A 51-year-old Wichita man has his wallet back after a would-be robber recognized him as a former fellow inmate.

Wichita police say the man was walking home from work late Wednesday when he was approached by two young men, including one with a gun.

The gunman demanded the victim’s wallet and cellphone. As the older man handed over his wallet, the second suspect realized they had spent time together in prison.

Police say the suspects then stopped the robbery, returned the wallet and apologized before leaving the scene.

No arrests had been made Thursday. The victim told police he didn’t think he could identify the robbers.

Officials say six people remain hospitalized in West Texas after a freight train hit a float in a veterans’ parade, killing 4 people and injuring 16.

Midland Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Marcy Madrid says four people are in stable condition and one is critical Friday. Madrid says a sixth patient was transferred Thursday to University Medical Center in Lubbock. Madrid had no details on that woman’s condition.

Hospital authorities initially said 17 people required treatment following the Thursday afternoon accident in Midland. Madrid on Friday corrected the figure to 16, saying a person seeking treatment at the hospital who was not in the parade float wreck wrongly was included in the accident total.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the deadly accident.

Police say a woman driving with a small child in her car crashed through a gate at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and drove on the runway.

Sgt. Trent Crump says the woman rammed an airport gate around 10 p.m. Thursday and started crossing the runway. Police officers forced the car to stop after a few minutes and detained the driver.

Crump says the driver and the child were not injured. He says that the woman may have been impaired but did not elaborate.

Police say they’re not aware of any flights being endangered, but airport operations were stopped for about 15 minutes because of the incident.

Sky Harbor communications departments declined to release any details, saying only that all operations returned to normal shortly after a “security incident.”

Police also declined to release any more information.

State judicial officials will hold their annual meeting next month to determine whether changes are needed to balance court caseloads.

The meeting Dec. 11 of the Judicial Resources Commission will be held via video conferencing from the State Capitol with links to sites in Scottsbluff and Omaha. Anyone may attend the hearing.

The commission must determine whether there are an appropriate number of judges in each district and whether district boundaries need any adjustment.

Following the hearing, the commission will make a recommendation to the Nebraska Legislature.

Three people have been sentenced on federal charges for smuggling cigarettes from Vietnam and unlawfully selling them in Nebraska.

Federal prosecutors say Kim Nguyen, Hoa Van Huynh and Thuy Nguyen, all of Lincoln, were sentenced on Wednesday for smuggling, possessing and distributing contraband Vietnamese cigarettes in Lincoln and Nebraska City between July 2010 and May.

The sentences include house arrest, supervised release and fines. Kim Nguyen must pay over $15,000 in restitution to the state and federal government.

They were among six people charged. Officials say the group had more than 10,000 cigarettes shipped from Vietnam and then resold them without paying state or federal taxes.

A fourth defendant, Teo Van Phan, was sentenced last week. A federal jury decided the other two weren’t actively involved.

Gov. Dave Heineman today announced that he has submitted Nebraska’s affirmative election to participate in the federal health insurance exchange, citing the extreme cost differential that ultimately the Nebraska taxpayer would have to incur.

 “I want to share with Nebraskans that I have listened to all sides of this issue,” said Gov. Heineman. “As Governor, my focus is on implementing the federal health care law in the most efficient and cost effective manner for Nebraskans and their families.” 

 Whether a state runs a health exchange, or that is done by the federal government, all citizens will have the option to purchase insurance policies through an exchange. A state decision either way does not affect that access.

 The Governor appreciates the input he received from a variety of perspectives throughout the course of the several years since the federal health care law was enacted in March 2010. While there were diverse and emotional opinions on this issue, the Governor stated that his decision is based on what is best for Nebraska’s hard-working, middle class taxpayers.

 Fiscal analysis of budget impacts done by the Department of Insurance and the Department of Health and Human Services calculate the cost of a state insurance exchange for Fiscal Years 2013-2020 at $646 million; while the cost of a federal insurance exchange is $176 million. The cost of a state exchange to Nebraska taxpayers is $470 million more than a federal exchange.

 The analysis encompasses costs associated with building, managing and maintaining a state-based exchange. These costs include, but are not limited to: website development, call center operations, an insurance premium billing system, staffing, equipment, supplies, office space, and the technology costs related to each of these functions. In addition, these costs include expenses necessary for the exchange to interface with the Medicaid program, in accordance with requirements of the federal law.

 “The reality is that the federal health care law is being totally dictated and totally controlled by the federal government,” the Governor added. “On the key issues, there is no real operational difference between a federal exchange and a state exchange. A state exchange is nothing more than the state administering the Affordable Care Act with all of the important and critical decisions made by the federal government.”

 The Affordable Care Act calls for the creation of health insurance exchanges, state-run or federal-run markets where households and small businesses can shop for private coverage. Governors have a Nov. 16 deadline to indicate their intent to establish a state-based exchange. If a state does not elect to run a state-based exchange, then the health exchange will be implemented by the federal government.

 According to the federal law, open enrollment is scheduled to begin for health exchange plans Oct. 1, 2013. Any exchange is expected to be fully operational on Jan. 1, 2014.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission is asking state residents to take an online test that will gauge and record their current Internet speed in a statewide database in an effort to improve Internet service.

The McCook Daily Gazette reports that the Nebraska Broadband Initiative aims to increase broadband access in underserved areas of the state. The Public Service Commission contracted with BroadMap to collect, verify, report and map broadband availability by location throughout the state.

Those wishing to participate can go online to https://broadbandmap.nebraska.gov . Visitors to the site will find instructions for conducting a test of their broadband Internet service speed. They can also provide feedback on their Internet access

A family has escaped flames that destroyed their rural home near Filley in southeast Nebraska.

Beatrice radio station KWBE says the fire was reported around 1:30 a.m. Thursday and around 30 firefighters from three departments responded.

Filley Fire District Chief Terry Robinson says it took about an hour to control the fire, which flared anew when flames found fuel in the house basement. The house was gutted.

No injuries have been reported. The fire cause is being investigated.

A northeast Nebraska county commissioner has won a court order blocking his recall election because of flaws in the petition.

A Wayne County judge ordered election officials to abandon the Nov. 20 recall for Kelvin Wurdeman.

The Norfolk Daily News reported the judge agreed with Wurdeman that petition paperwork used to gather signatures was flawed because it failed to state whether paid circulators were used.

The recall petition accused Wurdeman of removing dirt from a landowner’s field without permission and using it to address a nearby road problem. Wurdeman says he paid the landowner $150 for the dirt to resolve the issue.

In a separate case, Wurdeman was fined $1,000 for theft. Wurdeman pleaded no contest to charges accusing him of stealing a truckload of publicly