JEFFERSON CITY — Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and Republican challenger Todd Akin are rallying supporters and encouraging volunteers as they make a final push toward Election Day. At a revival-style rally Saturday in Kansas City, Akin told about 150 supporters that he’s sensing a lot of energy for his campaign. Participants were encouraged to grab a stack voting guides and distribute them at Sunday church services. Akin also was holding rallies Saturday in Jefferson City and St. Louis County. By David A. Lieb.

SENATE-STATE OF PLAY

WASHINGTON — Republicans vigorously pursued their last, best, chances for taking control of the Senate — Pennsylvania topped their list — as Democrats remained cautiously optimistic that they’d retain their narrow majority after Tuesday’s suspense-filled elections. In the final days of a caustic campaign marked by negative ads, more than $1 billion in spending and the direct impact of a close White House race between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, Democrats who were once considered a sure-fire best to lose the Senate were upbeat about flipping Republican seats in Maine and Massachusetts and holding most of the 23 seats they’re defending this year. By Donna Cassata.

AP Photos WX202, WX201.

MISSOURI ELECTION-RACES

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s election Tuesday wraps up six campaigns for statewide offices and will decide in the presidential race who will claim the state’s 10 votes in the Electoral College. The most closely watched race has been a U.S. Senate campaign that could help determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the chamber. On the opposite end, the presidential race has been comparatively sleepy in Missouri. By Chris Blank.

MISSOURI ELECTION-BALLOT

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s statewide vote Tuesday will decide the fate of initiatives dealing with tobacco taxes, oversight of police in St. Louis, an online health insurance marketplace and the selection of state appeals court judges. There has been a full campaign with highway billboards and TV ads over a ballot measure to increase Missouri’s tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. It will be the third time in a decade that voters have considered such a tax increase. Another measure deals with the selection of appellate judges and would amend the Missouri Constitution. By Chris Blank.

FUSION WORK REVISITED

COLUMBIA — A University of Missouri professor has resurrected his two-decade-old work in the contested field of cold fusion. In 1991, Mark Prelas was part of a research team that conducted a fusion experiment that emitted a burst of millions of neutrons. The Columbia Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/TPLr1t) reports that the work stopped when funding was cut off.

WEEKEND FEATURE EXCHANGE:

KC TRUANCY

KANSAS CITY — No one’s jumping out the window this time. A long strip of yellow police tape will see to that. Later in the morning, when officers escort in a new haul of truant students to await processing in the closed Scarritt Elementary School’s auditorium, that side section of window seats will be strategically cordoned off. That’s just one lesson learned in a refortified campaign by Kansas City Public Schools to force truant teenagers back into their classrooms. By Joe Robertson, The Kansas City Star.

UNBANKED POOR

ST. LOUIS — When homeless women come to the YWCA Metro St. Louis for food and housing, the nonprofit organization offers something it considers equally critical: the opportunity to open a bank account. The staff immediately counsels the women on how to open an account, said Nicole Hughes, manager of the YWCA’s transitional housing program and Women’s Economic Stability Initiative. By Lisa Brown, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

FILM CHANGEOVER

COLUMBIA — Film rollers clanked as Ragtag Cinema technical director Steve Ruffin demonstrated how to project “The Master.” The 60-pound film reel sat on top of a platter before Ruffin fed it into the 35 mm projector. Ruffin took the center ring off the reel and threaded the film through a complex series of rollers. The complex combination of metal, oil and celluloid is about to be replaced by circuit boards and pixels as Ragtag plans to convert from analog to digital projectors at the start of 2013. It is one of hundreds of art house cinemas undergoing the transition across the country this year as film distributors have announced plans to stop producing film by January. By Tess Malone, Columbia Missourian.

SPORTS:

FBC–T25-MISSOURI-FLORIDA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Gillislee took a screen pass and went 45 yards for a touchdown, and No. 8 Florida survived a scare to beat Southeastern Conference newcomer Missouri 14-7 on Saturday. The Gators rebounded from a turnover-filled loss to rival Georgia and kept alive hopes of winning the SEC’s Eastern Division. They need the Bulldogs to lose one of their remaining games, against Mississippi on Saturday or Auburn next week, to clinch a spot in the league title game. By Sports Writer Mark Long.

AP Photos GVP103, GVP102, GVP104, GVP105, GVP106, GVP101.

FBN–RAMS BYE

ST. LOUIS — The early returns on coach Jeff Fisher’s welcome back to the NFL were overwhelmingly positive. As it turns out, rebuilding the St. Louis Rams appears to be more of a long-term project. The Rams (3-5) entered their bye week seeking solutions for a midseason slide into mediocrity. They can’t score, they can’t stop anybody, they can’t take the ball away. They sure can’t run with the big boys, either. By R.B. Fallstrom Eds: Moved in advance for weekend use and thereafter.

The AP-Kansas City