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Danger not over yet: Harvey evacuees face mold, gas leaks

HOUSTON (AP) — The danger isn’t over yet for Harvey evacuees who are returning to flood-ravaged homes where they face the threat of mold, spoiled food, gas leaks and downed power lines.

While some residents of the still-flooded western part of Houston may not be able to return home for days, others are starting a massive cleanup and dragging sodden debris to the curbside. Keeping them safe is a concern of health officials who hope to reach them through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

U.S. Health and Human Services Department spokeswoman Joni Geels says some evacuees have been able to keep their phones charged at charging stations in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. She says cellular “service has been really good,” which has helped with communicating safety advice.

Nebraska reservation moves toward solar energy

WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — An indigenous tribe plans to install 1,000 solar panels at a reservation in northeast Nebraska.

The Winnebago Tribe will install panels across more than a dozen sites, generating more than 300 kilowatts of solar power. The installations are projected to reduce energy bills by about $40,000 a year.

The project came after the tribe’s economic development arm, Ho-Chunk Inc., received two grants in June through the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs. The grants totaled $394,500 and Ho-Chunk matched funds to increase it to $789,000.

Ho-Chunk is also working with Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems to bring more green projects to the Winnebago Reservation.

Ho-Chunk President Lance Morgan says clean energy and self-reliance are reasons for the move to solar.

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Officials release name of minivan driver killed in collision

CRETE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a minivan driver who died after a collision with a semitrailer in southeast Nebraska.

The crash was reported around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on Nebraska Highway 33, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east-northeast of Crete. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says the minivan swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with the truck.

The minivan driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office identified him Thursday as 41-year-old Avery Paulson, who lived in Lincoln. The truck driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries. He’s been identified as a Texas man, 48-year-old Neil Winningham.

Police say teen killed in crash was racing another car

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police in Lincoln say a teen killed this week in a crash was racing another car on a city street when he lost control, causing a chain reaction crash involving several vehicles.

Authorities on Thursday identified the teen as 16-year-old Blayne Rezac, who was a junior at Lincoln’s North Star High School.

The crash was reported a little before 10 a.m. Wednesday near the Lancaster Event Center in east Lincoln.

Police said Thursday that investigators believe Rezac was racing another car when he swerved to avoid a rear-end collision and struck a different car. Both vehicles went over the median, and three oncoming vehicles were struck.

The crash injured six other people, who were treated at local hospitals.

Woman ordered to pay triple money received in Medicaid fraud

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A woman sentenced to federal prison earlier this week for health care fraud in Nebraska has now been ordered to pay the state more than $400,000 for the false Medicaid claims.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s office said Thursday that Chandra Wrightsell, who ran Evol Consulting, has been ordered by a Lancaster County District judge to pay $439,777 to the state — three times the amount she’s accused of receiving through fraud.

Officials say she submitted more than 1,300 claims to the Nebraska Medicaid program but did not have any documentation to show that the services were ever rendered. She was paid more than $146,000 on those claims.

On Wednesday in federal court, Wrightsell was sentenced to 18 months behind bars and was told to pay nearly $106,000 in restitution.

Utah man dies after semitrailer swerves off I-80 in Nebraska

ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver died after his semitrailer swerved off an interstate in eastern Nebraska.

The crash was reported about 3 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 80, just southeast of Greenwood. The Nebraska State Patrol says the truck rolled after it left the roadway and ended up on one of its sides in a cornfield.

The patrol identified the driver as 51-year-old Robert Murray, who lived in Wellsville City, Utah. The patrol says Murray may have suffered a medical problem that led to the crash.

Officials release name of teen killed in Lincoln collision

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a high school student who was killed in a collision involving five vehicles in east Lincoln.

The boy’s been identified as 16-year-old Blayne Rezac, who was a junior at Lincoln’s North Star High School.

The crash was reported a little before 10 a.m. Wednesday near the Lancaster Event Center. Six people were taken to hospitals.

Details about what led to the collision have not yet been released.

Police say woman injured in Lincoln blast died in hospital

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman critically injured when her southeast Lincoln home blew apart has died at a hospital.

Lincoln police say Jeanne Jasa died around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Police say her husband, Jim, remains in critical condition. He also was blown into their backyard on Aug. 14.

The natural gas explosion shattered windows and knocked some neighboring homes off their foundations. Debris from the shattered home was scattered for blocks.

Authorities say tests have confirmed the blast didn’t start outside the house, because there were no issues with gas delivery to it. The investigation is continuing.

Nebraska bank robbery trial set for ‘AK-47 bandit’ suspect

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal trial has been scheduled in Nebraska for a man suspected of being the “AK-47 bandit,” who investigators believe robbed banks in five states.

Court records show Richard Gathercole pleaded not guilty last week to robbery and other charges in U.S. District Court. Gathercole is accused of stealing more than $90,000 in August 2014 from a bank in Nebraska City, which sits about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Omaha. His trial is set to begin Oct. 23 in Lincoln.

FBI officials believe the bandit carried an AK-47 while robbing banks in California, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington.

Gathercole, of Montana, was arrested near Lexington, Nebraska, after a sheriff’s deputy spotted a pickup truck that Kansas authorities had reported stolen by a man who fired at a state trooper.

Lincoln police say 1 person killed in multivehicle collision

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police say one person has died and six people have been injured in a collision involving five vehicles in east Lincoln.

The crash was reported a little before 10 a.m. Wednesday near the Lancaster Event Center. Police say they would not release the name of the person killed Wednesday afternoon as officers worked with the family and Lincoln Public Schools to coordinate the release.

The names of others involved and other details about the crash have not been released.

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