KTRS News
WEAPONS, EXPLOSIVES FOUND IN DORM ON FLA. CAMPUS
Monday, 18 March 2013 11:09 Published in National News
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities investigating the apparent suicide of a college student discovered weapons and explosive devices in a dorm on the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando early Monday, and hundreds of students were evacuated, though the school said there was no immediate threat.
University police were called to the dorm around 12:20 a.m. after a fire alarm went off, UCF spokesman Grant Heston said. While they were on their way to the scene, a 911 call came in about a man with a gun.
Arriving officers found a man dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a residence at the Tower 1 dorm. Heston said the man was a student at the university.
Heston said the dorm has suites, with a main kitchen and living area, along with four bedrooms. The dead man was inside one of the rooms. Inside the room, Heston said, police also found what they described as an assault weapon, a handgun and incendiary devices. Florida law prohibits the possession of guns on state university campuses.
"Obviously you never want somebody to commit suicide, but knowing what we know about what was in his room, we feel better at least that no one else was hurt," Heston said.
He said the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are helping with the investigation. The sheriff's bomb squad was examining the explosive devices Monday morning. Heston said they would remove the devices from the building once it's safe to do so - which they hoped to be around noon.
About 500 students were evacuated from the dorm, and Heston said it would remain closed until authorities give an all-clear on the building.
Morning classes were canceled Monday but were to resume at noon, Heston said. Flashing signs around the campus alerted students and staff about the canceled classes. Campus shuttle buses were lined up about a half-mile from campus, with drivers standing by once the campus opens. The university's main campus in Orlando has about 51,000 students.
Antonio Whitehead, 21, a junior from Hollywood, Fla., said he heard the fire alarm go off after midnight and thought it was a routine alarm. He headed outside where he saw a crowd already heading across the street from the dorm.
"All of a sudden, I felt the crowd move a little faster. And a police officer with a machine gun or something told everyone to start moving a lot faster," he said.
Whitehead, who has lived in the dorm for two years, said the students were moved to an open area about 1,000 feet from UCF Arena. The area is a busy section of the campus, with restaurants and shops nearby.
Grant Hernandez, 20, a sophomore from Orlando who also is a resident at the dorm, said he woke up sometime after midnight when police were evacuating the building.
"We weren't allowed to get our cars. We weren't allowed to get our personal effects," Hernandez said.
"All we saw were people running, and they were not telling us what was going on," he added. "We were left unsure of things. It wasn't till about 6 o'clock that we got more information and a clearer picture of what was going on." He said officers on the scene began providing more information, and students checked updates on the university's website.
A statement there said the UCF Arena would open to accommodate displaced students. Counselors would be available to talk to students who need assistance.
The Tower 1 dorm is part of the school's popular Towers at Knight Plaza apartment building complex, according to UCF's website. Tower 1 has seven floors. The typical apartment layout has four bedroom and two bathrooms, the website says. Heston said the student who died had three roommates.
--- Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
University police were called to the dorm around 12:20 a.m. after a fire alarm went off, UCF spokesman Grant Heston said. While they were on their way to the scene, a 911 call came in about a man with a gun.
Arriving officers found a man dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a residence at the Tower 1 dorm. Heston said the man was a student at the university.
Heston said the dorm has suites, with a main kitchen and living area, along with four bedrooms. The dead man was inside one of the rooms. Inside the room, Heston said, police also found what they described as an assault weapon, a handgun and incendiary devices. Florida law prohibits the possession of guns on state university campuses.
"Obviously you never want somebody to commit suicide, but knowing what we know about what was in his room, we feel better at least that no one else was hurt," Heston said.
He said the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are helping with the investigation. The sheriff's bomb squad was examining the explosive devices Monday morning. Heston said they would remove the devices from the building once it's safe to do so - which they hoped to be around noon.
About 500 students were evacuated from the dorm, and Heston said it would remain closed until authorities give an all-clear on the building.
Morning classes were canceled Monday but were to resume at noon, Heston said. Flashing signs around the campus alerted students and staff about the canceled classes. Campus shuttle buses were lined up about a half-mile from campus, with drivers standing by once the campus opens. The university's main campus in Orlando has about 51,000 students.
Antonio Whitehead, 21, a junior from Hollywood, Fla., said he heard the fire alarm go off after midnight and thought it was a routine alarm. He headed outside where he saw a crowd already heading across the street from the dorm.
"All of a sudden, I felt the crowd move a little faster. And a police officer with a machine gun or something told everyone to start moving a lot faster," he said.
Whitehead, who has lived in the dorm for two years, said the students were moved to an open area about 1,000 feet from UCF Arena. The area is a busy section of the campus, with restaurants and shops nearby.
Grant Hernandez, 20, a sophomore from Orlando who also is a resident at the dorm, said he woke up sometime after midnight when police were evacuating the building.
"We weren't allowed to get our cars. We weren't allowed to get our personal effects," Hernandez said.
"All we saw were people running, and they were not telling us what was going on," he added. "We were left unsure of things. It wasn't till about 6 o'clock that we got more information and a clearer picture of what was going on." He said officers on the scene began providing more information, and students checked updates on the university's website.
A statement there said the UCF Arena would open to accommodate displaced students. Counselors would be available to talk to students who need assistance.
The Tower 1 dorm is part of the school's popular Towers at Knight Plaza apartment building complex, according to UCF's website. Tower 1 has seven floors. The typical apartment layout has four bedroom and two bathrooms, the website says. Heston said the student who died had three roommates.
--- Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
CYPRIOT SAVINGS GRAB SHOCKS SAVERS ACROSS EUROPE
Monday, 18 March 2013 11:07 Published in National News
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A plan to seize up to 10 percent of people's savings in the small Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus sent shockwaves across Europe on Monday as households realized the money they have in the bank may not be safe.
A weekend agreement between Cyprus and its European partners called for the government to raid bank accounts as part of a €15.8 billion ($20.4 billion) financial bailout, the first time in the eurozone's crisis that the prospect of seizing individuals' savings has been raised.
Facing outrage, Cyprus' government delayed a parliamentary vote on the seizure and ordered banks to remain shut until Thursday while it tries to modify the deal to reduce the hit on people with small deposits.
Several hundred people gathered outside the vacant parliament building, with some chanting "thieves, thieves."
"We're very angry, betrayed, hurt and extremely disappointed," said protester Andriana Constantinou.
In order to get €10 billion ($13 billion) in bailout loans from international creditors, Cyprus agreed to take a percentage of all deposits — including ordinary citizens' savings. The surprise deal stoked fears that deposits in other countries could be targeted.
"The damage is done," said Louise Cooper of CooperCity, a financial research firm. "Europeans now know that their savings could be used to bail out banks."
The euro and stocks around the world took a hit even though the Cypriot economy accounts for only 0.2 percent of the combined output of the 17 European Union countries that use the currency.
The Cypriot government is now trying to modify the terms of the original plan and in particular to get a better deal for small savers with less than €100,000. The weekend deal foresaw a one-off charge of 6.75 percent on those savings, rising to 9.9 percent for those above the €100,000 mark.
While trying to make the package more appetizing for those with low savings, the government has to make sure that the total raised remains the same at €5.8 billion.
One solution doing the rounds is to make the tax more graduated: placing a one-time 3 percent levy on deposits below €100,000, rising to 15 percent for those above €500,000.
Still, the government has a battle to get a majority in the 56-member Parliament after some 25 lawmakers from communist AKEL, socialist EDEK and the Green party said they would vote down the levy that they have criticized as disastrous.
The stakes are high for the country of a million people, because a rejection of the package could see the country go bankrupt and possibly out of the common euro currency. Officials also fear a run on Cypriot banks no matter which way the voting goes.
A weekend agreement between Cyprus and its European partners called for the government to raid bank accounts as part of a €15.8 billion ($20.4 billion) financial bailout, the first time in the eurozone's crisis that the prospect of seizing individuals' savings has been raised.
Facing outrage, Cyprus' government delayed a parliamentary vote on the seizure and ordered banks to remain shut until Thursday while it tries to modify the deal to reduce the hit on people with small deposits.
Several hundred people gathered outside the vacant parliament building, with some chanting "thieves, thieves."
"We're very angry, betrayed, hurt and extremely disappointed," said protester Andriana Constantinou.
In order to get €10 billion ($13 billion) in bailout loans from international creditors, Cyprus agreed to take a percentage of all deposits — including ordinary citizens' savings. The surprise deal stoked fears that deposits in other countries could be targeted.
"The damage is done," said Louise Cooper of CooperCity, a financial research firm. "Europeans now know that their savings could be used to bail out banks."
The euro and stocks around the world took a hit even though the Cypriot economy accounts for only 0.2 percent of the combined output of the 17 European Union countries that use the currency.
The Cypriot government is now trying to modify the terms of the original plan and in particular to get a better deal for small savers with less than €100,000. The weekend deal foresaw a one-off charge of 6.75 percent on those savings, rising to 9.9 percent for those above the €100,000 mark.
While trying to make the package more appetizing for those with low savings, the government has to make sure that the total raised remains the same at €5.8 billion.
One solution doing the rounds is to make the tax more graduated: placing a one-time 3 percent levy on deposits below €100,000, rising to 15 percent for those above €500,000.
Still, the government has a battle to get a majority in the 56-member Parliament after some 25 lawmakers from communist AKEL, socialist EDEK and the Green party said they would vote down the levy that they have criticized as disastrous.
The stakes are high for the country of a million people, because a rejection of the package could see the country go bankrupt and possibly out of the common euro currency. Officials also fear a run on Cypriot banks no matter which way the voting goes.
UK STUDY: VIOLENCE MORE LIKELY AMONG VETS, TROOPS
Monday, 18 March 2013 11:04 Published in Health & Fitness
LONDON (AP) -- Young men who have served in the British military are about three times more likely than civilians to have committed a violent offense, researchers reported Friday in a study that explores the roots of such behavior.
The research found that merely being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan made no difference in rates of violent crime later on. Instead, a key predictor was violent behavior before enlisting. Combat duty also raised the risk, as did witnessing traumatic events during deployment or misusing alcohol afterward.
Still, the vast majority - 94 percent - of British military staff who return home after serving in a combat zone don't commit any crimes, researchers told reporters at a briefing.
The study found little difference in the lifetime rates of violent offenses between military personnel and civilian populations at age 46 - 11 percent versus almost 9 percent. Among younger men, however, being in the military seemed to make a difference: Nearly 21 percent of the military group under age 30 had a conviction for a violent offense in their lifetime compared to fewer than 7 percent of similarly aged men in the general population, according to British crime statistics.
"The problem is that some of the qualities you want in a soldier are the same ones that get people arrested for violent behavior," said Walter Busuttil, director of medical services for Combat Stress, a British veterans' charity that was not part of the study. Busuttil said many of those recruited into the army are from disadvantaged backgrounds where violence is more common.
The research was published online Friday in the medical journal Lancet. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London looked at data from more than 13,800 U.K. military personnel and veterans and compared that to records of violent crimes ranging from verbal threats to assaults and homicides. Some people were followed for up to seven years. Nearly 1,500 women were included, though they were mostly in noncombat roles.
Deirdre MacManus, the study's lead author, said combat experience seemed to matter when they compared violent crime rates among military personnel. "Being deployed in itself wasn't a risk factor for violent offenses but being exposed to multiple traumas, like seeing someone get shot, increased the risk by 70 to 80 percent," she said, compared to someone who hadn't witnessed such a harrowing ordeal.
Researchers said other studies have made similar findings.
Britain currently has some 5,000 soldiers in the NATO-led mission fighting in Afghanistan and it is the second-largest foreign contingent after the U.S. It withdrew its soldiers from Iraq in 2009 after six years. The U.K. Ministry of Defense has been under pressure to develop more mental health programs for veterans after reports of returning servicemen committing crimes, like the 2012 case of an ex-soldier in Leeds jailed for shooting his landlady after fighting in Afghanistan. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder but had not been monitored or treated.
In the U.S., there have been numerous cases of veterans committing violent crimes, including a Marine charged with killing six people in California last year. Soldiers from a single Army unit in Colorado killed 11 people over a few years after their return home. An Army report in 2009 placed part of the blame on the psychological trauma of fierce combat in Iraq. And this week, a U.S. Senate panel heard women in the military describe sexual assaults by fellow soldiers.
American researchers said it is possible the same links the British study found between fighting in a war and violent crime exist in the U.S. but that there isn't enough data yet.
"For some soldiers, it's hard to stop being a warrior," said Brett Litz, a psychology professor at Boston University who studies veterans' issues. "What happens during a war may be a prescription for a small percentage of men to get into trouble," he said. "They may find it very difficult to switch out of a wartime mindset."
But given the differences between Britain and the U.S., Litz said it was impossible to predict what effects would be seen in the United States. "Maybe the economy is better here, maybe the (department of defense) does a better job with transition, maybe (the) culture is different especially with respect to alcohol," Litz said.
"There will be a lot of returning soldiers who have to be reintegrated and unfortunately there is no quick fix," he said.
----
Online:
HTTP://WWW.THELANCET.COM/JOURNALS/LANCET/ARTICLE/PIIS0140-6736(12)60354-2/ABSTRACT
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
The research found that merely being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan made no difference in rates of violent crime later on. Instead, a key predictor was violent behavior before enlisting. Combat duty also raised the risk, as did witnessing traumatic events during deployment or misusing alcohol afterward.
Still, the vast majority - 94 percent - of British military staff who return home after serving in a combat zone don't commit any crimes, researchers told reporters at a briefing.
The study found little difference in the lifetime rates of violent offenses between military personnel and civilian populations at age 46 - 11 percent versus almost 9 percent. Among younger men, however, being in the military seemed to make a difference: Nearly 21 percent of the military group under age 30 had a conviction for a violent offense in their lifetime compared to fewer than 7 percent of similarly aged men in the general population, according to British crime statistics.
"The problem is that some of the qualities you want in a soldier are the same ones that get people arrested for violent behavior," said Walter Busuttil, director of medical services for Combat Stress, a British veterans' charity that was not part of the study. Busuttil said many of those recruited into the army are from disadvantaged backgrounds where violence is more common.
The research was published online Friday in the medical journal Lancet. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London looked at data from more than 13,800 U.K. military personnel and veterans and compared that to records of violent crimes ranging from verbal threats to assaults and homicides. Some people were followed for up to seven years. Nearly 1,500 women were included, though they were mostly in noncombat roles.
Deirdre MacManus, the study's lead author, said combat experience seemed to matter when they compared violent crime rates among military personnel. "Being deployed in itself wasn't a risk factor for violent offenses but being exposed to multiple traumas, like seeing someone get shot, increased the risk by 70 to 80 percent," she said, compared to someone who hadn't witnessed such a harrowing ordeal.
Researchers said other studies have made similar findings.
Britain currently has some 5,000 soldiers in the NATO-led mission fighting in Afghanistan and it is the second-largest foreign contingent after the U.S. It withdrew its soldiers from Iraq in 2009 after six years. The U.K. Ministry of Defense has been under pressure to develop more mental health programs for veterans after reports of returning servicemen committing crimes, like the 2012 case of an ex-soldier in Leeds jailed for shooting his landlady after fighting in Afghanistan. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder but had not been monitored or treated.
In the U.S., there have been numerous cases of veterans committing violent crimes, including a Marine charged with killing six people in California last year. Soldiers from a single Army unit in Colorado killed 11 people over a few years after their return home. An Army report in 2009 placed part of the blame on the psychological trauma of fierce combat in Iraq. And this week, a U.S. Senate panel heard women in the military describe sexual assaults by fellow soldiers.
American researchers said it is possible the same links the British study found between fighting in a war and violent crime exist in the U.S. but that there isn't enough data yet.
"For some soldiers, it's hard to stop being a warrior," said Brett Litz, a psychology professor at Boston University who studies veterans' issues. "What happens during a war may be a prescription for a small percentage of men to get into trouble," he said. "They may find it very difficult to switch out of a wartime mindset."
But given the differences between Britain and the U.S., Litz said it was impossible to predict what effects would be seen in the United States. "Maybe the economy is better here, maybe the (department of defense) does a better job with transition, maybe (the) culture is different especially with respect to alcohol," Litz said.
"There will be a lot of returning soldiers who have to be reintegrated and unfortunately there is no quick fix," he said.
----
Online:
HTTP://WWW.THELANCET.COM/JOURNALS/LANCET/ARTICLE/PIIS0140-6736(12)60354-2/ABSTRACT
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
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