(AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will require dozens of home renovation contractors and training providers to take additional steps to minimize harmful lead dust.

The EPA says settlements were reached with 17 contractors that didn’t obtain required certification. Twenty-one settlements involve violations for failing to follow lead-safe work practices. Three cases involve general contractors that didn’t ensure that subcontractors followed safety lead dust safety standards.

The enforcement actions led to more than $274,000 in civil penalties.

The EPA says that between May 2013 and January 2014, it settled enforcement actions with three Nebraska parties. They are James and Dona Jungers, of Lincoln; Painting Done Right, also of Lincoln; and Dennis Barker, of Fairbury.

(AP) — Federal investigators are at a Columbus medical supplies manufacturing plant to look into the death of a worker.

Platte County Attorney Carl Hart Jr. said Wednesday that 53-year-old Denise J. Wieser, of Richland, died Tuesday morning at the BD Medical plant. He declined to detail what she was doing when she died, only that her injuries came during the course of her work duties.

Hart said he is awaiting the results of an autopsy performed Wednesday to determine what caused Wieser’s death.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration spokesman Scott Allen says that a preliminary report indicates that Wieser’s death involved a forklift.

OSHA records show the plant was cited in 2005 for three workplace safety violations involving machinery, power tools and wiring, for which it paid a nearly $4,000 fine.

(AP) — A former Grand Island firefighter has pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography.

Fifty-year-old Mark Fhuere entered the plea on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln. Prosecutors say the crime was committed between May 2, 2011 and May 29, 2013.

Fhuere is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Fhuere resigned his position as a firefighter-paramedic with the Grand Island Fire Department on May 31 last year. He’d worked for the department since 1996.

(AP) — Authorities have cited the parents of a Lincoln student who took marijuana-laced cookies to school and shared them.

Principal Susette Taylor says the student admitted taking the cookies to Irving Middle School on Tuesday and giving some to three other students who knew what they contained. Taylor said in an email to parents that the three then gave some to five other students.

Taylor says the school nurse checked out all of the students, who were fine. Their parents were contacted.

Police suspect the cookies were baked by the father of the first student. The father faces charges of child neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unlawful possession of a firearm. The child’s mother was cited on suspicion of child neglect.

The child has been suspended.

A vehicle headed the wrong way on Interstate 80 near Lincoln led to a short pursuit and a drunken driving arrest.

Around 1:20 a.m., on Wednesday, February 19, a trooper spotted a vehicle traveling east in the westbound lanes of I-80 at the 27^th Street exit (mm 403) in Lincoln. The trooper attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle failed to stop and pursuit ensued with the vehicle turning around and heading west in the eastbound lanes.  A mile up the road, spike strips were set up. The vehicle ran over the strips flattening all four tires.  The driver then turned around driving east in the eastbound lanes. At mm 405, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle entered the south ditch, struck a road sign and came to a stop.

The driver, Leahlia S. Beatty, 25, of Beaver Crossing, was lodged in the Lancaster County Corrections on charges to include, Flight to Avoid Arrest, Driving Under the Influence, Driving Left of Center and Careless Driving.

The pursuit lasted approximately 10 minutes and reached speeds of 40 mph.

According to KMBC-TV in Kansas City, a family member has confirmed that the body of a missing 10-year-old Missouri girl has been found, and the suspect has been arrested on suspicion of 1st degree murder.

Springfield Police say a suspect, 45-year-old Craig Michael Wood, was arrested just after 8:00 p.m on Tuesday night.  He was jailed at the Greene County Jail on suspicion of 1st degree murder.

Police say they received a report Tuesday afternoon that a man in a gold-colored 2008 Ford Ranger drove down the street several times before approaching Hailey Owens and pulling her into his truck.

Amber Alerts were issued in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Authorities have not yet confirmed whether Hailey’s body has been found.

Police are planning a press conference at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

(AP) — The owner of an unusual wolf hybrid dog has found a temporary home for his pet outside Lincoln city limits.

Alex Kaftan’s dog, Mars, is living at a Raymond farm. Last week a judge denied Kaftan’s motion to let the dog remain in Lincoln. City officials say wolf-dog crossbreeds are barred by Lincoln ordinance.

Kaftan says Mars is a Czechoslovakian vlcak (VUHL’-chak), a special breed that originated with the 1955 crossing between German shepherds and Carpathian wolves.

Kaftan says he plans further legal action to bring Mars back to his home in Lincoln.

(AP) — Police say a Lincoln mother scared off a man who had gotten into her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom.

The 35-year-old woman had been sleeping on a couch when she awoke around 4:30 a.m. Sunday to the sound of movement inside her apartment. She looked into the girl’s bedroom and saw a man. She told officers he tried to close the bedroom door to block her and then fled out the same unlocked window he’d used to get in.

Police spokeswoman Katie Flood says investigators didn’t know whether the man meant to steal something or harm someone. No arrests have been reported.

(AP) — A trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday for a 35-year-old man accused of killing a father and two sons during a robbery.

Anthony Davis, of Omaha, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three related firearms charges.

He’s accused of shooting 44-year-old Miguel Avalos, 18-year-old Miguel Avalos Jr. and his 16-year-old brother, Jose Avalos, on July 9, 2012.

Twenty-six-year-old Timothy Britt, of Omaha, faces similar charges. He’s pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin March 24.

(AP) — Police say a Hall County supervisor has been investigated for his involvement in a domestic incident with his wife.

Grand Island police say 49-year-old David Ziola and his wife, Lynn Ziola, are ending their nearly 19 years of marriage and that they got into a dispute on Saturday morning. David Ziola told officers his wife pushed him and menaced him with a steak knife. She says he pushed her.

No arrests have been reported and no charges have been filed. In an email Tuesday, David Ziola said he and his wife believe “that when all facts are examined, the matter will be resolved and dismissed.”

Ziola represents District 1 in Hall County and is running unopposed for his second four-year term.