General Norman Schwarzkopf, Dead at 78

Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf died on Thursday, at the age of seventy-eight, in Tampa, Florida.

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, August 22, 1934, H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. grew up to the army life. In 1956, he graduated from West Point and his first tour saw him in Berlin before the Wall was built. He then came back to the states and went to USC where he received his masters in mechanical engineering, graduating in 1964. Following that he taught at West Point, for one year, before applying to be sent to Vietnam, where he served, before coming back to teach two more years.

It was in Vietnam that his reputation to risk his own life for his soldiers came into place, it was also where he became known as Stormin Norman, due to his temper when other units refused to help his. Schwarzkopf rose through the ranks, serving in various locations and commands, until making full general in 1988.

As Commander in Chief of the US Central Command he designed a war game in which Iraq invaded Kuwait, and other nations, in order to take over oil fields, and how they should be defended. The games took place in July of 1990, less than a month before Iraq actually did invade Kuwait, for oil. He was put in charge of a coalition to removed Iraq from Kuwait. His plan was used and because of it, the US ground war only lasted four days.

Stormin Norman retired from the military in August of 1991, after which he became an analyst for NBC. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, in 1993, he began promoting awareness of it. He continued to work with various charities, after beating cancer, and sat on multiple boards for high profile corporations.

Greenwood Village Woman Shot to Death, Suspect Later Found Dead

Around 07:15, a woman was shot to death Thursday morning, in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

She was found on a ramp between the third and fourth floors of the Promenade Place Apartments' parking garage. According to police, she had been shot twice and there were clear signs of a struggle.

A few blocks away, at the I25 and Belleview light rail station, police found a green Jeep Cherokee that they believed was connected to the case. After talking to it's owner they later released it.

Police announced that they had two people of interest, in the case. They brought one of them in for questioning, the woman's current boyfriend.

The other is a former coworker, of the woman's, who had been fired for harassing her. SWAT had surrounded the man's apartment, and spent four hours negotiating to get him to come out peacefully. Eventually, they forced entry only to find that he had shot and killed himself.

Marcellus Scott, Dead at 22

Aurora, Colorado Police have identified the body found near Peoria and Iliff, on Wednesday.

He was twenty-two year old Marcellus Xavier Scott. 

On Thursday, the coroner announced that he died from Hypothermia.

Police had initially treated the discovery of his body as a crime scene, and called the death suspicious.

They have since back down from that statement, and now say they're waiting to see if tests show Scott was intoxicated.

Marcellus loved film, it had become his passion, and he was looking forward to making a career behind the camera.

"Chimp", as he was known to his friends, will be remembered as a good kid and great friend, who will greatly be missed.

Chinese Man Drives Car Into Crowd of Middle Schoolers

Forty-eight year old Yin Tiejun was arrested in Fengning, Hebei, China, on Monday after he drove his car into a group of children.

Twenty-three students were standing outside of Fengning Number 1 Middle School, thirteen of whom were injured.

Yin then attempted to light his car on fire.

Luckily police were able to stop him before he could so, as they found a tank full of gas and firecrackers in the trunk.

According to authorities, Yin has been angry for three years, ever since a court did not give the death penalty to four men found guilty of killing his daughter.

It is unclear why he attacked this group of children.

They, nor the school, had any connection to his daughter.

Russia's Upper House Passes US Adoption Ban

On Wednesday, Russia's upper house, the Federation Council, passed the Yakovlev Initiative, unanimously.

The initiative is a bill than bans Americans from adopting Russian children.

When it was proposed, law makers cited nineteen cases of Russian adoptees dying, in the US, including Dima Yakovlev.

President Putin is expected to sign it into law, as last week he spoke in support of the initiative.

It is the second part of Russia's strike back at the US for the Magnitsky Act.

Under the Magnitsky Act a visa ban was implaced on Russian officials, believed to be responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, it also placed a freeze on their financial assets.

Last Friday, Russia's lower house, the Duma, passed the anti-Magnitsky Act, which blocked certain US citizens from entering Russia or adopting Russian children.

Over a hundred thousand Russians signed a petition against the passage of the anti-Magnitsky Act.

The passage of the Yakovleve Initiative has already, and will continue to, received backlash from the international community.

Wales and England Drenched Yet Again

Wales and England continue to be drenched by rain causing major flooding in some areas.

Flood warnings and alerts blanket much of the area from Wales to the West Central Plain.

After a couple of landslides, warnings are now in place for Wales and southeast England.

Power has been knocked out in some areas.

The rain is expected to continue, through at least Friday.

2012 will finish as one of the top ten wettest years, since record keeping began in 1910.

Further north, in Scotland and northern England, icy roads and snow have conquered much of the country side.

Firework Factory Explodes in Nigeria

At least one person was killed and thirty were injured when a firework factory exploded, on Wednesday.

The explosion happened in Lagos, Nigeria, and many feared it was another terrorist bombing.

Flames quickly spread to neighboring buildings, burning at least nine of them.

Hundreds came and watched the fire, causing firefighters to be delayed in reaching the scene.

Their efforts were then hampered further by a lack of water and further explosions.

5 People Killed in Oklahoma City Fire

Five people and three dogs were killed by an early morning fire in Oklahoma City, on Wednesday.

Fire fighters arrived at around 06:30 to find a home engulfed in flames.

The fire was too far advanced and hot for the fire fighters to enter the building.

Two of it's residents escaped, one unharmed, the other with third degree burns.

That man is at the hospital in critical condition.

Four of the five people killed were children under the age of ten, the other was their mother.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

According to Fire Department Major Tammy McKinney there were no working smoke detectors in the home.

Christmas Storms Lead to 6 Deaths in The US

Christmas came with storms for much of the United States.

From north central Texas to Ohio and the the Great Lakes blizzard warnings came with snow and slick roads.

Four deaths were recorded due to icy roads, two in Oklahoma and two in Arkansas.

Further south, from south central Texas to the Florida panhandle, tornado warnings and high winds swept through.

As many as thirty-four tornadoes were spotted, on Tuesday.

Winds were blamed for felling trees, which led to a death in Louisiana and another in Texas.

Nearly three hundred thousand people, across the south, were still without power, on Wednesday.

The storm continues it's path across the country as it heads north east, covering the Great Lakes and central east coast, making it's way towards New England.

George H W Bush in ICU

Eighty-eight year old George H. W. Bush's condition has worsened, and he was placed in an intensive care unit, on Sunday.

On November 7 the former President was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, due to bronchitis.

He was released on November 19 only to be readmitted November 23, when his cough flared back up.

According to a spokesman, he had several setbacks, including a high fever, which required the move to the ICU.

The spokesman did say that he has greatly improved, since then, and is able to banter with his family and the hospital staff.

Bush will be kept in the ICU, until his condition has been upgraded above the current one of guarded.