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Nebraska opponents of Keystone XL preparing for new fight

keystoneLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline in Nebraska are planning to convene in anticipation that President Donald Trump will approve the Canada-to-Texas project.

The group Bold Nebraska is hosting a community meeting Monday afternoon in O’Neill to discuss their options.

Bold Nebraska played a critical role in organizing opponents of the pipeline in the state and keeping the project from moving forward. The meeting will follow a court hearing involving landowners who are still in a legal fight with TransCanada over attorneys’ fees.

The Keystone XL would travel from Canada through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, where it would connect with the existing Keystone pipeline network to carry crude oil to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

Committee to reschedule hearing on Kintner abortion bill

ne-legislature-13LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A hearing on an abortion bill sponsored by Nebraska state Sen. Bill Kintner is getting postponed now that Kintner has announced his resignation from the Legislature.

The chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee announced Thursday that lawmakers will schedule a new hearing date for the proposal. The bill had been set for a hearing on Feb. 2.

Kintner will officially resign on Monday. He announced he was stepping down under the threat of expulsion from the Legislature after he retweeted a comment implying that three demonstrators at a Women’s March event weren’t attractive enough to sexually assault.

Sen. Merv Riepe of Omaha says the bill will get a new hearing once a new sponsor takes it.

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The bill is LB59

Man arrested in gun slaying of Omaha resident

Malik Stelly
Malik Stelly

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police have arrested a 33-year-old man suspected of killing an Omaha resident.

Police say Malik Stelly was arrested Thursday and jailed. Online court records say he’s charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and use of a firearm. The records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for Stelly.

He’s accused of shooting to death 28-year-old D’Angelo Branch on Jan. 11.

Man gets 30-40 years for shooting 2 men in Lincoln

Leshawn Rogers
Leshawn Rogers

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been given 30 to 40 years in prison for shooting two men in a botched marijuana deal.

Online court records say 28-year-old Leshawn Rogers was sentenced Wednesday in Lancaster County District Court. He’d pleaded no contest to two counts of assault after prosecutors reduced them in exchange for Rogers’ pleas.

Police say the shootings of the two Omaha residents occurred Feb. 11 last year at a home in Lincoln.

Marilyn R. Sommers

Marilyn R. Sommers, 80, formerly of North Platte, passed away Jan. 24, 2017 at Chattanooga, TN.  Services are pending at Carpenter Memorial Chapel.

Ronald E. Smith

Ronald E. Smith, 89, of North Platte, passed away Jan. 24, 2017 at Great Plains Health.  Online condolences may be shared atwww.carpentermemorial.com. Graveside services will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Maywood Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday at Carpenter Memorial Chapel, which is in care of arrangements.

Lincoln man accused of faking fax to jail in effort to free friend

handcuffsLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been accused of sending a faked fax to Lancaster County Jail in an effort to free a friend.

Online court records say Justin Colbert pleaded not guilty Monday to misdemeanor abuse of public records. His next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22.

Authorities say Colbert’s fake fax said it was from Lancaster County Court and said a bond payment of $25,000 had been made for a jail inmate who should be freed. The inmate was Colbert’s friend.

But jail officials’ suspicions were raised because the fax had arrived on a Saturday, July 23, when the courts were closed, and the fax had come from a web service with an attached email and phone number that didn’t match the court number.

Omaha schoolteacher faces another child sex assault charge

Daryl Clark
Daryl Clark

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha school teacher is facing another child sex assault case.

A Douglas County judge ruled Wednesday that Daryl Clark will stand trial in a case that dates back to the 2004-2005 school year.

Prosecutors say a 24-year-old woman approached police after learning that Clark had been charged. She told authorities that Clark molested her when she was 11 and he was tutoring her at Beveridge Magnet Middle School. Her allegations were investigated but he was not prosecuted.

A district spokeswoman says he wasn’t fired then because there wasn’t enough information to do so. He was transferred to Monroe Middle School, where he was arrested in the most recent case.

Clark has pleaded not guilty to three counts of child sexual assault and one of having a firearm on school grounds.

Iowa experts warn of water contamination

boiling-waterOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Fremont area water utilities appear prepared to handle any contamination from a proposed Costco chicken plant, but water experts urge residents not to let their guard down.

Costco is looking to create a slaughterhouse in Fremont and develop a regional poultry farming network to provide chicken to its stores. The retail giant plans to contract with farms to raise around 17 million chickens at a time.

Opponents of the project have warned about possible resulting water contamination. They point to areas in southeastern United States with similar projects, where chicken manure gets into waterways, killing marine life and threatening businesses.

Des Moines Water Works CEO Bill Stowe says there should be a balance of economic growth and environmental issues “because the water is precious.”

Police ID woman killed, man wounded in Omaha shooting

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the names of a woman who was fatally wounded and a man who was injured in an Omaha shooting.

Police say officers were sent to Creighton University Medical Center around 1:40 a.m. Thursday after a private vehicle arrived there with the two shooting victims. Police say the woman has since died but the man is expected to survive his wound.

Police identified the dead woman as 23-year-old Ashlyn Higgins. The injured man was identified as 27-year-old Parris Stamps.

Homicide investigators are poring over a northeast Omaha site for clues and any witnesses. No arrests have been reported.

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