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Omaha zoo expecting arrival of African elephant from Ohio

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has announced its plan to accept an African elephant from the Toledo Zoo in Ohio.

The bull African elephant, named Louie, is expected to be transferred to Omaha’s zoo within a month. It’s hoped the 14-year-old elephant will breed with one of the Omaha zoo’s five female African elephants to help sustain the genetic diversity of the endangered species’ population in zoos.

In his new home, Louie will join a herd of six other African elephants in the multi-species African Grasslands exhibit, which includes zebras, impalas and a 150,000 gallon pool. The zoo also boasts the largest indoor elephant herd space in North America at 29,000 square feet. Combined, the indoor and outdoor elephant areas total more than five acres.

Study finds pregnancy seems safe for breast cancer survivors

CHICAGO (AP) — A study gives reassuring news for breast cancer survivors who want to have children. Those who later became pregnant were no more likely to have their cancer come back than those who did not have a baby.

This was true even if their cancers were the type fueled by hormones, which soar during pregnancy and theoretically might spur a recurrence.

It’s a big issue — the average age of moms has been rising and more women are being diagnosed with breast cancer in their childbearing years. About 11 percent of new breast cancer cases in the U.S. are in women under 45.

The study involved more than 1,200 women in Europe. Results were discussed at an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference that ended Tuesday in Chicago.

Regents OKs fix to UNL hall home to bats, insects and rodents

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials have approved $40 million to renovate or replace a building on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

The Board of Regents approved the money to deal with Mabel Lee Hall. The building, which dates to 1968 and was last renovated in 1997, is used for classroom and recreation programs.

The building has electrical and plumbing problems, and officials say it’s home to insects, bats and rodents.

Regents say a team of architects will determine whether the building should be renovated or replaced. The project is expected to be completed by 2021.

Nebraska commission sets public hearing for Keystone XL

O’NEILL, Neb. (AP) — Supporters and opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline are expected to converge in a northern Nebraska town to testify before a commission that will decide whether to approve the route through the state.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission has scheduled a public hearing Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the O’Neill Community Center in O’Neill. A similar hearing was held May 3 in York, and a five-day hearing with formal arguments is scheduled to run from Aug. 7-11 in Lincoln.

Commission members will accept public comment on a first-come, first-served basis. No decision is expected at the hearings.

The $8 billion pipeline would transport oil from Canada, across Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing pipeline to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

Nebraska authorities take custody of suspect from Denver

Antoine Johsnon

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities have taken custody of an Omaha homicide suspect from Colorado.

Authorities say 31-year-old Antoine C. Johnson was booked Tuesday at Douglas County Corrections on second-degree murder and weapons charges. Johnson was taken into custody in Denver last month and extradited back to Omaha.

Johnson is suspected of shooting 29-year-old Trent Stutheit on April 16 in an apartment complex parking lot. Stutheit was taken to an Omaha hospital, where he later died.

Search for Nebraska man focuses on spot along Montana river

POLSON, Mont. (AP) — The search for a Nebraska man who is missing in a northwestern Montana river is focused in an area that a dog indicated should be searched.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said Tuesday that search and rescue crews have been using an underwater camera to search the area, but the Flathead River is running high and fast, hampering the search for 23-year-old Richard Mitchell of Minatare, Nebraska.

Mitchell fell into the fast-moving water just below the SKQ Dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation on May 31. Bell says he and others had hiked down to an overlook area and continued past posted boundaries.

Nebraska regulators shut down Omaha child care provider

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state regulators have shut down an Omaha day care and cited two employees for child neglect.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said it filed an emergency protective order Tuesday to bar Ami Moore from caring for children other than her own. State officials also cited her husband, Kenneth, who also works for the day care.

State officials say they found trash throughout the home. They say a kitchen table was covered with groceries, dirty dishes, an unopened can of beer, a container of lighter fluid and several prescription medications. They say three bedrooms also had large piles of clothing on floors and trash stuffed under beds. Fifteen children were in the home.

A phone message left with the Moores Tuesday evening was not immediately returned.

Longtime legislative staffer to run for Nebraska seat

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A longtime legislative staffer who has worked on prison and child welfare issues is running for a seat in the Nebraska Legislature.

Josh Henningsen of Omaha will formally launch his campaign next week. He’s looking to replace state Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha, who is ineligible to seek re-election in 2018 because of term limits.

Henningsen has worked as legal counsel for the Legislature’s Judiciary and Health and Human Services committees. He also helped on prison oversight committees and an intergenerational poverty task force. He currently works for the Nebraska inspector general for child welfare.

The 37-year-old Henningsen says he’s running to help create safe and inclusive communities, invest in education and give children and families the chance to succeed.

Henningsen is a registered Democrat. The seat is officially nonpartisan.

Pony Express re-ride to honor Nebraska sesquicentennial

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The annual revival of the Pony Express has been chosen as the official event to celebrate Nebraska’s 150th birthday.

More than 700 horse-riders began the mail service trip in Missouri Monday and will travel nearly 2,000 miles via the Pony Express National Historic Trail to California by June 15. Riders are expected to enter Nebraska Tuesday, which has the most miles among the eight states included, at 565.

This year’s commemorative letter honors Nebraska’s sesquicentennial, describing the Great Platte River Road’s history and featuring the iconic Chimney Rock. The envelope will also showcase the U.S. Postal Service-issued Nebraska Sesquicentennial postage stamp.

Though the original Pony Express only operated for 19 months in the 1860s, it was the most direct means of connecting the new state of California with the rest of the U.S.

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