(AP) — As the nation celebrates the Fourth of July, the Statue of Liberty will reopen to the public for the first time since Superstorm Sandy swamped Lady Liberty’s little island.

A large crowd is expected for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Federal officials and New York’s mayor are slated to attend. The first boats leave for the island from New York and New Jersey at 8:30 a.m.

Some repairs to brick walkways and docks are still under way, but much of the work has been completed since Sandy swamped most of the national landmark’s 12-acre site.

In Arizona, sober tributes will be held for 19 firefighters who died earlier this week battling a blaze near Yarnell. The city of Boston prepares to host the first large gathering since the marathon bombing that killed three and injured hundreds.

(AP) — Nebraska opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are planning to use rocking chairs in an effort to build support for their cause.

A group calling itself the Grandmothers’ Apple Pie Brigade unveiled a campaign to stage rocking-chair sit-ins in public places to protest the project, and to raise awareness of local environmental issues. Opponents are also planning to launch a website,www.applepiebrigade.org , with guidelines for sit-ins in parks, public squares, and other venues.

Opponents are urging President Barack Obama to reject a federal permit for the project, which would carry oil from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

Pipeline developer TransCanada says the project has undergone numerous state and federal reviews, and will be built to safety standards that exceed federal requirements.

(AP) — Police in Lincoln continue to search for answers after a mentally disabled man was beaten to death last weekend.

Officers found 20-year-old Nathan Walton, known as Shane, two blocks away from his house early Saturday.

Investigators think his attacker, or attackers, used a club-like weapon to repeatedly beat Walton on the head.

Walton was taken off life support Tuesday night.

Police say that although they don’t yet have much information, they’re looking for a full-sized red pickup with a ladder rack.

(AP) — Police in western Iowa are asking the public’s help in finding a man they say hit an officer with a stolen car and is facing charges that include attempted murder.

Andrew Brown was being chased by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department on June 25 in a vehicle allegedly stolen from Omaha.

Council Bluffs police officers attempted to disable Brown’s vehicle with stop sticks. But officials say Brown directed the vehicle toward several officers before striking one.

The officer was flipped in the air and against a utility pole before landing in a ditch. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries and released.

Brown then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.

(AP) — A Grand Island official arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a hit-and-run crash last month has entered a written plea of not guilty.

51-year-old Jaye Monter, the finance director in Grand Island, was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Hall County Court.

Monter instead opted for a written plea of not guilty while also requesting a jury trial.

Monter was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving following a hit and run accident on Highway 2 on June 7.

A Hall County Sheriff’s Deputy witnessed the accident. He says Monter failed to stop after he pulled her over.

Monter’s pre-trial hearing is scheduled for September 19.

(AP) — A man has been charged with driving under the influence after he crashed into a dormitory at the University of Nebraska-Omaha early Thursday.

Police say witnesses described seeing 26-year-old Mark Geaney speeding on Pine Street in Omaha when he hit a curb.

Geaney’s car flipped onto its roof and collided with a dormitory clubhouse.

Geaney was transported to the Alegent Creighton Medical Center, where his condition has yet to be released.

Geaney was cited for driving under the influence and collision with a fixed object.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

(AP) — A 33-year-old Lincoln man has been sentenced to two years’ probation for threatening his neighbor and other with a rifle in October.

Lincoln police say Adam Douglass was told to leave when he went to a neighbor’s get-together. He argued with his neighbor and two men who were drinking with the neighbor, then threatened to come back with a gun.

Police say he returned with a rifle, pointed it at the men and threatened to shoot. They tackled Douglass and held him down until police arrived, leaving him with a broken nose. The gun fired once during the struggle, but no one was hurt.

Douglass pleaded no contest to third-degree assault back in December. Lancaster County Judge Timothy Phillips sentenced Douglass last week.

(AP) — An Omaha woman who had sought to become a prison guard is suing the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, saying the agency discriminated against her during her training because she has diabetes.

Jennifer Henning says she was hired in April 2012 as a correctional officer at the Omaha Correctional Center after she passed a physical test and received clearance from a doctor.

But the 29-year-old Henning says when she reported for requisite officer training in Lincoln, her training specialist refused let her carry an emergency glucose injector and repeatedly humiliated her in front of other trainees about her medical condition. Within days, Henning’s lawsuit says, she was fired from the corrections job.

A spokeswoman with the department declined to comment, saying she cannot comment on pending litigation.

(AP) — An American flag made of industrial hemp will fly over the U.S. Capitol on Independence Day.

Democratic Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado announced Wednesday that his request for the hemp-made flag was granted.

Polis has long pushed for the plant to be legal for farmers to grow. Industrial hemp looks much like marijuana but does not have its psychoactive properties. Federal law prohibits growing hemp, but not importing it.

Historians say the first American flags were made of hemp, which was raised by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Polis successfully amended the federal farm bill last month to allow farmers to raise industrial hemp. However, the farm bill ultimately failed.

Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon also sponsored the hemp farm bill amendment.

(AP) — A former athletic director at Midland University in Fremont has been arrested on charges of pandering and soliciting prostitution.

33-year-old Jason Dannelly was arrested Tuesday.

A criminal complaint says Dannelly in 2012 threatened a then-18-year-old student. Dannelly is accused of telling her he would protect her from legal trouble if she had sex with him, but also harm her if she told anyone.

In a separate 2012 case, Dannelly is accused of giving a then-20-year-old student $300 to have sexual contact with him. A complaint says Dannelly denies the allegations.

Dannelly is charged with pandering, terroristic threats and solicitation of prostitution. He served as Midland University’s athletic director from August 2011 until his dismissal in December 2012.

Records do not list an attorney.