MP Confronted Shooter, Jobs Up

Ft. Hood: A female MP is being credited with heroism in the latest Ft. Hood shooting. She confronted and fired at gunman Ivan Lopez before he killed himself. Specialist Lopez used his own .45 caliber pistol, which is prohibited to have on the base, but soldiers are not searched when they enter to report for duty. Lopez spent several months in Iraq but was never in combat. He had sought help for depression and anxiety and investigators are looking further into his psychological troubles.

Econ 101: Employment pulled out of the winter freeze and added 192,000 jobs in March. Unemployment remained at 6.7 percent. While the number of new jobs was less that Wall Street wanted, it shows that the economy is making slow, steady progress.

Nation: The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to release part of its report on the “brutal” treatment and interrogation of terror suspects by the CIA in the post 9/11 “War on Terror.” Part of the report says the CIA misled the Bush Administration about the severity of its methods. Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein said, “The report exposes brutality that stands in stark contrast to our values as a nation. It chronicles a stain on our history that must never be allowed to happen again. This is not what Americans do.”

World: Anja Niedringhaus, 48, a respected German photographer working for the associated press in Kabul, was killed when an Afghan policeman opened fire on the car she was sitting in with an AP reporter. The reporter, Kathy Gannon, was shot twice and underwent surgery. The two were travelling in a convoy of election workers protected by the police. One of the commanders walked up to their car, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and fired his AK-47. He surrendered.

Retirement Cam: Late Show  host David Letterman says he’s giving up the chair at the end of his contract in 2015. Letterman, 66, is the longest running host in the history of late night television. First at NBC, then CBS, he’s put Americans to bed for 33 years. His departure will set off another scramble to find a replacement in the coveted 11:35 PM slot. Exactly when he leaves is not set, but Letterman said last night, “We don’t have the timetable for this precisely down – I think it will be at least a year or so, but sometime in the not too distant future, 2015 for the love of God.”

Saturn Moon: One of Saturn’s moons has a frozen sea the size of Lake Superior, according to a report in the journal Science. The moon Enceladus, which is only 300 miles wide, was first discovered to have giant ice crystals on its south pole in 2005. The discovery makes Enceladus a good candidate to support extra-terrestrial life, scientists say.

Sticks ‘n Seeds: Shrinking back from foreign coverage, television news has appointed its first “far out” correspondent. Fusion, the network for young Hispanics run by ABC and Univision, has appointed reporter Ryan Nerz to be its first Cannabis Correspondent. The beat will cover marijuana culture and business as weed moves toward legalization. After Colorado legalized marijuana, The Denver Post is believed to be the first newspaper to assign a reporter to a marijuana beat. Fusion’s Nerz is planning a series of half-hour shows to be called “The Cannabusiness Report.”

Love: Actor Johnny Depp, 50, announced he’s engaged to marry actress Amber Heard. She’s pretty good looking, which isn’t hard at 27. This comes after Depp split with French actress Vanessa Paridis, with whom he has two children. Depp chose commitment after dating Sherilynn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Traci Lords, Winona Ryder, Kate Moss, and a list of other women with whom his relationship is categorized as “rumor.”

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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