LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — Trial for a man charged with murder has been scheduled for June in Lexington.

Court records say a plea of not guilty was entered Monday for 40-year-old Jose Regalado-Mendez. The records say the remains of 37-year-old Jose Hernandez were found Dec. 12 near a farmhouse north of Lexington. Investigators say in a court document that Regalado-Mendez shot Hernandez in early October.

A judge set a trial date of June 13 and approved a defense request to send Regalado-Mendez to Lincoln for a competency evaluation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is ready to celebrate its 150th anniversary as a state with a series of events in Lincoln.

The festivities on Wednesday include the dedication of a new Nebraska statehood stamp and actor portrayals of author Willa Cather, Ponca Chief Standing Bear and William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.

An official statehood day ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Nebraska Capitol with singer Hannah Huston, a Grand Island native and former finalist on the television show “The Voice.” Gov. Pete Ricketts will speak along with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican, Secretary of State John Gale and Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer.

The Nebraska History Museum is set to open an exhibit at 6 p.m. that will feature paintings of scenes from each of the state’s 93 coutnies.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have given initial approval to a bill that would let drivers display opposition to abortion on their license plates.

Senators voted 37-7 on Tuesday to advance a bill that would require the state Department of Motor Vehicles to design “Choose Life” license plates. It still needs two more votes.

The plates would cost $5 more than standard license plates, and revenue would supplement federal funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse, says the plates would signal support for all children.

Senators who oppose the measure say political language should not be on state-issued license plates. They offered amendments to change the message to phrases including “Stop Child Abuse” and “Rape Is No Laughing Matter.”

YORK, Neb. (AP) — A Kearney man has died after crashing while being chased by a Nebraska state trooper on Interstate 80 in York County.

Authorities say the incident began about 5:20 p.m. Monday at a rest stop when the trooper spotted a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle that had been weaving in and out of interstate traffic. York County Attorney Candace Dick says in a news release that the vehicle drove off and soon crashed into a median guardrail just east of York.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Dick identified him as 40-year-old Anthony Emmons.

An autopsy has been ordered. A grand jury will investigate Emmons’ death, because state law requires such whenever someone dies in custody or in the process of being taken into custody.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lobbyists for auto manufacturers and dealers say Nebraska should be careful not to over-regulate self-driving vehicles as technology continues to develop.

They testified Tuesday on a bill brought by Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill that would create provisions allowing for autonomous vehicles. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have similar laws, but most states don’t govern self-driving cars.

Several companies are testing autonomous vehicles, and auto manufacturers estimate they could be seen widely across the U.S. by 2020.

Uber opposes the bill because of concerns it would restrict future autonomous vehicles. The ride-hailing app has begun testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh and Tempe, Arizona.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state senator says Nebraska should keep children safe by requiring seat belts on school buses and mandating car seats for children younger than 8 years old.

Sen. Robert Hilkemann of Omaha told a legislative committee on Monday that Nebraska must update its laws to fit new car safety technology. A third bill he introduced would allow police officers to write tickets for drivers with unrestrained children even if they are not violating any other traffic laws.

Child passenger safety instructors support the bills. They say motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death for children and seat belts and car seats reduce that risk.

The Nebraska Association of School Boards opposes the school bus seat belt measure because it does not include additional funding.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A struggling farm economy could mean more budget challenges for Nebraska lawmakers this year, based on new state estimates.

Members of the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board offered a gloomy outlook for agriculture over the next few years as they set new revenue projections on Monday.

The board’s projections will leave lawmakers with a projected $288 million revenue shortfall in the upcoming two-year budget.

Lawmakers have developed a plan to reduce their original $900 million shortfall to roughly $134 million. Because of the board’s new estimates, however, that projected shortfall will now grow to $288 million.

Board members say Omaha and Lincoln’s economies are faring well, but low commodity prices continue to hurt agriculture, the state’s largest industry. Board member David Ochsner says he’s concerned the trend may continue.

CHICAGO (AP) — An influential doctors group is beefing up warnings about marijuana’s potential harms for teens amid increasingly lax laws and attitudes on pot use.

Many parents use the drug and think it’s OK for their kids, but “we would rather not mess around with the developing brain,” said Dr. Seth Ammerman.

The advice comes in a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, published Monday in Pediatrics. The group opposes medical and recreational marijuana use for kids. It says emphasizing that message is important because most states have legalized medical use for adults, and many have decriminalized or legalized adults’ recreational use.

Those trends have led parents to increasingly ask doctors about kids’ use, said Ammerman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor who co-wrote the report.

“Parents will say, ‘I use it moderately and I’m fine with it, so it’s really benign and not a problem if my kid uses it,'” he said.

Doctors need to know how to respond to that thinking, and parents and teens need to know the risks, Ammerman said.

POTENTIAL HARMS

The brain continues to develop until the early 20s, raising concerns about the potential short- and long-term effects of a mind-altering drug. Some studies suggest that teens who use marijuana at least 10 times a month develop changes in brain regions affecting memory and the ability to plan. Some changes may be permanent, the report says.

Frequent use starting in the early teen years may lower IQ scores, and some studies have shown that starting marijuana use at a young age is more likely to lead to addiction than starting in adulthood. Not all teen users develop these problems and some may be more vulnerable because of genetics or other factors.

MEDICAL VERSUS RECREATIONAL USE

Solid research on medical marijuana’s effects in children and teens is lacking, although some studies have suggested it may benefit kids with hard-to-treat seizures. The report says other potential benefits, doses and effects are mostly unknown.

Recreational use is illegal for those under age 21 even in states that allow adult use. Parents should avoid using marijuana in front of their kids and should keep all marijuana products stored out of kids’ sight, the academy says. Some young children who accidentally swallowed their parents’ pot-containing cookies or drinks have landed in the emergency room for mostly minor symptoms although some developed breathing problems.

WHO’S USING

Government data show that almost 40 percent of U.S. high school students have tried marijuana, about 20 percent are current users and close to 10 percent first tried it before age 13. Use has increased in recent years among those aged 18 and older but not among young teens. Still, kids aged 12-17 increasingly think that marijuana use is not harmful.

Dr. Sheryl Ryan, a Yale University pediatrics professor and lead author of the academy report, said marijuana “is the drug of choice” for many of her teen patients in New Haven, Connecticut. Some think daily use is safe, noting that their parents or grandparents smoked pot in college and turned out OK. But today’s marijuana is much more potent and potentially more risky, Ryan said.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal authorities have accused a 44-year-old Scottsbluff woman of committing bank fraud while she was the manager of a credit union.

The indictment filed last week lists six counts against Christine Darley, alleging fraud between August 2010 and June 12, 2012. She was the manager of Panhandle Federal Credit Union at the time.

Darley’s husband, Phil Darley, told The Associated Press on Monday the allegations are not true and that his wife would fight the charges.

Court records contend she took credit union money and deposited it into her accounts there and at a local bank. Prosecutors say her actions resulted in a loss to the credit union of more than $200,000.

Her initial court appearance is scheduled for March 10 at U.S. District Court in Lincoln.