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

Omaha Police: Driver Had 4 Flat Tires, Deployed Airbag in Low-Speed Chase

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Omaha say a man faces charges after he failed to stop driving a car with four flat tires and a deployed air bag.

Omaha police say 57-year-old Richard Curzon was spotted driving a vehicle over the center line Monday night. An officer says Curzon refused to stop the car and a low-speed pursuit ensued.

Police say Curzon was eventually arrested. A preliminary test showed his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit to drive.

Curzon faces several charges, including driving under the influence, flight to avoid arrest and willful reckless driving. Court records do not list an attorney.

Complaint Filed Over Gage County Sheriff’s Move

gage-county-sheriffBEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — The union representing Gage County Sheriff’s deputies has filed a complaint with Nebraska’s public-sector labor court in an effort to allow officers to continue driving their patrol cars home.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 45B filed the complaint Friday with the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations.

It follows Gage County Sheriff Millard “Gus” Gustafson’s decision to no longer allow deputies to drive patrol vehicles home when not on duty.

Gustafson says stopping the practice would result in 40,000 fewer miles being placed on patrol vehicles, adding life to the vehicles and increasing their trade-in value.

But the union says it amounts to a change in a benefit or condition of employment that must be agreed upon in contract bargaining.

Eastern Nebraska Hit with Whooping Cough, Flu

coughFREMONT, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska health department is reporting several cases of whooping cough and influenza.

Three Rivers Health Department in Fremont says at least two cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in the district, which includes Dodge, Saunders and Washington counties.

Whooping cough, or pertussis (per-TUH’-sis), is spread when infected people cough or sneeze. It starts like the common cold but can progress into violent coughing spells.

The department also has received reports of and confirmed several influenza cases.

The department recommends vaccinating to prevent getting both whooping cough and the flu.

To help prevent the spread of those and other illnesses, officials recommend washing hands often, coughing and sneezing into an elbow and keeping hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth.

Wife Who Used Child Porn to Frame Estranged Husband Gets Jail

jailINDIANA, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman convicted of downloading child pornography to frame her estranged husband must spend six months to two years in county jail.

43-year-old Meri Jane Woods was sentenced Monday by an Indiana County judge who rejected her attorney’s request for leniency and flexibility to start serving the sentence after the holidays.

A jury previously found Woods downloaded 40 images to the family computer, took it to police in August 2013 and blamed Matthew Woods for the material.

But when police examined time stamps, they determined the images had been downloaded more than two weeks after Meri Woods had her husband kicked out of their Clymer-area home with a protection-from-abuse order.

Woods continues to deny wrongdoing saying, “I only wanted to protect my children.”

Cases of Most Common STD Fell for First Time in 30 Years

Medical-ChartNEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in three decades, the nation’s most common sexually transmitted disease is a little less common.

Health officials on Tuesday said the rate and number of chlamydia (kluh-MID’-ee-uh) cases fell last year, by 1.5 percent. But there were still 1.4 million new cases reported — more than any other sexually transmitted disease. Experts are not sure what to make of the one-year drop.

Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics. Untreated, it can damage a woman’s reproductive system.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported gonorrhea cases declined, by less than 1 percent. The numbers for the most contagious forms of syphilis rose about 10 percent — to 17,375. The increase was mainly among gay men.

Lincoln Man Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash

fatal-accidentLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 43-year-old Lincoln man is dead following a crash into a utility pole.

Michael Shonn Clancy was killed in the Sunday evening crash.

Police say Clancy’s car veered off a city street around 6 p.m. Sunday near 12th and K Streets and hit the light pole.

Rescue crews found Clancy unresponsive and took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators say Clancy’s air bag had deployed, but don’t know whether he was wearing his seat belt.

Guide Rock Man Sentenced to Life in Prison

Andrew Casterline
Andrew Casterline

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man has been sentenced to life in prison for helping his mother fatally stab her boyfriend’s 68-year-old mother.

Twenty-four-year-old Andrew Casterline of Guide Rock was sentenced Monday. He was convicted in September of first-degree murder, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and burglary in the October 2013 death of Virginia Barone.

Authorities say Casterline and his mother, Shelly Casterline, stabbed Barone 22 times and hid her body beneath boards in her home.

Shelly Casterline tells authorities she killed Barone after the older woman angered her. She says her son wasn’t there but prosecutors say cuts on his hands indicated he wielded a knife.

His mother was sentenced to life in prison in September.

Robin Williams’ Suicide Seizes the Year on Google

googleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google says Robin Williams’ suicide seared into the world’s collective mindset more than anything else this year.

The reaction to Williams’ August death topped Google’s list of 2014’s fastest-rising search requests released Tuesday. It topped notable events such as the World Cup, the Ebola outbreak, the March disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the Ice Bucket Challenge, an Internet video craze to raise awareness and money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

Other topics included the addictive smartphone game “Flappy Bird,” bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst, the Middle East extremist group ISIS, the hit Disney movie “Frozen,” and the Winter Olympics in Russia.

Williams, Ebola, the World Cup and the Ice Bucket also ranked among the most-discussed subjects this year on Facebook, which released its list last week.

Appeals Court Upholds Condom Use in LA Porn Films

gavel-and-scaleLOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a Los Angeles County ordinance requiring that actors in pornographic films use condoms.

Monday’s ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by porn industry leaders that the requirement inhibits the industry’s First Amendment free-speech rights.

The ordinance adopted by voters in 2012 was championed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and other advocates as a means of reducing sexually transmitted diseases.

The porn industry says its past experience with condoms has taught it that viewers don’t want to watch films in which they are used.

The industry also says its own safety efforts, including regular testing of performers for sexually transmitted diseases, eliminate the need for condoms.

Pot Perception Worries Colorado Ski Towns

Colorado-MarijuanaBRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) — Colorado’s mountain resorts are getting a little worried about how legal marijuana is changing their image.

Residents in Breckenridge voted last week to force the downtown’s lone dispensary to a less-visible area. And a nearby town annexed a piece of property to prevent the opening of a pot shop there.

Colorado is coming off a record year for tourism, and state officials say 2014 is shaping up to be even better. But there’s increasing debate about what role marijuana is playing in the boom.

Some say legal weed is drawing curious travelers. Others fear family travelers may be turned off by legal weed, and that Colorado ski towns should minimize retail marijuana until the drug is more commonly accepted in other states.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File