#WTLCIndyNews: East Coast Storm Claims More Lives And Causes Disruptions; School Head At Park Tudor Commits Suicide; Broncos Panthers Set Super Bowl and More

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Get In the Know With Kim’s Monday News & Sports Headlines

Fallout from extreme weather on the east coast leads Monday’s headlines. The huge and now deadly snowstorm continues to disrupt cities and the citizens in them. The death toll has now risen to 25 across the snow pounded areas from New York to Washington D.C. to Baltimore and down into North Carolina. More than 1,200 flights in the nation’s airports are either still delayed or canceled.

Local:

Extra security is a part of the plan at Lawrence Central High School Monday morning because of a shooting that happened outside the school gym on Friday night. A 17-year-old was arrested for shooting a 15-year-old in the leg during a fight, near the end of the boys’ basketball game against Warren Central. The victim was treated at, and released from, Riley Hospital. The teenaged suspect was brought to police by a parent and has now been preliminarily charged with criminal recklessness with a firearm, possession of a handgun with no license on school property, and dangerous possession of a firearm. Because this was an on-going beef, the school is taking extra precautions.

Investigators are calling it an Indiana version of the television show Breaking Bad. A pastor and a police officer both charged for dealing drugs, apparently part of the same sordid web. The Indianapolis Star connects the dots between pastor Robert Jaynes and former Hendricks County sheriff’s deputy Jason Woods. The two are thought to be part of a drug ring that has ties to others in law enforcement and even Indianapolis’ public schools.

Park Tudor School is mourning the loss of its leader. Headmaster Matthew Miller was found dead Saturday. Indianapolis Metro Police are investigating the death now as a suicide. All classes, athletic events and all extracurricular activities for today have been canceled. The Park Tudor board of directors released a statement that read, “The entire Park Tudor Community is deeply saddened by this sudden loss. We ask that you keep Dr. Miller’s family, our students and our community in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.” Earlier this month the school was in the headlines when the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigated a staffer for online child porn and served a search warrant on the school. A boys’ basketball coach, abruptly resigned his position at that time. That former coach is Kyle Cox.

Indy saw a rash of violent crime over the weekend. A series of shootings that injured four people may be connected. They all took place Saturday night in less than an hour. IMPD says three of the shootings were near each other on the city’s east side. They believe at least two of them are connected.

One inmate is dead and 18 others are recovering from a viral outbreak at the Putnamville Correctional Facility. A spokesman says several inmates started to have flu or pneumonia-like symptoms last week and were hospitalized as they worsened. One of the inmates died on Friday and another is on a ventilator. Nine others are under observation.  Visitation at the prison has been canceled until further notice.

Shoppers are upset by what they found, and store managers are upset that the photo of a racial slur spelled-out at a local craft store is now going viral. Michaels craft store says it won’t tolerate that kind of behavior. The online post shows someone spelled the N-word with block letters in the crafting department, WISH TV reports the post also said an employee thought it was “hilarious.”

In International & National News:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is taking credit for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder seeking federal help for the water crisis in Flint. Speaking in Iowa Sunday, Clinton says Snyder only sent a disaster request to President Obama after she said it was “outrageous” that a request hadn’t been made.

Flint, Michigan isn’t the only Midwest community with a lead-contaminated water crisis.  Another round of water testing in Sebring, Ohio will keep students home from school today.  School officials in the village east of Akron say the EPA is testing water from every faucet and drinking fountain for lead and copper after high led levels turned up last week.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is bringing in Philadelphia’s former top cop to help the city with civil rights reforms. Retired Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey will advise the Chicago Police Department on issues like use of force and interactions with the mentally ill. Ramsey’s appointment comes as the city faces a civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice.

The price of gasoline is the lowest in seven years. The latest Lundberg survey shows the average price nationally is down 14 cents in the past two weeks. Regular now costs an average of a $1.91-a-gallon.  That’s the lowest it’s been since January of 2009.

McDonald’s turnaround strategy appears to be working after nearly two years of slumping sales. The fast food giant announced a nearly six-percent sales increase in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2015. The growth comes after a new strategy that’s included new menu items and all-day breakfast. Maybe they should thank our own morning man Tom Joyner, the crew from the TJMS and comedian/radio host D.L. Hughley and the crew from his show for that turnaround. Urban radio strikes again.

In Sports:

The Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers will play for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 50 in less than two weeks. The Broncos held on for a 20-18 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, while the Panthers piled up points and takeaways in drilling the Arizona Cardinals to a lopsided 49-15 score in the NFC title game.

So now that we know the lineup for the Super Bowl…#Colt4life quarterback Peyton Manning leading the Broncos head to head against quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers, the Las Vegas oddsmakers are making the Panthers the early favorite. It’s Manning’s fourth trip to the Superbowl, but despite that, the Westgate SuperBook opened the Panthers as five-and-a-half-point favorites over the Broncos Sunday. But does that mean anything? Well here’s the record. Their team pick has been the winner of 32 out of 49 Super Bowls. Carolina is making their second appearance in team history. Catch the action on Sunday, February 7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The Pacers are back in Indy after a four-game road trip. The Pacers went 1-and-3, falling to Denver, Golden State and Sacramento while beating the Suns. The Pacers are back in action on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, facing off with the L.A. Clippers. The Clippers match-up is the first of a four-game home stand.

In tennis…Serena Williams is into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. The top-seeded American breezed to an easy 6-2, 6-1 victory over Margarita Gasparyan for her 11th straight victory in Oz. The victory for number one-seeded Williams sets up another battle royale with Russian Maria Sharapova. Williams – Sharapova is always a highly-anticipated matchup. The fifth-seeded Sharapova held off a challenge from Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic to win 7-5, 7-5. Serena is seeking her seventh Australian Open title and second straight.

Weather:

As the East Coast is digging out from ‘snowmaggeddon’ and residents attempt to create some normalcy, the weather in Indianapolis isn’t bad. Expect partly cloudy skies early then developing showers in the afternoon with today’s high at 41 degrees.

Finally:

Don’t get it twisted…funnyman Chris Rock will be in the house. Rock is definitely keeping his commitment to host The Oscars on February 28.  Oscars producer Reginald Hudlin told “Entertainment Tonight” that the comedian will not be stepping down from his role as host. In fact, Rock is writing a whole new show to reflect the recent diversity controversies. Hudlin said the host and his writing team have “locked themselves in a room” for the rewrite.

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