A Wyoming man who was granted the state’s first retrial based on DNA evidence has been released from jail on bond after more than 23 years in prison.

A stepdaughter of 63-year-old Andrew J. Johnson says he posted $10,000 bond Wednesday. Johnson previously had been transferred to the Cheyenne jail from the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins.

Johnson was convicted of raping a Cheyenne woman in her apartment in 1989. He was sentenced to life in prison because he had previous convictions.

Recently, the first-ever DNA tests in Johnson’s case showed a match for the man who was the victim’s fiance at the time, not for Johnson.

A judge on Tuesday granted Johnson a new trial. Johnson’s stepdaughter, Angela Johnson of Denver, says she was thrilled to hear of his release.

Most major media outlets, including CNN and the Associated Press reported early this afternoon that an arrest had been made in the Boston Marathon Bombing case.

The FBI was quick to counter the reports with a statement denying any arrests.

From the FBI:

“Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack,” the FBI statement reads. “Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate. Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.”

In a battle to be the “first,” many major media outlets are actually doing a disservice to Americans by reporting unconfirmed and, in most cases, false information.

Journalists learn in journalism 101, that unconfirmed reports should never be reported as fact.  The fact that the biggest an most popular news sources are engaging in this practice, should be a concern to all of us.

Like the boy who cried wolf, these practices do little good and destroy the credibility of journalists around the world.

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), who gained fame for picketing the funerals of American soldiers, is at it again, making a public announcement that they plan to picket the funerals of the Boston Marathon victims.

The WBC recently distributed a flier claiming that God was responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing because Massachusetts was the first State to legalize same-sex marriage.

See the flier here: https://twitter.com/WBCFliers/status/324138246735028224/photo/1

But hacker group Anonymous took issue with the announcement and hacked the groups Facebook page, rewriting Bio information and filling its wall with anti-WBC posts.

The hacktivist group issued a warning via Twitter, telling the WBC that if they tried anything in Boston, they would feel the full fury of the online community.

This isn’t the first time Anonymous has launched an attack against the WBC.

Anonymous launched a full-fledged attack on the WBC after the group threatened to picket the funerals of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting victims, by posting WBC members personal information online, overtaking the group’s website and hacking the Twitter account of one of the WBC’s representatives.

 

Southeast Community College officials are reporting double-digit declines in enrollment.

College President Jack Huck released figures for the spring quarter and for all four quarters of the year on Tuesday.

The year-to-year figure is down nearly 12 percent, and the spring quarter enrollment is down around 17 percent from the 2012 figure. The school says the final count of full-time students for the 2012-2013 school year is just over 8,800, compared with just under 10,000 the year before.

Officials say many community colleges across the nation are experiencing declines in enrollment, with fewer high school graduates and an improving economy.

The district serves 15 counties in southeast Nebraska and has campuses in Lincoln, Beatrice and Milford.

A 19-year-old southeast Nebraska man has been given two to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a child.

Damien Hartman, of York, was sentenced on Monday. He’d pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl.

Hartman’s attorney, Nancy Waldron, says Hartman had been molested and abused as a child and was intoxicated the day he was caught molesting the girl.

Prosecutor Candace Dick told the judge that Harman didn’t seek help to keep from becoming a perpetrator himself. Dick says Hartman “crossed that line and needs to pay for his crime.”

Hartman was given credit for 125 days already served.

Police in southeastern Minnesota are investigating after an infant’s body was discovered in linens from a St. Paul hospital.

The body of a full-term infant fell out of a bed-sheet Tuesday afternoon at an industrial laundry in the town of Red Wing.

Red Wing Police Chief Roger Pohlman says hospital workers had removed the body and linens from Crothall Laundry before his officers arrived. He declined to name the hospital but said his office is in contact with St. Paul police and the Ramsey County medical examiner.

Pohlman says the linens had been delivered to Crothall no longer than two days ago.

A judge is expected to finalize a $700,000 settlement between McDonald’s and members of Michigan’s Muslim community over claims a Detroit-area restaurant falsely advertised food as prepared according to Islamic law.

The hearing is set for Wednesday before Wayne County Circuit Judge Kathleen Macdonald. She’s overseen the case and refereed objections from outside groups since a preliminary deal was announced in January.

Ahmed Ahmed, the Dearborn Heights man who represents plaintiffs in the class-action, claims he bought a chicken sandwich in September 2011 at a Dearborn McDonald’s but found it wasn’t halal.

The settlement calls for distributing the money to Ahmed, a Detroit health clinic, Dearborn’s Arab American National Museum and Ahmed’s lawyers.

Dearborn attorney Majed Moughni is among the objectors. He says the settlement doesn’t help those most affected.

A 42-year-old Platte County woman has denied allegations that she harshly disciplined her children.

Janelle Gertsch is scheduled to begin trial on June 18. She’s pleaded not guilty to five counts of felony child abuse that officials say occurred over three months last fall.

Gertsch and her live-in boyfriend, 44-year-old Larry Einspahr Jr., were accused of abusing her 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. Officials described the abuse as excessive discipline.

Einspahr already has pleaded no contest to two counts of physically abusing the two children. His sentencing is scheduled for May 3.

Sen. Roger Wicker is acknowledging a letter sent to his Washington office is the subject of an investigation by the United States Capitol Police and the FBI.

Wicker says there is an “ongoing investigation” and that he wants to thank law enforcement officials for keeping the Capitol complex safe. An envelope addressed to Wicker’s office on Tuesday twice tested positive for Ricin.

Wicker says he and his wife, Gayle, appreciate “everyone’s thoughts and prayers.”

Three teens facing charges in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old Northern California girl who committed suicide after the attack appeared in court for the first time Tuesday.

The proceedings were not public, and lawyers involved in the case aren’t commenting.

The three 16-year-old boys are each charged with sexual battery, dissemination of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Attorneys and family members of the defendants were seen entering juvenile court. Relatives of Audrie Pott, who killed herself after a humiliating photo of her on the night of the attack circulated, were also there.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jaron Shipp told The Associated Press that he couldn’t comment or provide any information on the case because the boys are juveniles.