A young man went on a shooting spree at a school in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil, killing 12 people dead and seriously injuring 18 others. The gunman is among the dead and it is not clear whether he shot himself or if he was killed by police.

The gunman responsible for the Brazil school shooting has been identified as former student of the Tasso da Silveira primary school in Rio. He is 23 years old.

Helicopter and ambulance

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff wept when delivering a statement about the school shooting incident. She said she was shocked by the massacre. She said “innocent children lost their lives and their future.”

Brazilian TV station Globo broadcasted images of victims being carried away from the school premises by helicopter and ambulance.

According to reports the gunman entered the school in Rio de Jeneiro carrying a suicide note and begun shooting .

The shooter has been identified as Wellington Menezes Oliveira. The incident occurred at around 8:30 am local time ( 11:30 am GMT).

According to reports, he told school officials that he wanted to deliver a speech. He was reported to have been carrying two revolvers and a lot of bullets. He started shooting, taking aim at the heads of the victims. He killed ten girls and a boy.

The victims are all aged 9 to 14 years old. According to reports, it is not clear who shot the gunman. It could be that he shot himself after his shooting spree or he was shot by the police.

Early reports had said the number of students killed was 12 and that 20 people had been injured.

A witness told Brazil’s Globo online that the gunman walked into a class in session where students were studying Portuguese.

According to the witness, the gunman went into an eight grade class and said he wanted to give a speech. And without another

some of the crowd gathered at the school

word, took out a revolver from his bag and started firing at the students.

The eye witness said the police arrived on the scene and the gunman tried to go to an upper level floor. But upon realizing that he was surrounded, he shot himself in the head.

Another eye witness told the BBC that he heard shots coming from the school whiles he was in a nearby shop.

The witness described a scene of horror with children running out of the school, some covered with blood and asking for help. He said some of the children were crying.

The witness said some of the students told him there was a man in suits shooting at children in the school.

There are rumors the gunman had AIDS. Police also later said the gunman had a note that stated that he intended to kill himself after the shooting incident.

A victim being carried away from the scene

The school shooting incident in Brazil is the first of its kind in the country.

Are you from the area where the incident took place or have you ever been a victim or know someone who has been a victim of a school shooting incident? let us know your thoughts using the form below

Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Maine have move a step closer to legalizing the use of switchblades for residents with only one arm. The law will make Maine the first state to introduce the law. The use of spring-action knives is banned throughout many states in the country.

Supporters of the law say that it will make it easier for one-armed people to use a knife in an emergency. They said the law will stop the need for people with one arm to use their teeth to open a folding knife in an emergency situation.

On Wednesday, the bill was passed by Maine’s Senate after it had been passed by the House the previous day, officials revealed.

The use of switchblades is illegal for everyone in the state of Maine until now. The carrying of the fast releasing spring-action knives is illegal in most states under most circumstances although you may be allowed to own one in some states.

It is legal under federal law to use the switchblade knives by a one-armed person, but only when on federal property and if the blade of the knife is shorter than three inches.

The bill being introduced in Maine also requires the length of the knife’s blade to be at most three inches long.

Maine Governor, Paul LePage, will sign the bill into law in the next few days, his spokeswoman revealed.

A lawmaker in Alaska is proposing a bill that will make it legal for military personnel in active duty and under the age of 21 to buy alcoholic drinks. Rep. Bob Lynn from Anchorage, who is a Vietnam veteran, seems to believe in the old saying: if you are old enough to die for your country then you are old enough to drink a bottle of beer.

The proposed bill will also allow active military servicemen under 19 to buy tobacco related items.

Lynn said his proposal was about equality. He said it was not fair that two people go the the battlefield and one can have a drink afterward and the other can’t.

However, the Alaska armed forces commanders are not very happy about the proposals as they believe it will encourage military personnel to lead unhealthy lifestyles even as the military is trying to decrease smoking and stop drinking.

The state transport department has also revealed the the state could lose a minimum of $17 million in federal highways funding if the bill gets passed. This is because the state will violate the the federal minimum drinking age statute. And Alaska is a state where most social and financial woes are caused by alcohol. This law is therefore what most people don’t want.

Rep. Alan Austerman fears that the law, if passed, will set a precedence where any profession considered a high risk one, such as firefighters and police, will also want to be allowed to drink.

A few other states have also considered such a law in the past nothing of that manner has ever been passed so far.

Military service personnel are not allowed to consume alcohol on base. The reaction from under 21 ROTCs are mixed. Some don’t see why there should be a special law created for military personnel as the laws of the United States applies to everybody

A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday after losing power in all its instruments. The pilots managed to land the plane safely after using landmarks and guidance from air traffic controllers.

Listen to audio recording

The almost disaster happened just three days after the Southwest Airlines Incident. Pilots of the Southwest Airlines flight were able to to land the plane safely despite a portion of the fuselage getting ripped off during flight.

Monday’s incident happened on United Airlines flight 497 which had 105 people on board, including passengers and crew members. The plane was an Airbus A-320. The plane lost on-board power shortly after taking off from the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. Reports say the plane started vibrating.

According to passenger accounts, the pilot was addressing the passengers through the public address system when he suddenly stopped.

A recording made by liveatc.net showed the pilots calmly reporting to air traffic controllers about smoke in the cockpit. One pilot told air traffic controllers the flight was declaring emergency.

Air traffic controllers’ initial assessment was that there was smell of smoke in the cockpit and begun work on bringing the plane back to the Airport.

A pilot could then be heard over the sounding of alarms that the plane had lost the use of all its instruments.

This now meant the pilots were basically flying the plane blind with no navigation and could not get back to the airport without assistance.

Air traffic controllers then took over navigation of the plane by guiding the pilots turn-by-turn over the two way radio. An air traffic controller could be heard telling the pilot of the United Airlines flight to continue turning left until told to stop.

Pilots of the United Airlines flight 497 started relaying their whereabouts to the air traffic controllers by using landmarks such as the Mississippi River.

With no instruments to help them, the pilots knew they will have difficulty steering the plane and breaking when they touch down. So they asked for the longest runway to land on. However, the longest runway at the airport was closed for construction works.

In a frantic scene, workers quickly started clearing the runway by removing construction vehicles and traffic cones from the runway.

It took ten minutes for air traffic controllers to guide the plane back to the airport and gave clearance for the pilots to land.

One air traffic could be heard asking the pilot, “you going to make it sir?” The pilot responded in the affirmative.

Just as the pilots had thought, the plane had minimal steering and breaking capabilities when it touched down. It run off the runway, blew a front tire dug into the muddy grass.

After it finally came to a stop, passengers were quickly asked to leave their belongings behind and get off the plane. Passengers used emergency slides to get off and ran to safety.

A united Airlines statement said no one was injured in the emergency landing yesterday and that passengers were able to continue their journey on other flights.

A three years old boy from Norridge, Chicago has fallen from a roller coaster he was in with his twin brother and died on the spot.

The accident happened at the Go Bananas indoor amusement park in Norridge on Saturday night.

The twin brothers had gone to the amusement park with their great uncle, Rev. Carl Jones. The got into the “Python Pit” roller coaster to take a ride like any other day.

Whiles the ride was in motion, Jason, who was sitting next to his brother, must have slipped underneath the safety bar of the roller coaster seat, according to Norridge Police. He stood up and  fell a few feet to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy performed on him revealed he sustained several injuries from being hit by the roller coaster and falling to the floor.

According to Police, the operators of the amusement park had no height requirements posted to the roller coaster. However, the roller coaster was a kiddie one and Jason met the the requirements to ride it. Police are not expecting any criminal charges to be made.

A day after the incident, relatives gathered on the Dolton’s family home to console each other. Another topic on their minds was how to assist Jason’s twin brother to cope with the loss of his brother. He did not sustain any injuries in the accident.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the owner of the amusement park has expressed his sorrow to the family about the unfortunate tragedy and promise to fully cooperate with the investigation.

With Still 19 months left before the 2012 United States Presidential elections, President Barack Obama has launched his reelection campaign. A reelection campaign launch video was posted on BarackObama.com featuring a collection of Obama’s supporters explaining why they will vote for him. One thing missing from the video though is the voice of Barack Obama or a video of himself.

The campaign video is entitled “It Begins With Us.”

A visit to President Obama’s official website, BarackObama.com, reveals the message ” This campaign is just kicking off” on the front page. The message goes on the say that the campaign is opening up offices and unpacking boxes.

The campaign launch message reaches out to the supporters of Obama and asking them to join in the campaign.

During the weekend, journalists rumored the the reelection campaign will be kicked off today which is the fourth day of the fourth month and symbolizes 44th president.

The reelection campaign is expected to officially file with the Federal Election Commission on Monday. This will pave the way for the team to start raising funds for the campaign. It is expected that the first official fundraising event will be on April 14 in Chicago. This will be quickly followed by two more fundraising events in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The cost of attending these events will range from $25 for youngsters to a good $2,500 for VIPs.

The Obama reelection campaign launch video does not feature him or his voice. However, his “voice” does appear in the email that was sent to his mailing list this morning.

In the message President Obama explained why his reelection campaign has been launched so early. He explained that the type of politics they believe in required people organizing block-to-block and talking to people they know. He said their politics did not believe in starting with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas. He explained the campaign was being launched some 19 months before the election because that kind of campaign takes time to build.

He assured everyone he is still focused on the job he was elected to do and that the campaign will not reach full speed for another 12 months or more but that the foundation for the campaign must begin now.

The Obama reelection campaign could become the first ever to go over the $1 billion mark according to fundraising schedules.

The reelection campaign is managed by Jim Messina, who is a former White House deputy chief of staff. He has set up his office in Obama’s home town of Chicago.

The reelection launch video features five grassroots supporters of Obama. Four of the featured people in the video come from what will be considered battleground states and the fifth person coming from New York.

In the video, which lasts for two minutes, the people featured call out to all supporters to rally and get President Obama reelected just as they did in 2008.

The video also appeals to those who got Obama elected in 2008 but are now not happy with his performance so far. One of the featured persons, Ed from North Carolina, said “I don’t agree with Everything Obama does. But I respect and trust him.”

The March 11 devastating earthquake and tsunami caused serious damages to two nuclear power plants to supply electricity to Tokyo. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and the Fukushima Daini power plants have both been offline since the earthquake struck.

This now means that Tokyo have lost about 20% of its power supply. With high energy demands of the the summer months, the city simply will not receive enough power to meet the demand.

The problem is compounded by the fact that electricity supply to the Tokyo power grid is at a different frequency to that of other grids in the country. This means other plants will not be able to supply Tokyo the shortfall. This was made known by industry officials.

And having lost the two nuclear power plants during the tsunami, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced it has no choice but to implement series of rolling power cuts throughout Tokyo.

Tokyo’s electric grid, which is the largest in the country, runs on a 50-cycle power and the rest of the country runs on a 60-cycle power. Due to the unavailability of machinery, only a limited amount of the 60-cycle power can be converted for use in the Tokyo electricity grid.

Tokyo Eelectric Power Company says it has no idea how they were going to implement the rolling blackouts but revealed there will be a shortage of up to 10 million kilowatts of electricity supply to Tokyo, about 20% reduction.

It is expected the blackouts in Tokyo could go on for sometime. The only solution seems to be the construction of new power plants, which could take a long time. It is possible some abandoned utilities might be brought back into the grid but will not be enough compensation for the lost plants.

Some parts of eastern and northern Japan are already experiencing blackouts.

The Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants have both been offline since the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11. The plant in Fukushima Daiichi has seen several explosions and is now leaking radioactivity into the surrounding areas.

If Tokyo decides to build facilities to convert power from other grids into the Tokyo rid, it will probably cost the same as putting up new power plants. This was made known by a Tokyo Electric Power Company official on Thursday.

The president of Syria, Bashar Assad addressed his nation from Parliament on Wednesday. In his address, he said foreign conspiracies, the international media’s distorted reporting and Israel were responsible for the unrest in Syria. His message however did not include an offer to remove an emergency law that has ensured his government kept power since 1963. He however said that reforms were necessary though he did not speak of any specific reforms.

Many analysts thought the speech was going to be a defining moment for the Assad. But the President instead portrait himself as a visionary and gave no promises as to any concessions to bring an end to the bloodshed in Syria.

The President’s speech was rather full of well-used theories about what is responsible for the unrest in Syria that has claimed over 60 lives so far. President Assad assured protestors that the reforms they are asking for are part of current proposals that would be enacted later this year. The Syrian protestors have been calling for widespread reforms including the removal of the emergency law and political reforms.

The president said there were no hurdles standing in the way of reforms but that people should expect delays. He also admitted that the people of Syria have made demands which are yet to be met.

President Assad also made references to Egypt and Tunisia and said if the country did not carry out reforms soon, the nation could go into destruction.

The speech from President Assad did not however gave any specifics and did not also remove the emergency law as many were expecting. The law has enabled his Batthist party to keep power since 1963.

The president said it was his responsibility to ensure the stability of the Syrian nation. During the past two weeks of protests and bloodshed, the President has oscillated between using crackdowns and appeasement strategies, including increasing salaries for the country’s workers.

The protests and unrest have so far been pretty much limited to the north and south of Syria. The capital, Damascus, remains relatively peaceful. And it remains to be seen if today’s speech will help to stem the uprising. This will be put to a test this Friday. On Friday, anti-government protestors will be taking to for large rallies across the nation. They are expected to clash with pro-Assad supporters.

Today’s address by President Assad comes just a day after the resignation of the prime minister and the Cabinet. Many thought these resignations will encourage Assad to take strong measures to prevent Syria from going down the path of Egypt and Tunisia

Tesla Motors have filed a lawsuit against the Top gear show from the BBC over allegations the show faked a race scene that showed the Tesla Roadster running out of electricity and grinding to a halt.

The show was broadcasted in 2008 and started a row between the two companies which has led to the lawsuit. The documents regarding the lawsuit were filed in court on behalf of Tesla on Tuesday by Carter-Ruck, a law firm specialized in libel law. According to the lawsuit, the scene was still being broadcasted worldwide and also being distributed through DVD. The law firm expects to receive not more than £100,000 from the BBC.

During the show in 2008, a scene featured a race between the Lotus Elise and the Tesla Roadster. The scene showed the Roadster having to stop and recharge its batteries. But the company says the scene was “faked” as the Roadster never ran out of electricity.

According to the Tesla, after receiving the two Roadsters that were used on the show, a check on them showed the battery had not lost more than 20% of their charge.

Tesla are suing the Top Gear program for Libel and malicious falsehood. The company says the show falsely showed the range of the Roadster to be 55 miles when the true range was 211 miles. It also said the the show falsely claimed the second Roadster loaned to the show was broken.

A statement from Tesla said the company wants Top Gear to distributing the said episode and set the records straight. It said the program has however ignored their repeated requests to stop distributing the show.

A statement from Top Gear makers, BBC, confirmed the lawsuit and said the company stands by what was represented on the program and will vigorously defend the claim.

Tesla has sold 1,500 Roadsters since 2008. Analysts expect 2011 to be a very good year for electric cars as they are now eligible for a £5,000 government grant.

The parents of Caroline Wimmer are suing Facebook after photos of her dead body were posted on the social network. A paramedic has admitted taking the pictures of the 26-year-old girl’s dead body and posting them on Facebook.

In March 2009, Caroline was found dead by her parents. She was killed by being strangled with a hair-dryer cord. The incident took place in New York’s Staten Island.

After they discovered their daughter’s body, the two called 911 and paramedics were dispatched to the scene. Mark Musarella was one of the paramedics who showed up at the scene. He later pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct after he took photographs of the dead girl and posted them on Faceboook.

The lawyer for the parents said the lawsuit is to force Facebook to hand over the image, reveal the identities of those who might have downloaded the photo and to stop the photo from spreading further.

Facebook might have an advantage in this case. The 1996 Communications Decency Act protects them. The Act basically says that, Facebook cannot be deemed the publisher of the said photos as the image was posted on the site by a third party. This basically means they are not responsible for the images.

A spokesperson for Facebook said the case against them had no merit and the company will fight it vigorously.

Caroline Wimmer’s parents have also filed suits against Calvin Lawson, the man convicted on their daughter’s murder, Paramedic Mark Musarella, the city of New York and the Greenleaf Arms Incorporated. Greenleaf Arms Incorporated owns the apartment building where the dead body of Caroline was found.

The couple have also filed suits against Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano and the Medical Center at Richmod University where their daughter was working.

Calvin Lawson, Caroline’s murderer, is currently serving a 25 years-to-life sentence in jail. The paramedic who posted the image on Facebook has lost his EMT certificate and is currently serving his 200 hours of community service.