Recently in National News Category

By Octavio Abea

A suspected tornado killed one woman, injured 11 others, and destroyed over 100 houses in the southwestern Louisiana town of Rayne on Saturday.

The woman, 21, died after a tree fell onto her house, Arcadia Parish sheriff's spokesperson Maxine Trahan, NPR reports.

"There are houses off their foundations," State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons said, NPR reports.

BBC reports that the storm has caused many Mardi Gras events in New Orleans to be cancelled or postponed.

A violent storm system has been on the move through Louisiana and is suspected to reach Mississippi and Alabama, BBC reports.

By Octavio Abea

Lawmakers cannot find common ground on one of the bills that passed in Utah on Friday, which allows illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S. by obtaining a permit.

The HB497 is a bill that gives officers permission to ask individuals for proof of their legal status, but only if they have committed a traffic violatin or a B or C class misdemeanor, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

The HB116, which allows illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S. with their families, was coupled with the HB497 in an attempt to revise the bill and separate the similarities with Arizona's SB1070, The New York Times reports.

Utah is trying to soften the blow by grouping these bills together and show that there are different models that can be created in order to deal with illegal immigration, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

"People think we'll be seen as compassionate," Republican Representative Chris Herrod, an opposer of the bill, said, "people will actually see us as weak," The New York Times reports.

By Octavio Abea

A man killed an officer with his own gun during a struggle right after he killed his wife and shot himself in a car in Poughkeepsie, New York on Friday, according to authorities.

Police Chief Ron Knapp said that Lee Welch, 27, shot Jessica Welch, 28, in the head and then shot himself in the chest before taking his 3 year-old daughter with him on foot, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Once police caught up with Welch, the 44-year-old John Falcone, an officer and 18-year veteran, was shot in the head with his own gun when he tried to arrest him, The Associated Press reported.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the already wounded Welch committed suicide by shooting himself in the head and left their daughter unharmed.

Jessica Welch was in the process of moving away because of Lee Welch's alleged abusiveness. They were going to exchange a car, but Lee Welch acted out violently during the planned meeting, The Associated Press reported.

By Octavio Abea

A Massachusetts woman along with her boyfriend have been arraigned for the suspected killing of her 4 year-old daughter.

Lymari Acevedo, 27, and Richard Castillo, 33, have been accused of assualt and battery on a child and permitting injury to a child, but they have both pleaded not guilty, Fox News reported.

The police were called to the apartment at 5:43 p.m. because the child was unresponsive. She was brought to the hospital, but she was already dead, Boston reported.

Fox News reports that bruises were found on the child's chest, thigh, arms, and one on her back that appeared to be the hand print of an adult.

The family doctor confronted the couple about physically abusing the child a month ago, but this was never referred to state agencies even though the couple never came back for a follow-up visit, Boston reported.

By Octavio

A New York man is in custody Sunday and facing charges after killing four people and injuring two others in a 28-hour rampage, which ended when he was subdued on a subway train, according to authorities.

Maksim Gelman, 23, stabbed his stepfather, ex-girlfriend and her mother to death then ran down and killed a pedestrian in a stolen Lexus. He later stabbed a driver that he carjacked and stabbed a passenger on a subway train before being arrested, according to The Associated Press.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in trying to track Gelman down hundreds of police officers worked overnight Friday until Saturday when he was subdued.

The incident began around 5 a.m. Friday in the predominantly Russian neighborhood Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay, The Associated Press reported.

Ray Kelly, the New York City police comissioner, described the rampage as horrendous and bizzare in a conference, according to the Wall Street Journal.

By Octavio Abea

Firefighters struggle to contain bush fires in Perth, Western Australia which have already destroyed dozens of homes.

Although there have been no casualties the bush fires in Perth, the capital to the state of Western Australia, has claimed 40 homes and damaged 19 other properties, according to The Telegraph.

Bloomberg reports that the fire has covered 1,086 acres and is moving at a rate of 300-feet per hour. "There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive," said the Fire and Emergency Services in a statement.

Australia has been victim to a string of extreme weather conditions which include a flooding disaster weeks before and a catagory five cyclone that struck Queensland shortly after, reported The Telegraph.

This is the second year anniversary to the Black Saturday Bush Fires which occured on Feb. 7 and killed 173 people, the Bloomberg reported.

By Octavio Abea

Two suspects have been detained after a shooting took place at a fraternity in Youngstown killing one and injuring 11 Sunday, according to Police Chief Jimmy Hughes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the two suspects have both been charged with 11 counts of felonious assault and one charge of shooting into a residence. Their names have not been released, because the investigation is still in progress.

Jamail E. Johnson, 25, was the only individual to be fatally wounded. All other victims have been released from the hospital except for a 17-year old girl who recieved a critical wound to the head, according to The Associated Press.

The shooting took place around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in a private fraternatiy not located on the Youngstown State University property, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Christopher Cooper, the legal officer for the fraternity, told The Associated Press "(Johnson) was an excellent, excellent young man, and our loss runs deep."

By Octavio Abea
A female prison guard was fatally strangled at a Washington prison while alone on duty Saturday, authorities said.
Officer Jayme Biendl, 34, was found in the prison chapel and was not responding. She was declared dead on the scene, reported CNN. According to KGW Biendl was the only guard in charge of the chapel and the inmates that were present. Her boyfriend said the chapel was the place she was most worried about, because she often described it as overwhelming.
CNN reports that Byron Scherf is the only suspect at the moment. He was discovered in the chapel lobby claiming he was trying to escape during the routine head count, but changed his mind.
Scott Frakes, the superintendent, is hard pressed to find that his system did not call for her immediate search when she was attacked. Union Secretary Tracey Thompson points out sacrifices that have been made for the financial situation as a serious problem, reportred KGW.

By Octavio Abea
A California man has been jailed and is now facing felony charges for allegedly trying to bomb the Islamic Center of America, said Dearborn officals Sunday.
Reuters reports that Roger Stockham, 63, was arrested outside of the one biggest mosques in the nation in Dearborn Monday for making terrorist threats and being in possesion of class C explosives with an unlawful intnent. Stockham could serve 35 years once tried.
Haddad, the Dearborn police chief, told the Detriot Free Press that Stockham was already known by other departments in different parts of the country so his threats were taken very serioulsy.
This attack is seen as a "bias-motivated attack" by Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan branch of the Center on American-Islamic Relations, reports Reuters.
Police were tipped off by an employee at a bar who overheard the threats made by Stockham, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Reuters reports that Stockham's bond has been set at $5000,000 and is awaiting his trail on Feb. 4.