WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill has joined an effort by 11 Senators calling 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, the Senators urged the President to make a final decision no later than May 31, 2014.

McCaskill-a strong supporter of the Keystone Pipeline’s construction-was joined by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Mark Pryor (Ariz.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Mark Warner (Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.), John Walsh (Mont.), and Kay Hagan (N.C.).

“This process has been exhaustive in its time, breadth, and scope. It has already taken much longer than anyone can reasonably justify,” the Senators wrote. “We cannot miss another construction season, given the long cold winter this year along the Keystone XL route and the time required for ground thaw, we could be looking at a very short season. We need a definitive timeline laid out, a timeline that reduces the comment period for federal agencies, officials and other entities.”

Earlier this year, 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. McCaskill has long been a supporter of the swift approval and construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, previously voting to force approval of the project.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — Some Missouri lawmakers want the state to open an economic development office in Israel.

A spending plan embraced by a Senate committee would insert $200,000 into the next state budget to open an office in Israel.

The Senate and House have each passed bills that would require the Department of Economic Development to establish an office in Israel. The office would be focused on developing partnerships between Missouri and Israeli businesses in agriculture, biotechnology and other emerging fields.

Missouri already has economic development offices in Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

NEW YORK (AP) — National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden says giving the Pulitzer Prize in public service to those who reported on the U.S. government’s sweeping surveillance efforts is “vindication.”

Snowden issued a statement Monday through the Freedom of the Press Foundation congratulating The Washington Post and The Guardian on their awards for stories based on documents he provided. He became a board member of the nonprofit organization earlier this year.

Snowden says awarding the top prize in U.S. journalism to his colleagues is “a vindication for everyone who believes that the public has a role in government.”

He adds that the reporters he worked with faced “extraordinary intimidation” and other pressure to get them to stop reporting.

Snowden added: “Their work has given us a better future and a more accountable democracy.”

 

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The Missouri Senate has started debate on ethics legislation that would curb lobbying.

The bill would make lawmakers wait two years after their terms expire before registering as lobbyists. It would require lawmakers to reimburse lobbyists for most gifts within 30 days and lobbyists would have 48 hours to report such expenditures.

Another provision would bar legislators from serving as paid political consultants until one year after leaving office.

Ethics measures have previously stalled over Democratic attempts to re-enact caps on campaign contribution limits, which are currently not included in the Senate bill.

Missouri is the only state to allow the trio of unlimited contributions to candidates, unlimited gifts from lobbyists and no waiting period before an elected official can lobby.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Nebraska-based information technology firm plans to move its headquarter to Kansas City with the aid of some government incentives.

MindMixer said Monday that it will create 85 jobs in Kansas City while consolidating its current Omaha headquarters and an office in Lincoln, Neb.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says MindMixer already has a small office in Kansas City but will invest more than $1.5 million to expand its operations there.

MindMixer runs an online platform that encourages civic involvement and has more than 600 clients, including cities and school districts.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development says MindMixer could receive nearly $1.7 million of incentives if it meets job-creation and investment criteria.

The company says it chose Kansas City because of the availability of a skilled workforce.

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The winter that just won’t quit has one more punch for the nation’s Heartland — a cold front bringing a brief return to sub-freezing weather, creating concerns for growers of apples, peaches, grapes and other fruit.

Temperatures in the 70s and 80s in recent days gave way to highs in the 40s in much of the lower Midwest on Monday, with even colder temperatures on the way. The National Weather Service issued freeze warnings for parts of six states — Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois.

The weather service projected low temperatures Monday night and again Tuesday night in the mid- to upper-20s in parts of Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. That could damage peach and apple crops, even grapes for wineries.

 

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) – Authorities say there is enough evidence to warrant a hate-crimes prosecution in the shooting spree that killed three people at a Jewish community center and Jewish retirement complex near Kansas City.

Frazier Glenn Cross of Aurora, Mo., is jailed in Johnson County, Kan. He has not been formally charged in the killings, but officials said more information about charges was expected Tuesday.

Police say Cross fatally shot two people Sunday afternoon in the parking lot behind the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, then drove to a retirement community where he shot a third person. He was arrested in an elementary school parking lot.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom announced at a news conference that enough evidence had been gathered to justify submitting a hate-crimes case to a grand jury.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) issued the following statement on Sunday’s shooting.

“This kind of senseless attack on our community is repugnant any day, but choosing Passover as a time to demonstrate this hateful intolerance shows how disturbed this person must be. This suspect clearly has a history of outrageous behavior, and I join all Missourians in condemning this devastating act of violence. I plan to stay in touch with community leaders and am thinking of the victims and their families who have suffered a great loss.”