LOCAL 12: Tri-State Regional News

Sisters Ejected From Mall For Cancer Hats

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:05:42 -0400

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) - Three sisters say they were kicked out of a suburban Philadelphia mall after refusing to remove profanity-laden hats expressing their hatred of breast cancer.

Zakia Clark and Tasha Clark had been at the King of Prussia Mall on Sunday shopping for funeral dresses with a third sister, Makia Underwood. Their mother died last week after battling the disease.

Zakia and Tasha Clark were wearing hats that had a one-word profanity - with a pink ribbon substituting for the third letter - before the word cancer. Zakia Clark says it's the only word strong enough to defeat the word 'cancer.'

Security asked them to remove the hats. They were ejected after refusing.

Mall manager Robert Hart says he sends condolences to the sisters, but that the mall is a family place where the code of conduct does not tolerate profanity.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

FBI Agent Fatally Shoots Man In Orlando

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:59:00 -0400

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A man was fatally shot when a team of FBI agents swarmed an apartment complex near Universal Studios in Orlando.

The shooting happened early Wednesday.

The FBI did not immediately return a phone call early Wednesday from The Associated Press seeking details.

An FBI spokesman told Orlando television stations that their agent was conducting official duties when the shooting occurred. No further details were released, but the agency says an update is expected later Wednesday.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Target's First Quarter Profits Drop 26%

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:56:09 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) - Target Corp. is reporting a 26 percent drop in first-quarter profits as cool temperatures and financial pressures limited customers' appetite for spending.

The company, based in Minneapolis, also cut its annual profit outlook.

Target says that it earned $498 million, or 77 cents per share, for the three months ended May 4. That compares with $697 million, or $1.04 per share, a year earlier.

Sales rose 1 percent to $16.71 billion.

Revenue at stores open at least a year slipped 0.6 percent. That's considered an important measure of retail performance because it strips out the effect of stores that open or close during the year.

Analysts had expected earnings of 95 cents per share on revenue of $16.82 billion.

Target's stock dropped nearly 2 percent, to $69.98 in premarket trading.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Intoxicated Man Has 11 Year Old Boy Drive Him Home

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:17:07 -0400

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) - A Richmond man apparently realized he was too drunk to drive, so he tapped a designated driver - an 11-year-old boy.

The Richmond Register reported an off-duty Madison County deputy saw a car drive be her home Monday with a driver so short he could barely see over the steering wheel. WKYT-TV in Lexington reported the child was 11.

Deputy Michelle Albertson got into her cruiser and soon found the car parked in a driveway.

Albertson's report said 41-year-old Robert Wayne Buckner was in the vehicle, intoxicated.

Buckner was charged with wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Factory In Indiana Leaves 165 Workers Unemployed

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:02:38 -0400

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - The new owner of a northern Indiana factory that builds ambulances has decided to shut it down, eliminating 165 jobs.

SJC Industries has notified the state that it will start terminating employees from the Elkhart factory in July as it completes production work there.

The decision to close the Elkhart factory comes two weeks after Allied Specialty Vehicles bought SJC Industries. The subsidiary of a New York-based private equity firm also bought a Monoco RV factory with 520 workers in nearby Wakarusa this month that it also plans to close this summer.

Allied executive Hans Heinsen tells the South Bend Tribune that production from the Elkhart ambulance plant will be moved to a Florida factory in the coming months.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Cleveland Kidnapping Victims Are Now 'Happy And Safe'

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:50:47 -0400

CLEVELAND (AP) - The three women held captive in a Cleveland house for about a decade say they are doing fine.

That was the message in a letter released by their attorneys Tuesday that also noted a charity fund to help the women has now raised more than $650,000.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reports that attorneys who are representing Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight for free say the women are "happy and safe and continue to heal, a process that requires time and privacy."

They escaped from the home on Cleveland's west side May 6.

A former school bus driver, 52-year-old Ariel Castro, has been charged with three counts of rape and four counts of kidnapping, including Berry's 6-year-old daughter fathered by Castro.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Cemetery Complaints Encouraged This Memorial Day

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:42:17 -0400

Thousands of people will visit cemeteries over the Memorial Day holiday.

The director of the Ohio Department of Commerce is encouraging people to bring any cemetery complaints to the management's attention.

If the issue cannot be resolved, you can file a complaint with the Ohio cemetery dispute resolution commission.

Some of the more common complaints include poor maintenance, mismanagement, or sales issues.

You can call the department's division of real estate at 614-466-4100.

Man Tries To Abduct Girl At Ohio High School

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:13:51 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Police in central Ohio are looking for a 20-year-old man who they say walked into a high school and tried to abduct his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend.

Columbus police said the man walked into Independence High School before classes began Tuesday, grabbed the girl by the throat and "forcibly removed her from the building."

A teacher followed the pair outside, where the girl was able to free herself and flee to safety. She was shaken up but not injured. The suspect, identified as Rondell White, fled on foot.

A warrant has been issued for him, but he hasn't been located yet.

A school official said the doors of the high school were open at the time but watched by staff members.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Teen Pleads Not Guilty In Ohio Slaying

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:48:36 -0400

OTTAWA, Ohio (AP) - A 17-year-old boy charged with killing two teenage brothers in northwest Ohio has pleaded not guilty.

Michael Aaron Fay entered the pleas during an arraignment Tuesday in Putnam County Juvenile Court. He's charged with delinquency in connection with aggravated murder.

Fay is accused of killing 17-year-old Blake Romes and 14-year-old Blaine Romes in their Ottawa trailer May 9.

An Amber Alert for all three teens was issued that day after the mother of the Romes teens discovered a gun and blood inside a trailer where the three boys lived with their mothers.

Fay told officers that the Romes brothers were dead and pointed authorities to their bodies after he was found with a stolen car in Columbus.

A prosecutor said both victims were shot once in the head.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

House Panel Seeks To Curb Military Sexual Assaults

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:22:00 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) - A House panel is poised to approve a series of revisions to military law in an effort to stem the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the armed forces.

A vote is scheduled Wednesday on the changes, which include stripping commanding officers of their unilateral authority to change or dismiss a court-martial conviction and requiring that service members found guilty of sexual offenses be dismissed or dishonorably discharged.

The legislation before the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee is backed by Republicans and Democrats and reflects congressional outrage over the poor results that military leaders have achieved in their drive to combat sexual assault in the ranks.

Once approved, the subcommittee's legislation will be folded into the Armed Services Committee's broader defense policy bill for the 2014 fiscal year.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)