Cross Country
A Night of Horror Near Pittsburgh
Students and administrators at Duquesne University were struggling to regain some sense of normalcy last week after a terrifying outburst of gunfire injured five athletes at this quiet Roman Catholic school in Pittsburgh.
On September 17, a Duquesne sophomore, Brittany Jones, allegedly helped six men-some with weapons-crash a school dance, where a fight over a girl ended in bloodshed. At least two of the men shot five basketball players as they left, wounding three seriously.
No student had been shot on campus in the school's 128-year history, despite its location near the turbulent Hill district. Last week's events had school officials announcing new safety measures.
Police arrested Jones, 19, for reckless endangerment and conspiracy, and quickly apprehended suspected shooter Brandon Baynes. The second suspect, William Holmes, turned himself in. By week's end, most players were back in their regular routines, but forward Sam Ashaolu, who was shot in the head, remained in serious condition.
A Colorado Crime Beyond Imagining
The brutal death last week of a woman dragged behind a vehicle for more than a mile has transfixed Douglas County, Colo., as has a photo found near the crime scene. Based on tips received after they released the photo, police arrested 36-year-old Jose Luis Rubi-Nava, whom they identified as the man in the picture, on a charge of first-degree murder. He is believed to be an illegal immigrant. Police identified the victim as a mother of three from Mexico, but it remained unclear whether she was the woman in the photo. Residents of the Surrey Ridge subdivision discovered her battered body with an orange towrope around her neck. Authorities assured residents that the location where the body was dropped was random, but the crime shook the community. "It's a very safe neighborhood, or it has been, anyway," says Nancy Foley, who lives on the street where the victim was found. "This is our little piece of heaven."
A Long Shot Scores in the Bay State
He wasn't the choice of the party bosses, and at first, his campaign seemed the longest of long shots. But now Deval Patrick has a chance to become the first African-American governor in Massachusetts history.
He's already the first black to win a major party gubernatorial nomination in the Bay State, by virtue of his primary victory last week over businessman Christopher Gabrieli and Attorney General Thomas Reilly. Patrick, 50, earned bachelor's and law degrees from Harvard and later ran the Justice Department's civil rights division under President Bill Clinton before serving as general counsel for Coca-Cola. He first emerged as a potential gubernatorial candidate in early 2005. "I don't have all the answers," Patrick told supporters in Boston last week. "But I do bring a broader range of leadership experience... ."
There won't be much time for celebration. The GOP's gubernatorial nominee, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey is "a strong opponent," says Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University. "This won't be a cakewalk for Democrats."
Smooth as Silk, the Shuttle Is Home
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