(AP) — Google’s attorneys say their long-running practice of electronically scanning the contents of people’s Gmail accounts to help sell ads is legal, and are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to stop the practice.

In court records filed in advance of a federal hearing scheduled for Thursday in San Jose, Google argues that “all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing.”

The class action lawsuit, filed in May, says Google “unlawfully opens up, reads, and acquires the content of people’s private email messages” in violation of California’s privacy laws and federal wiretapping statutes. The lawsuit notes that the company even scans messages sent to any of the 425 million active Gmail users from non-Gmail users who never agreed to the company’s terms.

• Today: Isolated thunderstorms before 8am. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. South southeast wind 8 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. South southeast wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
• Friday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 99. South southwest wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. South wind 7 to 10 mph.

(AP) — A federal judge is allowing two gun-rights groups to proceed with their legal challenge against a Nebraska law that only lets U.S. citizens obtain concealed-carry permits.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf ruled that the case can move forward on arguments that the law violates equal-protection rights, and may be pre-empted by federal law.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Carlos Nino De Rivera Lajous, a Mexican man who has been legally living in Lincoln since 1990. Wesley Dickinson, president of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association, says the ruling moves the state one step closer to letting legal immigrants qualify for permits to carry concealed weapons.

Kopf rejected arguments that the violated the constitutional right to bear arms.

(AP) — A federal jury has found that Creighton University should have provided a deaf medical student with special equipment and interpreters, but did not award the student any damages.

The jury found in favor of Michael Argenyi, who accused Creighton University’s medical school of discriminating against him because he is deaf.

Argenyi was accepted to Creighton’s medical school in 2008 after disclosing that he was hearing-impaired and requesting accommodations for his disability to allow him to follow lectures and communicate with patients.

He sued in 2009, after leaving the school when the university refused his requests for interpreters — even though he offered to pay for them himself.

His attorney says a judge will now decide whether Creighton must reimburse Argenyi more than $110,000 for equipment he bought.

(AP) — McDonald’s Corp. says it’s exploring changes to its Dollar Menu to include items that cost more than a buck.

The world’s biggest hamburger chain says it’s testing a version of its famous value menu that’s called “Dollar Menu & More.” The company noted in a statement that no official changes have yet been made to its current Dollar Menu, which was introduced more than a decade ago.

No other details were immediately available.

Fast-food chains have been trumpeting their value menus amid increased competition and the weak economy. Some analysts have raised concerns that the strategy could eat into profit margins. Wendy’s addressed the issue earlier this year by revamping its 99-cent menu to a “Right Price Right Size” menu, with prices ranging up to around $2.

 

(AP) — Authorities continue to look for a boy that escaped from a youth rehabilitation center in Kearney.

The state Department of Health and Human Services says several youths from Kearney’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center escaped Monday night. Four of the five youths who escaped have been captured.

Two youths were first reported missing. Additional escapees were reported after staff conducted a head count and checked surveillance video.

Kearney police say there were contacted about a half hour after the first youths were reported missing.

The center provides different types of treatment to patients, including mental health and social services. The facility is not a juvenile detention center and is not locked. However, youths could face an adult felony charge for escaping.

(AP) — The University of Nebraska is getting a $12.6 million gift from an alum’s estate, and most of the donation will benefit the Kearney campus.

Carol Cope, who died in 2012, made the donation in her will. Cope and her husband were longtime supporters of the University of Nebraska at Kearney that she graduated from.

UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen says the $11.6 million his school will receive for scholarships, athletic facilities and faculty stipends is the biggest gift it has ever received.

The gift will be used to set up several endowed funds at UNK.

Another $1 million from the donation will be used for endowed faculty professorships at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The Copes made their fortune by investing early in Berkshire Hathaway stock and farmland.

(AP) — State officials say they don’t have enough information to measure how well Nebraska’s tax incentives stack up against others in the Midwest and Plains.

A legislative report released Wednesday found that Nebraska offers fewer tax credits for business investors than other nearby states. Nebraska was the only state out of 10 reviewed that did not offer exemptions for corporate income or inventory taxes.

But lawmakers say the state programs vary so widely that it’s difficult to tell whether Nebraska has gained an edge. The Legislature’s Performance Audit Committee looked at the incentives offered by Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

The committee chairman, Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff, says his staff is looking at specific goals to measure whether the tax incentives work as intended.

A North Platte woman is in jail after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend with a hammer.

According to a North Platte Police Department (NPPD) news release, a 45-year-old male filed a complaint alleging that his girlfriend, 49-year-old Tamela Morrison, assaulted him with a hammer at their residence in the 1900 block of West 18th.

The victim told Police he had sustained injuries to his arm and leg when Morrison struck him with hammer following an argument.

Officers met with Morrison at the residence and, following an investigation, determined there was probable cause to arrest her for Felony 2nd Degree Domestic Assault, Terroristic Threats and Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony.

Morrison was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.  Her bond has been set at 10% of $50,000.

(AP) — Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg is in central Nebraska to launch a new financial literacy education program for high school students.

Stenberg will be at Gibbon High School on Wednesday to launch the NEST Financial Scholars program, which can be accessed on the State Treasurer’s website at www.treasurer.org at no charge to schools or students.

The Wednesday afternoon event will include a demonstration of the web-based program, developed by Washington, D.C.-based educational technology company EverFi. The website uses digital games to educate students on critical financial topics.