KAIDEN LEE-WELCH, 1, VICTIM OF HURRICANE FLORENCE IN NC; BODY FOUND

KAIDEN LEE-WELCH, 1, VICTIM OF HURRICANE FLORENCE - BODY FOUND TODAY:

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY & VOLUNTEER TO HELP THE CITIZENS OF NORTH CAROLINA.


Post Sources: Charlotte Observer, NBC News, The State, Youtube


**** Florence’s toll: Infant killed by tree, 1-year-old swept away, killed by floodwaters


This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. Monday.

Rescue workers in Union County on Monday found the body of a 1-year-old boy who was swept away in floodwaters on Sunday, adding to Tropical Storm Florence’s death toll.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office said shortly after 10 a.m. that the boy’s body had been recovered. Investigators said his mother drove around barricades on a flooded section of N.C. 218.

Kaiden Lee-Welch’s mother was driving east towards Wadesboro, investigators said, when her car was floated off the road by waters from nearby Richardson Creek.

“Her vehicle left the roadway and came to rest amongst a group of trees,” the Union County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “She managed to free herself and Kaiden, who was in a car seat, but lost her grip on him in the rushing water.”

On Monday, a Union County Sheriff’s deputy guarding the barricade on NC-218 said he’s been here since 1992 and has never seen the water so high.

Two rescue workers were seen coming out of a flooded soybean field near the road, carrying what appeared to be a container covered with a white blanket shortly after 10:30 am as a helicopter hovered overhead.

Elsewhere in Union County, deputies also recovered a man’s body in Marshville on Monday morning.

Observer news partner WBTV reported he was found beside a car after floodwaters receded on Landsford Drive.

In Dallas, N.C., an infant boy was the first person reported killed by the storm in the Charlotte area.

Kade Gill died Sunday after a large pine tree fell on his mobile home Sunday afternoon, Gaston County police confirmed. Sunday was also the day he turned three months old, reported Observer news partner WBTV.

The Charlotte region was starting to dry out Monday and clean up after Florence’s soaking, which delivered 11 inches or more to parts of the city and sent creeks and streams overflowing their banks.

Monday morning, 12,385 customers in Charlotte remained without power, Duke Energy reported, along with almost 4,000 in surrounding counties. City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County offices remained closed.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were canceled for the third straight day, leaving 148,000 students and the children who attend daycares linked to the CMS calendar home again.

In Dallas, police said a three-month-old boy was at home with family members on Moses Court, off Old Willis School Road, around 12:45 p.m. Sunday when the tree fell.

“It basically just cut the trailer in half,” Gaston County Police Capt. Jon Leatherwood said.

The boy was pronounced dead at Carolinas Medical Center Sunday afternoon, Leatherwood said.

The Gaston Gazette identified his parents as Olen and Tammy Gill, and said the boy was in his mother’s arms on the couch when the tree crashed through the home and struck him in the head. Tammy Gill was hospitalized at CaroMont Regional Medical Center and released Sunday, the newspaper reported.

Kade Gill was alive and crying when his parents pulled him from the home, reported the Observer’s news partner WBTV.

“The tree had divided us,” Kade’s father, Olen Gill, told WBTV. “So I am in the kitchen. She (Kade’s mother) is in the living room on the couch. I had to come out and rip the air conditioner out of the window, and that’s when we handed him through the window.”

Including this case, Hurricane Florence has killed at least 17 people in the Carolinas. Eleven of those fatalities were in North Carolina.

Partial levee breach

A flash flood warning had been issued for southwestern Rowan County until 11:45 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

It also said that at 8:44 p.m., “Rowan County Emergency Management is reporting a partial breach of the Lake Corriher levee in Landis.”

But it appeared Monday morning that the remainder of the levee would hold.

“Due to the decrease in heavy rainfall, water levels have receded from the dam and levee,” Rowan County Emergency Management said in a statement. They planned to continue monitoring the situation. Landis is about 30 miles northeast of Charlotte.

Rising creeks

Meanwhile, creeks rose all over the Charlotte area Sunday afternoon. The southern part of Mecklenburg County and its neighbors to the southeast faced particular trouble.

Rain gauges there measured massive rainfall over the past three days: 10.9 inches at Matthews Elementary School, 11 inches nearby on U.S. 74, 10.2 inches at McAlpine and Sardis roads.

At 1:30 p.m., after much of the metro area had been pelted since early morning with gusting winds and sheets of rain, the National Weather Service issued a rare emergency flood warning for south Charlotte, Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill. There, the drainage basins of some of Mecklenburg County’s best-known creeks began spilling over into roadways, bridges and neighborhoods.

The emergency warning was quickly extended to Union and York counties.

The weather service told residents in the quickly expanding emergency flash-flood area that they faced an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” and the agency urged people not to travel unless they were evacuating.

“SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!” the weather service said in an unusually urgent Sunday afternoon statement.

In Union, afternoon flooding had already closed roads and bridges and set off home rescues, authorities said. At 4:15 p.m., the county Emergency Management Service announced a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew due to worsening conditions.

By 4 p.m., several creeks had risen above flood stage, the National Weather Service said. The Weather Service said McAlpine Creek would flood homes around Colony Road and Weirton Place and Little Sugar Creek was likely to flood homes near Archdale Drive.

Buildings near Addison Drive in southeast Charlotte were already taking on water from McMullen Creek, the National Weather Service said, and buildings along N.C. 51 in Pineville are at risk of flooding.

“At least 20 roads have been closed due to floodwaters in the southern part of (Mecklenburg) county. Travel is dangerous,” the National Weather Service said.

The threat of similar flooding is expected to cross the state line later today and move south into the fast-growing York County cities of Fort Mill, Rock Hill and Tega Cay, the weather service said.

Meanwhile, flooding along the Catawba River could come as early as Monday, Duke Energy says.

Doug Outlaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Greenville-Spartanburg, said bands of rain from the remains of Florence moving across South Carolina set off widespread flooding throughout Chesterfield County, S.C., then crossed the state line into Union County. There, rising creeks fed by rainfall and runoff crested bridges and roads, and forced home evacuations, he said.

In south Mecklenburg, rain also brought the water levels in Briar Creek, McMullen Creek and Little Sugar Creek to near flood stage, leading the weather service to issue the rare emergency flood warning, Outlaw said.

Across the region, Duke Energy says water could begin spilling out of several of its lakes above and below Charlotte starting as early as Monday evening, utility spokeswoman Kim Crawford told the Observer on Sunday.

The most immediate flooding threats are to areas along lakes James, Rhodhiss and Lookout Shoals, Crawford said, where the reservoirs are expected to be several feet above full pond by Monday evening, Crawford said.

Duke is also monitoring Mountain Island Lake, a major source of the region’s drinking water. But Crawford said Duke’s fears of flooding there have eased for now due to tapering rainfall in that part of the county.

Elsewhere, as the rainfall and runoff move southward, and are passed dam to dam around Charlotte, the flood threat moves into Duke’s reservoirs in South Carolina. The threat is particularly heightened at Lake Wateree, the last and lowest reservoir on the chain.

Catawba Riverkeeper Sam Perkins says the combination of rainfall and runoff will plague the Catawba basin for days or even weeks to come.

Duke began preparing for the arrival of Florence weeks ago by lowering water levels 4 to 5 feet in its four biggest reservoirs — James, Norman, Wylie and Wateree — in anticipation of what Florence was expected to dump across the region.

All that will be compounded by a massive runoff from the river’s countless tributaries, stretching hundreds of miles from the mountains to the S.C. Upstate.

As with rainfall, the bulk of the power outages appear to have occurred in the more heavily populated area of the region, according to Duke Energy.

The number of Mecklenburg County residents doubled throughout Sunday morning, to almost 30,000. At midday, Union County had 5,100 Duke customers without power; Gaston County, 3,800; and York County, 3,200.

By comparison, in New Hanover County/Wilmington alone, where the storm made landfall last week, the outages approached 104,000. Duke estimated that as many as three-quarters of its N.C. customers, or 3 million in all, could lose power before the storm ends.

Much of the Charlotte area and Western North Carolina remained under a flash flood watch into Monday morning.

The National Weather Service says the South Fork River in Gaston County is expected to crest at 6 1/2 feet above flood stage on Monday, threatening roads, bridges, parks and homes, particularly in and around Cramerton.
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***** North Carolina 1-year-old missing after being swept away by rushing floodwater
Kaiden Lee's mother lost her grip on the child's hand after getting out of their car.
The search resumed Monday morning, according to officials.
A North Carolina 1-year-old was swept away by rushing floodwaters caused by Florence after his mother lost her grip on the child.
Search and rescue teams spent hours looking for Kaiden Lee-Welch overnight on Sunday into Monday after water from the deadly storm flooded the highway his mother was driving on as she headed east to Wadesboro, North Carolina.

"I was holding his hand, trying to hold him, trying to pull him up ... I couldn't hold on anymore, and he let go," Lee's mother told FOX 46 WJZY.

The search for Kaiden resumed Monday morning, Union County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

Kaiden's mother, identified as Dazia Lee by FOX 46 WJZY, told authorities she drove around a barricade on North Carolina Highway 218 toward Wadesboro, when she encountered the swift water rising from Richardson Creek.

The water pushed her car off of the road and and left her stuck in a group of trees, according to police.

Lee was able to get Kaiden out of the car, but the water caused her to lose her grip.

Lee sobbed as she described her son to the local news outlet.

"My son is 1 years old. He's the sweetest boy you could ever have," she said.

It was not immediately clear why Lee was traveling on the highway.

"I did everything everything I could from the moment I was pregnant to the moment I lost him. I did everything I could as a parent to save him and protect him," she said.

Family members joined police in searching for the boy overnight. Police urged residents to avoid Highway 218 due to ongoing flooding.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on Sunday that flood waters were raging across the state and have created an enormous risk for residents of the state.

With Florence, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, making its way across the region, flash flood warnings were in effect across much of North Carolina, as well as in northeast South Carolina and southwest Virginia, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm is responsible for at least 17 deaths, with the majority the victims located in North Carolina. Two babies and a mother were killed in separate incidents in Gaston County and Wilmington.

3 YOUTUBERS DIE IN CANADA FOR VIEWS (RYKER GAMBLE, ALEXEY LYAKH, MEGAN SCRAPER)

3 YOUTUBERS DIE IN CANADA FOR VIEWS (STUPID PRANKS):

RYKER GAMBLE, ALEXEY LYAKH, MEGAN SCRAPER - ALL IN THEIR 20’s.

GOOGLE & YOUTUBE PAY BIG BUCK$ FOR DANGEROUS PRANKS.

YOUNG YOUTUBERS RISK THEIR HUMAN LIVES FOR VIEWS AND LIKES.


Post Sources: BBC News, CBC News, Yahoo News, Youtube


****** Three YouTube vloggers die in waterfall plunge at Canada's Shannon Falls


Three members of a YouTube travel blogging collective have died after falling over a waterfall in Canada.

Ryker Gamble, Alexey Lyakh and Megan Scraper were part of High On Life, who post videos of their travel adventures.

The group said: "They were three of the warmest, kindest and most driven and outgoing people you could ever meet."

Police said the trio were swimming at the top of Shannon Falls in British Columbia on Tuesday when they "slipped and fell into a pool 30m (98ft) below".

Other members of the group, who have 1.1 million followers on Instagram and more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers, named the three on their memorial fund page and in a tribute video.

They said: "There are truly no words that can be said to ease the pain and the devastation we are all going through right now."

According to the Vancouver Sun, the accident happened when Scraper slipped and fell, with Gamble and Lyakh also getting swept away as they tried to save her.

High On Life are based in Vancouver and were formed by Gamble, Lyakh and another high school friend, Parker Heuser, after they travelled the world in 2012.

They decided to turn travel and video production into a full-time job and often promoted brands and destinations in the pictures and videos they posted from exotic locations.

Their Facebook page says: "High On Life is the attitude to embrace all of life's opportunities with a positive outlook and energy."

In one of his last Instagram posts, Gamble, spoke about the things we can all learn from "our younger selves".

He wrote: "Life isn't about responsibilities, tough decisions and hard work, it's about feeling bliss and living in the moment."

Last year, Gamble, Lyakh and another group member, Justis Price Brown, were banned from US federal land for five years after pleading guilty to walking on a sensitive hot spring in Yellowstone National Park and other crimes at parks across the western US.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had received a call about three people swimming in one of the pools at the top of Shannon Falls, about 36 miles (58km) north of Vancouver.

"The individuals were with a group of friends when they slipped and fell into a pool 30 metres below," they said.

They added that teams had "worked throughout the day to complete the complex recovery of all three people from Shannon Falls" and that the file had been given to the coroner's office.

The British Columbia Coroners Service said on Friday they were in the early stages of the investigation.

An official confirmed the three were in their 20s, though Gamble's age has been reported as 30.

The Shannon Falls region and its old growth forests are an increasingly popular destination to visit in the province.

The waterfalls themselves are among of the tallest in British Columbia, reaching 1,009ft (335m) at their highest point.

In the wake of the tragedy, officials are warning people to be cautious in the area.

"Areas like Shannon Falls have very polished granite, it's very slippery with the mist and the lichen and etcetera that builds up around there-going in or near those pools has great risk," John Wilcox with Squamish Search and Rescue told radio station News 1130 on Wednesday.

"It's a very unfortunate circumstance hopefully we can all learn from."

YOUNTVILLE VETERANS HOME SHOOTING IS ABOUT PTSD & GUN CONTROL

YOUNTVILLE VETERANS HOME SHOOTING IS ABOUT PTSD & GUN CONTROL:

MILLIONS OF COMBAT VETS FROM VIETNAM, DESERT STORM, IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN ARE NOT TREATED FOR PTSD.

ALBERT WONG SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TERMINATED FROM PTSD/ TRAUMA PROGRAM.

PTSD TURNS MILITARY HEROS INTO MONSTERS WITH NO FEELINGS.

NO COMBAT VET SHOULD HAVE GUNS UNLESS PROPERLY EVALUATED FOR PTSD.

ALL VA HOSPITALS FOOLISHLY ALLOW COMBAT VETS TO CHOOSE IF THEY NEED TREATMENT.

VA HOSPITALS OFTEN IGNORE WARNINGS FROM WIVES & CHILDREN ABOUT VETS SUFFERING FROM PTSD.

VA HOSPITALS DENY VETS PTSD/ TRAUMA TREATMENT TO SPEND FEDERAL MONEY ELSEWHERE LIKE SALARY BONUSES.

PTSD TREATMENT SHOULD BE MANDATORY FOR ALL COMBAT VETS FROM VIETNAM, DESERT STORM, IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE OR SEPARATION TIME FROM SERVICE.


Sources: ABC News, CNN, Youtube


**** Victims, gunman identified in Yountville Veterans home shooting tragedy


A day-long standoff in Yountville has ended in tragedy.

Officials with the Pathway Home program at the veterans facility identified the three female victims that were killed after an armed gunman entered a staff meeting, taking hostages.

Yountville officials confirm that the three female hostages that died in the standoff are Executive Director Christine Loeber, a therapist Dr. Jen Golick, and Dr. Jennifer Gonzales, a psychologist with the San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

The gunman has been identified as 36-year-old Albert Wong of Sacramento who was a former member of the Pathway Home Program at the veterans facility.

The Pathway Home released a statement saying: "These brave women were accomplished professionals who dedicated their careers to serving our nation's veterans and working closely with those in the greatest need of attention after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

All of us at The Pathway Home are devastated by today's events. We stand with the families, friends, and colleagues who share in this terrible loss."

——————————————————-


***** Three women, suspect dead after hostage standoff in Yountville, California


After an apparent hourslong standoff between police and a gunman, three women were found dead Friday night at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, authorities said.

The suspect was also found dead, Chris Childs, assistant chief of the California Highway Patrol's Golden Gate Division, told reporters.

The three victims were earlier described as employees of The Pathway Home, a counseling service for veterans who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is on the property.

The suspect had been a client at facility until he left two weeks ago, according to State Senator Bill Dodd.
It's unclear if the women were chosen at random or had a connection with the gunman.

Hostage negotiators had spent hours trying to contact the gunman at the facility north of San Francisco but were not able to do so, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Robert Nacke.

After the victims were found, investigators were left to determine when during the standoff the deaths occurred.
California Gov. Jerry Brown said the shooting "tragically took the lives of three people dedicated to serving our veterans."

"Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones and the entire community of Yountville," Brown said in a statement.

The governor has ordered flags in the state's capitol to fly at half staff in tribute to the victims and their families.

Larry Kamer told CNN that his wife, Pathway employee Devereaux Smith, said the gunman barged into a going-away party for Pathway employees leaving the job.

"They were having cake and toasting, apparently he just walked in with this rifle," Kamer said. He said his wife and some other employees managed to escape, though he didn't say how.

The man was holding the three people hostage in a room inside the building, Napa County Sheriff John Robertson said during the afternoon.

"We've tried numerous times and been trying since 10:30 this morning to contact him by his own cell phone and also the phones in the dorm area," the sheriff said.
He said authorities knew the gunman's identity but did not release it. Robertson didn't give a motive for the gunman's actions.

Early in the standoff, the man and officers fired shots at each other.

"There was an exchange of gunfire, fired by the suspect and our deputy," Robertson said. "There were many bullets fired."

Law enforcement officers responded to a "shots fired" report around 10:20 a.m. local time from the facility that houses about 1,000 veterans, Robertson said.

Robertson said about 70 students who were inside a theater on the grounds of the veterans home, were safely evacuated.

"They were always safe," the sheriff said. "They were put into a locked down position for their own safety." The ages of the students or why they were at the veterans home was not clear Friday afternoon.
The California Department of Veterans (CalVet), which operates the home, said it enacted its emergency protocol. Police surrounded the facility and told people to avoid the area.

Marlon Harrison was one of the family members who gathered outside the gates to the home.
"I'm waiting for a phone call from my daughter," Harrison said. "It's considered a lockdown building, you can't go in unless authorized."

The FBI deployed a SWAT team to Yountville, spokesperson Katherine Zackel said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said via Twitter it was also responding.
Founded in 1884, the facility houses about 1,000 aging vets and is the largest veterans home in the United States, according to the CalVet.

Men and women who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom live there, CalVet said.

The veterans home is an important part of the Napa Valley Community, with the 1,200-seat Lincoln Theater, a golf course and a large library, CalVet said.

Residents were temporarily evacuated from the veterans home in October when fires raged through Napa County.
Yountville is a town of about 3,000 residents in the north San Francisco Bay area.

NIKOLAS CRUZ’S DISTURBING INSTAGRAM PAGES vs FREEDOM OF SPEECH (LAWSUITS)

NIKOLAS CRUZ’S DISTURBING INSTAGRAM PAGES vs FREEDOM OF SPEECH:

WHY DID INSTAGRAM EMPLOYEES IGNORE CRUZ’S OBSESSION WITH GUNS?

WHAT WAS CRUZ’S MOTIVE & WHO INFLUENCED HIM?

A 19-YEAR OLD COULD NOT PLAN SUCH MASS MURDER, PREMEDITATED EVIL ALL BY HIMSELF.

CRUZ’S INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK PAGES SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO THE FBI.

WHY DIDN’T FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM REPORT CRUZ TO THE FBI??

THE PARENTS OF THOSE 17 DEAD TEENS SHOULD SUE INSTAGRAM.


Sources: Telegraph.co.uk, CBS News, Fox News, TIME, Youtube


***** Nikolas Cruz: Florida school massacre suspect had 'disturbing' social media history and 'was crazy about guns'


TThe gunman who allegedly killed at least 17 people at a Florida high school on Wednesday was a former student who posted disturbing material on social media and was "crazy about guns".

Police identified the suspect as Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old who had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Miami.

The suspect was wearing a gas mask and carrying smoke grenades, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida told CNN.

Mr Nelson, who said he had been briefed by the FBI, said the attacker "set off the fire alarm so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall. And there the carnage began."

He said he did not know if the gunman had used the smoke grenades but he assumed that's why he had a gas mask on.

Frightened students ran out onto the streets as shots rang out before SWAT team members swarmed the building.

Authorities later announced that they had taken the suspect into custody and took him to hospital after locating him in Coral Springs, a little over a mile away from the school. The gunman surrendered to police without a struggle, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

Inside the suspect's disturbing Instagram page

The Instagram page of the alleged shooter paints a picture of a man obsessed with guns and knives.

One of the more recent posts shows target practice, captioned "Group therapy. Sometimes it really f---ing works."

Others show him posing proudly with his weapons, which include pistols and knives, and in one Instagram post, he seemingly asks followers for advice on a certain model of gun.

He also posed for selfies where he wore all black clothes and a balaclava.

One photograph shows a dead toad, which he claims to have killed.

His Instagram profile contained the word “annihilator.”

One post about purchasing a shotgun reads: “I plan on getting this but I need more information on it so if someone could give advice on how much I’m spending and background cheeks [sic] please to god let me know."

Students at the school have confirmed the Instagram page is his.

One student, who escaped the shooting, wrote on Twitter: "He literally had an Instagram where he posted pictures of animals he killed gruesomely."

Flagged as a threat

Jim Gard, a Maths teacher, said Cruz had been in his class last year.

“We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” Mr Gard told the Miami Herald. “There were problems with him last year threatening students.”

However, Robert Runcie, the Broward County School District Superintendent, told reporters he was not aware of any concerns raised about the student.

“We received no warnings,” Mr Runcie said outside the school. “Potentially there could have been signs out there. But we didn't have any warning or phone calls or threats that were made.”

One student, who did not wish to be named, told TV station WSVN-7 that Cruz had said he had guns at home and talked about using them.

“He’s been a troubled kid,” the student said. “He’s always had a certain amount of issues going on. He shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling.”

'Very disturbing' social media history

Mr Israel said the gunman had an AR-15 assault rifle and "countless magazines".

“We already began to dissect his websites and the things on social media that he was on and some of the things that came to mind are very, very disturbing," he said.

His Instagram account was taken down after the shooting, but screenshots were sent to various media outlets.

“Everything he posts is about weapons,” one student told ABC News. “It’s sick.”

Daniel Huerfano, a student who fled Wednesday's attack, said he recognised Cruz from an Instagram photo in which Cruz posed with a gun in front of his face. Huerfano recalled Cruz as a shy student and remembered seeing him walking around with his lunch bag.

"He was that weird kid that you see ... like a loner," he added.

One pupil said other teenagers had long thought the suspect would “shoot up the school”.

The pupil told local television station WFOR-TV: “A lot of people were saying it was going to be him. A lot of kids threw jokes around saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school. It turns out that everyone predicted it. That’s crazy.”

Broward County Mayor Beam Furr said during an interview with CNN that the shooter was getting treatment at a mental health clinic for a while, but that he hadn't been back to the clinic for more than a year.

"It wasn't like there wasn't concern for him," Mr Furr said. "We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren't connected ... Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. ... In this case, we didn't find a way to connect with this kid."

Another student, named as Brandon, was asked whether he was surprised to learn the identity of the gunman, and replied: “No.” He continued: “He told me he got kicked out of two private schools, and was held back twice. He seemed a little off.”

'Crazy about guns'

Chad Williams, 18, a senior at Stoneman Douglas High school, remembered Cruz as a troubled classmate from when they attended middle school together. He said Cruz would set off the fire alarm, day after day, and finally got expelled in the eighth grade.

More recently, Williams saw Cruz carrying several publications about guns when they ran into each other at the high school. Williams thought Cruz was there to pick up a younger sibling.

“He was crazy about guns,” Williams told Reuters, speaking by the side of the road near the high school. “He was kind of an outcast. He didn’t have many friends. He would do anything crazy for a laugh, but he was trouble.”

Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, said Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. She said Cruz had been abusive to his girlfriend.

'If anyone would do it, it was him'

Dakota Mutchler, 17, said he used to be close friends with Cruz but hadn't seen him in more than a year following his expulsion from school.

"He started progressively getting a little more weird," Mutchler said. "He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there.

"I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him."

Travis Julmice, an 18-year-old senior, said he had not been in a class with Cruz since middle school.

"You could tell he was a little off," Julmice told Reuters at the Coral Springs hotel. "He was always like a troubled kid, getting in-school suspension a lot. And detentions."

FLORIDA SHOOTING, 15+ DEAD, ACTION NEEDED, GUN CONTROL

FLORIDA SHOOTING, 15+ DEAD, ACTION NEEDED, GUN CONTROL:

SHOOTING SUSPECT IS NICHOLAS CRUZ, 19.

I SUPPORT 2nd AMENDMENT RIGHTS BUT GUN CONTROL SHOULD BE ENFORCED.

SOME FORM OF GUN CONTROL IS BETTER THAN NO GUN CONTROL AT ALL.

EVEN IF THE U.S. MILITARY NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED.

OUR GOV’T HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT ITS CITIZENS.

IT’S TIME FOR MORE PRAYER.

IT’S ALSO TIME FOR A LEGISLATIVE COMPROMISE ON GUN CONTROL.

TIME FOR PRES TRUMP & CONGRESS TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED THEM INTO PUBLIC OFFICE.

NO MORE SLAUGHTER OF HUMAN LIVES VIA MASS SHOOTINGS.

DEAR GOD, HELP US ALL.


Sources: AP, CNN, Yahoo News, Youtube


****** At least 17 dead in Florida school shooting, law enforcement says


At least 17 people were killed Wednesday in a high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

The suspect, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, is in custody, the sheriff said. The sheriff said he was expelled for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

At least 14 people have been taken to area hospitals following the shooting, Israel said.

Law enforcement responded to reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shortly before 3 p.m. The shooting sent students and staff streaming out of the school in a panic. Some students said a fire drill earlier in the day added to the confusion.

mmediately after the shooting, aerial footage from CNN affiliate WSVN showed people lying on the ground outside the school, being treated for injuries and moved to ambulances.

Freshman Kayden Hanafi said he heard two gunshots and saw people running out of another building on campus. As he and his classmates went into lockdown in a classroom, many thought the noise might have been firecrackers.
"It's really a blessing to still be alive," he said.

Nicole Baltzer, 18, said she was in trigonometry class about 10 minutes before the end of the school day when the fire alarm went off. As students evacuated, she heard six gunshots and everyone started running back inside the school, Baltzer told CNN's Sara Ganim.

"I heard so many gunshots, at least like six. They were very close," Baltzer said.

A police officer told her to close her eyes as she walked past a classroom with broken glass, telling her "there's nothing good to see in there," she said.
A freshman named Aidan posted a photo on social media from inside his math class while on lockdown. Since then, he has left the building.

"We have been liberated. God bless, America," Aidan tweeted after being evacuated from the building. "Love each other. You may never know when it may be the last day you meet someone."
There had been a fire drill at the school earlier in the day, leading some to believe at first that the afternoon incident was another drill, a student told CNN affiliate WSVN. "Everyone just started freaking out."
"But then word started going around that it was shots and not just, like, something else, everyone just started running towards the canal," the student said.

Parkland, with a population of 31,000 people in 2016, was named Florida's safest city last year, according to an analysis by the Washington-based National Council for Home Safety and Security, a home security industry trade association.

The south Florida city had seven reported violent crimes and 186 property crimes the previous year, according to the analysis.

Stoneman Douglas High School had an enrollment of about 3,100 students in the 2015-16 year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

As news of the shooting spread, desperate parents gathered near the property searching for their children.
Lissette Rozenblat told CNN that her daughter safely evacuated the school and took shelter at a nearby Walmart.
"She was very nervous, she said that she could hear the person who was shot crying out for help, and was just a nervous wreck," Rozenblat said.

Agents from the Miami office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are responding to the scene, a spokesman said.

U.S. SOLDIER DIES AS A HERO HELPING SAVE LIVES IN NYC FIRE (KWABENA MENSAH, 27)

U.S. SOLDIER DIES AS A HERO HELPING SAVE LIVES IN NYC FIRE:

KWABENA MENSAH 27, WENT HOME TO VISIT AND WAS KILLED BY A DEADLY BRONX BLAZE.

THE U.S. MILITARY TEACHES SOLDIERS TO CONSIDER OTHERS ABOVE THEMSELVES.

I SEND MY PRAYERS & CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY.


Sources: MSN


***** Army soldier, visiting NYC for holidays, died trying to save people from fire, father says


An Army soldier who was visiting New York City for the holidays was among the 12 victims in the deadly Bronx blaze, his father told CBS New York. Kwabena Mensah said his son, Emmanuel, spent his final moments trying to rescue other people in the building.

"That's what I think, because it was in his nature," the elder Mensah said. "He wanted to help people out."

The 28-year-old was in for the holidays – his first trip home since joining the Army a year ago. Kwabena Mensah was on the scene early Friday morning, looking for any signs of his son after checking area hospitals.

"I thought maybe he was coming back," he said. "Unfortunately, it turns out the other way."

Emmanuel Mensah's roommate was the last to see him. She made it out with her four children and husband but lost Mensah in the mix.

"Tried to call and phone everywhere, my husband went to hospital," she told CBS New York.

Kwaben Mensah took comfort knowing his son lived and died a hero.

"God is in control, I have no control. God is in control," he said.
The four-alarm blaze that broke out late Thursday is New York City's deadliest fire in 25 years, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Four children, including a 1-year-old baby, are among the 12 killed.

The fire was started by a 3-and-a-half-year-old boy who was playing with burners on a kitchen stove located in a first-floor apartment, officials said.

"The mother was not aware of it, was alerted by the young man screaming," said Daniel Nigro, commissioner for the New York City Fire Department. "She exited her apartment with her 2-year-old, and 3-year-old and left the door open."

As smoke engulfed the building on Prospect Avenue just before 7 p.m. Thursday, family after family desperately ran out, barefoot and freezing, to try to get to safety.

"When I wake up, all I see is the flames going up, kids are on the fire escape," said neighbor Rafael Gonzalez. "It was one apartment and then it escalated to two apartments. It just kept going next and up — it escalated."

As firefighters scrambled to save tenants, the Red Cross arrived on scene to wrap residents in blankets and provide buses for shelter as temperatures lingered in the teens with the wind chill below zero.

"No coat or nothing, straight shorts," said Gonzalez. "Straight shorts so I know, therefore, I know they had to be cold."

"It was like freezing point, so it was worse for people who wasn't ready and dressed appropriately – with no shoes or any of that," said one woman who was evacuated to a warming bus.

The victims range in age from one to 63. Among the dead: a mother and her two daughters and niece. A family member didn't want to go on camera, but the heartbreak was obvious, CBS News' Don Dahler reports.

"Oh my God, those two little babies," they said. "God rest their souls, they're beautiful."

In another apartment, a woman and infant were found huddled in a bathtub.

In all, 170 firefighters were called in to fight the blaze, but the cold weather made things worse, since crews had to battle the flames with freezing hoses.

According to city records, the 100-year-old building has a number of open safety violations, including a defective smoke detector on the floor where the fire began.
The fire department is investigating whether that played any role in the tragedy.

KATRINA'S REAL DEATH TOLL NEVER REVEALED BY FED GOV'T (DEPOPULATION)

KATRINA'S REAL DEATH TOLL NEVER REVEALED BY FED GOV'T (DEPOPULATION):

MOST OF KATRINA'S DEAD WERE POOR & BLACK.


Sources: US News, YouTube


***** No One Knows How Many People Died in Katrina


Ten years after the third-deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, we still don't know how many people died because of it. We'll never know for certain how many people died in Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

The problems are inherent in the confusion of disasters, especially those involving multiple states and various local, state and federal agencies.

Inquires to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and The Department of Health in Louisiana led U.S. News to a 2008 report as the most accurate and updated source of information. The report was years in the making as deaths were investigated and missing persons were located. In an effort to cut down on the confusion among agencies, the report reviewed all available death databases to attempt the impossible: an accurate count of Katrina's victims in Louisiana.

Although 1,833 is an often-cited mortality figure, it is older than figures in the report and none of the agencies we spoke to claimed it as an accurate estimate of the final death toll, as FiveThirtyEight also reported.

The most likely cause of death was drowning. The victims of the storm were often black and skewed older. In Orleans Parish, where 70 percent of the victims counted in the study died, the mortality rate for black adults was 1.7 times to 4 times higher than the mortality rate for white adults.

Forty percent of victims were aged 75 or older, which further complicated the process of counting victims. Many of the deceased had serious preexisting medical conditions. It's impossible to know if the person would have died from those conditions if the storm hadn't occurred or if the storm exacerbated medical conditions enough to cause death.

"If an evacuee died after a heart attack two months following the storm, was that death attributable to Katrina?" says John Ford of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

The researchers confirmed 986 victims (including 15 deaths from Louisiana evacuees in other states), but called the estimate "conservative." The higher estimate for deaths in Louisiana was 1,440.

This graphic shows the conservative estimate, including the staggering impact on the elderly population. While the number of people who died in Hurricane Katrina is likely much higher, even the lower bound shows the devastating impact of a huge storm that New Orleans was ill-equipped to handle.

While the death toll in the study is 986, the total in the graphic is slightly lower because it doesn't include the 15 deaths from other states or the 22 deaths for which age information was not available.

US MARINES SUFFER 16 TROOP LOSS AFTER KC-130 CRASHES IN MISSISSIPPI

US MARINES SUFFER 16 TROOP LOSS AFTER KC-130 CRASHES IN MISSISSIPPI:

WAS IT AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT OR TAMPERED WITH (ISIL)?

PRAY FOR THE FAMILIES OF THESE BRAVE SOLDIERS.

PLEASE PRAY DAILY FOR ALL US MILITARY TROOPS EVERYWHERE IN JESUS NAME.


Sources: AP, USA Today, YouTube


***** 16 dead in military plane crash in Mississippi


JACKSON, Miss. — A military refueling aircraft crashed Monday afternoon in a soybean field in Leflore County, killing at least 16 and leaving a debris field five miles in radius, officials said.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson said the plane crashed on the Sunflower-Leflore county line.
Leflore County EMA Director Frank Randle confirmed that 16 are dead in the crash.
"Most of them are gonna be Marines," he said. He could not confirm whether there were any civilians on the plane.
The U.S. Marine Corps Twitter account posted that "A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available."
Marine Corps spokeswoman Lt. Kristine Rascicot confirmed that the plane that crashes was a USMC KC-130, but said she was not able to release any more details.
Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a Marine C-130 "experienced a mishap" Monday evening, echoing almost the exact language of the tweet.
A KC-130 aircraft is an extended-range tanker version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules that has been modified for aerial refueling.The C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop aircraft used primarily for military transportation. It's known as a workhorse used in refueling, humanitarian missions, firefighting, search and rescue, and combat missions, according to the Lockheed Martin website.
It wasn't clear Monday evening where the flight originated or where it was headed.
Leflore County deputy coroner Will Gnemi confirmed that his office was called to the accident scene. He said investigators were looking for other victims at the rural crash site, searching in a soybean field with tall vegetation.
Greenwood Fire Chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth's Tim Kalich that the debris field was about five miles in radius.
Banks told the Commonwealth that the call came in around 4 p.m. An aircraft crash truck rushed to the scene, and 4,000 gallons of foam were used in an effort to put out the fire, he said.
Firefighters were driven away by several "high-intensity explosions," Banks told the Commonwealth, adding that they thought it was possibly some ammunition igniting.
The Commonwealth reported that the flight last contacted air traffic controllers at an elevation of about 20,000 feet.
"Please join Deborah and me in praying for those hurting after this tragedy," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement on Facebook. "Our men and women in uniform risk themselves every day to secure our freedom."
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said the NTSB was not involved in the investigation because the plane was a military aircraft.

OTTO'S STRANGE MURDER WARNS AMERICANS TO STAY OUT OF N. KOREA

OTTO WARMBIER'S MYSTERIOUS MURDER WARNS AMERICA TO STAY OUT OF N. KOREA:

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO OTTO IN NORTH KOREAN CUSTODY??


Post Sources: Daily Mail, WCPO, YouTube


**** Hell on earth: Otto Warmbier's death from mystery brain damage brings fresh scrutiny to the horrors of North Korea's brutal torture camps


Focus on brutality of North Korean labor camps renewed by death of US student
Otto Warmbier, 22, died Monday following 17 months as North Korean prisoner
Was released after suffering mysterious brain damage while in regime's custody
North Korea believed to have as many as 120,000 imprisoned in brutal camps
Reports abound of torture, rape and public executions in political prison camps
Warmbier's death brings new scrutiny to regime's longstanding brutalities
Yet other American prisoners speak of their gentle treatment as foreigners.


Beatings, rape, starvation and sick public executions are a daily reality for thousands of North Koreans, according to years of witness testimony.

Now, the death of a US student following mysterious brain damage suffered while a prisoner in the isolated state has brought fresh scrutiny to the regime's brutal torture camps under leader Kim Jong-Un.

Otto Warmbier died on Monday at age 22, just days after his release from North Korea in a vegetative state following 17 months in custody.

Warmbier's doctors in Cincinnati said that the student had suffered 'extensive loss of brain tissue in all regions of his brain' consistent with oxygen deprivation for a prolonged period.

The isolated North Korean regime is believed to have as many 120,000 political prisoners in its harsh labor camps, where grotesque stories of torture offer among the few clues to Warmbier's fate.

In a 2014 report, the United Nations Human Rights Commission called North Korea 'a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world' due to the country's 'systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations'.

Beatings are widespread in the camps, in which guards are given near-absolute authority to abuse and kill prisoners, according to survivors who have survived to speak out.

Escapees have said that the sounds of beatings were so extreme each night that it was impossible to sleep.

Yet Warmbier's doctors have said that extensive scans have revealed no evidence of broken or fractured bones, including to his skull. They also found no damage to his neck tissue that could indicate strangulation.

One woman interviewed for the UN report, who had been imprisoned for practicing Christianity, told of a torture room with a water tank in which suspects could be immersed to simulate drowning.

'She indicated that she was fully immersed in cold water for hours,' the report said. 'Only when she stood on her tip-toes would her nose be barely above the water level. She could hardly breathe. She was gripped by panic, fearing that she might drown.'

Could drowning explain the oxygen deprivation event that damaged Warmbier's brain so severely? Possibly, but doctors have not said they've found any evidence indicating that's the case.

Other baroque torture methods of the North Korean regime have come to light as well.

One Ministry of People’s Security official who defected revealed that the agency made use of small metal cages in the Pyongyang offices of its pre-trial investigative bureau.

'Victims would be crammed into the cage for several hours so that the circulation of blood to extremities becomes interrupted and other parts of the body swell up,' according to the UN report.

The victim turns into a rusty brown color. After removal from the cage, the victim is abruptly “unfolded” causing further excruciating pain,' the report said.

The same witness recalled receiving formal training on torture techniques, including 'how to cut off a suspect’s blood circulation using straps, while simultaneously placing the suspect in physical stress positions in order to inflict the maximum level of pain.'

Notably, most foreign prisoners of the North Korean regime report significantly more gentle treatment, presumably because they are considered geopolitical bargaining chips.

Matthew Todd Miller, a California man who was sentenced to six years in a North Korean labor camp in 2014, was released six months later and said that he was treated relatively well.

'I was prepared for the torture. But instead of that, I was killed with kindness,' he said in an interview with NK News.

Miller's case is unique though, in that he entered North Korea with the intention to defect, and he was detained after he was asked to leave the country and refused.

In 2013, Merrill E. Newman, an 85-year-old former US Army officer who served in the Korean War, was accused of war crimes and held by North Korea for 42 days.

Most of that time he spent confined in a hotel in Pyongyang, were Swedish consular officials who had access to him said he was well cared for and had even received needed medical attention for a heart condition.

In Warmbier's case, the official story from Pyongyang is that the student contracted botulism shortly after he was sentenced last spring in a show trial for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel.

The North Koreans claim a sleeping pill put Warmbier into a coma from which he never awoke.

The astonishing claim is almost certainly false - doctors found no evidence of botulism, and a sleeping pill would not be indicated in the case of that rare illness, which is treatable with an antitoxin.

The true cause of Warmbier's tragic death may never be known, but the brutality of the regime responsible for his death remains grimly clear.

7 US SAILORS DEATHS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTAL (SPECIAL PROBE)

7 US SAILORS DEATHS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTAL (SPECIAL PROBE):

PLEASE PRAY FOR THEIR FAMILIES.

THIS TRAGEDY WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE US MILITARY APPEAR INCOMPETENT.

CONGRESS NEEDS TO CALL FOR A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION.


Sources: Washington Post, YouTube


***** 7 sailors died aboard the USS Fitzgerald. Here are their stories:


First came the crash, then the rushing waters — and then, the wave of grief.

The grief swelled after divers found seven bodies in the wreckage of the USS Fitzgerald off the coast of Japan this weekend. It washed across the United States, through dire phone calls, texts and solemn visits.

It reached the family of a 19-year-old firefighter who had enlisted in the Navy the year before, and the wife of a 19-year veteran who had been planning his retirement, and fell upon households from Connecticut to the southern end of Texas — people with little more in common than a sudden, immense loss on the other side of the world.

A Navy chaplain brought the news to Halethorpe, Md., where Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Martin had lived.

On Father’s Day, Martin’s bereaved father stood in front of a CBS WJZ news crew and covered his mouth with his hand.

“He’s my only child,” Darrold Martin said. “He’s all I have.”

The father looked at the tattoo on his arm. His son, 24, had one to match, he said.

He looked at his phone. “He was trying to — all the comms were down. He was trying to call me,” he said.

The Fitzgerald collided with a ship four times its size off the coast of Japan in early-morning darkness. Military officials still don’t know what happened exactly, but it is clear that sailors tried to save one another in the aftermath. A woman told the Associated Press that four of those killed slept in the same room as her son, who had repeatedly dived into the flood trying to save them.

As rescuers searched for 37-year-old Gary Rehm Jr., a shipmate stayed on board the listing Fitzgerald and texted reports to his wife in the United States, Rehm’s mother-in-law told The Washington Post.

“She said she wasn’t leaving the ship until they found him,” Joan Braniff said. “They kicked her off, and she stayed on the pier until they found him.”

Now Erin Rehm is a widow. They had been married for nearly all of the fire controlman’s 19-year Navy service, Braniff said.

“You could tell right from the start he just adored her,” she said. They sang karaoke on a PlayStation in Hampton, Va., when he was home. They talked many times each day when he was deployed, as he had been on the Fitzgerald for nearly two years, according to the Navy.

“He was supposed to be coming home in September,” Braniff said.

And next year, she said, Rehm was planning to retire from the military and stay home for good.

“I assumed they would be together forever,” Braniff said.

Two hours up the highway from the home that Rehm will never return to, the Lake Monticello volunteer fire department held a news conference over the weekend to announce the death of Dakota Rigsby — 19 and one of their own.

An assistant chief called him a “good kid” and good firefighter, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. He’d left tiny Palmyra, Va., last year to become a gunner’s mate seaman. Stars and Stripes reported that Rigsby got to meet the secretary of the Navy before his last night on the Fitzgerald.

In Oakville, Conn., the sister of 25-year-old Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc Truong Huynh remembered him as a quiet, sweet, selfless man who had not always desired a military life.

“But he wanted to do something adventurous,” Huynh’s sister told the Hartford Courant. So he enlisted about two years before his death.

From the town of Weslaco near the Texas-Mexico border, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez had spent eight years in the Navy, and in that time impressed his family with photos from Italy and the Pacific Ocean.

“We all came from poverty in Guatemala,” Aly Hernandez-Singer told CBS 11. “He was the one who made it.”

Now the photos he’d sent home were how his cousin remembered him, while his wife mourned him with their young son.

Carlos Victor Sibayan grew up with a military father who was often absent, deployed on a ship somewhere, his mother told NBC 7.

So Sibayan had assumed a patriarch’s role as a child, and helped raise his younger siblings outside San Diego.

“One thing that my son always told me is he has my back,” Carmen Sibayan told the station.

He was still a teenager in 2013, when he followed his father’s example and enlisted. During the three years he’d spent on board the Fitzgerald, his mother said, his father had retired from the military and come home.

Her son, a fire controlman, had been set to leave the ship and join them back in California in less than a month, she said. Then came the crash.

“We just borrow this time from God,” the mother said. “So now he has to go back.”

The final victim from the wreck in Japan, Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Douglass, also grew up in the country.

The son of a Marine stationed in Okinawa in the late 2000s, Stars and Stripes reported, he was remembered as the class clown at a U.S. military-run high school.

Douglass’s family moved to California before he graduated from high school in 2010, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. Four years later, he enlisted in the Navy and soon after returned to Japan.

His early duties on the Fitzgerald were menial — sanding, painting, raising and lowering the rafts, according to a Navy news release quoted by the paper. But Douglass told the Navy he was proud of his work and was excited to be in the military.

Service was important to the family, retired Master Sgt. Stephen Douglass told the Union-Tribune, shortly after his son’s death.

“My mind’s going a mile a minute,” he said. “We’re still in sort of a state of shock.”

HILLARY TO ADDRESS CHARLOTTE PROTESTERS (LAMONT SCOTT VIDEO)

HILLARY TO VISIT CHARLOTTE; CALLS FOR RELEASE OF LAMONT'S DEATH VIDEO:

PRAY FOR LAMONT SCOTT'S FAMILY.

PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS AND THE POLICE.

PRAY FOR HEALING AND PEACE.

Sources: Charlotte Observer, Fox News, YouTube

**** Hillary to visit Charlotte, urges release of police video

Hillary Clinton said Friday that the police video of the fatal shooting of a black man by Charlotte police should be released immediately as she prepared to make a pre-debate visit to the embattled North Carolina city.

Clinton wrote on Twitter that authorities in Charlotte should release the police video of the Keith Lamont Scott shooting "without delay. We must ensure justice & work to bridge divides."

The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign said she would travel to Charlotte on Sunday, one day before her first high-profile debate with Republican Donald Trump. Her campaign did not immediately release details of her visit to Charlotte, where protests have broken out in the aftermath of the shooting.

A video recorded by Scott's wife was released Friday by his family and does not indicate whether Scott had a gun. Police have said he was armed, but witnesses have said he held only a book.

leading up to the debate, both Clinton and Trump have been confronted with questions about police violence after the North Carolina shooting and a separate incident in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a white police officer was charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man whose vehicle had broken down in the middle of the street.

Clinton said Wednesday that the shootings had added two more names "to a long list of African-Americans killed by police officers. It's unbearable and it needs to become intolerable."

DISNEY SHOULDN'T BE SUED FOR LANE GRAVES' DEATH; (PARENTS WEREN'T INVESTIGATION)

DISNEY SHOULDN'T BE SUED FOR LANE'S GRAVES DEATH; WERE HIS PARENTS INVESTIGATED?

WHERE IS PETA??

LANE'S PARENTS WERE NOT INVESTIGATED BY POLICE AS THE BLACK PARENTS WERE IN OHIO AFTER GORILLA INCIDENT.

Sources: CBS News, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Wear Your Voice Mag, Romper.com, WHOTV, Youtube

Within the span of two weeks, two very young Children were attacked by wild animals.

Lane Graves, 2, of Nebraska was killed by Alligators while vacationing at DISNEY World in Florida.  Several Alligators were Euthanized before Lane's lifeless body was recovered.

I offer my prayers and condolences to the parents of Lane Graves.

By the way Lane Graves was a White child.

Isaiah Gregg, 4, of Ohio was recently spared death after falling into a Gorilla pit while visiting the CINCINNATI ZOO with his parents.

However in order to save little Isaiah, an Adult male Gorilla named Harambe had to be shot after he was seen dragging Isaiah and demonstrated other signs of Aggression.

After Harambe was shot and killed, PETA an organization which protects Animals' rights, immediately began publicly protesting and questioning why CINCINNATI ZOO officials allowed Harambe to be killed in order to save a BLACK male child.

Ohio Police also investigated Isaiah Gregg's parents to see if they perhaps intentionally allowed Isaiah to fall into the Gorilla pit in order to later SUE the Cincinnati Zoo.

But I didn't hear PETA screaming about Killing the Alligators at the Disney resort while Law Enforcement officials were trying to recover little Lane Graves' body.

And............

No Police in Florida are investigating the parents of Lane Graves to see if they properly supervised Lane prior to him being dragged off by an Alligator and killed.

Two very young Human Beings were recently  attacked by wild Animals.  

One Child survived, the other Child died.

One Child was White, the other Child was BLACK.

Why does the Mainstream Media, Police and Federal Government continue to inject RACE into every situation in American society?

DISNEY had "NO SWIMMING" signs posted around the beach resort where Lane Graves was snatched by Alligators, yet Lane's parents allowed him to WADE in the water.

Is DISNEY still legally GROSSLY NEGLIGENT or CULPABLE?

****** What a gorilla and an alligator can tell us about ourselves

Not far from the Magic Kingdom, a child was swept up by an alligator, dragged into a lagoon and killed.

The 2-year-old had wandered away from his parents, as toddlers often do. Before they knew it, the child had made his way to the edge of the water where a 4- to 7-foot gator laid waiting. A day after their son's body was found, the Nebraska couple who had been on vacation at an upscale Walt Disney World resort thanked the public for their prayers and asked to be left alone to grieve. For the most part, the public and the media obliged.

People correctly understood that this was a horrific tragedy that no family should have to endure. A toddler had innocently gotten too close to a man-made lake where alligators dwelled, placing his life in grave danger. And in the end, the helpless child lay dead.

There was no chorus of brutal attacks on the parents for losing sight of their child for a quick moment. There was no online petition calling for child endangerment charges against the mother. There were no candlelight vigils for the five alligators that were killed by rescue workers during their frantic search for the boy. And no one blamed the child for simply doing what children do.

Any of those reactions would have been insensitive, even inhumane. Yet that is exactly what happened last month after a 3-year-old boy fell into a gorilla habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Of course, there is an obvious difference in the two incidents. Lane Graves died and Isaiah survived. Other than that, the circumstances basically were the same. Why, then, was the public reaction so different?

I believe the answer has a lot to do with how we value lives. Some simply are more expendable than others. Lane was from an affluent, suburban family. Isaiah is not. Lane was white. Isaiah is African-American.

After writing a recent column that said zoo officials were right in killing the gorilla after it dragged the little boy through a moat, a reader sent me this email:

"Your column about not understanding those who are outraged at Harambe's murder troubles me deeply. A person named Harambe was shot because his life was deemed less valuable than a person named Isaiah. Like racism, 'speciesism' (sic) is fueled by fear and ignorance."

I could not bring myself to respond.

It should not be a surprise to anyone that poor, black boys from the inner city are the most vulnerable of America's children. When we look at an African-American boy from Cincinnati, we don't always see the same inherent innocence that we would notice in a white child from Nebraska, though they are close to the same age.

Multiple studies have found that black boys are more likely to be mistaken as older than they actually are. As a result, they experience higher suspension rates in school and are thus introduced to the criminal justice system and other adverse situations at much younger ages that white boys.

According to the Civil Rights Data Collection, a national survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, schools begin kicking African-American students out of class at higher rates than white students as early as preschool.

A recent survey found that black boys, though they made up 52 percent of preschool enrollment, represented 79 percent of preschoolers who were suspended once and 82 percent of preschoolers suspended multiple times.

One of biggest problems, according to researchers, is perception.

Whether we realize it or not, skin tone and social class often play a role in determining our comfort level. And the way we respond to people sometimes is based on how comfortable we feel with them.

In a Stanford University study, researchers asked 190 teachers to review information about a student misbehaving in class. In one scenario, a student fell asleep in class. Some teachers were told the boy's name was Jake, and for others, it was Darnell, a common name for African-Americans. In many cases, Darnell received the harsher punishment.

The result is a growing achievement gap between black and white boys. But it also lends itself to a lack of compassion for African-American boys.

Cincinnati Zoo officials had no choice but to shoot and kill the western lowland gorilla, yet it created an unnatural outpouring of rage. Most of it was leveled at the mother, who had turned to attend to one of her other three children when Isaiah scampered off. Before police and prosecutors decided that no charges were warranted, an online petition seeking "Justice for Harambe" had earned more than 100,000 signatures in less than 48 hours.

Anger also was clearly aimed at Isaiah.

Some people didn't think the toddler seemed frightened while in the grasp of a 450-pound dominant male gorilla. Some criticized him for being too curious, pointing out that he had been overhead telling his mother that he wanted to go swimming with the gorillas. Some just labeled him as a bad kid when, in fact, he was just being a normal kid.

Lane's family, including his 4-year-old sister, were sitting in a beach-like area near the resort's pool when he went to the edge of the bank to play in the water, authorities said. His playpen was set up nearby.

Bloggers took to social media asking for compassion for the parents. Some compared Lane to 18-month-old "Baby Jessica" who was rescued after falling into a well in 1987. Another said it was reminiscent of the abduction of 6-year-old Adam Walsh from a shopping mall in 1981.

The Orange County sheriff said a routine investigation would be conducted but quickly added that charges against the parents were unlikely.

"I believe what this 2-year-old was doing was what, perhaps, any 2-year-old might be doing as well," the sheriff said at a news conference.

The sheriff got it right about Lane and his parents, just as authorities in Cincinnati got it right about Isaiah and his.

What happened at the Disney resort was horrible. And what could have happened at the Cincinnati Zoo would have been just as bad.

SCALIA'S BODY LIES IN REPOSE; OBAMA VISITS

ANTONIN SCALIA'S BODY LIES IN REPOSE:

PRES OBAMA & THE FIRST LADY PAY RESPECTS.

ONLY GOD & SCALIA KNOWS HOW HE REALLY DIED.

September 26, 1986 – February 13, 2016

Sources: CBS News, Fox News, YouTube 

**** Mourners Pay Respects To Late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Dignitaries and tourists alike are flocking to the Supreme Court on Friday to pay tribute to the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Scalia's casket lies in repose on the Lincoln catafalque in the court's Great Hall as mourners file through during a daylong remembrance honoring one of the court's most influential members.

The justice's former law clerks will take turns standing vigil by their former boss throughout the day and night in a tradition most recently observed after the 2005 death of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

Scalia's casket arrived Friday morning, with Supreme Court police carrying it up the marble steps. Scalia's former clerks followed as honorary pallbearers.

After the private ceremony, Scalia's casket will be on public view from 10:30am until 8:30pm.

The President and First Lady paid their respects Friday afternoon and met privately with some members of Justice Scalia's family, according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. The president and Mrs. Obama "extended their personal condolences on behalf of the nation, and expressed gratitude for Justice Scalia's decades of public service, Earnest said.

Father Paul Scalia, Justice Scalia's son, will deliver the homily at the funeral mass on Saturday. The service will be held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Scalia died Saturday at age 79. He joined the court in 1986 and was its longest-serving justice. He sat to the right of Chief Justice John Roberts, the seat given to the senior justice. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Jane, nine children and 36 grandchildren.

OBAMA NOT ATTENDING SCALIA'S FUNERAL; WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS

OBAMA NOT ATTENDING SCALIA'S FUNERAL; WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS:

Sources:  CNN, The Hill, YouTube 

**** White House Defends Obama's Decision To Skip Scalia's Funeral

The White House is defending President Obama’s decision not to attend the funeral of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and pushed back on critics who called it a deliberate snub. 

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday it makes sense to send Vice President Biden to the funeral instead because his “security footprint is a little bit lighter” and he has a longtime relationship with Scalia’s family.

"We believe we have settled on an appropriate and respectful arrangement," the spokesman said.

Earnest called it disrespectful for Obama’s critics to use the funeral “as some sort of political cudgel."

"The president doesn't think that that's appropriate, and in fact, what the president thinks is appropriate is respectfully paying tribute to high-profile patriotic American citizens even when you don't agree on all the issues," he said. "And that's what he's going to do."

In lieu of attending the funeral, the president and first lady Michelle Obama are paying their respects to Scalia and his family on Friday while his body lies in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court. 

But Republicans have slammed Obama for not attending the funeral of the longtime conservative justice, interpreting it as a sign of disrespect to someone who was often at odds with the president. 

The criticism comes at a crucial time for the president, who is making a long-shot bid to get nominee confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate in an election year.

Republican senators have already vowed to block any nominee Obama puts forth, but his decision not to attend the funeral further inflamed the debate.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a 2016 presidential candidate, on Thursday dubbed Obama “a lawless and faithless president who's eager to travel to Cuba but unwilling to attend the funeral of Justice Scalia.” 

The White House hasn’t said what the president will be doing during Scalia’s funeral on Saturday, which will be held at the Basilica of the National Shrine in Northeast Washington. 

Biden was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee when President Ronald Reagan nominated Scalia in 1986. He joined 98 other senators who voted to confirm him. He said seven years later it was the vote he most regretted "because he was so effective."

The vice president said Saturday that Scalia would be remembered as "one of our most influential justices."

Obama also honored Scalia's contributions to the high court during a statement on Saturday after his death.

"He influenced a generation of judges, lawyers, and students, and profoundly shaped the legal landscape," the president said. "He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the Supreme Court."

SCALIA WAS MURDERED TO PREVENT ANOTHER BUSH v GORE ELECTION

SCALIA WAS MURDERED TO PREVENT ANOTHER BUSH v GORE ELECTION:

"GET OVER IT"??

HOW CAN WE GET OVER THE PREMEDITATED MURDER OF A HIGH COURT JUSTICE??

WE NEED TO PRAY & VOTE.

So do I believe several theories floating around about SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia being MURDERED to prevent another Bush v Gore election?

Yes!

Scalia's death was designed to Intimidate and Terrorize 2016 election voters.

American citizens need to Pray and  Vote!

Sources: ABC News, CBS News, 60 Minutes, CNN, World Net Daily, Youtube

*** Justice Scalia On The Record

This 60 Minutes segment was originally broadcast on April 27, 2008. It was updated on Sept. 12, 2008. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Ruth Streeter, producer.

Not many Supreme Court justices become famous, but Antonin Scalia is one of the few. Known as "Nino" to his friends and colleagues, he is one of the most brilliant and combative justices ever to sit on the court and one of the most prominent legal thinkers of his generation.

He first agreed to talk to 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl last spring about a new book he's written on how lawyers should address the court. But over the course of several conversations, our story grew into a full-fledged profile - his first major television interview - including discussions about abortion and Bush v. Gore.

At 72, Justice Scalia is still a maverick, championing a philosophy known as "orginalism," which means interpreting the Constitution based on what it originally meant to the people who ratified it over 200 years ago.

Scalia has no patience with so-called activist judges, who create rights not in the Constitution - like a right to abortion - by interpreting the Constitution as a "living document" that adapts to changing values. 

---

Asked what's wrong with the living Constitution, Scalia tells Stahl, "What's wrong with it is, it's wonderful imagery and it puts me on the defensive as defending presumably a dead Constitution."

"It is an enduring Constitution that I want to defend," he says.

"But what you're saying is, let's try to figure out the mindset of people back 200 years ago? Right?" Stahl asks.

"Well, it isn't the mindset. It's what did the words mean to the people who ratified the Bill of Rights or who ratified the Constitution," Scalia says.

"As opposed to what people today think it means," Stahl asks.

"As opposed to what people today would like," Scalia says.

"But you do admit that values change? We do adapt. We move," Stahl asks.

"That's fine. And so do laws change. Because values change, legislatures abolish the death penalty, permit same-sex marriage if they want, abolish laws against homosexual conduct. That's how the change in a society occurs. Society doesn't change through a Constitution," Scalia argues.

He's been on a mission as an evangelist for originalism, at home and around the world.

For example, he visited the Oxford Union in England.

"Sometimes people come up to me and inquire, 'Justice Scalia, when did you first become an originalist?' As though it's some weird affliction, you know, 'When did you start eating human flesh?'" Scalia told students, who replied with laughter.

They may be laughing, but in the U.S. Scalia is a polarizing figure who invites protestors and picketers. There haven't been many Supreme Court justices who become this much of a lightening rod.

"I'm surprised at how many people really, really hate you. These are some things we've been told: 'He's evil.' 'He's a Neanderthal.' 'He's going to drag us back to 1789.' They're threatened by what you represent and what you believe in," Stahl remarks.

"These are people that don't understand what my interpretive philosophy is. I'm not saying no progress. I'm saying we should progress democratically," Scalia says.

Back at the Oxford Union, Scalia told the students, "You think there ought to be a right to abortion? No problem. The Constitution says nothing about it. Create it the way most rights are created in a democratic society. Pass a law. And that law, unlike a Constitutional right to abortion created by a court can compromise. It can...I was going to say it can split the baby! I should not use... A Constitution is not meant to facilitate change. It is meant to impede change, to make it difficult to change."

But his critics argue that originalism is a cover for what they see as Scalia's realintention: to turn back some pivotal court decisions of the 1960s and 70s.

He's been labeled a "counterrevolutionary."

"A counterrevolutionary!" Scalia reacts. "Sounds exciting."

The critics say his aim is to undo Roe v. Wade and affirmative action, and to allow more religion in public life.

"The public sense of you is that [you] make your decisions based on your social beliefs," Stahl says, with Scalia shaking his head. "That is the perception."

"I'm a law-and-order guy. I mean, I confess I'm a social conservative, but it does not affect my views on cases," Scalia says."

His philosophy has occasionally led him to decisions he deplores, like his upholding the constitutionality of flag burning, as he told a group of students in Missouri.

"If it was up to me, I would have thrown this bearded, sandal-wearing flag burner into jail, but it was not up to me," Scalia told the students.

To Scalia, flag burning was protected by the founding fathers in the First Amendment, which is his only criterion, he says, under originalism.

"But do you respect that there is another way to look at this?" Stahl asks.

"You know the story of the Baptist preacher who was asked if he believed in total-immersion baptism? And he said, 'Believe in it? Why I've seen it done!' I have to say the same thing about your question. There must be other views because I've seen them," Scalia says.

"Yeah, but do you respect them? You don't, do you?" Stahl asks.

"I respect the people who have them, but I think those views are just flat out wrong," Scalia says.

He's talking about some of his fellow justices, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal who is - and this never ceases to surprise people - one of Scalia's best friends, both on and off the court.

To Ginsburg, the Constitution evolves and should reflect changes in society; that going back to what was meant originally when they wrote, for instance, "We the People," makes little sense.

"Who were 'We the People' in 1787? You would not be among 'We the People.' African Americans would not be among the people," Ginsburg tells Stahl.

"Justice Ginsburg and you disagree...on lots of things. And yet you're such good friends," Stahl remarks.

"I attack ideas. I don't attack people. And some very good people have some very bad ideas," Scalia says. "And if you can't separate the two, you gotta get another day job. You don't want to be a judge. At least not a judge on a multi-member panel."

He's one of the best writers on the panel, known for a bold and colorful style. He told Stahl he has to work at it - that it doesn't come easy.

He some times quotes Cole Porter, and references Greek tragedies. Scalia says he does it because, "It makes the opinion interesting, which might induce somebody to read it."

But he can also use his pen as a sword to attack the writings of his colleagues. For instance, he once called a Breyer decision "sheer applesauce."

Ginsburg has also been the target of some of Scalia's zingers: he called one of her opinions "absurd," another "implausible speculation," and another "self-righteous."

"How about, 'This opinion is not to be taken seriously.' He wrote that about Justice O'Connor," Ginsburg points out. "He's rather mild I think in the adjectives that he uses for me. But you can take every one of those words, run his opinions and you'll see that he, all of us are implausible when we disagree with him."

Asked if she ever takes it personally, Ginsburg says, "No, I take it as a challenge. How am I going to answer this in a way that's a real put down?"

"I'm trying to figure out if there was ever real anger," Stahl says.

"I would say exasperation is the word," Ginsburg replies.

"As annoyed as you might be about his zinging dissent, he's so utterly charming, so amusing, so sometimes outrageous, you can't help but say 'I'm glad that he's my friend' or he's my colleague,'" she adds.

"What's interesting is the difference between how you appear in person and the image that you have. Because the writings are so often combative, and your friends say that you're charming and fun," Stahl tells Scalia.

"I can be charming and combative at the same time," Scalia replies. "What's contradictory between the two? I love to argue. I've always loved to argue. And I love to point out the weaknesses of the opposing arguments. It may well be that I'm something of a shin kicker. It may well be that I'm something of a contrarian."

Of all the cases that have come before him on the court, Bush v. Gore may have been the most controversial. It has been reported that he played a pivotal role in urging the other justices to end the Florida recount, thereby handing the 2000 election to George Bush. The subject came up at the Oxford Union.

"Supposing yourself as a Supreme Court justice were granted the power to appoint the next president of the United States. Who would you pick and why? And would he or she be better than your last choice?" a student asked Scalia.

"You wanna talk about Bush versus Gore. I perceive that," he replied. "I and my court owe no apology whatever for Bush versus Gore. We did the right thing. So there!"

"People say that that decision was not based on judicial philosophy but on politics," Stahl asks.

"I say nonsense," Scalia says.

Was it political?

"Gee, I really don't wanna get into - I mean this is - get over it. It's so old by now. The principal issue in the case, whether the scheme that the Florida Supreme Court had put together violated the federal Constitution, that wasn't even close. The vote was seven to two," Scalia says.

Moreover, he says it was not the court that made this a judicial question.

"It was Al Gore who made it a judicial question. It was he who brought it into the Florida courts. We didn't go looking for trouble. It was he who said, 'I want this to be decided by the courts.' What are we supposed to say? 'Oh, not important enough,'" Scalia jokes.

"It ended up being a political decision" Stahl points out.

"Well you say that. I don't say that," Scalia replies.

"You don't think it handed the election to George Bush?" Stahl asks.

"Well how does that make it a political decision?" Scalia asks.

"It decided the election," Stahl says.

"If that's all you mean by it, yes," Scalia says.

"That's all I mean by it," Stahl says.

"Oh, ok. I suppose it did. Although you should add to that that it would have come out the same way, no matter what," Scalia says.