LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Less than a week after pushing a broad medical marijuana bill through a first-round vote, Nebraska lawmakers have advanced a second measure to provide faster, federally approved relief.

Senators voted 33-1 Monday to allow a study examining the effectiveness of a cannabis extract in treating epilepsy.

Nebraska would procure the low-potency drug from GW Pharmaceuticals. The United States has authorized the England-based company to provide the drug for rare diseases.

Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue says neurologists would monitor the study to determine the number of participants.

Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue, who sponsored a bill to allow medical marijuana, says he supports Crawford’s bill because it would provide immediate access to the drug while the state sets up a medical marijuana program.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Minnesota-based health care insurer says it will offer individual policies on and off the Affordable Care Act marketplaces in Iowa and Nebraska starting later this year.

Medica says it won’t be selling group policies in the two states. The company is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

It will start selling policies on Nov. 1 for coverage beginning Jan. 1, using the Midlands Choice network in both states. The network is the same one used by CoOportunity Health, of Des Moines, which has been liquidated.

Update by the Associated Press

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A woman has been burned in a fire that destroyed her mobile home in North Platte.

Firefighters and medics were sent to the home around 12:10 p.m. Monday, and they found that a neighbor had pulled the woman from the blazing home. Firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading to nearby homes, but nearby carports were damaged.

Battalion Chief Jason Trimble says the home is a total loss and says the fire started in a sofa bed.

The woman’s dog was killed.

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A mobile home fire in North Platte has sent one woman to the hospital.

Just before Noon on Monday, the North Platte Fire Department responded to a structure fire in Mobile Manor Mobile Home Park on West 15th Street.

Fire officials say the home became fully engulfed and was destroyed.

They say one woman was transported to the hospital.

The victim’s name was not released, nor were the severity of her injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists have figured out all the steps to make morphine and similar painkillers without growing opium poppies, raising the possibility of home-brewed drugs.

While no one has yet reported making morphine in the laboratory from scratch, concerns are already being raised about potential abuse.

A team led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, genetically engineered yeast to mimic poppy plants, which are grown to provide opium from which morphine is derived. They discovered the last missing step in a long process to make morphine by hacking the DNA of yeast.

Findings were published Monday in Nature Chemical Biology.

It’s difficult for people to make morphine on their own because the process is still inefficient. But UC Berkeley researchers and others are calling for regulations and other restrictions.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Many farmers in the region are starting off the year in weaker financial shape than a year ago.

The Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, says farm income declined again in the first quarter because crop prices are relatively low while expenses are up.

Corn prices were about 27 percent lower than a year ago at the end of April, and wheat prices were about 30 percent lower than last year.

The low grain prices help improve profits for livestock producers, but when corn is selling for less than $4 a bushel it’s hard for farmers to break even.

The 10th Federal Reserve District in Kansas City covers Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, northern New Mexico and western Missouri.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A flood warning remains in effect but the South Platte River has crested and is headed back down below flood stage in western Nebraska.

National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Taylor said Monday that the overflow caused only minor flooding in North Platte on some secondary streets and at Iron Eagle golf course. On Sunday the river crested around 4 inches over flood stage of 13 feet, and Taylor said it likely would be back under flood stage by late Monday or sometime overnight.

To the east, the Platte River was approaching flood stage of 6 feet on Monday morning in Kearney and is expected to crest about 4 inches above flood stage by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 62. North northwest wind 9 to 11 mph.
Tonight: Isolated showers after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Northeast wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tuesday: Rain, mainly after 10am. High near 48. East wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Tuesday Night: Rain, mainly before 1am. Low around 36. Northeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of rain before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 51. East northeast wind around 9 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The ladies of “Pitch Perfect 2” hit all the right notes opening weekend, amassing a huge $70.3 million debut, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday.

The Elizabeth Banks-directed sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit and video on demand phenomenon cost Universal Pictures only $29 million to produce. The first film, however, grossed only $65 million domestically across its entire run.

George Miller’s critically acclaimed “Mad Max: Fury Road” claimed a distant second place in its debut weekend with a solid and expected $44.4 million. The high-octane film cost a reported $150 million to make and stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy.

Holdovers “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” ”Hot Pursuit,” and “Furious 7” claimed the rest of the spots in the top five.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett will devote part of Monday to listening to 13 young entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas as part of a contest.

The finalists were picked out of more than 4,000 competitors and flown to Omaha to compete for $5,000 prizes. Five individuals and three teams will present at Monday’s finals.

The winners will be chosen by a panel of business experts. The runners-up will receive $500.

Buffett donates his time to the contest and to the “Secret Millionaire’s Club” cartoon it is affiliated with to help teach kids financial principles. Buffett voices the animated version of himself that offers advice in the cartoon.

The contest is sponsored by the Fairholme Foundation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials say the state’s upcoming fuel tax increase will help replace old bridges, repave county roads and allow work on construction projects to start earlier.

Lawmakers overrode Gov. Pete Rickett’s veto and approved the 6-cent-per-gallon increase last week. It won’t start phasing in until Jan. 1, but state and local officials say they already have a rough idea of which projects will take priority.

County officials say they’ll focus on structurally deficient bridges, many of which must support large farm equipment and school buses. City officials will likely use the money for road repairs, while the state Department of Roads says its share could help work start sooner on longer-term projects.

The tax will generate about $75 million annually by 2020, divided evenly among cities, counties and the state.