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Group seeks to expand Omaha smoking ban outdoors

no-smokingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An anti-smoking group behind Omaha’s indoor smoking ban passed in 2006 is commemorating the ordinance’s 10-year anniversary by calling for the ban to expand to the outdoors.

The group, GASP, announced at a news conference Friday that it seeks to have smoking banned in all of Omaha’s city parks and other outdoor city property.

In a written release, the group says it wants the outdoor ban “to protect children not only from breathing secondhand smoke, but from seeing people smoking or spitting tobacco, because children copy what they see adults do.”

The group pointed to an Iowa law that requires some outdoor events like concerts to be smoke-free.

NSP seizes 22 pounds of cocaine, 8 pounds of meth in traffic stop

METHA traffic stop for speeding on Interstate 80 near Beaver Crossing led to the seizure of cocaine and methamphetamine.

Just after 3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 23, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2016 Chevy Suburban for speeding near the Beaver Crossing exit on I-80. A Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) Police Service Dog (PSD) indicated to the odor of drugs coming from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 22.7 lbs. of cocaine, and 7.9 lbs. of methamphetamine. The drugs were located in an altered compartment near the rear of the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, Yasmin Moya (F), 30, of Ogden, Utah and two passengers, Manuel Lopez (M), 55, of Ogden, Utah and Marcos Anzaldo Elenes (M), 40, of Ogden, Utah were each lodged in the Seward County Jail on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver.

Two female children in the vehicle were placed in protective custody with the Department of Health and Human Services.

Caretaker found guilty in Omaha girl’s death from the cold

Chelsey Cook
Chelsey Cook

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The caretaker for an Omaha 4-year-old whose cold, plastic-wrapped body was found hidden under basement stairs has been found guilty of intentional child abuse resulting in the girl’s death.

On Friday Judge Greg Schatz convicted 22-year-old Chelsey Cook after a three-day, nonjury trial. Cook faces up to 20 years in prison when she’s sentenced Aug. 9.

Prosecutors say Cook knew that the girl, Alicia Morrow, needed medical attention but did not call 911 because there was a warrant out for her arrest. An autopsy showed the girl died of hypothermia at Cook’s home in January.

Alicia’s mother, Lakisha Morrow, said Cook offered to care for Alicia when Morrow was homeless

Omaha man gets 71 years in federal prison for robbery string

Emmanuel Chaplain
Emmanuel Chaplain

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been sentenced to 71 years in federal prison in connection with seven robberies in the summer of 2014.

26-year-old Emmanuel Chaplain was found guilty in March of seven counts of interference with commerce by means of robbery, three counts of using or possessing a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Chaplain to 14 years for the robberies and another 57 years on the gun charges.

Chaplain used a firearm during three of the seven robberies. Forensic evidence showed a bandana in a car that Chaplain was riding in on June 23 matched his DNA. Police also found video game boxes at a store with Chaplain’s fingerprints on them.

Stolen snakes have been returned, Omaha pet store owner says

odd-newsOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha pet store owner says his stolen snakes have been returned.

Don Everson said Thursday that the eight ball pythons all seemed to be in good health. They and several frozen rats were taken from his store last Friday. The loss was estimated at around $18,000.

Everson told police he thought he recognized the thief on security video. The man lives in Harlan, Iowa, and had visited the store several times over the past six months. Officers went to see the man, which led to the snakes’ return.

The man’s name hasn’t been released. It’s unclear whether he’s been charged.

Marines: Identities of Iwo Jima flag raisers were mistaken

Joe Rosenthal VINTAGE WWII Iwo Jima Flag Raising Pulizter Prize RARE Press Photo (www.antiquesnavigator.com)
Joe Rosenthal VINTAGE WWII Iwo Jima Flag Raising Pulizter Prize RARE Press Photo (www.antiquesnavigator.com)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Marine Corps says one of the six men long identified in an iconic World War II photograph showing the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima was actually not in the image.

The Marines announced Thursday that an investigation launched after questions were raised by two amateur historians determined that a previously unknown Marine was in the picture shot by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal during a horrific battle on the tiny island.

A panel found that Private First Class Harold Schultz, of Detroit, was in the photo and that Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class John Bradley wasn’t in the image. Bradley had participated in an earlier flag-raising on Mount Suribachi.

The Marines began a review after being contacted by researchers working on a Smithsonian Channel documentary.

Nebraska boy pulled residential lake has died, officials say

douglas-county-sheriffWATERLOO, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County authorities say a 3-year-old Waterloo boy has died after being pulled from under a dock at a housing development lake last weekend.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday that Aspen Seemann was taken to Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha shortly after he was taken from the water Saturday at West Shores Lake. A deputy who’d been dispatched around 3 p.m. saw the boy was lying on the beach and that resuscitation efforts were underway.

The 203-acre lake and surrounding development are situated about a mile southwest of Waterloo.

The news release didn’t say when Aspen died. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

The incident is being investigated.

5 injured in firetruck-SUV collision, Omaha authorities say

OMAHA-FIRE-AND-RESCUE-BADGEOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Five people have been injured in a downtown Omaha collision between a firetruck and a sport utility vehicle.

Authorities say the lights were flashing and siren blaring on the northbound firetruck around 10:35 a.m. Wednesday as firefighters responded to an emergency call. But their truck collided with an eastbound SUV at an intersection and ended up crashing into the side of an art gallery building.

Four firefighters and the SUV driver, 40-year-old Jason Sauvain, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, were taken to Creighton University Medical Center for treatment of what turned out to be minor injuries. No one in the building was injured.

Turbine malfunction takes Nebraska nuke plant offline

fort-calhoun-dryFORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s public power utility says its nuclear power plant in eastern Nebraska has been temporarily taken offline for a minor malfunction.

Omaha Public Power District says in a written release that the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station north of Omaha was taken offline Tuesday morning when a turbine tripped.

The utility says the system responded as designed by automatically shutting down the reactor without incident. The utility says the plant is safe and there were no injuries.

Operators are analyzing the cause of the situation, focusing on the speed and power controls of the turbine. Crews are working to resolve the issue and restore the unit to service.

The utility announced earlier this month that it would close the nuclear power plant by the end of the year.

Officials believe they’ve captured alligator that killed boy

Google Maps
Google Maps

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Florida wildlife officials believe they’ve captured the alligator that dragged a 2-year-old Nebraska boy into the Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a news release Wednesday that it has suspended alligator trapping activities in the area. The release says officials have based their conclusions on expert analyses and observations by staff with extensive experience in investigating fatal alligator bites. A total of six alligators were removed.

Authorities say an alligator pulled Lane Graves into the water June 14, despite the frantic efforts of his father. Lane’s body was recovered the next day. An autopsy showed the boy died from drowning and traumatic injuries.

The beach at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa is across a lake from the Magic Kingdom.

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