mLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lawmakers will debate a bill allowing patients with seizures to legally access a marijuana derivative under the supervision of University of Nebraska researchers.

A legislative committee voted 6-0 Tuesday to advance a measure creating a pilot study of cannabidiol to gauge its effectiveness treating severe seizures. Cannabidiol has extremely low levels of THC, the compound responsible for the marijuana high.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha told the committee the $250,000 project would be funded by the Nebraska Research Initiative, a state-funded grant program administered by the university, rather than state general funds.

Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue has introduced the measure and designated it as her priority bill, increasing the odds that senators debate it this year.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska saw its highest number of traffic fatalities in seven years in 2014, and some state officials believe that driver complacency may be to blame.

225 people died last year as a result of an accident involving a vehicle, according to the Department of Roads’ Highway Safety Division. In 2007, 256 people died on state roads.

According to officials, the fatalities include 214 drivers and passengers, nine pedestrians and two bicyclists.

Nebraska’s highway safety administrator, Fred Zwonechek, said that the fatalities were frustrating because of increases in traffic safety initiatives to increase driver awareness and law enforcement have been put in place. Zwonechek said that complacency leads to unsafe practices such as drinking and driving, speeding, talking or texting on a phone, or not being alert.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York-based criminal justice nonprofit says it will work with jails and prisons in five states to reduce the use of solitary confinement.

The Vera Institute of Justice said Tuesday that state corrections systems in Nebraska, Oregon and North Carolina as well as jails in New York City and Middlesex County, New Jersey, were picked for the two-year plan.

Inmates are regularly placed in 23-hour confinement for breaking jailhouse rules, for their protection and for security reasons. Some prisoners have stayed in solitary for years.

But Vera’s Fred Patrick says research shows restrictive housing can be counterproductive to jail safety and can damage prisoners psychologically and otherwise.

Patrick says Vera will help corrections officials analyze their use of solitary, evaluate their disciplinary system and develop other programming.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s judges could get a raise under a bill slated for debate in the Legislature.

A legislative committee voted 7-0 this week to advance a proposed 2.25 percent increase, effective July 1. Judges would receive an additional 2.4 percent pay bump the following year.

Nebraska’s seven Supreme Court judges are currently paid roughly $160,500 annually. Judges throughout the state would see a similar raise because their salaries are tied to what the high-court judges make.

The measure is sponsored by Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley of Kearney on behalf of Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The Legislature raised Supreme Court judges’ salaries by about 5 percent in both 2013 and 2014. Supporters say competitive salaries are needed to attract good candidates for the bench.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has returned to work after undergoing surgery for early-stage prostate cancer.

A spokeswoman confirmed that Peterson came back to the Capitol on Tuesday after doctors gave him a clean bill of health.

The 55-year-old Peterson underwent surgery at an Omaha hospital earlier this month. He left the hospital after a 24-hour observation period and has been conducting business from home.

Peterson, a Republican, took office in January after former Attorney General Jon Bruning opted not to seek a fourth term.

Bruning underwent successful surgery in 2013 to remove part of his colon and surrounding lymph nodes after he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

DALLAS (AP) — Federal authorities say Blue Bell is expanding the recall of some ice cream products because of possible exposure to the listeria bacteria.

Blue Bell is recalling 3-ounce cups of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream that have tab lids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the cups could be contaminated with the bacteria, which can cause fatal infections in young children, the elderly and others with weakened immune systems.

The Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas, earlier this month recalled several other products made on the same production line after listeria was detected.

Five people developed listeriosis in Kansas after eating Blue Bell products and the FDA says three of them died. The five ate the ice cream while hospitalized in Wichita for unrelated causes.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s tax incentives for businesses will face greater scrutiny under a measure advanced by lawmakers.

The review program given first-round approval on Tuesday is designed to show whether the incentives are meeting goals set by lawmakers. Legislative auditors would review each tax incentive at least once every three years.

Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse, chairman of the Performance Audit Committee, says the process will help lawmakers determine whether each program is benefiting Nebraska’s economy.

The bill advanced on a 37-0 vote.

A legislative committee concluded in a report last year that Nebraska has no way to judge whether its tax incentives have succeeded in attracting and retaining businesses. In some cases it wasn’t clear whether the businesses would have come to Nebraska without an incentive.

CHICAGO (AP) — A new study says that the gender pay gap exists even in nursing, an occupation dominated by women.

The researchers found that among registered nurses, women’s salaries average about $5,000 less than men’s. That gap isn’t as big as in other occupations, but it hasn’t budged in more than 20 years.

They say the findings are surprising, since about 90 percent of the nation’s more than 2 million registered nurses are women.

The reasons are unclear but one factor may be that when women nurses leave to have children, they re-enter the workforce at a lower pay scale than their male peers who never took time off.

The study appears in Tuesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

North Platte Public Schools Associate Superintendent Tami Eshleman will be recommending Vikki Carlson to the North Platte Public School District’s Board of Education for Adams Middle School principal starting in the 2015-2016 school year.

According to Eshleman, the interview team included incoming Superintendent Dr. Ron Hanson, district administrators, building administrators, and staff from Adams and Madison.

The position was posted on the school website, as well as on the Teach in Nebraska website, CareerBuilder, Omaha World Herald and the Nebraska Council of School Administrators website.

“When visioning what the future holds for North Platte Public Schools, Vikki would be a valuable principal in the reformation in the future,” said Eshleman.  “She has established a positive rapport with students, parents, and staff.  Vikki is a team player and is supportive in her role as assistant principal where she has been in very collaborative settings at both the high school and the middle school with the building principals.”

Carlson is a graduate of North Platte High School. She graduated from University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Bachelors of Arts with a Language Arts Endorsement.  She received her first Masters from Doane with a degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

She received her second Masters from University of Nebraska-Kearney in Educational Administration and has 13 years experiences as a teacher and five years as serving as an Assistant Principal.

In a letter of recommendation, outgoing Adams Middle School principal, Jeff Steinbeck, wrote, ““When she (Mrs. Carlson) started at Adams, it was evident that she had a strong rapport with the teachers. Everyone in this building is comfortable with her leadership and they know that she can be trusted and will treat everyone fairly. Her effect on the culture of this building in the years she has spent here as a teacher and administrator are invaluable. She is truly a contributor to the good things that are happening at Adams Middle School.”

Steinbeck will be leaving at the end of the 2014/2015 school year to become the seventh through twelfth grade principal for Hershey Public Schools.

Carlson and her husband, Lance, have two children, Jack and Drew.

The recommendation will be made the the North Platte Public Schools Board of Education at their regular meeting on April 14.

DENVER (AP) — Dry weather and winds forecast to gust to around 45 mph are expected to raise the risk of wildfires across the eastern half of Colorado as well as parts of Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas.

The National Weather Service has posted red flag warnings Tuesday for areas including southeastern Wyoming, the Nebraska Panhandle and western Kansas. In Colorado, the warning area extends up and down the Front Range and south to Trinidad and east to the border as well as the San Luis Valley.

New fires can quickly spread out of control in the forecast conditions and the weather service is warning against any outdoor burning.