ST. LOUIS (AP) – A lawsuit alleging that Missouri’s new voter identification law was intended to make it harder for poor and minority residents to cast their ballots has been dismissed.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem on Tuesday dismissed the suit filed in June by the ACLU and the Advancement Project on behalf of the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters.

Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a November 2016 ballot measure instituting voter ID. The law became effective June 1.

Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says “common sense prevailed” in the ruling. He says the new law actually expands ballot access, and voters were not disenfranchised.

But Advancement Project attorney Denise Lieberman of St. Louis says opponents remain concerned about the law and are weighing their options in challenging it.

WACO, Texas (AP) — The couple behind HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” will be fixing up a nursery once again.

Chip Gaines announced Tuesday on Instagram that he and his wife, Joanna Gaines, are expecting their fifth child. He shared a photo of the couple with the caption “Gaines party of 7.”

Launched in 2013, “Fixer Upper” follows the couple as they redo houses near their home in Waco, Texas. The show is in its final season.

Chip and Joanna Gaines also operate Magnolia Market, where they’ve turned converted old silos near downtown Waco into a home decor and food marketplace. The couple has also collaborated with Target on a home and lifestyle brand called Hearth & Hand with Magnolia.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Authorities say one person has died after a fire in a Jefferson City home and another is hospitalized.

The Jefferson City Fire Department said in a news release that the fire started early Wednesday and cause heavy fire damage to the home. The release described the injuries of the person who was rescued as significant.

No other details were immediately released, including the cause of the fire or the name of the victim. The release says an investigation is ongoing.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri panel is recommending increasing the state’s 17-cent fuel tax by 10 cents for gas and 12 cents for diesel to pay for road and bridge work.

Transportation taskforce leader Rep. Kevin Corlew on Tuesday said the fuel tax increase would bring in an estimated $430 million annually. That would fill a little more than half of the $825 million annual shortfall facing Missouri transportation.

If passed by lawmakers during the roughly five-month legislative session that begins Wednesday, the tax hike still would need public approval through a statewide vote. But tax hikes have struggled to make it through the Legislature.

The last fuel tax increase was in 1996.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he’ll deliver budget and school funding proposals next week and won’t resign before he’s confirmed by the U.S. Senate to an ambassador’s post.

Brownback said during an Associated Press interview Tuesday that he’ll give the annual State of the State address Jan. 9.

He also said the budget and school funding proposals will be his, though Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer had more input than usual.

President Donald Trump nominated Brownback in July for U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The Senate didn’t vote on his nomination by the end of the year, but Brownback said he expects his appointment to be resubmitted.

Colyer’s influence on budget matters and his appointment of a Cabinet secretary in November prompted questions about whether Brownback had ceded some power.

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) – A 35-year-old man who allegedly led Kansas officers on a chase with his 5-year-old daughter in the car is accused of attacking three sheriff’s deputies.

Robert Robison III, of Ferguson, Missouri, was arrested Friday in Greenwood County. Sheriff Heath Samuels says officers weren’t aware the child was in the car when the chase began after they determined Robison’s car was sought in a hit-and-run in Missouri. The chase ended when the car crashed south of Severy. The girl was not injured.

The Emporia Gazette reports while Robison was being held Friday night in the Lyon County jail, he allegedly attacked three detention officers in his cell. They weren’t seriously injured.

Robison is facing eight charges in Greenwood County. The Lyon County Attorney’s Office will determine if charges will be filed in that case.

MOUNTAIN GROVE, Mo. (AP) – Fire officials say a 7-year-old girl died and four other people were critically injured in a fire in southwest Missouri.

Mountain Grove Fire Chief Mark Bushong says the fire occurred early Monday in Mountain Grove.

Bushong says a man and three children were in critical condition at a Springfield hospital. A woman was treated for minor injuries and released.

Two of the children are 8 and the other child is 6.

The Springfield News-Leader reports firefighters found the girl’s body after gaining entrance to the house.

Bushong didn’t release any names but confirmed all those involved were part of one family.

He said the fire appears to be accidental but the state fire marshal is investigating.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas reports it collected $75 million more in taxes than expected in December, and state officials say it’s because Congress overhauled federal income tax laws.

The state Department of Revenue said Tuesday that tax collections last month were $711 million when the state had forecast $636 million. The surplus was 11.8 percent.

It was the seventh consecutive month that tax collections exceeded expectations. Since the current fiscal year began, the state has collected almost $84 million more in taxes than anticipated for a 2.7 percent surplus. Tax collections through December were almost $3.2 billion.

Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said some individuals made estimated personal income tax payments earlier than normal in December because of a cap on the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes taking effect next year.

BOLIVAR, Mo. (AP) – Authorities say two people have died in an early morning fire in southwest Missouri.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the fire started Monday morning on the north side of Bolivar.

Fire chief James Ludden says 64-year-old Robbie Spencer was pulled from the flaming home and rushed to a hospital, where he later died. A second victim has not yet been identified, pending notification of family. Two pets also perished in the fire.

Ludden says a passer-by smelled smoke but thought it was coming from a fireplace. By the time the passer-by returned a short time later, the house was in flames.

Ludden says some of the spray nozzle levers froze shut in the subzero temperatures, and one of the fire hoses ruptured when embers fell on it.