Green Bay News

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) – The Oakland Raiders signed pending free-agent safety Charles Woodson to a one-year contract extension on Monday, bringing him back for an 18th season in the NFL.

The team announced the contract by releasing a picture on Twitter of Woodson signing the deal next to Hall of Fame defensive back Willie Brown. Woodson was eligible to be a free agent in March.

Woodson will turn 39 in October but showed few signs of slowing down in his 17th professional season. He played all 16 games this season and was on the field for a team-high 1,100 snaps, according to STATS LLC. The only defensive back to start a game at age 39 or older is Hall of Famer Darrell Green, who played until he was 42.

Woodson led the Raiders with 160 tackles, including 105 solo tackles and four interceptions. He also added nine passes defensed, one fumble recovery and one sack.

Woodson talked late in the season about wanting to play another year if the Raiders brought back defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson. Woodson credited Robertson for helping improve his play at safety after years as a star cornerback.

Oakland announced last week that Robertson would be part of new coach Jack Del Rio’s staff before a defensive coordinator was even hired. That cleared the path for Woodson to sign up for another season as he hopes to help end a streak of 12 straight seasons without a playoff berth.

Woodson originally joined the Raiders as the fourth-overall pick in 1998 following a brilliant college career at Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Wolverines to a share of the national championship in 1997.

He played eight seasons in Oakland before leaving as a free agent to go to Green Bay, where he won the 2009 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award and the Super Bowl the following season.

Woodson is a three-time All Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler. He has 60 career interceptions, 20 sacks, 33 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries in 238 career games.

Woodson is the only player with at least 50 career interceptions and 20 sacks. He also has intercepted at least one pass in 17 straight seasons -two shy of the record streak held by Green.

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Online:

AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MADISON (AP) – Madison police say a 19-year-old woman suffered significant injuries when she fell from a second-floor apartment balcony.

Police say the woman was found below the balcony early Sunday by a man hired to remove snow.

Residents told police they didn’t see the woman fall, but said she was visiting and sleeping at the apartment.

WISC-TV reports police believe alcohol was a factor in the fall. The woman remains hospitalized.

CABLE (AP) – Supporters of North America’s largest cross country ski race want to raise $2.3 million to renovate the trails where it’s held in northern Wisconsin.

The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation has raised just over $400,000 of the $650,000 needed for the first of three phrases, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

Projects in the next five years would include construction of a trail bridge in Hayward, a permanent starting area, and an outdoor recreation center in Seely, as well as erosion fixes on the trails.

The American Birkebeiner, also known as the Birkie, was founded in 1973. This week, the 107 kilometers of trails between Cable and Hayward are hosting the International Paralympic Committee Nordic Skiing World Championships.

“I love it because it’s home turf,” said Omar Bermejo, a former Marine who skied in the 2014 Paralympics. “The Russians have to come to our cage this time.”

Other events on the trails throughout the year include the Wisconsin High School Nordic Ski Championships and mountain bike races.

The trails’ Telemark Lodge has been closed since 2013 and is in disrepair. Jim Bolen, executive director of the Cable Area Chamber of Commerce, said it would likely take a buyer $20 million to $30 million to upgrade it.

The property’s ski resort history dates back to the 1940s. A $6 million lodge was opened in 1972, but the resort has been closed and reopened several times since the mid-1980s.

“A rejuvenated Telemark Resort would be huge for our economy throughout the region. The potential is absolutely there,” Bolen said. “Several groups have stepped forward with interest.”

MADISON (AP) – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald says he will investigate a Tomah VA medical center that has come under scrutiny for overprescribing opiates.

McDonald says in a Monday press release that the probe will look into allegations of overuse of opiates and retaliation against employees.

McDonald says the month-long investigation will begin this week. A 35-year-old former Marine died of an overdose in the hospital’s inpatient unit in August.

McDonald says inquiries from Rep. Ron Kind and Sen. Tammy Baldwin brought the issue to his attention. The Wisconsin Democrats wrote to McDonald last week.

Baldwin says in a column published Sunday in newspapers across the state that she took responsibility for not acting sooner in the matter. Baldwin says she should have listened and communicated better with a constituent.

How do you get a puppy housebroken in a day and a half? Leave it in the hands of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Actress Olivia Munn was on the Ellen DeGeneres Show Monday gushing about her new puppy she recently adopted with boyfriend Aaron Rodgers.

She credits Aaron’s “magic” for potty training their new Cavalier King Charles puppy, Chance, in record time.

Chance is a rescue from an abusive puppy mill.

Munn and Ellen also secured their newfound friendship with matching jewelry.

Click here to watch more of the interview.

 

Here’s a look at some of the Northeast’s Top snowstorms in the last 60 years, according to the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale.

The National Weather Service was predicting a “potentially historic” storm on par with some of the biggest to ever hit the densely populated northeastern U.S.

In 2004, the weather service developed a scale for rating Northeast snowstorms similar to the Fujita and Saffir-Simpson scales used for tornadoes and hurricanes. The index, which factors population to determine severity, was deemed necessary because the storms can have a profound impact on transportation and economic activity throughout the country.

Here’s a look at the Northeast’s Top 10 storms in the last 60 years, according to the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale:

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10. FEB. 10-12, 1983

More than a foot of snow dropped from Washington to New England, and more than 20 inches in New York, leading to hundreds of canceled flights and a ruined Valentine’s Day for many florists and other love-reliant businesses. Cities and states blew through most of their snow removal budgets for the entire year.

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9. DEC. 25-28, 1969

A white Christmas was already on tap for most of New York and much of Vermont after a foot of snow fell on Dec. 22, but another 2 feet would drop during this three-day storm. Some streets in Albany weren’t cleared for weeks. One town near Montpelier, Vermont, got 44 inches of snow.

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8. JAN. 19-21, 1978

This blizzard was the third of a series of rapid-fire storms to hit the Northeast, bringing with it a fresh foot-plus of snow from Maryland to Maine. Thousands of National Guard troops were called in around the region to help with snow removal. On the banks of Lake Ontario, the city of Oswego was buried under 56 inches of snow over five days.

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7. JAN. 21-25, 2005

Up to 3 feet of snow fell in southern New England, including 22.5 inches in Boston. Some areas around the city reported snowfall rates of 3 to 5 inches per hour and wind gusts up to 85 mph, leading to whiteout conditions. Many cities throughout the Northeast were shut down.

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6. JAN. 11-14, 1964

A severe storm spread a blanket of snow from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic coast, including more than 10 inches for the Northeast’s major cities and up to 2 feet across parts of Pennsylvania. Williamsport in the central part of the state recorded the most snow from a single storm in a record dating to 1896.

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5. FEB. 2-5, 1961

More than 20 inches fell in the New York City region, with up to 40 inches in the central part of the state and lesser but still substantial amounts throughout New England.

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4. FEB. 15-18, 2003

This storm on Presidents’ Day weekend paralyzed a swath of the Northeast from Washington to Boston, producing the latter city’s heaviest snowfall on record, a whopping 27.6 inches. The Baltimore area suffered the most, as more than 3 feet fell north of the city – enough to collapse the roof of the B&O Railroad Museum.

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3. MARCH 2-5, 1960

More than 10 inches of snow was reported from West Virginia to Maine, while northern New Jersey to eastern Massachusetts was pummeled with more than 20 inches. Blizzard conditions produced damaging winds in much of the region, including gusts up to 80 mph in parts of Massachusetts. New York City received 14.5 inches, as recorded in Central Park.

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2. JAN. 6-8, 1996

A widespread blanket of 2 to 3 feet of snow fell from the mid-Atlantic states to New England, including 30.7 inches in Philadelphia, the city’s highest on record. Sixty fatalities were reported during the storm. A week later, another storm brought heavy rain and warm temperatures to the same area, causing significant flooding across the Northeast as melting snow overflowed many rivers.

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1. MARCH 12-14, 1993

Dubbed the “Storm of the Century,” this intense storm produced tremendous amounts of snow from Tennessee to the Canadian border, with many locations breaking snowfall records. Over 40 inches was recorded in upstate New York and 70 mph winds blew snow drifts up to 20 feet high. The storm was so treacherous nearly 300 deaths were attributed to it.

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WILD CARD

MARCH 11-14, 1888

Too old to officially make the weather service’s list, the Blizzard of 1888 punished the Northeast with the most snow “in living memory,” according to reports at the time. Cities were shut down for days as residents hunkered down against 85 mph winds. Official totals included 50 inches in one Connecticut town, where a snow drift was reported to stand 38 feet high.

ATLANTA (AP) – A Georgia couple was missing Monday, days after they left suburban Atlanta to drive south across the state, seeking a classic car they posted about on Craigslist.

The man who last had phone contact with Elrey “Bud” Runion, 69, and his wife, June Runion, 66, turned himself in Monday to faces charges of giving false statements and criminal attempt to commit theft by deception. He hasn’t been accused of harming the couple.

Bud Runion, from Marietta, had posted an ad on the website Craigslist seeking a 1966 Mustang. On Thursday, he and his wife drove to McRae, nearly three hours away in South Georgia, to meet someone who responded to the ad, authorities said.

The Runions’ daughters became worried when their parents didn’t show up Friday to babysit their grandchildren, they told WSB-TV. The couple had their cellphones and chargers when they left, but no one has heard from them since 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the daughters said.

In South Georgia, authorities interviewed Towns, and information he provided didn’t match what investigators already knew, Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson told WMAZ-TV in Macon.

“We are worried that someone might have done something bad and taken advantage of them,” daughter Brittany Patterson told the television station.

“If someone has taken them, we have forgiven that person, because God tells us to love and forgive,” daughter Virginia Owens said.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Black Hawk helicopters and truck-sized X-ray machines that are typically deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border have been brought to the Super Bowl venue to assist with the security effort.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed off the technology Monday as it helps with Super Bowl security.

Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske was on hand for a demonstration of the agency’s Black Hawks and large mobile X-ray machines that are used to detect contraband and explosives. The helicopters and X-ray machines are from Tucson and Nogales, some of the busiest spots in the nation for the smuggling of drugs and immigrants.

Kerlikowske says the Arizona border with Mexico still has adequate security while some equipment is used in Glendale for the Super Bowl.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Feeling the sting of rejection? Itching to get even with an ex? The San Francisco Zoo is offering the burned and spurned masses the chance to “adopt” a hissing cockroach or giant scorpion in honor of their special ex-someone for Valentine’s Day.

The zoo is highlighting two of its less-desirable inhabitants through the adopt-an-animal program that is usually used to raise money for the care of more cuddly or attractive creatures, such as penguins, lions and pandas. It has a Valentine’s special comparing the creepy characteristics of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and the giant hairy scorpions native to the Southwest U.S. to the ways of heart-breaking mammals with two legs.

“These invertebrates are aggressive, active, and alarmingly nocturnal. Much like your low-life ex, they are usually found in and around low-elevation valleys where they dig elaborate burrows or ‘caves,’ ” the zoo says on its promotion page for the desert scorpion. “Also just like you-know-who, when a suitable victim wanders by, the scorpion grabs the doomed creature with its pinchers and stings the prey … Charming.”

For $50 and up, donors can adopt a scorpion and have the zoo send a certificate and stuffed stinger to the person who inspired the adoption. The cockroach valentine that the zoo says represents “the detritus of your love life” costs $25.

“With a little luck, this generous donation will release your bad love life karma so that you never have to encounter a cockroach again,” the zoo said.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — The milk industry is fed up with all the sourness over dairy.

As Americans continue turning away from milk, an industry group is pushing back at its critics with a social media campaign trumpeting the benefits of milk. The association says it needs to act because attitudes about milk are deteriorating more rapidly, with vegan groups, non-dairy competitors and other perceived enemies getting louder online.

Julia Kadison, CEO of Milk Processor Education Program, which represents milk companies, says the breaking point came last year when the British Medical Journal published a study suggesting drinking lots of milk could lead to earlier deaths and higher incidents of fractures. Even though the study urged a cautious interpretation of its findings, it prompted posts online about the dangers of drinking milk.

“I said, ‘That’s enough.’ We can’t have these headlines that ‘Milk Can Kill You’ and not stand up for the truth,” Kadison said in a phone interview. She said MilkPEP’s consumer surveys have indicated a noticeable deterioration in attitudes about milk over the past year or so, although they declined to give specific survey results.

On Tuesday, the “Get Real” social media campaign will be announced at a dairy industry gathering in Boca Raton, Florida in conjunction with the National Dairy Council and Dairy Management Inc., which represent dairy farmers. The campaign is intended to drown out milk’s detractors with positive posts about milk on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. Milk brands, their employees and others in the industry will post the messages and direct people to a website where they can get more information.

Online ads will also tout the superiority of dairy milk over almond milk, which is surging in popularity.

The campaign comes as milk’s dominance in American homes continues to wane as beverage options proliferate. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people drank an average of 14.5 gallons of milk a year in 2012. That’s down 33 percent from the 21.8 gallons a year in 1970.

Total milk sales volume has declined 12 percent since 2009, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.

One factor chipping away at milk’s dominance is the growth of non-dairy alternatives. While soy milk’s popularity has faded, retail sales for almond milk are estimated to be up 39 percent last year, according to Virginia Lee, a packaged food analyst with Euromonitor.

Meanwhile, the USDA recommends adults get three cups of dairy a day, including options like fat-free, low-fat milk or calcium-fortified soy milk. And the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which represents nutrition professionals, is supporting the Get Real campaign and its push to underscore “the decades of research reinforcing low-fat milk as one of the most nutrient-rich beverages available.”

But milk’s wholesome image is nevertheless being muddied by diet trends and divergent attitudes about nutrition. Many who follow the popular Paleo diet, for instance, shun dairy because people didn’t drink it during the Stone Age.

Animal welfare groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are also a thorn in the milk industry’s side. On its website, PETA notes that “no species drinks milk beyond infancy or drinks the milk of another species” and details the cruel conditions dairy cows are often subject to.

That’s one of the reasons Valentin Vornicu, a 31-year-old resident of San Diego, California, said he stays away from milk. Vornicu became a vegan four years ago and says he has more energy and has never felt better.

“It looks like a scene from the Matrix. ‘You see a picture of that and you’re like, I’m drinking this? ,” said Vornicu, citing footage he’s seen of cows hooked up to milking machines.

Already, MilkPEP has tried some different tactics in hopes of battling milk’s decline.

In 2007, the group started promoting chocolate milk as a recovery drink for athletes. Then last year, the industry dropped its “Got Milk?” campaign featuring famous people sporting milk mustaches in favor of a campaign called “Milk Life” that focuses on the everyday benefits of milk.

With the “Get Real” campaign launching Tuesday, Kadison said the industry plans to stop “the seeds of doubt” that “naysayers, these anti-dairy folks, and also the competitors” are planting in people’s mind about milk “before the fever gets too high.”

BOSTON (AP) — Several thousand fans have gathered at City Hall Plaza in Boston to give the New England Patriots a raucous send-off to the Super Bowl.

Mayor Marty Walsh sported a No. 12 Tom Brady jersey as he and other officials led the crowd in cheers before the team left for the airport.

Brady told fans the Patriots will be relying on their support as they face the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s NFL title game in Glendale, Arizona. That prompted cheers of “Brady! Brady!”

Dan Connolly, Vince Wilfork, Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater joined team owner Robert Kraft and others on the podium for Monday’s pep rally. The Patriots were catching a midday flight to beat the blizzard bearing down on New England.

 

HONOLULU (AP) — Two small planes ran out of fuel and crash-landed into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii, but the five people aboard both aircraft survived, authorities said.

The Coast Guard says the separate incidents Sunday involved a single-engine plane carrying a solo pilot about 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the island of Maui, and another with four people aboard several miles off the island of Oahu.

A pilot traveling from Tracy, California, to Maui radioed authorities at 12:30 p.m. about plans to ditch a Cirrus SR-22 aircraft because of dwindling fuel.

The Coast Guard directed the plane to go down near a cruise ship, and the pilot deployed a parachute system around 4:45 p.m. and safely got into a life raft. Amid seas up to 12 feet (3.6 meters) and winds of up to 28 mph (45 kph), the cruise-ship crew rescued the pilot, who was in good condition, authorities said.

Coast Guard video shows the plane releasing its parachute and briefly dropping nose-first before leveling out and plopping into the sea. The pilot escapes out the top of the aircraft and drifts away in a small raft from the plane before it rolls over on its top.

In a second crash Sunday, a single-engine Cessna flying from Kauai to Oahu with four aboard declared an emergency at 6:18 p.m., saying fuel was running low and the plane may need to ditch, the Coast Guard said.

It crash-landed about 11 miles (17.7 kilometers) west of Oahu, and a Coast Guard helicopter hoisted three adults and one child. All four received emergency treatment, but their conditions were not immediately available.

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) — The second attempt to lift the fuselage of the crashed AirAsia jetliner failed Sunday as the wreckage sank back to the ocean floor when a rope linking the lifting balloons broke.

Navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir said strong current was the main obstacle. The rope had been fastened and linked to a ship, but broke again as the fuselage was lifted.

“We could not fight against nature,” Simorangkir said. “We just hope the weather would change and be conducive.”

The attempt on Saturday failed because lifting balloons deflated. Divers reached the fuselage for the first time on Friday. Most of the victims are believed to be inside.

Simorangkir said rescuers retrieved one body Sunday that floated as the fuselage was being raised.

A total of 70 bodies have been discovered from Flight 8501, which crashed Dec. 28 with 162 people on board while flying from Indonesia’s second-largest city of Surabaya, to Singapore.

Dozens of navy divers have been fighting strong current and poor visibility while trying to lift the fuselage from 30-meter- (100-feet-) deep waters in the Java Sea. The cockpit has been located about 500 meters (yards) away, and the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot are believed to be there.

Bad weather is a suspected factor in the crash. The pilots asked for permission to climb to a higher altitude, but air traffic controllers couldn’t allow it because of heavy air traffic. The flight disappeared soon afterward.

Transportation authorities have ruled out sabotage and say a preliminary accident report is expected to be submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization this coming week.

 

Read about changes coming to the Green Bay school district’s breakfast program on Feb. 2.

OWEN (AP) – A Federal Aviation Administration official says a small plane has crashed in central Wisconsin.

FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory tells WAOW-TV the single-engine Cessna 182 went down in Clark County near Owen about mid-morning Monday.

It’s not immediately known how many people are on board or the extent of any injuries.

Cory says the 4-seat Cessna was traveling from Menominee, Michigan to Litchfield, Minnesota.

BROWN COUNTY – Parts of the Fox River Trail may be closed on Thursday and Friday.

Brown County Park Management says utility pole work is scheduled at the trail near St. Francis Park, in a stretch between Lazarre Ave. and Marine St.

Although the trail is not maintained during the winter, mild weather has led to the trail being used recently, parks officials say.

See a live weather storm tracking map of the northeast and local city officials’ tweets on news and guidance as the storm passes.

Take a look at the career of former MLB commissioner and Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig.

MADISON (AP) – The state Department of Justice says it doesn’t have any records of how many hours it spent defending Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban, making the full cost of fighting the case impossible to determine.

A group of gay couples filed a lawsuit last year challenging the marriage ban. They ultimately won the case this past fall when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to the DOJ’s request to review a federal appeals court ruling that the ban was unconstitutional.

DOJ officials said Monday they typically don’t track how many hours their lawyers spend on cases and assistant attorney generals aren’t eligible for overtime.

The agency did release records that show it paid out about $4,750 in legal filing fees, shipping fees and paying an expert witness.