Green Bay News

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A group that advocates for spending on transportation and other infrastructure projects says it is launching a series of radio and television ads to stop a right-to-work proposal.

Wisconsin Infrastructure Investment Now announced Monday that it was running the ads in an attempt to stop the Republican-backed bill that is on a fast track in the Legislature. A public hearing was set for Tuesday with the full Senate taking it up on Wednesday.

The group’s spokesman is former Assembly Speaker John Gard. He says the group is speaking on behalf of more than 400 businesses and nearly 120,000 workers in opposition to right to work.

The proposal would allow workers to choose whether they want to pay union dues, rather than have it be a condition of employment.

TOWN OF ROCKLAND – Watch video of a snowy owl recorded on the osprey cam at Collins Marsh in Manitowoc County. In the video, the owl is perched atop a tower that has hosted an osprey nest during the summer.

The video was recorded Feb. 20, 2015.

The camera’s live video feed is embedded below:

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Aiming to undercut Apple’s latest hit service, Google is teaming up with three major U.S. wireless carriers to prod more people into using its mobile wallet.

The counterattack announced Monday is just the latest example of how the competition between Google Inc. and Apple Inc. is extending beyond the technology industry’s traditional boundaries. Besides payments, Silicon Valley’s two richest companies are expanding into fields such as home appliances and cars to increase their power and profits.

Google’s latest volley calls for its payment service to be built into Android smartphones sold by AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA later this year. Smartphone owners currently have to download the service, called Google Wallet, and install the app on their phone if they want to use it to buy something instead of pulling out cash or a credit card.

Apple’s rival service, Apple Pay, already comes embedded in the latest versions of the company’s mobile software.

Besides trying to make it more convenient to use Wallet, Google also is hoping to improve the nearly 4-year-old service. Toward that end, Google Inc. is buying some mobile payment technology and patents from Softcard, a 5-year-old venture owned by the wireless carriers. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Although Google and the wireless carriers got a head start with their digital wallets, the concept hadn’t gained much traction until Apple Pay debuted last fall.

The service has become more popular than Apple expected, according to a recent presentation by CEO Tim Cook.

Just three months after Apple Pay’s November debut, Cook said the service accounted for two out of every three dollars spent across the three major U.S. card networks, when no card was used. About 2,000 banks and credit unions have agreed to offer Apple Pay to its customers. Apple hasn’t said how many merchants are set up to handle its mobile payment services.

If Apple builds on that early momentum, the Cupertino, California, company could become the leader in what is expected to be a booming market. Nearly 16 million U.S. consumers spent about $3.5 billion on tap-and-pay services last year, according to the research firm eMarketer. By 2018, eMarketer predicts those figures will rise to 57 million U.S. consumers spending about $118 billion.

Companies that provide mobile wallets make money by collecting processing fees from merchants and banks.

Samsung Electronics, another major smartphone maker, may be ready to join the fray after buying a mobile payment startup called LoopPay. That deal, announced last week, fueled speculation that Samsung will include a digital wallet on its next phone.

Apple Pay’s popularity probably helped forge the unlikely alliance between Google and the wireless carriers. Google traditionally has had a prickly relationship with the carriers, largely because it doesn’t believe enough has been done to upgrade wireless networks and make them cheaper so more people can spend more time online. Media reports say Google is considering selling its own wireless plans to consumers.

The pre-installation of the Wallet app is similar to what Google already does with its search engine, Gmail and YouTube on millions of other phones running on Android – an operating system that Google has been giving away for years to ensure people keep using its products on mobile devices. Google profits from the traffic by showing ads.

TOWNSHIP OF WARNER (AP) – A 22-year-old man is dead after a snowmobile crash in west-central Wisconsin over the weekend.

The Clark County sheriff’s department says Dylan Denk was driving the snowmobile on a snowmobile trail when the machine went over a hill and started to spin. The snowmobile then struck a tree, throwing Denk.

Denk, who was traveling alone, died at the scene. He was wearing a helmet.

Denk lived near the City of Greenwood. Authorities say speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, which was reported around 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – The husband of a Las Vegas mother killed in a shooting after a neighborhood car chase says he doesn’t think the case involves road rage.

Robert Meyers told The Associated Press on Monday that he thinks his wife, Tammy Meyers, was frightened and tried to lead a car that was chasing her away from the family’s home.

Meyers says she was instead “followed home and murdered” in their cul-de-sac.

Meyers spoke at a coffee shop after a 19-year-old neighbor, Erich Milton Nowsch Jr., made an initial court appearance on charges of murder, attempted murder and firing a weapon from a vehicle.

Nowsch’s lawyers also say they don’t think the case involved road rage, but they’re not saying what his defense will be.

A judge scheduled a March 10 preliminary hearing.

GREEN BAY – A mother and daughter-in-law duo accused of stealing more than $120,000 worth of merchandise from multiple stores was ordered Monday to stand trial.

Rosa Maria Gutierrez Carranza and her daughter-in-law, Leticia Morales Bolanos, waived preliminary hearings Monday, according to online court records. Arraignments are scheduled for April 7.

Gutierrez Carranza faces two retail theft counts, while Morales Bolanos faces two retail theft counts plus a receiving stolen property charge.

According to police and the criminal complaint, the pair stole from multiple stores during a period of several years but only were arrested after a Cabela’s employee noticed the two women walked into the fitting room with two jackets and walked out with only one.

The criminal complaint says the stolen Cabela’s merchandise totaled almost $3,000. The complaint also shows the two women allegedly stole clothing from multiple stores in the Fox River Mall in Grand Chute and Bay Park Square in Ashwaubenon. The largest amount totaled more than $25,000 from Abercrombie & Fitch in the Fox River Mall. Police say majority of the items that were stolen have been returned to the stores.

A third suspect, Armando Martinez-Osorio, returns to court March 13 on a receiving stolen property count.

BROWN COUNTY – Fox River Trail users should be careful as construction work is planned for this week.

The Brown County Park Department says utility pole work is scheduled for Wednesday. The work will be taking place in the area of St. Francis Park, between the intersections of Marine St. and Lazarre Ave. in Allouez.

There may be temporary trail closures while construction is going on, parks managers say.

(SBG Network –DC Bureau) Between the emergence of ISIS and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move on Ukraine, many experts wonder if we are heading for another major global conflict. Some have been so bold as to call it what they believe it really is; World War III.

Islamic State “cohorts” seem to be emerging at frightening rates, giving the sense of an expanding terror network with its tentacles scattered worldwide.

A “jayvee team” as President Barack Obama called ISIS last year, seems to be gaining recruits; and more importantly — land.

ISIS and its sympathizers have turned up in more than a dozen nations; from northern Africa to the Philippines.

In 1933 the Nazi’s like ISIS, were the minority bullies with the bullhorns. But because little was done — Adolf Hitler went down in history as the epitome of evil.

ISIS’ methods have proved just as malicious and horrifying.

“I think the mission of the enemy is to precipitate World War III,” says Frank Gaffney from the Center for Security policy. “The path we’re on at the moment unfortunately, I think, suggests they’re more likely to achieve their goal than we will be in preventing them from spreading a global wide conflagration.”

One American University professor of history is not so sure. It’s not ISIS insomuch as it is Russia with its volatile economy, low oil prices and Russian troops in Ukraine.

“Russia is the thing if you’re talking about World War III people are focusing on today, says history Professor Eric Lohr. “Its actions are quite dangerous.”

A former CIA agent who spent more than 20 years in the Near East tells us he has a solution to avert World War III. Although he admits it’s not likely to occur anytime soon.

“I think the removal of all American and western forces from Muslim nations is the beginning of rebuilding some kind of new institutions,” he says. “They just aren’t compatible.”

Both World Wars in the 20-century unfolded when Americans least expected it. Like September 11, 2001, it came as an overwhelming shock.

If there is a World War III, many experts agree it’s likely to happen under the same circumstances.

GREEN BAY – A former teacher has been sentenced to prison for inappropriately touching an 8-year-old girl.

Jer Lovaj, 58, was sentenced to nine years in prison and 16 years extended supervision.

Lovaj was charged last March with touching the girl at Sullivan Elementary School. The school district then fired him.

Last month, he pleaded no contest to the charge.

FOX 11’s Kelly Schlicht was in court this afternoon and will have the latest tonight on FOX 11 News at Five and Nine.

YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) – A beloved K9 suffering from seizures and arthritis received a final salute and a police escort, with lights flashing, to the Maine vet clinic where he was euthanized.

Dozens of officers and firefighters turned out this month to pay their respects to Sultan, a 13-year-old German shepherd who sniffed out drugs and bad guys with the Yarmouth Police Department.

Officers gave a last pat or scratch to the dog. Then they provided an escort for Sultan’s final trip to a veterinary clinic.

South Portland canine officer Shane Stephenson said in a telephone interview Monday that he took Sultan into his home as a pet when the dog retired from police work at age 10. He said the dog was friendly and lovable to the point of letting Stephenson’s baby boy tug on his tail and ears.

“But when it came down to business, he was one of the best, too,” the officer said.

The touching police tribute for the geriatric K9 went viral after The Portland Press Herald reported on the Feb. 13 ceremony online and on its front page the next day.

Sultan was the first police dog with the Yarmouth Police Department; he was in great demand across southern Maine during his years with the department. He and former Yarmouth Officer Mike Vogel, who now works in Florida, answered more than 1,000 calls, capturing dozens of suspects and seizing untold amounts of cash and more than 100 pounds of narcotics, the newspaper said. Vogel said Sultan was also popular with schoolchildren.

“He was a gentle giant,” he said in a telephone interview.

Vogel, who was unable to return to Maine for the tribute, said he and Stephenson are going to have a private ceremony for their families at a later date.

“There’s a lot of attachment with these police dogs. They’re with us 24-7,” he said.

Justin Cooley, a K-9 handler with the Maine State Police, said handlers and their K9s have an indescribable bond.

“These are dogs that we take home with us; they get to know our family. They’re with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You go through a lot of things with them, and you just dread this day,” Cooley said.

The girls basketball regular season is done, conference champs have been crowned and not it’s the postseason where anything can happen.

The boys basketball season has one week left and not every conference race is settled. In fact, the Fox River Classic, Fox Valley Association, Eastern Valley and Olympian have not been 100 percent determined. teams have clinched shares of titles, bit nobody has won an outright title.

From here on out it’s going to be F-U-N and that spells fun! The postseason is here and the boys’ brackets are out. Hold on tight, it should be a blast.

Before we hit the postseason, however, we have to talk about this week’s FOX 11 Top 11, which for the girls is the final poll until the state tournament is completed.

On the boys’ side there’s movement at the top where Seymour moves from No. 3 to No. 1 after Kaukauna (No. 1 last week) and Kimberly (No. 2) each suffered losses. Kaukauna beat Kimberly and then Oshkosh North beat Kaukauna, dropping the Ghosts to 0-2 this season at Oshkosh (North and West).

Seymour reaches the pinnacle after clinching the Bay Conference with a big win over West De Pere.

The rest of the top five after the Thunder is, Kaukauna, Kimberly, De Pere and Xavier.

Meanwhile, on the girls’ side, De Pere maintains the top spot despite a road loss at Sheboygan North, which determined the FRCC title. De Pere is the only team in the poll with 20 wins, so the No. 1 spot has been earned.

Following De Pere in the top five are: Little Chute, Xavier, Hortonville and West De Pere.

New to the rankings this week is Pulaski at No. 9, while Seymour dropped out.

Here’s this week’s rankings:

BOYS
1. Seymour (19-2): Thunder clinches share of the Bay with big win against West De Pere. Last week: No. 3.
2. Kaukauna (19-2): Ghosts drop road game at Oshkosh North; tied in loss column with Kimberly for FVA lead. Last week: No. 1.
3. Kimberly (17-3): Papermakers need two wins this week to at least share FVA. Last week: No. 2.
4. De Pere (18-3): Redbirds have clinched at least share of the FRCC. Last week: No. 6.
5. Xavier (18-3): Hawks post back-to-back Eastern Valley Conference titles. Last week: No. 9.
6. Luxemburg-Casco (17-4): Spartans looking to be factor in the postseason. Last week: No. 10.
7. Ripon (18-3): Tigers can compete with best, even without Bennett Vander Plas. Last week: No. 4.
8. Freedom (18-3): Irish clinch at least third place in Eastern Valley. Last week: No. 6.
9. Ashwaubenon (16-5): Kyle Monroe and Jaguars finish third in FRCC. Last week: No. 11.
10. West De Pere (16-6): Despite loss to Seymour, Phantoms can make deep postseason run. Last week: No. 7.
11. Brillion (18-3): Lions’ loss at Valders drops them into Olympian first-place tie with Vikings. Last week: No. 8.
Dropped out: None.

GIRLS
1. De Pere (20-2): Redbirds settle for second in FRCC after loss at Sheboygan North. Last week: No. 1.
2. Little Chute (19-3): Mustangs poised to make deep tournament run. Last week: No. 2.
3. Xavier (18-4): Power-Ufi combination makes Hawks dangerous in playoffs. Last week: No. 4.
4. Hortonville (19-3): Polar Bears secure FVA title in first first year of FVA competition. Last week: No. 5.
5. West De Pere (18-4):Phantoms leave no doubt they’re class of the Bay Conference. Last week: No. 8.
6. Freedom (18-4): Irish only team to beat Little Chute in conference play. Last week: No. 7.
7. St. Mary’s Springs (20-2): Only 2 losses this season came to Kettle Moraine Lutheran. Last week: No. 3.
8. Fox Valley Lutheran (17-5): Foxes will go as far as Bailey Diersen carries them. Last week: No. 6.
9. Pulaski (17-5): Red Raiders could make statement in Division 2 bracket. Last week: unranked,
10. Green Bay Southwest (16-6): Who wants to play Trojans in postseason when they have Natisha Hiedeman? Last week No. 9.
11. Algoma (17-4): Wolves can now set sights on another state tournament visit. Last week: No. 5.
Dropped out: No. 11 Seymour (17-5).

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a tanker truck carrying nearly 9,000 gallons of fuel has caught fire on a major highway in southern New Jersey, spewing thick, black smoke into the sky.

The fire broke out shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, when the truck overturned on the Route 90 on-ramp to Route 130 in Pennsauken.

Firefighters began dousing the truck n with foam around noon, and it appeared to be out 10 minutes later, but it then reignited. Firefighters had it mostly under control again by 12:20 p.m.

The smoke could be seen 5 miles away in downtown Philadelphia.

Authorities say the driver managed to get out of the vehicle.

It’s not clear what caused the truck to overturn.

The Wisconsin legislature is considering a measure that would make Wisconsin a right-to-work state.

What exactly is right-to-work?

So-called “right-to-work” laws regulate agreements between private-sector employers and labor unions. The laws prohibit agreements that require employees to join a union or pay union dues to get or keep a job.

Who would Wisconsin’s bill affect?

The legislation does not exempt any private-sector unions, but it would not disrupt current contracts. Those agreements could be extended before the bill is signed into law.

• Click here to read the bill

The legislation being considered in Wisconsin says violating the law would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

What process does the legislation have to go through in Wisconsin?

The Senate Labor Committee will hold a public hearing Tuesday. Debate by the entire Senate would begin Wednesday. Fitzgerald says the Assembly won’t vote on the bill until next week.

Republicans have advantages over Democrats in both the Senate and Assembly: 18-14 in the Senate and 63-36 in the Assembly.

The bill would head to the governor’s desk if it passes both houses of the legislature in the same form. Gov. Walker’s press secretary has said it would be signed into law.

Who has these laws?

Twenty-four other states already have right-to-work laws in place. Michigan and Indiana passed their laws in 2012. The first to pass a right-to-work law was Florida in 1943.

Who supports it and why?

Supporters of right-to-work argue it would boost Wisconsin’s economy because it would make the state more attractive to out-of-state businesses. Supporters also say that workers should have the freedom to decide whether to pay and join a union, rather than having dues automatically withdrawn.

Why opposes it and why?

Opponents of right-to-work argue the law would result in lower wages, weaker benefits, higher health insurance premiums and less money for worker training programs. They also say the government would be intruding on the private operations of businesses.

How is it different from Act 10?

Act 10, which was debated and passed four years ago, impacted most public workers by effectively ending their collective bargaining abilities. The law also took away automatic union dues withdrawals for public sector union members. As many as 100,000 people protested that legislation at the state Capitol. It led to a 2012 recall election that Gov. Walker won.

LONDON (AP) — Turkish police searched Monday for three missing British schoolgirls believed to be headed to Syria to join the Islamic State extremist group as their frightened families issued urgent pleas begging the girls to return home.

The girls, said to be “straight-A students” from the same east London school, disappeared last Tuesday without leaving any messages. Authorities said they boarded a Turkish Airlines plane to Istanbul.

The relatives of Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, broke down in tears as they spoke of their fears in televised interviews on British TV.

“We miss you. We cannot stop crying,” said Abase Hussen, Amira’s father, clutching a teddy bear Amira gave to her mother on Mother’s Day. “Please think twice. Don’t go to Syria.”

The case has captured wide attention in Britain, where authorities say at least 500 people have left for Syria to join extremists and fear they pose a terrorism threat when they return.

Authorities have been criticized after it emerged that, before the girls disappeared, Begum had online contact with a fourth girl, Aqsa Mahmood, who left for Syria in 2013 to become a “jihadi bride.”

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer for Mahmood’s family, argued that the police failed to engage with communities.

“I cannot see why this isn’t considered a child protection issue,” he said. “These young girls have been groomed online. They have been trafficked.”

The girls took advantage of lax regulations governing international air travel for unaccompanied minors, which makes it relatively easy for teens to travel without parental permission.

Many major airlines place no restrictions on children over 12. The Turkish Airlines website states written permission is needed for children between seven and 12 to travel unaccompanied, but does not mention rules for children over 12.

European Union officials have discussed tightening these rules in recent months.

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said Monday that Turkish and British authorities were working diligently to locate the girls.

“They are working closely to find them … and to find out what motivated them,” spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said, calling for closer cooperation to prevent foreign fighters from using Turkish territory to join the Islamic State group.

“Turkey cannot struggle against foreign fighters on its own,” Kalin said. “Why aren’t they being stopped at the border? If there was information on the possibility that they may be joining terrorist activities, you should be conducting your efforts to prevent it at your border gates.”

The families said there were no signs that the girls were interested in extremism or had planned to go abroad.

The police said the girls were interviewed in 2014 in connection with the disappearance of another friend, but said there was nothing to suggest they were at risk.

___

Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.

 

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter convened an extraordinary war council Monday on Iraq’s doorstep six days after taking office, gathering military and diplomatic leaders to discuss the Obama administration’s oft-criticized strategy for countering the Islamic State group.

He left suggesting the approach is mostly on track.

“The discussion indicated clearly to me that this group (the Islamic State) is hardly invincible,” Carter told reporters after six hours of closed-door talks with the officials he dubbed “Team America.”

He gave no indication that he that he thinks the strategy needs an overhaul.

“Our discussion this afternoon affirmed the seriousness and the complexity of the threat posed by ISIL, especially in an interconnected and networked world,” he said, using an alternate acronym for the militants. “Lasting defeat of this brutal group can and will be accomplished.”

Carter said the U.S.-led aerial bombing campaign in Iraq is going well, and he expressed confidence that the U.S. military is well suited to carrying out a longer-term effort to train and equip an opposition rebel force in Syria. He specified two areas for needed improvement in the overall strategy: more creative use of social media to counter ISIL’s messaging campaign, and getting more out of some coalition member countries, which he did not name.

Carter was returning to Washington on Tuesday to meet with President Barack Obama.

The Army general commanding the war effort in Iraq and Syria, meanwhile, told reporters that the Islamic State fighters are “halted, on the defensive” in Iraq and facing a new counterattack by Iraqi forces in Anbar province to retake a town the militants seized earlier this month. Lt. Gen. James L. Terry said he is confident the Iraqi push, dubbed “Lion’s Revenge,” will succeed in retaking the town of al-Baghdadi.

But Terry said of the Islamic State group, “No doubt, they’re adaptive.”

Carter said he assembled U.S. generals, diplomats and intelligence officials not just to hear the latest on battlefield progress but also to better understand the intellectual underpinnings of Obama’s counter-IS strategy, including the ways military force is supposed to combine with political and economic measures to reverse the Islamic State’s gains and eventually defeat it.

During a brief picture-taking session as the talks began, Carter said he needs to better understand what he called the “very complicated” problem of an Islamic extremist group “spreading echoes and reflections around the world.” He added, “It is a problem that has an important military dimension, but it’s not a purely military problem — it’s a politico-military problem.”

Seated around a large T-shaped table were about 25 senior officials, including Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of the military’s Central Command; presidential envoys John Allen and Brett McGurk; the commanders of U.S. forces in Europe and Africa, and U.S. ambassadors summoned from Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arab nations with a stake in the outcome of the fight against the Islamic State.

“This is Team America,” he said.

The gathering was a highly unusual way for a Pentagon chief to begin his tenure. Aides said participants were told in advance to leave their usual talking points home and be prepared for a freewheeling discussion.

Among other key participants were Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Lt. Gen. Michael Nagata, head of the U.S. program to train and equip a moderate rebel force in Syria. Several of Carter’s top Pentagon aides also attended.

In remarks to troops at Camp Arifjan before the conference began, Carter said the key to success against IS is ensuring that the countries threatened by the group can preserve the gains achieved by the U.S.-led military campaign.

“We will deliver lasting defeat, make no doubt,” Carter said, adding, “It needs to be a lasting defeat.”

The meeting was convened against the backdrop of heavy criticism, mostly by Republicans, of Obama’s strategy for countering Islamic extremism.

It also coincides with the administration’s request to Congress for a new authorization to use military force against the Islamic State group, and comes on the heels of last week’s White House summit on violent extremism.

Carter decided not to visit Baghdad on his first overseas trip. He told reporters he intends to make an Iraq visit sometime in the future. Carter spent Saturday and Sunday in Afghanistan.

In Kandahar, Afghanistan on Sunday, Carter told reporters that he believes the U.S. must rethink its approach to countering terrorism, partly in light of the Islamic State group’s emergence.

“The ways and means of terrorism changed over time and it makes sense to take account of that — that applies here, and it doesn’t apply only here” in Afghanistan, he added. He did not discuss in detail the ways in which he thinks the U.S. should adapt its counterterrorism strategy.

See red carpet looks from movie stars and celebrities at the 2015 Oscars, Feb. 22 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

ASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama warned the nation’s governors Monday that a looming shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security would have a direct impact on their states’ economies, as well as on security throughout the U.S.

Obama was hosting the governors at the White House days before the agency’s $40 billion budget is set to run out because of a dispute over the president’s immigration executive orders. Most of the department’s 230,000 employees would have to keep working after the Feb. 27 deadline, but would not receive pay until Congress authorizes funding.

“They all work in your states,” Obama told the governors. “These are folks who, if they don’t have a paycheck, are not going to be able to spend that money in your states.”

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned on Sunday that the possible shutdown threatens to hamstring U.S. response to terrorist threats and warnings, such as the one late Saturday that mentioned the Mall of America in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington.

While some Republican governors have called for compromise, a handful have urged GOP congressional leaders to stand firm, arguing that stopping what they see as Obama’s unconstitutional power grab may be as important as resolving the funding dispute.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who was at the White House Monday, said Sunday that Obama’s executive actions amounted to “an unconstitutional end run around the law.”

“The Congress using the power of the purse is altogether appropriate,” Pence said on Fox News. “And what ought to be happening today is not calls for a clean bill or otherwise. The House has acted.”

Monday’s White House meeting caps the annual winter gathering of the National Governors Association, where talk was dominated by the budget standoff as well as a looming Supreme Court case that could strike down health insurance subsidies for millions of people across more than 30 states.

Obama did not mention the high court case, but did urge governors from states that have not expanded Medicaid under the law to take that step.

“We can all agree that it’s a good thing when a family doesn’t lose a home because a member of that family gets sick,” he said.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who chairs the National Governors Association, said he expected the governors to avoid divisive issues at their meeting with Obama. He suggested likely topics would be trade deals, workforce development, education and infrastructure.

“When we go to the president our goal is to try to be more constructive,” he said ahead of the meeting.

Obama, too, struck an optimistic tone as he addressed the governors gathered Monday morning in the White House’s State Dining Room. He declared that the U.S. is “as well-positioned as we’ve been in a very long time” and praised the governors for doing “creative work to enhance the opportunities for advancement of their citizens.”

Republicans made major gains during the midterm elections and now control 31 of the country’s governors’ mansions.

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Associated Press writer Steve Peoples contributed to this report.

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Graham Moore brought the Academy Awards audience to its feet in a standing ovation when the Oscar winner for best adapted screenplay revealed during an emotional acceptance speech that as an awkward, unhappy teenager he had attempted suicide.

“When I was 16 years old I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong,” said Moore, his voice quavering with emotion as he cradled his Oscar for “The Imitation Game.”

“And now I’m standing here,” he continued, adding that he wanted to take a moment to reassure youngsters with similar feelings not to despair.

“I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere,” he said. “Yes you do. I promise you do. You do. Stay weird. Stay different. And then when it’s your turn and you are standing on the stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.”

Moore had begun his acceptance speech in a more lighthearted tone, thanking numerous people, before noting that his film’s subject, Alan Turing, never got the chance to stand on a stage and accept a similar honor.

“And that’s the most unfair thing I think I’ve ever heard,” he said.

Turing, the emotionally fragile genius whose work helped crack the Nazi code and shorten World War II, committed suicide in 1954 after being prosecuted by British authorities for being gay, which was unlawful in the U.K. at that time.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Retailer Target has cut its minimum online purchase to qualify for free shipping to $25 from $50.

The free shipping is available to all online orders coming from the continental U.S. or from military postal facilities. The company says handling fees may still apply to some orders.

The company began offering free shipping for Target.com orders worth $50 or more in June, and it offered free shipping on all items over the holiday shopping season. Target also provides free shipping on most online purchases for shoppers who participate in its REDcard loyalty program.

Shares of the Minneapolis-based retailer fell 7 cents to $76.80 in morning trading. Target stock set an all-time high of $77.75 in January.