Wednesday,  Feb. 12, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 211 • 17 of 37

News from the

SD man sentenced for robbery, pistol-whipping

• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A Sioux Falls man who pistol-whipped a store clerk during an unsuccessful armed robbery attempt is heading to prison.
• Twenty-one-year-old Martine Moreno was sentenced Tuesday to serve 13 years behind bars for the April 6, 2013, holdup of the IU General Store and Laundry. Authorities say he pointed a loaded handgun at the clerk, demanded money and hit the clerk in the face with the gun. The clerk suffered a cut lip that required stitches.
• Moreno was arrested after an hour-long standoff with a SWAT team. The incident happened on his 21st birthday, and authorities say his blood-alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit.
• Moreno pleaded guilty in December to attempted robbery and aggravated assault. He'll be eligible for parole after serving 65 percent of his sentence.

SD bill would ban abortions for gender selection

• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A South Dakota legislative panel is considering a measure that would ban any abortion being sought because the fetus is not the gender wanted by a pregnant woman.
• The measure would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion being sought by a woman because of the gender of the fetus.
• A doctor also would have to ask a woman seeking an abortion whether she was doing so because of the gender of the fetus.
• The House Judiciary Committee hears testimony on the measure Wednesday.

EROS celebrating satellite launch anniversary

• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The EROS Center north of Sioux Falls is celebrating a year of success of Landsat 8.
• NASA launched the Earth-observing satellite into space from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base one year ago Tuesday.
• The U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science Center collects, archives and makes available for download more than 400 data-filled images of the Earth each day. The center also partners with a network of ground stations across the globe that help download and distribute the data.

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