LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Alien: Covenant” is just barely edging out “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” in the weekend box-office space battle.

Studio estimates Sunday show Ridley Scott’s latest “Alien” exploit opened with $36 million in ticket sales. “Guardians” collected just over $35 million in its third week of release.

The teen romance “Everything, Everything” debuted in third place with $12 million.

Another new release, the PG-rated “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul,” claimed fifth place with $7.2 million. Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn’s R-rated comedy “Snatched” finished fourth in its second week in theaters with $7.6 million.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Groups that treat people with addictions, mental health problems and developmental disabilities are bracing for state budget cuts they say could force them to reduce staffing and services for some of Nebraska’s most vulnerable residents.

The cuts became final last week when lawmakers fell short of the votes needed to override Gov. Pete Ricketts’ line-item budget vetoes.

Now, service providers are scrounging for places to cut in the face of rising costs and unpaid Medicaid claims from the state’s new managed care system, Heritage Health.

Annette Dubas of the Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, says the cuts will create major challenges for providers that are already struggling with increased costs.

The Department of Health and Human Services says it will work with providers to try to minimize the impact.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Anyone interested in researching their family history can learn more techniques at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln event next month.

Librarians at UNL will hold their third annual geneology and family history day on June 10 at the College of Business Administration’s building.

The presentations will highlight resources available in the university’s libraries and other areas.

The event is free but seating is limited so registration is required. More information is available at http://go.unl.edu/tiky.

• Al Michael Furchert, 50, Enders NE and Jessica Denice Lemon, 36, North Platte NE

 

• Adam Phillip Lucas, 27, Arnold NE and Teresa Francis Marsh, 27, Arnold NE

 

• Stephen Douglas Reigies, 26, North Platte NE and Chelsea Rae Bain, 26, North Platte NE

 

• Timothy Ray Hansen Jr., 27, North Platte NE and Clarissa Marie Anderson, 26, North Platte NE

 

• John Lloyd Simants, 44, North Platte NE and Jamie Lee Still, 36, North Platte NE

 

• Jerry James Deaver, 29, North Platte NE and Laura Lynn Beranek, 26, North Platte NE

 

• William Paul Knox, 44, North Platte NE and Kellie Deanne Petty, 36, North Platte NE

 

• German Molina Garcia, 63, North Platte NE and Olga Imelda Hinojos Quintana, 47, North Platte NE

A 51-year-old transient woman is behind bars after authorities say she stole a pilot vehicle from a Lincoln County job site.

On May 18, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a pilot car parked at a construction project just west of Maxwell on U.S. Highway 30, was stolen.

Employees reportedly followed the vehicle as it drove eastbound on Highway 30 until a Gothenburg police officer was able to conduct a traffic as it entered the city limits.

Gothenburg officers made contact with the driver, identified as Cynthia Smith-Jiminez.

Smith-Jiminez was placed under arrest and transported by Lincoln County deputies to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

She was jailed on charged of felony motor vehicle theft.

Smith-Jiminez told deputies she took the vehicle because she was “cold and wet.” The car was returned to the employees of the construction company.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Labor Department says the state’s preliminary unemployment rate has dropped a tenth of a point, hitting 3 percent in April compared with 3.1 percent in March.

The February rate was 3.2 percent.

The department said in a report released Friday that the April rate was two-tenths of a point under the year-ago rate of 3.2 percent. The new rate also remained well below the U.S. rate of 4.4 percent in April.

The report says Nebraska nonfarm employment remained above 1 million last month. The private industry segments with the most growth over April were mining and construction, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services.

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — A 41-year-old Aurora man has been accused of child porn manufacture in Custer County.

Court records say Ross Carstensen is charged with five counts of visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct. Carstensen’s attorney, Clarence Mock III, said Thursday that Carstensen will plead not guilty because he was engaged in “legal, consensual adult activity.”

Earlier this month a Hamilton County sexual assault charge against Carstensen was dismissed. The records say that information from that case led investigators to the girl involved in the porn case.

She told investigators she’d exchanged messages with a man she knew as Brandon Thompson on Facebook but who investigators say was Carstensen. The records say he persuaded her to send him sexually explicit photos between March 1, 2015, and April 30, 2015, when she was 17.

VALENTINE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a South Dakota woman has been killed in a northern Nebraska collision.

The accident occurred early Monday morning on U.S. Highway 83, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of Valentine. Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott says 68-year-old Philomene Redbull, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was killed when her pickup truck collided head-on with another vehicle driven by a Texas man.

The other driver was identified as 35-year-old Jesus Rodriquez, of Houston. He was taken to Cherry County Hospital. A hospital spokesman said Thursday that there was no patient by that name at the hospital.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have created a new oversight committee to monitor the state’s prison system.

The seven-member panel formed on Thursday will continue to examine problems in the corrections department but will also look at other services, such as parole and probation. Lawmakers voted 28-11 in favor of the measure.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha says he introduced the proposal because of ongoing problems in the corrections department, including recent inmate deaths.

Opponents say they the department already has sufficient oversight and criticized a previous committee’s decision to hire former state Sen. Steve Lathrop as its attorney. Lathrop, who developed an expertise in prisons, was known for his intense questioning of prison administrators.

Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete, the chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, is expected to lead the committee.

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald’s says it removed artificial flavor from its vanilla soft-serve dessert.

The chain says it started switching to natural vanilla flavor last fall, and the rollout is nearly complete at its more than 14,000 U.S. locations. McDonald’s announced the change Wednesday. The soft-serve already had no artificial colors or preservatives.

McDonald’s says a regular size soft-serve cone is still 200 calories. The company has made tweaks before that have increased the calorie count, but did not detail them. The cone was listed at 170 calories as recently as 2015.

The chain also noted that it switched from high-fructose corn syrup to sugar for its chocolate and strawberry syrups.

Food companies have made many changes to their ingredients in recent years to address customer demand for more natural products.