OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Humane Society says its Omaha shelter is so full of cats that it’s waiving some adoption fees.

The group is offering adult cats — six months old or older — for free this weekend. Visitors can also get two kittens for the price of one.

The cats are spayed or neutered, as well as microchipped and vaccinated. Licensing fees will still apply for Omaha and Sarpy County residents.

The shelter currently has more than 40 cats ready for adoption.

Humane Society officials say the free adoptions are needed to help make room for more cats that continue to be dropped off at the shelter.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are looking for one or more intruders who they say broke into the Wichita home of a 100-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her.

Police told reporters Friday that the victim walked to a neighbor’s house Tuesday morning, saying there were two people inside her home. The woman told police she was awakened during the night by intruders.

Wichita Police Captain Troy Livingston says that rape is always a deplorable crime but that this victim’s age makes the case even more disturbing.

Police believe burglary was the main motive for the break-in. The woman lives alone.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a fire at an Omaha house that displaced a family of nine was caused by a candle.

Battalion Chief Timothy McCaw with the Omaha Fire Department says an unattended candle in a bedroom caused the Thursday night fire at a single-family house in north Omaha.

Two adults and five children were inside at the time and were able to escape safely. Two other adults were not home. The American Red Cross is assisting them.

The fire caused more than $18,000 in damages.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sent to jail after his 12-year-old daughter came in contact with marijuana-laced cookies and brought them to school.

Lancaster County Judge Matt Acton sentenced 38-year-old Ramon Noriega on Friday to about five months in jail. He will be eligible for work release.

Authorities say Noriega made the cookies at home sometime before the girl brought them to her middle school in February. At least three students are believed to have eaten the cookies. Police reported a strong odor of marijuana when they visited the girl’s home.

Noriega later pleaded guilty to child neglect and possession of drug paraphernalia. During sentencing, Acton called the case a “very unfortunate situation.”

COLERIDGE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died in a single-vehicle crash in northeast Nebraska.

The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office says 52-year-old Mark Eisenhauer, of Creighton, was driving Friday morning on a county road near Coleridge when his vehicle lost control and entered a ditch. The vehicle rolled and Eisenhauer, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected.

Eisenhauer was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman whose leg was severed after a car crashed into her in Omaha has thanked the man credited with helping save her life.

30-year-old Diera Crisman hugged Tony Hubert on Thursday from her bed at Creighton University Medical Center. Her fiance wiped a tear from her face as she spoke to Hubert and gave him a card signed by her family.

Authorities say the car hit Crisman and a friend early Saturday. The force of the crash severed one of Crisman’s legs. Her friend refused medical treatment.

Witnesses say Hubert, who was nearby, used a belt to apply a tourniquet to Crisman’s leg. Doctors say Hubert helped prevent additional blood loss.

The driver of the car will be ticketed for willful reckless driving.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police in Lincoln are investigating a violent attack on two University of Nebraska-Lincoln students that left one in a hospital in critical condition.

The two men were attacked near the Nebraska Capitol early Friday morning.

Police say 22-year-old Patrick Pantoja and 27-year-old Emmanuel Nartey were walking from an apartment to the UNL campus around 2:30 a.m. when they were approached by three men who demanded cash.

Police say when the students replied they had no money, they were attacked. A wallet and smartphone were taken.

Pantoja, an art major, remained in critical condition at an area hospital Friday. Nartey suffered a swollen lip.

Police are searching for suspects.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman who they say left her baby at home so she could go out to a bar.

Authorities were called to the bar Thursday after witnesses said they overheard the 28-year-old woman talking about leaving her 2-year-old daughter home alone. She faces a felony count of intentional child abuse.

Authorities say they extracted the woman from the Pheasant Tavern in Omaha and took her home. They say the child had a soiled diaper and puffy, watery eyes.

She is being held in the Sarpy County jail.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha authorities say no one was injured after an airport police officer fired at a woman who was driving toward the officer in an SUV.

Omaha police spokesman Kevin Wiese says the 40-year-old driver was arrested Thursday after the incident at Eppley Airfield. She faces charges of first-degree felony assault of an officer, willful reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Police say the woman got into an argument inside the airport before driving through a lowered arm at a payment booth. They say the Airport Authority Officer Michele Brandt and Sgt. Gary Shillito found the SUV in an airport parking lot and approached it. Police say the driver drove at Brandt, who shot at the vehicle.

The driver escaped and was later arrested by Omaha police.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police plan to use a $250,000 federal grant to hire two officers to help fight gang crime.

The city applied for a U.S. Department of Justice grant in May. Lincoln mayor Chris Beutler says the two officers will likely be paid from the city’s budget after the three-year grant expires.

Public Safety Director Tom Casady says the city’s overall crime rate fell by nearly 8 percent last year. But Casady says that was largely due to a drop in property crimes.

Beutler says that meanwhile, gang member numbers have increased as has the intensity of their crimes, noting three homicides last year.