Winter storm howls through Midwest

Winter storm howls through Midwest

MINNEAPOLIS

Heavy snow and strong winds pushed across the Midwest on Monday, prompting highway closings in Kansas and South Dakota, school cancellations in Minnesota and grounding of flights in Denver and Minneapolis.

In Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton called out the National Guard to help stranded motorists, the Star Tribune reported.

The National Weather Service said more than 10 inches of snow had already fallen on North Platte in western Nebraska. In southern Minnesota, the storm dumped 17 inches near Owatonna by late afternoon Monday. Dozens of school districts in Minnesota canceled classes.

15-year-old girl shot at Texas school; boy, 16, arrested

DALLAS

A 15-year-old student in Texas was injured in a shooting in her high school cafeteria Monday morning, and a 16-year-old boy, also a student at the school, was taken into custody, sheriff’s officials said.

The girl was airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas after the shooting in the small town of Italy, some 45 miles south of Dallas, said Sgt. Joe Fitzgerald of the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office. The shooting happened about 7:50 a.m. in the Italy High School cafeteria.

Uber driver, in US illegally, charged with 4 Calif. rapes

LOS ANGELES

A Mexican man living in the U.S. illegally used his job as an Uber driver to target intoxicated young women and was charged Monday with raping, assaulting and robbing four victims, California prosecutors said.

Alfonso Alarcon-Nunez drove women to their homes, assaulted them and stole property including cellphones, computers and jewelry, officials said. He collected his fare payments through the smartphone app Venmo to disguise his identity and his Uber records.

DNA evidence helped lead detectives to Alarcon-Nunez, who was arrested at his Santa Maria home last week, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said at a news conference.

Man gets at least 23 years in prison for school stabbings

GREENSBURG, Pa.

A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing 20 fellow students and a security guard at his suburban Pittsburgh high school was sentenced Monday to 231/2 to 60 years in prison.

A judge also ordered Alex Hribal, 20, to pay more than $269,000 in restitution and rejected defense contentions that his actions stemmed from bullying.

Hribal pleaded guilty in October to a weapons charge and numerous attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges. He was 16 when he used two 8-inch kitchen knives to stab and slash his way through the hallways of Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville before classes began April 9, 2014.

Prosecutors to seek 21-month sentence for Paul’s neighbor

FRANKFORT, Ky.

Federal prosecutors will seek a 21-month prison sentence for the man accused of tackling U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in the Kentucky lawmaker’s yard, according to a court document that says the man “had enough” when he saw the Republican stacking more brush onto an existing pile.

The court document filed by federal prosecutors underscored that the motive behind the attack stemmed from a dispute about yard maintenance between the two Kentucky neighbors.

Associated Press