Democrat Bob Kerrey is getting a boost from a prominent Republican in his bid to pull ahead in Nebraska’s tight race for an open Senate seat.

A Kerrey campaign spokesman says Republican Chuck Hagel, who represented the state from 1997 to 2009, will endorse Kerrey Thursday. The two served together for four years before Kerrey left Washington in 2001.

Kerrey is locked in a tight race with Republic state Sen. Deb Fischer to replace Democrat Ben Nelson, who decided not to seek a third six-year term.

A Fremont man convicted of assaulting a police officer has been sentenced to prison.

The Fremont Tribune reports that 28-year-old Patrick Patterson was sentenced Monday in Dodge County District Court to four to five years in prison for third-degree assault of an officer.

Authorities say police were trying to escort Patterson from a bar when Patterson punched one of the officers in the side of the face, breaking the officer’s glasses. Another officer was injured as a result of a stun gun that was used to subdue Patterson.

Patterson has said he does not remember the incident.

Nebraska’s elections chief says voter turnout is expected to rival that of the 2008 election.

Secretary of State John Gale expects 71 percent of registered voters in Nebraska to cast a ballot by Tuesday.

That compares to just over 71 percent turnout in 2008 and 68 percent turnout in 2004.

The presidential election pitting President Barack Obama against Republican candidate Mitt Romney is generating a lot of voter interest in this year’s race. But Gale says other races, such as the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Bob Kerrey and Republican Deb Fischer, also are spurring interest.

Statewide, Republicans have a large advantage with more than 558,000 registered voters. Democrats have more than 374,000, and there are nearly 232,000 independent and third-party voters in the state.

A Nebraska judge has sentenced a Nevada woman to prison after authorities found 22 pounds of pot in a rented SUV during a traffic stop.

The Lincoln Journal Star says Valerie Bailor of Washoe Valley, Nev., was sentenced on Wednesday to five to 10 years in prison. She pleaded no contest to possession with intent to deliver, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and failure to appear.

Authorities say Bailor was driving on Interstate 80 near Lincoln in November 2011 when she was stopped for speeding. Troopers found the pot in a suitcase while doing an inventory. The rental company wanted the SUV impounded because it wasn’t rented in Bailor’s name.

A monthly economic index report suggests an economic slump over the next three to six months for nine Midwest and Plains states.

The Mid-America Business Conditions index dropped to 46.5 last month from 50.4 in September.

The survey of business leaders and supply managers uses a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor.

The overall index figure was 49.7 in August, 48.7 in July and 57.2 in June.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says “growth in the regional economy is definitely moving lower.”

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

A California surfer who survived a shark attack says he punched the beast in the head until it finally released him.

Scott Stephens says the great white pulled him underwater Tuesday at a popular surf spot off the coast of Eureka and let him go only after receiving the blows to its head.

Doctors say Stephens suffered at least seven deep lacerations, but none of his vital organs was damaged. He was in fair condition Wednesday when he talked about the ordeal with reporters.

The 25-year-old thanked the doctors who operated on him and strangers who came to his aid. He says he plans to surf again.

Stephens’ news conference was reported by the Eureka Times-Standard

Two astronauts are spacewalking outside the International Space Station in an attempt to find an ammonia leak in a critical radiator system.

Station commander Sunita Williams and Japanese crewmate Akihiko Hoshide ventured out Thursday morning. They will isolate plumbing to help flight controllers locate the leak and open a spare radiator.

Their spacewalk got under way just hours after the orbiting lab had to dodge a piece of space junk.

On Wednesday evening, thrusters on a docked Russian supply ship were fired to move the space station out of harm’s way. But a computer error caused the thrusters to malfunction, and the station did not reach the desired altitude.

NASA says the station and its six residents are safe despite their lower-than-intended orbit. The menacing debris is a satellite fragment.

A California man has been given four to six years in a Nebraska prison for conspiring to sell marijuana.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports  that 36-year-old Darrin Ransom, of Union City, Calif., had pleaded no contest. He was sentenced Wednesday.

A U.S. postal inspector contacted Lincoln police in September 2010 after searching two suspicious packages addressed to a woman’s apartment. The packages contained a total of more than 14 pounds of marijuana.

The woman, Stephanie Olson, and her boyfriend at the time, Michael Reynolds, later were prosecuted and sentenced as well.

Olson admitted she knew about the marijuana and said it was meant for Reynolds, who’d gotten previous mail deliveries.

Police say the pot was sent by Ransom, who intended to fly to Lincoln and sell the marijuana.

Valero Energy has again stopped production at its ethanol plant in Albion in eastern Nebraska.

The Lincoln Journal Star says company spokesman Bill Day says the plant was idled recently because low margins mean it can’t make ethanol profitably right now.

The company originally shut the plant down in June because of high corn prices. It restarted the plant in mid-September after corn prices fell from all-time highs. Corn prices are about the same right now, but Day says margins haven’t improved. Falling gasoline prices and falling demand could also be a factor.

Day says Valero plans to restart the Albion plant when margins improve.

Nebraska’s corn and soybean harvests are nearly completed well ahead of schedule, but the winter wheat crop is off to a poor start.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest update on the state’s crops on Wednesday.

The USDA says 94 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop has been harvested. Normally, the corn harvest is only about half done at this stage.

About 98 percent of the soybean crop has been harvested. That’s also ahead of the average of 85 percent done at this point.

The winter wheat crop has been slow to emerge because of the drought, and some farmers have replanted their fields. About 74 percent of the winter wheat has emerged. That’s behind the average of 93 percent at this time of year.