(AP) — A Kansas lawmaker is proposing a bill that would allow teachers, caregivers and parents to spank children hard enough to leave marks.

Current Kansas law allows spanking that doesn’t leave marks. State Rep. Gail Finney, a Democrat from Wichita, says she wants to allow up to 10 strikes of the hand and that could leave redness and bruising. The bill also would allow parents to give permission to others to spank their children.

It would continue to ban hitting a child with fists, in the head or body, or with a belt or switch.

Finney says she wants to restore parental rights and improve discipline.

(AP) — Philanthropist Howard Buffett says seeing the challenges farmers in the developing world face made him realize how important conservation practices are for all farmers.

Buffett changed some habits on his own farms after that, and now he’s encouraging more farmers to plant cover crops in between their main crops to improve soil health.

Buffett, who is the son of investor Warren Buffett, is co-sponsoring an invitation-only conference focused on the benefits of cover crops in Omaha. The U.S. Agriculture Department also sponsored the event.

Planting cover crops between growing seasons helps control weeds, prevent soil erosion, and promote soil health. That reduces the need for fertilizer while improving crop yields.

Buffett says getting American farmers to improve their practices can help change practices worldwide, and it would help preserve resources.

(AP) — Nebraska state Sen. Charlie Janssen is running for auditor.

The Fremont lawmaker filed papers Tuesday to seek the office held by Mike Foley, who is running for governor.

Janssen entered the contest little more than two weeks after he withdrew from the Republican gubernatorial primary race. State Sen. Amanda McGill of Lincoln, a Democrat, is also running for the auditor’s job.

Janssen and McGill are the only two candidates who have filed for auditor. Sen. Pete Pirsch previously announced that he was a candidate, but he said last week that he would run instead for Nebraska attorney general.

Janssen has served in the Legislature since 2008, and was re-elected in 2012. He previously served on the Fremont City Council.

(AP) — From luxury mansions to warm islands and rare art, there’s no shortage of big-ticket items out there for the lucky winner or winners of the latest Powerball lottery jackpot.

Wednesday night’s drawing is expected to top $400 million, or about $230 million if taken in a lump sum.

Wealth asset managers advise their clients to forego large vanity purchases and instead set up trusts and annuities to keep the money safe.

But that sage advice doesn’t keep dreamers from dreaming.

For $130 million, the jackpot winner could buy Copper Beech Farm in Greenwich, Ct. The 13,500-square-foot home has 12 bedrooms. Art lovers can purchase a rare painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir at auction this spring for $10 million, with money left over to buy other works by impressionist master Claude Monet.

(AP) — Five teenagers face charges in connection to a carjacking in Omaha.

Omaha police say a woman reported early Sunday that juveniles approached her as she pulled her car into a parking stall at an apartment complex.

The woman said one suspect displayed a firearm then took her cellphone and car keys. The juveniles allegedly fled in her vehicle.

Police later located the car and tried to pull it over. The car fled but then collided with a light pole. The suspects fled but were eventually apprehended.

The five teenagers face charges, and at least four face a robbery charge. Three of the suspects are juveniles. The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes. Court records do not list attorneys for 19-year-old Tomas Smith and 18-year-old Armon Jackson.

(AP) — Doane College in Crete has taken steps to increase academic rigor by eliminating the three-week interterm courses next school year.

Dean of academic affairs John Burney said the interterm was created more than 40 years ago as a way to get students into some interdisciplinary education, with courses and topics they usually wouldn’t take during a semester.

Over time the courses became less about the classes and more about the extracurricular activities that accompanied the three-week stretch.

Doane wants to move away from the party culture the interterm became known for. Officials plan to eliminate the three-week interterm courses and replacing them with a semester-long liberal arts seminar for freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

(AP) — A federal judge has said the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska can collect a liquor tax on business owners in the northeast Nebraska city of Pender.

The judge ruled late last week that Pender is inside the Omaha Reservation and so is subject to the tribe’s liquor regulations.

A group of Pender retailers sued in federal court in 2007, saying their land was not part of the Omaha Reservation. In the 1860s, part of the tribe’s land was ceded to the Winnebago Tribe. Some of the remaining Omaha Tribe’s land came to be owned by non-Native Americans.

The part that was opened for sale to white settlers included what became the village of Pender.

(AP) — A Schuyler man has died after losing control of his car on U.S. Highway 30.

The Platte County Sheriff’s Office said 26-year-old Francisco Espinoza was driving westbound into Columbus on Monday morning to go to work.

Police said he lost control of his car, slid across a median and was hit by a semitrailer at 5:12 a.m. The semitrailer pushed the car through a chain-link fence before both vehicles stopped in a hayfield.

Police said that a witness to the accident says the roadway was nearly snow-covered except for wheel tracks.

Espinoza was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The driver of the semitrailer was not injured.

(AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln wants to work with the city to expand bike lanes that will affect students.

School officials recently introduced a master plan that includes more bike lanes along areas that intersect with the city. The Board of Regents has already approved the plan.

School officials say they’re working with the city’s parks and recreation department in developing bike lanes that would make downtown riding safer.

Jennifer Dam, assistant director for campus planning, says there’s no specific timeline in place. But school officials want the project completed in the next 10 to 15 years.