HOUSTON, Mo. (AP) — One of the suspects in the slaying of a transgender teenager in southwest Missouri has pleaded guilty.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 18-year-old Isis Schauer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Ally Steinfeld. She was was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison.

Investigators say Steinfeld was stabbed several times, including in the genitals. Her eyes were gouged out and her body was set on fire.

Two other suspects — Andrew Vrba and Briana Calderas — are awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.

Another suspect, James Grigsby, has pleaded not guilty to abandonment of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Steinfeld’s remains were found in in a chicken coop near Cabool in September. Local officials have insisted the slaying wasn’t a hate crime.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $13.4 million fine on TV-station owner Sinclair Broadcast for not identifying paid programming as advertising.

Sinclair owns TV nearly 200 stations across the country including KSAS in Wichita and five stations in Missouri.

The company pays networks ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox for the news, shows and sports it airs on those stations.

The FCC says Sinclair produced and broadcast news story-like programming during local news broadcasts and 30-minute TV programs for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and didn’t label them as ads. The FCC says the offending ads aired more than 1,700 times.

Sinclair has 30 days to contest the proposed fine or pay it.

LEXINGTON, Mo. (AP) – These were not grandma’s Christmas cookies.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says it arrested two men from Florida with more than 20 pounds of cookies in their vehicle. The problem was the cookies contained THC, the chemical found in marijuana.

The patrol says they pulled over a U-Haul truck Tuesday on Interstate 70 in Layfette County. They found 23.2 pounds of THC-infused cookies, along with more than 4 pounds of marijuana and a gun.

A 58-year-old man and a 27-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and illegal use of a firearm. They have not been formally charged.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Shawnee County authorities say a 21-year-old man has been charged with killing a 5-year-old girl in a drive-by shooting.

Jessie Deshawn Hughes, of Topeka, was charged Thursday with one count of felony first-degree murder in the 2015 shooting death of 5-year-old Lily Coats-Nichols. He was also charged with criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle.

Hughes is being held in the Shawnee County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.

The girl died in July 2015. Police said she was riding in a car when someone drove by and fired shots at the vehicle. Lily was hit in the head.

Two adults — including Lily’s mother — also were traveling in the targeted vehicle.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) today applauded House and Senate Leadership’s decision to set the ceremony to award former Kansas U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole with the Congressional Gold Medal on January 17, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. ET in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol.

Roberts and Jenkins introduced the original legislation in the Senate and the House to honor Dole with this award. After securing the cosponsorship of nearly all members of both chambers, it was signed into law on September 15.

“I am so proud we can finally honor Senator Dole with this much-deserved award,” said Sen. Roberts. “The Congressional Gold Medal is one of our nation’s highest honors, and the overwhelming support this bill received shows how just how much Bob deserves this award. He is a true American hero who has dedicated his life to serving our nation and great state of Kansas. I thank Rep. Jenkins for her leadership in the House, and I look forward to honoring my good friend, mentor, and brother Senator Bob Dole this January.”

“It has been a privilege to work with Sen. Roberts on legislation to honor my close friend and mentor, Sen. Bob Dole,” said Rep. Jenkins. “From my days as a kid wearing a sandwich board in support of his campaigns for the Senate, to the counsel he provided throughout my time in public service, Bob Dole has meant a lot to me and to all Kansans who know him. Throughout Senator Dole’s life, he has consistently exemplified humility, hard work, and leadership, and I could not be more proud to recognize him for this service.”

The Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act, was introduced on July 24, 2017. It passed the Senate on August 3, 2017, with every single U.S. Senator cosponsoring the legislation. It passed the House on September 5, 2017.

The Congressional Gold Medal is in “recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator and statesman.” It is the highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. It is the most distinguished honor and the highest civilian honor given by the Congress.

The full text of the legislation can he found here.

The ceremony will be live-streamed at speaker.gov/live. For more on the history of the Congressional Gold Medal, view this video from the Speaker’s office.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A woman says her ex-boyfriend was attempting to kill her when he shot at her from a slain Kansas woman’s car and then killed himself when the plot failed.

The Kansas City Star reports that Bryanna Spencer says Kareem McCoy-Lee used the car of 18-year-old Mikayla Norris on Tuesday to chase her as she was driving to a job interview in Liberty, Missouri. Spencer escaped with the help of a worker who happened to be nearby and said Wednesday that she felt burdened by the knowledge that McCoy-Lee’s plot against her claimed Norris’ life.

Police say McCoy-Lee’s body was found later Tuesday in Liberty, while Norris’ body was found in Kansas City, Missouri. The Overland Park, Kansas, woman was last seen alive Sunday leaving her job at a barbecue restaurant.

WILLARD, Mo. (AP) – Authorities say a body has been found inside a burning home in southwest Missouri.

Willard Fire Chief Ken Scott says crews made the discovery early Thursday during a search of the home after the fire was extinguished. The Springfield News-Leader reports that the man’s body was in a back bedroom.

Scott said the house had been vacant for the past 10 years. He said the Greene County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death.