News on the Go: Sept. 19, 2013
September 19, 2013
A train and bus collided in Ottawa, Ontario, on Wednesday, killing six people and injuring 30. The double-decker bus broke through a crossing barrier and hit the train, but it was not clear what caused the crash, which stopped the Ottawa-Toronto rail line’s trains. This is Canada’s second major rail accident in less than three months, the first being an oil-train explosion July 6 that killed 47 people.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reiterated Wednesday that all United States defense buildings worldwide would undergo a security review after Monday’s Washington Navy Yard shooting. Even though security measures were tightened nationwide after the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis used a valid security pass Monday to get into the yard before killing 12 people. The attack also raised questions of how background checks are done on government employees, given that Alexis had a history of violent behavior and said he heard voices.
Two rappers have offered Wednesday to help pay for the funerals of five northwest Ohio children and a man who all died in a fast-moving mobile home fire Sunday. Drake and The Game have pledged $22,500 to help the surviving mother, Anna Angel, afford the burial arrangements. They pledged $10,000 each, and 51 Minds Entertainment, the producers of The Game’s television show (“Marrying The Game”), added $2,500 after hearing that Angel did not have a car.
Human rights officials said Wednesday that the trajectory of the rockets used in the Aug. 21 chemical-weapons attack in Syria indicates Syrian troops fired the strike that killed hundreds of people. The U.S., Britain and France all found evidence in Monday’s U.N. report that the rockets were fired from a mountain base occupied by Syrian troops, but Russia said the report was biased.
Contact Carrie Blazina at [email protected].