Nebraska’s corn and soybean harvests are nearly completed well ahead of schedule, but the winter wheat crop is off to a poor start.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest update on the state’s crops on Wednesday.

The USDA says 94 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop has been harvested. Normally, the corn harvest is only about half done at this stage.

About 98 percent of the soybean crop has been harvested. That’s also ahead of the average of 85 percent done at this point.

The winter wheat crop has been slow to emerge because of the drought, and some farmers have replanted their fields. About 74 percent of the winter wheat has emerged. That’s behind the average of 93 percent at this time of year.

The Millard Public Schools district in Omaha won’t allow its schools to display a traveling tribute to Nebraska’s fallen soldiers.

Bill Williams and his wife, Evonne, launched “Remembering Our Fallen” in January 2011. It honors the servicemen and women with Nebraska ties who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The tribute has made weeklong visits to courthouses, libraries, hospitals and at least 10 schools. It’s at Syracuse High School in southeast Nebraska this week.

District spokeswoman Rebecca Kleeman told the Lincoln Journal Star that logistics were a problem. And she said the district is concerned about setting a precedent.

Kleeman says the district’s lawyers say that if the “Remembering Our Fallen” tribute is displayed, any group with an opposing viewpoint could demand similar space for a similar duration.

A South Dakota inmate has been executed for the 1990 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl who disappeared after leaving her home to buy sugar for lemonade.

Sixty-year-old Donald Moeller received a lethal injection Tuesday night at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls, marking the state’s second execution this month.

Moeller kidnapped Becky O’Connell from a Sioux Falls convenience store in May 1990, then raped and stabbed her. Her naked body was found the next day near the Big Sioux River.

Becky’s mother, Tina Curl, has been steadfast in her wish to watch Moeller die. She raised money so she could travel from her New York home to watch the execution.

Curl says Moeller watched her daughter take her last breath, and she wanted to watch him take his.

(UPDATE)Police have released the names of a teenager who was fatally wounded and a young woman who also was shot in northeast Omaha.

 

The dead girl was identified as 16-year-old Eriana Carr. The other victim was identified as 20-year-old Nakia Johnson. Police say Johnson remained in stable condition Wednesday at Nebraska Medical Center.

 

Officers who were sent to reports of a shooting about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday found the two victims.

 

No arrests have been reported. The investigation is continuing.

 

Police say one of two female victims has died after a shooting in northeast Omaha.

Officers were sent to reports of a shooting about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. They found two wounded females.

The two were rushed to Nebraska Medical Center for treatment. Police say one of the victims soon died at the hospital. There’s no word on the condition of the other victim.

The victims’ names haven’t been released, and no arrests have been reported.

Nebraska Public Power District says it’s dispatching 16 line technicians to help restore electricity in some areas left powerless by superstorm Sandy.

The utility says the workers will leave Wednesday morning and head to West Virginia. They’ll be helping workers for Appalachian Power Co., which is a division of American Electric Power. More than 150,000 Appalachian Power customers were reported to be without power because of blizzard conditions and heavy snow spawned by from the superstorm.

The Nebraska workers crews are expected to remain in West Virginia through Nov. 7, but could remain longer if needed by Appalachian Power.

A 46-year-old York man has pleaded no contest to charges of child sex assault and pornography possession for distribution.

The York News-Times says that Jack Knight Jr. made his pleas on Tuesday in York County District Court. In exchange for his pleas, prosecutors dropped three other charges.

Knight was arrested when two people found sexually explicit photos on Knight’s digital camera. The people had been looking for pictures of a fish.

Prosecutors say Knight’s computer was missing from his residence when it was searched, but investigators said Knight had downloaded files onto the computer so the images could be shared.

Knight’s sentencing date has not been set.

Fires that destroyed about 14 homes in a New Jersey shore town that was hit hard by Sandy have rekindled, fueled by natural gas.

Video from WNBC-TV in New York shows flames reaching over Mantoloking. There’s a large cluster of flames and smaller fires spread out from it.

An official with the Ocean County Emergency Management Office says authorities believe natural gas lines are fueling the flames. The official says the homes burned down two days ago when Sandy pounded the affluent town.

The official, who would not give his name, says firefighters can’t reach the scene because the roads are impassable. The town was under a mandatory evacuation order ahead of the storm.

The fire is in the southern end of the town in the Curtis Point section.

Nebraska environmental regulators have released a preliminary 600-page report on the oil pipeline a Canadian company wants to build across the state.

The report released Tuesday doesn’t include a recommendation about whether TransCanada should be allowed to build the Keystone XL pipeline to ship crude oil to Gulf Coast refineries.

The state report says TransCanada’s new route avoids the environmental sensitive Sandhills region and addresses a number of concerns Nebraskans raised.

TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard says the company appreciates the state’s attention to detail and hopes the project will be approved.

A public hearing will be held in Albion Dec. 4.

Pipeline opponent Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska says she remains concerned, and she’s disappointed the state won’t require disclosure of exactly what chemicals will be carried in the pipeline.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed an interactive online tool for exploring the Missouri River Recovery Program.

The corps says the Missouri River Basin Explorer site is designed to help the public gain insight into the river’s natural environment and the efforts of the recovery program.

The online tool shows how the Missouri River system works and what challenges it presents to the corps, which has a district office in Omaha.

The Basin Explorer is online at www.MoRiverRecovery.org.

A Lincoln man accused of attacking another man with a machete has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.

The Lincoln Journal Star  says 40-year-old Juan Cruz entered the plea on Monday in Lancaster County District Court. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced Dec. 4.

Lincoln police says Cruz broke into an apartment and attacked the other man on Jan 1. Police say the other man used a hammer to fight back and chased Cruz out of the apartment. The man was treated for cuts on his head and hands.

Authorities say the fight was over a woman.