1. New Zealand announces gun reforms

According to an article in the Washington Post, New Zealand’s coalition government plans to announce gun law changes within the next week in response to last Friday’s deadly shooting rampage at two mosques in Christchurch, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday.

The measures could include restricting the semi-automatic weapons that were used in the attacks, which killed 50 Muslim worshipers and injured 40.

Similar weapons have been used in recent mass shootings in the United States, said Anna Fifield and Shibani Mahtani of the Washington Post.

“As a cabinet, we were absolutely unified and very clear. The terrorist attack in Christchurch on Friday was the worst act of terrorism on our shores,” Ardern said. “It has exposed a range of weaknesses in New Zealand’s gun laws. The clear lesson from history around the world is that, to make our community safe, the time to act is now.”

The death toll exceeds New Zealand’s annual homicide rate; 35 people died in 2017.  

-Washington Post

Mar. 17

 

2. Shooter attacks Dutch city

NBC News reported that three people were killed in a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht Monday morning, according to the town’s mayor.

The gunman remained on the loose into Monday afternoon. Dutch officials raised the threat alert to its highest level around Utrecht, which is approximately 25 miles south of Amsterdam.

Rachel Elbaum and Nick Bailey of NBC News reported  five people were also injured in the attack, according to police. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands said in a statement that “violence like this is unacceptable.”

“It hurts us very much that three people have died today and others got hurt,” the statement said. “Let’s stand together for a society where people feel safe, and freedom and tolerance are leading. Our thoughts are with the people of Utrecht.”

-NBC News

Mar. 18

 

3.  College admissions scandal uncovered

According to a report from The New York Times, a major college admissions scandal laid bare the elaborate lengths some wealthy parents will go to get their children into competitive American universities.

Federal prosecutors charged 50 people Tuesday in a brazen scheme to buy spots in the freshman classes at Yale, Stanford and other big-name schools.

Jennifer Medina, Katie Benner and Kate Taylor from The New York Times said 33 parents were charged in the case, including Hollywood celebrities and prominent business leaders.

Also implicated were top college athletic coaches, who were accused of accepting millions of dollars to help admit undeserving students to a wide variety of colleges, from the University of Texas to Wake Forest and Georgetown, by suggesting they were top athletes.

“The real victims in this case are the hardworking students,” who were displaced in the admissions process by, “far less qualified students and their families who simply bought their way in,” said Andrew E. Lelling, the United States attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

It was the Justice Department’s largest-ever college admissions prosecution, a sprawling investigation that involved 200 agents nationwide and resulted in charges against 50 people in six states.

-The New York Times

Mar.12

  

4. Missouri and Mississippi rivers cause flood damage

At least three people are confirmed dead in what the National Weather Service called “major and historical river flooding” along parts of the Missouri and Mississippi river basins, according to a report from NBC News.

State emergency management officials in Nebraska said a 50-year-old farmer was swept away while helping someone else escape from a vehicle in floodwaters on Thursday. They said an elderly resident also died in rising waters after having refused to leave home. No further details were immediately available.

The Missouri River reached 30.2 feet in Fremont County in far southwestern Iowa Sunday, breaking the record by two feet and topping levees in the towns of Bartlett and Thurman, Johnson said.

Also Sunday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said 38 counties have received a disaster proclamation and more than 110 homes were damaged by floods in the western city of Hornick. She and the governors of Nebraska and Wisconsin all declared states of emergency throughout the ordeal.

-NBC News

Mar. 17

 

5. Experts change aspirin guidelines

NBC News reported taking low-dose aspirin as a preventative for a heart attack or stroke is no longer recommended for adults ages 70 or over, according to guidelines released Sunday.

The recommendations, issued jointly by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, negate previous guidance that endorsed taking a baby aspirin daily to prevent cardiovascular problems in adults over 50. The two groups agreed for older adults with low riskthe chance gastrointestinal bleeding outweighs any heart benefit.

The changes come after a large international study found that even at low doses, long-term use of aspirin may be harmful — without providing any benefit — for older people who have not already had a heart attack or stroke, said Charles.

“Clinicians should be very selective in prescribing aspirin for people without known cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Roger Blumenthal, co-chair of the 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, in a statement. “Aspirin should be limited to people at the highest risk of cardiovascular disease and a very low risk of bleeding.”

The committee reminded individuals that a healthy lifestyle is the most important way to prevent the onset of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

-NBC News

Mar. 18