A single-engine plane made an emergency landing on Interstate 540 outside Raleigh on Tuesday morning after experiencing mechanical problems. The incident occurred north of the Raleigh-Durham International airport.

The plane, a 1975 Piper Cherokee owned by Raleigh resident William Woody, stopped on the right shoulder of the interstate with its engine pointing toward the pavement. Raleigh police, state troopers and Wake County sheriff’s deputies rushed to the site at about 9 a.m. and closed the westbound lane to keep traffic away from the scene.

The pilot told controllers that the plane had lost oil pressure, forcing the landing. No injuries were reported and there has been no impact to airport operations. Controllers cleared the plane to return to the airport, but 3 minutes later he declared an emergency, stating he was unable to make it that far.

I-540 lanes could remain closed until noon, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Image from NC Department of Transportation

A 5-week operation known as Project Shadowfire, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), has resulted in 1,133 arrests. More than 900 of those arrests were criminal gang members and others associated with transnational crimes such as human smuggling, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, murder and racketeering. Although most of those arrested were U.S. citizens, 239 were foreign nationals from 13 countries in Asia, Central America, Europe and the Caribbean.

Most of those arrested were associated with gangs such as Surenos, Bloods, Nortenos and MS-13, as well as several prison-based gangs. The effort was coordinated among law enforcement officials around the country, with most of the activity occurring in Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Juan and El Paso.

Along with the arrests, HSI agents seized more than 20 kilograms of narcotics, 150 firearms and over $70,000 in U.S. currency.

The Houston HSI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Sean McElroy said the partnering organizations focused on specific gangs and known geographical hot spots. “We basically went through and looked at ‘who’s worst of worst, and what do we need to get them off the street,'” he said.

McElroy said the goal of the operation was disrupting every-day gang activity. Now that they have some people in custody they hope to “dismantle the criminal organization.”

Project Shadowfire is the latest action under Operation Community Shield, a global initiative started in 2005 to combat criminal gangs in the U.S. and abroad.

Kyle Parker, 22, who was arrested in the death of 14-month old Indiana toddler Shaylyn Ammerman, is now facing additional charges as court documents released Monday show that he not only kidnapped and raped the child, but then tried to place the blame on a family member, using bleach on both his and the girl’s bodies to try and cover evidence. According to a medical examiner, this was “the worst case of sexual trauma” that she had seen in her career.

Shaylyn was found missing last Wednesday morning. The last time she was seen was when her grandmother, Tammy Morgan, put her in her crib on Tuesday night. Several people were the home of her father, Justin Ammerman, including a family friend identified as “Kyle,” Ammerman’s brother, Adam, and mother. Court documents state that Kyle left at some time during the night.

Adam Ammerman said he heard someone leaving around 3 or 4 a.m. on Wednesday and realized Parker was gone. When he looked outside he saw Parker “carrying something” away from the house. Parker did not respond when Ammerman yelled good-bye. Ammerman said he thought he might have seen a foot dangling by Parker’s side.”

When Parker was arrested he was found to have numerous scratches on his hands and forearms that appeared to be fresh, according to court documents. He claims they were older wounds left by his cats. On Wednesday night his stepfather had called police to say he was willing to cooperate. Parker nodded affirmatively when asked if he was involved in the toddler’s disappearance. After initially refusing to lead investigators to Shaylyn’s body, he later agreed to identify the location on a map, advising them that she was on the side of a tree that faces the road.

Parker told authorities that another man, either Adam or Justin Ammerman, actually carried Shaylyn away, but he refused to tell which one. He told them that they would find none of his DNA on the child’s body, and tried to say that Adam Ammerman was responsible.

The autopsy performed on the girl’s body showed that she died from asphyxiation. She had injuries over her body that were consistent with sexual assault, including severe trauma to her private areas. She also had multiple hemorrhages on her face and lacerated and contused lips. She had abrasions and contusions over many body regions.

Bleach was also found on the toddler’s body, which Parker allegedly used to conceal any evidence of his own DNA. Parker told his stepfather that he also wiped down his own body with bleach. He then burned Shaylyn’s clothes and pacifier in order to confuse investigators.

Shaylyn’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday in Spencer.

A 7-year-old British girl was killed last week when the Toy Story bouncy castle she was playing in was picked up by the wind and carried nearly a mile before it fell. Summer Grant suffered serious injuries. She died on Saturday.

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence in connection to the tragedy, according to the BBC. The 27-year-old man and 24-year-old women were in charge of the bouncy house, which was part of the Easter fair in Essex, England’s, Harlow town park.

An investigation has been launched into the incident by Kent and Essex serious crime board law enforcement officials, who say the weather will be part of their examination. D/Insp. Daniel Stoten of Essex Police said, “The weather will certainly make up part of this investigation – whether the weather was a factor and whether or not it was appropriate for the ride to be running. We will be speaking to scientists in relation to the weight of the ride, the type of weather, the ground underfoot, the moisture content and how the ride was tethered.” The public has been asked to contribute any video footage of the event that might exist.

Summer was alone in the castle at the time it blew away. Terri Rickards, a mother who was also at the park, wrote on Facebook that she did not allow her two children to play in the castle as it did not look safe, due to strong winds.

However, Ray Smith, a representative of the Showmans Guild of Great Britain, said that it was a sudden gust that carried the ride away. “Had it been a consistent wind they would have closed down all the inflatables. He also said that he was confident that organizers of the event had properly staked down the inflatable attractions.

Harlow was the site of another bouncy castle accident last year at the same park, when the inflatable collapsed on the children who were playing in it. Harlow’s Robert Halfon is asking authorities to consider a ban on bouncy castles.

Two window washers who were stranded on Monday on the 21st story of a Houston high-rise were rescued by the local fire department who removed a nearby window, allowing the two men to climb to safety. The electric platform in use by the workers stalled halfway up the Marathon Oil Tower.

Emergency personnel were called. A ladder was extended from the open window, and, after safety lines were attached to both the workers and the platform, the trapped window washers were pulled safely into the building. Although the crew was reported to be in no immediate danger they were trapped for about an hour.

The Houston Fire Department reported that 40 firefighters responded to the scene.

It is unknown what caused the power failure to the platform. Fortunately the weather was mild, with only light winds and temperatures in the low 70s.

A similar incident in January caused two workers to be stranded outside Houston’s JP Morgan Chase Tower in January. They were working on a scaffolding that malfunctioned, and also had to be pulled in through a window.

The PEZ annual Easter egg hunt in Orange, Conn., was cancelled on Saturday after unruly adults ignored the rules, pushing and shoving right along with their children to retrieve more than their share of the 10,000 eggs laid out.. PEZ officials posted a statement on Facebook saying parents rushed the field before the activity had official started. Some children had bloodied noses and other minor injuries, and more than one Easter basket was smashed. More than 1,000 participants were in attendance.

The event was scheduled to take place between 9 a.m. and noon. Organizers placed the eggs on three fields and intended to have staggered start times 15 minutes apart for various age groups, but parents didn’t wait. PEZ officials said “unfortunately people chose to enter the first field prior to anyone from PEZ staff starting the activity.”

The crowd then moved to the second field, where they waited only a couple of minutes before rushing the field. Immediately moving on to the third field they removed everything “well before the activity was to even start.” A statement from the company called the fiasco “a mess.”

One participant, who said she has a 3-year-old, said the parents were letting their children pick up eggs before the event started and then the parents also rushed in and were picking up the eggs. Another parent said her son got a bloody nose and a broken Easter basket.

Facebook exploded with angry comments toward both the parents and the company. Some people called the event “a joke,” and blamed PEZ for failing to control the event. “I feel this needs to be addressed by management to the employees left in charge,” read one comment.

Others, shocked by the behavior of the adults, defended PEZ. A comment from Sara DeBenedictus said “I just wanted to say a simple thank you for today’s event. I’m sure it will go more smoothly in the future and I know you’re not responsible for the behavior of other children/parents. Although we only got one egg, it was appreciated.”

PEZ tried to make sure each child got an egg or candy, as they tried to make the best of a bad situation, but the damage was done. They apologized for the situation and said they did their best to try and salvage the event. Police were not called.