JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri House committee is considering legislation to block the state’s implementation of national education standards.

Sponsoring Republican Rep. Kurt Bahr says the Common Core Standards take key education decisions away from local school boards. Under his bill, state education officials could not implement the standards unless the Legislature approves.

The committee’s chairman says the panel won’t vote on Bahr’s legislation until next week.

Most states have adopted the Common Core standards, which are benchmarks developed by a national consortium for reading, writing and math.

(AP) — First lady Michelle Obama is helping a New York City museum spread some advice on health: Drink up — water, that is.

The first lady and fitness advocate was at the New Museum on Thursday to view a street-art-inspired exhibit that aims to make the health-conscious message eye-catching.

She signed a massive paint-by-numbers artwork created for the show and chatted with eighth-graders who helped paint it and created a poster of their own.

She told them their involvement in the campaign would make “a huge, huge impact on the health of our nation.”

The exhibit is a collaboration with the WAT-AAH! (WAH’-tah) bottled-water brand.

Mrs. Obama is celebrating the fourth anniversary of “Let’s Move,” her anti-childhood obesity initiative.

(AP) – The Fort Leonard Wood Army base in south-central Missouri is expected to lose 1,000 soldiers by October 2015.

Base spokeswoman Tiffany Wood confirmed the cuts to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She says it is part of budget cuts throughout the U.S. military.

Maj. Gen. Leslie Smith, who oversees Fort Leonard Wood, discussed the cuts Wednesday at a town hall meeting on the base. Wood says Army officials told base leadership two weeks ago about the cutbacks.

About 7,000 uniformed personnel work at Fort Leonard Wood, along with 12,000 military personnel there for training and 9,000 civilian employees.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers would get a say in budget cuts enacted by the governor under a proposed constitutional amendment that has been approved by the state House.

The governor can control the rate at which appropriations are spent and reduce spending when Missouri’s revenues are below the estimates upon which the budget is based. The proposed constitutional amendment would allow the Legislature to override those decisions with a two-thirds vote.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon and lawmakers have been at odds in recent years over budget cuts.

(AP) – Missouri’s four-year public universities would be rewarded for good performance under legislation passed by the state Senate.

Under the bill, the 13 universities would get funding increases tied to certain performance standards.

The colleges would work with the Department of Higher Education to develop five goals. Three of those goals must be tied to graduation and retention rates as well as job placement in a field appropriate for a graduating student’s degree level.

The legislation would apply only in years the state can afford to increase higher education funding and would expire in 2016.

A 2012 state law requires the development of a funding formula for Missouri’s public universities.

Senators voted 33-0 to send the measure to the House on Thursday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Court documents filed on behalf of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster show that the state has found a new supplier of its execution drug, less than a week before convicted killer Michael Taylor is scheduled to be put to death.

A Tulsa, Okla.-based compounding pharmacy reached a settlement Monday in a suit filed by Taylor and agreed that it won’t provide pentobarbital for the execution scheduled for Wednesday.

Koster’s office said in a Wednesday filing with U.S. District Court in Kansas City that Missouri has arranged for a different pharmacy to provide pentobarbital. That pharmacy is not named.

Attorneys for Taylor responded in a filing on Thursday that it would violate Taylor’s constitutional rights to execute him without an opportunity to check the background of the new pharmacy.

(AP) — A group that hoped to put a marijuana legalization proposal on Missouri’s November ballot instead plans to postpone its efforts until the 2016 presidential election.

Show Me Cannabis organizers say an internal survey shows that just 45 percent of likely voters support legal pot, with 51 percent opposed. The group had submitted 10 different legalization proposals to the Missouri secretary of state’s office but hoped for voter approval ratings of at least 60 percent.

Executive director John Payne says the cannabis group plans to focus its immediate efforts on proposed legislation reducing Missouri’s criminal penalties for marijuana possession. He’s also concerned that voter turnout could be low in November, when the job of state auditor is the only statewide office on the ballot.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are facing another push to phase in sales of strong beer, wine and liquor at grocery and convenience stores.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the House commerce committee had a hearing Wednesday on a bill to allow liquor store owners to sell their licenses to other retailers in the same county, starting in July 2015.

Kansas currently allows groceries and convenience stores to sell only weak beer. The bill would let them start selling strong beer in July 2017, wine in July 2020 and liquor in July 2024.

Supporters said the state’s laws are antiquated and change will boost the economy. Liquor store owners fear being pushed out of business.

The committee isn’t expected to vote on the bill until at least next month.