News | Journal Gazette

Sole winner of largest-ever Powerball jackpot still unknown

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:51:55 EST

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. (AP) Some lucky person walked into a Publix supermarket in suburban Florida over the past few days and bought a ticket now worth an estimated $590.5 million the highest Powerball jackpot in history.

Sex abuse rate of Marion Co. inmates among highest in nation

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:15:07 EST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Inmates at jails in Indianapolis, Baltimore, St. Louis and Philadelphia face the nation's highest levels of sexual abuse at the hands of guards, according to a new federal report based on surveys of inmates at U.S. jails and prisons.

AP CEO says phone records seizure 'unconstitutional'

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:05:02 EST

WASHINGTON (AP) The president and CEO of The Associated Press says the government's seizure of AP journalists' phone records was "unconstitutional" and already has had a chilling effect on newsgathering.

White House insists Obama not involved in IRS probe

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:33 EST

WASHINGTON (AP) A top White House adviser insisted Sunday that President Barack Obama learned the Internal Revenue Service had targeted tea party groups only "when it came out in the news" while Republicans continued to press the administration for more answers.

With NRA, it can be one strike and you're out

Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association with an "A+" rating for her voting record in the Tennessee House of Representatives, Debra Maggart never imagined that her political career would end this way.

Big groups avoid scrutiny

KEN THOMAS — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

There's an irony in the Internal Revenue Service's crackdown on conservative groups.

Level of outrage surprises IRS staff

Lisa Rein — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The fog of scandal hangs over a boxy, modernist, 10-story building that looks like a monument to paperwork. Every day, 2,000 employees go to work at various federal agencies in this John F. Kennedy-era structure, whose chief tenant is the Internal Revenue Service - which had just about the worst week an agency can have.

Turtles draw tourists to Trinidad

DAVID McFADDEN — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Giant leatherback turtles, some weighing half as much as a small car, drag themselves out of the ocean and up the sloping shore on the northeastern coast of Trinidad while villagers await wearing dimmed headlamps in the dark.

Michigan town feels duped

ED WHITE — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Carol Connell remembers well the gift she gave Sara Ylen, a friend seemingly forced to bear too much misery. Ylen, a Michigan mother of two young boys, said she was battling cancer just a few years after a man was convicted of her rape.

Parade car loses control; 60 hurt

DEBRA McCOWN — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town.

Broken rail studied in crash

JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The commuter train derailment and collision that left dozens injured outside New York City was not the result of foul play, officials said Saturday, but a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.

Blasphemy cases on rise in Egypt

MAGGIE MICHAEL — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The pale, young Christian woman sat handcuffed in the courtroom, accused of insulting Islam while teaching history of religions to fourth-graders. A team of Islamist lawyers with long beards sang in unison, "All except the Prophet Muhammad.

Assad: US must not interfere

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a newspaper interview Saturday he won't step down before elections and that the United States has no right to interfere in his country's politics, raising doubts about a U.S-Russian effort to get Assad and his opponents to negotiate an end to the civil war.

US Myanmar sanctions list far out of date

ERIKA KINETZ — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

If you're American and want to do business in Myanmar, there's a list of people and companies you have to steer clear of by law. But it leaves off a former minister's son whom U.S. officials suspected of brokering arms deals with North Korea, and high-rolling relatives of the man who led the repressive military government for 19 years.

Cuts imperil Ohio Guard civilian staff

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Mandated budget cuts at the Pentagon may soon affect the Ohio National Guard civilian ranks. About 1,800 civilian employees of the Ohio Guard may be required to take 11 unpaid days off under the Department of Defense budget-cutting plan.

Officer's shots killed NY student, intruder

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

A New York college student being held by an armed home intruder was shot and killed by a Nassau County police officer who had responded to a report of a home invasion at an off-campus home, police said Saturday.

Indianapolis jail doubts sex study

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Inmates at jails in Indianapolis, Baltimore, St. Louis and Philadelphia face the nation's highest levels of sexual abuse at the hands of guards, according to a new federal report based on surveys of inmates at U.S. jails and prisons.

Exhibit at ISU features Bayh family

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

A new interactive display that documents the lives and accomplishments of Indiana's politically prominent Bayh family has opened at Indiana State University, the western Indiana school linked to several generations of the clan.

North Korea fires projectile into eastern waters

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:28:46 EST

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea says North Korea has fired a projectile into waters off its eastern coast a day after launching three short-range missiles in the same area.

Syrian activists: Shelling near Lebanon kills 16

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:59:21 EST

AMMAN, Jordan - Syrian activists say government airstrikes and heavy shelling of a strategic town near the Lebanese border have killed at least 16 people, including rebel fighters.

Women in need losing home

AMANDA LEE MYERS — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

For more than 100 years, the Anna Louise Inn in downtown Cincinnati has been a safe, serene place that thousands of struggling women came to know as home.

$590M-plus Powerball: 1 winning ticket sold in Florida

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

DES MOINES, Iowa - It's all about the odds, and one single ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery officials disclosed Sunday.

1 winning ticket sold in Fla. on Powerball

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

DES MOINES, Iowa - A lottery official says 1 winning ticket has been sold in Florida for a record Powerball jackpot of more than $590 million.

Up to 60 injured after car drives into Va. parade

DEBRA McCOWN — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:07:08 EST

DAMASCUS, Va. About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town.

Japan's prime minister to visit Myanmar next week

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:10:02 EST

TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Myanmar next Friday, the first Japanese prime minister to do so in 36 years, informed sources said Saturday.

Obama agenda seems to be weathering controversies

DAVID ESPO — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:23:40 EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

Will Boy Scouts accept gay youth? Vote is imminent

DAVID CRARY — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:56:47 EST

With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units.

Probe begins after Conn. commuter trains crash

SUSAN HAIGH — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:08:40 EST

Investigation looks into Friday evening's crash

South Korea says North Korea fires 3 short-range missiles

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:33:44 EST

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions.

New York college student shot to death

FRANK ELTMAN — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Last Sunday Andrea Rebello, a 21-year-old Hofstra University junior studying public relations, posted a recipe for how to prepare July 4-themed strawberries covered in sparkling sugars on her blog.

Legislators place IRS in hot seat

Ed O’Keefe — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The firestorm buffeting the Internal Revenue Service intensified Friday as lawmakers began what they promised would be an extensive effort to learn whether there was any political motivation or White House involvement in the agency's recently acknowledged misdeeds.

Office lottery pools not all fun and games

BARBARA RODRIGUEZ — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

In workplaces across the nation, Americans are inviting their colleagues to chip in $2 for a Powerball ticket and a shared daydream.

2 fires north of LA persist after long fire week

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:31:09 EST

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A pair of tamed but persistent wildfires still burned in the hills and mountains around Interstate 5 after a wild week of burning brush in the area north of Los Angeles.

2 commuter trains collide; 60 hospitalized

SUSAN HAIGH — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five with critical injuries, Gov. Dannel Malloy said.

Hitchhiker arrested in NJ slaying

KATIE ZEZIMA — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Two cups of coffee ended life on the run for an Internet sensation known as Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker.

Mother's instincts' behind car chase

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

A mother who chased down an abductor and ran into his car after he grabbed her 4-year-old said Friday her "mother's instincts" kicked in when she launched her pursuit.

State pulls fertilizer site backing

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Indiana officials withdrew state backing Friday for a fertilizer plant over concerns about whether its Pakistan-based owners are doing enough at its overseas operations to keep the potentially explosive material from being used against U.S. troops.

Pilot earns degree in war zone

JULIE WATSON — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Finals week was dangerous for Thomas Saenz. The Navy lieutenant needed armed guards and an armored car to get to an exam site, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Baghdad bombing leaves at least 76 dead

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Bombs ripped through Sunni areas in Baghdad and surrounding areas Friday, killing at least 76 people in the deadliest day in Iraq in more than eight months. The major spike in sectarian bloodshed heightened fears the country could again be veering toward civil war.

Ohio teen charged in slayings of two

JOHN SEEWER — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

A 17-year-old who told authorities last week where they could find the bodies of two teenage brothers has been charged in their deaths, and prosecutors want to try him as an adult.

Central Indiana town scorched

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Fire badly damaged several buildings Friday near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.

Former Argentine dictator dies at 87

MICHAEL WARREN — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Former dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, who took power over Argentina in a 1976 coup and led a military junta that killed thousands of his fellow citizens in a dirty war to eliminate so-called "subversives," died Friday. He was 87.

Indiana withdraws support for fertilizer plant

Brian Chappatta — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:55:58 EST

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Friday pulled his support of a plan by a Pakistani company to build a fertilizer plant after the Pentagon raised concerns that its products were being used to make bombs.

$1 million in jewelry stolen near Cannes film fest

Jamey Keaton — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:15:25 EST

PARIS – Thieves ripped a safe from the wall of a hotel room near the Cannes Film Festival and made off with around $1 million worth of jewelry, in a brazen late-night burglary just hours after the screening of a film about break-ins at the homes of Hollywood celebrities, French officials said Friday.

House chairman sees IRS errors as part of pattern

Alan Fram and Stephen Ohlemacher — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:04:17 EST

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service's improper use of tougher scrutiny of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status seems part of a broader pattern of intimidation and cover-ups by the Obama administration, a top House Republican said Friday.

Conn. commuter trains collide; 60 go to hospitals

SUSAN HAIGH — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:26:57 EST

FAIRFIELD, Conn. Two commuter

Birth of anteater has zoo puzzled

Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:40:42 EST

GREENWICH, Conn. – An anteater has given birth at a Connecticut conservation center, prompting officials there to wonder how the mother conceived.

Police: Mom died after killing 2 children

Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:07:07 EST

NEW ALBANY, Ind. – Police said a woman found drowned in a southern Indiana creek with her son and daughter had killed the children and believed her family was being stalked by “demonic presences.”

Fire damages buildings near Greencastle's square

Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:27:18 EST

GREENCASTLE, Ind. – Fire badly damaged several buildings Friday near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.

Powerball jackpot grows to $600 million

Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:34:03 EST

DES MOINES, Iowa – Powerball officials say the jackpot has climbed to an estimated $600 million, making it the largest prize in the game’s history and the world’s second-largest lottery prize.

Ohio unemployment rate drops slightly

Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:08:11 EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s unemployment rate for April was 7 percent, down just slightly from 7.1 percent the two previous months.

HUD to take furlough day May 24

The Journal Gazette — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:02:06 EST

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said today it would close its offices nationwide on May 24 as a result of government-wide automatic spending cuts known as sequestration.