Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Tuesday morning, before the start of classes at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, United States a shooter opened fire on students and faculty. The incident left two dead and seventeen injured. The suspected shooter is in police custody.

State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders said the shooter entered the school at 7:57 (CST) in the morning and started shooting with a handgun in a common area of the school prior to the beginning of classes. According to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin first responders arrived at the scene at 8:06 and were able to secure “a non-violent apprehension” of the suspect.

According to both Bevin and Sanders, a fifteen-year-old girl died at the school and a fifteen-year-old boy died at the hospital. Twelve other people suffered gunshot wounds and five more were injured in the chaos. State police say all of the shooting victims were students ranging from fourteen to eighteen years of age. Governor Bevin added that the suspect is also a fifteen-year-old student at the high school.

Marshall County Attorney Jeff Edwards said that the suspect will likely be tried as an adult and that there was no current indication as of now that anyone specific was targeted. Marshall County High School. Edwards said, “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”

“I did not see the shooter, but I did see the commons after. It was a disaster. Everyone just dropped their stuff and ran,” said Allissa Hubbard, a student, while speaking to NPR’s local affiliate.

Benton is located in western Kentucky. Marshall County High School had an enrollment of 1374 students last school year, according to state data.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Today, David Paterson, the governor of New York, appointed Kirsten Gillibrand as the replacement in the United States Senate for Hillary Clinton, who left the position to become Secretary of State in Barack Obama’s administration.

Gillibrand, 42, was a member of the House of Representatives from Hudson and is, like Clinton, a member of the Democratic Party.

“I believe I have found the best candidate to become the next senator from the state of New York. She is dynamic, she is articulate, she is perceptive, she is outspoken,” said Paterson at a news conference.

This selection came after Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy and leading candidate for the job, withdrew from the consideration for the seat on January 21 due to unspecified personal reasons. Kennedy was one of approximately 20 candidates that Governor Paterson said he considered for the position, including fellow New York Congressmen Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler.

New York’s attorney general Andrew Cuomo was also considered. Cuomo was the top choice in voter opinion polls, according to CNN.

Clinton expressed approval of the appointment in a statement: “Kirsten is an intelligent and dedicated public servant and a dear friend. I’m pleased that this seat, which has been my great honor to hold, and which has in its history been held by leaders like former Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Robert F. Kennedy, will be in such capable hands.”

President Obama also approved of her, stating, “Kirsten has been a strong voice for transparency and reform in government and shares the belief that government should be open, accessible and work for all our citizens.”

In statements, Gillibrand said that she will be a supporter of same-sex marriage and an advocate for women’s rights. She has also promised a state economic stimulus package that would support New York’s education as well as put forth funding for the environment and a new project that would create a high-speed rail system linking New York City with Albany, the state capital.

The appointment has been criticized by gun-control and immigration advocates. In particular Gillibrand’s opinion on gun control laws has been rebuked, including her stance opposing restrictions on parts of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlines the right of citizens to bear arms, earning her support by the National Rifle Association.

“When I heard Gillibrand was his pick, I thought it was a joke. This is an insult to the families of gun violence victims across the state. Shame on Governor Paterson,” stated Gloria Cruz of the Million Mom March which promoted tighter restrictions on the private ownership of firearms.

Gillibrand is set to be officially sworn in on Sunday, January 25.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Buffalo, New York —A woman in Buffalo, New York in the United States is in critical condition tonight at Sisters Of Charity Hospital after she accidentally set herself on fire.

The unnamed elderly woman was receiving oxygen for medical problems in her home and lit a cigarette, and the oxygen coming from her mask facilitated the ignition of her clothing, setting her on fire.

Despite her “severe” burns as described by firefighters on radio communications, she was still able to dial the emergency line in the U.S., 911.

In the U.S. only 4% of all residential fires were reportedly caused by smoking materials in 2002. These fires, however, were responsible for 19% of residential fire fatalities and 9% of injuries. The fatality rate due to smoking is nearly four times higher than the overall residential fire rate; injuries are more than twice as likely. Forty percent of all smoking fires start in the bedroom or living room/family room; in 35% of these fires, bedding or upholstered furniture are the items first ignited.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Two Long Island, New York teenagers, aged 15 and 17, have been charged for their alleged involvement in a suspected plot to attack their school next April, on the ninth anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting massacre.

The plot was uncovered when the 15-year-old suspect lost his journal at the McDonalds restaurant where he worked. The journal was found by a fellow classmate of the teenagers’ school, who quickly turned it over to school officials.

The journal is alleged to have outlined the teenagers’ plan to attack the school with guns and home-made bombs. The 15-year-old suspect’s home and computers were searched and evidence was collected, which revealed that he allegedly tried to purchase black powder explosives and machine guns over the Internet.

A video was also found in which the same teenager allegedly names some students and staff he would like to attack at the school. The 17-year-old was allegedly planning to aid in the attack on the school.

The two teens were arrested and held in Long Island jail on misdemeanor conspiracy, which is punishable by up to one year in prison. The 15-year-old will appear in juvenile court on Friday and the 17-year-old suspect is expected to plead not guilty at a hearing.

Friday, March 26, 2010

On Tuesday the United States and Mexico announced a new strategy to combat increasingly violent drug movements across the border between the two countries.

According to American officials, the new plan would place more emphasis on local law enforcement, as well as providing aid to cities affected by the drug trade. It would be based off an earlier plan, called the Mérida Initiative, that was introduced by the Bush administration three years ago. According to Hillary Clinton, the new strategy would not supersede the older initiative, but would rather supplement and expand upon it. Other American officials said the new plan would lead to additional efforts to introduce systems that would enable those transporting drugs to be apprehended before they reached the border, rather than just constructing a better defense at the border.

The new plan would also eliminate funding for military defense systems in favor of training for civilian police officers. Under the original Mérida Initiative, much of the $1.3 billion spent was on military equipment such as aircraft for Mexican forces. The new plan’s budget includes no money for such purchases.

The announcement came during a visit to Mexico City by several senior officials from the Obama administration, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who, together with her Mexican counterpart, introduced the new plan. Other American officials included military officers as well as Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

As gas prices have risen in the United States, the regional transport authority for southeastern Pennsylvania, SEPTA, has seen a sharp increase in ridership, which has caused overcrowding on the trains.

“As fuel prices have continued to rise, SEPTA ridership has steadily increased and is the highest in 18 years,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph Casey. Monthly ridership was 22 percent higher last month than a year ago.

“They have crushed loads on their rail lines, already where people are standing, and there’s not enough seats,” said Rich Bickel, the director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

“At peak times some railcars are standing room only and commuter parking lots are nearly full. All Regional Rail lines are running near full capacity and the train station parking lots are at about 90 percent capacity or more,” SEPTA spokesperson Felipe Suarez said.

While SEPTA awaits new Silverliner V trains from Hyundai Rotem, which begin arriving in 2009, it had hoped to lease eight rail cars from New Jersey Transit, at an agreed-upon rate of US$10,000 per month. However, due to problems with insurance and liability indemnification, the deal fell through, according to Casey.

SEPTA has entered a new agreement to purchase the eight rail cars from NJ Transit. The transit authority will pay US$670,000 for the cars and assorted supplies plus one additional inoperative car which will be used for spare parts. The rail cars will be operated using a SEPTA provided locomotive as they are not self-propelled.

The cars are being disposed of by NJ Transit because it has switched from single-floor cars to double-decker cars.

SEPTA is expecting to raise US$3.1 million by selling rail that has been out of service since 1981 at auction.