(AP) — A bipartisan group of Nebraska lawmakers is calling for reform of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to legal status for people who entered the country illegally.

Sen. John Wightman of Lexington has introduced a measure intended to pressure Nebraska’s congressional delegation into supporting an immigration bill in the U.S. House. Supporters were to present the measure Wednesday to the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha says the federal action would fix a state-by-state patchwork of immigration policies, while boosting the state economy.

The measure is sponsored by seven Democrats and seven Republicans in the Legislature. It’s also backed by Nebraska retail, restaurant and ranching groups.

(AP) — Nebraska still has no means to carry out an execution because state officials have not replaced their supply of one of three drugs needed for lethal injection.

The state’s batch of sodium thiopental expired last year, and prison officials said Tuesday that they haven’t yet restored it. Sodium thiopental renders inmate unconscious.

The Swiss company that made the drug says it was sold to Nebraska without authorization after being stolen by a broker in India. Nebraska’s execution protocol specifically mentions the drug, which is no longer produced domestically.

The drug was discussed during Nebraska Supreme Court oral arguments for former cult leader Michael W. Ryan. Ryan was sentenced to death in 1985 after being convicted of first-degree murder of one of his followers.

(AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found near train tracks in south Lincoln.

The Lincoln Police Department says a train crew with Burlington Northern Santa Fe found the man at about 7:50 a.m. Wednesday.

Lincoln Police spokeswoman Katie Flood says investigators believe the man was hit by a train, but they’re not sure which one. They’re also trying to determine his identity and when he may have died.

Additional information has not been released.

(AP) — An Omaha man has been ordered to pay restitution and penalties in connection to a lawsuit over an alleged Ponzi scheme that bilked more than 100 people out of more than $4 million.

The U.S. District Court in Omaha recently ruled that Michael Kratville was liable for operating the scheme and must pay $524,000 in restitution and $1.17 million in civil penalties as part of a lawsuit filed in 2011 by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The commission claimed Kratville and two other men lost $3 million in participants’ funds and misappropriated more than $1.5 million in investments. The men were indicted last year and face federal criminal charges related to the case.

 

(AP) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’s convinced the effects of climate change have already had a negative impact on agriculture and forestry in the U.S.

Vilsack is citing the intensity and frequency of recent storms, plus droughts, snowstorms and subzero weather. He says the nation must play an active role in preparing for climate change.

Vilsack spoke at the White House as the Obama administration announced it is creating seven regional hubs to help coordinate and distribute information about the effects of climate change.

The hubs will be based at Agriculture Department facilities. They’ll assess local climate risks, such as drought and wildfire, then develop plans for dealing with them.

(AP) — A bill that would keep some $35.7 million in state aid for Nebraska’s public schools has won first-round approval in the Legislature.

The bill that advanced Wednesday would increase state aid by about $35.7 million for fiscal year 2015. The state budget approved last year included $940 million for school aid in that period, based on estimates. But the current state aid formula calls for $900 million.

Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids, chairwoman of the Education Committee, says the bill would ensure roughly the same amount of funding for schools that was approved in the budget.

Supporters say increasing state aid helps reduce pressure on property taxes, though not all districts receive equalization aid.

Lawmakers voted 29-0 to advance the bill.

(AP) — An anonymous donor who has given nearly $7 million to nine groups and organizations in Milford has also given around $26 million more to 32 entities and charitable organizations in or near Lincoln.

Union Bank & Trust, acting for the donor, is notifying the new recipients. The 32 range in size from Nebraska Wesleyan University down to the village of Douglas, which has 173 residents.

The gifts are stock in Farmers & Merchants Investment Inc., a corporation that has majority ownership in Union Bank & Trust Co.

A bank officer wrote in an email that the donor wanted to show “sincere appreciation to the community of Lincoln, state of Nebraska and all those who have made Union Bank successful over the past 50 years.”

(AP) — A federal appellate court has reinstated several portions of a lawsuit brought by five Nebraska guards who alleged their prison was a racially hostile workplace.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday overruled a judge who said the guards’ allegations didn’t meet the exacting standard required for such a distinction.

The guards filed the lawsuit in 2010, saying they were subject to racially charged comments and other bias at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln. It named several officials in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. The lawsuit dismissal came in 2012.

A spokeswoman for the department declined to comment.

(AP) — Authorities say the man who was shot to death by suburban Denver police after holding a 13-year-old boy hostage for nearly 18 hours had a criminal record and was wanted for a parole violation.

Police say officers fatally shot 34-year-old Don Pooley on Tuesday when he went to the door of the house he was barricaded in to retrieve unspecified items left by negotiators.

Members of a SWAT team immediately rescued the boy.

Authorities say the standoff began after police responded to a report of a domestic dispute involving Pooley at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Police say Pooley fled the home, forced his way into another home and took the 13-year-old, who was in the home alone, hostage.