Former East St. Louis police chief Michael Baxton pleased guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to stealing four Xbox 360 consoles, St. Louis news station KDSK reports.

Baxton abruptly resigned from his position as police chief after being caught stealing four Xbox 360 consoles in a sting operation conducted by the FBI. The police chief plead guilty to felony charges of stealing evidence and making false statements to federal investigators. Baxton faces up to 15 years in prison.

According to the report, federal agents became suspicious of Baxton after several officers in the Alorton Police Department brought to the attention of federal investigators that Baxton was giving special treatment to friends and family, and that he was failing to send evidence to the crime lab.

The FBI then decided to test him, and placed five Xbox 360 consoles in the back of a car and reported the car as being stolen. Baxton and another officer responded to the call, and the police chief took the bait–he took four Xbox 360 consoles for himself, and told the other officer to take the remaining one.

“Unbeknownst to Baxton, the unnamed officer voluntarily came forward to report other acts of misconduct occurring in Alorton and had been assisting the federal investigation from its inception. The unnamed officer was equipped with covert surveillance devices at the time of the theft — and he audio and video recorded the entire incident,” reads the court record.

Baxton, 49, posted bond shortly after being arrested and is now waiting for his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 27.

Source: KDSK

East St. Louis police chief taken down in Xbox 360 sting is a post from: The Inquisitr

Poor Detroit- it can’t even come in at number one on the list of America’s saddest cities.

Despite lack of horrific winters, St. Petersburg, Florida ranked up top on the Men’s Health saddest cities index, followed by Motor City in the second spot. Memphis, Tennessee came in third, with Tampa, Florida and Louisville, Kentucky in fourth and fifth places. St. Louis, Missouri; Birmingham, Alabama; Miami, Florida; Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada rounded out the top ten of depressing spots to live, according to the glittering abs mag.

Men’s Health describes the analysis as “more statistical than psychological,” and used sad factoids like suicide rates (via the CDC) and unemployment statistics (through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, through June 2011). Additionally the mag says they “tapped SimplyMap for the percentage of households that use antidepressants as well as the number of people who report feeling the blues all or most of the time to rank the cities in order of most sad ever to relatively and remarkably sad.

The site also ranks the happiest cities by the same index (note that the flipside doesn’t get nearly as much attention), and found Honolulu, Hawaii to unsurprisingly be the happiest city in the US ranked on the above criteria. However, the second happiest city in America is in far less of a tropical paradise- Manchester, New Hampshire came in second place, despite snowy winters. Fargo, North Dakota- also not known for it’s sunny climes- ranked third on the shiny, happy cities list, with Omaha, Nebraska and Boston, Massachusetts coming in at fourth and fifth places.

Saddest Cities in US Ranked, St. Petersburg, Detroit Top List is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rapper Lil Wayne has received nine stitches after he was injured skateboarding after a Midwest gig.

Wayne- real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.- was at a stop in St. Louis, Missouri when the mishap occurred. The rap star was visiting a skate park with friends, and gave this harrowing account of his injuries on Twitter:

“The Lou [St. Louis] was good but I busted my fuggin head at the sk8park! 9stitches! Gnarly gash over my left eye! Luv the people”

Before Lil Wayne sustained the injuries, he performed at St. Louis’ Verizon Wireless Ampitheater. Sometime after the show, he and his boys visited the skate park where the rapper got hurt. He was taken to DePaul Health Center emergency room nearby, and witnesses say there was a flurry of activity when the rapper appeared with his entourage.

DePaul Health Center refused to confirm any information about Lil Wayne’s injury or the events surrounding his ER visit, citing privacy laws. Lil Wayne is set to perform this weekend at MTV’s Video Music Awards. Following his performance, the rapper’s new album The Carter IV will be released through digital formats ahead of its August 29th record store debut. The upcoming joint features collaborations with rap heavies such as Rick Ross and Busta Rhymes.

Lil Wayne hit it big in 2008 with album The Carter III, for which he won a Grammy. In 2010, he was waylaid in further album-making due to a stint in a New York prison on weapons charges. Reps for the rapper have not commented on the skate park incident.

Lil Wayne Hurt in Skateboard Mishap is a post from: The Inquisitr

On Friday, April 22 2011, a tornado touched down at the airport in St. Louis bursting glass in the concourse and damaging cars on the top level of the parking garage.

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea said he did not immediately have information about how many people were hurt, or how badly. He said the injuries were believed to be from glass that shattered as the storm hit the airport. An Air National Guard facility at the airport was reportedly damaged.

Lea said several cars parked at the airport were damaged. He didn’t yet know if any planes were affected, or if any flights were delayed or canceled.

via Google News

Damages were also reported in Maryland Heights, Bridgeton, St. Ann, Ferguson and Florissant. As well Interstate 270 in the storm area was closed.

Missouri utility company Ameren has reported more than 39,000 power outages.

images courtesy of KMOV.com

Tornado hits St. Louis airport is a post from: The Inquisitr

A sign at the entrance of a St. Louis area Panera Bread reads “Take what you need, leave your fair share.”

Customers order, but instead of a register, a donation box completes the transaction. Patrons of the newly reopened St. Louis Bread Company location (the name Panera operates under in St. Louis) are handed a receipt for the transaction indicating the retail value of their order. And although they are not required to pay any amount for the food they order, 1/3 of customers are said to be opting to pay more than the retail value of their check. (Those who cannot pay at all are asked to assist around the store if they are able.)

Former Panera CEO Ron Shaich, who stepped down from the gig last week, displays wide-eyed CEO hopefulness about the unusual business model of his newest store:

Shaich considers the non-profit Panera Foundation to be his next big thing. “My hope is that we can eventually do this in every community where there’s a Panera,” says the entrepreneur who bought Panera more than two decades ago when it had just 19 locations and grew it to more than 1,400 locations and upwards of $2.8 billion in annual sales.

He plans to open two more of the non-profit cafes in two more cities in the next six months, but declined to say where. His goal is hundreds of Panera Cares Cafes around the country.

But first, this one has to work.

“It’s a fascinating psychological question,” says Shaich, who says he’s dreamed of doing something like this for years. “There’s no pressure on anyone to leave anything. But if no one left anything, we wouldn’t be open long.”

Schaich feels signs are good at the formerly company owned Panera location- after the conversion to a non-profit business and grand reopening of the restaurant, same store sales were up 20% Sunday. (Despite the fact that the location uses day old bread except in sandwiches.) Proceeds from the cafe, open from 7am-4pm, will go to help at risk youth and hunger initiatives in the area.

New Panera Bread location offers “pay what you can afford” pricing model is a post from: The Inquisitr

Albert Pujols is unlikely to miss his home town Home Run Derby in St Louis on July 14, but 2008 winner Josh Hamilton will not be there and other participants are showing their thumbs up or down as the big night approaches.

Hamilton of the Texas Rangers broke the home run record at the Derby last year with 28  homers, and although he was eventually beaten in the final by the Minnesota Twins’s Justin Morneau, he would have been a massive drawcard, but MLB.com reports he will not recovers from surgery on a torn abdominal muscle in time.

Pujols’ public comments on his Derby participation, which is determined by fan vote but can be refused by players who need a rest, especially if they are playing in the All-Star game the next day, were non-committal. Pujols won the National League fan vote, as he did for the All-Star team.

Also pouring cold water on their chances to front up on the night were Morneau, Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, Victor Martinez of the Cleveland Indians,  Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins and Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees. American League fan vote winner Evan Longoria has also made comments about not wanting to hit.

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies, who came second to Pujols in the NL fan vote, was one of a number of players who confirmed their participation, although official invitations have yet to be confirmed. Russell Branyan of the Seattle Mariners, Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers, Prince Fielder of the Brewers, Joe Mauer of the Twins, Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles, and Houston Astros team mates Hunter Pence and Miguel Tejada all expressed interest if asked.

Home Run Derby participants line up for 2009 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Car crashes aren’t that uncommon, but seeing one from your house where a naked woman repeatedly rams another car, gets out, then breaks into a house…well that’s not something you see every day.

Driving While Naked: Do Not Want is a post from: The Inquisitr