Nebraska News

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Forecasters say portions of the central United States could see severe weather this weekend and Monday. The Storm Prediction Center at Norman, Oklahoma said yesterday a bout of "fairly substantial" bad weather is possible in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas on Saturday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Supporters of a Nebraska Medicaid bill are urging residents to contact their state senators directly, to try to bring the measure to a vote in the Legislature. Lawmakers and advocacy groups held a rally yesterday outside the Capitol to garner support for the proposal, which has stalled because of a filibuster. The bill would offer Medicaid coverage to an estimated 54,000 low-income, childless adults as part of the federal health care law. The bill is LB577.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill designed to help fight wildfires in rural Nebraska has advanced to a final legislative vote. Lawmakers approved several changes to the measure yesterday before giving it second-round approval. The bill is LB634.

(Information in the following story is from: Beatrice Sun, http://www.beatricedailysun.com)

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — An attorney has requested that a sheriff in southeast Nebraska be protected from questioning that could be used as evidence in an upcoming trial. The Beatrice Daily Sun reports Elliot Hawkins is suing four employees of the department after he was cleared of wrongdoing in an alleged rape case. Hawkins called the investigation reckless.