A former abortion clinic worker has capped the murder trial of her former boss with testimony that she saw more than 10 babies breathe before they were killed.

Kareema Cross is the final prosecution witness against Dr. Kermit Gosnell. She says she saw the babies’ chests move but was told by Gosnell they were not breathing.

She also says she saw three babies move their arms and legs and heard a fourth give a soft whine.

Cross says she was so upset by clinic procedures that she took photos and called authorities.

A 2011 grand jury report lambastes state and city officials for failing to inspect the busy Philadelphia clinic.

The defense denies that babies were born alive, and Cross is sure to face strenuous questioning Thursday from defense lawyer Jack McMahon.

A former federal police officer in Grand Island is scheduled to be sentenced May 28 for misdemeanor sexual assault.

41-year-old Justin Maltagliati had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor sexual assault after prosecutors lowered the charge.

Maltagliati was employed at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center when the incident occurred on July 20 last year.

A woman told police that she’d filed documents for a protection order against Maltagliati three days earlier. She says she awoke at 3 a.m. that day to find him touching her. She says he sexually assaulted her despite her telling him to stop and trying to push him away.

A 12-year-old boy who saved three of his brothers from a fire in southeast Nebraska will be honored by the American Red Cross.

Blake Vitale will be given a Good Samaritan Award at the Red Cross’ Cornhusker Chapter’s Tribute to Heroes dinner on May 2 in Lincoln.

He says he and five brothers had decided to stay overnight at his dad’s home in Salem on Thanksgiving after dining with his mother and stepdad.

Blake says that he awoke to hear his dad’s girlfriend screaming about a fire she’d discovered in the kitchen.

Blake says he roused three of his brothers and helped them downstairs into safety outside. He went back in for the other two boys, not knowing that his dad had already saved them.

A southeastern Nebraska man, a convicted felon, is accused of hunting deer without a license  has been charged in a five-count federal indictment.

The indictment announced Wednesday says 44-year-old Ward Hunnel, of York, did not have a license to hunt deer in November 2011 when killed two deer in Nebraska. The indictment also accuses Hunnel of taking the deer from Nebraska to Kansas and of being a felon in possession of firearms.

If convicted of all the counts, Hunnel could face up to 27 years in federal prison.

A former postal worker in Lincoln has been indicted in federal court after being accused of stealing cash and gift cards from mail he was supposed to deliver.

The U.S. Attorney for Nebraska said Wednesday that 25-year-old Richard Franco, of Lincoln, was charged with one count of mail theft in the indictment.

The federal prosecutor says the mail Franco is accused of stealing mail that came into his possession from Nov. 24 through Jan. 8.

Franco faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 if convicted.

A phone listing for Franco could not be found.

A 26-year-old man charged with setting fire to three books at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln library last year has been given one to three years in prison.

Online court records say Joshua Hughes, of Lincoln, was charged with first-degree arson.  Hughes pleaded no contest after prosecutors lowered the charge. He was sentenced on Tuesday and credited for 327 days served.

Documents say Hughes was hiding in Love Library North when it closed at 11 p.m. on May 23, 2012. Police say Hughes called 911 for help because he couldn’t find a way out of the library after the fire started.

University officials say that other than the burned books, the library wasn’t damaged.

The Illinois House has approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Lawmakers voted 61-57 Wednesday to allow physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients with specific terminal illnesses or debilitating medical conditions.

The legislation goes to the state Senate, where a similar version was approved in 2009. Senate President John Cullerton’s spokeswoman said this week he supports the legislation.

The measure gives a framework for a four-year pilot program that includes requiring patients and caregivers to undergo background checks. The legislation sets a 2.5 ounce limit per patient per purchase.

Supporters say marijuana can relieve continual pain without triggering the harmful effects of other prescription drugs. Opponents say the program would encourage the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

Gov. Pat Quinn hasn’t said whether he would sign the measure.

A 42-year-old Oklahoma man has been indicted in a Nebraska federal court, accused of taking a teenage girl from her suburban Omaha home to his Oklahoma home for sex.

Dennis Lewis is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and transporting a minor for sex. He could serve life in prison if convicted.

An investigator said in a court affidavit that Lewis asked the 14-year-old Bellevue girl for sex via text messages, persuaded her to send him nude pictures of herself and sent her pictures of his genitals. Prosecutors say Lewis picked up the girl from her Bellevue home on April 10. Police in Tulsa found Lewis and the girl at his home.

 

Three Omaha men have been indicted on federal charges that accuse them of bilking more than 100 people of about $4 million in a Ponzi scheme.

The federal indictments announced Wednesday name 44-year-old Jonathan Arrington, 52-year-old Michael Kratville and 38-year-old Michael Welke. Each faces 14 counts of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy.

Federal authorities say the three told investors with Elite Management Holdings Corp. that the fund guaranteed returns of 4 percent to 6 percent a month, and that investors’ risk was low, because only 10 percent of their principal investment would be invested at any one time.

Prosecutors say the three used more than $700,000 themselves, including for golf club memberships, travel and dining.

If convicted, the men face up to 20 years on each count.

Capitol police say it turns out the suspicious packages investigated in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday weren’t hazardous.

But spokeswoman Makema Turner said a man was still being questioned late in the day after being stopped in connection with the packages.

The packages raised concern after the FBI said that letters mailed to President Barack Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi tested positive for poisonous ricin. Those letters were sent for more extensive testing, because field tests often yield false positives for ricin.

Authorities closed some parts of Senate office buildings while they investigated the packages. The Capitol was already on edge because of Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings.