KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City man has been ordered to spend 25 years in Missouri prison for a 2013 shooting death at his home.

The Kansas City Star reports a Jackson County judge sentenced 55-year-old Larry Clay to the quarter-century sentence on a second-degree murder count. Clay also was assessed a 10-year term for armed criminal action, with both sentences to run concurrently.

Clay was convicted in January and was allowed to be free on bond, angering prosecutors who considered him to be a flight risk and sought to keep him jailed pending sentencing.

Authorities say Clay killed 44-year-old Joel White in March 2013 during a dispute at Clay’s home.

Clay insisted that he shot at White after White lunged at him, though a video of the confrontation contradicted that.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A measure to create a database to monitor the prescription of drugs such as addictive pain killers is moving forward in the Missouri House.
The House gave initial approval to the bill creating a prescription drug database to identify potential abuses by a vote of 105- 46.

Republican Rep. Rebecca Roeber, of Lee’s Summit, says she supports the bill because she believes her sister, who died from an apparent overdose in 2012, would still be alive if the database had been in place earlier.

The database proposal has passed the House before but has faced opposition from a Senate Republican who says he is concerned about potential privacy breaches.
The House must vote again before the bill goes to the Senate.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today expressed disappointment with President Obama’s veto of a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, and announced she will support an effort to override his veto:

“When our own State Department review shows that this oil is coming out of the ground, it’s only a question of how, then the decision to be made is this—what is the safest way to move it to market? Pipelines are better than barges or trains. That’s common sense, and I will vote to override this veto.”

McCaskill has long been a supporter of the swift approval and construction of the Keystone XL pipeline—which passed the Senate and House on a bipartisan basis—previously voting to force approval of the project.

Last year, McCaskill called on President Obama to implement an explicit timeline for approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline permit, highlighting the repeated delays in the approval process over the last several years.

In January, after the State Department completed its final environmental impact statement of the pipeline, McCaskill called on President Obama to approve the Keystone project. McCaskill previously urged then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to speed up the lengthy review process for the northern portion of the pipeline, citing the significant potential for jobs and increased energy security the pipeline’s construction would mean for the United States.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday set an April execution date for 52-year-old Andre Cole, who killed a man in 1998 out of anger over a child support payment.

Cole is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. April 14.

Cole and his wife, Terri, divorced in 1995. He was ordered to pay child support for the couple’s two children, but missed several payments. He was ordered to pay $3,000 through payroll deductions.

The first deduction appeared on his Aug. 21, 1998, paycheck. Hours later, Cole forced his way into Terri Cole’s home and was confronted by Anthony Curtis, who was visiting. Andre Cole stabbed Curtis and his ex-wife several times. Curtis died but Terri Cole survived.

Andre Cole fled the state but surrendered to police 33 days later.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Critics are arguing to the Missouri Supreme Court that two Missouri constitutional amendments guaranteeing the right to farm and right to bear arms misled voters.

Judges on Wednesday heard arguments challenging the proposals, which voters passed last year.

Since then, several citizens have sued Secretary of State Jason Kander and other state leaders saying summaries of the measures didn’t accurately describe the effect of the amendments.

For example, attorney Chuck Hatfield says the gun rights measure could allow concealed carry in many public places, such as football stadiums.

Defendants for the secretary of state and state of Missouri say there’s no proof voters were misled, and that critics should have challenged wording of the summaries before they went before voters.

NEW YORK (AP) — TJX Cos., the owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods stores, says it will boost pay for U.S. workers to at least $9 per hour.

The announcement comes a week after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would increase wages for its employees. Low-paying retailers are having a harder time retaining workers as the job market improves.

A TJX spokeswoman declined to say what workers currently earn. A recent Credit Suisse report estimates TJX’s current hourly pay at about $8.24.

Hourly workers will start to receive the pay increase in June. In 2016, the company plans to pay all associates that have work at its stores for more than six months at least $10 per hour.

TJX, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, operates 3,395 stores and has about 191,000 associates.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Federal authorities say the Kansas State-Salina will be able to use unmanned aircraft across the state, with several restrictions.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that the school will be able to expand its research across Kansas, including over private property with the owner’s permission.

Program manager Mark Blanks says the aircraft would be used for such things as researching drought stress and bug infestation.

The Salina Journal reports the permission comes with several restrictions. For example, all flights must stay below 700 feet and be during the day. And the controller must maintain sight with the vehicle. Also, missions cannot fly over heavily used roads or an outside gathering of people.

Blanks also stressed that the university doesn’t plan to compete with private companies.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) sharply criticized President Barack Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline today. Blunt co-sponsored legislation approving this shovel-project, which would create thousands of American jobs.

“Once again, President Obama showed the nation he’s more concerned about appeasing his political allies than creating good-paying jobs for American families and workers. People in Missouri and nationwide deserve better,” said Blunt.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – A Missouri judge says the state’s membership to a testing company aligned with the national Common Core education standards is illegal and that it shouldn’t pay fees to be part of the group.

Cole County Circuit judge Daniel Green ruled Tuesday that the state’s partnership with the Common Core testing company is an “illegal interstate compact not authorized by the U.S. Congress.”

The attorney general’s office represents the state and is reviewing the ruling.

Missouri’s education department budgeted about $4.3 million for member dues this fiscal year.

The Common Core education standards and tests aligned with them have been a magnet for critics, including the three plaintiffs in the court case ruled on Tuesday.