Plane slips off runway in snowy Midwest
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A plane slid off an icy taxiway Friday at Kansas City International Airport as a sprawling winter storm hits large sections of the Midwest and beyond, leading to the closure of schools, universities and government offices.
The Delta Air Lines flight was taxiing to be de-iced before flying to Detroit when the nose gear slipped off the taxiway, said Delta spokeswoman Martha Witt. There were no reports of injuries aboard the Airbus A319, which was carrying 123 passengers and a crew of six. Witt said the airline was trying to put passengers from Delta flight 1114 on other planes.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itBsHdHf4iM]
The airport was closed and numerous flights were canceled in the morning but flights resumed about noon. Most Friday flights from Nashville, Tenn., were canceled.
The slippery conditions surfaced after the National Weather Service issued winter-weather advisories, saying the storm will create hazardous travel conditions from the Plains into the Northeast through the weekend. Snow is forecast over much of the Great Lakes, with a blizzard warning for parts of the Upper Midwest.
[Gallery not loading above? Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/118snow/]
The winter-weather advisory extended south into western Oklahoma and northern Arkansas.
Lambert International Airport in St. Louis reported more than 130 flights canceled as of noon Friday and American Airlines suspended all flights to Missouri's Columbia Regional Airport until noon today.
In South Dakota and Minnesota, dozens of schools canceled classes Friday. And, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly closed state offices in the Topeka area.
Navy captain guilty in obstruction case
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A former commander of the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay was convicted Friday of interfering with an investigation into the death of a civilian who the commander had fought and argued with over his affair with the man's wife.
A federal jury in Jacksonville convicted Navy Capt. John Nettleton on charges of obstruction of justice, concealing material facts, falsifying records and making false statements.
Nettleton was removed from command shortly after civilian Christopher Tur was found floating in the waters off the base on the southeastern coast of Cuba in January 2015. Nettleton had commanded the base since June 2012, but not the detention center where terrorism suspects are held.
Nettleton wasn't charged with Tur's death. He could get 75 years, but sentencing guidelines suggest his term will be significantly less.
Nettleton denied to his superior officer and others that he had the affair, but investigators later determined that it had happened, according to prosecutors in Jacksonville, where Nettleton had been on temporary duty. Tur's wife confirmed the affair during her testimony.
New N.D. policy wipes 16 pot convictions
BISMARCK, N.D. -- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced Friday that he has pardoned 16 people convicted of low-level marijuana crimes, the first wave in what may be thousands under a new policy the first-term Republican said gives former offenders a second chance.
The policy adopted last year allows people with low-level marijuana convictions to petition to have their records wiped clean if they avoid unlawful behavior for five years. The pardons erase the convictions as if they never occurred and records are shielded from public view.
The change put North Dakota in line with some other states and cities. Past convictions can be problematic for people trying to find jobs and housing.
North Dakota's pardon advisory board in November recommended wiping criminal records clean for 26 people with low-level marijuana convictions. Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said the governor's office reviewed the cases and determined only 16 qualified.
Jury in place for Weinstein's NYC trial
NEW YORK -- A jury of seven men and five women was selected Friday for Harvey Weinstein's rape trial after an arduous, two-week process in which scores of people were dismissed because they had already made up their minds about the Hollywood mogul.
Opening statements are expected Wednesday in the case against the 67-year-old executive who was the powerful and feared studio boss behind such Oscar winners as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love. Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in a New York City hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on another at his apartment in 2006. He has said any sexual activity was consensual.
During jury selection, prosecutors accused Weinstein's lawyers of systematically trying to keep young women off the panel, though the final gender makeup of the jury turned out to be more closely balanced.
For its part, the defense raised an outcry and demanded a mistrial because one of the jurors is the author of a new novel involving young women dealing with predatory older men. The request was denied, but Weinstein's lawyers, outside court, claimed that the juror had withheld the information on her questionnaire.
A Section on 01/18/2020