‘Mom, This Is Not A Drill, I Love You’: Parents Share Texts From Kids During Timberview High School Shooting – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
‘Mom, This Is Not A Drill, I Love You’: Parents Share Texts From Kids During Timberview High School Shooting – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The moment that gunshots were heard inside Timberview high school on Wednesday, Oct. 6 students began sending urgent text messages to their families.

“I was like ‘there’s a school shooting!’ said Asawer Jorad, while reading her correspondence with family aloud. “Come pick us up!”

While parents on the receiving end, said they were words they never thought would be sent to them.

“She texted me when I was at work and she said ‘Mom, this is not a drill and I love you.’ That was a little hard for me this morning,” said parent Kimberly Middleton.

Students hid in classrooms, hallways and closets after a lockdown command came over the intercom.

Many students said their first reaction was that it was a drill, but quickly learned it was all too real.

“When police started coming, I was like ‘No, this is real. This is really happening,’” Jorad said.

One student who was in the classroom next door to the fight that ended in gunfire said the gunshots were followed by cries for help.

“The guy that got grazed, or shot, he was raising his hand and telling the teacher, our teacher, that he got hit, got shot, and that he was bleeding out right now,” said student Sergio Caballero.

Many parents rushed to Timberview High, but were directed to a reunification center at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts.

It’s where students were taken after boarding busses out of the school when the all-clear was given.

And after hours of passing ID’s and filling out paperwork there were hugs and tears from families.

“Today could have ended so much differently than what it did,” said parent Stephanie Wade while fighting back tears. “When you wake up in the morning, you think it’s going to be one way and it ends up being a completely different way. You never know when it’s going to be your last day. So I am very thankful to have my daughter with me.”

Stephanie Wade and her daughter Keeley, 14, talk to reporters as they are reunited after a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington, on October 6, 2021 in Mansfield, Texas. (Photo by Stewart F. House/Getty Images)

While students say, it’s an experience they need time to heal from.

“I am so worried, and I have to deal with this for a bit,” said Caballero.

The school’s principal Derrell Douglas described Wednesday as traumatic and says there won’t be school Thursday at Timberview High School.

They also say all after-school activities including athletic events and games will be cancelled Thursday and the parent-teacher conferences on October 8 will be rescheduled.

The school also has counseling services available to students, staff and families starting on October 7.

They include in person and virtual opportunities.

Word of Truth Church
8201 Webb Ferrell Rd, Arlington, TX 76002
Thursday, Oct. 7 starting at 7:25 a.m.

Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts
1110 W. Debbie Lane, Mansfield, TX 76063
Thursday, Oct. 7 starting at 7:25 a.m.

Virtual Counseling
Thursday, Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. to noon

 

Source Article from https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2021/10/06/parents-share-communication-kids-timberview-high-school-shooting/

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Debt Ceiling Fight: Joe Manchin Won’t Back Filibuster Exemption – Bloomberg
Debt Ceiling Fight: Joe Manchin Won’t Back Filibuster Exemption – Bloomberg

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Source Article from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/manchin-rejects-altering-filibuster-rule-to-raise-debt-ceiling

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Democrats expected to take short-term debt ceiling increase, reject GOP reconciliation offer – ABC News
Democrats expected to take short-term debt ceiling increase, reject GOP reconciliation offer – ABC News

Senate Democrats emerged from a closed door special caucus meeting on the debt ceiling on Wednesday and said they intend to take GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell up on his short-term debt ceiling increase.

Multiple senators and aides told ABC News Democrats are rejecting McConnell’s other offer that would have Republicans expediting Democrats passing a longer-term debt ceiling increase using the budget reconciliation process that they’re using to pass the multi-trillion dollar social spending bill.

“McConnell caved! McConnell caved,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told reporters with a fist raised.

“We intend to take this temporary victory and then try to work with the Republicans to do this on a longer-term basis,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., told CNN.

“There’s not going to be reconciliation,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told reporters emphatically, adding that the short term fix must pass as soon as possible.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., agreed, saying she was glad McConnell “folded“ and said Democrats would “never“ use reconciliation to increase the debt ceiling.

It’s unclear if a vote on the new proposal would occur Wednesday night or Thursday, though the latter appeared more likely.

As the U.S. barrels toward an unprecedented default in a game of brinkmanship on Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Democrats two options to increase the debt ceiling on Wednesday. Both options require that Democrats increase the ceiling by a specific amount, which the party has not wanted to do, fearing political implications of an increase to the nation’s borrowing limit approved solely by Democrats.

Democrats rejected an offer for that Republicans to help Democrats expedite the budget process known as reconciliation to hike the debt limit by a specified amount but instead took a short-term increase of the debt ceiling to a specified amount for two months — until December.

It comes after Republicans have refused to allow Democrats to move forward on raising the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote, subsequently preventing the country from entering a self-inflicted financial crisis, potentially worse than the 2008 crisis.

“Republicans remain the only party with a plan to prevent default,” McConnell said, though he has maintained for weeks that Democrats should go the process alone. “We have already made it clear we would assist in expediting the 304 reconciliation process for stand-alone debt limit legislation. To protect the American people from a near-term Democrat-created crisis, we will also allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount to cover current spending levels into December.”

While some Democrats took short-term extension as a win, Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii said McConnell’s two offers were “BS,” adding the GOP leader is “heartless” and, sarcastically, “He could give a rip.”

Asked by ABC News’ Mariam Khan if Schumer should accept one of McConnell’s options, given the nation is on a deadline, Hirono replied, “Why should we accept any part of a BS offer?”

Ahead of McConnell’s proposition, Senate Republicans had planned to filibuster a House-passed measure on Wednesday that would suspend the debt limit until December 2022. At least 10 Republicans would need to join all Senate Democrats to break the GOP filibuster and allow a simple majority vote to pass the bill — which President Joe Biden has called for, telling Republicans at a meeting with business leader earlier to “get out of the way.”

Without Republican support, Biden and other Democrats raised carving out an exception to ending the filibuster for the debt ceiling vote, which would take the support of all 50 Democratic senators — but it doesn’t seem to be a pathway forward either.

Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who along with fellow moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has balked at changes to the filibuster rules, dug into his position earlier, putting the responsibility of the economic crisis squarely on the shoulders of Senate leaders to solve.

“This should not be a crisis. I’ve been very, very clear where I stand, where I stand on the filibuster. I don’t have to repeat that. I think I’ve been very clear. Nothing change,” Manchin told reporters on Capitol Hill. “But the bottom line is we have a responsibility to be the adults. Our leadership has the responsibility to lead.”

“The only thing I can say at this time to Leader Schumer, and to Leader McConnell, please, lead, work together,” he added.

Schumer had said earlier on the floor that the Senate must move forward with “the responsible thing and vote to allow the U.S. to keep paying its bills.”

“Republicans’ obstruction on the debt ceiling over the last few weeks has been reckless and irresponsible but nevertheless, Republicans will today have the opportunity to get what they’ve been asking for,” Schumer said in the morning. “The first and easiest option is this: Republicans can simply get out of the way, and we can agree to skip the filibuster vote so we can proceed to final passage of this bill.”

But Republicans letting Democrats govern so easily, despite Democrats suspending the debt ceiling multiple times in a divided Washington under former President Donald Trump.

GOP leaders have maintained for months that Democrats must act to raise the federal debt limit on their own, because they have total control of Washington and are planning to pass a multi-trillion social and economic package without Republican support.

But Democrats and Biden have reiterated that paying off U.S. debt is a historically bipartisan measure and that the funds Congress would be approving were spent, in part, under then-Senate Majority Leader McConnell.

McConnell has said repeatedly that Democrats should have to hike the debt limit to cover the cost of potentially trillions in yet-passed parts of Biden’s agenda, though the debt limit must be raised to cover spending that already took place under the Trump administration with unified GOP support.

Amid Democrats’ calls for carving out the filibuster, McConnell told members in a lunch meeting about the two options: a short-term extension or an expedited reconciliation process — but those would also give Republicans exactly what they’re asking for politically: an increase to the nation’s borrowing limit approved solely by Democrats, for the GOP to seize on in midterms.

White House economists and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have warned that without action, Americans will feel the real-world effects of a self-inflicted economic crisis in the coming days. Consequences include delays to Social Security payments and checks to servicemembers, a suspension of veterans’ benefits, and rising interest rates on credit cards, car loans and mortgages.

ABC News’ Mariam Khan contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-expected-short-term-debt-ceiling-increase-reject/story?id=80434705

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District Judge blocks Texas abortion ban in rebuke to Supreme Court. – Slate
District Judge blocks Texas abortion ban in rebuke to Supreme Court. – Slate

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Source Article from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/10/texas-judge-blocks-abortion-ban-in-rebuke-to-supreme-court.html

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Trump accuses McConnell of ‘folding’ on debt ceiling | TheHill – The Hill
Trump accuses McConnell of ‘folding’ on debt ceiling | TheHill – The Hill

Former President TrumpDonald TrumpBiden announces nominations for Arts and Humanities endowments On The Money — Presented by NRHC — Democrats cross the debt ceiling Rubicon Trump endorses Diehl for Massachusetts governor, slams ‘RINO’ Baker MORE accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOn The Money — Presented by NRHC — Democrats cross the debt ceiling Rubicon Democrats insist they won’t back down on debt ceiling Schumer warns October recess in jeopardy over debt limit fight MORE (R-Ky.) on Wednesday of “folding” in his standoff with Democrats over the debt limit shortly after the senator proposed a plan to delay a potential default.  

“Looks like Mitch McConnell is folding to the Democrats, again,” Trump said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s got all of the cards with the debt ceiling, it’s time to play the hand. Don’t let them destroy our country!” 

Trump’s statement came hours after McConnell offered Democrats a deal on temporarily resolving the impasse. The country is estimated to have just weeks before it defaults on the national debt — a scenario that Treasury Secretary Janet YellenJanet Louise YellenOn The Money — Presented by NRHC — Democrats cross the debt ceiling Rubicon Democrats insist they won’t back down on debt ceiling Schumer warns October recess in jeopardy over debt limit fight MORE has said would spark an economic crisis and make the U.S. “a permanently weaker nation.”

The GOP leader proposed a temporary solution that would allow Democrats to raise the nation’s borrowing authority for two more months without having to resort to a procedural move known as reconciliation to circumvent the filibuster — or attempting to eliminate the filibuster for the debt ceiling.

Democratic senators on Wednesday signaled they will accept McConnell’s proposal.

The apparent deal comes after McConnell and other Republicans said for months that the party will not work with Democrats to take action on the debt limit, despite both parties doing just that during the Trump administration on multiple occasions.

The game of chicken over the debt ceiling comes amid opposition from McConnell and other GOP leaders to a massive social safety net package Democrats aim to pass using reconciliation.

Republicans want Democrats to address the debt limit themselves by using that same process. But Democrats say that’s not an option and have insisted Republicans work with them to address the debt limit because both parties approved the spending in the first place, partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In recent weeks, Trump has put pressure on Republicans to use the debt limit standoff to negotiate with Democrats on spending, calling the debt ceiling his party’s “only powerful tool.”

“The way I look at it, what the Democrats are proposing, on so many different levels, will destroy our country,” Trump said in a statement on Sept. 22. “Therefore, Republicans have no choice but to do what they have to do, and the Democrats will have no choice but to concede all of the horror they are trying to inflict upon the future of the United States.”

Source Article from https://thehill.com/policy/finance/575637-trump-accuses-mcconnell-of-folding-on-debt-ceiling

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US judge temporarily blocks Texas’ near-total abortion ban in blow to contentious law – The Guardian
US judge temporarily blocks Texas’ near-total abortion ban in blow to contentious law – The Guardian

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the near-total ban on abortion in Texas, dealing the first legal blow against the contentious law and throwing its future into uncertainty.

The law, known as Senate Bill 8, banned most abortions in the nation’s second-most populous state and, until now, had withstood a wave of early challenges.

Wednesday’s ruling, which stems from a challenge brought by the Biden administration, will prevent the state from enforcing the Republican-backed law while litigation over its legality continues. But even with the law on hold, abortion services in Texas may not instantly resume because doctors still fear that they could be sued without a more permanent legal decision.

Texas officials are likely to seek a swift reversal from the fifth US circuit court of appeals, which previously allowed the restrictions to take effect.

People participate in the Houston Women’s March against the Texas abortion ban on 2 October. Photograph: Melissa Phillip/AP

The law, signed by Republican governor Greg Abbott in May, prohibits abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks, before someone can even know they are pregnant. To enforce the law, Texas deputized private citizens to file lawsuits against violators, and has entitled them to at least $10,000 in damages if successful.

The lawsuit was brought by the Biden administration, which has said the restrictions were enacted in defiance of the US constitution. The Biden administration argued that Texas has waged an attack on the constitutional right to abortion.

“A state may not ban abortions at six weeks. Texas knew this, but it wanted a six-week ban anyway, so the state resorted to an unprecedented scheme of vigilante justice that was designed to scare abortion providers and others who might help women exercise their constitutional rights,” said Brian Netter, justice department attorney, to the federal court on Friday.

In a 113-page opinion, judge Robert Pitman took Texas to task over the law, saying Republicans lawmakers had “contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme” to deny patients their constitutional right to an abortion.

“From the moment SB8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the constitution,” wrote Pitman, who was appointed to the bench by Barack Obama.

A women’s march and abortion rights rally at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, in October. Photograph: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images

“That other courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide; this court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right.”

Abortion providers say their fears have become reality in the short time the law has been in effect. Planned Parenthood says the number of patients from Texas at its clinics in the state decreased by nearly 80% in the two weeks after the law took effect.

Some providers have said that Texas clinics are now in danger of closing while neighboring states struggle to keep up with a surge of patients who must drive hundreds of miles. Others, they say, are being forced to carry pregnancies to term.

Other states, mostly in the South, have passed similar laws that ban abortion within the early weeks of pregnancy, all of which judges have blocked. But Texas’ version has so far outmaneuvered the courts because it leaves enforcement to private citizens to file suits, not prosecutors, which critics say amounts to a bounty.

At least one Texas abortion provider has admitted to violating the law and been sued but not by abortion opponents. Former attorneys in Illinois and Arkansas say they sued a San Antonio doctor in hopes of getting a judge who would invalidate the law.

Abortion rights supporters participate in the nationwide Women’s March held on 2 October. Photograph: Go Nakamura/Reuters

The Texas law is just one that has set up the biggest test of abortion rights in the US in decades, and it is part of a broader push by Republicans nationwide to impose new restrictions on abortion.

On Monday, the US supreme court begins a new term, which in December will include arguments in Mississippi’s bid to overturn 1973’s landmark Roe v Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion.

Last month, the court did not rule on the constitutionality of the Texas law in allowing it to remain in place. But abortion providers took that 5-4 vote as an ominous sign about where the court might be heading on abortion after its conservative majority was fortified with three appointees from Donald Trump.

Ahead of the new supreme court term, Planned Parenthood on Friday released a report saying that if Roe v Wade were overturned, 26 states are primed to ban abortion. This year alone, nearly 600 abortion restrictions have been introduced in statehouses nationwide, with more than 90 becoming law, according to Planned Parenthood.

In a statement following Wednesday’s order, the organization tweeted: “It’s been 36 days since Texas deprived its citizens of their constitutional right to abortion. The relief granted by the court today is overdue. We will continue fighting this ban in court, until we are certain that Texans’ ability to access abortion is protected.”

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/06/texas-abortion-ban-temporary-block-us-judge

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Biden and Xi Jinping of China Agree to Hold a Virtual Summit – The New York Times
Biden and Xi Jinping of China Agree to Hold a Virtual Summit – The New York Times

And both countries had just swapped imprisoned citizens, after the Justice Department announced a deferred prosecution agreement with a top executive of Huawei, the telecommunications giant, allowing her to return to China. Within hours, two Americans and two Canadians, long held by China, were on planes home.

It is not clear when, exactly, the summit will be held. Presumably other officials will participate, just as they would if the meeting were held in the United States or China.

Still, the decision to hold the summit by secure video contrasts sharply with how Mr. Biden met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last June. That meeting, at a hillside villa in Geneva, was in person.

A senior American official briefing reporters after the Wednesday meeting said the two men had a candid conversation that was direct and wide-ranging. Mr. Sullivan, the American official said, objected to the Chinese effort to condition its cooperation on issues in which both nations have a strong national interest — for example, countering global warming or nuclear proliferation — on American concessions in bilateral disputes.

Mr. Sullivan, the official said, cited climate specifically as an example where aligning the two nations’ approaches is not simply a favor to the United States. But China often accuses the United States of similar linkage — for example, imposing sanctions on China for human rights violations, which Beijing considers interference in domestic affairs.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/politics/biden-xi-jinping-china-summit.html

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Coast Guard investigates cargo ship in California oil spill – Los Angeles Times
Coast Guard investigates cargo ship in California oil spill – Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Coast Guard investigated a vessel in Oakland on Wednesday as part of its probe into whether a ship’s anchor damaged an oil pipeline off Orange County and spilled 144,000 gallons of crude.

The container ship was in the area of the pipeline before the spill was discovered, according to a source familiar with the investigation, and later headed north. Investigators are probably looking for data showing the ship’s movements and other mechanical information.

The examination is just one part of a wider investigation into how the spill occurred last weekend, sources familiar with the investigation told The Times. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

A final determination of the spill’s cause may take months, but the probe of the ship underscores that investigators continue to zero in on a ship anchor as a possible cause. The inquiry remains in its early stages.

The shipping channels off Los Angeles and Orange counties have been jammed for months because of gridlock at the port, forcing more ships to lay down anchors near pipes that move oil from offshore platforms onto land.

Global positioning data provided to The Times show that the Rotterdam Express, a German container ship, was anchored Friday near the area of the oil spill and was in the Port of Oakland on Wednesday. A spokesman for the port confirmed the ship arrived Wednesday.

California

Photos: Experts assess oil spill damage at Orange County beaches

A massive oil spill off the Orange County coast has fouled beaches and killed birds and marine life

A spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd, the German firm that owns the Rotterdam Express, said the container ship was anchored in the vicinity of the oil spill, but was “pretty far away from the pipeline.”

“At the moment, we believe we are not connected to the oil spill,” spokesman Nils Haupt said by phone. He said the company would fully cooperate with investigators.

John Amos, president of Skytruth, a nonprofit organization that uses satellite technology to track environmental issues, said his firm has been analyzing data of ship movements Friday night, when the spill was first detected. Skytruth examined the location data for the Rotterdam Express over a number of days when it was anchored in the area and found it was the closest ship to the pipeline.

But Skytruth also found that the Rotterdam Express was never closer than 1,500 feet to the line, according to satellite data. Instead, the ship kept to a semicircular pattern that would be expected of an anchored ship moved by wind and current. That distance, said Amos, makes it unlikely that its anchor could be the culprit.

“I don’t think there is enough leash basically for a vessel to be anchored and be pushed around 1,500 feet,” Amos said. Maybe the Coast Guard’s investigation, he said, “will rule them out.”

He added that the actual location of the pipeline could differ from what is shown in federal mapping data. Amos said the 40-year-old line could have shifted over time, moved either by natural events or other anchor strikes that didn’t cause leaks, with the change going unnoted on official sources.

California

Changing weather raises fear that O.C. oil spill could reach more coastal areas

Crews in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach are trying to protect coastlines as much as possible ahead of an approaching storm.

Hapag-Lloyd is aware that some marine traffic information showed that the Rotterdam Express had moved while it was anchored, but that “seems to be wrong,” Haupt said. The ship’s captain has provided logs, updated hourly, showing the ship did not leave its anchorage place for several days, he said.

The spill, which wasn’t reported by the platform owner until Saturday morning, originated from a pipeline running from the Port of Long Beach to an offshore oil platform known as Elly.

Diver reports and footage from remote-controlled submarines showed that a 4,000-foot section of a nearly 18-mile pipeline had been displaced about 105 feet and had a 13-inch split along its length, according to the joint unified command that is overseeing the investigation.

The displacement, federal sources said, is best explained by a ship’s anchor dragging across the ocean floor and hooking the pipeline. There were multiple large cargo vessels in the immediate area of the leak before the oil was spotted.

Martyn Willsher, president and chief executive of the pipeline operator’s parent, Amplify Energy Corp., described the force as pulling the pipe in an almost “semicircle.” “The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring,” he said.

With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach at near capacity, container ships and oil tankers have had to drop their massive, 30-ton anchors in designated sites that place them near oil platforms and an undersea infrastructure of oil lines, sewage treatment pipes and communications equipment.

Climate & Environment

Why do we still have offshore oil wells? How do they work?

Officials haven’t approved any new oil exploration off California’s coast in decades. Yet pumping and drilling continue there. Here’s why.

Much like an air traffic control center, the Marine Exchange organizes the movement of vessels in and out of the ports. Their work begins when a ship comes within four days, or 800 miles, of the ports.

At that point, for security purposes, every commercial ship or yacht weighing more than 300 tons must submit to the Coast Guard an advance notice of arrival that reviews the vessel’s manifest.

Under normal conditions, ships are assigned an anchorage spot if a berth is not available. But in the last few months, arriving ships within 25 miles of the ports are assigned to a “drift area,” either between Catalina Island and the Palos Verdes Peninsula or off Dana Point. They then turn off their engines and drift in the current and wind, with occasional repositioning.

When there is an opening in the anchorage area, they proceed to a specific latitude and longitude, where they drop anchor. The Marine Exchange can direct them either to an area close to the Long Beach breakwater or down the coast off Huntington Beach.

The spill fouled sensitive marine areas along the Orange County coast.

Cleanup efforts have continued to ramp up. By the end of the week, officials expect to have 1,500 people helping remove oil from beaches and offshore, officials said.

The oil has been creeping slowly south in the last three days, with one slick still floating off Newport Beach and Huntington Beach and another moving off San Clemente.

More than 5,000 gallons of oil had been removed from the water as of Wednesday, but light oil remains along roughly 15 miles of shoreline. Officials deployed 11,360 feet of booms to protect the coast, according to the Coast Guard.

On Wednesday morning, anti-pollution vessels were seen off Newport Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente.

Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-06/coast-guard-boards-cargo-ship-california-oil-spill-probe

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Brian Laundrie manhunt: Fugitive’s father to join search at Carlton Reserve, lawyer says – FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Brian Laundrie manhunt: Fugitive’s father to join search at Carlton Reserve, lawyer says – FOX 13 Tampa Bay

Florida fugitive Brian Laundrie’s attorney said Wednesday that Christopher Laundrie would begin assisting authorities in the search for his son – who was last seen on Sept. 13, just days after his fiancée Gabby Petito officially became a missing person.

The FBI later uncovered Petito’s remains at a remote Wyoming campsite on Sept. 19.

“Chris Laundrie was asked to assist law enforcement in their search for Brian at the preserve today,” Steve Bertolino, the family’s attorney, told Fox News Wednesday night. “Since the preserve has been closed to the public, Chris has not been able to look for Brian in the only place Chris and Roberta believe Brian may be.”

GABBY PETITO HOMICIDE: TIMELINE OF DISAPPEARANCE WITH BRIAN LAUNDRIE

He added that North Port police “had to postpone” the elder’s Laundrie’s participation and that he did not take part in the search Wednesday, which saw an increased police presence after resources appeared to have been drawn down over the weekend.

Law enforcement searching Carlton Reserve for Brian Laundrie

Law enforcement continued its search of the Carlton Reserve for Brian Laundrie on Wednesday, October 6.

“Chris and Roberta are hopeful there will be another opportunity to assist,” he added, referring to both of Brian Laundrie’s parents.

BRIAN LAUNDRIE SHOULD SURRENDER, FORMER FUGITIVE SAYS

Bertolino told Newsday earlier that Chris Laundrie was “excited” to take part in the search – after weeks of remaining completely mum on the subject and barely leaving his home.

He also claimed that the elder Laundrie searched the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Reserve on his own on Monday. Sept. 13 after his son failed to come home that night – even though the parents told police that Friday that they had last seen their son on Tuesday, according to the paper.

Gabby Petito’s parents tell Dr. Phil Brian Laundrie is alive

The parents of Gabby Petito described in heartbreaking detail the moments when they heard the news that their daughter’s remains were believed to have been found in Wyoming after she had been missing for weeks, and say they believe her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, is still alive.

BRIAN LAUNDRIE’S SURVIALIST SKILLS ARE ‘MEDIOCRE,’ SAYS SISTER CASSIE

“The North Port police informed me that they were focusing on certain areas of the preserve today and they were actually hoping that Mr. Laundrie could join them on that search,” Bertolino told the newspaper. “Mr. Laundrie has consented and we are waiting for the call from the North Port Police Department to make that happen.”

Brian Laundrie’s father leaving his house (Fox News)

Brian Laundrie had been named a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance days before authorities found her dead. On Sept. 23, the FBI announced a federal warrant for bank fraud charges after he allegedly used someone else’s debit card without authorization for more than $1,000.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Brian Laundrie’s sister says she hasn’t spoken to parents since Fort De Soto camping trip

Speaking candidly about the case, Brian Laundrie’s sister is giving new insight into the timeline ahead of his disappearance. Cassie Laundrie says she is just as frustrated and heartbroken as everyone else about Gabby Petito’s death and her brother’s disappearance.

His whereabouts remained unknown as of Wednesday evening – but a search at the reserve has continued for weeks, even with reports of possible sightings in other parts of Florida and along the Appalachian Trail where it runs down the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.

FOLLOW UPDATES TO THIS STORY ON FOXNEWS.COM

Michael Ruiz is a U.S. and World Reporter for Fox News.

Source Article from https://www.fox13news.com/news/brian-laundrie-manhunt-fugitives-father-to-join-search-at-carlton-reserve-lawyer-says

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Family of Arlington school shooting suspect says he was robbed, bullied – The Dallas Morning News
Family of Arlington school shooting suspect says he was robbed, bullied – The Dallas Morning News

The motivations of the alleged attacker in Wednesday’s Arlington school shooting remain unknown, but he apparently acted after a fight, and family members said he had been bullied.

Police arrested Timothy George Simpkins, 18, in the morning shooting at Timberview High School in the Mansfield Independent School District.

A woman who identified herself as Simpkins’ mother said he was bullied. But she declined to comment Wednesday afternoon outside Simpkins’ grandmother’s home in Arlington as law enforcement searched the residence.

Cint Wheat, his cousin, wrote in a Facebook post, “At the end of the day my lil cousin was bullied. I don’t know to feel about this he not no bad kid.”

Later in the evening, Carol Harrison Lafayette, who said she’s a family member speaking for the family, said at the house that Simpkins was robbed before the attack happened.

“He was robbed,” she said. “It was recorded. It happened not just once, it happened twice. He was scared, he was afraid.”

“There is no justification of anybody … being hurt,” she said, adding, “We have to take a look at the fact that bullying is real. And it takes us all. And I do apologize. We ask as a family for forgiveness of any type of hurt.”

When asked at a news conference about bullying concerns some parents have voiced, Donald Williams, Mansfield ISD’s associate superintendent of communications, said that the district is conducting a full investigation of the shooting and its cause.

“What I will say to that is we take the safety and security of our students in our faculty and staff seriously,” he said.

Four people were injured — including a 15-year-old boy who was critically wounded, during the morning shooting. Simpkins was taken into custody hours later after surrendering with the help of an attorney.

Here’s what we know about Simpkins and the shooting so far:

  • He is an 18-year-old student at Timberview High School in Arlington.
  • A fight reportedly broke out in a second-story classroom at the school, followed by the shooting. The suspect fled the scene after the shooting.
  • Police began to look for the car Simpkins drives, a 2018 silver Dodge Charger. The vehicle was found at an apartment complex in Grand Prairie.
  • Simpkins turned himself in to authorities at about 1:15 p.m., and with an attorney, was speaking to detectives.
Timothy George Simpkins(Uncredited / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
  • Police said they would seek three charges of aggravated assault against Simpkins. He was booked into the Arlington jail just before 2 p.m., and his bail was set at $75,000.
  • A social media video circulating appears to show someone who looks like Simpkins in a fight at the school, but police said they can’t verify that it is from the school yet.
  • Police don’t know how the shooter got a gun into the school. Grand Prairie police recovered a .45-caliber handgun on England Parkway and federal authorities are seeking to determine whether it was used in the shooting.
  • About 2:30 p.m., a SWAT team executed a search warrant at the home where he lives with his grandmother. The Edgefield neighborhood is a relatively new development with limestone and brick facades.
  • Simpkins’ social media accounts appear to have been active early Wednesday but the accounts are no longer available.

Lafayette said Simpkins is an outgoing, well-liked, loving person. “He was looking forward to graduating and doing something with his life,” she said.

Researchers Erin Sood, Naomi Kaskela and Ana Niño contributed to this story.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.

Source Article from https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/10/06/what-we-know-about-the-suspect-in-the-high-school-shooting-in-arlington/

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Over two feet of rain fell in Italy in only half a day, something not seen in Europe before – CNN
Over two feet of rain fell in Italy in only half a day, something not seen in Europe before – CNN

By Pedram Javaheri, CNN

Updated 8:22 PM ET, Wed October 6, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/06/weather/italy-flood-oman-climate-change/index.html

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Senate Nears a Deal to Stave Off Debt Crisis Until December – The New York Times
Senate Nears a Deal to Stave Off Debt Crisis Until December – The New York Times

Praying for Republicans to fold was an even riskier play for Democrats, given the stakes. If, for the first time, the U.S. government could not meet its obligations to international lenders, its role as the world economy’s safe-harbor investment would be called into question. Interest rates would most likely rise sharply, and global financial institutions would begin searching for new vehicles to store money, where it would not be subject to the whims of partisan politics.

“We’re not asking them to blink; we’re asking them to be the slightest bit reasonable,” Senator Angus King, a centrist independent from Maine, said of Republican leaders. “The political gain of this strikes me as low. The loss to the country strikes me as extraordinarily high.”

Republican obstruction on the borrowing limit forced Democrats last week to strip a debt-ceiling increase from a must-pass spending bill to avert a government shutdown. And Mr. McConnell refused to allow Democrats to unilaterally move to a vote.

“Democratic leaders haven’t wanted solutions,” Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “They’ve wanted to turn their failure into everybody else’s crisis, playing risky games with our economy, using manufactured drama to bully their own members, indulging petty politics instead of governing.”

Top Democrats have since dropped their insistence that Republicans join them in bipartisan support for raising the statutory cap on the government’s ability to borrow to meet its financial obligations. They, in turn, want Mr. McConnell to honor his demand that Democrats lift the ceiling alone — either by granting consent to move to a vote or by providing 10 Republican votes to break the filibuster.

“We’ve already presented Republicans numerous opportunities to do what they say they want, including by offering a simple majority vote so Democrats can suspend the debt ceiling on our own as Republicans have asked,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said on Wednesday. “But each time, Republicans have chosen obstruction.”

While top Republicans have said most of their members would privately support allowing Democrats to move forward on their own, they have been unwilling to vote publicly that way, and any single senator can object and force a vote.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/politics/debt-ceiling-congress-republicans.html

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Studies confirm waning immunity from Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine – CNN
Studies confirm waning immunity from Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine – CNN

Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/06/health/pfizer-vaccine-waning-immunity/index.html

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Republicans Again Block Debt Ceiling Increase – The New York Times
Republicans Again Block Debt Ceiling Increase – The New York Times

Mr. McConnell’s offer was designed to rob Democrats of the argument that they do not have time to capitulate to his demand. The reconciliation process must start in the House with a budget resolution instructing committees to draft legislation to lift the debt ceiling, and the House is not even in session this week. With at least some Republicans promising more dilatory tactics, the process could take awhile, but not until December.

Mr. McConnell may be showing concern about the other two alternatives. Carving out an exception to the filibuster rules, which effectively require 60 votes to move forward with most legislation, has been done before — for judicial and executive branch nominees. But doing so unilaterally to raise the debt ceiling would be a lurch toward ending the filibuster for all policy matters and instituting straight majority rule.

The move has long been resisted by institutionalists and centrists in both parties, including two current Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, although some leading Democrats argue this debt ceiling drama could change minds.

“Nothing changed,” Mr. Manchin told reporters on Wednesday.

Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 4 Republican, warned that if Democrats change the filibuster rule, “they’ll permanently change the Senate, permanently change the relationships that still matter in the Senate, and institute the idea that 50 of you plus a vice president of your party can always do whatever you want to do.

“I don’t think that’s healthy for the country,” Mr. Blunt said. “It certainly wouldn’t be healthy for the Senate.”

Praying for Republicans to fold after two failed efforts to break their filibuster is an even riskier play for Democrats, given the stakes. If, for the first time, the U.S. government could not meet its obligations to international lenders, the world economy’s safe-harbor investment would be called into question. Interest rates would probably rise sharply, and global financial institutions would begin searching for new vehicles to store money, where it would not be subject to the whims of partisan politics.

“We’re not asking them to blink; we’re asking them to be the slightest bit reasonable,” Senator Angus King, a centrist independent from Maine, said of Republican leaders. “The political gain of this strikes me as low. The loss to the country strikes me as extraordinarily high.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/politics/senate-republicans-offer-to-allow-debt-ceiling-increase-until-december.html

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1 Of 4 Timberview HS Shooting Victims Critical, Suspect Timothy Simpkins In Custody – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
1 Of 4 Timberview HS Shooting Victims Critical, Suspect Timothy Simpkins In Custody – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) — The “all clear” has been given at Timberview High School in Arlington after an active shooter situation Wednesday morning and suspected teenage gunman is in custody.

Police searched for hours to find 18-year-old suspect Timothy George Simpkins. During an afternoon press conference police said he was at an Arlington police station, where detectives were speaking with him. The teen will be charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

READ MORE: Bond Set At $350K For Texas Teen Valet Driver Accused Of Crashing Into And Killing 3 Other Valets

Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye said Simpkins “turned himself in with an attorney”. A .45-caliber gun was recovered along England Parkway in Grand Prairie, about 2 miles from the high school. Officials say it is being sent in for ballistics testing.

 

Simpkins, a student a the school, is said to be the person who opened fire in a classroom after getting into a fight with another student. Officials say they have seen video of the fight, but not the shooting. “This is not a random act of violence,” Assistant Chief Kolbye said. “This is not somebody attacking our school.”

A person with a weapon opened fire on the 2nd floor of Timberview High School, in the 7000 block of South Watson Road in Arlington around 9:15 a.m. The school is in the Mansfield Independent School District.

Kolbye confirmed that there are 4 victims from the incident. Three people were transported to a local hospital. One injured person refused treatment at the scene.

As of 1:00 p.m. all of those hospitalized victims were being treated at Medical City Arlington. Reporting from the scene, CBS 11 News reporter Steve Pickett learned that a 15-year-old victim is in critical condition, a 25-year-old male employee at school is in good condition, and a slightly injured female teen is being treated and will soon be released.

READ MORE: Expert: Textbook Reaction From Law Enforcement, ‘Best Of The Best’ Handling Timberview High School Shooting

Officials with the Arlington ISD said while there are no metal detectors at Timberview, there are law enforcement officers on every campus in the district.

The school was immediately placed on lockdown, and students and staff were locked in their classrooms/offices. The Mansfield ISD immediately began the reunification process of families. Students were ‘safely’ escorted to buses.

From Chopper 11 heavy police activity and dozens of people could be seen outside the school.

Officials with the Arlington Police Department confirmed that the ATF Dallas Field Division, Mansfield PD, Grand Prairie PD, and Mansfield ISD police performed a ‘methodical search’ of the campus.

During the afternoon press conference Assistant Chief Kolbye also confirmed that all of the students at Timberview had been evacuated. There were some 1,700 youngsters being united with their families. Victim services has been called in to help the students.

Mansfield ISD has set up a reunification location where adults can pick up students. Parents are being told to go to the Center for Performing Arts, located at 1110 West Debbie Lane in Mansfield. Police say students will eventually be bused to the location after the school is completely secured and officers will be on the scene.

(credit: CBSDFW.COM)

MORE NEWS: University Police Department Identifies Fatal Shooting Victim As Marc Anthony Montes

As a precaution, police say they have increased security at all schools in the Arlington ISD. The following schools were on lockout as a result of the shooting, but officials said that precaution would soon be lifted and parents would be allowed to pick up their children.

  • Arlington Collegiate High School at Tarrant County College
  • Ashworth Elementary
  • Barnett Elementary
  • Beckham Elementary
  • Bebensee Elementary
  • Bowie High School
  • Bryant Elementary
  • Hale Elementary
  • Ousley Junior High
  • Pearcy STEM Academy

Source Article from https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2021/10/06/possible-shooting-at-timberview-high-school-in-arlington/

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As Debt Ceiling Vote Looms, Democrats Reconsider Filibuster – The New York Times
As Debt Ceiling Vote Looms, Democrats Reconsider Filibuster – The New York Times

Democrats urging a change in filibuster rules said they hoped the nature of the debt limit fight, with widespread warnings of global economic calamity if the government defaults and Republicans’ refusal to negotiate, would persuade the two Democrats that it was time to put aside their misgivings and act.

“Republicans are making the case more powerfully than I could a million times on the floor,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a longtime filibuster foe. “What they are doing is obstruction and utterly exposes the filibuster. And it is not just inconvenience. It is desperately dangerous.”

Democrats could change the rules through a series of floor maneuvers with the votes of all 50 of their members and the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. They say any “carve out” for the debt limit would apply specifically to that legislation and not extend to other measures. But any move to alter the filibuster would intensify calls to weaken it for other Democratic priorities that Republicans are uniformly blocking, notably a voting rights measure that Democrats say is urgently needed to offset efforts by Republicans at the state level to impede voting by minorities and others.

Mr. McConnell has threatened to bring the Senate to a standstill if Democrats undermine the filibuster. He has said repeatedly that Democrats should instead employ the budget process known as reconciliation to raise the debt limit, which would allow them to take advantage of rules that shield certain fiscal legislation from a filibuster.

“There is already an existing carveout where Democrats can do it themselves — it’s called reconciliation,” Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, said on Twitter.

But Democrats say the reconciliation process would consume too much time and is not assured of succeeding when the threat of a default is looming and the nation’s credit could be downgraded at any time. They say that if Republicans do not want to vote to increase federal borrowing power, they should simply allow Democrats to do it on their own.

“Look, the best way to get this done is just for Republicans to get out of the way,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said Tuesday. “None of them have to vote for a debt ceiling; let the 50 Democrats do it.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/debt-ceiling-filibuster.html

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US Department of Education overhauls Public Service Loan Forgiveness program – CNN
US Department of Education overhauls Public Service Loan Forgiveness program – CNN

By Liz Stark, CNN

Updated 9:12 AM ET, Wed October 6, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/06/politics/public-service-loan-forgiveness-program-overhaul/index.html

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Mark Zuckerberg hits back at Facebook whistleblower claims – The Guardian
Mark Zuckerberg hits back at Facebook whistleblower claims – The Guardian

Mark Zuckerberg has hit back at the testimony of the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, saying her claims the company puts profit over people’s safety are “just not true”.

In a blogpost, the Facebook founder and chief executive addressed one of the most damaging statements in Haugen’s opening speech to US senators on Tuesday, that Facebook puts “astronomical profits before people”.

“At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritise profit over safety and wellbeing. That’s just not true,” he said.

He added: “The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical. We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don’t want their ads next to harmful or angry content.”

Zuckerberg said many of the claims made by Haugen – and in the Wall Street Journal, based on documents she leaked – “don’t make any sense”. The most damaging reporting in the WSJ, reiterated at length by Haugen in testimony to the US Senate on Tuesday, was that Facebook failed to act on internal research showing that its Instagram app was damaging teenagers’ mental health.

“Many of the claims don’t make any sense. If we wanted to ignore research, why would we create an industry-leading research program to understand these important issues in the first place?” he said.

Responding to Haugen’s claims that Facebook’s attempts to limit harmful content were constantly hampered by a shortage of staff, he said: “If we didn’t care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our space – even ones larger than us? If we wanted to hide our results, why would we have established an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting on what we’re doing?”

Haugen’s testimony, and accompanying statements by US senators in the hearing, repeatedly questioned whether Facebook could be trusted. “Facebook has not earned a right to just have blind trust in them,” said Haugen, a former Facebook employee who worked on the company’s unit monitoring electoral interference before she quit in May.

Frances Haugen: Facebook harms children and stokes division – video

Zuckerberg said a change to Facebook’s News Feed algorithm in 2018 was implemented because it increased wellbeing. According to Haugen, internal Facebook research showed that the change to News Feed – a customised scroll of content that is a core part of Facebook users’ interaction with the platform – had amplified divisive content.

Zuckerberg said: “This change showed fewer viral videos and more content from friends and family – which we did knowing it would mean people spent less time on Facebook, but that research suggested it was the right thing for people’s wellbeing. Is that something a company focused on profits over people would do?”

Addressing company staff in the Facebook post, made late on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said he expected many employees would not recognise the business portrayed in the WSJ coverage and Haugen’s testimony.

“I’m sure many of you have found the recent coverage hard to read because it just doesn’t reflect the company we know,” he wrote. “We care deeply about issues like safety, wellbeing and mental health. It’s difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted.”

Zuckerberg opened the post with a reference to Monday’s platform outage when the company’s services – including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms – went offline for nearly six hours. Facebook has 3.5 billion monthly active users across its platforms including Instagram and WhatsApp.

“The deeper concern with an outage like this isn’t how many people switch to competitive services or how much money we lose, but what it means for the people who rely on our services to communicate with loved ones, run their businesses, or support their communities,” he said.

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/06/mark-zuckerberg-hits-back-at-facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-claims

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Chinese jets menace Taiwan, pressuring U.S. support of island’s defenses – The Washington Post
Chinese jets menace Taiwan, pressuring U.S. support of island’s defenses – The Washington Post

On Monday alone, 56 aircraft, including 38 J-16 fighter jets and a dozen H-6 bombers, made sorties into the Taiwan-monitored zone, starting early in the morning, and finishing late at night. In some instances, their flight paths passed Taiwan’s southern tip and then moved north up the island’s east coast, before returning to base, according to data released by Taiwan’s defense ministry.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-taiwan-warplanes-military/2021/10/06/9873c05a-2584-11ec-8739-5cb6aba30a30_story.html

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First Thing: Facebook ‘harms children, stokes division, weakens democracy’ – The Guardian
First Thing: Facebook ‘harms children, stokes division, weakens democracy’ – The Guardian

Good morning.

In an explosive testimony to US lawmakers, a former Facebook employee has claimed the social media company puts its multibillion annual profits “before people”, harms children and is destabilising democracies.

Frances Haugen said the company did not have enough staff to keep the platform safe and was “fanning” ethnic violence in developing countries. She told senators that Facebook knew its systems led teenagers to anorexia-related content and said young children could be intentionally targeted with content promoting the eating disorder.

Meanwhile, she has filed at least eight complaints with the US financial watchdog accusing the social network of serially misleading investors about its approach to safety and the size of its audience.

  • Whistleblower goes public. Haugen appeared in Washington after after coming forward as the source of revelations that Facebook knew Instagram was damaging teenagers’ mental health.

  • Is Facebook untouchable? Unlike past hearings derailed by partisan bickering, lawmakers from both sides appeared to agree on the need for new laws to reform how Facebook targets users and amplifies content.

  • English content moderation bias. She said 87% of misinformation spending at Facebook was on English content despite only 9% of users being English-speakers.

Top Trump aides expected to defy subpoena in Capitol probe

Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, with Donald Trump and Mike Pence in Traverse City, Michigan, in November 2020. Meadows is of special interest to the select committee. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is among ex-aides of the-then president expected to resist requests for documents and testimonies related to the 6 January Capitol attack, a source familiar with the matter said.

Deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, strategist Steve Bannon and defense department aide Kash Patel – as well as Meadows – are expected to resist the select committee orders because Donald Trump is preparing to direct them to do so, the source claimed.

The basis for Trump’s pressing aides to not cooperate is being mounted on grounds of executive privilege, the source said, over allegations that sensitive conversations about what he knew in advance of plans to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory should remain secret.

  • Total non-compliance? The source suggested access to some emails or call records demanded by the committee might be waived, with it unclear whether Trump would push aides to defy all elements of the subpoenas.

  • How to enforce. House select committee investigators now face deciding whether to make a criminal referral to the justice department after tomorrow’s deadline for documents or next week’s crunch testimony date.

Officials knew of California oil spill 12 hours before cleanup

An aerial view of environmental oil spill cleanup crews after a major oil spill at Huntington Beach. Photograph: Allen J Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Rex/Shutterstock

Authorities face serious questions over how much damage could have been prevented after 126,000 gallons of crude seeped into the Huntington Beach ocean after more than half a day passed between notification and response.

It was said yesterday that the pipeline, which is connected to a nearby platform owned by Houston-based company Amplify Energy Corp, had been “laterally displaced” by about 105ft, though the cause had not yet been determined.

The Orange county district attorney, Todd Spitzer, is assessing whether state charges can be brought against the company even though the leak occurred in waters overseen by the US government. Other potential criminal investigations were being pursued by three separate agencies, according to officials.

  • The damage grows. At least 4,788 gallons of oil has been removed from the water, with roughly 15.7 miles of coastline contaminated. Beaches in Huntington, Laguna and Newport Harbor could remain closed for months.

  • Economical with the truth? Martyn Willsher, the CEO of Amplify Energy, said the company discovered the spill on Saturday morning. But state oil spill records reportedly show that the spill was sighted on Friday evening.

Tensions rise between China and Taiwan

Taiwanese troops using tanks, mortars and small arms staged a drill on Tuesday aimed at repelling an attack from China. Photograph: Chiang Ying-ying/AP

China will be capable of mounting a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by 2025, the island’s defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, has said, describing current tensions as the worst in 40 years after Beijing sent about 150 warplanes into its neighbour’s air defence zone over four days beginning on Friday.

The record escalation of its grey zone military activity towards the island, which it claims is a province of China, led Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, to say his country would not be “adventurists” but would do “whatever it takes” to defend itself.

Nations have various policies laying out the level of recognition their governments afford Beijing’s policy. The US and Australia acknowledge but do not recognise Beijing’s claim over Taiwan.

  • Defense spending. Taiwan’s legislature is reviewing a T$240bn ($8.6bn) special defense budget bill, of which about two-thirds would be spent on anti-ship weapons such as land-based missile systems and hi-tech ships.

  • US diplomacy. The president, Joe Biden, said he had spoken with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. “We made it clear that I don’t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement,“ he said obliquely.

In other news …

The streaming revolution has created a gold rush for artists’ royalty rights. Photograph: Franziska Krug/Getty Images

  • Tina Turner is the latest rock legend to cash in on the rocketing value of evergreen hits in the streaming era, selling the rights to her six-decade music catalogue, including hit What’s Love Got to Do With It.

  • Federal agents raided the offices of a New York City police union and the home of its leader who has clashed with officials over incendiary tweets, including posting papers pertaining to the arrest of the mayor’s daughter.

  • The fossil fuel industry gets subsidies of $11m every minute, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund. It found the production and burning of coal, oil and gas was subsidised by $5.9tn in 2020.

  • Singapore has trialled patrol robots warning people engaging in “undesirable social behaviour”, as an arsenal of surveillance technology in the tightly controlled city-state fuelling privacy concerns grows.

Stat of the day: some dogs can remember over 100 names

Max from Hungary, one of the gifted dogs taking part in the study, with owner Ildiko. Photograph: Cooper Photo/PA

Most dogs can comprehend some commands, but learning the names of items appears to be a very different task – with the majority unable to master the skill. In a study, however, Max (Hungary), Gaia (Brazil), Nalani (Netherlands), Squall (US), Whisky (Norway), and Rico (Spain) made the cut after proving they knew the names of more than 28 toys, with some knowing more than 100 as part of the Genius Dog Challenge, a series of experiments.

Don’t miss this: the rise of the unregulated life coach industry

‘I still harbor a lot of anger and disappointment.’ Illustration: Maria Medem/The Guardian

The rapid rise of the life coach sector, and particularly some companies within it, raises questions over whether coaches are empowering their clients with the tools and support they need; or if they are being sold an unattainable fantasy. Brooke Castillo, once a small-time self-help guru, has become the reigning industry queen thanks to savvy marketing, a fusion of new age therapyspeak and girlboss rhetoric, and the parasocial relationship she cultivates with listeners to her popular podcast.

Climate check: Google Maps to show lowest carbon car route

‘Travelling by car is one of the more carbon-intensive choices people make on a daily basis,’ Google’s CEO said. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images

A new Google Maps product launches today in the US and will allow motorists to select the route with the lowest carbon emissions once factors such as traffic and road inclines are accounted for. Also from today, users around the world will be able to view the carbon emissions per seat for flights and browse lower carbon options. Hotel searches will also include information on establishment’s sustainability policies.

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Last Thing: Welsh ‘dragon’ dinosaur, size of chicken, discovered

Artist’s depiction of how the dinosaur Pendraig milnerae – meaning chief dragon – might have looked. Photograph: © James Robbins

Found in a south Wales quarry, a dinosaur distantly related to Tyrannosaurus rex but with a body the size of a chicken has been identified as the oldest theropod – a group that includes T rex and modern birds – ever unearthed in the UK. Thought to have lived between 200m and 215m years ago during the Late Triassic period, the discovery of the new carnivore species could also provide evidence for potential island dwarfism.

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Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/06/first-thing-facebook-harms-children-stokes-division-weakens-democracy

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School shooting reported at Timberview High School in Arlington – FOX 4 Dallas
School shooting reported at Timberview High School in Arlington – FOX 4 Dallas

ARLINGTON, Texas – Three people were reportedly shot Timberview High School in Arlington Wednesday morning.

The Mansfield Independent School District confirmed Arlington police and other neighboring law enforcement agencies have cleared the school following an active shooter situation.

Police sources told FOX 4 three people were shot and taken to the hospital but no one was killed.

No information about the shooter has been released.

Video from SKY 4 showed a large police, fire and paramedic presence at the school.

Mansfield ISD said the school was placed on lockdown during the incident. All students and staff were locked in their classrooms and offices and no visitors were allowed on campus.

The students are now being bused to the Mansfield Performing Arts Center to be reunited with their parents.

“I just got back from work. I was trying to relax when I got this text message from my daughter,” said Akhere Isenalumhe, whose daughter is a sophomore. “We are all confused. We just don’t know what’s going on. This is just too close to home. We never thought something like this would happen right here in our backyard so.”

The school is located in the city of Arlington but in the Mansfield school district.

FOX 4 News will continue to update this story.

Source Article from https://www.fox4news.com/news/school-shooting-reported-at-timberview-high-school-in-arlington

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