• Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. North wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.
• Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms between 9pm and 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light east southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Light west southwest wind becoming south southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
• Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Southwest wind 6 to 14 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
• Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Breezy.
• Sunday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 42. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Sunday Night: A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Blustery.

(AP) — A Nebraska Panhandle man has been accused of driving a car at speeds of nearly 100 mph.

42-year-old Brandon Pate was arrested Tuesday.

The Gering Police Department says an officer stopped Pate after his vehicle was clocked at 98 mph in an area with a speed limit of 40 mph. The officer said Pate’s vehicle was running other cars off the road.

Pate is accused of having a small amount of marijuana and a glass pipe in his pockets at the time of the arrest.

He faces charges of speeding, willful reckless driving and no proof of insurance. He also faces drug charges. Court records do not list an attorney.

(AP) — A bill to prevent Nebraska governors from restricting gun sales in a state emergency has been sent to a final vote.

The bill by Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial won second-round approval on Wednesday. A final vote is required before it goes to Gov. Dave Heineman.

Current Nebraska law allows governors to restrict the sale, distribution and transportation of guns once a state emergency is declared.

Christensen has worked on the bill with the National Rifle Association, which has passed similar “emergency powers” laws in 34 other states. Bills are pending in Iowa, Massachusetts, Colorado and Washington.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha has said the measure is feel-good legislation that doesn’t help or hurt anyone.

(AP) — Assaulting a firefighter, paramedic, or social worker could carry a stiffer penalty under a bill headed to a final vote in the Nebraska Legislature.

Lawmakers on Wednesday gave second-round approval to the legislation by state Sen. Steve Lathrop. The bill would impose the same potential penalties as the crime of assault on a police officer.

Lathrop says the bill seeks to protect professionals who are sometimes attacked by people they’re trying to help. It would apply to firefighters, out-of-hospital care workers and employees of state corrections and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The vote followed a filibuster led by Sen. Ernie Chambers, who argues that the law shouldn’t treat assault victims differently because of their profession.

(AP) — Nebraska is one step closer to honoring veterans on license plates, and some lawmakers looked seriously Wednesday at giving mountain lions the same recognition.

Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont floated the idea Wednesday during debate on his bill. Janssen, a Navy veteran, proposed an amendment that would allow motorists to apply for “Mountain Lion Protection Plates.” Revenue from the plates would help pay for a wildlife conservation program for youths.

Some lawmakers argued that the proposal was offensive to veterans. Others from military backgrounds shrugged it off.

The debate followed several unsuccessful efforts this year to end mountain lion hunting, led by Sen. Ernie Chambers.

Janssen later withdrew the mountain lion amendment, and the veterans’ plate bill was advanced to a final vote without it.