Salon.com > Matt Sedensky

Profiles of the victims

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Most died at the very start of their young lives, tiny victims taken in a way not fit for anyone regardless of age. Others found their life's work in sheltering little ones, teaching them, caring for them, treating them as their own. After the gunfire ended Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the trail of loss was more than many could bear: 20 students and six adults at the school, the gunman's mother at home, and the gunman himself.

A glimpse of some of those who died:

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CHARLOTTE BACON, 6

They were supposed to be for the holidays, but finally on Friday, after hearing much begging, Charlotte Bacon's mother relented and let her wear the new pink dress and boots to school.

It was the last outfit the outgoing redhead would ever pick out. Charlotte's older brother, Guy, was also in the school but was not shot.

Her parents, JoAnn and Joel, had lived in Newtown for four or five years, JoAnn's brother John Hagen, of Nisswa, Minn., told Newsday.

"She was going to go some places in this world," Hagen told the newspaper. "This little girl could light up the room for anyone."

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OLIVIA ENGEL, 6

Judge denies Rep. West’s motion to impound ballots

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:08:00 +0000

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge has denied Republican Rep. Allen West's request to impound ballots and voting machines, dealing a blow to West's re-election chances.

Circuit Judge David Crow on Friday said West's request was "entirely premature." The judge said vote-counting procedures are in place and being followed.

Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy holds a lead in the race for the South Florida seat. An unofficial tally puts him above the threshold for a recount.

The ruling was a defeat for West, but his side claimed victory anyway. An attorney for West says the campaign was simply trying to make sure the election is fair and transparent.

An attorney for Murphy called West's legal actions a "political stunt."

A full unofficial count of votes is due Saturday.

Casey Anthony to be free next Wednesday

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:55:00 +0000

A court official says Casey Anthony is going to be released from jail next Wednesday following her conviction for lying to authorities who were investigating the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Anthony was sentenced to four years in jail earlier Thursday, but she is receiving credit for the time she has already served as well as good behavior. She has been in jail for nearly three years.

Anthony was acquitted of murder in the death of her child Tuesday.

Historic flooding slams Memphis

Tue, 10 May 2011 13:02:00 +0000

The Mississippi River crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet on Tuesday, falling inches short of its all-time record but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup.

National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Borghoff says the river reached 47.85 feet at 2 a.m. CDT Tuesday and is expected to stay very close to that level for the next 24 to 36 hours. Hitting the high point means things shouldn't get worse in the area, but it will take weeks for the water to recede and much longer for inundated areas to recover.

"Pretty much the damage has been done," Borghoff said.

The crest is just shy of the record of 48.7 feet recorded during a devastating 1937 flood in Memphis.

The soaking was isolated to low-lying neighborhoods, and forced hundreds of people from their homes, but no new serious flooding was expected. Officials trusted the levees would hold and protect the city's world-famous musical landmarks, from Graceland to Beale Street.

"The levees are performing as designed I'm happy to report," Army Corps of Engineers Col. Vernie Reichling Jr. said Tuesday on CBS's "The Early Show."

Still, the corps' Memphis commander added: "I think we'll breathe a sigh of relief once this crest has passed and is in the Gulf of Mexico."

Seniors prepare for a Social Security freeze

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:48:00 +0000

Seniors are preparing to cut back on everything from food to charitable donations to whiskey as news spreads that their Social Security checks will be frozen for a second straight year next year.

Though the decision wasn't made by politicians, it could have an impact on Election Day if seniors blame Democrats for it. Older people are the most loyal of voters, and their support is especially important during mid-term elections, when turnout is lower.

Everett Rawlings, a 73-year-old from Boca Raton, Florida, says the decision affects him and everybody else who's retired, but he understands the rationale behind it. Retired 69-year-old state worker Paul McNeil of Warwick, R.I., is more blunt, saying he thinks the decision not to increase benefits is "disgusting."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As if voters don't have enough to be angry about this election year, the government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through another year without an increase in their monthly benefits.

BP spill forces choice between ecology and economy

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:28:00 +0000

Forced to perform a painful kind of environmental triage, emergency workers concentrated on protecting marshes and inlets from the approaching BP oil slick Thursday and left one of the Gulf Coast's biggest tourist attractions -- its white-sand beaches -- largely undefended.

As BP struggled a mile underwater to cut and cap the blown-out well, the decision to sacrifice parts of the shoreline -- made weeks ago by state and Coast Guard officials -- came under fire from Alabama's governor.

"We could lose an entire tourist season because of this. It would be absolutely devastating," Gov. Bob Riley said in an interview with The Associated Press. The state's two coastal counties deliver 35 percent of its tourism dollars, mostly spending by beachgoers.

In deciding to put the marshes first, emergency officials reasoned that they had enough time and containment boom to shield the Gulf's fragile ecology or its endangered economy, but not both. Also, they argued that beaches will be easier to clean, as well as harder to protect because of the action of the waves against the floating barriers.

The strategy pits environmentalists against the tourism industry, and also casts doubt on repeated promises by the Obama administration to bring to bear whatever resources are necessary to battle the spill.

Gay seniors come out late, start second lifetime

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:29:00 +0000

On his 75th birthday, Bill Farthing decided to be reborn. In the six years since he'd buried his wife of 45 years, he'd felt as he did long before: Lonesome, different, outcast. He wondered if he was going crazy; he contemplated suicide.

Looking back, the clues leading to this day had been scattered throughout his life, but only made sense just now.

So Farthing dressed in the most basic of blue wool skirt suits he could find on the Internet, with a white blouse and low-heeled, open-toed white shoes, and went shopping. Arms loaded with skirts and blouses from the clearance rack, Farthing approached the checkout.

"Did you find everything you wanted, ma'am?" the cashier asked.

Farthing looked over his shoulder, then realized she was talking to him. He had pulled it off.

He had become a she.

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Increased awareness and acceptance of varied sexualities and gender identities has led Americans to come out far younger, as early as middle school. A less noticed but parallel shift is happening at the other end of the age spectrum, with people in their 60s, 70s and 80s coming to terms with the truth that they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Marijuana use by seniors goes up as boomers age

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:08:00 +0000

In her 88 years, Florence Siegel has learned how to relax: A glass of red wine. A crisp copy of The New York Times, if she can wrest it from her husband. Some classical music, preferably Bach. And every night like clockwork, she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.

Long a fixture among young people, use of the country's most popular illicit drug is now growing among the AARP set, as the massive generation of baby boomers who came of age in the 1960s and '70s grows older.

The number of people aged 50 and older reporting marijuana use in the prior year went up from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to surveys from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The rise was most dramatic among 55- to 59-year-olds, whose reported marijuana use more than tripled from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 5.1 percent.

Observers expect further increases as 78 million boomers born between 1945 and 1964 age. For many boomers, the drug never held the stigma it did for previous generations, and they tried it decades ago.

Some have used it ever since, while others are revisiting the habit in retirement, either for recreation or as a way to cope with the aches and pains of aging.