Regional Summary, Thursday 11/29

Indiana Summary: Gas Prices Slowly Dropping Again (Indianapolis) -- Gasoline prices are coming down again in Indiana. In Indianapolis, prices are just under three-dollars a gallon for unleaded regular at many stations. Changes in the price of crude have been credited for the recent downturn at the pump. --- Pence Cautious About Mideast Peace Talks (Indianapolis) -- Indiana Congressman Mike Pence is urging caution in approaching peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Pence is the ranking Republican on the Middle East and South Asia subcommittee and met this week with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Representatives from mare than 40 nations gathered Tuesday in Maryland to lay the groundwork for discussions. Pence says establishing a Palestinian state can not come at the expense of Israel. Pence believes that changing conditions in Iran have pushed other Arab countries to the table. The congressman applauded the attendance of the Saudi Foreign Minister. He still called the prospects for peace only marginally better than previous failed efforts. The two leaders are scheduled for their next face-to-face meeting on December 12th. President Bush is hoping that a peace agreement can be reached by the time he leaves office. Congressman Pence pointed to demonstrations in Gaza as a reason for concern. --- Wednesdays Winning Hoosier Lottery Numbers Daily Three-Midday: 2-0-8; Daily Three-Evening: 3-7-0; Daily Four-Midday: 2-5-9-6; Daily Four-Evening: 5-7-2-2; Lucky Five-Midday: 8-15-17-25-32; Lucky Five-Evening: 2-6-11-15-36. Kentucky Summary: (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor-elect Steve Beshear announced the appointment of four top-level officials to his administration yesterday. Former city of Louisville law director Michael Brown has been named as justice secretary. Air National Guard Captain Ed Tonini will serve as the adjutant general, and Helen Mountjoy, a former Board of Education member will serve as the education secretary. Rodney Brewer will head up the Kentucky State Police. (Louisville, KY) -- A former city of Louisville tax payer service representative has been sentenced to two-years-in prison for preparing fraudulent tax returns. Stanley Randolph was sentenced earlier this week for helping to prepare fake tax returns for numerous private clients. Randolph plead guilty in September to 38-counts of preparing false tax returns. Officials say the move resulted in nearly 373-thousand dollars in losses to the Internal Revenue Service. (Clarksville, IN) -- Charges against a man accused of child solicitation have been thrown out. Richard Mullins Jr. was accused of multiple improper encounters with girls. Officials say a judge threw out the charges against Mullins because of a lack of evidence. Mullins was charged with attempted child solicitation and attempted performance harmful to a minor. Officials say if those charges are reinstated, he could face up to three-years-in-prison for each count. (Louisville, KY) -- A historic building that once was home to Male High School has been sold. The building, now know as The Spectrum, will be used for offices for The Salvation Army. Its not clear if the building has been purchased by The Salvation Army, however. The "Courier Journal" reports that a news conference is scheduled for Friday morning at the building located at 911 S Brook St. (Louisville, KY) -- The annual Light Up Jeffersonville celebration will be held tonight. The event will take place at 6 p.m. at the Warder Park Gazebo and will include entertainment. Officials say Santa will make an appearance around 6:50 p.m. A light up countdown will start when he makes his arrival. Children and parents are invited to Santas workshop after the light up from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., according to the "Courier Journal." (Louisville, KY) -- The University of Louisvilles health sciences campus has won approval for some special tax breaks to help upgrade their facility. The state Tax Increment Financing Commission has approved a taxing district, which would mean certain projects in that area would get a share of the new city and state tax revenue produced in the future. Two major projects are planned in the district and are expected to total two-point-five-billion in capital investment and could create nearly 87-hundred jobs. (Frankfort, KY) -- Doug Caudill, a teacher at LaRue County Middle School is Kentucky newest recipient of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. Caudill who teaches sixth grade reading and math says "I always hope my students come back to school each day wanting more, its great when other people notice that youre worthy." Caudill will travel to Los Angeles in May to receive the award and a check for 25-thousand-dollars that he can use in any way he chooses. (Fort Knox, KY) -- Fort Knox will offer troops shopping days this weekend. Officials say Postmaster William Figg and postal employees will donate their time to provide free gift wrapping for more than 14-hundred soldiers in basic training. The event will take place this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fort Knox Main Post Exchange. Last year, the Fort Knox Post Office helped package and ship more than 35-hundred packages for the soldiers. Illinois Summary: --- Report: Drew Peterson May Have Told Stacy About Death Of Third Wife (Chicago) -- A published report says there is a possible new development in the Stacy Peterson case. Todays "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Stacy Peterson told a clergyman and two other people that her husband, former Bolingbrook Police sergeant Drew Peterson, claimed to have killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and made it look accidental. The "Sun-Times" also reports that on the day Stacy disappeared she told Drew she was going to leave him and wanted a divorce. Stacy Peterson also reportedly told friends that if she disappeared it would not be her own doing. Drew Peterson has been named a suspect in Stacys disappearance and investigators have also reopened the investigation into the death of Savio, which was initially ruled an accident. --- Another Teen Charged In Connection With U-Of-C Shooting (Chicago) -- A second teenager has been charged in connection with a robbery spree near the University of Chicago which preceded the murder of doctoral student Amadou Cisse 1/81/8 AHM-uh-doo SEE-say 3/83/8. Chicago Police say 17-year-old Demetrius Warren of Chicago is charged with three-counts of armed robbery and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm. Authorities say the charges against him are not directly related to Cisses death. Yesterday, 16-year-old Eric Walker of Chicago was charged with first-degree murder. --- Governor Calls Another Special Session For Transit Funding (Springfield) -- Governor Blagojevich has called lawmakers back into another special session for today to try and come up with a long-term funding plan for Chicago-area mass transit. A measure rejected on Wednesday would have diverted money from state gasoline taxes to transit funding. Opponents said the plan was costly and would open a hole in the state budget. --- Man Shot To Death On North Side (Chicago) -- Chicago Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man on the citys Far North Side early this morning. The incident occurred around 3:45 a.m. in the 69-hundred block of North Ridge Boulevard in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Officers called to the scene found the unidentified victim, believed to be in his 30s, with a gunshot wound to the head. --- Woman Struck, Killed By SUV On Northwest Side (Chicago) -- A 58-year-old woman is dead after she was struck by two vehicles on Chicagos Northwest Side last night. Chicago Police say the unidentified woman was walking in the four-thousand block of West Armitage Avenue around 9 p.m. when she was struck by an SUV, which in turn sent her into a tow truck. The SUVs driver was cited for striking a pedestrian in the roadway. --- Two People Hospitalized After Powdery Substance Found At Northwestern (Chicago) -- Two employees at Northwestern University in Evanston were taken to a hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after being exposed to a powdery substance after opening a letter. The powder was determined to be non-hazardous. The "Chicago Tribune" also reports that, in an unrelated incident, a building on the 18-hundred block of West Taylor Street on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus was evacuated on Wednesday after an alarm sounded when a ceiling sprinkler broke down. --- Former Chicago Cops Faces Seventy-Five-Years In Murder Scheme (Chicago) -- A former Chicago Police officer has been sentenced to 75-years-in-prison in connection with the shooting death of his friend and business partner. Edward Leak was found guilty in October of hiring two men who killed Fred Hamilton in 2004. Prosecutors say Leak ordered the murder because he was trying to collect on a 500-thousand-dollar life insurance policy. --- Cook County Employee Charged With Receiving Cannabis Delivery (Chicago) -- Bail is set at 80-thousand-dollars for a Cook County employee accused of accepting a marijuana package. Investigators say forty-year-old Lamour Holloway received the shipment of marijuana on Tuesday afternoon and took it to her husband, who was waiting in a car outside the County Building at 69 West Washington Street. Holloway, who is a receptionist in the public defenders office, faces up to 15-years-in-prison if convicted. --- New Scientific Information In "Johnny Doe" Case (Chicago) -- More than two years after the body of a little boy was found inside a laundry bag dumped in a field near Naperville, authorities are hoping some new information might help them finally find out who he is. The "Daily Herald" reports a Canadian college professor who specializes in geochemistry has determined that particular isotopes from the boys skeleton matched samples taken from the tooth of a Naperville child. Research has also determined the boys mother had lived in Canada while pregnant with the boy and that he lived most of his life, if not all of it, in northern Illinois. --- Man Pleads To Planning To Set Off Grenades In Mall (Chicago) -- A Rockford man has admitted to planning to set off several grenades inside garbage cans at a Rockford shopping mall. The U.S. Attorneys Office says 23-year-old Derrick Shareef has pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Shareef was arrested last December when he met with an undercover agent to trade a set of stereo speakers for four hand grenades and a gun. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-11-29-07 0648CST