(AP) — Authorities say no students have been injured in a four-vehicle accident involving a school bus in near Hooper eastern Nebraska.

The accident occurred just before 4 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 77 near the intersection with old U.S. Highway 275.

Superintendent Jeremy Klein, of Logan View Public Schools, says the bus slowed for railroad trucks, and a three-vehicle collision behind the bus knocked a car into the rear of the bus. He says the bus was carrying 40 students.

Another bus was sent to the scene, but many parents picked up their children there.

(AP) — A private group’s proposal to consolidate Lincoln and Lancaster County government has drawn mixed reviews from city and county leaders.

Ann Post is legal counsel for the Lincoln Independent Business Association and chairwoman of the Consolidation Task Force. Post shared the report Tuesday with the City Council and county commissioners. She says the task force’s original goals were to increase efficiency and cut costs.

Some of the city and county leaders expressed doubts about whether consolidation would accomplish those goals.

But Commissioner Jane Raybould backed the recommendations, saying they were “just a question of political will and support.”

(AP) — An 88-year-old York man has died after a collision near York General Hospital.

Authorities say Kenneth Gloystein was injured in the accident, which occurred Monday afternoon. Police Chief Don Klug says Gloystein died about 7 p.m. Monday. A police report says Gloystein died of a combination of a pre-existing medical condition and his injuries.

The report says Gloystein was driving south when he attempted to turn left into the hospital parking lot. Witnesses say Gloystein turned into the path of a northbound minivan driven by 82-year-old Gilbert Naber. Naber refused treatment of his minor injuries.

(AP) — Officials are offering reward money for information that leads to an arrest in the death of a pit bull found in Omaha.

The Nebraska Humane Society says a male pit bull between the ages of 5 and 7 was found dead in an alley Monday. The dog was wrapped in bed sheets and a pair of jeans.

Officials believe the pit bull was dumped in the alley. An examination of the dog showed signs of starvation.

The humane society is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

(AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker wants to create a public guardian office to serve state wards when no one else is available to meet their needs.

Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln proposed the new office in a bill introduced on Wednesday. The measure was introduced in response to a state audit that found problems with Nebraska’s current system, which relies heavily on volunteers.

Coash says Nebraska is the only state that does not have an Office of the Public Guardian. He says the state will continue to rely on volunteers, but the new office would serve as a “last resort” for state wards. It also would offer training and resources to guardians and conservators.

The measure has nine co-sponsors.

(AP) — Authorities say a 5-year-old girl has died after being struck by at least one stray bullet that entered her home in north Omaha.

Police spokesman Michael Pecha says officers found Payton Benson after following up on multiple reports of gunshots around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday. Pecha says the girl was taken to Creighton University Medical Center, where she later died.

Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray says the girl’s father is his nephew.

No arrests have been reported. Police didn’t immediately release other details about the shooting.

Researchers say that newer vaccines against rotavirus, a severe diarrheal disease in children, appear safer than an earlier one that was pulled from the market 15 years ago.

The new vaccines slightly raise the risk of a twisted bowel problem that doomed the first vaccine, but to a much smaller degree. Doctors say the benefits of the new vaccines, which came out in 2006 and 2008, greatly outweigh the small risk of the bowel problem.

Rotavirus kills more than 400,000 young children a year, mostly in poor countries. In the United States, good medical care usually keeps it from being fatal, but it causes many hospitalizations.

The vaccine safety studies were published online Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.

(AP) — Truckers who spill manure would face a minimum $250 fine if a bill advanced by the Nebraska Legislature becomes law.

Lawmakers gave the measure first-round approval on Tuesday with a 37-4 vote.

Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha introduced the bill last year to increase the fine from its current $100. Mello says the cost of a truck wash is cheaper than the fine, encouraging some bad actors to dump the contents of their trucks.

Mello says Omaha has seen 42 documented manure spills between August 2009 and October 2010, most of which were near the meatpacking plants in his south Omaha district.

Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill says the fine increase was excessive, and suggested that judges could use their discretion for bad actors.

(AP) — Nebraska would use its state Medicaid program and private health insurers to cover low-income residents, under a new proposal in the Legislature.

Supporters unveiled the “Wellness in Nebraska” Act on Tuesday as they prepare for another attempt to expand coverage under the federal health care law.

The measure would offer traditional Medicaid coverage to residents who make less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Residents who make between 100 and 138 percent would buy private insurance in the federal marketplace, but with Medicaid dollars covering most of their premiums and copays. Their share of the cost could be waived if they participate in a wellness program.

Opponents in the Legislature blocked an attempt last year to pass a Medicaid expansion bill.