(AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is criticizing U.S. states that refuse to issue Defense Department identification cards — and the benefits that go with them — to same-sex spouses of military members at National Guard facilities.

In remarks prepared for delivery in New York on Thursday evening, Hagel says these states are violating their obligations under federal law. And he says they are creating hardship and inequality by forcing legally married gay partners to travel to federal military bases to get the ID cards to which they are entitled.

Hagel does not name the states, but the Pentagon has cited nine: Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia.

Same-sex spouses of military members became eligible Sept. 3 for the same benefits as opposite-sex spouses.

(AP) — Ten children and a school bus driver have been rescued after the bus they were in toppled into a southern Kansas creek swollen by heavy rain.

Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet (HUR’-zeht) says the children climbed through a roof hatch to await rescue Thursday afternoon as the bus lay on its side, half-submerged.

County 911 director Chris Davis said the Douglass School District bus apparently went off a bridge about 4 p.m. Thursday.

Herzet said the oldest children were 13 and helped the younger ones through the hatch. Rescuers used a line to help them to safety.

The driver was taken to a hospital to be checked for hypothermia. One child was seen being put inside an ambulance, but the sheriff says all 10 were turned over to their parents.

(AP) — Some Lincoln students have experienced a firsthand civics lesson in watching their teacher take an oath of American citizenship.

Students in Teresa Barta’s Spanish language class gathered in the back of the classroom on Wednesday as she repeated the words so many immigrants have recited.

The 34-year-old Barta grew up in the Canary Islands, which have become an autonomous community of Spain. She met her future husband, Paul Barta, at an airport in southern Spain in 1998. He went on to graduate from Doane College and then attend Creighton Law School while he and Teresa exchanged emails.

In 2003 she moved to the United States and they married. She became a teacher and eventually joined the staff at Southeast High School in fall 2012.

(AP) — A 28-year-old woman has been given two to four years in prison for stabbing her boyfriend at the apartment they shared in Grand Island.

Apollonia Decoteau was sentenced Wednesday in Hall County District Court.

Decoteau had pleaded no contest to domestic assault for the May 19 attack on Jose Garcia-Hilario. Prosecutors dropped a weapons charge in exchange for her plea.

Authorities say Decoteau has a criminal history that dates back to 2001 and is described in a presentencing report as a high risk to commit another crime.

Her attorney says Decoteau has drinking and drug problems.

(AP) — A 21-year-old man has been given 20 to 36 months in prison for setting fires in Fremont.

Tyler Maple was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday after pleading no contest to two counts of felony arson. Prosecutors dropped two other charges in exchange for Maple’s pleas.

Prosecutors say Fremont police received reports of four separate arson cases on Aug. 6, including the burning of a Salvation Army bus and a car. No injuries were reported.

Two other Fremont men also face charges related to the fires.

(AP) — Youths interested in Nebraska’s beef industry are invited to attend the Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium next month.

Two sessions will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus in the Animal Science Complex.

The first is scheduled to begin with check-in at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 22. The session is aimed at high school freshmen and sophomores.

The second session will begin with check-in at 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 23 and run through the next day. The session is aimed at high school juniors and seniors.

Registration is $30 per student and is due Thursday. The fee is $50 from Nov. 1 through Nov. 8.

To register or to obtain more information, visit https://bit.ly/1gZVlsV .

(AP) — The police chief says he’s disappointed that a downtown Lincoln bar owner objects to two nearby security cameras installed by the city to deter crime.

Chief Jim Peschong on Wednesday criticized Duffy’s owner Scott Hatfield at a meeting of the mayor’s Citizen Police Advisory Board. Hatfield is a member of the board.

Hatfield told Peschong that he cares about safety but is concerned about the idea that people “can’t come downtown to 14th and O and not be left alone by Big Brother.”

The two cameras were installed at the end of last year at where police say crime is prevalent. They were shut off after some people raised questions about what they saw as invasions of their privacy.

(AP) — A January trial has been scheduled for a Grand Island man charged with vehicular homicide and other crimes.

30-year-old Hermino Alamilla Jr. pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Hall County District Court.

Authorities say Alamilla was driving recklessly on Aug. 19 on U.S. Highway 281 south of Grand Island when he lost control of his car. The car rolled several times before coming to rest. The car was then hit by a pickup driven by 26-year-old Megan Brodrick, of Grand Island. She wasn’t hurt.

One of the passengers in Alamilla’s car died after being ejected. Another passenger wasn’t hospitalized.

Alamilla’s trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 6.

(AP) — A 15-year-old girl has pleaded not guilty to a felony stemming from a crash that killed another teenager in the car she was driving in southeast Nebraska.

The girl entered the plea on Wednesday in Lincoln to vehicular homicide and other charges. Her attorney has filed a motion to move the case to juvenile court. The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes.

Authorities say the girl was driving a car on a county road just north of Waverly with five other teenagers on board in late August. The car went out of control and two of the six were ejected. A 15-year-old boy was killed. He was identified as Taylon Artman, of Eagle.

(AP) — Young New Yorkers who want to smoke will soon have to wait for their 21st birthdays before they can buy a pack of cigarettes.

That’s because the New York City Council has voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill that would raise the purchasing age for cigarettes, certain tobacco products and even electronic-vapor smokes from 18 to 21.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday. The bill is supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has 30 days to sign it into law.

The council also passed a bill that sets a minimum $10.50-a-pack price for tobacco cigarettes and steps up law enforcement on illegal tobacco sales.

Advocates hope raising the age will reduce smoking rates among young people. Critics say it’s patronizing to bar people from smoking while allowing them to serve in the military.