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Suspect held in fatal stabbing BY HENRI BRICKEY AND ERIC FINLEY AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Lubbock Police arrested a 25-year-old man in the Monday evening stabbing death of a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. Donald J. McCullough, 73, was killed around 5:30 p.m. inside the garage of his Southwest Lubbock home as he unloaded dry cleaning from his SUV. He and his wife were headed to San Antonio today to attend the Air Force retirement ceremony of their son, said a longtime friend who later arrived at the scene. Police didn't know Monday evening why a man ran into McCullough's garage, fought with...

Here I sit, looking down at lovely Lake Tahoe, but also looking down the hill at the fir forest growing ever thicker and more deadly. Fires always burn uphill. If a fire ever starts at the bottom of our hill, we'll have 10 minutes to escape before the one road out is cut off by the fire. Behind my home, it's nearly impossible to hike off trail because you have to wade through knee-deep piles of dead branches. The forest is ready to explode. We have too many trees, but no one dares do anything about it. Plenty of ingredients...

One person is dead and four are hospitalized after an early morning house fire in Lafayette. The blaze broke out just before five Wednesday morning at a home on the 200 block of Lana drive. Two of the injured are in critical condition. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but fire officials say it appears to have started inside the house and destroyed most of the structure. The names of the victims have not been released. As many as a dozen people, possibly migrant workers, lived in the house.

SCOTTSVILLE, Ky. - A barn fire at an award-winning American Saddlebred farm in south-central Kentucky killed 24 horses, the owner said Wednesday. Seven colts and 17 mares were in the barn at 3-T Farm in Allen County when the fire broke out Tuesday morning, said Paige Tabor, one of the owners. All but one of the horses were American Saddlebreds, she said. "When you lose a barn full, it's overwhelming, but you just pick yourself up and find a way to go on," Tabor said. The farm has about 300 horses, she said. -snip- Tabor's husband, Randy Tabor, and his...

The search is underway for as many as seven missing firefighters at the scene of a West Ashley fire. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley told reporters that several firefighters from three different local agencies were unaccounted for after the Sofa Superstore collapsed, but provided no further details. The fire broke out late Monday afternoon, shutting down part of Highway 17 near Wappoo Road. Flames were spotted shooting from the roof and thick black smoke billowed into the sky and could be seen as far away as James Island. Local residents and bystanders attempted to assist firefighters contain the fire. Some moved...

It's been more than a week now since a mass murderer struck on the campus of Virginia Tech, and as the NRA joins the debate on policies and laws, there are a few things I want to point out. It wasn't 24 hours after the horrific shootings that the politicians started flapping their lips. Congressman Jim Moran suggested that somehow the tragedy was the fault of Republicans and President Bush. Barack Obama compared the evil events in Blacksburg to outsourcing jobs overseas. Senator Dianne Feinstein called for a new dialogue on gun control. Mayor Bloomberg spoke of the events in...

Most contracts for goods and services contain an "Act of God" provision. Such provisions typically allow contracting parties to dissolve a contract in case of an unexpected and unavoidable catastrophe: an earthquake, a tsunami, a lightning strike. This is perfectly logical. Man can act based on predictions about human behavior, but has no control over forces of nature. Conversely, human actions demand human responsibility. Only Divine action should be written off as inevitable tragedy. The Virginia Tech massacre was not an act of God -- it was undeniably an act of man. Yet many Americans have instinctively treated this massive...

Catarino Piedra, 41, kept a gun underneath the counter at the Coliseum Pizza and Taqueria that he owned in East Oakland because his drivers had been robbed many times while making deliveries. Allen Joseph Hicks III, 22, was an accused batterer on probation for a drug conviction and an aspiring rap artist whom everybody in his neighborhood knew as "Boonie." The lives of the two men intersected tragically at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when Hicks, armed with a pistol and joined by two other men, tried to rob Piedra inside the popular pizzeria at 89th Avenue and International Boulevard. Fearful...

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand father of eight died trying to save his elderly mother as her Gizo home was hit by the tsunami. The grieving family of Teangauki Kenimarawa Toma was trying yesterday to make arrangements for his body to be flown home to Wellington. They had just saved enough money to send Mr Toma, 53, a prison officer, back to Gizo — his first visit in 18 years — to see his mother and father. His eldest daughter, Juliette, said Mr Toma feared missing the birth of his sixth grandchild and wanted to delay the trip until later this...

New York - Screams poured from the burning building along with smoke and flames: "Help me! Help me! Please! Please!" Bystanders looked up to see a woman toss two children out the window one at a time to those below. The scene unfolded early Thursday during New York's deadliest fire in nearly two decades - a blaze that killed eight children and one adult, part of an extended family led by African immigrants who shared a row house near Yankee Stadium. The children tossed from the three-story building survived, authorities said. The woman who threw them jumped and survived. The...

WASHINGTON - In a critique the White House labeled as "poisonous," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) charged Friday that President Bush is wading too deeply into Iraq and said it should not be "an obligation of the American people in perpetuity." Pelosi said Bush "has dug a hole so deep he can't even see the light on this. It's a tragedy. It's a stark blunder." White House spokeswoman Dana Perino retorted that Pelosi's comments were "poisonous," referring to the portion of Pelosi's statement that asserted Bush is rushing new troops there and betting that Congress won't cut...

DARAGA, Philippines — The top Red Cross official in the Philippines said Sunday that he thinks 1,000 people or more have been killed by Typhoon Durian. "We're estimating the casualties could reach 1,000, perhaps more," said Sen. Richard Gordon, who heads the local Red Cross. His figure of 1,000 was based on reports from Red Cross officials on the ground in the devastated areas. Gordon said at present his group has recorded a death toll of at least 406, with 398 others missing, based on figures provided by mayors of devastated towns in the eastern Philippines, where Durian hit with...

ONE of Iraq's best known TV satirists was shot dead on his way to work yesterday.Waleed Hassan's Caricature show was unmissable for Iraqis seeking a release in laughter from the blood and chaos around them. He poked fun at sectarian violence, bickering politicians, the US forces and power blackouts. In all, 21 Iraqis were killed in the country yesterday in attacks in Baghdad, Ramadi and Baqouba, police said. The bodies of 26 who had been kidnapped and tortured also were found on the streets of the capital, in Dujail to the north of Baghdad and in the Tigris River. The...

I was just reading a story about the recent Amish tragedy in Bart, Pennsylvania, and what struck me about the article was the sense of forgiveness inherent among the Amish. After such a disturbing and senseless, soul-shattering act of violence, the Amish were not lashing out at the gunmen or the gunmen's family. Though most would. They were not seeking revenge for their loss. Where many have. A great tragedy had just befallen them, which no words can convey the magnitude of, in such a small community, events and people interwoven, interlocked, where everyone knew each others names, the memories...

Amish Weddings Family is the core element in the Amish church, and choosing a mate is the most important decision in an Amishman's life. Boys and girls begin their search for a spouse when they turn sixteen. By the time a young woman turns twenty or a young man is in his early twenties, he or she is probably looking forward to the wedding day. But several definite steps must be taken by a couple before they may marry. Both must join the Amish church. They are baptized into the Amish faith and are responsible for following the Ordnung....

My husband and I live in Lancaster County and have of course been following the news of the school house shooting tragedy over the past few days. Friends from around the country have been in contact with us, wanting to know where they can send letters of condolence and contributions to the families of the young victims. I originally had very mixed emotions about contributing to a fund to defray the families’ transportation and medical expenses. The Amish do not believe in insurance of any kind, so surely do not have the means to pay for what will no doubt...

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 -- The Ohio State Highway Patrol has identified the two troopers killed in today's crash in southeastern Ohio. Officials say 45-year-old Sergeant Dale Holcomb was a 21-year veteran, and 29-year-old Trooper Joshua Risner had been with the patrol seven years. They died along with another motorist, identified as 32-year-old Lori Smith of Vinton. State Highway Patrol superintendent Colonel Paul McClellan calls the crash "an extremely tragic event." The accident happened just before 6 a-m at an intersection outside Gallipolis in Gallia County. At a late morning news conference, Highway Patrol officials would not shed much light on...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Three missing children have been found dead, days after their mother's body was discovered with the fetus cut from her womb, authorities announced late Saturday...

See for example this thread first. I'm greatly saddened to say Steve Irwin killed by a sting ray The tail-tip dart Pierced him in the heart Rest in Peace, Steve--that's what I pray.

I remember him coming rushing in from the garden that afternoon, in tears and covered in blood. After running his finger under the tap and seeing how deep the gash was, I decided to take him to our local A&E department at the King George hospital in Goodmayes, Essex. Tony cried all the way there but soon perked up at the sight of the hospital and the doctors. Because his wound was bleeding so heavily, we were rushed straight through to see a doctor and Tony was given a painkilling injection. When the doctors said they wanted to transfer Tony...