(AP) — A jury has been selected for a Lincoln man charged with murder in the stabbing death of a man last summer.

The jury was chosen Monday and opening arguments were expected in the afternoon in the trial of 28-year-old Joshua Albright. He’s charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and three count of using a weapon to commit a felony.

The charges stem from an Aug. 10, 2012, argument in which police charge Albright with stabbing to death 30-year-old Benjamin Miller. Police say the confrontation was about a woman both men dated.

Albright could face up to life in prison if convicted.

(AP) — Jean Stothert is taking office as the new mayor of Omaha, Nebraska’s largest city.

She says that after her inauguration on Monday, she’ll be talking to her new staff about her vision and goals and then will spend more time with constituents.

Stothert said that she wants to set up town hall meetings and “let people know what is important to them is important to me.”

The Republican also said she intends to address the city’s financial challenges without raising taxes.

Stothert defeated the Democratic incumbent, Jim Suttle (SUH’-tuhl), on May 14 with around 58 percent of the vote.

(AP) — A former Douglas County sheriff’s deputy has been taken into custody while awaiting court action on a charge of sexual assault.

The 29-year-old Cory Cooper surrendered at the Douglas County jail a little after 8 a.m. Monday.

Cooper was fired in May after being placed on leave. The Omaha Police Department handled the investigation into an allegation that Cooper sexually assaulted a woman while patrolling a park.

Sheriff Tim Dunning said Monday that Cooper’s conduct “was shocking, and the Sheriff’s Office fully supports his arrest.”

Cooper’s attorney, Michael J. Fitzpatrick of Omaha, said the public shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about the case.

A Douglas County jailer said Cooper remained in custody on Monday morning.

Cooper had been a Douglas County deputy for about five years.

(AP) — A 79-year-old Nebraska Game and Parks worker has died after a crash at Platte River State Park near Louisville.

Platte County Sheriff Office Capt. Capt. David Lamprecht says Richard Reveillac died just as his medical helicopter was landing Sunday night at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Lamprecht says deputies and Louisville firefighters were dispatched to the park at 7:40 p.m. Sunday. He says Reveillac had been driving a state pickup on the park’s main road when the truck ran off the road and rammed into a tree. Lamprecht says it appears that Reveillac suffered a medical emergency before the crash.

Reveillac lived in the Louisville area.

(AP) — Jury selection is starting in the second-degree murder trial of a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen.

The trial begins almost a year and a half after George Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The first day of jury selection is Monday. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming self-defense.

The judge in the case also must listen to final testimony, and then rule on whether voice recognition experts can be allowed to testify at trial.

Pretrial testimony on whether experts could determine if Martin or Zimmerman were screaming for help on 911 calls took three days last week, but the matter is still unresolved.

 

(AP) — Pouring corn, oil and wine over a cornerstone, Nebraska’s Freemasons have celebrated their new state headquarters building.

Sunday’s ceremony included a color guard of men clad in red, white and blue Revolutionary War uniforms. The color guard was surrounded by dozens of men in tuxedoes, wearing ceremonial aprons at their waists and jewels around their necks.

Grand Master Thomas Hauder says the fraternal group has outgrown its old Lincoln location. The new headquarters will serve the 12,000 members and 137 Masonic lodges in Nebraska.

The Masons is a charitable fraternity that has about 6 million members in nearly 80 countries.

(AP) — A Lincoln man faces a manslaughter charge for allegedly causing a multi-vehicle crash that killed a woman in Omaha.

Omaha police say 28-year-old Jefferson D. Potter was driving a stolen pickup and lawn trailer at a high rate of speed on Friday, when he struck a vehicle at the intersection of Saddle Creek Road and Leavenworth Street.

Authorities say Jennifer E. Siemens, of Bellevue, was a front-seat passenger in the vehicle that was struck, and the impact pushed the vehicle for nearly a block. The pickup careened off that vehicle, struck a second vehicle, and then crashed into a Jiffy Lube before hitting a fourth vehicle.

Siemens was hospitalized, but died on Saturday.

Police say Potter climbed out of the pickup and fled but was apprehended by witnesses.

(AP) — Lincoln police say a man arrested for driving under the influence will likely face a felony vandalism charge after he broke a $6,000 Breathalyzer machine.

28-year-old Jason Hansen was arrested around 3:45 a.m. Sunday for driving under the influence. Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Brian Jackson says Hansen was taken to the Cornhusker Place detoxification center for a formal blood alcohol test.

Jackson says that after the test was complete, Hansen ripped up his ticket and pushed a table, which caused the $6,000 Breathalyzer machine to fall to the floor.

Jason was taken to the Lancaster County jail, where he remained later Sunday.

(AP) — Grand Island’s city finance director has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a hit-and-run crash.

51-year-old Jaye Monter of Cairo was arrested Friday.

Authorities say a Hall County Sheriff’s deputy saw Monter rear-end another vehicle on U.S. Highway 2. The deputy turned to follow Monter and activated his overhead lights, but Monter allegedly failed to stop. The deputy stopped pursuing the vehicle but alerted area law enforcement to be on the lookout. Monter was arrested shortly before 9:30 p.m.

Formal charges haven’t been filed, but Hall County Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Rea says Monter was arrested for driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a breath test, leaving the scene of accident and flight to avoid arrest.

(AP) — Iowa authorities have identified a body found in a river as that of a 15-year-old girl who was abducted with another girl after getting off a school bus last month.

Officials said Sunday that an autopsy confirms the body found Friday night in the Des Moines River under a bridge near Boone is Kathlynn Shepard’s.

Chief State Medical Examiner Dr. Julia Goodin says Kathlynn died of “multiple sharp and blunt force injuries.”

Investigators expressed confidence the body was Kathlynn’s hours after a fisherman discovered it.

Clothes on it matched what Kathlynn was wearing when she and a 12-year-old friend were taken on May 20 in Dayton, about 60 miles north of Des Moines.

Authorities say Michael Klunder kidnapped the girls and committed suicide after the younger girl got away.