COZAD, Neb. (AP) — A former Cozad church employee has pleaded not guilty to felony theft in Dawson County District Court.

34-year-old Candice Hasbrouck, of Cozad, entered the plea Monday. She is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from St. John’s Lutheran Church, where she had served as treasurer since 2009.

In November, she was charged with theft of more than $5,000. The charge came after an accounting firm audited the church’s financial records between late 2013 and 2016 and discovered the church was missing more than $46,000.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

Hasbrouck’s trial has been set for April 11.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at helping teen moms graduate from high school.

A legislative committee heard testimony Monday on two bills sponsored by Sen. Anthony Vargas, of Omaha.

One bill would expand employee breastfeeding protections to students and require schools to provide sanitary, private spaces for students to express and store milk throughout the day.

The other would require school districts to adopt written policies accommodating pregnant and parenting students. In addition to allowing breastfeeding, schools would have to allow greater leniency for absences due to pregnancy and alternative ways to complete coursework. They also would have to help student parents find child care, either through an in-school facility or by partnering with local child care providers.

BRULE, Neb. (AP) — A man charged with trying to hit a Nebraska state trooper has accepted a plea deal.

25-year-old Aaron Suppes pleaded no contest Monday in Lincoln County District Court to attempted assault on an officer with a motor vehicle and first-offense driving under the influence.

A charge of possession of a stolen vehicle was dropped.

Suppes was arrested on March 10 and accused of trying to ram his car into trooper J.J. Connelly, who had pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 80.

The car struck the car Connelly had pulled over but missed the trooper.

Suppes will be sentenced March 13.

CHICAGO (AP) — Even in your 70s and beyond, simple activities including web-surfing, playing bridge and socializing may help stave off mental decline.

That’s the conclusion of a study released Monday.

It didn’t look at costly, computer-based games that purport to keep the brain sharp. Instead, it found a benefit from activities many seniors have access to: computer use; making crafts; playing games including chess or bridge; and going to movies or other types of socializing.

Those activities appeared to help prevent mild cognitive impairment. That condition involves problems with memory, thinking and attention that don’t interfere much with daily life but which increase risks for developing Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

Results appear in the journal JAMA Neurology.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is defending President Donald Trump’s order to temporarily suspend immigration for citizens from seven majority Muslim countries.

Ricketts acknowledged Monday that the decision was disruptive for travelers from those countries but argued that it could help the United States avoid the problem of terrorists entering the country by claiming to be refugees.

Ricketts says the federal government should move quickly to put a new vetting process in place so immigration can resume.

He also is urging Nebraska residents who are concerned to get involved with the state’s three resettlement agencies: Catholic Social Services, Lutheran Family Services and the Refugee Empowerment Center.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is rallying Nebraska’s business community behind his plan to cut the state’s top income tax rate.

Small business owners on Monday touted the measure, which would lower the top rate from 6.84 percent to 5.99 percent over eight years.

Ricketts says lowering the rate would encourage businesses to hire more people and invest more in their operations.

Critics of the plan point to tax cuts in Kansas, which failed to create any major economic growth and triggered a state budget crisis. Ricketts says his proposal is different because it’s incremental and relies on cutting expenses first.

Nebraska’s top bracket kicks in at $29,831 for single taxpayers and $59,661 for married couples. People whose taxable income is less after claiming deductions would see no savings.

TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are awaiting autopsy results from the body of an inmate who died at the state prison in Tecumseh.

The Nebraska Correctional Services Department says 78-year-old Floyd Derry was serving 48 years to life for second-degree murder and a weapons conviction in Deuel County.

Derry began his sentence in November 1994. The department says he died Jan. 21.

The department says Derry had been under medical care.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Before parts of Nebraska experience a total solar eclipse in August, people will have a chance to learn about it at a planetarium in Kearney.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney is planning to offer five different programs related to the solar eclipse between February and May.

The programs will help prepare people to experience the eclipse. Kearney is expected to be in total darkness for nearly 2 minutes starting at 12:57 p.m. on Aug. 21.

Planetarium director Mariana Lazarova says solar eclipses are unusual celestial events because most people stop and observe them.

All the programs will be held at 7 p.m. They will be offered on Friday, March 3, March 17, March 31 and April 28.