(AP) — Just in time for Halloween, Jesuit scholars have joined a whole new generation of horror buffs in St. Louis to recount the supernatural incident that inspired one of the most terrifying films in movie history.

The monthlong demon-purging ritual in 1949 at Saint Louis University’s former Alexian Brothers Hospital involved an unidentified suburban Washington, D.C., boy and formed the basis for William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, “The Exorcist.” The film of the same name was released two years later.

On Tuesday, the university hosted a panel about the ritual and treatment of the 13-year-old boy.

The Rev. Walter Halloran was the last surviving Jesuit to participate in the exorcism before his death a decade ago.

(AP) — Most of the Fremont residents who spoke at a council meeting were against removing portions of the city’s ban on renting housing to people who aren’t in the U.S. legally.

Fremont voters approved a measure in 2010 that bans hiring or renting to people who can’t prove they are in the country legally. The housing portion of the law has remained on hold while legal challenges to the rules are resolved.

Jon Wiegert, who helped circulate a petition that forced the 2010 election, told council members Tuesday night that he was “very disgusted to hear that the City Council is even thinking of repealing this ordinance that we worked very hard for.”

The proposal must have two more readings before a final council vote.

(AP) — The Nebraska attorney general’s office says in an opinion that the Beatrice school board violated the state open meetings laws when it searched for a new superintendent last year.

The opinion was formulated after a complaint was filed by former school board member Terry Cossel.

The attorney general’s office says the board erred in holding a nonpublic, executive session on Dec. 4, 2012, to narrow its list of 12 superintendent candidates to four.

The school board had argued that other state statutes let public bodies withhold job applications of those other than the finalists in an effort to “protect the public interest and avoid injury to the nonfinalists.”

The board hired Pat Nauroth for the job later in December 2012.

(AP) — A woman has claimed the $1 million Powerball lottery prize she won with a ticket she bought in her northeast Nebraska hometown of Homer.

Nebraska Lottery officials say the ticket was sold to Patricia Krontz at J & J’s Pronto on North Highway 77 in Homer. Her ticket matched the first five numbers but not the Powerball number in Saturday’s drawing. The numbers were 4, 6, 34, 49 and 56, with the Powerball number of 29.

Krontz told lottery officials on Monday that she’ll use her winnings to pay some bills.

No one won the jackpot on Saturday night, so it will be around $50 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

(AP) — A 23-year-old Lincoln man has been given six months in jail in a child abuse case.

Online court records say Chad Hollibaugh was sentenced last week. He’d made a deal with prosecutors, who lowered the charge in exchange for Hollibaugh’s plea of no contest.

Court records say a day care worker noticed bruises on the 2-year-old girl’s face in March and called state authorities. More bruises were found later on her buttocks, legs and back. The little girl indicated that her father had caused the bruises.

(AP) — Nearly a mile underground in an abandoned gold mine, one of the most important quests in physics has come up empty-handed.

Scientists announced Wednesday that the most advanced Earth-based search for dark matter turned up absolutely no evidence of the mysterious material that has mass but cannot be seen.

Physicists released the initial findings after the first few months of experiments at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, which was built in the former Homestake gold mine in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

The site’s underground location helps screen out background radiation, potentially making it easier for scientists to trap dark matter, which they hoped would be revealed in the form of weakly interacting particles nicknamed WIMPS.

(AP) — In a Lincoln speech, a Yale law professor will discuss efforts to patrol the wall of separation between church and state.

Stephen Carter’s lecture is titled “The Current Situation in Church and State.” It is scheduled to begin at noon Friday in Hamann Auditorium at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The event is free and open to the public.

Organizers say Carter will review recent developments and explain how a greater attention to history and game theory will help people gain a richer understanding of how and why to protect the wall of separation.

Carter has taught at Yale since 1982. Among his books on law and politics is “God’s Name in Vain: The Wrongs and Rights of Religion in Politics.”

(AP) — Scientists have found a planet way out in the cosmos that’s close in size and content to Earth — an astronomical first.

But hold off on the travel plans. This rocky world is so close to its sun that it’s at least 2,000 degrees hotter than here, almost certainly too hot for life.

Astrophysicists reported Wednesday in the journal Nature that the exoplanet Kepler-78b appears to be made of rock and iron just like Earth. They measured the planet’s mass to determine its density and content. It’s actually a little bigger than Earth and nearly double its weight.

Kepler-78b is located in the Cygnus constellation hundreds of light-years away. Incredibly, it orbits its sun every 8½ hours.

Scientists used NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and ground observatories for the studies.

(AP) — The Education Department is seeking the public’s help in developing a rating system for America’s colleges and universities.

The department announced Wednesday that it will be playing host to public forums on the ratings system next month in California, Virginia, Iowa and Louisiana with plans to present a draft system late next year.

The goal of the ratings system sought by President Barack Obama is to help reign in the rising costs of college and to make institutions of higher learning more accountable in areas such as graduation rates.

Members of the higher education community have questioned whether it is the federal government’s job to create such a system and whether it would be fair.

(AP) — Starbucks says its profit rose 34 percent in its fiscal fourth-quarter, as the coffee chain attracted more customers around the world.

The Seattle-based company said global sales rose 7 percent at cafes open at least a year, including an 8 percent rise in both the U.S. and Asia.

Starbucks Corp. has managed to keep growing through a mix of measures. It’s adding items such as Evolution juices, revamped its food offerings and hiked prices over the summer.

For the quarter, Starbucks said it earned $481.1 million, or 63 cents per share. Analysts expected 59 cents per share. A year ago, the company earned $359 million, or 46 cents per share.

Revenue rose to $3.8 billion, but was short of the $3.81 billion analysts expected.