CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline in the U.S. has risen four cents over the past two weeks to $2.25 a gallon for regular grade.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that retailers and refiners have upped their prices in response to a rise in the cost of crude oil.

Still, the average price per gallon is a dime less than it was a year ago.

The Lundberg Survey found the average price of midgrade gasoline was $2.53 a gallon while premium was $2.74 a gallon.

The average price for diesel in Friday’s survey was $2.40 a gallon.

The highest average price for regular gas in the contiguous U.S. was $2.80 in San Francisco. The lowest was $1.91 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Three people were killed and two others injured in a multiple vehicle crash on Interstate 80 near the Gibbon exit in Buffalo County.

The crash occurred around 4:22 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, eastbound I-80 (mm 286) one mile east of the Gibbon exit, when an eastbound semi in the driving lane blew a tire as it was being passed by a 2013 Chevy Silverado pickup.

The semi struck the pickup causing both vehicles to go through the median and into the westbound lanes of traffic. The semi, then struck the rear of a westbound semi, before continuing down the westbound lane and striking a 1989 Chevy K1500 pickup.

The impact caused the second pickup to roll into the ditch where it burst into flames. The semi also rolled onto its side and caught fire. The Chevy Silverado pickup came to rest in the westbound driving lane. The second semi involved in the crash was able to continue on, stopping at the Gibbon exit.

The crash claimed the lives of the driver of the of the first semi and the driver and passenger in the second pickup. Due to the fiery nature of the crash autopsies will be required to determine identification. The names of those killed will be released upon completion of autopsies and notification of family.

The driver of the Chevy Silverado pickup, Terry Purcell (M), 60, Carter Lake, Iowa and a passenger Lisa Purcell (FM), 55, Carter Lake, Iowa were both transported by ambulance to CHI Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the second semi, Jake Hofer (M), 42, Lynden, Washington was not injured.

The crash closed a portion of I-80 for nearly 4 ½ hours.

The Nebraska State Patrol was assisted by the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue units from Gibbon and Shelton.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska has announced it’s leaving the federal Affordable Care Act’s public insurance exchanges.

The state’s largest health insurer said Friday in a news release that it will leave the government health insurance marketplace effective Jan. 1, citing increased costs and decreased competition and consumer choice as other insurers across the country have bowed out of the exchanges.

Blue Cross Blue Shield says that since it began selling individual plans through the exchanges, “we have lost approximately $140 million.”

Its decision will not affect Medicare supplement or group plans.

With Blue Cross Blue Shield’s exit, only Aetna and Medica Health are left to offer individual policies on the exchange to Nebraskans for 2017.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nine people with ties to the Omaha Tribal Council are accused of using federal money to pay themselves bonuses.

The U.S. Attorney’s office announced Thursday that eight of those charged are current or former council members and one is a tribal employee.

According to an indictment, the defendants paid themselves nearly $389,000 from contract funds with the Indian Health Service that were supposed to be used to provide health care for members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska.

Authorities say the bonuses were paid for work council officials they did on a contract dispute with the Indian Health Service.

Omaha Tribal Chairman Vernon Miller, who was not on the council when the bonuses were paid, says the tribe is cooperating with federal authorities. Other tribal officials did not return calls.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Scottsbluff hospital janitor has been accused of leaving her 4-year-old daughter in a closet while the woman worked.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse Thursday. Online court records don’t show that she’s been formally charged.

Police say officials at Regional West Medical Center reported that the woman had been seen going into the closet with her daughter on Sept. 16 but coming out with only a janitorial cart. Security video showed the woman going in and out at least eight times before leaving with her daughter more than an hour later.

The woman told officers that the girl was sick and that her daycare wouldn’t take her. She says a family member was supposed to pick up the girl at the hospital but didn’t.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has called for his institution to grow and get stronger during his first State of the University address.

Chancellor Ronnie Green complimented and challenged the university during his one-hour presentation to about 600 faculty members, staffers, and students Thursday. He also set lofty goals for improving enrollment, diversity, research, retention and other factors by 2025.

Green said he’d like there to be 35,000 students at the university, up from the current enrollment of nearly 26,000. He wants 20 percent of the student population to be underrepresented minorities, up from the current 14.3 percent.

Green said he wants the university’s first-year retention rate to increase from 83 percent to 90 percent.

He also aims to increase total research expenditures to $600 million, up from $285 million in 2015.

Green became chancellor in May.