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Husband admits grisly killing that gripped France

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Many expect that Tiger Woods will have his comeback this year. Many believe he will win this up and coming Farmers Open.

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If the Las Vegas bookmakers are to be believed, Tiger Woods will be sticking around for the long haul this week in San Diego.

Woods is making his first competitive start of the year this week at the Farmers Insurance Open, and it will be his first official start on the PGA Tour since last year's event. He missed nearly all of 2017 because of a back injury before returning with a T-9 finish last month at the Hero World Challenge.

While the South Course at Torrey Pines is a far different test than Albany, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook lists Woods as a -180 favorite to make the 36-hole cut. It means bettors must wager $180 to win $100, while his +150 odds to miss the cut mean a bettor can win $150 with a $100 wager.

Woods is listed at 25/1 to win. He won the tournament for the seventh time in 2013, but in three appearances since he has missed the 36-hole cut, missed the 54-hole cut and withdrawn after 12 holes.

Here's a look at the various Woods-related prop bets available at the Westgate:

Will Woods make the 36-hole cut? Yes -180, No +150

Lowest single-round score (both courses par 72): Over/Under 70

Highest single-round score: Over/Under 74.5

Will Woods finish inside the top 10? Yes +350, No -450

Will Woods finish inside the top 20? Yes +170, No -200

Will Woods withdraw during the tournament? Yes +650, No -1000

Tiger Woods is competing in a full-field event for the first time in nearly a year. We're tracking him at this week's Farmers Insurance Open. (Note: Tweets read, in order, left to right. Click here if you are trying to view Tiger Tracker on the Golf Channel mobile app.)

The heavy fog that rolls off the Pacific Ocean on so many mornings at Torrey Pines won't cool the Hot Seat with the most anticipated start of the year finally here.

Tiger Woods is back.

So maybe our special gauge of who is facing the most heat in golf ought to be called the Hot Throne this week.

Woods, after all, has ruled over this venue more than any other in his remarkable career, with nine victories at Torrey Pines, seven of them regular PGA Tour events, one a U.S. Open and one the Junior World Championship.

Of course, Woods isn't alone taking a toasty seat. Here's our special heat index with the PGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open and the LPGA opening its season at the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic:
Black's Beach Heat Rash: Tiger Woods
Why should Woods be on The Hot Seat in his first official PGA Tour start in a year, when just remaining upright should count as a triumph in his return from the fourth back surgery of his career?

Because he's always on the hot seat.

No tour pro in history has been more scrutinized or heavily analyzed. We break down everything, outside how thoroughly he butters his toast in his pregame breakfast. This week won't be any different. It might even be worse.

If Woods winces after a swing, CNN may break into its regular programming for a special report. If he chunks a chip, there's a danger Twitter explodes. If his name hits the leaderboard, there's a chance President Trump scrambles Air Force One for an unscheduled trip to La Jolla.

These are only slight exaggerations.

Nobody in the history of the game has ever played under more heat than Woods, or warmed up on the range under more heat, for that matter.

No comeback in the game will be more meticulously documented than this one will.

Black's Beach, by the way, lays out beneath the cliffs that Torrey Pines is built above. It's one of the largest nude beaches in the United States, and yet the folks down there won't be as stripped bare as Woods' swing will be by analysts this week.
Bahamian Habanero: Lexi Thompson
Thompson will be making her first tour start since missing that 2-foot putt at her final hole in the LPGA's final event in 2017.

The miss cost her a chance to win the Rolex Player of the Year Award and ascend to the No. 1 world ranking for the first time, and it left questions about how she would deal with the disappointment over a long off season.

If Thompson rebounds as strongly as she did from the controversial loss she endured at the ANA Inspiration early last year, when she was hit with a four-shot Sunday penalty that derailed her bid to win her second major, this could be her biggest year yet.

Thompson dealt with more than her share of challenges last year, including her mother's cancer diagnosis in the middle of the season, but she emerged as the story of the year because of all she achieved overcoming those ordeals. With two victories and six second-place finishes, it was nearly a spectacular year.

This year will start with a physical challenge. Thompson shut down her practices in December because of an ailing right hand.

Thompson made a run at winning in the season opener at the Bahamas last year, but ultimately lost to Brittany Lincicome in a playoff. She was practically a fixture on leaderboards the rest of the year.
Mercury Rising: Jason Day
Day arrived at Torrey Pines as the world No. 1 a year ago.

He makes his start this year having slid to No. 14.

Day has gone through a lot in that span, from his mother's cancer surgery to his wife's miscarriage. He will have a lot of people rooting for him as he bids to re-ignite a game that has made him such a formidable threat in the Tour's biggest events. Just how ready he is to begin the year is unclear. He withdrew from the pro-am this week with a sore back.

Just three years ago, Day won at Torrey Pines. The victory launched his biggest year on Tour, getting him started on a five-victory season that included his major championship triumph at the PGA Championship. A good showing on this tough venue could set him up for another big year.

The PGA Tour heads to San Diego, Calif., for the Farmers Insurance Open. Here are the key stats and information for the annual stop at Torrey Pines. Click here for full-field tee times.

How to watch:

Thursday on Golf Channel, Rd. 1: 3-7PM ET; ( Live stream)

Friday on Golf Channel, Rd. 2: 3-7PM ET; ( Live stream)

Saturday on Golf Channel, Rd. 3: 1-2:30PM ET; ( Live stream)

Saturday on CBS, Rd. 3: 3-6PM ET

Sunday on Golf Channel, Rd. 4: 1-2:30PM ET; ( Live stream)

Sunday on CBS, Rd. 4: 3-6PM ET

Purse: $6.9 million ($1,242,000 to winner)

Courses: Torrey Pines North Course (7,258 yards, par 72); Torrey Pines South Course (7,698 yards, par 72); Competitors will play one round each on the South Course and the North Course the first two rounds. The weekend rounds will be held on the South Course.

Defending champion: Jon Rahm (-13) - defeated Charles Howell III and Pan Cheng-tsung by three strokes to earn his first PGA Tour win.

Miscellaneous notes: This week's field includes four of the top 10 and 19 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, 11 major champions, eight former winners of this event and four of the 10 winners this season on the PGA Tour.
Notables in the field Tiger Woods
* Woods is scheduled to make his first official PGA Tour start since last year's Farmers Insurance Open after dealing with back injuries for most of 2017. He is currently ranked No. 647 in the world.

* Woods has won this event a record seven times (1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013). He also won the 2008 U.S. Open held at Torrey Pines.

* Woods also won the Boys 15-17 age division of the Junior World Championships on the South Course at Torrey Pines in 1991.

* Woods most recently played in his Hero World Challenge in December, where he finished T-9.
Phil Mickelson
* Mickelson, a San Diego native who still resides in the area, has won the Farmers Insurance Open three times (1993, 2000, and 2001). His 1993 win was the second win of his PGA Tour career and his first as a professional.

* His 2000 win marked an end to Woods' win streak on the PGA Tour which had reached six straight.

* Mickelson became the second player in tournament history, and first since J.C. Snead in 1975 and 1976, to successfully defend when he won this event for a third time in 2001.

Jon Rahm

* Rahm is the defending champion and youngest winner in event history after claiming the title last year at the age of 22 years, 2 months, 19 days (six months younger than Mickelson in 1993).

* After ascending to No. 2 in the world ranking with his win last week, Rahm has a chance to take over as No. 1 in the world with a win this week.

* Last year Rahm won the event in dramatic fashion, playing his last six holes in five under par with an eagle at 13, a birdie at 17, and a dramatic eagle at 18 thanks to a 60-foot putt to close it out.
Other notables include: Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama

Pat Perez is unhappy about his standing on the U.S. Ryder Cup points list, and his situation won't improve this week.

Perez won the CIMB Classic during the fall portion of this season, and he followed that with a T-5 finish at the inaugural CJ Cup. But he didn't receive any Ryder Cup points for either result because of a rule enacted by the American task force prior to the 2014 Ryder Cup which only awards points during the calendar year of the biennial matches as well as select events like majors and WGCs during the prior year.

As a result, Perez is currently 17th in the American points race - behind players like Patrick Reed, Zach Johnson, Bill Haas and James Hahn, none of whom have won a tournament since the 2016 Ryder Cup - as he looks to make a U.S. squad for the first time at age 42.

"That kind of upset me a little bit, the fact that I'm (17) on the list, but I should probably be (No.) 3 or 4," Perez told Golf Digest. "So it kind of put a bitter taste in my mouth. The fact that you win on the PGA Tour and you beat some good players, yet you don't get any points because of what our committee has decided to do."

Perez won't be earning any points this week because he has opted to tee it up at the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The decision comes after Perez finished T-21 last week at the Singapore Open, and it means that the veteran is missing the Farmers Insurance Open in his former hometown of San Diego for the first time since 2001.

Perez went to high school a few minutes from Torrey Pines, and he defeated a field that included Tiger Woods to win the junior world title on the South Course in 1993. His father, Tony, has been a longtime starter on the tournament's opening hole, and Perez was a runner-up in 2014 and tied for fourth last year.

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Tiger Woods Favored to Make Farmers Insurance Open Cut | Golf Channel

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If the Las Vegas bookmakers are to be believed, Tiger Woods will be sticking around for the long haul this week in San Diego. Woods is making his first competitive start of the year this week at the Farmers Insurance Open, and it will be his first official start on the PGA Tour since last year's event.

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Toys "R" Us plans to close more than 180 U.S. stores.  The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday.  Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

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Toys "R" Us is planning to shutter a fifth of its U.S. stores.

The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday.

Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

The filing Tuesday by the company's lawyers said the decision to shut so many stores was prompted by increased competition and a shift by customers toward online shopping.

Related: Retail's toughest year -- a record for store closings

The planned closures, which need court approval, are expected to begin early next month and be mostly completed by the end of April, Toys "R" Us CEO Dave Brandon said in a message to customers posted on the company's website.

"The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company," he said.

Several other stores will be converted into co-branded Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us outlets, Brandon added.

Related: How the toy makers lost their Christmas magic

Toys "R" Us stores outside the U.S. are unaffected.

Melanie Teed-Murch, president of Toys "R" Us Canada, said in a statement that all 83 locations there would continue operating as usual.

The news comes after a brutal year for retailers in the U.S. in which store closings more than tripled from the previous year to nearly 7,000 closings, setting a record.There was also an increase in the number of store openings, as more successful retailers moved into vacated locations. But the year marked the first time since the Great Recession of 2009 that there was an absolute decrease in the number of U.S. stores, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail industry think tank.

Much of the problem in traditional brick-and-mortar stores was because of a shift by consumers to buying more goods online. Foot traffic in stores fell 8% last year, according to Fung.

But the problems at Toys "R" Us predate the growth of online shopping. It suffered from fierce competition and lost market share to fellow big box retailers like Walmart and Target. It has lost nearly $2.5 billion since its last reported an annual profit five years ago, which has left it reeling under $5 billion in debt.

Unlike other retailers that have been steadily closing unprofitable locations, Toys "R" Us continued to add stores right up until recently. It had 1,691 company owned stores as of a year ago, up from 1,622 a year earlier. Still the store closings announcement was not a surprise. CEO Dave Brandon said in December that the company was studying the question of whether to close stores. The bankruptcy process makes it less costly for retailers to break lease on unprofitable locations.

The company's same-store sales fell 4.4% in the quarter ended October, with its U.S. stores experiencing a sharper drop of 7%. The toy industry at large is also facing headwinds, with key manufacturers like Lego and Mattel struggling with declining sales.

-- CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 24, 2018: 4:10 AM ET

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Toys "R" Us closing: Chain to shutter more than 180 stores across US

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The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday. Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

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You will get triggered and die a lot

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Kentucky school shooting: 2 students killed, 18 injured

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Story highlights

Editor's Note: This CNN article first published on Jan. 24, 2018, the day after the shooting happened.

Another high school has turned into a scene of carnage, this time in western Kentucky.

Sixteen people were wounded, two of them fatally, after a shooter opened fire Tuesday morning at Marshall County High School, authorities said. Four others sustained various injuries.

A 15-year-old male student was arrested at the scene, Gov. Matt Bevin said. On Wednesday he was charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first degree assault, Marshall County Assistant Attorney Jason Darnall told reporters.

After the boy has a probable cause hearing and a detention hearing in the next two days, prosecutors will start the process of charging him as an adult, Darnall said.

A grand jury will meet on February 13, and the charges could change, Darnall said.

Authorities identified the slain victims as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. Bailey died at the high school, and Preston died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, according to Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders.

Sanders said the suspect, armed with a handgun, walked into the school at 8:57 a.m. ET and started shooting. The first 911 call came two minutes later.

The victims ranged from 14 to 18, state police said. Fourteen were male and six female.

'Mom, there's been a shooting'

Some parents said their children told them the shooting started in the commons area before class, CNN affiliate WSMV reported.

Missy Hufford said her son, Ethan, 15, ran into the gymnasium and out of the building through a side door. Then he called and asked her to pick him up, she said.

"I know when he called me, he said, 'Mom, there's been a shooting.' And I asked him if he was OK, and he said, 'I'm running,' " WSMV reported.

Misty Green said her daughter, Morgan, was in the commons area and "heard the 'pop, pop, pop' and initially got down, and then just realized what was going on, so they took out running out of the building as fast as they could."

"And teachers were grabbing kids up and helping them get into safe places. And helping them get outside and get to a safe location," Green told WSMV.

Junior Taylor Droke told CNN affiliate WZTV that she and a friend were running late and arrived as students poured out of the school.

"You could see students dropping their bags and just start running, pushing past each other," she said. "Everyone in cars started turning around and driving away. Kids were jumping the fence around the school and running through the woods."

Droke said she contacted her mother on FaceTime. Then she and her friend gave a ride to some students and loaned them phones to call their parents.

"Everyone just left their bags and ran, so people had no cell phones," Droke said.

Shot in the arm

Daniel Austin, a 17-year-old special needs student, was hospitalized. His parents kept calling his cell phone until someone in the emergency room picked up and said Daniel had been shot.

His mother, Andrea, rushed to the hospital, bewildered as to why this happened.

"Teachers love him. Students love him. I don't think (anyone) can say one bad thing about him," Andrea Austin said. "And that's not because I'm his mom. Everybody loves him."

Austin said her son was shot in the right arm, which might need to be amputated. She lauded the heroics of a fellow student and a teacher, who quickly scooped up Daniel after the gunfire stopped, rushed him to a car and drove him to a hospital.

Trooper thought deceased victim was his daughter

Sanders, the state police commissioner, said authorities are praying for the victims. The carnage was especially hard on first responders.

One of the first state troopers to arrive at the high school thought Bailey, the student who died at the school, was his daughter, Sanders said. The trooper's daughter had been dropped off at the school that morning, and she and the victim were wearing similar clothing, Sanders said.

"He had to go over to convince himself that that was not his daughter," Sanders said.

State police said six victims, including Preston, were taken to Vanderbilt in Nashville, about 100 miles away.

Among the injuries, three students were shot in the head, Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui, medical director of Vanderbilt's trauma intensive care unit, told reporters.

Three victims remained in critical condition at Vanderbilt late Tuesday, and one was in stable condition at the hospital, state police said.

"We're just as devastated as anybody would be," Guillamondegui said. "Luckily, we're trained and prepared."

Marshall County Schools Superintendent Trent Lovett asked the community to "wrap your arms around these families and around these students, as you always have."

"Together with the community, we will begin the long healing process within our schools. God be with us all," Lovett said.

The American flag is lowered to half staff near the spot 2 students were shot and killed & another 17 were injured during a school shooting at Marshall County High in Benton, Kentucky. #MarshallStrong pic.twitter.com/9pc57d3GBU
- Nick Valencia (@CNNValencia) January 23, 2018

2 school shootings in 2 days

The violence in Marshall County, a rural area near the western tip of Kentucky, stunned the governor. Authorities have not provided a possible motive.

"It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County," Bevin said in a statement. "This is a tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities."

It also stirred painful memories of the 1997 school shooting that killed three students in West Paducah - just 32 miles from the high school in Benton.

Tuesday's attack came one day after another school shooting, in Texas.

On Monday, a 15-year-old female student was shot in the city of Italy, officials said. She was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Dallas. The suspect, a 16-year-old male, was "apprehended within minutes," city officials said.

The motive for that shooting also remains unclear.

At least two dozen prayer vigils and prayer circles were planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the high school.

Giffords: 'Devastating news'

Former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a gunshot wound during a January 2011 assassination attempt in Tucson, Arizona, said the Kentucky shooting again demonstrates the need for stronger gun laws.

"The devastating news about the shooting in Kentucky this morning is the latest example, but just yesterday, while the nation's attention was focused on the government shutdown, school shootings were also reported in Texas and Louisiana," Giffords said in a statement.

"Our nation has experienced 13 mass shootings already this year, and it's only January. We will never accept these horrific acts of violence as routine."

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Kentucky school shooting: 2 students killed, 18 injured | CNN

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Editor's Note: This CNN article first published on Jan. 24, 2018, the day after the shooting happened. Sixteen people were wounded, two of them fatally, after a shooter opened fire at Marshall County High School in western Kentucky, authorities said. Four others sustained various injuries.

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A principal, Sonhando Estick, of East Village school  has been slammed by media after ostracizing another staff member for asking about recognizing Black History Month, but looked other what when a different teacher made a joke to the classroom about the ¨Muslim ban¨. The 34 year old teacher is seeking $5M from the city .

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The principal of an East Village school slammed a staffer for asking about recognition of Black History Month - but looked the other way when a teacher cracked a joke about a classroom "Muslim ban," a lawsuit charges.

A Tompkins Square Middle School teacher, filing anonymously as John Doe, says in his Manhattan Federal Court discrimination suit that Principal Sonhando Estwick put his career at risk by failing to address racial issues at his school.

The 34-year-old teacher, who is black and has 10 years of experience, seeks $5 million from the city.

Doe says his relationship with Estwick soured in 2012 when he asked during a meeting whether the school would be celebrating Black History Month.

Estwick, who is also black, replied the school doesn't celebrate the month because it celebrates diversity year-round, according to court papers.

Later that day, Estwick allegedly pulled Doe aside and said "Way to call out the entire school!" He told Doe "his radical views are not welcome at the school" and that he was "an affirmative action hire," papers say.

Doe - whose salary is $82,995 - was formally reprimanded in 2015 for unprofessional conduct and in 2017 for failure to follow a directive.

Estwick has a clean disciplinary record and is paid $152,359.

The teacher charges that Estwick began retaliating against him after he won an arbitration proceeding against the principal.

In October 2016, a parent complained to Estwick that a teacher cracked a joke about a Muslim student who dresses conservatively, the suit says.

The teacher, who is white, joked about the classroom needing a Muslim ban - but replaced the word "Muslim" with the student's name, the suit says.

(Google)

Complaints were filed with the Department of Education's investigative arm - but the teacher remained in the classroom, the suit says.

Doe cites the episode as evidence he wasn't afforded the same leniency. Estwick unfairly ordered Doe to spend five months out of the classroom performing administrative tasks last year, the teacher charges.

Doe's "reputation has been tarnished beyond repair and his future as a teaching professional irreparably compromised," the suit says.

Doe and Estwick didn't respond to requests for comment. Both men remain employed at their school.

City Education Department spokesman Doug Cohen said the city is investigating some of the claims in the suit.

"There is no place for discrimination of any kind in our schools and we are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming learning environment for all students and staff," Cohen said. "We are treating this with the utmost seriousness and are reviewing the lawsuit."

The city has no formal policy requiring schools to celebrate Black History Month, which occurs in February.

But African-American history is included in social studies teaching material that guides instruction at all district run schools.

The suit was filed as a John Doe case to protect a vulnerable student.
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Teacher says East Village principal neglected racial issues

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The principal of an East Village school slammed a staffer for asking about recognition of Black History Month - but looked the other way when a teacher cracked a joke about a classroom "Muslim ban," a lawsuit charges.

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Inmate that threatened to kill Obama is now saying that he will kill trump.

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A federal inmate imprisoned for threatening to kill President Obama and others will serve more time behind bars after writing that he will "murder" President Trump as well.

Richard Jeremy Ware was sentenced Monday to an additional four years after pleading guilty in October to making threats against the President, according to court records.

Guards at a federal prison in Florida say they examined the threatening letter Ware had tried to send out in March. Ware was close to the end of his previous sentence when the letter was found.

The 42-year-old Ware wrote in the recent letter that "I am going to murder the United States president Donald Trump," according to the Orlando Sentinel.

"I assure you that I am serious," Ware wrote, emphasizing that he was "not afraid to die," according to the newspaper.

Ware had been slapped with a five-year sentence after threatening to kill Barack Obama in a letter written in 2011, when Obama was in the White House. His letter also targeted the Clintons and George Bush.

"When enough money is made we will use it to create a fighting force that I will use to destroy the (presidency) from the inside out then I will murder Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, George Bush, (Barack) Obama and his wife then take hostage and molest his two little girls daily," Ware wrote in the letter, according to court documents obtained by the Ocala Star Banner.

In addition, Ware noted his intent to kill Obama with 10 messages left on a prison hotline, according to the newspaper.

With News Wire Services
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Inmate who threatened to kill Obama writes he will 'murder' Trump

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A federal inmate imprisoned for threatening to kill President Obama and others will serve more time behind bars after writing that he will "murder" President Trump as well. Richard Jeremy Ware was sentenced Monday to an additional four years after pleading guilty in October to making threats against the President, according to court records.

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Toys "R" Us plans to close more than 180 U.S. stores

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Lebron becomes youngest player ever to score 30,000 pts

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Morry Gash/Associated Press
LeBron James became the seventh player in NBA history to join the 30,000-point club when he hit a two-point jumper from the left wing in the first quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' showdown against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

The only other players who have eclipsed 30,000 points are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Dirk Nowitzki.

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
LeBron's 30K points ascends him into legendary company. https://t.co/OP9UoyMfuR
2018-1-24 01:31:23

"I'm joining elite company," James said, according to the Associated Press' Tom Withers. "When I walk into the 30,000-point club, they're going to look at me like, 'What are you doing here?' I ain't supposed to be there."

Nowitzki, though, was quick to welcome James to the fraternity:

LeBron (33 years, 24 days) also took the torch from Bryant (34 years, 104 days) as the youngest player in league history to hit 30K.

Bryant also took to Twitter to congratulate James:

Kobe Bryant @kobebryant
From #Akron to #30k @KingJames well done my brotha
2018-1-24 02:26:56

James' teammates Kevin Love and Dwyane Wade also gave the Cavaliers star props for his achievement:

"It's not up there in the goals I set out for myself to be in this league," James said, per Withers. "I definitely looked at the list and saw the list and seen of all the guys that have played in this league, and the number of guys that have played in this league, it's definitely a select few. It's a select company. So it's special in that right."

James' next order of business will be passing the 39-year-old Nowitzki for sixth on the all-time scoring list.

That achievement may not come this season since the midway point has passed and Nowitzki is closing in on 31,000 points, but the torrid pace James has stayed on through his 15th season suggests he will fly past the German sharpshooter with ease.

Once Nowitzki is in the rearview mirror, James will set his sights on leapfrogging Chamberlain, who's perched in the No. 5 spot with 31,419 points.

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LeBron James Becomes 7th Player in NBA History to Score 30K Points

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LeBron James became the seventh player in NBA history to join the 30,000-point club when he hit a two-point jumper from the left wing in the first quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers ' showdown against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night...

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A 15-year-old boy killed 2  and injured 16 classmates. The shooting took place in Kentucky at Marshall County High School. The boy is being charged with 2 counts of murder and several counts of attempted murder.

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Toys ¨R¨ Us, who declared bankruptcy in September, are looking to close 180 stores across the country.

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Toys "R" Us is planning to shutter a fifth of its U.S. stores.

The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday.

Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

The filing Tuesday by the company's lawyers said the decision to shut so many stores was prompted by increased competition and a shift by customers toward online shopping.

Related: Retail's toughest year -- a record for store closings

The planned closures, which need court approval, are expected to begin early next month and be mostly completed by the end of April, Toys "R" Us CEO Dave Brandon said in a message to customers posted on the company's website.

"The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company," he said.

Several other stores will be converted into co-branded Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us outlets, Brandon added.

Related: How the toy makers lost their Christmas magic

Toys "R" Us stores outside the U.S. are unaffected.

Melanie Teed-Murch, president of Toys "R" Us Canada, said in a statement that all 83 locations there would continue operating as usual.

The news comes after a brutal year for retailers in the U.S. in which store closings more than tripled from the previous year to nearly 7,000 closings, setting a record.There was also an increase in the number of store openings, as more successful retailers moved into vacated locations. But the year marked the first time since the Great Recession of 2009 that there was an absolute decrease in the number of U.S. stores, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail industry think tank.

Much of the problem in traditional brick-and-mortar stores was because of a shift by consumers to buying more goods online. Foot traffic in stores fell 8% last year, according to Fung.

But the problems at Toys "R" Us predate the growth of online shopping. It suffered from fierce competition and lost market share to fellow big box retailers like Walmart and Target. It has lost nearly $2.5 billion since its last reported an annual profit five years ago, which has left it reeling under $5 billion in debt.

Unlike other retailers that have been steadily closing unprofitable locations, Toys "R" Us continued to add stores right up until recently. It had 1,691 company owned stores as of a year ago, up from 1,622 a year earlier. Still the store closings announcement was not a surprise. CEO Dave Brandon said in December that the company was studying the question of whether to close stores. The bankruptcy process makes it less costly for retailers to break lease on unprofitable locations.

The company's same-store sales fell 4.4% in the quarter ended October, with its U.S. stores experiencing a sharper drop of 7%. The toy industry at large is also facing headwinds, with key manufacturers like Lego and Mattel struggling with declining sales.

-- CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 24, 2018: 4:10 AM ET

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Toys "R" Us closing: Chain to shutter more than 180 stores across US

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The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday. Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

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Toys ¨R¨ Us, is bankrupt and is looking to close 180 stores across the country.

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Toys "R" Us is planning to shutter a fifth of its U.S. stores.

The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday.

Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

The filing Tuesday by the company's lawyers said the decision to shut so many stores was prompted by increased competition and a shift by customers toward online shopping.

Related: Retail's toughest year -- a record for store closings

The planned closures, which need court approval, are expected to begin early next month and be mostly completed by the end of April, Toys "R" Us CEO Dave Brandon said in a message to customers posted on the company's website.

"The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company," he said.

Several other stores will be converted into co-branded Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us outlets, Brandon added.

Related: How the toy makers lost their Christmas magic

Toys "R" Us stores outside the U.S. are unaffected.

Melanie Teed-Murch, president of Toys "R" Us Canada, said in a statement that all 83 locations there would continue operating as usual.

The news comes after a brutal year for retailers in the U.S. in which store closings more than tripled from the previous year to nearly 7,000 closings, setting a record.There was also an increase in the number of store openings, as more successful retailers moved into vacated locations. But the year marked the first time since the Great Recession of 2009 that there was an absolute decrease in the number of U.S. stores, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail industry think tank.

Much of the problem in traditional brick-and-mortar stores was because of a shift by consumers to buying more goods online. Foot traffic in stores fell 8% last year, according to Fung.

But the problems at Toys "R" Us predate the growth of online shopping. It suffered from fierce competition and lost market share to fellow big box retailers like Walmart and Target. It has lost nearly $2.5 billion since its last reported an annual profit five years ago, which has left it reeling under $5 billion in debt.

Unlike other retailers that have been steadily closing unprofitable locations, Toys "R" Us continued to add stores right up until recently. It had 1,691 company owned stores as of a year ago, up from 1,622 a year earlier. Still the store closings announcement was not a surprise. CEO Dave Brandon said in December that the company was studying the question of whether to close stores. The bankruptcy process makes it less costly for retailers to break lease on unprofitable locations.

The company's same-store sales fell 4.4% in the quarter ended October, with its U.S. stores experiencing a sharper drop of 7%. The toy industry at large is also facing headwinds, with key manufacturers like Lego and Mattel struggling with declining sales.

-- CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 24, 2018: 4:10 AM ET

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Toys "R" Us closing: Chain to shutter more than 180 stores across US

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The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday. Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

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Police officer plays piano for an elderly man that was the victim of theft.

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Mansfield Police: Forest Town, Woodhouse, Berry Hill and surrounding areas

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Following a theft revisit today for a ninety three year old gentleman, it truly made me feel good about myself and the job I do. He felt wanted and reassured. He was really pleased that we had...

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Post by MansfieldPoliceUK.

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Employees at Starbucks who work 23 hours a week get a 5 day sick leave starting on July 1st. The baristas also get a $500 in stock grants and store managers get $2000. Now employees will get parental leave for up to 6 weeks, including if they are not the birth parent. Starting in April, Starbucks will boost hourly salaries. The reason why they are raising their salaries is because of the recent tax overhaul.

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For the first time in its history, Starbucks is giving all of its baristas sick leave.

A part-time employee working 23 hours a week will get 5 days of sick leave over the course of the year starting July 1, the company said.

Starbucks is also giving baristas $500 in stock grants (store managers get $2000). Employees will now get paid parental leave for up to six weeks, including if they are not the birth parent.

In addition, Starbucks is boosting hourly and salaried employees' pay starting in April.

Starbucks pays above the $7.25 federal minimum wage across the country, but employees' wages vary state-by-state. Starbucks did not disclose how much wages would rise.

The company said it is spending $250 million on the benefits for its 150,000 U.S. employees.

Since 1988, Starbucks has offered healthcare to all full-time and part-time employees. The company also covers tuition for an online bachelor's degree.

"We have long understood that success is best when it is shared," CEO Kevin Johnson said in a letter to employees.

Related: Starbucks to add 240,000 jobs worldwide by 2021

Starbucks said it accelerated its wages and benefits package because of the recent tax overhaul. The company has not announced yet how much it expects to save under the law, which lowers the corporate rate from 35% to 21%. Starbucks paid a 33% effective rate in 2017.

Starbucks joins a growing list of American companies that have rewarded workers with wage increases and bonuses.

Related: Some of the companies giving out raises and bonuses because of tax reform

On Tuesday, Verizon said it was giving employees stock grants. Disney announced $1,000 bonuses for employees.

The economy is doing well and unemployment is at a low 4.1%. Economists say the tight labor market pressures companies to raise wages and expand benefits to retain employees and fill open positions.

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 24, 2018: 8:18 AM ET

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Starbucks is giving baristas paid sick leave and stock bonuses

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A part-time employee working 23 hours a week will get 5 days of sick leave over the course of the year starting July 1, the company said. Starbucks is also giving baristas $500 in stock grants (store managers get $2000). Employees will now get paid parental leave for up to six weeks, including if they are not the birth parent.

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The Mayon volcano in the Philippines continues to erupt, forcing tens of thousands of citizens to evacuate. The lava fountains reached 500-600m high. A disaster relief official said that "if the pyroclastic flows hit people, there is no chance for survival"

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The Mayon volcano in the Philippines continue to erupt and spout more lava Tuesday evening, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of more residents in the village, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

"The lava fountains reached 500 meters to 600 meters high," according to PHIVOLCS. "The public is strongly advised to be vigilant and desist from entering the eight kilometer-radius danger zone."

Francis R. Malasig/EPA

Sky News reported that the first explosions on Monday caused more than 30,000 villagers from the province of Albay to evacuate. Now, more than 56,000 have villagers have evacuated to emergency shelters due to the risk of a full volcanic eruption.

Charism Sayat/AFP/Getty Images

According to Sky News, disaster relief official Cedric Daep said in a press conference, "If pyroclastic flows hit people, there is no chance for life."

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Volcano in Philippines continues to erupt, thousands more evacuate

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The Mayon volcano in the Philippines continue to erupt and spout more lava Tuesday evening, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of more residents in the village, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). "The lava fountains reached 500 meters to 600 meters high," according to PHIVOLCS.

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3 Alcatraz inmates survived 1962 escape, swam to land, letter suggests.

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A letter emerged Tuesday that claims to be written by a former inmate at Alcatraz who - along with two others -- managed to escape the island prison only to vanish without a trace.

The running theory about their fate is that they died shortly after stepping foot into the cold waters that separated the prison and San Francisco. But their bodies were never found and their story remains a mystery.

Prison officials and federal agents insisted at the time of the escape that the inmates - brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris - perished.

CBS San Francisco reported that it obtained a letter allegedly written by John Anglin. The letter admitted to the escape and explained their fate.

"My name is John Anglin," the letter reads. "I escape (sic) from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I'm 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely."

The letter continued, "If you announce on TV that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke."

The letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department's Richmond station in 2013, the report said. The station said it obtained it from an unnamed source.

The FBI tested the letter in 2013 for fingerprints but reportedly said results were inconclusive.

The three prisoners were serving sentences for bank robbery when they pulled off the escape with stolen spoons, dummy heads and a raincoat raft. Their exploits were turned into the 1979 movie "Escape from Alcatraz," starring Clint Eastwood as Morris.

U.S. Marshal Michael Dyke, who inherited the unsolved case in 2003, told the Associated Press in 2012 that he didn't know whether any of the trio was still alive. But he had seen enough evidence to make him wonder.

That evidence included credible reports that the Anglins' mother, for several years, received flowers delivered without a card and that the brothers attended her 1973 funeral disguised in women's clothes despite a heavy FBI presence.

The report pointed out that today Morris would be 90 and John and Clarence, the brothers, would be 86 and 87.

The federal government closed Alcatraz as a prison in 1963, just a year after the men's escape.

John Cantwell, National Park Service ranger, told the station that the Federal Bureau of Prisons said they drowned "once they got off" the island and their bodies were swept out to the Pacific.

"End of story," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Edmund DeMarche is a news editor for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EDeMarche.

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3 Alcatraz inmates survived 1962 escape, swam to land, letter suggests

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A letter emerged Tuesday that claims to be written by a former inmate at Alcatraz who - along with two others -- managed to escape the island prison only to vanish without a trace. The running theory about their fate is that they died shortly after stepping foot into the cold waters that separated the prison and San Francisco.

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Toys R Us is planning to close more than 180 stores in the US because of bankruptcy.

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Toys "R" Us is planning to shutter a fifth of its U.S. stores.

The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday.

Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

The filing Tuesday by the company's lawyers said the decision to shut so many stores was prompted by increased competition and a shift by customers toward online shopping.

Related: Retail's toughest year -- a record for store closings

The planned closures, which need court approval, are expected to begin early next month and be mostly completed by the end of April, Toys "R" Us CEO Dave Brandon said in a message to customers posted on the company's website.

"The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company," he said.

Several other stores will be converted into co-branded Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us outlets, Brandon added.

Related: How the toy makers lost their Christmas magic

Toys "R" Us stores outside the U.S. are unaffected.

Melanie Teed-Murch, president of Toys "R" Us Canada, said in a statement that all 83 locations there would continue operating as usual.

The news comes after a brutal year for retailers in the U.S. in which store closings more than tripled from the previous year to nearly 7,000 closings, setting a record.There was also an increase in the number of store openings, as more successful retailers moved into vacated locations. But the year marked the first time since the Great Recession of 2009 that there was an absolute decrease in the number of U.S. stores, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail industry think tank.

Much of the problem in traditional brick-and-mortar stores was because of a shift by consumers to buying more goods online. Foot traffic in stores fell 8% last year, according to Fung.

But the problems at Toys "R" Us predate the growth of online shopping. It suffered from fierce competition and lost market share to fellow big box retailers like Walmart and Target. It has lost nearly $2.5 billion since its last reported an annual profit five years ago, which has left it reeling under $5 billion in debt.

Unlike other retailers that have been steadily closing unprofitable locations, Toys "R" Us continued to add stores right up until recently. It had 1,691 company owned stores as of a year ago, up from 1,622 a year earlier. Still the store closings announcement was not a surprise. CEO Dave Brandon said in December that the company was studying the question of whether to close stores. The bankruptcy process makes it less costly for retailers to break lease on unprofitable locations.

The company's same-store sales fell 4.4% in the quarter ended October, with its U.S. stores experiencing a sharper drop of 7%. The toy industry at large is also facing headwinds, with key manufacturers like Lego and Mattel struggling with declining sales.

-- CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 24, 2018: 4:10 AM ET

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Toys "R" Us closing: Chain to shutter more than 180 stores across US

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The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday. Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys "R" Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.

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National veterans group American Veterans (AMVETS) submitted an ad for the Super Bowl over the words "Please Stand". The NFL rejected the ad saying it was too political. The NFL did not have any problems the Budweiser Commercial last year that featured its immigrant co-founder, which also spurred some political controversy.

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National veterans group American Veterans (AMVETS) said the NFL rejected its full-page Super Bowl ad over the words "Please Stand."

The proposed ad, which would have been printed in the official Super Bowl LII program, featured a color guard holding the American flag with a call to donate to AMVETS.

The NFL told Fox News they objected to the words "Please Stand" due to its political nature. The decision comes amid the controversy surrounding NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem, sparked by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last season.

"The Super Bowl game program is designed for fans to commemorate and celebrate the game, players, teams and the Super Bowl. It's never been a place for advertising that could be considered by some as a political statement," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Fox News.

Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture at the Media Research Center, told Fox News the NFL "has become too politically correct for its own good."

"It wouldn't let the Dallas Cowboys honor the slain police officers who died defending its citizens, but it bends over backward to support the anthem protests," Gainor told us. "Now it won't even allow a fantastic organization to call for fans to stand up for our veterans. It turns out the NFL has been lying to us for years. It doesn't represent patriotic Americans. It doesn't represent veterans. It is simply a sport for whiny millionaires."

The NFL did not take issue with last year's Budweiser commercial which drummed up controversy for its political nature.

Budweiser's ad featured the story of its immigrant co-founder Adolphus Busch's journey in the 1850s from Germany to the U.S., where locals tell him he should "go back home" and that he doesn't "look like you're from around here."

Budweiser Vice President Richard Marques said at the time it would be "foolish" to think the current political environment isn't fueling attention for the ad. Marques added that Budweiser as a beer brand is inherently bipartisan.

According to AMVETS, the ad was accepted by the NHL and the NBA.

McCarthy told Fox News that the NFL asked AMVETs to consider using the words "Please Honor our Veterans" or "Please Stand for Our Veterans" instead, however, the group rejected their modification. McCarthy said the back-and forth caused a production delay and AMVETS failed to meet the deadline to get an ad in.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You can find Sasha Savitsky on Twitter @SashaFB.

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NFL rejects veteran-submitted 'Please Stand' Super Bowl LII ad for being too political

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National veterans group American Veterans (AMVETS) said the NFL rejected its full-page Super Bowl ad over the words "Please Stand." The proposed ad, which would have been printed in the official Super Bowl LII program, featured a color guard holding the American flag with a call to donate to AMVETS.

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School shooting in Kentucky killed 2 and injured 18.

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An emotional high school senior recounted the chaos that erupted inside her Kentucky high school when a 15-year-old boy fatally shot two of her classmates and injured another 18.

Hours after the Tuesday morning shooting, Marshall County High School senior Kennadi Spraggs told ABC News in an emotional interview that her friend was shot and injured moments after high-fiving her as they were chatting in a group before class.

She said she thought the first gunshot was a balloon.

"I heard five more, and it was, like, unmistakable," Spraggs said. "You knew it was about to be really bad. Everyone was just screaming and crying and running and saying 'Get down.' No one knew what to do."

"I thought that if you get down, there's a chance that you'll never get back up," she said. "I just took off. I ran as fast as I could."

"My parents had always told me if anything happens ... go to the body shop across the road. At that point, my instincts just kicked in and I just ran as fast as I could out of the school," she said, shaking and tearing up.

"There's so many people who weren't as lucky as I was to be able to get out," Spraggs said.

"I thank God that my back was" to the shooter, Spraggs said, crying. "But even the sound of it happening," she said as she shook her head.

Another student, Bryson Conkwright, watched in horror as the teenage boy pulled a gun on his classmates at their school in Benton, about 120 miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.

Bryson told ABC's " Good Morning America" this morning that he is still trying to process the shooting that left the "nicest people I've ever met" dead or injured.

He recalled sitting with a group of friends about 8 a.m. Tuesday when the teen gunman walked up and started shooting without warning.

"I was a little to the side. I was basically in the group. I see this kid walk up. I didn't pay that much attention to (him). I turn back and he draws a gun out from his side and I'm like ... I didn't know what to think at all. And I see this kid draw up his gun and he just points it," Bryson told GMA host Robin Roberts.

"By the time he pulled the trigger, it hit me that this kid ... he's shooting at us, he's shooting at us and I was just sitting there in shock and watching my friends and people that I've known forever ... just dropped. It was unbelievable."

He said chaos broke out in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

"Everybody was screaming, everybody was running out," said Bryson, who said a bullet grazed his hand. "It was crazy."

"Never in a million years" did he think a shooting would occur on his school campus, he said.

He described Marshall County High School as a "great school," where "everybody loves each other."

"I'll tell you my honest opinion on it is everybody in that group ... they literally wouldn't hurt a fly," he said of his friends who were shot. "The ones that lost their lives, they were probably the nicest people I've ever met. They never had anything negative to say."

Sixteen people suffered gunshot wounds, including the two victims who died, officials said. Bailey Nicole Holt, 15, died at the scene, and 15-year-old Preston Ryan Cope died at a hospital, officials said.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody and will be charged with two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, according to Rick Sanders, Kentucky State Police commissioner.

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted this morning, "We grieve with the people of Kentucky who seek comfort & healing during this moment of heartbreak. These acts of evil & senseless violence must end. We commend the courageous and heroic acts of law enforcement who responded quickly and are grateful for their efforts."

We grieve with the people of Kentucky who seek comfort & healing during this moment of heartbreak. These acts of evil & senseless violence must end. We commend the courageous and heroic acts of law enforcement who responded quickly and are grateful for their efforts. https://t.co/bHFkpRHYBU
- Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) January 24, 2018

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Survivor of school shooting: Everyone was 'screaming and crying and running'

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An emotional high school senior recounted the chaos that erupted inside her Kentucky high school when a 15-year-old boy fatally shot two of her classmates and injured another 18. Hours after the Tuesday morning shooting, Marshall County High School senior Kennadi Spraggs told ABC News in an emotional interview that her friend was shot and injured moments after high-fiving her as they were chatting in a group before class.

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Country singer Lari White died at age 52 after a short battle with cancer.

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Country singer Lari White died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 52.

The Grammy-winning singer was best known for her hit '90s singles "Now I Know" and That's My Baby." She first rose to fame after appearing on Jim Ed Brown's "You Can Be a Star" talent show.

"Last night all her Family-of-Origin circled round her bed, saying our goodbyes to Lari, loving her, praying, sending her messages of support and gratitude. Her Dad gave her his loving foot massage. Chuck and their three children joined with us, and it was such a comfort to all of us to be 'Together Again' around Lari," her mother, Yvonne, wrote online.

"[White's husband] Chuck and their children bathed her in the same love and care all night long they have given to her for four months. At 4:44 this morning, Lari peacefully took her 'Rain Walk.'"

The Florida native released her debut album "Lead Me Not" in 1993, but it was her sophomore record "Wishes" that shot the singer into fame in the country music world.

In addition to singing, White dabbled in acting and had small rolls in the Tom Hanks' film "Cast Away" and in 2010's "Country Strong."

She was also a castmember in the Broadway musical "Ring of Fire" in 2006.

White revealed she was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer in November 2017. Her mother announced that White had entered hospice care on Jan. 19 in a post on her Caring Bridge page.

White's fellow country stars expressed their condolences on Twitter.

White is survived by her husband Chuck Cannon and their three children.

You can find Sasha Savitsky on Twitter @SashaFB.

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Country singer Lari White dead at 52 after short cancer battle

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Country singer Lari White died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 52. The Grammy-winning singer was best known for her hit '90s singles "Now I Know" and That's My Baby." She first rose to fame after appearing on Jim Ed Brown's "You Can Be a Star" talent show.

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In Panama City Beach, Florida, two 12-year old students were charged for cyber stalking after the suicide of another student. 12-year old Gabriella Green was found unresponsive at her home, she died from hanging herself. Gabbie was video chatting one of the students, and told them that she was having a bad day, and that she was thinking about taking her own life. The boy said, "If you're going to do it, just do it." He regretted the call and tried to message her, but she did not respond. He didn't attempt to contact any adults about the problem.

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Police charge two students in suicide of classmate, 12 | CNN

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Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student.

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The Antarctic Penguins need help. A man by the name of Javier Bardem is finally getting his dream to come true as he and many others have the opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth in the Antarctic Ocean. This will protect all of the wildlife that lives there and give people a chance to see and learn about them.

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I am sitting in a secluded bay. My hands are resting on the sand as a breeze drifts over the blue-green ripples by the shore. Boulders thrust out of the sea. They are teeming with small black and white penguins, waddling across the rocks and dropping into the ocean. It is magical: a window onto a little world which will continue long after I leave.

Twenty years later, this image now exists only in my head and in my heart.

You're probably reading this on your phone. Or maybe your computer screen. The world around you is frozen. The light of your screen is your focus. You are removed from your surroundings.

Screens are so often our window onto the world. We filter the infinite currents of information and images through them. They shape how we think and they catalogue our experiences.

That's why I've never been on social media. And it's also why I've just joined social media.

Right now, the window I'm looking through is not a screen. It's round. It's a porthole on a ship, and a portal to a majestic world of towering ice and shimmering sea and an abundance of life.

I'm lucky enough to be directly experiencing the Antarctic and the vast blue wonder of its ocean. Penguins are plunging into the water, just like in my memory of Boulder Beach in Cape Town. If I'm even luckier I'll see the great whales, leopard seals and a whole other existence down at the bottom of our planet. It feels a lifetime away from my home in Madrid.

Which brings me back to social media. Last week I joined Twitter and Instagram -- not to share updates about my breakfast -- but to share this journey I am taking to the end of the Earth.

I've joined a Greenpeace expedition to bring the incredible diversity of life in the Antarctic closer to home for people who may never get a chance to see it. Because we're all connected to what happens here, even if we don't know it.

And I want to use social media to urge you to join me. To join me not just on this voyage, but in a mission to create the largest wildlife reserve that the world has ever seen: an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.

This planet is a blue planet. Two-thirds of it is covered by seas which produce so much oxygen that they give us every second breath we take. The oceans are far bigger than every continent combined, but climate change, pollution and overfishing are killing them.

Now for the good news. This year we have an opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth in the Antarctic Ocean. It would not only protect the vibrant life here, like Emperor penguins and blue whales, but it would ensure a healthy ocean to help mitigate against the worst effects of climate change. It would be over three times bigger than my home country of Spain and 200 times the size of Yellowstone National Park.

It would mean humans couldn't exploit the area, like the fishing vessels which catch Antarctic krill, a tiny creature like a shrimp which is one of the most important species in the food web down here, eaten by Adélie penguins, humpback whales and almost everything else.

The proposal to create this vast marine reserve is being put forward by the EU when the Antarctic Ocean Commission meets this October. It covers a huge area in the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula, which otherwise could see expansion by the krill fishing industry to make products like Omega 3 fish oil and feed for fish farms.

In this region, where marine life is already under acute pressure, these vessels could end up competing for food with penguins and whales, in the foraging grounds they rely on.

Beyond protecting marine life, scientists are only just beginning to understand the crucial role that healthy oceans play in avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, as oceans act as carbon sinks. This process could be even more significant in the polar regions.

The members of the Antarctic Ocean Commission, including the US, EU, Russia and China, have already shown that they can put aside their differences for the sake of our oceans. Just last month a massive marine reserve came into force in the Ross Sea in the Antarctic. It was a triumph of international cooperation and will have a tremendous impact in safeguarding marine life. But if we're to rise to the challenges the oceans are facing, we have to think even bigger.

I have an image in my head. It's a huge expanse of pristine sea and ice, of bustling penguin colonies, and a safe haven for blue whales: the largest animals the world has ever known. It is a natural world free to thrive because we have allowed it to, and because as a race, we humans know the impact that we can have. It's a vision to protect the Antarctic.

An image in your head and in your heart is a powerful thing. And I would like to offer you mine.

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javier bardem: the antarctic's penguins need us - cnn

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Javier Bardem: the Antarctic's penguins need us

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I have a picture in my head. I am sitting in a secluded bay. My hands are resting on the sand as a breeze drifts over the shore. Boulders thrust out of the sea. They are teeming with small black and white penguins, waddling across the rocks and dropping into the ocean.

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Kentucky school shooting: 2 students killed, 18 injured

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Story highlights

Editor's Note: This CNN article first published on Jan. 24, 2018, the day after the shooting happened.

Another high school has turned into a scene of carnage, this time in western Kentucky.

Sixteen people were wounded, two of them fatally, after a shooter opened fire Tuesday morning at Marshall County High School, authorities said. Four others sustained various injuries.

A 15-year-old male student was arrested at the scene, Gov. Matt Bevin said. On Wednesday he was charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first degree assault, Marshall County Assistant Attorney Jason Darnall told reporters.

After the boy has a probable cause hearing and a detention hearing in the next two days, prosecutors will start the process of charging him as an adult, Darnall said.

A grand jury will meet on February 13, and the charges could change, Darnall said.

Authorities identified the slain victims as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. Bailey died at the high school, and Preston died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, according to Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders.

Sanders said the suspect, armed with a handgun, walked into the school at 8:57 a.m. ET and started shooting. The first 911 call came two minutes later.

The victims ranged from 14 to 18, state police said. Fourteen were male and six female.

'Mom, there's been a shooting'

Some parents said their children told them the shooting started in the commons area before class, CNN affiliate WSMV reported.

Missy Hufford said her son, Ethan, 15, ran into the gymnasium and out of the building through a side door. Then he called and asked her to pick him up, she said.

"I know when he called me, he said, 'Mom, there's been a shooting.' And I asked him if he was OK, and he said, 'I'm running,' " WSMV reported.

Misty Green said her daughter, Morgan, was in the commons area and "heard the 'pop, pop, pop' and initially got down, and then just realized what was going on, so they took out running out of the building as fast as they could."

"And teachers were grabbing kids up and helping them get into safe places. And helping them get outside and get to a safe location," Green told WSMV.

Junior Taylor Droke told CNN affiliate WZTV that she and a friend were running late and arrived as students poured out of the school.

"You could see students dropping their bags and just start running, pushing past each other," she said. "Everyone in cars started turning around and driving away. Kids were jumping the fence around the school and running through the woods."

Droke said she contacted her mother on FaceTime. Then she and her friend gave a ride to some students and loaned them phones to call their parents.

"Everyone just left their bags and ran, so people had no cell phones," Droke said.

Shot in the arm

Daniel Austin, a 17-year-old special needs student, was hospitalized. His parents kept calling his cell phone until someone in the emergency room picked up and said Daniel had been shot.

His mother, Andrea, rushed to the hospital, bewildered as to why this happened.

"Teachers love him. Students love him. I don't think (anyone) can say one bad thing about him," Andrea Austin said. "And that's not because I'm his mom. Everybody loves him."

Austin said her son was shot in the right arm, which might need to be amputated. She lauded the heroics of a fellow student and a teacher, who quickly scooped up Daniel after the gunfire stopped, rushed him to a car and drove him to a hospital.

Trooper thought deceased victim was his daughter

Sanders, the state police commissioner, said authorities are praying for the victims. The carnage was especially hard on first responders.

One of the first state troopers to arrive at the high school thought Bailey, the student who died at the school, was his daughter, Sanders said. The trooper's daughter had been dropped off at the school that morning, and she and the victim were wearing similar clothing, Sanders said.

"He had to go over to convince himself that that was not his daughter," Sanders said.

State police said six victims, including Preston, were taken to Vanderbilt in Nashville, about 100 miles away.

Among the injuries, three students were shot in the head, Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui, medical director of Vanderbilt's trauma intensive care unit, told reporters.

Three victims remained in critical condition at Vanderbilt late Tuesday, and one was in stable condition at the hospital, state police said.

"We're just as devastated as anybody would be," Guillamondegui said. "Luckily, we're trained and prepared."

Marshall County Schools Superintendent Trent Lovett asked the community to "wrap your arms around these families and around these students, as you always have."

"Together with the community, we will begin the long healing process within our schools. God be with us all," Lovett said.

The American flag is lowered to half staff near the spot 2 students were shot and killed & another 17 were injured during a school shooting at Marshall County High in Benton, Kentucky. #MarshallStrong pic.twitter.com/9pc57d3GBU
- Nick Valencia (@CNNValencia) January 23, 2018

2 school shootings in 2 days

The violence in Marshall County, a rural area near the western tip of Kentucky, stunned the governor. Authorities have not provided a possible motive.

"It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County," Bevin said in a statement. "This is a tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities."

It also stirred painful memories of the 1997 school shooting that killed three students in West Paducah - just 32 miles from the high school in Benton.

Tuesday's attack came one day after another school shooting, in Texas.

On Monday, a 15-year-old female student was shot in the city of Italy, officials said. She was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Dallas. The suspect, a 16-year-old male, was "apprehended within minutes," city officials said.

The motive for that shooting also remains unclear.

At least two dozen prayer vigils and prayer circles were planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the high school.

Giffords: 'Devastating news'

Former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a gunshot wound during a January 2011 assassination attempt in Tucson, Arizona, said the Kentucky shooting again demonstrates the need for stronger gun laws.

"The devastating news about the shooting in Kentucky this morning is the latest example, but just yesterday, while the nation's attention was focused on the government shutdown, school shootings were also reported in Texas and Louisiana," Giffords said in a statement.

"Our nation has experienced 13 mass shootings already this year, and it's only January. We will never accept these horrific acts of violence as routine."

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Kentucky school shooting: 2 students killed, 18 injured | CNN

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Editor's Note: This CNN article first published on Jan. 24, 2018, the day after the shooting happened. Sixteen people were wounded, two of them fatally, after a shooter opened fire at Marshall County High School in western Kentucky, authorities said. Four others sustained various injuries.

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A letter emerged Tuesday that claims to be written by a former inmate at Alcatraz who — along with two others -- managed to escape the island prison only to vanish without a trace. The running theory about their fate is that they died shortly after stepping foot into the cold waters that separated the prison and San Francisco. But their bodies were never found and their story remains a mystery. Prison officials and federal agents insisted at the time of the escape that the inmates — brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris — perished.

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A letter emerged Tuesday that claims to be written by a former inmate at Alcatraz who - along with two others -- managed to escape the island prison only to vanish without a trace.

The running theory about their fate is that they died shortly after stepping foot into the cold waters that separated the prison and San Francisco. But their bodies were never found and their story remains a mystery.

Prison officials and federal agents insisted at the time of the escape that the inmates - brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris - perished.

CBS San Francisco reported that it obtained a letter allegedly written by John Anglin. The letter admitted to the escape and explained their fate.

"My name is John Anglin," the letter reads. "I escape (sic) from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I'm 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely."

The letter continued, "If you announce on TV that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke."

The letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department's Richmond station in 2013, the report said. The station said it obtained it from an unnamed source.

The FBI tested the letter in 2013 for fingerprints but reportedly said results were inconclusive.

The three prisoners were serving sentences for bank robbery when they pulled off the escape with stolen spoons, dummy heads and a raincoat raft. Their exploits were turned into the 1979 movie "Escape from Alcatraz," starring Clint Eastwood as Morris.

U.S. Marshal Michael Dyke, who inherited the unsolved case in 2003, told the Associated Press in 2012 that he didn't know whether any of the trio was still alive. But he had seen enough evidence to make him wonder.

That evidence included credible reports that the Anglins' mother, for several years, received flowers delivered without a card and that the brothers attended her 1973 funeral disguised in women's clothes despite a heavy FBI presence.

The report pointed out that today Morris would be 90 and John and Clarence, the brothers, would be 86 and 87.

The federal government closed Alcatraz as a prison in 1963, just a year after the men's escape.

John Cantwell, National Park Service ranger, told the station that the Federal Bureau of Prisons said they drowned "once they got off" the island and their bodies were swept out to the Pacific.

"End of story," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Edmund DeMarche is a news editor for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EDeMarche.

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3 Alcatraz inmates survived 1962 escape, swam to land, letter suggests

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A letter emerged Tuesday that claims to be written by a former inmate at Alcatraz who - along with two others -- managed to escape the island prison only to vanish without a trace. The running theory about their fate is that they died shortly after stepping foot into the cold waters that separated the prison and San Francisco.

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Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" (2008-2012) star, Joel Taylor, unexpectedly died on Tuesday at age 38. The cause of his death is not known, but it is not storm related.

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Joel Taylor, of Discovery Channel's defunct show "Storm Chasers," unexpectedly died Tuesday at the age of 38.

It was not immediately clear how Taylor died but it was not believed to be storm related, People reported.

Taylor studied meteorology at the University of Oklahoma before becoming a driver with his friend and "Storm Chasers" co-star Reed Timmer and chasing storms in Oklahoma's Tornado Alley. Taylor starred on "Storm Chasers" from 2008 until it was canceled in 2012. The show followed a group of scientists as they "chased" tornadoes in order to study the storm's path and behavior.

Taylor's friends and co-stars paid tribute to the storm chaser on social media Tuesday.

"RIP my best friend and storm chasing partner, Joel Taylor. I am shocked and absolutely devastated by the loss of my incredible, caring friend," Timmer wrote. "We chased so many intense storms, and I wish we could have just one more storm chase. I'll miss you forever, Joel. We lost a legend."

Mike Olbinski also remembered his friend Taylor.

"I was lucky enough to meet Joel a few years ago at Reed's wedding. He was so kind to me and we got to hang out for a bit during those few days," Olbinski tweeted. "I snapped this photo of him and that just seemed like who he was. A huge smile. RIP Joel Taylor...you will be so missed."

Team Western Oklahoma Chaser, a group Taylor was a part of, also paid tribute to the young storm chaser.

"He didn't chase for the glory he chased because he had a true passion for storms. In the last few years he'd load up with his dad and go chase and not even take a camera," the group stated. "Our hearts are hurting for his mom Tracy and dad Jimmy along with his brother and sister and their children. Please know you are in our prayers. RIP Joel."

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'Storm Chasers' star Joel Taylor dies suddenly at age 38

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Joel Taylor, of Discovery Channel's defunct show "Storm Chasers," unexpectedly died Tuesday at the age of 38. It was not immediately clear how Taylor died but it was not believed to be storm related, People reported. Taylor studied meteorology at the University of Oklahoma before becoming a driver with his friend and "Storm Chasers" co-star Reed Timmer and chasing storms in Oklahoma's Tornado Alley.

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On Monday, In California a local firefighter tweeted about a Tesla in autopilot mode crashed into the back end of fire truck. The car was going at 65 miles per hour. There was no injures. The owners manual says to pay attention to the road while in autopilot mode.Tesla's owners manual states that the autopilot can't detect all things.

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A Tesla Model S crashed into a fire truck while driving down a California highway, according to Culver City, California, firefighters.

A tweet by the local firefighter's union Monday showed a photo of a Tesla Model S with its nose wedged under the back end of a fire truck and its hood badly wrinkled. The car had been traveling at 65 miles an hour, the tweet said.

"The driver reports the vehicle was on Autopilot. Amazingly there were no injuries!" according to the tweet.

In its owner's manual, Tesla repeatedly warns drivers to pay attention to the road while using the semi-autonomous Autopilot system. Tesla classifies Autopilot it as a "driver assistance system" and not "autonomous driving." In other words, the system is only designed to reduce the driver's workload by taking over repetitive and mundane tasks like staying in the lane and avoiding other moving cars.

A Tesla spokesperson said in a statement that the autopilot function is intended for use only with a fully attentive driver.

Other automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, General Motors and BMW, have similar systems that keep a car in its lane on the highway and that can slow down and speed up automatically to keep up with the flow of traffic.

The Tesla owner's manual says that Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which is part of the Autopilot system, "cannot detect all objects and may not brake/decelerate for stationary vehicles, especially in situations when you are driving over 50 mph (80 km/h) and a vehicle you are following moves out of your driving path and a stationary vehicle or object is in front of you instead."

Traffic-aware cruise control systems by some other car manufacturers also work this way. Other manufacturers have said their systems rely on the driver to respond to stationery objects. In general, it is more difficult for a car's radar-based system to detect and respond to a stationary object than a moving one, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In a deadly crash in Florida in 2016, a Tesla Model S driver using Autopilot drove under the side of a semi truck that had turned left in front of it. In that case, the Autopilot system, which has since been updated, apparently did not recognize the white truck trailer against the bright sky. Additionally, the Autopilot system is not designed to be used on roads with crossing traffic.

According to a later report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the driver ignored repeated warnings to keep his hands on the steering wheel. The NTSB concluded that crash was not the result of any specific defect in the Autopilot system.

The NTSB has announced that it will also be looking into this recent California incident.

Since the fatal Florida crash, Tesla has changed the Autopilot system so that, if a driver repeatedly ignores such warnings, the system will stop functioning and will be prevented from restarting for the duration of the trip. If the driver never responds, the car will gradually slow down until it stops and the flashing hazard lights will come on.

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 23, 2018: 3:05 PM ET

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Tesla in Autopilot mode crashes into fire truck

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A tweet by the local firefighter's union Monday showed a photo of a Tesla Model S with its nose wedged under the back end of a fire truck and its hood badly wrinkled. The car had been traveling at 65 miles an hour, the tweet said. "The driver reports the vehicle was on Autopilot.

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Prosthetic limbs have been evolving to become more ¨human¨ or life like. A North Carolina woman, who lost her arm in a boating accident from shark attack, has a newer form or prosthetic. Her arm is bionic.With working limbs, the brain sends signals to parts of your body to give direction. In the absence of a limb, the brain is still sending those signals, but there is no target. The new bionic arm is connected to the nervous system so that it can receive the brain signals and move the prosthetic. Making prosthetic limbs more human like, can help amputee people feel less phantom pains, depression, and it gives them more control. For this woman, who is also a mom of young children, the bionic arm has been life changing.

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On their final day, the Johnsons chartered a snorkel expedition in the Bahamas.

Thirty minutes into the snorkeling excursion, Johnson bumped into something.

"I was just staring at the fish, and I felt a tug on my arm," Johnson said.

"I remember even just thinking 'Oh, what did I bump into?' And then when I turned, I was face-to-face with the shark."

The fight for her life

All she could see was the shark's black, beady eyes staring her down, then darting around. It was such a shock, it took a while for her to realize her entire arm was in the shark's mouth.

"It was just this weird, eerie presence," she recalled. "Fear just took over."

Instinctively, Johnson tried to pull her arm out of its mouth, and that's when it clenched down right below her elbow.

"I remember hearing the sound of my screaming through the snorkel tube," she said.

"My body wanted to give up. I was seeing almost like a movie reel of my kids," said Johnson, a mother of three. "And I remember thinking, 'No, we are not going there.' And that's when the strength in the Lord just rose up from inside of me and gave me the strength to fight back."

Thrashing, pulling, praying, Johnson finally won the battle, but when she ultimately yanked her right arm free, half was gone, from the elbow down.

"It was a mangled stump. And I remember even thinking right away, like, 'Oh my gosh, my arm's gone.' But I didn't feel any pain," she said.

The attack lasted no longer than a few minutes, she thought. The Johnsons later learned it was surprising that she survived at all.

"Most people die from sharks pulling them down and drowning them," she said, but Johnson was at surface level the entire time, breathing out of her snorkel tube.

Back to the boat

Johnson yelled out as she swam back with her left arm.

Her husband, who had gotten out of the water earlier, dove in to help her back to the boat.

Once on deck, Johnson was calm. She said she felt a peace beyond anything she could ever express.

"My husband was frantic, you know, just in sheer terror, and the captain's the same way, trying to grab the anchor," she said.

She had such a sound mind that she instructed her husband to grab their beach towel -- the only available option -- to stop the bleeding.

"And then I laid my head down and I closed my eyes because in front of me I had literally sprayed blood everywhere. And I began to pray," she said.

They stopped at Paradise Island, the closest shoreline. But they couldn't help with such a severe injury. They had to return to the main port in Nassau.

"When the ambulance arrived (at the port in Nassau) and they started wrapping my arm, that's the first time I felt pain. So, 45 minutes maybe without pain, which is just a miracle," Johnson said.

She had her first surgery in Nassau, but the hospital there could only do so much. She needed to return to the United States for more intensive surgery.

There was a problem: They didn't have their passports, since they didn't need them while cruising, and an emergency passport would take too long.

"We had the minister of tourism in the Bahamas involved, the embassy involved, Customs involved. They were all trying to figure out a way to get us back to the US," Johnson said.

Johnson called her pastor back home in Charlotte. He had connections with a private jet company in the Bahamas.

She was evacuated off the island the next day and taken home to Charlotte.

Making prosthetics more human

Once Johnson arrived in Charlotte, she was placed under the care of orthopedic surgeons, Drs. Bryan Loeffler and Glenn Gaston. They're two of the surgeons pioneering an innovative procedure called targeted muscle reinnervation, or TMR, developed by Dr. Todd Kuiken in 2002.

The procedure has been the front line in the effort to improve the interface between humans and technology. The goal is simple: Give hope -- and control -- back to upper-limb amputees.

TMR enables the user's mind to communicate with artificial limbs via prosthetics that connect to the nervous system.

When most people raise a thumb, the brain sends a signal down the spinal cord, through a network of nerves that go down the forearm and into the muscles of the thumb, telling it to lift.

"When the hand (is) lost, you still have that same signal that can be sent down, but it doesn't have a target anymore," Loeffler said.

With TMR, the surgeons take residual nerves that previously controlled the amputated limb and rewire them into the remaining part of the limb. It essentially gives that signal a target in a new muscle.

"The signal that's going from the brain, now it doesn't have a dead end, it has a muscle, and it will cause it to contract. When the muscle contracts, it generates an electrical signal that is detected by a sensor that's on the skin, and that signal is transduced into a prosthetic to allow the thumb function to occur," Loeffler said.

The intuitive, thought-controlled bionic arm has come a long way since its inception.

According to Gaston, within an hour of training, many patients are able to perform all the functions that the prosthetic allows. In the past, that would've taken months of training.

"They literally just have to think 'close my hand,' and they close their (prosthetic) hand," Gaston said.

It also has another benefit for amputees -- it greatly reduces or eliminates neuroma pain, also known as phantom pain, which is the experience of pain in the lost limb.

Loeffler said the nerves that are severed from the amputation act like exposed live wires, but with TMR, they are now a closed circuit, since they've been assigned a purpose.

According to multiple studies over the past decade, TMR offers a novel solution for post-amputation neuroma pain. For that benefit alone, both doctors say the procedure is worthwhile and can be performed at any time, even years after an amputation.

For Johnson, it has been a tough journey since the attack. She has relearned how to perform once-simple tasks, such as eating, writing and cooking.

She's adapting to life with one arm, and so is her family. But there was another helping hand on the way.

Getting a 'smart arm'

Johnson smiles and lights up the waiting room at OrthoCarolina Reconstructive Center for Lost Limbs, which is run by Loeffler and Gaston.

Here, she's a poster child for positivity. "She has been an incredible person through it all and I think her drive and her spirit to get through everything is really exemplary. And she's rubbed off on a lot of our other patients," Gaston said.

Johnson is a fast learner. She signs her medical documents with her left hand fairly well for a new lefty and, as she quips, in handwriting better than her husband's.

Now it's time for more learning. On this day, she is receiving her first mind-controlled "smart arm."

Electrodes are placed all around Johnson's right elbow, and the mechanical prosthesis is placed on. Within minutes, she's bending, grasping and pointing with the bionic arm.

All of these actions originate from the simple intent to do so. It's an incredible moment for both the patient and the doctors.

"The real unique challenge with Tiffany was the very short residual limb that we had to work with. We had to be fairly creative with which nerves we re-routed to the few muscles remaining," Gaston said.

Johnson is excited to tie her hair up in a ponytail, and cook with both hands again.

The journey ahead

During the past 15 years, TMR has continued to bridge the gap between human and machine.

"The pace of technology, particularly in this area, is mind boggling. It seems like every few months something else is coming along. I think, to some degree, the surgeries outpace the technology," Gaston said.

Right now the research lies in improving functioning of intuitive limbs, as well as implementing sensation into them.

When pressure is detected by the prosthesis, Loeffler said that can send a signal to their brain telling them it is touching something.

"The ability to touch and perceive things without looking at them is what makes a hand a hand. We're going to see, in the future, that these prosthetics are going to become more and more life-like," he said.

Above all, Johnson credits her faith for keeping her steady.

"A couple of days after the attack, I started reading Psalm 18 and I couldn't keep it together ... where it says 'the grave wrapped its robe around me. Death itself stared me in the face.' That's exactly what happened; I was staring face to face with that shark," she said.

"And then later, 'He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.' I was just in awe of reading this. I was just thinking, oh my God, this is my story."

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mom regains control with a bionic arm - cnn

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After shark attack, mom regains control with a bionic arm

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On their final day, the Johnsons chartered a snorkel expedition in the Bahamas. Thirty minutes into the snorkeling excursion, Johnson bumped into something. "I was just staring at the fish, and I felt a tug on my arm," Johnson said. "I remember even just thinking 'Oh, what did I bump into?'

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Emily Mull, a six-year-old girl from North Carolina, died three days after being diagnosed with the flu. At first, on Tuesday, her doctor had prescribes her Tamiflu and instructed her to stay hydrated. On Friday, her breathing was labored and her mother called an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived, they informed the mother that her daughter was fine and that her labored breathing was a normal symptom of the flu. They left without taking Emily, and her breathing slowed even further down that night, and eventually stopped.

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Another child has died from influenza.

Little 6-year-old Emily Muth from Cary, North Carolina was diagnosed with the flu last Tuesday and died just three days later on Friday night.

FLU DEATHS PROMPT WARNINGS FROM VICTIMS' FAMILIES AS
OUTBREAK CONTINUES

"Devastated. How could that even happen? I mean one day she's fine, you know, and I mean she had the fever and she was a little achy," her mother Rhonda Muth told ABC11.

"Other than that, I mean, she had had the runny nose and cough like typical, you know, and then she's gone. It's horrible. I don't wish this on anybody," she said.

Emily's death came right after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that 30 children have died so far this flu season, compared to 10 child deaths by this point last season.

"The flu is no joke right now. It's a plague in America," the girl's father, Nathan Muth, told the outlet.

The parents said that when Emily first got sick Tuesday, doctors prescribed Tamiflu and said to stay hydrated, but by Friday, Emily's breathing was labored and her mother called for an ambulance.

According to ABC11, her mother said paramedics told her the labored breathing was a typical symptom of the flu and that they thought her daughter would be OK.

"He asked us you know, 'We can take her.' And, you know, they're the medical personnel. I trust what they know. And they said she was fine."

Emily Rose was not taken to a hospital.

By the evening, however, her situation was getting worse.

"She was breathing a little bit heavier. And all of the sudden she just raised up and went back down. I went, 'Emily, Emily.' And I noticed she wasn't breathing," her mother said.

Paramedics came quickly after calling 911 again and tried to perform CPR, but by the time they got to the hospital it was too late.

"Could more have been done?" her father asked.

"You know you always think that. You know what I mean? If they had said, 'Get to the hospital.' What could have been done? The ambulance that was called that Friday morning, they saw her state," he said.

Unfortunately, Emily did not get a flu shot this year.

Her parents said they now planned to get their two other
children, ages 8 and 10, vaccinated.

A GoFundMe page was created to help Emily's family cover the expenses and cope with the loss.

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Six-year-old girl dies from flu after ambulance was sent back, as victim list grows

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Another child has died from influenza. Little 6-year-old Emily Muth from Cary, North Carolina was diagnosed with the flu last Tuesday and died just three days later on Friday night. FLU DEATHS PROMPT WARNINGS FROM VICTIMS' FAMILIES AS OUTBREAK CONTINUES "Devastated. How could that even happen?