OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 28-year-old man faces first-degree murder and weapons charges in the stabbing death of a 34-year-old in Omaha.

Omaha police say they arrested Courtney Moore following an investigation into the death of Johnny K. Moore. Police say they responded to the reported stabbing just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday in north Omaha. Moore was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say they’re still investigating.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say more than $4,000 worth of guns and jewelry were stolen from a Lincoln pawn shop.

AAA Ultimate Pawn was burglarized early Sunday morning. Assistant Lincoln Police Chief Brian Jackson says the incident was reported around 5 a.m.

Jackson says investigators believe the burglar got into the shop by damaging the back door.

Store employees were still taking inventory of the missing items Sunday afternoon, but Jackson says the total loss exceeded $4,000.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee at a Lincoln pharmaceutical plant.

Joel Padin was a former director of operations at the Novartis plant in Lincoln.

U.S. District Judge John Gerrard on Wednesday granted Novartis Consumer Health Inc.’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit in which Padin accused the company of discrimination, creating a hostile work environment and retaliation.

The judge said in his order that Padin, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, failed to produce sufficient evidence to prove his claims.

Padin alleges that a site controller relayed employee complaints about him speaking Spanish, and also asked him why he was hiring so many Puerto Ricans. Novartis denied the allegation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a person found dead in northeast Omaha was a 51-year-old man.

Omaha police identified the man Sunday at James E. Bailey. Bailey was found Saturday around 11:30 a.m. at 27th and Wirt streets.

The death has been ruled suspicious and the police department’s homicide unit is investigating. Police say Bailey’s next of kin has been notified.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — The Adams County Courthouse in Hastings will be more secure when it opens for the new year.

Officials restricted access to the courthouse’s south entrance. Visitors who enter the building when it opens Jan. 4 also will have to walk through an X-ray machine and metal detector monitored by security guards. One guard will be armed and the other won’t.

Adams County Supervisor Scott Thomsen says officials studied the issue for more than two years before making the security upgrades. They follow enhanced security implemented recently at the city building.

The county paid about $40,000 for the X-ray machine and $5,000 for the metal detector. The annual cost of the security guards will be about $100,000.

Supervisors awarded additional money for cameras and security doors.

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BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Volunteers hope that by spreading seeds, they can help monarch butterflies thrive in the future.

Earlier this month, volunteers spent two day spreading milkweed seeds over 50 acres of brown grass dotted with a few bare trees. They hope that by growing milkweed at the spot owned by the Nebraska Public Power District near Beatrice, they can help reverse an estimated 90 percent decline in monarchs.

Much of the drop is blamed on a lack of habitat.

Tom Weissling, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln associate professor of entomology, notes that Nebraska sits in the monarch flyway for the annual treks between Canada and Mexico. That makes additional habitat especially important in Nebraska.

The milkweed seeding cost about $30,000, which was covered by several groups.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 36-year-old woman hiding from deputies was caught after she fell through the ceiling of an adjoining duplex unit in Lincoln.

Kristina Frerichs was taken to a hospital after her fall Wednesday and then to jail. Online records say she remained there Friday. Attempts to reach Frerichs’ attorney were unsuccessful.

Deputies say they saw Frerichs through a window at her residence but couldn’t find her when the duplex owners let them in. Deputies say residents on the other side of the duplex soon reported that someone had fallen from the attic through the ceiling of their living room. Frerichs was found hiding at the bottom of a nearby staircase.

Court records say Frerichs was sought on warrants stemming from four felony drug possession convictions in three cases.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — At the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, even the animals shared in the holiday spirit.

In keeping with a zoo holiday tradition, on Thursday keepers presented their animals with treat-filled presents.

Zoo director John Chapo said the treats are an enrichment for the animals, and “the keepers have a great time with it.”

Carson and Tenzing, two of the zoo’s red pandas, found bamboo, bananas and apples in their box. Ranney, the snow leopard, savored meatballs. A naked mole-rat feasted on baby pears.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one resident has been hospitalized and at least four others have been displaced by a fire at an apartment complex for seniors in Beatrice.

The fire was reported just after 4 p.m. Thursday when someone saw smoke coming from an apartment window. Firefighters rescued a man from inside the apartment. He was taken to a local hospital and then to Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. His name hasn’t been released.

Authorities say fire damage was contained to the apartment’s bedroom, but there was smoke and water damage elsewhere in the building.

Fire investigators say the blaze was caused by a discarded cigarette.

RED CLOUD, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas man has been killed in a south-central Nebraska highway crash.

The accident was reported around 5 p.m. Wednesday on Nebraska Highway 78, east of Red Cloud in Webster County.

The Webster County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as 75-year-old George Pfrimmer, of Mankato, Kansas.