Green Bay News

LOS ANGELES (AP) – When former Marine Joe Bonfiglio starts thrashing in his sleep, his pit bull service dog jumps on the bed, climbs on top of him and wakes him up to end the flashback.

The dog named Zen has allowed Bonfiglio, 24, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from a five-month tour in Afghanistan, to get back to everyday activities. He can now do things such as shop at malls in Poughkeepsie, New York, because Zen helps calm Bonfiglio when crowds trigger a panic attack.

“I used to go to bars with my friends. And war movies. I am not going to see ‘American Sniper,'” he said. “It would bring me back to a place I don’t want to be.”

Pit bulls aren’t the typical choice for a service dog. They are feared, banned in hundreds of cities and blamed for sometimes deadly attacks. The Animal Farm Foundation in Dutchess County, New York, wants to change that stigma through a program that trains and donates rescued pit bulls to push wheelchairs or help people regain their mobility and avoid falls.

Former U.S. Marine Joe Bonfiglio, 24, and his pit bull assistance dog Zen, sit in a classroom on the campus of Mercy College, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. Zen has allowed Bonfiglio, 24, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder , to get back to everyday activities. The Animal Farm Foundation in Dutchess County, New York, wants to change the stigma of pit bull dogs by training and donating rescued dogs to guide the blind and push wheelchairs or help people regain their mobility and avoid falls. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The effort faces opposition from those who believe the breed is dangerous.

The Assistance Dog Training Program is believed to be the only U.S. training school exclusively for service dogs that uses pit bulls from shelters, said Apryl Lea, the foundation’s certified trainer. It’s placed five dogs that require two years to socialize, train and acquaint with handlers.

A smaller group, Pits for Patriots, trains rescued pit bulls as comfort, therapy and support dogs for veterans, police officers and firefighters but has yet to place any service dogs. Comfort dogs are pets that get a few weeks of training, while therapy animals receive at least six months of training to help calm people who haven’t received a diagnosis as severe as PTSD.

“Veterans and first responders can identify with pit bulls because they either have seen a lot of trauma or been through a lot of trauma,” said Kelly Yearwood, co-founder Pits for Patriots in Chicago, whose group started the same year as the Animal Farm Foundation’s program, in 2011.

The handful of major training schools and a few smaller ones all typically breed German shepherds, Labradors and golden retrievers for the lengthy, costly process to become a service dog.

Shelters nationwide watch for canine candidates for the foundation’s program, which trains dogs based on Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, Lea said. With pit bull breeds making up a huge percentage of dogs in shelters, she has to carefully decide which dogs are accepted. They must have the right build, aptitude and focus to help a person get through life with disabilities or injuries.

“My job is not just to train the dog but to help the handler be a good trainer, too,” she said.

But the program faces pushback.

“There are over 100 dog breeds that are far more suitable to perform tasks for persons with disabilities than pit bulls, especially rescued pit bulls with unknown backgrounds,” said Colleen Lynn, founder and president of DogsBite.org, a national group that tracks bites and works to reduce attacks through bans and other laws.

Pit bulls can be unpredictable and kill or maim when they attack, she said.

From 2005 to 2014, dog attacks killed 326 people in the United States. DogsBite.org blames pit bull breeds for 62 percent of the deaths.

“There is simply no need for pit bulls, rescued or otherwise, to be utilized as service dogs for people with disabilities,” Lynn said.

Pit bulls have helped people like Bonfiglio get back to their normal lives. The former Marine has made such progress with Zen that he’s now taking cybersecurity classes at Mercy College in New York.

“Zen is a fantastic dog; the best thing that’s happened to me since I’ve been home,” said Bonfiglio, whose other family dogs also provide comfort. “They are all great supporters. They don’t talk back, just put a smile on your face.”

CANTON, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio man accused of throwing a coffee mug that hit his 2-month-old son in the head and killed him has been jailed on $2.1 million bond.

Police say Anthony Grove threw the ceramic mug at little Zeeland Grove’s mother during an argument Monday while she held him at their home in Canton. They say Grove has been charged with murder.

The woman took the baby and two other children to her mother’s home in suburban Akron and called 911. The baby died at a hospital the next morning.

Stark County has temporary custody of the other children.

Grove is scheduled to be back in court Thursday. He can’t be reached for comment in jail and has no listed home phone number. Court records don’t say if he has an attorney.

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) – Another juror was dismissed in the murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez on Wednesday, marking the second time in two weeks a panelist has been removed from the case.

Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh told jurors after a short session Wednesday morning that they may have noticed another empty seat in the jury box.

“That was for reasons that were entirely personal to that juror,” Garsh said. “It has nothing to do with this case.”

She did not elaborate.

It was the same explanation Garsh gave to jurors last week when she dismissed another juror. In that instance, Garsh said in court out of the jury’s presence that there was evidence the juror had discussed the case in detail and expressed the belief that it would be difficult to convict Hernandez without a murder weapon, which has never been found.

Hernandez is charged in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins.

The panel is now made up of 16 jurors, and 12 will ultimately decide Hernandez’s fate. Alternates will be selected randomly immediately before deliberations.

Jury selection in the case took several weeks, and more than 1,100 people were in the jury pool.

Wednesday was the first day back in court since Feb. 5. Jurors spent Friday on a police-escorted motor coach tour of various sites important to the case, including Hernandez’s home and the crime scene.

On Monday and Tuesday, court was canceled because of snow.

On Tuesday afternoon, the court released Garsh’s decision to grant prosecutors’ request for immunity for Jenkins, which could compel her to testify or face time behind bars.

Jenkins appeared in court in her usual spot, sitting behind Hernandez. The two smiled at each other, and Hernandez complimented Jenkins on her new hairstyle, then winked at her. She laughed in response.

As Hernandez left court at the end of the session, he whispered, “I love you” to Jenkins.

Testifying on Wednesday were police officers and a firefighter who responded to the scene where Lloyd’s body was found. Hernandez’s lawyers have tried to portray the investigation as shoddy.

Garsh ended the session for the day at 11 a.m. and said there would be no court Thursday, citing unspecified scheduling issues. The trial was scheduled to resume Friday.

APPLETON – Another step forward was made Wednesday in efforts to build an Exhibition Center in Appleton.

An environmental review of the proposed site has given the okay to continue moving forward.

Experts looked at both the environment and conditions of the soil at the site. Officials say everything found was in the normal range.

Karen Harkness, city of Appleton, says, “They had no surprises and that there was nothing discovered that could not be managed if the project moves forward.”

The environmental findings will help play a role in the structural building.

Last month, the Common Council voted not to buy a county-owned parking lot behind the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, where the exhibition center would be built.

Two weeks later, the council voted to take another look at the issue before another vote might happen.

 

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Jenna Heckendorf stood beside her husband Wednesday gripping a framed photo of her baby boy. Tears streamed down her cheeks as he spoke of their 18-month-old’s death.

With red eyes, Kyle Heckendorf told the story of their son, Bryce, and his battle with Krabbe disease – a deadly illness that targets the nervous system.

“We had to watch our son slip away from us,” he said. “It was absolute torture.”

At Wednesday’s news conference, Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, and Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, announced their effort to require adding to newborn screenings a test for Krabbe disease along with five others that target the nervous system.

Krabbe disease is an inherited disorder that usually appears within a baby’s first six months of life, according to Mayo Clinic. The disease often results in death by age 2. There is no cure, but if detected early enough, a baby can be eligible for an umbilical cord transplant treatment that can slow the disease’s progression and potentially extend a child’s life.

“For Bryce it was too late, but it didn’t have to be that way,” said Kyle Heckendorf, noting that her son wasn’t screened for the disease and they didn’t know he had it until he had symptoms, when it was too late for the treatment. “Our story could have been so much different.”

Kevin and Judy Cushman pushed their 4-year-old son, Collin, into the press conference in a stroller. Kevin said Collin’s doctors diagnosed the boy with Krabbe disease just after his first birthday.

“Our job as parents changed from raising our son to basically keeping him comfortable as we wait for the disease to slowly take his life,” Kevin Cushman said. “It’s a horrible feeling as a parent to know there is nothing you can do to save your child’s life.”

Lassa said she named the bill after the 4 year old who has managed to defy the disease by living past his second birthday.

Lassa said New York, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Mexico require testing for the group of diseases, called leukodystrophies. She said those states say adding the screen for the six diseases costs $6 per newborn.

Lassa and Novak say they will present the bill this week.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – He couldn’t stop fighting the NCAA any more than he could give up chewing towels courtside. Jerry Tarkanian built a basketball dynasty in the desert, but it was his decades-long battle with the NCAA that defined him far more than the wins and losses.

The coach who won a national title at UNLV and made the school synonymous with basketball died Wednesday after several years of health issues. He was 84.

Tarkanian battled an infection since he was hospitalized Monday in Las Vegas with breathing difficulty, said his son Danny Tarkanian, a point guard on his father’s teams in the 1980s.

“He fought and fought and fought,” Danny Tarkanian told The Associated Press.

Tarkanian put the run in the Runnin’ Rebels, taking them to four Final Fours and winning a national championship in 1990 with one of the most dominant college teams ever. His teams were as flamboyant as the city, with light shows and fireworks for pregame introductions and celebrities jockeying for position on the so-called Gucci Row courtside.

He ended up beating the NCAA, too, collecting a $2.5 million settlement after suing the organization for trying to run him out of college basketball. But he was bitter to the end about the way the NCAA treated him while coaching.

“They’ve been my tormentors my whole life,” Tarkanian said at his retirement news conference in 2002. “It will never stop.”

The night before he died, fans attending UNLV’s game against Fresno State draped towels over the statue of Tarkanian outside the campus arena. Tarkanian is depicted in the statue chewing on a towel while sitting in a courtside chair urging his team on.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a longtime family friend, said Tarkanian’s legacy was far more widespread than just in Las Vegas, where he made UNLV a national power and was a bigger star than anyone playing on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Jerry’s mark on American athletics is significant not only because of his coaching ability, but also his fearlessness in taking on the brutal NCAA,” Reid said. “They controlled, bullied and tried to embarrass him, but he never stopped fighting until they cried uncle.”

Tarkanian’s wife, Lois, said her husband fought health problems for the last six years with the same “courage and tenacity” he showed throughout his life. His death came just days after the death of another Hall of Fame coach, North Carolina’s Dean Smith.

“Our hearts are broken but filled with incredible memories,” Lois Tarkanian said in a family statement. “You will be missed Tark.”

Tarkanian was an innovator who preached defense yet loved to watch his teams run. And run they did, beginning with his first Final Four team in 1976-77, which scored more than 100 points in 23 games in an era before both the shot clock and the 3-point shot.

He was a winner in a city built on losers, putting a small commuter school on the national sporting map and making UNLV sweatshirts a hot item around the country. His teams helped revolutionize the way the college game was played, with relentless defense forcing turnovers that were quickly converted into baskets at the other end.

He recruited players other coaches often wouldn’t touch, building teams with junior college transfers and kids from checkered backgrounds. His teams at UNLV were national powerhouses almost every year, yet Tarkanian never seemed to get his due when the discussion turned to the all-time coaching greats.

That changed in 2013 when Tarkanian was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, an honor his fellow coaches argued for years was long overdue. Though hospitalized in the summer for heart problems and weakened by a variety of ills, he went on stage with a walker at the induction ceremony.

“I knew right from day one I wanted to be a coach,” Tarkanian said. “Coaching has been my entire life.”

Tarkanian’s career spanned 31 years with three Division I schools, beginning at Long Beach State and ending at Fresno State, where Tarkanian himself played in 1954 and 1955. Only twice did his teams fail to win at least 20 games in a season.

But it was at UNLV where his reputation was made, both as a coach of teams that often scored in the triple digits and as an outlaw not afraid to stand up to the powerful NCAA. He went 509-105 in 19 seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels before finally being forced out by the university after a picture was published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal showing some of his players in a hot tub with a convicted game fixer.

UNLV was already on probation at the time, just two years after winning the national title and a year after the Runnin’ Rebels went undefeated into the Final Four before being upset in the semifinals by the same Duke team they beat by 30 points for the championship the year before. Even after losing four of his starters off that team and being on probation, Tarkanian went 26-2 in his final year at UNLV.

His overall record is listed several different ways because the NCAA took away wins from some of his teams, but the family preferred to go with his on court record of 784-202.

Tarkanian’s style evolved as he was able to recruit better players, and the Rebels were all about running and shooting. But the core of his high flying offenses was great defense, and Tarkanian drilled them constantly in practice to commit to nonstop pressure and create turnovers.

“Everything had to be full speed intense,” he once said. “A lot of coaches want guys to be loose for games. I never wanted them to be loose. I wanted their hands sweating, their knees shaking, their eyes bulging. I wanted them to act like we were going to war.”

That was also the way Tarkanian approached his dealings with the NCAA. His program at Long Beach State was put on probation after he left for UNLV and it wasn’t long before UNLV was also on probation and the NCAA was demanding Tarkanian be suspended for two years. But he sued to overturn the penalty and remained as head coach, though NCAA investigators became a common sight in Las Vegas over the years.

The sad-eyed Tarkanian was born to Armenian immigrants Aug. 8, 1930, in Euclid, Ohio, and attended Pasadena City College before transferring to Fresno State, where he graduated in 1955. He coached high school basketball in Southern California before being hired at Riverside City College, where he spent five years before moving on to Pasadena City College.

He was hired at Long Beach State in 1968 and went 23-3 in his first year, then led the school to four straight NCAA tournament appearances, including the 1971 West Regional final, where Long Beach led UCLA by 12 points at halftime only to lose by two. While at Long Beach he got into his first dispute with the NCAA, writing a newspaper column that questioned why the organization investigated Western Kentucky and not a powerful university like Kentucky.

Never shy about challenging the NCAA, Tarkanian once famously said: “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, it’s going to give Cleveland State two more years’ probation.”

By the time he moved to Las Vegas in 1973, Tarkanian was considered one of the rising coaching stars in the country. He quickly built a name for what was then a small school and by his fourth season at UNLV he had the Runnin’ Rebels in the Final Four, where they lost 84-83 to North Carolina. It would be another decade before UNLV made the Final Four again, and the Runnin’ Rebels were in three in five years, including the national championship season of 1990.

In the final that year, UNLV used its pressure defense to blow out Duke 103-73 in one of the most dominant performances in championship game history.

It all happened with Tarkanian on his chair courtside, chewing on a moist towel that was always left carefully folded underneath his seat. The towel chewing, Tarkanian would later say, was something he started doing during long practices when he could not stop to go to a drinking fountain.

After being forced out at UNLV, Tarkanian briefly coached in the NBA, going 9-11 with the San Antonio Spurs before being fired in a dispute with ownership. He would later return to Fresno State, where he had six straight 20-win seasons before finally retiring in 2002.

Tarkanian was a fixture at UNLV games in his later years, watching from a sideline seat next to the court that was named after him.

Tarkanian is survived by his wife and four children.

Find a list of county veterans service officers in Wisconsin.

MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) – Police in snow-swamped New Hampshire are hunting for Public Enemy No. 1: The suspect is short and furry with brown eyes and big, pointy teeth.

Looking to lighten the mood after a series of snowstorms, Merrimack police posted a gag on their Facebook page asking the public to rat out Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog who last week predicted six more weeks of winter.

Phil is charged with failing to disclose that his forecast included “mountains of snow.”

Police Chief Mark Doyle says he’s heard from good citizens that Phil may be in Canada with Sasquatch. Others say the critter was spotted in New Orleans with a fistful – pawful? – of Mardi Gras beads.

New England has gotten thumped by three major storms in 15 days.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama said Wednesday that progress against the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will allow the U.S. to withdraw nearly all American troops sent to Liberia last fall.

But he said the mission was not over, and he set an ambitious goal of eliminating the disease.

“We have risen to the challenge,” he said at the White House. “Our focus now is getting to zero.”

Surrounded by military responders and Ebola survivors, the president heralded a “new phase in the fight” against Ebola.

Obama said only 100 of the 2,800 troops sent to Liberia will remain there after April 30. About 1,500 have returned home. Those staying will work with Liberia’s military, regional partners and U.S. civilians.

Earlier Wednesday, he met with philanthropists and foundation leaders who had supported the fight against the outbreak, which had threatened to spiral out of control and fostered fears in the U.S. and elsewhere beyond West Africa.

Obama’s announcement was a welcome development at the White House, whose initial response last year was criticized as inept and too slow.

Obama resisted calls to impose a travel ban and was forced to cancel midterm campaign appearances to stay in Washington and focus on Ebola, particularly after health workers contracted the virus at a Texas hospital while treating a man who was infected in Africa.

The U.S. tightened policies at home and dedicated more resources to West Africa.

“People were understandably afraid,” Obama said. “Some stoked those fears.”

Get up close and personal with some of the snakes, lizards and tarantulas at the zoo in Suamico.

NEW YORK (AP) – A rookie police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to manslaughter, official misconduct and other charges in the accidental shooting death of a man in a darkened stairwell of a Brooklyn public housing complex.

Officer Peter Liang appeared briefly in a Brooklyn courtroom packed with officers as the charges were unsealed. He also was charged with criminally negligent homicide and assault. He was released without bail.

The victim, 28-year-old Akai Gurley, was killed on Nov. 20 while visiting a public housing complex in Brooklyn’s gritty East New York neighborhood to get his hair braided. Liang had less than two years on the job, including his time at the police academy.

He and his partner were patrolling the Louis Pink Houses, where reports of violent crime had spiked. The hallways were “pitch black,” and Liang had his gun drawn as they descended onto an eighth-floor landing, police said after the shooting. Meanwhile, Gurley opened the door into the seventh-floor landing after giving up his wait for an elevator. Liang was about 10 feet from Gurley when, without a word and apparently by accident, he fired a shot, police said. Gurley made it down two flights of stairs before collapsing. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said he would convene a grand jury to investigate, and the results came back less than three months after the shooting, about the time it takes grand juries to consider other criminal cases.

Even before the shooting, the New York Police Department had been changing how it assigns and trains new officers. Under former Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the NYPD assigned rookie officers as reinforcements in parts of the city that have seen increases in crime. The Pink Houses had been the scene of a recent spike in shooting, robberies and assaults.

Under William Bratton, new officers are no longer funneled into high-crime precincts as extra manpower, but instead are assigned mentors who are more experienced officers and rotate through different jobs at precincts. Bratton has said the retooling process is taking time but is moving forward.

The case was closely watched following the Dec. 3 grand jury decision not to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. That decision prompted mass protests decrying the grand jury system as biased, and fueled an already growing discord between the city’s rank-and-file police and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was viewed by critics as not publicly supporting police after the decision. On Wednesday, he said it was not wise to compare the cases. Garner was black, the officer involved was white. Gurley was black; Liang is Chinese-American.

“I think what matters is, at the end of at the end of the entire process, do people think there was a sense of fairness,” he said.

The last time an officer was indicted in New York was 2012, when Richard Haste was charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Ramarley Graham, but the case was tossed on a technicality and another grand jury declined to indict the officer. When police face criminal charges, the case is usually decided by a judge and not a jury, the defendant’s choice. In 2007, three of five officers involved in the 50-shot death of Sean Bell were indicted on manslaughter charges but were acquitted by a judge. They were later fired.

MADISON (AP) — Likely 2016 presidential candidate Scott Walker is refusing to say whether he believes in the theory of evolution, dodging a question posed after a speech in London.

Wisconsin’s Republican governor said Wednesday he was going to “punt” on the question. He says he doesn’t believe politicians should be involved in that issue “one way or the other.”

Walker was asked about evolution following his speech at the London think tank Chatham House. He is on a four-day trade mission to the United Kingdom.

Walker says he is there to talk about trade and “not pontificate on other issues.” He joked about loving the evolution of trade in Wisconsin.

He also refused to answer other questions about foreign policy, saying that wouldn’t be polite to do so.

BOSTON (AP) — Just as southern New England residents finished digging out from the latest storm, forecasters say more snow is on the way.

The region, which has already had record snowfall, saw a dusting of snow Wednesday and can expect more light snowfall Thursday just in time for the evening commute, according to the National Weather Service.

The snow should taper off early Friday morning, bringing Cape Cod up to 4 inches and around 2 inches elsewhere in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut.

Forecasters are watching a more potent storm that could dump higher amounts over the Valentine’s Day weekend. The weather service says it’s too early to say how much that might ultimately bring, but the Saturday to Sunday storm could bring “plowable snow.”

Meteorologist Stephanie Dunten also warned of low temperatures Friday through the Presidents Day holiday on Monday. “The snow is not going to be melting anytime soon,” she said Tuesday. “We recommend homeowners scrape any snow off their roofs to avoid overloading, as we’ve already seen a few roofs collapsing.”

Meanwhile, communities continue to grapple with the aftermath of back-to-back-to-back storms in a little more than a two-week span.

Greater Boston’s aging rail system resumed limited service Wednesday after shutting down completely Monday evening and all day Tuesday. Wednesday commuters reported long lines, crowded trains and lengthy commutes. Massachusetts officials say they will be seeking federal disaster relief funds as communities like Boston say they’ve far exceeded their snow removal budgets.

Making up for lost school days has become a pressing concern for local officials and a headache for working parents.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said the city may have to consider holding classes on Saturdays or over spring break if it’s forced to cancel another day of school.

The city has seen an unprecedented 6 feet of snow this year over a 30-day period, breaking a record set during the epic Blizzard of 1978, and has canceled school on eight days.

Boston has already extended the school year to June 30 and expects to hold classes on two Suffolk County holidays: Evacuation Day on March 17 and Bunker Hill Day on June 17. Suffolk County encompasses Boston and three suburbs.

“If we miss one more school day, we’re in different territory,” Walsh said Tuesday at a City Hall briefing. “We have no place to make it up.”

Jeff Mulqueen, superintendent of the Pentucket Regional School District, which covers three Massachusetts communities near the New Hampshire state line, says he’ll be developing a plan to make up for lost class time after shutting down the district for the rest of this week.

“The winter is not over and we are considering ways to be proactive,” Mulqueen said, noting the district has already shifted the last day of school to June 29 for high school students and June 25 for elementary and middle school students. “All possible options are being considered. That includes holidays, Saturdays, April vacation, and non-traditional alternatives.”

Not all school districts are in the same boat: A number of communities start school in the middle of August, giving them the ability to add more days to the end of the school year.

At the same time, Gov. Charlie Baker acknowledges most cities and towns can’t go past June 30 even if they want to because of the way union contracts are structured. He said districts should consider creative solutions, including online teaching options.

“What you don’t want to end up doing is putting a whole bunch of communities that have planned for and anticipated this in a difficult spot,” Baker said Tuesday. “I think that this one’s going to require a lot more conversation.”

In Whitman, Mass., Tina Vassil said managing four children has been challenging even though she has the benefit of working in the school system and can stay home when classes are cancelled, as they were Wednesday.

“It’s been tricky, especially with our two little kids, who are four and five years old,” she said. “It doesn’t matter when you put them to bed. They get up early and they want to be entertained all day…You can’t turn your back on them for a second.”

In Somerville, where school was also cancelled Wednesday, Antoinette Delmonico said she had to take off another day of work to tend to her two young boys.

“It just means more work when I get back,” she said. “I think we’re all ready to get back to our own space and our normal routines.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police officers and firefighters who helped save lives in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin were honored with the Medal of Valor in a White House ceremony Wednesday.

Vice President Joe Biden draped the purple and yellow striped ribbons around the necks of 20 public safety officers, and presented medals to the families of two officers killed while responding to armed robberies. The two were off-duty at the time.

“You’re a rare breed,” Biden said. “You’re all crazy. We love you for it. We need you. You are the best thing we have going for us.”

Two people were dead on the ground outside the Sikh Temple in August 2012 when Lt. Brian Murphy and Officer Savan Lenda of the Oak Creek Police Department arrived on scene.

The suspected gunman was fleeing. Murphy pulled his gun, but the suspect fired first, hitting Murphy in his throat, legs and hand. When Lenda arrived on the scene and shot the suspect, the shooter crawled out of view and killed himself.

Lenda sent fellow officers to help Murphy, but the lieutenant waved them away and insisted they help those still inside the temple. The White House said the two officers’ actions helped save the lives of many.

Boston and the surrounding area were in a state of panic in April 2013 because the suspects in the marathon bombing remained at large. The fateful night when Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carjacked a vehicle before a dramatic confrontation with police is well known.

Less well known were the contributions of seven officers and firefighters from Watertown, Massachusetts, who received the medal from Biden.

Despite heavy weapon gunfire and reports the brothers were throwing explosives, officers and firefighters who responded helped protect the lives of those in uniform, the White House said. Tamerlan died as a result of the incident; Dzhokhar was apprehended 20 hours later.

Attorney General Eric Holder said this year’s medals were particularly poignant, given that the country is struggling with “deep challenges” in the relationship between law enforcement agencies and their communities.

“Beyond these honors, America owes you a debt that must be repaid not just with words but with actions,” Holder said.

The Medal of Valor is the nation’s highest honor for public safety officers who risk their own safety to save or protect others. This year’s ceremony honored individuals who committed acts of valor between 2011 and 2013. A total of 95 medals have been handed out since Congress created the award in 2001.

Also receiving the medal:

—Five special agents from the FBI’s Alabama-based hostage rescue team, who rescued a 5-year-old abducted from a school bus in 2013.

—Sgt. Daniel Hutchinson, Weber County, Utah, who was shot three times but still rescued two fellow sheriff’s deputies in a shooting.

—Officer Michael Keith, Knoxville, Tennessee, who used his shirt to beat back flames from a car, then pulled a state trooper to safety just before the vehicle exploded.

—Former Fire Chief John Curly, Bellmore, New York, who broke a burning building’s window with his bare hands to rescue an unconscious woman inside.

—Special Agent John Francis Capano, New York, who was killed while confronting a suspect during an attempted robbery attempt.

—Sgt. Bradley Alan Wick, Duluth, Minnesota, Police Department, who shot and killed a convicted felon after an armed robbery and car chase.

—Clifton P. Lewis, Chicago, who was off-duty when he was shot four times and killed while confronting two masked gunmen at a grocery store.

—Sgt. Michael Darrell Brown, Brevard County, Florida, who helped save a woman whose estranged boyfriend was attempting to stab her to death.

—Deputy Jenna Underwood-Nunez, Los Angeles, who was five months pregnant and off-duty when she rescued a teenager from drowning at the bottom of a muddy lake.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Central Texas bar and grill has a $30,000 suggestion for a Valentine’s Day present — a specialty margarita and a pair of dangling diamond earrings.

Iron Cactus in Austin on Wednesday portrayed the beverage and hand-crafted jewelry as a creative and unforgettable way to celebrate with a loved one.

The nearly 4-carat earrings are part of what the eatery touts as a Vision for Valentine’s Day, which is Saturday.

It’s not all about the bling.

The handmade margarita includes fresh-squeezed lime juice.

GROSSETO, Italy (AP) – The captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship was convicted Wednesday of multiple charges of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in jail, Italian court officials said.

Francesco Schettino was convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of 32 passengers and crew in the Jan. 13, 2012 capsizing as well as of causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while many of the 4,200 passengers and crew were still on the ship.

The verdict and sentencing brought an end to a trial that has been running since July 2013. Prosecutors had insisted Schettino was a “reckless idiot” and asked the court to sentence him to 26 years and three months in prison.

Schettino wasn’t present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read out the verdict Wednesday night in a Grosseto theater, but the former captain told the court earlier he was being “sacrificed” to safeguard the economic interests of his employer. He then broke down in sobs immediately before the panel began deliberating.

“That’s enough,” Schettino said, unable to finish his statement to the three-judge panel.

Testimony put the spotlight on errors by other crew and equipment malfunctions after the Concordia smashed into a jagged reef when Schettino steered the ship close to the Tuscan island’s shoreline while passengers were having supper in the main dining room.

The reef gashed the hull, seawater rushed in, and the Concordia listed badly, finally ending up on its side outside Giglio’s port.  Autopsies determined that victims drowned aboard ship or in the sea after either falling or jumping off the ship during a chaotic, delayed evacuation.

Schettino said he was “a few hours from a verdict that should have involved an entire organization and instead sees me as the only defendant.”

“My head was sacrificed to serve economic interests,” the 54-year-old Neapolitan seaman told the court.

Lawyers for many of the survivors and victims’ families have attached civil suits to the criminal trial to press the court to order Costa Crociere SpA, the Italian cruise company, to pay hefty damages.

While insisting Schettino deserves conviction and a stiff prison sentence, the plaintiffs’ lawyers have lamented to the court that no one from the cruise company’s upper echelons was put on trial.

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) – Shortly before he was shot to death by a troubled former Marine at a Texas gun range, legendary Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle texted a buddy, “This dude is straight-up nuts,” a defense attorney told jurors Wednesday.

A lawyer for Eddie Ray Routh said in opening statements of the man’s murder trial that Routh’s insanity was so evident that Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield exchanged texts expressing alarm as the three rode together in February 2013 to a Texas shooting range.

“He’s (sitting) right behind me, watch my six,” Littlefield texted back, using a military reference for watching one’s back.

But a prosecutor said that even with a history of mental illness, Routh still knew right from wrong.

The case has drawn intense interest, largely because of Kyle’s memoir about being a sniper who served four tours in Iraq. The Oscar-nominated film based on the book has grossed nearly $300 million.

Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash described the 27-year-old Routh as “a troubled young man” who on the morning of the killings numbed himself with marijuana and whiskey. He said a history of mental illness should not absolve Routh of being accountable for the deaths.

“The evidence will show that mental illnesses, even the ones that this defendant may or may not have, don’t deprive people from being good citizens, to know right from wrong,” Nash said.

Tim Moore, an attorney for Routh, said Kyle and Littlefield’s text exchange shows how Routh was spiraling out of control. He told jurors that Routh was suffering from severe mental strain that day and thought he needed to kill the two or they would turn on him, Moore said.

“He thought he had to take their lives or he was in danger,” he said.

Kyle’s widow, Taya Kyle, testified that Littlefield and her husband were close, and enjoyed spending time with veterans as a way to help them ease back into civilian life. She said her husband had been approached by Routh’s mother to help her son.

The intense attention on the case has also brought renewed focus to the mental struggles former military members face.

Routh was a small arms technician who served in Iraq and was deployed to earthquake-ravaged Haiti before leaving the Marines in 2010. Authorities say that after the February 2013 shooting, Routh drove to his sister’s house in Kyle’s truck, admitted to the killings and told his sister “people were sucking his soul.”

Routh faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – A long-running parking dispute between neighbors motivated a man to kill a woman, her newlywed husband and her sister at a quiet condominium complex near the University of North Carolina, police said Wednesday.

A Muslim advocacy organization asked authorities to address speculation – much of it on social media – about possible religious bias in Tuesday’s shooting of the three Muslims.

“We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated, and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case,” Chapel Hill police Chief Chris Blue said in an email.

The couple had graduated from North Carolina State, and one was studying to be a dentist at UNC. The sister was an undergraduate at N.C. State. UNC’s chancellor called it a loss for both campus communities, and the school planned a vigil Wednesday evening.

“This was like the power couple of our community,” said Ali Sajjad, president of N.C. State’s Muslim Student Association.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, and wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, both of Chapel Hill, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh.

Hicks appeared briefly in court Wednesday. He is being held without bond and will be appointed a public defender. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for March 4.

Police said Hicks turned himself in and was cooperating.  They said the preliminary investigation showed the parking dispute was the motive.

But outrage spread among some American Muslims who viewed the homicides as an outgrowth of anti-Muslim opinions. Many posted social media updates with the hashtags #MuslimLivesMatter and #CallItTerrorism.

“Based on the brutal nature of this crime … the religious attire of two of the victims, and the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in American society, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to quickly address speculation of a possible bias motive in this case,” Nihad Awad, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement.

Durham district attorney Roger Echols said he couldn’t discuss motive or whether Hicks could be charged with a hate crime.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in North Carolina that encompasses Chapel Hill didn’t return messages about whether federal prosecutors were looking into a possible hate crime.

Gerod King of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that agents were in touch with the U.S. attorney’s office and that investigators hadn’t ruled out a hate crime.

At UNC, Barakat was a second-year dental student. Mohammad was scheduled to begin dental studies in the fall.

Both graduated from North Carolina State University, spokesman Mick Kulikowski said. Barakat received a business administration degree in 2013. Mohammad received a biological sciences degree in December.

Abu-Salha was a sophomore design major, Kulikowski said.

Muneeb Mustafa, 23, of Cary, said he attended the same Raleigh mosque as Barakat.

“He was a completely genuine guy. Loving, caring, friendly, smart,” Mustafa said. “He was an ideal human being. He was a role model.”

Mustafa said they last saw each other about a month ago, playing in a basketball tournament staged by the Muslim Student Association at UNC, Mustafa said. Barakat, his wife of less than two months and his sister were Muslim, Mustafa said.

Barakat’s family was from Syria, and he raised money to help refugees, Mustafa said. Mohammad traveled to Turkey last summer to help treat refugees’ dental problems, Mustafa said.

The neighborhood where the victims were found – about three miles east of campus – consists mostly of apartments and condominiums rented by students. Residents said they’d never before seen police or had crime problems.

“It’s a very quiet community,” resident Bethany Boring told WRAL-TV. “It’s a lot of graduate and professional students. You know, professional families.”

Shadi Wehbe, a UNC graduate who has lived in the complex since 1999, said that two weeks ago, a woman came to his door about 10 p.m. and politely asked him to move his car. Some parking spots are assigned, and others are open. Wehbe said parking had never been a problem and no one had asked him to move his car before, but he realized he was in the wrong spot and moved his car one place over.

Neighbor Samantha Maness said suspect Hicks “complained about noise and parking. So I wasn’t extremely surprised” when he was charged.

“Anytime that I saw him or saw interaction with him or friends or anyone in the parking lot or myself, he was angry,” she said. “He was very angry, anytime I saw him.”

____

Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed in Chapel Hill, Jonathan Drew in Durham, Emery Dalesio in Raleigh and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

MADISON (AP) – Minority Democrats in the state Assembly unveiled their agenda for the upcoming session Wednesday, saying their plans will help grow personal income in Wisconsin.

Minority Leader Peter Barca, a Kenosha Democrat, said at a news conference that majority Republicans almost never talk about giving people economic opportunities anymore and that middle-class families need help.

Rep. Andy Jorgensen, a Milton Democrat, accused the Republicans of failing to advance a “positive, proactive agenda.” He said the Democrats are ready to deliver for the people immediately.

The plan, dubbed “15 Bills for 2015,” includes measures that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10, create grants for businesses with paid internships and expand broadband access in rural areas.

Other bills would create a tax refund for investors, restore cuts to the earned income tax credit, create a special tax benefit for working families with at least one child, and require the state to attempt to purchase 20 percent of materials and contractual services from Wisconsin-based businesses.

Still others would offer existing tax credits to small businesses as grants up front as well as create nanotechnology research hubs, a dual enrollment program between K-12 schools and technical colleges and grants for businesses that offer paid internships.

The Democrats face an uphill fight to get any of the measures passed. Republicans outnumber them in the chamber 63-36 and control the state Senate 18-14. A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Rochester Republican, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment about the Democrats’ agenda.

MADISON (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker is open to giving the University of Wisconsin System more freedoms sooner than he originally proposed to help it deal with a $300 million budget cut.

Walker’s spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the governor would be willing to move up when those flexibilities would take effect if that would be helpful.

Under Walker’s proposal, the university would become a public authority detached from state oversight starting in July 2016.

Much of the backlash over Walker’s proposal has come over the level of cut and the fact the tuition would also be frozen over the next two years.

Republicans who control the Legislature have questioned the size of the cut and there have also been questions about the timing.