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CNH Announces More Layoffs at Grand Island Plant

cnhGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A farm implement plant in Grand Island intends to cut nearly 240 more jobs.

CNH Industrial American on Thursday said the layoffs of 170 full-time company staffers and 68 agency employees assigned to the plant will be put on indefinite layoff. The layoffs are expected to begin in October and be completed in November.

CNH North America spokeswoman Kathleen Prause (prows) says the layoffs reflect the declining market demands for its equipment. In May the company said it would cut 200 third-party agency positions because of reductions in orders. The plant makes combine harvesters and self-propelled windrowers.

Prause said Friday that those 200 positions have not been restored. She declined to how many people will be employed at the plant after the fall layoffs are completed.

 

Man Killed, 2 Injured in Omaha Shooting

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say one man has died and two have been critically injured in an Omaha shooting.

Omaha police spokesman Kevin Wiese says the three men were injured Thursday afternoon. He says 26-year-old Lamar King died at the scene. Nineteen-year-old Johnnie Wilson and 18-year-old Marcus Johnson were injured.

Wiese says the injured men made contact with authorities after leaving the scene to find help.

It’s unclear if police have made an arrest. They haven’t released other details about the shooting.

‘Walking Dead’ Marine Battalion to Be Deactivated

walking-dead-battalionRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Decades before the television show, a Marine Corps battalion decorated for extensive combat in World War II and Vietnam earned the nickname the “Walking Dead.”

Now the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, which also served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is being deactivated during a ceremony Friday at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Marine Corps historians say the battalion appears to have gotten the nickname because of its high rate of casualties during the Vietnam War, but the unit also has a reputation for heroism that included four Medal of Honor recipients in World War II and Vietnam.

The battalion, which was formed during World War I, had previously been deactivated in 1994 and reactivated in 2007. Its insignia depicts a cloaked grim reaper carrying a scythe.

Nebraska Man Gets Prison for Incident with Taser

stun_gunLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska man has been sentenced to several years in prison for an incident in March that involved a police officer using a Taser on him.

38-year-old Robert Bures was sentenced Thursday to three to six years on charges of attempted second-degree assault, terroristic threats and driving under a revoked license conviction.

Police say Bures rammed his vehicle into his estranged wife’s car before fleeing into the woods. He was accused of ignoring orders from an officer to drop a box cutter.

The officer eventually deployed the Taser on Bures and arrested him.

Bures’ attorney says his client has struggled with undiagnosed mental health problems.

Security Workers Find Loaded Gun at Omaha Airport

TSAOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Transportation Security Administration employees discovered a loaded handgun at a security checkpoint in an Omaha airport this week.

The TSA said Thursday a passenger tried to bring a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in a carry-on bag at Eppley Airfield on Wednesday. It was loaded with 14 rounds.

The Omaha Airport Authority Police Department interviewed the passenger, who was later released. The passenger has not been identified.

This is the 10th firearm found during security screenings at the airport this year.

The administration says it can fine passengers up to $11,000 for bringing a gun to a security checkpoint.

California Legislature Passes ‘Yes Means Yes’ Bill

college-campusSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — State lawmakers have passed a bill that would make California the first state to define when “yes means yes” while investigating sexual assaults on college campuses.

The Senate unanimously passed SB967 on Thursday as colleges and universities across the U.S. are under pressure to change how they handle rape allegations. The bill now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown.

Democratic Sen. Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles says his bill would begin a paradigm shift in how California campuses prevent and investigate sexual assault.

Rather than using the refrain “no means no,” the definition of consent under the bill requires “an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision” by each party to engage in sexual activity.

It applies to all colleges and universities accepting state financial aid.

 

Police: Nebraska Deputy Injured After Hitting Car

lancaster-county-sheriffLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Nebraska deputy was injured when he crashed into a parked car while tailing a suspect.

Lincoln Police Sgt. Ben Miller said a Lancaster County deputy suffered minor injuries in the Thursday night accident. Miller says the deputy was monitoring a possible DUI suspect on a highway when he hit a disabled car.

The driver of the vehicle was outside of the car at the time.

Miller says the deputy was hospitalized. His name has not been released.

Both vehicles were totaled.

Hastings Couple Killed, 2 Children Injured in Crash

fatal-accidentSARONVILLE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Hastings couple have been killed and two of their children injured in a collision in Clay County.

Clay County Sheriff Jeff Franklin says the accident occurred around 5:15 a.m. Thursday. The family was headed east on U.S. Highway 6 when their sport utility vehicle was struck by semitrailer that had been going south on Nebraska Highway 14. Franklin says the truck driver didn’t halt at a stop sign.

The 53-year-old man and his 52-year-old wife died in the collision. Their teenage son and daughter in her 20s were flown to a Lincoln hospital. Their names aren’t being released until relatives are notified about the accident.

The truck driver was arrested.

Ex-Omaha Police Officer Gets 1 Year of Probatioin

omaha-police-cruiserOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Omaha police officer has been given one year of probation in an alleged excessive force case.

A Douglas County district judge sentenced 32-year-old James Kinsella on Thursday.

Kinsella was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, after a charge of tampering with evidence was reduced. He pleaded no contest earlier this year.

Kinsella was one of several police officers involved in the March 2013 arrest of three brothers. He is accused of taking a memory card from a phone that that he believed had captured footage of the arrest. The memory card had no video evidence, which led to the obstruction charge being reduced.

Police officers were accused of using excessive force in the arrests.

Appeals Court Rules Against UP Railroad

Union-PacificSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled against Union Pacific railroad in a case involving cleanup of mining pollution in Idaho’s Silver Valley.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week reversed a lower court decision that had dismissed a lawsuit by Asarco against the railroad, and the case is now headed to trial.

Asarco wants the railroad to pay some of the costs of cleaning up mining pollution in the Superfund site in the Silver Valley. Asarco has already paid $480 million to help clean up a century of mining pollution.

Union Pacific constructed rail lines to haul silver and other metals across the Silver Valley.

The railroad contended that a settlement agreement with Asarco had resolved the issue. But the appeals court found that the agreement was ambiguous.

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