(AP) — A toddler has been critically injured in a fall from a second-story window at his home in the Omaha suburb of La Vista.
Police say the 14-month-old boy fell Friday afternoon about 10 feet onto the home’s concrete driveway and was flown by medical helicopter to an Omaha hospital.
Police say the boy’s mother was home at the time and are calling the fall an accident.
(AP) — A Louisiana pastor has been shot and killed during a nighttime revival service, and authorities say a suspect has been arrested.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kim Myers says the shooting occurred about 8:20 p.m. Friday at Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center in Lake Charles.
Myers says a gunman walked into the church and shot Pastor Ronald J. Harris Sr. “as he was preaching.” Harris was pronounced dead at the scene.
Myers says 53-year-old Woodrow Karey of Lake Charles is charged with second-degree murder and was held in the parish jail Saturday.
Myers says authorities are investigating and have not determined a motive for the shooting.
(AP) — Roughly $230,000 was raised at a recent Nebraska tailgate to help a nonprofit that works with struggling kids and families.
The Big Red Tailgate earlier this month featured several former University of Nebraska players. The event was held at the Embassy Suites along I-80 in La Vista.
Organizer Sarah McGowan says she’s glad the event was successful in raising money that will help kids in the community.
The money raised will go to Completely KIDS.
According to their website, Completely KIDS is an Omaha nonprofit whose mission is to develop youth and their families through Out-of-School Time and Family Strengthening programs in communities where they live.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — City officials say a $7.9 million pedestrian bridge linking the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln with a parking lot should open Nov. 1.
The city says in a news release Friday that the crews have figured out how to complete the bridge construction, which was delayed when a girder slipped April 19.
After a girder on the 611-foot-long bridge slipped, the bridge has gone through extensive testing.
Officials believe the problem was due to issues with concrete blocks between the girders.
Mayor Chris Beutler says the public agency overseeing the construction won’t have to pay the extra costs. He’s confident when it’s completed, the bridge will be safe.
WAVERLY, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities are investigation the death of a former Kansas lawmaker and athletics official whose body was found beneath a riding lawn mower.
Relatives found the body of 66-year-old Ricky Bowden in a building on his property north of Waverly. Lancaster Sheriff Terry Wagner says it appears a plastic toolbox blew off a shelf and onto the mower, causing it to fall on Bowden, who was working beneath the equipment.
Relatives found Bowden after checking on why he hadn’t returned for dinner.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Bowden served for 18 years as assistant executive director for the Kansas State High School Activities Association before retiring in 2011. He also served from 1985 to 1993 as a member of the Kansas Legislature.
CRETE, Neb. (AP) — A southeast Nebraska man has died of West Nile virus, making him the first person in the state to die of the illness this year.
Public health officials confirmed Friday that John Schintzel, of Crete, was the first Nebraskan to die of the virus in 2013.
The 51-year-old Schintzel died Sept. 21.
Throughout the state 86 people have tested positive for the virus this year.
Schintzel’s wife, Jennifer Hroch, says her husband began getting sick Sept. 6. He later was hospitalized in Lincoln.
West Nile is transmitted to people through mosquitoes that feed on an infected bird. Most infected people have no symptoms or only mild flu-like symptoms. A small percentage develops a serious illness.
(AP) — Federal and local authorities have charged 18 suspected gang members for weapons and drug offenses.
Authorities say more than 50 officers executed search and arrest warrants on Thursday and have at least nine of the suspects in custody.
Authorities say the charges are a result of a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program that began its work in January.
The criminal histories of the 18 include more than 72 arrests, 15 felony convictions and 49 misdemeanor convictions.
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says “career gang thugs with drugs and guns have terrorized Omaha far too long.”
(AP) — An Amber Alert has been canceled for a 1-year-old boy who had been reported missing from an apartment in south Lincoln.
Police say little Kharim Moreira was found safe a little after 11 a.m. Friday at a Target store about three miles east of downtown. He was with his uncle, 20-year-old Nathanial Gonzalez. Gonzalez was taken into custody, but no charges have been announced.
A tipster prompted police to check the store, where they found a vehicle matching the one that had been connected to the boy’s disappearance. An officer flattened the vehicle’s tires before other officers found the pair inside the store.
Sgt. Don Scheinost says “the child is safe and OK and probably being reunited with his mother as we speak.”
(AP) — Two former American soldiers and a German ex-soldier have been arrested in New York and charged with plotting to kill a U.S. drug enforcement agent.
The charges were announced Friday by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
The government says the plot was part of a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. The defendants are charged with various counts of conspiracy.
Among those charged is Joseph Hunter, also known as “Rambo.”
According to an indictment, he served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 2004 before becoming a contract killer. The indictment in Manhattan says he had successfully arranged several killings.
It was not immediately clear who will represent the defendants at their initial court appearance.
(AP) — A 41-year-old man has been given 30 to 40 years in prison for stabbing his estranged girlfriend outside a Grand Island church.
Aslin Nabarro had pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree murder. Nabarro was sentenced on Thursday. He said in court that he regretted what he did.
Nabarro was arrested after a May 17 assault in a parking lot of St. Mary’s Cathedral.
After an argument with a woman identified as Mirna Medina-Colocho, Nabarro stabbed her 20 times in the upper torso and head.
He then cut his own throat and fled but collapsed less than a block away.
