April 3 top stories
It is April 3. Here are today’s top stories.
Finland school shooting: 12-year-old suspect detained after one child is killed, two are wounded
Local police said the child was killed and two seriously wounded in a shooting at a school in Vantaa, Finland outside the Finnish capital on Tuesday, with a 12-year-old fellow student suspected of the attack taken into custody.
The arrest of the boy was made without further violence. He admitted the attack in an interview with police. The charges will be murder and attempted murder against the boy.
The suspect and the three victims were all sixth-graders. The injuries of both victims who were taken to the hospital are very serious.
Police said there were no other suspects and provided no details on the identity of the suspect or victims.
Parents had to wait for three hours before they were able to collect their children, with lots of tears and hugs when they were reunited outside the police barricade.
The attack shocked the nation and their officials as gun violence in Finland among youths is rare.
Florida court allows 6-week abortion ban, but voters will get to weigh in
The conservative-leaning Florida Supreme Court voted Monday to uphold the state’s 15-week abortion ban in a 6-1 decision that clears the way for a stricter six-week ban to kick in next month.
In April of last year, Florida state legislature passed the six-week ban to replace the 15-week one, and Governor DeSantis signed it into law.
Florida’s highest court also approved a ballot amendment for November that will put the abortion question directly to voters.
The Pew Research Center found that 56% of adults in Florida believed abortion should be “legal in all/most cases.”
Democrats found the Florida Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion Monday to be optimistic because abortion rights have won in every state they have appeared on the ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The near-total abortion ban is to take effect May 1 – while voters have a chance to undo the restrictions in November. The ban will remain in place until at least January.
‘Law & Order’ star Angie Harmon says Instacart driver shot and killed her dog
Angie Harmon, the actress best known for her roles in “Law & Order and “Rizzoli & Isles”, is mourning the loss of her dog Oliver who she says was killed by a driver during a grocery delivery.
The actress posted on her verified Instagram account that she and her family are “completely traumatized & beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved boy & family member.”
According to Harmon, over the Easter weekend, a man delivering groceries ordered via Instacart shot and killed the beloved family dog.
“He got out of his car, delivered the food & THEN shot our dog. Our ring camera was charging in the house, which he saw & then knew he wasn’t being recorded.”
The police statement read that the driver told officers that a dog attacked him while he was at the residence and that he defended himself by firing a single gunshot aimed at the dog.
With regard to the shooter, Harmon wrote that local police “let him go” as the driver claimed “self defense.” She further wrote in her social media post, “He did not have a scratch or bite on him nor were his pants torn.”
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Lou Conter, last survivor of USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor attack, dies at 102
Lou Conter, the final survivor of the USS Arizona, the Navy battleship that was sunk – with a loss of 1,177 lives – during the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died at age 102.
His daughter said Conter was surrounded by family at his home in California and passed away peacefully on Monday.
Through interviews, a book and by attending services, Conter ensured the public remembered the bombing, which blew the battleship 30-40 feet out of the water and left many who survived with horrific injuries.
The veteran, a 20-year-old quartermaster, helped rescue fellow crewmen on the morning of December 7, 1941, which marked the US entry into World War II.
Conter was among the 335 Arizona crew members to survive, and he outlived them all – the second to the last survivor was Ken Potts, who died last year in Provo, Utah, at age 102.
Alex has a report to share about the earthquake in Taiwan. Here it is.
Earthquake in Taiwan
Thanks, Callie.
There was a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan on Wednesday morning local time. It killed at least nine people and injured almost 1,000 people. Many are still trapped.
The hardest-hit area is in Hualien County, which is on the east coast. All of the fatalities happened there.
Three of those killed were hikers who were hit by falling rocks at a national park.
News images show many buildings that collapsed or tilted dangerously.
Buildings in the capital, Taipei, shook for more than a minute.
It was the strongest quake to hit Taiwan in 25 years.
Thanks for that report. That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Finland school shooting: 12-year-old suspect detained after one child is killed, two are wounded
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68712104
Florida court allows 6-week abortion ban, but voters will get to weigh in
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/florida-supreme-court-abortion-rights-ballot-measure-rcna142568
‘Law & Order’ star Angie Harmon says Instacart driver shot and killed her dog
https://people.com/angie-harmon-says-instacart-driver-shot-killed-her-dog-8623335
Lou Conter, last survivor of USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor attack, dies at 102
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/us/lou-conter-dead.html
Earthquake in Taiwan
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/world/asia/taiwan-earthquake-aftermath.html