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Former President Obama visits Omaha Sunday for charity event

obamaOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former President Barack Obama is visiting Omaha for the first time since leaving office.

Obama landed in Omaha Sunday afternoon and was driven to an event at Happy Hollow Country Club.

Democratic Party officials told WOWT that Obama was in Omaha to attend a charity event on Sunday. But details of the event and the charity involved were not immediately clear. No public events were planned.

The last time Obama visited Omaha was in January 2016 as part of a series of speeches he gave after his final State of the Union address.

Lincoln officials look to install adult playground equipment

lincoln-parks-and-recLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln officials are looking at installing playground equipment for adults, prompted by a resident who brought home the idea from a trip to China.

Dorene Casey and her sister, Jan Savoie, of Omaha, noticed the equipment and used some while visiting China two years ago.

Casey said much of the exercise equipment designed for older people is geared toward improving balance and flexibility. Equipment often is arranged to promote conversation between people working out.

She took the idea to Lincoln Parks and Recreation officials, who liked it and have been looking for ways to pay for it.

Lincoln may see its first piece of adult playground equipment next summer at Phil E. Mendoza Park, thanks to funding from the neighborhood association.

Omaha man adapts toys for kids with special needs

good-newsOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man is spending his time altering electronic toys for children across the state with special needs.

Aaron Miller was inspired by his 8-year-old son Evan, who has cerebral palsy, to use his garage to adapt electronic toys. The toys then fill the shelves at United Cerebral Palsy’s seven tech toy lending libraries.

Organization finance and service director in Nebraska, Anne Brodin, says the program began more than 20 years ago. Before Miller, most of the lending libraries’ toys would come from expensive toy-adapting companies.

Miller hopes that his adaptions can give those children back some of the independence they can lose due to their disabilities. He also sometimes hosts workshops for parents to learn how to adapt toys for their own children.

Nebraska high school football star charged in sex trafficking case

DeArch Stubblefield
DeArch Stubblefield

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A standout Nebraska high school football player has been charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child and human trafficking.

Eighteen-year-old DeArch Stubblefield, a senior defensive back on the Bellevue West state championship team, was charged Friday in Sarpy County Court. He is being held without bail.

Court documents say Stubblefield sexually assaulted a teen between 12 and 16 years old and forced the teen to engage in sex trafficking between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31.

Stubblefield’s next court hearing is set for March 28.

A Bellevue Public Schools spokeswoman says officials have not yet made a decision on Stubblefield’s student status.

A voice message left with the Sarpy County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Stubblefield, was not immediately returned Saturday.

Man charged with molesting boy in Omaha mall bathroom

Bruce Perry
Bruce Perry

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 50-year-old resident of an Omaha assisted living facility has been charged with child sexual assault after police say he molested a 7-year-old boy in a Westroads Mall bathroom.

Bruce Perry is charged with third-degree sexual assault of a child and intentional child abuse in connection with the Wednesday incident. He is being held on $250,000 bail.

Prosecutors say Perry pulled down the boy’s pants and touched his genitals after the boy and his 11-year-old brother went into the bathroom. Police say the older brother fought off the man until the boys could escape.

Police say Perry told investigators he has exposed himself to boys many other times, but assistant public defender Cathy Saathoof disputes that. She says Perry has impaired intellectual capacity and mental health issues.

Lincoln man sentenced to prison for sexual assault

Jesus "Jesse" Brown
Jesus “Jesse” Brown

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 37-year-old Lincoln man has been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman at a party.

Jesus “Jesse” Brown was sentenced Wednesday to 16 to 20 years in prison. He was convicted by a jury in January of first-degree sexual assault.

Prosecutors say Brown assaulted the woman three months after being paroled from prison. The 28-year-old woman told police she spent the night in Lincoln in September 2015 at an after-hours party at a house. She said she awoke early in the morning to Brown sexually assaulting her.

Brown said the sex was consensual.

Man soon caught after escape from Lincoln hospital, authorities say

DHHSLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say police soon captured a man who escaped from the state psychiatric hospital in Lincoln.

The Nebraska Health and Human Services Department says 22-year-old Christopher Torres Jr. hopped a fence and fled around 12:45 p.m. Thursday. He was caught within a few blocks about 15 minutes later and returned to the Lincoln Regional Center.

Department spokeswoman Julie Naughton said hospital staffers had Torres in sight the entire time.

Torres was sent to the hospital after a judge found him incompetent to stand trial in November. Prosecutors say Torres had used a knife to threaten a man after taking the man’s bicycle.

2 men arrested after cash, around 280 pounds of pot found

POT-BUSTLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two men were arrested after officers found around 280 pounds of marijuana and more than $60,000 in a vehicle after a traffic stop on the western edge of Lincoln.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy pulled over the van for several traffic violations around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 80. The office says the deputy smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle. A subsequent search uncovered the pot and the cash hidden throughout the vehicle.

The Sheriff’s Office says the marijuana has an estimated street value of $900,000.

The two men were arrested on suspicion of possession for sale and a related crime. Online court records don’t show Thursday that the two have been formally charged.

Denver FBI honors youth program partly funded by pot taxes

Colorado-MarijuanaDENVER (AP) — The Denver FBI has honored a youth dropout prevention group apparently without realizing it is partially funded with marijuana taxes.

Youth on Record Executive Director Jami Duffy mentioned the funding Thursday as she accepted the Director’s Community Leadership Award at Denver FBI headquarters.

She said the program that focuses on music received $75,000 in marijuana tax revenue last year and is expecting an additional $148,000 this year.

Colorado’s voter-approved marijuana industry is still illegal under federal law and faces uncertainty under new U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Asked about the funding, FBI spokeswoman Amy Sanders pointed to the corporations and foundations listed as donors on Youth on Record’s website . That list does not include the marijuana-based funding.

Man gets 22-25 years for teen’s Omaha crash death

Tyvinn Smith
Tyvinn Smith

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been imprisoned for the crash death of a teenage girl while he was driving drunk in Omaha.

A judge sentenced Tyvinn Smith to 22 to 25 years in prison Wednesday. Smith had pleaded no contest to vehicular homicide while driving drunk and to two related charges.

Prosecutors say Smith was speeding June 24 when he slammed into the back of a car on Sorensen Parkway around 10:45 p.m., killing 16-year-old Janis Brown and injuring two others. Prosecutors say Smith had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit and had cocaine and PCP in his system.

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