BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — Sentencing has been delayed for a Nebraska man convicted of killing a Colorado man and hiding his body in a barrel.

Twenty-five-year-old Zachary Mueller is facing a life sentence for first-degree murder in the slaying of 33-year-old Pedro Adrian Dominguez, of Greeley, Colorado. A jury convicted Mueller last month of the murder and of two weapons charges.

His new sentencing date is March 13. The original date was Feb. 27.

Authorities say Mueller shot Dominguez in the back of the head while riding in a car in Bridgeport on Nov. 22, 2015. The body of Dominguez was discovered in a barrel on a Morrill County farm in December 2015.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — Pregnant bighorn sheep ewes have been fitted with special transmitters in an effort to improve the health of wild herds in northwest Nebraska.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says a helicopter was used to help in the capture of 20 this week. They were fitted with monitors in their reproductive tracts. The monitors are expelled when the lambs are born, alerting commission staffers who will race to the area.

Their goal is to find and fit each lamb with a tracking collar to help biologists learn what’s causing so many of the lambs to die in the Pine Ridge area of Dawes and Sioux counties. The commission says the experts think no lambs survived last year and that most died within a couple months of birth.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected the latest appeal of a Texas man on Nebraska’s death row for killing two Grand Island men in 2007.

Marco Torres Jr., formerly of Pasadena, Texas, had sought post-conviction relief, saying his trial lawyer was so ineffective that it violated his right to a fair trial. A lower court dismissed his motion, and he appealed.

Torres was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and other charges in the robbery and shooting deaths of 48-year-old Timothy Donohue and 60-year-old Edward Hall.

On Friday, the state’s high court ruled that Torres’ arguments of prosecutorial misconduct and that his defense lawyer failed to obtain surveillance video beneficial to his case were without merit.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents with major or multiple felony drug convictions could qualify for federal food assistance under a bill that would repeal the state’s current ban.

Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln told a legislative committee Thursday that his proposal would help recently released prisoners get back on their feet and reduce their odds of reoffending. Morfeld says the bill would ultimately save the state money because the benefit is federally funded and cheaper than incarcerating someone who commits a new crime.

Nebraska prohibits people from collecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits if they were convicted of three felony drug possession charges or one felony distribution charge.

The Department of Health and Human Services opposes the measure, arguing that the prospect of losing SNAP benefits encourages drug users to seek treatment.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker says giving inmates driver’s licenses or other state-issued photo ID cards before they’re released will help former prisoners reintegrate into society.

Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln told a legislative committee Thursday that recently released inmates often have trouble obtaining ID cards after they leave prison. He says they need IDs to find housing, start working, open a bank account and apply for benefits.

Prison volunteer Fran Kaye says she often helps inmates preparing for release apply for driver’s licenses. She says it would be much easier if the Department of Corrections handles the process.

Inspector General of the Nebraska Correctional System Doug Koebernick says the Department has begun working on how to provide IDs already and that Hansen’s legislation was “good public policy.”