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Seven were shot at a party near Indiana’s Ball State University. At least seven people were injured, three in a life-threatening fashion, in a shooting near Indiana’s Ball State University overnight. According to local NBC affiliate WTHR, the shooting occurred at a large off-campus house party, with shots fired inside the house around 12:45 am. Police say they are still working to piece together what happened, as most witnesses heard but did not see the shooting. https://www.vox.com/2019/5/18/18630674/ball-state-university-indiana-party-shooting-what-we-know

The character of Chewbacca was inspired by George Lucas’s big, hairy Alaskan malamute, Indiana. According to Lucas, the dog would always sit in the passenger seat of his car like a copilot, and people would confuse the dog for an actual person. And in case you're wondering: yes, that same dog was also the inspiration behind the name of one of Lucas’s other creations, Indiana Jones. Read more: http://mentalfloss.com/article/56801/15-chewbacca-facts-honor-peter-mayhews-birthday

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ind. (WDRB) -- Officials in southern Indiana now confirm an accidental drowning killed a postal worker delivering mail in Madison. Teelah Kappeler, 31 died Saturday. Her husband, Mark Kappeler, said her car was found upside down, flipped on its top in a creek off Little Brushy Fork Road. It's believed she was knocked unconscious before the accidental drowning. The couple had been married 11 years when their life together was cut short. “The road that the accident happened on, it's a one-lane road. It's gravel,” Kappeler said. On Saturday, Teelah Kappeler was delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service when she never came home. She had only been on the job several weeks. “Just potholes everywhere, the sides of the road, you can see, have been eroding,” Kappeler said. “She told me, basically, this is the longest, hardest route that is anywhere around this area.” Officials in Jefferson County said her car went off the road and landed in a creek likely from high water. She was still wearing a seatbelt but was stuck upside down. The coroner said she died from an accidental drowning. “It’s the worst time of my life,” Kappeler said. He believes there should have been warning signs and a guardrail in this area. “This is totally an unnecessary loss," Kappeler said. "It should never have happened." Despite what he's been through, he's staying positive for his two young daughters. “We had something special that so many people don't ever find," Kappeler said. "We loved each other, every moment we had." Now he’s left relish on precious moments and happy memories spent together as a family. “I would have liked to have had so much more time, so many more years with her," Kappeler said. "I'm very thankful for the time we have had together." Services for Teelah Kappeler will be held on Saturday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Madison, Indiana. http://www.wdrb.com/story/37572790/husband-of-southern-indiana-postal-worker-who-drowned-delivering-mail-says-her-death-was-preventable 16161970_G.webp 16161968_G.webp

Indiana woman Jamie Porter claimed her first-grader son was punished for refusing to say the pledge of allegiance. Now she is suing the teacher and principal allegedly responsible. The complaint, obtained by Fox 59, said the incident happened in March. Fuqua Elementary School teacher Kelly McFarland allegedly sent the boy to the principal’s office because he stayed seated during the pledge. Asked why he didn’t recite it, he said that “he was doing it to protest the government of the United States, as it was racist, greedy and does not care about people,” the lawsuit stated. Later, Principal Mary Beth Harris‘ office allegedly made him practice reciting the pledge. He and his mother now seek damages after he disliked the way school officials treated him. He was also still mourning after his father recently passed away, the lawsuit said. LawNewz.com reached out to McFarland and Harris for comment, and will update when they respond. The Vigo County School Corporation, a public school district, has not been sued. Case law on this sort of allegation remains very clear: officials cannot make students say the pledge. Doing so violates kids’ First Amendment rights. This dates back to the 1943 Supreme Court case West Virginia v. Barnette. They voted 6-3 on behalf of several students, all of whom were Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing to stand for the pledge on religious grounds. Justice Robert H. Jackson said the government, including school officials, couldn’t force people to say things they don’t mean: To sustain the compulsory flag salute, we are required to say that a Bill of Rights which guards the individual’s right to speak his own mind left it open to public authorities to compel him to utter what is not in his mind. http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/first-grader-punished-for-refusing-to-say-pledge-of-allegiance-lawsuit-says/

Paul Wyche (is news technologies assistant for The Journal Gazette)

By @joenettagresham