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Recount Ordered in Nebraska NRD Election

voting-boothLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials have ordered a recount in a primary election for the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District.

The Nebraska Board of Canvassers on Monday certified the results of all races from last month’s primary, except for the NRD race. The recount was ordered because of an oversight that led to more than 1,000 voters in York County not receiving that race on their ballots. The county election clerk sought to fix the problem by reprinting and distributing corrected ballots.

The results show that Stan Boehr received 3,422 votes in the race. Eugene Ulmer received 2,870 votes, while Becky Roesler received 2,852 votes. The vote margin between Ulmer and Roesler was close enough that it triggered the state’s automatic recount rules.

Denver Dispatcher is Fired After 911 Caller is Killed

denver-policeDENVER (AP) — Denver police say a dispatcher has been fired after failing to relay key information to officers responding to a call from a woman who was killed 12 minutes into a 911 call.

Police say the dispatcher didn’t tell officers that the woman’s husband was getting a gun from a safe.

Public safety department spokeswoman Daelene Mix said Monday the dispatcher was fired Friday. The person was not identified.

Police have said Kristine Kirk pleaded in the April 14 call for authorities to hurry and send officers because her husband had asked her to get a gun and shoot him.

Kirk said Richard Kirk was hallucinating, after having marijuana-infused candy and possibly pain pills.

Forty-seven year-old Richard Kirk has been charged with first-degree murder. He has not yet entered a plea.

Family Remembers Officer Killed in Las Vegas

Officer Igor Soldo
Officer Igor Soldo

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Family members remember the former Nebraska man killed in an ambush at a Las Vegas restaurant as a caring husband and father who dreamed of becoming a police officer as a child.

Officer Igor Soldo and Officer Alyn Beck were killed Sunday. The couple that ambushed the officers fled to a Wal-Mart and killed another man before killing themselves.

Igor Soldo’s Fifty-eight-year-old mother, Sirli Soldo, says he was a wonderful son, husband and father.

The Soldo family immigrated to Lincoln, Nebraska, from war-torn Bosnia in 1995 when Igor was 13. He learned English and graduated from Lincoln Southeast High in 2000 and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2004.

Soldo was planning to return to Lincoln in a few weeks to celebrate his son’s first birthday with family and friends.

Nearly 1K Nebraska, Iowa VA Requests Not Scheduled

department-of-veterans-affairsLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An audit of Veterans Affairs facilities has found nearly 1,000 veterans who requested an initial appointment in Iowa or Nebraska over the last decade, but have not yet been seen.

The report released Monday says 987 enrolled veterans sought appointments at one of three facilities — two in Iowa, and one in Nebraska that serves western Iowa.

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System had 606 appointment requests during the last decade that have not been scheduled. The VA Central Iowa Health Care System had 274 requests, and the Iowa City VA Health Care System had 107.

The report shows 317 new patients who were placed on waiting lists for initial appointments. New patients are placed on waiting lists when an appointment can’t be scheduled within 90 days.

US Gas Prices Holding Steady at $3.69 per Gallon

gas-cardCAMARILLO, California (AP) — A survey says the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. is holding steady, rising 3½ cents over the last three weeks to $3.69.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that crude oil prices are little changed and strong refinery output has quenched higher demand. She anticipates minor price declines ahead.

The survey taken Friday shows the average price for a gallon of midgrade gas was $3.88 and the average price for a gallon of premium was $4.03. Diesel averaged $3.96 a gallon.

Of cities surveyed in the continental U.S., Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had the lowest average price at $3.33 a gallon. San Francisco had the highest average at $4.14 a gallon.

The average price per gallon of Regular in Nebraska is $3.52, according to gasbuddy.com.

Gunman in Car Wounds Southeast Nebraska Deputy

ambulance-lightsFALLS CITY, Neb. (AP) — Law enforcement agencies are combing southeast Nebraska, looking for a car carrying someone who shot a sheriff’s deputy.

The shooting occurred about 2:45 a.m. Monday on Richardson County Road 717 near U.S. Highway 75, about 10 miles south of Auburn.

Richardson County Sheriff Randy Houser says the deputy had noticed a stopped car, so he approached to offer help to the people inside. Houser says several shots were fired from inside the vehicle, which then sped away.

The deputy gave a chase but soon stopped when he noticed that one of his arms had been hit by a bullet.

The officer is being treated in Lincoln. His name hasn’t been released.

No arrests have been reported.

Former Lincoln Man Victim of Las Vegas Shooting

Officer Igor Soldo
Officer Igor Soldo

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Lincoln man is one of the two police officers who were shot and killed in an ambush at a Las Vegas restaurant.

Colleen Soldo of Beatrice says her brother-in-law Officer Igor Soldo was a victim of Sunday’s shooting. Authorities say a man and a woman ambushed Soldo and another officer as they were eating, fatally shooting them.

Police say the shooters then fled to a Wal-Mart, where they killed another person before killing themselves.

Colleen Soldo says her brother-in-law attended high school in Lincoln and worked as a corrections officer in Lancaster County.

She says he was a “great guy” who was a good father, husband, brother and officer.

Las Vegas police say the 31-year-old Soldo is survived by a wife and baby.

Police Identify Man Shot to Death in North Omaha

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have identified the 23-year-old man fatally shot in his own yard this weekend.

Police said Sunday that Brandon Wallace was the victim of the Saturday afternoon shooting.

No arrests had been made as of Sunday morning.

Police say officers found Wallace with gunshot wounds when they arrived at the scene on Saturday. He was taken to an Omaha hospital where he later died.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Omaha Police Homicide unit at 402-444-5656. Those wanting to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers at 444-STOP (7867), www.omahacrimestoppers.org, or text “OPD” to 274637 (Crimes).

Evaluation of Nikko Jenkins to Be Done in Prison

Nikko Jenkins
Nikko Jenkins

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a man convicted of killing four people in Omaha last summer should undergo a psychiatric evaluation in prison, rather than being taken to a state psychiatric hospital.

Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon issued the ruling Friday after prosecutors argued that moving Nikko Jenkins from the Lincoln prison where he’s being held to a psychiatric hospital would pose a security risk.

A defense psychiatrist says Jenkins’ mental state had deteriorated since he was convicted in April of four counts of first-degree murder.

Jenkins is awaiting sentencing for the August 2013 deaths of Curtis Bradford, Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, Juan Uribe-Pena and Andrea Kruger.

Driver Charged in Crash that Injured Tracy Morgan

traceymorganNEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was critically injured Saturday after a tractor-trailer rammed into his chauffeured limousine bus, setting off a chain-reaction crash that left one member of his entourage dead and two others seriously hurt, authorities said.

A truck driver from Georgia was charged with death by auto in connection to the crash, prosecutors said. Middlesex County prosecutors said 35-year-old Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, also faces four counts of assault by auto stemming from the crash. His bail was set at $50,000, and he was expected to turn himself in later Saturday. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Morgan, the former “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” cast member, was returning from a standup comedy show in Delaware when his Mercedes limo bus carrying seven people overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike near Cranbury Township at about 1 a.m., state police Sgt. 1st Class Greg Williams said.

James McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, a passenger in the limo bus, died at the scene, Williams said. Morgan, 45, and Jeffrey Millea, 36, of Shelton, Connecticut, were flown from the accident scene to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, where they were in critical condition, hospital spokesman Peter Haigney said.

A fourth passenger, comedian Ardie Fuqua Jr., was also in critical condition, while a fifth passenger, comic Harris Stanton, was treated and released, Haigney said. Two others in the limo were unhurt, including the driver.

Morgan remains in the intensive care unit at the hospital.

“His family is now with him and he is receiving excellent care,” spokesman Lewis Kay said in a statement. “We don’t anticipate much of a change in his condition today but will provide a further update once more information becomes available.”

Williams said the tractor-trailer driver apparently failed to notice slow traffic ahead and swerved at the last minute in a vain attempt to avoid a crash. But it smashed into the back of the limo, prompting a chain-reaction crash with a second tractor-trailer, an SUV and two cars.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was working with state police to look at any issues in the crash related to commercial trucking and limousine safety.

Morgan’s limo was owned by Atlantic Transportation Services, which said it had one employee behind the wheel and a second in the front passenger seat.

“Although the investigation is still pending, we concur with the preliminary reports that the accident was caused by another vehicle traveling behind the Atlantic limo bus,” the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware-based company said. “We are grateful that our drivers did not sustain life-threatening injuries.”

Walmart President Bill Simon issued a statement that said one of the firm’s trucks was involved in the accident. While noting that the crash remains under investigation, Simon said “Walmart will take full responsibility” if authorities determine that the company’s truck caused the accident.

“We’re praying for the family and friends of the passenger who lost his life in the terrible accident” the statement said. “Our hearts go out to everyone involved and we hope those who were injured get the care that they need and make a full recovery.”

Morgan performed comedy standup Friday night at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. His scheduled appearance at the Fillmore Charlotte in North Carolina on Saturday night was canceled.

Fuqua had tweeted that he was opening for Morgan on Friday. On his Instagram page, Fuqua included a collage of photos from the Delaware show.

“This is what it looks like from the stage to see a standing ovation from 1500 people,” Fuqua wrote at around midnight Friday. “Then we traveled back to NYC in style in a luxury Mercedes Sprinter. Road life is a good life!”

Morgan, a New York City native, joined “SNL” in 1996 and was on the sketch-comedy program for seven years before leaving to star in “The Tracy Morgan Show” in 2003. That show lasted just one season. In 2006, Morgan found a long-running role on NBC’s hit show “30 Rock,” which was created by “SNL” co-star Tina Fey. He received an Emmy nomination for best supporting actor for “30 Rock” in 2009.

Morgan grew up fatherless, one of five siblings, in a blighted section of Brooklyn, where he helped raise and support the family.

He once called his gift for being funny “a defense mechanism” for his miserable circumstances. As a teen, he started doing comedy on the streets to supplement the family’s welfare income.

His tough upbringing informed his humor.

“My aunt was a crackhead,” he told his Brooklyn audience in a recent special aired on Comedy Central. “I remember one Christmas she bought me a Game Boy. Then she stole it. Then she helped me look for it.”

In recent years, he has struggled with alcoholism and drunken driving arrests. He had a successful kidney transplant in late 2010.

Morgan’s films include “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” ”The Longest Yard,” ”First Sunday,” ”Rio” and “Why Stop Now.”

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