The Shooting Gallery: Four people were killed and 28 wounded in a shooting at a 16^th birthday party Saturday night in Dadeville, Alabama at a place called the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio,.

  One of the victims killed was Philstavious Dowdell, 18, a member of the Dadeville High School football team who had committed to play wide receiver with Jacksonville State University. Also killed was KeKe Nicole Smith, 18, a volleyball player and team manager for the Dadeville High School track team. 

  The cops did not reveal any more details on what the shooting was about.

  Also Saturday, two people were killed and four others wounded when shots were fired into a crowd gathered at a park in Louisville, Kentucky. 

  Last Thursday a 16-year old who went to the wrong house to pick up his younger twin brothers was shot and critically wounded by the resident. Police say Ralph Yarl was shot first in the head, then shot a second time. Investigators say the homeowner was held for 24 hours then released, but they are determining whether to file charges.

  And in case you subscribe to the “good guy with a gun” theory, police in Farmington, New Mexico who responded to a 911 call at the wrong address shot and killed the homeowner who came to the door with a gun, then exchanged fire with the dead man’s wife.

The No Spin Zone: This morning’s scheduled opening of Dominion Voting System’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News has been delayed by at least a day, an indication that a settlement might be in the works.

  Dominion is suing Fox for repeatedly airing false claims that the voting company was part of a plot to skew votes away from Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

  Pre-trial proceedings went badly for Fox. Depositions of Fox hosts and executives revealed that they didn’t believe the election lies themselves, but aired them to please the audience.

   The judge also ruled that there would be no debate about whether the reports were false … they were … and that Fox could not claim “newsworthiness” as an excuse for airing them. 

   A settlement might allow Fox to dodge the embarrassment of a trial, but it will also deny the public an honest look at a dishonest organization.

To Mars, Alice: Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is on track this morning to launch the largest rocket ever built with hopes of one day flying to Mars and back. 

  The Starship is 400 feet tall, has dozens of synchronized engines, and is powered by methane rather than the usual hydrogen. Methane is cheaper, but it’s also abundant on Mars. The idea is that a rocket might one day be able to refuel on Mars for the return to earth.

  The Starship is made of shiny stainless steel, also unusual because it’s heavier, but able to tolerate the grueling heat of re-entry better than other materials. “I’m a big fan of stainless steel,” Musk has joked. “Stainless steel and I should get a room or something.”

Civil War: Sudan over the weekend broke into civil war with rival military factions fighting for control of the country.

 At least 74 civilians were reported dead and almost 600 injured, mostly in the capital, Khartoum. As civilians hid in their homes, fighter jets streaked across the sky.

  Sudan just four years ago had hopes for a democratic existence when a popular uprising toppled the widely detested President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who had ruled for 30 years. But just 18 months ago two generals took over in a coup. Those two generals, the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, are now fighting each other.

Leaky Ship: The secret documents posted online by a 21-year old Airman in Massachusetts revealed a number of things the Pentagon and the government would rather the world had not known:

• The US has a pessimistic view of Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, while the country has supply problems and big gaps in air defenses.
• Russia believes that only 1 percent of its fake online disinformation accounts are ever detected. 
• Taiwan’s air defenses are no match for a Chinese assault.
• In addition to the one that drifted over the US, intelligence agencies knew about four more Chinese spy balloons, one that flew over a US carrier strike group in the Pacific, and another that circumnavigated the globe loaded with sophisticated surveillance technology.

The Spin Rack:  Fundraising for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign had been sluggish this year, but he raised $4 million in the 24 hours immediately after his indictment and arrest in New York. — Florida graduate student Trinity Thomas scored a perfect 10.0 on the final vault of her college gymnastics career Saturday during the NCAA women’s gymnastics championship in Fort Worth, Texas. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told the crowd at the national Rifle Association convention that her two year old granddaughter already owns a rifle, a shotgun, and a pony named Sparkles, “So the girl is set up.”

Below the Fold: A Russian T90A tank last week was mysteriously left parked at a Louisiana truck stop best known for its Cajun food. Where it came from and where it was going, no one knew.

  Further inspection revealed a bar-coded shipping label on the barrel of the tank’s main gun, showing that the tank was bound for the Aberdeen Proving Grounds and a serious intelligence inspection. 

  The early intel is that anyone can ship a tank with a barcode label on the barrel.

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