Houston Shooting Leaves 1 Officer and 1 Bystander Dead

Two people were killed in a shooting, Monday morning, in Houston, Texas.

A police officer was conducting a routine traffic stop, when the driver tried speeding away.

While fleeing the driver ran into another vehicle.

When the officer approached, the driver shot him and tried running away.

They exchanged fire, hitting each other and a bystander.

The driver then fled, on foot, but was eventually caught by other officers, and is now in the hospital.

Both the original officer and the bystander died of their wounds.

2 New York Firefighters Killed in Ambush

Early Monday morning, two New York firefighters were killed, in Webster, New York.

They responded to a house and car fire, only to have shots fired upon them, killing two and wounding another two.

Two police officers were also wounded during a fire fight with the shooter.

SWAT was called in, and searched the nearby houses, eventually finding the shooter, dead from a gunshot wound.

It is unclear if the gunman shot himself or was hit in the exchange with police.

By the time it was deemed safe, for the firefighters, other houses were burning.

In all four houses and one car were destroyed and four homes were damaged.

Police believe that the shooter purposefully lit the fire, and then waited in ambush for firefighters to respond.

Puntlandi Troops Rescue Pirate Hostages

Puntlandi troops claim to have rescued twenty-two sailors from their pirate captors.

The twenty-two hostages had been held since their ship, the MV Iceberg 1, had been captured by Somali pirates, in March of 2009, off Yemen.

Their twenty-three month long captivity was ended Sunday, after Puntlandi troops had besieged the pirates and engaged in fighting, over the last two weeks.

Though showing signs of abuse, malnutrition, and illness, the hostages are expected to recover now that they are receiving medical care and better food and water.

Syrian Bakery Hit by Airstrike

As many as two hundred people were killed in Halfaya, Syria, on Sunday. According to rebels, who took the town last week, a government jet struck a bakery.

As many as a thousand people were in line, at the bakery, when the air strike hit. Many of the dead would've been women and children. The bakery was the biggest still running, until the attack.

Video, purportedly from the scene, showed dozens of bodies lined up against a blackened building, mostly reduced to rubble. Screams and sirens could be heard, with people trying to make their way from the area, with rescuers running towards it.

This would not be the first time that Syrian forces had targeted bakeries. In the past they have repeatedly singled out bakeries, claiming that terrorist forces uses them for fronts.

Egypt's Constiution Passes, Will Face Court Challenges

Egypt's two step voting process concluded, on Saturday, with seventeen of the twenty-seven provinces taking their turn.

In an unsurprising vote, the proposed constitution passed, with a turn out of only thirty-two percent.

The opposition has already announced that they will challenge the vote, with charges of fraud and emphasis on the low turn out.

This constitution is highly contested in the country, with deadly riots against it taking place over the last couple weeks, in most of the cities.

Opposition members may continue the protests, while they challenge the constitution through the court system.

The courts may over turn it, as many judges and lawyers went on strike when the constitution was announced.

Many Egyptians fear the amount of Islamic influence in the constitution, believing it to be too close to shariah law.

Suicide Bombers Target Cell Phone Companies in Nigeria

Two suicide bombers hit Kano, Nigeria, on Saturday, leaving themselves dead, but only injuring one other person.

Both bombers targeted cellphone firms, in the city.

At the Airtel office building military troops shot the gunman before he could get to the building, his bomb did explode, but injured no one.

One security guard was injured, when the second bomber attacked MTN's offices, hitting a fence, which caused his bomb to explode.

Boko Haram is being blamed for the attacks.

The conflict with the terrorist group has seen nearly three thousand people die, since beginning in March of 2009.

Most of their attacks are carried out via suicide car bombs.

9 Killed in Suicide Blast at Pakistani Political Rally

Nine people were killed and twenty injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up, in Pakistan, on Saturday.

The target was a rally being held by the Awami National Party, in Peshawar.

A chief minister and senior police officer were among the dead.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Awami National Party events have been targeted by the terrorist organization before.

They are targeted because they regularly speak out against the Taliban.

Italian Parliament Dissolved

Monti, left, Napolitano, right.

On Saturday, Giorgio Napolitano, Italy's President, signed a decree that dissolves Italy's Parliament.

This comes one day after Prime Minister Mario Monti resigned.

Monti had been in office for thirteen months.

He had specifically been brought in, because of his economic background.

Italians thought he would be the answer to their economic woes, but his raising taxes and cuts in spending had become increasingly unpopular.

A general election will take place in February, most likely on the 24th.

Man Shot by Police in Colorado Springs

A man was shot by police, in Colorado Springs, Friday afternoon.

He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police say they were following the suspect in connection with felony warrants.

After he led them into a 7-11 parking lot he rammed his pickup into their cruiser.

According to the police he then pulled a weapon, so they shot him.

The officer who fired the shots was put on administrative leave, as is standard practice.

As the incident happened outside of Colorado Springs Police jurisdiction, the El Paso County Sheriff's Department is handling the investigation.

4 Dead After Shooter's Spree in Pennsylvania

Three people were killed in Pennsylvania, on Friday, during a man's shooting spree. By the end of it police had killed the shooter, and were processing five separate crime scenes.

It began about 09:00 EST in Geeseytown, at the Juniata Valley Gospel Church. A man shot through the windows of the church, then came inside, shot and killed one of the two women working there, and then left. He then drove to a nearby house, shot and killed a man there, and drove away once again. As he drove, he crashed head on to another vehicle, shot and killed that driver, and spend off once more.

Not long after that he crashed head on to a police cruiser, got out of his vehicle and opened fire. The three officers, inside the cruiser, returned fire, killing the shooter. All three officers were injured in the crash and or shooting, but were later released after receiving treatment at the hospital.

Police have not yet identified the victims or the shooter. They are working on figuring out a motive, but say they're not near one yet. No connection between the shooter and his three victims has been found. Nor have they found a connection between the victims, other than that they all were within a few miles of each other, when the shootings happened.