In brief: Queen Latifah will appear in Spokane

Queen Latifah, singer, actress, author and inspirational speaker, will appear in Spokane on March 22 in a benefit for the YWCA of Spokane.

The news was announced Wednesday at the YWCA’s 29th annual Women of Achievement luncheon.

Latifah will appear in “A Conversation with the Queen” at the Star Theater at the Spokane Arena.

Tickets go on sale Monday. Prices range from $50 to $200 and are available at the Spokane Arena box office, all TicketsWest outlets, at TicketsWest.com, or by calling (800) 325-SEAT. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more by calling (509) 777-6253.

Moscow officer knew of gun threats

BOISE – University of Idaho officials say at least one Moscow police officer knew of alleged gun threats against a graduate student before she was shot and killed by a professor she had been dating.

The school issued a statement Wednesday saying a police officer included on a threat assessment team was made aware of the gun threats alleged by 22-year-old Katy Benoit.

Benoit complained to the university in June that psychology professor Ernesto Bustamante had threatened her with a firearm three separate times during the relationship.

Moscow police Chief David Duke told the Associated Press on Friday that police were unaware of the gun threats until after Bustamante shot and killed Benoit, then committed suicide.

On Wednesday, Duke said the officer on the assessment team reported after the shooting that the team had brief talks about gun threats.

The Benoit family released a statement Wednesday saying they have hired legal counsel.

Two hospitalized after vehicle rolls

Two people were hospitalized after a rollover crash Wednesday five miles north of Newport.

Authorities say drugs or alcohol were involved in the 4:52 p.m. crash on Highway 20. Driver Rebecca L. Nadeau-De Boer, 55, of Newport, was airlifted to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; her passenger, Robert C. Norton, 38, also of Newport, was transported by ambulance. Their conditions were not available Wednesday night because one was still being evaluated and one was going into surgery, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Nadeau-De Boer was eastbound in a Jeep Cherokee when she went off the right shoulder, swerved to the left, overcorrected, and went into the eastbound ditch and rolled, according to a Washington State Patrol news release. The crash is under investigation and charges are pending, but authorities said Nadeau-De Boer could face vehicular assault charges.

Man pleads guilty to child porn charge

A 41-year-old Hayden Lake man pleaded guilty Monday to possessing child pornography.

Charley Brigham Leighton II faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and lifetime supervised release when he’s sentenced Jan. 30 by U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge in Coeur d’Alene.

A grand jury indicted Leighton in September after the North Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched his home on Aug. 26, 2010, and seized computers containing pornographic images of children. Leighton told investigators he downloaded more than 1,000 images in about a year, according to court documents.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said the images depicted children from Missouri, Georgia, Connecticut, Michigan, Florida, Washington, France, Germany, Brazil, Belgium, England and the Netherlands, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Montana shoots for bigger wolf harvest

BILLINGS – State wildlife officials want to extend Montana’s wolf hunting season to give hunters enough time to fill a 220-wolf quota that is intended to sharply reduce the predator’s population.

Ken McDonald with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said Wednesday the season would be extended by a month, to Jan. 31.

State officials want to reduce the wolf predator’s population by 25 percent compared with last year, to 425 animals.