Source: David Hills / Getty
Kim’s Thursday News & Sports Headlines
Good morning to you on this 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. That’s the law that prohibits racial discrimination in voting and is considered a civil rights milestone. Minority voters in some parts of the country, however, are still facing obstacles at the ballot box. This 50th anniversary happens to fall on the same day as the first Republican presidential debate is scheduled tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox News Channel. Some observers wonder if the top ten hopefuls will do more than attempt to dodge quips and barbs from GOP front-runner Donald Trump, and actually address the issues of voting. It’s been noted that many of the GOP candidates have voted to strip away access to the polls with legislation like voter ID laws and “nay” votes to early voting, which disproportionately impact minority and poor people. The second tier of GOP candidates who didn’t make the big stage tonight will get their shot to be heard in a pre-debate event at 5 p.m. Eastern.
U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly is getting blowback for his vote to de-fund Planned Parenthood. Donnelly’s campaign treasurer, Kathy Davis, resigned after his decision this week. Donnelly was one of two Democrats to vote unsuccessfully to strip the agency of more than $500 million in federal funding. Davis served as Donnelly’s campaign treasurer. She is also a former lieutenant governor of the state of Indiana.
Current Indiana Governor Mike Pence is canceling a contract that the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles has with a private license operator. He also wants an ethics investigation into the deal. At the heart of this action is Pence’s questions regarding the activities of a top BMV official who has taken a job with that same operator, Express MVA. The Indianapolis Star identifies that official as former BMV Chief of Staff, Shawn Walters . While at the BMV, Walters allowed the company to charge customers a “convenience fee” whose legality is uncertain. The fee was for work that’s been traditionally provided by the BMV.
Standardized test results will likely be delayed several months for Indiana’s students because of a scoring flaw. The president of CTB McGraw Hill, Ellen Haley, says students and teachers may not find out how they performed on the spring ISTEP exams until January or February of 2016. The complications are being blamed on new computer-enhanced questions given for the first time when students took the test in March. McGraw Hill says the guidelines created for scoring didn’t recognize all of the possible correct answers.
Two dozen people are facing drug charges following a major bust in Hamilton, Madison and Marion counties. Wednesday’s sweep was the culmination of a year-long investigation that began in Anderson last summer. Police say the heroin ring was being operated by an Indianapolis man and his son, who were distributing the highly addictive drug to seven Central Indiana counties. In all, 21 people were arrested in this bust and authorities are still seeking the whereabouts of three others.
A 16-year-old boy who’s in custody in connection with the shooting of a north side woman, killed in her kitchen by a stray bullet, will make an appearance in court today. Renea Lloyd died in her home on Salem Street recently from random gunfire. The teen faces preliminary charges of reckless homicide and dangerous possession of a firearm.
Get your resumes ready! Walmart is hiring for up to 75 jobs for a new store at a job fair Thursday and Friday. The jobs will be for a new Walmart Neighborhood Market on South Kentucky Avenue. The fair got underway at 8:00 a.m. and will run to 7:00 p.m. today. The hours will be the same tomorrow at the Walmart hiring center at 7411 Heathrow Way.
Movie theater shootings are trending. Police in Nashville say the man who caused panic at a suburban movie theater had a history of mental problems. Twenty-nine-year-old Vincente Montano ran into an afternoon showing of “Mad Max” armed with a realistic looking airsoft pistol and a hatchet before police shot and killed him Wednesday.
In Sports:
After hosting a night practice that ended just after 9 p.m., the Indianapolis Colts find themselves with a little free time on a day off. Practice resumes Friday afternoon. After not having thrown an interception all camp, Andrew Luck tossed three last night. Owner Jim Irsay attended, and told the media he hopes to get new deals done for T.Y. Hilton and Anthony Castonzo.
The Baltimore Ravens are denying tipping off the Colts about underinflated footballs before last season’s AFC Championship Game. Court papers released from the “Deflategate” case against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady show the Ravens contacted the Colts about deflated footballs used in Baltimore’s playoff loss to New England the week before. The Ravens released a statement saying that’s not true and they knew nothing of deflated footballs.
Finally:
Slow it down on these rainy streets here in Indy. Around 7:30 this morning, one person was killed in a single-vehicle accident on 10th Street just east of Tibbs Avenue after their car hit a pole and flipped. Metro police are still looking into the cause of this fatal crash.
You’ll need your umbrellas again most of the day today. Showers and thunderstorms are the words for today with cooler temps and a high of 74 degrees.
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