#WTLCIndyNews: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Busy Today On A Rainy Friday; Trump’s Magic Number; Ben Davis High School Shenanigans; IPS Sex Scandal Email Trail Leads To Revelations; More

Source: Joey Foley, Chris Graythen, Robert Laberge, Jonathan Ferrey, Michael / Getty

@kwellscomm TLCnaptown.com Friday News & Sports Headlines

Happy Friday to you on this Indy 500 Carb Day…

A jam-packed day of events starts the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway including historic cars taking laps around the track and an autograph session for the field in the 40-lap Freedom 100, which runs early this afternoon. The final Indy 500 practice also takes place today, as well as the Pit Stop Competition. The 500 Festival Parade takes over downtown Saturday at Noon. It’s also Legends Day at the IMS. The 100th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is Sunday afternoon. Juan Pablo Montoya is the defending champion. James Hinchcliffe earned the pole last weekend, a year after surviving a life-threatening leg injury during Indy 500 practice. Officials say to leave early and have patience if you’re planning to attend Sunday’s milestone anniversary race.

National politics is a top topic on this Carb Day Friday…Donald Trump’s presidential bid has also reached a milestone. Various estimates show that he has captured and passed the number of delegates he needs to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Estimates put Trump at one-over the magic number of 1,237 delegates, will still more primaries to go. Nothing will be official however until Trump accepts the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July.

Source: David Livingston / Getty

Indiana University alum and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks says he’s “willing” to become Vice President.  Mark Cuban says he’s “wide open” to the possibility of becoming a vice-presidential candidate, and is looking forward to meetings with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, should they ask for one. The star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” promoted himself for Vice President on an ESPN podcast. He called himself “tech savvy” and “fiercely independent.” Cuban says he’s been approached by Clinton aides about a spot on the ticket and he’s considering it.

Back here…

Administrators are responding to controversial photos that show Ben Davis High School students dressed up as “white trash.” The district says with four-days left in the school year, a “diverse group” decided to create their own “spirit day.” Students posted some of their in-costume photos to social media, which drew more attention to what they’d done. Officials say the students were back in regular clothes by the beginning of the school day and each one was spoken with individually. Administrators say they’re “disappointed” in the students’ actions.

In an unrelated story…one mom says a senior prank at Ben Davis High School shouldn’t keep her daughter from walking in next weekend’s graduation. Heather Norton says her daughter received a three-day suspension for taking part in a paper fight at the end of the school year. But that suspension will keep her daughter from an awards night and possibly graduation. Norton says she wouldn’t be upset if other students caught on tape in the paper fight were also punished.

Source: IPS / submittd by IPS

Not a lot of people were talking in the wake of a sex scandal at an Indianapolis alternative school.  WRTV-6 is reporting on emails it obtained in the wake of Shana Taylor’s arrest for allegedly having sex with a student.  The school district is being criticized for waiting six days to inform state officials.  The station does say in those six days IPS revoked Taylor’s building access and worried about her computer access. The Indy Star noted an exchange between the HR official that has been charged in the case and IPS Chief Strategist Le Boler requesting that the school police stay out of it so Taylor is not charged and they handle from a HR perspective. There are no emails to IPS Superintendent Dr. Lewis Ferebee referring to the allegations.

Here’s an update to a potential child abduction story WTLC News told you about earlier this week. Greenwood Police now say the incident was merely a Good Samaritan trying help the boy find his way home. On Tuesday, a woman called police and said someone tried to coax her four-year-old son into a pickup truck. When officers caught up with the man Thursday, he said he spotted the child near the side of the road and was trying to keep him from getting hurt. The man said he was going to help the boy find his parents, but when the boy’s sister approached them, he decided the child was okay and drove off. The sister actually snatched her little brother from him.

National…

Source: Pool / White House

President Obama is remembering the lives lost in the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. During his historic visit, the President laid a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Obama is the first president to go where the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb nearly 70 years ago at the end of World War Two.

Hillary Clinton doesn’t believe Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump will debate. The Democratic presidential front-runner predicted on CNN that a debate being talked about between Sanders and Trump will not happen. Clinton said she’s looking forward to debating Trump herself in the general election. Both Trump and Sanders have expressed interest in a debate.

Vice President Joe Biden is rallying Republicans to help raise a billion dollars for cancer research. Biden says there’s total bipartisan support in Congress for the Obama administration’s goal to find cures for cancer. He told a roundtable at a New York cancer center that some of the best leadership for first-year funding is being led by Republicans.

The judge who presided over what the FBI called the “Mississippi Burning” trial is dead at the age of 84. Thursday’s statement from the Administrative Office of Courts did not give a cause of death. In 2005, Judge Marcus Gordon sentenced Edgar Ray Killen to 60 years for the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. The reputed KKK leader is now 91 and remains in prison today.

Finally…

There are two first-place winners in this year’s National Spelling Bee. Nihar Janga and Jairam Hathwar were named co-champions Thursday night. Eleven-year-old Nihar correctly spelled the word “gesellschaft” pronounced “guh-ZEL-shahft”, and 13-year-old Jairam spelled “feldenkrais” pronounced “FELL-den-krice” correctly. Congrats to both of them.

Weather…

Rain showers early on this Carb Day out at the Indy Motor Speedway…scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. The High: near 87 degrees.

Honor the Veterans who died in service to the country this Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy the Parade tomorrow and the 100^th running of the Indy 500 on Sunday. I’m Kim Wells.

#(@1067WTLC)#