(AP) — Two former Omaha Tribe of Nebraska officials have pleaded not guilty to theft of tribal funds.

53-year-old Amen Sheridan and 53-year-old Julia Whiteskunk entered their pleas on Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. Both are from Walthill. They were indicted in last month on two counts each.

Court documents say the two illegally used $4,000 in tribal housing authority funds as a down payment for a house they bought together in 2009. They also are accused of moving more than $50,000 in restricted housing funds into a tribal account, then issuing a $30,000 check from the account to Sheridan.

Sheridan is a former tribal chairman. Whiteskunk was the executive director of the tribal housing authority.

(AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln may cut its pool of money for raises next budget year to help cover a projected shortfall of $4.65 million.

Chancellor Harvey Perlman on Monday released a list of proposed cuts that total about 1 percent of the university budget. Included was $3.2 million from the salary pool, which represents 1 percentage point of what was expected to be a 3 percent increase.

The proposed cuts will go before the Academic Planning Committee for review by faculty members, staff, students and other campus groups.

(AP) — Major water users and regulators in Nebraska would have to come together to develop a water-management plan for each of the state’s river basins, under a proposal in the Legislature.

The bill by Sen. Steve Lathrop would require local and state approval of the plans, which would include input from both surface- and groundwater users. If the goals outlined in the plans aren’t met in 30 years, the Department of Natural Resources would take over basin management.

Lathrop will present his measure to a legislative committee on Tuesday.

Dean Edson, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, says the proposed requirements aren’t feasible because the state doesn’t have enough water to protect the rights of all surface-water users.

(AP) — A group of faith leaders is calling on lawmakers to pass the Wellness in Nebraska Act, which would allow more low-income residents to qualify for Medicaid or subsidized private health insurance.

More than 110 faith groups signed a letter in support of the bill, which lawmakers are expected to debate on Tuesday.

The bill would help an estimated 54,000 Nebraskans enroll in health insurance by mid-2015. Many residents who would qualify have fallen into the so-called “coverage gap,” because their incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to qualify for private subsidies through the federal health insurance marketplace.

Gov. Dave Heineman argued his weekly newspaper column that state Medicaid expenses would grow rapidly under the bill and pull money away from other priorities, such as education.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested seven people for Driving Under the Influence during high visibility patrols in conjunction with basketball tournaments held across the state, March 13-15.

In addition to the seven people arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI), troopers issued 12 Open Container, three Minor in Possession and 70 speeding citations. Motorist assistance was provided to 25 travelers.

Troopers focused on high traffic areas during the special enforcement in an effort to reduce serious injury and fatality crashes, thanks in part to an $11,990 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS).

The following statistics are a reflection of statewide activity by the Nebraska State Patrol during the special enforcement effort.

(AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 14-year-old boy who was killed in a southeast Nebraska traffic accident.

The boy was identified as Trevyn Roth, who lived with his parents in rural Milford.

Chief Deputy Dan Hejl (hayle) of the Seward County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that the accident occurred just after 7 p.m. Thursday about four miles southwest of Pleasant Dale. Hejl says the vehicle went out of control and rolled.

Hejl says a teenage girl and another teenage boy in the sport utility vehicle were injured. They were taken to a Lincoln hospital. Their names haven’t been released.

(AP) — An eastern Nebraska farmer has found a man who’d been trapped inside a wrecked vehicle for about 17 hours.

Authorities say the vehicle crashed off Nebraska Highway 36 and down an embankment into a ditch around 6 p.m. Saturday. The accident occurred a little more than a mile east of Bennington, which sits on the northwest side of Omaha.

Farmer Jim Musel saw a damaged guardrail along the highway a couple of hours later but didn’t see the truck until Sunday. He checked it and found the driver still inside.

The 66-year-old driver was cold, so Musel retrieved a coat from his truck and took off the coat he was wearing. Then he used them to cover the man until rescuers could arrive.

The man was taken to a hospital.

(AP) — A woman has escaped flames that damaged a house in eastern Omaha.

The blaze was reported a little after 4 a.m. Monday. The woman escaped unharmed, and firefighters rescued four dogs from inside the house. A fifth dog was reported missing.

The fire’s cause is being investigated.

(AP) — Cold weather and a federal program priority change have combined to provide what may be a misleading drop in the number of homeless people in Lincoln

There’s been a 12.4 percent drop over the past year.

This year’s count of unsheltered people was done Jan. 22, when the wind child was minus 18. Officials say the colder the night, the lower the number of people outside in a place where they can be counted. Officials say that count was not definitive.

Also, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development shifted money from what’s called transitional services to permanent housing services and to a new program called Rapid Rehousing. People in transitional housing are counted as homeless. People in permanent or Rapid Rehousing programs are not.