NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald’s says it plans to offer table service across its U.S. stores to make the ordering process less stressful, but did not say when the overhaul will be complete.

The world’s biggest burger chain says about 500 of its more than 14,000 domestic stores have been testing table service and ordering kiosks for people who do not want to wait for the cashier. People in those stores order at the counter or kiosks, then sit and wait for an employee to bring them their food.

Early next year, McDonald’s says it will expand the offering in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

The push comes as McDonald’s tries to stage a comeback after losing customers in recent years, with executives conceding they failed to keep up with changing tastes.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state agency has paid $57 million in fines and penalties to federal agencies over the last five years, but department officials say they’re taken steps to reduce the likelihood of future mistakes.

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services administrators told lawmakers Wednesday they have created a new review process, provided more training for staff and are working more closely with the federal government. The department could owe another $45 million, although that figure could change.

Some of the penalties were imposed because the state didn’t properly document how it used federal money. In other cases, the department changed how it calculated payments for developmental disability services without getting federal approval.

A department spokeswoman says some of the issues arose from audits dating as far back as 2003.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska agency that inspects cattle and investigates stolen livestock has hired a new executive director.

William Bunce has been hired as the new agency director. He had been leading New Mexico’s livestock agency.

Bunce will take over from Shawn Harvey who resigned after a state audit raised concerns about Harvey’s management of the agency.

But Harvey took another position with the agency, so he will likely still be there when Bunce takes over.

HONOLULU (AP) — The federal government is estimating the number of homeless people nationwide.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will announce state-by-state figures Thursday.

Officials say homelessness has declined nationwide in recent years, especially among military veterans. They credit a program initiated by President Barack Obama which urges every community to have a plan in place to prevent and reduce homelessness.

But there are parts of the country such as Hawaii where homelessness has been increasing. The island state is struggling with an affordable housing shortage.

The federal government releases the numbers after volunteers across the country count the homeless people in their local areas. The volunteers count people they find living outside, on the street or in shelters.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska conservation group is offering $1,000 to double the reward being offered in an elk poaching case.

A total of $2,000 is now being offered to help determine who killed a bull elk last weekend in northwest Nebraska.

The elk that was abandoned in a wheat field southeast of Crawford was killed outside of the hunting season that ended Oct. 23.

Doyal Lund is president of the Panhandle Conservation Club of Scottsbluff. He says what bothers him the most is the waste of leaving the elk’s carcass to rot.

COZAD, Neb. (AP) — Investigators say an early morning crash left the driver of a semitrailer dead after the big rig apparently drifted off Interstate 80 over a guard rail and crashed into a ravine.

The crash happed around 6 a.m. Wednesday four miles west of Cozad on I-80. The Nebraska State Patrol says 39-year-old Walter Reed, of Kearney, was killed.

The patrol and Cozad firefighters responded to the crash and had to use equipment to remove Reed from the wreckage.

The patrol says Reed was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — The Custer County Sheriff’s Office says a man has died in a utility vehicle crash on private property in western Nebraska.

The crash happened late Tuesday afternoon in a pasture five miles southeast of Broken Bow. Investigators say 45-year-old Kevin McAbee died after losing control of the UTV and rolling the vehicle.

Officials say McAbee was thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The North Platte Chamber & Development Agri-Business Committee announces the recipients of two $1000 Scholarships at the 53^rd Annual Farmer Rancher Banquet held on Monday, November 14, 2016!!

Karnee Hatch, Brady Public Schools and Louise Wiseman, Sutherland Public Schools each received a $1000 scholarship awarded by the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation’s Agri-Business Committee.

Parents of Karnee Hatch are Matthew and Laurie Hatch of Maxwell. Parents of Louise Wiseman are Robert and Sara Wiseman of Hershey.

The Committee feels strongly that agriculture is a vital part of our “quality of life” and hopes that these scholarships will encourage our young people to consider making their living not only in agriculture, but here in Nebraska as well.