New year brings a grim wave of mass killings across America
(AP) – A year ago, the U.S. marked its first deadly gun rampage of the year on Jan. 23. By the same date this year, there have been six mass killings that have claimed 39 lives, leaving communities nationwide reeling from the onslaught of violence.
The grim news from Half Moon Bay came as Californians were still trying to process the weekend carnage at the ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, a bustling Asian American community at the eastern edge of Los Angeles.
Americans in recent years have learned to endure mass shootings in churches and grocery stores, concerts and office parks, and inside the homes of friends and neighbors. The violence can stem from hatred toward other communities, grievances within a group, secrets within families and bitterness among colleagues. But it often ends when a man with a grudge grabs a gun.
Credit to MaryClaire Dale (AP)
Ukraine corruption scandal claims several top officials
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians.
Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow.
Credit to Andrew Meldrum (AP)
Board voting on superintendent departure after teacher shot
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia school board is scheduled to vote this week on the departure of its superintendent after a 6-year-old student shot and wounded his first-grade teacher.
On Tuesday, the Newport News School Board posted an agenda for a special meeting on Wednesday, saying it will vote on a separation agreement and severance package for Superintendent George Parker III. The board is also scheduled to vote on a new interim superintendent.
Parker has been sharply criticized by parents and teachers who have called for his resignation or firing.
The board did not release any details of the separation agreement. Parker and School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Credit to Denise Lavoie
