OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman in a wheelchair who was forced off snowy sidewalks into a busy Omaha thoroughfare eventually received a showy escort: a firetruck.

Firefighters driving back to their station after a call Tuesday night noticed the woman headed down a street as cars zipped past. The crew watched her almost get hit by a truck and try to get back on a sidewalk that was blocked by snow and construction items.

Fire Capt. Mike Henrich said it was cold out, “but the most important thing is, it was dark.” The wind child that night: minus 18 degrees (minus 28 Celsius).

The firefighters soon flipped on their lights and followed the woman until she reached her destination. She gave them a thumbs-up as they departed.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska zoo is accepting discarded Christmas trees to use as toys for its animals.

The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium annually collects and shreds unwanted trees. But this year, zoo staff is keeping a few to entertain elephants, bears, big cats and more.

The Omaha zoo says all decorations should be removed before a tree is turned in and the trees shouldn’t be treated with chemical preventatives or decorative sprays. Trees that are considered unfit for animals will be recycled.

Dan Cassidy is the zoo’s vice president of animal management. He says trees have helped deter violent behaviors among animals like bull elks.

The zoo says it’ll collect trees until Jan. 8.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man arrested in Tennessee in the fatal shootings of his parents and a niece in Omaha has agreed to be returned to Nebraska to face murder charges.

46-year-old John Dalton Jr. waived his right to an extradition hearing Thursday in Jackson, Tennessee, where he was captured Wednesday.

Dalton is charged with first-degree murder in the killings of 70-year-old John Dalton Sr. and 65-year-old Jean Dalton on Tuesday. His 18-year-old niece, Leonna Dalton-Phillip, was also killed.

Court records don’t list an attorney who can speak on Dalton’s behalf.

Records show Dalton pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 1998 shooting of his wife, Shannon Dalton. He went to prison and was paroled in 2010. Authorities say he also fled to Tennessee within days of that shooting.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A cattle herd in north-central Nebraska’s Wheeler County where a cow tested positive for bovine tuberculosis remains in quarantine as authorities test other animals.

Nebraska Agriculture Department spokeswoman Kristin Kamm said Thursday that none of the cattle has yet been similarly diagnosed. Department staffers also are looking for cattle that may have been pastured next to and had fence line contact with the infected herd. The disease is primarily transmitted through nose to nose contact.

The South Dakota Animal Industry Board earlier this year contacted the Nebraska department as they traced cattle into and out of South Dakota’s infected herd. The testing of cattle that were moved into Nebraska led to the infected cow in Wheeler County.

Bovine tuberculosis causes severe coughing, fatigue, emaciation and debilitation in cattle and results in reduced milk and meat production.