Green Bay News
Overnight News: Search for “armed and dangerous” man in VA
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA- Officials are looking for a man considered to be armed and dangerous.
Officials say the suspect is an inmate who was being transferred from a jail to a hospital in Falls Church.
Officials say he overpowered a deputy and got away with a gun. The suspect is wearing a hospital gown and doesn’t have shoes on.
There are heavily armed police officers and swat teams searching the area.
The hospital is on lockdown.
We’ll continue to monitor this story all morning long.
Carroll, Korver lead Hawks to 101-88 win over Bucks
ATLANTA — DeMarre Carroll scored 23 points and Kyle Korver put on quite a shooting display in the third quarter, carrying the Atlanta Hawks to a 101-88 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.
Having clinched top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks are trying to maintain their playing edge while staying healthy for the final two weeks of the regular season. This wasn’t pretty – they put up five airballs – but it was enough to improve to 56-18, one win away from tying the franchise record.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Zaza Pachulia (27) passes around Atlanta Hawks’ Thabo Sefolosha (25) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 30, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Tulis)Korver, who has seemed uncomfortable playing with a protective mask since breaking his nose March 15, missed his first four shots against the Bucks – all beyond the arc.
Then, suddenly, he found the range.
In just 65 seconds, Korver made four straight deep jumpers. Three of them were outside the stripe, pushing what had been a five-point edge to 67-51. That brief stretch accounted for all of his 11 points in the game.
The Bucks made one more run, ripping off nine straight points. But Atlanta led 72-64 heading to the fourth and Milwaukee never seriously challenged the rest of the way, losing for the second time in three days to a conference leader. The Bucks fell at home to West-leading Golden State 108-95 on Saturday.
Carroll made 9 of 13 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also had eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks, a dazzling all-around display by the player who calls himself the “Junkyard Dog.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 18 to lead Milwaukee.
Korver wasn’t the only Hawks player to struggle with his shot in the first half. The team had trouble even hitting the rim at times and made only 39.5 percent from the field, yet somehow led by as many as 14.
The Hawks lost backup point guard Dennis Schroder to a left toe injury with 9 ½ minutes left in the second quarter. He did not return.
TIP-INS
Bucks: F Jared Dudley remained at home instead of taking the brief road trip to Atlanta. Dudley has been having lower back problems, and coach Jason Kidd figured it was better to get some extra rest with the playoffs approaching. “We would love to have everybody,” Kidd said, “but we’re taking the precaution of leaving Duds, with his back, and not putting him on the plane to travel for one game.” The coach said Dudley would be back at practice Tuesday and hopes he will be able to make a trip to Boston on Friday. … Milwaukee lost a 3-pointer during a timeout in the second quarter. The officials reviewed a basket by Khris Middleton and found he didn’t beat the shot clock, increasing Atlanta’s lead to 31-22 instead of 31-25.
Hawks: Jeff Teague returned to the lineup after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. In fact, all five Atlanta starters were back on the court after sitting out Saturday’s loss at Charlotte. … Facing another back-to-back, coach Mike Budenholzer was weighing whether to rest some of his regulars again on Tuesday. “I’ll try to keep you guys on your toes,” he told reporters, smiling. “There’s a lot of discussion and debate about how to best do it.”
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Chicago on Wednesday.
Hawks: Play at Detroit on Tuesday.
Photos: Oconto Falls-Fox Valley Lutheran softball
Fox Valley Lutheran hosted Oconto Falls in a softball game Monday.
Oconto Falls won, 6-1, and the game was called in the top of the seventh due to rain.
Brantner makes initial appearance in Beck murder case
FOND DU LAC – In July 1990, Berit Beck disappeared on her way to work in Appleton. Her van was found days later in Fond du Lac. Beck’s body was found about a month later near Waupun. Investigators say it appears she was strangled.
“This was a tragedy…a horrible tragedy,” said Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink during a press conference Monday.
It took until last year for investigators to find a match to fingerprints found in Beck’s van.
Fink said they belong to Dennis Brantner.
“That’s when we had the first hit on the finger prints and then we continued off of that just to make the case stronger. That’s where it takes all of this time,” Fink explained.
FOX 11 talked with Brantner’s defense attorney Craig Powell over the phone Monday. He refused to be recorded, but said his client is innocent in this case.
Powell said in court, fingerprints are not compelling evidence in a murder case.
“These fingerprint, ‘matches,’ as we call them, as the court is well-aware, is mere opinion evidence. Fingerprints are not facts, it is not science. It’s an opinion of the fingerprint examiner,” said Powell.
In the criminal complaint Brantner denied killing Beck or knowing how his fingerprints wound up in her van. However, he did become emotional, at times saying can’t remember what happened.
The document also lists Brantner’s past run ins with law enforcement.
“There is a long criminal history. The defendent has ties to numerous states,” said Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney.
One incident in the complaint says Brantner was arrested in 1994 for allegedly threatening his second wife with a knife and holding her against her will.
Powell told us investigators are digging up past dirt on his client, because they do not have enough evidence linking him to Beck’s murder.
“The character and strength of the evidence in this case, I know it is extremely weak,” he said in court.
“I don’t agree that, that the allegations in the complaint…are weak,” said Fond du Lac County Judge Dale English as he handed down a one million dollar cash bond for Brantner.
The criminal complaint also quotes one of Branter’s co-workers saying he saw what he thought was a picture of Beck inside Brantner’s tool box. Powell told FOX 11 over the phone that was not a picture of Beck, but he would not tell us who it was.
Woman injured in trailer home fire in Sheboygan
SHEBOYGAN – A woman suffered first and second degree burns during a fire at her home in the Indian Meadows Trailer Park in Sheboygan Monday afternoon.
The City of Sheboygan Fire Department responded to a trailer home fire at 5:07 p.m.
When fire crews arrived, they said the entire home was engulfed in flames and the heat was melting the siding off an adjacent trailer.
Firefighters were able to put the fire out before it destroyed nearby properties. Firefighters remained on scene for two hours putting out hot spots.
The lone woman tenant had burns on her hands, leg and face and had mild to moderate smoke inhalation. She was transported to a hospital. Her two pet cats died in the fire.
Fire officials say the fire caused approximately $30,000 worth of damage. There was an additional $1,000 worth of damage to an adjacent trailer.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Basketball player brings stenography to the forefront
MANITOWOC COUNTY – You may have heard Badger Men’s Basketball player Nigel Hayes throwing out some big words lately in interviews, adding some levity to the often predictable player and coach speak.
Those big words have been aimed at the stenographers; bringing to the foreground a career often in the background.
Local stenographers say they have a new favorite Badger.
“My phone just blew up,” said Lakeshore Technical College Instructor Jackie Rupnow. “’Oh my gosh, did you see Nigel Hayes tonight?’ So, he gave us some really great press.”
Rupnow is referring to this NCAA men’s basketball press conference, where Hayes spouted a string of big words: “Cadywhompus. Onomatopoeia. And antidisestablishmentarianism.”
He then gave an explanation.
“Well, that wonderful young lady over there, I think her job title is a stenographer, yes. Ok. And she does an amazing job of typing words. Sometimes, if the words are a little not in her dictionary maybe if I said soliloquy right now she may have to work a little bit harder to type that word,” said Hayes.
Rupnow says stenographers are more commonly found in courtrooms. But, they often caption live events.
“There’s broadcast captioning, which is, of course, what Nigel Hayes brought to the forefront,” said Rupnow.
Students say their skills can take them from court reporting, to typing courtside.
“There were so many different things that you can do with a degree in this field. I don’t think a lot of people know all the options that you have,” said student Samantha Shallue, who is set to graduate this spring.
Instructors showed FOX 11’s Kelly Schlicht how the machines work.
“Basically, every one of these keys is a letter of the alphabet. I ‘m only hitting a ‘u’ and a ‘r’, but it’s coming up as ‘you are’ in the translation,” said Rupnow.
Stenographers say if they were at the tournament, they’re confident they could quickly type any big words Hayes would throw their ways.
“Or quandary, zephyr, xylophone, things like that, that make her job a little more interesting,” said Hayes, in a previous press conference.
Lakeshore Tech and Madison Area Technical College are the only two stenographer schools in the state. Lakeshore Tech specifically has a broadcast captioning concentration, which is the only program of its kind in Wisconsin.
Dekker’s high school opponents remember ‘intimidating’, ‘amazing’ player
OSHKOSH – It’s not always good news when, as an athlete, you end up on national TV.
“People were like, ‘Neko, you’re on SportsCenter!’” said Neko Graf, formerly of Racine Lutheran High School basketball and current Drake University football player. “I’m like, ‘how am I on SportsCenter?’ They’re like, ‘well…’”
Badgers junior forward Sam Dekker is best known for his buzzer-beating, state title-winning shot at the 2012 State Tournament at the Kohl Center; a three breaking the hearts of his opponents from Racine Lutheran.
“Thought I had my hand right in his face, then watching the ball go over him, I was thinking ‘please don’t go in,’” said Graf. “Then it goes in, my shoulders just dropped, and I’m like, ‘man, are you kidding me?’”
That shot was eerily reminiscent of the game-clinching three-pointer Dekker hit in Saturday’s Elite 8 win over Arizona.
The Sheboygan native Dekker scored a career high 23 points in Wisconsin’s Sweet 16 win. The forward followed that up with a career-high 27 points in their Elite Eight victory. UW-Oshkosh roommates and former Hilbert High School hoops players Zach Woelfel and Bryson Schaffer can empathize.
“I know my brother after the game against Dekker, he actually got Dekker’s autograph,” said Woelfel. “I was like, ‘oh, alright.’”
Dekker played in high school for Sheboygan Area Lutheran, a school with an enrollment that usually hovers around 175 students. Dekker and his high school competed in Division 5 of the WIAA, facing the smallest schools around the state. That made him even more of a presence for opponents.
“Intimidating playing against him,” said Schaffer. “Thought we were prepared for him.”
Schaffer and Woelfel’s Hilbert team lost 65-49 against the Crusaders in a sectional semifinal with Dekker scoring, if memory serves the roommates, about 42 points.
“He brought his full arsenal,” said Woelfel. “Shot the three, drove the lane. There was nothing much we could do. Just took over and won that game for them.”
The guys from Hilbert weren’t alone. About anybody who took a high school court with Dekker has a story to tell.
“By far the best player I’d ever seen or played against in high school basketball,” said Tyler Konz, a former Kiel high school basketball player, now a Final Four-ticket holding student at UW-Madison. “I just remember the gym in Kiel, it was more packed than it had ever been.”
Dekker, who currently is listed as standing 6’9, was still an imposing presence in high school. He could hit plenty of threes, sure, but opponents worried about ending up on a posted in little Crusaders’ fans rooms.
“He was amazing,” said UW-Milwaukee student Alex Vander Schaaf, who faced Dekker at Kohler High School.” Our team was always nervous of him dunking or doing inbounds alley-oops on us.”
Dekker’s Sheboygan Lutheran team went 25-4 his senior year as the Badger-to-be poured in huge point totals, including 40 in the state title game. His small school opponents say they’re rooting for him, for the Badgers, and hoping he becomes a big success in the NBA – even if they hope he stays in Madison for his senior year.
“I already told a couple of my buddies here [about it],” said former Hilbert player Austin Schaffer, now at the University of Sioux Falls. “He was in one of those summer camps and he was guarding LeBron James, and I was like, ‘hey, I guarded that guy one time.’”
Arizona governor vetoes bill shielding names of officers
PHOENIX (AP) – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed legislation Monday requiring law enforcement agencies to keep the names of officers involved in shootings secret for two months, nixing a bill that was inspired by last year’s events Ferguson, Missouri, and similar incidents around the country.
Ducey said in a lengthy veto letter that he sympathized with backers who sought to protect officers. But he said he listened most to police chiefs who told him that an arbitrary hold on releasing the names of officers would limit their ability to manage complex community-police relations.
Legislatures around the nation are taking up various pieces of police shooting legislation, including proposals requiring police to wear body cameras or mandating that shooting investigations be done by outside agencies. But Arizona is apparently the only state considering new rules for releasing the names of officers, said Ezekiel Edwards, director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.
Ducey, a Republican, faced pressure to veto the measure from police chiefs, who worried they couldn’t manage community relations or stop unfounded rumors about an involved officer.
Police unions, however, supported the bill, saying the required two-month delay will give time for investigations to play out. They call it a common-sense measure that will ensure officer safety.
The death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, drew intense criticism and widespread protests last year. State Legislatures have been looking at police-transparency laws since Brown’s Aug. 8 shooting death by former police officer Darren Wilson, whose name was released a week later.
Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor wrote to Ducey last week in his role as president of the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police urging the veto.
In an interview, he said it would be wrong to ignore “the elephant in the room” of poor police-community relations that has been the highlight of much law enforcement news coverage in the past year.
“Enacting legislation that would hamper that trust by not allowing officers’ names to be released is not in my opinion the best way to improve or repair that level of trust,” Villasenor said.
Republican lawmakers who backed the proposal said it was designed to protect officers.
“The simple fact remains that we live in a world where misinformation can put everybody in jeopardy, especially police officers,” state Sen. John Kavanagh said last week. “And until we get those facts straight, we need to shield those cops and their families from being assassinated by lunatics or political zealots.”
Arizona public-records laws currently require the release of an officer’s name as soon as possible, unless the agency cites specific reasons for a temporary delay. In practice, agencies typically have released the name within several days but can hold off indefinitely if the officer’s safety is in jeopardy.
Ducey pointed to the option of withholding an officer’s name when necessary as a determining factor in his decision.
“There are many examples of our police departments exercising this authority in a manner that protects the officer’s identity while ultimately providing disclosure after the situation has cooled,” Ducey said in his veto letter.
The police chiefs and lawyers for The Arizona Republic also pointed to provisions that might shield all police disciplinary records.
Ducey said those provisions “seem to stretch outside the scope of protecting officers and their families from unjustified retaliation by creating new and expansive exceptions to the Public Records Act.”
Pharmacists’ group discourages providing execution drugs
SAN DIEGO (AP) – A leading association for U.S. pharmacists on Monday adopted a policy that discourages its members from providing drugs for use in lethal injections – a move that could make carrying out executions even harder for death penalty states.
The declaration approved by American Pharmacists Association delegates at a meeting in San Diego says the practice of providing lethal-injection drugs is contrary to the role of pharmacists as health care providers.
The association lacks legal authority to bar its members from selling execution drugs, but its policies set pharmacists’ ethical standards.
Pharmacists now join doctors and anesthesiologists in having national associations with ethics codes that restrict credentialed members from participating in executions.
“Now there is unanimity among all health professions in the United States who represent anybody who might be asked to be involved in this process,” said association member Bill Fassett, who voted in favor of the policy.
The American Pharmacists Association has more than 62,000 members.
Compounding pharmacies, which make drugs specifically for individual clients, only recently became involved in the execution-drug business.
Prison departments have turned to made-to-order execution drugs from compounding pharmacies because pharmaceutical manufacturers started to refuse to sell the drugs used for decades in lethal injections after coming under pressure from death penalty opponents.
But now the compounded version is also becoming difficult to come by, with most pharmacists reluctant to expose themselves to possible harassment by death-penalty opponents.
Texas’ prison agency scrambled this month to find a supplier to replenish its inventory before getting drugs from a compounding pharmacy it won’t identify.
After a troubling use of a two-drug method last year, Ohio said it will use compounded versions of either pentobarbital or sodium thiopental in the future, though it doesn’t have supplies of either and hasn’t said how it will obtain them. All executions scheduled this year were pushed to 2016 to give the state more time to find the drugs.
Others states are turning to alternative methods.
Tennessee has approved the use of the electric chair if lethal-injection drugs aren’t available, while Utah has reinstated the firing squad as a backup method if it can’t obtain the drugs. Oklahoma is considering legislation that would make it the first state to allow the use of nitrogen gas as a potential execution method.
Fassett, a professor emeritus of pharmacy law and ethics at Washington State University, said the united front by health professionals might force people to finally face the death penalty’s harsh realities.
Lethal injections have created a sterile setting for executions, he said.
“It’s like we’re not really executing. We’re sort of like taking Spot to the vet. We’re just putting him to sleep, and that’s not true,” he said.
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, executive director of SumOfUs.org, an international corporate watchdog organization that has been campaigning for such a policy, said the American Pharmacists Association’s stance does not end lethal injection as a form of execution, “though that may well be the outcome.”
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Associated Press writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
Man decorating family grave is killed by falling headstone
THROOP, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man decorating a relative’s grave for Easter with his wife has been killed after a headstone fell on him.
Police say 74-year-old Stephan Woytack was struck in the head Monday at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery in nearby Throop.
A cemetery caretaker tells WNEP-TV that the Scranton couple visits the grave several times a year and ties a cross to it each year.
Caretaker Ed Kubilus says the bases of headstones often sink when the ground thaws, making them susceptible to tipping over.
Throop is about 5 miles northeast of downtown Scranton.
US consumer spending edges up 0.1 percent in February
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumers spent just slightly more in February even though their income rose by a healthy amount. But economists hope bigger paychecks will give spending a bigger boost in the coming months.
Consumer spending edged up a tiny 0.1 percent following declines of 0.2 percent in both January and December, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The result reflected a 0.4 percent increase in nondurable goods such as food and energy coupled with a 0.1 percent fall in durable goods such as automobiles.
Income grew a solid 0.4 percent in February, matching January’s rise. With income growing faster than spending, the saving rate jumped to 5.8 percent of after-tax income – the highest level since December 2012.
Economists said the rise in the saving rate reflects in part the big drop in recent months in gas prices, which acts like a tax cut that leaves more money in consumers’ pockets. Falling gas prices and continued employment growth set the stage for stronger consumer spending in the months ahead as the weather improves.
“Households are still flush with the money saved from the big drop-off in gasoline prices and, with the labor market still on fire, incomes should continue to increase at a solid pace,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. “That provides the scope for a big gain in consumption in the second quarter.”
Severe winter weather kept shoppers away from the malls and auto showrooms in both January and February.
An earlier report showed retail sales fell in February for a third straight month as Americans cut back on car buying by the most in more than a year. Sales also fell at restaurants, home improvement centers and electronics and appliance stores. Harsh winter weather in much of the country was blamed for the decline.
The weather-related weakness is expected to dampen overall economic growth during the January-March quarter, with many economists forecasting growth to slow to around 1.5 percent during the quarter. But analysts are also optimistic for a rebound in coming quarters to growth of 3 percent or better.
If the economy does hit 3 percent growth this year, it would be the fastest pace for the economy in a decade.
Robust employment gains of the past year should continue this year, and the stronger job market will likely lead to rising household incomes and more consumer spending.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday an increase in the Fed’s key interest rate could come later this year. Any rate hikes, however, will likely be very gradual.
Many economists believe that with inflation still running below the Fed’s target of 2 percent, the Fed will be cautious in raising rates and hold off on the first rate hike until September. The Fed’s target for short-term rates has been at a record low near zero since December 2008.
The new report on consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, showed that an inflation gauge tied to consumer spending patterns rose 0.2 percent in February after three months of declines. Excluding food and energy, this inflation gauge was up 0.1 percent in February and has risen just 1.4 percent over the past 12 months, well below the Fed’s 2 percent target.
Fox River cleanup resumes in Green Bay area
GREEN BAY – If you plan to boat on the Fox River in the Green Bay area, prepare to make room.
The Fox River Cleanup Project got underway Monday morning for a seventh season.
It’s part of a 8 year, billion-dollar effort to remove harmful PCBs from the river.
And this season, the work is getting closer to the area downtown.
At Skipper’s Choice Marine Supply, Dave Jakubovsky’s view is filled with barges and more.
“They’re there doing a job. They’re out there to get this cleaned up and make the river a nicer place to be,” said Dave Jakubovsky, Skipper’s Choice Marine Supply.
The entire project includes dredging, capping and covering areas on a 13-mile stretch of the Fox River.
“We’re starting this year at the processing facility, which is right along the Green Bay, Allouez area. And we’ll continue to move downstream and probably get into the parts of downtown Green Bay area,” said Scott Stein, Fox River Cleanup Project Spokesperson.
It’s a stretch that includes 14 business terminals. The Port of Green Bay is coordinating with shipping companies, and the dredging operators to keep the 200 large vessels that use the river each year, safe.
“There are some concerns from the port-side of things. For our businesses, that there may be additional obstacles. A little bit of a slow-down in terms of the traffic,” said Mark Walter, Port of Green Bay.
And on a typical summer weekend, thousands of recreational boaters will have to stay away.
“Just want to make sure that when boaters are out there, if they see a danger pipeline signs, and some of the equipment, that they treat it kind of like a road construction project and slow down,” said Stein.
Stein says barges will move closer to downtown after areas are dredged.
Jakubovsky says he doesn’t mind sharing his view.
“So far so good. I’m happy with the progress, and it’s just going to make our river more enjoyable for everyone,” he said.
There is still a lot of work to be done.
The target date for finishing the project to the mouth of the Fox River is 2017.
Construction worker hurt during Wisconsin road project
ROTHSCHILD, Wis. (AP) – Rothschild police say a 53-year-old construction worker was injured when a beam fell and pinned him during a road project.
WSAW-TV reports the accident happened about 1:30 p.m. Monday as crews worked on a portion of Highway 29 west in Rothschild near the Wisconsin River.
The man suffered a leg injury and was taken to a Wausau hospital. His condition remains unknown.
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GNC reaches deal with NY AG over Herbal Plus products
NEW YORK (AP) — GNC Holdings Inc. said Monday that it has reached a deal with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over its Herbal Plus products.
In February, Schneiderman’s office sent letters to GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens for allegedly selling store brand herbal supplement products in New York that either could not be verified to contain the labeled substance or were found to contain ingredients not listed on the labels.
Tests commissioned by Schneiderman’s office used DNA barcoding to test the authenticity of popular supplements such as echinacea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng and St. John’s wort. Schneiderman said four out of five supplements tested showed no trace of the labeled herb’s DNA.
But industry groups and some consumer advocates criticized Schneiderman’s methods, saying manufacturing processes can break down a plant’s DNA while leaving its active chemical components intact.
Schneiderman acknowledged in a statement Monday that the Food and Drug Administration does not mandate the use of DNA-based technologies to authenticate herbal supplements, instead allowing companies to support their claims through other methodologies. But he said given the existence of chemically-similar natural or synthetic substitutes, he remains concerned that these alternate methodologies do not provide adequate assurances of the authenticity of herbal supplements.
“When consumers take an herbal supplement, they should be able to do so with full knowledge of what is in that product and confidence that every precaution was taken to ensure its authenticity and purity,” Schneiderman said.
The company said its agreement affirms the relevant products were in full compliance with FDA “Current Good Manufacturing Practices.” The agreement also recognizes GNC’s full cooperation with the attorney general’s inquiries.
GNC said that in responding to the attorney general, it provided results of internal tests and those conducted by independent third parties. The Pittsburgh company said the tests gave “conclusive evidence” that its products are safe, properly labeled and in full compliance with regulatory requirements.
In addition, GNC said that the tests showed that its products contain all herbal extracts listed on their respective labels.
In its agreement with Schneiderman’s office, GNC said that within 18 months, it would start using DNA barcoding to confirm the authenticity of all plants used in its herbal supplements prior to processing. It also agreed to do randomized testing of its products for common allergens including milk, eggs, peanuts, shellfish, soy and wheat.
The retailer said the full assortment of Herbal Plus products have returned to all of its stores in the state of New York. The company also said it will expand its testing processes for supplement suppliers.
GNC said that lawsuits were filed against it after the New York Attorney General’s announcement in February. The company said that it believes the lawsuits are “completely without merit” and that it will defend itself aggressively.
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AP Writer Mary Esch contributed to this report from Albany, N.Y.
“Million Moms” march planned for Washington on Mother’s Day
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The mother of a man killed by a Milwaukee police officer hopes to get a million moms from around the nation to march in Washington, D.C. on Mother’s Day.
Maria Hamilton has created a support group for mothers who have lost children after encounters with police called Mothers for Justice United, which is organizing the march.
She says she wants the Department of Justice to reopen the police shooting cases and investigate them without “bias.”
She’s getting help from social justice organizations around the country, many of which are raising money for the mothers to go.
Hamilton is the mother of Dontre Hamilton, who was shot 14 times by Milwaukee police officer Christopher Manney last April. Manney has since been fired.
She plans to officially announce the march later Monday.
Fiancee says she discarded box at Aaron Hernandez’s request
FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) – The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez testified in his murder trial Monday that she removed a box from their basement at his request the day after the slaying but never looked inside before she dumped it in a random trash bin.
But Shayanna Jenkins also said for the first time that the box smelled skunky and she thought it contained marijuana, undercutting prosecutors’ attempts to suggest the box contained crucial evidence – or even the weapon used to kill Odin Lloyd.
Jenkins, 25, is Hernandez’s high school sweetheart and the mother of his 2-year-old daughter. She was compelled to testify under a grant of immunity and was called to the stand for a second day Monday by prosecutors. She completed her testimony that afternoon.
Hernandez, 25, is charged with killing Lloyd on June 17, 2013. Lloyd, 27, was dating Jenkins’ younger sister, Shaneah. He was found shot to death in an industrial park less than a mile from the home Hernandez and Jenkins share.
Jenkins, wearing her large diamond engagement ring, said on questioning from Assistant District Attorney William McCauley that Hernandez called her the day after Lloyd was killed and told her it was important to toss the box.
“He told me to go downstairs in our storage room and remove a box from our home,” Jenkins said. “I believe he said it was important.”
Downstairs, she found a cardboard box of 35 to 40 pounds, open on top, that had smaller boxes and cardboard inside, obscuring what was underneath, she said. Jenkins said she didn’t look inside the box or ask Hernandez what was inside. Instead, she said, she put it inside a trash bag and covered it with baby clothing, then borrowed her sister’s car and drove around.
She said she threw it in a trash bin but could not remember where.
“I don’t know. I found a random dumpster,” she said.
Prosecutors have said the box may have held evidence or the murder weapon, which was never found.
The testimony contradicts in part what she told a grand jury that investigated the killing, saying then that no one told her to remove the box and that it wasn’t important to her to do it. She said then that she did not remember where she threw it away. She was charged with perjury for that testimony and has pleaded not guilty.
When asked how she could not remember where she disposed of the box, Jenkins said she was nervous at the time.
“I really had to play a neutral role as far as trying to comfort my sister. Everyone’s emotions were kind of on me,” Jenkins said.
Her sister, Shaneah Jenkins, who was sitting next to Lloyd’s mother, left the courtroom soon afterward. A few minutes later, Shaneah returned, and some jurors glanced toward her as Jenkins continued to testify.
Hernandez lawyer Charles Rankin asked Jenkins if the box was closer to 20 to 25 pounds, as she had testified before the grand jury. She said that might be a more accurate estimate. He then asked Jenkins if she smelled anything, and she said it smelled “skunky.”
“Did you have a thought about what was in there?” he asked.
“I did,” she replied, adding, “That it was marijuana.”
McCauley then went back at her, pointing out that it was the first time she has mentioned a smell. Rankin then noted she had never been asked about a smell or what she thought was inside the box.
Shayanna Jenkins also testified about what happened after Hernandez came back early the morning of June 18, after he had gone to the North Attleborough police station at the request of investigators.
“I believe I asked him at that point if he did, did it, and he said no,” she said.
Hernandez watched Jenkins intently for much of her testimony, but she didn’t look at him. She broke down and cried during questioning from Hernandez’s lawyer as she talked about catching him cheating and about making a decision to work things out with him and to “compromise” on his behavior.
“That included infidelity,” she said.
The couple exchanged brief glances as she concluded her testimony and left the courtroom.
Man arrested during Casper burial
KIEL – A 56-year-old Kiel man was arrested during the burial of State Trooper Trevor Casper.
Police say around 10:15 a.m., officers noticed the man walk past the cemetery borders carrying a bag with something sticking out of it. Officers went up to the man and questioned him. They tried to take him away from the cemetery, but he started to argue with the officers and physically resist them. Officers say they had to use physical force to arrest the man and take him away.
The man was taken to a Manitowoc hospital. After he was cleared there, he was taken to the Manitowoc County Jail.
The incident happened while family members were saying their final goodbyes to Casper, who was killed during a shootout with a bank robbery and murder suspect last Tuesday in Fond du Lac.
No ‘narsisstics': Music festivals ban fans’ selfie sticks
LOS ANGELES (AP) – You can bring your beach towels and floral headbands, but forget that selfie stick if you’re planning to go to the Coachella or Lollapalooza music festivals.
The devices, which grasp cellphones to allow people to take pictures of themselves farther away from their faces, are banned at this summer’s multiday festivals in Indio, California, and Chicago. Coachella dismissed them as “narsisstics” on a list of prohibited items.
Selfie sticks have become a popular but polemical photo-taking tool: Avid picture takers like snapping their own shots in front of monuments and sunsets, but critics dismiss them as obnoxious and potentially dangerous to others around them.
A spokeswoman for Coachella would not comment on the restriction. Lollapalooza representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
Coachella and Lollapalooza are among dozens of popular events and landmarks taking a stand against the sticks.
In Europe, the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, Britain’s National Gallery in London and the Colosseum in Rome have all banned selfie sticks, saying they need to protect exhibits on display and ensure the safety of visitors.
In the U.S., Ultra Music Festival in Miami, one of the world’s largest electronic music festivals, also prohibited selfie sticks at last weekend’s event.
“They will be turned away and we’ll probably make fun of you,” Ultra said on its Twitter account early this month.
Some concertgoers welcomed the decision, saying the sticks get in the way of seeing the stage and enjoying the concert.