VIDEO: Men rescued from dangling window washing basket atop skyscraper in high winds

A 16-year-old Indiana boy died Wednesday when he and his father were robbed during an arranged meetup with someone they’d met through an online sales app, according to multiple reports. >> Read more trending news Gary police and the Lake County Coroner’s Office told the Chicago Sun-Times that Johnny Peluyera, of Merrillville, Indiana, and his father had arranged to sell an Xbox. After arriving at the meetup location, they were robbed by two men, the newspaper reported. Authorities responded around 6 p.m. Wednesday to reports of the shooting, which took place near the intersection of 51st Avenue and Maryland Street, according to the Post-Tribune. In a statement obtained by the northwest Indiana newspaper, Gary police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said Johnny was reportedly sitting in the front passenger side of his father’s vehicle when he was shot in the back. The robbers fled the area and remained at-large Friday. “I just completely don’t understand,” Johnny’s mother, Kelly Arroyo, told WGN-TV. “I don’t understand how somebody – over an Xbox – can take somebody’s life.” Arroyo described her son to WGN-TV as a “wonderful kid who loved video games and cars.” She said he had recently gotten his driver’s license. Johnny is survived by his parents and a sister, according to WGN-TV. Gary police told the Post-Tribune that online buyers and sellers should only agree to meet in public places, such in a police station parking lot. Authorities continue to investigate.

Four times more people in twice as many states have been infected with salmonella in less than a month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported this week. The CDC has linked the infections to contact with backyard poultry, namely chickens and ducklings. >> Read more trending news On May 16, 52 people in 21 states had been infected, the CDC announced. On Thursday, the CDC said 227 more people in 20 additional states have been added to its investigation. Four salmonella serotypes have also been added. Of the 279 now infected, 40 have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. Seventy cases affect children younger than 5, the CDC said. >> Salmonella outbreak in 21 states linked to backyard poultry; don’t kiss the chickens, CDC warns So far, infections have been found in all states except Georgia, Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and North Dakota. In interviews, people said they got their chicks and ducklings from agricultural stores, websites and hatcheries. This is not the first time a salmonella outbreak has been linked to our feathered friends. In July 2018, the CDC discovered 212 salmonella cases in 44 states linked to backyard poultry. >> Stop kissing, snuggling pet hedgehogs, CDC warns There are many ways people can be infected by fowl.  Poultry might have salmonella germs in their droppings, and on their feathers, feet and beaks, even when they appear healthy and clean, the CDC states on its website. The germs can get on cages, coops, feed and water dishes, hay, plants and soil. Germs also can get on the hands, shoes and clothes of people who handle or care for poultry. >> CDC warns consumers not to wash raw chicken Infection can be prevented, however. The CDC recommends the following safety tips: Always wash your hands with soap and water right after touching backyard poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam. Adults should supervise hand-washing by young children. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available.  Don’t let backyard poultry inside the house, especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served or stored.  Set aside a pair of shoes to wear while taking care of poultry and keep those shoes outside of the house.  Children younger than 5, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems shouldn’t handle or touch chicks, ducklings or other poultry.  Don’t eat or drink where poultry live or roam.  Don’t kiss backyard poultry or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth.  Stay outdoors when cleaning any equipment or materials used to raise or care for poultry, such as cages, or feed or water containers. For a complete list of recommendations, visit the CDC’s website.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he has no plans to fire White House counselor Kellyanne Conway despite a recommendation from a federal watchdog agency. >> Read more trending news “I’m not going to fire her,” the president said Friday in an interview “Fox and Friends” on Fox News. “I think she’s a terrific person. She’s a tremendous spokesperson. She’s been loyal. ... Based on what I saw yesterday, how could you do that?” In a letter sent Thursday to Trump, officials with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel detailed several instances in which Conway attacked Trump’s Democratic rivals in the 2020 presidential race on social media and in official interviews, which is a violation of the Hatch Act. The law bars federal officials from using their offices to campaign for political candidates. >> Federal watchdog recommends Kellyanne Conway be fired for Hatch Act violations “It looks to me like they’re trying to take away her right of free speech and that’s just not fair,” Trump said Friday. “It doesn’t sound fair so I’m going to look at it very carefully.” The president framed Conway’s violations of the Hatch Act as necessary in response to criticism of him or in response to questions from the media. “You ask a person a question and every time you’re supposed to say, ‘I can’t answer, I can’t answer,’” Trump said. “I mean, she’s got to have a right of responding to questions.” The White House counsel issued a letter Thursday calling for the Office of Special Counsel to rescind the recommendation, though the agency declined, according to The Washington Post. Special counsel Henry Kerner told the newspaper his recommendation was “unprecedented,” but he added that Conway’s conduct was as well. “In interview after interview, she uses her official capacity to disparage announced candidates, which is not allowed,” he told the Post. “What kind of example does that send to the federal workforce? If you’re high enough up in the White House, you can break the law, but if you’re a postal carrier or a regular federal worker, you lose your job?” Kerner told Fox News the decision on whether to fire Conway ultimately falls to the president. “We respect his decision and, of course, the president has any option he’d like — to reprimand or not to reprimand,” Kerner said, according to the news network. “I am a Trump appointee — I have no animus toward Kellyanne whatsoever. ... My job is to make sure the federal workforce stays as depoliticized and as fair as possible.” >> Conway accused of Hatch Act violation; what is the Hatch Act? In its 17-page report, the Office of Special Counsel noted that Conway minimized the significance of the Hatch Act during a May 29 interview. “If you're trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it's not going to work,' she said, according to The Hill. Later, she added, 'Let me know when the jail sentence starts.

Floridians are used to see alligators in every body of water around, but what would you do if you saw one taking a swim with a knife embedded in its skull? That’s the fate of one gator who makes his home in Houston, Texas. One neighbor snapped a shot of the reptile. 'I saw him swimming and then I saw him turn, like swimming towards me, and I saw something sticking out of his head,' said Erin Weaver. 'It looked like a steak knife that was sticking out of his head, I don't know if it was in his eye, but it looked, if it wasn't in his eye it was very close to his eye.' 'Never have I seen them aggressive or even defensive, if you walk by and startle, them they just go under water,” she added, 'I feel that somebody did this on purpose. I can't imagine this animal going after somebody that they would have to defend themselves, because we've never had that happen before.' She says she hopes that someone helps the animal soon, but the Fort Bend Co. Sheriff's Office says they can only take a report once a deputy witnesses the hurt animal. Luckily, alligators have very thick bones and their blood contains antibiotic properties, so there is a good chance the particular gator is in no pain and may be able to live like that for some time.

The baby who police said was cut from his slain mother’s womb in Chicago in April has died after spending more than seven weeks in intensive care, a family spokeswoman said Friday. >> Read more trending news Yovanny Jadiel Lopez had been hospitalized since April 23, after police said his mother, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, was killed by a woman offering baby clothes on Facebook and her daughter. >> Baby cut from slain mother’s womb opens eyes for first time since hospitalization Lopez family spokeswoman Julie Contreras said in a statement that Yovanny died Friday of severe brain injury. The family will hold a private funeral service for the infant. “Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time,” Contreras said. >> 3 charged in connection with slain pregnant woman found with baby cut from womb Yovanny was hospitalized after authorities said Clarissa Figueroa, 46, called 911 to falsely claim she’d given birth to a child who was not breathing. Tests later confirmed the boy was Ochoa-Lopez’s son. Prosecutors said Wednesday that Figueroa plotted for months to get a newborn before she and her daughter strangled Ochoa-Lopez and cut her baby from her womb using a butcher’s knife, The Associated Press reported. >> Woman faked pregnancy for months before killing mother-to-be, cutting baby from womb, reports say Clarissa Figueroa and her daughter, 24-year-old Desiree Figueroa, were formally charged Wednesday with first-degree murder, WGN-TV reported. They remained jailed Friday without bond. Clarissa Figueroa’s boyfriend, Piotr Boback, has also been charged with one count of concealment of a homicide. His attorney, Hal Garfinkel, told WGN-TV he was not guilty.

NBC News and the Democratic National Committee unveiled the lineups for the first two night debate in late June, setting the stage for the first group face off of the large Democratic field for 2020, with three top candidates getting paired together on the second night. The first night - Wednesday June 26 - features Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), while former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeg, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) are grouped together on Thursday. Here are the lineups as announced Friday by NBC News, which is hosting this first debate in Miami. The lineup means that four of the top five candidates - in terms of overall polling right now among Democrats - will be in the second debate, with Warren the only one of those leaders going on Wednesday.