Grumpy Editor

GUNS ARE LEADING CAUSE OF CHILDRENS' DEATHS

 

Current leading cause of death among American children is guns, reports Axios, notes Grumpy Editor.

More kids are involved in gun-related homicides, including last week’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, it adds.

Nearly two-thirds of the 4,368 youths to age 19 who were killed by guns in 2021 were homicide victims, tallies the CDC.

Axios says that number passes motor vehicles as the top killer of kids in 2020.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

SUPPORT DOGS ARRIVE IN UVALDE.  Eight golden retrievers, emotional support dogs, arrive in Uvalde, Texas, to provide support in the wake of the tragic shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers. The canines are provided by Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministries.

 

NORTH KOREA FIRES THREE BALLISTIC MISSILES.  North Korea launches three ballistic missiles, including one that travels an unusual trajectory, according to officials. The missile’s flight path is described as a "double arc,"  ascending and then descending twice.

PENTAGON SPOKESMAN GETS NEW POST.  John Kirby, a retired rear admiral, is stepping down as chief Pentagon spokesman and soon will advise the National Security Council in strategic communications.

BIRTHS INCREASE IN 2021.  U.S. births rise in 2021 but fall short of pre-pandemic levels.  It is a one percent increase from 2020 that set the largest one-year drop in U.S. births in nearly 50 years.

AMAZON OPENS STORE IN LOS ANGELES.  In Los Angeles, Amazon.com Inc opens its first brick-and-mortar clothing retail store, as people start to venture out to shop following easing COVID-19 curbs. 

 

CONGRESS CITES WORLD WAR II DARING UNIT.  Lawmakers finally get around to awarding Merrill's Marauders the Congressional Gold Medal for the unit's daring World War II mission in Burma.  It’s the  highest civilian honor to the Army unit.

 

HOTEL RATES JUMP.  A surge in travel demand, worker shortages and a dearth of guest rooms trigger a steep increase in hotel prices. To attract workers, some hotels introduce sign-on bonuses as high as $2,000.

MAKING IT HARDER FOR SUPERMAN TO CHANGE.  New York City removes the last open-air pay phone in midtown Manhattan.  Now only four open air booths remain in outlying areas.

 

LIFEGUARD SHORTAGE HITS U.S.  The American Lifeguard Association says a nationwide lifeguard shortage could prevent about a third of the 309,000 pools across the country from opening and fewer manned lifeguard towers at recreational beaches.

NEW INFORMATION ON OCT. 1 LAS VEGAS MASSACRE AT STANDSTILL

 

The massacre on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip was almost a month ago and new information is at a standstill, notes Grumpy Editor.  

 

Last Monday Grumpy Editor cited a changing timeline with the mass shooting.  Now, all is quiet from authorities on any new developments tied to the Oct. 1 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino shooting that killed 58 and injured 546.

 

Unhappy with the lack of developments, the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday came up with a full page listing 34 unanswered questions from the now mum Clark County Sheriff' and the local FBI offices.  Among them:

 

*  What was the gunman planning to do with the explosives found in his car?

 

*  Which law enforcement agency is in charge of what parts of the investigation?

 

*  When did the gunman start planning his massacre?

 

This compares with several press conferences a day immediately following the shooting, then gradually to one a day, then none.

 

There have been no significant updates in more than two weeks.

 

"It's an ongoing investigation, and unless there's something to report, there will not be a briefing," an FBI spokesperson told the R-J.  Sheriff Joe Lombardo, originally accommodating media's questions shortly after the shooting, "will not be conducting interviews," a spokesperson said late last week, adding, "Another media briefing will be held when we have new and accurate information."

 

Meanwhile, in a long-shot effort to find a clue as to why Stephen Paddock went on a killing spree, the Clark County coroner’s office this week is sending the shooter’s brains to Dr. Hannes Vogel, director of  neuropathology at Stanford (Calif.) University Medical Center.  The search will seek more than a half dozen neurological diseases that could be a factor.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

ENGLISH FADES IN GOLDEN STATE.  In California, the nation’s most populous state (almost 40 million in July, 2016), 44.6 percent of the people five years of age and older do not speak English at home, reports the Census Bureau which also mentions 18.6 percent of Golden State residents age 5 and older do not speak English “very well.”  This compares nationally with 21.6 percent who speak a language other than English at home while 8.6 percent speak English "less than very well."

 

GDP BLOSSOMS IN THIRD QUARTER.  Gross domestic product, a key indicator of economic strength in the U.S., expands at an annual rate of 3 percent in the third quarter.  The expansion defies concerns among some in Washington and others that hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico would put a damper on output.

 

JOIN THE MILITARY AND SEE THE WORLD.  Following news that four U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed in Niger, it is revealed that 800 U.S. troops in Niger are among 6,000 in various missions in Africa.

 

AMAZON'S SECOND HOME SEARCH SPARKS INTEREST.  Amazon reports it has received 238 proposals from cities and regions in the U.S., Mexico and Canada hoping to be the base for the company’s second headquarters.

 

SEARS, WHIRLPOOL CALL IT QUITS.  After a business relationship of more than a century, Sears Holdings Corp. will no longer sell Whirlpool Corp. branded appliances.  Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer says his company no longer will supply Sears because it could not reach terms that were “acceptable to both parties.”

 

IT’LL COST MORE TO SEE THE VIEW.  The National Park Service proposes a peak season entrance fee increase at some of its busiest and most popular parks to fund improvements and hike revenue.

 

TOYS HIT.  The collapse of Toys'R'Us triggers a third quarter 13 percent drop in sales.  It also results in a $603 million net loss for Mattel that wiped 27 percent off the toymaker's shares and suspension of its quarterly dividend in the fourth quarter.

 

STILL BUILDING AFGHAN AIR FORCE.  The U.S. will provide Afghanistan with six additional A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft as efforts continue to strengthen the country’s air force and make government forces less reliant on American airpower, reports Stars & Stripes.

 

FORTUNE HEADS SOUTH OF BORDER.  Fortune magazine has been launched in Mexico where it will be published monthly, covering a range of topics from economy to politics.