JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The GOP-led Missouri House is advancing a measure to make it easier for women to get birth control. House members in a voice vote gave the legislation initial approval Wednesday.

It’s sponsored by Republican Rep. Sheila Solon and would allow pharmacists to prescribe oral contraceptives.

Those under 18 would have to show pharmacists a doctor’s previous prescription. The bill would allow women to receive birth control prescriptions in one-year increments after their first three-month prescription.

Women would need to visit a doctor within three years of their pharmacists’ first prescription to continue receiving contraception.

Solon says greater access to contraception will prevent unwanted pregnancies and lead to fewer abortions. Republican and Democratic House members voiced support for the legislation.

It needs a second House vote to move to the Senate.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two female students have sued Kansas State University, alleging it has refused to investigate their rapes at off-campus fraternity houses.

The two civil rights lawsuits filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas contend the university’s practice endangers students and violates federal law by creating a hostile learning environment for victims.

Kansas State declined to comment. The suits say Kansas State is under a federal Title IX investigation.

The students’ attorney, Cari Simon, says the U.S. Department of Education has said schools have an obligation to respond to such complaints, even if they occur off campus. She says Kansas State’s position is an outlier.

The lawsuits cite police reports that indicate at least 11 rapes were alleged to have happened at Kansas State fraternities since 2012.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has spurned a last-ditch effort to throw out a lawsuit against an abortion opponent accused of sending a letter to a Wichita doctor saying someone might place an explosive under her car.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Wednesday rejected claims by anti-abortion activist Angel Dillard that a law guaranteeing access to abortion clinics is unconstitutional. Dillard faces a jury trial May 3 in federal court in Wichita.

The Justice Department sued Dillard in 2011 for sending the letter to Mila Means, who had been training to offer abortions. At the time, no doctor was performing abortions in Wichita in the wake of Dr. George Tiller’s murder.

Marten also ruled on what evidence jurors will hear to determine whether Dillard’s letter constituted a “true threat.”

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City suburb is providing bottled water to residents of one neighborhood as a precaution after potentially high lead levels were detected.

The city of Olathe said in a news release that residents of about 105 homes are affected.

The release says the city is conducting follow-up testing of water drawn from residents’ taps. The potential problems were detected in samples taken from outside water meters, and no details on the results were provided.

City spokesman Tim Danneberg says testing at the meter can be inaccurate in detecting lead levels. That’s because the samples can be contaminated by such things as lead from surrounding soil and welding joints. He says health officials only recognize the results of samples taken from the tap.

Danneberg says previous tests showed no problems.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Treasury official says Secretary Jacob Lew has decided to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, making her the first woman on U.S. paper currency in 100 years.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of Lew’s official announcement, says that the 19th century abolitionist and leader of the Underground Railroad, would replace the portrait of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president.

The announcement is expected to provide details on other changes being made to the $20, $10 and $5 bills.

The decision to place Tubman’s portrait on the $20 likely means that Lew has decided to keep Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, a victory for those who had opposed his initial plan to remove Hamilton.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita gas station clash in which authorities say racial slurs and the names of presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders were shouted has led to misdemeanor charges.

Joseph Bryan, a white 33-year-old, and Christian Saldana-Banuelos, a 19-year-old Hispanic student at Wichita State University, face charges that include disorderly conduct. Warrants were issued Friday, but police said they hadn’t been arrested as of Wednesday. Neither had listed phone numbers or attorneys.

Saldana-Banuelos and Wichita State’s Muslim student body vice president alleged that a man identified as Bryan called a black person a racial slur before the clash ensued.

Saldana-Banuelos is accused of provoking Bryan by shouting Sanders’ name and asking if the two of them were going to fight. The college students said Bryan rode away on a motorcycle after shouting Trump’s name.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former St. Louis police officer has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 33-year-old Jason Flanery will serve two years of probation and must pay for damage to the car he struck and the police SUV he was driving.

The accident happened Dec. 19. Seven hours after the crash, Flanery’s blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

Flanery later resigned from the police force. Flanery was sued late last year over the fatal shooting of 18-year-old VonDerrit Myers Jr., on Oct. 8, 2014. Flanery was working for a private security company at the time of the shooting. An investigation confirmed his claim that he shot Myers in self-defense.

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. (AP) — A former cook at a suburban St. Louis sports bar is facing charges for allegedly trying to blow up the bar.

KMOV-TV reports that 19-year-old Alexander Silver is charged with one count of first-degree arson for allegedly throwing two Molotov cocktails at the front entrance of The Post sports bar on Sunday.

Police say Silver used his car to try and block the rear exit. Detective Mike Gilb says police believe the intent was to trap workers inside. Silver had been fired as a cook about a month ago, after working there for about five months.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka city councilman charged with child abuse is resigning from the City Council.

Jonathan Robert Schumm announced during a council meeting Tuesday that his resignation would be effective noon Wednesday. He said he is leaving his position to best serve his family’s needs and to honor an agreement he reached with the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office.

Schumm and his wife, Allison Nicole Schumm, are charged with one criminal count each of aggravated battery and four counts of endangering a child. Court records show that Jonathan Schumm is accused of choking a child and threatening to “kill him.”

He has denied the allegations.

A Shawnee County judge dismissed a civil action to remove Schumm from his position on Jan. 8.

CANEY, Kan. (AP) — A small southeast Kansas school district will have a four-day week for the rest of the year to save money.

The Wichita Eagle reports the Caney Valley school board voted to add 10 minutes to each school day and cancel classes for the next five Fridays.

Superintendent Blake Vargas says the district, which has about 800 students, is facing a $70,000 budget shortfall. He cited adjusted enrollment, bus costs and years of educational funding cuts for the shortfall.

Other school districts also are considering schedule changes or other measures to reduce costs.

Jim Freeman, chief financial officer for Wichita schools, says that district cold end this school year early, and his staff might propose lengthening the school day but shortening the next school year.