TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — For decades, seasonal allergy sufferers had two therapy options to ease the misery of hay fever. They could swallow pills or squirt nasal sprays every day for brief reprieves from the sneezing and itchy eyes. Or they could get allergy shots for years.

Now patients can try another type of therapy to train their immune system, new once-a-day tablets that dissolve quickly under the tongue and steadily raise tolerance to grass or ragweed pollen.

The downside: The pills, from drugmakers Merck and Stallergenes, must be started a few months before the grass or ragweed pollen season. That means it’s too late for people with grass allergies, but the time is now for ragweed allergy sufferers.

Meanwhile, new treatments for other allergies, including to peanuts and eggs, are in testing.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Active members of the U.S. armed forces and their families are being offered free admission to Douglas County Historical Society’s General Crook House Museum in Omaha this summer.

The promotion runs through Sept. 1.

Both the General Crook House and the campus are of special significance to the American military. Fort Omaha was built as an Indian Wars United States Army supply installation, and later served the Signal Corps and as a training ground for the Army’s Balloon School. The school taught soldiers how to do reconnaissance from hydrogen balloons in preparation for World War I.

JUNIATA, Neb. (AP) — One small Nebraska town is trying to encourage development by declaring the entire city of 700 people blighted.

The town of Juniata took that step last year, so tax incentives could be used anywhere in Juniata to spur development.

But officials are still working on a plan to take advantage of the blighted designation, so it’s not yet clear how well the idea will pay off.

Michael Mead with Juniata’s Community Redevelopment Authority says local officials just want to see more businesses come to town, so they’re trying to make Juniata attractive.

Gothenburg’s City Attorney Mike Bacon has been hired to help draft a plan to use tax incentives in Juniata. He has worked with over 50 Nebraska cities on similar plans.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old man remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after a fight in downtown Lincoln.

Lincoln Police Capt. Jason Stille says Ian Poulsen was found unconscious in the street around 2 a.m. Sunday after the fight.

Several witnesses told police they say Poulsen fighting with two other men before Poulsen fell to the ground and hit his head on the concrete.

Police arrested a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old man a few blocks away. They are suspected of first-degree assault.

Poulsen remained in serious condition at a local hospital Sunday morning, but police aren’t sure if he will survive his injuries.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two teenagers who had faced adult charges in a fight that took another teen’s life have had their case moved to juvenile court.

The teens are accused of assaulting 16-year-old Aquilee Muse during a May 9 fight. Aquilee suffered a severe head injury after falling and hitting his head on concrete. He died May 13 after he was taken off of life support.

The two other 16 year olds charged in the fight have pleaded no contest to amended juvenile charges. One pleaded guilty to manslaughter, the other to accessory to assault.

The Associated Press generally does not name minors accused of crimes.

Prosecutors say video recordings of the fight show Muse throwing the first punch.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Look out, zombie apocalypse. The central Nebraska city of Grand Island is prepared for you.

The city is holding its third Zombies in the Heartland — a zombie-themed shooting competition — that began Friday and wraps up Sunday. About 500 shooters from 26 states are participating.

Ten competitive stages and a handful of side stages present different scenarios for targeting the undead.

One stage is set up like a construction site, while another looks like an abandoned amusement park. Still another mimics a city street with an abandoned bus and an overturned car.

Grand Island shooting park superintendent Bill Starkey says the zombie motif appeals to beginning and younger shooters.

Starkey says the competition’s prize assortment has grown and is now worth $250,000.

BEAVER CROSSING, Neb. (AP) — The southeast Nebraska town of Beaver Crossing is making plans to rebuild following a devastating Mother’s Day tornado.

A news release from a town official says over the next few months, several insurance agencies will assist the village with the process of removing debris and rebuilding. Village officials also are reaching out to charitable organizations to help those without insurance or who were under-insured.

Officials say the May 11, EF3 tornado severely damaged 120 trees on public property that will need to be cut down. The town is seeking out organizations that can help private homeowners remove their damaged trees at no cost.

Beaver Crossing Administrator Shannon Chesnut says the village office will operate out of the town’s fire hall until the Village Hall can be restored.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered a new trial to determine whether a boy should remain in the state to live with his biological father or be allowed to move to Mexico with his mother, whose husband was deported.

The decision on Friday overturned a lower-court ruling that said Ruby Maldonado-Morin’s desire to live with her husband in Mexico was not a legitimate reason to remove the boy from the state.

Maldonado-Morin shares custody of the boy with his biological father, Michael Daniels. The boy, Deonte Daniels, has lived primarily with his mother since his birth in 1999.

Maldonado-Morin married Jose Morin in 2001, and argues that her husband treats Deonte as his own son.

Daniels sought sole custody of Deonte last year, after Morin was deported.

FAIRBURY, Neb. (AP) — A 13-year-old who tortured his grandfather’s 3-pound dog with an ax has been sentenced to serve probation and receive counseling until his legally an adult.

A Jefferson County judge sentenced the teen Wednesday after the boy admitted to a misdemeanor charge of attempted animal cruelty causing injury.

Authorities say that in April, when he was 12, the boy kicked and hit the Chihuahua with an ax while it was tied to a tree in his grandfather’s yard. The dog’s jaw was shattered and one of its eyes was pulled from a socket in the attack.

A veterinarian treated the dog, but it’s not known whether the animal survived its injuries.