

A pedestrian dies in Jefferson City. Police say Julie Hentges was crossing Country Club Drive at Rainbow Drive at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. She had left her car parked on the shoulder. A truck hit the 50-year-old Holts Summit woman. She died at a hospital. The truck driver, 21-year-old Melvin …

Boone County reported three more COVID-19 deaths Tuesday. Health officials say one patient was between 70 and 74 years old, and the other two were older than 80. Boone has reported 56 deaths from the illness. More than half of those have occurred in December. Active coronavirus cases in Boone …

(AP) — Britain has authorized use of a second COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first country to greenlight an easy-to-handle shot that its developers hope will become the “vaccine for the world.” The United Kingdom government says the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has made an emergency authorization for the …

(AP) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked Democrats’ push to immediately bring President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks up for a vote. The GOP leader said the Senate would “begin a process” to address the issue. But the next steps are highly uncertain. Trump has …

(AP) — The first reported U.S. case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado. Gov. Jared Polis and state health officials announced Tuesday that the case was found in a man in his 20s who’s in isolation and has no travel …

The year 2020 may have one more trick up its sleeve, in the form of wintry weather. “The most uncommon part about everything that we’re seeing here is we’re really kind of dealing with two different systems,” National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Herzog says. Herzog said on Tuesday you may …

Police categorize the death of a man found on a Jefferson City street as accidental. William Johnson’s body was found early Christmas Eve morning on Commercial Way. Medical examiners say Johnson died of hypothermia in the cold conditions. Johnson was 41 years old.