First Snowfall of Season Hits Upstate NY

Residents in parts of eastern New York are scraping snow and ice off their vehicles this morning as the region gets its first significant snowfall of the season, with forecasters saying more is on the way.     

The National Weather Service says 2 to 6 inches of snow has fallen across an upstate swath stretching eastward from the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys to Rensselaer County just east of Albany.

The snow began falling Thursday afternoon and continued into the night in some areas.     

The weather service has issued a winter storm watch for Saturday in the Hudson Valley from New York City's northern suburbs to the Catskill Mountains. Forecasts call for between 4 to 8 inches of snow.

Meanwhile, parts of New Jersey could get a taste of winter in the form of snow this weekend.     

A winter storm watch is in effect Saturday for Sussex, Warren, Morris and western Passaic counties.     

The National Weather Service says 6 to 10 inches of snow are possible beginning at daybreak and tampering off by Saturday night.     

Temperatures in the Garden State's higher elevations are expected to be in the low to mid 30s.     

Motorists should expect slippery travel.     

Trees which still have leaves could be vulnerable to damage and that could pose a threat to power lines.

Police Probe 2nd State Hospital Death

Maryland State Police are investigating the second death of a patient at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital in Jessup in less than a week.

A hospital staffer found the male patient dead in his room at about 8 p.m. Thursday. Investigators say they don’t know what caused his death -- or if it was a homicide -- but are considering all possibilities.

Saturday, officials said 24-year-old patient Vitaly Davydov killed his roommate, 22-year-old David Rico-Noyola. Davydov was placed at the facility following the 2006 murder of his Bethesda-based psychiatrist.

As for Thursday’s death, police are withholding that man’s identity until his family is notified.

NYPD Cops Expected to Surrender

More than a dozen NYPD officers were expected to turn themselves in at midnight Thursday on criminal charges that they fixed tickets, sources familiar with the case said.

The Bronx District Attorney’s office is expected to unseal indictments Friday as the officers are expected to be arraigned in the Bronx criminal courthouse, sources tell NBC New York. Charges could include official misconduct and bribery.

One officer, Jose Ramos, was arrested Thursday evening, along his girlfriend, sources said.

In all, 20 people are being charged, including 12 patrolmen and several other cops and civilians. The officers were all expected to turn themselves in Thursday night.

Ramos was originally under investigation for his suspected ties to drug dealers. But recorded phone conversations revealed a separate practice of ticket-fixing by Ramos and other police officers.

NYPD Internal Affairs and the Bronx District Attorney's Office pursued the probe, which led to a full-blown investigation into NYPD officers and some union delegates for ticket-fixing.

The officers are suspected of fixing approximately 300 tickets for parking, speeding and other traffic violations, sometimes in exchange for favors.

The indictments include as many as 1,000 counts of bribery, misconduct and other charges.

One of those under investigation is a police lieutenant assigned to Internal Affairs who is accused of leaking information about the investigation to police officers in the Bronx.

Union officials have characterized the investigation as unfair.

In addition to allegations of fixing tickets, a few officers are also under scrutiny in connection with a drug investigation.

It is unclear if any drug charges will be added at Friday’s court appearances. A spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson declined to comment as did an NYPD spokesman.

Spokesmen for the PBA and Sergeant’s Benevolent Association did not immediately comment.

Although a relatively small number of officers face criminal charges, hundreds more have been punished administratively. And information about ticket-fixing is already being used to question the credibility of police testimony in unrelated cases: Four months ago, defense attorney Kyle Watters won an acquittal for an attempted murder suspect, in part because the arresting officer admitted to fixing tickets for himself and his sister-in-law.

"He had a certain arrogance about -- there was nothing wrong, it was okay for them to do this," said Watters. "It was perk for the job, he felt entitled. In Bronx County, that doesn't go over very well."

The expected arrest of NYPD officers in the ticket-fixing scandal comes just days after officers in the 68th Precinct in Brooklyn were arrested in a separate gun-running  investigation. Five current NYPD and three retired officers were charged.

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Judge Gave Basement Ringleader Custody of Niece

A new and strange twist came to light Thursday in the basement of horror case.

The judge overseeing the fate of the eight children involved in this case has encountered the alleged ringleader before.

Family Court spokesman Frank Keel confirmed that in 2002, Administrative Judge of the Family Division Kevin Dougherty gave Linda Weston custody of her niece, Beatrice.

“Judge Kevin Dougherty is outraged by recent revelations in this case.

He has tried more than 100,000 cases over the course of 10 years on the bench, so one can imagine how the Beatrice Weston case, which was a fairly routine truancy matter at the time it came before Judge Dougherty in 2002, did not automatically come to mind. The record was ordered from the archives, has been retrieved and reviewed, and one of the court transcripts was finally delivered this morning. While our ability to comment is limited by confidentiality, we can now confirm that Judge Dougherty was the presiding judge in this matter. Furthermore, the record reflects that the child, Beatrice, was present and represented by counsel. Her mother and Linda Weston were present. The mother agreed to the child residing with her sister Linda Weston.”

Weston had already served time for murder at the time of the decision.

Beatrice was discovered in the closet of Weston's Tacony home last week and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office said charges in that case are pending.

The Family Court statement goes on to question DHS in their handling of Beatrice’s case.

“DHS was a party to the action, and DHS and the Child Advocate recommended to the Court that the child should remain with Linda Weston. DHS was ordered by Judge Dougherty to investigate the safety of the child's home and the reasonableness of the placement. The Court granted the request of DHS for them to supervise the family and provide mid-level services in the home. Clearly, Judge Dougherty has no recollection of ever being advised of Linda Weston's criminal record by DHS, or by the Child Advocate, or by the child's mother, Vicky Weston, all of whom were present in court and agreed to the placement on Aug. 16, 2002. The record reflects that Judge Dougherty had several court hearings over a span of eight months, wherein DHS represented to the Court that the child, Beatrice, was safe and her needs were being met.

Additionally, DHS requested that the level of in-home services be reduced and ultimately the case be discharged. As we have stated before, all Family Court judges are only as good as the information they are provided by DHS. There are serious questions still to be answered regarding the information -- or lack of information -- Judge Dougherty received from DHS regarding Linda Weston and her suitability as a caretaker.

Judge Kevin Dougherty is one of the most honored and respected members of the bench in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His reputation is beyond reproach.”

Mayor Michael Nutter’s office says they began a comprehensive investigation of all city agencies involved in this complicated case.

“On behalf of DHS, we cannot and will not violate the requirements of confidentiality under Pennsylvania law,” said Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald. “We're disappointed that the Court would reveal selectively case-specific details in a confidential matter before the Court through a public statement. The city has begun a comprehensive internal investigation of all city agencies with involvement in this complicated case and a report will be given to the mayor.”

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Fire Traps Elderly Woman Inside Home

An early morning fire sends a West Philadelphia home up in smoke and traps an elderly woman inside.

Firefighters say the blaze started just after 4 o’clock Friday morning at a home in the 200 block of south 55th street. When crews arrived at the scene, the home was already engulfed in heavy smoke.

A 77-year-old woman was inside the home at the time of the fire. Firefighters had to rush her to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Luckily, no other injuries were reported.

 

Winter Storm Watch Issued for Parts of Area

It's still October, and the World Series is still going on, but some parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia could see up to six inches of snow this weekend.

A winter storm watch has been issued for western Maryland, the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and parts of West Virginia from Friday night through Saturday afternoon as a storm blows through the region.

The following areas are included in the winter storm watch:

• Washington County
• Extreme western Allegany County
• Central and eastern Allegany County
• Shenandoah County
• Frederick County (Va.)
• Page County
• Warren County
• Clarke County
• Madison County
• Rappahannock County
• Grant County
• Mineral County

There likely will be accumulating snow west of D.C. Saturday -- especially in areas with elevations above 1,500 feet -- but any snow likely will melt on roadways.  News4 meteorologist Tom Kierein said snow could accumulate along the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Shenandoah Valley, West Virginia and northern and western Maryland.

Expect highs in the upper 40s and lower 50s Friday. In the D.C. area, expect strong wind and a lot of rain beginning Friday night and carrying in to Saturday, meteorologist Doug Kammerer reported. And it will be colder, with the first freeze of the season likely Saturday and highs that day possibly not getting about the low 40s.

There’s a high chance of snow in the mountains, Kammerer said, and a good chance from Frederick, Md., down through Front Royal, Va. There’s a low chance of flakes in D.C., Montgomery County, Fairfax County and down through Prince William and Fauquier counties on the backside of the storm as it moves out of the area, but snow is not expected east of D.C.

The D.C. area hasn’t had a major October snowstorm since 1979. 

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Sonic Drugs Attempt to Get Listeners High

There is an undeniable relationship between sound and our mood. Music can amp a person up for a workout or calm a person down when they are stressed.

But can sound actually get someone high?

Sonic drugs – also known as “digital drugs” or “i-dosing” are available online. I-dosing websites claim that listening to specific sound can make someone feel as if they’ve taken actual drugs. They sell “doses” of recreational drugs, like marijuana, as well as prescription drugs and hallucinogens.

Sonic drugs work through binaural beats -- the playing of two slightly different tones and frequencies into both ears simultaneously.

“What you are experiencing is the sound created by the brain, not what is coming through the headphones,” said Alex Doman, founder of Advanced Brain Technologies and co-author of “Healing at the Speed of Sound.”

Doman said there are legitimate and proven uses of sound therapy in treating anxiety and improving brain performance. However, trying to mimic neurochemical effects of a narcotic is a dubious notion -- something that needs to be approached with caution and a healthy dose of skepticism.

“Dialing into a specific effect of peyote mushrooms or LSD is probably taking it too far,” Doman added.

Youtube has over a thousand videos of people documenting their experiences with i-dosing. The first i-dose Youtuber “Zach” did was of acid.

Zach is currently in rehab at Tarzana Treatment Center for his addiction to real drugs. He believes experimenting with sonic drugs may make some teens more inclined to do the real thing.

This is what concerns addiction specialist Gregory Smith.

“It’s not like you listen to an i-dose for crack cocaine and the next day you’re smoking a crack pipe,” Dr. Smith said. “But I do think that if you have an impressionable 13-14 year old kid that does an i-dose, it may drop their inhibition if they’re presented with the real drug to try it.”

NBC4 Anchor Collen Williams Listens to an I-Dose

NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams’ brain waves were measured while she listened to an i-dose of alcohol during a visit to Amen Clinics.

The alcohol dose takes 35 minutes. The website says the experience is like “shot gunning five glasses of gin.”

The first thing Williams noticed was the sound itself. It is nothing like music, but rather static-like tones.

After about 10 minutes, she says she started to feel a “light-headed kind of euphoria.” After a few more minutes, her hands got tingly and light.

Eventually Williams says the sound became annoying and gave her a headache. She says she never felt drunk but she was definitely affected by the i-dose.

“I felt at one point, if I stood up, I would be a little wobbly,” Williams said.

Williams’ brain waves were then interpreted by brain imaging expert and psychiatrist Daniel Amen.

“We could actually see that the ID was having an effect on your brain,” Amen said. “At times your brain was calmer but at other times is was firing more erratically.”

Amen stresses that every brain will respond differently to this kind of stimulus and the reaction could be dangerous.

For Williams the part of the brain that was affected was the part associated with seizure activity and “that can be troubling.”

Amen also says i-dosing can be especially dangerous for teenagers because their brain is still not fully developed and that anything done to a developing brain could disrupt it.

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