After two big wins over a top-ten team mid-week, the Husker baseball team hopes to ride that momentum into a three-game Big Ten series at Purdue. The Huskers dropped two of three against Ohio State last weekend for their first conference series loss, but look to rebound against the scuffling Boilermakers. The defending Big Ten champs are just 4-8 in league play. Nebraska is 8-4 in the Big Ten, tied for third in the the league. Game one of the series begins tonight at 6 PM.
Month: April 2013
No. 18 Huskers Visit Purdue
The 18th-ranked Husker softball team is heading to West Lafayette for a three-game set against Purdue this weekend. The Big Red have reeled off a 10-3 Big Ten mark, including a double-header sweep of Minnesota at home earlier this week. Purdue is 7-7 in league play. Nebraska has been tough to beat away from home this season. They’re 11-4 on the road, and have already complied the third-most road wins in a single season in program history. Game one of the series gets underway at 3 PM.
Three NP Shooting Suspects Appear in Court
Three North Platte men accused in last week’s shooting appeared in Lincoln County Court today.
Britton Renfrow, 21, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and had his case bound over to Lincoln County District Court. Renfrow is charged with Attempted Robbery, Possession of Oxycontin, Possession of a Defaced Firearm, Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony and 2nd Degree Assault.
Matthew Bobo, 28, had his case continued. Bobo is charged with Attempted Robbery, Possession of a Defaced Firearm and Possession of Methamphetamine.
Ethen Bentley, 21, also had his case continued and is charged with Attempted Robbery and Accessory to a Felony.
Police say the three men picked up 30-year-old Benjamin Newman, near 17th Street and Sheridan Avenue, on April 11 in order to purchase methamphetamine.
When Newman pulled out a scale to weigh the drug, Renfrow allegedly pulled out a gun and told Newman to get out of the car. When Newman tried to flee, he was shot in the leg. Renfrow claims the gun went off accidentally, but Investigators believe Renfrow was the trigger man.
Newman went to Great Plains Regional Medical Center to get treatment for his gunshot wound and Police were contacted. Newman’s injury was not life threatening.
Hearing on Keystone XL in Grand Island Draws Large Crowd
More than 1,000 people have gathered in Grand Island, Neb., to support or oppose a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that would snake through six states.
Anti-pipeline activists say they’re hopeful President Barack Obama will reject the project after getting Secretary of State John Kerry’s recommendation.
But some, including Nebraska rancher Bruce Boettcher, told State Department representatives at Thursday’s hearing that opponents would stop the project regardless of the government’s decision.
Opponents argue the pipeline, which would carry 800,000 barrels of oil daily, would threaten the region’s water supply if it ruptured. They note the pipeline runs above part of a huge aquifer that provides water to much of the Midwest.
Supporters say pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and that the pipeline company agreed to safeguards exceeding federal regulations.
NE Lawmakers Pass Bill to Cut Early Voting Days
Nebraska lawmakers voted 33-8 to pass a measure that would leave register voters with fewer days to cast in-person early ballots.
On Thursday the Legislature gave final approval to the measure that would cut early voting days from 35 to 30 days.
Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha introduced the bill because election officials say they need more time to program specialized voting machines used by visually impaired voters.
The 2002 Help America Vote Act requires specialized electronic voting machines to be available to assist voters with disabilities in casting their ballots privately. A Lincoln woman who is blind complained that the voting machines weren’t ready when the early voting polls opened last year.
United States Attorney Deborah Gilg Recognizes the Success of Nebraska ICACs
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg today recognized the outstanding work done by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) groups operating in the State of Nebraska to protect our children from sexual predators. The Nebraska State Patrol and the ICACs conduct difficult investigations involving the online exploitation of children. The crimes include: online enticement of children; production and manufacture of child pornography; distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography; travel and transport offenses with the intent to engage in sexual activity with children; and, human trafficking of children. These cases are referred for both federal and state prosecution. United States Attorney Gilg noted a number of significant ICAC referrals recently prosecuted in federal court in Nebraska. Significant sentences imposed by the federal court within the past six months include:
- Allen M. Hudson, age 41 of Plattsmouth, who was sentenced to 303 months in prison for producing child pornography. Hudson produced images of child pornography depicting 3 different boys between the ages of eleven and twelve
- Mark Roble of Bellevue who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempting to produce child pornography. Roble installed cameras in his bathroom with the intent to record a minor female
- Nathan T. Young, age 22 of Columbus, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for receiving child pornography. Young, a registered sex offender, solicited and received sexually explicit photos from a middle school student over cell phones
- Robert Fleming, age 32 of Chadron, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for receiving 78 videos and 4,000 images of child pornography
- Thomas Schildt, age 30 of Gering, who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for receiving 15,000 images of child pornography. The images included children as young as 3 years of age engaged in sexual acts and bondage
- Jason Bielicki, age 35 of North Platte, who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for receiving and distributing 96 videos and 105 images of child pornography
- Steven Fonder, age 33 of Omaha, who was sentenced to 7 years in for receiving and distributing 1,250 videos of child pornography.
United States Attorney Gilg stated “ Each of these individuals are not eligible for parole and when released from prison will remain under federal supervision for terms of at least five years and in some instances for life. All will be required to register as sex offender. Predators who seek to rob the innocence of children will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Finally, United States Attorney Gilg noted that the ICACs work hand in hand with Project Safe Childhood. Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit ww.projectsafechildhood.gov.
NASA Telescope Discovers Two Planets Capable of Supporting Life
NASA’s planet-hunting telescope has discovered two planets that seem like places for some sort of life to flourish. They are just the right size and in just the right place near their star.
William Borucki (Boh-ROO’-kee), the chief scientist for NASA’s Kepler (KEH’-plur) telescope, says the distant duo are the best candidates for habitable planets that astronomers have found. Past planets seen orbiting other stars are too big, too hot or too cold.
The planets are circling the same star and are slightly wider than Earth. However, they are not too big so they are solid, not balls of gas. One planet is a bit toasty and the other is a bit nippy.
The discoveries were announced Thursday in the journal Science.
Grandmother Sentenced to 22 Years for Killing Grandson
A 75-year-old woman has been sentenced to at least 22 years in prison for killing her teen grandson at their home in suburban Detroit.
Sandra Layne got a minimum sentence of 20 years for second-degree murder Thursday, along with a mandatory two-year prison sentence for using a gun to kill 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman.
Hoffman was shot six times, including twice in the back, last year in West Bloomfield Township. Layne says she shot him out of desperation during a physical altercation, but a jury rejected her self-defense claim.
Prosecutors say there’s no evidence of Layne being injured by Hoffman. A recording of a 911 call shows Hoffman being shot again while pleading for help.
Layne told the court she was “sorry.” She’ll get credit for 11 months served in jail.
Attorney General Says Marijuana’s Effect on Children Is a Factor
Attorney General Eric Holder is telling Congress that marijuana’s impact on children is a factor as the Justice Department decides how to respond to two states that have legalized the drug.
Holder made the comment Thursday at a House hearing when he was asked about initiatives passed last year by Washington state and Colorado.
Holder says that his department is continuing to review the initiatives, and has not made a decision yet on how to respond. It could sue to block legal pot sales from ever happening, on the grounds that they conflict with federal law.
President Barack Obama has said that going after marijuana users in states where it’s legal is not a priority. Holder says that Obama hasn’t said he’s for legalization, adding that he isn’t either.
Former Omaha Attorney Sent to Prison for Mishandling Social Security Payments
A former Omaha attorney who was disbarred in 2010 over mishandled Social Security payments meant for her clients has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s office for Nebraska announced the sentence for 47-year-old Kim Denise Erwin-Loncke on Thursday. Prosecutors say Erwin-Loncke spent nearly $93,000 in benefits over two years that were supposed to go to her clients.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says Erwin-Loncke served as a legal guardian for a number of people in nursing homes and appointed herself as a representative who had the power to receive their Social Security payments. Prosecutors say she wrote checks on her clients’ accounts, deposited them in her business accounts and used the money to support her lifestyle.
A judge has ordered Erwin-Loncke to repay the money.