Sheriff: Andrea Kruger's death appears to be 'random' act of violence - Omaha World-Herald

Andrea Kruger's death appears to have been a "random" act of violence, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning said Friday.

The sheriff said he does not believe Kruger, a 33-year-old married mother of three, was targeted. Her body was found early Wednesday near 168th and Fort Streets.

"We believe it was random," Dunning said at a press conference.

Dunning said no suspects had been taken into custody. He asked anyone with information about the case to call authorities.

Kruger, a bartender, was shot multiple times sometime after she closed the Deja Vu Lounge near 178th and Pacific Streets. Dunning said authorities had not identified anyone at the bar who had given Kruger trouble.

Kruger may have made a stop on her way home. Dunning said there was a 21-minute gap from when she locked up the bar at 1:47 a.m. and when deputies responded to a shots-fired call at 2:08 a.m.

"We are not sure when she came into contact with her killer or killers," Chief Deputy Tom Wheeler said. "It could have been at 168th and Fort, or it could have been earlier."

The killer left Kruger's body in the street.

Someone drove off in her SUV and abandoned it near 43rd and Charles Streets about 4:45 a.m. after trying to set it on fire, Dunning said. Omaha police found the vehicle about 6:15 p.m.

The sheriff indicated that the vehicle, a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, has been spotted on a surveillance tape obtained by investigators.

He said authorities have not identified a second vehicle believed to have sped away from the shooting scene on 168th Street.

Dunning declined to answer several questions, including whether investigators have found a weapon or whether they had a "person of interest."

"I can't comment on that," he said repeatedly.

The death of Kruger has captured the city's interest. A prayer vigil was held Thursday. A memorial page on Facebook had garnered nearly 30,000 "likes" by Friday afternoon. Kruger's funeral will be Monday.

Dunning warned people to be cautious while driving because the killer hasn't been arrested. He urged residents to call authorities if they see any suspicious activity.

"Obviously, we have a killer on the loose," Dunning said.

"Be alert to your surroundings, trust your instincts and do not take unreasonable risks," he added.

Deputies had received about a dozen tips through the Douglas County tip line. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the anonymous tip line at 402-444-6000.

Mogul 'ruined' - New York Post

Former Disney and Miramax exec Richard Nanula’s reputation in Hollywood is destroyed after his porn-star scandal, sources tell us.

Nanula resigned as Miramax board chairman in July after stills from a sex tape he purportedly starred in showed up on Web site thedirty.com. It then emerged that Nanula, 53 â€" a Harvard MBA who had big jobs at Disney, Starwood and Amgen â€" allegedly made a habit of hiring X-rated actresses to star with him in sex scenes he taped at his Malibu mansion with his own video camera.

Nanula’s spectacular fall from grace came as photos of a man said to be him having sex with X-rated actress Samantha Saint were posted online early this summer. At least two other adult- film actresses, S arah Shevon and Penny Pax, have since come forward to claim they were booked to perform with him.

SEE: SAMANTHAT SAINT BEFORE HER COSMETIC MAKEOVER

A friend of Nanula, who allegedly called himself “Mr. Rich” for his porn escapades, told The Post’s Richard Johnson, “Now he’s out of work, and his reputation is ruined.” Another source told us, “Everyone in Hollywood is gossiping about how long Nanula has been up to this.”

The divorced father-of-three may have thought porn production was a loophole that would preclude him from being arrested as a “john” for soliciting prostitution. Others speculate he was tricking porn actresses who refuse to prostitute themselves into having sex with him.

Saint claims the $1,200 cash she was paid to star in the video, which she was told was for fellow actress Trinity St. Clair’s Web site, was in a Colony Capital envelope (Colony is the parent of Miramax). Saint told industry bible Adult Video News that she had her lawyer insist the video be posted on St. Clair’s site to make it legitimate. It was posted in January but later taken down. The pictures have also been removed from thedirty.com without explanation.

Page Six revealed last month that Nanula â€" who was at Disney from 1986 to 1998 â€" was accused by his ex-wife Tracey Nanula in 2005 divorce papers of spending thousands on prostitutes and was treated for sex addiction.

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Bombings, shootings leave 23 dead in Iraq - CNN - Canada

(CNN) -- At least 23 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of attacks targeting Sunni areas across northern Iraq on Thursday, police officials told CNN.

The deadliest attack was in Samarra, where 16 people died when a car bomb exploded in an outdoor market Thursday evening. Another 27 were wounded in the largely Sunni city, about 100 km (63 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

In Baghdad, gunmen shot dead three men outside their house in Saydiya, a mixed Sunni-Shiite area on the city's southwest side. And in al-Adil, a Sunni neighborhood in western Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a group of people in a residential area and killed two people, police said.

In Mosul, a car bomb exploded outside a local hospital and killed two people. Nine other people were wounded in this explosion. Mosul is a largely Sunni city about 360 km (224 miles) north of Baghdad.

Police officials in those cities spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to release information to media.

The latest bloodshed followed the deaths of 56 people Wednesday in a series of blasts that targeted mostly Shiite areas in and around Baghdad. Another 200 were wounded.

The country has endured months of escalating violence stemming from decades-old discord between the nation's Sunnis and Shiites, the two largest branches of Islam. July was the deadliest month in Iraq since the peak of sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007. According to the United Nations, 1,057 Iraqis were killed and another 2,326 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence last month.

Sunnis have felt politically marginalized under a Shiite-led government since the ouster of longtime leader Saddam Hussein in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Meanwhile, the government is wary that the Sunni Islamists who've been involved in fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government are now targeting the government in Baghdad.

Sunni-Shiites frictions have escalated since an April incident in Hawija, in northern Iraq, where Iraqi security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government. Sunni protests against the Iraqi government have continued since the Hawija incident.

Friends, relatives of murdered toddler Londyn Samuel denounce violence ... - NOLA.com

In a tearful press conference Friday, New Orleans officials and relatives of murdered toddler Londyn Samuels asked the community to end the violence that took her life and to help bring her killers to justice.

"If y'all know anything, please call Crimestoppers," implored Keion Reed, who has helped raise Londyn.

The baby girl was killed Thursday night, when two men opened fire in the 2800 block of South Saratoga Street in Central City. Londyn's 18-year-old babysitter was struck by two bullets, police said, one of which exited the woman's chest and struck the toddler, killing her.

At a press conference Friday afternoon at Cafe Reconcile, Andrea Samuels, Londyn's mother, stood quietly by as others expressed outrage and sorrow over her daughter's death.

"The senseless murder of Londyn Samuels touched the Café Reconcile family very deeply," said CEO Glen Armantrout. He said Samuels, 22, of Gretna, graduated from their program, which trains at-risk youths to work in the culinary and hospitality fields. Samuels now works at the restaurant as a graduate trainer, mentoring other students.

Armantrout and Samuels were flanked by students, staffers and several family members, including Reed, 20. "I just want to thank everybody for your support," Reed said, "She was my precious little girl. She was my world. She was my every thing."

New Orleans City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrelle said residents are tired, fed up and frustrated with the lack of love, respect and dignity for life. Cantrelle turned to Samuels and told her, "I could be in your shoes just like other mothers could be in your shoes. You are not alone."

Someone in the community saw what happened, Cantrelle said. Someone who can call and help police. "We need people to stand up and be a vice to ensure that this violence comes to an end," she said.

Police said the two men suspected in the shooting were caught on surveillance cameras, and that the shooting is not believed to have been a gun battle between separate individuals.

Barbara Lacen-Keller, director of constituent services for Councilmember-at-Large Stacy Head, announced plans to push a campaign for stronger gun laws. "We are going to fight for some stiffer, stiffer laws. This gun stuff has got to stop," she said.

Samuels' tears began to well in her eyes as Lacen-Keller spoke of burying babies, and as Armantrout closed out the press conference.

"I wanted this burned in your memories," he said, holding up a flier with Londyn's photo as tears streamed down his face. "Don't ever forget this."

Black Power members arrested, police uncover drug lab - TVNZ

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Thirteen Black Power gang members have been arrested today in relation to a raft of criminal charges.

A team of more than 100 police officers executed search warrants at 15 Auckland addresses this morning, looking for firearms and drugs.

Police arrested 13 people linked to the Mangu Kaha chapter of the Black Power gang.

Another five people were arrested earlier in the operation, and now face further charges.

At this stage, the 18 people arrested face charges ranging from participating in an organised criminal group, drug dealing, aggravated robbery, burglary, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, manufacturing methamphetamine and attempting to defeat the course of justice.

A clan lab was also located today, police said.

The investigation, known as Operation Maggie, was launched following a number of shootings in the Auckland area.

At least six people were shot between November last year and June this year, police said.

All of those shot required hospital treatment but police said they received limited cooperation from the victims.

Detective Inspector Mark Gutry said he expects today's operation to have a major impact on this group's offending.

"This type of offending is responsible for considerable harm to the community," he said.

"We'll continue to target those involved in organised crime, gangs and drugs and expect that today's termination of Operation Maggie will have a significant impact on this group.

"The violence seen from this group will not be tolerated by police and we will continue to make inroads into organised crime despite a lack of cooperation."

Mr Gutry said that a number of people will be appearing in the Manukau District Court today to face charges.

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Two people killed in Merrill Field plane crash - Anchorage Daily News

Two people were killed Saturday when a single-engine plane crashed on takeoff at Merrill Field, according to Anchorage police and witnesses.

Police officers pulled a male and female from the plane and took them to Alaska Regional Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, said police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro. Their names hadn't been released as of Saturday evening.

Witnesses described seeing the Cessna 150-L flying west as it climbed after takeoff from Merrill's longest runway around 3:30 p.m., then hearing the engine cut out.

"It was going up, and I could hear the engine kind of dying," said Benjo Tadique, a salesman at a nearby car dealership.

The plane turned back to the left towards the airport, Tadique said, but then quickly lost altitude and plunged nose-first into the grass just south of the runway's westernmost end.

"It just went diving down," he said. "I saw it hit the ground. It just--boom. There was a big thud."

The plane's nose was crushed on impact, and its tail partially detached, bending into a 90-degree angle.

A commercial pilot had been at the controls, said National Transportation Safety Board Investigator Josh Cawthra.

Witnesses said the plane appeared to have climbed to an altitude between 100 and 200 feet before losing power.

Another salesman from the car dealership, George LaMoureaux, was the first to arrive at the crash site, after scaling the 10-foot tall barbed-wire-topped fence surrounding the airport.

He said he had been in the process of selling a truck when one of his customers pointed out an airplane that had gone silent.

LaMoureaux ran to the wreckage, where he found the male occupant wedged into the front of the cockpit. A small fire had started at the nose of the Cessna, and LaMoureaux frantically tried to extricate the man, fearful that unused fuel was about to explode, he said.

"I was waiting for the plane to blow any second," LaMoureaux said.

When the man wouldn't move, LaMoureaux tried pushing on the Cessna's wings, to unfold the fuselage to create more space. As he shook the plane, the female passenger fell from the back of the plane, he said.

Both, said LaMoureax, were unconscious, and covered in blood.

Meanwhile, the flames had grown, and LaMoureaux, with the help of first responders, had to empty several fire extinguishers to put the fire out. Police officers ultimately extricated both passengers.

Investigators will release a preliminary report on the crash within the next week, and then a more thorough report could take as long as a year, said Cawthra, the NTSB investigator.

'Obscene' Pakistan cricket film hits cinemas - The Malay Mail Online

KARACHI, Aug 24 — A Pakistani film about a boy emulating the fairytale career of cricket star Shahid Afridi hit cinemas yesterday despite objections from the player over "obscene" scenes he fears could damage his image.

The US$1 million (RM3 million) Pakistan-made movie "Main Houn Afridi" ("I am Afridi") tells the story of a young man who dreams of becoming as great a player as Afridi, and the trials he faces as he tries to follow in his hero's footsteps.

The big-hitting all-rounder had given his blessing to the producers, but last week reacted angrily to an "obscene" scene shown in trailers for the film in which the hero hugs and kisses a girl in a nightclub.

He also raised objections to an "item song", a musical performance featuring Pakistani actress Mathira Khan. Dance numbers such as this with scantily clad women are often used in Indian cinema and have little to do with the story.

"I had given permission for the film with an aim to give kids some positive healthy entertainment, to divert their minds towards cricket and it should not have obscene things," said Afridi, 33.

But the filmmakers went ahead with the release without removing the scenes.

"The item song was the demand and if Afridi had any objections, it's his mindset," Mathira told reporters at a private premier of the film Wednesday night.

Cinema-goers had mixed reaction to the movie.

"I don't see any obscenity in the film," said 27-year-old shopkeeper Liaqat Khan. "If we can watch Indian movies in our cinemas which are full of objectionable scenes, why can't we watch this film."

But middle-aged housewife Samina Ali said she was embarrassed after watching the movie.

"I came here on the insistence of my kids who are die-hard fans of Afridi, but this film cannot be watched with kids," she said.

Afridi, who hails from Pakistan's deeply conservative tribal district of Khyber on the Afghan border, has so far played 27 Tests, 354 one-days and 59 Twenty20 matches for Pakistan.

He became an instant hero when he hit a 37-ball century in only his second one-day against Sri Lanka in 1996 — still a world record.

Afridi also holds the record for hitting the most sixes in one-day international cricket, with 308 in 354 matches.

Pakistan's film industry has been on the skids for years, unable to compete with India's Bollywood.

But filmmakers are hoping the phenomenal popularity of one of the country's best-loved cricketers will translate into takings at the box office. — AFP