Dozens of Fires Burning in South Australia and Victoria

Conditions in Australia remain perfect for a dangerous fire season.

High temperatures are combining with lightning to have created nearly a thousand fires, over the past week.

South Australia and Victoria are taking the brunt of the fires, with the two states hosting more than six hundred of them.

As of Wednesday, firefighters had put out all but fourteen of the blazes in South Australia and twenty-nine still burned in Victoria.

Eleven people have been injured by the fires, including ten firefighters.

Worries are that Friday will bring stronger winds, only increasing the danger.

Colorado Police Seeking Vandals Who Broke Into Englewood High School

Englewood Police have released photos of vandals who broke into Englewood High School.

Three adult men broke into the school, early Sunday morning, and vandalized various parts of the school.

They smashed windows, damaged computers in a computer lab, and set fires in the band room.

The fires set off the fire alarms, which drew police and firefighters to the school.

The sprinkler system knocked out the fires, but the water added to the damage done.

A two thousand dollar reward is being offered for information which leads to an arrest.

Anyone with information should call the Englewood Police Department at 303-761-7410 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

Colorado School Evacuated by Chemical Device

SkyView Academy, a K-12 school, in Highlands Ranch, Colorado was evacuated Tuesday.

Authorities say that some sort of "chemical device" went off just before noon.

Three students and a teacher have been hospitalized due to exposure, while nine other patients required treatment.

Parents were able to pick up their children from the school's gym, which was taken off the evacuation list after it was deemed safe by emergency crews.

No further information has yet been released about what occurred at the school.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Littleton Fire Department, and South Metro Fire Department are investigating the incident.

2 Wounded in Shooting at New Mexico Middle School

Two students were wounded when a third student opened fire at a New Mexico middle school.

Tuesday morning's shooting took place at Berrendo Middle School, in Roswell.

Witnesses say that a twelve year old male student fired multiple shots, with a shotgun, at a fourteen year old male student.

His shots hit his target and also struck a thirteen year old female.

A teacher was able to talk him into putting the gun down, before anyone else was hurt.

The school was immediately put on lock down as a precaution.

Students were bussed to the Roswell Mall, where their parents were able to pick them up.

Both victims were transported to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas for medical treatment.

According to the hospital, the male is in critical condition and the female is in serious condition.

Chicago Given 6 Months to Write New Gun Laws

On Tuesday, US District Judge Edmond Chang agreed to Chicago's request for a delay to allow for gun sales.

The city had requested one hundred and eighty days and Chang granted it.

Chang had ruled on Monday, January 6, that the city's gun ban was unconstitutional, and then stayed his own ruling to give the city time to appeal.

However, Chicago decided not to appeal the decision only asking for the delay to make new laws.

This sets the way for gun sales to begin in mid July.

Chicago had taken a lot of grief over the gun laws, which despite being the strictest in the US, were unable to stop gun violence.

In fact, gun violence only increased each year since the ban was put into place.

Constitutional Vote in Egypt

Egyptians once again voted for a constitution, on Wednesday, though with notable distinctions from the last vote.

The turn out for this new mostly secular constitution is much greater than the thirty-three percent of the previous Islamic based constitution.

Many Egyptians are celebrating this constitution as one that actually brings freedom to the people.

If it passes, as is expected, it will set up general elections later this year.

Unfortunately, violence also marred this vote, as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood attacked poll stations and clashed with voters and security forces.

Eight people have been killed in the violence, with at least sixty-six arrests made.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which is recognized as a terrorist organization, and other Islamic groups boycotted this constitutional vote, saying that it is illegitimate for various reasons.

Denver Hostage Situation Ends With Suspect Shot

A hostage situation in Denver ended with the suspect shot, on Monday morning.

Police responded to a suspicious person call at 08:30 MST, at the 7-11 located at Perry and Colfax.

There they found an armed man had two hostages, inside the store.

After an hour of negotiations the suspect came outside with a female hostage as a shield.

When he refused to release her and attempted to take her back into the store, a Denver police officer shot him.

Neither hostage was hurt, while the suspect was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Shooting Closes I270 in Denver

A shooting closed Interstate 270, through Commerce City, Colorado, on Monday morning.

Just after 03:00 MST police responded to reports of an accident.

When they arrived, shots were fired at them.

Officers returned fire, striking the shooter.

The shooter was taken to the hospital with non life threatening injuries, while no officers were harmed.

Police closed the entire nine mile stretch of the interstate, in both directions, until 11:30, while the investigation was underway.

West Virginia Slowly Clearing Water

Officials in West Virginia have announced that tap water will slowly be safe for drinking again.

A map will soon be put out on the West Virginian American Water website, showing which areas are safe.

The map will be simple with uncleared areas being marked in red and then changed to green once they are cleared.

Seventeen hundred miles of pipes were possibly contaminated by a chemical spill on Thursday.

A state of emergency was declared for Charleston and the surrounding areas, with people warned not to drink or wash in the water.

National Guard troops and other sources helped distribute bottled water.

6.5 Quake Rattles Puerto Rico

A 6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Puerto Rico, on Monday morning.

More than seventy aftershocks have followed, with three of them being larger than 3.5.

The quake cracked floors, knocked items off shelves, knocked out power, and caused other damage, but no injuries have been reported.

No tsunami alert was issued, which caused criticism of the government, however officials note that there was no tsunami, so no need for an alert.

It was the biggest quake to hit US territory since March 2011.