JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP and Post) — Missouri state workers in Jefferson City are getting an extra holiday this year, Aug. 21, the day of the solar eclipse.

State officials said Friday that with up to 50,000 visitors expected in Jefferson City to see the eclipse, state workers in non-essential jobs in the capital city will get the day off.

State workers elsewhere must report to work.

Ryan Burns, Director of Communications for Missouri said in Buchanan County, individual department directors will use their own discretion as to whether to grant administrative leave for their non-essential employees.

City officials in St. Joseph are also preparing for thousands of visitors that day.  Numerous businesses in Buchanan County as well as the Buchanan County Courthouse have already announced plans to close. For more information on business closings or to report a closing CLICK HERE.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback says he wishes Kansas had preserved part of an income tax break he championed as a boon for small businesses.

Brownback cited the death of the exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners as one of his regrets during his 6½ years as governor. He reflected on his tenure during a Statehouse news conference following his nomination by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

His departure would elevate Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, a fellow GOP conservative, to governor. Brownback said he doesn’t know whether he’ll wait until his ambassador’s appointment is confirmed by the U.S. Senate before resigning as governor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dealing a serious blow to President Donald Trump’s agenda, the Senate early Friday rejected a measure to repeal parts of former President Barack Obama’s health care law after a night of high suspense in the U.S. Capitol.

Unable to pass even a so-called “skinny repeal,” it was unclear if Senate Republicans could advance any health bill despite seven years of promises to repeal “Obamacare.”

“This is clearly a disappointing moment,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “I regret that our efforts were not enough, this time.”

“It’s time to move on,” he said. The vote was 49-51 with three Republicans joining all Democrats in voting ‘no.’ Kansas Senators Roberts and Moran voted for the repeal.

McConnell put the health bill on hold and announced that the Senate would move onto other legislation next week.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Federal charges have been filed in Nebraska against a man suspected of being the “AK-47 bandit,” accused of robbing banks in five states.

Richard Gathercole is accused of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle and stolen firearms in a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Friday from The Associated Press.

FBI officials believe Gathercole is “the AK-47 bandit,” who has robbed banks in California, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington.

Court documents say Gathercole was arrested June 20 at a gas station near Lexington, Nebraska. A sheriff’s deputy had spotted a pickup truck there that Kansas authorities had reported stolen by a man who fired at but missed a state trooper.

Lexington is 200 miles (320 kilometers) west-southwest of Omaha.

HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man convicted of raping two women and acquitted of sexually assaulting a teen in cases that have divided his tight-knight hometown won’t face additional rape charges.

But Jacob Ewing will face trial for attempted rape and felony charges of sexual exploitation of a child under a ruling that Jackson County, Kansas, District Judge Norbert Marek issued Thursday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Marek ruled that a jury should decide if Ewing knowingly viewed sexually explicit images of a 17-year-old girl.

In the ruling, Marek dismissed additional charges of rape scheduled for trial in August at the request of special prosecutor Jacqie Spradling. Defense attorney Kathleen Ambrosio also had sought to have Ewing retried on the charges that he was convicted of in June, but Marek denied the request.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A report from a federal commerce bureau says the economies of Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota logged the worst performance in the U.S. in the beginning of 2017, with economic output declining in all three states.

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that from January through March this year, Nebraska’s economic output declined by 4 percent when compared to the final quarter of the previous year, making it the worst of any state. South Dakota ranked second-worst with a 3.8 percent decline, followed by Iowa with a 3.2 percent decline.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the bureau is a federal agency from the U.S. Department of Commerce. It measures a state’s “real” gross domestic product, which is the market value of goods and services produced in-state.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a serial rapist who remains on the loose after attacking more than a dozen women in two Kansas college towns has been tied to another case.

Police in Riley County and Lawrence announced during a joint news conference Thursday that a July 2015 attempted rape in Manhattan is the latest case linked to the unidentified suspect. The man also is suspected in 12 other rapes and one other attempted rape from 2000 to 2008.

Authorities are urging other women who may have been victimized to come forward. Police say all but one of the attacks occurred during school breaks at Kansas State and the University of Kansas. Officials have said the suspect is usually armed.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Closing homeless shelters and reports on homeless counts show that Wichita’s homeless population is declining.

The Wichita Eagle reports that data collected in the annual point-in-time homeless counts show chronic homeless in Wichita has dropped 42 percent from 2015 to 2017. Service providers for the homeless say the most significant drops are among veterans and the chronically homeless.

Agencies providing services meet monthly to review cases.

Catholic Charities Executive Director Wendy Glick says the nonprofit’s The Mount shelter has closed because not enough homeless families were using it. But Glick says Wichita is also seeing an increase in the number of homeless teens and 20-somethings.

United Way of the Plains Director of Community Impact Luella Sanders says groups plan to focus on helping that specific group next.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A tanker truck was left dangling from its back wheels with the cab resting on the road below when it crashed and rolled over the edge of an interstate overpass in downtown St. Louis.

KMOV-TV reports that emergency responders who rushed to the scene of the crash on Interstate 44 early Thursday were able to lower the vehicle to the ground below.

It is unclear what lead to the crash and the status of the truck driver is unknown. St. Louis police didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment from The Associated Press.

The crash closed the Eads Bridge in both directions.