Green Bay News

EXTENDED VIDEO: Police chase ends in Clintonville man’s arrest

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 4:37pm

WARNING: The video above contains strong language and may not be suitable for all viewers.

WAUSAU – Dash cam video shows what happened at the end of a police chase that landed a Clintonville man behind bars two counties away from where he allegedly stole an SUV.

Randall Wilson, 58, was arrested Tuesday in Marathon County. Authorities say he stole the SUV from an auto repair shop in Clintonville that morning. Police in Marion spotted the SUV a little while later, setting off the chase.

The chase made its way into Shawano County and eventually Marathon County, where deputies say they used “stop sticks” to try to deflate the SUV’s tires, but Wilson drove around them. At one point, officers say Wilson drove west in the eastbound lanes of Hwy. 29. The chase continued on Hwy. 51, and when Wilson tried to exit, one deputy used his squad car to stop the SUV.

Wilson remains in custody on a $50,000 cash bond. He is due back in court April 9 for a competency hearing.

Is the administration downplaying the threat terrorist groups like ISIS pose by not referring to it as a “radical branch” of Islam?

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 4:32pm

In the politically divisive atmosphere of Capitol Hill, two U.S. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree that our veterans are not getting all the help they need when they return from the battlefield.

Today, Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D) Hawaii and Congressman Scott Perry (R) Pennsylvania hosted the first ever Congressional Post 9/11 Veterans Caucus to help veterans deal with their demons. Both Gabbard and Perry are post 9/11 veterans and know about thousands of U.S. veterans who are suffering here, at home.

Congresswoman Gabbard says one of the first orders of business is to find housing for homeless veterans, help them transition back to civilian life, file disability claims, and find employment. “We wish to address their issues, their concerns, as well as [put] their potential and opportunities into focus,” says Gabbard.

The announcement came on the 12th anniversary of the Iraq War.

Gabbard is a captain in the Hawaii Army National Guard and Perry still serves as a brigadier general with Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Both emphasize Americans need to know who the enemy is and urged the White House to end the semantics it uses to describe ISIS.

The White House refuses to call the terror organization a branch of radical Islam; saying it gives the appearance the terrorists are sincere about their so-called “religious views.”

Still, some people believe that tactic adds to the fog of war and makes it more ambiguous.

Some experts say the mindset of ISIS is that God is on their side. Therefore, they’re invincible.

Matthew Levitt, a terrorism expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy says, “They [ISIS] see God as a source of strength.” Levitt added, “A source of strength in terms of the purity of their cause and the purpose of their ideology.”

However, last week, CIA Director John Brennan sided with President Obama. Brennan said the word “Islamic” should be expunged when referring to jihadist groups like ISIS. It gives them “the type of religious legitimacy” they so desperately seek.

“I think it’s very problematic that the administration continues to refuse to very clearly identify the enemy,” Representative Gabbard said.

Congressman Perry concurs, “I think if you talk to most people on the street, they recognize what it is and they put 2 and 2 together and it just makes it confusing.”

Gabbard and Perry believe all Americans deserve a clear and comprehensive explanation to bring ISIS out of the shadows and cut the “wordplay.” In the end, both say it’ll at the very least help the sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers who are sent abroad to fight an evil, but indistinguishable enemy.

And for more on this watch Your Voice, Your Future Roundtable – “New Terror Threat: The Countdown” Tuesday, March 24th at 7 p.m. Panelists and experts will discuss the current  US/Iranian nuclear talks and current world terror threat, plus US/Israeli relations and growing tension in the Middle East.

Boys, 15, charged with killing dog-walker in botched robbery

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 3:53pm

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia police say two 15-year-old boys are being charged with murder in the shooting of a man walking his dog in what they say was a botched robbery.

Police said Thursday that one boy was under arrest and the second was being sought.

They are accused of killing 51-year-old James Stuhlman on March 12. Stuhlman was the owner of a suburban landscaping company who took nightly walks with his dog, a labradoodle named Molly.

Homicide Capt. James Clark says three boys were playing basketball when they decided to rob someone. Clark says it looks like the shooting occurred after a brief struggle.

Police say a 14-year-old boy has also been arrested on lesser charges and is cooperating with investigators.

The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles charged with crimes.

L.A. Mayor: Don’t count us out of NFL chase yet

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 3:41pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday that a proposal to build an NFL stadium downtown is not dead.

Developer AEG had spent five years and at least $50 million on the project, but the company said last week that it would focus on other downtown projects.

The apparent demise of the development was “overreported,” Garcetti told KNX Radio during a regular “Ask the Mayor” segment.

He said environmental work is complete and a downtown plan is ready, should someone want to take the city up on it.

After AEG’s decision, there are two clear contenders for the NFL’s return to the area for the first time in two decades – both in cities just outside Los Angeles. A stadium in Inglewood proposed in January has the backing of St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and a project in Carson was announced last month with the joint backing of the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers.

As for possible plans to build a stadium in the suburbs, the mayor said he would embrace that as well.

“We’re all one city,” Garcetti said.

Walker in SC pitches conservative course

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 3:39pm

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is pitching himself in South Carolina as a leader with the experience to put the U.S. on a conservative course.

In his first visit this year to the early presidential primary state, Walker got an enthusiastic reception Thursday as he recounted his 2012 recall election victory and his successful efforts to weaken labor unions for public and private workers back home. He addressed a South Carolina Republican Party fund-raising luncheon.

State Party Chairman Matt Moore said Walker is a strong social and fiscal conservative who favors a strong military posture. He said Walker is the kind of candidate who would do well in South Carolina.

South Carolina will hold the South’s first primary, in February, weeks after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

Madison-area brewery rolls out new red beer

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 3:27pm

MIDDLETON – From green beer to red beer in barely a day.

Capital Brewery in suburban Madison released a new beer just in time for the NCAA championship tournament.

The new “Grateful Red” IPA, or India Pale Ale, is not affiliated with the university or the basketball team, but the brewery is hoping it will be the drink of choice for many Badger fans.

Ashley Kinart, the creator of the new brew, says it is a way to add a little something to watching the games, “Just really fun, super unique characteristics to it that I thought would go really, really nicely as an IPA.”

Grateful Red will be available on tap at bars around Madison.

Bottles and cans aren’t expected to roll out until the beginning of April, which is the week of the Final Four.

 

Help for Homeless hygiene drive ends with good results

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 3:08pm

GREEN BAY – Donations of hygiene supplies were counted and sorted in this years 23rd annual “Help for the Homeless” drive in Green Bay Thursday.

Collection containers for new hygiene/cleaning supplies were spread throughout Northeast Wisconsin for the past three weeks.

Workers helped sort the items Thursday at the Green Bay Community Church.

Organizer and co-chair for Help for the Homeless, Robin Kuklinski, says this is a great way to help meet the needs of those less fortunate, “A lot of times people have to decide between buying diapers, food, gas for their car, and they don’t necessarily have the extra money for soap, shampoo, and things like that. So it’s meeting that unmet need that people run into.”

The products will be distributed to 11 crisis agencies within the community.

 

Finale of ‘Empire’ draws 17.6 million viewers

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 2:38pm

NEW YORK (AP) – With a standard-setting finale to its first season reaching 17.6 million viewers, Fox’s music business drama “Empire” has proven that it’s still possible for broadcast television to create big hits.

The Nielsen company said that’s how many people watched the second of two “Empire” episodes to air Wednesday night. The first hour was seen by 15.8 million people.

It represented the most popular finale for a television drama’s first season since ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2005.

The series achieved the almost unheard-of feat of gaining viewers with each episode following a January debut seen by 9.9 million people on its first night.

Mountain Dew to roll out new drink

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 2:08pm

(CNN) Mountain Dew is rolling out a new version of its popular, ultra-caffeinated yellow soda.

“Dewshine” is made with real sugar and according to a spokesperson, is inspired by the company’s roots in the backwoods of Tennessee.

It’s also packaged differently.

“Mountain Dew Dewshine” will come in a four-pack of long-neck glass bottles, like old-fashioned sodas or craft beer.

It will hit the shelves nationwide on March 23.

 

Trivia quiz: ‘Mad Men’

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 2:06pm

Interactive quiz on the period TV drama about working in the advertising industry during the 1960s in New York City.

NY county gets 2nd $100M-plus lottery winner in 3 months

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 2:00pm

MONTICELLO, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York county of 76,000 people has gotten its second $100 million-plus Mega Millions jackpot winner in three months.

Real estate agent Tammy Pratt of South Fallsburg in Sullivan County was introduced Wednesday as the sole winner of the $126 million Mega Millions jackpot drawn Feb. 27.

Pratt was between real estate appointments when she stopped for gas. She bought $4 worth of tickets instead of her usual $1 when she noticed the jackpot for the upcoming drawing had topped $100 million.

Lottery officials say the odds of hitting that jackpot were 1 in 258 million.

In January, a retired school principal from Wurtsboro in Sullivan County was announced as the sole winner of a $326 million Mega Millions jackpot drawn in November.

 

Secret Service chief forcefully denies reports of crash

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:54pm

WASHINGTON (AP) – The recently installed director of the scandal-plagued Secret Service is going on the offensive on Capitol Hill, pushing back hard against news reports that two senior agents crashed a government vehicle into a security barrier at the White House after a night of drinking earlier this month.

“Previous reports of a crash are inaccurate – there was no crash,” Joseph Clancy said in a statement he prepared for an Thursday afternoon  hearing by a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. “The video shows the vehicle entering the White House complex at a speed of approximately 1 to 2 mph, and pushing aside a plastic barrel.  There was no damage to the vehicle,” his statement said.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of Clancy’s prepared remarks in advance of the Hill hearing.

Earlier this month The Washington Post reported that a pair of senior agents drove a government vehicle into a White House security barrier after a night of drinking on March 4. The paper also initially reported that the agents may have driven over a suspicious item suspected of being a bomb during the incident. The newspaper later clarified that the vehicle may have actually only driven near the item.

Earlier this week while testifying before a House Appropriations panel, Clancy said he had “seen nothing to indicate this incident as described occurred.”

His prepared remarks for Thursday’s hearing were far stronger.

Although denying reports of a crash, Clancy was expected to reiterate his concerns that it took five days for him to learn about the incident.

“The fact that I did not learn of this allegation until five days after it is said to have occurred is unacceptable,” the director said in the prepared remarks.

Clancy was set to repeat an earlier pledge to carry out appropriate discipline if a Homeland Security IG’s investigation concludes the agents had been drinking before the March 4 incident – or if anyone else tried to cover up the incident.

Coroner: Rat raised to feed family’s snakes fatally bit baby

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:49pm

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a rat being raised to feed a Pennsylvania family’s pet snakes ended up biting a 6-month-old boy, killing him.

Cumberland County Coroner Charlie Hall said Thursday that the baby died from meningitis and myocarditis transmitted through the bite.

The family lives in Dillsburg. The coroner didn’t identify the boy or his family.

Hall says the child was treated at a hospital emergency room Dec. 30 for a fever and a rash. Two days later, the lethargic and feverish child was brought back and died in the emergency room.

Lab studies later revealed the baby had rat-bite fever. Hall says police and county caseworkers are investigating.

Ferguson Facebook case part of debate about online threats

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:44pm

SEATTLE (AP) – A Washington man who posted Facebook comments threatening a former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer will avoid prison but has been ordered to stay off social media sites in a case that is part of a broader legal debate about when social media rants go beyond hyperbole and become a crime.

A judge handed down Jaleel Abdul-Jabbaar’s sentence Thursday, saying it was one of the hardest he has had to decide.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik noted that in a separate case – the recent shooting deaths of two New York officers – the gunman had threatened online to kill police.

But Lasnik accepted the defense argument that Abdul-Jabbaar’s comments were simply a strong reaction to the unfolding events in Ferguson, and he had no intention of following through on his threat to shoot Darren Wilson.

The judge ordered Abdul-Jabbaar to spend three years on supervised release. But he said the two months Abdul-Jabbaar already spent in jail was enough time behind bars.

Adbul-Jabbaar pleaded guilty Feb. 2 for posting a threat against Wilson on Facebook that included a call to “give back those bullets that Police Officer Darren Wilson fired into the body of Mike Brown.”

Federal prosecutors said Abdul-Jabbaar posted inflammatory messages for months after the Aug. 9 killing of Brown sparked protests nationwide.

The federal charge of making an interstate threat carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But prosecutors recommended that Abdul-Jabbaar be sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release because he cooperated with state prosecutors in an unrelated shooting case. The plea deal included dismissal of charges for his other threatening messages.

The popularity of social media sites like Facebook and its users’ willingness to speak their minds have landed people in jail and left lawyers arguing over what constitutes a “true threat” – one not protected by the First Amendment – and what is simply an exercise of First Amendment free speech.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in December on another Facebook threat case that legal experts say could answer some of those questions.

When Anthony Elonis’ wife left him, he vented on his Facebook page by posting violent threats against her in the form of rap lyrics. The justices are considering whether an “objective” standard should be used in these cases, meaning an average person would believe the writer intended to harm someone, or whether the threat was “subjective,” meaning he was just venting and didn’t intend to hurt anyone.

“Facebook ‘threats’ may be different because the person is not ‘sending them’ to the intended target; indeed, the target may find out from someone else,” said Loyola Law School Professor Marcy Strauss. “It also may depend on whether the ‘threat’ is written on the ‘victim’s’ wall, or whether it is posted on the speaker’s.

“Whether that is important may turn on the standard the Supreme Court adopts.”

Another Seattle man, Mark Brian Verhul, was sentenced last year to four years in prison for posting on Facebook a photograph and message that said “This is the cop I am going to kill.” The officer pictured had arrested Verhul and he was angry about it.

A Massachusetts man was arrested for posting “Put Wings On Pigs” on his Facebook page in December, which was a repeat of the final remarks of the shooter who killed two New York police officers.

Strauss said she believes the number of criminal cases involving social media threats are increasing “because monitoring of Facebook by government entities and by others attuned to suspicious posts is growing.”

Honda adds 105,000 vehicles to driver’s air bag recall

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:39pm

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is adding nearly 105,000 vehicles to its growing U.S. recall of driver’s side air bag inflators that can explode with too much force.

The added vehicles include nearly 89,000 Pilot SUVs from the 2008 model year, as well as about 11,000 Civics from 2004 and another 5,000 Accords from the 2001 model year.

Honda said that it’s the first recall of 2008 Pilots for potential problems with driver’s air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan. The inflators can blow apart a metal canister and spew shrapnel into drivers and passengers. At least six people have died worldwide due to the problem.

Dealers will replace the driver air bag inflators for free. With the added vehicles, Honda has now recalled 5.5 million Honda and Acura cars and SUVs nationwide from the 2001 to 2011 model years because of the air bag problems.

So far, 10 different automakers have recalled over 17 million cars and trucks in the U.S. and 22 million worldwide because of the air bag problem. There could be as many as 30 million vehicles with Takata air bags across the U.S.

Honda said in documents posted Thursday by U.S. safety regulators that it found the additional vehicles by checking Takata inflator part numbers against Honda vehicle identification numbers in its factory records. Some 2001 Accords and 2004 Civics already were included in a recall from last year.

After announcing the driver’s side recall last year, Honda started checking part numbers, spokesman Chris Martin wrote in an email. “The process required a significant amount of time to cross-check large databases, but helped to assure that each vehicle had been identified,” he wrote.

Honda has no new reports of inflator ruptures related to the recall expansion, and has no reason to believe further expansions will be needed, Martin wrote.

The company said it will send letters to owners of vehicles in the expanded recall “over time” as replacement parts become available.

The recalls are nationwide for driver’s side air bags. There were separate recalls announced last year for passenger air bags in high-humidity areas including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Takata uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that quickly inflates its air bags. But government investigators say the chemical can burn faster than designed if exposed to prolonged airborne moisture. That can cause it to blow apart a metal canister meant to contain the explosion. Automakers, Takata and the government all want to find out just how much humidity and time it takes to cause the problem, both of which are unknown.

Takata, NHTSA and the auto industry are investigating to figure out just how much humidity over how much time can cause the problem to happen.

The 10 automakers, fed up with slow progress by Takata in finding the cause, hired a Virginia rocket science company to investigate the matter. Orbital ATK has the ability to quickly simulate the impact of humidity on chemicals over long periods of time.

NHTSA began fining Takata $14,000 per day on Feb. 20 for allegedly failing to fully cooperate in the government’s investigation. The fines have grown to $392,000 as of Thursday. The Justice Department also is investigating Takata for possible criminal prosecution. The company has known about the air bag problems since at least 2004.

Relative: Woman accused of cutting out baby had son die

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:30pm

LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado woman accused of stabbing a pregnant stranger and taking her unborn baby from her womb had lost a child of her own more than a decade ago when he accidentally drowned, a relative said Thursday.

Dynel Lane’s son was 19 months old in 2002, when he drowned in a shallow pond at the home of her parents near Pueblo, Colorado. Investigators at the time ruled the death an accident.

Lane and her now ex-husband were devastated by the child’s death, said Aaron Cruz, the boy’s paternal grandfather. The couple had two daughters together and had been trying for a boy.

Cruz said Lane seemed like a “fine parent” and relatives were shocked to learn she is accused of luring the pregnant woman to her home through a Craigslist ad for baby clothes and taking her unborn child.

Lane, 34, told her husband when he returned home Wednesday that she had suffered a miscarriage, police said. He rushed her to a hospital with the baby, who did not survive.

The 26-year-old expectant mother, who was seven months pregnant, was found beaten and stabbed at the suspect’s home, Longmont police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said.

She managed to call 911 but was in poor condition and barely conscious when officers arrived.

In a recording of the call, a woman with a dazed-sounding voice says she has been stabbed and pleads for help.

“She cut me,” the woman says, later adding, “I’m pregnant.”

“Please help me,” she says. “Help, help.”

Police said the woman was alert and answering questions Thursday after undergoing surgery.

The mother was responding to the online ad and “when she got into the house, she was attacked, she was beaten, and her baby was removed or cut out of her,” Satur said.

Lane had left the house when police arrived.

Lane and the pregnant woman, who was not identified, did not know each other, investigators said. Police are looking for any other mothers who may have responded to Lane’s ad for baby clothes.

Lane was arrested at the hospital on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and child abuse knowingly and recklessly resulting in death.

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office will consider what formal charges to file.

“The issues involving an unborn child are complicated under Colorado law,” he told the Longmont Times-Call. “In most circumstances, if a child was not actually born alive, then homicide charges are not possible.”

A July 2002 obituary for Lane’s son, Michael Alexander Cruz, in the Pueblo Chieftan said the boy loved playing with his sisters, cousins and friends and had just learn to sing his first song, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Lane’s then-husband wasn’t home at the time of the drowning, the newspaper reported at the time. She and their two daughters, then 5 and 3, searched for the boy until they found him in the fish pond.

He had been playing a game with his sisters while their mother was busy in another part of the house, the newspaper said.

_____

Jennifer Farrar of AP’s News Research Center in New York contributed to this report.

Madison officer’s family supports protests

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:17pm

MADISON (AP) – The sister of a white Madison Police officer who shot and killed an unarmed biracial man says his family supports what she called the “impulse” to protest the shooting.

Matt Kenny shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson in an apartment house on March 6 after responding to calls that Robinson had attacked two people and was running in traffic. The incident has spurred the city’s black community to mount multiple protests. Some demonstrators have called for Kenny to be charged with homicide but the rallies have been peaceful thus far.

Kenny’s sister, Amanda, released a statement Thursday through the Wisconsin Professional Police Association. She said her family is saddened by Robinson’s death and supports the “impulse to protest.”

But she called her brother a caring person dedicated to public service.

Man charged in Phoenix-area shootings appears before judge

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:16pm

MESA, Ariz. (AP) – An ex-convict accused of shooting and killing one person and wounding five others in a Phoenix suburb made his first court appearance Thursday as authorities tried to figure out what triggered the rampage that led to an intense, hourslong hunt for the gunman.

Mesa police said the string of crimes Wednesday included a motel shooting, a carjacking and a home invasion and ended with 41-year-old Ryan Giroux’s arrest Wednesday at a vacant apartment.

Giroux was jailed Thursday on suspicion of murder and numerous other crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping and aggravated assault. A judge ordered Giroux held in lieu of $2 million bond.

He was taken into custody after officers spotted him on an apartment balcony and hit him with a stun gun. Numerous officers led the handcuffed man to a truck parked outside the apartment complex.

Police later identified him as Giroux, who has served three stints in state prison since 1994.

An undated mug shot from the Arizona Department of Corrections shows him with several face and neck tattoos, including the word “skinhead” where his eyebrows normally would be. A newly released mug shot shows a bloodied and scraped up Giroux without many of his facial tattoos visible.

Police said in a court document that Giroux sustained minor facial and other injuries while resisting arrest and struggling with officers.

The police document also summarized statements in which two witnesses said a man was with Giroux when Giroux fired into a motel room. One of the witnesses, a resident of the motel, said the unidentified companion grabbed Giroux by the shirt “and told him they needed to leave the area,” the document said.

Mesa police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the witnesses’ statements.

Efforts to identify a lawyer representing Giroux who could comment on the allegations against him were not immediately successful.

During the court appearance, the judge declared Giroux indigent and said he was appointing a lawyer to represent Giroux. A court spokesman said court records indicated Giroux would be represented by the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office. Amanda Martin, an office supervisor, declined to confirm that the office represents Giroux or to comment on his case.

Police said the motive for the initial shooting at the motel was unclear, but the other three shootings appeared motivated by robbery and the suspect’s attempt to flee.

The shootings started with an argument inside a motel room that spilled outside, leaving one man dead and two women wounded, Mesa police Detective Esteban Flores said.

The gunman then shot a man working at a nearby restaurant. The adult student at the nearby East Valley Institute of Technology was able to run across the street to emergency responders already at the motel, Flores said. The school said in a statement that the victim was one of seven students and an instructor working at Bistro 13 restaurant. The student was treated at a hospital and released.

Vinny Carbone, who owns an auto body shop near the motel and restaurant, said he was getting ready to open when he heard a man yell “Help, help” from Bistro 13 across the street. He turned and saw a woman outside the motel with what looked like a bullet hole in her side.

“She was in a chair but she was holding onto another chair, shaking, trying to keep her balance,” Carbone said. “Another guy, he had blood on the back of his shirt.”

The gunman got away from the restaurant by carjacking the school instructor’s car.

Police say the man then went to an apartment complex about 2 miles away, where he went into an apartment and shot a man. The victim will survive, police said.

A police officer found another man in a neighboring apartment building with multiple gunshot wounds, and Flores said that victim was hospitalized in critical condition.

The shootings set off an intense hunt for the gunman. Mesa police searched the trunks of cars and brought in SWAT and canine units from other agencies.

Giroux served prison terms totaling more than eight years for burglary, theft, attempted aggravated assault and a marijuana violation, according to an Arizona Department of Corrections profile of Giroux.

He was first incarcerated in 1994 and returned to prison in late 1995 before being released about a year later. He then returned to prison in mid-2007 before being released in late 2013.

Last year, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge allowed Giroux to remain on probation despite an unspecified probation violation.

Obama orders 40 percent cut in government’s greenhouse gases

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:04pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama ordered the federal government on Thursday to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by 40 percent, as the U.S. seeks to spur other nations to get serious about climate change.

Obama’s executive order also directs the government to ramp up use of renewable energy sources to 30 percent of the federal government’s consumption. The White House said U.S. taxpayers could save up to $18 billion in electricity costs by reducing greenhouse gases 40 percent over the next decade, compared to 2008 levels.

“These are ambitious goals, but we know they’re achievable goals,” Obama said at the Energy Department, where he toured a rooftop solar panel installation after signing the executive order at the White House.

Major companies that sell to the federal government like GE, HP, Northrup Grumman and Honeywell will also announce voluntary commitments to cut their own emissions of the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming, the White House said. IBM, for example, said it will cut its energy consumption 35 percent by 2020 and buy at least 20 percent of its power from renewably sources by that year.

All told, the government pollution cuts along with industry contributions will have the effect of keeping 26 million metric tons of greenhouse gases out of the air by 2025, or the equivalent of what about 5.5 million cars would pump out through their tailpipes in an average year, the White House said. Yet it was unclear exactly how either the government or private companies planned to meet those targets.

While at the Energy Department, Obama also discussed the new emissions targets at a roundtable with federal suppliers that do more than $1 billion per year in business with the government.

The U.S. government is responsible for only a small portion of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but the Obama administration is hoping that taking aggressive steps at home will increase the political pressure on other countries to do the same.

“Certainly our hope is that we are laying forth template that other countries could also learn from and look at as well,” said Brian Deese, a senior adviser to Obama.

A major global climate treaty, in the works for years, is supposed to be finalized in December at a summit in Paris, but most countries have yet to announce what their national contributions to the pact will be. Earlier this month the European Union unveiled its contribution, vowing to cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 40 percent by 2030, compared to 1990.

The U.S. has yet to announce its contribution to the treaty. But in a bid to build momentum last year, Obama set a U.S. goal to cut emissions up to 28 percent by 2025 — compared to 2005 levels — in a joint announcement with China that boosted hopes that an aggressive climate treaty may come to fruition.

The president hasn’t fully explained how he’ll meet that goal, but his aides have suggested that unprecedented pollution limits he’s imposing on power plants will get the U.S. much of the way there.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Judge OKs $10 million settlement in Target data breach

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 1:00pm

A Minnesota judge has endorsed a settlement in which Target Corp. will pay $10 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over a massive data breach in 2013.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson said at a hearing Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota, that he would grant preliminary approval of the settlement in a written order later in the day. The move will allow people to begin filing claims ahead of another hearing for final approval.

People affected by the breach can file for up to $10,000 with proof of their losses, including lost time dealing with the problem.

“Target really needs to be commended for being willing to step up,” Magnuson said.

Target’s data breach in 2013 exposed details of as many as 40 million credit and debit card accounts and hurt its holiday sales that year. The company offered free credit monitoring for affected customers and overhauled its security systems.

The settlement would also require Minneapolis-based Target Corp. to appoint a chief information security officer, keep a written information security program and offer security training to its workers. It would be required to maintain a process to monitor for data security events and respond to such events deemed to present a threat.

“We are pleased to see the process moving forward and look forward to its resolution,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in an emailed statement.

The company said in court documents filed in Minnesota that the funds for reimbursements will be kept in an interest bearing escrow account. Claims will mostly be submitted and processed online through a dedicated website.

Vincent Esades, an attorney for Target customers, said after the hearing that the settlement could end up costing Target $25 million, when attorneys fees and administrative costs are added in.

He said consumers will likely be able to start filing claims around April 30, and 100 million people may be eligible. Consumers can claim up to $10,000 if they can document losses; after those claims are paid out, the rest of the settlement funds will be divided among consumers who claim they suffered a loss, but don’t have documentation.

Esades said customers who opt out of the settlement have the right to appeal.

Target attorney David McDowell declined to comment after the hearing.

The chain has worked hard to lure back customers that were hesitant to shop there after the incident. Over the 2014 holiday season, Target offered free shipping on all items. It recently announced that it was cutting its minimum online purchase to qualify for free shipping in half to $25. And on Wednesday the retailer said it will now allow returns for up to a year for its private and exclusive brands.

Target’s bounce back from a turbulent stretch including the data breach and exit from Canada has been met with optimism on Wall Street. The retailer’s stock traded above $80 for the first time Monday, reaching another in a string of all-time highs that it began to log just before the crucial holiday shopping season began in December.

Earlier this month, Target said it would lay off about 1,700 people, eliminate another 1,400 unfilled positions and cut up to $2 billion in costs. It will also focus more on technology to boost online sales growth. The latter move will involve about $1 billion aimed at beefing up business from shoppers who are more likely to shop online.

Target shares fell 62 cents to $80.44 in midday trading Thursday. It shares are up 35 percent over the past year.

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Associated Press writer Karnowski contributed from St. Paul, Business Writer Chapman from New York.

 

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