JUPITER, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Jupiter police on Thursday said they will hold a news conference to provide an update on the investigation into the killings of five people, including an unborn baby, at a Thanksgiving gathering last week.

“The Jupiter Police Department will hold a press conference today at 11:00 am,” said Scott Pascarella, a spokesman for the department. “We will provide an update on the progress of the investigation.”

Officials did not immediately provide specific information on the reason for the press conference. “I am preparing for this as we speak and can not elaborate at this time,” Pascarella said when asked by BNO News if there would be any significant updates.

The Thanksgiving murders happened last Thursday shortly after 10 p.m. EST at a residence in Jupiter, a popular beach town near the city of West Palm Beach. Paul Michael Merhige, 35, is suspected of opening fire at the gathering where seventeen people were present.

Four people were killed, including a six-year-old girl and a woman who authorities say was pregnant. A fifth person is recovering from his injuries.

Officials say the suspect is believed to be driving a four-door, blue 2007 Toyota Camry with Florida license plate W42 7JT.

JUPITER, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Jupiter Police Department to hold news conference on Thanksgiving killings at 11 a.m. EST.

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) — A South Carolina woman has been charged with making false claims against the federal government, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Sharon Jackson Bookert, 46, of Columbia, was charged by a federal grand jury in an indictment which alleges her of falsely claiming that she had not received her federal disability checks, said U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins.

According to the indictment, Bookert falsely claimed that she had not received her federal disability checks, causing two replacement checks to be issued to her.

The case was investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Robert C. Jendron, Jr., of the Columbia office for prosecution.

The maximum penalty, if she is found guilty, is a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for up to five years.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman says it will release a 9-1-1 recording involving the Tiger Woods case “shortly.” Please see story “Florida Highway Patrol to release Tiger Woods 9-1-1 call shortly” in categories “Florida”, “National” and “Entertainment” filed at 12.08 a.m. EST for more information!

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — The Florida Highway Patrol on Sunday will release the recording of a 9-1-1 phone call made shortly after Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash outside his home on early Friday, officials said.

“The 9-1-1 call made the morning of Mr. Wood’s crash is scheduled to be released today,” said Sgt. Kim Montes, a spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol. Montes said one 9-1-1 call was made by a neighbor, but released no additional information. The spokeswoman said the call would be released “shortly” but gave no exact time.

Further, troopers are scheduled to return to Tiger Wood’s residence on Sunday afternoon after they come on duty at 3 p.m. local time. Tiger Woods had already canceled two other interview requests from the Florida Highway Patrol.

Montes said no press conference is scheduled as of yet.

The single-vehicle accident happened around 2.25 a.m. on Friday in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, according to a police report. The report said Woods pulled out of the driveway at his residence and struck a fire hydrant. The front of the car then struck a tree, officials said. While the cause of the accident is still under investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol earlier said that no alcohol was involved.

The state agency initially caused widespread confusion after its initial press release on Friday said that Woods had been seriously injured in the accident. Woods’ publicist later said the famed golfer sustained only minor injuries, and had already been released from hospital.

Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes on Saturday said they are continuing their investigation. “This is still an ongoing crash investigation,” she said. Montes had said on Friday that charges in the case are pending, but she did not say against who or why.

Montes added to say the agency would not address any other statements that have been circulating since the incident. There have been widespread media reports that Tiger Woods and his wife were in an argument over an alleged affair, but officials have not commented on those reports.

JUPITER, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Four people were dead, including a young girl, after a family member opened fire at a Thanksgiving gathering in Florida’s Palm Beach County on Thursday evening, officials said.

The shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. EST at a residence in Jupiter, a popular beach town near the city of West Palm Beach.

Jupiter Police spokesman Scott Pascarella said seventeen people were at the home for a Thanksgiving gathering when the suspect opened fire. Pascarella confirmed four people had been killed, and a fifth person was injured.

The suspected gunman is identified as 35-year-old Paul Michael Merhige, a family member of the victims. Pascarella said six-year-old Makayla Sitton, the cousin of the gunman, was among the deceased. WPTV NewsChannel 5 reported that Makayla was the daughter of the channel’s photojournalist Jim Sitton.

The other fatalities were identified as 76-year-old Raymonde Joseph, the aunt of the suspect, and two 33-year-old twin sisters. The twins were identified as Carla and Lisa Merhige of Miami.

The 37-year-old brother-in-law of the suspect, identified as Patrick McKnight of Miami, remained in hospital with serious injuries. “He is being treated at a hospital but is expected to survive,” Pascarella said.

Officials say the suspect is believed to be driving a four-door, blue 2007 Toyota Camry with Florida license plate W42 7JT.

Anyone who may have information about the case, or saw the suspect or his vehicle, is asked to contact authorities.

LONDONDERRY TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA (BNO NEWS) — More than one-hundred employees working inside the shutdown Three Mile Island Unit 1 containment building were sent home on Saturday after a small amount of contamination was found inside, officials said on Sunday.

About 150 employees were inside when the airborne radiological contamination alarm went off around 4 p.m. EST on Saturday.

The unit of the nuclear power plant in central Pennsylvania has been shut down since October 26 for refueling, maintenance and a steam generator replacement.

“No contamination was found outside of the containment building,” said Beth Archer, a spokeswoman for Exelon Nuclear. “Radiological surveys showed that the contamination was confirmed to surfaces inside the containment building.”

Archer says there was never a threat to public health and safety, and said there was no leak.

The spokeswoman said that a monitor showed a slight increase in a reading when new steam generators were being moved inside. The reading returned to normal quickly while two other monitors did not show any abnormal readings.

“Workers were sent home because work couldn’t continue until we clean the area,” Exelon Vice President Bill Noll, the senior executive at Three Mile Island, said. “We hope to be able to resume activities tomorrow.”

Exelon technicians on Saturday night were checking employees who had been working in the building at the time for possible unusual radiation exposure. One worker was found to have received 16 millirem of exposure, and other workers received contamination of lower levels.

The annual occupational dose limit for nuclear workers at Exelon Nuclear plants is 2,000 millirem and did not exceed personal contamination limits imposed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Numerous work activities were going on in the building at the time the alarm sounded, and Exelon engineers are working to determine the cause the incident. The NRC, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and local elected officials were notified of the event.

Exelon Corp. is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.

The incident is being investigated.

OCALA, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Five people died when a fire broke out at a mobile home in Florida’s northwest Marion County on early Saturday, county officials said.

Marion County firefighters responded to the mobile home at 6.46 a.m. EST, according to Miranda Iglesias, a spokeswoman for the Marion County Fire Rescue. She said firefighters arrived at the scene, located at 11290 northwest 20th street, within six minutes.

When emergency crews arrived at the scene they found the mobile home fully involved in fire with its roof collapsed. “There are five confirmed fatalities,” the spokeswoman said.

Iglesias said she had no information about the casualties, but said the incident is under investigation.