LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Personal matters have diverted attention
away from the important work ‘Sesame
Street’ is doing and I cannot allow it to
go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to
be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately.”
Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash,
who resigned from Sesame Street amid allegations he sexually abused underage boys Article, 2AGirl, 13, shot dead on school bus
MIAMI - A South Florida teen was charged with fatally shooting a girl in front of her younger sister and several other students while riding the bus to school Tuesday morning, Miami-Dade police said.
The 15-year-old male student was taken into custody at the scene in Homestead and later charged with manslaughter and carrying a concealed firearm. The Associated Press does not identify minors charged in crimes.
An arrest report says the teen took a gun from his backpack and began displaying it on the bus. He then fired it once, hitting Lourdes Guzman. The 13-year-old girl was airlifted to a Miami hospital, where she died.
Eight other children, including Lourdes’ 7-year-old sister, were on the bus but were not harmed. Authorities took the children and the bus driver to a police station to be interviewed.
Lourdes attended the charter middle school Palm Glades Preparatory Academy. Her sister attends nearby Summerville Advantage Academy.
Florida’s West gives up fight for seat
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., conceded his re-election fight Tuesday, two weeks after the Nov. 6 election gave way to court appearances, two partial recounts and contentions by his camp that the vote count wasn’t fair.
In a statement, West, 51, said that “there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results” but not enough to change the outcome, giving the race to Democratic newcomer Patrick Murphy, 29.
Numbers certified by the state Tuesday give Murphy the win by 1,904 votes in a district that includes part of Palm Beach County and two counties to the north. He will be the youngest House member in the next Congress.
West’s concession leaves one undecided U.S. House race. In North Carolina, Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre leads Republican challenger David Rouzer by 655 votes of 336,739 cast, according to the state Board of Elections. Rouzer, a state senator, on Tuesday requested a recount.
S.C. revenue chief quits over hacking
COLUMBIA, S.C. - State officials did not do enough to prevent a cyber-attack at South Carolina’s tax-collection agency that exposed the personal data of nearly 4 million individual filers and 700,000 businesses, Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday.
Haley also said she accepted the resignation of Department of Revenue Director Jim Etter, effective Dec. 31.
“Could South Carolina have done a better job? Absolutely, or we would not be standing here,” Haley said in releasing a report from Mandiant, a computer-security firm.
Haley said Mandiant showed the Revenue Department’s system was vulnerable because it did not require dual verification for someone trying to access tax returns and did not encrypt Social Security numbers. But the Republican governor blamed the debacle on antiquated state software and outdated IRS safety guidelines.
The hacker stole data from returns filed electronically, as far back as 1998 but mostly since 2002. The cyber-thief took 3.3 million unencrypted bank account numbers, as well as 5,000 expired credit-card numbers. The Social Security numbers of 1.9 million children on parents’ returns also were compromised.
Kennedy son cleared in hospital fray
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Douglas Kennedy, a son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was acquitted Tuesday of childendangerment and harassment charges stemming from a scuffle in a hospital maternity ward.
Kennedy, 45, had tried in January to take his newborn son from Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. He said he just wanted the 2-day-old boy, Anthony Boru Kennedy, to get some fresh air.
However, several nurses objected, saying his request would violate hospital policy. Kennedy tried to leave anyway, and two nurses said he hurt them as they blocked his way.
Mount Kisco Town Judge John Donohue, who heard the case without a jury, ruled that Kennedy broke no laws.
He said testimony showed that the baby was not in danger - except from the nurses’ actions - and that Kennedy did not demonstrate any intent to hurt them.
The judge said he didn’t have to rule on whether it was a good idea to take the baby outside.
“The Court is not determining whether the defendant’s behavior was wise or prudent,” he wrote.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 11/21/2012