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Alabama Inmate to Go Free After 30 Years on Death Row

Ray Hinton
Ray Hinton

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A man who spent 30 years on Alabama’s death row will go free after a decades long fight to prove his innocence.

Fifty-eight-year-old Ray Hinton will be released Friday morning.

Hinton was convicted of the 1985 murders of two Birmingham fast food restaurant managers. However, prosecutors say modern forensic methods failed to show that fatal bullets came from Hinton’s revolver. The bullets were the only evidence linking Hinton to the killings.

Lawyer Bryan Stevenson said Hinton wept after learning he would finally be released.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled that Hinton had inadequate counsel and sent the case back for a second trial. Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case following the testing on the bullets.

Hinton was one of the longest-serving inmates on Alabama’s death row.

Lincoln Police: Driver Killed After Car Hits Bridge Beam

police-lights-redLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say a man was killed after his car hit a bridge’s support beam.

Capt. Jeff Bucher says the driver was traveling eastbound on State Fair Park Road when his car left the road and hit the beam around 6 p.m. Thursday. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity isn’t being released until his family is notified of his death.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the car left the road. The driver was alone in the car at the time of the wreck.

Bucher says there wasn’t any structural damage to the beam or overpass.

Man, 75, Gets 30 Days for Crash Death of Omaha Motorcyclist

fatal-motorcycle-crashOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 75-year-old man has been given 30 days in jail for the crash death of an Omaha motorcyclist.

Online court records say Robert Tedford was sentenced on Thursday. He’d pleaded no contest and was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

Omaha police have said 21-year-old John Neal, of Omaha, was traveling north on North 30th Street last September when his motorcycle collided with a southbound van making a left turn. The force of the collision caused Neal to go through the side window of the van, which was being driven by Tedford.

CDC: Imported Drug-Resistant Stomach Bug Spreading Through US

cdcNEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say a drug-resistant strain of a nasty stomach bug made its way into the U.S. and spread, causing more than 200 illnesses since last May.

Many cases were traced to people who had recently traveled to the Dominican Republic, India or other countries.

Outbreaks of the shigella (shih-GEHL’-uh) bacteria are not unusual, but this strain is resistant to the antibiotic most commonly prescribed for adults.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Thursday. The superbug sickened at least 243 people, in 32 states and Puerto Rico.

Shigella is a common cause of diarrhea. Sometimes antibiotics are prescribed, especially for more serious cases.

Lincoln Man Charged with Sexual Assault After Report of Rape

ricky-lee-jackson
Ricky Lee Jackson

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been charged with sexual assault after a woman staying at his home claimed he raped her.

43-year-old Ricky Lee Jackson was charged Wednesday with first-degree sexual assault. He remained in custody Thursday.

Police say Jackson allowed a woman he knows to stay at his apartment in November after she had gone out drinking with her friends. The woman told police she fell asleep several times and continuously woke up to Jackson performing sexual acts on her.

Officer Michelle Jochum says the woman reported the alleged sexual assault the next morning. Police say they interviewed Jackson about the incident Tuesday after months of investigation. He told officers he didn’t hear the woman tell him to stop.

Kansas to Allow Carrying of Concealed Guns without Permit

gun-ownershipTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will become the fifth state to allow its residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit throughout the state.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday signed a bill ending the permit requirement. The change takes effect July 1.

The National Rifle Association says Kansas joins Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming in having such a policy. The NRA says Montana and Arkansas have concealed carry without a permit, but not everywhere.

Kansas still will issue permits for gun owners who want to carry concealed in other states that recognize Kansas permits. A person seeking a Kansas permit must undergo eight hours of firearms training.

Brownback said gun owners have shown they are responsible.

But Democratic state Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau of Wichita said the state still should require some training.

Report: 5th Grader Who Leaped to Death Upset by Chess Match

ambulance-lightsDUMONT, N.J. (AP) — Police say a fifth-grader who jumped to his death from a second-story window at his New Jersey school had lost a chess match and was upset because his opponent didn’t say “checkmate.”

The 10-year-old student at Grant Elementary School leaped to his death last month after playing chess at recess.

A Dumont police file released Wednesday says a lunch aide heard the boy tell his opponent: “Do you want me to do something drastic?”

The lunch aide told investigators that after the chess match, she saw the boy write a note, hand it to his opponent and ask him not to open it right away.

The aide told police she confiscated the note and turned around to see the boy jump. The note’s contents weren’t disclosed.

Counselor Accused of Overbilling Lancaster County, Employer

lincoln-policeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 40-year-old man has been accused of fraudulently overbilling Lancaster County and his employer for his services as a mental health counselor.

Jason Christensen, of Hickman, surrendered to Lincoln police on Thursday. Officer Katie Flood says Christensen was booked into jail on suspicion of felony theft. It’s unclear whether Christensen has an attorney. Online court records don’t yet list the case.

Flood says Christensen billed Lancaster County’s mental health program and his employer, Counseling Affiliates of Nebraska, for hundreds of hours he didn’t work between February and June of last year. The total was more than $17,600.

Nebraska Boss Who Recorded Employees Changing Clothes Goes to Jail

Dustin Lindgren
Dustin Lindgren

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 30-year-old man has been sent to jail for recording images of his female employees changing clothes in a locker room at a Lincoln restaurant.

Online court records say Dustin Lindgren, of Milford, on Wednesday was sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years of probation. Lindgren had pleaded no contest and been convicted of two counts of unlawful intrusion. A third count was dropped in a deal with prosecutors.

Authorities say Lindgren was manager of the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery when he used a cellphone hidden in a jacket pocket to record at least 12 women in January and February 2014. One of the women noticed the phone and notified police.

4 Lincoln Companies Merging to Form Marketing Firm

firespringLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Four Lincoln companies are merging into one marketing firm with more than 200 employees who will be providing a wide variety of services.

The four who joined for the Wednesday announcement are Firespring, Cornerstone Print & Marketing, Snitily Carr and 42. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

The companies will operate under their names until the end of May. Then they’ll consolidate under the Firespring name and move into Firespring’s office in southwest Lincoln. Officials say all the employees are being retained.

Among the four firms’ clients are Duncan Aviation, Union Pacific, Cabela’s, Cargill, GE and Honeywell.

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