(AP) — Nebraska would use its state Medicaid program and private health insurers to cover low-income residents, under a new proposal in the Legislature.

Supporters unveiled the “Wellness in Nebraska” Act on Tuesday as they prepare for another attempt to expand coverage under the federal health care law.

The measure would offer traditional Medicaid coverage to residents who make less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Residents who make between 100 and 138 percent would buy private insurance in the federal marketplace, but with Medicaid dollars covering most of their premiums and copays. Their share of the cost could be waived if they participate in a wellness program.

Opponents in the Legislature blocked an attempt last year to pass a Medicaid expansion bill.

(AP) — Denver police have identified the man who was shot while trying to use a woman as a human shield during a hostage standoff as 34-year-old Blas Leroux, but they are not saying anything about a possible motive.

Dramatic video shot by KDVR-TV shows Leroux leaving a 7-Eleven store with a hostage in front of him on Monday when a police bullet to the shoulder knocks him down and the woman runs away. Leroux was taken to a hospital where police said he is in critical condition.

Anthony Flores said he saw the shooting from across the street. He said the suspect didn’t move after being shot.

Police say the man took three hostages, but one managed to escape.

*WARNING: Video may not be appropriate for some viewers*

(AP) — A 19-year-old Omaha woman has been given five to 10 years in prison for robbing a Fremont bank.

Kimberly Babbitt was sentenced on Monday in Dodge County District Court. She’d pleaded no contest to a robbery charge after prosecutors dropped a second robbery count.

Dodge County Attorney Oliver Glass says Babbitt went into the Fremont National Bank on Sept. 28, pushed her way to the front of a line of customers and handed a bank teller a note demanding money. After receiving some money, Babbitt went to a second teller and demanded more money.

Babbitt used to live in Fremont. She says her boyfriend took her baby from her unless she robbed the bank. The man is believed to have fled to California.

(AP) — A Fremont man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a child and producing child pornography.

The man pleaded no contest after prosecutors dropped other charges, including five counts of incest. The Associated Press is not naming the man, in order to protect the privacy of the child.

Prosecutors say that on Nov. 17, 2011, the man used hidden cameras to make child pornography. Prosecutors also say the man sexually assaulted a child more than 30 times between November 2010 and May 2013.

Attorneys are recommending 30- to 40-year prison terms that would be served at the same time. But Judge Geoffrey Hall told the man at a hearing Monday that the court is not bound by the agreement.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 10.

(AP) — The Nebraska Court of Appeals has upheld the firing of a former Wayne police lieutenant accused of making sexual advances toward women in the department and of tolerating racial prejudice among officers.

Former Lt. Phil Shear, along with former Wayne Police Chief Lance Webster, appealed after a Wayne County District judge rejected their challenges to the Wayne Civil Service Commission’s upholding of their April 2011 firings.

Among the accusations against Shear were those that said he tolerated officers’ practice of referring to white people as “number ones” and to black people as “number twos.”

Webster was accused of trying to cover up for Shear.

On Tuesday, the Nebraska Court of Appeals rejected Shear’s argument that he was denied due process. The appeals court rejected Webster’s appeal in late November.

(AP) — A recent audit that was critical of Nebraska’s public-benefits hotline could prompt an investigation by lawmakers.

Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton introduced a resolution on Tuesday to form a special investigative committee that would keep watch over ACCESSNebraska. The system has drawn complaints about long waits to talk to caseworkers and a high rate of busy signals.

A report by the Legislature’s Performance Audit Committee says the state “failed dramatically” to reach its service goals, and was highly dysfunctional prior to Oct. 1. The Department of Health and Human Services has said it has made improvements in the time since the audit was released.

The proposal to create a special committee was co-sponsored by a dozen other lawmakers.

(AP) — A flaw in a southeast Nebraska church’s electrical system caused the fire that devastated the century-old church this month.

Syracuse Fire Chief Bruce Neemann said investigators determined that electrical failure in the attic of the Syracuse United Methodist Church caused the Jan. 5 fire.

The church in the town of less than 2,000 people 25 miles southeast of Lincoln is a total loss.

On Sunday, about 120 people met for worship in a local coffee house. The church plans to meet at the United Methodist Church in Unadilla for the next three weeks.

Rev. Gary Ganger says his congregation is in good spirits. The church is planning to rent a downtown storefront to use as a temporary location for at least the next year.

(AP) — Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo has unveiled its newest additions.

The zoo announced Tuesday it has five new rockhopper penguin chicks that hatched at the zoo between Dec. 23 and Dec. 27.

Zoo officials say adult birds typically raise their own chicks, but increased activity in the exhibit led to the decision to hand-raise the chicks, which weigh about a pound each.

They are being fed a fish and krill formula five times daily. The chicks are also allowed to eat small fish filets as they work their way up to whole fish.

Zoo guests will be able to watch the chicks via video at the penguin exhibit until their waterproof feathers come in.

(AP) — Authorities say strong winds are to blame for the overturning of a semitrailer Tuesday that blocked traffic between Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The crash happened around 12:20 p.m. in the westbound lanes of I-80 near the Missouri River bridge on the Iowa side. Strong winds are believed to be the caused the truck to tip over on its side.

The Iowa Department of Transportation website indicates the westbound lanes of the interstate were entirely blocked as emergency crews responded.

By 1:45 p.m., the crash had been cleared and normal traffic had been restored.

A traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 80 led to the seizure of 33.1 lbs. of marijuana and the arrest of two Minnesota men.

Just before 11:30 a.m., Monday, January 13, a trooper stopped a 2013 Hyundai Sonata near the Henderson Exit on eastbound I-80 for failure to signal.  An NSP canine indicated to the odor of drugs coming from the vehicle. A search led to the seizure of 33.1 lbs. of marijuana from the trunk of the car.

The driver of the car, Dana P. Noel, 58, of Minneapolis, Minn., and a passenger, Jordan P. Noel, 29, of Burnsville, Minnesota, were both lodged in the Hamilton County Jail, each on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.