KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta says it will appeal a Kansas federal jury’s awarding of nearly $218 million to Kansas farmers who sued the company over its introduction of a genetically modified corn seed variety.

Syngenta says in a statement that it is “disappointed” by Friday’s verdict after a three-week trial in Kansas City, Kansas. That case involves four Kansas farmers representing more than 7,000 growers in the state. Another trial involving about 60,000 cases begins next month in Minnesota.

The lawsuits allege Syngenta introduced the seed variety to the U.S. market before China approved it for imports, wrecking an increasingly important export market for U.S. corn and causing price drops.

The Kansas trial was the first test case. It and the Minnesota trial will provide guidance for how the complex web of litigation in state and federal courts could be resolved

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former St. Louis County sheriff’s deputy faces up to a decade in federal prison now that he’s admitted collecting $95,000 in undeserved income from a library where he worked as a security officer.

Alvin Wilson pleaded guilty in St. Louis to theft from an organization that receives federal funds. His sentencing is set for Sept. 22.

Authorities say Wilson was employed as a deputy sheriff when he also worked as a St. Louis Public Library security officer from 2012 through last year.

Prosecutors say Wilson falsely reported hours he worked at the library and was paid for them, at times working as a deputy or at home when he was supposed to be providing security.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Kansas City physician was sentenced to one year and three months in federal prison without parole for a fraud scheme that involved disability exams for veterans.

Federal prosecutors say 74-year-old Wayne Williamson also was ordered Wednesday to pay restitution of $39,155.

Williamson surrendered his medical license in 2010 after pleading guilty to health care fraud, conspiracy to distribute drugs and harassing or attempting to harass an investigator with the Missouri State Board of Healing Arts. He was sentenced to three years in prison and banned from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Despite not having a license, Williamson performed disability examinations for the Department of Veterans Affairs at Industrial Medical Center in Independence. The federal government requires disability exams be conducted by credentialed providers with unrestricted licenses.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri circuit judge says Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office wrote a confusing and grammatically incorrect summary of a referendum to repeal right to work.

A summary is meant to help voters understand ballot measures. But Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green on Thursday ruled the right-to-work summary could confuse voters.

Republican Gov. Eric Greitens in February signed the right-to-work law banning mandatory union fees. Union opponents want voters to weigh in on the measure, hoping it will be repealed.

Green says voters deserve to be asked in a “grammatically competent” manner whether to keep the law. He rewrote the summary.

Green also switched it to make a “yes” vote mean a vote to repeal the law. A “no” vote will indicate support for right to work.

SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The opinion editor of The Hutchinson News has been picked to complete the term of a Democratic state legislator who died of natural causes earlier this month.

Reno County Democrats selected Jason Probst on Wednesday to finish the term of Rep. Patsy Terrell. She was 55 when she was found dead June 7 in a Topeka hotel room. Also garnering votes was Jim Clark, who was involved in Terrell’s campaign.

The Hutchinson News reports that Probst is resigning his job with the paper. Although he’s largely been a registered Republican before switching party affiliations this month, he’s written critically about Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Terrell’s two-year term ends in January 2019, but the winner could run for a full term next year.

SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) — A 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the arson death of a Sedalia man.

Aran Cantrell, of Sedalia, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder and first-degree arson as part of a plea agreement in the death of 30-year-old Matthew Eldenburg. Cantrell was originally charged with first-degree murder.

The Sedalia Democrat reports Eldenburg died in a September 2016 fire at his home. Autopsy results showed he was alive at the time of the fire.

The plea agreement includes 24-year sentences on both counts, to be served concurrently.

Another Sedalia, man, Cody Harvey, of Sedalia, was also charged Eldenburg’s death but the charges were dismissed earlier this month after prosecutors said they did not have sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lawmaker says Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will sign his bill to ban people convicted of sex offenses against children from coming within 500 feet of children’s museums.

Cassville Republican Sen. David Sater said Wednesday that he’s meeting with Greitens for a bill signing in Jefferson City Thursday.

The legislation also would make sex trafficking of minors a form of child abuse under state law. It would require that children be told and informed in writing of their rights when taken into custody by police or juvenile officers, and that foster kids be told their rights.

Another provision would allow the Social Services Department to keep reports of child abuse where the perpetrator is unknown. The agency now must destroy records if investigations don’t turn up sufficient evidence of abuse.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge in St. Louis is set to hear an update on the progress Ferguson, Missouri, has made in its agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The St. Louis suburb has been under scrutiny since the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014. Brown, who was black and unarmed, was fatally shot by white Ferguson officer Darren Wilson during a street confrontation, leading to months of unrest.

Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing and resigned. But the Justice Department found patterns of racial bias and profiling in Ferguson’s police and courts.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry signed off on an agreement between the city and the department in April 2016 that calls for significant changes in police and court procedures. The hearing begins at 2 p.m. CDT Thursday.

LEHIGH, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an officer has shot and killed a central Kansas man after he refused to drop a gun.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says in a news release that 50-year-old Robb Stewart was killed Tuesday night after officers responded to a domestic situation in the small town of Lehigh. The release says responding officers saw Stewart move from his home to a large outbuilding.

Officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion Police Department and the Hillsboro Police Department then surrounded the outbuilding. The release says Stewart emerged from the building about 15 minutes later and was shot after not dropping his firearm as ordered. He died at the scene.

No officers were injured, although one was transported to a hospital as a precaution. The KBI is investigating.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The mother of a University of Missouri-Kansas City student who drove into the Missouri River and drowned after a traffic stop says the 20-year-old was “hammered” and shouldn’t have been allowed to drive.

The Kansas City Star reports that Liz Anderson is raising concerns after watching two videos of Toni Anderson the last time she was seen alive in January.

QuikTrip surveillance video shows the Wichita, Kansas, woman driving the wrong way and sitting at an intersection for nearly 15 minutes before a North Kansas City police officer pulled up behind her. Although she seems confused in dashcam video, the officer told her to go park and collect herself.

Toni Anderson’s body was found two months later in her submerged vehicle. Liz Anderson says the officer “messed up.”