LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has launched a new quality rating system for child care facilities and early childhood education programs.

The Department of Education says the “Step Up to Quality” system is designed to help parents and guardians evaluate programs that care for young children.

Child care providers will be rated based on curriculum, the learning environment, staff interaction with children, family engagement efforts and other factors.

A state law passed last year requires 10 of the state’s largest child care providers to participate; all are located in Omaha and Lincoln. Over the next three years, the system will include about 60 programs that collectively serve between 13,000 and 14,000 children.

Nebraska spends about $95 million a year on child-care subsidies for working, low-income families.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a Nebraska man sentenced to 10 years in prison for sending a photo that digitally added the head of an 11-year-old girl onto the nude body of an adult woman did not have his free speech rights violated.

Jeffrey Anderson, of McCook, was convicted for child pornography “morphing,” the editing of images into a pornographic picture. Prosecutors say the 28-year-old Anderson sent the picture to the girl via Facebook.

Anderson’s appeal said that the federal child pornography law was unconstitutionally overbroad when applied to his case, because the picture did not depict actual abuse of a child.

But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that the government’s need to protect the girl from exploitation trumped Anderson’s free speech argument.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party and officials in Red Oak, Iowa, each say the other should pay to tear down an abandoned and deteriorating church in the southwestern Iowa community.

A company headed by Nebraska GOP Chairman J.L. Spray purchased a tax lien for the 124-year-old church near downtown Red Oak in 2012 and now owns the building.

The city says the building is dangerous and wants Spray to pay to have it demolished.

But Spray, a Lincoln attorney, says information provided during the tax sale made it appear that the building was in better shape than it was. He says after failed attempts to work out a compromise that it’s now the city’s responsibility to cover the cost of demolition.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — A 50-year-old man has died after his car ran into a Nebraska Panhandle lake.

Morrill County Attorney Travis Rodak says Brett Golden was pronounced dead Wednesday evening at Bridgeport State Recreation Area.

Rodak says Golden’s car hit a tree before entering a small lake near the beach area of the recreation area’s main lake. A couple of campers spotted the car, which was almost totally submerged. Golden’s body was found inside.

It’s unclear when the accident occurred. Golden was last seen leaving his home in the rural community of Redington around 9 a.m. Wednesday.

An autopsy has been ordered.

• Today: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 77. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. South wind 8 to 10 mph.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 7 to 14 mph.
• Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. South wind 9 to 13 mph.
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 91. South wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Saturday Night: A slight chance of thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

New details from two studies reveal more side effects from niacin, a drug that many Americans take for cholesterol problems and general heart health. Some doctors say the drug now seems too risky for routine use.

Niacin is a type of B vitamin sold over the counter and in higher prescription doses. Some people take it in place of or in addition to statin medicines such as Lipitor for cholesterol problems.

The studies previously found that niacin did not prevent heart problems better than statins alone and carried more side effects. Details in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine suggest that deaths, bleeding, infections, gastrointestinal and other problems were more common among niacin users.

Heart specialists say no one should stop taking any drug without talking with a doctor.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Four veterans have received Nebraska’s new state licenses with a “veteran” designation from Gov. Dave Heineman.

The licenses are among the first issued under a new law approved last year. Those who were given new licenses on Wednesday included veterans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Veterans who want the designation on their driver’s license or state identification card must first contact the Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs to register. Once they’re registered, the designation can be added to their card at renewal time with no additional fee. State law requires a fee for a replacement license if they want the designation at any other time.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Some Hispanic and civil rights activists in Nebraska say the thousands of children who have been crossing the U.S.-Mexican border are refugees from violence, not immigrants who should be summarily returned.

The activists criticized Nebraska governmental leaders who on Monday formally asked federal officials for information about the more than 200 children who have been placed in the state.

Shirl A. Mora James is a Lincoln civil rights and immigration attorney, and she said the children are refugees from Central American countries “that have the highest murder rates in the world.”

Lincoln activist Jose Soto says he’s “a little disappointed the plight of these young kids was politicized” and sees no value in “talking about deportation without knowing what their situation or status really is.”

HARRISBURG, Neb. (AP) — Organizers say the 2014 Cattlemen’s Ball of Nebraska raised more than $1.3 million last month.

The event was held June 6-7 at the Hoot Owl Ranch near the Panhandle community of Harrisburg in Banner County.

The ball has been held yearly since 1998 at a different ranch. Ninety percent of the proceeds go toward cancer research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The remainder goes to regional medical organizations.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett has given several charities Berkshire Hathaway stock worth more than $2.8 billion as part of his plan to give away his fortune gradually through annual gifts.

Berkshire’s chairman and CEO announced the gifts Tuesday in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In accordance with Buffett’s giving plan, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation received the biggest gift worth more than $2.1 billion.

Buffett also gave nearly 1.7 million Class B Berkshire shares to his own foundation and 1.16 million shares to each of his three children’s foundations.

Buffett also made smaller gifts to several unnamed charities.

Buffett has been giving away blocks of Berkshire stock since 2006, but still controls roughly 34 percent of the voting power because his 321,000 Class A shares carry more voting rights.