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Four people were shot Wednesday evening at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, according to police. One person died, said Sgt. Robert Gomez. “We have one person in custody. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/us/el-paso-texas-mall-shooting/index.html

Two teens have been charged in the death of Brianna Ghey, a transgender girl found dead in the English town of Warrington. Emergency services were called to a local park Feb. 11 when Ghey's body was found on a path, authorities said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl were initially arrested and questioned by the Cheshire Constabulary police force and were later charged with murder Wednesday. https://abcnews.go.com/International/teens-charged-death-transgender-tiktok-personality-brianna-ghey/story?id=97230426

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Anger boiled over Wednesday as Buffalo mass shooter Payton Gendron was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility parole, with a judge telling the 19-year-old he deserved "no mercy" and a victim's family member lunging at him in the courtroom. After hearing emotional statements from the families of the victims, Eagan imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, saying, "Our characters are being tested, the future of our nation is at stake." "There is no place for you or your ignorant, hateful and evil ideologies in a civilized society. https://abcnews.go.com/US/buffalo-mass-shooter-payton-gendron-set-sentenced-life/story?id=97079974

US federal investigators will not charge Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz for sex-trafficking crimes, US media report. His lawyers also released a statement that said the case had been dropped. The two-year investigation tried to determine whether the congressman had crossed state or international borders to have sex with underage girls. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64644518

Anxious residents are still demanding answers 12 days after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the small Ohio town of East Palestine. "It's pretty dramatic right now," said James Figley, who lives just blocks from the derailment site. "The whole town's in an uproar." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64642046

MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Several emergency crews responded to a military helicopter crash near Highway 53 and Burwell Road. Don Webster with HEMSI confirmed with News 19 that there were no survivors in the crash. The Madison County Coroner Tyler Berryhill told News 19 that he had been called to the scene. https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/emergency-officials-respond-to-helicopter-crash-near-highway-53/

Read Maria Lvova-Belova’s social media, and one might think Russia is selflessly delivering Ukrainian children from evil into the care of Russian families desperate to share their love. But according to American and European governments – and a new report by Yale investigators, backed by the US State Department – she is at the center of a Russian government scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, often to a network of dozens of camps, where the minors undergo political reeducation. “Maria Lvova-Belova is one of the most highly involved figures in Russia’s deportation and adoption of Ukraine’s children, as well as in the use of camps for ‘integrating’ Ukraine’s children into Russia’s society and culture,” the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s Conflict Observatory wrote. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/europe/russia-ukraine-children-maria-lvova-belova-intl/index.html

US intelligence officials are assessing the possibility that the suspected Chinese spy balloon was not deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the Chinese government and are examining whether it was diverted off course by strong winds, multiple people briefed on the intelligence tell CNN. After the balloon lifted off from Hainan, China last month, US officials monitored it as it made its way across the Pacific, sources said. After tracking the balloon for a little while, officials believed it would head towards Guam, where it would probably try to surveil military sites on the island. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/politics/us-intel-china-balloon/index.html

Raquel Welch, a longtime actress, international sex symbol and Golden Globe winner, has died, PEOPLE confirms. She was 82. Welch "passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness," her manager Steve Sauer confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday. Sauer added, "Her career spanned over 50 years starring in over 30 films and 50 television series and appearances. https://people.com/movies/raquel-welch-dies-at-82/

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At 2:36 on Monday morning, James Musk sent an urgent message to Twitter engineers. “We are debugging an issue with engagement across the platform,” wrote Musk, a cousin of the Twitter CEO, tagging “@here” in Slack to ensure that anyone online would see it. “Any people who can make dashboards and write software please can you help solve this problem. https://www.platformer.news/p/yes-elon-musk-created-a-special-system

Teddy Joseph Von Nukem, one of the most prominent faces lit by the glow of tiki torches in what became the lasting image of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, killed himself as he was due to face criminal trial last month. The 35-year-old skipped out on his first day of trial for a drug trafficking charge in Arizona on the morning of Jan. 30, according to court records. At the very moment a federal judge was issuing a warrant for his arrest, Von Nukem was actually still at his home in Missouri, where he had walked out in the snow behind the hay shed and shot himself. https://www.thedailybeast.com/charlottesville-tiki-torcher-teddy-joseph-von-nukem-killed-himself-before-trial?ref=home

An on-demand, non-hormonal male contraceptive pill may be a real possibility say scientists who have found a cell pathway, or switch, that stops sperm from being able to swim. Tests in mice suggest it keeps sperm stunned for at least a few hours - long enough to stop them reaching the egg. Many more tests are planned and needed, moving to rabbits before people. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-64635446

Inflation turned higher to start 2023, as rising shelter, gas and fuel prices took their toll on consumers, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures a broad basket of common goods and services, rose 0.5% in January, which translated to an annual gain of 6.4%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective increases of 0.4% and 6.2%. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/14/consumer-price-index-january- 2023-.html

Pence to fight subpoena from special counsel investigating Trump in January 6 investigation — Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to fight a recent subpoena from the special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump’s post-2020 election activities based on the grounds that he was president of the Senate at the time and therefore shielded from the order, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Pence is expected to address the subpoena and his response to it during a trip to Iowa on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with his plans. His decision to fight the subpoena comes as the former vice president is mulling a 2024 presidential bid. Pence has been subpoenaed by Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating Trump and his role in January 6, 2021, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/politics/mike-pence-subpoena-special-counsel/index.html

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ISTANBUL — As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struggles to defend his response to last Monday's devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, videos from a few years back have emerged showing him hailing some of the housing projects that crumbled, killing thousands of people. Critics say contractors were allowed to skip crucial safety regulations, increasing their profits but putting residents at risk. The videos have fueled public outrage over slow efforts to help residents in the aftermath of the massive earthquake — the world's deadliest in over a decade — that killed more than 35,000 people in Turkey and neighboring Syria, and left many injured and without a home, food or heating in the middle of winter. https://www.npr.org/2023/02/13/1156512284/turkey-earthquake-erdogan-building-safety

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has announced her presidential bid in a new video released on Tuesday, a day ahead of her formal campaign kick-off in Charleston. "I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants — not Black, not white. I was different," she says as the video she tweeted, titled "Strong & Proud" opens featuring photos of her family. She becomes the first Republican to challenge former President Donald Trump. https://abcnews.go.com/US/nikki-haley-launches-presidential-campaign/story?id=97168476

Multiple injuries were reported after shots were fired at Michigan State University, prompting shelter in place orders amid a search for a suspect Monday evening, campus police said. “The suspect is believed to be on foot right now. Community members on and off campus should continue to shelter in place. Police are continuing to respond,” MSU police tweeted. Police reported shots fired near Berkey Hall on the East Lansing campus around 8:30 p.m. ET, telling the campus community in a tweet to “Please secure-in-place immediately.” https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/13/us/michigan-state-university-shots-fired/index.html

Around 1 in 3 high school girls in the U.S. have seriously considered attempting suicide, according to new results from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey from 2021, up from less than a fifth of teen girls in 2011. And more than half of teen girls, 57%, reported feeling "persistently sad or hopeless" — a record high number. By contrast, 14% of high school boys told the 2021 survey that they had seriously considered attempting suicide, up from 13% in 2011. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-girls-suicide-depression-mental-health-cdc-survey/

Eight people have been injured after they were struck by a driver in a U-Haul rental van, in the Bay Ridge neighbourhood of New York City. Two people are in a critical condition, two in serious condition, and four have minor injuries. New York Police Department said the suspect was evading a police stop before he hit bystanders and fled. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64605785

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden has fired embattled Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton, who oversees the historic building that houses Congress and its expansive grounds, as pressure mounted for his removal following a scathing inspector general report of personal and management lapses. The White House said Monday that Blanton’s appointment was terminated. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday he’d lost confidence in Blanton’s ability to do the job. An inspector general report released last year found “administrative, ethical and policy violations” by Blanton, a Trump-era appointee, including that he abused his government vehicle and misrepresented himself as a law enforcement official. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-fires-architect-capitol-alleged-abuses-97092234