| Valium Found in Mall Gunman’s System
Before committing suicide, Hawkins went into the Von Maur store at Westroads Mall and took an elevator up to the third floor. There he opened fire, fatally wounding eight people. Five other people were hit by bullets or bullet fragments, injuring two seriously. Investigators will try to find out whether Hawkins had a prescription for the Valium, Kleine said. Diazepam is often given to people who have anxiety attacks or insomnia, said Dr. Todd Stull, director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center's drug and alcohol program. "It's a calming kind of medicine," Stull said. "A lower dose can help with anxiety." People can get high on it, he said, but "it's not a very common addiction." Court records and friends say Hawkins regularly smoked marijuana, but Kleine said there was no evidence of it or any other drugs in his blood.
Critique of war in Lebanon could make Olmert's standing in Israel more ...
A report to be released Wednesday about his inconclusive 2006 war in Lebanon could determine whether Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert holds onto his job long enough to try to make peace with the Palestinians this year. Olmert and his aides were bracing for a scathing report from the Winograd Commission, which he appointed under pressure after the war ended in a cease-fire with Hezbollah guerrillas without achieving the goals he set out. The final report was scheduled to be released Wednesday afternoon in Jerusalem. The report deals with the war's last 28 days. A harsh interim report released in April by the panel headed by a retired judge, Eliyahu Winograd, accused Olmert of "severe failures" and hasty decisions at the beginning of the 34-day war against the Hezbollah guerrillas.
Giusto’s base erodes
Here's my problem: why are our expectations for theSheriff(doing his "job" as a personal driver) more than those of the governor himself, or his many aides? Where is the real crime and the real perpetrators? We can't get the slimy big fish, so we harass the babyhelper-fish. Besides, isn't it ironic that pursuit of the Sheriff's integrity comes at such a time when the Multnomah County Commissiners are upset with the Sheriff for having conflicting priorities about budget, overtime, the static jail building...? "Ms. TJS" (Not verified) Fri, Nov 02, 2007 at 04:32 PM .
Fed may cut rates again today
The Federal Reserve is likely to follow its bold action last week to battle an economic downturn with further interest rate reductions, although analysts are split on just what size the future cuts will be.Some believe the Fed will settle into a series of quarter-point moves, especially if upcoming economic reports show the economy is slowing but not toppling into an actual recession.That would mean the Fed will cut its federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, by a quarter point at the conclusion of Wednesday's meeting. It would be the fifth rate cut since last September.Last week, the Fed announced a surprise three-quarter-point cut which drove the funds rate down to 3.5 percent. It was the largest reduction in this rate in more than two decades and the first change in the funds rate between meetings since the immediate aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues held an emergency videoconference call on Jan.
Midtown makeover: Cape's draft comprehensive plan reflects bright ...
Cape Girardeau has "a big hole" in its midsection. "The moment you hit that intersection of William [Street] and Kingshighway, it's clear something is not right," said Carol Gossett, a planner with Arcturus, the St. Louis-based consulting firm that drafted the comprehensive plan, Reinventing what many refer to simply as "the Town Plaza" area could bolster east-west traffic and prevent future blight. Martha Brown, planner for the city of Cape Girardeau, defines the potential midtown area as Kingshighway between William Street and Broadway. "It's a pretty big area," she said, estimating coverage of 150 acres. Much of the development along Kingshighway, she said, "is probably obsolete. It's an old highway corridor-type development." The single-story shopping centers fronted by seemingly vast and somewhat empty parking lots are unappealing, Gossett said.
Hennepin County Library has full board
Hennepin County Commissioners appointed four new members to the library board this week. All of Minneapolis, Roger Hale, Kathleen Lamb and John Pacheco, Jr., join the board. Eden Prairie resident Jill Joseph will be an at-large member. As a result of the merger between the Hennepin County and Minneapolis library systems, the board expands from seven members to 11. The new members were selected with the help of the City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak. Full Article .
Top 10 Stories of 2007
Shortly after that visit back to his home state, the senator made his re-election campaign official and announced that nationally known political consultant Steve Jarding — a Mitchell native — would coordinate the campaign.By year’s end, Johnson did not face a challenger for the Democratic nomination. Three Republicans — state Rep. Joel Dykstra of Canton, Spearfish businessman Sam Kephart and Watertown native Bert Tollefson — have announced their campaigns for the Republican nomination.No. 4: Homestake picked as preferred site for labOn July 9, the National Science Foundation chose the Homestake gold mine in Lead as the preferred site for a national underground laboratory.The "Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory," or "DUSEL," could cost $300 million or more to build, and the National Science Board, the White House and Congress would have to approve the project.
'Economic miracle' fades away
TEHUACAN, Mexico — On the western edge of town — past the brightly painted townhouses of the middle class, past the new shopping mall, off the highway and across the railroad tracks — the prosperity and the pavement end. In an unpainted cinder-block house on a dark street, a man swats mosquitoes and recounts how his 13-year-old son died chasing the dream of prosperity. .
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