JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is touting to Missouri lawmakers what he says is right with his state because of new tax policies.

Brownback on Wednesday spoke with Republican legislative leaders and other lawmakers during a private luncheon at a Jefferson City hotel.

The event was sponsored by business groups and the conservative group Grow Missouri, which is backed primarily by wealthy political donor Rex Sinquefield.

Brownback’s statements come as Kansas faces a projected budget shortfall of nearly $600 million after the Republican governor successfully pushed lawmakers to slash personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013.

Brownback says despite the shortfall, he’s starting to see “the seeds of growth” in Kansas. He also says he’ll balance the budget as required by the state’s constitution.

DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Senate has failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The 62-37 vote Wednesday was the latest chapter in the fight between the GOP-led Congress and the White House over energy policy. It was the first of many possible veto showdowns to come in Obama’s final term.

Proponents of the bill have said since its introduction that they didn’t have the vote of two-thirds of the Senate needed to override Obama’s veto.

The $8-billion pipeline would transport oil harvested from Canada’s tar sands to pipelines linked to Gulf Coast refineries. Obama said that the bill circumvented the well-established process for approving cross-border pipelines, which must be determined to be in the national interest.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Michael Brown’s uncle says a Department of Justice decision not to charge the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot his nephew is deflating.

Brown was killed during a confrontation with Darren Wilson on Aug. 9 in the St. Louis suburb. A St. Louis County grand jury decided in November not to file state charges against Wilson, who has since left the department.

Federal officials concluded there was no evidence to disprove Wilson’s testimony that he feared for his safety, nor was there reliable evidence that Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands up in surrender when he was shot. But a scathing report faulted the city and its law enforcement for racial bias.

Brown’s uncle, Charles Ewing, says the federal decision not to charge Wilson means justice in the case isn’t coming.

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s highway safety agency has closed an investigation into reports of Michelin truck tire failures without seeking a recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the 2014 model of Michelin’s 22.5-inch diameter XZA tires in October after getting six complaints and a police report about seven crashes involving the tires.

But in documents posted Tuesday, the agency says the failures were not the fault of the tires. They were caused by a road hazard, owners using the tires on the wrong-size rim, or a combination of violating tire load limits, letting the air pressure get too low or traveling at a higher-than-rated speed.

The investigation covering more than 32,000 tires found 16 complaints, three crashes and two police crash reports.

ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it won’t prosecute former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old that led to weeks of protests.

Federal officials concluded there was no evidence to disprove Wilson’s testimony that he feared for his safety, nor was there reliable evidence that Michael Brown had his hands up when he was shot.

The decision in the August 9 shooting had been expected, in part because of the high legal standard needed for a federal civil rights prosecution. Wilson, who has said Brown struck him in the face and reached for his gun during a tussle, also had been cleared by a Missouri grand jury in November and later resigned from the department.

PIERCE CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two southwest Missouri school districts will have four-day school weeks next school year.

Students in Miller and Pierce City will attend school Tuesday through Friday next school year. Stockton also is considering the shortened school week.

The Miller school board approved the change on Monday. Pierce City officially accepted the shorter week on Feb. 18.

The Springfield News-Leader reports the leaders of the school districts say the shorter week will help save money, better engage students and retain quality teachers.

The school year still must include at least 1,044 hours. The 153-day year will include longer days so students will have the same amount of instructional time.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri House panel has approved a plan to cut the governor’s travel budget, beef up basic aid for K-12 schools and increase money for college scholarships.

A House budget committee on Tuesday voted in favor of a bill package that outlines Missouri’s spending next fiscal year.

House members passed amendments that would shift another roughly $4.2 million to school funding and give an additional $2 million to the A+ Scholarship Program for higher education students.

Other changes made Tuesday include cutting more than $74,000 from the budget for Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s office.

Democratic Rep. Genise Montecillo of St. Louis recommended the cut in an attempt to slash money used by the governor for air travel across the state.

The measures next need approval from the full House.

MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a major test of President Barack Obama’s health overhaul that threatens insurance coverage for millions of people.

The justices are meeting Wednesday to try to determine whether the law makes people in all 50 states eligible for federal tax subsidies to reduce their insurance premiums. Or does it limit tax credits to people who live in states with their own health insurance marketplaces?

A ruling limiting where subsidies are available would have dramatic consequences because roughly three dozen states opted against their own marketplace, or exchange, and instead rely on the federal healthcare.gov. Independent estimates say 8 million people could lose insurance coverage.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act failed to kill the law in an epic Supreme Court case in 2012.