🔗 Articles: Thu 07.Mar.2024
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NYT: Profound Damage Found in Maine Gunman’s Brain, Possibly From Blasts
A specialized laboratory examining the brain of the gunman who committed Maine’s deadliest mass shooting found profound brain damage of the kind that has been seen in veterans exposed to repeated blasts from weapons use.
The lab’s findings were included in an autopsy report that was compiled by the Maine chief medical examiner’s office and released by the gunman’s family.
The gunman, Robert Card, was a grenade instructor in the Army Reserve. In 2023, after eight years of being exposed to thousands of skull-shaking blasts on the training range, he began hearing voices and was stalked by paranoid delusions, his family said. He grew increasingly erratic and violent in the months before the October rampage in Lewiston, in which he killed 18 people and then himself.
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The findings have grave implications for the military, because Mr. Card never saw combat, and had never been exposed to explosions from enemy fire or roadside bombs. The only blasts that hit his brain came from training that the Army said was safe.
AP: Uvalde parents angered by new report that clears city police of missteps during Texas school attack
An investigation Uvalde city leaders ordered into the Robb Elementary School shooting put no blame on local police officers and defended their actions Thursday, despite acknowledging a series of rippling failures during the fumbled response to the 2022 classroom attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Several family members of victims walked out in anger midway though a presentation that portrayed Uvalde Police Department officers of acting swiftly and appropriately, in contrast to scathing and sweeping state and federal past reports that faulted police at every level.
CP: Canadians paying billions of dollars in ‘excess’ bank fees: report
The report by the Alberta-based firm compared fees at the Canadian Big Five banks — RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank — with what consumers face in the U.K. and Australia.
It shows that Canadians pay much more per month for bank accounts, as well as for fees for non-sufficient funds, overdraft charges, and accessing ATMs at competitor banks.
Axios: Biden slams GOP on abortion and immigration in State of the Union address
Biden didn’t take long to take aim at former President Trump, without naming him, for his comment inviting Russia to attack NATO allies who don’t spend enough on defense.
- “My predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘do whatever the hell you want.’ That’s a quote. A former president actually said that – bowing down to a Russian leader. I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”
- He also slammed Trump’s record on abortion – blaming him for the “chaos” after Roe v. Wade was overturned – and guns, arguing that while Trump said people should “get over” a mass shooting, “I say, ‘stop it.’”
Biden faced heckling from Republicans as he turned to immigration, challenging them over their refusal to pass an immigration reform bill that included increased border security.
Last Updated: 07.Mar.2024 23:58 EST