Math teacher, shooter die in school shooting
SPARKS, Nev. – Police say a Nevada middle school boy used a semi-automatic handgun to wound two students and kill a math teacher before turning the weapon on himself.
The shooting occurred about 15 minutes before the opening bell at Sparks Middle School on Monday. The student’s name wasn’t released, and his motive for the shooting wasn’t known.
Teacher Michael Landsberry was being hailed as a hero for trying to protect children from their gun-wielding classmate outside the school. Twenty to 30 horrified students witnessed the shooting as they returned to classes from a weeklong fall break.
Both wounded students were listed in stable condition. One was shot in the shoulder, and the other was hit in the abdomen.
Obama says no excuse for website problems
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Monday offered “no excuses” and little explanation for the computer bugs still frustrating Americans who are trying to enroll online for insurance plans at the center of his health-care law. But software developers tasked with building the site said they saw signs a year ago that the debut could fail.
One source of the troubles appears to be the testing procedures employed before the rollout three weeks ago. Several developers of the HealthCare.gov website told The Associated Press they were worried for months.
Obama, who emphasized the website’s simplicity in the week’s leading up to the insurance sign-ups, admitted there can be “no sugarcoating” the problems.
Peace talks between Congo, rebels stall
UNITED NATIONS – High-level peace talks to end fighting in eastern Congo have stalled because of disagreements over amnesty, disarmament, integration and security arrangements for the M23 rebels, U.N. envoys said Monday.
Mary Robinson, the U.N. special envoy for the Great Lakes region of central Africa, told the Security Council that Congolese and M23 negotiators reached agreement on eight of 12 articles in a draft peace agreement and “have agreed to reconvene soon in order to overcome their differences.”
Martin Kobler, the U.N. special representative for Congo, expressed disappointment that after four days and nights of negotiations a comprehensive deal wasn’t reached.
Associated Press
