(Reuters) - A St. Louis County grand jury has reached a decision in the investigation into the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white Ferguson, Missouri, policeman Darren Wilson in August, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said on Monday. The decision will be disclosed later on Monday.

Check out Reuters timeline on the shooting and investigation.

Factbox: Composition and workings of grand jury in Ferguson shooting case


(Reuters) - A grand jury has heard evidence in the fatal shooting in August in Ferguson, Missouri, of a black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, and its decision will be announced Monday.

The St. Louis County's prosecuting attorney, Robert McCulloch, outlined the jury's responsibility and its composition in a statement issued in October. The grand jury's sole function, McCulloch said, "is to answer a single question: what, if any charges shall be brought?"

Following is a description of the function of grand juries in the St. Louis County courts and details of the jury hearing the Brown case.

Read more

Oregon police told to remove altered badge images backing Ferguson officer

By Shelby Sebens

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov 24 (Reuters) - Portland's police chief ordered three officers on Monday to remove an image of the Oregon city's police badge from their Facebook pages that had been altered to show support for a policeman who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.

"I was alerted to these images this morning and immediately ordered their removal through the officers' chain of command. The image displayed does not represent this organization and was very inflammatory in nature," Police Chief Mike Reese said in a statement.

A Missouri grand jury has made a decision on whether to indict white officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, a killing that sparked angry protests in the St. Louis suburb, prosecutors there said.

Communities across the country, including Portland, have been working for weeks to prepare for responses and public demonstrations following the grand jury decision, which will be announced later on Monday.

Reese has asked the Professional Standards Division of the Portland Police Bureau to review the matter for possible policy violations over the altered Oregon images, which showed the words “I am Darren Wilson” superimposed over the badge.

"Officers certainly have a right to have and express their opinions but not using an official badge of the Portland Police Bureau,” he said. “The badge represents all members of the organization, past and present, and is an important symbol in our community that must not be tarnished.”

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales released a statement saying the city had been working with community leaders and Portlanders on the issue of community and police relations as well as specific dialogue in preparation for reaction to the grand jury decision.

“The actions taken by these three officers here in Portland do not help get us to that goal,” Hales said in a statement.

OPINION: Missouri governor’s pre-emptive state of emergency is an alarming mistake

As America awaits a St. Louis grand jury’s decision on whether to indict a Ferguson police officer for the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, Governor Jay Nixon’s decision to declare a preemptive state of emergency in anticipation of the verdict has heightened the anxiety.

Under Missouri law, the governor can lawfully call a “state of emergency” on the “actual occurrence of a natural or man-made disaster of major proportions in the state, when the safety and welfare of inhabitants are jeopardized.”

There is no actual disaster in Missouri. Just the governor’s unfortunate presumption about what could unfold over the next week. In fact, Nixon’s emergency order rests on two presumptions: first, that the grand jury will not indict officer Darren Wilson, who is white; second, that the majority black Ferguson community, which has largely been engaged in lawful, constitutional protests since August, will react violently and illegally.

Read more

Welcome to our live coverage of today's midterm elections! Reuters will be on top of all of today's hotly-contested races. I am joined here by Reuters journalists Alina Selyukh, Anna Yukhananov and Emily Stephenson. In addition, our reporters will be contributing their observations, breaking news and behind-the-scenes details here as they spend the day out in the field covering races around the country. Stay with us for the very latest all day! Here is what you need to know so far:

Republicans scored big victories on Tuesday and edged closer to taking control of the U.S. Senate in midterms elections that could tip the balance of power away from President Barack Obama for his remaining two years in office. Read more...

Republicans close in on control of Senate in U.S. midterm elections

Georgia’s Republican Governor Nathan Deal wins re-election, CNN projects.
Reuters/Ipsos made the same projection earlier tonight.