LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County officials are turning to U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry for help to stop the IRS from withholding federal funds meant for the eastern Nebraska county.

The IRS has withheld thousands of dollars from Lancaster County since January 2013 because of debts owed by the Lancaster Rehabilitation Center to the federal veterans affairs department.

The county sold the center to Illinois-based Altitude Health Services in 2010. The VA agency still considers the county to be the center’s owner.

The federal VA department still associates the county’s tax ID number with the center. It has sought repayment by having the IRS withhold the money.

Altitude Health has been paying the county money to help replace the lost federal funds.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman has been seriously injured in an early-morning house fire in Omaha.

Douglas County emergency dispatchers say the woman suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to a local hospital after firefighters were called to the fire in north Omaha around 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Investigators have not declared what caused the fire, but said the blaze may have begun in the home’s kitchen.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man serving life in prison for a 2005 shooting death in Lincoln has lost his appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

In a ruling Friday, the court rejected arguments by 34-year-old Antonio Banks. Banks had challenged his sentence with a motion for postconviction relief, which is filed once all other appeals are exhausted.

Banks was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Robert Herndon. He also was sentenced to 20 to 30 years for a firearms conviction.

Banks argued in his motion that his attorney didn’t effectively defend him.

CHICAGO (AP) — A summer jobs program that engaged mentors to help troubled kids in Chicago stay on track is linked with a big reduction in youth arrests for violent crimes.

The results suggest that a low-cost public program can reap big benefits. The findings also support arguments that employment alone cannot resolve poverty-related ills.

The study’s author and other experts say the results are promising.

Chicago’s eight-week program began in 2012 and gives jobs to thousands of disadvantaged kids. The study involved the first year and found 43 percent fewer violent crime arrests for kids involved, compared with a control group.

The study was released Thursday by the journal Science.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — On his second attempt, an Omaha attorney successfully pleaded guilty to helping run a Ponzi scheme.

Michael Kratville failed to satisfy U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon on Monday because he failed to admit his guilt properly.

Kratville is one of three people indicted for operating a Ponzi scheme that swindled 100 people out of $4 million.

Kratville succeeded Thursday and was found guilty of wire fraud. In return, prosecutors will seek a prison no more than seven years in prison.

Authorities say Kratville, Jon Arrington and Michael Welke operated two companies, guaranteeing large returns and low risk to investors when they were actually money losers who hid their losses.

Arrington and Welke have each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — It could be a very happy holiday for the person who bought a winning $166,000 lottery ticket at an Omaha store this week.

The winning Pick 5 ticket was sold at the Hy-Vee Drug Store in north Omaha. It matched all five numbers drawn.

The winning numbers drawn in Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 were 5, 8, 12, 23, and 38.

The owner of the ticket has six months to claim the jackpot; winning tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. As with all prizes over $20,000, the jackpot must be claimed in person at the lottery headquarters in Lincoln.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say officers found a man dead and a woman critically injured in at a northwest Omaha home.

Police say officers and emergency workers rushed to the home after an emergency call was placed shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday.

Police later identified the dead man as 25-year-old Phillip Sledge.

Police didn’t say how Sledge died or give details on the nature of the woman’s injuries. But they say foul play isn’t suspected and that officers are not looking for any suspects.

Police say the woman was taken to an Omaha hospital, where she remained in critical condition Thursday night.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a woman has been hospitalized after a man attacked her with a screwdriver during a carjacking.

Witnesses tell police the suspect confronted the woman and a man Wednesday evening as they walked to their driveway. Police say the suspect was armed with a gun and stabbed the woman in the head with the screwdriver.

The woman was transported to an area hospital with injuries that police say aren’t critical. The man wasn’t injured.

The stolen car is a dark blue 1990s Toyota Camry. Police are searching for the suspect.