LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska county official says he’s skeptical about a push to close four beer stores in Whiteclay, a village with a dozen residents that sells millions of cans annually next to a South Dakota Indian reservation.

Sheridan County Commissioner Jack Andersen says he’ll consider testimony at a public hearing Thursday in Rushville, but he doesn’t believe shuttering the stores will address the problems plaguing residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The three-member commission set the hearing as it decides whether to recommend renewal of the stores’ liquor licenses to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Commissioners aren’t expected to act Thursday.

In November, the state liquor control commission ordered the Whiteclay stores to reapply for their licenses amid public pressure to reduce panhandling and public drunkenness.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state government would see a net budget cut of $151 million over the next six months under a plan floated by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The proposal unveiled Thursday seeks to address a revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The plan relies on a combination of spending cuts and pulling money from various government accounts. It would draw $92 million from the state’s rainy-day fund and about $22 million from more than two dozen cash funds.

Ricketts is also betting that online retailer Amazon will help the budget by generating another $11.2 million for the state. Amazon announced last month that it will start collecting sales taxes on purchases in Nebraska.

Ricketts has yet to release his full proposal for the upcoming two-year budget cycle.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman whose body was found in a Scottsbluff apartment was a homicide victim.

Police say the body of 48-year-old Melissa May was found Tuesday morning after officers were dispatched for a welfare check. Officers say May lived at a different apartment in the complex. It’s believed she was slain over the weekend.

Investigators say evidence inside the apartment leads them to believe May was killed by someone, but they have not publicly released the information or said how she was killed. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

No arrests have been reported.

DETROIT (AP) — Demand may be slowing, but U.S. consumers still bought a whole lot of cars and trucks in 2016.

U.S. sales of new vehicles could hit a new high in 2016. Consulting firm LMC Automotive and car-buying site Edmunds.com both predict sales will squeak past the record set last year and reach 17.5 million in 2016.

General Motors Co. said its full-year sales were down 1.3 percent to just over 3 million cars and trucks. That was partly because the company cut back on low-profit sales to rental car firms.

Other automakers report December and full-year sales later Wednesday.

LMC expects sales to be up 1.4 percent in December compared with a year ago, with total sales of just over 1.6 million vehicles. GM’s sales were up 10 percent for the month.