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2nd Person Dies in Omaha Boarding House Fire

fatal-fireOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a second person has died following a boarding house fire in southeast Omaha.

The Omaha Fire Department says 27-year-old Eddie Valentine died Friday. An official cause of death is pending autopsy results, but a preliminary investigation suggests it was smoke inhalation.

Valentine and 37-year-old Demetria Sanchez were inside the boarding house when it caught fire on Dec. 23. Sanchez was pronounced dead a short time later.

Authorities say they’re still investigating what caused the fire.

Cabela’s Bank Released from FDIC Consent Order

fdicOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated a consent order against World’s Foremost Bank, a Lincoln-based credit card operation set up by the outdoor outfitter Cabela’s.

The order was ended Nov. 4 but not announced until Monday. The original order in March required World’s Foremost Bank to pay a $1 million penalty and restitution to about 1.8 million card holders for what the FDIC said were deceptive and unfair acts. The bank agreed to the sanctions but did not admit or deny the violations.

FDIC spokeswoman LaJuan Williams-Young says a termination order typically indicates “that the bank has complied with the original stipulations” in the consent order. She declined to comment further. A bank representative didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

2 Hurt in Northeast Nebraska Crash

dixon-county-sheriffPONCA, Neb. (AP) — Two people have been injured in a two-vehicle collision in northeast Nebraska.

The Dixon County Sheriff’s Office says an SUV was traveling eastbound Monday on Nebraska Highway 12 near Ponca when it lost control and slid into the path of a westbound truck.

The driver of the SUV was airlifted to a Sioux City hospital. A passenger in the SUV was driven to the same hospital.

The driver of the truck was not hurt. Authorities say the SUV lost control due to icy road conditions.

Police: Man Jailed for Facebook Police Threats

facebook-logoMCDONALD, Pa. (AP) — A southwestern Pennsylvania man has been jailed on charges he posted Facebook comments encouraging people to kill police the same day a man fatally shot two New York City officers.

Steven Drake Jr. was arrested Wednesday in McDonald. Police there were alerted to the Dec. 20 posts by officers in a nearby community.

Among the comments Drake allegedly posted were, “The police brought this on themselves! I say kill them all! Enough is enough.”

The 29-year-old from Midway faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 6 on charges including terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. Online court records don’t list an attorney for him.

Police say Drake acknowledged making the posts, which also referenced the recent police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City.

Nebraska Cities Still Waiting on Flood Money

NEMAOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska cities along the Missouri River are still waiting for nearly $7.2 million to be reimbursed from state and federal agencies, more than 3 years after a 2011 flood.

Five cities haven’t yet received payments between $275,000 and nearly $4 million. Omaha is owed the most at $3.6 million.

Grants from the Nebraska and Federal Emergency Management Agencies have helped pay for flood damage and recovery, but Nebraska still owes 43 percent of the nearly $17 million owed in flood claims. A NEMA official says processing claims takes a lot of time and work.

Meanwhile, the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management has paid all but 5 percent of its $38.6 million in claims.

Nebraska Inmate Says He’s Grateful for Prison

Michael Ellington (NE Dept. of Corrections Photo)
Michael Ellington (NE Dept. of Corrections Photo)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska inmate Michael Ellington calls prison one of his biggest accomplishments.

The 32-year-old from Clarksdale, Mississippi, is in prison for robberies he committed in June 2007. But now he has two work release jobs and talks about taking positive steps.

Ellington has been at the Community Corrections Center for a year, and he credits it with helping to prepare him for society. He has a parole hearing on New Year’s Eve.

Ellington said prison provided him a foundation to get his life back together.

Nebraska Mom, Iowa Officials Seek Missing Man

Michael Ogborn
Michael Ogborn (Courtesy)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska woman is still hoping to find out what happened to her son, two months after he was reported to have driven a stolen pickup into the Missouri River north of Council Bluffs.

Kim Allmon, of Omaha, said her son, 23-year-old Michael Ogborn, has been missing since Oct 29. Allmon says she was told he drove the truck into the river north-northwest of Crescent. Two people in the truck with him swam to safety, but he hasn’t been found.

Chief Deputy John Reynolds with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says authorities searched the river on Oct. 29 and for several days afterward.

Allmon says she wants answers and closure. She says she lost Ogborn’s father in a drowning.

Omaha Man Hospitalized After House Fire

omaha-f-dOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man has been hospitalized after he escaped from a house fire in southwest Omaha.

Firetrucks were sent to the scene a little after 10 a.m. Sunday. Neighbors report finding the man in his backyard, suffering from burns. Officials say the man had escaped from the house basement, where the fire started.

The fire cause is being investigated. The man’s name hasn’t been released.

Authorities Investigating After 4 Found Dead in Texas Home

police-lights-redCROWLEY, Texas (AP) — Authorities are investigating after police officers responding to a reported suicide attempt found four people dead inside a Texas home.

Crowley Police Chief Luis Soler said in a Sunday night news conference that a 9-year-old who was inside the home called a relative, who then called police. The woman told police around 4:15 p.m. that the child said a man there was injured after attempting suicide.

Soler says police arrived minutes later and found two women, a man and a female child dead.

Officers also found the 9-year-old caller at the scene, apparently uninjured. He is in protective custody and is being interviewed.

Soler could not immediately provide the causes of death and said the four had not been identified.

Crowley is about 15 miles south of Fort Worth.

Man Faces Robbery Charge in Omaha Carjacking

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man faces a robbery charge in connection to a carjacking in Omaha.

Police say the 21-year-old man was taken into custody following a carjacking Saturday night in east Omaha. A woman told authorities she was driving when she pulled over for a man waving at her. The woman said she thought she knew the man.

Authorities say the man got into the vehicle and told the woman he was taking the car. The woman got out of the car and reported the incident to police.

Officers say the woman’s car was later spotted with the 21-year-old man inside. He was taken into custody for questioning then later booked on a robbery charge. Court records do not list formal charges.

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