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   JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republican lawmakers are raising new questions about whether Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's administration has tried to comply with the federal Real ID Act.

   Senators on Wednesday released a copy of a form letter sent in March 2010 by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to Nixon thanking him for his efforts to comply with Real ID.

   Nixon signed a 2009 state law prohibiting Missouri from taking steps intended to comply with the goals of the 2005 federal identity law, which sets stringent requirements for photo identification cards.

   Nixon has previously denied that Missouri is trying to implement Real ID. His administration reasserted Wednesday that it's not complying with Real ID and said the letter is meaningless. It distributed similar form letters sent to governors in several other states.

   JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon says he remains opposed to a bill that would raise the state sales tax while cutting income taxes for individuals and businesses.

   Nixon released a statement Thursday saying that a sales tax increase would shift the tax burden to seniors and veterans on fixed incomes. He said it "is not the right approach to growing our economy or creating jobs."

   His reaction comes after the House passed a bill Wednesday that would gradually cut the individual income tax by two-thirds of a percentage point over five years while also reducing business taxes.

   To offset part of the lost revenue, the bill would gradually raise the sales tax by three-fifths of a cent.

   Nixon also had opposed an earlier version of the bill passed by the Senate

CLARKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — People in the eastern Missouri hamlet of Clarksville are getting a boost from the Missouri National Guard and even from prison inmates as they battle the surging Mississippi River.

The river is expected to crest nearly 11 feet above flood stage on Sunday at Clarksville, an unprotected town of 442 residents about 60 miles north of St. Louis. Residents and volunteers have built a makeshift levee made of gravel, plastic overlay and sandbags. On Saturday, attention turned to making sure the sandbag levee is sturdy enough to hold back the water.

Governor Jay Nixon visited Clarksville on Saturday.

 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed legislation that sought to re-impose local sales taxes on vehicles bought from out-of-state dealers or through person-to-person sales.

Nixon's veto Friday marks the second time in two years he has rejected the Legislature's attempt to reverse the effect of a 2012 Supreme Court ruling.

The court ruled that local sales taxes can only be charged on vehicles bought from Missouri retailers. If cities and counties want to tax vehicles bought elsewhere, the court said they need to adopt local "use taxes."

The legislation vetoed by Nixon sought to get around that ruling by tying local sales taxes to the titling of vehicles. Local voters would have had a chance to repeal the taxes by 2016.

Nixon said the repeal section was not drafted well.

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) - A judge has refused to order Gov. Jay Nixon to testify in the third murder trial of a northwest Missouri man.

Platte County Circuit Judge Owens Lee Hull Jr. denied the motion by lawyers for Mark Woodworth following a brief hearing Thursday.

Mark Woodworth is facing a retrial for the 1990 killing of Cathy Robertson, a neighbor in Chillicothe.

Woodworth sought to depose Nixon about his knowledge of a series of letters between state and local prosecutors, a Livingston County judge and Robertson's husband.

Nixon was the state's attorney general when Woodworth was indicted by a Livingston County grand jury two decades ago. The case was handled by a special state prosecutor, Kenny Hulshof, after the Livingston County prosecutor refused to press charges.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon is imploring Missouri residents to lobby their lawmakers in a final push to expand Medicaid coverage for lower-income adults.

The Democratic governor headlined a nearly hour-long rally Tuesday that his administration says drew more than 1,000 people to the Missouri Capitol. It featured business leaders, doctors, pastors and others all lending their support to the Medicaid expansion called for under President Barack Obama's health care law.

Republican legislative leaders have so far refused to expand Medicaid, citing the potential long-term costs to the state.

Tuesday's rally may have done little to change that.

House Speaker Tim Jones, of Eureka, says a majority of his constituents "do not want us to implement any form of Obamacare."

Missouri legislators have just four weeks remaining in their 2013 session.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says his administration will stop making electronic copies of people's concealed gun permits.

Nixon announced the policy reversal Tuesday after several weeks of criticism from Republicans who said the new document copying policy of the Department of Revenue was an invasion of privacy.

The Democratic governor said his administration had "determined that the scanning and retention of concealed carry certificates are not essential to the integrity of the license issuance process."

The Department of Revenue handles concealed carry permits because it is responsible for issuing photo identification cards or placing a concealed weapons endorsement on people's driver's licenses.

   There were three confirmed tornado touchdowns on Wednesday night -- in Hazelwood, Florissant and Alton, Illinois.

   Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency for the St. Louis area after the tornadoes and severe thunderstorms storms caused extensive damage and wide-spread power outages.   Nixon will visit St. Louis Thursday to survey the damage with local officials.  

   The declaration allows local and state agencies to coordinate relief efforts for victims of Wednesday’s storms.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon wants to know what modifications to Missouri's Medicaid system may be acceptable to federal health care officials.

Nixon was to talk over the phone Tuesday with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about a potential Medicaid expansion. Specifically, Nixon wants to know how much flexibility Missouri has to make market-based changes or require co-payments from adults earning up to 138 percent of the poverty level, which is about $27,000 annually for a family of three.

Sebelius has said previously that states must expand Medicaid to that level in order to qualify for full federal funding.

Earlier Tuesday, Nixon met with Republican senators about a Medicaid expansion. He says it was a substantive, thoughtful discussion.

So far, however, Republicans have been reluctant to embrace the Medicaid expansion.

WASHINGTON, Mo. (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon says a new rail transfer facility in eastern Missouri has already helped local employers expand.

Nixon was in Washington, Mo., on Monday to help dedicate the $4.2 million rail transfer project.

Nixon says the project helped two local businesses expand their operations and create about 330 jobs. He was joined at the event by officials from those businesses - CG Power Systems and Canam Steel.

The state awarded $2 million in Community Development Block Grant funding to the city of Washington for the project, which is also using nearly $1 million in federal funds and $1.1 million from the city.

Washington is located in Franklin County, about 40 miles west of St. Louis.