LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A proposal to regulate major oil pipelines in Nebraska has advanced one step closer to law.
Nebraska lawmakers voted the measure through the second of three required approvals Thursday in response to public anger over the Keystone XL. The crude oil project would have cut through the Nebraska Sandhills, but pipeline developer TransCanada agreed this week to change the route.
Members of Bold Nebraska, a key pipeline opponent, say they’re still concerned because lawmakers have not passed a measure that specifically protects the loose-soil Sandhills. The Sandhills sit atop a major groundwater supply.
The proposal (LB1) by Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton requires pipeline developers to seek approval from the Nebraska Public Service Commission before they proceed.
The bill was introduced during the special session called by Gov. Dave Heineman.

YORK, Neb. (AP) – School officials in York say a student was taken into police custody after allegedly bringing an unloaded gun to the high school.
Superintendent Mike Lucas says the school received a report on Monday that a student had brought the gun into the school with the “intent to sell it.”
The gun was found. Police confiscated the weapon and took the student into custody.
No charges were immediately filed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A rare Spider-Man comic book valued at $15,000 has been stolen from a home in Lincoln.
The comic “Amazing Fantasy No. 15” is the first appearance of Spider-Man and sold for 12 cents in 1962.
Nearly 50 years later it sells for thousands of dollars and in May, an unnamed buyer purchased a mint condition copy for more than $1 million.
The owner of the comic stolen from the Lincoln home believes it was taken between Oct. 27 and Monday morning.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard says legislation next year to ensure the state is protected from harm by a proposed oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast would be premature.
Federal regulators are extending their review of the Keystone XL Pipeline by more than a year to consider other routes, and TransCanada this week said it will make changes in the route to avoid environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska.
Daugaard supports the pipeline along with ensuring protections for South Dakota. But he says that specific legislation during the 2012 session would be premature.
State Rep. Don Kopp unsuccessfully pushed legislation last session to require a $30 million cleanup bond from TransCanada in case of environmental damage. He says he’ll likely introduce it again.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven says he has talked to TransCanada Corp. officials about rerouting the Keystone XL pipeline through the state.
The U.S. government last week delayed a decision on granting a permit for Keystone XL, principally because of concerns about the pipeline’s environmental impact, particularly in Nebraska.
TransCanada announced Monday it will make changes in the Nebraska route.
TransCanada’s first Keystone pipeline, which delivers crude from Canada’s Alberta province to Illinois and Oklahoma, runs through eastern North Dakota.
Hoeven says he’s talked to TransCanada officials about the Keystone XL pipeline using that existing North Dakota route.
The disputed Keystone XL route runs from Alberta through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, but does not traverse North Dakota.

OMAHA, Iowa (AP) – Police in Omaha are looking for a man who assaulted a McDonald’s restaurant worker and fled with two bags of money.
Police say the robbery occurred Sunday night as the employee was leaving the fast food restaurant with deposit bags. They say he was walking to his car when he was approached by a man who assaulted him.
Police say the employee fought back but the suspect was able to flee the area with two deposit bags.
Police searched the area but were unable to find the suspect.
The amount of money in the bags was not disclosed.

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say a pit bull that attacked a 3-year-old girl in a Plattsmouth home will be euthanized.
The animal is in quarantine at a local animal shelter and will be euthanized
Plattsmouth police say the girl was trying to hug the dog when it bit her three times in the face Friday, causing serious injuries that required hospitalization. Her injuries are not life threatening. The girl has since been released and is at home recovering.
The dog’s owner was cited for child neglect. Police say it’s the second time the dog has bitten a child in the past six months.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – A 26-year-old man charged in a fatal Scottsbluff shooting has lost an effort to suppress information in the case.
Daniel Morgan is charged with first-degree murder, accused of killing 33-year-old Dominic Marquez on May 13. Morgan has pleaded not guilty.
Judge Randy Lippstreu rejected Morgan’s request to suppress jail conversations and statements to Scottsbluff police that Morgan made after his arrest. Lippstreu also rejected Morgan’s contention that a Torrington, Wyo., police officer had no authority to arrest him.
Police say Morgan fled west to Wyoming after the shooting at Marquez’s home.
The judge granted a request to delay the Jan. 23 trial date.
Morgan’s trial now is scheduled to begin on Feb. 27.

LOUP CITY, Neb. (AP) – A judge believes there is enough evidence against a Nebraska man to try him for the deaths of two North Carolina teens in a boating crash.
The case against 40-year-old Brian Packer, of Wood River, will move forward to Sherman County District Court.
Officials who testified at Thursday’s hearing say Packer drank about eight beers on the day of the crash and had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit.
Packer’s attorney, Ron Temple, says prosecutors haven’t proved Packer caused the accident.
Authorities say Packer was operating a pontoon boat that hit two stepbrothers on a tube on July 3 at Sherman Reservoir.
Twelve-year-old Joshua Rowley and 19-year-old Matthew McAlexander died. They were from Kernersville, N.C., and were visiting family in Nebraska.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) – Authorities are awaiting toxicology and other reports on the body of a Hastings man whose death has been described as suspicious.
An autopsy was performed Friday on the body of 58-year-old Danny Weyers. An acquaintance found the body at Weyers’ home on Oct. 20.
Adams County Attorney Donna Fegler Daiss says it can take a month or for results to become available. Fegler Daiss says the cause of Weyers’ death isn’t obvious and she’s not sure whether it was a result of a crime.
Police have said evidence found at the scene led officers to believe Weyers did not die of natural causes.