LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has told a Scottsbluff woman to pay back nearly $140,000 she took from a credit union she’d managed.

Court records say the judge handed down the order Monday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln to 45-year-old Christine Darley. She also was sentenced to time served and to five years of supervised release. Darley had pleaded guilty to wire fraud after other counts were dropped by prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Darley took the money from Panhandle Federal Credit Union and deposited it into her accounts there and at a local bank. The crimes occurred between August 2010 and June 12, 2012.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a fatal crash that ended a police chase in the Nebraska Panhandle.

The Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday that the chase started in Mitchell around 9:50 p.m. Sunday when a man in a pickup truck sped away from a Mitchell officer. The chase reached beyond 95 mph as the pickup raced southeast on U.S. Highway 26 toward Scottsbluff, about 9 miles (15 kilometers) to the southeast.

The Sheriff’s Office says the pickup went out of control soon after reaching Scottsbluff. The truck crashed into a tree, ejecting the driver. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office identified him as 37-year-old Joseph Beeler, who lived in Mitchell.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state agencies would have to report the amount of federal money they receive each year as well as plans to deal with a loss of funding under a bill advanced by lawmakers.

Senators gave first-round approval to the measure Monday with a 28-11 vote. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Stinner of Gering, says it would promote transparency with the use of federal money, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of the state’s total budget. Stinner serves as chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee.

Supporters say the bill could help the state prepare for a sharp downturn in federal funding. Some senators question the need for it, saying much of the information is already available in state budget documents.

Two more votes are required before it passes in the Legislature.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With three strong hurricanes, wildfires, hail, flooding, tornadoes and drought, the United States tallied a record high bill last year for weather disasters: $306 billion.

The U.S. had 16 disasters last year with damage exceeding a billion dollars, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. That ties 2011 for the number of billion-dollar disasters, but the total cost blew past the previous record of $215 billion in 2005.

Costs are adjusted for inflation and NOAA keeps track of billion-dollar weather disasters going back to 1980.

Three of the five most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history hit last year.

Hurricane Harvey, which caused massive flooding in Texas, cost $125 billion, second only to 2005’s Katrina, while Maria’s damage in Puerto Rico cost $90 billion, ranking third, NOAA said. Irma was $50 billion, mainly in Florida, for the fifth most expensive hurricane.

Western wildfires fanned by heat racked up $18 billion in damage, triple the U.S. wildfire record, according to NOAA.

Besides Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina all had more than $1 billion in damage from the 16 weather disasters in 2017.

“While we have to be careful about knee-jerk cause-effect discussions, (many scientific studies) show that some of today’s extremes have climate change fingerprints on them,” said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd, a past president of the American Meteorological Society.

NOAA announced its figures at the society’s annual conference in Austin, Texas.

The U.S. averages six of the billion-dollar weather disasters each year, costing a bit more than $40 billion annually.

The increase in billion-dollar weather disasters is likely a combination of more flooding, heat and storm surge from climate change along with other non-climate changes, such as where buildings are put, where people move and how valuable their property is, said Deke Arndt, NOAA’s climate monitoring chief.

“Perhaps it is time to mandate urban development in a more resilient and sustainable manner given the increasing frequency of weather extremes, especially along the nation’s coasts,” Susan Cutter, director of the University of South Carolina’s Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, said in an email.

The weather agency also said that 2017 was the third hottest year in U.S. records for the Lower 48 states with an annual temperature of 54.6 degrees (12.6 degrees Celsius) — 2.6 degrees warmer than the 20th century average . Only 2012 and 2016 were warmer. The five warmest years for the Lower 48 states have all happened since 2006.

Arndt said the U.S. — which has had above normal annual temperatures for 21 straight years — is showing the same warming effects as the rest of the world. The burning of coal, oil and gas emits heat-trapping gases that change Earth’s climate.

This was the third straight year that all 50 states had above average temperatures for the year.

Five states — Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and New Mexico — had their warmest year ever.

Temperature records go back to 1895.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lawmakers who oppose Nebraska’s motorcycle helmet law are once again trying to repeal the requirement after narrowly failing to do so last year.

Senators kicked off their annual debate Monday on legislation that would allow motorcyclists to ride through the state without a helmet if they’re at least 21 years old.

This year’s bill by Sen. John Lowe of Kearney would require riders to use eye protection, but would eliminate the helmet mandate for most riders. Passengers who are younger than 6 years old would not be allowed to ride.

Opponents of the repeal bill blocked it last year with a filibuster. The bill’s supporters fell one vote short of the support they needed to force an end to debate and bring the issue to a vote.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating what they say was a fatal crash that ended a police chase.

The chase started in Mitchell and ceased with the crash around 9:50 p.m. Sunday on the west side of Scottsbluff. Several law enforcement agencies responded, including the Nebraska State Patrol. Mitchell sits about 9 miles northwest of Scottsbluff.

Authorities have not released the name of anyone killed or those of other people involved. Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman says details likely won’t be available until later Monday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A group that supports families of those wounded or killed in combat is planning a 24-bed residential home in eastern Nebraska for wounded veterans who have no one to provide day-to-day care.

10 acres have been donated on the north side of Omaha for the home, provided that Wounded Warriors Family Support is able to raise enough money for the project.

Former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub serves on the group’s board, and he says he’s confident the group can amass an estimated $6 million to $10 million to build the home and fund an endowment.

The home would be designed for men and women who need help with daily activities — cooking, bathing and dressing, for example. It would not provide skilled nursing care.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Experts at the Nebraska Regional Poison Center are reminding people about the dangers of carbon monoxide.

The odorless and colorless gas is produced when fuels don’t burn completely in furnaces. Carbon monoxide exposure can be fatal.

There are more than 400 deaths and 15,000 emergency room visits every year in the United States because of carbon monoxide. Problems are more common during the winter months.

The symptoms include sleepiness, headaches, dizziness and blurred vision.

The Poison Center recommends that everyone keep carbon monoxide detectors on every level of their homes. And make sure to inspect furnaces and other fuel-burning equipment annually.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska business entities are being encouraged to file their annual and biennial reports online as the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office plans to relocate its business services division this month.

Secretary of State John Gale says business entities can either file online or download the paperwork and mail it in.

The business services division, as well as licensing and notary divisions, will move out of the State Capitol and into a building on N Street the week of Jan. 22 while upgrades to the heating and air conditioning system are made at the Capitol building.

Gale says the phone numbers, the mailing address and email address to the business office will stay the same.

Reports for corporations, due by March 1, can be made online at www.sos.ne.gov.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Transportation is asking people to share their wit, wisdom and wordplay in creating reminders for safe driving.

A new message is posted every Friday for 24 hours on overhead highway message signs. One example from Thanksgiving time last year: “Be a good potato, keep your eyes on the road.” Another message: “Smartphones do not make smart drivers.”

Submissions are being accepted through Jan. 31. People are encouraged to consider topics about safe driving, including tie-ins with holidays and upcoming events through May 2018. Submissions need to be three lines of text, with a maximum 18 characters per line (spaces count). Submissions should be sent to department website.