(AP) — Some Lincoln students have experienced a firsthand civics lesson in watching their teacher take an oath of American citizenship.

Students in Teresa Barta’s Spanish language class gathered in the back of the classroom on Wednesday as she repeated the words so many immigrants have recited.

The 34-year-old Barta grew up in the Canary Islands, which have become an autonomous community of Spain. She met her future husband, Paul Barta, at an airport in southern Spain in 1998. He went on to graduate from Doane College and then attend Creighton Law School while he and Teresa exchanged emails.

In 2003 she moved to the United States and they married. She became a teacher and eventually joined the staff at Southeast High School in fall 2012.

(AP) — A 28-year-old woman has been given two to four years in prison for stabbing her boyfriend at the apartment they shared in Grand Island.

Apollonia Decoteau was sentenced Wednesday in Hall County District Court.

Decoteau had pleaded no contest to domestic assault for the May 19 attack on Jose Garcia-Hilario. Prosecutors dropped a weapons charge in exchange for her plea.

Authorities say Decoteau has a criminal history that dates back to 2001 and is described in a presentencing report as a high risk to commit another crime.

Her attorney says Decoteau has drinking and drug problems.

(AP) — A 21-year-old man has been given 20 to 36 months in prison for setting fires in Fremont.

Tyler Maple was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday after pleading no contest to two counts of felony arson. Prosecutors dropped two other charges in exchange for Maple’s pleas.

Prosecutors say Fremont police received reports of four separate arson cases on Aug. 6, including the burning of a Salvation Army bus and a car. No injuries were reported.

Two other Fremont men also face charges related to the fires.

(AP) — Youths interested in Nebraska’s beef industry are invited to attend the Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium next month.

Two sessions will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus in the Animal Science Complex.

The first is scheduled to begin with check-in at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 22. The session is aimed at high school freshmen and sophomores.

The second session will begin with check-in at 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 23 and run through the next day. The session is aimed at high school juniors and seniors.

Registration is $30 per student and is due Thursday. The fee is $50 from Nov. 1 through Nov. 8.

To register or to obtain more information, visit https://bit.ly/1gZVlsV .

(AP) — The police chief says he’s disappointed that a downtown Lincoln bar owner objects to two nearby security cameras installed by the city to deter crime.

Chief Jim Peschong on Wednesday criticized Duffy’s owner Scott Hatfield at a meeting of the mayor’s Citizen Police Advisory Board. Hatfield is a member of the board.

Hatfield told Peschong that he cares about safety but is concerned about the idea that people “can’t come downtown to 14th and O and not be left alone by Big Brother.”

The two cameras were installed at the end of last year at where police say crime is prevalent. They were shut off after some people raised questions about what they saw as invasions of their privacy.

(AP) — A January trial has been scheduled for a Grand Island man charged with vehicular homicide and other crimes.

30-year-old Hermino Alamilla Jr. pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Hall County District Court.

Authorities say Alamilla was driving recklessly on Aug. 19 on U.S. Highway 281 south of Grand Island when he lost control of his car. The car rolled several times before coming to rest. The car was then hit by a pickup driven by 26-year-old Megan Brodrick, of Grand Island. She wasn’t hurt.

One of the passengers in Alamilla’s car died after being ejected. Another passenger wasn’t hospitalized.

Alamilla’s trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 6.

(AP) — A 15-year-old girl has pleaded not guilty to a felony stemming from a crash that killed another teenager in the car she was driving in southeast Nebraska.

The girl entered the plea on Wednesday in Lincoln to vehicular homicide and other charges. Her attorney has filed a motion to move the case to juvenile court. The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes.

Authorities say the girl was driving a car on a county road just north of Waverly with five other teenagers on board in late August. The car went out of control and two of the six were ejected. A 15-year-old boy was killed. He was identified as Taylon Artman, of Eagle.

(AP) — Young New Yorkers who want to smoke will soon have to wait for their 21st birthdays before they can buy a pack of cigarettes.

That’s because the New York City Council has voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill that would raise the purchasing age for cigarettes, certain tobacco products and even electronic-vapor smokes from 18 to 21.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday. The bill is supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has 30 days to sign it into law.

The council also passed a bill that sets a minimum $10.50-a-pack price for tobacco cigarettes and steps up law enforcement on illegal tobacco sales.

Advocates hope raising the age will reduce smoking rates among young people. Critics say it’s patronizing to bar people from smoking while allowing them to serve in the military.

(AP) — Just in time for Halloween, Jesuit scholars have joined a whole new generation of horror buffs in St. Louis to recount the supernatural incident that inspired one of the most terrifying films in movie history.

The monthlong demon-purging ritual in 1949 at Saint Louis University’s former Alexian Brothers Hospital involved an unidentified suburban Washington, D.C., boy and formed the basis for William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, “The Exorcist.” The film of the same name was released two years later.

On Tuesday, the university hosted a panel about the ritual and treatment of the 13-year-old boy.

The Rev. Walter Halloran was the last surviving Jesuit to participate in the exorcism before his death a decade ago.

(AP) — Most of the Fremont residents who spoke at a council meeting were against removing portions of the city’s ban on renting housing to people who aren’t in the U.S. legally.

Fremont voters approved a measure in 2010 that bans hiring or renting to people who can’t prove they are in the country legally. The housing portion of the law has remained on hold while legal challenges to the rules are resolved.

Jon Wiegert, who helped circulate a petition that forced the 2010 election, told council members Tuesday night that he was “very disgusted to hear that the City Council is even thinking of repealing this ordinance that we worked very hard for.”

The proposal must have two more readings before a final council vote.