(AP) — A 32-year-old Nebraska woman has been sentenced to 30 months of probation for her fake marriage to a man who was living in the country illegally.

A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Crystal Foster was sentenced for harboring an alien.

Prosecutors say Foster married Ibrahim Matari in 2009 and tried to have his citizenship status changed.

But the stories Foster and Matari told investigators were inconsistent. Investigators determined that Matari was already married to another woman, and he had stayed in the country after his student visa expired.

Matari, who was born in Kuwait, was sentenced last month to time served and removed from the country.

(AP) — Trial has begun for a Nebraska couple accused of burning down a steakhouse they owned in the South Dakota town of Springfield to collect insurance money.

Niobrara residents Charles and Kimberly Johnson earlier pleaded not guilty to second-degree arson and reckless burning in the October 2010 fire that destroyed their restaurant and another business and damaged a third. Each could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

A 12-person jury was seated Monday in Tyndall. The trial is expected to last through the week.

(AP) — A 22-year-old passenger has been killed and another injured in a rollover crash west of Seward.

The Seward County Sheriff’s Office says the accident occurred just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday. The car was headed east on Bluff Road when it ran off the pavement and rolled.

The office says Austin Krivda died at the scene. Michael Johnson, also of Seward, has been taken to a Lincoln hospital.

The car driver was taken to Memorial Hospital in Seward and later released. Her name hasn’t been disclosed.

The accident cause is being investigated.

(AP) — An Omaha man who created an elaborate scheme to avoid paying more than $422,000 in taxes has been given a year and a day in prison.

Federal prosecutors said Monday that 50-year-old Michael Haffke also must serve two years of supervised release after he leaves prison. Haffke had pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy.

Prosecutors say Haffke created more than 40 different business entities as part of his scheme to hide taxable income and didn’t file any personal returns for several years. Prosecutors say Haffke later filed returns in 2012 for the tax years 2003 through 2007 and paid the taxes owed.

As part of his plea agreement, Haffke must work with the IRS to determine whether he owes any more taxes and must pay those taxes, if any.

 

(AP) — New technology to reduce bad breath that was developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has been licensed to a Chinese company.

UNMC’s licensing unit, UNeMed Corporation, says the new form of menthol has been licensed to Bohe Biotech, which will try to develop commercial products with it.

Menthol is a common ingredient in oral hygiene products.

UNMC Researcher Dong Wang says the menthol he developed binds to the surface of teeth and slowly releases its flavor over time.

Bohe Biotech hopes to develop an additive with the long-lasting menthol that could be used in mouthwash, floss, chewing gum or toothpaste.

 

(AP) — Authorities say a man has been accused of trying to sexually assault a woman outside her Jazzercise class in Omaha.

Omaha police arrested 25-year-old Glenn Nickerson in connection with the Monday morning incident.

The woman told police she encountered a man who appeared to be touching himself as she left her fitness class. She said the man grabbed her by the shoulders as she walked to her car.

Police say the woman screamed for help. Nickerson fled, but he’s accused of punching a nearby witness. He’s also accused of touching himself at a clothing store several hours later.

Nickerson faces charges of first-degree sexual assault, criminal trespassing, lewd conduct and misdemeanor assault.

Court records do not list an attorney.

(AP) — A Lancaster County man has been sentenced to prison for stealing more than $14,000 in jet fuel.

35-year-old  of rural Denton was sentenced Tuesday to two terms totaling two to four years in prison.

Borgman was arrested after investigators determined he’d stolen 2,700 gallons of fuel over a two-month period from Silverhawk Aviation, where he worked. More than 1,000 gallons of jet fuel were found at Borgman’s farm.

Borgman was on probation at that time for third-offense felony drunken driving.

Borgman pleaded no contest in May to the theft.

Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn revoked Borgman’s probation and sentenced him to one to two years on the drunken driving charge and an additional one to two years for the theft.

(AP) — The Omaha Public Library Board is considering closing library branches or limiting hours to meet Mayor Jean Stothert’s proposed budget cuts.

A letter from the board to Stothert says a proposed budget for next year would mean a reduction of $175,000 this year and about $218,000 next year.

To meet that reduction, the board listed several scenarios that include closing branches, reducing hours and opening on fewer days.

All the proposals also include offering fewer programs and buying fewer books.

The library board will discuss the options at a meeting Wednesday afternoon.

(AP) — A federal agency has proposed a nearly 50 percent cut in the Nebraska land the agency says is needed to support the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service earlier this month published a proposal in the Federal Register to designate 1,110 acres of saline wetlands as critical habitat. In 2010 the agency said more than 1,900 acres was needed.

The beetles live only in the rare saline wetlands on the north side of Lincoln and in neighboring Saunders County.

The agency says that although the 1,110 acres is a smaller area than the previous designation, it contains sufficient suitable habitat to support recovery of the species.