Teen who performed at Obama inaugural events shot dead in Chicago
By Catherine E. Shoichet and Ted Rowlands
CNN
updated 7:24 AM EST, Thu January 31, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Chicago mayor: "We have a responsibility to see a stop to this"
Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was shot dead in Chicago on Tuesday
Last week she performed in events surrounding President Obama's inauguration
"Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she's gone," Sen. Dick Durbin says
Can there be a solution to America's gun problems? Anderson Cooper looks at both sides of the debate in "Guns Under Fire: an AC360ยบ Town Hall Special" Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.
Chicago (CNN) -- A teen who performed at events around President Barack Obama's inauguration was shot to death in Chicago this week, and now her story has become part of the debate in Washington over gun violence nationwide.
The shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton came up in a U.S. Senate hearing and a White House press briefing Wednesday.
"She was an honor student and a majorette," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois. Performing at inaugural events last week "was the highlight of her young, 15-year-old life," he said.
Speaking at Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, Durbin mentioned Pendleton's death as he argued that more must be done to stop gun crimes.
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
UK Afghanistan veteran talks about "shame" and PTSD
After all these years, far too many have gotten the wrong message about Combat and PTSD. It is not the weakness of their minds, but the strength of their feelings that cause PTSD. The stronger their ability to feel, the more they feel emotional pain.
Some people, (and we have to remember servicemen and women are still just as human as the rest of us,) have a sense of self more than for others. Some people have a stronger sense for others. Some have a blend. Everyone feels things at different levels. The vast majority of the veterans I talk to have been very caring in their lives and that was what caused them to want to join the military. Instead of seeing how unselfish they are, they end up thinking PTSD is a sign of weakness instead of strength.
If you need more evidence of this, stop and think of the majority of military suicides do not happen while they are deployed. They happen when they are back home and their friends are out of danger. If they manage to live through all of that comes with combat deployments but can't survive being back home, that says a lot about how mentally tough they really are as much as it says how much they need more help back home.
Some people, (and we have to remember servicemen and women are still just as human as the rest of us,) have a sense of self more than for others. Some people have a stronger sense for others. Some have a blend. Everyone feels things at different levels. The vast majority of the veterans I talk to have been very caring in their lives and that was what caused them to want to join the military. Instead of seeing how unselfish they are, they end up thinking PTSD is a sign of weakness instead of strength.
If you need more evidence of this, stop and think of the majority of military suicides do not happen while they are deployed. They happen when they are back home and their friends are out of danger. If they manage to live through all of that comes with combat deployments but can't survive being back home, that says a lot about how mentally tough they really are as much as it says how much they need more help back home.
Skelmersdale man Mark Minton urges veterans to confront post-traumatic-stress-disorder
Jan 31 2013
by Tom Duffy
Skelmersdale Advertiser
FORMER soldier Mark Minton hopes other veterans will speak out about their emotional problems after he told the Advertiser about the horrors of Helmand.
Last week the Digmoor man revealed that his life had fallen apart after he completed a five-month tour of duty with the Army in Afghanistan.
Now the dad-of-three hopes other soldiers will consider talking about their problems despite the stigma still surrounding post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD).
Mark said: “I had to reach rock bottom before I could move forward. You have to lose everything and then you seek help.”
Mark has now made contact with Combat Stress, which provides care to veterans struggling with mental health problems.
The charity, which was founded in 1919, currently supports around 5000 veterans including 284 who served in Afghanistan and 638 who fought in Iraq.
A spokesman for Combat Stress told the Advertiser that the majority of veterans are reluctant to talk about their mental health problems.
He said: “Over 81% of veterans who responded to our survey said they were ashamed or embarrassed about their mental health problems, and one in three veterans were reluctant to talk to their families about it.”
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013
At least 5 hurt in Phoenix office complex shooting
At least 5 hurt in Phoenix office complex shooting
By Jane Lednovich
The Arizona Republic-12
News Breaking News Team
Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:03 PM
Five people are injured, three of them shot, in a shooting at an office complex in north-central Phoenix Wednesday morning, officials said.
The shooting occurred inside a building in the 7310 block of 16th Street, near Glendale Avenue, officials said. It is unknown if the shooter is in custody. People inside the building told azcentral.com that the incident appeared to be over but officers were sweeping the building.
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By Jane Lednovich
The Arizona Republic-12
News Breaking News Team
Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:03 PM
Five people are injured, three of them shot, in a shooting at an office complex in north-central Phoenix Wednesday morning, officials said.
The shooting occurred inside a building in the 7310 block of 16th Street, near Glendale Avenue, officials said. It is unknown if the shooter is in custody. People inside the building told azcentral.com that the incident appeared to be over but officers were sweeping the building.
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Marine veteran slain in front of his skate shop
Marine veteran slain in front of his skate shop
AP
January 30, 2013
MALDEN, Mass. (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and father of two has been gunned down in broad daylight in front of the Malden skateboard shop he owned.
Authorities say 39-year-old Shawn Clark of Saugus was shot multiple times just before 1 p.m. Tuesday in front of his Patriot Skateboards shop. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
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AP
January 30, 2013
MALDEN, Mass. (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and father of two has been gunned down in broad daylight in front of the Malden skateboard shop he owned.
Authorities say 39-year-old Shawn Clark of Saugus was shot multiple times just before 1 p.m. Tuesday in front of his Patriot Skateboards shop. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
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List of Senators voting against helping Hurricane Sandy Survivors
UPDATE
High winds, tornado trap Georgia residents, turn over cars
By Michael Pearson. Phil Gast and Vivian Kuo
CNN
January 31, 2013
(CNN) -- Powerful winds and a tornado spawned by a 1,000-mile-long storm system pounded communities in northwest Georgia on Wednesday, overturning dozens of vehicles and trapping residents.
The tornado caused significant damage in Adairsville, Georgia.
One person died in that town and another died in Tennessee, authorities reported. At least 17 people were injured in Georgia, two critically.
The Adairsville death marks the first person killed by a U.S. tornado in 220 days, a record for most consecutive days without such a fatality, said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
In the mountains of North Carolina, iReporter Matt Able said most of the roads around Appalachian State in Boone were impassible because of flooding. He sent in video of people driving down U.S. 321, which was under several inches of water.
Earlier, in Alabama, the storms blew the metal roof off a building in Sheffield, CNN affiliate WHNT said. The storm also damaged a church steeple in Rogersville, the station reported.
In Kentucky, winds blew off much of the roof of the Penrod Missionary Baptist Church and damaged several homes, CNN affiliate WFIE reported.
In Nashville, the weather service listed dozens of damage reports across the region: a funnel cloud was reported early Wednesday in Jackson County, there were dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines, and law enforcement reported damage to homes and businesses.
CNN affiliate WSMV also reported the partial collapse of an office building in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
"I built it myself to take an event like this. And it looks like a freight train hit it," the station quoted building owner Dewey Lineberry as saying. "It's just destroyed. It laid the building down on top of cars, it put the building on top of people. It's unbelievable."
List of Senators voting against helping Hurricane Sandy Survivors
Sessions (R-AL)Boozman (R-AR)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsFlake (R-AZ)McCain (R-AZ)Rubio (R-FL)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsChambliss (R-GA)Isakson (R-GA)Grassley (R-IA)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsCrapo (R-ID)Risch (R-ID)Kirk (R-IL)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsCoats (R-IN)Moran (R-KS)Roberts (R-KS)McConnell (R-KY)Paul (R-KY)Blunt (R-MO)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsBurr (R-NC)Fischer (R-NE)Johanns (R-NE)Ayotte (R-NH)Portman (R-OH)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsCoburn (R-OK)Inhofe (R-OK)Toomey (R-PA)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsGraham (R-SC)Scott (R-SC)Thune (R-SD)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsCorker (R-TN)Cornyn (R-TX)Cruz (R-TX)Hatch (R-UT)Lee (R-UT)Johnson (R-WI)
FEMA Disaster DeclarationsBarrasso (R-WY)Enzi (R-WY)
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