KANSAS CITY (AP) — A suburban Kansas City man has been convicted in a string of armed robberies that ended with police fatally shooting another suspect.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 23-year-old Deonte Collins-Abbott, of Grandview, Missouri, pleaded guilty Thursday to participating in a conspiracy to commit robbery and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He faces 25 years in federal prison under a plea deal.

The robberies came to an end in March 2016 when Collins-Abbott and two others stole money and prescription cough syrup from a Walgreens in Blue Springs, Missouri. Court records say one of the other robbers, 22-year-old Jermon Seals, of Shawnee, Kansas, was shot after pointing a gun at officers outside the store.

Collins-Abbott and the third suspect were caught after a foot pursuit.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer says he wants to be the governor who ends abortion in the state, but he’ll need help from fellow abortion opponents to do so.

The Republican spoke Thursday at the National Right to Life convention that is taking place in Overland Park, Kansas, a Kansas City suburb.

Colyer told attendees that there remains a need to stack the courts, Congress and state legislatures with those who oppose abortions.

The crowd was upbeat in the wake of recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, and by the announced departure of Justice Anthony Kennedy. George Delgado, medical director for the group Abortion Pill Reversal, told the crowd that Kennedy’s retirement will lead to the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision.

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Junction City, Kansas, have identified a woman whose body was found last month, and a North Carolina man has been charged in her killing.

Police on Thursday identified the victim as 59-year-old Tamra Ann Gibson of Asheville, North Carolina. She was last seen in Asheville on May 22 and was reported missing on May 24.

The body was found May 28 between two buildings in Junction City. Her car was found burned on June 1 in Laramie, Wyoming.

Authorities say 58-year-old Donald Mack Gray Jr. of Buxton, North Carolina, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery. Gray is in custody in Billings, Montana, on charges related to the death of an 81-year-old Montana man. Police say the two cases are not connected.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – One large step closer to delivering on promised certainty, U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts announced the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 passed the Senate on a strong bipartisan 86-11 vote.

“Today marks an important day for farm country. We are one step closer to providing farmers and ranchers a Farm Bill with the certainty and predictability they deserve,” said Chairman Roberts. “I thank my partner in this journey, Ranking Member Stabenow, as well as many of our Senate colleagues who offered leadership and expertise. I am proud we have a strong, budget neutral Farm Bill with broad support.”

“The 2018 Senate Farm Bill proves that bipartisanship is a tried and true approach to getting things done,” said Ranking Member Stabenow. “By working across the aisle, we crafted a Farm Bill that strengthens our diverse agricultural economy and all the jobs it supports in Michigan and across the county. I want to thank Chairman Roberts for his leadership and partnership, along with our Senate colleagues who contributed their ideas for improving American agriculture.”

The Senate Agriculture Committee favorably reported out the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, on June 13, 2018. The bipartisan 5-year legislation encompasses a broad array of agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry policy. Click here to watch the meeting. Click here to watch other Committee hearings in preparation for the 2018 Farm Bill. Click here to read the legislation, summaries, and amendments.

The legislation has the support of more than 500 groups representing thousands of agriculture, food, nutrition, hunger, forestry, conservation, rural, business, faith-based, research, and academic interests.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A law enforcement initiative is prioritizing federal prosecutions of repeat offenders and convicted criminals who carry firearms in Garden City and Wichita.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative is bringing federal prosecutors together with local and state law enforcement agencies in the two cities where the violent crime rate is higher than the state average of 3.7 per 1,000 people. The 2017 report from the Kansas Bureau of Investigations shows that compares to a rate of 5.1 in Garden City and 10.6 in Wichita.

U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister says both cities have reported increased gang activity that fuels violent crime.

McAllister says he recently received authorization from the Justice Department to hire two new federal prosecutors in Kansas to concentrate on violent crime cases, including a surge of them in Topeka.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are demanding answers after protesters were locked out of the Statehouse last week.

Top leaders from both parties directed the director of Legislative Administrative Services to prepare a report during a meeting Wednesday. They want answers about when security officials can lock people out of the Statehouse and who has the authority to make such a decision.

Issues arose June 18 when officers locked the public entrance doors to the Visitors Center, preventing protesters with the Poor People’s Campaign and others from entering the building. Protesters with the group had been arrested for refusing to disperse during previous protests at the Statehouse.

House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. says it’s important to get answers because the Capitol is the “people’s house.”

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A professor at Miami University in Ohio has been indicted on charges of traveling to Kansas City to have sex with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

The U.S. attorney’s office says federal grand jurors returned the indictment Tuesday against 52-year-old Kevin Connor Armitage, who is a professor of American Studies. The indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed in May.

Court records say an FBI employee was monitoring a website on which prostitution is discussed when Armitage indicted he would be visiting the Kansas City area and asked for a recommendation. Armitage was offered the phone number of a different FBI employee who posed as the teen. The records say Armitage was arrested when he went to a restaurant where he had arranged to meet the teen’s cousin.