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• Police Officer’s Bullet Killed Hofstra University Student

  In National News / 19 May 2013

  

  (HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.) — The Hofstra University junior killed during and armed home invasion of her off-campus house on Friday was accidently fatally shot by the responding officer, forensic investigators have concluded. Police say Dalton Smith, a wanted man with a lengthy criminal history, was masked when he entered 21-year-old Andrea Rebello’s home Friday, demanding money and valuables from Rebello and her three roommates. When police arrived, Smith used Rebello as a human shield in an attempt to escape. “He’s still got the gun to our victim’s head,” Nassau County Homicide Squad Police Lieutenant John Azzata explained. “Eventually menaces our police… Read more

• Colorado Sheriffs Suing Over Gun Control Laws

  In National News / 19 May 2013

  

  (DENVER) — Colorado’s recently approved gun control laws, passed in response to the Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., massacres, are being challenged by a delegation of sheriffs who say the laws are unconstitutional. In March, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed off on some of the toughest gun control legislation in the country, including a law mandating universal background checks for the purchase of firearms and another restricting the size of high-capacity magazines. A lawsuit was filed on Friday in Colorado’s U.S. District Court on behalf of 54 of the state’s sheriffs in an effort to block the laws from taking… Read more

• Tennessee Man, 77, Shoots Third Hole-in-One in One Month

  In National News / 18 May 2013

  

  (SMYRNA, Tenn.) — Bob Robertson is 77 years old and a faithful golfer in more ways than one. The Tennessean plays golf four days a week and says he asked God to let him score a hole-in-one for a good cause. Robertson not only got a hole-in-one last month, he shot a hole-in-one three times in 29 days on the same hole. He’s an Air Force veteran who had a stroke six years ago, which left him blind in one eye. Robertson says the improbable golf shot wasn’t by chance. He planned it. “I told God if he let me… Read more

• California Key to Massive Powerball Jackpot

  In National News / 18 May 2013

  

  (NEW YORK) — As the countdown ticks on to Saturday night’s record Powerball drawing, the jackpot has swollen to over $600 million, largely due to California’s participation in the game, lottery officials said. In the one month since California joined the list of 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands in playing, Powerball fever has swept across the Golden State. California, the country’s most populous state, has skyrocketed to the top three states in terms of ticket sales, alongside Florida and New York, according to lottery officials. “Once California joined the Powerball family, we helped change… Read more

• Plane Makes Belly Landing at Newark Airport

  In National News / 18 May 2013

  

  (NEWARK, N.J.) — A U.S. Airways official confirmed that a turboprop plane carrying 31 passengers and three crew members was forced to make a belly landing in Newark, N.J., early Saturday morning due to a problem with the jet’s landing gear. The jet, operated by Piedmont Airlines, left Philadelphia before 11 p.m. on Friday. According to U.S. Airways Spokesman Davian Anderson, tower operators attempted to help the pilot troubleshoot after the plane’s landing gear remained retracted. After multiple attempts, they decided to execute a belly landing. When the pilot attempted to land the plane without the use of landing gear,… Read more

• Investigation Begins in Connecticut Commuter Train Crash

  In National News / 18 May 2013

  

  (FAIRFIELD, Conn.) — Federal transportation officials began their investigation Saturday to determine what caused two commuter trains to crash head-on in Connecticut during the Friday rush hour. At least 70 people were injured Friday when a Metro-North train derailed and barreled straight into the path of another train headed in its direction just outside Bridgeport, Conn. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene Saturday morning to begin surveying the twisted rail cars that remained on the tracks. “We’ll be looking at how the crew behaved and how the crew operated the train,” NTSB member Earl Weener… Read more

• Toddler Steals Washington Teen's Violin

  In National News / 18 May 2013

  

  (MOUNT VERNON, Wash.) — Police believe a Washington woman used her toddler to steal an antique violin from a teenager Wednesday afternoon at a local restaurant. Mount Vernon Police Lt. Chris Cammock told ABC News that 17-year-old Kalob Tatum entered a McDonald’s with his backpack and violin after school. When he went up to the counter to order a burger, he turned around, and his 100-year-old Czechoslovakian copy of a Stradivarius violin was missing. “When I saw the violin gone, my heart just dropped,” Tatum told ABC affiliate KOMO News. “I had this feeling that something terrible just happened.” Tatum… Read more