HOBOKEN, N.J.
Violations found before crash
Federal rail officials found dozens of violations during an audit focusing on New Jersey Transit’s safety and operations, months before a commuter train crashed, killing a woman and injuring more than 100 others, a U.S. official said Saturday. The official, who was familiar with an audit by the Federal Railroad Administration, spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The railroad administration began an audit in June after noticing an uptick in rail incidents and found “dozens of safety violations” that needed to be fixed immediately, the official said.
ST. LOUIS
Candidate accused of rape
A Ferguson lawyer who is running for a seat in the Missouri House has accused another Democratic candidate of raping her during an August meeting to discuss how they could work together in the upcoming legislative session. Cora Faith Walker, 31, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which broke the story Saturday, that she was sexually assaulted by Steven Roberts Jr., a former assistant prosecutor, after going to meet him at a St. Louis apartment. Walker said she had two glasses of wine and doesn’t remember anything else that happened that night. She said she told her husband what had happened the next day, but they waited several weeks before going to the police. The Post-Dispatch reported law enforcement sources confirmed there is an investigation into Walker’s allegations.
OMAHA, NEB.
Teen charged in baby’s death
Authorities in Nebraska said a teen accused of tossing a baby she had secretly delivered out of her second-story bedroom window has been charged as an adult with felony child abuse resulting in death. Omaha police say the 16-year-old girl was booked Saturday. Officers were called to the apartment shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, where they found a woman administering CPR to the infant. The baby and teen were taken to a hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead.
READING, PA.
Video leads to suspensions
A Pennsylvania college says it has suspended two students over an online video showing a student in blackface lampooning the Black Lives Matter movement. Albright College President Lex McMillan III said on the school’s Facebook page that the two students most directly involved in what he called a “hurtful, offensive act” have been suspended pending further investigation.
Compiled from wire reports