Green Bay News

ATLANTA (AP) – Milwaukee Brewers reliever Will Smith was suspended for eight games on Friday for having a foreign substance on his right arm during a game at Atlanta.

Major League Baseball said Smith plans to appeal, so the penalty is on hold. Smith will be available for Friday night’s game at the Braves.

Smith, a left-hander, was ejected for having rosin and sunscreen on his right forearm in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s 10-1 loss to the Braves. He said after the game he put the substance on his forearm before warming up in the bullpen on a brisk night. He expressed regret for not wiping it off before entering the game.

Smith said he uses the substances to help him feel the ball better.

“That’s it. It’s the grip,” he said. “It’s not going to spin more. You’re not going to throw harder. You’ve got what you got.”

It’s widely acknowledged pitchers use similar practices to grip the ball better even though it’s against the rules. Batters, including Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, even say they’d rather pitchers use substances that decrease odds of them being hit by pitches.

“Every pitcher does it,” Freeman said after Thursday night’s game. “As a hitter, you want them to do it so they’ll have a better grip so we won’t get hit in the head.”

Brewers manager Craig Counsell said the tactic of using illegal substances is “very common.”

“It goes on on the other side, I guarantee you,” Counsell said. “It’s the rule. I think pitchers are using it, but I guess you’ve got to be discreet about it.”

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he could see the substances on Smith’s arm “glistening through the lights.” Gonzalez informed the umpires.

Crew chief Jim Joyce walked to the mound, touched Smith’s arm and tossed the reliever from the game. Television cameras showed a shiny substance that was visible on Smith’s forearm.

“He offered his arm,” Joyce told a pool reporter. “I touched it and immediately knew it was a foreign substance. Unfortunately for him, he has to be ejected.”

Smith yelled at Gonzalez in the Braves’ dugout on his way off the field.

MADISON (AP) – A judge has committed a former Dane County sheriff’s deputy with Lou Gehrig’s disease to a mental health institution after a jury earlier found he was not legally responsible for killing his wife and sister-in-law.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Nicholas McNamara ruled Friday Andrew Steele is a danger to himself and others, should not be released and instead sent to an institution for the foreseeable future.

The 40-year-old Steele had pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease to killing his 39-year-old wife, Ashlee Steele, and her 38-year-old sister, Kacee Tollefsbol, of Lake Elmo, Minnesota last August at the couple’s home near Madison. The defense convinced jurors that the Saginaw Township, Michigan native suffered from a neurocognitive disorder as a result of ALS.

Steele broke down in court and apologized to the victims’ families.

GREENVILLE – The owners of the Special Memories zoo in Greenville don’t believe the animals will be found alive.

A five-month-old kangaroo and four baby goats were reported stolen earlier this month.

Zoo owners say the babies require special care in the early stages of life. They also say the mother kangaroo was injured when her joey was taken and they’re not sure if she’ll be able to have another baby.

They add the shelter the animals were in when they were taken wasn’t locked, but there had never been issues before.

A fence, security gate and cameras are now being installed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton received information on her private email server about the deadly attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that has now been classified.

The email in question, forwarded to Clinton by her deputy chief of staff, Jake Sullivan, relates to reports of arrests in Libya of possible suspects in the attack.

Because the information was not classified at the time the email was sent, no laws were violated. But Friday’s redaction shows that Clinton received information considered sensitive on her unsecured personal server, which came to light just as she was beginning her presidential campaign.

The information was not classified at the time the email was sent but was upgraded from “unclassified” to “secret” on Friday at the request of the FBI, according to State Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the decision. They said 23 words of the Nov. 18, 2012, message were redacted from Friday’s release of 296 emails totaling 896 pages to protect information that could harm national security and damage foreign relations.

Officials who received the email have been informed that the 23 words are now classified as “secret” and that they should take appropriate measures to protect it in any files they may have, the officials said.

No other redactions were made to the collection of Benghazi-related emails for classification reasons, the officials said. They added that the Justice Department had not raised classification concerns about the now-redacted 1 1/2 lines when the documents were turned over to the special House committee looking into the Benghazi attack in February. The committee retains a complete copy of the email, the officials said.

The email containing the now-classified information is at the end of a chain of communication that originated with Bill Roebuck, then director of the Office of Maghreb Affairs, that pointed out that Libyan police had arrested several people who might have connections to the attack. The redacted portion appears to relate to who provided the information about the alleged suspects to the Libyans. A total of five lines related to the source of the information were affected, but only the 23 words were deleted because the FBI deemed them to be classified.

Roebuck’s full message reads as follows:

“Post reports that Libyans police have arrested several people today who may/may have some connection to Benghazi attack. They were acting on information furnished by DS/RSO (Diplomatic Security/Regional Security Officer).” Then follow the five redacted lines. Then the email continues, “That may not materialize. Overall it could lead to something operationally, or not, and it could lead to some news reports from Libya saying there is a significant break in case, or not.”

Roebuck’s email was sent to a number of senior officials, including the former assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, Elizabeth Jones, who then sent it to Sullivan with the comment: “This is preliminary, but very interesting. FBI in Tripoli is fully involved.”

Sullivan then forwarded the email to Clinton with the comment: “fyi.”

There was no indication that Clinton herself forwarded the email.

Reaction from committee members to the release of the emails was swift and partisan.

Committee chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the emails were incomplete, adding that it “strains credibility” to view them as a thorough record of Clinton’s tenure.

“To assume a self-selected public record is complete, when no one with a duty or responsibility to the public had the ability to take part in the selection, requires a leap in logic no impartial reviewer should be required to make,” Gowdy said.

Gowdy also said it was important to note that Clinton’s email messages are just one piece of information related to Benghazi and cannot be fully evaluated without other documents and emails from other top officials at the State Department.

“The committee is working to collect and evaluate all of the relevant and material information necessary to evaluate the full range of issues in context. We will not reach any investigative conclusions until our work is complete, but these emails continue to reinforce the fact that unresolved questions and issues remain as it relates to Benghazi,” Gowdy said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, senior Democrat on the Benghazi committee, said he was pleased that the State Department released the complete set of Clinton’s emails related to Benghazi, which Democrats requested months ago.

“Instead of the selective leaking that has happened so far, the American people can now read all of these emails and see for themselves that they contain no evidence to back up claims that Secretary Clinton ordered a stand-down, approved an illicit weapons program or any other wild allegation Republicans have made for years,” Cummings said.

He urged Republicans on the Benghazi panel to schedule Clinton’s public testimony and “stop wasting taxpayer money dragging out this political charade to harm Secretary Clinton’s bid for president.”

GREEN BAY – A suspect in an apartment fire that may have been set as gang retaliation has been ordered to stand trial.

Jesse Jones waived a preliminary hearing Thursday, according to online court records.

He is scheduled to enter a plea June 15 on four counts, including arson and recklessly endangering safety.

A second suspect, Jordan Gardner-Shedrick, has a preliminary hearing June 3.

Court documents say Gardner and Jones went to the Danz Avenue apartment complex to confront a rival gang member. Gardner and Jones told investigators they entered the apartment building and went into the basement, where they found spray cans marked “flammable.” They said they used a lighter to start a soaked rag on fire.

No one was injured. More than 60 people were displaced.

WILD ROSE – A burglar stole guns from a Wild Rose business, Waushara County sheriff’s officials say.

This surveillance image shows a car driven by a burglar at Laurtizen’s Sport Shop in Wild Rose, May 20, 2015.

Sometime early Wednesday morning, investigators say the burglar broke a glass window at Lauritzen’s Sport Shop, 345 Main St.

The burglar was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. He was driving a light-colored four-door car.

This surveillance image shows a car driven by a burglar at Laurtizen’s Sport Shop in Wild Rose, May 20, 2015. (Waushara Co. Sheriff’s Office)

Officials released surveillance images of the burglar and his car.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Waushara County Sheriff’s Office at (920) 787-3321. Anonymous tips can also be left with Waushara County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-800-5219.

MADISON (AP) – Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-writing committee have killed Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to eliminate a small state agency that approves and regulates for-profit colleges.

The Joint Finance Committee nixed the idea without debate on Thursday.

David Dies, director of the Educational Approval Board, told the Wisconsin State Journal on Friday that it’s better for the state and people who attend the for-profit colleges to keep the board operational.

Walker had proposed doing away with the board in his budget released in February. He argued that it would lift unnecessary financial and regulatory burdens on the schools and that some of its consumer protection functions could be handled by other state agencies.

But opponents argued it plays an important role in overseeing the schools.

TOWN OF CARLTON – A Manitowoc man was killed in a crash Friday morning in Kewaunee County.

Sheriff’s officials say just before 8 a.m., they received a report of a crash on Highway 42, about half a mile north of Highway J. Investigators the 61-year-old man was driving an SUV north on Highway 42. He crossed the center line, went into the ditch on the west side of the road and hit a driveway embankment. The SUV went into the air, rolled over and ended up against a power pole guy-wire. In all, sheriff’s officials say the vehicle traveled 460 feet from the point where it left the road. From the embankment to where the vehicle eventually stopped was 168 feet.

The man, who was the only person in the vehicle, had to be cut out of his seat belt and removed from the vehicle before emergency crews could start CPR. He was taken to a Green Bay hospital, where he later died.

Officials don’t think the man was speeding or that he had been drinking.

His name is not being released until after relatives can be notified.

MADISON (AP) – Real men could wear pink in the woods under a bill legislators are preparing to unveil next week that would legalize blaze pink for hunters.

Rep. Nick Milroy, a Democrat from South Range in northwestern Wisconsin, plans to hold a news conference Tuesday to announce the measure. A Milroy aide said Friday that Milroy was vacationing in the Boundary Waters and couldn’t be reached for comment on the bill’s details.

Sen. Terry Moulton, a Chippewa Falls Republican, wrote in a column for the Dunn County News this week that the bill is designed to encourage more women to try hunting. He said a University of Wisconsin-Madison textile expert performed experiments for the legislators and determined that blaze pink is just as visible as blaze orange in the wild.

OCONTO COUNTY – Someone apparently impersonating a police officer made a traffic stop in Oconto County, sheriff’s officials say.

Around 11 p.m. May 14, the apparent impersonator pulled over a driver on Highway 22 near the intersection with Highway K. The driver reported the incident two days later.

Investigators say the man who made the stop had red and blue emergency lights in his car, but it was not marked as a law enforcement vehicle. The man was in his 20s and was wearing dark clothes. He was driving a larger car that may have been red.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Oconto Co. Sheriff’s Office at (920) 834-6900.

Sheriff’s officials say if you are pulled over and you suspect the person may be impersonating an officer, you should do the following:

• Ask to see the officer’s uniform, badge and identification
• Ask the officer to follow you to a well-lit public place
• Open your window only far enough to be able to pass your driver’s license and proof of insurance
• Keep your car doors locked
• Do not get out of your car unless you are in a well-lit public place with people around
• Ask for a second marked squad car to come to the stop
• If necessary, call 911 to verify the officer’s identification and confirm the validity of the traffic stop

(CNN) – Scrabble’s dictionary has added “lotsa” new words for its players, and some are so “ridic”, they’ll make you “lolz”.

The board game has an additional 6,500 words, including a few once limited to social media and technology.

There’s “lotsa,” “twerking,” “lolz,” “emoji” and “ridic,” (short for “ridiculous”). “Facetime,” which means talking with someone via the Apple app of the same name, will earn you a cool 15 points. “Emoji”, that ridiculously expressive digital icon, will get you 14 points. “Bezzy” – best friends in regular speak – adds 18 points.

The Collins Scrabble Word List is used by international tournament players. It includes words from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A Milwaukee County medical examiner’s report says a 46-year-old man was pronounced dead after collapsing at his Milwaukee apartment, but then started moving his limbs just as he was about to be taken to the morgue.

The report says the man’s girlfriend called police Tuesday because she had not heard from him recently. A police officer entered Thomas Sancomb’s apartment and found him at the foot of his bed.

The report says both the officer and paramedics found he was cold, appeared pale and “in rigor” and did not attempt to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead and his family was notified.

The report says as his body was about to be removed, he began moving his limbs. Paramedics returned to the scene and rushed him to a local hospital. Sancomb’s brother, John, says he’s “doing better every day.”

An American flag showed up hung from the support structure of the Leo Frigo Bridge in Green Bay, May 22, 2015.

STURGEON BAY – It’s a beautiful sight each spring that many look forward to – cherry blossoms in bloom.

Cherry orchards in Southern Door County and Brussels started seeing blooms in the middle of last week.

The cherry harvest is usually 60 days after full bloom.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning at Robertson Orchards of Door County, one of the County’s oldest and smallest fruit stands.

For more information on Robertson Orchards of Door County, click here.

GREEN BAY – Get in shape and STAY in shape for summer.  Brittany Bord is a certified personal trainer with the Green Bay YMCA and that is her mission for us.  Bord stopped by the weather deck to talk about the how a personal trainer can help a person meet their fitness goals.  She also showed us some of the exercises they incorporate into their Boot Camp classes. Bord demonstrated some rope exercises, push-ups, mountain climbers and more.

GREEN BAY – Lovers of beer will be flocking to Kohler soon for the annual Kohler Festival of Beer.  Chef Paul Smitala of Blackwolf Run in Kohler gave us a little preview of what’s in store for beer fans and craft brewers.  The event is May 29-31 at the American Club Resort and Village of Kohler.  For tickets, call 1-800-344-2838. Here are the recipes the chef prepared on today’s Good Day Wisconsin

Grilled King Salmon
Servings: (1) 6 oz.

Ingredients
1 King Salmon, 6 oz
1T Olive Oil
TT Salt and Pepper

Method
1. Place salmon in bowl cover with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
2. Place on grill and cook 3-4 minutes per side, cook until medium.
3. Top with Luna Coffee Stout Vinaigrette

Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout Vinaigrette
Servings: ½ Cup

Ingredients
3oz Luna Coffee Stout
1T Shallot, Minced
1t Orange Zest, Finely Grated
1T Honey
1t Dijon Mustard
4T Vegetable Oil
TT Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
2T Cider vinegar

Method
1. In a bowl, combine shallots, orange zest, honey, mustard, vinegar and beer.
2. Mix well.
3. Slowly add in oil, whisking constantly.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bison Sirloin
Spring Vegetables
Hinterland Cherry Wheat Beer Bath
Serving (1) 6 oz
Ingredients
6 oz Bison Sirloin
1T Olive Oil
3 Stalks Asparagus
3 Each Morel Mushrooms
2t Olive Oil
3 Each Ramps (Wild Leeks)
8 Each Dried Cherries
2 Cherry Tomatoes, Cut in Half
1T Butter
2 oz Cherry Wheat Beer
2 oz Reduced Veal Stock
TT Salt and Pepper

Method
1. Place bison in bowl and cover with 1T oil.  Season with salt and pepper.
Place on grill and cook about 3-4 minutes per side, after 2 minutes turn
steak 45° for cross mark.  Repeat on other side, cook to medium rare 120°.
2. Place a cast iron skilled on grill and allow to heat up, add 2t olive oil,
asparagus, morels and ramps to pan and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add dried
cherries, cherry tomatoes and beer, cook for 1 minute.
3. Finish by mixing in veal stock, butter, salt and pepper.

An American flag which was placed on the Frigo Bridge will be removed, a state official says.

The flag could be a distraction to drivers or cause traffic hazards if it falls, says DOT’s Kim Rudat.

It was apparently hung overnight, but Rudat says it is unclear when or how it happened – or who did it.

NEENAH – A lot of people will head to their favorite campsite or spend time with family and friends.

FOX 11’s Emily Deem spent Friday morning in Neenah with the folks from Scheels!

They have some great ideas to get your ready for the camping season.

Click here to learn more about Scheels.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Authorities have arrested an ex-convict who was accused in the killings of a wealthy Washington family and their housekeeper.

Members of a fugitive task force arrested Daron Dylon Wint, 34, on Thursday around 11 p.m., about a week after authorities said the family was killed and their mansion set on fire. Wint has been charged with first-degree murder while armed, D.C. police and the U.S. Marshals Service said.

Investigators tracked Wint to New York City, where they barely missed him Wednesday night, Robert Fernandez, commander of the U.S. Marshal Service’s Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, told multiple news outlets.

Wint was tracked to the Howard Johnson Express Inn in College Park, Maryland, on Thursday, and when officers approached, they discovered Wint in a Chevrolet Cruze in the parking lot, Fernandez said. They tailed the car, which was following a box truck, to northeast Washington, where Wint and several others were taken into custody during a traffic stop, he said.

Police have not detailed why Wint would want to kill 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos; his 47-year-old wife, Amy; their son, Philip; and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa. Three of the four victims had been stabbed or bludgeoned before the fire.

Police said Thursday that Wint, a certified welder, worked for Savopoulos’ company, American Iron Works, in the past. Savopoulos was the CEO of American Iron Works, a construction-materials supplier based in Hyattsville, Maryland, that has been involved in major projects in downtown Washington.

Police said Thursday that they haven’t ruled out the possibility that other people were involved in the slayings, but no other suspects have been identified.

Wint was born and raised in Guyana and moved to the United States in 2000, when he was almost 20 years old, according to court records filed in Maryland. He joined the Marine Corps that same year and was discharged for medical reasons, the records show. Wint was at Parris Island for boot camp from July 24, 2001 to Sept 28, 2001, but never graduated from recruit training, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Eric Flanagan said. Following his discharge, he worked as a certified welder, court records show.

The Savopouloses lived in a $4.5 million home in Woodley Park, a neighborhood where mansions are protected by fences and elaborate security systems and local and federal law enforcement officers are a constant presence, in part because Vice President Joe Biden’s official residence is nearby.

Text messages and voicemails from the Savopouloses to their confused and frightened household staff suggest something was amiss in the house many hours before the bodies were found. Their blue Porsche turned up in suburban Maryland hours after the slayings. It too had been set on fire.

DNA analysis at a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms lab linked Wint to the crime, a law enforcement official involved in the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the investigation publicly.

During the family’s final hours, someone called Domino’s from their house and ordered pizza. The Washington Post reported that the DNA was found on a pizza crust. At a Domino’s about 2 miles away, a worker told the AP that a pizza was delivered from there to the mansion that day.

Wint was convicted of assaulting one girlfriend in Maryland in 2009, and he pleaded guilty the next year to malicious destruction of property after he allegedly threatened to kill a woman and her infant daughter, breaking into her apartment, stealing a television and vandalizing her car.

“I’m going to come over there and kill you, your daughter and friends,” Wint told that woman, according to the records. “The defendant advised he was good with a knife and could kill them easily and was not afraid of the police,” a detective wrote.

Also in 2010, Wint was arrested carrying a 2-foot-long machete and a BB pistol outside the American Iron Works headquarters, but weapons charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to possessing an open container of alcohol.

Attorney Robin Ficker said Wint didn’t seem violent when he defended him in earlier cases.

“My impression of him – I remember him rather well – is that he wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s a very nice person,” Ficker said.

A housekeeper who worked for the Savopoulos family for 20 years, Nelitza Gutierrez, told the AP that she believes the family and Figueroa were held captive for nearly a day before they were killed, citing an unusual voice mail she got from Savopoulos and a text message sent from the phone of his wife, telling her not to come to the house.

Gutierrez said she and Savopoulos spent May 13 cleaning up a martial arts studio he was opening in northern Virginia before his wife called around 5:30 p.m. She could hear his half of the conversation. He later said his wife told him to come home to watch their son because she was going out, Gutierrez said.

Later that night, sounding flustered, he left Gutierrez a voice mail saying Figueroa would stay with his sick wife overnight, that she shouldn’t come the next day, and that Figueroa’s phone was dead.

“It doesn’t make any sense. How come you don’t have another phone – iPhones are all over,” Gutierrez said. “He was kind of building stories.”

The next morning, Gutierrez received a text message from Amy Savopoulos that read, in part, “I am making sure you are not coming today.” She called and texted back and got no response.

The Savopouloses had two teenage daughters who were away at boarding school at the time of the killings. Relatives of the victims have made few public statements and have not returned calls from the AP. Representatives of American Iron Works have repeatedly declined to comment.

___

Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon in Washington and AP freelancer Meredith Somers in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, contributed to this report.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee police say a motorcyclist killed in an overnight crash is a city alderman.

Authorities say 56-year-old Joseph Dudzik died after his Harley-Davidson motorcycle hit some construction barricades on the city’s southwest side about 11:30 p.m. Thursday. Dudzik was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Dudzik was first elected to the Milwaukee Common Council in 2002 and represented the 11th District. He worked for the city’s public works department for more than 20 years.

He’s survived by his wife and two sons.