Green Bay News

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian maker of the Buk air defense missile system said Tuesday that it has concluded that Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was downed by an older version of the missile, which isn’t in service with the Russian military but is in Ukrainian arsenals.

Controversy continues over who shot down the plane last summer over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard. Ukraine and the West suspect it was destroyed by a Russian surface-to-air missile fired by Russian soldiers or Russia-backed separatist rebels fighting in the area. Russia denies that.

Mikhail Malyshevsky, an adviser to the director general of the missile maker, state-controlled Almaz-Antei consortium, said at a news conference Tuesday that its analysis was based on photographs of the wreckage available to the public. He said the holes in the plane’s parts were consistent with a specific type of Buk missile and its warhead.

Each of the Buk subtypes has its warhead rigged with shrapnel of a specific shape. This variation of the missile is in the Ukrainian military arsenals, but not in the Russian, said Almaz-Antei director Yan Novikov.

Novikov said that in 2005 when Ukraine contacted the consortium regarding the maintenance of its Buk systems, it had 991 such missiles.

Rebels have staunchly denied even possessing a functioning Buk missile launcher at the time that MH17 was brought down, although one was seen in separatist-controlled Snizhne by AP reporters a few hours before the plane crashed.

Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznev was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying Tuesday that photos and video materials at the time documented the presence of a Buk on the rebel-held territory.

Novikov and Malyshevsky said that the company’s analysis of shrapnel impact on the plane’s fragments allowed it to pinpoint the location of the missile launcher, which they said was placed near the town of Zaroshenske. A missile launched from Snizhne would have incurred different damage, they said.

The Almaz-Antei officials stopped short of directly blaming Ukraine for shooting down the plane, but their statements hinted at that.

A spokesman for the Dutch Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, declined to comment on the consortium’s statement. The Dutch report is expected in October.

___

Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.

MADISON (AP) – A final tally shows a tornado that struck the UW-Platteville campus nearly a year ago caused $18.6 million in damage.

The school released the final damage numbers on Tuesday.

The tornado hit the campus on June 16, 2014, breaking windows, destroying roofs, downing trees and bending light towers at the sports stadium. The twister caused $7.3 million in damage to Bridgeway Commons, $4.8 million in damage to Rountree Commons and $1.8 million to Southwest Hall. All three buildings are dorms.

The tornado caused $1.8 million in damage to Engineering Hall, a classroom building, and $1.7 million in damage to the stadium.

The university plans to mark the one-year anniversary of the tornado with a free gallery exhibit in Ullsvik Hall on June 16.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – As the Wisconsin Legislature’s health committees prepare to take up a fast-tracked bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, an expert says the measure could prompt more early terminations.

Under the bill, which is slated for a joint public hearing Tuesday, doctors who perform an abortion after 20 weeks in non-emergency situations could be charged with a felony and subject to up to $10,000 in fines or 3½ years in prison.

As written, it doesn’t provide an exception for pregnancies due to rape or incest. The bill also requires that physicians performing abortions in situations in which the mother’s life is in danger do so in a way most likely to ensure the child’s survival.

Dr. Steven Leuthner, professor of pediatrics and bioethics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said some diagnoses of life-limiting conditions aren’t completely reliable before the 20-week mark. Faced with a stricter timeline to legally obtain an abortion, more women may choose to end a pregnancy that could have been carried to term instead of obtaining additional fetus monitoring and physician counseling, he said.

“I think it could backfire and lead to more terminations,” Leuthner said, adding that women in rural areas might have trouble accessing fetal screening and specialists before 20 weeks. “There might be more abortions due to worse counseling.”

Meanwhile, other conditions may not present symptoms before the 20-week mark, Leuthner said, which would mean women would have to carry the baby to term.

“That’s a very big psychological burden,” Leuthner said. “Simply living day to day with a baby potentially dying inside them, that’s very psychologically damaging.”

Julaine Appling, president of the conservative group Wisconsin Family Action, said concerns similar to Leuthner’s haven’t been borne out in states that passed similar measures.

“It’s not an argument I’ve heard that has legs to stand on,” Appling said. “I just don’t see anything that corroborates his position.”

Ten states have passed 20-week bans, according to the reproductive health think-tank Guttmacher Institute, which depart from the 22-24 week standard of a fetus’ viability outside the womb established by the Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.

According to the most recent information from the state Department of Health Services, roughly 1 percent of abortions in Wisconsin in 2013 occurred after the 20-week mark – 89 of nearly 6,500 abortions performed that year.

The bill’s co-authors Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, and Senate President Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, say the bill is aimed at reducing pain in unborn children. They didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

While some doctors contend fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says evidence suggests that’s not possible until the third trimester begins at 27 weeks.

Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he’ll sign the bill whether or not it has provisions for pregnancies conceived from rape and incest.

Did you see the moon overnight or early this morning?

This is called the strawberry moon. The name does not come from the reddish color. Instead, the name comes from the fact that it appears so close to strawberry-picking season.

• Click here to see photos of the moon from this week’s ReportIt photo gallery

GREEN BAY – Need an idea for lunch?  And you need it fast?  Lombardi’s Legendary Sports Bar and Grill inside the Oneida Casino offers an Express Lunch during the week.  executive Chef Ken Hall showed us how they prepare two of the menu items: Steak & Mushroom Pizza and Chicken Parmesan Sliders.

Lombardi’s is also hosting a Beer Dinner on June 6th.  It’s a four course dinner featuring Stillmank Beer. Tickets are $40.

RECIPES

Chicken Parmesan Sliders

Chicken tender 2 ea
Slider bun 2 ea
Provolone cheese 1 slice
Marinara sauce 2 Tbls
Parmesan cheese 2 Tbls
Fries 6 oz
Garlic butter 1 Tbls

Step 1. Place chicken tenders in the fryer and cook until golden and cooked to 165.

Step 2. Brush slider buns with garlic butter and toast on the flat top.

Step 3. Remove tenders and drain well, place on sizzler, top with cheese and melt.

Step 4. Place one on each bun, top with marinara sauce,place on top and pick.

Step 5. Serve on a dinner plate with fries.

Steak and Mushroom Pizza  

Pita 1 ea
Marinara sauce 2 oz
Grated cheese 2 oz
Steak bites 3 oz
Saute mushrooms 1 oz
Parmesan cheese 1 Tbls
Crispy onions 2 Tbls

Step 1. Take pita and spread marinara evenly.

Step 2. Top with half the cheese.

Step 3. Place on the steak and mushrooms.

Step 4. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Step 5. Place in a 375 degree oven for 6-7 minutes until lightly browned and heated.

Step 6. Cut in to 8 pieces, place on a dinner plate

Step 7. Top with crispy onions.

GREEN BAY –   Tens of thousands will take part in this year’s Bellin Run.  The folks at Bellin Health want to make sure they make it through the 10K with the fewest aches and pains possible. Running expert Nate Vandervest and and physical therapist Lisa Reinke took Rachel Manek through the process of a video running assessment.   They joined her on Good Day Wisconsin to talk about the benefits of the technology.

The first step is the “Video Gait Assessment”.  A runner is videotaped by high-speed cameras that evaluates a runners stride. The cameras capture front, side, and back views.  Experts can use the video to identify the runners strengths and weaknesses.  The assessment is followed up with a sit-down analysis and exercises.  Runner will leave with written explanations and photos.

Continued physical therapy, personal training sessions and on-site movement training are all options following the initial assessment.

**2015 Bellin runners will get a half-off coupon in their online goody bag

To schedule a gait analysis, call (920) 430-4770 or (920) 430-4730.

The 2015 Bellin Run takes place Saturday, June 13th at 8am.

Green Bay – Brown County is home to some unique homes and buildings. Now the Neville Public Museum is showcasing some of area’s architectural history.

Executive Director Beth Lemke took us through the new “Building Our Community” exhibit Tuesday morning.

Click here for more information on this and other exhibits at the Neville Museum.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Adrian Peterson is returning to the Minnesota Vikings, and the star running back tells The Associated Press that he hasn’t lost his love for the team.

Peterson sent an e-mail to the AP early Tuesday morning saying he’s excited to put on a uniform again after missing the final 15 games of last season while addressing child abuse charges in Texas. The Vikings open their second set of three voluntary practices on Tuesday.

Peterson skipped all three practices last week. He tells the AP that he had a family commitment that caused him to be absent. But he tweeted last week that he was looking for more long-term security. He tells the AP that “it’s normal procedure for any player in my position to want to secure his future.”

PLOVER, Wis. (AP) – Golden County Foods has notified the state it plans to terminate more than 400 workers as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, but that there’s a good chance those employees will be rehired by a new owner.

The Plover company recently reached a preliminary agreement to sell its assets to Monogram Appetizers. The sale must be approved by a bankruptcy judge.

In a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the company says it believes the sale will preserve the jobs of its 432 employees.

Stevens Point Journal Media (http://spjour.nl/1BGFwwO ) says Golden County Foods was founded in 1991 and produces frozen appetizers and snacks. It filed for bankruptcy last month.

JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) – A Janesville woman is accused of her tenth drunken driving offense after police say she was too intoxicated to perform a field sobriety test.

Officers were dispatched to a residence after a caller reported an “unwanted intoxicated subject” Monday evening. By the time they arrived, the 47-year-old woman had left.

Police later got another call about a belligerent, intoxicated woman lying outside her vehicle. WKOW-TV says officers took the woman to a hospital because of her level of intoxication.

The woman was also cited for driving after revocation.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday morning on his broken leg at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The State Department said in a statement late Monday night that prior to the surgery, Kerry will participate by telephone in an international gathering to combat the Islamic State in Paris.

Kerry suffered the injury in a bike accident Sunday, when he struck a curb and fell on a regular Tour de France route located southeast of Geneva. He returned to Boston Monday for the surgery.

Kerry had planned to travel to Madrid on Sunday for meetings with Spain’s king and prime minister, and then spend two days in Paris for the meeting on the Islamic State.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate now will decide the fate of a House bill backed by the president that would end the National Security Agency’s collection of American calling records while preserving other surveillance authorities.

But whatever the outcome of a scheduled Tuesday vote, the last two days in Congress have made this much clear: The NSA will ultimately be out of the business of collecting and storing American calling records.

While Congress debated, the law authorizing the collection expired at midnight Sunday. The NSA stopped gathering the records from phone companies hours before the deadline. Other post-9/11 surveillance provisions considered more effective than the phone-data collection program also lapsed, leading intelligence officials to warn of critical gaps.

The bill before the Senate, known as the USA Freedom Act, would reauthorize the surveillance, but would phase out NSA phone records collection over time. It passed the House overwhelmingly and is backed by President Barack Obama. Sen. Rand Paul, who doesn’t believe it goes far enough, objected Monday, for the second day in a row, to an attempt by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to call for an early vote. But Paul can’t stop the vote scheduled for Tuesday morning.

If it becomes law over the next few days, the NSA will resume gathering the phone records, but only for a transition period of six months, in the House version, or a year in the Senate version.

If the bill fails amid congressional politics, the collection cannot resume, period.

This turn of events is a resounding victory for Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who disclosed the calling records collection in 2013. Senators on the intelligence committee had been issuing veiled and vague warnings about the phone records program for years. If only Americans knew how the Patriot Act had been interpreted, the senators said, they would be outraged.

But it was Snowden who revealed the details. He’s now living in Moscow, having fled U.S. prosecution for disclosing classified information.

Because of Snowden, “people have some more insight into exactly how they are being spied upon and how the law has been twisted to authorize mass surveillance of people who have no connection to a crime or terrorism,” said Harley Geiger, senior counsel with the Center for Democracy and Technology, an advocacy group that supports the USA Freedom Act.

Still, the USA Freedom Act would hardly count as a defeat for the NSA, Snowden’s former employer. NSA officials, including former director Keith Alexander, have long said they had no problem with ending their collection of phone records, as long as they can continue to search the data held by the companies, which the legislation allows them to do.

The USA Freedom Act doesn’t address the vast majority of Snowden revelations, which concern NSA mass surveillance of global internet traffic that often sweeps in American communication.

Two former senior NSA officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they did not want to discuss the matter publicly, said that if the USA Freedom Act is the central congressional response to the Snowden revelations, the NSA will have emerged almost unscathed, at least legally.

If the freedom act fails and the surveillance provisions expire, that would be a blow to U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The legal lapse affected not only the NSA’s ability to collect domestic phone records in bulk. It also meant a halt in the FBI’s authority to gather business records in terrorism and espionage investigations, and to more easily eavesdrop on a suspect who is discarding cellphones to avoid surveillance.

“There are specific tools that our national security professionals have previously used … that they can as of today no longer use because of the partisan dysfunction in the United States Senate,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday.

The amendments proposed by Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the intelligence committee, were designed, he said, to win quick House approval. One requires the director of national intelligence to certify that the NSA can effectively search records held by the phone companies in terrorism investigations. Another would require the phone companies to notify the government if they change their policy on how long they held the records.

A third, to extend the transition from six months to 12 months, promises to be somewhat controversial. But lawmakers may face a choice between controversy and the continued expiration of laws used to hunt spies and terrorists.

On Monday afternoon, House backers of the USA Freedom Act denounced the Senate’s plan to amend it.

“These amendments only serve to weaken the House-passed bill and postpone timely enactment of legislation that responsibly protects national security while enhancing civil liberty protections,” said the statement by Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, who chairs the judiciary committee, and three other key members.

“The House is not likely to accept the changes proposed by Senator McConnell…These amendments will likely make that sunset permanent. The Senate must act quickly to pass the USA Freedom Act without amendment.”

Earnest said the White House, too, opposes adding any amendments in the Senate to the House-passed bill.

A senior member of the House GOP leadership, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, said the best course would be for the Senate to approve the measure as written. But he pointedly did not rule out revisions.

“I don’t know what the Senate could do. They said a lot of things,” he told reporters.

DE PERE – A new business in De Pere is capturing special moments in 3D.

Avatarium 3D held its grand opening in May.

The business uses advanced technology to 3D photo sculptures, busts and figurines.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the checking out the process.

For more information on Avatarium 3D, click here.

It’s another chilly morning, but things are warming up.

Tuesday’s high will be near 70 with sunny skies.

Expect a high of 75 on Wednesday with more sunshine.

Click here for Director of Meteorology Pete Petoniak’s full forecast.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Mike Fiers and four relievers combined on an eight-hitter and Carlos Gomez had a first-inning RBI single in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Fiers (2-5) allowed four hits in six innings, one shy of his season high, and won for the first time in six starts since May 2 at Chicago.

Johnathan Broxton, Neal Cotts, James Jeffress and Francisco Rodriguez combined to allow four hits without walking a batter in Milwaukee’s fourth shutout of the season. Rodriguez finished for his ninth save.

The win comes a day after the Brewers beat Arizona in 17 innings.

Jaime Garcia (1-2) worked seven sterling innings and Kolten Wong and Mark Reynolds had two singles apiece for the Cardinals, shut out for the fifth time but first time at home where they’re among the best in the league at 20-7.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

APPLETON – As summer approaches, people are dressing for the warmer weather, but this can be a problem at schools where dress codes can conflict with fashion trends.

Two Appleton West High School students have started a petition to loosen the dress code, saying it’s aimed more at girls than boys, but school officials say the rules aren’t about gender.

Appleton West Sophomore Cailey Lambrecht told FOX 11 she got in trouble for wearing a tank top at school.

“Me and a bunch of other kids were threatened detention if we didn’t cover up. So I decided to try and change it,” Lambrecht explained.

Fellow sophomore Maria Chavez told us she had a similar experience.

“I feel like we are being sexualized. I feel like they want us to be ashamed of our bodies,” she said.

Principal Greg Hartjes told FOX 11 when it comes to the dress code, students are almost never punished for breaking it, they’re just asked to cover up.

“With girls it’s generally the shorts are too short and the tops are too small,” he said.

Hartjes told us this is typically only an issue during warmer months like September and May. He says most of the school does not have air conditioning.

Hartjes said the school usually has more problems with students wanting to wear hats, which are against district rules.

According to the district handbook, “Clothing that causes a distraction or disruption in the school, or creates a health or safety problem is inappropriate.”

Some clothes that are not allowed include hats, revealing shorts and skirts, tube tops, halter tops, backless tops, spaghetti straps less than one inch, exposed midriffs or under garments.

Lambrecht told us this unfairly singles out girls.

“I’ve seen guys that wear muscle tank tops that are open over here and they have no trouble,” she said.

“it’s not gender-specific. The policy simply reads this is what you can and cannot do. It just so happens that trends in fashion are such that clothing looks different for boys and girls,” Hartjes responded.

But Lambrecht and Chavez are working to change the policy, hoping to get administrators to loosen it a little.

“It’s comfortable to wear tank tops or spaghetti straps. They’re more comfortable and it gets really hot in the summer,” Lambrecht explained

The teens have circulated a petition and have gotten 300 signatures from their classmates.

“I talked to Mr. Hartjes and he said to go to the school board. So I made a meeting to go to there on June 8th to speak to them,” said Lambrecht.

“Hopefully we’ll make a change to the school. Hopefully,” added Chavez.

The school board meeting is next Monday night, that’s June 8th at 7.

GREEN BAY – We first told you last week about a deal to combine the two largest Cable Companies serving Wisconsin residents.

Charter Communications plans to buy Time Warner Cable for $55 billion.

Federal regulators still need to approve. If they do, the new company would then be one of the biggest internet and television providers in the country.

But as these cable companies look to merge, more subscribers are saying “no, thanks” to traditional, wired delivery of their TV service.

Across Northeast Wisconsin, people say they’re cutting the chord to cable service.

“We moved a couple of years ago and we just didn’t get it again. It was just way cheaper the other way,” said Cassie Lasee, who lives in Green Bay.

“From the day I was born until two weeks ago when I moved out, I had cable, yes. And I don’t miss it that much, actually,” said Cody Pinnerud, a St. Norbert College student.

Staff at VanVreede’s in Green Bay say the advent of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have made access to programming cheaper for some customers who have higher-tech devices.

But those streaming services have some customers needing to upgrade technology before ditching cable—and that could cost several hundred dollars.

“The way to get most of the content now is through Netflix and Hulu and most of the smart TVs have those apps. Or, you can add a Blu Ray player, which will have the same type of functionality. Other options include through gaming systems,” said Scott Hammer, store manager at VanVreede’s in Green Bay.

Even if you do upgrade to a Smart TV or a streaming device, there are some other added costs involved.

“If you’re going to buy Netflix and pay for that subscription and you’re also going to pay for HBO Now and you’re also going to pay for Hulu, then all of a sudden it adds up pretty quick, and then a traditional cable subscription still has its advantages. So that’s kind of a calculation that each individual consumer will have to make,” said Mark Glantz, a professor of media studies at St. Norbert College.

Glantz says customers who use streaming services might lose out on live sporting events.
But some we spoke to say they’ve found another high-tech alternative.

“I get ESPN on my phone, it’s fine,” said Andrew Bridenhagen, a St. Norbert College student.

For basic broadcast channels, you could find yourself going low-tech.

“If you want to watch FOX 11 news at night, you’re not going to be able to do that unless you have an antenna,” said Hammer.

All options customers have to weigh out as they balance their budgets with their TV habits.

We reached out to the Wisconsin Cable Communications Association. We did not receive a call back.

A video of an albino fawn in Boulder Junction, WI.

Video submitted by Chris McDonough through ReportIt.

Send us your pictures and videos to [email protected].

WASHINGTON (AP) – Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Monday directed the Transportation Security Administration to revise airport security procedures, retrain officers and retest screening equipment in airports across the country.

Johnson’s directives come after the agency’s inspector general briefed him on a report analyzing vulnerabilities in airport security – specifically, the ability to bring prohibited items through TSA checkpoints.

Johnson would not describe the results of the classified report, but said he takes the findings “very seriously.”

ABC News first reported Monday that undercover agents were able to smuggle prohibited items, such as mock explosives or weapons, through TSA checkpoints in 67 out of 70 attempts. ABC cited anonymous officials who had been briefed on the inspector general’s report.

In a statement issued Monday evening, Johnson said: “The numbers in these reports never look good out of context, but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security.”

Johnson said he had directed TSA to take several corrective steps, including:

-Immediately revising standard operating procedures for screening.

-Conducting training for all transportation security officers, and intensive training for all supervisory personnel.

-Retesting and re-evaluating the screening equipment currently in use at airports across the United States.

-Continuing to conduct random covert testing.

Johnson said that in the longer term, he has directed TSA and DHS to “examine adopting new technologies to address the vulnerabilities identified by the Inspector General’s testing.”

The Homeland Security chief said that over the last year, “TSA screened a record number of passengers at airports in the United States, and … seized a record number of prohibited items.”

Still, he said, the agency was “constantly testing and adapting the systems we have in place.”

BEIJING (AP) – A yacht carrying more than 450 people sank overnight in the Yangtze River during a cyclone in southern China, and eight people have been rescued, the state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday.

Further rescue work was underway but strong winds and rain were hampering the search, CCTV said. The boat was traveling from Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing when it sank at about 9:28 p.m. Monday in Hubei province, the report said.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted the captain and chief engineer, who were both rescued, as saying the ship sank quickly after being caught in a cyclone.

CCTV said the boat was carrying 406 Chinese passengers, five travel agency employees and 47 crew members.

The Eastern Star yacht measured 251 feet long (76.5 meters) and 36 feet wide (11 meters) and was capable of carrying a maximum of 534 people, CCTV reported. It is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corp., which focuses on tourism routes in the popular Three Gorges river canyon region.

CCTV reported that 6 inches (150 millimeters) of rain had fallen in the region over the past 24 hours. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is reported to be traveling to the site of the boat sinking.