A federal judge has denied a motion for a temporary restraining order to allow an expelled University of Nebraska law student to finish the spring semester.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf ruled earlier this month on the motion by Layth Mohammad Al-Turk, who is suing the law school after being kicked out of the program in February, only months before he was set to graduate. Al-Turk says he was discriminated against because of his Arabic heritage and Muslim beliefs.

School officials say Al-Turk was dismissed for plagiarism and lying to a professor.

Kopf has set trial for July in an effort to expedite resolution, as Al-Turk will soon be forced to begin paying off steep student loans and cannot attend another law school with the disciplinary dismissal on his record.

A judge has declared a mistrial in an Omaha murder trial.

Attorneys for 26-year-old William Bush objected Tuesday during opening statements about information presented by the prosecution. Prosecutor Brenda Beadle says there was miscommunication about what information was going to be presented at trial.

The judge set a new trial date for May.

Bush faces charges of first-degree murder, use of a gun to commit a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors say he shot 30-year-old Kyle McCroy, of Omaha, in March 2012.

President Barack Obama has named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency’s first female director.

Pierson, a 30-year veteran of the agency, currently is its chief of staff.

Obama announced Pierson’s nomination Tuesday in a statement. He said she has had an exemplary career and is “eminently qualified” to lead the agency, which recently has been marred by scandal.

Pierson does not need to be confirmed by the Senate.

(AP) A judge has increased bail for a pregnant nanny accused of causing the death of a 4-month old Omaha boy.

Sarah Cullen must post $75,000, or 10 percent of $750,000, to be released before her trial in the death of Cash Bell. Her previous bail was set at $5,000, or 10 percent of $50,000. She had been free for the past two weeks.

Cullen was arrested in early March on a warrant charging her with child abuse resulting in Cash’s death. Authorities say the baby suffered two skull fractures.

Cullen’s attorney argued his client, who is six months pregnant, was not a flight risk or a risk to the community. Prosecutors say Cullen has a history of abusing children.

Cullen denies causing Cash’s injuries.

The Department of Health and Human Services is asking lawmakers for an additional $2.1 million to help pay telephone-service costs for ACCESSNebraska, the state’s public benefits portal.

Nebraska Children and Family Services director Thomas Pristow told lawmakers Tuesday that officials are working to reduce the costs and phone wait-times.

Officials predicted a cost savings when the system was launched in 2008, but Pristow says those estimates were too optimistic.

Pristow says wait-times and employee workloads at the call centers have been dropping. He says a decision to switch from a toll-free number to a local phone number for Lincoln residents is saving about $1,000 a day.

Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff says he’s still hearing complaints about the system from constituents, some of whom don’t have computers or telephone access.

As lawmakers nationwide debate arming teachers and administrators to prevent another school shooting, one Colorado school district has already voted to allow its superintendent and a principal to carry guns on campus.

A board that oversees schools in rural Dolores County voted in February to allow the principal of Dove Creek High School and the superintendent to double as security officers, who under state law are allowed to carry guns on elementary, middle and high school campuses. They will receive an additional $1 salary and must complete a concealed-carry course.

But some say the decision sidesteps laws meant to keep schools gun-free and would put guns in the hands of staff who aren’t trained to shoot in crisis situations.

The debate was sparked after mass shootings in Aurora and Connecticut.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, says it’s setting up lockers in about a dozen stores so that shoppers who order on its website can pick up their items without having to wait in line checkout line.

The test, which is being conducted in an undisclosed market, is part of Wal-Mart’s strategy to offer more convenience for web-savvy shoppers to make their purchases wherever they want.

Wal-Mart officials disclosed the test Tuesday at a media event at its company’s global e-commerce offices in San Bruno, Calif., located in Silicon Valley. The test accounts for just a tiny fraction of its 4,000 U.S. namesake stores.

A court filing shows a suspended Roman Catholic priest in Connecticut accused of taking in more than $300,000 from sales of methamphetamines plans to plead guilty to one of the charges against him.

Kevin Wallin is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Hartford next week for a hearing in which he would plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Tuesday’s filing was obtained by The Associated Press.

A message left with his attorney wasn’t immediately returned.

Authorities say the 61-year-old Wallin had methamphetamine mailed to him from co-conspirators in California and made more than $300,000 in drugs sales out of his Waterbury apartment last year.

Wallin is the former pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport.

Utility officials say the troubled Nebraska nuclear power plant that has been idle since 2011 might be ready to restart this spring.

But first they’ll have to convince federal regulators the plant is ready.

Omaha Public Power District officials showed off the progress Tuesday at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant. The plant about 20 miles north of Omaha has been shut down since April 2011 because of a series of safety concerns and flooding.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says significant work remains at the plant. Spokeswoman Lara Uselding says the utility has addressed less than half of the more than 450 items on the plant restart checklist.

Regulators say they won’t let the plant restart unless they’re confident it is safe. They’re holding a public meeting Wednesday in Omaha.