LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has joined 26 other Republican governors in a letter to President Barack Obama expressing concerns about federal screening of Syrian refugees who want to enter the United States.

The letter released Friday calls for a review of the process refugees undergo before they’re allowed into the country.

Ricketts and other governors have raised concerns following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130. The attacks stoked fears that terrorists might use refugees fleeing from Syria as cover to sneak across borders.

Ricketts has also urged state resettlement organizations not to accept Syrian refugees until federal security procedures are examined.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.9 percent in October and was the second lowest state rate in the nation.

The Nebraska Labor Department said in the report released Friday that the preliminary October rate is two-tenths of a point under the October 2014 rate of 3.1 percent.

The new Nebraska figure remained well below the preliminary national unemployment rate of 5 percent in October. U.S. Labor Department figures say Nebraska rate came in just above North Dakota’s 2.8 percent.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A legislative committee is recommending the elimination of a state program that was supposed to encourage Nebraska residents to save for their long-term care needs.

The Performance Audit Committee announced Friday that it will introduce a bill next year to scrap the Long-Term Care Savings Plan.

The committee audited the program to see whether it was fulfilling its goal of reducing the state’s Medicaid and long-term care costs, and concluded that it hasn’t had a noticeable effect. The program was created in 2006.

Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse, the committee chairman, says getting people to save for long-term care is a problem around the country, but current policy options haven’t been good at solving it.

State Treasurer Don Stenberg, whose office oversees the program, agreed that it should be eliminated.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state commission has chosen three nominees for a judicial vacancy in eastern Nebraska.

The nominees announced Friday by Gov. Pete Ricketts’ office are Darla Ideus and Janice Lipovsky of Lincoln, and Steven J. Schmidt of Crete.

Ideus is a private practice lawyer, Lipovsky is a deputy Lancaster County attorney and Schmidt is an associate University of Nebraska law professor.

Ricketts will select one of the nominees to serve as a judge in the third judicial district, which is based in Lincoln and consists of Lancaster County.

The new judge will replace Stephanie Stacy, who is now a justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State education officials say Nebraska’s public high school graduation rate dipped slightly this year, to about 89 percent.

The Nebraska Department of Education said Friday that the rate declined from the nearly 90 percent rate recorded in 2014. Rates have generally improved since 2011, when roughly 86 percent of high school students graduated.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt says small changes are expected from year to year. He says the department’s goal is to graduate at least 90 percent of its high school students within four years.

School officials say nearly 92 percent of the state’s high school seniors graduated in five years.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The United Methodist Church in Kansas and Nebraska says 35 congregations are willing to sponsor at least one Syrian refugee family.

Bishop Scott J. Jones, leader of the church in the two states, announced Friday that the number of participating congregations could increase in the future.

Jones says the vast majority of Muslims in the world are our allies, and the church wants to stand with them against the jihadists.

The church’s Great Plains Conference includes 1,032 congregations in the two states.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback issued an executive order Monday prohibiting state agencies and organizations receiving state money from relocating Syrian refugees in the state. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has urged resettlement agencies not to participate in any efforts to bring Syrian refugees to that state.

BROADWATER, Neb. (AP) — Officials say an anonymous tip led to the arrest of two men in the illegal killings of 25 antelope near Broadwater in Morrill County.

Authorities got the tip Wednesday night, which led to the arrest of 21-year-old Brent Hoerler and 24-year-old Taylor Mueller. According to Morrill County Attorney Travis Rodak, they have been charged with hunting out of season, hunting without a permit, wanton waste and spotlight hunting.

Authorities say the antelope were illegally shot and killed sometime last week. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials discovered the animals in a field after hearing reports about the killings from area residents.

Shooting antelope is a misdemeanor with a fine of $1,000 per animal.

Rodak said that attorneys have not been listed for the men.

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A single vehicle crash on Interstate 80 near Bushnell in Kimball County claimed the lives of two Scottsbluff residents.

The crash occurred just after 10:00 p.m. (MDT), Thursday, Nov. 19, near the Bushnell Exit (mm8) on I-80 in Kimball County. A 2012 Buick Enclave (SUV) was eastbound on I-80 when the vehicle left the roadway and went down into the median. After traveling in the median for several hundred feet, the vehicle became airborne, striking a concrete barrier on the eastside of the Bushnell overpass (County Road 13).

The driver of the SUV, Kelly Rose (F), 57, of Scottsbluff and a passenger in the vehicle Forrest Rose (M), 64, of Scottsbluff were killed in the crash. Seat belts were not in use.

The investigation into the crash continues. The Nebraska State Patrol was assisted by the Kimball County Sheriff’s Office.

The Nebraska State Patrol will join its law enforcement counterparts from across the nation in a Thanksgiving holiday special enforcement campaign designed to reduce the potential for serious injury and fatality crashes by enforcing seat belt usage.

Monday, Nov. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 29, troopers and communication specialists will put in extra hours as part of the “Click It or Ticket” enforcement campaign. An $18,000 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS) will help to pay for the additional enforcement.

“The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the most heavily traveled times of the year,” said Colonel Bradley Rice, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “If you or your family is planning to be among those on the road, put the odds of surviving a crash in your favor and buckle up.”

Statistics from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety show wearing your seat belt increases your odds of surviving a rollover crash by up to 70% and gives you an up to 45% chance of surviving any crash.

Col. Rice said, “We need your help to make this holiday a safe one.  Wear your seat belt and never drive impaired or distracted.”

For more information on specific enforcement activities during the “Click It or Ticket” campaign call your nearest Nebraska State Patrol Troop Area Headquarters or view a calendar of selected NSP Enforcement activities.

KIMBALL, Neb. (AP) — A grand jury in Nebraska has found no wrongdoing in the death of a Minnesota man who was found hanging in a county jail cell earlier this year.

The Kimball County grand jury convened Nov. 9 to review the death of Jesus Estrada-Perez, of Minnesota.

Authorities say Estrada-Perez hung himself on Aug. 1, one day after he was arrested on drug charges during a traffic stop. He was hospitalized and died a few days later.

Authorities say his traveling companion told them that Estrada-Perez suffered from depression and anxiety and may have been suicidal.

Nebraska law requires that a grand jury be convened when an inmate dies in custody.