US police: 5 dead in shooting in northwest

Source : Shanghai Daily

GUNFIRE erupted at an apartment complex in a city south of Seattle and five people were shot to death, including a suspect who was shot by arriving officers, police said yesterday.

Officers responding to an emergency call at 9:30pm PDT on Sunday at the apartments in Federal Way encountered a chaotic scene, with bullets flying.

"When officers arrived there were still shots being fired," said Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock.

Investigators found two wounded men on the ground in a parking lot. One of the men reached for a gun as police moved in to assist the two, she said.

At that point, officers opened fire. The suspect died but police said it wasn't immediately clear if it was from their gunfire.

The other man on the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

In a search of the complex, police found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a slain woman in another unit. Schrock said police were trying to determine if the woman was hit by a stray bullet.

A total of eight officers fired their weapons, Schrock said. All have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard policy, as the investigation continues.

There was no immediate word what set off the shooting.

"We still don't have any idea what started this disturbance tonight," Schrock said.

After police flooded the area and carried out searches, authorities said they were confident there were no more casualties from the shooting.

They said they did not think another shooter was on the loose or that there was an immediate threat to the public.

By dawn, a county medical examiner's office truck arrived at the scene to pick up bodies. Crime scene investigators continued working.

There were no reports of any officers being inju

Nearly Half of Guantanamo Detainees Now on Strike

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) - The number of inmates who went on hunger strike in the Guantanamo prison has grown to 84 by Sunday, the Miami Herald reported citing a statement by a US military spokesman.

Army Lt. Col. Samuel House said that 84 out of the prison’s 166 inmates are not on hunger strike, 16 of them are being force-fed via tubes.

The number of prisoners who went on hunger strike in protest against their detention has been steadily growing since the protest began last month.

Russia has stepped up its criticism of the prison following the publication of its so- called “Guantanamo List.” The blacklist of US officials banned from entering Russia was published last Saturday in response to a similar US travel ban on Russian officials suspected of human rights violations

Russian Foreign Ministry's Special Representative for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, Konstantin Dolgov on April 17 reiterated the call to close the prison and urged its authorities to respect the rights and interests of the facility’s only Russian detainee.

Police shot at MIT campus has died: CNN

Source : Xinhua

BOSTON, the United States, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The police who was shot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Boston has died, CNN reported on Thursday.

However, other than the death, CNN did not provide any other details, such as the reason for the gunshots.

The newest development came after MIT on Thursday night reported on its website that gunshots were reported late in the night on campus, and state police said a MIT police officer has been shot.

According to MIT, gunshots were reported at 10:48 PM local time near Building 32 (Stata). Areas near Building 32 are currently surrounded by responding agencies, and an investigation is under way.

Responding agencies were said to have been investigating an "active shooter incident." The school advised students and faculty to stay indoors and away from the building and surrounding area.

Security beefed up worldwide after Boston blasts

Source : Shanghai Daily

FROM the World Trade Center and Times Square in New York to the White House and sports venues across the country, police patrolled in packs and deployed counterterrorism teams Monday as security was stepped up after explosions at the Boston Marathon, according to Associated Press.

Worries also reverberated across the Atlantic, where an already robust security operation was being beefed up for Wednesday's ceremonial funeral for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The event at St. Paul's Cathedral, to be attended by Queen Elizabeth II and other dignitaries, calls for a procession through the streets of London, with Thatcher's flag-draped coffin carried on a horse-drawn carriage.

British police were also reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon - the next major international race - because of the bombs that killed three people and injured more than 140 in Boston.

Across the U.S., security was tightened at landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events. Law enforcement agencies also urged the public to report suspicious activity to the police.

In New York, authorities deployed so-called critical response teams- highly visible patrol units that move in packs with lights and sirens, - along with more than 1,000 counterterrorism officers. Highly trafficked areas like the Empire State building, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the United Nations and the World Trade Center site were being especially monitored.

3 killed, 138 injured in Boston blasts: media

Source : Xinhua

BOSTON, the United States, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The two explosions that rocked the Boston Marathon on Monday has killed three people and injured at least 138, officials and media outlets said.

Local police said the death toll has risen to three, including an 8-year-old boy, according to CNN. At least 17 injured were in critical condition and 10 need to carry out amputations.

The twin explosions happened at around 3 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) and went off within seconds of each other near the Boston Marathon finish line. Many of the injured appeared to be spectators who had gathered at the scene, local media WCVB.com reported.

A FBI official told a press conference in Boston that a criminal investigation has been launched, which has a potential to be a terrorist probe.

Related:

Triple explosions rock Boston, triggering fears of terror in U.S.

WASHINGTON/BOSTON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Three explosions rocked the U.S. city of Boston on Monday afternoon, killing two and injuring over 100, turning the traditional local marathon festivity into a scene of blood and terror.

While President Barack Obama remained cautious and avoided calling the blasts a terror attack, some U.S. media and experts already started to use the phrase of "terrorist bombings." Full story

Explosions turn Boston Marathon into horrific tragedy

BOSTON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Two explosions struck the Boston Marathon Monday, turning a festive game on Patriots' Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts, into a horrific tragedy.

The runners were crossing the finish line when a powerful blast occurred behind spectators and a row of flags, sending a cloud of smoke almost 15 meters into the air. Full story

Obama says to hold whoever behind Boston explosions accountable

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- President Barack Obama said here on Monday that the U.S. government has not yet got "all answers" about the explosions that rocked Boston, Massachusetts earlier in the day, but vowed to hold anyone behind them accountable.

In a live televised statement from the White House, Obama acknowledged that his government still did not know "who did this or why." Full story

3 missing after avalanches in U.S. Washington state

Source  :  APA

Baku-APA. Three people were missing and two were injured on Saturday after two avalanches struck in the mountains near Snoqualmie Pass in the U.S. state of Washington, APA reports.

Two skiers were injured and one went missing in the first avalanche on Saturday afternoon when it occurred off Exit 47 on Interstate 90, according to U.S. media reports quoting King County authorities.

Two people were also missing from the second avalanche, which happened off Exit 52 near Alpental Ski Area off I-90 and struck a group of 13 people who were showshoeing in the area.

The avalanches occurred as heavy snow fell in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle, the seat of King County.

One in Six Americans Already in Poverty as $85 Billion in Cuts Kick in

Source  :  Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- The estimated 50 million Americans already living in poverty will be hit hardest by the $85 billion in spending cuts set to begin after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement over the most effective way to address the national debt.

New statistics from the US Census Bureau reveal that one in every six Americans is living below the poverty line, RT reported.

Additionally, one in five American children is now living in the same unfortunate situation.

The news that 16 per cent of the American public was living in poverty last rang true in the mid- 1960s, when then-president Lyndon Johnson tried to launch a war on poverty. But his efforts - which fell under the Great Society program - were first suspended then permanently abandoned in order to pay for the US invasion of Vietnam.

Each individual American, or American family, is assigned one out of 48 possible poverty thresholds which vary depending on the size of the family and the age of its members. The thresholds were determined in 1964 and are based on what portion of their income families spend on food, although they do not vary geographically.

According to the Census Bureau, if a family's monetary income is less than their predetermined appropriate threshold, then that family is in poverty. For example, a family of five with two children, a mother, father, and great aunt's threshold was $27,517 in 2011. The 2013 threshold for a family of four is $23,021.

Food stamps, housing subsidies, and other non-cash government benefits are not used to determine a family's income.

Now, the extra $85 billion in cuts will further exacerbate that financial stress. The sequester, which could have been avoided before the presidential election in November, could devastate programs that receive federal funding to help the poor.

William McCarthy, executive director of Catholic Charities, told the Associated Press that the national budget cuts "will deepen and increase poverty" for low-income areas, children, poor senior citizens and many other demographics.

U.S. prosecutors seek death penalty to Aurora shooter

Source  :  Xinhua

DENVER, United States, April 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. prosecutors said Monday they will seek the death penalty against the man accused of the Aurora movie massacre last summer that killed 12 people and injured 58 others.

"It is my determination and my intention that in this case, for James Eagan Holmes, justice is death," Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler told a packed courtroom that included Holmes' parents.

Brauchler said he had personally discussed the case with 60 people who lost relatives in the shooting, and his office had talked to 800 victims and family members. Last week, his office publicly rejected an offer by Holmes to plead guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison to avoid execution.

Holmes appeared in court looking typically disheveled, sporting a bushy, unkempt brown beard. Uncharacteristically, he stared at the audience as he entered the room, then sat silently during the proceeding.

His parents sat side-by-side in the front of the courtroom, holding hands tightly during the death penalty announcement. Victims and their families reacted with tears and relief.

"I love the choice... love it," said Bryan Beard, whose best friend Alex Sullivan was killed in the shooting. "I hope I'm in the room when he dies."

But death penalty experts were quick to caution the legal battle has just begun, and hinges on determining Holmes' sanity at the time of the shooting.

"Let the death penalty war begin," said Craig Silverman, former Denver prosecutor who successfully tried a death penalty conviction in 1997. "If the prosecution is successful, this could be a 20-year ride until Holmes sees the inside of an execution chamber."

Defense lawyers will now build the case that Holmes was insane at the time of the attack. Prosecutors will show the methodical, elaborate planning Holmes exercised as proof he was sane. Holmes faces an all-important psychological examination in the next few months.

In a surprise move Monday, suggesting how long the case may take, 18th Judicial District Chief Judge William Sylvester named a new judge, Carlos A. Samour Jr., to take over proceedings.

"A final resolution of this case is now likely years away," Sylvester said, citing his demanding role as chief judge for the district, responsible for the overall running of the court. He said he couldn't oversee a complicated death penalty case as well as handle his other duties.

Prosecutors asked the new judge for a three-month trial starting in January 2014. Public defenders wanted a nine-month trial starting next summer or fall. Samour settled on a five-month trial beginning Feb. 3, 2014.

Both sides also agreed to a dozen preliminary hearings held before the end of the year.

"This is the most important case this court will ever hear," said Holmes' attorney Tamara Brady, her voice rising as she made an emotional plea for more time. Victims in the audience shook their heads in disbelief as the trial schedule moved into next year.

"They are trying to execute our client," Brady said. "We will do whatever we can to save his life."

Holmes faces 166 counts of murder and attempted murder for the shooting during the sold-out midnight premiere of a new Batman movie on July 20, 2012, where he allegedly entered a side door and unloaded an automatic weapon, shotgun and handgun into the unsuspecting audience. It is one of the worst mass shootings in U. S. history.