Local

A surveillance video was released on March 6 and shows footage to the public for the first time of an alleged police brutality incident in the Carmel, NY town hall. The video depicts an interaction between bank robbery suspect Kenneth DeFreitas and former Senior Investigator Patrick Castaldo of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Taken in the Carmel Town Hall lobby, the video shows Chief Investigator Gerald Schramek and Castaldo bringing DeFreitas into the building for a court date on July 3 at 6:04 p.m. The two officers take DeFreitas into a side room before the trial. Castaldo makes three trips to the lobby afterward and is seen standing by the entry doors on the phone. At 6:34, Schramek and DeFreitas are seen on the video coming out of the side room. Schramek stands by the doors and ...

Following a particularly rough winter in many parts of the United States, many homeowners are likely familiar with the process of handling roof damage. However, now that temperatures are beginning to rise, some unexpected areas are reportedly learning about repairing a roof after a harsh winter: reports show that ice dams are forming as far south as Tennessee, causing significant problems for homeowners unused to this typically northern problem. While winter temperatures in Tennessee normally hover somewhere between 28 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit, this past season has been unusually harsh. In mid-February, for example, an estimated 30 people in the state died from weather-related causes, like hypothermia, after a severe storm sent the area into a Level II State of Emergency. The weather has...

A couple in Northern Kentucky are lucky to be alive after a sudden explosion flattened their house February 22nd. Keith and Barbara Farley were both at home around 11 p.m. when their house exploded, collapsing around them and superficially damaging the neighbors' homes. Both Keith and Barbara were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, along with a neighbor, who required anxiety treatment. Neighbor Andrew Koenig told WCPO that Farley had spent a lot of time repairing the roof and renovating the interior of the house prior to the explosion, and that work may have contributed to Farley's survival. In an interview, Farley agreed with his neighbor. He had been in the shower during the explosion, and believes the heavy tiles used in the recent bathroom remodeling constructio...

A convicted murderer in a Cincinnati prison has been awarded $7,500 of taxpayer money after being disfigured in a dog bite incident while serving time. The Columbus Dispatch reports that the dog bite attack occurred last year while inmate Vincent Doan was participating in a state prison adopt-a-dog program. He consequently sued prison officials; Doan and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction reached a settlement last week. Doan was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of his ex-girlfriend Carrie Culberson in 1997. He is serving a life sentence. The incident happened almost a year ago on April 18th. A dog -- thought to be a German Shepherd by Doan's attorney Jose Lopez -- attacked Doan, biting off a part of his nose, ripping his cheek, and causing permanent nerve damage ...

Vandals caused over a quarter million dollars in damage at a Milwaukee hotel over the weekend, after tampering with a sprinkler system. According to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, the incident occurred early Sunday morning at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, which is located at 509 W. Wisconsin Ave around 1 am. Police say that they responded to the hotel after hotel employees reported a case of vandalism. Officers found that the perpetrators had tampered with the fire sprinkler system in a lower-floor public bathroom. Water from the sprinkler system seeped into the lobby and damaged drywall, wood trim, ceiling tiles, and carpeting. Carpeting is especially susceptible to ruin from water damage, but hotel carpeting can be some of the dirtiest there is to begin with -- investig...

The bitter cold in New York City this Valentine's Day didn't stop 100 couples from tying the knot or renewing their vows at one of the most iconic locations in the city. Officials at the Empire State Building often limit the number of couples who can marry on the 86th-floor observation deck. But this year, the owners increased the number to allow 100 couples to affirm (or re-affirm) their commitments to one another. This is the 21st year that the Empire State Building has held its Valentine's Day event. The weather was especially frigid that Saturday, with high winds and low temperatures. One couple filmed by ABC News is seen standing in the howling wind while tourists mill around the deck behind them. But none of the happy couples seemed to mind the weather one bit. One eager bride w...

Wine drinkers in South Dakota may have one more reason to raise a glass pretty soon -- a bill that will allow consumer-direct shipping of wine is slated to reach the governor's desk after being approved by the full Senate Tuesday. The Senate approval takes wine aficionados in the state one more step closer to being able to have wine legally delivered to their doors. According to the Rapid City Journal, South Dakota is one of only nine states in the U.S. that outlaw consumer-direct shipping of wine. The initiative began as an effort of South Dakotans for Better Wine Laws, which is a group of Sioux Falls anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists who enjoy drinking wine. Though the bill was shot down last year, careful study and amendment has helped bring it to reality. Opposition to the bi...

It started out with just one rabbit and a small garage. It ended with a call to animal services and the discovery of 62 rabbits. A police officer was responding to an unrelated call in Santa Ana, CA when he spotted at least a dozen rabbits wandering near a house on the 400 block of South Broadway. Because local law only permits four rabbits per household, the officer contacted animal services to report a possible rabbit hoarder. Animal Services tracked the rabbits to a detached, 200-square-foot garage where a woman who was only identified as "Blanca" was living with 62 rabbits, some only a few days old. A few of the rabbits were in cages, and there were lights to set up to keep them warm. "There is a pretty overwhelming smell inside," Santa Ana Police Animal Services supervisor So...

The most recent set of storms battering the Northeast and Midwest have caused a number of deadly accidents and road closures across the eastern half of the country. Distracted driving already causes about 20% of all accidents in the United States, and it is easier for those crashes to become serious when slippery winter conditions are involved. As of Feb. 16, The Weather Channel’s website attributed six total deaths to the storm pattern, named Neptune. Three people were killed in accidents in Ohio, including one pregnant woman and her unborn child who were caught in a multi-car pileup on the Ohio Turnpike. In Indiana, a seven-year-old child died in another multi-vehicle accident on US-20. Two people, a woman and a nine-year-old girl, were killed in an accident on the New York Thruway. ...

Driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol is one offense that cops don’t take lightly, especially when children are in danger -- and thanks to one Zamboni driver in Fargo, North Dakota, the country is being reminded that drunk driving charges can occur in the most unexpected situations. According to police reports, the Davies High School girls’ hockey team was playing the Williston High School team on Friday, January 30th, at the Fargo South Sports Arena. A spectator watching the game noticed that the Zamboni, a large machine that cleans ice shavings and smooths the surface of the rink during breaks in play, was being driven in an “erratic” manner. The New York Daily News reports that the Zamboni was “weaving on the ice” during a break, and that it crashed into the sideboar...