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Man Jumps White House Fence, Is Attacked By Secret Service Dogs and Arrested
The White House was put on lockdown Wednesday evening after a man jumped the White House fence. The Secret Service apprehended the man, who was first attacked by Secret Service dogs. "Dogs got him," a Secret Service spokesman told Reuters. Video showed the man kicking the oncoming dogs before being surrounded by Secret Service agents on the north lawn of the White House.
Here’s more on the video from The Hill:
Video of the incident shows a man wearing a dark shirt and white gym shorts on the lawn outside the White House being yelled at by Secret Service officers. He briefly lifted his shirt to show his chest before a pair of Secret Service dogs rushed to the man and pounced. The fence jumper struggled with the animals, landing repeated punches and kicks. Eventually, a Secret Service officer grabbed the man to lead him away. Officers cleared the North Lawn of journalists and began conducting a search of the premises.
“The incident comes roughly a month after an intruder armed with a knife scaled the White House fence and made it inside the executive mansion, raising questions about security levels at the heavily guarded complex and spurring the resignation of then Secret Service Director Julia Pierson,” Reuters reports.
Family of Dallas Nurse With Ebola Says She’s Now Virus-Free
One of the two Dallas nurses who contracted Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital is now virus-free, her family said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “We are overjoyed to announce that, as of yesterday [Tuesday] evening, officials at Emory University Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control are no longer able to detect virus in her body," the family said in the statement Wednesday, ABC News reports.
The news has yet to be confirmed by the CDC. The Dallas Morning News spoke to a spokesperson at Emory University Hospital, where Vinson has been receiving treatment since last week, who said she was “not aware of that at all.” Vinson is one of two nurses that were infected with Ebola while treating Thomas Eric Duncan at the Dallas hospital. The other nurse, Nina Pham, is currently being treated at NIH. Vinson created a scare by flying from Dallas to Cleveland and back shortly before she was diagnosed with the virus.
Reaganomics Tax Experiment Still Going Poorly in Kansas
In 2012, Kansas passed large tax cuts championed by Republican governor Sam Brownback and Ronald Reagan-affiliated economist Arthur Laffer, who said the move would create tens of thousands of jobs and result in "enormous prosperity." But the state has subsequently added jobs at a slower rate than neighboring states (and the country as a whole) while coming up against significant revenue shortfalls. These shortages have been even more severe than the state projected, and the New York Times' Josh Barro writes today that new numbers indicate the problem is only going to get worse:
Revenue numbers for July through September, the first three months of fiscal year 2015, suggest Kansas’ revenue gap is permanent, not temporary. The state anticipated $578 million in personal income tax collections over the summer, but it took in just $524 million, a miss of more than 10 percent. That was nationally atypical; according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, 14 states have published projected and actual monthly personal income tax receipts through September, and the other 13 all came within 5 percent of expectations.
By the end of this fiscal year, Barro estimates, the state—which spends about $14 billion annually—could be as much as $500 million short of its income tax projections. The gap has become an issue in Brownback's gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Paul Davis, which is currently considered a toss-up by Real Clear Politics despite Kansans' typically conservative voting patterns.
Gunman Killed Inside Canadian Parliament; Soldier Shot at National Monument Dies
This post is being updated as new information becomes available.
Update, 6:10 p.m.: More information on the suspected shooter, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who was shot and killed during Wednesday’s attack, is emerging. “Two U.S. officials said that U.S. agencies have been advised that the shooter was a Canadian convert to Islam,” Reuters reports. “Federal [Canadian] sources have identified the suspected shooter as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a man in his early 30s who was known to Canadian authorities,” the Globe and Mail reports. “Sources told The Globe and Mail that he was recently designated a ‘high-risk traveller’ by the Canadian government and that his passport had been seized…”
Update, 5:45 p.m.: The CBC confirmed Corporal Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed during Wednesday’s attack while he was standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Here’s more on the developing story from the CBC:
Parliament Hill came under attack today after a man with a rifle shot and fatally wounded a soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, before seizing a car and driving to the doors of Parliament Hill's Centre Block nearby… Moments later, MPs and other witnesses reported 30 to 50 shots fired inside the main Parliament building.
It was confirmed later the gunman was shot dead inside the building, felled by the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms and RCMP, according to MPs' accounts… Police sources have confirmed to CBC News the dead shooting suspect is Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian born in 1982… Prime Minister Stephen Harper was on the Hill at the time of the shooting, but was safely taken away.
Ottawa police say "there is no one in custody at this time…” Police would not say whether they still suspect another shooter is involved. Parliament Hill remains under lockdown late Wednesday afternoon.
Original Post: An armed man has been killed inside Canada's Parliament building after a Canadian soldier was shot at the country's nearby National War Memorial, the CBC reports. Another shooter is believed to be at large. Ottawa police say the soldier who was shot has died.
The National War Memorial is across the street from Canada's Parliament buildings:
![screen_shot_20141022_at_11.36.31_am.png.crop.promovarmediumlarge.36.31_am_2 screen_shot_20141022_at_11.36.31_am.png.crop.promovarmediumlarge.36.31_am_2](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20141023041600im_/http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/uploads/2014/10/22/screen_shot_20141022_at_11.36.31_am.png.crop.promovarmediumlarge.36.31_am_2.png.CROP.promovar-mediumlarge.36.31_am.png.crop.promovarmediumlarge.36.31_am_2.png)
Screenshot via Google Maps
A video taken by the Toronto Globe and Mail shows heavy gunfire inside Parliament:
Shots have also been reported at the Rideau Centre, a mall that is less than 1,000 feet from the War Memorial and Parliament Hill. (UPDATE: Police say there was no shooting at the Rideau Centre.)
Another soldier was kiled on Monday and one was injured in Montreal when a 25-year-old "known to federal authorities" for holding radical beliefs ran them over in a car. The suspect—Martin "Ahmad" Rouleau, who was subsequently killed by police after fleeing the scene—was a convert to Islam who reportedly had an "obsession with Islamist extremism."
The House of Commons was scheduled to debate gun law reforms this afternoon.
Correction, Oct. 22, 2014: This post reported prematurely that the Canadian soldier who was attacked had died. This assertion was based on a New York Times account that was subsequently changed.
CDC Announces Monitoring of All Travelers to U.S. From Ebola-Stricken Countries
The CDC announced today that, beginning Monday, travelers to the United States from the three West African countries suffering Ebola outbreaks will be required to report in daily with state and local health officials monitoring them for potential symptoms of the disease. Passengers from Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone will be required to provide contact information for themselves and at least one friend or relative to health officials upon arrival; according to the Huffington Post, CDC director Tom Frieden said those who do not check in will be tracked down with a “rapid planned follow-up.” From the New York Times:
State and local health departments will be required to have plans for finding and potentially detaining anyone who fails to check in.
Each visitor ... will be given a packet with a thermometer, instructions on its use, a card describing Ebola symptoms, and a card to be given to a doctor or nurse if the visitor develops symptoms and is ordered to go to an emergency room or other health care facility.
The regulation applies to all travelers, including U.S. citizens. The CDC had previously announced that travelers to the United States whose flights originate in any of the three stricken West African countries will only be allowed to fly into one of five international airports.
Jury Convicts Four in 2007 Blackwater Iraq Massacre Case
Four former employees of the Blackwater security company have been convicted of a number of charges related to the 2007 shooting deaths of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of 17 others in Baghdad's Nisour Square. From the Washington Post:
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated 27 days before convicting Nicholas A. Slatten, of Sparta, Tenn., of murder. The panel also convicted Paul A. Slough of Keller, Tex., of 13 counts of manslaughter and 16 counts of attempted manslaughter; Evan S. Liberty of Rochester, N.H., of eight counts of manslaughter and 12 counts of attempted manslaughter; and [Dustin] Heard of Knoxville, Tenn., of six counts of manslaughter and 11 counts of attempted manslaughter.
Slough, Liberty and Heard were also convicted of using military firearms while committing a felony.
Slatten could be sentenced to life in prison, while the others face a minimum of 30 years. Another Blackwater employee, Jeremy Ridgeway, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified for the prosecution in this trial.
The convicted guards were attempting to clear a secure route for a U.S. official who was fleeing the scene of an earlier bombing when they opened fire in Nisour Square. The ex-Blackwater guards argued in their defense that they were responding to incoming AK-47 gunfire, an assertion supported by some witnesses. But none of the Iraqis killed or injured were insurgents, the Post says, and some were reportedly attempting to flee the scene when they were killed.
One defendant's lawyer has already said that he will appeal, while the Wall Street Journal writes that appeals related to evidence used in the case are "likely."
Kenny G Is Involved in the Hong Kong Democracy Protest Story (Really!)
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a long-awaited official statement on Kenny G. Via the New York Times:
“Kenny G’s musical works are widely popular in China, but China’s position on the illegal Occupy Central activities in Hong Kong is very clear,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said at a daily news briefing on Wednesday. “We hope that foreign governments and individuals speak and act cautiously and not support Occupy Central and other illegal activities in any form.”
The backstory: Kenny G is well-known in China, and his song "Closing Time" is played ubiquitously there (often in public spaces at, yes, closing time). This week he visited the site of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, tweeting about the demonstrations in mild terms:
in Hong Kong at the sight of the demonstration. I wish everyone a peaceful and positive conclusion to this situation pic.twitter.com/mEp5jIXLjj
— Kenny G (@officialkennyg) October 22, 2014
Many of those who have condmned the protests, including the Chinese government, have claimed that they are in part the work of foreign/American agitation. The appearance of such a Western icon in Hong Kong was thus seen as a potential act of aggression requiring a stern response.
Here is Kenny G's "Closing Time" set to pictures of green forests and relaxed sea turtles and such.
Here's to a smooth, chill day for everyone in Hong Kong, China, and everywhere else.
Ben Bradlee, Editor of the Washington Post During Watergate, Dies
Update, 9:53 p.m.: Journalists remember Bradlee.
Ben Bradlee & JFK, November 10, 1963: #JFKL pic.twitter.com/CUDjwASKZW
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) October 22, 2014
RIP the only boss I ever had who was truly larger than life: the great Ben Bradlee http://t.co/fUesfz5zFT via @NewsHour
— gwen ifill (@gwenifill) October 22, 2014
What an honor it was to work for Ben Bradlee. We took this photo at Don Graham's farewell party - one year ago today. pic.twitter.com/04jtEDsGRb
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) October 22, 2014
Journalists remember Ben Bradlee http://t.co/x0k7zSHEi6 "He forever altered our business." #BenBradlee pic.twitter.com/u19F7Jkbf2
— Poynter (@Poynter) October 22, 2014
The world has lost a giant. Godspeed, Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee. http://t.co/3ArbBrCh2S pic.twitter.com/PxGgS8ntBn
— J. Freedom du Lac (@jfdulac) October 21, 2014
Update, 9:30 p.m.: President Obama's statement on Bradlee's death.
"For Benjamin Bradlee, journalism was more than a profession – it was a public good vital to our democracy." —Obama pic.twitter.com/yIDIuB1Jqx
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 22, 2014
Original Post: Longtime Washington Post editor, Benjamin Bradlee, who led the paper through its coverage of the Watergate scandal, died on Tuesday, the Post reports. Bradlee was 93 years old and died of natural causes.
Here’s more on Bradlee’s life and famed career from the Post:
From the moment he took over The Post newsroom in 1965, Mr. Bradlee sought to create an important newspaper that would go far beyond the traditional model of a metropolitan daily… The most compelling story of Bradlee’s tenure, almost certainly the one of greatest consequence, was Watergate, a political scandal touched off by The Post’s reporting that ended in the only resignation of a president in U.S. history.
But Mr. Bradlee’s most important decision, made with Katharine Graham, The Post’s publisher, may have been to print stories based on the Pentagon Papers, a secret Pentagon history of the Vietnam War. The Nixon administration went to court to try to quash those stories, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision of the New York Times and The Post to publish them.
The Post’s circulation nearly doubled while Mr. Bradlee was in charge of the newsroom — first as managing editor and then as executive editor — as did the size of its newsroom staff. And he gave the paper ambition. Mr. Bradlee stationed correspondents around the globe, opened bureaus across the Washington region and from coast to coast in the United States, and he created sections and features — most notably Style, one of his proudest inventions — that were widely copied by others...
Modern American newspaper editors rarely achieve much fame, but Mr. Bradlee became a celebrity and loved the status. Jason Robards played him in the movie “All The President’s Men,” based on Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s book about Watergate.
NBC Cameraman Declared Ebola-Free, Will Be Released From Hospital
The cameraman who contracted Ebola while working with NBC News in Liberia has been declared free of the virus, the Nebraska Medical Center said on Tuesday. Ashoka Mukpo has been receiving treatment at the center’s biocontainment unit since Oct. 6 after being transported out of Liberia. The 33-year-old will be allowed to leave the hospital on Wednesday, according to NBC News.
Here’s more on the good news from NBC News:
A blood test confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Mukpo, 33 — one of eight Americans to have been diagnosed with Ebola — no longer has the virus in his bloodstream, the hospital said. It said he's free to head home to Rhode Island. "Recovering from Ebola is a truly humbling feeling," the hospital quoted Mukpo as saying. "Too many are not as fortunate and lucky as I've been. I'm very happy to be alive."
Just got my results. 3 consecutive days negative. Ebola free and feeling so blessed. I fought and won, with lots of help. Amazing feeling
— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014
The knowledge that there's no more virus in my blood is a profound relief. I'm so lucky. Wish everyone who got sick could feel this.
— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014
The medical center also took to Twitter to celebrate the news.
Nebraska 2, Ebola 0!
A CDC-confirmed negative blood test shows that our patient, Ashoka Mukpo is EBOLA… http://t.co/XgsulYHM7R
— Nebraska Medicine (@NebraskaMed) October 21, 2014
"The first Ebola patient treated in Omaha, 52-year-old Dr. Rick Sacra, also contracted the virus in Liberia,” according to the Lincoln Star-Herald. “He was treated in the Nebraska Med Center’s biocontainment unit from Sept. 5 through Sept. 25.”
Cowboys Waive Michael Sam
The Dallas Cowboys have waived Michael Sam, the team announced today. Sam spent seven weeks on the organization's practice squad. According to SB Nation's Blogging the Boys Cowboys site, the move was triggered by the team's glut of players at Sam's position (defensive line) and is not thought to have anything to do with publicity related to his sexual orientation.
Per the terms of the NFL's waiver rules, Sam can be claimed by any team in the next 24 hours; if multiple teams claim him, his rights will be assigned to the team with the worst current record.