NEWS OF THE DAY
School shooting: A 15-year-old student in Texas was injured in a shooting in her high school cafeteria Monday, and a 16year-old boy was taken into custody, officials said. The girl was airlifted to a hospital following the shooting in the town of Italy, about 45 miles south of Dallas, said sheriff ’s Sgt. Joe Fitzgerald. Lee Joffre, superintendent of the Italy Independent School District, said the shooter left the building immediately after opening fire. The boy was found and taken into custody without incident. Fitzgerald and Joffre both said they don’t know the relationship between the victim and shooter. The girl’s condition was not disclosed.
Wilderness road: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a land trade agreement Monday that could lead to construction of a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska. Environmental groups have said they will fight to keep a road out of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. King Cove, a fishing community of about 900 people sandwiched between ocean and mountains, wants the road for land access to an all-weather airport at the community of Cold Bay. Zinke said the 12-mile section of the road through the refuge would cause no harm to wildlife but would make a difference to children or mothers who need to get to a hospital.
Gerrymandering: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Harrisburg on Monday struck down the boundaries of the state’s 18 congressional districts, saying they violate the state constitution and granting a major victory to a group of Democratic voters who argued the districts were gerrymandered to benefit Republicans. The court gave the Republican-controlled Legislature until Feb. 9 to pass a replacement and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf until Feb. 15 to submit it to the court. Otherwise, the justices said they will adopt a plan in an effort to keep the May 15 primary election on track. Republicans who controlled the Legislature and governor’s office following the 2010 census shifted whole counties and cities into different districts in an effort to protect a Republican advantage in the congressional delegation.
Singer retiring: Neil Diamond is retiring from touring after he says he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Days shy of his 77th birthday, the pop music legend is canceling his tour dates in Australia and New Zealand for March. The New Yorker was on his 50th anniversary tour. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer offered his “sincerest apologies” to those who planned to go to his shows and says he plans to still write, record and work on other projects.
Marijuana law: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, on Monday signed the state’s recreational marijuana bill into law “with mixed emotions.” Once it takes effect July 1, Vermont will become the ninth state in the country, along with Washington, D.C., to approve the recreational use of marijuana. Vermont is the first state where the law was approved by the legislature. The law allows adults to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, two mature and four immature plants.
Chronicle News Services