5 Things This Spooky Friday Morning
— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.
1. Ambush Suspect Eric Frein Arrested
A self-trained survivalist was shackled in the handcuffs used by a Pennsylvania state trooper he allegedly killed in an ambush last month, the state police commissioner said during a news conference.
U.S. Marshals captured Eric Frein outside an abandoned hangar at Birchwood-Pocono Airport near Tannersville, Pa., about 6 p.m. Thursday, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said.
Frein, 31, was then placed in the handcuffs used by Cpl. Bryon Dickson, who was killed in the September 12th shooting at the barracks in Blooming Grove, said Noonan. He was then driven in Dickson's police vehicle to those same barracks and held there until he was moved to the Pike County Correctional Facility overnight.
2. NTSB Waiting to Inspect Plane in Wichita Airport Crash
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have been unable to inspect a small plane that crashed into a building at an airport in Wichita, Kansas, killing four people.
Leah Yeager with the NTSB said late Thursday that investigators will enter the Flight Safety Building at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport once it's deemed structurally sound. Heavy equipment will arrive Friday to remove portions of the building, Wichita Fire Chief Ronald Blackwell told the Associated Press.
The twin-engine Beechcraft lost power in one of its engines during takeoff Thursday morning before crashing into the building, according to the FAA. Its pilot, Mark Goldstein, was killed.
3. More Than Half Country Bans Controversial Guardrail
More than half the nation, 27 states, have now announced they are suspending further installation of a controversial guardrail system used on roads around the country following what critics said was a cover-up of a dangerous change in the guardrail’s design made nearly a decade ago.
A flood of states have announced suspension of new installation of the ET-Plus guardrail after a Texas jury found earlier this month that the guardrail maker, Trinity Industries, had defrauded the government by making modifications in 2005 and failing to tell federal or state transportation officials at the time. Trinity was ordered to pay some $175 million in damages – an amount that’s expected to triple by statutory mandate.
Thirty states have said they’ll no longer install the ET-Plus system, some latest states to join being Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Georgia and Trinity’s home state of Texas. One state, Virginia, said last week it is making plans to remove the guardrails from its highways, but would consider leaving them in place if Trinity can prove the modified version is safe.
Halloween isn't what it used to be.
Parents worry today about sugar and calorie counts in candy, and many don't know their neighbors -- so forget trick-or-treating. Halloween costumes seem to get sexier and more expensive every year, but at the same time, many schools ban dressing up on Oct. 31.
5. T-Pain Just Sang Without Auto-Tune, and His Voice May Surprise You
In the mid-2000s, while Jay-Z was still officially in retirement and long before Kanye West had been reborn as Yeezus, a guy named T-Pain stepped into popular hip-hop's post-"Crunk" era and briefly changed how hits were made.
T-Pain wasn't the first to use Auto-Tune, the pitch-modification effect, in his music. But he was the first to use it to twist and braid his voice into a brand new musical instrument for pop music. Soon enough, he was basically synonymous with the effect.
He was featured on tracks by superstars such as Kanye, R. Kelly, and Jamie Foxx. Diddy reportedly gave him royalties just for using Auto-Tune on a record, and an iPhone app called "I Am T-Pain" let users simulate Auto-Tune effects on their own.