(AP) — A 52-year-old Iowa man has been arrested, accused of stealing dozens of brass vases from an eastern Nebraska cemetery.
Gary L. Hostetter, of Carter Lake, Iowa, is accused of stealing the vases from Fremont Memorial Cemetery last month. He was arrested on Friday.
Dodge County Jail records say Hostetter remained in custody on Tuesday. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.
(AP) — The opening months of Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry have seen a rise in fiery explosions as pot users try to extract potent oil from the drug at home laboratories.
Hospital officials say more people are being seriously burned and injured trying to make hash oil.
The golden concoction can be up to 80 percent THC, marijuana’s intoxicating chemical. Devotees say one or two drops can produce a more euphotic high than a joint.
But home cooking is dangerous. Authorities who track explosions in Colorado say there have been at least 31 since legal sales started in January, up from 11 last year.
The state’s only certified adult burn center has treated 10 people for second and third-degree burns.
HALLAM, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the suspicious death of a 44-year-old Hallam woman.
Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says Michelle “Shelly” Kover-Weaver was found dead in a bedroom inside her home a little before 6 p.m. on Friday. Wagner says her body was found after her children and her friend who had picked up the children from school had gotten to the home.
Authorities have ruled out suicide, and Wagner says there was no sign that someone broke into the home. Investigators are awaiting autopsy results. Wagner also says investigators don’t believe Kover-Weaver’s death was natural.
(AP) — City crews spent the day at an Omaha park, cleaning up a giant mess that was scattered throughout the park.
Cups, plates, leftover food, raw meat and empty liquor bottles were among the items found Monday morning at Benson Park.
Omaha Parks and Recreation Director Brook Bench says it’s the worst littering he’s seen in 20 years spent working at the department.
Bench says there are 50 litter cans in the park and all were empty.
The mess was especially disheartening for city workers because it followed an effort to spruce up the park.
It took workers much of the day to pick up the trash and disinfect tables and grills that had been contaminated with raw meat.
(AP) — Authorities say a man in the Douglas County jail facing child pornography charges has died.
County officials say staff noticed at about 3:30 a.m. Monday that inmate Daniel Clement appeared to be unresponsive in his single-cell room. Officers called for medical help and responders tried to revive Clement, but he was declared dead.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has begun an investigation into the death, as required by state law.
The 53-year-old Clement had been in the jail since Wednesday. He was facing six charges related to possession of child pornography.
(AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court decision not to review Fremont’s immigration ordinance could open the door to similar city rules in Nebraska and other states.
The justices on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that found the ordinance doesn’t discriminate against Latinos or interfere with federal immigration laws.
Attorney Kris Kobach, who defended the ordinance, says the decision gives a “bright green light” for other cities within the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The circuit includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.
Fremont resident Virginia Meyer, who led an unsuccessful repeal effort, says the ordinance has proven divisive and painted the city in a negative light.
The high court has rejected attempts by towns in Pennsylvania and Texas to revive similar ordinances struck down by lower courts.
(AP) — Omaha police say a motorist was beaten after stopping at the scene of an accident in which a motorcyclist collided with his car.
22-year-old Eric O. Sandoval, of Omaha, stopped Sunday night after a motorcycle operated by 26-year-old Daryll J. Woods Jr., struck his car.
Police says Sandoval stopped to help Woods but left for his home when a crowd formed and began threatening him. He then returned to the crash site and was attacked before police arrived.
Police say he suffered facial bruises.
Woods broke an arm and his left leg.
Police say they arrested two 30-year-old men. Both were charged with misdemeanor assault and disturbing the peace. One also was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
(AP) — Coca-Cola says it will drop a controversial ingredient from a variety of its drinks, not just Powerade.
The Atlanta-based company says brominated vegetable oil is still being used in some flavors of Fanta and Fresca, as well as several citrus-flavored fountain drinks.
The ingredient — which Coca-Cola says prevents certain ingredients from separating — had been the target of a petition by a Mississippi teenager. The ingredient will be replaced with others that fill the same function.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that Coca-Cola is dropping BVO from Powerade, following a similar move by PepsiCo’s Gatorade last year.
Although companies stand by the safety of BVO, they say such changes are in response to customer feedback. Several companies have changed recipes as people look for foods they feel are natural.
(AP) — Newly released court documents are revealing details about the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl and the killings of her mother, brother and sister in southern Colorado.
A sex offender from Indiana, Jaacob Vanwinkle, is charged in the March 9 sexual assault and triple slaying in Canon City.
An arrest affidavit released Friday, reports that the 16-year-old girl says she was able to flee her home after Vanwinkle assaulted her for the second time because he passed out after taking some of her mother’s pills.
She told authorities her family members were tied up in the garage, but officers found their bodies in a bedroom in the house. Investigators say Vanwinkle, who was living with the family, was found in another bedroom and arrested.
(AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett says he’s confident that the man who eventually succeeds him as Berkshire Hathaway’s chief executive will have the right skills for the job.
Buffett talked about the future of the conglomerate he has built Monday during an interview on CNBC.
The 83-year-old Buffett doesn’t intend to retire, but Berkshire plans to eventually replace him by splitting his job into three parts: chief executive, chairman and investment management.
Buffett says one of the key advantages of Berkshire is the fact that money can be shifted between its 80-odd subsidiaries or invested elsewhere to generate the best returns.
He is regarded as one of the best at deciding where capital should be used, but he says Berkshire’s board won’t pick a CEO that isn’t terrific at allocating capital.
