What you need to know: Friday
It’s Friday, June 12 and here is your day ahead:
In local news…
WEATHER: Showers and areas of drizzle will come to an end today. Sjkies will remain mostly cloudy and it will be breezy and cool with highs in the upper 60s to around 70 degrees. Full forecast
1. BOY FOUND
Fall or Left Behind? Questions remain this morning about how a 2-year-old boy got into a concrete box at a construction site in Baraboo. Police found the boy yesterday morning. The boy’s mother said she put him to bed Wednesday night, and that was the last time she saw him until Thursday morning. More on this story
2. METH LAB
Sophisticated operation: Madison police say the discovery of a sophisticated methamphetamine lab is a rarity for the area. Police said Thursday they found the lab last week in a neighborhood dense with homes. Authorities say it’s the largest meth lab found in Madison in more than a decade. The two roommates said they are upset that a Madison police officer called to the scene told them everything checked out. Madison police officials said the officer was not aware the task force was already investigating the house when he filed his report, and as a result the Madison Police Department is changing its policy. Officers will now be expected to immediately inform the task force if drugs are suspected. More on this story
3. TICKS
Check yourself: Researchers at UW-Madison say they are finding large numbers of ticks here in Madison. Scientists have studied tick populations in the Arboretum for several years now. This year, they say the number of ticks is 10 times higher than last year. Ticks are hard to spot, but a bite from an infected deer tick can spread Lyme disease to people and pets. More on this story
4. BELTLINE
More changes: Lane closures take place on the Beltline starting at 9 p.m. tonight on the eastbound side between Whitney Way and Seminole Highway. Those lanes will reopen at 8 a.m. Saturday. Traffic also shifted onto new pavement last night in the same area. There may be delays as drivers adjust to the new patterns. More on this story
In national news…
1. NEW YORK PRISON ESCAPE
Dogs are on it: Were the New York prison escapees looking for food in a trash bin behind a Subway next to a gas station? Authorities think they were, after tracking dogs picked up the scent of Richard Matt and David Sweat there. The scent tracks east to the town of Cadyville. There is also security video from the gas station, so police are looking at that too. Authorities said last night they believe with the dogs’ help the men could be apprehended within the “next 24 hours.” More on this story
2. BOSTON SHOOTING
Another arrest: Another suspect has been arrested in last week’s foiled terror attack plot in Boston. Police arrested Nicholas Rovinski last night. He’s a friend of Usaamah Rahim, who was shot and killed by police. They feared Rahim was close to launching an attack on officers. Police think Rovinski and a third man — David Wright, who’s also been arrested — encouraged Rahim to carry out an attack with knives. More on this story
3. EBOLA
It’s not over: Seems like we haven’t talked about Ebola in forever. Well, unfortunately, that’s about to change. After months of decline, the number of new cases is rising again in West Africa. There were 31 new cases last week in Guinea and Sierra Leone and 14 more cases this week. That makes two straight weeks of increases in the region. Investigators are working to trace how the latest cases of the disease were contracted. More on this story
4. GERMANWINGS CRASH
New inquiry: Andreas Lubitz’s medical and psychological problems may have been worse than previously thought. Lubitz — the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 who deliberately crashed a plane into the French Alps — feared he was going blind and saw dozens of doctors in the five years leading up to the crash. This new information comes from a French prosecutor who’s opening a criminal investigation into the March 24 crash. More on this story
Judge’s ruling: A municipal court judge in Cleveland reviewed the facts in the Tamir Rice case and believes there’s probable cause to bring charges against the officers involved in his death. So does that mean charges will be filed soon? No. The judge’s ruling is nonbinding and not an indictment. Prosecutors will still decide how to proceed, and the county prosecutor wants the case to go a grand jury. More on this story
