Month: May 2023

Three people were killed and six others injured (including two officers) after a gunman opened fire in Farmington, New Mexico. Officers then shot and killed the alleged gunman, police confirmed. Farmington is located in northern New Mexico, only about 15 miles south of the Colorado border.

Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video message that the 18-year-old suspect fired at least three different weapons, including an AR-style rifle.  At 10:57 a.m., the unidentified suspect opened fire near Dustin Avenue and Ute Street ,with officers finding a”chaotic scene” upon arriving. The Farmington Police Department, New Mexico State Police and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene. Farmington Police Department deputy chief, Baric Crum, told reporters earlier Monday that the suspect was firing into the neighborhood as he “roamed” up to a quarter of a mile, randomly firing “at whatever entered his head to shoot at,” shooting at least six houses and three cars.

Three “civilian victims” were killed, Farmington police said, in addition to one suspect who was “confronted and killed on scene.” Farmington Police said on social media that one Farmington police officer and one member of the state police were also wounded; they were taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center and listed in stable condition. The Farmington officer was treated and released; the state police officer remains in the hospital and is doing well.

Editorial credit: SevenMaps / Shutterstock.com

Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said on Monday a man with a baseball bat walked into his office in Fairfax, Virginia and asked for him before assaulting two members of his staff with a baseball bat.  According to a statement released by the Democratic lawmaker: “This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff … “The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating … The individual is in police custody and both members of my team were transferred to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.” Connolly was not working in that office on Monday.

Fairfax City Police confirmed in a tweet that a suspect is in custody and the victims are being treated for injuries that are not life-threatening. Spokesperson Sgt. Lisa Gardner said police received a call about the attack at Connolly’s district office at about 10:50 a.m.  Officers got to the office within five minutes and located the suspect in the office, Gardner said. He was taken into custody quickly without further incident.

Connolly represents Virginia’s Fairfax County-based 11th District in the Washington suburbs. He’s currently serving his eighth term in Congress

Editorial credit: John M. Chase / Shutterstock.com

Police in Yuma, Arizona said two people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting on Saturday night.

Yuma Police officers responded to a shooting in the 3800 block of S. J Edward Drive at around 10:54 p.m., where seven victims, all male, were found with gunshot wounds. Two of the victims, 19 and 20 years old, were taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. A third victim, a 16-year-old boy, was flown from Yuma Regional Medical Center to Phoenix for treatment of life-threatening injuries; and the other victims — a 15-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy, an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old man — all had non-life-threatening injuries.

As of Sunday evening, no suspects were in custody, and police said they will continue to investigate the incident, as well as a possible motive. Law enforcement asked anyone with information to come forward, adding that if any information leads to an arrest, a cash reward of up to $1,000 may be offered.

Editorial credit: SevenMaps / Shutterstock.com

Former NBCUniversal advertising executive Linda Yaccarino was just named as the new Twitter CEO, and is finally breaking her silence about her new job on the social media platform.

Yaccarino tweeted in a message thanking Elon Musk for the opportunity: “Thank you @elonmusk!   I’ve long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!”  Yaccarino also said she noticed that her follower count grew after making news as the new Twitter boss, tweeting: “I see I have some new followers…I’m not as prolific as @elonmusk (yet!), but I’m just as committed to the future of this platform,” she added. “Your feedback is VITAL to that future. I’m here for all of it. Let’s keep the conversation going and build Twitter 2.0 together!”

Musk made the announcement of Yaccarino’s hiring on Friday, tweeting: “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter! @LindaYacc will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology. Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”

Musk’s announcement also had many concerned over their “freedom of speech” being violated – citing an interview Yaccarino had with the Twitter owner weeks before. Musk replied, “I hear your concerns, but don’t judge too early. I am adamant about defending free speech, even if it means losing money.”

Editorial credit: XanderSt / Shutterstock.com

The U.S. Labor Department reported that the four-week moving average for jobless claims through the week ending May 6 was the highest it’s been since November 2021. First-time claims for unemployment insurance increased by 22,000 from last week to reach 264,000. The less-volatile, four-week moving average to the week ending May 6 was 245,250, an increase of 6,000 from last week.  The department reported: “This is the highest level for this average since November 20, 2021, when it was 249,250.”

However, the number of people who’ve filed over multiple weeks during the week ending April 22 was 1.7 million – a decline of nearly 64,000 from the prior week (at the same period last year, there were 1.44 million in continued-week claims).

The uptick in first-time claims may be good news towards fighting inflation. Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, said last week that the 25 basis point rate hike was to ensure the labor market remains healthy while at the same time keeping prices stable. Economists say that last week’s surge could mark the start of an upward trend as the cumulative and lagged effects of the Fed’s rate hikes broaden out in the economy. Layoffs also appear to be spreading to other industries. Most were initially based in the technology sector; for example IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter, Lyft and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months, and Amazon and Facebook have each announced two sets of job cuts since November. But now other industries including McDonald’s, Morgan Stanley and 3M have also recently announced layoffs.

Editorial credit: Andriy Blokhin / Shutterstock.com