LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge will decide whether a Nebraska agency violated state law by denying three teenagers to enter a foster care transition program because of their immigration status.

A lawsuit against the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services involves three 19-year-olds from Guatemala who are under federal Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. The status means the teenagers aren’t U.S. citizens but are in foster care after being abused, abandoned or neglected.

Courts determined that returning the teens to their home country wouldn’t be in their best interest. They can apply for green cards, but the process can take years, said Mindy Rush Chipman, an Immigrant Legal Center attorney representing two of the teens.

The department denied the teens’ application to the Bridge to Independence (B2I) Program, which extends foster care services such as medical care until individuals turn 21.

Rush Chipman said the decision was based solely on the teenagers’ immigration status and violates Nebraska statutes, including the law that created the program and outlines its services.

A specific provision directs case managers to assist young adults in the program to “obtain the necessary state court findings and then apply for special immigrant juvenile status … or apply for other immigration relief that the young adult may be eligible for.”

Requiring an individual to have lawful permanent residency or citizenship to have access to the B2I program “renders that part of the statute completely meaningless,” Rush Chipman said.

Assistant Attorney General Ryan Gilbride has argued that the department can legally deny the teens because of a statute that prohibits public benefits from being given to someone “not lawfully present in the country.” The law was passed in 2009 before lawmakers created the B2I program.

Gilbride said the department can help applicants try to become lawfully present in the country to qualify for the program, but that the agency is not required to do so.

POTTER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman died after her vehicle was struck by a train at a crossing in the southern Nebraska Panhandle.

The crash occurred around 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, about 7 miles east of Potter in Cheyenne County.

County Attorney Paul Schaub says the vehicle was hit as the woman attempted to cross the tracks at County Road 91 and U.S. Highway 30.

Schaub identified the driver as 37-year-old Christina Spaulding, who lived in Potter.

SUTHERLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Kentucky man died after a semitrailer crossed an Interstate 80 median and struck his pickup truck in western Nebraska.

The collision occurred Tuesday night, about 2 miles east (3 kilometers) of Sutherland in Lincoln County. The Nebraska State Patrol says 46-year-old Steven Freeman died. He lived in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The semitrailer driver was identified as 63-year-old Gerald Childs, of Sacramento, California. The patrol says he refused medical treatment.

The patrol says Childs was heading west when his truck crossed the median, struck the eastbound pickup and then rolled onto a side. It’s unclear why the big rig crossed into the oncoming traffic.

STAPLETON, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey reports that another mild earthquake has struck central Nebraska.

The 3.7 magnitude temblor was recorded around 5:40 a.m. Tuesday, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) east-southeast of Stapleton. It occurred about 3 miles (5 kilometers) below the surface. No damage has been reported.

On Monday a quake measuring 3.3 magnitude struck a little after 4:30 a.m. at a spot about 3 miles (5 kilometers) under the surface, 4 miles (7 kilometers) southeast of Arnold in Custer County.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would require regular reviews of Nebraska’s job-licensing rules is headed to a final vote in the Legislature.

The measure won second-round approval from lawmakers Tuesday with a voice vote.

Supporters say the measure would help reduce regulations and increase competition in a variety of professions that are regulated by the state. Lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to scale back requirements for individual professions, but the new legislation by Sen. Laura Ebke, of Crete, would take a more sweeping approach.

Nebraska requires licenses for about 200 professions, ranging from massage therapists and potato shippers to dentists and teachers.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is pushing back against an effort to draw Nebraska lawmakers into a special session to address complaints about high property taxes.

Ricketts told reporters Tuesday he sees “no need” for a special session, arguing that it wouldn’t accomplish anything.

The Republican governor says on Twitter that lawmakers “shouldn’t even be considering” a special session and accuses them of being “fixated on increasing taxes.”

His comments came after Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon filed a request that could trigger a special session later this year, if 33 of the Legislature’s 49 senators agree.

A last-ditch effort to pass a tax package stalled over the weekend when senators failed to reach an agreement. Ricketts had endorsed one of the stalled proposals. This year’s regular session is nearly over.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A last-ditch effort to reduce property taxes has stalled in the Nebraska Legislature after key senators failed to reach an agreement before their deadline.

Seven lawmakers met over the weekend to try to find a plan that would win enough support to pass, but remained divided over the best approach.

Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer convened the group last week in hopes of bringing lawmakers to a compromise. One major sticking point was funding for K-12 education, a major driver of property taxes.

The impasse is likely to give momentum to a statewide ballot measure that would use more than $1 billion in state revenue to lower property tax bills. Some conservatives, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, have said the ballot measure could require major tax increases to compensate.

ARNOLD, Neb. (AP) — A mild earthquake has rattled Custer County in central Nebraska.

The National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colorado, says the temblor struck a little after 4:30 a.m. Monday at a spot about 3 miles (5 kilometers) under the surface, 4 miles (7 kilometers) southeast of Arnold.

No damage or injuries have been reported.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — ACT exam results across Nebraska last year show that girls outscored boys overall, matching boys in science and surpassing them in reading and English.

Nebraska administered the standardized college admissions test to every junior in the state’s public schools last year.

Girls earned an average composite score of 19.6 on the 36-point exam last year, while boys scored an average 19.1. Initial results show that boys lead in math by half a point.

One year of data doesn’t make a trend, and many students likely have taken the test again to improve their scores.

All students have room to improve since less than a third of the 22,300 students who took the exam met benchmarks to predict success in typical college freshman math, science and English courses.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say the Omaha veterans hospital was rated in the top 10 percent nationwide after a surprise inspection.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System achieved a top five-star rating. That’s up from a three-star rating in 2015.

A newly released report says the system was among the 10 best in two categories: speedy access to specialty care and low rate of readmission for the same problem within 30 days. It trailed other VA hospitals and systems in the turnover rate of registered nurses and mental health coverage in rural areas.

The audit didn’t cover unauthorized waiting lists for psychotherapy treatments at the Omaha hospital or for certain eye exams, which were discovered by Nebraska-Western Iowa VA officials last year.