NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Parade crash trial: A woman who drove into a crowd of spectators at Oklahoma State University’s 2015 homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring dozens of others, is set to stand trial this week. Adacia Chambers, 26, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of second-degree murder and 42 counts of assault and battery. The trial begins Tuesday in Stillwater. Prosecutors allege Chambers steered her car around a police barricade and sped up before she plowed into the crowd. Chambers’ attorneys say she was experiencing a psychiatric episode at the time of the crash.
2 Party bus rampage: A 7-Eleven clerk in Huntington Beach (Orange County) was assaulted as he tried to stop more than two dozen people from a party bus from stealing items at the convenience store, police said. Two men from the bus were arrested late Saturday on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy. Seven loaded handguns were found on the party bus, which held 80 passengers. At least 30 of them ran through the 7-Eleven, and some began stealing items and assaulting the clerk when he intervened.
3 Winter storm: The first big snowstorm of the year in the Northeast dumped more than a foot of snow in areas of southern New England after leaving a glaze of ice and snow and bitterly low temperatures across the South. The National Weather Service said 19.5 inches of snow fell on East Bridgewater, Mass., about 30 miles south of Boston, with areas of Rhode Island reporting a foot of snow, and up to 10 inches of snow falling in parts of Connecticut. The ice and snow caused thousands of traffic wrecks, and flights were canceled at several airports.
4 Hunters drown: The bodies of three people who went missing while duck hunting along the Gulf Coast of Texas have been recovered, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Kendrick said the bodies and a boat were found Saturday near Matagorda Bay. Starett Burke, Spencer Hall and Chris Ruckman were believed to have launched their 17-foot boat early Friday. Ruckman’s girlfriend contacted the Coast Guard when they didn’t return. Weather may have been a factor, but investigators don’t yet know what caused the boat to capsize. Wind and small craft advisories had been issued.
5 Railroad safety: Five U.S. senators called Sunday on the National Transportation Safety Board to review all passenger railroads’ implementation of sleep apnea testing for engineers. A letter sent Sunday to agency Chairman Christopher Hart was signed by Bob Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. They noted that operator fatigue and sleep apnea have been cited in the investigation of a New Jersey Transit crash that killed a woman in September in Hoboken. Operator fatigue also is being probed in an accident that occurred Wednesday when a Long Island Rail Road train crashed into a Brooklyn platform.