(AP) — Nebraska’s corn crop is forecast at 1.61 billion bushels for 2013, up 24 percent from last year

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a news release Thursday that the area harvested for grain is estimated at 9.8 million acres, up 8 percent from a year ago. The USDA says that as of Sept. 1, the average yield is forecast at 164 bushels per acre, up 22 bushels from last year.

Soybean production is forecast at 223 million bushels, 8 percent above last year. The area for harvest is estimated at 4.75 million acres, which is down 5 percent from 2012. Yield is forecast at 47 bushels per acre, up 5.5 bushels from 2012.

Sorghum production is forecast at 4.96 million bushels, up 40 percent from a year ago.

(AP) — A trial has been pushed back again for a former Gering man charged with child abuse in the death of a 2-year-old girl.

An attorney for Dustin Chauncey filed a motion for a continuance to allow more time to prepare for the case. A Scotts Bluff County District judge granted it Thursday.

The trial has been scheduled to begin Dec. 16 instead of Oct. 21. A pre-trial hearing is now set for Nov. 20.

Chauncey has pleaded not guilty to a charge of intentional child abuse resulting in the death of Juliette Geurts in July 2008. His trial was originally scheduled to start in August.

(AP) — The Nebraska Humane Society says its Omaha shelter is so full of cats that it’s waiving some adoption fees.

The group is offering adult cats that are six months old or older for free on Friday. Visitors can also get two kittens for the price of one.

The cats are spayed or neutered, as well as microchipped and vaccinated. Some fees may still apply for certain residents.

The shelter currently has more than 100 cats ready for adoption. There are dozens more at partnering pet stores.

Officials think road construction near the shelter has discouraged some adopters.

(AP) — Dear seniors, your Medicare benefits aren’t changing under the Affordable Care Act. That’s the message federal health officials are trying to get out to elderly consumers confused by overlapping enrollment periods for Medicare and so-called “Obamacare.”

Medicare beneficiaries don’t have to do anything differently and will continue to go to Medicare.gov to sign up for plans. But advocates say many have been confused by a massive media blitz directing consumers to new online insurance exchanges set up as part of the federal health law. Many of the same insurance companies are offering coverage for Medicare and the exchanges.

Medicare open enrollment starts Oct. 15 and closes Dec. 7, while enrollment for the new state exchanges for people 65 and under launches Oct. 1 and runs through March.

(AP) — Hunters may begin donating their deer to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program on Sunday.

Nebraska Game and Parks has contracted with meat processors.

They are:

Amherst – Belschner Custom Meats; Bayard – Bayard Processing; Bridgeport – KDK Meats; Broken Bow – Broken Bow Pack; Diller – C & C Processing; Elwood – SteakMaster; Humphrey – Country Butcher; Johnson – Pelican’s Meat Processing; Lindsay – Melcher’s Locker; North Bend – Bob’s Custom Meats; North Platte – Kelley’s Custom Pack; Oakland – Oakland Processing; Omaha – B. I. G. Meats, Stoysich House of Sausage; Orleans – Harlan County Meat Processors; Oxford – Oxford Locker; Panama – Panama Locker; Ralston – Van Fleet Meats; Table Rock – Den’s Country Meats; Ulysses – Butchery; Wahoo – Wahoo Locker.

The program combines cash donations and donated deer to produce ground venison distributed to Nebraskans in need.

Learn more about the program at OutdoorNebraska.org/HHH.

(AP) — Michelle Obama has pushed America to eat healthier and to exercise more. Now she says we should “drink up” too. As in plain water. And as in more of it.

She’s getting behind a campaign being announced Thursday by the Partnership for a Healthier America to encourage people to drink more water.

Organizers say too many people don’t drink enough water daily and about one-fourth of kids below age 19 don’t drink any water at all on any given day.

The first lady launched an initiative in 2010 to tackle childhood obesity. In the past, she has advocated switching from sugary sodas to water. But officials behind this new effort say it’s strictly about getting people to drink more water — not about promoting water over other beverages.

(AP) — The U.S. government has come up with window labels that show the gas mileage and pollution of used cars.

The Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency say the labels can be downloaded or viewed on the website www.fueleconomy.gov.

Labels are available for all vehicles sold in the U.S. since 1984. They show mileage and carbon dioxide emissions estimates.

The government says the stickers are valid for used cars because mileage changes little over a vehicle’s 15-year life if it’s maintained properly.

Used car sellers and dealers can post the stickers on car windows to advertise mileage. Buyers can search the site for the models they want to buy.

• Today: Isolated showers before 8am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. East northeast wind 5 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. East wind around 9 mph.
• Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. Southeast wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 56. South southeast wind 9 to 13 mph.

(AP) — A Nebraska judge has denied a convicted killer’s efforts to appeal his conviction.

Scotts Bluff County District Judge Randall Lippstreu says in a memorandum Tuesday that Jeffrey Hessler is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on any issue raised in his second motion for post-conviction relief.

Post-conviction relief is a civil proceeding that asks a court to overturn a criminal conviction.

Hessler was convicted in 2004 of kidnapping, raping and killing a 15-year-old newspaper carrier, Heather Guerrero, in 2003. The state Supreme Court upheld his conviction and death sentence in November 2007.

Hessler filed the motion in August 2012. He claims he was mentally ill and incompetent to stand trial. Lippstreu says his claims were addressed and denied during his first motion for post-conviction relief.

(AP) — Figures obtained by The Associated Press show that methamphetamine lab seizures and arrests declined nationwide in 2012, but the illicit and dangerous drug continues to hit hardest in the nation’s heartland.

The Drug Enforcement Administration provided statistics to AP showing 12,694 meth lab incidents in 2012, down 5.5 percent from 2011. Experts say it’s too early to know why the numbers dropped, and some say preliminary 2013 numbers are on the rise. Still, it was the second straight year of decline.

Missouri, the leader in meth lab incidents every year but one since 2003, again topped the list, followed by Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. The top 16 states for meth lab incidents were all in Middle America or the South.