• Today: Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Areas of dense fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy through mid morning, then becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 8 mph.
• Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Light east northeast wind becoming north northeast 8 to 13 mph in the morning.
• Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. East southeast wind 6 to 9 mph.

Two North Platte men face charges after they are accused of stealing from Wal-Mart.

At around 4:oo pm on Sunday afternoon, Officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a report of two suspicious males at the Wal-Mart.  Loss Prevention employees told police the two suspects had shop lifted multiple items.

Responding Officers made contact with the suspects, 26-year-old Frank Burns and 24-year-old Jeremy Torres, walking near the store.  Upon searching the subjects, they discovered about $138.00 worth of stolen items on Burns.

Burns was arrested and charged with Theft by Shoplifting.  This was Burns’ third shoplifting offense, making it a felony charge.

Torres was charged with Aiding and Abetting Theft by Shoplifting, a misdemeanor.

Torres was cited and released, Burns was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

(AP) — The Gering City Council is making technical upgrades to how it offers meetings.

Gering Mayor Ed Mayo says council meetings will be broadcast live on a digital channel that will feature split video. It will allow a person addressing the council to be seen.

There will also be an upgraded sound system that will eliminate spots in the room where people have trouble hearing.

Mayo says he’s not sure when the system will be ready. The school board will also be able to broadcast live from their meetings.

A poodle decided to pick a fight with a pit bull in North Platte Saturday evening, and the outcome was tragic.

According to a news release, at around 6:30 pm, an Officer from the North Platte Police Department was dispatched to the 2400 block of West 16th Street, after several calls to 911 indicated there was a pit bull attacking a poodle.

Prior to the Officer’s arrival, dispatchers reported that the poodle was deceased.

Following an investigation, the Officer determined that there was not probable cause to make any arrests.  Police say the poodle had gone onto the property belonging to the pit bull’s owner and instigated the fight.

Police did not release the name of either dogs owner.

 

A North Platte woman has been charged with a felony after she allegedly stole insurance money from an elderly woman.

At around 3:00 pm on July 25, an Investigator with the North Platte Police Department spoke with a 70-year-old female victim regarding a suspected forgery.

The victim alleged that the suspect, 31-year-old Cassandra Lubash, was hired as a caregiver.  She stated that Lubash had, without her knowledge or permission, cashed an insurance reimbursement check and stole the money.

Following further investigation, the Investigator determined there was probable cause to arrest Lubash and charge her with 2nd Degree Forgery, a felony.

Lubash was processed and released from the Lincoln County Detention Center.

(AP) — State officials say the names Emma and Liam were given to more Nebraska newborns than any others chosen last year.

The state Department of Health and Human Services released a list Monday of the most common names for children born in 2012. Topping the list for boys were the names Liam (153), William (134), Mason (123), Jackson (114) and Owen (106).

For girls, the names given most often were Emma (157), Olivia (138), Sophia (129), Harper (106) and Ava (89).

A spokeswoman says the names were released on the department’s Twitter account, @NEDHHS.

(AP) — The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped eight cents over the past two weeks.

The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.67. Midgrade costs an average of $3.85 a gallon, and premium is $3.99.

Diesel was up four cents at $3.93 gallon.

Of the cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states, Charleston, S.C., has the nation’s lowest average price for gas at $3.34. Chicago has the highest at $4.10.

In California, the lowest average price was $3.83 in Sacramento. The highest was in Los Angeles at $4.04. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $3.97, an increase of two cents.

(AP) — Several Nebraska and Iowa cities set new record low temperatures Sunday morning.

The National Weather Service says record lows were set Sunday in Norfolk, Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Record lows were also set in Des Moines and Ottumwa, Iowa.

Temperatures in Norfolk fell to at least 45 degrees to break the record of 48 from 1925.

Omaha, temperatures fell to at least 50 to eclipse the old mark of 52 set in 1994.

Lincoln temperatures fell to 47 to tie the 1994 record.

In Des Moines, temperatures fell to 51 to break the record of 53 set in 1925.

Ottumwa residents saw temperatures fall to 48. That broke the 1925 record of 50.

The Weather Service says temperatures will stay below normal for several days.

(AP) — Nebraska lawmakers will take up gay marriage this fall, with a hearing that could lead to a ballot measure.

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will convene Oct. 4 to review Nebraska’s constitutional amendment, which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman and forbids civil unions.

The committee chairman, Sen. Brad Ashford, wants a public debate on the issue after last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The ruling allowed married same-sex couples to qualify for federal benefits but had no impact on Nebraska’s amendment.

Ashford doubts voters would approve same-sex marriage but thinks they might accept civil unions.

Omaha resident Erin Anderson, who married her longtime partner in Iowa, isn’t sure but says, “We need to start somewhere.”

(AP) — A University of Nebraska dental professor is encouraging Nebraskans to limit how much soda they drink because it erodes the enamel on teeth.

Kim McFarland says it doesn’t matter whether the soda is diet or regular because all of it damages tooth enamel.

When the enamel is damaged, teeth can become sensitive and cavities might develop.

McFarland says enamel erosion is a common problem now because people drink so much soda.

McFarland says it’s best for teeth not to drink soda at all. But for people who do drink soda, it’s better to drink it only at meals and to brush afterward.