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DEVELOPING: SWINE FLU-NEBRASKA, BERKSHIRE SHAREHOLDERS,
ADDS: SWINE FLU-SCHOOLS, INTERNET CALLS, CSI-BLOOD EVIDENCE, MIDWEST ECONOMY
SWINE FLU-NEBRASKA
OMAHA—Nebraska’s chief medical officer says preliminary tests show there may be three more cases of swine flu in the state. Dr. Joann Schaefer said Friday the new probable cases are boys between the ages of 5 and 18 and who live in Madison, Pierce and Sarpy counties. None has been hospitalized and are said to be doing well. By Jean Ortiz.
SWINE FLU-SCHOOLS
OMAHA—Four schools in northeast Nebraska joined hundreds across the nation in closing because of concerns about the spread of swine flu. In Madison, 540 students of the two public schools stayed home Friday, as did 56 from the town’s Catholic grade school. Thirteen miles away, the 593-student Norfolk Middle School was closed. By Eric Olson.
With:
— JOHANNS-SWINE FLU—Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns says he’s dismayed at the problems the name “swine flu” has caused for pork producers.
INTERNET CALLS
OMAHA—A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling exempting Internet phone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. from paying a state telephone fee. In an opinion released Friday, a three-member panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments from members of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. The PSC had been trying to force Vonage and its customers to pay into the state’s Universal Service Fund. By Margery A. Gibbs.
CSI-BLOOD EVIDENCE
LINCOLN—Investigators with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office don’t want an indicted CSI commander as a co-defendant in a lawsuit filed by a man wrongfully charged in a double murder. Four sheriff’s employees argue in a brief filed in U.S. District Court that the case from Nicholas Sampson is too complicated to add David Kofoed and the Douglas County Sheriff’s office at such a late stage. By Anna Jo Bratton.
BUSINESS:
BERKSHIRE SHAREHOLDERS
OMAHA—Warren Buffett’s famed Woodstock for capitalists begins Friday with various official and unofficial events. About 35,000 shareholders are expected to join the financial fun in Omaha for Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting Saturday despite what was, by some measures, a disappointing 2008 for Buffett’s investment company. By Josh Funk.
AP Photos
MIDWEST ECONOMY
OMAHA—A survey of business leaders in nine Midwestern and Plains states suggests that despite some encouraging signs, the region is well short of economic recovery. Economic indicators have pushed the overall index for the April Mid-America Business Conditions survey to 42.7, its highest level since September. The index hit 39.7 in March and 34.6 in February.
With:
— MIDWEST ECONOMY-GLANCE
SPORTS:
— BBC–MISSOURI-NEBRASKA—Game time 6:05 p.m.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— ARMORED GUARD SHOT—Omaha police say an armored-truck guard has been shot during an attempted robbery in a north Omaha parking lot.
— COUNTERFEITER SENTENCED—A woman who passed counterfeit $10 bills in Lincoln stores has been given 18 months in federal prison.
— SECURITIES PROBE—The troubled First Americans Insurance Services of Grand Island has lost its agency license.
— DRIVER DAMAGE—Police say a Fremont woman left a $26,000 trail of destruction behind her before she was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.
— CHILD ALONE—A 21-year-old Norfolk woman faces a felony charge of child abuse and neglect, accused of leaving her 2-year-old son alone overnight in an apartment.
— PEOPLE-SEDARIS—Humorist David Sedaris will make a stop in Lincoln during a publicity tour for his latest book.
— WELCOME HOME—The Department of Veterans Affairs is inviting veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and their families to a special welcome at Mahoney State Park near Ashland.
The AP, Omaha.
