A U.S. official says retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991, has died. He was 78.

The official tells The Associated Press that Schwarzkopf died Thursday in Tampa, Fla. The official wasn’t authorized to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as “Stormin’ Norman” for a notoriously explosive temper.

He lived in retirement in Tampa, where he had served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command. That is the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.

The remains of a Winnebago man are being turned over to his tribe for burial after decades in a museum.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports  that the man had been among Native Americans who were forced out of Minnesota and into South Dakota after the Sioux uprising in 1862. His remains were found by a U.S. Army surgeon about five miles south of Fort Randall along a riverbank in south-central South Dakota.

The remains eventually wound up at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. The museum is following a 1989 federal law in turning over the remains to the tribe.

The tribe has set aside space for remains at the Winnebago village cemetery on the tribe’s Winnebago reservation in northeast Nebraska.

The University of Nebraska increased its assets this year through a combination of investments, insurance and cost-savings measures, according to a new state report.

A state auditor’s report shows that the university’s unrestricted net assets grew by 10 percent this year, to $902 million.

The report says the university’s partnership with the Nebraska Medical Center generated $7 million for the university this year. The university’s insurance balances for property, general liability and group health insurance also grew by $17 million.

The university’s cash reserves increased by $5 million, due largely to cost-saving measures. The report shows that compensation and benefits for employees increased by 2 percent, while expenses for supplies, materials and utilities decreased.

An 80-year-old man has been killed and his wife has been seriously injured in a collision on an icy highway in southwest Nebraska.

The Nebraska State Patrol says the accident occurred a little before 11:40 a.m. on Christmas Day, about five miles east of Palisade on U.S. Highway 6. The patrol says a westbound car driven by James Sughroue collided with an eastbound pickup that slid across the center line.

Sughroue, of Indianola, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, Leah, was flown to Kearney for treatment.

The patrol identified the pickup driver as 17-year-old Dawn Pinkal, of Palisade. She was taken to a McCook hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The collision is being investigated.

Officials say they’re close to verifying the name of a man whose body was found burning in an eastern Nebraska farm field ditch.

Sarpy County Sheriff’s Capt. Monte Daganaar  told the Lincoln Journal Star on Wednesday that Omaha officers are aiding the investigation because the man likely had a connection to Omaha.

Daganaar says investigators are still working on confirming the man’s name.

An autopsy showed the man was tied up and probably was killed before being dumped in the ditch on Sept. 24 and set on fire.

The body was found by farmers as they checked out smoke between their fields near Linoma Beach. The resort sits east of Ashland on the east side of the Platte River.

Owners of an old-school soda shop in St. Paul, Minn., are being warned to kick the habit and stop stocking novelty candy cigarettes.

City inspectors threatened a misdemeanor citation and $500 fine if Lynden’s soda fountain is caught selling the fake smokes again. The Star Tribune reported Wednesday that the offering violated an ordinance barring the sale of candy smokes and cartoon character lighters.

A city spokesman says the warning came after inspectors received and looked into a complaint about the presence of the tobacco-themed products. The ordinance was enacted to discourage youngsters from picking up a real smoking habit.

Shop owner Tobi Lynden says the white candy sticks with the red tips were her best-selling candy item but she pulled them to avoid running afoul of the ordinance.

Christmas shopping online brought a lot of frustration to customers who didn’t get their gifts on-time in Northwest Missouri.

More than 600 packages were not delivered in Maryville.

They were shipped through FedEx Smart Post. An outside contractor was supposed to take them from Kansas City to Maryville. The Post Office in Maryville was supposed to finish the delivery. But, those packages never made it to the Post Office, Postmaster Paul Eshbacher said.

“People have called saying they had tracking that FedEx shows they dropped off to Maryville that we never received,” He said. “And then about the 20th of November on, we started noticing we were only getting about 50 or so packages a day when we should have been getting which would have been around 100.”

So, if they didn’t make it to the Post Office, even though tracking says the did, then where are they packages? The problem lies in the subcontractor and FedEx, according to Eshbacher.

“I asked the driver,” Eshbacher said. “He said there are many packages in Kansas City that won’t fit into my van.”

So that leaves 625 or more packages possibly in Kansas City Warehouse. luckily, the merchants have helped many of the customers, he said.

“But all I could tell the customer is please be patient, contact your retailer, and if this shows up we will get it delivered and you’ll wind up with two of the item because Amazon has told people if and when it shows up, go ahead and keep both items just for your inconvenience.”

And according to Amazon.com, this problem is not just in Maryville, or the Midwest. It’s a nationwide problem.

“I think it has overwhelmed FedEx, and they’re not even sure where the stuff’s at,” Eshbacker said. “I don’t care who delivers the package, we got to take care of the customer. The fact that the customer is not handled on this and has been completely thrown to the wolves, that’s the part that I’m upset about.”

He says if you’re one of those affected, call the company you bought the merchandise from. At the very least, they should send you a new package. And if those packages eventually make it to Maryville, the Post Office will deliver them.

 Three people have been seriously injured in a melee that erupted at a holiday party north of downtown Lincoln.

Lincoln Police Capt. Michon Morrow says the incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at or just outside the hall where the party was held.

Morrow says one person was shot several times and two others had stab wounds. Their names haven’t been released.

No arrests have been reported.