NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A former military chaplain says holidays are different for soldiers and sailors, Marines and airmen.

During and after battle, they may struggle with the notions of peace and goodwill toward men.

And former chaplain Mike Moreno said when the military men and women return from long deployments, their first Christmas back is “a much richer Christmas.”

Moreno, who has served as a U.S. Navy and reserve chaplain, is program director of Operation Barnabus, a relief program of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod that provides support for soldiers and their families.

Moreno says many soldiers and civilians may face unsettled holidays, especially when they are coping with the loss of loved ones. He says family and friends shouldn’t be afraid to mention memories of the deceased.

BERKELEY, Mo. (AP) — A mayor is pressing for calm in his St. Louis suburb after a white police officer fatally shot a black 18-year-old police say pointed a handgun at the officer.

St. Louis County police on Wednesday identified the young man killed during the Berkeley encounter as Antonio Martin.

County Police Chief Jon Belmar says the officer was questioning the 18-year-old and another man about a theft at a convenience store when the young man pulled a handgun.

Belmar says the officer fired three shots, one striking the 18-year-old.

Berkeley is near Ferguson, where Michael Brown’s August shooting death by a white police officer sparked sometimes violent demonstrations.

Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins says the Martin and Brown cases are different, partly because there was no video of the fatal encounter in Ferguson.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — One of two people pulled by Omaha firefighters from the basement of a burning boarding house has died.

The Omaha Fire Department says the woman died Tuesday at Nebraska Medical Center. A man who also was found in the boarding house’s basement was taken to Creighton University Medical Center for treatment.

Their names haven’t been released.

Firefighters were called to the house near 22nd and M streets around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Omaha Fire Battalion Chief Tim McCaw says the fire started in the basement, but it’s not clear how it started.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A 33-year-old man has been arrested in Omaha after a chase that began with officers’ gunshots in Council Bluffs.

The Council Bluffs Police Department says that around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday officers spotted a stolen Corvette at an apartment complex. The officers say the Corvette driver accelerated toward them, so they opened fire before the Corvette struck their cruiser. Neither officer was injured.

A chase began but ended a few minutes later across the Missouri River in Omaha, when officers lost sight of the Corvette. It was later found abandoned. The man suspected of driving it was arrested nearby. He was identified as 33-year-old Jesse Wilkinson.

He was taken to a hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sent to federal prison a 30-year-old California man caught hauling nearly $935,000 in drug money through Nebraska.

Federal prosecutors say Ryan Perich, of Woodbridge, California, was sentenced last week to a year and a day in prison and three years of supervised release after leaving custody. He also was fined $6,000.

Perich had been pulled over on Jan. 24 for a traffic violation on Interstate 80 in eastern Nebraska’s Lancaster County. A court affidavit says officers found the money inside vacuum-sealed bags in the vehicle after Perich gave permission for a search.

He told officers the money wasn’t his, that it was amassed from sales of marijuana and that he was hauling it from the East Coast to California. The drug money has been forfeited to authorities.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The top prosecutor in Hall County has been named a district court judge in the 9th Judicial District.

Gov. Dave Heineman appointed Hall County Attorney Mark Young, of Grand Island, to the court bench. Young replaces Judge James Livingston, who retired in October.

A judicial nominating commission had forwarded the names of two others to the governor for his consideration: Thomas Klein, of Wahoo, and John Marsh, of Kearney.

The 9th Judicial District consists of Buffalo and Hall counties.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to at least 18 months in prison for accepting money in exchange for legal advice he wasn’t certified to give.

A Lancaster County district judge on Tuesday sentenced 49-year-old Clinton Brooks Jr. to 18 months to 38 months in prison, plus $1,500 restitution. He was convicted in October of theft by deception and unauthorized practice of law.

Brooks’ attorney said his client grew up poor and wanted to help people navigate the court system. He said when 49-year-old Brooks started giving legal advice, he didn’t know what he was doing was illegal.

Prosecutors say Brooks accepted $1,500 for telling a mother and her son how and when to file legal documents.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — At least two people are hospitalized in critical condition after a fire at a boarding house in south Omaha.

Firefighters were called to the house near 22nd and M streets around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

One person was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, and another was taken to Creighton University Medical Center. Both were in critical condition, and medics were performing CPR on them before they were taken to hospitals.

Authorities say the rest of the home’s residents made it out safely, and the fire was brought under control before 3 p.m.

The older home had been segmented into apartments, and a sign out front advertises weekly room rental rates.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Lincoln elementary student who wandered off the campus was unwrapping Christmas gifts and decorating cookies in a nearby home while police looked for her.

Officers, teachers and worried residents searched Friday for 7-year-old Gracie Shafer, who disappeared after she walked away from the Everett Elementary School playground during morning recess.

A group of middle school students found Gracie, who has autism, about six hours after she was reported missing. She was wearing a pink tutu and dancing in the street.

The owner of a home tipped off police to how Gracie spent her day. The homeowner says her door was left wide open and the unwrapped Christmas presents were inside.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 48-year-old Lincoln woman has been given jail and probation for stealing from a high school booster club.

Amy Luebbe was sentenced last week to 60 days in jail and two years of probation. She also must serve 100 hours of community service, which will include preparation of training materials addressing how other booster clubs can avoid similar thefts.

Police investigators say that after Luebbe became assistant booster club store manager for the Southwest High School club, she took gift cards and cash from the club’s petty cash fund and altered deposits between October 2011 and October 2013. Luebbe later pleaded guilty to felony theft. Authorities say she’s paid back the money.