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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri Senate has endorsed a measure that could speed up state intervention in failing school districts.

The bill given initial approval Tuesday night is aimed mainly at the Kansas City School District, which lost its accreditation in January 2012.

Under current law, Missouri officials must wait until at least June 30, 2014, before intervening in the Kansas City district.

The Senate legislation would let the state intervene immediately after a district loses its accreditation. The state Board of Education could prescribe conditions under which the existing local school board could continue to oversee the school, or it could set up an alternative governing structure.

Those alternatives could include creating a special administrative board, merging the district with neighboring ones or splitting the district into several new ones.

Good news for drivers in Washington County, Illinois. Eastbound I-64 has reopened after being closed for several hours due to a toxic spill near Centralia.

Fire crews had evacuated residents near the interstate Tuesday evening after a tanker truck hauling toxic material began leaking. Authorities say the evacuations were just precautionary.

Eastbound I-64 was closed for several hours between mile markers 61 and 69 while the material was offloaded to another truck and the road was washed down. The interstate reopened a little before 3:00 a.m.

Arnold councilwoman Christine "Cricky" Lang has died. Lang passed away yesterday at her home.

She'd represented the first Ward on the Arnold City Council for the past three years.

Lang had had a kidney transplant 10 years ago, but needed another one. She was at the top of the transplant recipients list when she died. She was 44 years old.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.