Regional Summary, Monday 4/7

Indiana Summary --- Indianapolis Apartments Badly Burned, No Injuries (Indianapolis) -- There were no injuries as a fire left serious damage at an apartment complex in Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. The blaze broke out at the Mallard Cove Apartments. Six apartments sustained fire and smoke damage. Five of them were occupied. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. --- Car Chased By Police Flips And Crashes In Indianapolis (Indianapolis) -- Police chased a car looking to arrest the driver and they did, but only after the fleeing vehicle flipped and crashed. Police say Brandon Rogers was critically injured on Sunday on the south side. Investigators say that the 23-year-old Rogers stole his mothers wallet and credit card, then stopped as a gas station nearby and tok several gift cards. A short time later, Rogers and a passenger drove past a police officer. That officer recognized the description of the wanted car and followed it. The car was pulled over and the passenger gave up, but then Rogers took off in the car. As police chased the car, a tire on the suspect vehicle blew and the car went off the roadway an hit a structure then flipped over. Rogers faces various charges. --- Police Find Body In White River In Morgan County (Waverly) -- Police pulled a body from the White River in Morgan County over the weekend. A boater called the Department of Natural Resources after the body was seen on a log in the water more than a mile north of State Road 144. Investigators say the victim is a male and that he was in the water for quite awhile. An autopsy is being done on the body. --- Man Found Dead Near East Chicago Church (East Chicago) -- Lake County, Indiana officials are conducting a homicide investigation after a man was found dead behind a church building Saturday. A spokesman for the Lake County coroners office says 53-year-old Harrison Powell of East Chicago was found in a field in the 36-hundred block of Pennsylvania Avenue. He had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was pronounced dead shortly after 7 p.m. No other information was made available. --- Indiana Man Pleads Guilty To Murder (Crown Point) -- An Indiana man is facing up to 85 years in prison for stabbing a 45-year-old Gary woman to death, then stabbing her son, who survived. Twenty-two-year-old Sharde McKinney of Merrillville pleaded guilty Friday to killing Nina Moss-Curtis last September, then abducting and stabbing her 13-year-old son. Authorities say that in exchange for McKinneys guilty pleas to counts of murder and attempted murder, charges of confinement, battery and auto theft against him will be dropped. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2nd. --- Pacers Rally Past Bucks (Indianapolis) -- Danny Granger scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Pacers to a 105-97 win over the Bucks at Conseco Fieldhouse. Jeff Foster had a season-high 16 points to go with 15 rebounds as the Pacers outscored the Bucks 38-20 in the final quarter to pull away for the win. Travis Diener chipped in with 18 points off the bench for Indiana, which sits three games behind idle Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Charlie Villanueva had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrew Bogut added 16 points and 14 boards in the loss. Kentucky Summary (Louisville, KY) -- FAA investigators ware expected to begin investigating a Louisville plane crash today. A single engine plane crashed into a residential neighborhood near Bowman Field on Sunday afternoon. The pilot, apparently the only person on board was rushed to Louisville hospital with what are described as serious injuries. The pilots name has not been released. The plane was on a flight from Rifle, Colorado. (Morehead, KY) -- James Matt Sparks is the new police chief at Morehead State University. Sparks spent 21 years with the Kentucky State Police serving in a number of positions from trooper to Commander of the Hazard Post. Sparks also taught at the KSP academy. He succeeds Chief Joe Cline who retired in January. (Frankfort, KY) -- Cigarette companies must manufacture a fire-safe cigarette if they want to sell their product in Kentucky. Some of the "fire-safe" cigarettes are being sold and when the inventory of traditional cigarettes are sold it will be "fire-safe" only. The cigarettes are made with several bands of thicker paper so if the cigarette is not puffed the cigarette will extinguish itself. The General Assemble mandated the fire-safe cigarettes a year ago (Bowling Green, KY) -- Ken McDonald was on the Western Kentucky University mens basketball coaching staff as an assistant to the head coach from 1998 - 2003, then he went to Texas as an assistant. Now McDonald is return to Western as head coach. The announcement made Sunday by WKU officials. (Georgetown, KY) -- The trail of a man charged with killing his parents will be begin in June. A Scott County Circuit judge has set the trail dates for James Anthony Gray. Hes charged with the April 2007 murders of his mother and father in their northern Scott County home. (Buckhorn, KY) -- Officials at Buckhorn Lake State Park say they dont know how the fire started or if the three destroyed buildings will be rebuilt. The weekend fire broke out in one building and spread before firefighters could get on the scene and gain an upper hand. There were no injuries. (Georgetown, KY) -- A dog named Sasha is safe today, after a life threatening experience. The flooding late last week, left the dog stranded and dog padding to stay alive in rising flood water in Scott County. Neighbors spotted the struggling dog. The firefighters used a power boat to reach Sasha and bring her to safety. Illinois Summary --- First Morning Rush With Major Edens Construction Today (Chicago) -- If your regular commute includes the Edens Expressway, youd better leave home early this morning. Todays will be the first morning rush hour with construction lane closures in both the inbound and outbound directions. That means about 170-thousand drivers will either be crowded into just two lanes between Lake-Cook Road and Lawrence Avenue, or will have to leave their cars at home and take the train. Theres no designated alternate route for drivers to use during the five-month-long project either, with most of the side streets already heavy with traffic during the busiest periods. Mass transit could be crowded too. Metra officials have not announced plans to add trains to either the Union Pacific North or Milwaukee West lines. --- Shooting Of Woman After Church Now Investigated As Murder-Suicide (Chicago) -- Chicago police now say the man who killed a 22-year-old woman after a church service last night later took his own life near Lake Michigan. The Cook County Medical Examiners office says Mercedes McCauley of Hammond, Indiana died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday. She was shot at about 8:45 p.m. near the intersection of Green Street and Chicago Avenue. Witnesses tell "ABC-7" 1/81/8 WLS 3/83/8 the woman had just left a church service at the Chicago Center for Performing Arts. They say a man pulled up, exchanged words with the victim, and shot her. News Affairs Spokesman David Banks says officers found the suspected gunman dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the intersection of East 58th Street and Lake Shore Drive at about 9:30 p.m. Authorities believe the man, who was in his 30s, was McCauleys ex-boyfriend. Officers found a gun in the lake near his body. --- South Side Party Turns Deadly (Chicago) -- Two more Chicago Public Schools students were killed over the weekend. First, an 18-year-old was beaten to death with a baseball bat after a verbal argument at a South Side party turned physical Saturday night. It happened in the seventy-hundred block of Throop Street. The Cook County Medical Examiner says Albert Vaughn died of head injuries shortly after 11 p.m. Chicago Police are questioning a 22-year-old who they consider to be a suspect, but that person has not been named or charged. Just two hours later, police say 18-year-old Marcus Johnson was shot and killed outside his car after leaving a home in the 114-hundred block of South Calumet Avenue. Police are investigating, but do not have a suspect or a motive in that case. This is the second straight weekend in which two Chicago Public Schools students have been murdered. --- Chicago Gas Prices Twenty-Cents Above Average (Chicago) -- A gallon of gas costs more in America than it ever has before -- and Chicagoans are paying even more than most. The latest Lundberg Survey puts the price of self-serve, regular unleaded at three-32-a-gallon nationwide. Publisher Trilby Lundberg says the average price of gas in Chicago is three-52-a-gallon. Those numbers are only expected to go up, with higher refinery costs a chief cause. The Lundberg survey says the price of gas rose more than five-cents a gallon over the past two weeks. --- Bus Time Service Expansion Begins Today (Chicago) -- Starting today, riders on 14 CTA bus lines will be able to flip open their phones to see when the next bus will come by. The Chicago Transit Authority "Bus Tracker" program expands today. Riders can find out the exact locations of buses on those routes by using a computer, cell phone, or any other wireless device. CTA head Ron Huberman also hopes the technology will help eliminate bus bunching, gaps in service, and other issues. More routes will be added to the service in May. The agency plans to expand the technology to all of its bus routes within the next year. Riders should point their PDAs to ctabustracker.com. --- Cops Continue Probing High Schoolers Strangulation Death (Sauk Village) -- Sauk Village Police say they have "good leads" and are moving in a "positive direction" in connection with the murder of 15-year-old Brashai Griffin. But they havent named or charged any suspects in the case. Detective Sergeant Timothy Holevis says from what investigators have learned, Griffin was a good kid. Griffins body was found in a creek about a mile from her home Friday evening. Autopsy results revealed the Bloom High School freshman had been strangled. Police tell the "Northwest Indiana Times" Griffin went to classes and talked to a family member on the phone Tuesday. She was last seen at 6:30 p.m. that day, and was reported missing on Wednesday. Anyone with any information is asked to call police. --- Next Round Of Renaissance 2010 Applications Open Today (Chicago) -- Chicago Public Schools officials will announce the next round of organizations interested in opening new schools today, and the CTA is reportedly on the list. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Chicago Transit Authority officials are considering starting a Transportation Academy on the top two floors of CTA headquarters as part of Mayor Daleys Renaissance 2010 initiative. Also on the list is former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson, who has grown an after-school program in his hometown of Sacramento, California into a company that has created two schools and fourteen businesses. A spokesman for his St. HOPE education group says it is strongly considering a Chicago expansion. --- Former First Daughter Campaigns For Hillary In Chicago, East Chicago (Chicago) -- Chelsea Clinton says she is going to work "really hard" to make sure her mom is living in the White House. Senator Hillary Clintons daughter made campaign stops for her mom in Chicago and East Chicago Sunday. She plans to campaign in Indiana on Monday and Tuesday as well. Chelsea says, even if her mother and father return to the White House, she has no plans to move back in with them. If she did that, she says she doesnt who would be, quote, "more horrified," her or her parents. Indianas presidential primary election is May 6th. --- Lieutenant Governor Urges State Recall Provision (Chicago) -- Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn wont say whether he thinks Governor Blagojevich should be thrown out of office. But he does say the people of Illinois would try to recall Blagojevich if they had the opportunity. Quinn held a news conference yesterday in Chicago calling on the state House to pass a constitutional amendment allowing for recall when it comes up for a vote this week. Both the House and Senate would have to approve measures putting the proposed amendment up for a statewide vote. Supporters of recall have said their frustration with Governor Blagojevich pushed them to put forth the measure. Blagojevich has publicly accepted the idea. --- Teacher Accused Of Beating Son (Hammond, IN) -- A northwest Indiana teacher allegedly beat his son with a wrench because the boy fell asleep with his eyeglasses on. The "Northwest Indiana Times" reports 33-year-old Zaceri Williams was arrested at the Hammond Area Career Center before afternoon classes began on Friday. The Hammond resident will appear in court today. Police say the eleven-year-old boys aunt and grandmother reported the December incident, then refused to let him go home after he was hospitalized for multiple injuries in February. The boy told Lake County Sheriffs officials Williams first hit him in April. The child also says his father threw him down stairs, choked him, and squeezed his arm with sharp tweezers. Williams is charged with battery on another one of his children for a 2006 incident. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-04-07-08 0554CDT