PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (AP) — A preliminary report on a helicopter crash that killed the pilot and four people sightseeing near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has found indications the tail rotor may not have had power when it hit trees on the top of a ridge.

The report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Monday lists some of the initial findings of the investigation without speculating on the cause of last week’s crash.

The report found the Bell 206 had plenty of fuel and the weather was clear. The helicopter was current on inspections and had already gone on several flights that morning.

Another helicopter pilot in the area reported hearing no distress call, but an on-the-ground witness told investigators the helicopter “didn’t sound right” before the crash.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Advocates of a medical marijuana bill that was rejected by Nebraska lawmakers have united behind an effort to place the issue on the November general election ballot, but group leaders say they might not be able to rally enough support before the July 1 deadline.

Bryan Boganowski of the Omaha chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws says a successful ballot measure this late in the process would cost about $800,000.

Shelley Gillen, president of of Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis, says unless a private donor comes forward, the group will wait until the following year to submit a petition.

Medical marijuana has been opposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts, Attorney General Doug Peterson, the Department of Health and Human Services and law enforcement groups.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two-day symposiums on disaster preparedness and biocontainment unit training have been scheduled at four locations around Nebraska.

The symposium topics will include climate change and infectious diseases; nightclub fire response; drones; social media in disasters; long-term care evacuation; and public health and Ebola.

Registration is required. The symposiums cost $45. Biocontainment unit training is free. Register at http://www.preped.org/events/ or call 402-552-2529 or email [email protected].

The first event is set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Gering at the Gering Civic Center. The second is scheduled May 3-4 at the Holiday inn Convention Center in Kearney. The third is set for May 24-25 at the Divots Conference Center in Norfolk, and the last is scheduled for June 14-15 at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha.

THEDFORD, Neb. (AP) — A mild earthquake has jostled northern Nebraska.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake registered 3.2 in magnitude and occurred at 12:07 a.m. Monday. It occurred about three miles deep at a spot around 23 miles north-northeast of Thedford.

Sheriff department dispatchers in Cherry and Thomas counties say they haven’t gotten any calls about injuries or damage.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has one of the nation’s lowest participation rates in a new federal program intended to provide school meals to children.

A report by the Washington-based Food Research and Action Center found Nebraska is ranked second-lowest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the number of eligible schools that are using the program.

The Community Eligibility Provision program reimburses high-poverty schools that agree to provide free lunches and breakfasts to all students.

The report says nine of Nebraska’s 112 eligible schools chose to participate last year. New Hampshire was the only state with a lower participation rate.

James Goddard of the group Nebraska Appleseed says advocates are working to promote the program.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s attorney general is appealing a federal judge’s decision to block the state from putting a 13-year-old boy who moved to Nebraska from Minnesota on Nebraska’s public list of sex offenders.

Suzanne Gage, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, says the case has important ramifications on how Nebraska’s sex offender registry law should be interpreted.

In Nebraska, lawmakers opted to exclude juveniles from the Nebraska Sex Offender Registration Act unless they were prosecuted criminally in adult court.

In his ruling last month, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf said if the boy had done in Nebraska what he did in Minnesota, he would not have been required to register as a sex offender.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Bellevue University has received approval to launch Nebraska’s first new teacher education program in 15 years.

Members of the Nebraska State Board of Education voted unanimously Friday to grant the university provisional approval for the new program.

It will be the 17th teacherprep program in the state. The last one to win final approval was the one at Grace University in 2001.

Bellevue University officials plan to offer a four-year program to certify secondary school teachers.

Provisional approval allows the university to ramp up the program over the next three years with state oversight.

Rod Hewlett, the university’s chief academic officer, said program’s first teachers will be certified 2 1/2 to 3 years from now.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska attorney accused of lying to clients about filing court documents and providing them with false court filings has been disbarred.

The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered the disbarment of Joseph Kishiyama on Friday after he voluntarily surrendered his law license last month.

Kishiyama, who was admitted to the Nebraska bar in 2008, surrendered his license after the Scottsbluff law firm at which he had worked sent a grievance letter in October outlining the complaints against Kishiyama to the Nebraska Counsel for Discipline. The letter said Kishiyama had violated several of the Nebraska rules of professional conduct.

On Friday, the state’s high court found that Kishiyama freely, knowingly and voluntarily declined to contest the allegations against him.