wbPM3CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 10 TO 15. SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO
 10 MPH.
 .FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. SCATTERED FLURRIES IN THE MORNING. HIGHS
 IN THE LOWER 30S. WEST WINDS AROUND 10 MPH.
 .FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 15. NORTHWEST WINDS
 10 TO 15 MPH.
 .SATURDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 20S. WEST WINDS AROUND
 15 MPH.
 .SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN…
 SNOW AND SLEET IN THE EVENING…THEN CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING
 RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO
 20 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT.
 .SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN…FREEZING RAIN AND
 SLEET IN THE MORNING…THEN SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN…FREEZING RAIN
 AND SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. BREEZY. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. CHANCE
 OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.
 .SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOWS AROUND 10.
 .MONDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. BREEZY.
 HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S.
 .MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. WINDY. LOWS 15 TO 20.
 HIGHS IN THE MID 20S.
 .TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 10.
 HIGHS IN THE UPPER 20S.
 .WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. WINDY. LOWS 15 TO 20.
 .THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. WINDY. HIGHS IN THE MID 20S.
 

NEXT WEEK,  STRONG WINDS  ARE EXPECTED WITH THE CLIPPERS
 THAT MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON SUNDAY…MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY
 NIGHT…AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Fargo police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was found under a truck in the eastern North Dakota city.
 
     Lt. Joel Vettel tells KFGO Radio that  someone at a nearby business discovered the body early Thursday afternoon.
 
     Vettel says there’s no evidence that crime played a role in the man’s death, and it’s possible that exposure to the cold was a factor. The Cass County Coroner’s office is helping in the investigation.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Department of Labor and Human Rights has rejected two complaints filed by a white supremacist who tried to turn the small town of Leith (leeth) into an Aryan enclave.
 
     One of the complaints was against Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEHN’-juhm), who said during a radio interview that Craig Cobb and his supporters “are not the kind of people wanted in North Dakota.”
 
     Cobb alleged discrimination but state Labor Commissioner Bonnie Storbakken says her department found “no cause” for that conclusion. Stenehjem says he expected the outcome.
 
     Cobb has filed 10 human rights complaints. One was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Seven others are still being investigated.
 
     Cobb faces a Monday preliminary hearing on charges that he terrorized Leith residents with guns – an accusation he rejects.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A small North Dakota town targeted for takeover by a white supremacist who now sits in jail on terrorizing charges has backed away from plans to condemn and raze his home, after a woman living there moved out and left it unoccupied.
 
     Craig Cobb and fellow white supremacist Kynan Dutton had been living in the home with Dutton’s girlfriend, Deborah Henderson. Cobb and Dutton are jailed for allegedly terrorizing residents with guns – claims they reject. Henderson has moved out. Cobb says she went to northern South Dakota, but Leith (leeth) Mayor Ryan Schock says residents believe she’s in Mandan. Henderson declined to say.
 
     Leith attorney Tom Kelsch says the town has backed away from plans to demolish Cobb’s house because an unoccupied structure can’t be condemned under city ordinance.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Health Department is reporting widespread cases of the flu for the first time this season.
 
     Officials are reminding state residents that it’s not too late to get vaccinated.
 
     Influenza Surveillance Coordinator Jill Baber says 843 cases of lab-confirmed flu have been reported, up from 88 cases about a month ago.
 
     Most of the cases are linked to the H1N1 virus, the same strain that caused a pandemic four years ago. This year’s influenza vaccine protects against the H1N1 strain.

 

  WASHINGTON (AP) – Members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation say they believe federal officials are moving quickly to deal with issues surrounding a tanker derailment and fiery explosion outside of Casselton.
 
     Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp met on Thursday with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Cynthia Quarterman. She is the pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration administrator.
 
     Both senators say they were happy with the officials’ response to the derailment. Hoeven says Foxx would like to propose a new rule for fuel transportation in “weeks not months” and also plans to visit North Dakota to discuss the issue.
 
     Heitkamp says the meeting was about setting a timetable and a path going forward. She says Foxx made it clear that improvements were a top priority.

 

In world and national news…

FORT LEE, N.J. (AP) – The mayor of the New Jersey borough whose residents had to deal with traffic jams as apparent political payback against him says he accepts Gov. Chris Christie’s apology but also wants to see if more details emerge from investigations. Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (SAHK’-oh-lich) says he thinks the governor was sincere when he apologized about emails that seem to reveal that one of his top aides wanted highway lanes near the foot of the George Washington Bridge closed because the mayor wasn’t endorsing Christie. The governor fired the aide this morning.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he is cautiously optimistic that a compromise is near on legislation to renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. But he’s not providing details. The Senate has been working on a three-month extension of a program that expired on Dec. 28, immediately cutting off benefits of roughly $256 weekly for more than one million people. Deficit-conscious Republicans have said they will only agree to renew the program if the costs are paid for. In return, the White House and Senate Democrats say they want a long-term renewal and not one that expires in another three months.
 
     MOSCOW (AP) – There are new security concerns in southern Russia ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics. Six men have been found shot to death in cars, and investigators say bombs had been placed near three of the vehicles. Only one of the bombs went off, and no one was hurt. The killings took place about 200 miles from Sochi, host site for the Olympics.
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – A state judge in New York says she plans to visit the site of the rebuilt World Trade Center, before ruling on a lawsuit by neighbors. They say police are going too far in providing security for the area, leaving residents feeling like they’re living in a fortress. They’re challenging plans for guard booths, gates, fencing and checkpoints.
 
     MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri man who’s accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolmate when he was 17 has been charged with a misdemeanor count of child endangerment. Matt Barnett is now 19. A prosecutor has been re-examining the allegations from the girl that Barnett raped her at a house party in 2012, when he was a high school senior and she was a freshman. Barnett has said the sex was consensual.