• Today: Scattered thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. South southeast wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Tonight: A chance of thunderstorms, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. East northeast wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. East wind 8 to 14 mph.
• Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. East wind 8 to 10 mph.

(AP) — A former western Nebraska therapist has been ordered to pay the state $1.3 million for committing Medicaid fraud.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning announced the judgment against Jennie Miller and her Healing Plains Mental Health clinic Tuesday.

Bruning says Miller received almost $47,000 in Medicaid payments for services she never rendered, and she failed to submit proper documents for more than $430,000 in payments.

The court tripled the damages in accordance with state law.

Miller was sentenced last year to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay the cost of her prosecution after pleading no contest to Medicaid fraud.

(AP) — A federal appeals court has affirmed the life sentence of an AWOL soldier who planned to detonate a bomb inside a Texas restaurant frequented by Fort Hood soldiers.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied Naser Jason Abdo’s request to consider his initial detention by police a full arrest, which would have made it unlawful and rendered as inadmissible evidence and statements obtained at the time. The court Monday also rejected Abdo’s argument that his trial was unfair because he was denied access to an expert witness.

Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Ky., when he was arrested with bomb-making materials in 2011. A federal jury convicted him May 2012 on six charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

(AP) — The Nebraska Court of Appeals says a jury should hear the claims of a mother who sued Union Pacific Railroad and the estate of her ex-husband over the 2007 death of their 15-year-old son in a collision with a train.

Mario Becerra III was killed, along with his father, Mario Becerra Jr., when the car the father was driving drove onto train tracks, despite warning lights and an oncoming train’s horn. The train smashed into the car, sending the car into a concrete signal base. Both the father and son were killed.

Mary Becerra sued the railroad and her ex-husband’s estate.

A Douglas County District Court judge dismissed the lawsuit, but the appeals court on Tuesday said a jury should decide the merits of some of Mary Becerra’s claims.

(AP) — The Italian astronaut who nearly drowned during a spacewalk last month is sharing more details about the terrifying experience.

Luca Parmitano wrote in his online blog, posted Tuesday, that he felt all alone as water filled his helmet outside the International Space Station.

Parmitano says he couldn’t see far and couldn’t hear anyone. He frantically tried to think of a plan to get back to the safety of the air lock. That’s when he remembered his safety cable. He used the cable recoil mechanism, and its 3 pounds of force, to “pull” him back to the hatch. He says it felt like an eternity.

NASA has suspended spacewalks while determining the cause. The Russians, meanwhile, will stage their second spacewalk in under a week, this Thursday.

• Today: Sunny, with a high near 95. Light south wind increasing to 9 to 14 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. South wind 7 to 13 mph.
• Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. South wind 5 to 8 mph.
• Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. East northeast wind 8 to 11 mph.

(AP) — Authorities have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of a 23-year-old man in northeast Omaha.

Omaha police identified the suspect as 20-year-old Davante Mitchell, of Omaha. Police say he’s booked on a homicide charge in the slaying of Antone Cooper on Aug. 8.

Mitchell’s attorney from another Douglas County case didn’t immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press.

(AP) — A University of Nebraska at Kearney music professor has been honored for his development of a one-handed saxophone.

David Nabb was given the Ars Electronica Award by the One-Handed Musical Instrument Trust. The One-Handed Musical Instrument Trust competition challenges instrument makers and inventors to build one-handed instruments that can emulate instruments used in classical orchestras.

Nabb won the Ars Electronica Award in the playable category. Judging took place in London at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Nabb is a woodwinds professor. After suffering a stroke in 2000, Nabb worked with Jeff Stelling to develop a saxophone that can be played with the right hand only. Nabb will share the award with Stelling.