Billy Graham Hospitalized: Condition Stable

Charles Ommanney/Getty Images(ASHEVILLE, N.C.) -- Evangelist Billy Graham was admitted to Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., Wednesday as doctors evaluate treatment for his lungs.

Graham’s personal physician, Lucian Rice, said the 93-year-old is in stable condition.

Graham was seen “alert, smiling and waving at hospital staff,” according to a statement from his family.

A discharge date has not been determined.

He is currently being tested for possible pneumonia, according to hospital officials.

In May, he was treated for pneumonia.

“Mr. Graham is looking forward to returning home to spend the upcoming Christmas holidays with his family,” read a statement released by Graham’s family and staff.

He recently authored the book Nearing Home. The book on aging was published last month.

Graham is known for bringing evangelical Christianity into the mainstream and counseling U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Prosecutors Argue Against John Hinckley Jr. Release

Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images(WILLIAMSBURG, Va.) -- Earlier this year U.S. Secret Service agents observed John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan and three other men in a 1981 assassination attempt, go to a bookstore to read about President Reagan and presidential assassinations. The disclosure was revealed by federal prosecutors as they argued against a request for conditional releases and the eventual release of Hinckley to his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Va.

Judge Paul Friedman is holding a multi-day hearing in Washington, D.C., to consider the request by St. Elisabeth’s Hospital and Hinckley’s lawyers to permit Hinckley to have expanded visits with his mother for durations of up to 24 days. Judge Friedman last approved 12 visits of up to 10 nights to his mother’s residence in 2009.

Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Chasson argued before the court that Hinckley was still deceptive in his nature and not honest with mental health professionals about his activities during his conditional releases.

Chasson said that on July 24, 2011, Hinckley claimed he was going to attend a movie but U.S. Secret Service agents conducting surveillance on Hinckley claim he walked to the movie ticket counter but then proceeded to a Barnes & Noble where he read books about President Reagan and presidential assassinations.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of President Reagan and has been treated at St. Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital.

“The risk of danger is decidedly low,” said Barry Levine, an attorney for Hinckley. “We must look at the legal standing between mental illness and danger.”

Levine said that Hinckley’s psychotic and narcissistic disorder has been in remission for years and that there has not been a single instance of violence on any of his previous releases.

Prosecutors called Hinckley’s release a “gamble” and noted his deceptive behavior by lying to his doctors and caretakers about going to the movies on two occasions.

The hearings are expected to last up to five days with numerous mental health experts and U.S. Secret Service agents testifying.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Elderly Man Accidentally Gives Life Savings to Goodwill

Adam Gault/Thinkstock(MOLINE, Ill.) -- When an 80-year-old man donated a suit to a Goodwill store in Moline, Ill., he accidentally gave away the wrong suit. The suit he gave away had his entire life savings of $13,000 sewn into the lining of the jacket.

The enormity of the mistake was compounded by the fact that he needed the money to help pay for his wife’s stage-four cancer treatments.

Nevertheless, he is refusing donations from well-wishers as far away as Germany who have contacted the Goodwill store and news organizations trying to help.

“If you could please ask his daughter to open a charity account or give people a place to donate to him, I know I would love to give him $100 this holiday season,” a California woman wrote in an email to news station WQAD. “I am not wealthy, but I can understand how hard times can be when a loved one [has] cancer and all the world seems to be so black.”

The man, who did not want to be identified because he was embarrassed about the mistake, realized he had accidentally donated a gray suit that contained $13,000 sewn in its lining last week.

He and his family went to the Goodwill store and searched through the entire coat section for the right one, with no results. Goodwill employees continue to search for the lost suit, said Dana Engelbert, spokesperson for Goodwill of the Heartland.

The man is unsure of the exact date of his donation, so Goodwill is searching all its inventory donated since late October, although Engelbert said someone may have already bought the item in question.

The family is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the lost money.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Single Killer Now Blamed for Long Island Beach Bodies

Susan Wood/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- New York detectives now believe a single killer is responsible for the dismembered bodies of young women, a male transvestite and a toddler found dumped along a pristine stretch of Long Island's south shore from 1996 to 2010, officials and investigators told ABC News.

That killer is still at large, prompting concern that he may strike again and claim more lives before he is caught.

This past May, just as beaches were preparing to open for the summer season, officials on Long Island said they thought the killings could be the work of more than one killer. They have since changed their minds.

After eliminating numerous early theories on where the possible killer might reside, police also believe the killer is probably a Long Islander.

"Serial killers evolve. They change their MO's. They don't necessarily do the same thing all the time. What's common here is the dumping ground, and the people who are victims: sex workers," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer, nearly a year to the day since the first gruesome discovery along the ocean parkway.

All but one of them are believed to be prostitutes who advertised as escorts on Craigslist before they vanished. All the bodies were reportedly wrapped in burlap before they were dumped on the side of the road over the past 15 years.

"It is our theory the serial killer is working alone. The girls that he contacted with met him alone," Dormer said.

The police commissioner says that the victims are all linked to the sex trade.

It was the search for Craiglist escort Shannan Gilbert that yielded the grisly discoveries. Gilbert disappeared the previous May after meeting a client in nearby Oak Beach.

But Gilbert was never matched with any of the remains found. Now, Dormer says, police think her case is completely unrelated to the other 10 victims.

"Our theory is that this is a coincidence. She went missing in Oak Beach and this has nothing to do with the serial killer," said Dormer.

When asked what happened to Gilbert, Dormer had no answer. "That's a mystery," he said "We have 10 bodies now. Ten bodies and no Shannan Gilbert…it's a mystery."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Michelle Parker: Suspect Ex-Fiance to Keep Custody of Children

ABC News(ORLANDO, Fla.) -- A Florida judge ruled Wednesday that the ex-fiance of missing mom Michelle Parker will keep custody of the couple's 3-year-old twins, despite being named the primary suspect in her disappearance.

The children must be returned to Dale Smith, 40, after authorities removed them from his care on Tuesday.

The judge who presided over the emergency custody hearing said there was not sufficient evidence to remove the children from Smith's care, but that the issue would be revisited if new evidence were to arise.

This week, Smith retained the services of prominent Orlando attorney Mark NeJame.

"Now if everybody who's under suspicious [sic.] would lose their children, I think we need to go ahead and have a bonfire with the constitution," NeJame told ABC News' Orlando affiliate WFTV.

As the custody hearing was underway, investigators searched Lake Ellenor and the surrounding area, according to WFTV. Crews searched a lake and nearby wooded area, but have not said if anything significant was found.

The Florida Department of Children and Families took the children into protective custody on Tuesday night, a day after police named Smith as their prime suspect. Police also said that Smith is their only suspect and that he refused to take a polygraph test.

Parker, 33, of Florida, has been missing since Nov. 17, the same day her appearance on The People's Court television show aired. She and Smith appeared in the episode to resolve a dispute over a $5,000 engagement ring.

Parker had a tumultuous relationship with the 40-year-old Smith. She was last seen dropping off the twins at his house.

Police conducted a search of Smith's father's home over the weekend, but investigators did not comment on the findings of the search and it is unclear what sparked the search.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Penn State: New Suit Claims Sandusky Threatened Boy’s Family

Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General(UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.) -- The latest person to accuse former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky of sexual abuse also claims that Sandusky threatened to hurt the boy’s family if he ever told anyone about it.

Sandusky’s newest accuser, who is now 29, had not told anyone about the abuse until he read about the grand jury presentment charging Sandusky with 40 counts of child molestation over 15 years, his lawyer Jeff Anderson said Wednesday. Until that time, he had thought he was the only victim.

The man, whose identity was not released, issued a statement that said, ”I don’t want other kids to be abused by Jerry Sandusky or anybody like Penn State to allow people like him to do it–rape kids! I never told anybody what he did to me over 100 times at all kinds of places until the newspapers reported that he had abused other kids.”

“I am hurting and have been for a long time because of what happened, but feel now even more tormented that I have learned of so many other kids were abused after me,” he said.

Anderson said the boy met Sandusky through the Second Mile foundation when the alleged victim was 10, and was abused by Sandusky from 1992 to 1994. He said that Sandusky threatened to harm the boy’s family if the boy told anyone about the abuse. Sandusky also paid for sports camps, plied the boy with gifts, and took him on trips, Anderson said.

The lawyer said during a press conference Wednesday that they had filed suit against Sandusky, Penn State and the Second Mile charity seeking reparations for more than 100 acts of sexual abuse.

Anderson alleged that Sandusky had abused the boy at Penn State University, at Second Mile events, at his home, at a Penn State bowl game out of state, and in Philadelphia.

The victim notified law enforcement authorities on Tuesday, Anderson said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Craigslist 'Chaplain' Allegedly Managed Prostitutes

Giorgio Fochesato/Vetta/Getty Images(AKRON, Ohio) -- The self proclaimed "chaplain" allegedly at the center of the Ohio Craigslist murder spree has an extensive criminal record that includes managing more than a dozen prostitutes and selling drugs.

Rich Beasley, 52, and his alleged co-conspirator 16-year-old Brogan Rafferty were arrested on Nov. 16.

The teenager has been charged with aggravated murder and attempted murder in connection with three men who were killed and one who was wounded after answering a bogus Craigslist ad offering a job. So far, Beasley is not charged in connection with those deaths, but he was arrested on previous charges related to prostitution and drugs.

Beasley, a purported chaplain, has spent a total of 15 of the past 30 years in prison for a laundry list of crimes.

A court document from Summit County, Ohio, shows that Beasley was accused by the Akron Police Department of 15 prostitution-related charges in December 2010. He also allegedly managed 14 prostitutes, including a 17-year-old. The document states that Beasley was aware of the teenager's age.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday for these charges.

In November 2010, Beasley was charged with trafficking Oxycontin when he allegedly sold Oxycontin pills to a detective. He was indicted on this charge and has a hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Beasley was also charged in December 2010 with aggravated menacing, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, cultivation of marijuana and possession of criminal tools.

These charges were dismissed following a court-related technicality, but the felony prostitution charges were upheld. Beasley is currently being held on a $1 million bond.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Agents Uncover 'Most Sophisticated' Drug Tunnel in Years

David Maung/Bloomberg via Getty Images(SAN DIEGO) -- Federal agents in California have uncovered the "most sophisticated" drug tunnel in years, the latest discovery in what an official said had become a "major phenomenon" in the war on drugs.

A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to give details on the tunnel which ran from Tijuana to San Diego but said, "When we talk about a sophisticated tunnel, we're talking about tunnels that have some type of reinforcement in them and a lot of work has been put into them to help them smuggle the drugs in an easier way.

"In the past we have found tunnels that have railways and lighting and ventilation and all kinds of different scenarios and this is one of the most sophisticated that we have discovered perhaps ever, but definitely at least in the last five years," ICE spokesperson Lauren Mack said.

The tunnel was discovered by San Diego's Tunnel Task Force in cooperation with Mexican authorities, Mack said. The task force, whose sole job is to uncover drug smuggling tunnels, is made up of agents from ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Earlier this month, U.S. authorities nabbed 14 tons of marijuana from warehouses connected by a drug tunnel from Mexico to south San Diego. That tunnel was built with structural support and had the electric lighting and ventilation. Just a few days ago a pair of similar tunnels were uncovered in the Arizona border town of Nogales.

Mack said such tunnels had become a "major phenomenon ongoing increasingly in the last decade or so" for cartels in Mexico trying to get their product into the hands of U.S. customers.

Marijuana was also discovered in the new tunnel and Mack said federal agents were up late Monday night weighing it. The amount, along with other details about the tunnel, are expected to be revealed at a press conference in San Diego at 5 p.m. ET.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Boeheim's Job Safe for Now as Syracuse Basketball Team Wins Big

Nate Shron/Getty Images(SYRACUSE, N.Y.) -- The third-ranked Syracuse University men's basketball team took care of business Tuesday, easily defeating Eastern Michigan, 84-48, amid rumors that head coach Jim Boeheim's job might be on the line because of the sex abuse scandal that spurred the firing of longtime assistant coach Bernie Fine last Sunday.

The school has come under heavy pressure from victims' groups to oust Boeheim for his seemingly lack of sensitivity to Fine's alleged victims when news first broke earlier in the month about two former ball boys who accused Fine of molesting them over a long period of time.

Boeheim withdrew his support for Fine and supported the firing when "more facts came out" that included a third alleged victim and a tape recording of a 2002 phone call made to Fine's wife, Laurie, in which she suggested that he may be guilty of the charges made against him.

Asked about Boeheim's future, Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor said Tuesday that he "is our coach" -- an apparent vote of confidence.

Receiving two standing ovations at Tuesday's night game in Syracuse, Boeheim said, "I'm saddened in many ways by what has unfolded.  I'm looking forward to a time when we can talk and learn from what has happened."

Unlike the previous home game, there was no open seat on the bench to mark Fine's absence.  No criminal charges have been leveled at the former coach who has called the accusations "patently false."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Occupy Los Angeles Protesters Ordered to Evict Encampment

Alex Stone/ABC News(LOS ANGELES) -- Hundreds of police officers moved in on Occupy Los Angeles protesters camped out at a park near City Hall early Wednesday morning, ordering them to leave their encampment or face arrest.

The LAPD gave the order to dispense shortly after midnight.  Officers were seen wearing what looked like white HAZMAT suits, with gun belts on the outside and latex gloves, as they went in to clean up the camp and tear down tents.

Protesters who refused to leave were arrested with plastic handcuffs; some were even carried out.  As of 3:30 a.m. PT, 200 people had been arrested, according to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, "Once the park is cleared, it will be repaired and returned to all Angelenos to exercise their First Amendment rights."

In the meantime, Villaraigosa said "a First Amendment area will remain open on the Spring Street City Hall steps" while the park is closed.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio