Local and National News Headlines 1/18
TYLER -- A Flint man suspected of attempting to rob and kidnap a woman from a Tyler grocery store is in jail.
Police say 33-year-old William Easley approached a 39-year-old woman in the parking lot of Fresh by Brookshire's on Old Jacksonville Highway as she was getting out of her car. The suspect told the woman he had a gun and tried to force the victim back into her car. She started screaming and several people came to her aid, and the suspect then drove away. Detectives caught up with Easley a short time later and arrested him at his house. Police say the woman was not injured. Smith County jail records indicate Easley has been jailed before on theft, forgery and burglary charges.
TYLER - Tyler Based evangelist Reverend R. W. Schambach is being remembered around the world for his more than 60 years of preaching the gospel. According to the Schambach ministries website, Rev. Schambach died Tuesday of heart failure, he was 85. Rev. Schambach was known for his tent revivals and his radio and T.V. broadcast, Power Today, and Voice of Power.
Longview Death Remains a Mystery
LONGVIEW -- Gregg County authorities say a preliminary autopsy on the woman whose body was found off Interstate 20 last week showed no signs of trauma. It will be several weeks before investigators get the toxicology results back on 39-year-old Melissa Diane Gonzalez. A hitchhiker discovered the body last week near the I-20 and Estes Parkway exit.
Wikipedia Shuts Down in Protest
NEW YORK (AP) — Anyone turning to Wikipedia for answers today, instead will find a message. It reads: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge" and explains that the online encyclopedia has shut down for the day to protest anti-piracy legislation being considered in Congress. Wikipedia says the bill "could fatally damage the free and open Internet."
ROME (AP) — Officials say a German woman who was listed among the missing from the Italian cruise ship wreck has been located alive in Germany. That leaves 21 people still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, authorities in Hungary have identified one of the 11 people confirmed dead as a 38-year-old Hungarian violinist who had been working as an entertainer on the stricken cruise ship.
Texas Defends Redistricting Maps
WASHINGTON (AP) — The state of Texas is defending redistricting maps drawn by the Republican-led Legislature during a federal hearing in Washington. Attorney Adam Mortara argued during opening remarks yesterday that Democrats and minority groups had ample time to weigh in on the maps. A three-judge panel will determine whether the maps violate that federal Voting Rights Act.
Mars Meteorite Confirmed in Morocco
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are confirming a recent and rare invasion from Mars — meteorite chunks that fell from the red planet over Morocco last summer. This is only the fifth time experts have chemically confirmed fresh Martian rocks fell to Earth. The last time was in 1962. Scientists believe this meteorite fell last July in North Africa. Astronomers think that millions of years ago something big smashed into Mars that sent fragments hurtling through the solar system. Occasionally, some fall on Earth.
Edgar Allan Poe Fans Giving Up Hope
BALTIMORE (AP) — Some Edgar Allan Poe fans say this is the last year they'll wait overnight tonight for the mysterious visitor who for decades had visited Poe's grave in Baltimore on the author's birthday. The rose and cognac tributes of an anonymous man are thought to date to at least the 1940s. But for the last two years the visitor was a no-show, except for an imposter last year who arrived in a limo.