Woman protected from rapist by boy, 14, with hunting knife after she leaps from car – A central Michigan woman escaped her attacker Wednesday night and fled to a house, where she called 911. Alone inside the house were a 14-year-old boy, his 11-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother. The teenager, James Persyn III, let the woman in, locked the door and guarded the house with a hunting knife. The attacker, 30-year-old Eric Lee Ramsey, abducted the woman from Central Michigan University’s campus. NBC News
Man held after woman thrown onto subway tracks in Philadelphia – Suspect William Clark is in custody ater allegedly punching a young woman in the head, dragging her by the ankles and throwing her onto train tracks in Philadelphia. Clark faces assault, robbery, theft and reckless endangerment charges. Police are seeking a motive but believe the attacker could be mentally unstable. CNN
House G.O.P. Agrees to Lift Debt Ceiling for 3 Months – House Republicans agreed to lift the federal government’s statutory borrowing limit for three months, with a requirement that both chambers of Congress pass a budget in that time to clear the way for negotiations on long-term deficit reduction. Republican’s new approach is arranged to start an orderly negotiation with President Obama and Senate Democrats on bipartisan ways to shrink the government’s trillion dollar defect. The New York Times
State, local jobless rates inch down; Florida rate at 8% – Florida’s jobless rate dropped from 8.1 percent in November to 8 percent last month, while the U.S. rate remained at 7.8 percent. Gainesville’s unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in November, but dropped to 6.2 percent last month. This drop was a result of a smaller labor force instead of job growth. The Gainesville Sun
New Port Richey police officer arrested in Hernando County on multiple drug charges – New Port Richey police officer John Noheji was arrested Thursday in Hernando County on multiple felony narcotics charges. Noheji was off duty at the time of arrest, was pulled over in a traffic stop at the corner of Deltona Boulevard and Keesler Street after a Hernando Sheriff and Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed he was using crack cocaine and prescription pills. Deputies also found a Hyrdocodone tablet on the driver-side floorboard. Tampa Bay Times
