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

Omaha Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

dept.-of-justiceOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man who prosecutors say ran a sports bookmaking operation has pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Forty-three-year-old Todd Bartusek faces up to five years in federal prison when he’s sentenced on Jan. 9. He entered his plea earlier this month.

Prosecutors say an Internal Revenue Service investigation determined that Bartusek worked as a bookie from 2007 through 2010 and didn’t report his income. Prosecutors say Bartusek owes the IRS nearly $257,000 in taxes on that unreported income.

Chicken Mascot Returns to Lincoln Restaurant Perch

lees-restaurant-chickenLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Pioneer Pete has been placed back on his perch in front of a Lincoln restaurant.

The repaired fiberglass mascot was raised up Sunday during a ceremony at Lee’s Restaurant. All but the feet of the 5-foot-tall, 200-pound Pete were stolen Aug. 23. Its broken parts were found behind the restaurant a few days later. No arrests have been reported.

The mascot has been outside the restaurant for 50 years.

Lincoln Man Sentenced in Buried Drugs Case

Inocencio Jimenez
Inocencio Jimenez

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison after authorities found methamphetamine buried in his backyard.

32-year-old Inocencio Jimenez was sentenced last week. He will serve three years of supervised release upon completion of the sentence. He previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute.

A narcotics taskforce arrested Jimenez in September 2013 after finding more than six ounces of meth in his yard. Authorities say Jimenez had a roll of black electrical tape that matched tape used to seal a plastic container that held the drugs.

Nebraska Nuclear Plant Reports Maintenance Mishap

Cooper-Nuclear-PlantBROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Public Power District has reported a maintenance accident at a nuclear power plant temporarily closed for refueling.

Authorities said Monday there were no injuries, no damage and no radiation leakage after the Saturday mishap at the Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville.

They say contractors were replacing underwater control blades when one fell onto a reactor. There was no fuel in the reactor at the time of the accident and no fuel was reported damaged.

The plant was shut down in September for a planned 30-day refueling outage. A plant spokesman says accident hasn’t put the public’s health at risk.

The district alerted the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

FDA Weighs Removing Bolded Warning from Chantix

chantixWASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration will ask a panel of experts later this week whether a bold-letter warning on the anti-smoking drug Chantix should be removed based on company-supported evidence that the drug does not cause suicidal behavior.

Pfizer’s twice-a-day tablet has carried the FDA strongest warning label, known as a black box, since 2009 because of reports of suicidality, hostility and depression. But the New York drugmaker points to recent studies and analyses suggesting there is no difference in psychiatric problems between people taking Chantix and other smoking-cessation aids.

Still, the FDA notes in briefing documents posted online that there is little precedent for removing a boxed warning. And the agency will ask its panel of outside efforts whether more data is needed before consider removing the warning language.

Ebola Screening Starts Thursday at 4 US Airports

dulles-airportNEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Customs and health officials at airports in Washington, Chicago, Atlanta and Newark will take the temperatures of passengers from three West African countries starting Thursday.

Federal health officials say the entry screenings add another layer of protection to halt the spread of the Ebola virus that has killed thousands. Screeners will use no-touch thermometers to try to find passengers with fevers.

The screenings started at New York’s Kennedy International Airport Saturday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that screenings will start Thursday at Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, Newark’s Liberty and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

Customs officials say about 150 people travel daily from or through Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea to the United States. Nearly 95 percent of them land first at one of those five airports.

Nebraska Man Jailed After Body, SUV Found in Pond

Grand-Island-PoliceGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Grand Island authorities have recovered the body of an SUV passenger and arrested the driver following a crash in a pond.

Police say the body of 44-year-old John Zebert was pulled from the water on Monday after 11 a.m. An autopsy has been ordered to determine his cause of death.

The 43-year-old driver faces charges of driving under the influence and motor vehicle homicide in connection to the Sunday night crash. The suspect was arrested and is being held at the Hall County Jail.

The 1995 Ford Expedition was also recovered from the pond.

Police are investigating.

Nebraska Students Injured in School Bus Wreck

bus-accidentOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Omaha high school students have been treated for minor injuries at an area hospital after police say a truck ran a red light and hit a school bus.

Omaha police say there were about 12 teenagers on board during the two-vehicle crash on Monday. They were on their way home from Bryan High School. The two injured students were treated and released.

The truck driver was cited for failing to obey a traffic signal and for not having a valid license.

10-Year-Old Charged as Adult in Death of Woman, 90

gavel-and-scaleTYLER HILL, Pa. (AP) — State Police have arrested a 10-year-old boy and charged him as an adult in the beating death of a 90-year-old woman in Wayne County, Pennsylvania.

Authorities say the boy was visiting his grandfather, the woman’s caretaker, on Saturday when the woman shouted at the child for entering her room. They say he punched her in the throat numerous times.

The boy held a cane to Helen Novak’s throat before he punched her. He then told his grandfather she was bleeding from her mouth. The grandfather checked on the woman twice; the second time she was unresponsive.

The boy is being held without bail on a homicide charge. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer.

13-Year-Old Identified as Mother of Abandoned Baby

police-lights-redMERCED, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Central California say they have identified a 13-year-old girl as the mother of a newborn baby abandoned last week in a trash bin.

Merced Police Capt. Tom Trindad said Monday that investigators are still collecting all the facts before turning the case over to prosecutors, who will decide if the girl faces criminal charges or not. For now, the young mother remains in the care of authorities.

The hours-old baby girl was found Thursday by a man looking for cans and bottles in the trash bin near an apartment complex in the city of Merced.

Trindad says the baby is healthy and thriving and could eventually be put up for adoption.

Trindad says investigators are also trying to determine if the baby was the result of sexual abuse.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File