BEND, Oregon – A prominent Bend developer who was shot six times by his wife this week, saying she believed he was an intruder, remained in critical condition. Friends of 60-year-old Stephen Trono said he seemed to be improving following multiple surgeries. Police say Angelicque apparently asked Stephen to check on an intruder in their house on Bend’s westside. At some point she thought he was the intruder and shot him.  Full Article

MADISON, Wisconsin – A 12-year-old girl at an amusement park plunged more than 40 feet to the ground, seriously injuring herself when a safety net under a “free fall” attraction failed to catch her. After the girl was released for her fall, “the net mechanism that was supposed to catch her and break her fall was not high enough above the ground to completely break the fall and she did hit the ground,” Lake Delton Police Chief Thomas Dorner said.  Full Article

Connecticut – A high school teacher in Connecticut is in hot water after spanking an unruly student, police say. Francis Hajosy, 54, of Stafford, has been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and second-degree breach of peace for the incident, which occurred last month in his classroom at Enfield High School. A brief scuffle ensued, during which the girl attempted to kick Hajosy; police say he responded by spanking her four times.  Full Article

BELTON – As he sits in the Bell County Jail, accused of the Nov. 5 Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead, Maj. Nidal Hasan continues to receive his monthly U.S. Army paycheck, which based on his rank and experience is probably more than $6,000. That’s standard procedure for soldiers who are confined before military trial, according to Army officials. But Hasan, charged with a shooting spree that shocked the country, is not a standard defendant. And he’s having a hard time finding a bank to take his money.  Full Article

SACRAMENTO, California – California Rep. Dan Lungren was forced to cut short a radio interview when he was stopped by police for speeding while he was live on the air. The Sacramento Republican was pulled over while talking to KFBK radio on his way from his Virginia home to his Washington, D.C. office. On the air, a police officer could be heard telling Lungren to hang up his phone.  Full Article

PALM SPRINGS – Chanting “Save our schools!” and wielding handwritten signs, about 25 people protested outside the Palm Beach County school district’s headquarters to voice their frustrations about teacher pay, standardized testing and controversial curriculums. Motorists passing the group along Forest Hill Boulevard waved and honked their horns.  Full Article

HOUSTON – A Texas man who has spent the last 27 years imprisoned for a rape he didn’t commit is free. Michael Anthony Green walked out of jail after a judge ordered he be freed on a $500 bond. His release was made possible after the Harris County District Attorney’s Office reopened his case.  Full Article

Florida – Authorities in Florida said a woman arrested for allegedly growing a marijuana plant told deputies she only kept the plant because it was “cute.”  Moore told the deputy she does not smoke marijuana and she received the plant as a “baby plant” from a neighbor a few months ago.  Full Article

California – The FBI is asking for the public’s help to identify a serial bank robber dubbed the “Ho Hum Bandit,” who in three cases robbed the same bank twice. The man is believed responsible for a dozen bank robberies in San Diego and Orange counties. Authorities said earlier that he was given the “Ho-Hum” moniker because of his unassuming manner.  Full Article

Arizona – Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been doing aggressive crackdowns on illegal immigration for years. And despite the ruling by a federal judge to temporarily block portions of Arizona’s new law, the former federal drug agent will continue to carry out sweeps in the country’s busiest human and drug trafficking corridor.  Full Article

Colorado – The accuser will stand accused as a Colorado detective answers charges he lied in the case that wrongfully sent Tim Masters to prison. Masters, who served nine years of a life sentence after his 1998 arrest in Peggy Hettrick’s murder, said he hopes Fort Collins, Colorado, and Larimer County will finally acknowledge he was railroaded. He was convicted, largely on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of an expert witness.  Full Article

Florida – Miami is about to get a taste of Times Square, now that the city’s commissioners have given their okay to a plan that would erect a pair of towering electronic signs. Even though the project faced vehement opposition from some residents, the commissioners still voted 4-1 to approve the billboards, which would reach nearly 500 feet into the Miami sky. The reason? Money.  Full Article

Georgia – A Warner Robins pastor is on a crusade against something sacred to many in his middle Georgia town: high school football.  The devil is at the center of a fight that seems to start every few years when someone new to Warner Robins realizes that the city’s oldest high school, which has one of the most successful football programs in Georgia, rallies around a green-eyed, pitchfork-carrying demon. The Warner Robins High School Demons.  Full Article

Oklahoma – A would-be thief is behind bars. Police didn’t catch him and neither did mall security. They both had help from a 16-year-old girl. She was at the mall talking to her mother on her cell phone when suddenly a man started running her way. By slamming him to the ground she gave mall secsecurityurity the chance to catch up.  Full Article

New York – The infamous “Long Island Lolita” inked a deal with Dreamzone Entertainment to star in four adult films before the end of 2011. Fisher made a name for herself in 1992 when she had an affair with Joey Buttafuoco while she was underage, and then shot his wife Mary Jo.  Full Article

PORTSMOUTH – A wanted man found sleeping in a portable toilet is scheduled to be arraigned on unrelated charges alleging disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of prescription drugs. Patrick Modern, 24, a Portsmouth native with no current address, is expected to be arraigned by video from the county jail on a felony alleging that possession of the muscle relaxant carisoprodol without a prescription while at the police station.  Full Article

Tokyo – He was thought to be the oldest man in Tokyo – but when officials went to congratulate Sogen Kato on his 111th birthday, they uncovered mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed. Mr Kato may have been dead for 30 years according to Japanese authorities. They grew suspicious when they went to honour Mr Kato at his address in Adachi ward, but his granddaughter told them he “doesn’t want to see anybody”. Police are now investigating the family on possible fraud charges.  Full Article

Ellen Degeneres wanted off the show two months ago, and she and her reps went into to see Fox Broadcasting’s Peter Rice and Mike Darnell to ask if the execs would let her out of the year left on her contract. “She’s not comfortable. She’s not happy. It’s not been fun.” She never seemed comfortable at the Idol judging table and was never quite accepted by the show’s fans because of her lack of a music background.  Full Article

NEW YORK – President Obama waded into the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a mongrel people.” The president appeared on ABC’s morning talk show “The View” where he talked about the forced resignation of Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod, his experience with race and his roots.  Full Article

Virginia – Convicted DC sniper Lee Boyd Malvo tells actor William Shatner on a cable TV special that he and his partner tried to recruit fellow shooters for their 2002 spree and that his accomplice killed one man for backing out. In a telephone call from a southwest Virginia prison, Malvo told Shatner two men planned to help with the killings but reneged. Malvo said John Allen Muhammad killed one of the men. Malvo did not identify them in the interview for a show on the cable channel A and E.  Full Article

BOSTON – The Boston Police Department today launched a new initiative to quell youth violence in the city “build trust among Boston’s youth.” The police initiative involves an ice cream truck that is also police cruiser. Hood donated thousands of Hoodsies. The truck will drive around Boston neighborhoods giving out ice cream.  Full Article

China – A giant panda, living in China’s Jinan Zoo, died after accidently being gassed with carbon monoxide and chlorine. An autopsy released revealed that the 21-year-old panda, Quan Quan, inhaled the gases that were being used to disinfect a nearby former air raid shelter. The toxic gases caused her lungs to collapse and despite attempts to save her, Quan Quan died in the hospital.  Full Article

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia – Charlottesville resident Leslie Macko was once employed at ACAC in the Albemarle Square Shopping Center. In April 2009, she lost her job as an aesthetician in the spa at ACAC. President Barack Obama called on Congress last week to extend unemployment insurance. Macko stood next to the President of the United States as his example of the need to extend jobless benefits. CBS19′s Jessica Jaglois has learned that Macko was found guilty of prescription drug fraud in March 2009, one month before Macko lost her job at ACAC.  Full Article