We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Marines: Identities of Iwo Jima flag raisers were mistaken

Joe Rosenthal VINTAGE WWII Iwo Jima Flag Raising Pulizter Prize RARE Press Photo (www.antiquesnavigator.com)
Joe Rosenthal VINTAGE WWII Iwo Jima Flag Raising Pulizter Prize RARE Press Photo (www.antiquesnavigator.com)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Marine Corps says one of the six men long identified in an iconic World War II photograph showing the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima was actually not in the image.

The Marines announced Thursday that an investigation launched after questions were raised by two amateur historians determined that a previously unknown Marine was in the picture shot by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal during a horrific battle on the tiny island.

A panel found that Private First Class Harold Schultz, of Detroit, was in the photo and that Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class John Bradley wasn’t in the image. Bradley had participated in an earlier flag-raising on Mount Suribachi.

The Marines began a review after being contacted by researchers working on a Smithsonian Channel documentary.

Nebraska boy pulled residential lake has died, officials say

douglas-county-sheriffWATERLOO, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County authorities say a 3-year-old Waterloo boy has died after being pulled from under a dock at a housing development lake last weekend.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday that Aspen Seemann was taken to Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha shortly after he was taken from the water Saturday at West Shores Lake. A deputy who’d been dispatched around 3 p.m. saw the boy was lying on the beach and that resuscitation efforts were underway.

The 203-acre lake and surrounding development are situated about a mile southwest of Waterloo.

The news release didn’t say when Aspen died. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

The incident is being investigated.

5 injured in firetruck-SUV collision, Omaha authorities say

OMAHA-FIRE-AND-RESCUE-BADGEOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Five people have been injured in a downtown Omaha collision between a firetruck and a sport utility vehicle.

Authorities say the lights were flashing and siren blaring on the northbound firetruck around 10:35 a.m. Wednesday as firefighters responded to an emergency call. But their truck collided with an eastbound SUV at an intersection and ended up crashing into the side of an art gallery building.

Four firefighters and the SUV driver, 40-year-old Jason Sauvain, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, were taken to Creighton University Medical Center for treatment of what turned out to be minor injuries. No one in the building was injured.

Turbine malfunction takes Nebraska nuke plant offline

fort-calhoun-dryFORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s public power utility says its nuclear power plant in eastern Nebraska has been temporarily taken offline for a minor malfunction.

Omaha Public Power District says in a written release that the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station north of Omaha was taken offline Tuesday morning when a turbine tripped.

The utility says the system responded as designed by automatically shutting down the reactor without incident. The utility says the plant is safe and there were no injuries.

Operators are analyzing the cause of the situation, focusing on the speed and power controls of the turbine. Crews are working to resolve the issue and restore the unit to service.

The utility announced earlier this month that it would close the nuclear power plant by the end of the year.

Officials believe they’ve captured alligator that killed boy

Google Maps
Google Maps

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Florida wildlife officials believe they’ve captured the alligator that dragged a 2-year-old Nebraska boy into the Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a news release Wednesday that it has suspended alligator trapping activities in the area. The release says officials have based their conclusions on expert analyses and observations by staff with extensive experience in investigating fatal alligator bites. A total of six alligators were removed.

Authorities say an alligator pulled Lane Graves into the water June 14, despite the frantic efforts of his father. Lane’s body was recovered the next day. An autopsy showed the boy died from drowning and traumatic injuries.

The beach at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa is across a lake from the Magic Kingdom.

Bellevue city administrator cited for dental office incident

city-of-bellevueBELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an eastern Nebraska city administrator has been ticketed for misdemeanor counts following a disturbance at a local dental office.

Bellevue City Administrator Dan Berlowitz was cited Tuesday afternoon following the disturbance that morning at Allen Smith Dental in Bellevue, where Berlowitz’s wife used to work.

A police report says Berlowitz poked a dentist in the chest and then pushed the dentist’s shoulder. Berlowitz was later cited on suspicion of trespassing, disturbing the peace and third-degree assault, all misdemeanors.

Berlowitz did not immediately return a phone message left at his office Wednesday.

Police: Nebraska man kidnapped female, fled from authorities

Jail-Bars-and-Cuffs_mediumBLENCOE, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska man faces multiple charges after authorities say he kidnapped a woman and fled from police.

26-year-old Lamonte Bertucci of Macy, Nebraska, is charged with willful injury, second-degree kidnapping, assault while participating in a felony, assault on a jailer and several traffic violations.

The Macy Police Department contacted the Monona County Sheriff’s Office in Iowa on Saturday, saying its officers were pursuing a vehicle heading east on Highway 175.

The driver failed to stop and seemed to be holding a female passenger as she tried to escape the vehicle.

Speeds reached 100 mph after deputies joined the pursuit southbound on Interstate 29. Officers arrested Bertucci when the vehicle stopped south of Blencoe, Iowa.

The woman was taken to a hospital with injuries.

Lancaster County to close portion of youth detention center

shacklesLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County will close a less-secure section of its youth detention center Aug. 1.

County officials say they’re hopeful the move will encourage state and private agencies to place troubled youth outside detention centers.

Youth Services Center director Sheli Schindler says the center was never meant to provide long-term placement for pre-adjudicated youth. Only two of the 10 residents in the less-secure wing have been there less than 30 days.

Revenue is expected to decline because the number of state-supervised youth at the center has fallen dramatically in recent months.

County leaders say eliminating the less-secure portion of the center will eventually save some of the county’s funds.

Schindler says the county and state will be able to find outside placement for those now in the staff-secure wing.

Nebraskan gets 20 years for role in slaying of Arizona man

john-meyers
John Meyers

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 31-year-old Omaha man has been given 20 years in prison for his role in killing an Arizona man whose burned body was found in an eastern Nebraska field.

Court records say John Meyers was sentenced Tuesday in Omaha. He’d pleaded no contest to a manslaughter charge after making a deal with prosecutors. They lowered the charge from murder and dropped a weapons count. Meyers already is serving 20 to 30 years in prison for robbery and other crimes.

Prosecutors say Meyers and Joseph Fleming fatally beat 31-year-old Jose Quintero, who was from Phoenix. Investigators say Quintero was killed in Omaha and his body was dumped and set aflame in a field near Ashland. It was found Sept. 24, 2012.

Fleming is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

Judge’s son loses appeal in Nebraska protection order case

Jonathan Camp
Jonathan Camp

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska district judge has upheld the conviction of a federal judge’s son for violating a protection order.

Online court records say Judge Andrew Jacobsen last week rejected arguments from the lawyer for 33-year-old Jonathan Camp. Camp’s father is Lincoln City Councilman Jon Camp and mother is U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp. Jacobsen found there was sufficient evidence for the younger Camp to be found guilty and sentenced to 14 days in jail.

Camp was charged in March 2015 for sending two text messages to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault. A jury found him not guilty in the assault case this past January.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File