Get In the Know With Kim’s Thursday News & Headlines
TODAY: The midterm elections are fast approaching at the beginning of next month including the hotly contested Indianapolis Public Schools school board race. Ten candidates are running for three vacant seats. You can hear from all ten candidates on where they stand on key education issues Thursday evening at an open forum sponsored by Chalkbeat. It begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Clowes Auditorium of the Indianapolis Public Library’s Central Library, 40 East St. Clair Street downtown.
The Gary, Ind man suspected of killing seven women has been found in contempt of court. Alleged mass murderer Darren Van refused to speak or even acknowledge the judge in his first court appearance Wednesday. “The Indianapolis Star” reports when the judge asked him if he understood the reason for the hearing, Van stood stone-faced and stared silently at him. The judge told Van’s attorney to tell him he’ll remain in jail the rest of his life until the hearing takes place.
An IUPUI student from Saudi Arabia is the latest victim of the I-65 Megabus crash filing a lawsuit. The lawsuit claims passengers heard the driver say the windshield wipers weren’t working properly. It also alleges the driver was speeding leading up to the crash. The crash happened at around 4:30 a.m. on October 14th.
Anderson Community Schools are scrambling to reroute busing after State Police ordered many of their school buses out of service. Police say buses owned by Weber Transportation failed inspections for reasons ranging from brake issues, leaking fluids, exhaust fumes, and worn tires. Weber provides service to about 20 percent of the students taking the bus to school.
A gun-cleaning accident in Kokomo, Ind has left an infant in critical condition. Witnesses told authorities John Hambaugh was taking his gun apart on Wednesday when a round went off, passed through his thigh, and struck his son in the head. Detectives are still investigating.
Bloomington, Ind authorities are trying to identify human remains found in a vacant lot. Property managers at Arlington Valley Mobile Park found them Wednesday morning while cleaning the lot. They say a plastic storage bin was placed over them as if to hide them. They could be two to three months old.
A Greenwood father is accused of killing his two-month-old son. Investigators say Ian Defenderfer, 20, admitted he shook the infant because he was frustrated that the child’s mother had to work late and was annoyed that the little boy wouldn’t stop crying. Defenderfer called 9-1-1 on October 3rd after finding his son unresponsive. He passed away two-days later.
Indiana Public Instruction Superintendent Glenda Ritz is pleading with Governor Mike Pence over money for the education of Hoosier children. Ritz wants Pence to change his mind about applying for a federal grant for the state’s pre-K program. Ritz says she was shocked to learn that the application wouldn’t be submitted because they had worked on it for several months and it was finished. Pence says the Head Start funding is no guarantee of success and thinks Indiana would be better off developing its own program to meet the needs of disadvantaged kids. The deadline to submit the grant application is Friday.
IN NATIONAL NEWS: The man accused of jumping a White House fence last night is identified as a 23-year-old Maryland man. A Secret Service spokesman says Dominic Adesanya was unarmed when he was chased down by guard dogs and taken into custody. Charges are now pending against him.
Ferguson, Missouri Police Officer Darren Wilson’s account of when he shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown is out. The leak has many suspecting charges will not be filed against him. The “Post-Dispatch” reports Wilson testified in front of a grand jury that he’d told Brown and another man to stay out of the street which led to Wilson being punched in the face, pulling his gun, and shooting Brown in the hand.
The family of Dallas nurse Amber Vinson says the Ebola virus is no longer detectable in her body. Vinson is one of two nurses infected with the often-deadly virus while caring for Ebola patient Thomas Duncan.
The sergeant-at-arms of Canada’s Parliament who’s credited with killing a gunman inside the building Wednesday is being hailed as a hero. At the opening of Parliament this morning, Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers was treated to a lengthy ovation. Vickers is a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The dead gunman was identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
Requests for first time unemployment benefits are on the rise, according to the data released this Thursday morning. The Labor Department says initial jobless claims rose last week by 17-thousand from the previous week to reach 283-thousand. Analysts had expected the number of claims to go up to around 285-thousand. The increase snapped three straight weeks of declines.
Google is launching a new e-mail service called “Inbox.” The new service is designed to display information such as appointments, flight bookings and package deliveries while better organizing e-mails in a more user-friendly way. “Inbox” was launched Wednesday.
SPORTS: The Pacers end the preseason tonight meeting Lance Stephenson and the Charlotte Hornets on the road. The Pacers hit the court against their old teammate at 2-and-4. The regular season gets underway Wednesday at home against the 76ers.
The Colts aren’t worried about an MRI done on veteran player Reggie Wayne’s elbow. It showed nothing of significance. In other injury news, running back Trent Richardson was out of practice as well with a hamstring issue. Corner Darius Butler was out with an ankle injury. The Colts play the Steelers on Sunday.
The University of North Carolina allegedly placed athletes in sham classes over an 18-year period to help keep their grades up so they would be eligible to play. A university commissioned report released Wednesday says academic advisers conspired with the African and Afro-American Studies department manager from 1993 to 2011.
Indianapolis Weather: A few afternoon clouds, but mainly sunny. High 62 degrees.
I’m Kim Wells.
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Follow me on Twitter: @kwellscomm
