OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning is
heading back to Nebraska after flying to Atlanta for the latest
round in the legal fight over President Barack Obama’s health care
overhaul.
Bruning was in a federal courtroom in Atlanta on Wednesday as a
three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral
arguments on whether to reverse a Florida judge’s ruling that
struck down the law.
Bruning and the attorneys general of some 26 other states
opposing the law argue that Congress didn’t have the power to
require virtually all Americans to pay for health insurance. The
Justice Department says the legislative branch exercised its
“quintessential” right.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Some Nebraska National Guard members are
getting ready for an agriculture mission to Afghanistan.
The Lincoln Journal Star says 57 members of the Nebraska Air and
Army National Guard and one Army Reservist and veterinarian from
Oklahoma are leaving for training this week and ultimately for the
Paktya Province near the Pakistan border.
The unit will focus on Afghan farmers and better wheat yields
and grassland plantings that can sustain sheep and goat herds.
Improved irrigation techniques are also a goal.
A send-off was held on Tuesday in Lincoln.
The Nebraska soldiers will replace a similar unit from Oklahoma.
An Iowa National Guard ag team also was deployed to Afghanistan
last summer.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Supreme Court has denied the
state’s request to reconsider a stay of execution for Carey Dean
Moore.
Last month, the state’s high court issued an order staying what
was to be Nebraska’s first execution using lethal injection, giving
attorneys for Moore a chance to challenge one of the execution
drugs on appeal.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s office submitted a motion asking
the state Supreme Court to reconsider the stay. On Wedneday, the
high court denied that request without comment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Democratic Party is filing a new
complaint with the Federal Election Commission against GOP Senate
front-runner and state Attorney General Jon Bruning, alleging he
failed to account for expenditures on his campaign finance reports.
The party had filed complaints with the FEC and the IRS in
December, weeks after Bruning announce he was launching an
exploratory committee for a Senate race to challenge Democratic
incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson. Those complaints said Bruning failed to
register a previous Senate exploratory committee with the FEC,
among other things.
On Wednesday, the party amended its complaint to the FEC, saying
Bruning failed to account for nearly $67,000 in his first-quarter
campaign finance report.
Bruning campaign manager Trent Fellers dismissed the complaints
as Nelson “using the Nebraska Democratic Party to play dirty.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Democratic Party is filing a new
complaint with the Federal Election Commission against GOP Senate
front-runner and state Attorney General Jon Bruning, alleging he
failed to account for expenditures on his campaign finance reports.
The party had filed complaints with the FEC and the IRS in
December, weeks after Bruning announce he was launching an
exploratory committee for a Senate race to challenge Democratic
incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson. Those complaints said Bruning failed to
register a previous Senate exploratory committee with the FEC,
among other things.
On Wednesday, the party amended its complaint to the FEC, saying
Bruning failed to account for nearly $67,000 in his first-quarter
campaign finance report.
Bruning campaign manager Trent Fellers dismissed the complaints
as Nelson “using the Nebraska Democratic Party to play dirty.”

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) – A small fire disrupted the cooling system at
an eastern Nebraska nuclear power plant, but regulators say there
was no danger of radiation release because the plant has been shut
down for refueling.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the fire in a switchgear
room was reported Tuesday morning and extinguished by automated
systems within less than an hour.
The Omaha Public Power District plant briefly lost its main
cooling system for the spent fuel pool, but the temperature of the
pool remained at safe levels. Regulators say OPPD regained cooling
ability and didn’t have to use any of its backup cooling systems.
The plant has been shut down since April.
Fort Calhoun sits about 19 miles north of Omaha near the
Missouri River.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A former Omaha middle school teacher accused
of molesting students will stand trial on three counts of sexual
assault of a child.
A Douglas County judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors have
enough evidence to try 34-year-old Shad Knutson.
In his preliminary hearing, a police detective testified that at
least three 13-year-old girls complained to school officials from
2008 through 2010 about Knutson. The girls later told police that
Knutson had fondled them and exposed himself to them.
Knutson declined to comment after the hearing.
Omaha Public Schools has come under fire for not reporting the
complaints to police, who only learned of the allegations when one
of the parents called authorities last year. On Monday, the
district’s school board voted not to make changes to its child
abuse reporting policy.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say two passengers in a car
were killed when the car collided with a delivery truck near
Raymond in Lancaster County in eastern Nebraska.
The Nebraska State Patrol says 66-year-old Gary Bornemeier, of
Lincoln, and 69-year-old Richard Bornemeier, also of Lincoln, died
in the crash on Tuesday at an intersection on state Highway 79.
The patrol says the driver of the car, 64-year-old Pamela
Bornemeier, was taken to Lincoln hospital for treatment of non-life
threatening injuries.
Troopers say the accident happened about 11:30 a.m. when the
car, which was traveling north on Highway 79, was hit broadside on
the passenger side by the westbound truck. The truck driver, Steven
Smyth, of La Vista, was not injured.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.

LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) – Several people were treated for smoke
inhalation from a fire that damaged at least a dozen apartments at
a complex in the Omaha suburb of La Vista.
Several departments were called to help La Vista crews fight the
flames that were first reported about 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The cause of the fire at the Shadow Ridge Apartments is being
investigated.
After the 911 call about the fire, La Vista police officers also
responded. Two officers helped a resident from a third-floor unit.
One of the officers was treated later for smoke inhalation.
The Red Cross is helping more than four dozen people who were
displaced by the flames, smoke and water damage.

HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say a 57-year-old Holdrege man
was fatally injured in an accident while driving his all-terrain
vehicle.
The Kearney Hub is reporting that Kenneth Olson was driving on O
Road about a mile north of Holdrege a little before 6:30 p.m.
Sunday.
The Nebraska State Patrol says Olson lost control of the ATV and
it rolled as he was trying to turn onto another road.
Other crash details aren’t available yet.