SARDIS, Miss. (AP) — Thirty-two-year-old James D. Willie has been convicted of fatally shooting a Nebraska man along a North Mississippi highway in 2012.

A jury Tuesday in Panola County Circuit Court convicted Willie of murder in the shooting death of Thomas K. Schlender.

Willie was sentenced to life in prison by Circuit Judge Jimmy McClure

Prosecutors say the 74-year-old Schlender, of Raymond, Nebraska, was found on May 8, 2012. He had been shot inside his 1999 Ford F-150, which was located in the median of southbound Interstate 55 near Pope, Mississippi.

Authorities say Schlender was traveling to Florida to pick up his grandson from college.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Two people have been killed in a collision between a car and semitrailer just north of Fremont.

The accident occurred just after 1 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and Nebraska Highway 91. The names of the two victims aren’t being released until relatives are notified.

Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen says the truck driven by 51-year-old Byron Morrow, of Tekamah, was headed west on Nebraska 91 before turning south onto U.S. 77. That’s when the big rig was struck by the car.

Morrow was not injured. Both people in the car were pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident is being investigated.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — The sheriff’s department in Platte County is seeking $10,000 in the 2014-15 budget to add a part-time counseling position at the jail.

Former Sheriff Jon Zavadil, who retired last month, says his and other jails have become dumping grounds for people who need mental health care, something for which the jail isn’t equipped or staffed.

The problems have arisen since the state shifted responsibility for some mental health treatment from regional facilities to community-based services.

He says treatment gaps have opened between services that once were available at regional facilities and what’s locally accessible to people sitting in jail, accused of crimes.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for receiving child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nebraska says 35-year-old David Evans was sentenced Monday in Omaha’s federal court.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Evans was arrested in 2012 after authorities say they found images of child pornography available for sharing on his computer. Prosecutors say two of the images were videos involving prepubescent minors engaged in sex acts.

After his release from prison, Evans will be under federal supervision for another five years and be required to register as a sex offender.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A Fremont man has been accused of embezzling nearly $2.5 million from his employer over several years.

The Fremont Police Department says 66-year-old Dennis D. Hesman was arrested Wednesday. He faces 10 counts of felony theft by deception and one count of felony criminal conspiracy. Court records do not list an attorney.

Hesman’s former employer claims he falsified documents while working for the company between 2007 and 2013. He is accused of using those documents to embezzle nearly $2.5 million.

Authorities say they’re investigating other people in the case. Federal charges are possible.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Electrical power has been restored to all but a few hundred customers in eastern Nebraska who lost electricity when powerful thunderstorms rolled through.

Omaha Public Power District says that, as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, 306 customers still had no power because of 121 incidents in the district’s service territory. OPPD spokesman Mike Jones says the outages peaked at more than 5,100 a little after 7 p.m. Tuesday.

OPPD’s service area includes all or part of 13 counties in eastern Nebraska.

Nebraska Public Power District’s website says 122 customers in Craig and 748 customers Tekamah had no power. Both cities are in northeastern Nebraska.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have reported extensive flooding in Omaha that caused dozens of motorists to be stranded in their cars.

Police spokesman James Shade said rescue boats were used Tuesday to reach dozens of drivers who got stuck while making the commute home. No injuries have been reported.

Shade said dozens of residents were also evacuated from low-lying homes on the northeast side, where several inches of rain fell in an hour. He noted a 95-year-old woman in a wheelchair who was rescued from her home.

Severe weather packing large hail and damaging winds was reported Tuesday in portions of Nebraska and Iowa. The National Weather Service expects the weather to remain into the morning hours of Wednesday.

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say at least a dozen people have been injured by hail that pounded Blair and other cities as wave after wave of powerful thunderstorms moved through the eastern side of Nebraska.

Blair police say nine of those hurt were in a vehicle at a store parking lot when one of the storms hit on Tuesday. The nine were taken to Memorial Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Hail up to the size of baseballs smashed hundreds of windows on vehicles, homes and businesses throughout the city, and street flooding was reported.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Blair Municipal Airport recorded nearly 3.5 inches of rain from the storms.

STERLING, Colo. (AP) — Investigators have arrested a 19-year-old and his girlfriend on suspicion of murdering his grandparents in Sterling.

Brendan Lee Johnson and 18-year-old Cassandra Ann Reib could face charges of murder, forgery and robbery.

The couple is suspected in the deaths of Charles and Shirley Severance, both 70. The Severances are Johnson’s grandparents.

The body of Charles Severance was discovered in his home May 29. An autopsy showed no evidence of injury or trauma.

Police announced Tuesday that the remains of Shirley Severance were discovered near Sterling, with other remains found in Lorenzo, Nebraska.

Police did not immediately speculate on a motive. The two are scheduled to appear in court for advisement Wednesday.