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Police Say 2 Men Injured After Shooting in Omaha

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say two men fought each other prior to a shooting in Omaha.

Officer Michael Pecha says authorities received a call about a shooting around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Officers found a man with at least one gunshot wound.

The 35-year-old man told police he was fighting with another man. He says the suspect shot him while the two struggled.

The injured man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition but he is expected to recover. Police say they later located the shooter. He also was injured and hospitalized, though additional information is not available.

Pecha says the suspect faces charges once he is released from the hospital.

Michigan Man, 94, Accused of Sexual Assault in Wyoming Dies

William Bricker
William Bricker

GLEN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A lawyer says a 94-year-old Michigan man accused of sexually assaulting children decades ago in Wyoming has died.

Anders Gillis tells The Associated Press that William Bricker died Friday at his home in Glen Arbor, northwest of Traverse City, where he was in extremely poor health and under hospice care.

Bricker died a day after a doctor tried to determine if he was mentally competent to understand that Wyoming was trying to extradite him. He was charged in that state with sexually assaulting children at a Teton County, Wyoming, camp in 1962, 1968 and 1985.

Gillis says Bricker denied the charges when he was healthy enough to communicate with his lawyers. Bricker also was a teacher in Winnetka, Illinois.

Family Has Questions About Nebraska Inmate’s Death

tecumseh-correctional
Tecumseh State Prison

TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — Family members of a Nebraska inmate found dead in his prison cell last year say they have more questions than answers following a grand jury investigation into the death.

Patrick Howley died July 27 after being found unresponsive in his cell at the Tecumseh state prison.

State law requires a grand jury investigation of all in-custody deaths. But, by law, information that goes before a grand jury remains secret.

Howley’s father said someone who called him from the prison on July 27 said the younger Howley had been found with a plastic bag over his head and had committed suicide.

But no one has told the family exactly how Howley died — even after a grand jury cleared prison officials of wrongdoing.

Omaha Foster Father Faces New Sexual Assault Charges

jailOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man accused of sexually assaulting his former foster daughter faces new charges involving another girl.

The 38-year-old man has been charged with two new counts of first-degree sexual assault, in addition to the five counts he already faced over accusations involving his former foster daughter.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Friday that another girl recently came forward saying the man has sexually assaulted her when she was a middle school student in 2009 and 2010. The girl is now 17.

In November, the man was charged with abusing his then-13-year-old foster daughter over a six-month period.

The man remains in jail and faces up to life in prison on each count if convicted..

California Man Busted with 22 Pounds of Pot Near Lincoln

POT-BUSTLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A California man is in jail after the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office found more than 22 pounds of marijuana in his car Friday morning following a traffic stop.

The 46-year-old man from Happy Camp, California, was pulled over on Interstate 80 near Lincoln by sheriff’s deputies.

Authorities say a police dog indicated the smell of drugs coming from the car. Officials say when they searched it, they found the marijuana sealed inside a large bag in the trunk.

Interstate Pileup Leaves Road Covered in 500 Pounds of Fries

odd-newsSALEM, S.D. (AP) — A six-vehicle pileup on Interstate 90 in South Dakota left the road covered in 500 pounds of McDonald’s french fries.

Emergency personnel in McCook County in the southeast part of the state spent Friday morning removing the fries from the road.

Emergency Manager Brad Stiefvater says the vehicles collided near Salem due to zero-visibility conditions on the interstate due to snow. No one was injured.

One of the vehicles involved was a semi carrying a load of McDonald’s french fries.

Emergency Manager Brad Stiefvater says crews had to use a plow to remove fries that spilled onto the road.

Gov. Ricketts Asks for Moment of Silence in Legislative Aide’s Death

lincoln-policeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts asked for a moment of silence before his inaugural speech after authorities say a 36-year-old legislative aide died in a fall from an apartment building this week.

The man who worked for 15 years for the Nebraska Legislature was pronounced dead the scene on Thursday. Police say they are investigating his death as a suicide.

His family said in a statement that he struggled with depression and a bipolar disorder as an adult. Their statement said that if anything positive can come from his tragic death, then he would want to raise awareness for mental illness and those who struggle with it.

Ricketts was sworn into office as the 40th governor of Nebraska on Thursday.

Geneva Man Dies After Pickup Crashes in Southern Nebraska

clay-county-sheriffSUTTON, Neb. (AP) — A 48-year-old man has died after the pickup he was driving crashed off a highway in southern Nebraska.

Clay County Sheriff Jeff Franklin says the crash was reported around 9:30 Wednesday night. Franklin says a passer-by noticed the wrecked truck in a field that bordered Nebraska Highway 41 south of Sutton.

Franklin says it appears the pickup was headed west on the highway when it went into a ditch. The driver overcorrected, and his truck ran off into the ditch on the other side and went airborne before landing and rolling.

The driver was ejected. Franklin identified him as Jerry Lane, of Geneva.

Lincoln Superintendent Changes Approach to Snow Days

Football Snow Super BowlLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln school superintendent has changed his approach to giving students a day off because of bad weather.

Steve Joel told staffers and parents when he started his Lincoln job in 2010 that he wouldn’t call a snow day based solely on forecasts. But that’s what he did for Wednesday, because weather experts warned Tuesday of dangerously low wind chills ahead.

Joel says he’s realized that a surprising number of students walk to school. And given that more than 40 percent of them come from poor families, they may not have the right clothing to handle wind chills that can cause frostbite on uncovered skin within a few minutes.

Joel also says he thinks meteorologists and their equipment have become more accurate.

Trooper Injured in Collision on Southwest Side of Lincoln

state-patrolLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state trooper has been injured in a collision on the southwest side of Lincoln.

Authorities say the accident occurred about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said the trooper was headed north on U.S. Highway 77 when his cruiser struck a vehicle that was turning east off the highway onto Old Cheney Road.

Wagner says the trooper was released after treatment at a Lincoln hospital. The other driver wasn’t hurt but was cited for careless driving.

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