TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Skin cancer survivors and a dozen like-minded organizations have testified in support of a bill that would ban tanning beds to those younger than 18 years old.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the bill would forbid anyone 17 or under from tanning devices. It would also allow the Kansas Board of Cosmetology to impose a maximum fine of $250 on tanning businesses for every violation of the law.

The bill’s hearing before the House Health and Human Services Committee coincided with the annual lobbying day of the Cancer Action Network affiliated with the American Cancer Society.

Hilary Gee of the Cancer Action Network said a 2013 survey indicated that 69 percent of Kansas voters supported protection of children and teenagers from indoor tanning devices.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A school nurse from southwest Missouri is charged with having sex with a 15-year-old student.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that 31-year-old Amanda Scheetz was charged last week with statutory rape. Police say she drove the boy to Springfield and had sex with him in her car in the parking lot of Cox Hospital. The probable cause statement says she admitted to the sexual encounter. The boy told investigators that it happened in June.

A bond recommendation document says Scheetz was a nurse at Niangua High School at the time of the incident, and the boy was a student at the school.

Prosecutors have requested a warrant for Scheetz’s arrest. No attorney is listed for her in online court records.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A House committee has approved a bill that would require Missouri high school students to pass a civics exam similar to the U.S. naturalization test in order to graduate.

The Southeast Missourian reports that the bill would require students entering ninth grade after July 1, 2017, to pass such a test.

Swan says high school graduates should have the same basic knowledge of the country’s history and government as naturalized citizens, who must pass a 100-question test.

Jackson School District Superintendent Dr. John Link says high school students in Missouri already take several civics-related exams through government-class curriculum.

He says a better approach would be improving existing curriculum and testing as well as focusing on giving students critical thinking skills so they know how to access information.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — A former top official at the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says a lawsuit is likely unless the city of Ferguson agrees to a consent decree.

The Ferguson City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday to approve the decree, but with seven changes, some of them significant.

Samuel Bagenstos, the former No. 2 official in the Civil Rights Division, says Ferguson’s insistence on changes to the settlement probably won’t pass muster with the Justice Department. He expects city leaders to reach a settlement, rather than face huge legal fees in a court battle.

Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, expressed disappointment in the vote and said the department would take “the necessary legal actions” to ensure Ferguson’s police and court practices comply with the Constitution and federal laws.

MISSING – Titus Grayson Tackett

He has been missing about 12 hours now and was last seen in iron County Missouri. pic.twitter.com/aAGdZMNQvc

— Lisa Barger (@lisabarger) February 10, 2016

IRONTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a missing 3-year-old southeast Missouri boy whose parents feared he had wandered away has been found dead in a van.

Andrew Cole, who assists the Iron County coroner, says the body of Titus Greyson Tackett was found Wednesday morning in the neighbor’s van about half a mile from his home. The boy was wearing only underwear and wrapped in a blanket.

A search began early Wednesday after the family reported the boy missing. Authorities used a helicopter and dogs to search for him as temperatures dipped into the teens.

His cause of death is under investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Debate over whether to tax tampons and other feminine hygiene products has made its way to conservative Utah, where a bill is set to be heard by a committee made of only men.

Governments that make money this way penalize women for their biology, some say. That perspective has picked up momentum, with at least five U.S. states dumping taxes on such products.

But the Utah proposal could face a steep challenge, as some worry that eliminating the sales tax will put a dent in state revenue streams.

Stephanie Pitcher with the Utah Women’s Coalition says menstruating is not a choice for females, so feminine hygiene products should not be considered luxury items.

Lawmakers are expected to discuss the proposal in a tax committee meeting later this week.

“The chances of it getting out of committee are probably not very good, but I’m not going to give up on it,” she said.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska appeals court has upheld the prison sentence of a woman who had argued at trial that her drug dealing was part of her religious beliefs.

Brenda Hines, of York, was convicted last year of four counts, including one for trafficking drugs in her home, which she argued was a “Temple of Zion” where God provided the drugs she sold. She was sentenced to two to four years.

Hines argued on appeal that her sentence was excessive and violated her religious freedom right.

The Nebraska Court of Appeals said Tuesday that Hines’ sentence was with the range allowed by law and not excessive.

It declined to address her religious freedom claim, saying she failed to argue or cite to any authority as to how her sentence violated that right

RAYTOWN, Mo. (AP) — A woman has died of her injuries from an early morning fire in a Kansas City apartment that killed her 4-year-old grandson.

The Raytown Fire Department said Tuesday that 59-year-old Cherri Roberts died Monday night.

Fire crews were called to the apartment around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, and rescued Roberts and her 18-month-old grandson. Her 4-year-old grandson, Jeremiah, died in the fire.

Raytown Deputy Fire Chief Mike Hunley said that the 18-month-old remains in the hospital in critical condition.

According to Hunley, at one point during the fire, some firefighters became trapped by the flames and needed to be rescued. They were not injured.

The National Response Team of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the cause of the fire.