LOS ANGELES - Mr. T pities the fool who doesn't know the first thing about home renovation.

"You can't just knock down everything, There might be electrical wiring. There might be a gap open," he cautioned during a recent phone interview. "You have to take your time. You have to scout things out. If you do the wrong thing, it's going to be a disaster."

Once known as one of Hollywood's tough guys, the one-time bouncer and mohawked member of TV's "The A Team" will show a tender side as he helps people in need redo kitchens and living rooms as part of a new show on Scripps Networks' DIY. "I Pity The Tool" is the latest in a growing series of programs on the cable network that place celebrities in the midst of tricky home repairs and remodels.

Daryl Hall, Vanilla Ice and William Shatner are among the famous folk who have come to DIY to show off their skills in taking homes apart and rebuilding them. And the network has good reason to supplement fare like "Rescue Renovation" and "Rehab Addict," said Kathleen Finch, president of Scripps' home-category networks HGTV, DIY and Great American Country. "We are bringing people to the network for reasons other than just watching a demolition or a construction project," she said.

The celebrity method has popped up in other parts of the Scripps empire as well. Valerie Bertinelli has been spotted in Food Network's daytime lineup, while programming featuring rapper Rev Run and actress Jennie Garth has been featured on DIY or HGTV. Scripps has gained a reputation for turning chefs and home-arts experts into stars, but the company has also realized it stands to gain by making use of people whose fame is already established.

See More:William Shatner To Star In Home Renovation Series For DIY

When viewers tune in Mr. T's new program, the first episode of which is slated to debut in 2015, they will also get something else: a sentimental tale. The pilot will show Mr. T. helping out an old associate, a man whom Mr. T visited when the guy was a teenager and had broken his neck while playing in the snow (the man is back on his feet again, with a large family). Future episodes, slated for 2016, are expected to also show Mr. T. lending a hand to people who need it, like military veterans or people going through hard times.

"I am tough, but deep inside my toughness, I like to let people know I'm an old-fashioned mama's boy," said Mr. T, who has spent recent years working on commercials, a short-lived reality series on Viacom's TV Land and a book. "I have a heart of gold, but I'm really a marshmallow in my heart."

Scripps and DIY are set to unveil the series as part of the company's presentation for the "upfront" market, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their advertising for the coming programming season. The celebrity series, said Finch, helped the network grow its ratings among its target audience, people between 25 and 54, more than 8% in 2014.

"These people have built-in fan bases that come to see their heroes do things that they didn't really know they could," she said.

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'I Pity The Tool': Mr. T to star in home renovation series

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a St. Johns County husband and wife arrested for growing marijuana in their home can go back to their home to collect their belongings.

Scott and Marsha Yandell took the county to court, claiming the county irreparably harmed them by not allowing them into their homeafter they were arrested in February. Deputies said four dozen marijuana plants were found growing in their home.

The Yandells have not been allowed back in their home since investigators found their large marijuana growing operation.

The attorney for St. Johns County argued earlier this week that the home was a manufacturing facility for illegal drugs. She also argued the couple had an electrician go into the house to alter the wiring to accommodate their grow operation.

The Yandells said St. Johns County was illegally keeping them from their home and that they have the legal right to use medical marijuana.

Judge Marcia Howard agreed Wednesday, giving the Yandells a temporary restraining order against St. Johns County and saying the county has to allow the Yandells to access the property for 14 days at most. The ruling essentially said the county did not follow its procedures in barring the Yandells from the home.

After the 14 days, the restraining order expires and the county can move forward with whatever it wants to do with the home. It's possible it will be demolished.

The county has a hearing on the issue on March 23.

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Yandells took St. Johns County to court over medical marijuana dispute

MOUNT CARMEL - Faulty wiring sparked the four-alarm fire Monday that burned through seven homes on South Walnut Street, according to investigators.

Meanwhile, James Reed Sr., a borough police chief who went into cardiac arrest while fighting the devastating fire, may return home today.

Borough police Lt. Chris Buhay, Mount Carmel's fire investigator, said the fire originated in a first-floor living room wall shared by 215-217 S. Walnut St., and that it was accidental.

"It wasn't an outlet," Buhay said Tuesday. "It was wiring."

Those homes are a total loss, Buhay said, adding that it's likely neighboring homes at 213 and 219 S. Walnut also are destroyed.

The properties at 211, 215, 217 and 223 S. Walnut were insured. Tenants of the latter two did not, however, have renter's insurance, Buhay said. Uninsured were 213 and 219 S. Walnut, both vacant, along with 221 S. Walnut.

The fire was reported to 9-1-1 about 11:40 a.m. Monday. First responders

from five counties manned more than 50 emergency vehicles. It took nearly four hours to extinguish the blaze. Thirteen people were displaced.

An investigation began Monday shortly after the fire was extinguished, and resumed at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Buhay was joined by Trooper Kirk Renn, a state police fire marshal, Mount Carmel Township Fire Marshal Brian Hollenbush and Mount Carmel Borough Fire Chief Daniel Cimino.

'Barrage of fire'

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Faulty wiring blamed for Mount Carmel fire; injured chief may be home today

It is impressive to hear Steven Snider rattle off a list of all the things he can control from his iPhone: the ventilation in his garage, the music streaming to speakers in multiple rooms of his home, every light, the TV, the thermostat, even the Blu-Ray player in the guest house.

But Snider, who turned his century-old Newton home into a fully connected house during a major 2012 renovation, had no special knowledge before beginning the project.

Im not as tech savvy as it sounds, Snider, who was profiled in Boston Globe Magazine in 2013, said. This works just like any other iPhone app. You push a button and it brings you to the next menu, you select what you want to do and it brings you to the next menu, and youre done.

Sniders house runs the Control4 automated home system, which New England-based firm simpleHome installed and maintains. Both companies are championing a whole-house system, fully integrated with a homeowners smartphone or iPad, as a way to finally bring connected home technology into the mainstream.

Greg Premru

Connected, or smart, homes have been a long time coming. Bill Gatess mansion made news in 1997 for having a series of televisions that displayed artwork according to his guests preferences by communicating with a special pin each person wore.

The Internet of things, the network of physical objects injected with software and able to communicate with each other, has been adopted slowly by the general population.

In 2014, the Consumer Electronics Association found only 3 percent of homeowners had a smart thermostat, like the Nest. Of the people who didnt own one, 61 percent said they never expected to.

The most familiar products bringing the Internet of things into our homes ask homeowners to take a DIY approach to installation.

Ever installed a light fixture? Nests website asks. Then you shouldnt have any trouble with Nest. In fact, 99% of the people who installed Nest themselves would do it again.

More:
Can Comprehensive Smart Home Systems Go Mainstream?

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -

A St. Johns County couple appeared in federal court Monday afternoon after being arrested in February for having four dozen marijuana plants in their home.

Scott and Marsha Yandell have not been allowed back in their home since investigators found their large marijuana growing operation.

The Yandells believe that St. Johns County is illegally keeping them from their home and that they have the legal right to use medical marijuana. While in custody, they said that they left their pet fish behind weeks ago and the county has cut off their power.

"A lot of these statements that have come out from the county simply are not true," said legal advisor Christopher Ralph, "We have to remember, these are patients. These are not criminals that there's been no criminal charges launched against these individuals."

News4Jax was not allowed in the courtroom but the attorney for St. Johns County argued that the home was a manufacturing facility for illegal drugs. She also argued the couple had an electrician go into the house to alter the wiring to accommodate their grow operation.

However, outside of the courthouse the attorney representing St. Johns County did not comment.

Judge Marcia Howard delayed her decision until Wednesday asking the Yendells' attorneys to better describe their claim that St. Johns County has irreparably harmed the couple by not allowing them into their home.

"On Dec. 15, the federal law changed in relation to medical marijuana. In it, it defunded the federal government in interfering in state laws that they named in the amendment related to medical cannabis. Florida was clearly listed in this bill signed by Barack Obama," said Ralph.

An issue the defense faces is that the judge believes the county will grant access if the couple hires a certified industrial hygienist to inspect the home and determine if the chemicals inside have made the home unsafe.

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Yandells demanded to be let back into their home

SAN JOSE -- Two people were left to find alternate housing Saturday night after an intense attic fire destroyed the roof of an East San Jose home, according to the San Jose Fire Department.

The two-alarm fire was reported about 8:45 p.m. at a home on Rose Creek Drive near South White Road and Ocala Avenue, about a block from Mount Pleasant High School.

No injuries were reported as heat and flames caused the home's roof to collapse, fire officials said.

Firefighters contained the fire to the attic and corralled it within 40 minutes. The two occupants were expected to stay with relatives while the damage is assessed.

Faulty wiring is suspected to played a part in the blaze, but an exact cause remained under investigation.

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Faulty wiring suspected in attic fire that displaces two from East San Jose home

Published: Monday, March 16, 2015 at 11:54 AM.

WESTVILLE Holmes County Sheriffs Office arrested two men from Geneva County on March 11 in a failed attempt to steal copper wiring from a vacant home near S.R. 2 and Rum Rd.

An alert citizen tipped off authorities of a burglary in progress and was able to provide a clothing description and tag number to deputies, who arrived to immediately find two suspects.

Stefan Cox, 23, and Charles Huckabee, 46, were apprehended at the scene. A third suspect drove away and back to Geneva County, where Geneva County authorities later made contact with the suspect.

Cox is charged with burglary of a dwelling, traveling across state lines with intent to commit burglary, possession of burglary tools and possession of a controlled substance. Huckabee is charged with burglary of a dwelling and traveling across state lines with intent to commit burglary. Charges are pending against the third suspect.

Sheriff Tim Brown would like to thank the watchful citizens of Holmes County for their assistance.

If you have any information on this crime or any other suspicious activity, please call the Sheriffs Office at 547-4421 or Holmes County Crimestoppers at 1-866-689-8477.

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Two arrested in attempt to steal copper wire

SAN JOSE -- Two people were left to find alternate housing Saturday night after an intense attic fire destroyed the roof of an East San Jose home, according to the San Jose Fire Department.

The two-alarm fire was reported about 8:45 p.m. at a home on Rose Creek Drive near South White Road and Ocala Avenue, about a block from Mount Pleasant High School.

No injuries were reported as heat and flames caused the home's roof to collapse, fire officials said.

Firefighters contained the fire to the attic and corralled it within 40 minutes. The two occupants were expected to stay with relatives while the damage is assessed.

Faulty wiring is suspected to played a part in the blaze, but an exact cause remained under investigation.

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San Jose: Faulty wiring suspected in attic fire that displaces two from East San Jose home

JAMES CITY -

A vacant home on Church Road in James City was destroyed Saturday morning after being engulfed in flames twice.

According to Craven County assistant fire marshal Ira Whitford, a house on the 400 block of Church Road caught fire at 3:00 a.m. Saturday. Firefighters put out the flames and left by 7:30 a.m. Shortly afterwards, the fire sparked again.

No one was living at the home at the time, but someone who lived nearby the home stopped by and claimed he lived there with his family a few years back. Tom Mapp said the house was old and had bad electrical wiring.

"I don't feel my family was safe in the home at all," Mapp said.

Another neighbor was awoken by the fire.

"About 3:00 in the morning saw some lights flashing in the window," said Larry Baldwin.

There was some light rain Saturday morning, but the assistant fire marshal said it was not enough to help cull the flames.

Fire investigators are treating the fire as suspicious. They said they do not believe the fire was electrical in nature.

No one was hurt in the flames.

Originally posted here:
Vacant house destroyed by fire, investigators say it's suspicious

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Mohamed and Ahmad Mobarak will soon be heading home and back to work at a spot where they were arrested from a little more than a week ago.

NBC4 brought the story of search warrants at the Mobarak business along state Route 161, at the Beechcroft Newsstand.

Federal agents and local officers took items from the Mobarak home and businesses as part of their investigation into alleged crime activity with multiple suspects.

Today in federal court Ahmad and Mohamed were allowed release by federal judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers after arguments by the U.S. Attorney's Office to try and keep them in custody.

The judge ruled that the brothers don't present a flight risk, or a danger to the public, and would allowed to return home early next week on some sort of monitoring system or device.

We need our clients out, we need them to work with us, 250 alleged institutions defrauded, we need to work on that, they are not a threat to the community in any way shape or form, Mark Collins, attorney for Ahmad Mobarak said.

Prosecutors called an agent with the IRS who talked a little about the case against the brothers saying in part they are accused of manipulating some 6000 credit cards, over a 3 year period, wiring nearly $200,000 overseas.

The U.S. Attorney's Officer argued that the brothers were flight risks,there was evidence to warrant them staying behind bars, and face long prison sentences if found guilty.

Today the brothers learned that when the hardware for monitoring systems come in, they will head home.

He's pleased, feels like any one of us would, looking forward to returning to his buinsess, Dave Thomas, attorney for Mohamed Mobarak said.

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Federal Money Laundering Suspects To Be Sent Home Until Trial