Category: Regional & State News

Excavator Seen Digging in Backyard of Man Charged in Gilgo Beach Killings

MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y.—Investigators have been digging in the yard at the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann, who was charged earlier this month with killing at least three women and burying their remains on a remote stretch of beach highway. A yellow excavator that had been seen scooping dirt in the backyard Sunday was still…


Judge Orders Montana Health Clinic to Pay Nearly $6 Million Over False Asbestos Claims

BILLINGS, Mont.—A health clinic in a Montana town plagued by deadly asbestos contamination must pay the government almost $6 million in penalties and damages after it submitted hundreds of false asbestos claims, a judge ruled. The 337 false claims made patients eligible for Medicare and other benefits they shouldn’t have received. The federally funded clinic…


Boat Slams Into House at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, Injuring 8 Who Were on Board

LAKE OZARK, Mo.—Eight people were hospitalized after a boat left the water and slammed into a house at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. The 47-year-old driver of the boat was arrested on suspicion of boating under the influence but had not been charged as of Monday morning. The accident happened just before midnight Saturday…


Norfolk Southern Pays $1 Million to Pennsylvania Communities Harmed by February Derailment

When a 151-car Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 near the Pennsylvania border, the smoke plume could be seen for miles. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported 38 rail cars derailed, fire damaged an additional 12 cars, and of the train’s 20 total hazardous material cars, 11…


Woman Found Dead After Grizzly Bear Encounter Near Yellowstone National Park

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana—A woman was found dead in Montana on Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear on a trail west of Yellowstone National Park. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement on Sunday that the woman was found deceased on a trail near West Yellowstone, a Montana…


Girl, 15, Wounded in Shooting at Northridge Party

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—A 15-year-old girl attending a house party in Northridge was wounded when a shot was fired, authorities said July 23. The shooting occurred about 10:10 p.m. Saturday at 8523 Oak Park Ave., according to a dispatcher at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center. The girl heard a gunshot and realized she was struck…


House Republicans Call on Senate to Pass Energy Bill and Revive American Mining

Regulatory and judicial reforms adopted by the House in HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, and being proposed in other bills, are urgently needed to unshackle America’s mining industry before the nation faces significant economic and national security challenges, Republicans warned during a Congressional field hearing on critical mineral development in Goodyear, Arizona, on…


Weekend Shootings Leave at Least 6 Dead, 20 Others Wounded in Chicago

CHICAGO—Six people have died and at least 20 others were wounded in weekend shootings across Chicago. A shooting early Saturday in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood killed one man and wounded four other men, police said. Three people, including two women, were shot Saturday night on Chicago’s South Side when gunfire rang out from an…


Report Says Plane Rolled Upside Down in Crash Near California Airport, Killing Father, Injuring Sons

MURRIETA, Calif.—A single-engine plane rolled upside down before crashing near a Southern California airport on the Fourth of July, killing a father and severely injuring his three sons, federal investigators said in a preliminary report. The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released the report on the crash that killed Jared Newman, 39, of Temecula…


Mountain Climber, Cliff Diver Die in Separate Incidents at National Recreation Spots in the West

SALT LAKE CITY—A mountain climber and a cliff diver have died in separate incidents at national recreation spots in the West, officials said. Cory Ryan Ehrnschwender, 36, of Cincinnati died while cliff-jumping at Lake Powell, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday. The lake is located in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the Glen Canyon…