LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler says he will call for a citywide election on a measure that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, following a successful petition drive to place the issue on the ballot.

Beutler said Thursday that the petition organizers sent a message of intolerance from Nebraska’s second-largest city, but he will honor the citizens’ right to vote. He said the Lincoln City Council will first have to repeal its new ordinance and approve fresh ballot language, because the petition circulated by conservative family values groups was improperly worded.

Petition circulators say they collected 10,092 signatures, four times the number required to suspend the measure before it takes effect and force a vote.

City officials say they don’t yet know when the election will be scheduled.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Hastings man is recovering after he was injured by an air conditioner that fell from a second-story window. 77-year-old Harry Alexander was walking from his barber shop to buy a soft drink Wednesday afternoon when the 140-pound AC unit hit him on the head. Alexander was knocked unconscious by the blow. When he came too, he was surrounded by employees of a nearby business. They kept watch on him until the ambulance arrived. Alexander suffered lacerations to his head, arm and ankle. He was kept in the hospital overnight. Alexander told the newspaper that a bump to the head and a swollen knee appeared to be the worst of his injuries.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska says it has identified a person who may have hacked into a database containing personal data on students, alumni, parents and university employees. UNL Police Chief Owen Yardley says Wednesday that officials seized computers and other equipment belonging to an undergraduate student. The equipment is undergoing analysis by law enforcement. Yardley says the person’s name won’t be released until an arrest is made. Yardley says the individual was identified by through IP addresses, or unique numbers assigned to each computer, used to access the system. The university announced last Friday that someone reached the database of more than 650,000 records. Officials said there was no evidence the information was downloaded.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The newest member of the Nebraska Supreme Court will be sworn in next week. The court says a ceremony for 56-year-old William Cassel, of O’Neill, is on Monday at the Capitol in Lincoln. Gov. Dave Heineman appointed Cassel to the high court in April. Cassel, who served on the Nebraska Court of Appeals since 2003, replaces Justice John Gerrard, who left the Supreme Court for an appointment as a federal judge. Cassel spent 12 years as a district court judge, and worked as a private-private attorney in Ainsworth from 1979 to 1992. He will serve as the justice from the Supreme Court’s third district in eastern Nebraska, which includes 19 counties and parts of Douglas and Sarpy counties around Omaha.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska student and alumni database that was hacked last week included personal data of system employees and parents of students who applied for financial aid. NU spokeswoman Melissa Lee said Sunday that possible exposure of personal data belonging to employees and the students’ parents was discovered only recently. The university announced Friday that someone had breached security and reached the database of more than 650,000 student and alumni records. Officials say there’s no evidence the information was downloaded. The data includes bank account information for as many as 30,000 students, along with the Social Security numbers, addresses, housing and financial aid information, grades and transcripts of hundreds of thousands of others. The system includes information for all four system campuses.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A sport utility vehicle reported stolen nearly four years ago in Central City has been found about 25 miles away, submerged in a Grand Island lake. Authorities say a member of the Grand Island dive rescue team was practicing on the east side of L.E. Ray Lake when he spotted the SUV in about 15 feet of water about 30 feet from shore. The SUV was pulled from the lake and taken to the police impound lot on Sunday. The keys were still in the ignition. It had been reported stolen on June 7, 2008. The 73-acre lake is in a city park just north of U.S. Highway 34.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — A South Sioux City man is accused of whipping two children with a power cord. 44-year-old Maximino Rivera-Nieto faces two felony counts of child abuse. A court affidavit says a 13-year-old girl told a teacher last Friday that she couldn’t go to soccer practice because she was too sore from being whipped by her stepfather. The affidavit says an officer sent to the girl’s home found that her 12-year-old brother had been beaten, too. Rivera-Nieto was arrested that evening. The Dakota County sheriff’s office says he remains in custody on $25,000 bond on Thursday. Online court records don’t list his attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State officials are urging Nebraska motorists to fasten their seatbelts in the wake of an uptick in traffic fatalities so far this year. Gov. Dave Heineman issued the safety warning Thursday, in advance of the Memorial Day weekend. The Nebraska State Patrol has recorded 65 traffic deaths so far this year, an increase of eight over the same period one year ago. Fifty-three of those deaths involved motor vehicles that have seatbelts, but state officials say 42 of the victims were not buckled up. The increase follows two straight years of reduced traffic fatalities, with 181 deaths in 2011. Heineman spoke at the patrol headquarters in Lincoln to promote “Click It or Ticket,” a national campaign that started on Monday and runs through June 3.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Opponents of a Canadian crude oil pipeline have made good on their threat to challenge Nebraska’s new pipeline siting law in court. The lawsuit filed Wednesday by several Nebraska landowners along TransCanada’s proposed pipeline route argues that the law outlining the review process is unconstitutional. The pipeline opponents say the law doesn’t allow for judicial review and doesn’t spell out what criteria should be considered when a proposed pipeline is being evaluated. The Nebraska Attorney General’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit because it had not received a copy of it. TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL project is designed to carry oil from Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada also has proposed connecting it to the Bakken oil field in Montana and North Dakota.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — The mother of a south-central Nebraska boy says he wasn’t allowed to attend his graduation ceremony because his clothing and shoes didn’t meet school expectations. Nancy Johnson, of Hastings, told the Hastings Tribune that her son stood in a lobby on May 5 while his classmates stepped forward to receive their diplomas at Adams Central High School. Johnson says her son, Hunter, had worn a T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes but was soon told he couldn’t participate unless he changed into nicer clothing. He called his mom, who took him clean jeans. She says he doesn’t have dress shoes or pants and that the jeans ultimately kept him out of the ceremony. District Superintendent Shawn Scott says graduates should be respectful for such ceremonies, which includes meeting expectations for attire.