Green Bay News

HONOLULU (AP) — One Marine is in critical condition and three others remain hospitalized in stable condition after a fatal MV-22 Osprey crash over the weekend, the Marine Corps said Monday.

Seventeen others treated for injuries have been released, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit said in a statement.

The next of kin of the one Marine who died have been notified, the Marines said. The Marine Corps won’t release the Marine’s identity until 24 hours after the notification.

The crash is under investigation.

The Osprey had a “hard landing mishap” during training Sunday at Bellows Air Force Station on Oahu, the Marines said. There were 21 Marines and one Navy corpsman on board.

Witnesses saw three Osprey aircraft flying together, and then one catch fire after crashing in an open field. They said black smoke was billowing from the fire.

The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit is based at Camp Pendleton in California. It’s currently in Hawaii for about a week of training exercises.

The incident over the weekend wasn’t related to a symposium on amphibious landings involving defense leaders from 23 nations, which will include a demonstration of an amphibious landing at Bellows on Tuesday.

Ospreys may be equipped with radar, lasers and a missile defense system, and each can carry 24 Marines into combat.

Built by Boeing Co. and Bell, a unit of Textron Inc., the Osprey program was nearly scrapped after a history of mechanical failures and two test crashes that killed 23 Marines in 2000.

The aircraft have since been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Some Osprey also are helping with earthquake-relief efforts in Nepal.

ATLANTA (AP) — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham all but confirmed Monday he will run for president in 2016, saying he believes he would be the best choice to serve as commander in chief amid continued unrest in the Middle East.

“I’m running because I think the world is falling apart,” Graham said in an interview on “CBS This Morning.”

A fierce critic of President Barack Obama’s foreign and military policy, the Republican pointed to the Iraqi city of Ramadi, which recently fell to Islamic State militants, as proof that the U.S. must assert itself in the region.

“I’m afraid more American soldiers will die in Iraq and eventually in Syria to protect our homeland,” he said, repeating his argument that 10,000 or more ground troops are needed to help train Iraqi security forces to serve as a functional national army.

The U.S. currently has roughly 4,200 trainers and advisers in Iraq to work with the Iraqi army.

The third-term senator said he will make his official campaign announcement June 1 in his hometown of Central, South Carolina. He would be the only Republican candidate from one of the four early voting states that also include Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

Graham surprised many GOP insiders when he initially announced the formation of a committee to explore a 2016 bid, but he has been aggressive in his early travels, staff hires and fundraising efforts.

The senator and his aides say his experience and positions on national security argue in favor of his candidacy, both on policy and political grounds. “I’ve been right more than I’ve been wrong” on major foreign policy questions, Graham said at a recent appearance in South Carolina.

Graham, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the destabilization of Iraq, continued strife in Syria, Iranian influence in the region and the proliferation of the Islamic State militant group create an atmosphere that could yield another attack on American soil.

He noted in a recent interview he was an advocate of the troop surge in Iraq before President George W. Bush went with the strategy, and he has criticized Obama’s troop reductions in the region. He also has argued the Obama administration should help Syrian rebels oust President Bashar Assad, blaming the Assad regime for the rise of the Islamic State group.

On CBS on Monday, Graham was asked whether the U.S. was right under Bush to invade Iraq in 2003, given that intelligence cited at the time falsely suggested that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. Graham voted as a member of the House to authorize the Iraq war.

“If I’d known then what I know now, would I have launched a ground invasion? Probably not,” he said, referring to false claims that Iraq possessed a weapons arsenal that could threaten American soil.

“But that’s yesterday’s thinking,” Graham continued. “What do we do today, tomorrow and the day after?”

Graham’s political challenge will be to raise his profile so that his views stand out among better-known, well-financed Republican candidates who are equally as critical of Obama’s foreign policy.

He also faces skepticism from some of the party’s most conservative activists. They distrust him for his close relationship with 2008 nominee John McCain, his sponsorship of the Senate’s 2012 immigration overhaul and his confirmation votes for Obama’s two Supreme Court nominees, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

“I’ve had to be conservative, but never to the point that I can’t reach across the aisle and get something done for the rest of us,” Graham said in South Carolina recently.

He defended his position on immigration, saying “self-deportation is never gonna work. It is not a solution. … I’m trying to find a way to prevent a new wave of illegal immigration.”

The same approach, he said, will be necessary for any overhaul of the federal budget and popular programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which means being “willing to work with the Democratic Party.”

“What I’m going to do is challenge my party to be a willing party, to do the things that we need to do to save the country as a result of the retirement of the Baby Boomers,” he said.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) – A South Texas woman has given birth to triplet girls. with two of the babies conjoined.

A spokeswoman at Corpus Christi Medical Center-Bay Area said Monday that the infants were breathing without respirators.

Lisa Robertson says the premature girls were born Saturday to Silvia Hernandez of Brownsville via cesarean section, at about 34 weeks. A normal pregnancy is about 41 weeks.

The girls’ names are Catalina, Ximena and Scarlett. They each weigh 4 pounds, 11 ounces.

Robertson and husband Raul Torres already had a son.

Ximena and Scarlett are conjoined. They were transferred to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi. A message left with that hospital wasn’t immediately returned Monday.

COZUMEL, MEXICO – It may just be the first of its kind.

A transparent aquarium establishment called the Clear Lounge has made a “splash” in Cozumel, Mexico.

Customers enjoy the experience of relaxing and having fun at the lounge wearing a special helmet that allows them to breathe underwater.

Take a look back at historical designs of Indianapolis 500-winning cars.

Photos of cherry blossoms in Door County, May 18, 2015.

GREEN BAY –   More than 60 students from Green Bay’s John Dewey Academy of Learning pulled out garlic mustard plants Monday at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary for a good cause.

The 8th through 12th grade students picked about 80,000 plants of the invasive species, equating around 4,000 pounds.

The garlic mustard will then be included in a lunch the students will prepare Friday for people at the New Community Shelter.

“It feels great just because you know that you are actually making a difference, and you’re helping out others. And I mean, this is a really fun experience. You just get to hang out with your friends, but also do a really great thing for your community,” said senior, Karina Mendez.

This is the third year the school, the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and the community shelter have partnered up for the event.

Here is a schedule of Memorial Day parades across Northeast Wisconsin on May 25, 2015:

Appleton

• College Avenue & Appleton Street to Riverside Cemetery
• 9 a.m

Birnamwood

• Legion Post #341
• 10:30 a.m

Brillion

• Downtown to the Veterans Memorial
• 9 a.m.

Chilton

• City Hall to Hillside Cemetery
• 9 a.m.

De Pere

• West De Pere High School to Voyageur Park
• 10 a.m

Fond du Lac

• Guindon Boulevard & Main Street to Veterans Park
• 10 a.m.

Kewaunee

• Kewaunee High School to Riverview Cemetery
• 10 a.m.

Manitowoc

• S. 8th & Washington Streets to Citizen Park
• 9 a.m

Mishicot

• Main Street
• Noon

Omro

• Miller Park to Scott Park
• 9 a.m.

Oshkosh

• Courthouse to Riverside Cemetery
• 9 a.m.

Shawano

• Huckleberry Harbor to Woodlawn Cemetery
• 9:20 a.m.

Two Rivers

• Downtown to Pioneer Rest Cemetery
• 9 a.m.

EAU CLAIRE – Police arrested the former Eau Claire Co. Treasurer and former Deputy Treasurer after investigators say the two had been misappropriating several hundred thousand dollars from the Eau Clair County Treasurer’s Office over the course of several years.

On Thursday, May 14, police arrested Larry Lokken and Kay Onarheim after beginning a theft investigation on Jan. 9, 2015.

Staff members of the Eau Claire County Administrator’s Office asked Eau Claire Police to investigate the Treasurer’s Office after finding suspicious financial transactions.

Lokken and Onarheim both confessed to the crimes, admitting they stole money from the Eau Claire County Treasurer’s Office.

Lokken was the Eau Claire County Treasurer from 1976 to 2013. Onarheim was the Deputy Treasurer from 1979 to 2013.

Investigators say there is no evidence that shows money had been taken after Lokken and Onarheim ended their employment in 2013.

Lokken and Onarheim are scheduled to make court appearances Monday.

Two hospitals in Northeast Wisconsin are changing names this fall.

ThedaCare Health System says Berlin Memorial Hospital will become ThedaCare Medical Center-Berlin and Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital will become ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose. Other facilities, such as Community Health Network and Waushara Family Physicians clinics, will be known as ThedaCare Physicians, followed by the name of the community in which they are located.

“We’re adjusting our name because we are one organization, speaking with one voice and providing a common experience for the people we serve,” John Feeney, CEO and President of Community Health Network (CHN), which includes Berlin Memorial Hospital and several clinics, said in a news release. “An experience that is not just better, but continuously evolving and improving. These new names reflect our commitment to building relationships with our patients by delivering services with passion, compassion and empathy, across the entire ThedaCare system.”

Both health systems aligned with Appleton-based ThedaCare last June.

ThedaCare says it is starting a system-wide rebranding effort so all of its locations throughout the state have the same look and feel.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Legislature’s budget-writing committee won’t be voting on transportation issues as originally planned this week.

Joint Finance Committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren tells The Associated Press on Monday that there are “too many moving pieces” to take up the transportation budget as scheduled on Thursday.

He says the committee won’t be voting on those issues this week.

Gov. Scott Walker’s budget included $1.3 billion in new borrowing to pay for roads, instead of raising the gas tax or vehicle registration fees.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and other Republicans have said they would be open to a vehicle registration fee hike, but Walker has said he’s not for it.

There’s also been bipartisan opposition to borrowing as much as Walker wanted.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday accused North Korea of a litany of crimes and atrocities while reassuring South Korea of America’s “ironclad” security commitments.

Kerry blamed North Korea for continuing to break promises, make threats and “show flagrant disregard for international law” by continuing to build its nuclear bomb and missile programs even as it oppressed its own people. He said North Korea’s “horrific conduct” must be exposed and vowed to ratchet up pressure on Pyongyang to change its behavior, particularly since it has rebuffed repeated attempts to restart nuclear disarmament negotiations.

“They have grown the threat of their program and have acted with a kind of reckless abandon,” Kerry said, referring to North Korea and its work on a growing arsenal of missiles and nuclear bombs that Pyongyang hopes will one day be able to reach the U.S. mainland.

His comments come less than a week after South Korea’s spy agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about the young ruler, talking back to him and sleeping during a meeting Kim presided over.

That allegation, if true, adds to worries about the erratic nature of Kim’s rule, particularly after Pyongyang claimed last weekend it had successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine.

Kerry called the reported killing just the latest in a series of “grotesque, grisly, horrendous, public displays of executions on a whim and fancy.” He said that if such behavior continued, calls would grow in the international community for North Korea to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said “the severity of recent threats and provocations” made it essential to bolster the security relationship of the longtime allies.

The actions come despite a recent U.S. diplomatic overture to North Korea to discuss resuming nuclear disarmament talks that have been stalled for years. Washington quietly proposed a meeting with North Korea in January, before the U.S. and South Korea began annual military exercises that North Korea regards as a provocation. The two sides, however, failed to agree on who could meet and where.

Kerry noted North Korea’s refusal to return to the table, saying “all they are doing now is isolating themselves further and creating greater risks to the region and to their own country.” He said the U.S. remained open to talks but only if “we …. have some indication from the leader of North Korea that they are serious about engaging on the subject of their nuclear program.”

Kerry also suggested the possibility of more sanctions against Pyongyang, already one of the most sanctioned countries in the world, over its “very dangerous course” of pursuing missiles and nuclear weapons. Washington and its partners are “talking about ways to increase the pressure and increase the potential of either sanctions or other means,” Kerry said.

Kerry also expressed hope that the successful conclusion of a nuclear deal with Iran would send a positive message to North Korea to restart negotiations on its own atomic program.

International negotiators are rushing to finalize a nuclear deal with Iran by the end of June under which Iran’s program would be curbed to prevent it from developing atomic weapons in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions that have crippled its economy.

International nuclear talks with North Korea broke down in early 2009. A 2012 food-for-nuclear-freeze deal between Pyongyang and Washington fell apart soon after being settled.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is now believed to have at least 10 such weapons. It conducted its third nuclear test in February 2013, and U.S.-based experts forecast that it could increase its nuclear arsenal to between 20 and 100 weapons by 2020.

Kerry during his meetings also laid the groundwork for a June visit to Washington by South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Later, in a speech at prestigious Korea University in Seoul, Kerry singled out Pyongyang and other, unnamed countries for repressing their citizens’ use of the Internet. He used the speech to issue a broad call for open and secure cyber access as a global right.

Kerry said that authoritarian Pyongyang, with the lowest rate of access to the Web in the world, is the opposite of ultra-wired, democratic Seoul. Countries with poor Internet freedom, he said, often also had questionable human rights and a stifled economy without innovation or freely exchanged ideas.

Washington accuses Pyongyang of being behind last year’s massive hack of Sony Pictures over a film that centered on the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Seoul also says Pyongyang has staged a series of hacks on major South Korean companies and government organizations. Pyongyang denies the hacking claims.

Kerry didn’t mention China, but Washington recently voiced concern over a report that Beijing manipulated international Internet traffic intended for a major Chinese Web service company and used it for a cyberattack on U.S. sites.

____

Associated Press writer Foster Klug in Seoul contributed to this story.

NEW YORK (AP) — A record number of travelers are expected to take to the skies this summer thanks to a rebounding economy.

U.S. airlines will carry 222 million passengers between June 1 and Aug. 31, topping the summer of 2007 when 217.6 million people flew, Airlines for America, the industry’s trade and lobbying group, predicted Monday. That figure includes 31 million travelers on international flights, also a record.

On average, there will be 2.4 million passengers a day, 4.5 percent more than last summer.

After several years of limiting their expansion, U.S. airlines are now quickly adding more seats, including 4.6 percent more this summer. Those added seats are mostly the result of airlines flying larger planes and packing in extra rows to existing jets.

Those extra seats have given pause to some Wall Street analysts who worry that airlines might have to discount fares to fill them. That hasn’t happened yet, but after years of steadily rising airfares, there is a tiny bit of relief for fliers this summer — $2.01 in savings to be exact.

The average roundtrip domestic ticket this summer, including taxes, now stands at $454, down less than a percent from last summer. Vacationers to Europe will fare better, with the average ticket down 3 percent to $1,619, about $50 less than last summer, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp., which processes ticket transactions for airlines and travel agencies.

Summer can be one of the most difficult times to fly. While airlines can plan days in advance for blizzards, it is hard to know exactly when a thunderstorm will roll through an airport, shutting down all baggage handling and flights. Add into that extremely crowded airports: 13 of the 15 busiest days to travel fall in the summer, according to the airline trade group.

Passengers on planes aren’t going to have much spare space.

Last July, U.S. airlines sold a record 87.8 percent of seats on domestic flights, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statics. And that figure does include seats occupied by airline employees flying for free. In other words: virtually every seat was taken.

WASHINGTON (AP) — AAA says gas prices are on the rise leading up to the busy Memorial Day travel weekend.

In its weekly report, AAAA says the national average price for a gallon of unleaded was $2.70, compared with $2.66 a week ago. Still, prices are nearly a dollar lower than a year ago.

Gas prices in the District of Columbia were up 5 cents on Sunday compared to a week earlier. The average price in D.C. was $2.79 per gallon on Sunday.

In Maryland, the average price on Friday was $2.64, compared with $2.63 a week earlier. A month ago, the average price was $2.38 per gallon in Maryland.

In Delaware, prices were mostly flat. The average remained $2.60 per gallon on Sunday and was the same a week earlier.

MADISON (AP) – Democratic lawmakers are calling on federal investigators to launch a probe into Gov. Scott Walker’s flagship job creation agency.

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca and Sen. Julie Lassa both sit on the Wisconsin Economic Development Association’s board. They said Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice should look into WEDC.

WEDC has been floundering since Walker created it in 2011. The Wisconsin State Journal reported Sunday that the agency handed a $500,000 taxpayer-funded loan to a construction company led by a Walker donor. Earlier this month a state audit found that the organization hasn’t followed state law or tracked job creation.

Walker serves as WEDC board chairman. He has called for legislators to restructure the agency. His spokeswoman said Monday that the Democrats are playing political games.

RIPON – ConAgra Foods plans to close its west cookie plant in Ripon.

The move will put about 300 full-time employees out of work, according to the company. Workers are being told today and layoffs are expected to be finished by December. Employees have the option of applying for other open positions within ConAgra.

The company released a statement Monday, which read:

“Following an extensive evaluation of our plant network, we have determined that we need to close the soft bake and enrobed cookies facility in Ripon, WI. We are currently meeting with employees to let them know that the transition will occur in phases between September of 2015 and the end of the year. This does not impact the wafer cookie facility in Ripon.”

Workers United Local 91 says it plans to try to persuade ConAgra to keep the plant open. Union leaders say the company told them the plant needs capital investment and that the soft cookies made there are not profitable. Enrobed cookies, which are cookies with additional chocolate on the top or bottom, are also made at the plant.

The company’s east plant, which makes wafer cookies, is not affected and will remain in operation. About 80 people work there.

Stay with FOX 11 News and fox11online.com for the latest on this breaking news story.

Photos submitted to ReportIt, May 17-23, 2015.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker is delivering a keynote address at a national meeting of a group that advocates for private school vouchers, at the same time Wisconsin lawmakers are looking at taking more money away from public schools to expand the state’s program.

Walker was slated to talk Monday at the American Federation for Children policy summit in New Orleans. While he’s speaking there, Wisconsin lawmakers are meeting privately to discuss ways to pay for eliminating a 1,000-student enrollment cap on the statewide voucher program.

One idea floated last week by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos would create a program similar to open enrollment, at an expected cost to public schools of $48 million over two years.

Public school supporters are urging rejection of the plan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is embracing short-form communication. Twitter has a new @POTUS account.

For years, White House officials have used Twitter to communicate White House policy and occasional personal observations.

But Obama himself stayed out of the social media fray.

No longer.

With a frugal 91-character message — 49 short of maximum permitted — Obama on Monday declared: “Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.”

Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.

— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015

The White House says the tweets on that account will come exclusively from the president.

The move is the latest by a White House particularly attuned to social media and new technology. But Twitter, with its ability to be anonymously interactive, is a new forum for the president, even one who carries his own Blackberry.

MADISON (AP) – A state report shows the legalization of gay marriage last year boosted the number of couples tying the knot to the highest rate Wisconsin has reported since 2007.

The Department of Health Services report found there were a total of 32,776 marriages performed in the state in 2014, an increase of 2,797 from the year before.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb last year ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. More than 500 same-sex couples were married within a month of the decision.

The number of divorces also dropped from 15,941 in 2013 to 15,243 in 2014.