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Actress Patty Duke Released from Omaha Hospital

Patty-DukeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke has been released from an Omaha hospital and plans to resume her speaking tour.

Bruce Crawford, who helped organize a screening of “The Miracle Worker” with Duke, said the actress left the Nebraska Medical Center Sunday after being treated for irritable bowel syndrome.

Crawford says Duke’s husband, Michael Pearce, told him Sunday that she was feeling fine.

Before Duke sought treatment, the 67-year-old spoke at the movie screening Friday at Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum. Crawford says Duke even signed autographs for 90 minutes after the movie.

“The Miracle Worker” tells the story of tutor Anne Sullivan’s efforts to help a young Helen Keller.

Crews Search for 3 People in Colorado Mudslide

police-lights-redGRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Rescue teams are resuming the search for three men reported missing after a large mudslide in western Colorado.

The slide hit Sunday in a remote area near the town of Collbran, about 40 miles east of Grand Junction.

Mesa County Sheriff’s dispatcher Amanda Orr says three area residents are unaccounted for, and it’s unknown if they were in the area impacted by the massive slide.

A sheriff’s helicopter was surveying the slide area early Monday. The department said late Sunday it estimated the slide to be about 4 miles long, 2 miles wide and 250 feet deep in many places.

Authorities say no structures or major roads were affected.

Fremont Motorcyclist Killed in Omaha Crash

fatal-motorcycle-crashOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a Fremont man was killed after his motorcycle crashed into a car in Omaha.

The motorcyclist was identified as 26-year-old Preston J. Turner. Omaha police say Turner was riding northbound in Omaha around 9:40 p.m. Sunday when his 2006 Kawasaki struck a southbound 2010 Lexus Sedan that was turning east.

Police say Turner was unable to avoid striking the Lexus. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Lexus was identified as 83-year-old William W. Hugh, of Omaha. Police say the crash remains under investigation.

Tornado-Stricken Beaver Crossing Family of 11 Gets New Home

Beaver Crossing Tornado Cleanup(AP) — An eastern Nebraska family of 11 has found a new home after a tornado destroyed their old one two weeks ago.

Mitch and Betty Nisly’s bank approved the family for a home loan last week. Their new home is in Utica, about 12 miles north of Beaver Crossing, which was struck by a tornado on May 11.

The storm also crushed the family’s 12-passenger van. Authorities say 17 tornadoes were reported in Nebraska that day. Beaver Crossing was hardest-hit, with 16 houses damaged.

Since the tornado, the family had been living in a three-bedroom house owned by the Utica United Methodist Church, and sleeping on air mattresses. The family also received donations of clothes, blankets, furniture and gift certificates.

Douglas County’s Insurer Sued for Damages

lawsuit-settlement(AP) — Two men wrongfully accused in a 2006 double murder are going after Douglas County’s liability insurance carrier to recoup a multimillion-dollar judgment against the county’s former crime lab chief.

Attorneys for Matthew Livers and Nicholas Sampson filed garnishment claims last week against the St. Paul Travelers Cos. They are seeking the $6.6 million they were awarded in a federal civil rights case against former Douglas County crime lab chief David Kofoed.

Livers and Sampson were jailed for months after the Murdock, Neb., shotgun murders of Wayne and Sharmon Stock, Livers’ aunt and uncle.

The case involved a false confession from Livers during a coercive interrogation. Livers, who has a learning disability, implicated himself and his cousin Sampson in the killings.

Omaha Man Suffers Gun Shot but Won’t Share Details

omahapopo(AP) — A 20-year-old Omaha man is recovering from a gunshot wound, but he won’t tell police how he got hurt.

Omaha police say Travell Jones showed up at Immanuel Hospital around 1:20 a.m. Sunday with gunshot wounds in his groin, leg and foot.

Jones refused to cooperate with officers investigating the shooting or say whether he accidentally shot himself.

His injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

Health Law: Embrace, Avoid or In Between for Dems

healthcare-law-300x300(AP) — Democratic candidates are trying to figure out whether to embrace or avoid President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Or land somewhere in between.

The president says his party shouldn’t apologize or go on the defensive about the Affordable Care Act.

Candidates aren’t so sure.

Two top recruits for Senate races — Michelle Nunn in Georgia and Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky — won’t say how they would have voted when the Senate passed the bill in 2010.

Their refusals are overshadowing their endorsements of individual parts of the law that are more popular than the law itself.

In Montana, Sen. John Walsh, appointed to office in February and now running for a full term, reminds voters that he was nowhere near Congress in 2010.

UNL to Host Global Water Security Conference

UNL(AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is hosting a conference on water security and its impact on the Middle East.

The free conference is set for May 28-29 at the Kauffman Center on campus. Scholars from around the world will present research and discuss how access to water and water management will affect the politics and cultures throughout the world.

The conference will include presentations from water policy and environmental experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and universities throughout the world.

Sessions will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 28 and 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on May 29.

Nebraska Man Plans Motivational Public Access Show

Andy Greenberg
Andy Greenberg

(AP) — A Nebraska man is taking his motivational messages to public television in Omaha.

Andy Greenberg’s “Your Daily High” messages are already syndicated on Radio America stations nationwide.

Now Greenberg plans to launch a new weekly television show that will air at 10 a.m. starting Saturday. The shows will also feature interviews with someone who lives in Omaha that has done something extraordinary with their lives.

Greenberg spent most of his career in sales and marketing and now he works in public relations and as a speaker and training consultant for companies.

Private Hospital Could Take Some Pressure Off VA

department-of-veterans-affairs(AP) — The Obama administration’s decision to allow more veterans to get care at private hospitals could take some pressure off backlogged Veterans Affairs facilities.

Many of them are struggling to cope with new patients from the wars on terrorism as well as soldiers from prior conflicts.

Agreeing to recommendations from lawmakers, the administration says it will allow more veterans to obtain treatment at private hospitals and clinics in an effort to improve care.

In a statement Saturday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki also said that VA facilities are enhancing capacity of their clinics so veterans can get care sooner.

Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for this policy change as the VA confronts allegations about treatment delays and falsified records at VA centers nationwide.

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