JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri lawmakers and the governor are in talks to tackle issues with students transferring out of failing schools.

Legislative leaders said student transfer policy is a main priority for next session, and they’ve already discussed potential solutions with Gov. Jay Nixon.

Officials from some failing school districts have said a state law requiring them to pay for students to attend better schools is crippling them financially.

A bill to allow students to transfer to better schools in their home district or transfer to private schools failed last session when Nixon vetoed it, citing concern with the private school provision.

This year, lawmakers said they’re willing to compromise on the private school measure in order to pass legislation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gay marriage cases have been added to the Supreme Court’s agenda, with enough time for them to be argued and decided by late June.

The justices, following this week’s move, could decide as early as Jan. 9 to add same-sex marriage to their calendar this term. That date is the first time the justices will meet in private in the new year to consider adding new cases they actually will hear.

Most cases they accept for review by mid-January will be argued in late April. The court would then have about two months to reach a decision.

Lawyers for same-sex couples in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee rushed to file legal papers in time for the January conference.

The couples are appealing a November ruling that upheld anti-gay marriage laws.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — About 125 people protesting police violence have marched in St. Louis to the Gateway Arch, prompting park police to close the monument early.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that protesters, holding signs with slogans including “Black Lives Matter,” also briefly blocked some streets Saturday. Many participants had the names of people killed by police written on fluorescent tape that they put over their mouths or on their clothes.

Quiet for much of the time, protesters yelled and chanted at the Arch. The newspaper said park security shut the gates outside the entrance. Protesters shook the gates, demanding to be let in. They also left tape pieces on the gates or on the south leg of the Arch.

The newspaper said some onlookers were annoyed they couldn’t visit the monument.

KEN THOMAS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — If Hillary Rodham Clinton seeks the White House again, her message on the economy could be an important barometer as she courts fellow Democrats.

Members of her party are watching closely how the former secretary of state outlines steps to address income inequality and economic anxieties for middle-class families. Some members of the party’s liberal wing remain wary of Clinton’s ties to Wall Street, six-figure speaking fees and protective bubble.

Clinton is widely expected to announce a presidential campaign next year and remains the prohibitive favorite to succeed President Barack Obama as the party’s nominee in 2016.

But if she runs, how she navigates a party animated by economic populism, an approach represented by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, could represent one of her biggest hurdles next year.

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say a Missouri man is in custody after 90 pounds of marijuana were found during a traffic stop in northern Arizona.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office says 42-year-old Nate Shaffer has been arrested for possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana for sale.

Authorities say a drug-sniffing dog indicated there was drugs or contraband in the trunk.

Deputies found a duffel bag with prepackaged marijuana bricks worth at least $50,000.

Shaffer admitted to authorities he had been paid several thousand dollars to transport the marijuana from Northern California to Texas.

Shaffer is being held on $25,000 bond.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Columbia officials have talked to the FBI after a hacker attack shut down the city’s website.
Deputy city manager Tony St. Romaine says an online post said the group Anonymous was taking credit for the attack, which started Wednesday. But he told the Columbia Tribune that he can’t be certain the loosely organized network of activist hackers is to blame.
The online post in the Counter Current News said Columbia’s website was targeted after the hackers learned of a video of a February 2010 SWAT team raid of a man’s home. The SWAT team found a misdemeanor amount of marijuana and shot two dogs in the home, killing one.
Release of the video sparked outrage and spurred changes in police policies and procedures.

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A protester who advocated for peaceful demonstrations in Ferguson has been charged with setting fire to a convenience store in a neighboring suburb.

A St. Louis County jail official said 19-year-old Joshua Williams was being held Saturday on $30,000 bond on charges that included arson.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch  reports media outlets and store surveillance captured images of a man trying to set a pile of wood on fire early Wednesday outside a QuikTrip in Berkeley. Charges filed Saturday said Williams confessed in a videotaped interview.

Berkeley police shot and killed a man late Tuesday at a gas station near the QuikTrip, and a large crowd gathered to protest.

Williams was frequently quoted and photographed protesting Michael Brown’s death.

It wasn’t immediately known if Williams had an attorney.