(AP) — Officials in southeast Nebraska are on the hunt for a deadly rattlesnake spotted near a recreational lake that was initially mislabeled as only a mildly poisonous variety.

A Lincoln man and his son took photos of the large snake after spotting it at Burchard Lake in mid-August. A Nebraska Game and Parks official identified it as a western massasauga rattlesnake.

But Southeast Community College instructor and reptile expert Dan Fogell says it’s a timber rattlesnake, a dangerous breed that hasn’t been spotted at the lake for nearly 30 years.

Fogell says the bite of a timber rattler is poisonous enough to kill a person.

He hopes to find the snake and attach a tracking device to it.

(AP) — More than 30 protesters gathered Saturday outside the federal building in Lincoln to oppose possible U.S. military action in Syria.

Among the crowd was 32-year-old Haidar Kazem, holding a Syrian flag and a sign aimed at throngs of Nebraska football fans that read “Go Big Red, No ‘Little’ War.

Kazem lived near the Syrian capital of Damascus more than 10 years before he immigrated to the U.S. in 1999. Now a construction worker, Kazem says he doesn’t want the U.S. “wasting money on a war we have no business getting into.”

President Barack Obama has called on Congress to approve the use of military force in the wake of a deadly chemical weapons attack his administration blames on the Syrian government.

(AP) — Police in the southeast Arkansas city of Pine Bluff say a 107-year-old man is dead after SWAT officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home.

Pine Bluff Lt. David Price said police officers called to the home Saturday were told Monroe Isadore had pointed a weapon at two people there.

Officers had the threatened pair leave the home and approached a bedroom. Police say Isadore shot through the door at officers but missed hitting them.

More officers were called, including a SWAT team that inserted a camera into the room and confirmed Isadore had a handgun.

Police say SWAT officers released gas into the room when negotiations didn’t work. They say Isadore shot at officers and they fired back, killing him.

(AP) — Two people are dead after a car slammed into an Omaha warehouse without slowing down.

Omaha police said the accident near 88th and J streets was discovered Sunday morning around 7, but investigators were still working to determine when the crash happened.

Sgt. Joe Collins says the Honda was speeding south into the industrial area and failed to stop at a T-intersection. There weren’t any skid marks near the crash.

The car slammed into the building, and a man and woman inside died.

The names of the victims were not immediately released.

Investigators found some copper wiring and tools inside the car.

(AP) — Iowa law enforcement officials are debating the wisdom of granting gun permits to blind people.

Iowa law doesn’t allow sheriffs to deny a permit to carry a gun in public based on physical ability.

Some sheriffs have been granting gun permits to people with visual impairments while others have been denying them.

Jane Hudson with Disability Rights Iowa says keeping legally blind people from obtaining weapon permits would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Some other states, including Nebraska, require anyone applying for a gun permit to provide proof of their visual ability by supplying a driver’s license or doctor’s statement.

(AP) — Nebraska paid a prisoner more than $267,000 last year after his cellmate raped him and other inmates beat him at the Lincoln Correctional Facility.

The inmate’s lawsuit against the state and the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services alleged that prison officials failed to protect him and didn’t properly treat him for psychiatric problems that surfaced after the May 2002 assault.

A spokeswoman says the Department of Correctional Services has since taken steps to try to prevent similar situations.

A district court judge in Lincoln rejected allegations that the state failed to meet basic care standards, but ruled it could have done more to prevent the attack.

The inmate has filed a separate federal lawsuit.

The $267,000 payment is on a list of legal payouts that the state approved last year.

(AP) — A Bellevue man has died after his motorcycle crashed into a car in Sarpy County.

The Sarpy County sheriff’s office says 27-year-old Joshua Price died Friday morning when he lost control of his motorcycle. He crossed the center line and hit an oncoming car.

Crews had to cut 53-year-old Lynda A. Johns out of the car she was driving. She was taken to an Omaha hospital in serious condition.

(AP) — Omaha’s zoo has a pair of baby beavers to show off.

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium announced Friday that two beaver babies called kits are venturing around the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit. They were born on July 27 and have spent most of their time in the beaver lodge of the nocturnal exhibit’s swamp area.

The kits’ sex is unknown because keepers have not touched them. The creatures join the zoo’s beaver colony, which consists of two females and two males.

Officials say beaver kits are born fully furred. Their eyes open within an hour after birth.

(AP) — Officials have reported the first human case of West Nile virus in Lancaster County this year.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department did not release additional information about the case. But it says in a news release Friday that the department was recently notified that mosquitoes collected in late August were positive for the virus.

West Nile is transmitted to people through mosquitoes that feed on an infected bird. Most infected people have no symptoms or only mild flu-like symptoms. A small percentage develops a serious illness.

State health officials say that as of Friday, there have been 22 human cases of West Nile in Nebraska.

(AP) — A lecture this month on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus will look at the effect of global warming on human health.

On Wednesday, public health expert Wendy Ring will give an overview of the impact climate change is having on individual and community health.

Her discussion will connect climate change to everything from infectious diseases to mental health.

Ring is a medical doctor who has a master’s degree in public health. She was the medical director of a community health center in California for more than 20 years and has been recognized by Congress, the California Legislature and the American Medical Association for her work in improving access to care for the underserved.

Ring is touring the nation as part of a national effort on climate change and health.