Regional Summary, Wednesday 4/23

Indiana Summary --- Indiana Gas Prices Zoom (Indianapolis) -- Gasoline prices in Indiana rose yesterday. The average for regular unleaded had been selling for three-dollars-39 cents per gallon. Today, its selling at three-dollars-64 cents. At least one station on the Indianapolis eastside was selling the same for three-dollars-84 cents. --- Police Continue Search For Suspects In Indianapolis Bank Shooting (Indianapolis) -- Police continue their search for suspects after the shooting of a teller during a bank robbery yesterday. Police have identified the bank teller shot during the robbery as 30-year-old Katherine Sheffield of Franklin. The woman is pregnant with twins. A coworker at the Huntington Bank at Post Road and 21st Street made the frantic 911 call around 9:30 on Tuesday. Two teenagers were detained for questioning on Tuesday afternoon, but no arrests or charges have been announced. An Indianapolis Metro Police report states a masked man jumped over the counter and shot Sheffield in the abdomen. The robber grabbed cash and fired a second shot on the way out of the bank. The suspect is described as a black man about six-feet-one-inch tall. He was last seen wearing a blue stocking cap, black mask, dark hoodie, dark pants, and white and black tennis shoes. --- Police Make Arrest After Shooting Death Of Woman (Boone County) -- Boone County authorities today have arrested a man after the death of a woman in front of her home overnight. Police say the 32-year-old woman, Darla James, was killed after a domestic dispute with her ex-husband. She was dropping off her children at the house which belongs to her former husband. The new husband was with her. Police say 19-year-old Corey Crouch has been arrested and faces numerous charges. The Boone County sheriff says the shooting appears to be an accident after the victim, husband John James, David Ehrie and Myra Crouch got into a physical confrontation. Authorities say thats when Corey Crouch got a nine-millimeter gun and shot it into the ground. Investigators say Crouch then hit John James in the head with the gun. The weapon discharged and Darla James was shot in the head. She died later at Methodist Hospital. --- Two Suspected Robbers Shot, Then Arrested (Indianapolis) -- Indianapolis Metropolitan Police say today two suspected robbers were shot, then arrested last night. Detectives say the men tried to rob an apartment on the citys near northside about 3 a.m. in the 48-hundred block of Park Forest Court. Police say three black males entered an apartment with a shotgun and several shots were fired. The suspected robbers ened up wounded. Two are being treated at the hospital. Polcie say their injuries are not life threatening. --- Obama And Clinton Campaign In Indiana Today (Indianapolis) -- Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both have campaign appearances in Indiana today. Clinton, who won last nights Pennsylvania primary, will be at the American Legion Mall in Indianapolis during the noon hour. Obama has a rally at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany at the same time. The two most recent polls have found the Indiana race within each surveys margin of error. --- Obama In New Albany Today (New Albany) -- Just after Hillary Clintons primary win in Pennsylvania, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama will make his first campaign stop in Kentuckiana today. The Illinois senator will hold a town hall style meeting at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany. The event will start at 12:45 p.m., and doors open at 10:45 a.m. Obama is in a tight race with New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Indiana primary is May 6th. --- Indians Bat Down Louisville (Indianapolis) -- Four Indianapolis right-handers, John Van Benschoten, Mike Thompson, Romulo Sanchez and Jonah Bayliss, combined on a one-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over Louisville last night at Victory Field. Van Benschoten took over the International League-lead in wins, improving to 4-and-0 with a 1.88 ERA. Thompson, Sanchez and Bayliss combined on Indianapolis third shutout of 2008. Louisvilles Chris Dickerson broke up the no-hit bid when he whacked a triple to right center with two outs in the ninth. The Indians improved to 12-and-7 overall and 7-2 at home. The Tribe and Bats are now tied atop the ILs West Division. Kentucky Summary (Inez, KY) -- Senator John McCain is putting the small community of Inez in the national political spotlight today. The Arizona Republican brings his presidential campaign eastern Kentucky with a late morning town-hall style meeting. The event will be held in the old Martin County Courthouse. Senator McCain is to speak around 11 oclock. (Frankfort, KY) -- Brad Cowgill, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education says the changes in the economy are hurting Kentucky families and putting college loans at risk and council members favor a conservative approach to tuition increases. The council must approve a nine-percent increase at the University of Kentucky, eight-percent at Eastern Kentucky University and 13 percent at community and technical colleges. The council will hold public hearings on April 30th and May 1st. (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor Steve Beshear has made two appointments to the Board of Elections. The seven-member group administers the states election laws. The governor appointing Robert Gable, who was once a Democratic candidate for governor, and George Russell a previous executive director of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. (Bardstown, KY) -- Workers at the Nelson County Animal Shelter have put down 40 dogs. The animals were discovered living in deplorable conditions at a home in Bloomfield. Nelson County animal control Officer Jon Ryan says the animals suffered from dehydration and mange. The owners of the home where the dogs were discovered face animal cruelty charges. (Lawrenceburg, KY) -- An Anderson County Circuit Judge has sentenced Amber Tucker to 15 years in prison. Last August Tucker, then 17-years-old and 16-year-old Brndi Murrah overpowered a Juvenile Justice officer transporting them from Bowling Green to Morehead and stole the state car. Despite a tearful plea from Tucker, the judge denied her probation. (Burgin, KY) -- The Burgin Police chief made a traffic stop, then noticed a weapon in the pick-up truck. But the suspect fled and the chief gave chase. The driver crashed his truck and took off on foot, when the chief pursued, the suspect fired at least one shot at the pursuing officer, hes believed to have returned fire. The suspect remains at large, there are no injuries reported. (Frankfort, KY) -- First Lady Jane Beshear is taking steps to make the Governors Mansion more environmentally friendly. Mrs. Beshear says was already an extensive recycling program in place when she arrived, but she has set about to install low-flow showerheads and energy-efficient light bulbs and turning off electronic devices when not in use. Mrs. Beshear also announced a new website greenteam.ky.gov to offer energy conserving knowledge to all Kentuckians. Chicago Summary --- Clinton Takes Pennsylvania; Dems Race Continues As expected, New York Senator Hillary Clinton has won the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary. Clinton kept her campaign afloat with a decisive victory over Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Speaking to supporters in Philadelphia, Clinton argued that the "tide is turning." Meanwhile, Senator Obama addressed supporters in Indiana, one of the next primary states. Obama tried to shift the focus to the struggling economy, the ongoing Iraq war and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. Obama criticized "distractions" that bog down campaigns and said, "not this year, not this time." --- Former State Official Admits Pay-To-Play Role (Chicago) -- A one-time top official in the Blagojevich administration dropped a political bombshell in federal court yesterday. Ali Ata 1/81/8 AH-tuh 3/83/8, the former executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority, pleaded guilty to lying to a federal agent about pay-to-play politics in Governor Blagojevichs office. Ata now says he got his state job only because he donated to the Blagojevich campaign in 2002 and 2003. Ata says he gave more than 50-thousand-dollars to the campaign. About half of that money was presented directly to "Public Official A" during a private meeting that also included indicted political fundraiser Tony Rezko. Blagojevich is not specifically named in the plea, but in other cases including Rezkos, the Governor is identified as "Public Official A." Ata will cooperate with the feds in the Rezko trial and any other cases as part of the deal. A spokesperson for Blagojevich says the administration doesnt base state government decisions on campaign contributions. --- Order Of Protection In AMBER Alert Abduction, Murder (Chicago) -- The Chicago woman found murdered Monday at her Humboldt Park home had an active order of protection against her husband, the man suspected of abducting her three children. The "Chicago Tribune" reports 30-year-old Sophia Garcia got the order of protection against 31-year-old Benito Casanova more than a year ago after he allegedly attacked and threatened her. But its not clear if Garcia ever tried to have that order enforced, or even tried to keep Casanova away herself. A landlord says the family had lived together since December. Police now say Casanova picked up eleven-year-old Fernando, seven-year-old Karla, and six-year-old Oscar Casanova from Yates Elementary School after classes were dismissed Friday. An AMBER Alert is in effect for the children, and FBI agents have joined the search. Authorities have said they believe Casanova is headed for Mexico. He is not charged in Garcias murder or considered a suspect, but police say they want to talk to him. Casanova is described as Hispanic, six-foot-one, 230 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes and is the father of two of the kids. Hes driving a silver or gray Dodge Dakota, with license plate 8-6-1-9-6-H-B. One plate is missing from the car. --- "Tentative Agreement" Reached To Sell St. Francis Hospital (Blue Island) -- St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island might not close after all. The "Chicago Tribune" reports its owner, SSM Health Care, signed a "tentative agreement" to sell the hospital last night. The newspaper obtained a memo sent to employees that says SSM is working with MSMC Investors Incorporated, which in turn represents Transition Health Care. That company has tried to buy St. Francis in the past, but its financing fell through. SSM Chief Operating Officer Bill Schoenhard wrote in the memo that the agreement, quote, "does not mean that any deal has been finalized." But, he says the company is "cautiously optimistic." SSM announced earlier this month it would close the 410-bed facility because of financial problems. --- County, Fire Victims Settle: City Still In Suit (Chicago) -- Cook County, two security firms, and four other companies will pay more than 25-million-dollars combined to victims of the 2003 Cook County Administration Building fire. The deal lets those groups out of a massive civil trial that begins next week, but the city of Chicago, the buildings manager, and a contractor are still negotiating. Six office workers died and 16 more were injured in the blaze at 69 West Washington Street. Cook County officials say insurance companies will pay their nine-million-dollar portion of the settlement. --- Bicyclist Shoots Two Women On South Side (Chicago) -- A bicyclist shot two 22-year-old women on Chicagos South Side last evening. Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer says it happened just after 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 70-hundred block of Wolcott Avenue. One of the women is hospitalized in critical condition and the other is stable. No arrests have been made. --- Two Shot, Critically Injured On Chicago Streets (Chicago) -- Two men are hospitalized in critical condition after separate Chicago shootings last night. Police say the first happened shortly after 9 p.m. in the 17-hundred block of West Cullerton Street. An 18-year-old Hispanic man suffered multiple gunshot wounds. At about 10:30 p.m., another man was shot in the neck in the 800-block of North St. Louis Avenue. Police arent releasing any information about the circumstances of either shooting, and have not made any arrests. --- District Officials Likely To Press Charges Against Accused Student (Flossmoor) -- A south suburban school district is expected to seek criminal charges against a student accused of scrawling a threat on a washroom wall last week. School leaders discovered the threat on Friday afternoon at Parker Junior High School in Flossmoor. District 161 President Donna Joy told the "Chicago Tribune" that even though the threat was initially believed not to be credible, they worked with police to look into the claim. She added that disciplinary action has already been taken against the student who officials think was responsible for the threat. Flossmoor district officials decided not to close the school because they were able to determine the threat level. They also asked the Cook County sheriffs police bomb squad to perform a canine search of the school this week. --- NIU Tightening Security Around Campus (DeKalb) -- Security is being tightened around the Northern Illinois University campus for the next several days. Thats in response to graffiti found Monday night on school grounds. University police say threats like this dont warrant canceling classes. A message to the NIU campus community posted on the schools website, urges students and everyone concerned to remain calm, but vigilant, and to report any information they might have about this threat to the campus police. The Health Services Building was evacuated last week after a bomb threat was found on campus. That is still under investigation. Tragedy struck on February 14th when a former student fatally shot five students in a lecture hall before turning the gun on himself. --- UAL Job Cuts, Fare Hikes On Horizon (Chicago) -- Job cuts are coming to Chicago-based United Airlines after the company posted its largest quarterly loss in years yesterday. High fuel costs are being blamed for sending the company 537-million-dollars in the red. United CEO Glenn Tilton says the company will cut five-hundred management jobs and six-hundred union positions over the rest of this year. The airline is also planning to retire 30 jets and raise fares yet again. United has already posted several fare hikes since January 1st to keep up with fuel costs. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-04-23-08 0345CDT