MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas after declaring the method violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

U.S. District Judge Emily Marks issued the ruling hours after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional. Marks permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffrey Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday.

LINCOLN — As demand for electricity grows across Nebraska, Gov. Jim Pillen expressed his preference for establishing public-private partnerships to shoulder some of the cost burdens of new infrastructure.

Pillen ceremonially signed Legislative Bill 1261 Tuesday alongside state lawmakers, public power representatives and other stakeholders. The bill alters the authority of public power districts to allow private companies to build energy infrastructure, like power plants, without the risk of having a public power board take them over using the power of eminent domain.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — A former notary for separate Nebraska petitions to legalize and regulate medical cannabis in 2024 is appealing his 24 criminal convictions related to improper notarizations.

A Hall County jury in February found Jacy C. Todd of York, 55, guilty of 23 counts of “official misconduct,” each a Class II misdemeanor, and one count of making a false statement under oath. Hall County Court Judge Alfred Corey sentenced Todd to a $3,866.44 fine, due by mid-April 2027, with no jail time.