LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The city’s traffic engineer says Lincoln will be improving its traffic control system in the years ahead.

Lonnie Burklund told business leaders Wednesday there will be fewer traffic lights and better timing on the remaining lights. And he says the city will seek a $40 million federal grant to install a system that could facilitate the use of driverless cars in the capital city.

Burklund said the city has about 430 signals, but federal standards suggest a city Lincoln’s size should have about 300.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An irrigation district has sued the Nebraska Natural Resources Department and three natural resources districts over river water for irrigation.

The Red Cloud-based Nebraska Bostwick Irrigation District lawsuit says groundwater pumping has depleted Republican River flows, leaving little or no water for Bostwick to store for its customers. The lawsuit filed Jan. 11 also says state orders to restrict or completely curtail the use and storage of water in 2013 and 2014 unfairly deprived district customers.

State officials have said they did so to meet obligations to Kansas and Colorado under the Republican River Compact.

Jasper Fanning, of the Upper Republican Natural Resources District, denies that groundwater users in his district had an unfair advantage over the irrigation district customers.

Nebraska Natural Resources Department officials declined to comment.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln Police Union has decided to help Mayor Chris Beutler (BYTE’-lur) pay his campaign debt, although the union backed the mayor’s opponent in the 2015 election.

The union supported Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing in May instead of Beutler, who won his third term.

Union president Chris Milisits said Wednesday the $13,500 donation is a gesture of support to bolster a working relationship. He called it “a sign of civility.”

The union liked Stebbing’s campaign promise to hire more officers, a proposal that Beutler criticized as a waste of money when crime and calls for service were down.

Stebbing is a Republican and a former law enforcement officer. Beutler is a Democrat.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Board of Education has approved an update to sex education standards after months of debate.

The board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the new standards in elementary and middle schools. For the high school standards, one board member opposed.

The approval marks the first time this curriculum has been updated in nearly 30 years.

The new standards include discussion of sexual orientation and gender roles, as well as abortion and emergency contraception. It also includes lessons on social media, bullying and harassment.

The new model still stresses that abstinence is best for preventing pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases.

With a full board room Wednesday, the board voted to limit testimony to one hour. Ten of the 13 people who testified opposed the changes.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Douglas County judge’s controversial courtroom ban on guns is now being disputed by his own colleagues.

Douglas County District Judge Mark Ashford sent a letter to Omaha’s police chief saying that he disagrees with Judge James Gleason’s ban on guns in his courtroom.

Gleason ruled earlier this month that only sheriff’s deputies providing courthouse security will be allowed to wear their weapons.

Ashford says he believes on-duty officers should carry their weapons throughout the courthouse.

Police officers, union leadership and Omaha’s police chief opposed the ban and have discussed taking action to express this disagreement.

The judges briefly discussed the matter during a meeting Tuesday. Presiding District Judge Leigh Ann Retelsdorf says the county’s other 15 district judges disagree with Gleason’s decision and won’t adopt a similar policy in their courtrooms.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A change-of-plea hearing has been scheduled for a woman accused of stuffing a baby wipe down the throat of a Nebraska toddler.

Adams County District Court records say the hearing is set Feb. 4 for 34-year-old Azudany Serrano-Contreras. She’s already pleaded not guilty to intentional child abuse resulting in death. Prosecutors say she was baby-sitting 19-month-old Aliyana Peterson on March 12 when she stuffed the wipe down the child’s throat, killing her.

Court records don’t say what Serrano-Contreras’ new plea will be.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Two students were treated for minor injuries after the school bus they were in collided with a tow truck.

The accident was reported around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 77 on the north side of Fremont. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office says the eastbound bus was turning north onto the highway when it was struck by the southbound tow truck.

The Sheriff’s Office says the bus driver didn’t allow enough time in the snowy, icy conditions to safely turn onto the highway.

The bus was carrying 52 students to Johnson Crossing Academic Center in Fremont.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man who authorities say stabbed his brother at least 70 times has been given 60 to 70 years in prison.

Twenty-four-year-old Stephen Russell was sentenced Tuesday. He’d pleaded no contest and was convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying of 27-year-old Jonathan Russell in April. Prosecutors had lowered the murder charge and dropped a weapons count in exchange for Stephen Russell’s plea.

Authorities say the body was found by the Russells’ mother inside the family home.

Stephen Russell apologized to his family at his sentencing hearing and said, “What happened on April 4 was a horrible mistake.”

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is seeking information related to the apparent shooting of a bald eagle in northeastern Nebraska.

A citizen found the dead eagle on Jan. 17 in Cedar County, approximately 3 miles southeast of Yankton, S.D. The eagle appeared to have been shot on the day it was found. Two rooster pheasants and two hen pheasants were found with the eagle. Rooster pheasants are in season through Jan. 31, but it is illegal to harvest hen pheasants.

Bald eagles are protected by the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), which prohibits the take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, transport, export or import of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, unless allowed by permit. “Take” includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb. Maximum penalties for violating BGEPA can be as high as a $250,000 fine and imprisonment for up to two years.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact Commission Conservation Officer Jeff Jones at 402-762-5022 or Nebraska Wildlife Crime Stoppers at 1-800-742-7627.  The caller can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County authorities say deputies seized 1,517 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $7.5 million and arrested three people after a traffic stop on Lincoln’s west side.

The Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday the pot was stuffed into duffel bags inside a recreational vehicle that was pulled over Friday on U.S. Highway 77, about two miles southwest of the Capitol.

Chief Deputy Jeff Bliemeister (BLEYE’-meye-stur) says it was his department’s largest Lancaster County drug seizure by poundage and street value.

Bliemeister says Isabel Mallar, of Martinez, Georgia, and Rahman Nabavi, of Alpharetta, Georgia, are expected to be formally charged later Tuesday with marijuana possession with intent to sell. He says Abbas Hajianbarzi, also of Alpharetta, is expected to be charged with conspiracy.

Court records don’t list lawyers for any of them.