Covering news, events, and stories that you should know from local, nationwide and worldwide sources.
Locally
JCPS disabled student comes home from Jacob Elementary school with broken leg, LMPD now investigating
Jefferson County Public Schools and the Louisville Metro Police Department are investigating how a 5-year-old disabled child came home from school Wednesday with a broken leg. The child, Michael “Ty” Schmidt, was born with a rare genetic disease that confines him to a wheelchair. His mother received a call around 3 p.m. from his teacher saying he was crying and they didn’t know why. After thinking the Ty was just having muscle spasms the family realized something more was going on and took him to Norton Children’s Hospital where it was confirmed that his femur bone was broken and surgery was required. (WDRB)
Washington Indiana man is accused of shooting and killing roommate
Indiana State Police and Washington County Sheriff’s department went to a home in Campbellsburg Thursday evening after Blake Andrew Box-Skinner’s family hadn’t seen him or heard from him for several days. Skinner’s body was found in an outbuilding that was on the property. His body was covered in debris and he had a gunshot wound to the head. A court date for roommate Joshuah Rainbolt has not been set yet. (WLKY)
New Albany’s first luxury apartment complex changes downtown landscape
Construction for the new Breakwater Luxury Apartments started in December 2015. The new complexes take up two blocks of Spring Street in downtown New Albany. The lot before the apartments was a vacant eyesore; the complex brings new life into the downtown area. Rent is $780-1700 per month. The Breakwater has a heated saltwater pool, a dog park, a place to bathe your dog, an outdoor movie and outdoor cooking space with a fire pit, and rental garage and storage space. These apartments are within walking distance of the farmers market and downtown restaurants, exciting local restaurant owners and businesses. (WDRB)
Def Leppard announces his upcoming performance at the Yum! Center in April
Def Leppard will be performing on April 26 at the Yum! Center. It’s part of the group’s three-month North American Tour. They’ll be joined by fellow classic 80s rock bands, Poison and Tesla. Tickets go on sale Jan. 20, at 10 a.m. on Live Nation. (WDRB)
Nationally
Motorist with a gun kills a man beating a wounded Arizona trooper
The trooper was shot and was then being beaten by the man who shot him. The man who came upon the scene warned the suspect to stop striking the officer, but the man continued to wound the trooper. The good Samaritan got a gun from his car and shot the suspect, who died at the scene. The trooper, a 27-year-old veteran, was shot in the chest and shoulder and is now in serious and stable condition. (CNN)
First time ever, a black Lady Liberty on a coin
A new commemorative coin from the U.S. Mint and Treasury features a fresh depiction of Lady Liberty. With a crown of stars in her hair and a toga-like dress, she’s as patriotic as ever. She’s also, for the first time on an officially minted coin, portrayed as a black woman. The 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin is the first in a series of 24-karat gold coins that will feature designs tries to portray diversities in the United States.The coins are worth $100 and they will also feature a modern bald eagle. (CNN)
8 injured at MLK celebration in Miami
Participants at a Miami event celebrating MLK Day scrambled for safety Monday afternoon after gunfire erupted, leaving eight people, including five juveniles, injured. A family festival was taking place in the park after the annual King parade in Liberty City. Shots were fired at about 3:40 p.m. ( CNN)
Worldwide
Pakistan woman sentenced to death for burning daughter alive
A woman in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for burning her daughter alive in a so-called “honor killing” incident. Parveen Bibi told a court in Lahore, Punjab that she killed her daughter “for bringing shame to her family,” police spokeswoman Nabila Ghazanfar told CNN Tuesday. Zeenat Rafique, 18, was strangled and set alight by her mother and brother in June 2016 after she eloped against their wishes. Rafique had been living with her new husband for a month before she visited her home in Lahore in the hopes of a reconciliation with her family. But when Rafique arrived, her mother and brother tied her to a bed, poured gasoline and set her on fire. (CNN)
Deaf sailor wins award after daring mid-ocean rescue
Gavin Reid, who is profoundly deaf, was as bemused as anyone to be named Britain’s yachtsman of the year, given he’d only ever competed in one yacht race in his life.On board Mission Performance during the 11-month Clipper Round-the-World Yacht Race, he received an SOS call from a stricken vessel shortly after midnight in the southern Pacific Ocean. It was on its way back from competing in the Sydney-Hobart race. Reid agreed to swim across the ocean from his ship to the other. The swim took him about 5 minutes through rough ocean, when he arrived on scene most of the crew members were tangled in the mast and unbelievably dehydrated, he helped untangle crew members until police ships arrived.
Plastic you can drink: a new solution for pollution
Only China dumps more plastic in the ocean than Indonesia, and much of it washes up in Bali. The crisis inspired local surfer and entrepreneur Kevin Kumala to find a novel solution. Salvation took the shape of cassava, a cheap and common root vegetable across Indonesia. Kumala and his school friend partner studied the emerging field of bioplastics, and took inspiration from new materials based on corn and soy starch. They devised their own recipe using cassava starch, vegetable oil, and organic resins. The resulting “100% bio-based” material was biodegradable and compostable, breaking down over a period of months on land or at sea, or instantly in hot water. Kumala claims the bioplastic leaves no trace of toxic residue, a point he demonstrates by dissolving and drinking it.
