OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Navy Secretary Ray Mabus will be in Nebraska next week for a naming ceremony for the USS Omaha.
The Navy announced plans in February for five new ships. The USS Omaha is a littoral combat ship, which can operate in shallow and deep water.
The city says Mabus will be in Omaha for the naming ceremony on Monday at Louis and Clark Landing.
The future USS Omaha is the fourth Navy vessel to bear the name. It’s being built in Mobile, Ala.,
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of his toddler has had his request to be released from prison denied.
Germai Molina filed a petition last year in Lincoln’s U.S. District Court for habeas corpus. He claimed his constitutional rights were violated when he was not allowed to show a 6 1/2-hour taped interview of his ex-wife to the jury, among other things. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom denied the petition, ruling that Molina filed the petition too late.
Molina’s plea for relief came after being twice rejected on appeal by the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Molina was convicted in 2004 of second-degree murder and felony child abuse in Grand Island for the 2003 beating death of his 2-year-old daughter, Diana Molina.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man accused of driving a stolen SUV at a Lincoln police officer who was trying to arrest a woman has been sent to prison.
Local media says 36-year-old Jonathan Dye was sentenced to three to six years in prison on Thursday. He pleaded no contest to theft by receiving stolen property and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest.
Police say Dye accelerated toward an officer outside a bank in December. The officer was at the bank about Dye’s passenger, who allegedly was trying to cash stolen checks. Dye and the woman fled.
The SUV, which was stolen out of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was later found abandoned in Lincoln.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Preliminary results from an investigation show a man wounded during an Omaha standoff with officers fired one round from his shotgun.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says two deputies involved in Monday’s incident are returning to duty on Thursday.
The standoff in northwest Omaha lasted several hours until a deputy shot 36-year-old Lance Wetzel, who remains hospitalized.
The sheriff’s office says an officer had used a stun gun round on Wetzel when he left his vehicle. But Wetzel grabbed his shotgun and pointed it toward officers. The sheriff’s office says a deputy then fired his rifle and hit Wetzel, who fired his shotgun once harmlessly into the air.
Officers were looking for Wetzel because his wife reported he’d punctured her vehicle’s tires and he was wanted on a weapons warrant.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A June survey report says growth in rural areas of 10 Midwestern and Western states has slowed.
The report released Thursday says the Rural Mainstreet Index hit its lowest level of the year, 56.7, compared with 58.5 in May.
But survey organizers say any survey index score above 50 on the 100-point scale suggests growth in the months ahead.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey of rural bankers. Goss says the global economic slowdown, combined with a stronger U.S. dollar, have pushed agriculture and energy prices lower. He says downward pressure that weakens overall growth for rural parts of the 10 states.
The states are Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroad history buffs can check out one of Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotives in Omaha during the College World Series, and then watch it return home to Wyoming.
Union Pacific is displaying steam locomotive No. 844 throughout the College World Series in downtown Omaha. The display is across the street from the stadium.
The locomotive was delivered for Union Pacific in 1944. The engine pulled passenger trains at first but in the 1950s was switched to freight duty in Nebraska.
After the baseball tournament concludes, the locomotive will return to Cheyenne, Wyo.
On the way home, the locomotive will visit Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Wednesday; North Platte on Friday; and Cheyenne on next Saturday.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Congressman Adrian Smith is co-sponsoring a measure to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s aerial 
surveillance of agriculture operations, which have taken place in Nebraska and neighboring states.
The measure is similar to one introduced in the Senate last week by Nebraska U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns.
Smith, a Republican representing Nebraska’s vast 3rd House District, says the EPA’s aerial surveillance program raises questions about the privacy and property rights of America’s agriculture producers.
The EPA has defended the 10-year practice as a cost-effective way for the agency to monitor animal feedlots that may be polluting water.
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 10 to 13 mph increasing to between 18 and 21 mph. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Tonight: Isolated thunderstorms between 10pm and 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. Breezy, with a south southeast wind between 14 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming west.
NICK LACHEY AND VANESSA MINNILLO EXPECTING A BOY: Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lacheyare expecting their first child in September — and Vanessa took to her Twitter to announce the sex. Vanessa tweeted, “It’s a BOY. Nick and I are incredibly excited to share the news that we are expecting a baby boy. We can’t wait to meet him soon!!!”
ONE DIRECTION GET KICKED OUT OF CASINOS: While thousands of people are trying to get tickets toOne Direction concerts, Las Vegas casinos are actually doing their best to keep the boys out. According toPerez Hilton, One Direction were performing in Las Vegas and were hoping to hit the casinos but unfortunately security knew who they were and didn’t allow them in. A source said, “The boys were hoping to go wild in Vegas by boozing and gambling into the early hours. But security at every casino in town knew who the lads were and threw them out because the legal drinking and gambling age in the U.S. is 21.”
ASHLEY TISDALE GIVES DATING ADVICE: Ashley Tisdale knows a thing or two about dating in Hollywood. She told People, that the key to keeping a relationship in tact is being able to talk to each other. She said, “Communication is so key. Especially in this business, I’m always traveling and doing something else. So I think communication is the foundation of it all. I give dating advice on a regular basis. It’s not that I’m any expert, but it’s always nice to share that with your friends. I’m very old fashioned when it comes to dating, so I definitely wait for the guy to text me or call me.”
CHRIS MANN ENGAGED: Chris Mann didn’t win The Voice but he is still celebrating. He told Us Weeklythat he and his longtime girlfriend, Laura Perloe got engaged about four weeks ago.
PHOTOGRAPHER WANTS BALDWIN ARRESTED!!
New York Daily News photographer Marcus Santos wants actor Alec Baldwin prosecuted for allegedly assaulting him during a confrontation on Tuesday, June 19th, outside of a New York City courthouse. Baldwin maintains that Santos hit him with his camera which caused the confrontation to escalate but Santos is singing a different tune.
KARDASHIAN DIVORCE GETS MESSIER
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries‘ divorce just gets messier everyday. According to Humphries’ ex-girlfriend, Myla Sinanaj, Humphries told her that Kris Jenner staged Kim Kardashian’s 2003 porno with R&B singer Ray J. According to Sinanaj, Humphries said that Jenner had Kardashian re-do portions of the skin flick so that she could appear more attractive. Khloe Kardashian thinks the latest allegations are ridiculous. She told TMZ.com, “That is just disgusting and disturbing, and probably HIS fantasy!”
FRIDAY
1611, English explorer Henry Hudson, his son, and several others were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers. They were never heard from again.
1633, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was forced by the Catholic Church to recant his belief that the Earth orbited the Sun. On October 31st, 1992, 359 years later, the Vatican admitted its error.
1870, the U.S. Congress created the Department Of Justice, headed by an Attorney General.
1937, Joe Louis knocked out James “Jim” Braddock to win the world heavyweight title. He held onto the title through 25 bouts over for 11 years until his retirement.
1941, German troops invaded the Soviet Union.
1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the “G.I. Bill Of Rights,” giving a broad package of benefits to World War II veterans.
1945, the 81-day World War II Pacific battle for Okinawa officially ended.
1954 Actor-comedian Freddie Prinze (Chico & The Man) is born. He dies in 1977.
1969 Actress-singer Judy Garland (The Wizard Of Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis, A Star Is Born; mother ofLiza Minnelli) dies at age 47.
1970, President Richard Nixon signed a measure changing the voting age from 21 to 18. The 26th Amendment affirmed it, passing on July 1st, 1971.
1981, Mark David Chapman pled guilty to the murder of John Lennon outside the former Beatle‘s New York City apartment building.
1983, the National Hockey League instituted a five-minute sudden death overtime period.
1987 Actor-dancer-singer Fred Astaire (Top Hat, Holiday Inn, Easter Parade, The Towering Inferno) dies at age 88.
1995 CBS news anchor Dan Rather dons some shades and joins R.E.M. onstage at Madison Square Garden in New York City during a soundcheck, for a performance of “What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?” The performance was aired the following night on The Late Show With David Letterman. (Rather had been mugged in 1986, by a man asking him that question.)
2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray ended his investigation of the 1993 firings in the White House travel office, issuing no indictments but saying he’d found “substantial evidence” that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton played a role in the dismissals.
SATURDAY
1776 The final draft of The Declaration Of Independence is submitted to Congress.
1846, Belgian musician Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone, an instrument with which he created a sound combining that of wood and brass instruments.
1860 The United States Secret Service is created by an act of Congress.
1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called a “Type-Writer”. The bulky, table-sized machine printed only capital letters and the paper inside the machine could not be seen as it was being typed.
1938 The first aquarium opens in the U.S. at Marineland in St. Augustine, Florida.
1947, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in overriding President Harry Truman’s veto of the Taft-Hartley Act. The law put some new restrictions on labor unions.
1949 The first 12 women graduate from Harvard Medical School.
1972, President Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI’s Watergate investigation. Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon’s resignation.
1980 David Letterman‘s short-lived daytime talk show premieres on NBC.
1987, Madonna became the first celebrity cover girl to appear on Cosmopolitan‘s cover since Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.
1989 Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, opens in theatres.
1991 Tony Randall and Jack Klugman star in a one-night-only Broadway performance of The Odd Couple.
1992, New York Mafia boss John Gotti was sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of parole on murder and racketeering charges.
1993, Lorena Bobbitt made men across the country cringe when she amputated her husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis and threw it away. The appendage was recovered and reattached. Lorena was later acquitted of malicious wounding by reason of insanity and John was acquitted of marital sexual assault.
1995 Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine against polio, dies at age 80.
1997, Civil rights activist Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, died in New York of burns suffered in a fire set by her 12-year-old grandson; Malcolm Shabazz. She was 61. Malcolm Shabazz was sentenced to 18 months at a Massachusetts facility specializing in young arsonists.
SUNDAY
1509, Henry the Eighth was crowned King of England.
1948, communist forces cut off all routes between West Germany and West Berlin. The U.S. organized a massive airlift of supplies into the city’s western sector, called the Berlin Airlift, to counter the blockade. It lasted 321 days before the communists gave in.
1964, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it would require warning labels on cigarette packs beginning in 1965.
1983, the space shuttle Challenger, carrying America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride, landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
1987 Actor Jackie Gleason (The Honeymooners, The Hustler, the Smokey And The Bandit movies) dies at age 71.
1993, eight Muslim fundamentalists were arrested in New York City, accused of plotting to bomb the U.N., a federal building, and the Holland and Lincoln tunnels all on the same day.
1993, Yale University computer expert David Gelernter was injured in his office by a bomb sent by “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski.
1997, In Freehold, New Jersey, 18-year-old Melissa Drexler, who gave birth during her prom, was charged with murder in the death of her baby.
1997, The Air Force released a report on the so-called “Roswell Incident,” suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies.
1997 Actor Brian Keith (The Parent Trap, Family Affair, Hooper) dies at age 75.
