(AP) – A Missouri House Republican says he intends to seek articles of impeachment against Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

Nick Marshall, of Parkville, referred to the governor’s executive order directing officials to accept joint tax filings from same-sex couples who are legally married, the release of the names of concealed gun permit holders to a federal agent and driver’s license procedures.

Marshall says he believes the governor’s administration has violated the law and that his motivations are not political gain or attention. He has not spoken to House leaders.

A Nixon spokesman declined to comment. The Missouri attorney general’s office has said the tax filing policy appears to follow the requirements of Missouri tax law.

(AP) Less than 24 hours before his planned execution in Missouri, options were dwindling for white supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin.

Franklin is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for killing a man in a sniper attack outside a St. Louis-area synagogue in 1977. It was one of as many as 20 killings committed by Franklin, who targeted blacks and Jews in a cross-country spree from 1977 to 1980. He was convicted of seven other murders but the Missouri case was the only one resulting in a death sentence.

The execution would be the first in Missouri in nearly three years.

(AP) – A landmark in Mark Twain’s hometown – a statue of the great author himself peering over his beloved Mississippi River – is celebrating 100 years.

The Hannibal Courier-Post reports that a rededication ceremony Saturday will honor the centennial of the Mark Twain statue in Riverview Park in Hannibal, Twain’s boyhood home. The statue draws thousands of tourists each year to a park overlook above a scenic bend in the river.

A low-key program at 10 a.m. Saturday will feature remarks by the mayor, the parks department director and a Mark Twain impersonator.

The statue, made by sculptor Frederick Hibbard of Lewis County, Mo., was placed on its platform in 1913. Hibbard also was responsible for the Tom and Huck statue in downtown Hannibal.

(AP) – A guilty verdict has been set aside for a western Missouri lawmaker whose cattle escaped.

Last month a St. Clair County judge found Republican Rep. Warren Love, of Osceola, guilty of misdemeanor animal abuse, but Judge Garrett R. Crouch II set that judgment aside Monday.

Love’s attorney had filed a motion earlier this month asking for a new trial or for the guilty verdict to be set aside. The St. Clair County prosecuting attorney now has 30 days to file a motion to reconsider.

The prosecutor said in court documents that Love – who took office in January – did not provide adequate control of his cattle in August 2012.

Representative Sam Graves made his thoughts on planned changes at KCI known today. On his Facebook page he wrote, ”

 (AP) — Kansas City, Kan., police have identified a man fatally shot by officers early Saturday as 22-year-old Nicholas Simonitch of Kansas City, Kan.

Police say Simonitch was wielding a baseball bat when officers were called around 7:20 a.m. Saturday to a reported disturbance.

Simonitch was shot after police say he lunged at them with the weapon.

He died at the scene. The Police Department’s major case squad is investigating.

(AP) — A 32-year-old Kansas City, Mo., man has pleaded not guilty to the 2009 shooting death of a Kansas Department of Education attorney who was killed while driving home from a performance at Kansas City’s Starlight Theater.

Calah Johnson appeared Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court for his arraignment on second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon charges. Both charges carry prison sentences of 10 to 30 years, or life.

Johnson is accused of fatally shooting 45-year-old Deanna Lieber on July 17, 2009, as she drove on U.S. 71 with her mother and teenage daughter. Prosecutors say Johnson was shooting at a man in a different vehicle.

Johnson already is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for cocaine trafficking.

6 p.m. (AP) – Missouri is one step closer to performing its first execution under the state’s new drug protocol after Gov. Jay Nixon refused to halt the lethal injection of white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin.

Franklin is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for killing 42-year-old Gerald Gordon in a sniper attack outside a suburban St. Louis synagogue in 1977.

He was convicted of seven other murders but the Missouri case was the only one resulting in a death sentence.

3 p.m. update    (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has refused to halt the execution of white supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, calling his crime in Missouri a “cowardly and calculated shooting.”

Nixon’s office announced the decision Monday afternoon.

Franklin is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for killing 42-year-old Gerald Gordon in a sniper attack outside a suburban St. Louis synagogue in 1977. It was one of as many as 20 killings committed by Franklin, who targeted blacks and Jews in a cross-country killing spree from 1977 to 1980. He was convicted of seven other murders but the Missouri case was the only one resulting in a death sentence.

The execution would be the first in Missouri in nearly three years and the first ever in the state to use a single execution drug, the sedative pentobarbital.

12 noon Monday(AP) The Missouri Supreme Court and Gov. Jay Nixon continue to weigh requests to halt the execution of Joseph Paul Franklin, with time dwindling before the serial killer is scheduled to be put to death.

Franklin’s execution is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday at the prison in Bonne Terre, Mo. It would be the first execution in Missouri using a single execution drug, pentobarbital.

Franklin is on death row for killing Gerald Gordon outside a suburban St. Louis synagogue in 1977.

It was one of up to 20 killings believed committed by Franklin, a white supremacist who targeted blacks and Jews in a cross-country killing spree from 1977 to 1980. He was convicted of seven other murders but the Missouri case was the only one that resulted in a death sentence.

(AP) – Taney County authorities say a skeleton found recently in southwest Missouri was a man missing since 2006.

The sheriff’s office says dental records confirmed the remains belonged to Matthew Needham of Fredericktown.

Two hunters found the remains Nov. 11 near Forsyth. Needham was last seen in August 2006 walking in that area after his car caught fire.

Sheriff Jimmie Russell said Monday that forensic tests will determine the cause of death.

Missouri’s colleges and universities continue to educate an increasing number of international students.

A report from the Institute of International Education says more than 17,300 international students enrolled at a Missouri college of university during the 2012-13 academic year. The report says that’s a 7.7 percent increase over the previous academic year.

More Missouri students also are studying abroad. The report says 4,938 Missouri students studied overseas during the 2012-13 academic year, an increase of more than 300 from the previous year.