OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha doctors say they kept the body of a brain-dead woman functioning for nearly seven weeks so the baby she was carrying could survive.

The tiny boy, Angel, was delivered earlier this month at Methodist Women’s Hospital. His mother, 22-year-old Karla Perez, had collapsed at home in Waterloo in early February. Doctors discovered a brain bleed and determined that she’d suffered brain death. Her family agreed to keep Perez’s body alive.

Dr. Todd Lovgren told television station WOWT the fetus was just 22 weeks along and couldn’t survive outside of the womb, so “we were going to have to prolong Karla’s pregnancy as long as possible.”

On April 4 her condition worsened, and doctors performed a cesarean section.

Perez was pronounced dead, and her organs were donated to other people.

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — A 42-year-old Colfax County man has been given 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting his 12-year-old stepdaughter.

The man pleaded no contest and was convicted of three counts of sexual assault of a minor. On Wednesday he was given five years on each count. Two terms will served consecutively and the third term will be served at the same time as one of the others.

The Associated Press is not using the man’s name in order to protect the privacy of the girl.

Court documents say the girl’s mother contacted police in June 2014, after her daughter told her about being assaulted. The man later told an officer that he fondled the child on eight occasions.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The city of Lincoln is threatening legal action against stores that sell synthetic marijuana unless they agree to stop carrying the product.

Mayor Chris Beutler announced Thursday that the city attorney sent letters to five known Lincoln retailers that sell the drug, commonly known as K2.

Lincoln public safety and health officials say more than 100 people have overdosed on synthetic marijuana in the past couple of weeks. Members of law enforcement say the chemical compounds cause violent and unpredictable reactions.

K2 is legal unless smoked or otherwise ingested.

Letters were sent to Island Smokes, Wicked Smoke, Dirt Cheap and Aladdin Tobacco’s two Lincoln locations.

City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick says he hopes to have the letters signed by May 15.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Students from an Omaha Catholic high school have used an annual fundraiser to show support for a gay teacher whose contract will not be renewed after he informed school officials he was engaged to his partner.

Skutt Catholic High School students wore T-shirts showing support for Matthew Eledge on Wednesday at the annual Hawk Walk, which raises money for the school’s financial aid program. An online petition alleges the school’s decision to not renew the speech teacher’s contract was made after they were told about his engagement.

The petition to persuade school officials to change their minds was launched April 7.

Earlier this month, the school’s president wrote a letter to the Skutt community stating “If a staff member cannot commit to Catholic church teachings and doctrines, he or she cannot continue to be on staff at Skutt Catholic.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a case filed against a 20-year-old man accused in a drive-by shooting of a 6-year-old girl celebrating her birthday in Omaha.

Prosecutor Jim Masteller told the Omaha World-Herald that witnesses stopped cooperating, so he had no choice last week but to move for dismissing the case filed against Willie Strickland. Strickland had been charged with a felony: intentional discharge of a firearm. Investigators say Strickland fired into an Omaha home on June 5 and hit the girl in the face.

Masteller noted that Strickland’s sister, 27-year-old Colleen Strickland, is accused of threatening one of the witnesses. Court records say she’s pleaded not guilty to a charge of terroristic threats.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has entered a plea to killing his wife, dismembering her body and hiding her remains in a storage shed.

34-year-old Kevin Miller pleaded Wednesday to first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors have agreed not to seek the death penalty in the case.

Police arrested Miller Dec. 7, just more than a week after his 28-year-old wife Kelsey Miller was reported missing. Her body was found the day before in a storage shed in northeast Lincoln, where police say they also discovered four hand saws, a knife, air fresheners, a machete, buckets and several plastic containers.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 2. Miller faces life in prison.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Officers are testifying about the hellish scene they found inside a suburban Denver theater after the 2012 attack that killed 12 people and left 70 injured.

Three officers said Wednesday they encountered bloody victims, noxious smells and blaring sounds. The gloomy darkness was pierced by bright flashes from a fire alarm.

It was the third day in the trial of James Holmes, who’s charged with murder and attempted murder.

His lawyers acknowledge he was the gunman but say schizophrenia controlled his mind. They want the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity, which would commit him indefinitely to the state hospital.

Prosecutors argue Holmes was sane and knew what he was doing was wrong. They want the jury to convict him and sentence him to die.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Grand Island City Council has decided to outsource its ambulance billing service to a Fortune 500 company, though the cost of the contract hasn’t been disclosed.

The council voted 7-2 Tuesday to approve McKesson Corp.’s proposal to handle annual billing services for what has typically contributed about $1.2 million in ambulance revenue to the Grand Island Fire Department.

Councilman Mike Paulick voted against the plan, saying he’d prefer to keep the billing service local. And Councilman Roger Steele says he rejected the move after he found out McKesson refused to reveal its contract cost.

City Attorney Bob Sivick says the cost was confidential because the company’s billing formula is considered a trade secret, as protected under Nebraska’s open records law.