Regional Summary, Wednesday 12/5

Indiana Summary: --- No Bail For Teens In Stabbing Death Of Indiana Man (Hammond) -- Two 16-year-olds accused of murdering a man in Hammond Thursday night are being held without bond. The "Gary Post-Tribune" reports Victor Hernandez and Kenneth Zamarron each face multiple felonies, including murder, burglary, and attempted carjacking in connection with the death of 58-year-old Gregory Grudzien. They will be tried as adults, and could face a maximum of 105 years in prison, if convicted. Police said Grudzien was letting out a friends dog in the 75-hundred block of Olcott Avenue when he surprised the two suspects during an alleged burglary attempt. He was found beaten and stabbed to death in front of the house, and the dog was also killed. After getting reports of two attempted carjackings a short time later, police blocked off streets surrounding the area, and quickly arrested the teens. --- Pair Arrested In String Of Robberies (Johnson County) -- Police have arrested a Greenwood couple following a string of bank robberies. Savannah Myers and Randal Palmer are to be charged in the robberies of banks in four states. Police say the couple has confessed to ten robberies and more confessions are expected. A brief chase between police and the suspects led to the arrests along I-465 near Eemerson Avenue in the Beech Grove area. The two are being held at the Johnson County Jail and awaiting extradition to Kentucky. --- Here Are Tuesdays Winning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Daily Three-Midday: 2-1-6; Daily Four-Midday: 6-0-9-8; Lucky Five-Midday: 6-15-21-28-30 Kentucky Summary: (Louisville, KY) -- Police officials say a man and a woman have been arrested after a string of bank robberies. Officials say Savannah Myers and her accomplice, Ronald Palmer were arrested outside of Indianapolis earlier this week. Detectives say they believe the pair hit three Louisville area banks, including one in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Officials say the pair may be linked to other robberies in Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri. (Louisville, KY) -- Louisville is getting a visit from a presidential candidate today. Republican Rudy Giuliani will be in town this afternoon for a fundraiser. Officials say the fundraiser will be held at noon at Jeff Rubys Steakhouse along Main Street. (Bullitt County, KY) -- Two-men from Bullitt County were arraigned yesterday morning, after police say they discovered a meth lab in the trunk of the car they were using. Matthew Martin and Ramon Robinson were pulled over yesterday. Police say after they were stopped the two-men told police there was something dangerous in the trunk of the car. The car was sitting beside a gas pump, with an elementary school nearby. Both men are charged with trafficking a controlled substance and manufacturing methamphetamine. Both are being held at the Bullitt County Detention Center. (Lexington, KY) -- University of Kentucky basketball player, Alex Legion, is leaving the team a month into his freshman season. Head Coach Billy Gillispie made the announcement last night after meeting with Legion, who was the first recruit to commit to UK. Legion is a high school All-American who was required to sit out a year before competing for another Division One program due to NCAA rules. Legion was released from a national letter of intent at Michigan before enrolling at UK and he never signed a binding letter of intent with the Cats. He would have been eligible to play at the end of the fall semester next year. (Louisville, KY) -- A professor of business administration has been named for the 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. University of California, Berkeley professor Philip Tetlock earned the prize for ideas set in his 2005 book, "Expert Political Judgement: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?" Tetlock found those who take a big picture approach are more often correct than those who operate from a single perspective. His work was selected out of 50-entries from seven-countries. (Louisville, KY) -- The Eastern High School Choir will perform at Governor-Elect Steve Beshears inaugural ceremony next week. The choir will sing "My Old Kentucky Home." The "Courier Journal" reports that the choir director says she believes Eastern High School is the only high school choir she knows of that asked been participate in the ceremony. (Louisville, KY) -- The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet treated interstates and roadways yesterday in case it snows. Officials say the states snow and ice removal plans have been put in place as a precaution. As part of the plan, salt brine was added to the roads to help melt snow and ice in the future. Motorists can visit www.511.ky.gov to check for road conditions. (Washington, DC) -- Senator Jim Bunning says he will be running for re-election in 2010. A political blog reports Bunning has talked with Secretary of State Trey Grayson about leaving the Senate after this term. In a teleconference with Kentucky reporters, Bunning denies that report. Bunning says quote "I feel so good. My doctor says Im in better shape then ten-years-ago. I think if I could just throw a little harder, I would come back and try to pitch." Bunning had a successful career in major league baseball an is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Fort Knox, KY) -- Fort Knox will hold the 2007 Community Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony this Friday. The event will take place at 4:30 p.m. at the post gazebo and will feature holiday music from Fort Knoxs 2007 Rising Star winner Specialist Christian Ortiz, the 113th Army Band and Fort Knox High School along with the Girl Scouts choral group. Officials say all residents are encouraged to attend the event, which will include hot cocoa, coffee, and warm apple cider. Fort Knox Garrison Commander Colonel Mark Needham will be on hand to light the tree at 5 p.m. Illinois Summary: The Latest Here are the latest stories making news this hour: Barrington School District 220 will open as scheduled this morning after closing yesterday due to vandalism. Two gas leaks cause carbon monoxide scares in Chicago. Police file another search warrant in the Stacy Peterson disappearance. And the Governor meets again with three of the states four top legislative leaders. --- Snow Causes Morning Travel Woes (Chicago) -- Slippery roads are fouling up the commute for many drivers this morning. The Chicago area has already seen as much as four-inches of snow in many places, and two more inches are likely before a Snow Advisory ends at noon. Snowplow crews from IDOT and local municipalities have been out on the roads all night, but the roads remain slick in some places. Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Piccardi says commuters should allow lots of extra time and drive carefully. State Police are asking drivers involved in a crash with no injuries to fill out an accident report later. Those using public transportation are also strongly suggested to leave early. --- Barrington School In Session Today (Barrington) -- Classes in Barrington School District 220 will go on as scheduled today. Superintendent Tom Leonard says officials were forced to cancel school yesterday after vandals attacked 40 buses. They slashed tires and spray-painted one bus. Bus service administrator Sarah Sander tells the "Daily Herald" it appeared someone used an ice pick to slash the tires. She says replacement costs will be significant. Barrington-Inverness police are still looking for the culprits, who are believed to be high school students. --- Carbon Monoxide Scares Follow Separate Gas Leaks (Chicago) -- Two separate gas leaks caused five children and a mother to suffer the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning overnight. The first incident happened late last night at a Chicago Housing Authority high-rise in the 13-hundred block of West 15th Street. Authorities evacuated the building, which is part of the ALBA complex. They searched all 70 units before allowing residents back inside. Two children and their mother were hospitalized with headaches. Early this morning, three children were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after a gas leak at their house near 51st Street and South Damen Avenue. In both cases, authorities blame stoves used to heat the victims homes. The Illinois Poison Control center says carbon monoxide poisoning happens more often in the winter as heating systems work harder and malfunction more often. --- Another Search Warrant Filed In Search For Bolingbrook Woman (Bolingbrook) -- State police have served the husband of a missing Bolingbrook woman with yet another search warrant. Its the third such warrant issued to Drew Peterson in the search for Stacy Peterson. A spokesman for the Will County States Attorneys office tells the "Chicago Tribune" the warrant expands the scope of the first warrant issued in the case. Authorities seized two of the Peterson familys vehicles with the first warrant. The spokesman says the new warrant lets police search those cars for items not specified in the first warrant. He would not say what items officials are looking for. Stacy Peterson has been missing since late October. Police consider Drew Peterson a suspect in that disappearance, but he has not been charged with any crime. --- Some Leaders, Governor Meet On Transit, Capital And Casinos (Chicago) -- Three of the four legislative leaders maintain theyre "99-percent" close to a deal to add casinos in Chicago and the suburbs to pay for mass transit and a capital construction program. But the fourth leader, House Speaker Michael Madigan, refused to meet with Governor Blagojevich yesterday for a second day. And House GOP leader Tom Cross says its possible negotiations will stretch into the new year, though hes hoping for votes to begin next week. Top lawmakers have been "close to a deal" for months, but have yet to put the pieces together. The next CTA "doomsday" date isnt until January 20th. --- Murdered Childs Father Takes Stand In Civil Rights Case (Chicago) -- The father of a murdered three-year-old says he was so distraught upon learning of her death, his brother had to calm him down. Kevin Fox took the stand Tuesday in his civil rights trial against five Will County sheriffs detectives and others stemming from the death of Riley Fox. His lawsuit claims detectives coerced him into making a false confession and fabricated evidence against him. He and his wife Melissa are seeking unspecified damages. Fox was charged with murder and sexual assault in the 2004 death of his daughter and spent eight-months-in-jail awaiting trial before DNA evidence led to his release. The little girls killer has never been found. --- Phony Certificate Scheme Leads To Retired Inspectors (Chicago) -- Two former City of Chicago employees allegedly ran a scheme to give unqualified applicants city and state food service sanitation certificates. Retired Chicago Public Health Department inspectors Maryanne Koll and Robert Henry, both 64-years-old, each face federal mail fraud charges. Federal officials allege the two took money from individuals who, in exchange, received State of Illinois and City of Chicago certificates without passing the required exam. Koll allegedly helped issue nearly 600 fraudulent certificates since 2003, while Henry allegedly referred nearly 100 of those individuals to her. Henry allegedly pocketed between 300 and 400-dollars for each referral, which the couple split. Koll and Henry could be sentenced to 20-years-in-prison and a 250-thousand-dollar fine if convicted. --- Mother Dead After Southwest Side Blaze (Chicago) -- A Southwest Side bungalow fire Monday morning has now claimed the life of a third person. Authorities say 24-year-old Maria de la Luz Rosales died Tuesday morning at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she was airlifted in cardiac arrest after pulling her two daughters from the burning home. Her sons, three-year-old Jesse Escareno and ten-month-old Juan Escareno Junior, were pronounced dead at Holy Cross Hospital after the fire. Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford says ten people were living inside the structure in the 32-hundred block of West 66th Place. The "Chicago Tribune" reports investigators confirmed Tuesday that the fire was caused by the family having too many items plugged into an extension cord. --- Actor Quaid Sues Deerfield-Based Medicine Maker (Chicago) -- Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife are suing the maker of the drug that led to an apparent accidental overdose in their newborn twins. Quaid and Kimberly Buffington filed their lawsuit in Chicago yesterday against Deerfield-based Baxter Healthcare Corp. The couple accuses Baxter of being liable and negligent because the packaging of its ten-units-per-milliliter vial of the blood thinner Heparin looks so similar to a ten-thousand-units-per-milliliter-vial. In a statement, Baxter said it was implementing a new "drug safety initiative" which promises to change the labeling of Heparin vials. Quaid and his wifes infant twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were reportedly victims of an accidental overdose of Heparin late last month at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. --- Kettle Stolen From Salvation Army Post When Bell-Ringer Leaves (Orland Park) -- A teenage Salvation Army bell-ringer apparently thought it would be okay to leave his post early. It wasnt, so now Orland Park police are looking for the kettle he left behind, and the money that was inside. Authorities say 19-year-old Deandre Hunt got cold and had a friend come pick him up from the Walgreens on LaGrange Road. When a Salvation Army organizer came to pick up the cash, the kettle and Hunt were gone. A Salvation Army manager told police he believes Hunts story. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-12-05-07 0641CST