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Florida Mom Forces Boy to Jump from Window

police-lights-redST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Police in St. Petersburg say a woman forced her 8-year-old son to jump out of a second-floor window before she jumped as well in an apparent suicide attempt.

Authorities say their conditions don’t appear to be life-threatening. They were taken to St. Petersburg hospitals early Thursday for further evaluation.

Police say the woman, who was armed with a shotgun, forced the child to jump at gunpoint.

Police were on the scene and an investigation was underway. No further details have been released.

UNL Celebrates Groundbreaking of New $84 Million Building

UNLLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials are celebrating the groundbreaking of a new $84 million school building at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

A ceremony was held Wednesday for the school’s new College of Business Administration building, a 240,000-square-foot facility that’s expected to open before fall 2017.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports more than 10 out of 800 donors contributed about $1 million or more to help fund the building’s construction.

The college’s dean, Donde Plowman, thanked students, alumni, faculty, business leaders and donors for their support. She says she envisions the building as a hub of activity for the business community both on and off campus.

Lincoln Youth Baseball Coach Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Abuse

Jeff Hawks
Jeff Hawks

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln youth baseball coach has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of child sex abuse.

Thirty-three-year-old Jeff Hawks entered the plea on Wednesday. Hawks is accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy during private training lessons. Investigators say the child told them Hawks inappropriately touched him outside his clothing while they were alone during their sessions between August and December.

Hawks was board president of Lincoln Sox Baseball but is no longer involved with the organization.

Florida Man Brings Body to Lawyer’s Office

odd-newsFORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A southwest Florida man put his dead neighbor in the bed of his pickup truck and drove to his lawyer’s office claiming he’d killed the man in self-defense.

Attorney Robert Harris told the News-Press of Fort Myers that 52-year-old John Marshall showed up around 4 p.m. Wednesday, saying he didn’t know who else to trust.

Attorneys called 911 and Marshall spent hours at Harris’ office before finally leaving for the hospital around 10:30 p.m. He had a swollen lip, missing tooth and what appeared to be two broken thumbs.

According to Harris, Marshall wrestled a gun away from his neighbor and fatally shot him earlier Wednesday. The two men had apparently been in a dispute over property work.

Lee County Sheriff’s deputies declined to say whether Marshall would be arrested.

Man Accused of Faking Facebook Account for Teen Sex Photos

facebook-logoNEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New York man has been accused of using a fake Facebook account to coerce a teenage girl into sending him nude images of herself and of traveling to New Jersey to have sex with another girl.

Warwick resident Clifford Wares is charged with producing child pornography and interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He’s in jail and can’t be reached for comment. Authorities say he hasn’t hired an attorney.

Prosecutors say Wares communicated online with a 13-year-old New Jersey girl for three months in 2011. They say he used the fake Facebook account to pretend to be a child she knew and made her send photos and videos of herself engaging in sex acts.

Prosecutors say Wares met a 14-year-old girl online that year and drove to New Jersey and had sex with her.

Pharrell Tells Jury He Didn’t Copy Marvin Gaye Song

copyrightLOS ANGELES (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Pharrell Williams says he wasn’t trying to copy the late Marvin Gaye’s music for the hit song “Blurred Lines,” but he was trying to evoke the feeling of late 1970s tunes.

Williams is being sued by Gaye’s children, who claim “Blurred Lines” improperly copies their father’s hit “Got to Give it Up.” Singer Robin Thicke and rapper T.I. are also defendants in the case.

On Wednesday, Williams told a jury in federal court in Los Angeles that he grew up listening to Gaye’s music. But the singer-producer said he didn’t try to copy it directly for his collaboration with Thicke and T.I.

He says he didn’t discuss “Got to Give it Up” with Thicke before crafting the song in mid-2012.

“Blurred Lines” was 2013’s biggest hit song and earned more than $16 million in profits.

 

Appeal Filed for Man Convicted in ‘American Sniper’ Murder Case

Eddie Ray Routh
Eddie Ray Routh

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — An attorney for a former Marine found guilty in the shooting deaths of “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle and another man has filed an appeal.

Eddie Ray Routh was convicted of capital murder in the 2013 deaths of Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a rural shooting range, after jurors rejected his insanity defense. Prosecutors hadn’t sought the death penalty, so Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Routh’s attorneys said after the Feb. 24 verdict they would appeal. J. Warren St. John, one of Routh’s attorneys, said the notice of appeal was filed Tuesday. St. John also filed a motion for a new trial, arguing the conviction and sentence were contrary to law and evidence.

The case drew extra attention due to the film based on Kyle’s memoir.

Senate Fails to Override Obama’s Veto on Keystone Pipeline

keystoneWASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Senate has failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The 62-37 vote Wednesday was the latest chapter in the fight between the GOP-led Congress and the White House over energy policy. It was the first of many possible veto showdowns to come in Obama’s final term.

Proponents of the bill have said since its introduction that they didn’t have the vote of two-thirds of the Senate needed to override Obama’s veto.

The $8-billion pipeline would transport oil harvested from Canada’s tar sands to pipelines linked to Gulf Coast refineries. Obama said that the bill circumvented the well-established process for approving cross-border pipelines, which must be determined to be in the national interest.

DiCaprio Partners with Netflix for Series of Documentaries

netflixNEW YORK (AP) — Leonardo DiCaprio is partnering with Netflix for a series of documentaries he will produce for the streaming service.

Netflix announced Wednesday that DiCaprio and his production company, Appian Way, have signed a first-look deal with Netflix for nonfiction projects. The company says DiCaprio and Netflix will seek to develop and acquire documentaries and docuseries “with partial focus on environmental and conservation themes.”

DiCaprio teamed with Netflix last year to release the Oscar-nominated documentary “Virunga.” In a statement, DiCaprio said “Virunga” ”sparked a shared vision” between him and the streaming service.

The deal adds to a growing stable of Hollywood talent Netflix has lured to its expanding original film operations. Along with an earlier deal with Adam Sandler, Netflix recently acquired “Beasts of No Nation” by “True Detective” director Cary Fukunaga.

Mother of Slain Girl Sues Omaha Police Over Drug Charge

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The mother of a 5-year-old girl killed last year by a stray bullet is suing two Omaha police officers and the city, accusing the officers of planting drugs in an effort to frame her.

Tabatha Manning filed the lawsuit Monday in Douglas County District Court. In it, Manning details being pulled over on Sept. 17, 2013, and arrested on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for unpaid fines. The arresting officers said they later found a bag containing a small amount of methamphetamine in the police car and determined it was Manning’s.

Manning’s lawsuit says the officers planted the drugs in order to falsely implicate her in a felony. The drug charge was later dropped.

Months after her arrest, Manning’s daughter was struck and killed at her home by a stray bullet.

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