BROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — Utility crews extinguished a fire at a nuclear power plant in southeast Nebraska over the weekend.

The Nebraska Public Power District says the fire was discovered in the basement of the facility around 9 a.m. Saturday while crews were investigating a hazardous gas. It was extinguished before 10 a.m.

The utility says the fire never threatened public safety. NPPD and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will investigate what started the fire and evaluate the utility’s response.

The Cooper nuclear plant continued operating throughout the incident on Saturday.

Cooper sits along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska near Brownville about 80 miles south of Omaha and across the river from Iowa.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Latest on deadly shootings in St. Louis (all times local):

10 a.m.

Authorities say five people were fatally shot and several others wounded over a 24-hour span this weekend in St. Louis.

The spate of shootings happened days after the city’s police chief announced a drop in homicides and other violent crime.

Police found the first victim dead in the street around 7:40 p.m. Saturday. He had been shot in the chest.

Around 4 a.m. Sunday, officers found a wounded man and woman. Police later confirmed they had died.

Police say a fourth victim was killed around 1:10 p.m. Sunday, and a fifth was found dead around 5 p.m. Sunday.

Weekend shootings also left several people wounded, including two men who survived gunshot wounds to the chest.

No other details were immediately released, including the names of the victims or the motives.

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6:15 a.m.

Homicides and other violent crimes are down substantially in St. Louis this year, and the city’s police chief believes a strategy of focusing on high-crime areas has paid off.

Chief John Hayden presented figures along with a strategic plan of action for 2019 during a town hall meeting Wednesday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Hayden cited figures showing that St. Louis has had 174 homicides through mid-December, compared to 205 last year, a 20-year high .

Robberies are down 25 percent, with 469 fewer reported. Burglary is down 6.2 percent and larceny is down 3.3 percent. Reported rapes rose 5 percent.

Hayden, who became chief in December 2017 , implemented a strategy of increased policing in an area of north St. Louis where much of the violence has traditionally occurred.

“We’ve seen a significant decrease in crime where it was happening the most,” Hayden said. “Look at where we started, and where we are now.”

Strategies used in the targeted area included cracking down on open-air drug markets, increased visibility in traffic patrols and ticketing, assistance from the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, an increase in security cameras and license plate reading cameras, and implementing community programs to engage with residents.

Hayden said the department intends to implement two more areas of focus in 2019.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota-based poultry producer is recalling more than 164,000 pounds of raw ground turkey products that may be contaminated with salmonella.

The Jennie-O Turkey Store products have markings saying to use or freeze by Nov. 12 or 13. The recall includes plain ground turkey and turkey with taco or Italian seasonings. The products were shipped to Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.

Food safety officials are worried that some contaminated turkey may be in people’s freezers. The recalled products have the tag P-579 marked on the lower left corner of the front of the package. Click here for more information.

The USDA says the recall was part of an investigation into a November salmonella outbreak that involved 216 patients in 38 states.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says a new constitutional amendment changing Missouri’s legislative redistricting process should be repealed.

Parson told The Associated Press that he opposes the “Clean Missouri” initiative approved by voters in November. He specifically cited concerns about a requirement for a state demographer to draw House and Senate maps to achieve “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness” based on the results of previous statewide elections.

Any effort to repeal the amendment would require a new measure to be submitted to voters.

Clean Missouri campaign director Sean Nicholson said the group would fight any effort to change or repeal it.

Parson said it may also be time to raise the bar for initiatives to appear on the Missouri ballot.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 874,000 F-Series pickup trucks with engine block heaters in the U.S. and Canada because they can catch fire.

The recall covers certain F-150s from the 2015 through 2019 model years, as well as the 2017 through 2019 F-250, 350, 450 and 550.

The company says in documents posted Friday on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website that water and contaminants can get into the heater cable and cause corrosion. That can cause electrical shorts and possible fires. Engine block heaters warm the engines so they can start and warm up faster in extreme cold temperatures.

The company says the risk of fire happens only when the block heater cable is plugged into an electrical outlet.

Ford has received three reports of fires in Canada, but none in the U.S. Minor property damage was reported in one incident, but there haven’t been any reports of injuries, Ford said in a statement.

Dealers will inspect and seal the cable or replace the heaters if needed. The recall is expected to start in the U.S. on Jan. 7.

F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicle in the United States.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri judge has denied Johnson & Johnson’s bid to overturn a $4.7 billion jury verdict awarded to 22 women who said the company’s talcum powder contributed to their ovarian cancer.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison, in a ruling Wednesday, cited evidence of what he called “particularly reprehensible conduct” by Johnson & Johnson.

Burlison wrote that company executives knew of the presence of asbestos in the baby powder but misrepresented the safety of the product.

A jury in July awarded $4.14 billion in punitive damages and $550 million in compensatory damages after a six-week trial.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it will appeal. The company says Burlison has denied similar motions in prior cases that were ultimately overturned.