An Ohio State University student posted a rant shortly before he plowed a car into a campus crowd and stabbed people with a butcher knife in an ambush that ended when a police officer shot him dead, a law enforcement official said.
Abdul Razak Ali Artan, 18, wrote on what appears to be his Facebook page that he had reached a “boiling point” and made a reference to “lone wolf attacks.”
“America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially Muslim Ummah (community). We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that,” the post said.
Two hours before that, a cryptic post on the page said: “Forgive and forget. Love.”
Officials cautioned that they have not determined a motive for the Monday morning ambush, which sent 11 people to the hospital.
.
A photo of Abdul Razaq Ali Artan that accompanied an interview in the OSU publication The Lantern. Kevin Stankiewicz / The Lantern
Ten people were shot, one of them fatally, in the crowded heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter early Sunday, police said.
Shots were fired at around 1:30 a.m. on the famous Bourbon Street at its intersection with Iberville Street, one block from Canal Street.
Forty police officers were already in the same block as part of extra patrols following the earlier Bayou Classic college football game and were able to respond quickly, Superintendent Michael Harrison told NBC station WDSU.
A mother and daughter whose tweets have offered heartbreaking insight into Syria’s civil war were “on the run” Monday as the pro-regime troops pushed into a rebel-held area of Aleppo.
Seven-year-old Bana al-Abed and her mother, Fatemah, have provided dispatches from the front line.
Fatemah told NBC News last month how her daughter had “started to ask me if we are going to die in the bombings.”
Legendary soul and funk singer Sharon Jones died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer, the musician’s manager and publicist said. She was 60.
“We are deeply saddened to announce that Sharon Jones has passed away after a heroic battle against pancreatic cancer. She was surrounded by her loved ones, including the Dap-Kings,” her management said in an official statement.
Jones died at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, New York, where she underwent chemotherapy treatment since doctors diagnosed her with stage two pancreatic cancer in June 2013.
.
Sharon Jones performs on stage at Palau De La Musica on November 18, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. Jordi Vidal / Redferns via Getty Images
Fidel Castro, the cigar-chomping Cuban revolutionary leader and dictator who defied U.S. efforts to topple him for five decades, has died. He was 90.
President Raul Castro announced his brother’s death on state television Friday night. Cuba declared nine days of national mourning early Saturday. A burial ceremony will be held on Dec. 4.
The bearded communist took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.
.
Cuban-Americans in Miami Celebrate Death of Fidel Castro
Hillary Clinton’s campaign said Saturday it intends to back the statewide election recount effort in the battleground state of Wisconsin spearheaded by third-party candidate Jill Stein.
The Clinton team had been quiet about Stein’s crusade, but campaign lawyer Marc Elias said that because a recount was set into motion Friday — and could begin as soon as next week — they want to see a “fair” process for all involved.
“Because we had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology, we had not planned to exercise this option ourselves,” Elias wrote in a Medium post explaining the decision, “but now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides.”
The launch was 3:20 p.m. EST Thursday, which was early Friday morning at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
.
At 56, astronaut Peggy Whitson is a lot younger than John Glenn was when he flew in a space shuttle at 77, but when Whitson launched Thursday with two other crew members toward the International Space Station she became the oldest female astronaut in the world to fly into space.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper delivered some reassurance Thursday to Americans worried about the Trump transition — along with his resignation.
“I know a lot of people have been feeling uncertain about what will happen with this Presidential transition,” Clapper said. “There has been a lot of catastrophizing, if I can use that term, in the 24-hour news cycle and social media. So, I’m here with a message: It will be okay.”
The exit of Clapper, who submitted his resignation Wednesday evening, is not a surprise.
.
James Clapper Announces Resignation at House Hearing
President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday he was aware of reports that some of his supporters may be harassing Latinos, Muslims and members of other minority groups — a development he said must stop immediately.
In an extensive interview broadcast on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Trump said that such behavior represented only “a very small amount” of his support but that any was unacceptable.
“Don’t do it,” the president-elect said. “That’s terrible, because I’m going to bring this country together.”
To reinforce the point, Trump looked directly at the camera and demanded: “Stop it.”
For Americans who have loudly expressed fear about his impending presidency, Trump was reassuring, saying: “I would tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid, absolutely. … Don’t be afraid. We are going to bring our country back. But certainly, don’t be afraid.'”
.
President-elect Donald Trump with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus last week. Trump on Sunday named Priebus as his White House chief of staff. Evan Vucci / AP
Pioneering television news anchor Gwen Ifill died Monday after a battle with cancer. She was 61.
One of the nation’s most prominent black journalists and a longtime newscaster at PBS who previously worked at NBC News, Ifill was in hospice care when she passed away.
“Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry going through seismic change,” Sara Just, PBS News Hour’s executive producer, said in a statement.
“She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum. She was a journalist’s journalist and set an example for all around her.”
Ifill was the host of PBS’ Washington Week and co-host of PBS NewsHour. She covered seven presidential campaigns and moderated the vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008. She was also the author of “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” which was published on inauguration day 2009.
.
Gwen Ifill of PBS watches a clip of “Saturday Night Live” during a live taping of “Meet the Press” from NBC October 5, 2008 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.