WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama paid more than $93,000 in taxes last year on adjusted gross income of more than $477,000.

That’s according to income tax returns Obama filed jointly with his wife, Michelle. The White House released copies on Friday, just before the April 15 federal filing deadline.

Obama also reported donating just under $71,000 to charity.

His largest charitable donation — $22,000 — went to the Fisher House Foundation. The organization aids wounded service members and their families.

The White House also released the 2014 income tax returns for Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden and his wife, Jill, paid more than $90,000 in federal taxes last year on adjusted gross income of nearly $389,000.

The Bidens reported $7,380 in donations to charity.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s GOP-controlled Legislature is using its clout to push for limits to the state’s social safety net.

Proposals nearing the end of the legislative process include a measure to tie the amount of time available for individuals to receive unemployment benefits to the state unemployment rate. Instead of the current 20 weeks, people could receive as little as 13 weeks of benefits.

Another bill would cut how long low-income families can receive monthly assistance.

A Senate budget proposal also would reduce funding for the social services, health and mental health departments.

Some Republicans say those agencies are wasteful, and resources instead should go to programs designed to help welfare recipients find a job or get a better job.

Democrats say the proposals could harm the state’s most vulnerable residents.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Some aspiring Missouri teachers are finding themselves struggling on a new test they must pass to get a job.

The Southeast Missourian reports that the state in September switched the exam it requires before awarding a teaching certification. Instead of taking a teaching test known as Praxis II, students now must fare well on a more rigorous assessment called the Missouri Content Assessment.

Southeast Missouri State University’s College of Education dean Diana Rogers-Adkinson said current students are caught in the transition.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education assistant commissioner Paul Katnik said teacher candidates had about 15 months to prepare for, take and pass the Praxis II exam before it was discontinued. But university officials and students say they feel they weren’t given enough time to prepare.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) — The city manager in Poplar Bluff says a large entertainment and recreation venue operated by the city loses more than $1 million annually.

The Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reports that City Manager Heath Kaplan discussed the situation with Black River Coliseum during a special city council meeting Wednesday.

The losses calculated by Kaplan include the cost for utilities and building payment and depreciation.

But several residents say the coliseum is important to them and they want it sustained well into the future.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Fort Leavenworth is holding a disaster response exercise April 14.

The Army post announced Thursday that it will conduct a full-scale training exercise for soldiers stationed there simulating a response to a train derailment. The drill will evaluate the base’s readiness to respond to a derailment that causes a dangerous chemical spill.

It will also test the Army’s standard operating procedures in response to such an incident.

The fort said in a statement that the exercise will have minimal impact on daily activities at the facility.

About 6,000 military personnel are stationed at Fort Leavenworth. It is the oldest continuously operating regular army base west of the Mississippi River.

It also houses the Army Combined Arms Center, a leadership training academy for both military and civilian students.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court has blocked some parts of a Missouri law that limits the information certified counselors authorized by President Barack Obama’s health care law could give people seeking health insurance.

The 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis ruled on Friday that provisions of a law limiting what health insurance navigators can discuss with consumers are pre-empted by the Affordable Care Act.

The court’s decision says stopping navigators from giving advice on health plans meant they could not fulfill their duties under federal law.

The measure passed by the Legislature in 2013 had been temporarily blocked by a lower court since January 2014.

The injunction against the rest of the law also was lifted in the ruling, meaning state licensure requirements for navigators will be able to move forward.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An executive at the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association says Republican state Sen. Mike Parson is running for governor in 2016.

Executive Vice President Mike Deering said Friday that Parson told the group’s board of directors the day before that he had not officially announced his candidacy, but planned to in May.

Calls to Parson from The Associated Press were not immediately returned Friday.

Deering said Parson, a member of the Cattlemen’s Association, asked board members for their support during the meeting.

Parson is 59. He was elected to the state House in 2004 and the state Senate in 2010. He owns and operates a cow-and-calf operation near his home in Bolivar.

Parson has served on the Senate agriculture committee and sponsored a number of bills that would impact that industry.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A search is underway in Wichita for a missing beaver.

The Wichita Eagle reports the beaver, named Chapa, broke out of his cage in the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit at Central Riverside Park in Wichita. He was discovered missing early Tuesday.

Animal display attendant Connie Storrie has searched miles of the Little Arkansas River for the little orphan animal she helped rescue three years ago. He was injured when he was found in one of the muddy pools of Chisholm Creek Park.

Storrie describes the beaver as “very shy.” She worries about how he will fare in the wild after being coddled for three years on a diet of apples, carrots and sweet potatoes. She says anyone who sees the animal should call park officials and should not approach it.

HOUSTON (AP) — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 40 this week to 988 amid depressed oil prices. It was the first time the weekly count was below 1,000 since September 2009.

Houston-based Baker Hughes said Friday 760 rigs were seeking oil and 225 explored for natural gas. Three were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,831 rigs were active.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas plummeted by 29 rigs, Oklahoma was down five, New Mexico by four and North Dakota dropped two. Colorado, Ohio and Wyoming declined by one each.

Arkansas and Kansas each rose by one. Alaska, California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia were all unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sprint Communications has agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the telephone carrier overcharged the U.S. government to collect and deliver information gathered under court-ordered wiretaps.

The settlement announced late Thursday revolves around a dispute about how Sprint Communications Incorporated billed the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and several other federal agencies for its wiretapping expenses.

The government alleged that Sprint had included its financing costs and other items that didn’t qualify for reimbursement under Federal Communications Commission regulations.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court 13 months ago, had alleged the Sprint had inflated its wiretapping costs by 58 percent from 2007 to 2010, resulting in false expense claims totaling $21 million.

Sprint, which is based in Overland Park, Kansas, had denied the allegations.