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Police: 2 arrested, 1 wanted in northeast Omaha homicide

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police are looking for a third suspect after they arrested a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman in connection with the death of a man in northeast Omaha.

Omaha police say Friday that a warrant has been issued for 22-year-old Ashley Bordeaux on first-degree murder and a weapons charge.

Eighteen-year-old Karina Rodriguez-Lopez and a teenage boy have been charged with first-degree murder. The boy is also charged with owning a gun unlawfully and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles charged with a crime. It wasn’t immediately clear if Rodriguez-Lopez has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.

Authorities say officers responded to a shooting report Monday and found the body of 18-year-old Gustavo Soto in a vacant lot.

New vehicle designation eases rules for Nebraska producers

agricultureGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska farmers and ranchers will have more freedom to move equipment around their operations using a new state vehicle designation.

Gov. Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska Cattlemen said Friday that the new designation will allow producers to do so without having to obtain a commercial driver’s license.

Vehicles that may qualify include trucks, hay grinders and manure spreaders.

Ricketts says the covered farm vehicle designation cuts red tape for agriculture, the state’s largest industry.

The covered farm vehicle designation was placed in federal law in 2012 and made possible in Nebraska through a state law in 2014.

Residents can contact the Nebraska State Patrol’s Carrier Enforcement Division at 402-471-0105 with questions about whether their vehicles qualify for the covered farm vehicle designation.

Congress warming to idea of medical marijuana for veterans

Medical-Marijuana-leafDENVER (AP) — Congress is showing an increasing willingness to let VA doctors talk to veterans about medical marijuana in states where it’s legal, although final approval is far from certain.

The House approved a measure this week that would let Veterans Affairs Department doctors help veterans sign up for state medical marijuana programs, something the VA now prohibits.

A Senate committee approved a similar measure last month, but the full Senate hasn’t voted.

Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican from pot-friendly Colorado and a former Marine, said Friday he’s open to the idea.

Coffman says that if medical marijuana helps veterans deal with post-traumatic stress, it could also reduce the use of prescription drugs and save taxpayers money.

Coffman says the measure wouldn’t permit the VA to provide patients with marijuana.

Man dies after being shot by Omaha officer, police say

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a man who was shot seven times by an officer in northwest Omaha has died.

Capt. Scott Gray says officers were responding to a call about a man with a knife a little before 9:45 a.m. Friday. The man was later identified as 31-year-old Joshua Beebee.

Police say officers chased Beebee through an open field and one officer drove his cruiser through the field to cut off Beebee’s path.

As the officer was getting out of his car, Beebee charged toward him with a knife in his hand.

Police say the officer fired his gun seven times in close range to the man.

Beebee was taken to an Omaha hospital, where he later died. No officers were injured.

The incident is under investigation.

Youth ATV training to be offered in McCook

Courtesy Photo
Courtesy Photo

RED WILLOW, Neb. (AP) — The Mid-Plains Center for Enterprise is holding free youth all-terrain vehicle training in McCook.

The training will be at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds on Saturday.

There will be two sessions — one from 9 a.m. to noon and another from 1-4 p.m. Classes will be divided by age group.

The curriculum, developed by Central States Safety Driver Training, will consist of a combination of safety instruction and guided, hands-on ATV operation. Participants will practice turns, stops and terrain navigation.

ATVs in different sizes will be used during the trainings. Parents must stay for classes attended by children younger than 10.

Nebraska court rejects tanning salons’ claims for tax refund

tanning-bedLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that tanning salons cannot claim more than $1.7 million in tax refunds despite arguments that they shouldn’t have been subject to the tax.

The court said Friday that the salons don’t have legal standing to claim the refunds because the tax was paid by their customers.

Seven salons sought refunds in 2013 after a Nebraska attorney general’s opinion suggested that they were not subject to state admissions taxes. The Nebraska Department of Revenue has since stopped collecting that tax from tanning salons.

The court also rejected arguments that the salons should be given legal standing so they can allow the customers to seek refunds directly from them.

Man wounded by officer in Omaha chase, police say

officer-involved-shootingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say an officer has wounded a man during a chase in northwest Omaha.

Capt. Scott Gray says officers were responding to a call about a man with a knife a little before 9:45 a.m. Friday when they found the man. Gray says officers chased the man and then struggled with him. Gray says an officer then fired. No officers were injured.

The man was taken to an Omaha hospital. His name hasn’t been released.

87-year-old man killed when pickup strikes riding mower, driver arrested

douglas-county-sheriffOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An 87-year-old man has died after a pickup struck him and his riding mower in eastern Nebraska’s Douglas County.

The accident occurred around 6 p.m. Thursday on 261st Street, about a mile east of the Platte River. The Sheriff’s Office says the pickup was heading north when it hit the mower being driven on the road. The man on the mower was identified as 87-year-old Donald Fitzwater, who lived in the area. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 54-year-old woman driving the truck was taken into custody on suspicion of drunken driving.

Columbus man takes plea deal in carjacking

GavelCOLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A 32-year-old Columbus man accused of several crimes in a carjacking has taken a plea deal.

Eric Kluthe is scheduled to be sentenced June 17. Kluthe pleaded no contest to false imprisonment and guilty to a weapons charge after prosecutors lowered the weapons charge and dropped two related charges.

Prosecutors say Kluthe put a handgun to the head of a Norfolk man who was sleeping in his sport utility vehicle March 1 and forced the man to accompany him and another man to Columbus. The victim called authorities after being released in Columbus, and Kluthe was arrested after the stolen SUV was spotted at a convenience store. The man with Kluthe wasn’t arrested.

10 mumps cases reported at Midland University in Fremont

midland-universityFREMONT, Neb. (AP) — State authorities say 10 cases of mumps have been reported among students at Midland University in Fremont.

A state news release sent Friday says the Three Rivers Public Health Department received the initial reports and is working with state officials to investigate the cases. A health advisory had been sent to health care providers statewide, asking them to be watch for mumps cases and to contact local health departments.

The viral infections symptoms include swollen salivary glands, fever and muscle aches. It spreads easily in confined spaces. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk of complications.

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