LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A newly released report says Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in May.

That’s a tenth of a point below the revised April rate of 3.7 percent. April’s preliminary rate also was 3.6 percent.

The Nebraska Labor Department said in the report released Friday that the preliminary May rate is four-tenths of a point below the revised rate of 4 percent in May 2013.

The new Nebraska figure remained well below the preliminary national unemployment rate of 6.3 percent in May, which matched the revised April figure.

A North Platte man is in jail on a felony child abuse charge after he allegedly hit is son with a belt.

At around 9:30 a.m., on June 19, an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to the Salvation Army, 1020 North Adams Street, on the report of a possible child abuse.

According to Investigator John Deal, an employee at the Salvation Army had noticed a bruise on the leg of a child who was in the business.  The child allegedly told the employee that their father had hit them with a belt.

The officer, with the assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services, met with the child and determined that the child did have a bruise and it appeared it was caused by a belt.

Officers contacted the child’s father, Mauricio Cabrera, and determined that the incident had occurred at Cabrera’s residence in the 300 block of South Silber Street several days earlier.

Deal said Cabrera was placed under arrest and charged with felony child abuse.

He was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — A 31-year-old Broken Bow man has been given life in prison for kidnapping a woman in central Nebraska

Tyler Bain was sentenced in Custer County District Court in Broken Bow on Thursday. In addition to his kidnapping conviction, Bain was found guilty of assault, terroristic threats and false imprisonment. He was acquitted of a weapons charge.

The woman told officers that Bain forced her off a road while she was driving near Anselmo in October 2011. She said he took her to his home, where he beat and sexually assaulted her and wouldn’t let her leave.

• Today: Isolated showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 1pm, then isolated thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. South southeast wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: Scattered thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Saturday: A slight chance of thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Saturday Night: A chance of thunderstorms, mainly after 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east northeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Light east wind becoming north northeast 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
• Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 76.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A group of lawmakers has set to work in evaluating whether Nebraska’s tax incentives for businesses are working as intended.

The special committee is looking at whether the tax breaks should accomplish specific goals. Possible goals proposed on Thursday included strengthening the overall state economy, revitalizing rural areas and promoting entrepreneurship, tech jobs and renewable energy.

The committee was formed after some senators questioned whether businesses that received tax credits would have come to Nebraska regardless. Others want to ensure that the tax incentives are helping to create full-time, high-paying jobs.

The committee chairman, Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff, says lawmakers plan to hold public input hearings on Aug. 27 in Kearney and Aug. 28 in Lincoln.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — The Chadron City Council has agreed to take no action on a proposal to open its meetings with prayer.

The idea raised by council member Paris Fisher last month was discussed at Monday’s meeting. Fisher cited the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the practice is permissible.

On Monday Mayor Karin Fischer said that if there were going to be a prayer, it should be scripted.

Chadron resident Cheryl Welch spoke against the idea of a council prayer, saying the nation was founded with the concept of separating church and state.

The council ultimately decided not to take any action on the prayer proposal.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kraft is recalling Velveeta cheese from Walmart stores in as many as 12 states, mostly in the Midwest, because the cheese lacks the proper amount of preservatives.

Insufficient levels of sorbic acid has led to the recall of 260 cases of Velveeta original pasteurized recipe cheese product because it could cause the cheese to spoil prematurely or cause food-borne illnesses.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. says the cheese was sent to three Walmart distribution centers and could have been shipped to as many as 12 states: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The company says the code on the package is 021000611614.

Office	Report Time	County	Location	ST	Event Type	Mag.	Source
LBF	Wed Jun 18 2014 23:18:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Holt	Atkinson	NE	HAIL	0.88	trained spotter
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 00:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Perkins	7 NNW Madrid	NE	HAIL	0.88	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 00:42:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Keith	9 SW Paxton	NE	HAIL	1.5	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 00:45:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Keith	6 SW Paxton	NE	HAIL	1.75	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 01:20:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	7 SW Sutherland	NE	HAIL	1.75	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 01:50:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	1 S Hershey	NE	HAIL	2	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 01:50:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	Hershey	NE	HAIL	1.25	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 02:05:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	10 SE Stapleton	NE	HAIL	1	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 02:25:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	3 SW Arnold	NE	HAIL	1	trained spotter
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 02:47:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Keith	Ogallala	NE	HAIL	0.88	broadcast media
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 03:20:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Keith	8 ENE Ogallala	NE	HAIL	1	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 03:40:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Deuel	4 W Big Springs	NE	HAIL	2	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 03:40:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Deuel	4 W Big Springs	NE	HAIL	1.75	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 03:55:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Deuel	Big Springs	NE	HAIL	1.75	emergency mngr
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:11:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	North Platte	NE	HAIL	0.88	trained spotter
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:20:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Chase	Imperial	NE	TSTM WND GST	58	asos
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:20:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Chase	Imperial	NE	TSTM WND GST	58	asos
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:29:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Chase	Imperial	NE	TSTM WND GST	64	asos
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:29:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Chase	Imperial	NE	TSTM WND GST	64	asos
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:30:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Mcpherson	5 SW Tryon	NE	TSTM WND GST	60	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:30:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Mcpherson	5 SW Tryon	NE	TSTM WND GST	60	public
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:58:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Hayes	7 W Hayes Center	NE	TSTM WND GST	70	emergency mngr
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 04:58:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Hayes	7 W Hayes Center	NE	TSTM WND DMG	0	emergency mngr
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 05:30:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Logan	28 NE North Platte	NE	HAIL	1.75	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 06:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	North Platte	NE	FLASH FLOOD	0	storm chaser
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 06:03:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	3 ENE North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.03	official nws obs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 06:10:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	Arnold	NE	FLOOD	0	law enforcement
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 06:30:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.65	storm chaser
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	12 WSW Anselmo	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.6	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	Mason City	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.17	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	1 NW Sutherland	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.3	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	5 S North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.45	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	Arnold	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.55	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	5 NE North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	3.07	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	6 NE North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	3.77	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Logan	5 W Stapleton	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.54	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.6	asos
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	1 E North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.65	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	Hershey	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.2	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Perkins	3 S Grant	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.02	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	2 NW North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.41	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	2 W North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.33	cocorahs
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	8 WSW Callaway	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.59	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	8 WSW Merna	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.49	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Custer	2 SE Anselmo	NE	HEAVY RAIN	1.5	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 12:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	3 ENE North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.27	co-op observer
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 13:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	15 NNE North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.7	nws employee
LBF	Thu Jun 19 2014 13:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)	Lincoln	North Platte	NE	HEAVY RAIN	2.02	nws employee

A 37-year-old North Platte man is facing a felony charge after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend on Thursday morning.

At around 5:00 a.m., North Platte police responded a residence in the 200 block of South Cottonwood after receiving a 911 hang up call.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with Clifford Stokes who alleged that his 36-year-old girlfriend had assaulted him.

Following further investigation, officers determined that, in fact, Stokes had assaulted the female.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, the victim alleged that, following an argument, Stokes had pushed her to the ground, climbed on top of her and put his hands over her mouth to prevent her from screaming to another party in the house to call the police.

Stokes was placed under arrest and jailed on a domestic assault charge.

Due to prior domestic assault convictions, the charge was enhanced to a felony.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Harley-Davidson will unveil its first electric motorcycle next week — a sleek, futuristic bike that hums like a jet airplane taking off.

Harley plans to show handmade demonstration models Monday at an invitation-only event in New York. The company will then take several dozen riders on a 30-city tour to test drive the bikes and provide feedback.

Harley will use the information it gathers to refine the bike, which might not hit the market for several more years.

The market for full-size electric bikes is small now, but Harley President Matt Levatich says no one knows what the potential will be down the road.