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Lincoln attorney sees law license suspended for 2 years

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a Lincoln attorney for two years after finding he violated numerous rules of conduct.

Tobin Wolfe’s license had already been temporarily suspended in November after 10 of his clients filed complaints ranging from failing to communicate with clients and failing to diligently complete work to failing to properly account for legal fees. The high court’s Counsel for Discipline says when it contacted Wolfe about the allegations, he didn’t respond for approximately eight months.

Wolfe presented evidence that he suffered a major depressive episode that played a significant role in his conduct.

After his suspension, Wolfe can seek to be reinstated, but must undergo two years of supervision upon readmission.

Wolfe could not be reached for comment Friday.

Congressmen question Google over kids’ privacy on YouTube

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Two members of Congress are calling on Google to address concerns that YouTube might violate children’s privacy.

Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican, sent a letter this week to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking for more details about how the service collects data.

Their letter comes months after privacy advocates filed a complaint about YouTube with the Federal Trade Commission. The April complaint alleged that YouTube violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, which bans kid-oriented websites from collecting personal information from children under 13 without their parents’ consent.

The FTC hasn’t said if an investigation has been opened. It declined comment Friday.

Google says YouTube isn’t for children under 13, which is why it created a separate app for them, YouTube Kids. The company said in a statement Friday that it will work with the lawmakers to answer their questions.

Advocacy groups have argued that YouTube, despite official terms of service stating it’s not for kids under 13, has long looked the other way as millions of toddlers, preschoolers and preteens spend hours watching popular content on it that’s geared to them. Its business model relies on tracking IP addresses, search history, device identifiers, location and other personal data about its users so that it can gauge their interests and tailor advertising to them. But the 1998 federal law prohibits internet companies from knowingly collecting such personal data from kids without parents’ permission.

While the YouTube Kids apps provides stronger parental filtering options and privacy protections, it’s not as widely used as the regular service, where the same videos and channels can be found.

Advocacy groups said they hope the congressional attention will push the FTC to act.

“It’s great to have representatives asking these questions about Google because FTC’s investigations are all done in private and we never know what’s going on,” said Josh Golin, director of the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, one of the groups that filed the complaint. “There is concern the FTC has not been aggressive in enforcing COPPA.”

Ex-Omaha Tribal Council member gets 5 years of probation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Omaha Tribal Council member has been sentenced to five years of probation and told to pay more than $13,000 in restitution for misusing federal funds.

Court records say Forrest Aldrich was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He’d pleaded guilty in June to misapplication of health care benefit program funds. Other federal charges were dropped in exchange for his plea. The records show he’s already repaid more than $4,000.

Aldrich was one of nine tribal officials accused of misusing federal funds by awarding themselves nearly $389,000 in bonuses. Officials say the bonuses were paid from Indian Health Service funds meant to provide health care to members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska who reside on the Omaha Reservation in Macy in northeastern Nebraska and in western Iowa.

Georgia, Texas men charged in Nebraska marijuana case

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two men found with hundreds of pounds of marijuana in their rental truck have been charged in Nebraska.

Lancaster County Court records say 30-year-old Brandon Arrington, of McDonough, Georgia, and 49-year-old Edward Babb, of Houston, are both charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver.

Both men are scheduled for an Oct. 11 hearing. The records don’t list the names of attorneys who could comment for the men, who are being held on $250,000 bail.

Court records say a Lancaster County sheriff’s deputy stopped the men’s truck Tuesday on Interstate 80 in Lincoln after seeing it cross onto the shoulder.

The records say the deputy’s K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs, and a search of the truck turned up 645 pounds (293 kilograms) of pot.

WWII rocket, grenade found in Nebraska destroyed

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says its hazardous device technicians have destroyed a World War II-era rocket and grenade found this week in south-central and southeastern Nebraska.

The patrol says the first device — a rocket — was found by the owners of a farm near Odell while cleaning out an out-building. The grenade was found in Hastings by workers at Hastings City Iron and Metal. Both devices were found on Wednesday.

The patrol says technicians rendered each device safe by use of a counter charge. X-ray examination was unable to determine whether the devices contained explosive filler, so both were treated as live explosives.

Meadow Grove man killed in a northeastern Nebraska crash

WAYNE, Neb. (AP) — A northeastern man has died in a three-vehicle crash near Wayne.

The Sioux City Journal reports that the crash happened about 2 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 35 about four miles west of Wayne.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says three vehicles collided, causing two vehicles to leave the road. One of the vehicles overturned in a ditch, and both of its occupants were ejected.

Officials say 40-year-old Corey Raatz, of Meadow Grove, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Trial set for man accused of killing of Lincoln woman

Aubrey Trail
WILBER, Neb. (AP) — Trial has been set for next year for a man charged in the death and dismemberment of a Lincoln woman.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 52-year-old Aubrey Trail was in a Saline County courtroom Thursday, where a judge set his first-degree murder trial for June. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Trail.

He is accused of strangling 24-year-old Sydney Loofe in November. Prosecutors say Trail and an accused accomplice, 24-year-old Bailey Boswell, then dismembered Loofe’s body, stuffed her remains in trash bags and dump the remains in rural Clay County.

Boswell also faces a first-degree murder charge and a possible death sentence.

Loofe was reported missing a day after she went on a date with Boswell. Her remains were found Dec. 4.

Nebraska girl killed, 6 others injured in Missouri crash

BOLIVAR, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old girl was killed and two of her brothers were seriously injured when a car carrying seven family members from Nebraska overturned in Missouri.

The one-car accident occurred early Tuesday on Missouri 13 in Bolivar. The Lincoln Journal-Star reports the family’s youngest child, 11-year-old Eliza Bakirane, died at the scene.

Bolivar police say the car, driven by 40-year-old Maria Borland of Lincoln, Nebraska, went off the side of the road, over-corrected and lost traction on dirt and gravel due to construction. The vehicle then overturned several times before coming to rest on its wheels.

Borland’s two sons were thrown from the vehicle and were eventually flown to a hospital in St. Louis. The others in the vehicle were taken to a Springfield hospital.

Authorities say 2 people died after Adams County collision

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say two people have died after a collision in south-central Nebraska’s Adams County.

The accident occurred around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, south of Hastings. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says a westbound vehicle driven by 18-year-old Parker Short collided at an intersection with a northbound vehicle driven by 20-year-old Isaiah Zapata. They and one of Zapata’s passengers were hospitalized.

The sheriff’s office says two other passengers in Zapata’s vehicle died at a Grand Island hospital: Jessica Guerrero, of Lexington, and Jose Martinez, of Grand Island. Both were 19 years old.

The collision is being investigated. The sheriff’s office says witnesses report that Short ran a stop sign.

Hall County authorities say woman died in airboat accident

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an airboat accident on the Platte River killed a Grand Island woman.

The accident happened Sunday afternoon about 5 miles south of Grand Island on the river’s south channel.

Hall County Chief Deputy Sheriff Quinn Webb said 48-year-old Beverly Andrews was one of five passengers tossed off the boat driven by 69-year-old Charles Encinger, of Grand Island. Andrews was pinned under the airboat after it struck the south bank and flipped. She was pronounced dead at a Grand Island hospital.

The accident is being investigated by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.

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