More than eight decades on, the UN General Assembly remains the place where the UN’s 193 Member States come together to debate the defining challenges of the day, from war and peace – to development, climate change and human rights.
Read the full story, “Why the UN General Assembly still matters”, on globalissues.org →
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Friday, September 18, ‘The Zone’ featured highlights from 24 high school football games across central Indiana in Week 5 of the season, more than any other station in the state.
Watch The Zone in the video above.
The games that have highlights on The Zone include:
Plus, Bishop Chatard head coach Rob Doyle joins the show for FaceTime Friday.
TORONTO (WISH) — Kelsey Mitchell broke A’ja Wilson’s single-season WNBA scoring record in the Fever’s win against the Toronto Tempo on Friday.
Mitchell now has 1,034 points this season, passing Wilson’s record of 1,021 she set in 2024.
The Fever are back in action on Sunday at home against the Washington Mystics.
INDIANAPOLIS — A second Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer has been suspended with a recommendation for termination to the Merit Board over misuse of automated license plate reader technology, IMPD said Friday.
This is the second time in two months an IMPD officer has received a termination recommendation over misuse of license plate readers. The first officer was caught using Flock cameras for personal reasons and was immediately stripped of police powers after what IMPD Chief Tanya Terry called “intentional misconduct.”
Neither officer has been named.
Friday, IMPD said another officer had been placed on administrative leave and stripped of police powers after the misconduct last month prompted an investigation into other irregular uses of the automated license plate readers.
Based on additional facts gathered, Terry recommended that officer be terminated.
“Using law enforcement technology or accessing confidential information for anything other than a legitimate public safety purpose is a serious violation of the trust our community places in us,” Terry said. “When an officer breaches that trust, we will investigation thoroughly, take action and hold them accountable.”
IMPD said it issued an updated standard operating procedure for automated license plate readers last month that every officer was required to sign to keep access to the technology. The procedure states that each search must now be tied to a case or incident number as well as a national incident-based reporting system offense code. The department began using stronger auditing procedures to identify and investigate potential misuses more quickly.
The department said in a press release Friday that it will support legislation that guides proper use of automated license plate readers while leveraging it as a law enforcement tool.
The Indianapolis-based Girl Scouts of Central Indiana canceled horse programming for the remainder of the season this week at Camp Gallahue in rural Morgantown after a horse died from an illness.
Concerned citizens contacted news outlets after photos circulated online showing a dead horse and other horses that appeared to be in poor condition at the camp in Brown County. The camp’s website states that scouts can ride horses at the barn and includes a request for supplies for the animals.
Circle City Broadcasting obtained photos of horses at the camp from a source who asked to remain anonymous.
Lauren Palmer, director of communications for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, said in an email, “We were saddened by the passing of a horse at Camp Gallahue due to an unexpected illness.”
Palmer said the Girl Scouts worked with the horses’ owner to ensure the remaining animals received veterinary care as soon as the organization learned about the situation. A local provider owns the horses and leases them to the camp.
“As a precaution, all horse programming for the remainder of the season has been cancelled while we assess next steps,” Palmer said in the email.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health plans to investigate the matter after receiving a complaint, according to agency spokesperson Denise Derrer.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Department and Brown County Animal Control have not returned calls for comment.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The owner of 20 Past 4 and more, a smoke shop with locations in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, is facing multiple charges after investigators say he sold marijuana packaged to look like legal hemp products.
Jonathan T.B. Miller, 55, of Fort Wayne, was charged with two counts of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence, money laundering, dealing in paraphernalia, and unlawful distribution of flavored nitrous oxide.
Miller owns five 20 Past 4 and more stores, two in Indianapolis and three in Fort Wayne.
His stores are at the following locations:
According to probable cause affidavit filed in Allen County, Indiana State Excise Police opened an investigation in Jan. 2026. After receiving tips that the stores were selling marijuana, undercover officers were sent in to make controlled purchases.
At the Clinton St. store, an officer bought a product called “Tea House Compton Candy,” labeled at 26.61% THC. It later tested at 7.611% Delta-9 THC — more than 25 times Indiana’s legal limit of 0.3%. The lab documents attached to the product were missing a batch number and expiration date, both required under Indiana law, documents revealed.
On Feb. 21, Excise Police raided the Indianapolis store at 2415 E. 56th St. Every plant material seized tested over the legal limit, and the store received a notice of violation for possession of marijuana, dealing marijuana, and dealing smokeable hemp. Miller later told investigators he began pulling plant material from his stores after that raid.
Undercover purchases continued into April, documents show. Products purchased continued to test far over the legal limit of THC.
On June 22, officers executed search warrants at all three Fort Wayne stores and two warehouses. Miller was found at the warehouse on Virginia Avenue working with mason jars of yellow wax.
According to the affidavit, Miller told police the wax contained THC during a mirandized interview. He admitted he sources flower and wax from California, breaks it into smaller packages and sells it in his stores. Lab documents, he said, comes from his suppliers.
Additionally, through a seized cell phone, police found evidence that Miller knew his products were illegal, including his attempts to use falsified lab documents as cover, according to the affidavit.
In a store documents, labeled as “Weekly Team Focus,” police found a section under “Up-sale focus” that listed flower and dab bar. The affidavit indicates, one of the store managers told police they knew they couldn’t sell this plant material.
“We know we’re dancing in the gray area,” Miller told police. “With all the competition, just trying to be the best, I guess.”
More than 20 pounds of wax concentrate and 62 pounds of plant material were seized across all locations. Several pallets full of flavored nitrous oxide that were found, which is illegal in Indiana, were also mentioned in court documents.
Business records show at least $120,014.71 in profit from illegal THC sales between January 2025 and June 2026.
Miller is being held on $100,000 surety bond. His initial hearing is Sept. 18.
UNITED NATIONS, September 18 (IPS) – Urbanization can help concentrate jobs, services, and investments; however, it can also concentrate unaffordable housing, insecure employment, and unequal exposure to contamination and environmental threats. A recent report from the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, argues that the difference is not urbanization itself, but how cities are planned, governed, and financed.
INDIANAPOLIS— An eastside man is concerned about a fire hydrant that’s been leaking for several weeks in his neighborhood.
Kyle Drew contacted Indiana’s I-Team for help.
“We just need an answer,” said Drew.
Drew lives in Blackburn Terrace, an apartment complex on the east side of Indianapolis.
The fire hydrant on his street is leaking water into the grass, onto the sidewalk, and into the street.
He’s worried about the mess, wasted water, and if firefighters can even use the hydrant.
“If it’s leaking this much, they might not even be able to get water out at this point,” said Drew.
He’s also concerned about the water making potholes worse or disguising them.
Indiana’s I-Team’s cameras were rolling as a car hit one of the potholes covered with water.
“Large trucks, larger cars, you can hear their shocks jumping,” said Drew. “It’s really loud and it’s dangerous because it’s going to end up getting somebody hurt out here.”
Drew said he contacted property management and Citizens Energy but the problem remained, so he contacted Indiana’s I-Team.
Indiana’s I-Team contacted Citizens Energy because they own and maintain 42,000 hydrants across Central Indiana.
But a Citizens Energy spokesperson told us the hydrant is not their responsibility because the hydrant is private.
The hydrant is the responsibility of property management at Blackburn Terrace, Indiana’s I-Team has learned.
Blackburn Terrace is managed by SHP Management Corp.
When Indiana’s I-Team stopped by the Blackburn Terrace office, it was closed.
So, Kara Kenney with Indiana’s I-Team called the corporate office and an employee told Kenney they’re working on hiring a plumber to get the leak fixed.
“We have contacted two plumbers or vendors to assess the situation and give us a bid of whether it can be repaired or if it can actually be replaced,” the employee told us on September 9. “It’s not being not addressed. We are just waiting on the final information so that we can proceed.”
Two days later, Kyle Drew sent us a picture of someone inspecting the hydrant.
But when Indiana’s I-team stopped by on September 17, the hydrant was wrapped up but is still leaking.
“We can’t keep like this,” said Drew. “Everybody pays their bills.”
If you have a leaking hydrant in your neighborhood, contact your water utility and if you’re a renter — also contact your property manager.
WHITESTOWN, Ind. — A large fire Thursday night sent flames and smoke high into the night sky from an apartment building under construction in Whitestown.
Whitestown Fire Chief Josh Westrich said the fire was north of the Meadows on Main apartments complex that’s north of the intersection of Main Street and Albert S. White Drive. It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt.
Whitestown resident Mason Asher said he heard a loud lightning strike about 10:30 p.m. Thursday and about 15 minutes later saw an orange glow around homes in the Walker Farms subdivision. Asher said he walked to the fire scene and spoke with women who had called in the fire. They told him they saw a lightning strike in the area and then noticed a fire while driving by.
Because the building is still under construction, it does not have electrical wiring yet, Asher said.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office said South Main Street between Seabiscuit Road and Albert S. White Drive was closed while emergency crews worked.
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, September 18 (IPS) – Migrants now send home more money than foreign aid, and this is pulling rural families out of poverty, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
