OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – First Alert 6 has the headlines you need to know to get your Tuesday started.
Thousands without power in Omaha metro after outage early Tuesday
An outage early Tuesday in the Omaha metro left thousands of Omaha Public Power District customers without power.
At its peak, the outage affected about 3,780 customers, including 2,651 in Sarpy County and 1,129 in Douglas County. The heaviest concentration was reported in the Papillion area.
Power was restored to a majority of Sarpy customers, but crews are still working on getting power back on in Douglas.
Several intersections are without working traffic lights, including: 72nd and Harrison, 84th and Harrison & 72nd and Giles.
Jaret Lansford with First Alert 6 Traffic says other lights in the area may be impacted. Drivers are asked to treat these intersections as all-way stops.
Watch Tuesday’s 7 a.m. newscast
Snow, strong wind cause blizzard conditions Tuesday night, Rusty says
Rapidly changing weather conditions will eventually lead to a blizzard Tuesday night, according to Senior Chief Meteorologist Rusty Lord.
“The changeover will happen west to east from 6pm to 9pm and once it changes the snow is likely to be very heavy…resulting in a widespread 3″-6″ of snow for a large portion of the area,” Rusty says.
In addition to the snow, the strong wind gusts could cause issues, with winds getting up to 60 to 70 miles per hour. The Omaha Public Power District says they are ready to deal with any tree damage caused by the storm.
OPPD advises to charge your devices ahead of time, keep a flashlight handy, and leave your fridge and freezer door shut to preserve your food. To report a power outage, click here or call OPPD at 1-800-554-6773.
Hearings begin to legalize, regulate medical marijuana in Nebraska
There were hearings over multiple bills on medical marijuana at the Unicameral Monday as lawmakers work to legalize it.
The bills are meant to give guidelines and benchmarks for how Nebraska will regulate the drug. Nebraska’s Attorney General Mike Hilgers and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts wrote an opinion piece in the Omaha World-Herald over their opinion on the issue.
“…urging lawmakers to do nothing — to ignore the will of the people — and essentially let it twist in the wind with the hope that other courts will one day agree with them,” First Alert 6’s Brian Mastre said.
Back in November, over 70 percent of Nebraskans voted to legalize medical marijuana in the state.
Omaha City Council to discuss extension with waste contractor Tuesday
The Omaha City Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 2 p.m. for their weekly meeting.
Up for discussion is a potential 5-year contract extension to FCC Environmental Services, the city’s waste contractor. The extension would be for yard waste removal and recycle collection.
The council will also discuss an ordinance to approve an agreement with local law enforcement agencies called “the Douglas-Sarpy Mutual Aid Interlocal Cooperation Agreement.”
All of these items are up for a “first reading,” meaning no action will be taken yet.
Omaha man arrested on federal sex trafficking charges
Authorities are searching for more victims of an Omaha man accused of sex trafficking.
Chad A. Alioth was arrested last Thursday on federal sex trafficking charges with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.
Investigators say there may be more victims in several other states, including Missouri, Kansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and Oklahoma.
OPD urges anyone with information to call Sgt. Schrage with the Missing Persons Unit at 402-444-4123, or to call Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP.
Police make arrest after shooting in Omaha that injured one
Omaha Police have made an arrest in connection a shooting early Monday.
The incident happened at an apartment in the area of 20th and Grace Streets at about 4 a.m. Monday.
Officers arrived to the scene and found a 39-year-old man with non-life-threatening injuries.
A 29-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were taken to OPD headquarters to be questioned on the shooting. The man was arrested and is facing a charge of felony possession of a firearm.
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