• Odd invitation from Nebraska jail: Spend the night for $30

    Sergeant Casey Mitchell / Lancaster County Corrections

    For $30 a night, law-abiding Nebraska citizens can rest their heads here to help out corrections officers and benefit children's charities.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A couple square meals, brand new bedding on a four-inch-thick mattress, and the chance to benefit children's charities are attracting some law-abiding Nebraskans to spend a night in the unlikeliest of places: behind bars.


    Starting Thursday night at 6 p.m., the 90-square-foot cells at the new Lancaster County Adult Detention Facility in Lincoln, Neb., will be filled with voluntary inmates -- 200 people from the community who signed up for a night in the pen. The cost for participants is $30.

    The event also will function as a dry run for the facility.

    "We want to use 'compliant' inmates," Lancaster County Corrections Director Michael Thurber said. "We'll use the intercoms, we'll see how the camera angles are, how the views from our control center are. We'll use the lights, we'll run the water, we'll see how everything drains." 

    Participants will arrive at 6 p.m. and leave at 7 a.m. the following morning, starting Thursday night of this week and running through Saturday night. Their fee goes to The Child Advocacy Center, a nonprofit that helps victims of child abuse, and Operation Santa Claus, which gives toys to needy children.

    The schedule for the overnight stay includes a tour of the jail at 8:30 p.m., lockdown at 10 p.m., lights out at 11 p.m., and a light breakfast at 6 a.m. the following morning. Participants will be fingerprinted and have their mugshot taken upon arrival. They will be invited to wear jail jumpsuits, but can wear street clothing if they want.

    The deadline for signing up to stay the night in jail has passed, but Thurber said free tours of the jail -- which is scheduled to open in the summer -- will continue through April. Among the 200 people who are spending the night: criminal justice college students, book clubs, a local TV host, and a state senator.

    Corrections staff will do a dry run of everything exactly as they would with real inmates.

    "I want to see the cell doors working. I want to know they shut," Thurber said. "We want them to tell us what they're hearing in the cells. How's the sound echoing in here? We're just trying to break it in. That's the best way to see how our systems work." 

    Dinner, however, might be a tad classier.

    "There might be a chicken-fried steak," he said. "There's a vegetable, some bread, some type of a pudding or a dessert. There might be a chicken entree as well. I haven't seen the exact entree yet. But I know mashed potatoes, green beans, maybe a little salad. We're probably jazzing the meal up just a little bit."

    The nearly 300,000-square-foot facility has 779 beds and will replace an overcrowded detention center in downtown Lincoln. Participants in the overnight stays must be 18 or older, but anyone can take a free tour of the jail. 

    The event has raised $600 for charity so far; others have pledged to donate checks during their tours later in the month, which are free, Thurber said.

    Lynn Ayers, the executive director of the Lincoln-based Children Advocacy Center, said Thurber contacted her four or five years ago, when the jail was still being built, about the idea of teaming up for the charity. 

    "I was excited about it then and glad it came to happen. It's kind of a cool idea," she said, adding that as a nonprofit, her organization does special events all the time -- though this was one of the more unusual partnerships.

    Unlike actual inmates, participants in the overnight stays are allowed to leave before their stay ends in the morning. 

     

  • Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigns after late-night calls exposed

    By Alissa Skelton and Grant Schulte, The Associated Press

    Nati Harnik / Associated Press photo

    Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned Saturday. Last July, his wife filed for divorce after nearly 29 years of marriage. Her divorce filing stated the "marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken."

    LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned abruptly Saturday in a scandal involving thousands of calls to four women on his state-issued cellphone, including one woman who said she had a romantic relationship with the politician.

    Gov. Dave Heineman announced Sheehy's resignation in a hastily called news conference Saturday morning. Sheehy, a Republican, had been considered the front-runner in the 2014 gubernatorial race and had been endorsed by Heineman.

    "As public officials, we are rightly held to a higher standard," Heineman said. "I had trusted him, and that trust was broken."

    Sheehy resigned after questions were raised about the cellphone calls with four women, none of whom were his wife, who filed for divorce last year. The calls, made over the last four years, were first reported by the Omaha World-Herald, which had made a public records request for Sheehy's phone records.

    Records released Saturday by the governor's office show Sheehy made thousands of late-night phone calls to the women. He spoke with some of the women numerous times a day in conversations that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to more than an hour, according to the records.

    One woman he frequently called, Dr. Theresa Hatcher of Bellevue, told The Associated Press that she and Sheehy had maintained a long-term relationship after they met at a convention of emergency responders in Texas in 2008. As lieutenant governor, Sheehy leads the state's emergency management efforts, and Hatcher is an emergency room doctor.

    "I thought I was the only one," she said. "Apparently, I was grossly mistaken."

    Hatcher said she last talked to Sheehy about two weeks ago. She added: "Politicians can lie. Doctors don't lie."

    Another woman Sheehy frequently called has had an apartment in Lincoln, the state capital. Her name appeared on a call box outside the building Saturday, but a man who answered the door said she didn't live there.

    'Deeply disappointed'
    Sheehy was the mayor of Hastings before Heineman selected him as his running mate. They were elected by a record margin to their first full term in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.

    Asked for his reaction Saturday, Heineman said, "I've got a knot in my stomach. I'm deeply disappointed."

    Heineman said he doubted Sheehy would run for the governor's office now.

    "And no, I would not support him under the circumstances," Heineman said.

    Sheehy did not appear at the news conference, and his state-issued cellphone was disconnected. A phone call to Sheehy's office went unanswered, and a message was not immediately returned.

    Last July, Sheehy's wife, Connie Sheehy, filed for divorce after nearly 29 years of marriage. Her divorce filing stated the "marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken."

    Heineman declined to answer questions about what had occurred that led Sheehy to resign. He also would not say whether he asked Sheehy to resign or if Sheehy acted on his own.

    Heineman said he will begin the process Monday of looking for a new lieutenant governor.

    If something were to happen to Heineman before he selects a new lieutenant governor, Republican Speaker of the Legislature Greg Adams would ascend to the governor's post.

    Sheehy's announcement shakes up an already turbulent 2014 governor's race. Another Republican candidate, former Nebraska Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood, entered the race briefly but withdrew in December after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, a Republican, has also said he is leaning toward running.

    Several Democrats have signaled an interest in running, including University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook and Nebraska state Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha. In recent weeks, party activists have also approached state Sen. Annette Dubas, of Fullerton.

    Sheehy changed his Twitter account settings to private before Heineman's press conference. Shortly after, his account appeared to have been deleted.

    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Ice storm descends on Midwest before heading east

    Icy weather across parts of the Midwest affected roads and airports, particularly at O'Hare in Chicago, where nearly 200 flights were canceled. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.

     

    By Barbara Goldberg, Reuters

    A storm encased the Midwest in glistening ice on Sunday, forcing officials to cancel flights and closing roadways and threatening to tangle the start of the work week as freezing rains headed east. 

    Hundreds of churches across Iowa called off Sunday services as sidewalks were turned to sheets of ice by the storm that meteorologists said had covered the Midwest in about a half-inch of ice by midday. 


    Flights in and out of Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis were grounded on icy runways. 

    The National Weather Service issued a freezing rain advisory for Chicago and the surrounding area for Sunday until 9 p.m. local time, when temperatures were expected to warm up enough to make it just rain. Until then, the weather service warned of dangerous conditions for driving and even walking. 

    "Pockets of sleet, freezing rain and freezing drizzle are possible farther east late tonight into Monday morning from Buffalo, New York, to New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Roanoke, Virginia," meteorologist Brian Edwards said on Accuweather.com. 

    Slick roadways were reported from South Sioux City, Nebraska, to Iowa, where numerous crashes were reported, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. In Franklin County, Iowa, Interstate 35 was blocked by tractor trailers struggling to get a grip on treacherous surfaces. 

    "Instant icing of windshields and roadway surfaces (as well as driveways, sidewalks and parking lots) can be expected in the areas with freezing temperatures," the Iowa DOT said. 

    In Missouri, ramps to connecting Interstate 270, which circles the St. Louis area, to Interstate 70 were closed early Sunday morning because of ice, but were later reopened, said Marie Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Transportation. 

    --Additional reporting by Reuters' Tim Bross in Missouri, Kay Henderson in Iowa and David Hendee in Nebraska; Editing by Edith Honan and Bill Trott. 

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • As drought persists, town dries up and states scramble to save every drop of water

    Kevin Murphy / Reuters

    A sprinkler is in use near Dodge City, Kans., on Nov. 26.

    By Carey Gillam, Reuters

    The drought that crippled many communities across the nation last year shows little sign of retreating, and the threat of persistent water scarcity is spurring efforts to preserve every drop.


    As the drought of 2012 creeps into 2013, experts say the slow-spreading catastrophe presents near-term problems for a key U.S. agricultural region and potential long-term challenges for millions of Americans.

    "Everyone is wondering whether this dry weather is the new norm ... or an anomaly that will soon pass," said Barney Austin, director of hydraulic services for INTERA Inc, an Austin, Texas-based geoscience and engineering consulting firm. "We all hope for the latter, but it's hard to tell."

    The signs of distress and the search for answers are most prevalent in the Plains, where historic drought blankets much of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of Texas.

    This month the small Oklahoma farming town of Wapanucka lost water completely when the spring-fed wells the community relies on ran dry. Officials closed the town's school and residents had to do without tap water until the town could run a line to a neighboring water district.

    In Texas, state lawmakers are pushing for a $2 billion fund to finance water infrastructure projects as numerous communities face their own shortages. But it won't be soon enough to help rice farmers, who were told this month that there is not likely to be enough water to irrigate their fields this spring.

    Meanwhile, in the big wheat-growing state of Kansas, penalties for exceeding water use limits for irrigation were doubled this month and Gov. Sam Brownback has launched a task force to come up with strategies to counter statewide shortages.

    "It's going to be dry again this year," said Lane Letourneau, water appropriations manager for the Kansas Agriculture Department. "We consider this a really big deal."

    Slideshow: America's farmland baking in drought

    Drought conditions plague much of the United States after a summer of scorching temperatures and a lack of rain. The dryness is affecting America's farmland, threatening crops like soybean and corn.

    Launch slideshow

    Searching for solutions
    Water use is already tightly curtailed in many states. Years of low rainfall and high heat - last year was the hottest on record for the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - have diminished surface waters even as population and water demand expand.

    As well, agricultural and oil and gas interests are pumping the precious commodity from underground aquifers at a pace that often cannot be matched by natural replenishment.

    "Water has been viewed as a basic commodity, a basic right," said Les Lampe, a water expert with consultancy Black & Veatch. "You turn on the tap and water comes out and you don't pay very much for it. That has to change."

    Farmers are feeling the pain of water shortages most acutely. After multibillion-dollar crop and livestock losses tied to last year's drought, they fear more losses are coming.

    Texas rice growers who depend on the lower Colorado River valley for survival are eyeing the fluctuating levels of two key lakes used for irrigation when river levels are too low.

    State officials said this month that without enough rain by spring, rice farmers could be completely cut off from irrigation, jeopardizing about 2 percent of the U.S. crop and about $1 billion for the Texas economy.

    "We've got a shortage of water," said Ronald Gertson, a rice grower and chairman of the Colorado Water Issues Committee. "People are going to be both hungry and thirsty before they wake up to this problem."

    Forecasts show drier-than-normal weather likely prevailing in the Plains and western Midwest for the next few months at least. But even normal rainfall levels would not be enough to fully recharge resources.

    Three to five times more rain than normal is needed in key corn-growing areas that include Nebraska and Kansas, for instance, to ease soil dryness after last summer's drought, according to Don Keeney, an agricultural meteorologist with Cropcast weather service.

    Roughly 60.26 percent of the contiguous United States was in at least moderate drought as of January 8, according to a "Drought Monitor" report issued by a group of federal and state climatology experts. Severe drought still blanketed 86.20 percent of the High Plains.

    "This drought certainly has gotten people's attention," said Joe Straus, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. "Regardless of whether it starts raining now or not, long-term water planning is essential. We need to be responsible."

    For some, it's already an emergency. Persistent dry conditions in north-central Oklahoma led officials in Payne County to declare a state of emergency this month as the reservoir providing water to nearly 16,000 residents in seven counties fell to record low levels.

    The approximately 500 residents of Wapanucka are talking of higher rates to fund a permanent pipeline to a new water source. But running out of water has shown how harsh doing without water can be, said Julie Wallis, Wapanucka's city water clerk.

    "We are not going to be the only ones who this happens to," said Wallis. "It's coming."

    From the archives, Aug. 2012: Drought: the 'new normal'?

  • 4 dead, including 2 students, after Nebraska bus collides with tractor-trailer

    Four people were killed in a collision between a school bus carrying young children and a tractor-trailer in Nebraska on Wednesday. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A fiery bus crash in southern Nebraska on Wednesday evening has killed four people, including two students.


    The accident happened when a tractor-trailer hauling hay bales collided with a school bus south of Blue Hill, Neb., around 4:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday, the Webster County Sheriff's Department told NBC News. The vehicles burst into flames after the collision, officials said, killing both drivers and two students and injuring five other children.

    The injured, all of whom were between the ages of 6 and 10, were taken to area hospitals; one, a seven-year-old girl, was flown by medical helicopter to Children's Hospital in Omaha, Sara Bockstadter, Webster County attorney, said Thursday. The girl was listed in serious condition on Thursday morning, reported NBC station WOWT.com.

    The victims of the crash were identified Thursday as Travis Witte, 21, of Blue Hill, the driver of the truck; Marla Wentworth, 59, of Red Cloud, the driver of the school bus; and students Dustin Tesdahl, 18, and Caroline Thallman, 10, both of Blue Hill.

    The Blue Hill Community School District serves kids from kindergarten through 12th grade. The district has set up a crisis center at the school to help students and their families, Bockstadter said.

    “Our first concern is for the families of those affected by Wednesday’s events," Bockstadter said. “Our hearts go out to everyone who has been touched by this tragedy."

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  • Deaf child's sign language name looks too much like gun, parent says school told him

    Hunter Spanjer's parents say officials at his Nebraska school asked them to change the sign for Hunter's name, saying it looked too "gun-like," but the school is denying they ever made the request. NBC's Ron Allen reports and the Spanjer family talks about what the principal told them.

    By Jim Gold, NBC News

    Updated at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday ET: Deaf 3-year-old Hunter Spanjer of Nebraska signs his first name with a gesture resembling a gun, and his parents say his school wants him to stop. School officials say they haven't asked any deaf students to change how they sign their names.


    The preschooler's father, Brian Spanjer, took to Facebook Sunday to garner support to allow his son to continue using the S.E.E. (Signing Exact English) symbol at the Early Learning Center he began attending last week. The Facebook page, "Let this Deaf Child Keep His Name Sign," had more than 5,300 likes by early Wednesday.

    Hunter has used the name sign since he was 6 months old, when the school district started working with him, Janet Logue, Hunter's grandmother, told NBC News.

    The Facebook page

    The name combines the symbol for the letter h for hunt, the thumb down along index and middle fingers extended together and waved, with the letter r, crossing the two fingers, Logue explained.

    “Hunter is kinda confused” at school now, where teachers are spelling his name out to him, Logue said.

    Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

    Spanjer posted a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union, which Hunter’s grandmother, Janet Logue, described in a comment as the civil rights organization citing legal cases and telling the Grand Island Public Schools it’s wrong and "politely asking them to rethink their position."

    "My son broke down in tears, overwhelmed by the support he’s getting,"Logue said of the boy's father.

    Brian Spanjer told NBC News he has vowed to fight until his son gets to keep his name sign.

    The name Hunter evolved from Brian Spanjer being a fan of outlaw music and admiring singer Waylon Jennings' son is named Shooter. Suggesting that name to the boy's mother, Morgan Hurt, when she was pregnant didn't go over well, Spanjer told NBC News. However, she found "Hunter" in a name book and offered it as a compromise and it stuck, he said.

    Spanjer said he's shielding Hunter from the attention his dispute with the school district is generating.

    "I am shocked this is an issue," he said. "As a parent you never think anyone would take issue with your child's name," he said. "When someone is named Christian, people don’t automatically go to religion," he said.

    "I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to any other deaf child or special needs child," he said.

    The policy of Grand Island schools, about 145 miles west of Omaha, forbids students "to knowingly and voluntarily possess, handle, transmit or use any instrument in school, on school grounds or at school functions that is a firearm, weapon, or looks like a weapon…"

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    Because of privacy rules a school spokesman could not directly address the Spanjers' complaint.

    "Grand Island Public Schools has not changed the sign language name of any student, nor is it requiring any student to change how his or her name is signed," district spokesman Jack Sheard said in a prepared statement. "The school district teaches American Sign Language ("ASL") for students with hearing impairments. ASL is recommended by the Nebraska Department of Education and is widely used in the United States. The sign language techniques taught in the school district are consistent with the standards of the Nebraska Department of Education and ASL. ... Our mission remains: Every Student, Every Day, a Success!"

    "It’s unfortunate we’re getting a black eye for something when we’re really dedicated to that goal," Sheard told NBC News.

    Brian Spanjer said he doesn't have any issue with Hunter learning ASL too, but he hopes to have an S.E.E. interpreter for his son. He said he prefers S.E.E.'s exact language approach to signing over ASL's.

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  • Lesbian who alleged Nebraska hate crime charged with lying about attack

    Lincoln Police Department

    Charlie Rogers, 33, of Lincoln, Neb., was arrested and charged with false reporting Tuesday. She pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge and was released on a personal recognizance bond Tuesday afternoon.

    By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Updated at 7:58 p.m. ET: A Nebraska woman who claimed she was the victim of a horrific hate crime in July and subsequently charged with making false claims to police pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge Tuesday.



    Follow @andrewjmach

    Police in Lincoln, Neb., who spent weeks investigating the case, arrested Charlie Rogers Tuesday for making a false report. Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly said a judge issued the warrant for her arrest earlier Tuesday.

    Rogers, 33, of Lincoln, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on a personal recognizance bond after a brief court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

    Her lawyer, Brett McArthur, said she maintains that the attack happened, according to The Associated Press.

    Rogers told police three men wearing black ski masks broke into her home during the early morning hours on July 22, bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties, beat her and carved anti-gay slurs into her arms and abdomen.

    Rogers also alleged the men spray painted homophobic slurs inside the home and poured gasoline around the house before lighting it on fire.

    Rogers said she was bound and naked when she escaped and managed to knock on a neighbor’s door at about 4 a.m. July 22.

    Police said they interviewed Rogers on four separate occasions. Because of inconsistencies in her various accounts of the attack and forensic DNA evidence, a warrant was issued for her arrest.

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    “A great deal of time and resources were spent investigating Charlie Rogers’ claims in hopes of identifying and arresting the three suspects in this case,” Lincoln Police said in a statement. “As the investigation progressed and additional interviews were completed, the department received results from forensic analysts and experts making it apparent that the physical evidence conflicted with Charlie Rogers’ version of events.”

    Also puzzling was that Rogers wrote on Facebook on July 18 what they believe is a motive for faking the attack, according to The Associated Press: "So maybe I am too idealistic, but I believe way deep inside me that we can make things better for everyone. I will be a catalyst. I will do what it takes. I will. Watch me." 

    There was no apparent struggle in the room where Rogers, a former University of Nebraska basketball star, said she was attacked on her bed, the warrant for her arrest says, which also described the bedspread as appearing “neat” and “evenly placed on the bed.”

    “There was no apparent blood on the bedspread; even though Ms. Rogers reported she was rolled on to her stomach after she had been cut on her arms, abdomen, chest and front legs while being held down.”

    Forensic tests of Rogers’ bedding at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found no traces of blood.

    Additionally, the FBI sent photos of the cuts on Rogers to a coroner’s physician for Lancaster County, who consulted with Dr. Michelle Elieff, a forensic pathologist. According to the warrant, Elieff said Rogers’ cuts appeared to be self-inflicted.

    “This opinion is based partially on the fact that the cuts appeared to be superficial and symmetrical, avoided sensitive areas of the body, appear that they would have taken considerable time to do and are accessible to the victim and follow the victim’s frame of reference for reading and writing.”

    Elieff also noted Rogers had no bruising, even though she alleged the men beat her.

    Police also found a pile of clothes, a pair of white knit gloves and a red box cutter on the living room floor. Rogers said the gloves did not belong to her, but DNA testing determined she was the “major contributor” of DNA inside of them, according to the warrant.

    Investigators discovered that the gloves, zip ties, blades and a red utility knife were purchased five days before the alleged attack at a hardware store in Lincoln. During an interview, Rogers told police she shops at that store.

    Police showed a clerk from the store a photo lineup and the clerk identified Rogers as the person who bought the items, the arrest warrant says. 

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    Police said that they also discovered graffiti spray painted on the basement walls after Rogers told the initial responding officer about it the morning of her alleged attack. But in a subsequent interview with Rogers, police said she did not know anything about the graffiti because she left her house immediately after the attack, the arrest warrant said.

    KETV

    Rogers gave an interview shortly after her alleged attack, saying she wanted to counter those who doubted that the attack ever happened.

    News of the alleged attack sparked multiple vigils attended by thousands of gay-rights supporters who donated money in support of Rogers in cities throughout Nebraska.

    At the time, Rogers said she would not attend the vigils because she was in hiding and wouldn’t speak publicly about the details of her attack for fear of influencing the police investigation.

    But after a week, police said they had found no suspects, leading some to question whether Rogers made it all up.

    On July 27, Rogers gave an interview to KETV in Omaha,  saying she decided to make her name and face public to counter those skeptical that the attack ever happened.

    “I understand that people sort of have a hard time wrapping their heads around the things that have happened, as do I,” Rogers said. “But I’m a person with feelings, with concerns. For people to think that this doesn’t happen here, it does. It did.”

    If convicted, Rogers could face up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, the Lancaster County Attorney’s office said.

    A statement about Rogers by the City of Lincoln Police Department noted the city investigates 120,000 cases every year.

    "A relatively small fraction is later determined to be false," it said. "This case will not impact our trust of crime victims. Criminal incidents, especially hate crimes, are unique and viewed as such. We do not want crime victims to hesitate reporting in the future."

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  • 200 more firefighters deployed to massive Nebraska wildfire

    Dave Weaver / AP

    Flames from the Fairfield Creek Fire are seen Monday near Springview, Neb.

    By NBC News staff and news services

    More federal firefighters were being deployed to bone-dry Nebraska, where a huge wildfire is threatening more structures and two smaller fires are still out of control.

    The handful of people living in Sparks, a gateway to canoeing and tubing on the Niobrara River, were on alert for possible evacuation. A 14-mile stretch of the valley already has been evacuated. 

    While a cold front is expected to provide some relief, highs Wednesday will still be in the mid-90s. The front may also bring some rain, but major storms aren't likely to develop near the fire. Plus, storms could also bring lightning and spark new fires. 

    Nebraska, like the rest of the central U.S., is suffering from the worst drought since 1956. Other signs of the stress include the fact that water levels at Nebraska's largest body of water, Lake McConaughy, are down 20 feet from this time last year, NBC affiliate KETV reported.

    Hot, windy weather on Monday helped the main Fairfield Creek Fire expand to 58,000 acres, or nearly 92 square miles.


    Two other smaller fires about 20 miles east of the main fire had burned more than six square miles. And Tuesday's high temperature again topped 100 degrees.

    Officials estimate the fires, which have already destroyed at least 10 homes, are about 25 percent contained.

    Some 200 federal firefighters were being sent to join the more than 300 crews already on the front lines.

    Four helicopters are also fighting the fires, and three firefighters have been injured.

    Much of the fire-swept land near the river is rugged, forested and populated with cabins, so only 17 residences had been evacuated as of Tuesday morning.

    PhotoBlog of the Fairfield Creek Fire

    Part of the challenge is that the densely wooded ravines are difficult for firefighters to reach. And when the wind picks up, the fire can spread quickly up those ravines.

    NASA

    This satellite-based image shows the ravines where the main Nebraska fire is centered.

    Heat and strong winds made firefighters' work difficult again by Tuesday afternoon, when temperatures had already reached 106 degrees in Valentine, which is about 20 miles west of the main wildfire. And winds continued to gust up to 25 mph.

    Fire officials feel the three wildfires could be contained within a few days -- as long as more fires don't erupt.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Alleged torture of woman roils Nebraska capital

    TED KIRK/Lincoln Journal Star

    People gather on the west steps of the Capitol, in Lincoln, Neb., on Sunday during a vigil for a woman who was allegedly attacked in her home early in the morning.

    By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A woman in Nebraska says she was tied up and mutilated in what many are calling a hate crime, according to local reports.


    Police in Lincoln, Neb., are investigating the case of a 33-year-old woman who told police three men wearing ski masks broke into her home early Sunday, bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties, beat her and carved anti-gay slurs into her arms and abdomen.

    The men also allegedly spray painted a derogatory term for lesbians inside the home and poured gasoline around the house before lighting it with a match. The fire caused no noticeable damage to the house, a city fire inspector said.

    The woman said she managed to escape and knocked on a neighbor’s door for help.

    “My neighbor was standing there, and she had no clothes on,” Linda Rappl, 68, told NBC affiliate WOWT in Omaha, Neb. “Her hands had been tied with zip ties, and the first thing I saw was blood running down her face.”

    Rappl said the sobbing woman had cuts all over her torso, arms and face. Rappl said she brought her neighbor inside and wrapped her in a blanket before calling 911.

    Police officials said they wouldn't offer many details concerning the investigation, citing the need to maintain the integrity of the case, but Lincoln police spokeswoman Katie Flood told the Lincoln Journal Star that investigators have no suspects.

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    Tyler Richard, president of Outlinc, a nonprofit organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community in Lincoln, told NBC News that the woman lives openly as a lesbian.

    On Sunday night, more than 500 people held a vigil outside the state Capitol, organized by friends of the woman, many of whom are part of the LGBT community.

    Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler and others denounced the attack as a hate crime.

    Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com

    “Hate crimes are despicable and appalling to me and to all Lincoln residents,” Beutler said in a statement. “Lincoln strives to be a community that embraces tolerance and equality. We stand united with our gay and lesbian citizens in denouncing violence directed at any group.”

    “There were things carved on her body that can only be described as hate that somebody can only be taught and we need to stop teaching it,” a friend of the woman’s told WOWT.

    Richard told NBC News that Outlinc has full faith in the Lincoln Police Department, citing the agency’s long history of support for the city's LGBT community.

    The attack in Lincoln happened about two months after Lincoln officials approved a measure to protect gay and transgendered residents from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. 

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  • Cops: Gunbattle ends 14-hour standoff in Nebraska pharmacy

    By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

    ALLIANCE, Neb. -- A 14-hour standoff with a gunman at a pharmacy ended with the suspect's death, the Nebraska State Patrol said early Wednesday.

    The dead suspect was identifed by police as 27-year-old Andres Gonzales, of Alliance.

    A police statement did not say how Gonzales died. However, the death was confirmed following a gunbattle inside the pharmacy with Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team members. None of the SWAT officers was injured.

    Nebraska State Patrol Lt. Lance Rogers said earlier that the gunman was wanted in connection with the shooting and wounding of two city police officers and a state patrol officer. None of their injuries is life-threatening.

    The gunman also held a hostage for hours Tuesday in a western Nebraska drugstore. The hostage, identified Wednesday by Collins as pharmacy owner Charles Lierk, 62, of Alliance. Lierk managed to escape but was shot while getting away, Collins said. Lierk was taken to a local hospital where he was in stable condition, she said.


    Rogers also said police found a body Tuesday in a nearby home but declined to say whether it is related to the standoff. Police don't know how that person died, Rogers said.

    'Best hometown in America'
    The standoff began Tuesday morning when the gunman entered the Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts in the center of downtown Alliance, a city of about 8,600 people.

    "When we woke this morning in the best hometown in America, little did anyone in our wildest dreams foresee what would transpire today," Mayor Fred Feldges said.

    Authorities said that officers responded after an apparent botched robbery.

    More than 10 hours after the standoff started, Rogers described the scene as "very volatile," according to NBC station WOWT.

    Alliance Police Chief John Kiss said the gunman shot officers Matt Shannon, 35, and Kirk Felker, 43.

    Shannon was treated at Box Butte General Hospital and released. Felker also was taken to the hospital and was recovering, Kiss said.

    Later, state trooper Tim Flick, 37, was wounded. He remained hospitalized Tuesday night. WOWT reported that Flick was a 15-year veteran of the state patrol.

    More news from NBC station WOWT

    The standoff prompted police to close off several blocks of downtown Alliance throughout the day. Much of downtown remained blocked early Wednesday morning.

    Ray Hielscher told the Lincoln Journal Star that he was watching the pharmacy from a Radio Shack across the street and saw the hostage run out about 5:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET). Hielscher said he heard shots as the hostage ran out the front door and made it to safety to nearby police.

    Earlier in the day, Dixie Nelson, director of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, said she looked out the window of her organization's offices across the street from the pharmacy after an employee heard a gunshot.

    "We had just come out of a staff meeting," Nelson said. "Our administrative assistant was walking up to the front, and she heard the shot."

    Nelson said she saw a wounded police officer, who was shot in an arm while standing outside the pharmacy. It appeared the shot was fired through the glass on the store's door or window.

    "He was shot in the arm. I could see. Either his upper forearm or bicep area," Nelson said.

    Alliance is in the Nebraska Panhandle, about 370 miles west Omaha and 190 miles from Denver.

    The Associated Press and NBC station WOWT contributed to this report.

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  • Three dead, high school basketball players hurt in head-on crash in Nebraska

    By Associated Press

    A pickup truck crashed into a van carrying high school basketball players on Friday, killing two of their coaches and another man, Nebraska authorities said.

    The accident happened along Highway 2 in rural central Nebraska just west of Ansley, a small town about 160 miles west of Lincoln. 

    The State Patrol said the van's driver, 38-year-old Zane Harvey, and his front-seat passenger, 24-year-old Anthony Blum, were killed. The truck's driver, 70-year-old Albert Sherbeck, also died. 

    The patrol said Harvey and Blum, both coaches at Broken Bow High School, were driving students home from a basketball clinic in Kearney when an eastbound truck crossed the centerline and hit their westbound van head-on. 

    Eight boys were taken to hospitals, including two who were treated and released, according to the patrol. 

    The conditions of the other six boys haven't been released, though a message on the school's website said they were seriously injured. A ninth student who was originally believed to be in the van had ridden home with a relative. 

    A vigil was scheduled Saturday morning at the school.

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    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • 'He was a good daddy': Father, daughters among 6 killed by tornadoes

    By Adam Mertz, NBC affiliate KFOR, and Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

    A father and his two young daughters were among six killed when dozens of tornadoes ripped across the Central and Southern Plains in the early hours of Sunday.

    Relatives told NBC affiliate KFOR TV that Frank Hobbie and his daughters, Faith, 5, and Kelley, 7, were killed when a powerful tornado destroyed their mobile home park in Woodward, Okla.

    “They were grandma and grandpa’s girls and it’s just going to be hard without them and their daddy; he was a good daddy,” said Shelly Hobbie, Frank Hobbie’s stepmother.

    She said her grandson, Ty, was the only one who survived. The infant suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Texas.

    “We’re all devastated,” Hobbie said.

    One of the first to search the area was a man who found one of the girls under a destroyed trailer. "She was still holding her baby doll," Courtney Glitch told KFOR.

    Some storm sirens in the town failed to sound after a tower used to activate the warning system was damaged by lightning. But others near the mobile home park said they had heard a siren.

    However, residents and officials in at least one of the affected states credited days of urgent warnings from forecasters for saving lives.

    Two other victims in the nearby town of Tangiers – a man named by the Oklahoma state medical examiner's office as Darren Juul, and an unidentified 10-year-old girl – were also killed in the storm.

    And a man who had been hospitalized with critical injuries died early Monday.

    Multiple injured residents were also transported to area hospitals.

    The storms also left thousands without power in Kansas, hit an aircraft fuselage production facility, and damaged up to 90 percent of homes and buildings in a small Iowa town. The governors of Kansas and Oklahoma declared states of emergency.

    The National Weather Service website listed only one tornado warning on Monday morning, for southeastern San Patricio county in south-central Texas, however there were high wind warnings in effect for parts of South Dakota, with gusts of up to 45 mph.

    The weekend storms were part of an exceptionally strong system tracked by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., which specializes in tornado forecasting. Before the weekend, the center took the unusual step of warning people more than 24 hours in advance of a possible "high-end, life-threatening event."

    "We can't do this with every event," said the center's Ken Miller, noting that many storm systems are not as easy to predict.

    Miller said he was pleased the warnings were heeded.

    "We measure our success by how the public reacts," he said. "Do they take precautions seriously and act on them?"

    Dire language of warnings
    In south-central Kansas, Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Randy Duncan credited the dire language of the warnings with saving lives.

    "People become used to those warnings. That is a dangerous complacency," Duncan said. "We need to break through the clutter of everyday noise to get people's attention."

    Woodward city manager Alan Riffel told CNN that all the missing people had been accounted for, but 89 homes and 13 businesses had been destroyed.

    "It's remarkable we didn't have more loss of life," Governor Mary Fallin told a news conference, saying many Woodward residents had either gone to sleep or dropped their guard after an earlier series of storms swept through the area.

    She spoke to several whose homes were struck, including a man who said he was asleep on his sofa with his dog when the tornado hit, depositing them unhurt in the backyard.

    Slideshow: Tornadoes rake Midwest

    Orlin Wagner / AP

    Storms spawned dangerous twisters from northern Nebraska through southern Oklahoma.

    Launch slideshow

    A tornado that struck Woodward in April 1947 still ranks as the deadliest in Oklahoma history, with 116 people killed, according to the National Weather Service.

    In tiny Thurman, Iowa, population 250, some 75 to 90 percent of the town's buildings and homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm, Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Crecelius said. Only minor injuries were reported.

    The U.S. tornado season started early this year, with twisters already blamed for 62 deaths in 2012 in the Midwest and South, raising concerns that this year would be a repeat of 2011, the deadliest tornado year in nearly a century.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

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