LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska revenue forecasting board has projected that the state will face a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall over the next two years.

The Nebraska Economic Forecasting and Advisory Board announced Friday it has reduced previous estimates, now forecasting that state tax revenues will fall $911 million below projected expenditures through the end of the 2018 fiscal year.

The reduction is based on decreased tax receipts for this year and a bleak farm economy outlook.

State leaders have been preparing for a tight budget in the 2017 session. Last month, Gov. Pete Ricketts declared a hiring freeze and a moratorium on some travel in the wake of a revenue shortfall.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected a post-conviction relief motion by a man sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison for raping a teenage newspaper carrier in western Nebraska.

Jeffrey Hessler, of Gering, was convicted in 2004 after pleading no contest to the child sexual assault charge.

He appealed to the state’s Supreme Court this year when a lower court rejected the motion, saying the lower court should have found that his trial lawyer was ineffective and that he was too mentally ill to plead no contest. The high court said Friday that his arguments were without merit.

Hessler is also on death row for kidnapping, raping and killing another newspaper carrier — 15-year-old Heather Guerrero — in 2003.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska tourism officials say they’ve seen an uptick in the number of participants in a program that challenges travelers to explore the state and receive stamps in a passport-like book along the way.

The Nebraska Tourism Commission selected 80 stops throughout the state for its 2016 program, challenging travelers to explore Nebraska and collect stamps proving they’ve been to each site.

The tourism commission says more than 26,000 travelers participated in the program and 1,292 passports were submitted for prizes, more than double the amount submitted in 2015.

Passport sites change each tourism season. This season stops included Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Harrison, Scotts Bluff National Monument and the Mignery Sculpture Garden in Bartlett.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — An autopsy has been scheduled for a body found in a canal in Kearney.

The autopsy is scheduled Friday. Authorities have not released additional information.

The Kearney Police Department says it received a report Thursday morning about a dead body along Kearney Canal. Kayakers discovered the remains.

A dive team later removed the body. Authorities say no cause of death or identification has been made.

A rural Lincoln County father and son are facing charges after a domestic violence investigation led to the discovery of explosives in their home.

On Friday, investigators with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office spoke to a female victim who alleged that her live-in boyfriend, 43-year-old Michael Jara, had assaulted her and her two-year-old daughter.

Additionally, the victim stated that Jara had threatened to shoot her and her children and blow up their house.

Deputies made contact with Jara at his residence and placed him and his 20-year-old son, Michael Jara, Jr., in custody.

A search of their residence led to the discovery of at least four large pipe bombs, a shotgun, and suspected methamphetamine.

According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, a Nebraska State Patrol Bomb Specialist was called to the scene and was able to remove all but one device that was determined to be too unstable.  That device was destroyed at the residence.

In the end, the Jaras were both placed under arrest and transported to the Lincoln County Jail.  The elder Jara was charged with felony 1st-degree domestic assault, felony possession of an explosive device and child abuse.

Michael Jara, Jr., was charged with felony possession of an explosive device.

Kramer says additional charges my be filed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s corrections department has hired a new medical director as the agency tries to address a shortage of health care providers.

Director Scott Frakes announced in a statement Thursday the hiring of Dr. Harbans S. Deol. Deol previously worked in the Iowa Department of Corrections as health services administrator. He earned a Ph.D. from New York University and a D.O. from Des Moines University, followed by a resident at the Norwalk Hospital, an affiliate of Yale University.

Deol was in private practice for more than 15 years before joining Iowa’s corrections department. He also worked as a research scientist for a pharmaceutical company.

Deol begins his new position on Jan. 2, with an annual salary of $270,000. He replaces Dr. Randy Kohl, who recently retired.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska and Iowa have placed in the top third of the country for science proficiency on the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress science test.

The science test results for fourth, eighth and 12th-grade students were released Thursday. The U.S. Departme12th-gradeation administers the test, which measures knowledge in physical science, life science and earth and space sciences. It also gauges knowledge of science practices.

According to the results, proficiency rates in Nebraska and Iowa public schools exceeded the national average of 37 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced.

Peggy Carr, acting commissioner for the National Center for Educational Statistics, says students across the board are improving, but minority students and girls are making gains to narrow achievement gaps.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials are working to build the state’s beef brand in Europe.

Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach announced Thursday that several European companies have agreed to purchase and promote the state’s beef. Ibach recently led a delegation of state officials and agricultural producers that led to six signed letters of intent with European companies.

Gov. Pete Ricketts says expanding the state’s exports is especially important given the recent downturn in commodity prices.

When the Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Beef Council started promoting beef in 2005, the state accounted for less than 4 percent of all United States beef exports. In the first six months of this year, Nebraska accounts for more than 18 percent.