ABC News

A man claiming to be Bryce Williams called ABC News over the last few weeks, saying he wanted to pitch a story, and wanted to fax information. He never told ABC News what the story was.

This morning, a fax was in the machine (time stamped 8:26 a.m.) almost two hours after the shooting. A little after 10 a.m., he called again, and introduced himself as Bryce, but also said his legal name was Vester Lee Flanagan, and that he shot two people this morning. While on the phone, he said authorities are “after me,” and “all over the place.” He hung up. ABC News contacted the authorities immediately and provided them with the fax.   Continue reading “After Shooting, Alleged Gunman Details Grievances in ‘Suicide Notes’”

The Hill – by Jordan Fabian

The White House on Wednesday redoubled its call for tougher gun laws in the wake of a shooting that killed two television journalists in Virginia.

“This is another example of gun violence that is becoming all too common in communities large and small all across the United States,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday.   Continue reading “White House: Shooting an ‘all too common’ example of gun violence”

My Fox 8

MONETA, Va. — WDBJ Chief Meteorologist Brent Watts confirmed that a WDBJ reporter and photographer have been killed Wednesday morning in a shooting.

The crew, reported Allison Parker and photographer Adam Ward, was filming during a live television report at Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, Virginia, WSLS confirmed.   Continue reading “Two Virginia news crew members shot to death on air, search underway for shooter”

How much is your privacy worth? In the data broker industry, everything from personal identifying data to social media data to health data is packaged and sold to the highest bidder for annual revenues of almost half a billion dollars per year. Some individuals have also claimed a piece of this pie, with entrepreneurs selling their personal data for sums of anywhere from $2 to close to $3,000.

But what data is sold? Where is it collected? And just how much do Americans care about keeping it private? In this infographic, MBA@UNC explores the types and sources of information collected by data brokers and the relative monetary value of personal information. Take a closer look, because your data might be next on the auction block.
Continue reading “The Business of Data Brokers [Infographic]”

Fox News

A man who was detained by the Secret Service in March for allegedly jumping over a perimeter wall of the White House was shot and killed by a police officer Tuesday inside a Pennsylvania courthouse.

Investigators told ABC 6 that Curtis Smith, 33, of Coatesville, entered the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester around 12 p.m. and attacked a sheriff’s deputy with a knife.   Continue reading “Alleged White House fence jumper shot and killed at Pennsylvania courthouse”

Reuters – by Isela Serrano

Signatories of a major treaty aimed at regulating the international arms trade should agree a number of key steps for its implementation at a conference this week, host nation Mexico said on Sunday.

Officials from over 100 governments are expected to attend the first conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a pact to regulate the trade that took force in December but has yet to agree fine print on how it will be implemented.   Continue reading “Mexico expects agreement on arms trade treaty fine print at meeting”

Reuters

Two men were arrested on Sunday after reports that shots were fired from the roof of an elementary school in Richmond, Texas, local law enforcement officials said. No injuries were reported.

Police responded to calls at about 8 a.m. that shots were heard from the roof of the Velasquez Elementary School, according to the Facebook page of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. Fort Bend borders Houston to the southwest.   Continue reading “Shots fired from roof of Texas elementary school: sheriff”

Fox News

DEVELOPING: An explosion occurred just after midnight at the U.S. military facility in Sagamihara, Japan, and local emergency crews are battling the resulting flames to try to stop the fire from spreading.

Sagamihara is a city in the Japanese prefecture of Kanagawa, which borders Tokyo.

“An explosion occurred today just after midnight Japan time at a building on a U.S. Army post, the Sagami Depot in the city of Sagamihara, Japan, about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo,” Pentagon spokesman U.S. Navy Commander Bill Urban said in a statement. “There are no reports of injury, and base firefighters and first responders are currently fighting the resulting fire to prevent its spread to nearby buildings. These are all the details we have at this time and will provide further information as we receive it.”   Continue reading “Explosion occurs at US military facility in Japan”

Reuters – by Victoria Cavaliere

A U.S. federal judge on Friday ordered the government to swiftly release immigrant children held at detention centers, affirming a July ruling that said some minors who crossed the border illegally were being detained in violation of a long-standing settlement.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles gave the administration of President Barack Obama until Oct. 23 to comply with her order to release hundreds of unauthorized immigrant children, and in some cases their mothers, “without unnecessary delay.”   Continue reading “Judge rules U.S. government must swiftly release immigrant children in detention”

CNN – by Jason Hanna and Katie Hunt

High levels of dangerous chemicals remain at the site of last week’s deadly chemical warehouse blasts in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin — hundreds of times higher than is safe at one spot — officials said Thursday, signaling that a cleanup has a significant way to go.

Water tests show high levels of sodium cyanide, an extremely toxic chemical that can kill humans rapidly, at eight locations at the blast site, Ministry of Environmental Protection official Tian Weiyong said.   Continue reading “China: Sodium cyanide levels well past limit at Tianjin explosion site”

ABC News

An explosion shook the basement of a Los Angeles high-rise, leaving two people hospitalized, authorities said.

The explosion was reported at 10:10 p.m. at a 19-story building on Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said in a statement.   Continue reading “Explosion Shakes Los Angeles High-Rise, 2 Hospitalized”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – A gas line explosion at a New York high school on Thursday injured three construction workers, one critically, and badly damaged at least three floors of the building, authorities said.

The explosion occurred at about 8 p.m. EDT at John F. Kennedy High School in New York’s Bronx borough while construction work was going on in a sixth-floor laboratory, a police spokesman said.   Continue reading “Explosion at New York high school injures three”

ABC News

Republican presidential contender Rand Paul has left Haiti after spending four days on a humanitarian mission to the island nation.

Paul is an ophthalmologist by training and joined six eye surgeons who restored vision to dozens of impoverished Haitians. Many lived for years in blindness because of ailments such as cataracts that are easily treated in the United States.   Continue reading “Rand Paul: a humanitarian in Haiti, a pit bull in 2016”

The Daily Caller – by Casey Harper

A new report on the freedom of countries around the world ranks the United States 20th, putting countries like Chile and the United Kingdom ahead of the U.S.

Last year, the U.S. was ranked 17th, but a steady decline of economic freedom and “rule of law” has dropped the level of freedom, according to the Cato Institute, Fraser Institute and the Swiss Liberales Institut, which created the study together.   Continue reading “United States Drops In Overall Freedom Ranking”