National News

Colorado Gunman Dead
According to authorities in Colorado, the gunman who took over a high school in Bailey, Colorado, is dead. Officials say the gunman, Duane Morrison, was a middle-aged man who walked into Platte Canyon High School on Wednesday, fired at least two shots and took six people hostage. The situation ended when the man died along with a 16-year-old student. Authorities say the hostage-taker had sexually assaulted some of the girls he was holding. Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener says that became clear both during negotiations with the man, as well as through observations by a SWAT team.

Priests Charged With Stealing Millions
Two Roman Catholic priests have been accused of stealing millions of dollars in offerings and gifts made to their Florida parish.
The priests are 79-year-old Monsignor John Skehan, who was arrested Wednesday night at Palm Beach International Airport, and Reverend Francis Guinan, whom police have not found. The two were pastors of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, Florida.
Skehan is charged with stealing eight point six million dollars, while Guinan is accused of stealing an unspecified amount of money to take gambling trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas.
Investigators believe the thefts have been going on for as long as forty years.

U.S. Suspends Aid To Thailand
The U.S. will cut millions of dollars of aid to Thailand because of the coup Washington calls “a step backward for democracy.”
According to the State Department, the U-S will suspend $24 million in military funds because of a U-S law that prohibits sending certain kinds of aid to governments that take power by force.
The Thais claim they use the aid to fight terrorism, buy military equipment, and pay for their participation in multinational peacekeeping operations.
The U.S. will continue to give aid to Thailand to fight the development of weapons of mass destruction and to help prevent the spread of AIDS and guard against a bird flu outbreak.

Progress on Anthrax Vaccine
A British company claims to be making progress on a more effective anthrax vaccine.
The U.S. first saw that inventing a better vaccine was important five years ago when mailed anthrax spores killed five and sickened 17.
Now, after completing their first round of human tests with no safety problems, the scientists, who are being funded by the U.S. government, say their test subjects are showing signs of developing immunity to anthrax.
Doctor Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says the results are a good sign because the California company with the biggest contract for working on the anthrax vaccine has had constant problems.