News Roundup 02/23/18
Photo Courtesy: SunSentinel
By: Ayannah Dimas
1. Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School Armed School Resource Deputy Waited Outside During Massacre
Armed Deputy Scot Peterson never went inside the high school after taking a position on the west side of the building. The armed school resource deputy waited outside the school building while the shooting happened. Peterson resigned after he was suspended without pay by Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. The Sheriff decided to suspend Peterson after interviewing him, reviewing footage and witness statements. In a press conference Thursday afternoon Israel revealed, "What I saw was a deputy arrive at the west side of building 12, take up a position, and he never went in."
Source: CNN
2. Water Agency Officials in California Charged With Burying Hazardous Waste and Corruption
California's attorney general Xavier Becerra has charged five former and current employees of the Panoche Water District with felonies. The charges include using public funds for personal items and illegally burying barrels of hazardous waste. The Department of Toxic Substances Control at California's Environmental Protection Agency revealed it found 86 barrels of hazardous material. Becerra accused former Panoche Water District General Manager and employees of disposing the waste at an unauthorized site, in a pit or in the soil at the Panoche Water District yard. The barrels were found about a year ago on the district's land and when they were removed they found that the waste was leaking into the ground.
Source: NPR
3. Defense Secretary Delivers Recommendations to White House on Transgender Individuals
James Mattis, U.S. Defense Secretary has given the White House his recommendation on transgender people serving in the military. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported, "Mattis would recommend allowing transgender troops to continue to serve in the military." In July, President Trump announced in a tweet his intentions to ban transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military. In August he released a memo prohibiting the military from enlisting transgender individuals and from using government funds to pay for gender transition related surgeries. Several courts have blocked the ban while lawsuits are pending against it.
Source: The Hill
4. Woman Crashes Car into White House Security Barrier
The White House was placed on a temporary lockdown after an unidentified woman crashed her vehicle into a security barrier near a western entrance. The woman crashed her white minivan with a back window smashed into a gate near the corner of E and 17th Streets around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. U.S. Secret Service quickly arrested the driver and no law enforcement officers were injured. The crash came only minutes after President Trump had concluded a joint news conference with the Australian Prime Minister in the East Room.
Source: NY Daily News
5. A Second Russian Athlete Fails Doping Test at Winter Olympics
Another Russian athlete has failed a doping test at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, making it the second from the country. Russian women's team Bobsled pilot Nadezhda Sergeeva, has tested positive for a heart medication that is banned. Sergeeva denied taking the substance that team doctors did not prescribe. The athlete had passed a doping test five days earlier. The test comes only days after a Russian curler had to return a bronze medal over a failed doping test. The offense has revived the scandal that has shadowed over Russia and it's athletes at previous Games. It has also hurt the country's chances of being reinstated for the closing ceremony scheduled for this weekend.
Source: ABC News