1. 2 Men Charged with Possessing Pipe Bomb after St. Paul Traffic Stop
Channel 5: According to the criminal complaint, St. Paul police responded to a weapons complaint at 7th Street East and Johnson Parkway around 5 a.m. Saturday. A man said a male pulled a gun out of a silver sedan and pointed it at a female at the Super America located at 800 block of Johnson Parkway.
The person who made the initial call is alleged to have told authorities they were in bed sleeping when they heard what they believed were two females yelling at each other through their bedroom window which overlooks the Super America parking lot.
After looking outside, the complainant said they saw two males and heard someone yell "go get your gun." They said they also heard a female yelling "Do it, do it, I ain't got nothing to live for, my brother's a Crip." As well as someone taunting that the whole scene was being captured on camera.
The complaint states officers later identified both Pittman and Claiborne from surveillance footage at the gas station. They were stopped in a vehicle later determined to be a rental while traveling north on Johnson Parkway from 7th Street East.
It was during that stop that two firearms were reportedly discovered in the car. A search of the trunk yielded what was later determined to be a pipe bomb, the release states. It was at that point that the St. Paul Bomb Squad Unit was notified.
2. Swastika found cut into a green at Lakeville's public golf course
Star Tribune: Grounds crew workers at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville found a large swastika etched into one of their greens Monday morning as they tended to the course. According to Golf.com, mowers discovered the anti-Semitic symbol “gouged into the turf.”
After the incident was reported to police, workers were quick to get rid of the symbol before golfers were able to notice. On Wednesday, an attendant at the pro shop acknowledged the incident to Golf.com and “made it clear that this behavior was unwelcome at Crystal Lake.
“We see it as most likely some kids out there vandalizing, but we don’t know who or what it was,” the attendant told Golf.com. “You know, this is a great place and we don’t want to make a big fuss over it, really.”
On Facebook, the golf club apologized to “anyone who has had to view the image in the press.” The club said in a Facebook post. “We would like to firmly state how hurt and saddened we are that we were the victim of such a crime. We, in no way, stand for anything remotely related to that symbol, and we hope that swift justice is brought to the perpetrator(s) of this crime.”
3. After nearly five months, Minnesota measles outbreak may be over
Star Tribune: A measles outbreak that sickened 79 Minnesotans and threw a spotlight on low child vaccination rates may finally be over after nearly five months. State health officials have scheduled a news conference for Friday afternoon where they will make the announcement if no new cases are reported.
No additional measles cases have been detected for the past six weeks, twice the disease’s normal incubation period, meaning that the highly-contagious virus is probably not still spreading to people who have not been vaccinated and lack natural immunity. It can take up to three weeks for measles symptoms to develop, and typically epidemiologists wait through two incubation periods without new cases before they will declare an outbreak finished.
The outbreak was centered in the Somali-American community in Hennepin County, where the share of vaccinated children fell sharply in recent years after a scare over the discredited belief that the vaccine is linked to autism.
Many of the infections occurred in day care facilities used by Somali families. Studies show that the unvaccinated have a 90 percent chance of catching measles if they are in the same room as an infected person.
As the number of cases spread, state and local officials, as well as Somali community leaders, urged parents to vaccinate their children to help stop the outbreak. State data showed that the number of shots given did increase.
4. Britney Spears fans want to replace New Orleans Confederate monuments with statues of pop singer
Fox News: Britney Spears fans want Louisiana officials to replace Confederate monuments in New Orleans to statues of the "Toxic" singer. The petition on Change.org, which has been signed by over 5,500 people, encourages Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards to "do the right thing: Replace the Confederate statues with an actual hero and influencial human being, Britney Spears."
The petition also listed Spears' achievements which included her charity, "The Britney Spears Foundation" that raised $585,000 and donated a chunk of it to those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to the petition. Earlier this month, Spears donated some of her Las Vegas show ticket sales to Louisiana schools for flood recovery.
The petition states, "Before becoming one of the world's most important and influential pop legends, Britney Spears was living life in a small southern town by the name of Kentwood, Louisiana. Not only has Britney proven her talent, but she's proven her strength of character by not only overcoming highly publicized mental breakdown, but by continuously working towards improving herself. She's an inspiration to millions.”
5. ‘My pipe dream finally came true’: This woman won the second-largest Powerball jackpot ever
Reuters: Mavis Wanczyk won the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history Wednesday, a $758 million Powerball jackpot that she celebrated by calling in newly rich, telling her longtime employer that she would not be coming to work. Not now, and not ever.
The 53-year-old from Chicopee, Mass., said on Thursday that she was just starting to come down — barely — from the shock and overwhelming excitement of discovering that she held the lone winning ticket.
“Last night, it was kind of like — I didn’t realize I had won,” she said at an afternoon news conference, where she smiled and posed with a giant check. Sh esaid, “Now, it’s like — I am a winner, and I’m scared. But I’ll be okay. I had a pipe dream, and my pipe dream finally came true.” She had hoped to retire early from Mercy Medical Center, where she has worked for 32 years. After winning the Powerball, Wanczyk said, “I called them and told them I will not be coming back.” Now, Wanczyk said that she just wants to “be alone and just be able to be me.”