Regional Summary Friday 4/11

Indiana Summary Heavy Rain Hits Indiana (Indianapolis) -- Heavy rain, thunder, and lightening hit Indiana last night. No serious problems due to the weather are known. Temperatures are mild, in the 60s this morning. Temperatures are to cool down into the 40s over the weekend. --- Truck Driver Charged With Killing Woman In Indianapolis (Indianapolis) -- A truck driver charged with murders in two other states is now charged with killing a woman in Indianapolis. Bruce Mendenhall allegedly shot 31-year-old Carma Purpura, who has not been seen since last July. Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi says evidence found in Mendenhalls truck links him to a crime. A bag with Purpuras shirt and ATM card were also in the truck, according to court documents. Purpuras body has never been found. She was last seen at a truck stop near the I-465 and State Route-37 interchange. Mendenhall is charged with two murders in Tennessee and one in Alabama. Authorities are checking if there is a link between Mendenhall and unsolved cases. --- Indiana Blood Center To Use Finger Scan For Donors (Indianapolis) -- Theres a new way to identify donors at the Indiana Blood Center. Theyve installed a system that allows center workers to track donor records without using social security numbers. IBC executives say the system creates an algorithm unique to your fingerprint. There were questions raised about the new system about the concern for identity theft. The algorithm is stored in the system, not the actual fingerprint. Donors do have a choice, and do not have to use the new system to donate blood. The organization is one of the first in the country to install this system. Officials say the system cost 500-thousand-dollars to install. --- Latest Winning Hoosier Lottery Numbers Daily Three-Midday: 9-1-4; Daily Three-Evening: 8-0-8; Daily Four-Midday: 0-8-6-1; Daily Four-Evening: 2-5-2-0; Lucky Five-Midday: 1-11-19-28-33; Lucky Five-Evening: 3-21-22-33-36. Kentucky Summary (Frankfort, KY) -- The U.S. Supreme Court this week ordered the state to release its "execution protocols," the secret specifics of how it applies lethal injection to carry out death sentences. According to the "Courier Journal" the inmate is given a lethal three-drug cocktail, if they dont die within ten-minutes, its administered again and will continue until the inmate "flat lines." The protocol mandates that corrections department execution teams practice ten-times a year. The Supreme Court became involved after lawsuits challenging the Kentucky execution procedures as cruel and unusual punishment. (Lexington, KY) -- An American Eagle regional jet made an unscheduled landing in Lexington last night. The flight with 62-passengers on board was enroute from Dallas to Rochester, New York when the co-pilot discovered a cracked windshield. The plane landed at Blue Grass Airport without incident and the passengers spent the night in Lexington hotels before being put on flights to their final destinations. (Pikeville, KY) -- The Pikeville College Board of Trustees have formed a search committee to find the next president of the eastern Kentucky college. President Hal Smith is retiring in June of 2009 after 12-years at the college. (Maysville, KY) -- A number of events are being held in the next several-weeks to acquaint Maysville residents, officials and Maysville Community and Technical College students and faculty with five-finalists for the presidency of the Maysville school. One of the candidates is already affiliated with the school the other four are from out of state. (Lexington, KY) -- Local officials of Fasig Tipton says customers can rest assured that local management and staff will remain in place. A Dubai based company has purchased the horse auction company. Fasig Tipton with operations, Saratoga, New York, Maryland, Texas and Florida was founded in New York in 1898. According to "Blood Horse" the head of Synergy Investments which is buying Fasig Tipton is a closer associate of Dubais ruler Sheikh Mohammed. The Sheikh is heavily involved in the horse industry with racing and breeding operations world wide. (Frankfort, KY) -- Its a chance for the public to observe the legal system, when the Kentucky Court of Appeals holds proceedings in Elizabethtown next week. The three-judge panel will hear oral arguments in two-cases Wednesday morning at the Hardin County Justice Center. (Williamstown, KY) -- Kentucky State Police are sweeping up suspected meth makers and traffickers in northern Kentucky. A grand jury has returned 19-indictments in "Operation Spring Cleaning." State Police say 17-people have been arrested. Illinois Summary --- OHare Has More American Cancellations (Chicago) -- Many American Airlines passengers will be stuck on the ground again today. American says it expects to cancel 570 more flights today as crews continue to inspect its fleet of MD-80s. The airline has cancelled several thousand flights this week including about 120 at Chicagos OHare Airport on Thursday. Information posted by OHare indicates that more than 30 flights out of OHare have been cancelled so far today. American says the inspections will continue into the weekend. --- Man Killed In South Side Shooting (Chicago) -- Chicago Police are investigating after a man was killed and another person was wounded in a driveby shooting early this morning on the South Side. Police say the incident happened about 3 a.m. near the 85-hundred block of South Saginaw. Police say preliminary information indicates that the victims were shot by two men who drove by in a vehicle and then drove off. The dead victim is believed to be 23-years-old. --- Drew Peterson To Appear On "Larry King Live" (Bolingbrook) -- Drew Peterson is scheduled to appear on CNNs "Larry King Live" tonight. The former Bolingbrook Police sergeant will appear on the program with his lawyer and will take phone calls from the public. The 54-year-old Peterson is considered a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, who has not been seen since last October. Authorities are also investigating the 2004 drowning of Petersons third wife, Kathleen Savio. --- Illinois House Turns Down Income Tax Amendment (Springfield) -- The first attempt at an income tax increase from Springfield has gone down in defeat. The Illinois House overwhelmingly voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have doubled the income tax for anyone making more than 250-thousand-dollars a year. Democrat Mike Smith says he proposed the plan to find new money for schools, a building plan, and tax relief for most people in the state. --- Copper Wire Taken From City Light Poles (Chicago) -- Chicago Police are investigating several recent incidents in which copper wire was taken from city light poles. Police say these thefts have been happening between Lawrence and Foster and Kedzie and Tripp. The crimes were discovered when several street lights stopped working. Police say the large amounts of copper wire are very heavy and the offender is probably using a vehicle to take the material from the scene. --- Abduction Attempt On Southwest Side (Chicago) -- Chicago Police are warning Southwest Side residents to be on the lookout for two men who allegedly tried to abduct a teenage girl in the Little Village neighborhood. Police say the victim was walking near 23rd Street and South Christiana Avenue around 7:15 Thursday morning when two suspects tried to lure her into a van and then chased her. One suspect is described as a male Hispanic, 30 to 35-years-old with black hair worn in a pony tail and a neatly trimmed beard. The other suspect is described as a male Hispanic, 30 to 35-years-old, with short black hair and no facial hair, about five-feet-eight-inches tall, and 160 pounds. Their vehicle is described as a black van with a broken drivers side window that is covered with white plastic. --- Animal Control On The Lookout For Pit Bull (Chicago) -- Chicago Animal Control officials are on the lookout for a pit bull after a woman in her 30s was attacked on the Southwest Side. Police say the woman was attacked by five dogs at about 3 p.m. Thursday in the 66-hundred block of South Richmond Street after the dogs escaped from a yard. Four of the animals were impounded and are under a rabies quarantine but one was still on the loose. The woman was hospitalized in fair condition. --- CTA Wants To Pay Less For Electricity (Chicago) -- The CTA wants to pay less for the electricity it uses to power its trains and facilities. The Chicago Transit Board has approved an ordinance authorizing the CTA to solicit proposals from authorized suppliers. The CTA says it currently spends about 39-million-dollars a year under its contract with ComED and Exelon. --- 25-Years Since Chicagos First Black Mayor Won Office (Chicago) -- It is a milestone this weekend for the city of Chicago, 25-years since the late Harold Washington was elected as the citys first African-American mayor. Many of the people who worked to get Washington elected on April 12th, 1983 say they will never forget the "peoples mayor." Illinois State Senator Donne E. Trotter says Washingtons election grew out of the "yes we can" attitude among Chicagos African-American population in the 1980s. He says Barack Obama is an inheritor of that attitude. Mayor Washington died at his desk in 1987. --- Aurora Has States Top Water (Aurora) -- If youre thirsty for a really good glass of water, go to Aurora. For the second straight year, Aurora has the states tastiest drinking water. Aurora won the honors at the 14th annual water taste test, sponsored by the Illinois Section of American Water Works. The "Daily Herald" reports the victory has led Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner to issue an executive order to phase out the purchase of bottled water with city funds over the next three-months. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-04-11-08 0714CDT