BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — A federal safety agency wants to penalize a Nebraska Panhandle grain facility for what the agency says are several violations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing nearly $62,000 in penalties for the New Alliance facility in Bridgeport. The agency says that during February and March inspections, officials found violations that included the lack of guardrails to prevent falls of up to 15 feet. The agency also says workers at the facility were exposed to grain dust explosions because the facility didn’t prevent grain dust accumulation.

New Alliance is a division of Western Cooperative Co., commonly known as Westco. Westco general manager David Briggs would say only that Westco is cooperating with OSHA.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State auditors have raised concerns about spending and other management practices at the Nebraska agency that inspects cattle and investigates missing and stolen livestock.

The audit released Tuesday faulted managers at the Nebraska Brand Committee. Among the findings, auditors say the committee’s executive director used a state vehicle for a personal trip to Wyoming and approved sale of livestock without proof of ownership in at least once instance.

Executive director Shawn Harvey denied using his state vehicle for the Wyoming trip and blamed miscommunication for the sale of livestock without proof of ownership.

The Branding Committee vice chairman, John Widdowson, says committee members are reviewing the audit and will discuss it at their Aug. 8 meeting in North Platte.

TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an inmate has assaulted a staff member at the state prison near Tecumseh.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services says the attack occurred Tuesday. The officer was treated at a local medical facility and released.

The department didn’t release the names of the officer and inmate or any details about the attack. The department says it will investigate and submit its findings to local prosecutors.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Services have been scheduled for Nebraska football player Sam Foltz, who died Saturday in a Wisconsin car accident.

The 22-year-old Foltz and former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler died in the crash near Merton, Wisconsin, after working at a kicking clinic.

Foltz was raised on a farm near Greeley and, starting in fourth grade, attended Grand Island public schools through his high school graduation. The punter would have been a senior this year for the Huskers.

All Faiths Funeral Home says a visitation is scheduled to run from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Grand Island, followed by a wake service. A funeral Mass is set to begin at the church at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. There will be a family burial service in Greeley Cemetery.

A North Platte man is facing charges after he allegedly threatened to kill a woman while children were present.

At around 5:43 p.m., on July 26, officers responded to the report of a domestic assault at a residence in the 2200 block of West 2nd Street.

Officers met with a 25-year-old female and 25-year-old Cory Tabbee, there were also two children under the age of five present.

It was reported that the victim had told Tabbee that she was going to leave and take the children with her.

According to Investigator John Deal, Tabbe became upset and grabbed a kitchen knife, raised it up over his head and threatened to kill the woman if she left with the children.  Deal says the children were present while this took place.

The alleged victim was able to get out of the residence and call police.

Following further investigation, officers determined that there was probable cause to place Tabbee under arrest and charge him with felony terroristic threats, use of a weapon to commit a felony and child abuse.

Deal says the children were not injured in the ordeal and remained in the custody of their mother.  Tabbee was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

CHICAGO (AP) — New research says that contrary to what doctors once warned, newborns with certain severe genetic defects aren’t always doomed to die.

Some doctors still tell parents the conditions are “incompatible with life” and don’t recommend any treatment. But a study published Tuesday from Canada found that up to 13 percent of affected infants survived at least 10 years.

Online images of smiling kids with the conditions has led some parents to doubt the dire warnings and seek aggressive and costly surgeries to correct organ abnormalities. Ethicists say the power of social media is changing the landscape for how the medical community views these children.

The conditions are called trisomy 13 and trisomy 18. They typically cause mental impairment, facial and organ abnormalities, breathing problems and heart defects.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has soared to $422 million thanks to nearly three months without a winner of the big prize.

If anyone matches the five balls and red Powerball in Wednesday night’s drawing, it will be the game’s first jackpot winner since May 7.

A jackpot winner could opt for a $422 million annuity paid out over 29 years or a $291 million lump sum. The prize would rank as the nation’s 11th largest.

The chance of winning Powerball is incredibly small, at 292.2 million-to-1. But players have much better odds, of about 1 in 25, of winning smaller prizes ranging from $4 to $1 million.

The big Powerball prize comes less than three weeks after a player in Indiana won a $536 million Mega Millions jackpot.

An Indiana couple is lodged in the Lincoln County Detention Center following a traffic stop in North Platte last night.

At around 7:22 p.m., on July 25, an officer on patrol observed a 2002 Ford Escape run the red light at Leota and Dewey Streets.

The officer conducted a traffic stop in the Kwik Stop parking lot, 1421 South Dewey Street, and made contact with the driver, 27-year-old Melissa Sancillo.

The officer requested identification from a male passenger in the vehicle, who handed him a Social Security card.

As the officer attempted to confirm the identities of the vehicle’s occupants, the passenger took off running.  After a short foot pursuit, the officer deployed his taser and was able to apprehend the man, later identified as 42-year-old Troy O’Brian, a name that was different than that which appeared on the Social Security card.

Investigator John Deal says officers believed that Sancillo was under the influence of alcohol, and administered a series of field-sobriety tests, which Deal said confirmed their suspicions.

Further investigation revealed that the Escape had been stolen in Indiana.

Both Sancillo and O’Brian were transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.  Sancillo was charged with driving under the influence of liquor and possession of a stolen vehicle.  O’Brian was charged with obstructing the police, possession of stolen property and criminal impersonation.

A search of Indiana arrest records showed that O’Brian was arrested in Gary, Indiana on July 13 and charged with false informing and resisting law enforcement with bodily injury.

Deal says the duo gave a few stories about where the were going and where they were from.

The vehicle was impounded.