WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it can’t fulfill a request to deem a group that protests at soldiers’ funerals a hate group. But it says President Barack Obama believes such actions are reprehensible.

The Obama administration is responding to petitions through the White House website to label the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church a hate group and revoke its tax-exempt status.

Almost 700,000 people signed five related petitions.

The group claims when American troops die, it’s God’s punishment for America tolerating homosexuality and abortion.

The White House says the federal government doesn’t maintain a list of hate groups. But it’s releasing a map showing where the petition-signers come from. The map shows high density in Kansas, where the Westboro group is based, and Connecticut, where church members threatened to picket Newtown victims’ funerals.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Weather officials in Tornado Alley have raised concerns about a scene in the new Superman movie that incorrectly portrays a highway overpass as a safe place to hide during a tornado.

In  “Man of Steel,” Clark Kent’s dad sees a tornado approaching as he’s driving with his family.

He then urges his family and other motorists to seek shelter under a highway overpass.

That contradicts the tornado safety information put out by weather officials. The National Weather Service says an overpass may actually be one of the worst places to seek shelter from a tornado because it puts people at risk of being hurt by flying debris.

They recommend instead that you find a ditch, depression, or other low-lying area, and get out of your car.

Warner Bros. says the film is fiction and events depicted aren’t intended as emergency preparedness advice.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jackson County, Missouri authorities have charged a 37-year-old California man in the weekend shooting death of a retired minister.

David Allen of Vacaville, Calif., was charged Sunday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 58-year-old Thomas Dean Sr. Dean was shot to death outside a home Saturday.

Witnesses told police that Dean had gone to the home to help a friend move. Police arrested Allen a few minutes later, near a park several blocks away.

Dean’s relatives said that although Dean had retired from regular ministry, he continued to fill in for other ministers.

Records provided by the prosecutor’s office don’t list a lawyer for Allen.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed legislation that would have changed the penalties for youths trying to get into casinos with fake identifications.

Nixon said in a veto message Monday that the bill would have weakened laws that keep minors out of casinos.

The bill was backed by the casino industry. Supporters said they hoped it would have been a greater deterrent to underage gambling.

Missouri law already bars people younger than 21 from the gambling floor.

Current law makes it a misdemeanor — punishable by a fine of up to $500 and a maximum of six months in jail — to show a false identification.

The legislation would have lowered that to an infraction but imposed a mandatory $500 fine for youths caught showing fake IDs at casinos.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state law taking effect Monday expands the Kansas concealed carry law. It makes changes to the regulations first passed in 2007 that allow licensed permit holders in more public places that lack adequate security measures.

Senator Forrest Knox is the chief architect of the new regulations and foresees little trouble implementing the changes. They apply to hundreds of public venues statewide.

Starting Monday, licensed concealed carry permit holders will be allowed to bring their weapons into state and municipal buildings, except where cities or counties have requested a six-month exemption to develop security plans.

Those exemptions will last through 2017. By that time adequate security must be in place or access is permitted. Several municipalities have notified the attorney general’s office that they’ll seek exemptions, which require new signage.

ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — A second suspect in a marijuana bust at a northeast Kansas airport has pleaded guilty.

Colorado resident Lance Thompson was one of five people arrested in April when a small airplane from Colorado carrying about 42 pounds of marijuana landed at Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchison. Some of the suspects were on the plane, the others in a vehicle waiting to meet it.

KAIR-AM reports Thompson pleaded guilty Thursday in Atchison County District Court to possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. Other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea.

Another defendant, Daniel Brown, pleaded guilty earlier. The others are still facing court proceedings.

Police put the value of the marijuana at more than $100,000.

Thompson faces sentencing in August.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri plan seeks to deter underage gamblers by relaxing criminal charges and strengthening fines.

A bill pending before Governor Jay Nixon would change Missouri’s current laws against showing fake identification at casinos. First-time offenders currently can face a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $500 and a maximum of six months in jail.

But state House member Noel Shull says few minors are prosecuted. Shull is a Republican from Kansas City who is a former chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission that regulates casinos.

His legislation would lower a first-time offense for youths showing a fake ID at casinos to an infraction but would impose a mandatory $500 fine.

Nixon has not said whether he will sign or veto the legislation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A proposed downtown arts campus for the University of Missouri-Kansas City is getting a major boost.

The school announced Wednesday that the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation is pledging $20 million toward the creation of the new campus.

Interest in the downtown location has grown with the recent opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Backers say a new campus will increase the profile of the university’s arts programs and the new performing arts facility.

Before beginning with the first phase, an additional $70 million needs to be raised. The first phase involves moving the university’s Conservatory of Music and Dance to a location in the Crossroads District. Other programs would be moved in subsequent phases.

About 500 students are enrolled in the conservatory.