LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s prison director has told inmates that pornographic material won’t be allowed beginning in January.

The ban will include publications or items that advocate or are likely to incite violent or illegal activity and any material that threatens “the safety, security or good order” of a prison.

Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes’ May 11 letter to the inmates says possession of such materials after Jan. 8 could lead to inmate misconduct reports.

Frakes said in a statement Monday that reform “requires us to look at the system, how it operates, and determine where positive changes could be implemented to create a safer, more re-entry-focused environment.”

The eight months’ notice gives inmates time to decide on renewals or ordering new publications.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln middle school has pulled its yearbooks to remove a memorial honoring a deceased student, citing district policy violations.

Irving Middle School Principal Jason Shanahan notified district officials about the yearbook Friday after talking with other middle school principals who had been dealing with student deaths. Shanahan says he previously approved the yearbook with the two-page memorial for 13-year-old Taylor Miller but later learned a yearbook memorial goes against district guidelines.

The decision is the latest in a recent string of student memorial prohibitions in the area. The incidents have resulted in angered parents speaking out on social media.

Taylor died in November after being hit by a car. The memorial in the yearbook had included her name, her graduation year and a Winnie the Pooh quote.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An inmate already serving 36 to 61 years for an Omaha murder and other crimes has been given three more years in prison for punching a guard.

Online court records say 25-year-old Adrian Garcia was sentenced Monday in Lancaster County District Court. He’d pleaded no contest to assaulting an officer after prosecutors lowered the charge.

Prosecutors say Garcia punched the guard on March 9 last year at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, where he’s been serving time for killing the 2009 slaying and other convictions.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Private school administrators, parents and advocates say they’ll keep pushing Nebraska lawmakers to pass school choice legislation next year.

They gathered Tuesday at the Capitol to thank a legislative committee for endorsing a bill that would give tax credits to individuals and businesses that donate to private school scholarship funds. The committee’s action sets the bill up a one of the first issues lawmakers debate when they return in January.

Archdiocese of Omaha superintendent of schools Patrick Slattery says Omaha Catholic schools have seen 1,000 new students in recent years and don’t have enough financial aid. He says the tax credits will encourage donors and let all families have a choice.

Critics argue the tax credits are a back-door way of subsidizing private schools while taking money from public schools.

A Colorado man is facing numerous charges in Lincoln County after he allegedly caused a disturbance at the Platte River Mall in North Platte.

According to Investigator John Deal, officers responded to the report of a disturbance at the mall at around 4:54 p.m., on May 21. It was reported that the male subject involved in the disturbance, later identified as Michael Cook, had fled the scene on foot.

An officer saw a man matching Cook’s description near Sunmart, 601 East Francis Street, and made contact with him.

Officers spoke with a security guard and other witnesses and learned that Cook had approached several juveniles and told them he was the owner of one of the stores and could get them discounts. Deal says it was reported that Cook grabbed one of the females by the arm.

Additionally, a female employee at Claire’s reported that Cook entered the store and told her he was a “secret shopper.” The employee said Cook grabbed a Justin Bieber backpack and about $100 worth of merchandise, then made contact with the female employee’s breasts and told her she was “good looking.”

When it was determined that there was probable cause to arrest Cook, Deal says he told officers he, “wasn’t going anywhere with them,” and pulled away. Officers eventually got him into a patrol car and transported him to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

He’s been charged with five misdemeanor counts, including, assault, sexual assault, resisting arrest, shoplifting and disturbing the peace.

CINCINNATI (AP) — The company that makes Nathan’s and Curtis hot dogs is recalling more than 200,000 pounds (90,700 kilograms) of the products after getting complaints of metal found in the packages.

John Morrell and Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, said it had gotten three complaints and notified the federal government Friday. There have been no confirmed reports of injuries or adverse reactions from the products.

The recall applies to 14-oz sealed film packs labeled “Nathan’s Skinless 8 Beef Franks” with a use-by date of Aug. 19, 2017, and to 16-oz sealed film packs labeled “Curtis Beef Master Beef Franks” with a use-by date of June 15, 2017.

The packages have “Est. 296” on the sides and were shipped to retail locations nationwide.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — An analyst says the average price of regular-grade gasoline fell half a cent nationally over the past two weeks to $2.40 a gallon.

However, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that gas prices actually rose in several Western and Midwestern cities.

A sharp decline in the rest of the country kept prices down overall.

Lundberg says the average price is 9 cents higher than it was a year ago.

The highest average gas price, $3.10 a gallon, was in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest, $2.02 a gallon, was in Jackson, Mississippi.

Lundberg says crude oil prices rose during the previous two weeks, but retailers have been slow to pass those increases on to consumers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sepsis is the body’s out-of-control reaction to an infection — and by the time patients realize they’re in trouble, their organs could be shutting down.

So minutes really matter in treating sepsis.

It’s a killer condition that most people probably have never heard of, and new research shows it’s time they learn.

New York is the first state to require hospitals follow aggressive steps when they suspect sepsis is brewing.

Researchers who studied patients there in the past two years report faster care really is better: Every additional hour it takes to give antibiotics and perform other key steps increases the odds of death by 4 percent.

That’s not just news for doctors or for other states considering similar rules. Patients also have to reach the hospital in time.

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — A Danish bioscience business plans to invest $36 million in its eastern Nebraska plant, saying the company is counting on the ethanol industry’s continued growth.

Half a dozen new hires could be added to the 125-strong workforce because of the expansion.

Kyle Nixon is general manager of the Blair plant. He says that within a few weeks, the plant will increase by half the fermentation capacity of enzymes that ethanol plants use to squeeze more starch from each kernel of corn.

Success in the ethanol industry has made Blair something of a bio-agriculture hub after Minneapolis-based Cargill built an ethanol plant in the city about two decades ago. Mayor Jim Realph says there are more jobs than people in his town.