A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide in a recent four-year span.

That’s the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.

The survey of the nation’s hospitals was conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It found that from 2007 to 2011, the number of emergency room visits involving the beverages shot up from about 10,000 to more than 20,000. Most of those cases involved teens or young adults.

The report doesn’t specify which symptoms brought people to emergency rooms. But it calls energy drink consumption a “rising public health problem” that can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures.

Police say a domestic dispute led to a shooting on a Kentucky college campus that killed two people and wounded a third.

A man, a woman and a 12-year-old girl were shot Tuesday night in a parking lot at Hazard Community and Technical College. The adults were killed and the girl was taken to a hospital, where police said she remains in critical condition.

Hazard Police Chief Minor Allen said the shooting appears to be the result of a dispute between the woman and the alleged shooter, who had a child together.

Allen said 21-year-old Dalton Stidham was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Allen identified the victims as 20-year-old Caitlin Cornett and her uncle, 53-year-old Jackie Cornett. The juvenile’s name wasn’t released.

 

Gov. Dave Heineman today released his proposed state biennium budget for Fiscal Years 2013 – 2015. The Governor’s budget is in line with the vision for Nebraska’s future that he has emphasized throughout his tenure as Governor: education, growing the State’s economy and rebuilding the state’s cash reserve fund.

 

The first priority identified is education. In his budget, Gov. Heineman proposed funding that would be necessary for the university and state colleges to freeze tuition for Nebraska students for two years. The Governor is recommending that the University of Nebraska’s appropriation increase from its current level of $498 million to $541 million in fiscal year 2015, and that the Nebraska State College System’s funding increase from $45.5 million to $49.6 million in fiscal year 2015. Gov. Heineman also proposed a similar funding increase for Community Colleges, noting that he is hopeful they will freeze tuition, as well.

 

In his State of the State address, Gov. Heineman said, “Our students of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and it is critical to our future that they have affordable access to a quality higher education.” He added, “This is very good news for Nebraska families who are working hard to ensure that their sons and daughters can afford to go to college.”

 

Gov. Heineman has proposed 5% annual increases for State Aid to Education and Special Education for each of the next 2 years. Under this proposal, State Aid would increase from its current level of $852 million to $939 million in FY 2015.

 

“Education is the great equalizer and education is one of our state’s top priorities. We invest in education because we know how important it is,” said Gov. Heineman.

 

The second priority of growing the State’s economy is two-fold. In the proposed budget, there are no tax increases. The budget includes continued funding of the Governor’s Property Tax Credit Program, which provides direct property tax relief to Nebraskans. Since the program began in 2007, the State has provided approximately $680 million to property owners and businesses.

 

Additionally, supporting growth of the State’s economy, separate from the budget proposal; the Governor is calling for reforming Nebraska’s tax code. The tax reform will look to eliminate the individual income tax and the corporate income tax or lower rates, helping hardworking Nebraskans, small businesses and retirees. The tax reform proposal is separate from the budget because it is revenue neutral and budget neutral.

 

A final, significant point of the budget proposal is the costly impact of President Obama’s federal health care law. In the next two year budget cycle, the State of Nebraska and every state in America is required by federal law to implement President Obama’s new federal health care law, having an enormous financial impact on the State’s budget.

 

Implementing President Obama’s new federal health care law has significant costs to the taxpayers in a variety of ways. It will cost more than $170 million in federal and state funds over the next eight years to implement just the technology and administration required by the new federal health care law.

 

And even more significant: it will cost the State of Nebraska $72 million in new general funds in this budget for the growth of the current Medicaid program as a result of President Obama’s new federal health care law.

 

In his State of the State address, Gov. Heineman stated, “That’s $72 million in new general fund spending for President Obama’s new federal health care law that should be going to state aid to education or higher education.”

 

One of the reasons why Nebraska fared far better during the national economic slowdown was that Nebraska had a robust cash reserve, which was utilized in the State’s budget during the slowdown. Now that Nebraska is again poised for growth, it is important to rebuild the depleted reserve fund. The Governor’s budget proposal currently estimates rebuilding the cash reserve from its current $384 million to $442 million in FY 16-17.

 

“Unlike the federal government, we don’t spend money we don’t have,” said Gov. Heineman. “We balance our budget in state government and our family budgets by controlling spending, not by raising taxes. Nebraskans are very careful and conservative in how they spend their money.”

 

Regarding general projects included in the budget, there is funding for a new Central Nebraska Veterans Home. While the project is at its inception, the Governor, a veteran himself, said, “Having a new, modern facility to care for our veterans is important. This new veterans home will serve those who have served our country, protecting our freedoms.”

 

NASA says the Curiosity rover should be ready to begin drilling on Mars soon.

It’s the most highly anticipated milestone since the six-wheel, nuclear-powered rover landed near the Martian equator five months ago.

Mission managers outlined the drilling plan Tuesday. Project manager Richard Cook says the team has chosen the site where Curiosity will test its drill for the first time. The spot contains a diverse sample of rocks that the rover can pick from.

Curiosity will drive to the location in the next several days and begin drilling in the next two weeks.

The team named the drilling site “John Klein” after a deputy project manager who died in 2011.

Curiosity is on a two-year mission to determine whether the dusty, cold planet was habitable.

Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing his father’s body from a Detroit cemetery. The corpse was later discovered in his basement.

Officer George Day says the 48-year-old son of Clarence Bright was arrested Tuesday after officers found Bright’s empty casket in the back of his van. He says Bright’s body was later found in the basement of the arrested son’s home on Detroit’s east side.

A 38-year-old man was also arrested. The suspects’ names have not been released. No charges have been filed.

Bright’s body and casket were stolen from Gethsemane Cemetery on Monday morning. The 93-year-old’s funeral was held Saturday, but the ground was too soggy for his burial.

Mortician’s assistant Leon Jones, of Swanson Funeral Home, says it’s a “very bizarre” situation.

A baby humpback whale that was found floundering in shallow waters off Hawaii’s Kawaikui Beach Park has died.

KHON-TV reports that the baby humpback died Monday night shortly before 9 p.m. A fisherman found the whale alive but in distress late in the afternoon.

NOAA’s Marine Mammal Response team came out to monitor the situation. David Schofield, coordinator of NOAA’s Marine Mammal Response Network, says the baby whale was stranded due to being separated from its mother. He says the calf was anywhere from several hours to several days old.

Schofield says this is the time of year in which humpback whales are giving birth. He says each year for or five newborns that fail to thrive wash up on the beach.

A federal appeals court has denied bail for a New York City police officer charged with conspiring to rape, kill and eat women.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied bail for Gilberto Valle on Tuesday.

Attorney Edward Zas argued for bail for Valle. He said the officer merely engaged in the same sexual fantasies as 40,000 other people who go on Internet sites that cater to fetishes.

Judge Chester Straub disputed the lawyer’s claim. He said there appeared to be evidence Valle took steps to carry out some of the plots. A prosecutor agreed.

A co-defendant from New Jersey previously was denied bail.

Valle’s trial is scheduled to start next week. However, defense lawyers say they may need more time to prepare their case.

A 20-year-old Lincoln man has been charged with first-degree sexual assault after police say he raped a woman while she was incapacitated.

Authorities tell the Lincoln Journal Star that the 20-year-old woman and her friends attended several parties in Lincoln the night of Jan. 22, 2012. The woman told police she passed out at a house occupied by several college-aged men. She later woke up with her clothing disheveled and feeling pain.

A medical examination indicated she had been raped, and lab results implicated Dustin Trauernicht.

Trauernicht was arrested on Sunday.

Online court records do not list an attorney for Trauernicht and show that Trauernicht has been released from jail on $1,000 cash bond. A public phone listing for Trauernicht could not be found.