JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Businesses that relocate to Missouri would be eligible for a tax deduction under a proposal endorsed by the House.

The House in a voice vote gave initial approval Tuesday to the “Bring Jobs Home Act” that would allow businesses to get an income tax deduction for up to 50 percent of the expenses from relocating to Missouri.

Republican Rep. John McCaherty, of High Ridge, says this will send a clear message that Missouri wants those businesses to come to the state.

The company would have to create a written plan for relocating and show additional jobs in the state were created.

If the business eliminates the branch created using a deduction within 10 years, the deduction must be paid back.

The program is capped at $20 million annually.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – A potential Republican candidate for governor in 2016 is making the rounds in Missouri.

Eric Greitens shook hands and visited state lawmakers Tuesday in the Capitol before speaking at a Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation fundraiser later in the day.

The 40-year-old Greitens has not yet announced whether he plans to run for governor. The Navy SEAL says he’s speaking with farmers, business owners and other residents as he weighs his options.

So far Greitens has raised about $390,000 through an exploratory committee. That money could be used for a campaign if he officially decides to run for governor.

Greitens is behind in fundraising compared to former House speaker and U.S. attorney Catherine Hanaway, who he’d face in a Republican primary battle.

Hanaway so far has raised more than $1.1 million.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific to pay $350,000 to a long-time employee who was disciplined after reporting an injury, but the railroad plans to appeal.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday this is the third time since 2011 that Union Pacific had violated federal rules by disciplining workers who reported injuries and sought treatment.

OSHA says a locomotive engineer based in North Platte, Neb., who was hurt in a December 2013 collision, was disciplined afterward. The worker had never been disciplined before in 35 years of working for the railroad.

Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt says the railroad strongly disagrees with regulators’ findings and will appeal.

JIM SUHR, Associated Press

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s oldest death row inmate was scheduled to be executed Tuesday for the 1996 shooting death of a sheriff’s deputy after the state’s governor and the U.S. Supreme Court denied last-minute appeals to spare his life. Attorneys for 74-year-old Cecil Clayton had argued that Clayton has brain damage from a 1972 sawmill accident and worsening dementia.

JUNCTION CITY -Bond has been set at $1 million for a man accused in a Junction City homicide case.

The Geary County Attorney’s Office reported Daniel E. Edwards had a first appearance in Geary County District Court where bond was set. The Court appointed a public defender to represent Edwards.

A status hearing and a preliminary hearing in the case are both scheduled for March 24 in Geary County District Court.

Edwards was arrested on suspicion of first degree murder in the death of 52-year old Sharon Moody.

Her body was found last Sunday at her 1015 West Ninth Street residence in Junction City. Edwards was arrested that night in Topeka, and has been transported back to Junction City. He is being held in the Geary County Detention Center.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri’s lieutenant governor is accusing Justice Department officials of racism, even as the federal agency is criticizing Ferguson police for alleged racial bias following the Michael Brown shooting.

Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said Tuesday he stands behind statements he made a day earlier to Newsmax TV. Kinder told the station “there is more racism in the Justice Department than … anywhere I see in the St. Louis area.”

Kinder told The Associated Press on Tuesday he believes the Justice Department had been “fanning the flames of racial divisions” even before the Ferguson officer fatally shot 18-year-old Brown last August.

The Justice Department cleared the officer of civil rights violations but cited widespread racial bias in Ferguson’s policing.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri bill aimed at cracking down on child sex abuse has earned initial Senate approval.

Senators in a voice vote Tuesday supported legislation to increase the reporting and responses to allegations of children who sexually assault other minors.

The measure would require the state Children’s Division to report claims of sex abuse between two children to local authorities. Those agencies then must assess the situation and potentially investigate the claims.

The bill is sponsored by Republican Sen. Jeanie Riddle, of Callaway County. She hopes the bill causes officials to intervene and prevent a pattern of lifelong assault among abusers.

Some Democratic opponents raised concerns about labeling children as sexual assailants.

A second Senate vote is needed before the bill can move to the House.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Police say two children found dead along with their father after a 23-hour standoff at a Missouri apartment likely died before officers arrived.

Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams said during a news conference Tuesday that the children were fatally shot by their father, William Williams.

Police say the father was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound when police entered the apartment in Springfield after the standoff, which began late Sunday and ended around 9 p.m. Monday.

The chief said the suspect talked to negotiators about his 4-year-old son, Brodie, and 2-year-old daughter, Marley, but never said they were dead.

He says investigators may never know the motive. A local attorney says William Williams and his wife were divorcing and working on a custody plan for the children.

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SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Police in Missouri said they found a man and his two young children dead when officers made entry into a Springfield apartment to end a nearly 24-hour standoff.

The Springfield Police Department said in a statement late Monday that a man inside the home appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His son and daughter, ages 4 and 2, were also found dead inside.

A Springfield police spokeswoman said she could not provide additional information about how the children died. No one else was inside the home.

The standoff began when police responded around 9:30 p.m. Sunday to the apartment on the southwest side of town.

Officers encountered an armed man and set up a perimeter. Negotiations with the man continued until police breached the door Monday evening.