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DEVELOPING: WINTER WEATHER
ADDS: BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY-DEBT OFFERING, WINTER WEATHER, HEALTH CARE DEAL-STATES, JUVENILE JUSTICE
WINTER WEATHER
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The freeze that lingered over much of the nation Wednesday was expected to be followed by strong winds and more bitter cold through the Midwest and deep into the South. The unusually persistent Southern cold snap has been blamed for at least six deaths and threatened to freeze Florida citrus crops. By Randall Dickerson.
AP Photos FLWL101, FLCO211, FLPC202, KYMAS101, KSOW102, PAERI101, IACN102.
With:
— WINTER WEATHER-NEBRASKA—A major winter storm has blanketed much of the eastern third of Nebraska with 2 to 4 inches of snow.
— WINTER WEATHER-NEBRASKA—Many schools in the eastern third of Nebraska are closed in anticipation of a major winter storm that is just starting to hit the state.
BUS DRIVER PHONES
LINCOLN—Neeka Choobineh couldn’t believe what she was seeing last year as she and other members of a Lincoln high school speech team traveled back to Lincoln from Kearney after an event there. As the large charter bus that carried the team barreled down the highway, the driver chatted away on his cell phone for about 1 1/2 hours, keeping one hand on the steering wheel, she said. By Nate Jenkins.
AP Photo NENH101-104.
With:
— SESSION STARTS—Nebraska state senators have gathered at the Capitol to begin a 60-day lawmaking session that’s under a cloud of economic uncertainty.
— ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT INFO—A state lawmaker wants to require law enforcement agencies to share information about certain people they arrest with federal immigration officials if they suspect those people are in the country illegally.
— SCHOOL LOBBYING—Nebraska schools that spend thousands of dollars on lobbyists have caught the attention of state lawmakers.
— RACIAL PROFILING—A state senator wants to extend provisions of a 2001 law that bans racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
JUVENILE JUSTICE, HFR. EDS: HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 12:01 A.M. CST THURSDAY, JAN. 7. THIS STORY MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST OR POSTED ONLINE BEFORE 12:01 A.M. CST..
OMAHA—More oversight is needed for juvenile defense attorneys and representatives appointed to help children navigate Nebraska’s court system, according to two reports commissioned by state lawmakers. The reports studied the effectiveness of Nebraska’s juvenile justice system, particularly defense attorneys and guardians ad litem—attorneys appointed to advocate for a juvenile victim or state ward in court. By Timberly Ross.
HEALTH CARE-DEAL-STATES
COLUMBIA, S.C.—Two state attorneys general on Wednesday asked their counterparts around the country to join more than dozen other top prosecutors in opposing a health care reform bill they say includes a political deal for Nebraska. Attorneys General Henry McMaster of South Carolina and Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma asked their colleagues to call on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to remove the provision. By Meg Kinnard.
AP Photos NY131, NY130.
BUSINESS:
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY-DEBT OFFERING
OMAHA—Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Wednesday filed documents for a $1 billion debt offering with proceeds to retire existing debt due this year. The company, in a regulatory filing, said it plans to offer $750 million in senior notes due 2040 and $250 million in floating rate senior notes due 2012.
ALSO:
— BERKSHIRE-MUNGER DONATIONS—Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Vice Chairman Charlie Munger has donated stock worth nearly $2.4 million.
SPORTS:
BKC–DRAKE-CREIGHTON
OMAHA—The Drake men’s basketball team travels to Omaha to begin the Missouri Valley Conference season against Creighton. Game time 7:05 p.m.
ALSO:
— T25-NEBRASKA-C PELINI RAISE—Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne is not confirming a published report that defensive coordinator Carl Pelini is receiving an 80-percent pay raise.
— WORLD JUNIORS-BLAIS—Dean Blais will return to his job at the University of Nebraska at Omaha as a world-championship hockey coach.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— OFFICER CONVICTED—An Omaha police officer has been convicted of using the Internet to lure what he believed was a 14-year-old girl into having sex.
— BOVINE TB-NEBRASKA—Nebraska agriculture officials don’t believe the case of bovine tuberculosis found in South Dakota this week is linked to the case found in northeast Nebraska last year.
— BOVINE TB—The South Dakota Animal Industry Board says a 3-year-old cow from a Yankton County herd has been infected with bovine tuberculosis. Eds: Note Nebraska interest.
— NELSON-HEALTH OVERHAUL—U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson says it was a mistake for lawmakers to focus their efforts on health care reform instead of trying to bolster the sagging U.S. economy last year.
— NEB TROUBLED CENTER-LAWSUIT—Lawsuits have been filed on behalf of two residents of the Beatrice State Developmental Center who died after being moved under state order to other facilities.
— THEFT SENTENCE—An Iowa woman has been sentenced to 21 months in a federal prison and must pay $266,000 in restitution for depositing money she stole from her company into her personal bank account.
— ID FRAUD—A Michigan man is sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for selling fraudulent identification documents in Nebraska.
— CHILD-PORN SENTENCE—A 31-year-old Omaha man who had videos of child pornography on his computer has been sentenced to five years in a federal prison.
— NEB SHERIFFS’ CLAIMS—The State Claims Board has denied compensation for the Nebraska Sheriffs’ Association over the loss of its building at State Fair Park.
— EXONERATED INMATES-CLAIM—Five people wrongly convicted in the 1985 killing of a Beatrice woman are preparing to sue the state, seeking compensation for the decades they spent in prison.
— NEB TROUBLED CENTER-LAWSUIT—Lawsuits have been filed on behalf of two residents of the Beatrice State Developmental Center who died after being moved under state order to other facilities.
The AP, Omaha.
