wbPM2CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…INCREASING CLOUDS. BREEZY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S.
SOUTH WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH
AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S. WEST WINDS
AROUND 10 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. WEST WINDS
5 TO 10 MPH.
.SUNDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE 20S.
HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER
20S. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S.

A COOLER SATURDAY IS FORECAST ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA IN THE WAKE OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL HAVE PROPAGATED THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT.

ABOVE NORMAL HIGHS IN THE 30S AND 40S FOR SATURDAY. THEREAFTER…EARLY NEXT WEEK… CONTINUED ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer will be paid more than $33,200 monthly as interim president of the University of North Dakota.
 
     Although temporary, the salary will make the former Republican governor the highest-paid president at North Dakota’s 11 public colleges.
 
     The state Board of Higher Education unanimously approved Schafer’s appointment last month. He will take over on a temporary basis when UND President Robert Kelley retires on Jan. 14.
 
     North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott and Schafer signed a contract on Wednesday that calls for the former governor to work from Jan. 15, 2015, to June 20, 2016.
 
     Schafer will be making about $2,000 more a month than Kelley.
 
     Schafer was governor of the state from 1992-2000. He was U.S. secretary of agriculture from 2008-2009.

 

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Fargo man accused of sexually assaulting an employee of a Mapleton convenience store is charged with five felonies.
 
     Thirty-five-year-old Abdulrahman Ali (ab-duel-RAH’-man AH’-lee) is charged with gross sexual imposition, aggravated assault and terrorizing.
 
     Authorities say the woman was punched and kicked during the early Wednesday morning attack in a restroom at Gordy’s Travel Plaza in Mapleton, which is east of the Fargo metropolitan area. Ali allegedly ripped the women’s clothes off and both of them were naked when deputies finally managed to break down the door. The victim was treated and released from a hospital.
 
     KFGO radio reports that Ali refused to come to court Friday and Judge Tom Olson set bail at $1 million. Arraignment is scheduled Monday.
 
     Court documents do not list a lawyer for Ali.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – West Fargo police say they’ve made an arrest in connection with a pharmacy burglary earlier this week.
 
     Police say a 22-year-old Fargo man has been arrested in the case of Tuesday’s burglary of the Prescription Shop at a Sanford clinic.
 
     The suspect is in the Cass County Jail but court records are not yet showing formal charges.

 

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Two Fargo men have been sentenced for operating a scheme at a neighborhood grocery store in which government food stamp benefits were illegally turned into cash.
 
     U.S. Attorney Christopher Myers says 48-year-old Lamia Ali and 51-year-old Abass Amedi were ordered to serve unspecified periods of home confinement, perform community service and repay more than $365,000.
 
     Authorities say Ali and Amedi operated the scheme at the Noor Al Huda store between March 2011 and March 2013.
 

 

 WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – A Williston man is facing 42 charges including 35 felonies after allegedly stealing from four companies and more than a dozen people.
 
     Twenty-four-year-old Sean Haskins is accused of theft, burglary and possession of stolen property, along with drug and weapons counts.
 
     Haskins is accused of stealing vehicles, guns, keys, garage door openers, cellphones and tools in burglaries dating to late October. He was arrested last month.
 
     Authorities say Haskins had once worked for two of the companies targeted in the burglaries.
 
  His bail was set at $250,000. He could enter pleas at a Jan. 21 hearing. Each of the felony charges carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
 
     Public Defender Cindy Turcotte didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

 

 REMER, Minn. (AP) – A small town in northern Minnesota lost its mayor and a teacher in separate deadly accidents on the same day and on the same stretch of highway.
 
     Remer is a community of about 370 people in Cass County. The State Patrol says Mayor Howard Prushek was changing a flat tire on his pickup Wednesday along Highway 6 when he was struck by a van and killed.  Prushek had been mayor for a year, but a City Council member for 17 years.
 
     Also Wednesday, teacher Timothy Budrow was riding in a car that spun out of control, crossed the center line on Highway 6 and was struck by an SUV. Budrow was killed. Another teacher in the vehicle was seriously injured. The 60-year-old Budrow was a sixth-grade teacher in Remer. 

 

In world and national news…

 SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – The FBI says it is investigating the deadly mass shooting in California as an “act of terrorism.” David Bowdich, the assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, made the declaration at a news conference Frday. He also said the shooters attempted to destroy evidence, including crushing two cell phones and discarding them in a trash can. He said authorities continue to investigate the case to understand the motivations of the shooters and whether they were planning more attacks.
 
     SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – Even as she and her husband carried out the deadly shooting rampage in southern California on Wednesday, Tashfeen Malik was posting a Facebook message that praised the leader of the Islamic State group. That’s according to a Facebook executive, who says Malik posted the material under an alias account at 11 a.m. That was about the time the first 911 calls came in. The company discovered the Facebook account yesterday, and removed it from public view.
 
     BERLIN (AP) – Germany is boosting its contribution to the fight against the Islamic State group. Lawmakers Friday overwhelmingly voted in favor of sending reconnaissance jets, a tanker plane and a ship to provide non-combat support to the coalition led by the United States that is flying airstrikes against the group. France had appealed for help in the fight against the militants after last month’s deadly attacks in Paris.
 
     AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas is dropping immediate efforts to block the arrival of Syrian refugees who are scheduled to resettle in the state next week. The Republican state attorney general, Ken Paxton, Friday withdrew a request for a temporary restraining order that sought to stop six Syrian refugees from coming to Dallas. The family could arrive as early as Monday and includes two children under the age of 6. Paxton, however, isn’t entirely dropping the lawsuit. He still wants assurances that the Obama administration will work with the state on refugee resettlement. Texas backed down after the Obama administration and the ACLU filed court papers challenging the lawsuit. Both said the state had no authority to stop the refugees from coming.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says the administration is thinking of proposing changes to the selective service law that would make women eligible for the draft. Spokesman Josh Earnest says officials at the Pentagon are deliberating on the change. The comments came a day after Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced he was ordering the military to open all military jobs to women, including the most dangerous commando posts.