LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s 2011 high school graduates have scored a point higher than the national average on the ACT college entrance exam.  According to a report released Wednesday, Nebraska’s average score was 22.1, compared with 21.1 nationally. By comparison, Iowa’s average composite score was 22.3 out of a possible 36. Minnesota was ranked No. 1 in the nation, with an average of 22.9. The report says 76 percent of Nebraska’s 2011 graduates took the test. Nebraska has averaged 22.1 since 2007.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – A western Nebraska man accused of sending sexually explicit texts and videos to a 14-year-old girl will face trial in Scotts Bluff County District Court. KNEB radio says 39-year-old James Jay, of Bridgeport, waived his preliminary hearing in county court on Tuesday, and will face arraignment in district court on Friday. Jay is charged with child enticement by electronic communication device and enticement by electronic communication device. According to court documents, the girl told her mother about the communications. An investigator with the Nebraska State Patrol used the girl’s cellphone and posed as the teen. Jay was arrested in late July. He remains in jail on $200,000 bond.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) – The Chadron City Council has set Oct. 4 as the recall election date for Mayor John Chizek and Vice Mayor Steve Duncan.  Chizek and Duncan abstained from the election date vote on Monday might. The affidavits filed by Dr. Robert Penor for the recall drive say neither Chizek nor Duncan was acting in the best interests of Chadron or its residents. Penor says Chizek and Duncan have taken too many liberties in putting items on the council agenda and in their comments during council sessions. Chizek and Duncan reject the accusations.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) – Grand Island police have identified a couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Grand Island. Police say 43-year-old Margarita Rodriguez and her estranged husband, 33-year-old Antonio Rodriguez, died Monday morning. Police on Tuesday said officers went to an apartment on a domestic disturbance report and found Margarita Rodriguez in the entryway. She had been shot and later died at a hospital. Police say officers spotted her husband and a chase began. It ended on U.S. Highway 281, when Antonio Rodriguez shot himself. The deaths are under investigation.

YORK, Neb. (AP) – York County authorities have been unable to confirm two more reported sightings of cougars in the area. The York News-Times says that two reports were made Sunday by people in different areas of the county. One call came into the Sheriff’s Department a little after 10:15 a.m. Sunday from someone northeast of Waco. The second report was made a little before 10 p.m. from someone who lives near Henderson. Sheriff Dale Radcliff says neither report was confirmed. Cougars, which also are called mountain lions or pumas, have turned up as far east in Nebraska as Omaha. There were at least four unconfirmed cougar reports during June in York County. To the west in Grand Island, someone reported a cougar in a backyard last week.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Omaha zoo has welcomed its 1 millionth visitor. The Henry Doorly Zoo says the Gandhi family entered the attraction about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, marking a milestone. They got a special zoo experience. The zoo was founded in 1894 at Riverview Park. It’s since expanded to become the city’s top tourist attraction.