PARIS (AP) — The World Health Organization’s cancer agency says that processed meats such as ham and sausage can lead to colon and other cancers, and red meat is probably cancer-causing as well.

Researchers from the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, released an evaluation of more than 800 studies from several continents about meat and cancer.

Based on that evaluation, they classified processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” — in the same category as cigarettes — and red meat as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Meat industry groups protest the classification, arguing that cancer is not caused by specific foods but by several factors.

Doctors and many government agencies have long warned that a diet loaded with red meat is linked to cancers, including of the colon and pancreas.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A recently installed model room has given residents and staff of the Grand Island Veterans’ Home a glimpse of a future facility in northeast Kearney.

The life-size replication is a prototype of one of 225 rooms planned for the Central Nebraska Veterans’ Home.

The room previewed Friday includes living, bedroom, bathroom and closet space. It features wide doors, auto-adjusting lighting, and a TV.

Kearney City Manager Mike Morgan said a major milestone of the new facility project was passed recently when complete plans were submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for approval. The project will be sent out to bid when the plans are approved.

Construction of the new facility could begin in spring or early summer of 2016 if the project goes according to schedule.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Farmers should make sure they understand the rules governing grain sales and storage because some of them have changed.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau says recent changes in state law could affect farmers when a grain elevator fails.

To collect from a grain dealers security payment, farmers now have to demand payment from a buyer within 15 days after the last shipment in a contract and cash a check within 15 days.

Previously, Nebraska farmers had 30 days to take similar action.

The Farm Bureau’s Jay Rempe says the shorter deadlines should help speed up resolution of grain elevator insolvencies, but farmers need to protect their rights.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A newly appointed Nebraska Supreme Court justice won’t have to testify about why she took eight months to rule on a motion in a drug case.

District Judge Vicky Johnson dismissed a motion last week that was filed by the attorney for Scott Johnson, saying Johnson’s case already had been decided.

Johnson’s attorney had said the delay by then Lancaster County District Judge Stephanie Stacy violated a law that requires defendants be brought to trial within six months of charges being filed. Stacy concluded in April that Johnson’s right to a speedy trial had not been violated.

On Friday Stacy was sworn in to her new post on the state’s highest court.

A couple spent the weekend in the Lincoln County jail after they were busted by North Platte Police in a stolen vehicle.

On October 23, at around 3:29 p.m., an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to a residence in the 1100 block of South Tabor Streets in regards to a vehicle that was stolen in McCook.

It was reported that Amy Cones and Christopher Davis had stolen the vehicle earlier in the day.

The owner of the vehicle stated that they had given Cones the keys to the vehicle so she could obtain some property from it.

Instead of retrieving the property in question, police say Cones and Davis took the vehicle.

It was reported to McCook Police that Cones and Davis may have driven the vehicle to a residence in North Platte.

As the officer arrived in the area, he located the vehicle with Cones and Davis sitting inside of it.

The duo was arrested and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center on a felony charge of possession of stolen property.

Davis was also cited for theft from a prior unrelated shoplifting case.  4

Police say theft charges will likely be filed in Red Willow County as well, but it’s unclear if that has been done.

Both are being held on ten percent of $15,000 bond.

NORTH PLATTE — Kansas Point Campground at Lake Maloney State Recreation Area (SRA) is open for camping after electrical upgrades were completed.

The original electrical units were installed for the 56-pad campground in 1983 and were in need of updating to provide uninterrupted service to campers.

Each of the campground pads now have 50-amp hookups for small and larger RVs that use the popular camping area.

Kansas Point sees over 35,000 visitors per year that camp, fish and boat at the SRA. Lake Maloney SRA is located just south of North Platte on HWY 83.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline has dropped 10 cents over the past two weeks, to $2.24 a gallon.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg reports Sunday that prices have fallen 63 cents in the past 19 weeks.

Lundberg says the price slide could end if crude costs remain close to current levels.

In the Lower 48 states, the highest average price of regular gasoline was $2.87 per gallon in Los Angeles. The lowest was $1.85 in Charleston, South Carolina.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.56 per gallon, down a penny from two weeks ago.

About 6,000 federal drug felons are set for early release around Nov. 1 because of new sentencing guidelines. A total of 4,131 are destined for various points in the U.S. and its territories, while the rest are expected to be deported. Here are how many inmates each state and territory can expect, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Numbers are as of Sept. 26.

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Alaska: 5

Alabama: 107

Arkansas: 50

Arizona: 35

California: 229

Colorado: 42

Connecticut: 32

District of Columbia: 12

Delaware: 4

Florida: 295

Georgia: 167

Guam: 2

Hawaii: 31

Iowa: 145

Idaho: 23

Illinois: 253

Indiana: 59

Kansas: 33

Kentucky: 49

Louisiana: 60

Massachusetts: 20

Maryland: 92

Maine: 19

Michigan: 83

Minnesota: 52

Missouri: 129

Mississippi: 56

Montana: 24

North Carolina: 218

North Dakota: 23

Nebraska: 53

New Hampshire: 7

New Jersey: 21

New Mexico: 16

Nevada: 12

New York: 141

Ohio: 97

Oklahoma: 58

Oregon: 13

Pennsylvania: 97

Rhode Island: 7

Puerto Rico: 50

South Carolina: 102

South Dakota: 17

Tennessee: 150

Texas: 578

Utah: 19

Virginia: 160

Virgin Islands: 2

Vermont: 6

Washington: 39

Wisconsin: 50

West Virginia: 59

Wyoming: 28

BENEDICT, Neb. (AP) — A small but growing number of Nebraska farmers and owners of businesses and homes are adding solar or wind power to their property to save money and help the environment.

Rick Hammond recently turned on 96 solar panels near his grain bins to start generating electricity.

Hammond says he’s proud to be doing something to help the Earth, and he’s looking forward to saving about $3,000 a year on his electricity bill.

Hammond’s solar power system cost $84,864, but a combination of tax credits and a USDA grant reduced the cost to $19,100.

Solar power proponents worry that projects could slow considerably next year if Congress doesn’t extend the current tax credits for solar power.