WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who plotted a suicide bomb attack at a Wichita airport is expected to get 20 years in prison under the terms of a plea deal.

Terry L. Loewen pleaded guilty in June to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The 60-year-old Wichita man will return to federal court Monday for sentencing. If the judge rejects the proposed sentence, Loewen will be allowed to withdraw his plea.

The avionics technician was arrested during an undercover FBI operation in December 2013 when he tried to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at Mid-Continent Airport.

The FBI said he was Facebook friend of an individual who regularly posted information supporting violent jihad, or holy war.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln attorney has announced a bid for the Nebraska Legislature in a district that includes eastern parts of the city and Lancaster County.

Jim Gordon said Sunday he will seek the seat held by state Sen. Kathy Campbell, who is ineligible to run again in 2016 because of term limits.

Gordon is a U.S. Army veteran and mediator who has taken leadership roles in more than two dozen civic organizations.

He is the son of the late Sally Gordon, who worked for two Nebraska governors and then as a sergeant-at-arms in the Legislature for 27 years before retiring at the age of 102.

Gordon worked for the Burlington Railroad before serving in the U.S. Army. He was wounded in Vietnam in 1967 and received the Purple Heart.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A 36-year-old employee at the Beatrice State Developmental Center has been accused of abusing one of the patients.

Shawn Ebeling, of Diller, is charged with two felony counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult stemming from reports of incidents on Aug. 9 and Aug. 21.

Ebeling’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press, seeking comment about the allegations against Ebeling.

On Aug. 3 a federal court ended special federal oversight of the state center for developmentally disabled people. It had been under federal scrutiny since 2006 because of a track record of failing to meet care standards and a U.S. Justice Department finding of patient neglect and abuse.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 33-year-old man has been arrested in the attempted kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl in Lincoln.

The incident happened around 9:15 p.m. Saturday. According to Lincoln police, a woman and her 3-year-old daughter were shopping at a grocery store when a man suddenly grabbed the child and ran toward the exit.

Police say the mother hit the man, who dropped the child and left the store before being apprehended outside by officers.

The man faces attempted kidnapping charges.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A newly elected Lincoln Board of Education member is coming under fire for home-schooling his children, despite his campaign promise to enroll them in public school.

Matt Schulte, who was elected in May, had said on a candidate questionnaire and in interviews with the newspaper that his children would attend Maxey Elementary this fall.

But Schulte said that “after much thought and prayer,” he and his wife decided not to send their second-grade son and kindergarten-aged daughter to public school. Schulte did not expand on his explanation.

Rita Bennett, president of the Lincoln Education Association, says she’s disappointed that Schulte broke his campaign pledge and says his decision to home-school his children “feels like a lack of confidence” in Lincoln’s public schools.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett will turn 85 on Sunday, but he’s shown no signs of slowing down or retiring from the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate he built over five decades.

Buffett has long said he enjoys running Berkshire far too much to consider retiring.

This year, Buffett’s friends and family may have an especially hard time shopping for the billionaire because earlier this month he just announced the biggest deal of his career.

Berkshire agreed to buy Precision Castparts for $32 billion, so if regulators and shareholders approve, the aerospace and industrial company will soon join Buffett’s firm.

Of course, Buffett is known for his relatively simple tastes for cheeseburgers, steaks and Cherry Coke. And he continues living in the Omaha home he bought in 1958.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — The family and friends of a Nebraska man who has been missing since July in Badlands National Park in southwestern South Dakota hope he will be found.

39-year-old Joshua Jacobsen’s loved ones are trying to remain optimistic, but it is unlikely he will be found alive.

Jacobsen is believed to have entered the park on July 12, and his vehicle was found in campground, on July 17. Authorities called off the search for him in early August.

Christine Jacobsen-Bucy says it’s hard to remain positive about her son’s disappearance.

Jacobsen had moved to Laurel, Nebraska, about a month before his disappearance to take a chef’s job at a new restaurant there.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The owner of an Omaha event-planning company accused of selling thousands of worthless airline vouchers has filed a civil lawsuit against former employees, including those that prosecutors say she bilked.

Patricia Urbanovsky’s lawsuit alleges that four employees either embezzled company funds, misled clients or reported higher sales in order to earn larger commissions. The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in Douglas County District Court.

Urbanovsky is charged with three felony counts of theft, accused of bilking three former employees out of more than $141,000.

Urbanovsky’s attorney, Steve Lefler, says the lawsuit will allow him to question the former employees and get to the bottom of what he believes was a conspiracy by them to dupe Urbanovsky.