Local Wausau News

University of Wisconsin administrators have suspended the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at the school's flagship campus, saying members were found to have repeatedly used racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic slurs and ostracized a black student who tried to stop it.

WAUSAU (WAOW) - A 21-year-old man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Wednesday in a park near Hawthorn Hills Elementary School, police said.

Ministry Health Care's Spirit Medical Transportation is being recognized worldwide with a new top honor.

PHELPS (WAOW) - An autopsy was being performed Wednesday on a 47-year-old woman found dead on a walking trail near Phelps, the Vilas County Sheriff's Department said. 

(CNN)--The owner of discount retailers T-J Maxx, Marshalls, and Home-Goods plans to add thousands of stores.    TJX Companies CEO Ernie Herrman told investors Tuesday they'll eventually have 56-hundred stores -- up from its current 37-hundred.    TJX  reported strong sales growth in the first quarter.    Sales at stores opened for at least a year rose 7%.    Herrman did not give a timeline for the new store openings.   &...

WAUSAU (WAOW)-- Kip is our Lincoln County Petsaver for Wednesday. He is 1 1/2 years old. His adoption fee of $50  is reduced because he has been at the shelter for a couple of months-- and volunteers hope to get him into a loving home. They say he is good with people of all ages, but he is a very strong, muscular dog so a home without younger children would  be best. He knows commands like sit, down and shake! For more information contact the Lincoln Co. Humane Soc...

(CNN)-- Scientists claim an important milestone in the fight against the Zika virus.    Researchers at the University of Texas say they have successfully cloned Zika.    This will allow scientists to study the virus and the damage it causes, as well as help in developing a vaccine.    Zika has caused panic across north and south america.   The virus has been linked to a birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small he...

 LOS ANGELES (AP) -- O.J. Simpson's former attorney Robert Shapiro says there's a "strong possibility" that the person who killed Simpson's ex-wife and her friend has never faced trial.    In an interview with Megyn Kelly broadcast Tuesday night on Fox, Shapiro says he thinks evidence shows it's possible that more than one person was involved in the 1994 killings of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman.    Shapiro also tells Kelly that Simpson...

 (CNN)--   Mount Saint Helens erupted 36-years ago today.       The volcano spewed 900-thousand tons of hot ash over Washington state.       The eruption blew off more than a-thousand feet from the top of the mountain, leaving a huge crater.       The hot ash caused major forest fires and melted the mountain's snow cap killing 57 people.       The eruption caused more than one billion dollars...

A new poll finds that Americans feel a whole lot better about their own situations than the economy as a whole in this election year.

A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling has dealt Gov. Scott Walker a loss, upholding a ruling that keeps the state education secretary independent.

A Texas school district says no one will face punishment after video surfaced of high school students using a cat's intestines as a jump rope during a lesson. 

(ABC) -- A dash cam camera in an Anchorage police cruiser caught dramatic video of an officer and four citizens rescuing a man whose arm was trapped under a burning sport utility vehicle. 

More than 2,000 customers were without power early Wednesday morning.

(ABC) -- The head of the Transportation Security Administration today apologized for hours-long lines in Chicago that left hundreds of passengers stranded overnight, many sleeping on cots at O'Hare International Airport earlier this week. 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Scripps National Spelling Bee will have a new host for its ESPN telecast: "SportsCenter" anchor Kevin Negandhi. 

Police in Hawaii are looking for cat burglars who absconded with six dogs from a Humane Society shelter. 

Maine's highest court has upheld the escape conviction of a woman who tried to avoid arrest by telling police that she needed to put on a bra before going to jail. 

Pacific Cycle Inc. of Madison is recalling thousands of infant bicycle helmets.

Tuesday, May 17th Sports Report: Track: Wisconsin Valley Conference: SPASH wins both boys and girls Records Broken:     -Girls 400 m Dash - record: 56.80 (Suzy Favor-Hamilton)       Brooke Jaworski  - Wausau West new record: 56.60     -Boys 300 m Hurdles - record: 38.75       Tyler Patoka - Stevens Point new record: 38.71     -Girls 200 m Dash - record 25.27       Grace Hartman - Wisconsin Rapids...