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

Nebraska State Senator Nordquist to Resign

Sen. Jeremy Nordquist
Sen. Jeremy Nordquist

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state Sen. Jeremy Nordquist is resigning from the Legislature to take a job with Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford.

Nordquist announced Wednesday night that he will step down on June 30 from the seat he first won in 2008.

He will serve as Ashford’s chief of staff in Washington. The two served together in the Legislature before Ashford left office due to term limits.

Nordquist was the lead sponsor this year of legislation to end Nebraska’s ban on driver’s licenses for youth brought to the country illegally as children but allowed to remain under the federal deferred-action program. He also was a leading figure in the 2014 ballot drive to increase the minimum wage.

Nordquist is in his seventh year in the Legislature, representing District 7 in south Omaha.

Driver Died 5 Days After Fiery Omaha Crash, Police Say

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a car driver has died after a fiery Omaha crash that also killed his passenger.

The Omaha Police Department says 22-year-old Michael Harnett, of Bellevue, died early Thursday morning. He’d been hospitalized since the crash early Saturday morning.

Police say Harnett lost control of his car and it slid across several lanes of traffic in southeast Omaha, running into a cement truck. The car then caught fire.

Police have identified the passenger as 33-year-old Misty Vetrovsky, also of Bellevue.

Crash investigators say they believe speed and alcohol were crash factors.

Google Unveils Android’s Latest Technological Tricks

googleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s next version of its Android operating system will boast new ways to fetch information, pay merchants, and protect privacy on mobile devices as the Internet company duels with Apple to make its technology indispensable.

The upgrade will give Android’s personal assistant, Google Now, expanded powers of intuition that may be greeted as a great convenience to some and a tad too creepy for others.

The Android renovations unveiled Thursday at Google’s annual developers’ conference won’t be available until late summer or early fall. That’s around the same time that Apple is expected to release the latest overhaul of the iOS software that powers the iPhone and iPad.

The annual changes to Android and iOS are becoming increasingly important as people become more dependent on smartphones to manage their lives.

Police: Man Dies at Hospital After Being Hit by Police Stun Gun

kansas-city-kansas-policeKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are investigating the death of a 34-year-old local man after an officer shocked him with a stun gun.

Police said officers were summoned Wednesday after someone reported a man behaving strangely in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store. They say the man turned combative when paramedics tried to treat him and that an officer shocked him with a stun gun to subdue him.

The man later died at a hospital. Police identified him Thursday as Randall C. Torrence.

The police department’s major case unit is investigating. An autopsy and toxicology tests are being conducted to determine what caused Torrence to die.

Theater Shooting Prosecutors Build Case That Holmes Was Sane

HolmesCENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors are methodically building a case that James Holmes knew right from wrong when he planned and carried out the deadly Colorado theater shootings. After a month of testimony from victims and investigators, prosecutors this week shifted to Holmes’ mental state. They hope to convince jurors he should be convicted and executed, not sent to a mental hospital.

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the 2012 attack, which killed 12 people and injured 70.

On Thursday, prosecutors plan to question a state-appointed psychiatrist who examined Holmes. District Attorney George Brauchler has already told jurors the doctor concluded Holmes was legally sane.

Earlier this week, prosecutors showed jurors a notebook Holmes kept that included a map estimating how long it would take police to respond to an attack.

Fourth Case of Bird Flu Found in Northeast Nebraska

chickenLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A fourth case of bird flu has been confirmed on a northeast Nebraska farm.

The state Agriculture Department said Wednesday the latest case involves 3 million hens on a farm in Knox County.

The new case of contagious bird flu was found 50 miles away from three cases in Dixon County that involved 4 million birds. All four of the infected farms are owned by the same company.

The Knox County farm has been quarantined, and nearby farms with birds will be tested.

Agriculture Director Greg Ibach says poultry farmers should restrict how many people and vehicles enter their farms.

Officials say the bird flu doesn’t represent a significant health risk for humans, but more than 40 million birds have been killed nationwide to limit the spread of the disease.

Lawsuit Filed Against US Attorney’s Office in Nebraska

lawsuit-settlementLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former prosecutor who worked under the U.S. attorney for Nebraska has filed a lawsuit, claiming she was discriminated against because she’s a woman.

Jill Finken says in a federal lawsuit filed Friday that supervisors harassed her and she was treated differently than male colleagues. She says she experienced retaliation for complaining about it.

The lawsuit names the U.S. Justice Department, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the U.S. attorney’s office in Nebraska. The newspaper says Deborah Gilg, U.S. attorney for Nebraska, declined to comment.

Finken worked for the federal office in Nebraska for two years beginning in October 2012. She is seeking lost earnings, lost benefits and compensation for anguish and humiliation, among other damages.

Man Acquitted of Animal Cruelty for Blowing Pot Smoke on Chameleon

odd-newsCHICAGO (AP) — A judge has acquitted a Chicago man of animal cruelty charges filed after the man posted a video of himself smoking marijuana with a chameleon.

After viewing the video and hearing the arguments of prosecutors and defense attorneys, Cook County Circuit Judge Robert Kuzas ruled Wednesday that Bruce Blunt’s behavior was “uncalled for and immature” but didn’t rise to criminal behavior.

Blunt posted a Facebook video of himself smoking marijuana with the chameleon, Binna, earlier this year. That prompted a complaint from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

After his acquittal, Blunt said he blew smoke into the chameleon’s mouth because it seemed to calm the aggressive reptile.

Blunt said he hopes to get the chameleon back from Chicago Animal Care and Control.

2 Die in Pierce County After Car Runs Stop Sign and Collides with Semi

pierce-county-sheriffPIERCE, Neb. (AP) — Two people in a car that ran a stop sign have died in a collision with a semitrailer in northeast Nebraska.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday that the accident occurred a little before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, about a mile west of Osmond.

The release says the car driven by 88-year-old Darleen Wallin didn’t halt at the Bloomfield Road intersection with U.S. Highway 20 and collided with the semi.

The Sheriff’s Office says Wallin and her husband, 93-year-old Lloyd Wallin, were killed. They lived in Newman Grove. The truck driver, Jeffrey Petersen, of Oakland, was taken to a hospital.

Man Who Cleaned Homes in Lincoln Accused of Stealing Jewelry

police-lights-redLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 48-year-old man is suspected of stealing jewelry from several Lincoln homes while working in them for a cleaning service.

Robert Harris faces a felony theft charge from a March case and soon could face more charges. Harris has been jailed pending $75,000 bond. Online court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could be contacted to comment on Harris’ behalf.

Harris was arrested on April 1 after being accused of pawning six items stolen from a Lincoln woman’s home. He bonded out of jail but was rearrested last week after investigators checked reports from seven other clients of the cleaning service that jewelry had been stolen from December through March.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File