SOUTH ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) - A daycare worker is accused of sexually assaulting little girls he was supposed to care for.

Robert Merkle used dating apps and online meet up groups to target, harass and stalk women. He’s been behind bars for three years after pleading guilty to the crimes, but in less than two weeks, he will be out on the streets and his victims want to warn others.

Morning Drive:  50s.  Mostly cloudy, cool and dry. Wind SE 3 mph

Tuesday: High 78.  Partly to mostly cloudy skies. Wind SE 3-6 mph

Wednesday: Low 57/High 75.  Mostly cloudy with a chance for a few light showers mainly over the southern half of the viewing area

Thursday: Low 57/High 79.  Partly cloudy. 

Friday: Low 58/High 82.  Mostly sunny. 

Saturday: Low 62/High 85.  Mostly sunny with a chance of showers & storms late Saturday night. 

Sunday: Low 63/High 79.  Partly cloudy with scattered showers.

Monday: Low 60/High 78.  Chance of showers. 

St. Louis City is asking for a huge lump some to help small businesses struggling during the pandemic.

The CDC has issued its first guidance for the holidays, including Halloween, amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.

An earthquake rattled the Heartland Monday night.

Lamar Johnson has spent more than half of his life in prison for the 1994 murder of his friend Marcus Boyd.

The number of people who vote either absentee or mail in their ballots is expected to rise this election season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MADISON COUNTY, Ill. (KMOV.com) -- Some local courthouses are slowly opening again, testing the waters of holding jury trials in criminal cases amid the outbreak of COVID-19.

Drivers on a Chicago highway saw an unusual sight on Monday afternoon: A single cowboy riding alongside vehicles, slowing down traffic amid rush hour.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has joined Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan to form a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace as the driver, a high-profile pairing of a Black majority team owner and the only Black driver at NASCAR’s top level.

(CNN) -- Adeline Fagan, a second year OBGYN resident living in Houston, died early Saturday after a couple months-long battle with Covid-19, her family announced in a post on a GoFundMe page established on her behalf.

A suspect was shot by officers after pointing a gun at them from under the porch of a North County home Monday evening, police say.

The Salt Lake City Police Department released body camera footage of an officer involved shooting that left a 13-year-old boy who has Asperger's with multiple injuries.

Consumer attorneys are trying to help customers get their gift card purchases from stores that have filed for bankruptcy.

Cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States have surpassed 7 million with more than 204,000 deaths.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A British man who was part of a hacking collective called The Dark Overlord was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for helping the group steal information from several companies in the U.S., including Missouri, Illinois and Georgia.

Maikel Franco hit the go-ahead single with two outs in the sixth inning, the Kansas City bullpen shut down the St. Louis Cardinals from the fourth inning on, and the Royals rallied for a 4-1 victory over their cross-state rivals Monday night.

Mobile, AL (WALA) -- As a Mobile native, this was not Rosetta Kimbrough’s first hurricane. And when she followed the track pushing it toward Gulf Shores, she figured she would be OK on the “mild” side.

Louisville, Kentucky, police said Monday that they had canceled vacations and were setting up barricades in preparation for the state attorney general's announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylor's shooting death.

The St. Francois County Health Department's countywide mask mandate will take effect Monday.

The public playgrounds at St. Louis County parks are back open as of Monday.

The Cardinals are getting some roster reinforcements Monday, just in time for the final push for a spot in the playoffs.

With the number of homicides in the St. Louis area climbing, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is ramping up efforts to help the victims of violence.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- A popular Chesterfield restaurant announced it's closing it's doors Monday. 

A man suspected of raping and beating a woman in St. Louis County was arrested in Dallas, Texas on Monday.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- School districts across Missouri were already reporting a difficult time getting substitute teachers in the classroom, and the COVID-19 pandemic is making the situation worse.

Saturday night, the St. Charles Police Department ordered all bars to close early following large crowds that caused disturbances inside some of the bars and in the parking lot

ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV.com) – St. Louis County will give out $1.8 million in grants to 16 organizations.

Officers found a 28-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his leg. The man, Deron Wickerson, of Hazelwood, was transported to an area hospital where he died.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday abruptly reverted to its previous guidance about how coronavirus is transmitted, removing language about airborne transmission it had posted just days earlier.

A small group of parents stood outside St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page's office Monday morning, demanding he answer questions related to restrictions on youth sports and schooling.

Pine-Sol's original cleaner has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a product that can kill the coronavirus on frequently used surfaces.

A Florissant man was shot and killed at an apartment complex in north St. Louis County Sunday morning.

A Florida woman is recovering from injuries she received when she was attacked by a 10-foot, 4-inch alligator while trimming trees in Fort Myers.

The body of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week.

CHICAGO (AP) — The census came with a tumble dry.

A rideshare driver’s car was stolen by a passenger in North County earlier this month.

A man in Florida is lucky to be alive after an intense encounter with an alligator.

Images show a massive crowd in Warren County with little masks and social distancing.

A gathering at the Lake of the Ozarks is bringing tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to Missouri, generating worry that the state’s already fast-growing number of coronavirus cases could spike even higher.

The closures come as a grand jury has been empaneled in Louisville, and sources have told CNN that it will at some point take up Taylor's case.

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) – The Department of Justice announced Monday morning that three cities, including Portland, have been identified as jurisdictions that permit violence and destruction of property.

President Donald Trump made phone calls to the deputies injured in a Compton, California, shooting, and though one of them remains in the hospital and couldn't speak, she wrote out her answers for the nation's commander in chief.

A woman died after being shot in the St. Louis Place neighborhood Sunday afternoon.

(CNN) -- In a painful start to the week for the Dow and the broader market, stocks tumbled at the opening bell in New York as investors worry when Washington will agree another stimulus bill.

"Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread," the site now says.

Homicide detectives are investigating a deadly double shooting in North County early Saturday morning.