by tyler | Jan 11, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of former US Attorney General Eric Holder.
Birth date: January 21, 1951
Birth place: Bronx, New York
Birth name: Eric Himpton Holder Jr.
Father: Eric Himpton Holder, realtor
Mother: Miriam (Yearwood) Holder
Marriage: Sharon (Malone) Holder (1990-present)
Children: Maya, Brooke and Eric
Education: Columbia College, B.A., 1973; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1976
The first African American US Attorney General.
Member of Barack Obama’s vice presidential selection team.
Is an active member of the national youth mentoring organization Concerned Black Men.
1976-1988 – Works for the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section.
1988-1993 – Associate judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
1993-1997 – US attorney for the District of Columbia.
1997-2001 – Deputy Attorney General of the United States. He is the first African American to hold this position.
2001-2008 – Litigation partner with Covington & Burling LLP.
2007-2008 – Senior legal adviser for Obama’s presidential campaign.
December 1, 2008 – President-elect Obama nominates Holder to be attorney general of the United States.
February 2, 2009 – Is confirmed by the Senate, 75-21.
February 3, 2009 – Is sworn in as attorney general of the United States by Vice President Joe Biden.
February 18, 2009 – In his first major speech since being confirmed, Holder makes a controversial remark calling the United States a “nation of cowards” for not discussing race relations.
October 4, 2011 – The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee calls for an investigation into whether Holder was honest when testifying earlier in the year about his knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious. The controversial operation, run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was supposed to track weapons purchases by Mexican drug cartels. However, more than 1,000 weapons were lost track of and two lost weapons turned up at the scene of the 2010 murder of US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
October 12, 2011 – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issues a subpoena for communications from Holder and other Justice Department officials relating to Operation Fast and Furious.
December 2, 2011 – About 1,400 pages of internal documents on Operation Fast and Furious are released by the Justice Department.
June 20, 2012 – President Obama asserts executive privilege over some of the documents sought by the committee investigating Operation Fast and Furious.
June 20, 2012 – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recommends that Holder be cited for contempt of Congress for failing to turn over all of the documents relating to the Fast and Furious operation.
June 28, 2012 – The House of Representatives votes 255-67 to hold Holder in contempt. This is the first time in US history that the head of the Justice Department has been held in contempt of Congress.
June 29, 2012 – The White House announces that Holder will not face criminal prosecution under the contempt of Congress citation. President Obama’s assertion of executive privilege in the case prevents a criminal prosecution.
August 13, 2012 – The House Oversight Committee files a civil contempt lawsuit against Holder, seeking the release of Operation Fast and Furious documents. On January 19, 2016, a federal judge orders the DOJ to release thousands of pages of documents.
February 27, 2014 – Holder is hospitalized after experiencing faintness and shortness of breath.
September 25, 2014 – Holder announces his resignation. He will stay in his post until the confirmation of his successor.
April 24, 2015 – Holder’s last day in office as attorney general.
July 2015 – Holder rejoins the law firm of Covington and Burling, LLP.
October 17, 2016 – It is announced by Politico that Holder will chair the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. The new group will focus on fair congressional redistricting reform for future elections.
October 2018 – Authorities intercept packages with suspected explosives intended for prominent critics of President Donald Trump, including Holder, top political figures and others. The package for Holder is sent to the Florida office of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. None of the devices detonated, and no one was injured.
October 26, 2018 – Police arrest Trump supporter Cesar Sayoc, 56, in Plantation, Florida. He is accused of sending at least 16 packages with suspected explosives to several targets, including CNN, former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sayoc is later indicted on 30 counts and pleads not guilty. In August 2019, Sayoc apologizes and pleads guilty. He is sentenced to 20 years in prison.
December 11, 2019 – In a Washington Post opinion piece, Holder writes that “William Barr is unfit to lead the Justice Department.” Holder criticizes Barr for controversial comments that “have been fundamentally inconsistent with his duty to the Constitution.”
October 29, 2020 – Holder accuses Republicans of using court challenges to facilitate “cheating” in the 2020 election, and attempting to “suppress the vote all through the process…”There’s a whole range of things that they have done to make it difficult for people who they perceive to be Democrats to cast votes,” Holder tells CNN’s Don Lemon.
May 2022 – His book “Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote-A History, a Crisis, a Plan,” written with Sam Koppelman, is published.
by tyler | Jan 11, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is a list of incidents of elementary, middle and high school violence with at least one fatality, from 1927 to the present. Suicides, gang-related incidents and deaths resulting from domestic conflicts are not included. If a perpetrator was killed or died by suicide during the incident, their death is not included in the fatality totals.
Because there is no central database tracking school violence incidents, this list is based primarily on media reports and may not be complete or representative of all incidents.
READ MORE: Ten years of school shootings
January 4, 2024 – Perry High School – Perry, Iowa. Dylan Butler, 17, fatally shoots a sixth grade student and wounds five other people. The wounded include four students and the school’s principal. Butler dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
March 27, 2023 – Covenant School – Nashville, Tennessee. Three children and three adults are killed in a shooting. The shooter is fatally shot by responding officers.
November 8, 2022 – Ingraham High School – Seattle, Washington. A 17-year-old student is fatally shot, and two teens are arrested in connection with the shooting.
October 24, 2022 – Central Visual and Performing Arts High School – St. Louis, Missouri. A teen and an adult are killed in a shooting. The gunman dies after an exchange of gunfire with police.
May 24, 2022 – Robb Elementary School – Uvalde, Texas. Salvador Ramos, 18, fatally shoots 19 students and two teachers. Responding officers fatally shoot Ramos.
March 31, 2022 – Tanglewood Middle School – Greenville, South Carolina. 12-year-old student Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson is fatally shot. The suspected shooter, also 12, is arrested and charged with murder and other firearm charges.
January 29, 2022 – Beloit Memorial High School – Beloit, Wisconsin. Jion Broomfield, 19, is fatally shot after a basketball game. Amaree Goodall, 19, is arrested in connection with the shooting.
January 19, 2022 – Oliver Citywide Academy – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 15-year-old freshman Marquis Campbell is shot on school grounds. Campbell is taken to the hospital in critical condition and dies from gun injuries. Two suspects involved in the shooting remain unknown.
November 30, 2021 – Oxford High School – Oxford, Michigan. Ethan Crumbley, 15, opens fire, killing four students and injuring seven others. Crumbley later pleads guilty to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder and 19 other charges.
September 1, 2021 – Mount Tabor High School – Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A student is fatally shot, and a suspect is taken into custody.
March 1, 2021 – Watson Chapel Junior High – Pine Bluff, Arkansas. A student is fatally shot, and a 15-year-old male suspect is arrested.
January 14, 2020 – Bellaire High School – Bellaire, Texas. A 16-year-old male fatally shoots classmate Cesar Cortes. The teen is arrested and charged with manslaughter. The county district attorney said it appeared the shooting was unintentional.
November 14, 2019 – Saugus High School – Santa Clarita, California. Nathaniel Berhow, 16, opens fire, killing two and injuring three, then shoots himself.
May 6, 2019 – STEM School Highlands Ranch – Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Suspects Devon Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, are apprehended after a shooting leaves one dead and eight others injured. Erickson is later sentenced to life in prison without parole while McKinney is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
May 18, 2018 – Santa Fe High School – Santa Fe, Texas. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, allegedly opens fire killing 10 and injuring 13. Pagourtzis is arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. In November 2019, he is declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.
February 14, 2018 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – Parkland, Florida. Former student, Nikolas Cruz, 19, opens fire with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. According to law enforcement, the suspect activated a fire alarm to draw people outside to increase casualties. Cruz pleads guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Cruz is later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
January 23, 2018 – Marshall County High School – Benton, Kentucky. Gabriel R. Parker, 15, opens fire killing two and injuring 18 others. The suspect is arrested at the scene and later charged with two counts of murder and 14 counts of first degree assault. Parker is later sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty.
December 7, 2017 – Aztec High School – Aztec, New Mexico. William Atchison shoots and kills students Casey Jordan Marquez and Francisco Fernandez. Atchison, a former student at the high school, dies of what police believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
September 13, 2017 – Freeman High School – Spokane, Washington. Caleb Sharpe, a sophomore at the school, opens fire killing one student and injuring three others. Sharpe later pleads guilty and is sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
April 10, 2017 – North Park Elementary School – San Bernardino, California. Jonathan Martinez, 8, and his teacher, Karen Smith, are killed when Cedric Anderson, Smith’s estranged husband, walks into her special needs classroom and opens fire, armed with a large-caliber revolver. Two other students are wounded. Anderson then kills himself.
September 28, 2016 – Townville Elementary School – Greenville, South Carolina. A 14-year-old male opens fire on the playground, wounding two children and a teacher. Jacob Hall, one of the wounded children, dies three days later. Before going to the school, the teen, later identified as Jesse Osborne, shot and killed his father. In December 2018, Osborne pleads guilty to two murder charges and three attempted murder charges. In November 2019, Osborne is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, plus 30 years.
October 24, 2014 – Marysville-Pilchuck High School – Marysville, Washington. Freshman Jaylen Fryberg shoots five people in the school cafeteria, killing one. Fryberg dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. A second victim dies of her injuries two days later; a third dies on October 31. A fourth victim dies on November 7.
June 10, 2014 – Reynolds High School – Troutdale, Oregon. Jared Padgett, 15, shoots and kills 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman in the school gym. He later takes his own life.
December 13, 2013 – Arapahoe High School – Centennial, Colorado. Karl Pierson, 18, opens fire inside, critically injuring one student and then killing himself. 17-year-old Claire Davis dies on December 21, eight days after being shot.
October 21, 2013 – Sparks Middle School – Sparks, Nevada. 12-year-old student Jose Reyes takes his parent’s handgun to school and shoots three, injuring two 12-year-old male students and killing Mike Landsberry, a teacher and Marine veteran. He then kills himself.
December 14, 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School – Newtown, Connecticut. Adam Lanza, 20, guns down 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adults, school staff and faculty, before turning the gun on himself. Investigating police later find Nancy Lanza, Adam’s mother, dead from a gunshot wound. The final count is 27 dead.
February 27, 2012 – Chardon High School – Chardon, Ohio. Student Daniel Parmertor, 16, is killed and four others wounded when student T.J. Lane, 17, opens fire in the school. On February 28, Demetrius Hewlin, 16, dies from his wounds and Russell King Jr., 17, is declared brain dead. In March 2013, Lane is sentenced to life in prison. On September 11, 2014, Lane escapes from prison. He is captured early the next morning.
January 5, 2011 – Millard South High School – Omaha, Nebraska. 17-year-old Robert Butler Jr. opens fire on Principal Curtis Case and Vice Principal Vicki Kasper. Butler then kills himself about a mile from the school. Vice Principal Kasper later dies at the hospital.
February 5, 2010 – Discovery Middle School – Madison, Alabama. 14-year-old Todd Brown dies after being shot in the head in a school hallway. Fellow ninth-grader Hammad Memon later pleads guilty and is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
October 16, 2009 – Carolina Forest High School – Conway, South Carolina. 16-year-old student Trevor Varinecz is shot and killed by a police officer after allegedly pulling a knife and stabbing the officer.
September 23, 2009 – John Tyler High School – Tyler, Texas. A 16-year-old, Byron Truvia, is taken into custody for stabbing and killing high school teacher Todd R. Henry. Truvia is later found unfit to stand trial.
September 15, 2009 – Coral Gables Senior High School – Coral Gables, Florida. 17-year-old Andy Jesus Rodriguez fatally stabs 17-year-old sophomore Juan Carlos Rivera during a fight. Rodriguez is later sentenced to 40 years in prison.
August 21, 2008 – Central High School – Knoxville, Tennessee. 15-year-old Jamar Siler shoots and kills 15-year-old Ryan McDonald. In 2011, Siler receives 30 years in prison in a plea agreement.
January 3, 2007 – Henry Foss High School – Tacoma, Washington. Student Douglas Chanthabouly, 18, fatally shoots another student, Samnang Kok, 17. Chanthabouly is sentenced in 2009 to more than 23 years in prison for second-degree murder.
October 2, 2006 – West Nickel Mines Amish School – Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. 32-year-old Charles Roberts IV goes to a small Amish school and takes at least 11 girls hostage. Five girls were killed and six others wounded. Roberts then kills himself.
September 29, 2006 – Weston High School – Cazenovia, Wisconsin. 15-year-old Eric Hainstock goes to school armed with a shotgun and a handgun. After a struggle with the school janitor, Hainstock shoots and kills the school principal. He is convicted of murder in August 2007 and sentenced to life in prison.
September 27, 2006 – Platte Canyon High School – Bailey, Colorado. 54-year-old Duane Morrison takes six female students hostage. When SWAT teams enter the school, Morrison shoots 16-year-old Emily Keyes. Morrison then kills himself. Keyes later dies at the hospital.
November 8, 2005 – Campbell County Comprehensive High School – Jacksboro, Tennessee. 15-year-old Kenneth Bartley Jr. opens fire on a principal and two assistant principals, killing one of them and critically wounding another, authorities said. In 2007, Bartley accepts a plea bargain, but his guilty plea is later vacated. In a retrial in February 2014, Bartley is found guilty of reckless homicide and not guilty of attempted first degree murder. He is sentenced to time served and released.
March 21, 2005 – Red Lake High School – Red Lake, Minnesota. 16-year-old Jeff Weise kills his grandfather and another adult, five students, a teacher and a security officer. He then kills himself.
February 3, 2004 – Southwood Middle School – Palmetto Bay, Florida. 14-year-old Michael Hernandez stabs to death 14-year-old Jaime Rodrigo Gough. In 2013, an appeals court tosses Hernandez’s life sentence and remands the case for re-sentencing. In 2016, Hernandez is again sentenced to life in prison.
September 24, 2003 – Rocori High School – Cold Spring, Minnesota. 15-year-old Jason McLaughlin shoots and kills 17-year-old Aaron Rollins and critically injures another student. The second student dies in October. In 2005, McLaughlin is sentenced to consecutive terms of life in prison for first-degree murder and 12 years for second-degree murder.
April 24, 2003 – Red Lion Area Junior High School – Red Lion, Pennsylvania. 14-year-old James Sheets brings a revolver to school and kills his principal, Eugene Segro, and then himself.
December 5, 2001 – Springfield High School – Springfield, Massachusetts. At a high school for troubled teens, 17-year-old Corey Ramos stabs to death Reverend Theodore Brown, a counselor at the school. In 2003, Ramos is sentenced to life in prison.
March 5, 2001 – Santana High School – Santee, California. 15-year-old Charles “Andy” Williams kills two classmates, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, and injures 13. Williams is sentenced in 2002 to at least 50 years in prison.
May 26, 2000 – Lake Worth Community Middle School – Lake Worth, Florida. 13-year-old Nathaniel Brazill, after being sent home for misbehaving, returns to school and shoots and kills his teacher Barry Grunow. Brazill is sentenced to 28 years in prison.
February 29, 2000 – Buell Elementary School – Mount Morris Township, Michigan. An unnamed 6-year-old boy shoots and kills a 6-year-old playmate, Kayla Rolland, at school. He is removed from his mother’s custody and put up for adoption.
November 19, 1999 – Deming Middle School – Deming, New Mexico. 12-year-old Victor Cordova shoots and kills a 13-year-old classmate. He is sentenced to two years in juvenile detention.
April 20, 1999 – Columbine High School – Littleton, Colorado. 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold kill 12 fellow students and one teacher before dying by suicide in the school library.
May 21, 1998 – Thurston High School – Springfield, Oregon. After killing his parents the previous day, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel returns to Thurston High armed with a rifle. He kills two students in the school cafeteria, a 16 and a 17-year-old. He is sentenced to 112 years in prison.
April 24, 1998 – James Parker Middle School – Edinboro, Pennsylvania. 14-year-old Andrew Wurst shoots and kills science teacher John Gillette at a school dance. He is sentenced to serve between 30 and 60 years.
March 24, 1998 – Westside Middle School – Jonesboro, Arkansas. 11-year-old Andrew Golden and 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson ambush fellow students and their teachers, killing five. Johnson is incarcerated in a youth facility and released on his 21st birthday, August 11, 2005. Golden is released on his 21st birthday, May 25, 2007.
December 1, 1997 – Heath High School – West Paducah, Kentucky. 14-year-old Michael Carneal opens fire on a school prayer group, killing three girls, who were 14, 15 and 17. He is serving life in prison.
October 1, 1997 – Pearl High School – Pearl, Mississippi. After killing his mother at home, 16-year-old Luke Woodham arrives at school and shoots two classmates. Woodham is serving three life sentences plus 140 years.
February 19, 1997 – Bethel High School – Bethel, Alaska. 16-year-old Evan Ramsey uses a shotgun stolen from his foster home to kill a 15-year-old student and the school principal. He is currently serving a term of 210 years.
September 25, 1996 – Dekalb Alternative School – Decatur, Georgia. 16-year-old David Dubose Jr. shoots and kills English teacher Horace Morgan on the steps of the school. Dubose is found not guilty by reason of insanity and is committed indefinitely to a state mental hospital.
February 2, 1996 – Frontier Junior High School – Moses Lake, Washington. 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis takes a rifle to school and kills two classmates and a teacher. He is sentenced to life in prison.
January 19, 1996 – Winston Education Center – Washington. Two masked gunmen kill 14-year-old Damion Blocker in a stairwell. 16-year-old shooter Darrick Evans is given a sentence of 41 years to life in prison.
November 15, 1995 – Richland High School – Lynnville, Tennessee. 17-year-old Jamie Rouse kills a business teacher and a 16-year-old student. Rouse is serving a life sentence.
October 12, 1995 – Blackville-Hilda High School – Blackville, South Carolina. 15-year-old Toby Sincino kills a teacher and then himself.
November 7, 1994 – Wickliffe Middle School – Wickliffe, Ohio. 37-year-old drifter Keith Ledeger shoots and kills school custodian Peter Christopher and injures three others. Ledeger is sentenced to life in prison.
April 12, 1994 – Margaret Leary Elementary School – Butte, Montana. 10-year-old James Osmanson, teased because his parents have AIDS, shoots and kills an 11-year-old on the school playground. Osmanson is sent to a private residential treatment center.
February 1, 1994 – Valley View Junior High School – Simi Valley, California. 13-year-old Philip Hernandez stabs to death a 14-year-old student in a school hallway. Hernandez is sentenced to four years in a California Youth Authority prison.
December 1, 1993 – Wauwatosa West High School – Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. 21-year-old former student Leonard McDowell returns to his high school and kills Associate Principal Dale Breitlow. He is sentenced to life in prison.
May 24, 1993 – Upper Perkiomen High School – Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. 15-year-old student Jason Smith kills another student who had bullied him. He is sentenced to between 12 and 25 years in prison.
April 15, 1993 – Ford Middle School – Acushnet, Massachusetts. 44-year-old David Taber invades a middle school and takes three hostages. He later shoots and kills school nurse Carol Day. He is found not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity.
April 12, 1993 – Dartmouth High School – Dartmouth, Massachusetts. 16-year-old Jason Robinson is stabbed to death in his social studies class by three teenage attackers who invade the classroom.
January 18, 1993 – East Carter High School – Grayson, Kentucky. 17-year-old student Scott Pennington shoots and kills a teacher and custodian. He is sentenced to life in prison.
May 1, 1992 – Lindhurst High School – Olivehurst, California. 20-year-old dropout Eric Houston returns to his high school and kills a former teacher and three students. Houston is sentenced to death.
February 26, 1992 – Thomas Jefferson High School – Brooklyn, New York. A 15-year-old shoots and kills two other students. The shooter, Kahlil Sumpter, is sentenced in 1993 to between 6 2/3 and 20 years in prison and is released in 1998.
November 25, 1991 – Thomas Jefferson High School – Brooklyn, New York. A stray bullet kills a 16-year-old student during an argument between two other teens. Shooter Jason Bentley, 14, is sentenced in 1992 to three to nine years in prison.
January 17, 1989 – Cleveland Elementary School – Stockton, California. 24-year-old drifter Patrick Purdy uses an AK-47 to kill five children on an elementary school playground. He then takes his own life.
December 16, 1988 – Atlantic Shores Christian School – Virginia Beach, Virginia. 16-year-old Nicholas Elliot shoots and kills teacher Karen Farley. Elliott is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
September 26, 1988 – Oakland Elementary School – Greenwood, South Carolina. 19-year-old James Wilson, copying the Winnetka, Illinois murders, kills 8-year-olds Tequila Thomas and Shequila Bradley in their school cafeteria. Wilson’s death sentence is overturned in January 2003.
May 20, 1988 – Hubbard Woods Elementary School – Winnetka, Illinois. 30-year-old Laurie Dann invades an elementary school and kills an 8-year-old boy. She injures six other people before taking her own life.
February 11, 1988 – Pinellas Park High School – Largo, Florida. Two 15-year-olds with stolen weapons, Jason McCoy and Jason Harless, shoot and kill Assistant Principal Richard Allen. McCoy serves two years in prison, and Harless serves eight.
March 2, 1987 – Dekalb High School – Dekalb, Missouri. 12-year-old Nathan Faris, who was teased about being overweight, shoots 13-year-old Timothy Perrin and then takes his own life.
December 4, 1986 – Fergus High School – Lewistown, Montana. 14-year-old Kristofer Hans shoots and kills substitute teacher Henrietta Smith. He is sentenced to 206 years in prison in 1988.
May 16, 1986 – Cokeville Elementary School – Cokeville, Wyoming. A couple in their 40s, David and Doris Young, take over an elementary school with a bomb and hold 150 children and adults hostage, demanding $300 million in ransom. The bomb accidentally detonates, setting the school on fire. Investigators later determine that during the fire David Young shot his wife and then killed himself. 74 people were injured in the fire.
January 21, 1985 – Goddard Junior High School – Goddard, Kansas. 14-year-old James Kearbey shoots and kills Principal Jim McGee. Kearbey spends seven years in juvenile detention and is released at the age of 21. On October 31, 2001, Kearbey is involved in a six-hour standoff with Wichita, Kansas, police. No injuries resulted and Kearbey is later acquitted of aggravated assault on a police officer.
February 24, 1984 – 49th Street School – Los Angeles. Sniper Tyrone Mitchell shoots at children on an elementary school playground, killing one and injuring 11. He later takes his own life.
January 20, 1983 – Parkway South Junior High – St. Louis. An unnamed 14-year-old shoots and kills another student before turning the gun on himself.
March 19, 1982 – Valley High School – Las Vegas. 17-year-old Pat Lizotte shoots and kills psychology teacher Clarence Piggott during class. Lizotte is sentenced to life in prison.
January 29, 1979 – Grover Cleveland Elementary – San Diego. 16-year-old Brenda Spencer opens fire on a school across from her home, killing the principal and janitor.
May 18, 1978 – Murchison Junior High School – Austin, Texas. 13-year-old John Christian shoots and kills his English teacher Wilbur Grayson, during class. The shooter is the son of George Christian, press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson from 1967 to 1969. After time in a psychiatric hospital, Christian attends high school in the Dallas area.
February 22, 1978 – Everett High School – Lansing, Michigan. 15-year-old Roger Needham kills another student who had bullied him. After four years in juvenile detention, Needham is released. He later earns a Ph.D in math and works as a professor in Missouri and New York.
March 18, 1975 – Sumner High School – St. Louis. 16-year-old Stephen Goods, a bystander, is shot and killed during a fight between other teens.
December 30, 1974 – Olean High School – Olean, New York. Honors student Anthony Barbaro kills a school janitor and two passers-by. Barbaro later kills himself while awaiting trial.
October 5, 1966 – Grand Rapids High School – Grand Rapids, Minnesota. 15-year-old David Black injures another student before killing teacher Forrest Willey.
September 15, 1959 – Edgar Allen Poe Elementary – Houston. Convict Paul Orgeron explodes a suitcase of dynamite on a school playground, killing himself, two adults and three children.
May 18, 1927 – Bath Consolidated Schoolhouse – Bath, Michigan. Farmer Andrew Kehoe sets off two explosions at the school, killing himself, six adults and 38 children.
by tyler | Jan 11, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of Martin O’Malley, former governor of Maryland.
Birth date: January 18, 1963
Birth place: Washington, DC
Birth name: Martin Joseph O’Malley
Father: Thomas O’Malley, attorney
Mother: Barbara (Suelzer) O’Malley, receptionist for Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)
Marriage: Catherine “Katie” Curran O’Malley (1990-present)
Children: Grace, Tara, William, and Jack
Education: Catholic University of America, B.A., 1985; University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., 1988
Religion: Catholic
Longtime guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been the front man of the Celtic rock band O’Malley’s March since 1988.
Worked on Gary Hart’s presidential campaign as a volunteer.
While mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland, O’Malley introduced data-driven government reporting and management programs such as CitiStat, StateStat and BayStat.
During O’Malley’s two terms as governor, Maryland legalized same-sex marriage, passed new gun control laws, increased the minimum wage, repealed the death penalty, decriminalized small amounts of marijuana and provided in-state tuition for some undocumented immigrants.
David Simon, creator of the Baltimore-based television series “The Wire,” has said that the character, Tommy Carcetti, is based partly on O’Malley.
1986-1988 – Serves as state field director for Barbara Mikulski’s campaign and later as a legislative fellow after Mikulski is elected to the US Senate.
1988-1990 – Assistant state’s attorney for the city of Baltimore.
1990 – Unsuccessfully runs for the Maryland state Senate. O’Malley loses to incumbent Sen. John Pica in the Democratic primary by 44 votes.
1991 – Elected to represent Baltimore’s 3rd District on the City Council, serves until 1999.
December 7, 1999-January 17, 2007 – Serves two terms as the mayor of Baltimore.
November 7, 2006 – Elected governor of Maryland, defeating Republican incumbent Gov. Bob Ehrlich.
January 17, 2007-January 21, 2015 – Serves as the 61st governor of Maryland.
2010 – Appointed to the first Council of Governors by President Barack Obama. O’Malley is named co-chairman in 2013.
November 2, 2010 – Reelected governor, again defeating Ehrlich.
December 2010-December 2012 – Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
May 10, 2011 – Signs the Maryland DREAM Act into law, which extends in-state tuition to certain undocumented immigrants. Opponents later collect enough signatures to force a referendum. In November 2012, voters choose to uphold the law.
March 1, 2012 – Signs into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland. Opponents later collect enough signatures to force a referendum in November, where 51.9% of voters approve same-sex marriage rights. The law goes into effect in January 2013.
May 2, 2013 – Signs a bill repealing the death penalty. The legislation goes into effect in October but is not retroactive.
December 31, 2014 – Announces he will take the state’s last four inmates off death row, commuting their sentences to life in prison without parole in one of his final acts as governor.
May 30, 2015 – Formally announces he is running for president.
February 1, 2016 – Ends his presidential campaign after getting less than 1% of the vote at the Iowa caucuses.
February 7, 2018 – Harvard University announces that O’Malley will be a visiting fellow for 2018 beginning in April.
November 2019 – Announced as the Poling Chair of Business and Government at Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
November 5, 2019 – “Smarter Government: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age” is published. The companion book, “Smarter Government Workbook: A 14-Week Implementation Guide to Governing for Results,” is published in May 2020.
July 26, 2023 – President Joe Biden nominates O’Malley to be commissioner of the Social Security Administration. On December 18, 2023, the Senate confirms O’Malley by a vote of 50-11.
by tyler | Jan 11, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Birth date: August 8, 1953
Birth place: Mobile, Alabama
Birth name: Lloyd James Austin III
Father: Lloyd James Austin Jr., postal worker
Mother: Aletia Taylor Austin, homemaker
Marriage: Charlene Denise (Banner) Austin (early 1980s-present)
Children: Reginald Hill (stepson); Christopher Hill (stepson)
Education: United States Military Academy, B.S., 1975; Auburn University, M.E., counselor education, 1986; Webster University, M.A., management and leadership, 1989; War Army College (1996-1997 attended)
Military service: US Army, 1975-2016, four-star general
Has achieved many firsts:
Awarded numerous decorations for his military service, including five Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star for bravery in combat and two Legions of Merit.
Has served on a number of boards of directors including Nucor Corporation, Tenet Healthcare Corporation and United Technologies (now known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation following a 2020 merger).
Served on the board of trustees of Auburn University and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
An athlete in high school, he was captain of his varsity basketball team.
1975 – Austin is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army upon graduation from West Point. Over the next 20 years, he holds a number of leadership positions and is stationed at bases in North Carolina, Indianapolis, New York, Germany and Panama.
1997-1999 – Commander, 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
1999-2001 – Chief, Joint Operations Division, J-3, The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
2001-2003 – Assistant division commander, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.
2003-2005 – Commanding general, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York. Includes Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.
2005-2006 – Chief of staff, US Central Command, Unified Combat Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
2006-2009 – Commanding general, XVIII Airborne Corps and Commander, Multi-National Corps; Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2009-2010 – Office of the Director, Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
2010 – He is promoted to four-star general.
2010-2011 – Commanding general, US Forces-Iraq, US Central Command, Operation New Dawn.
January 31, 2012-March 2013 – Vice Chief of Staff, US Army.
December 6, 2012 – Nominated by President Barack Obama to be the 12th commander of US Central Command.
March 2013-March 2016 – Commander, US Central Command.
April 5, 2016 – Retires from the military.
2016 – Founds the Austin Strategy Group, LLC., with Austin as owner and president. Later declares in a US Office of Government Ethics filing that the consulting business will remain dormant upon his 2021 confirmation as defense secretary.
September 2020-January 22, 2021 – Partner at investment firm Pine Island Capital Partners.
December 8, 2020 – President-elect Joe Biden names Austin as his nominee for secretary of defense, in an op-ed published by the Atlantic.
January 19, 2021 – The Senate Armed Services Committee hearing takes place. Austin addresses concerns about a retired general assuming the top civilian post at the Pentagon, “If confirmed, I will carry out the mission of the Department of Defense, always with the goal to deter war and ensure our nation’s security, and I will uphold the principle of civilian control of the military, as intended.” He also pledges to fight to rid the department of “racists and extremists.”
January 21, 2021 – Both chambers of Congress approve a waiver to permit Austin to serve as secretary of defense, as the law requires a defense secretary to wait seven years after active-duty service before taking the position. This is the second such waiver. The first was granted to James Mattis in 2017.
January 22, 2021 – In a 93-2 vote, the Senate confirms Austin to be the first African American defense secretary.
February 2, 2021 – Austin dismisses hundreds of members of 42 Pentagon advisory boards, as the Pentagon announces a review of the boards’ memberships. Those members, appointed by the Pentagon, include late appointments by the Donald Trump administration.
February 2, 2021 – Austin orders a staggered pause of operations across the US military so commanders can have “needed discussions” with service members about the issue of extremism over the next 60 days, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby announces.
February 16, 2021 – Writes a Washington Post op-ed to underline that, under the Biden Administration, the US is back in full support of NATO and the US’ traditional role in defense of Europe.
March 21, 2021 – Travels to Afghanistan on his first visit to the country as the United States’ top defense official, meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other officials.
April 30, 2021 – In his first major policy speech, Austin stresses the importance of emerging technology and the rapid increases in computing power to push the military into the future, laying out a vision of warfare starkly different from how “the last of the old wars” of the past two decades were fought.
June 22, 2021 – Austin announces he will recommend to Biden a change in the military justice system to take the prosecution of sexual assaults out of the hands of commanders.
January 2, 2022 – According to a statement from Austin released by the Defense Department, he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is exhibiting “mild” symptoms.
April 24, 2022 – Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken make an unannounced trip to Kyiv and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
March 7, 2023 – Austin makes an unannounced trip to Iraq. He is the highest-ranking Cabinet official to visit the country since the start of the Biden administration.
January 5, 2024 – The Pentagon announces Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year’s Day for complications from a medical procedure. Austin faces criticism as it is revealed that senior officials, including President Biden, were left in the dark about his multiday hospital stay. On January 9, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center releases a statement revealing Austin is being treated for prostate cancer. The cancer was discovered in early December 2023.
by tyler | Jan 11, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, nicknamed “Ryan Express.” He played for 27 seasons, won 324 games, and was on the All-Star Team eight times.
Birth date: January 31, 1947
Birth place: Refugio, Texas
Birth name: Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr.
Father: Lynn Nolan Ryan Sr., supervisor at Stanton Oil Company
Mother: Martha Lee (Hancock) Ryan, homemaker
Marriage: Ruth (Holdorff) Ryan (June 26, 1967-present)
Children: Wendy, Nolan “Reese” and Robert “Reid”
Military Service: US Army Reserves, 1967
Major League Baseball pitcher for 27 seasons, with the New York Mets, the California Angels, the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers.
Ryan holds records for career strikeouts, 5,714, and career no-hitters, seven.
His uniform numbers have been retired by three different teams: the Angels, the Astros and the Rangers.
Ryan was known for soaking his fingers in pickle juice in order to treat and avoid getting blisters.
Co-owns two minor league baseball teams, the AAA-team Round Rock Express and the AA-team Corpus Christi Hooks.
Raises Beefmaster cattle in Texas. Beefmasters, bred to survive the summers of South Texas, are a three-way cross between Brahman, Hereford and Shorthorn breeds.
He and his wife, Ruth, were high school sweethearts.
Ryan played football in high school, until a “head-on collision with future NFL running back Norm Bulaich changed his mind.”
June 1965 – Ryan is the 226th pick in the twelfth round of the MLB Amateur Draft by the New York Mets.
September 11, 1966 – Ryan’s major-league debut, at Shea Stadium, in the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves win 8-3.
1967 – Completes six months of basic training in the Army Reserves.
October 14, 1969 – Is the relief pitcher for Game Three of the World Series, shutting out the Baltimore Orioles to help the Mets break the series tie, to lead two games to one. The Mets go on to win the World Series four games to one, earning Ryan his only World Series Championship.
1970 – Buys his first ranch, in Gonzales, Texas.
December 10, 1971 – The Mets trade Ryan to the California Angels.
May 15, 1973 – Pitches his first career no-hitter, striking out 12 Kansas City Royals at Royals Stadium. The Angels win 3-0.
August 20, 1974 – Enters The Guinness Book of World Records with the fastest pitch, 100.9 mph, during a game between the Angels and the Detroit Tigers at Anaheim Stadium. The Tigers win 1-0. The record holds until September 24, 2010.
November 19, 1979 – As a free-agent, he signs a four-year, $4.5 million contract with the Houston Astros, making him the highest paid MLB player at the time.
April 27, 1983 – Earns his 3,509th strikeout to surpass Walter Johnson’s 1927 all-time strikeout record.
December 7, 1988 – As a free-agent, he signs with the Texas Rangers.
August 22, 1989 – Strikes out Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics for his 5,000th strikeout.
1990 – The Nolan Ryan Foundation is formed.
May 1, 1991 – Throws his seventh and final no-hitter, an MLB record. The Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 at Arlington Stadium.
September 22, 1993 – Pitches his last MLB game, Rangers at Seattle Mariners in the Kingdome. The Mariners win 7-4.
1994-2004 – Special assistant to the president of the Texas Rangers.
January 5, 1999 – In his first year of eligibility, Ryan is selected for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
April 2000 – Undergoes emergency double bypass surgery.
May 2000 – Nolan Ryan Beef, the label for beef grown and sold on Ryan’s ranch, is first sold in Texas markets.
2004-2008 – Special assistant to the Astros General Manager Tim Purpura.
February 8, 2008-March 10, 2011 – President of the Texas Rangers.
August 2010-October 2013 – Part-owner of the Texas Rangers.
March 11, 2011-October 31, 2013 – President and CEO of the Texas Rangers.
February 11, 2014-November 2019 – Executive adviser for the Houston Astros.
May 2014 – His cookbook, “The Nolan Ryan Beef & Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes from a Texas Kitchen,” is published.
November 30, 2016 – Ryan, along with other retired MLB All-Stars including Barry Larkin and David Ortiz, announces the creation of Dugout Ventures, a private equity group focused on baseball-related brands and companies.
May 24, 2022 – Ryan’s documentary “Facing Nolan” premieres.
by tyler | Jan 11, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States.
Birth date: January 30, 1941
Birth place: Lincoln, Nebraska
Birth name: Richard Bruce Cheney
Father: Richard Herbert Cheney, worked for the Department of Agriculture
Mother: Marjorie Lorraine (Dickey) Cheney
Marriage: Lynne Ann (Vincent) Cheney (August 29,1964-present)
Children: Mary and Elizabeth
Education: Attended Yale University, 1959-1960; Attended Casper College, 1963; University of Wyoming, B.A. in political science, 1965; University of Wyoming, M.A. in political science, 1966; Attended University of Wisconsin as a Ph.D. candidate, 1968, did not finish
Religion: Methodist
When Cheney was 13, his family moved to Casper, Wyoming, where his father worked for the US Soil Conservation Service.
Cheney was co-captain of the Natrona High School football team and senior class president. Lynne Vincent, his future wife, was the homecoming queen.
Has had at least five heart attacks since 1978.
His younger daughter, Mary, is openly gay. Cheney has said in the past that he supports same-sex marriage, but regulations should be handled at the state level.
His oldest daughter, Liz, is a US Representative from Wyoming.
1966 – Drops out of the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin to work as staff aide for Governor Warren Knowles.
1968 – Cheney is awarded an American Political Science Association congressional fellowship with Congressman William Steiger and moves to Washington, DC.
1969 – Assigned to work for Donald Rumsfeld, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity in President Richard Nixon’s administration. Rumsfeld appoints Cheney to the position of special assistant.
1970 – Rumsfeld becomes a White House counselor. Cheney becomes his deputy.
1971-1973 – Assistant director of the Cost of Living Council.
1973 – Rumsfeld asks Cheney to join him in Brussels, Belgium, when Nixon appoints Rumsfeld ambassador to NATO. Cheney declines and instead accepts a post as vice president at Bradley, Woods and Company, a Washington, DC, investment firm that counsels corporate clients on politics and federal policy.
August 1974 – Gerald Ford succeeds President Nixon and appoints Rumsfeld to head his transition team. Rumsfeld recruits Cheney to serve as his deputy.
September 1974 – Named deputy assistant to the president.
November 5, 1975-1977 – White House chief of staff.
June 18, 1978 – Has a heart attack.
January 3, 1979-March 17, 1989 – US Representative from Wyoming. Is reelected five times.
1981-1987 – Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.
1984 – Has a second heart attack.
1987 – Elected chairman of the House Republican Conference.
1988 – Becomes House minority whip.
1988 – Has a third heart attack and undergoes quadruple bypass surgery.
March 1989 – President George H.W. Bush nominates Cheney for secretary of defense after John Tower’s nomination for the position fails to win Senate confirmation.
1989-1993 – Serves as secretary of defense. He directs two military campaigns during this time: Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East.
July 3, 1991 – Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush for his leadership during the Gulf War.
March 1992 – Cheney and other current and former congressmen are named in a scandal involving overdrafts at the House bank. Cheney later acknowledges the overdrafts. The House Ethics Committee, formerly the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, offers recommendations that stop short of a formal inquiry. (The bank of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives ceased all banking activities at the end of 1991.)
1995 – Becomes chairman and CEO of Halliburton, an engineering and construction company for the petroleum industry.
March 2000 – Asked by George W. Bush to be his running mate. Cheney declines, instead accepting a position vetting potential vice presidential candidates. He accepts in July when Bush asks again.
November 22, 2000 – Cheney checks himself into a hospital with chest pains. Doctors say he had a mild heart attack and insert a stent to open an artery.
December 12, 2000 – The US Supreme Court reverses a Florida Supreme Court decision ordering a recount of thousands of votes – effectively ceding the presidency to Bush and Cheney.
2001-2009 – Serves as vice president of the United States.
March 5, 2001 – Cheney checks himself into George Washington University Hospital with chest pains. He undergoes angioplasty to reopen the artery treated in November 2000. It is determined he did not suffer a heart attack on this occasion.
June 30, 2001 – Doctors insert a “pacemaker-plus” device to monitor Cheney’s heart rhythm and slow it down if it becomes irregular.
November 2, 2004 – Bush and Cheney are reelected.
September 24, 2005 – Undergoes surgery at George Washington University Hospital for an arterial aneurysm behind his right knee. A similar procedure will be performed on an aneurysm in an artery behind the left knee at a later date.
December 18, 2005 – Makes a surprise visit to troops in Iraq. It is his first trip to the country since 1991.
February 11, 2006 – During a quail hunting trip in Texas, Cheney accidentally shoots and wounds his hunting companion, Harry Whittington.
July 13, 2006 – Cheney, along with Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and a number of unnamed defendants, are named in a federal civil lawsuit by Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson. The suit contends Plame was the victim of intentional and malicious exposure, and that both she and Wilson “suffered a violation of rights guaranteed them under the United States Constitution and the laws of the District of Columbia.” The lawsuit is later dismissed.
March 5, 2007 – Doctors at George Washington University Hospital find a blood clot in Cheney’s lower left leg.
July 28, 2007 – Cheney has the battery replaced in his heart defibrillator.
November 26, 2007 – He is diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat), after he visits his doctor complaining of a lingering cough. He undergoes a routine heart procedure intended to shock the heart back into normal rhythm.
September 17, 2009 – Undergoes elective back surgery to deal with pain caused from a case of lumbar spinal stenosis.
February 22, 2010 – Cheney is hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital after experiencing chest pains. It is determined Cheney suffered a mild heart attack.
August 2011 – On a tour to promote the release of his upcoming memoir “In My Time,” Cheney criticizes former Bush administration officials Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and George Tenet.
March 24, 2012 – His office says he is recovering after undergoing successful heart transplant surgery.
2013 – The medical memoir “Heart: An American Medical Odyssey,” co-written by Dick Cheney and Dr. Jonathan Reiner, is published.
December 3, 2015 – A bust of Cheney is unveiled at the US Capitol.
January 3, 2017 – Attends the swearing-in ceremony of daughter Liz Cheney. In November, she won the Wyoming congressional seat once held by her father.
March 27, 2017 – Says that alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election could be considered an “act of war” during a speech at an economic forum in India. He also declares that he believes the Russian efforts were directed by President Vladimir Putin.
December 25, 2018 – The movie titled “Vice,” starring Christian Bale as Cheney, opens in US theaters.
January 6, 2022 – Cheney and his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney are the only Republicans on the House floor during a remembrance of the January 6th riot. Later, he makes a statement saying he is “deeply disappointed at the failure of many members of my party to recognize the grave nature of the January 6 attacks and the ongoing threat to our nation.”
August 4, 2022 – Cheney appears in a new campaign ad for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney. In the ad he criticizes former President Trump as a “threat to our republic” and a “coward.”
