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New Measure Protect Employees Social Networks From The Boss

Bosses who demand access to private information within their employees’ Facebook or Twitter accounts could be sued under a legislative bill in Nebraska.

State Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill introduced a measure Thursday that would make it illegal for employers or potential employers to request the information from workers or job applicants.

The bill would prevent employers from ordering a worker to log onto a social media site in the employer’s presence. Employers also would be banned from demanding passwords, or accessing an account indirectly through a friend or third party.

The law would not apply to information posted by employees that’s in the public domain.

Judge Rules Holmes Should Stand Trial On All 166 Counts

Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes faces arraignment Friday.

That comes after a judge on Thursday night ruled he should stand trial on all 166 counts against him.

But his attorneys say they’re not ready to enter a plea.

District Judge William Sylvester ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with charges alleging Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 others at a suburban Denver movie theater July 20.

Holmes is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

If convicted of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty.

Switching To Electronic Methods Save The DHHS Time & Money!

Nebraska health officials say the use of electronic payments has saved the agency time and money.

The state Department of Health and Human Services says the number of checks issued since switching to electronic payments last year has dropped by 93 percent. The agency had been writing as many as 34,000 checks a month.

DHHS says the switch to electronic deposit has saved on postage costs as well as eliminated returned mail costs. Staff also has cut the time they spend updating clients’ mailing addresses.

The agency says all child care providers will soon submit claims electronically and be paid electronically. An employment program will later make the switch.

Man Accused Of Recording Activity In Company Female Locker Room Faces Sentence

A 52-year-old northeast Iowa man accused of video recording female co-workers in a company locker room faces sentencing next month.

The Sioux City (Iowa) Journal reports that Larry Wolf made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to a lone count of unlawful intrusion. Prosecutors had lowered the charge and dropped another one.

Court documents say Wolf, of Ponca, was arrested in July. Documents say a technician who was working on Wolf’s personal computer found a file that contained about 60 video clips of the women’s locker room at Solbar, a soy protein production company in South Sioux City.

A police affidavit says images on the computer showed Wolf’s tattoos as he placed the camera in the locker room.

Missing Utah Girl Found Unharmed

Police say a missing 13-year-old girl has been found unharmed, two days after disappearing in the Salt Lake City area without her shoes, coat or cellphone.

Brooklyn Gittins was located late Thursday night after she called her grandmother from a Wal-Mart store in South Jordan.

Unified Police spokesman Lt. Justin Hoyal says the woman then called police and officers went to the store and found the child.

Her disappearance caused widespread concern and some 1,000 volunteers joined police in searching 17 square miles Thursday in the area near Gittins’ home in Herriman, a Salt Lake City suburb about 18 miles southwest of downtown.

Hoyal says, “Brooklyn was not injured and is fine,” and still did not have on shoes or a coat.

Authorities suspect that she was picked up and harbored by one or more people and police are trying to find out who they are.

Over 800 DNA Rape Case Evidence Under Review For Possible Error

The New York City medical examiner is reviewing hundreds of rape cases for possible DNA evidence errors.

The New York Times reports that a lab technician may have mishandled critical DNA evidence in over 800 rape cases.

The ME’s office says so far it has found 26 cases in which the technician failed to detect the DNA evidence when some actually existed.

It says in seven of the cases, full DNA profiles were developed.

In one case, the new profile matched a convicted offender’s sample, leading to an indictment a decade after the evidence was collected.

In two other cases, the new DNA evidence was linked to people already convicted or under suspicion.

The cases span from 2001 to 2011.

The technician wasn’t identified. She resigned in 2011.

NASA: Big Asteroid No Longer a Threat to Earth

NASA says a big asteroid is no longer even a remote threat to smash into Earth in about 20 years.

Astronomers got a much better look at the asteroid when it whizzed by Earth on Wednesday. They recalculated, determining it wasn’t on path to hit Earth on April 13, 2036 as once feared.

At more than 1,000 feet wide, the rock could do significant damage but not cause worldwide extinctions.

About nine years ago, when astronomers first saw the asteroid, they thought there was a 2.7 percent chance that Apophis (uh-PAH’-fihs) would smack into our planet. Later, they lowered the chances. The asteroid is named after an evil Egyptian mythical serpent.

Donald Yeomans, who manages NASA’s asteroid-tracking office, said now the asteroid won’t get closer than 19,400 miles.

Police Run Into Alligator During Probation Check

A Castro Valley man is in jail and an alligator authorities say he likely had to protect a stash of marijuana has been taken to a zoo.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports when Alameda County deputies entered the home of Assif Mayr Wednesday afternoon for a probation check, they found 34 pounds of marijuana and five-foot alligator in a tank in the bedroom.

Sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson says the alligator was likely used as deterrent against marijuana thieves.

Nelson says Mayr was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale. He was being held in lieu of $160,000 bail.

The alligator was taken to Oakland Zoo. Officials there described it as very sick and said it was being cared for at the zoo’s veterinary hospital.

Online Course Helps Developmentally Disabled Participate With Community & At No Cost

A free online course is aimed at helping people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities, the people who provide contracted services and support, and family members.

Lincoln-based Southeast Community College says the Together We Can! course will be offered at no charge through Dec. 31. The course was developed by Fritz & O’Hare Associates and the college through a grant from the Nebraska Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The course’s six modules provide information on how an individual and his or her service provider can increase the individual’s opportunities to live, work and participate in the community.

The people with the disabilities can take the modules with or without their service providers or family members.

Registration and more information are available from Diane Siefkes at 402-323-3386, or dsiefkes(at)southeast.edu.

Ex Cop Makes Plea Deal In MVH Case

A former police officer in southeast Nebraska faces sentencing March 5 after making a plea deal in a crash death case.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 36-year-old Steven Darveau Jr., of Falls City, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular homicide after prosecutors lowered the felony manslaughter charge.

Prosecutors say that on Aug. 5, 2011, Darveau made a left turn in front of a motorcycle at the intersection of U.S. Highway 73 and South 703 Loop, three miles south of Falls City.

The motorcyclist died at the scene. He was identified as 64-year-old Edward Packard, of Cleves, Ohio.

Darveau had worked as a police officer for the Sac and Fox Nation in northern Kansas and as a Falls City police officer before that.

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