(AP) — Nebraska Public Power District won’t need a rate increase next year after all.

President and CEO Pat Pope told the utility’s directors at their meeting Wednesday in Columbus that strong summer revenue streams and expense cuts eliminated the need for any rate hikes. The expense cuts included staff reductions.

In July NPPD said it would be lowering its rate increases to 2 percent next year from an earlier forecast of 3.5 percent. The 2 percent increase would have cost an average retail customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month between $2 and $3 more each month.

This year’s rate hike of 3.75 percent was the district’s seventh general increase in seven years.

NPPD helps serve an estimated 600,000 Nebraskans in 86 counties with retail or wholesale electric power.

(AP) — If you have a high school reunion coming up, here’s a medical development that you may want to keep an eye on.

Federal regulators for the first time have approved Botox injections to treat crow’s feet.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that Allergan’s Botox Cosmetic injection is the first drug approved to treat the wrinkles that form on the outside edge of the eyes.

Allergan Inc. studied use of the drug in 833 adults with crow’s feet who randomly received Botox or a sham injection. Patients who received Botox had fewer visible wrinkles than those who received the placebo drug.

The most common side effects seen in patients were swelling and excess liquid around the eyelids.

(AP) — Nebraska Lottery officials have hit the road to honor its top 20 outlets for the past 20 years.

The 20 have sold more than $100 million worth of scratch cards and lottery tickets since the first Nebraska scratch card was sold on Sept. 11, 1993.

The list includes stores from across the state.

Lottery spokesman Neil Watson says some of the stores enjoy a loyal player base. Other stores are top sellers because of their locations or because of the customer traffic for their primary products.

(AP) — A new University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension website is aimed at helping business owners understand the Affordable Care Act and its impact on their enterprises.

The website address is https://eship.unl.edu/healthcare .

UNL Extension educator Carroll Welte says the website includes timely information for people who are self-employed or who employ a small or large number of people. She says that under the Affordable Care Act, agricultural businesses are no different from other business types. And Welte says farmers and ranchers need to know the rules, especially if they have several employees.

The website has articles, videos and other news and blog feeds.

For questions or additional information from the UNL Extension Affordable Care Act team, email ACAbizNE@unl.edu.

Teams of well trained American Red Cross workers are on the way to Sidney, Nebraska this afternoon, to help those affected by last night storm. They will provide food and help people who have been displaced by the storm find a safe place to stay. Caring Red Cross workers will also help people with minor first aid and be a comforting shoulder to lean on.

“In the days and weeks to come, the Red Cross will be coordinating with emergency officials and local community partners to help residents impacted by the storm get back on their feet,” said Shelly Penner, Red Cross Spokesperson.

Residents who need immediate assistance should call the Central Plains Chapter
toll free number: 1-888-382-3790.

The Red Cross offers the following tips for those in the affected area to stay safer:

• Continue listening to local radio or television stations or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions. If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.

 

• Avoid damaged areas as your presence might hamper rescue and other emergency operations and put you at further risk from the residual effects of tornadoes.

 

• Stay out of damaged buildings.

 

• When it is safe to return home, wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage.

 

• Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.

 

• Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights when examining buildings. Avoid using candles.

 

• If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly. Turn off the gas using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor’s home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.

 

• Clean up spilled medications, bleaches, gasoline, or other flammable liquids that could become a fire hazard.

 

• Take pictures of the damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.

 

• Use the telephone only for emergency calls. Telephone lines are frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be kept clear for emergency calls to get through.

 

• Watch your animals closely. Keep all your animals under your direct control. Your pets may be able to escape from your home or through a broken fence. Pets may become disoriented, particularly because tornadoes and the heavy rains that accompany them will usually affect scent markers that normally allow animals to find their homes.

(AP) — A new report says the U.S. is facing a crisis in cancer care in a time of aging baby boomers, complex new treatments and rising costs.

Scientists know more than ever about how to battle cancer, with innovative treatments to target tumors. Yet the Institute of Medicine says too often, treatment choices aren’t based on good evidence, and ensuring quality may get more difficult.

Older adults account for most of the 1.6 million new cases of cancer each year, a number growing as the population ages. The report found it’s hard for doctors to keep up with new and costly therapies.

It recommends more patient involvement in choosing care, tools to help doctors speed the latest knowledge into practice and more research into the best ways to treat seniors.

(AP) — Apple says it is planning to release two new iPhone designs later this year so it can serve more customers.

The iPhone 5C, which will be available in five colors — green, blue, yellow, pink and white. CEO Tim Cook calls it “more fun and colorful” than any other iPhone. The 5C has a 4-inch Retina display and is powered by Apple’s A6 chip. It also has an 8 megapixel camera, live photo filters and a rear cover that lights up.

The iPhone 5C will cost $99 for a 16 gigabyte model and $199 for a 32 gigabyte model with a two-year wireless contract.

(AP) — After a couple years of wild, deadly and costly weather, the United States is mostly getting a lucky break this year. So far.

Hurricane and tornado activity in 2013 has been flirting with record low levels, while heat waves are fewer and milder than last year.

Meteorologists credit a combination of luck, shifts in the high-altitude jet stream, and African winds and dust.

So far, there have been eight tropical storms. Not one has developed into a hurricane, though Tropical Storm Humberto — way out in the Atlantic off Africa — is likely to become one soon.

If Humberto stays a tropical storm through Wednesday morning, 2013 will set the record for latest first hurricane of a season.

(AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s tax collections are roughly on pace with estimates for the current fiscal year.

The tax commissioner’s office announced Tuesday that the state has received about $573 million since the new fiscal year began on July 1. That’s less than 1 percent above the certified forecast of $569 million.

Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald says net receipts for the month of August totaled $341 million, which is less than the forecast of $344 million.

The comparisons are based on an April forecast made by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board. The board’s projections were adjusted for new laws that passed in 2013 and divided into monthly estimates.

(AP) — Residents of Sidney are cleaning up after a thunderstorm caused widespread damage to the city in the Nebraska Panhandle.

The National Weather Service says nearly 2 inches of rain fell in Sidney Monday evening and winds gusted up to 78 mph during the intense storm.

City Manager Gary Person says the storm knocked out power to much of Sidney, uprooted trees and damaged homes and businesses.

A semitrailer truck overturned on Interstate 80 and a train was blown off the tracks west of Sidney.

Person says the power outage forced the school district to keep the elementary school closed Tuesday, but the middle and high schools were open.

Most of Sidney regained power by about noon Tuesday.