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Lisa Holman was found dead on friday after missing for the last 36 hours after she had gotten in a car crash.

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An Alabama woman who was missing for at least 36 hours after a car crash was miraculously found by rescuers Sunday morning, authorities and her family said.

Lisa Holman's vehicle was found wrecked Friday sometime after 9 p.m. off CR 36 between Bent Creek Drive and Brasher Road in Pelham, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, Shelby County Sheriff's Office told ABC station WBMA.

But the 45-year-old Shelby County woman was nowhere to be found.

That's when authorities and volunteer rescue teams launched a desperate search to find her.

Emergency responders even used a drone to help in the search.

Holman remained missing all day Saturday, though, and authorities had to suspend the search.

But Sunday morning, the Pelham Police Department released a statement saying she'd been found in the woods -- alive and well, but for some broken bones.

"While we are still working to piece together the events of the past few days, we do want to let you know Ms. Holman was alert when we found her, and she was able to walk out of the woods to medical professionals standing by to treat her," said Police Chief Larry Palmer.

Holman's family said in a statement that her toughness helped her fight through her injuries and stay alive.

"Her ability to withstand these injuries, the weather conditions, and the length of time in the woods is a testament to her resiliency," they said.

They also thanked everyone who chipped in trying to find her.

"Needless to say, the last two days have been very emotional for our family," the statement read. "Lisa's rescue Sunday morning was definitely an answered prayer.

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the coordinated effort provided by the Pelham Police Department, Pelham Fire Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office," it continued. "They led this rescue mission not only with determined tenacity, but also with true compassion."

The family thanked the hundreds of volunteers -- some of whom found Holman Sunday morning -- for their efforts, too.

"A true community effort and genuine concern for one of our own," Pelham Police told ABC News. "One man literally gave her the shoes off his feet to walk out while he walked out barefoot."

Police were still investigating, trying to determine what happened to Holman.

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Missing woman found alive in the woods after 36-hour search

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An Alabama woman who was missing for at least 36 hours after a car crash was miraculously found by rescuers Sunday morning, authorities and her family said. Lisa Holman's vehicle was found wrecked Friday sometime after 9 p.m.

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Amazon lays off hundreds of employees

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Amazon is laying off hundreds of employees, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The majority of the layoffs are affecting the company's Seattle headquarters, but some global teams may be affected as well, according to the source.

The process of notifying employees has already started, the source said.

The affected departments are more mature areas of Amazon's business, such as its online retail operations.

Amazon confirmed the layoffs in a statement sent to CNN.

"As part of our annual planning process, we are making headcount adjustments across the company - small reductions in a couple of places and aggressive hiring in many others," the statement read. "For affected employees, we work to find roles in the areas where we are hiring."

It appears the company isn't looking to reduce its overall headcount. It currently has 3,900 open corporate job listings in Seattle and 12,000 open positions worldwide, which point to the company's "aggressive" hiring plans. Amazon says it added 130,000 jobs in the past year, which doesn't include its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods.

At the end of 2017, Amazon employed 560,000 people worldwide.

Related: 5 ways Amazon has already changed Whole Foods

The news, first reported on Monday by The Seattle Times, comes at a time when Amazon is publicly searching for a location to build its second headquarters.

HQ2 will cost a minimum of $5 billion to construct and operate, and will create as many as 50,000 jobs, according to the company.

Amazon reported a profit of nearly $2 billion in its latest quarter from the holiday shopping season. The results were the largest in its history and the first time it topped $1 billion in a quarter.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos touted the success of its voice-assistant software Alexa.

"We don't see positive surprises of this magnitude very often - expect us to double down," Bezos said in a statement at the time.

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 12, 2018: 4:55 PM ET

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The majority of the layoffs are affecting the company's Seattle headquarters, but some global teams may be affected as well, according to the source. The process of notifying employees has already started, the source said. The affected departments are more mature areas of Amazon's business, such as its online retail operations.

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For the first time scence 2015, snapchats stocks are 30 over in shares. facebook on the other hand is dying down. currently, snapchats shares are higher than facebook.

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Facebook and Google cemented their dominance over digital media in 2017. But small cracks may be forming.

Snapchat and Twitter both showed signs of long-awaited turnarounds this week, with analysts suggesting their businesses may be benefiting from concerns about Facebook 's impact on users and society.

The two companies, thought to be on the ropes at various points last year, surprised Wall Street this week with stronger than expected sales for the final three months of 2017. Snap showed renewed user growth; Twitter turned a profit for the first time.

Snap , the parent company of Snapchat, surged nearly 50% on Wednesday, pushing the company above its IPO price for the first time since July. Twitter is now trading above $30 a share for the first time since 2015.

Facebook's stock, on the other hand, is down slightly this year. The company rattled investors by tweaking News Feed to show less content from publishers and brands. It also revealed users are spending less time on the social network as it chooses to show fewer viral videos.

Both issues are the result of Facebook trying to address its questionable impact on the world. Facebook has faced a groundswell of criticism for enabling fake news, filter bubbles, foreign election meddling and social media addiction.

Now, some industry watchers are revisiting their assumptions about whether Facebook and Google will continue to run away with the online advertising market.

"We might need to rethink... whether digital advertising really is going to trend towards a duopoly," James Cordwell, an analyst with Atlantic Equities, told CNN Tech. "That still looks like the most likely outcome, but the results... certainly give one pause for thought."

In addition to Snap and Twitter, Cordwell noted that Amazon 's ad sales business appears to be growing fast too. Amazon's "other" revenue, a category that includes advertising, grew 62% year-over-year to $1.7 billion.

Related: Twitter just had its first profitable quarter

Facebook and Google have dominated the online ad market for years thanks to their massive reach and vast amounts of data. The companies are estimated to have gobbled up more than 60% of digital ad spending in 2017.

Advertisers and publishers have long hoped for a viable third alternative to combat the tremendous leverage that Facebook and Google have over them. Now Facebook may inadvertently be helping the cause.

"What we didn't factor in were users being equally desperate for alternatives," James Cakmak, an analyst with Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co., wrote in an investor note this week about Snap's improved user growth. "The backlash against Facebook may very well have played a factor."

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has previously played up the societal concerns about Facebook to his advantage, without actually naming names.

While announcing a Snapchat redesign in November, Spiegel said other social media platforms "fueled 'fake news' because content designed to be shared by friends is not necessarily content designed to deliver accurate information."

Twitter, along with Google's YouTube, has also come under scrutiny for spreading fake news and Russian propaganda, but Facebook has arguably endured more of the criticism by virtue of its unmatched size.

Daniel Ives, an analyst with GBH Insights, wrote in an investor note Thursday that Facebook's decision to tweak the News Feed may prove to be a "tailwind" for Twitter's advertising business.

Facebook's move "is forcing publishers and online advertisers to 'dip their toe in the water' on the Twitter platform and start to ramp up ad investments on this platform," Ives said.

For now, though, Facebook remains miles ahead.

Facebook has grown to more than two billion monthly users, while Twitter is stalled at 330 million. Facebook has 1.4 billion daily users, while Snapchat has 187 million. Facebook's $40 billion in annual sales last year was more than ten times the sales brought in by Twitter and Snap combined.

But this week may be a reminder not to count the little guys out just yet.

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 9, 2018: 2:26 PM ET

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As Facebook stumbles, Twitter and Snapchat show new life

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Snapchat and Twitter both showed signs of long-awaited turnarounds this week, with analysts suggesting their businesses may be benefiting from concerns about Facebook 's impact on users and society. The two companies, thought to be on the ropes at various points last year, surprised Wall Street this week with stronger than expected sales for the final three months of 2017.

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mom and dad cuts daughters hair for a punishment and

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FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

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HASKINS, Ohio - Two volunteer firefighters are on leave after an Ohio family dispute about a child's haircut resulted in investigations, according to the fire chief.

It stems from a now-viral Facebook post by the girl's mother, according to WJW, which infers her daughter's long hair was cut dramatically short as a possible punishment for getting highlights on her birthday.

According to Haskins Police Chief Colby Carroll, they, along with Wood County Children's Services, are investigating a potential child abuse complaint. Carroll says the girl's mother alleges the child's stepmother and father, who are firefighters, ordered the haircut as punishment.

"I've been doing this since '92 and I've never had a case I would say that's like this," said Carroll. "Mom was upset with how her child was being cared for -- lack of better terms."

Middleton Township Fire Chief Steve Asmus says the firefighters will remain on leave pending the outcome of the investigations. Asmus, who would not name the individuals involved, says they have been on the staff for around two years and he has never received a complaint regarding their work.

No charges have been filed against either party as of Monday evening. WJW reached out to the woman who issued the complaint but did not receive a response.

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Mom says teen's hair was chopped off as punishment; father and step-mom under investigation

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HASKINS, Ohio - Two volunteer firefighters are on leave after an Ohio family dispute about a child's haircut resulted in investigations, according to the fire chief. It stems from a now-viral Facebook post by the girl's mother, according to WJW, which infers her daughter's long hair was cut dramatically short as a possible punishment for getting highlights on her birthday.

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Outback server fired over online rant slamming church for skipping tip

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A Florida Outback Steakhouse worker says she filled a local megachurch's $735 takeout order and then was fired when she ranted on social media about not getting a tip.

"We take the order over the phone, we put the order together, take payment and then take order to the car," Tamlynn Yoder, 25, of Lake Park, told the Palm Beach Post. "It's a lot of work just as much as serving."

Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens was holding a conference and called in an order to the local Outback Wednesday for 25 steak dinners, 25 chicken dinners and 25 side orders of potatoes that Yoder said she had to prepare, costing her other tips.

"I brought it out, put it in the car," Yoder told Miami Fox affiliate WSVN-TV. "We received the payment. There was no gratuity. I got upset. I posted a post on Facebook about the church not leaving a gratuity tip."

A friend read her post and called the church to complain and was told that the person who picked up the food didn't know to leave a tip.

"Coming in to eat or takeout, you should automatically be wanting to tip 15 percent," Yoder said. "From there, you either go up or go down based on service."

A church representative called the restaurant Thursday to make it up to Yoder.

Nevertheless, she was shown the door.

As it turns out, Outback has a strict policy forbidding workers from posting about customers on social media, WSVN reported.

Outback even reimbursed the church for its big order. The church was apologetic about what happened.

"We did not call the restaurant to have her fired, we wanted to get the situation resolved," church official David Lonsberry told the Palm Beach Post.

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Outback server fired over online rant slamming church for skipping tip

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A Florida Outback Steakhouse worker says she filled a local megachurch's $735 takeout order and then was fired when she ranted on social media about not getting a tip. "We take the order over the phone, we put the order together, take payment and then take order to the car," Tamlynn Yoder, 25, of Lake Park, told the Palm Beach Post.

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Catholic school in Miami fires lesbian teacher.

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Jocelyn Morfii married the love of her life -- and was fired by the Catholic school where she taught.

Interested in LGBT?

Add LGBT as an interest to stay up to date on the latest LGBT news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

Morfii, who worked as an elementary school teacher at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School in Miami for seven years, was terminated Thursday -- one day after marrying another woman in Key Largo, ABC station WPLG reported.

In a letter by the school principal Carlota Morales, she informed parents of the "difficult and necessary decision" to let go of Morfii.

The short letter named the teacher but omitted details as to why Morfii was no longer a member the Saints Peter and Paul faculty.

It simply stated that "she is no longer teaching at our school."

But a day after Morfii was dismissed, she posted an Instagram message that explained her side: "This weekend I married the love of my life and unfortunately I was terminated from my job as a result... In their eyes, I'm not the right kind of Catholic for my choice of partner."

A Miami Archdiocese spokeswoman concluded that Morfii "broke the contract she signed when she began teaching at a Catholic school."

That contract, acquired by ABC News, includes a "Standards of Conduct" section that suggests every employee must "conduct themselves in a moral and ethical manner consistent with Catholic principles."

It goes on to warn that "because of the Church's particular function in society, certain conduct, inconsistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church, could lead to disciplinary action, including termination, even if it occurs outside the normal working day and outside the strict confines of work performed by the employee for the Archdiocese."

"The way they handled this was just unbelievable," Christina Lopez, whose son was one of Morfii's students, said while standing next to other outraged parents who assembled outside the school on Friday morning.

"You know, to be a Catholic, you're taught to be forgiving. But if you're gay, forget about it," said Cynthia Cini, another parent. "Love is love."

Morfii's attorney, Erica Canas, told WPLG she is weighing a possible legal recourse.

ABC News' Ben Stein contributed to this report.

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Lesbian teacher fired from Miami Catholic school after marrying 'love of my life'

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Jocelyn Morfii married the love of her life -- and was fired by the Catholic school where she taught. Add LGBT as an interest to stay up to date on the latest LGBT news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

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Kentucky gunman killed his parents, girlfriend, and her mother.

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A Kentucky gunman killed his parents, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's mother at two locations Saturday afternoon in Johnson County, before turning the gun on himself, state police said Sunday.

Cops released the victims' names and their relationships with the shooter, Joseph Nickell.

Nickell's parents, James and Arlene Nickell, were gunned down Saturday at a home in the McKenzie Branch area of Flatgap, Kentucky, and Joseph Nickell's girlfriend, Lindsey Vanhoose, and her mother, Patricia Vanhoose, later were fatally shot at an apartment in nearby Paintsville, State Police Trooper William Petry said in a statement.

Johnson County Sheriff Dwayne Price said Joseph Nickell's body also was found at the apartment in what investigators described as a murder-suicide.

Price said authorities in Paintsville, about 190 miles east of Louisville, received a 911 call on Saturday afternoon about a shooting and the Nickell parents were found dead in the kitchen of the home. After receiving a tip on the whereabouts of a suspect's vehicle, the other two victims and Nickell were found later at the apartment complex, Price said.

Authorities didn't give a motive for the shootings, which remain under investigation.

The Nickell family's pastor told The Lexington Herald Leader that he had struggled with drug addiction for years.

James Kelly Caudill, pastor at Tom's Branch Free Will Baptist Church, said Nickell had been through treatment, but seemed to suffer a setback after his sister, Becki, died several months ago, according to the Herald Leader.

"This boy ... he just never did really get over that. I think it just inflamed his addiction," Caudill told the Herald Leader. "It just come to a head."

He and his parents attended morning and evening worship services together Feb. 4. That night, Nickell sat between his parents on the front pew, but was "out of it" on some substance, Caudill said.

Nickell blurted out unknown words during the service, and his mother calmed him, Caudill said.

"This has been a horrific murder spree," Price said in a Facebook post Saturday night. "There are no words to describe the heartbreak in seeing four lives taken due to the actions of one man. I have worked in law enforcement for 34 years. This is one of the most disturbing acts of violence I have ever seen."

Price said later in another Facebook post: "Working a murder is never easy. Working the murders of four innocent people that are part of your community is even tougher."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Kentucky gunman killed his parents, girlfriend and her mother, police say

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A Kentucky gunman killed his parents, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's mother at two locations Saturday afternoon in Johnson County, before turning the gun on himself, state police said Sunday. Cops released the victims' names and their relationships with the shooter, Joseph Nickell.

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Miles from the Winter Olympics, three Americans remain detained in North Korea.

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Just miles from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea -- where some observers continue to fawn over Kim Jong Un's sister and North Korea's "smile diplomacy" -- a trio of Americans remain detained in the Hermit Kingdom.

Concern has only grown for the three Korean-Americans since the death of American college student Otto Warmbier last June after the he spent 17 months locked away in North Korea. And though advocates said they were given some hope during President Trump's State of the Union addres s, when the image of a North Korean defector defiantly holding his crutches in the air was met with rapturous applause, there's also a desire to see continued action and pressure applied against the rogue regime.

"My mom, my brother and I miss our dad so much. We're so worried about him and his health," said Sol Kim, whose father, Tony Kim, has been held by North Korea for about nine months.

In a Facebook video, Sol said the separation has caused "hard days for our family."

"My family and I long to make contact with my dad," he said. "We want to tell him that he's soon going to be a grandfather. My brother and sister are [each] expecting their first child."

While the broadcast of the Winter Olympics is a chance to see the sporting world's finest for some, for Sol, it's a constant reminder of his father.

"As I watch the news about the Olympics I know my dad is being held just miles away from there," he said. "It makes me wonder if there's an opportunity for the U.S. government to press harder for the release of my dad, and all three Americans."

Kim family spokesperson Randall Brandt told Fox News that, "while we cheer for our American Olympic athletes," the Americans being detained are first and foremost on the family's minds.

"While the challenges are great in the region, we think that a humanitarian resolution to the three Americans being detained in North Korea would be an important step in the right direction," Brandt said.

To that end, the Trump administration has been working to secure the release of Tony Kim and the others held by North Korea, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told Fox News.

"We have seen the video released by Tony Kim's son," Nauert said. "We are working to see U.S. citizens who are detained in North Korea come home as soon as possible."
A LOOK AT AMERICANS DETAINED IN NORTH KOREA IN RECENT YEARS
The State Department noted that Ambassador Joseph Yun, the special representative for North Korean policy, met with the three Americans in North Korea in June, when Warmbier was released. No U.S. representative has seen them since.

The three detained Americans, ranging in age from 55 to 64, are being held on a variety of vaguely described offenses:
Tony Kim
Tony Kim, also known as Kim Sang Duk, 59, was detained by North Korean authorities at Pyongyang International Airport on April 22, 2017. Kim was teaching at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Tony also engaged in humanitarian work in the North, helping orphanages. In May 2017, Tony Kim was allegedly accused of "committing criminal acts of hostility aimed to overturn [North Korea]."
Kim Hak Song
Like Tony, Kim Hak Song, 55, also worked at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology before his detention on May 6, 2017 over unspecified crimes. The school is the only privately funded university in North Korea and is unique for having a large number of foreign staff. He was detained on suspicion of committing "hostile acts" against the country's government. Pyongyang University of Science and Technology said Kim was doing agricultural development work with the university's agricultural farm.
Kim Dong Chul
Korean-American, Kim Dong Chul, 64, was arrested in October 2015 and is now serving a 10-year term with hard labor for alleged espionage. It's been reported that Chul was a pastor, and in his public "confession," Kim said he was a spy for the South Korea intelligence service and was trying to spread Christianity among North Koreans.

Caleb Parke is an associate editor for FoxNews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @calebparke

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Miles from Winter Olympics, three Americans remain detained in North Korea

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Just miles from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea -- where some observers continue to fawn over Kim Jong Un's sister and North Korea's "smile diplomacy" -- a trio of Americans remain detained in the Hermit Kingdom.

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An F16 struck a cable then landed at PHX

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TUCSON, Arizona -- The pilot of an F-16 Fighting Falcon based out of the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing in Tucson has landed safely at a Phoenix airport after striking a cable.

National Guard officials say the incident occurred about 10 a.m. Sunday near Black Canyon City, which is about 60 miles north of Phoenix.

They say the aircraft arrived safely at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

No other details were immediately released.

Officials say the Air Force will assemble a team to investigate the incident.

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This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
Show Full Article

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F-16 Lands Safely at Phoenix Airport after Striking a Cable

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TUCSON, Arizona -- The pilot of an F-16 Fighting Falcon based out of the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing in Tucson has landed safely at a Phoenix airport after striking a cable. National Guard officials say the incident occurred about 10 a.m. Sunday near Black Canyon City, which is about 60 miles north of Phoenix.

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Heather Holland, a second-grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School in Weatherford, Texas, died following complications of flu

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A Texas mother-of-two died Sunday from flu complications after reportedly deciding that the $116 medication to treat the virus was too costly.

Heather Holland, a second grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School in Weatherford, Texas, died following complications of flu, leaving behind her husband Frank Holland and two children, a daughter, 10, and a son, 7.

She reportedly started to fell sick a week ago and was going to pick up flu medication. Her husband said she decided not to purchase the medication because she thought the $116 price tag was too high, according to The Weatherford Democrat.

"She wouldn't go get medicine because she's a mama. Mama's are tough. She just kept going. She had a job; she had kids," Holland's pastor, Clark Bosher, told Fox 2. "I think any mom does that. I don't think she is being irresponsible. I don't think she thought she was that sick. It happened so quick."

The husband picked up the drugs himself on Thursday after finding out she skipped on them, but it was too late and she ended up in the intensive care unit at a hospital on Friday.

"Friday night, things escalated and she ended up in the ICU," he told the outlet. "The doctors got the blood cultures back and they had to put her on dialysis early Saturday."

She died Sunday morning. "I have to be strong for the kids but it's still surreal, it hasn't all set in," Frank Holland said. "We've been together a long time, over half my life. She's my best friend, my soulmate, my everything."

He described her as a passionate teacher who "loved helping people, helping the kids, and the kids loved her." On the school's website page, Heather Holland wrote: "I am really enjoying my kiddos. We are working hard on reading, writing and learning to quickly compose and decompose numbers."
TRAGIC FACES OF THE DEADLY US FLU OUTBREAK
This season's deadly flu season has reportedly taken the lives of hundreds of Americans across the country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat said the center has seen "increased influenza-like activity, more hospitalizations and tragically, more flu-associated deaths in children and adults."

Over 60 children have died from the virus this season and there are no signs the spread of the flu will soon to cease. The state of Louisiana, is on track to having some 1,000 flu-related deaths this season, according to medical officials.

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Texas mom dies from flu after skipping on meds deemed too costly: report

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A Texas mother-of-two died Sunday from flu complications after reportedly deciding that the $116 medication to treat the virus was too costly. Heather Holland, a second grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School in Weatherford, Texas, died following complications of flu, leaving behind her husband Frank Holland and two children, a daughter, 10, and a son, 7.

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Missing woman found alive in the woods after 36-hour search.

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An Alabama woman who was missing for at least 36 hours after a car crash was miraculously found by rescuers Sunday morning, authorities and her family said.

Lisa Holman's vehicle was found wrecked Friday sometime after 9 p.m. off CR 36 between Bent Creek Drive and Brasher Road in Pelham, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, Shelby County Sheriff's Office told ABC station WBMA.

But the 45-year-old Shelby County woman was nowhere to be found.

That's when authorities and volunteer rescue teams launched a desperate search to find her.

Emergency responders even used a drone to help in the search.

Holman remained missing all day Saturday, though, and authorities had to suspend the search.

But Sunday morning, the Pelham Police Department released a statement saying she'd been found in the woods -- alive and well, but for some broken bones.

"While we are still working to piece together the events of the past few days, we do want to let you know Ms. Holman was alert when we found her, and she was able to walk out of the woods to medical professionals standing by to treat her," said Police Chief Larry Palmer.

Holman's family said in a statement that her toughness helped her fight through her injuries and stay alive.

"Her ability to withstand these injuries, the weather conditions, and the length of time in the woods is a testament to her resiliency," they said.

They also thanked everyone who chipped in trying to find her.

"Needless to say, the last two days have been very emotional for our family," the statement read. "Lisa's rescue Sunday morning was definitely an answered prayer.

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the coordinated effort provided by the Pelham Police Department, Pelham Fire Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office," it continued. "They led this rescue mission not only with determined tenacity, but also with true compassion."

The family thanked the hundreds of volunteers -- some of whom found Holman Sunday morning -- for their efforts, too.

"A true community effort and genuine concern for one of our own," Pelham Police told ABC News. "One man literally gave her the shoes off his feet to walk out while he walked out barefoot."

Police were still investigating, trying to determine what happened to Holman.

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Missing woman found alive in the woods after 36-hour search

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An Alabama woman who was missing for at least 36 hours after a car crash was miraculously found by rescuers Sunday morning, authorities and her family said. Lisa Holman's vehicle was found wrecked Friday sometime after 9 p.m.

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Kentucky gunman killed his parents, girlfriend and his mother

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A Kentucky gunman killed his parents, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's mother at two locations Saturday afternoon in Johnson County, before turning the gun on himself, state police said Sunday.

Cops released the victims' names and their relationships with the shooter, Joseph Nickell.

Nickell's parents, James and Arlene Nickell, were gunned down Saturday at a home in the McKenzie Branch area of Flatgap, Kentucky, and Joseph Nickell's girlfriend, Lindsey Vanhoose, and her mother, Patricia Vanhoose, later were fatally shot at an apartment in nearby Paintsville, State Police Trooper William Petry said in a statement.

Johnson County Sheriff Dwayne Price said Joseph Nickell's body also was found at the apartment in what investigators described as a murder-suicide.

Price said authorities in Paintsville, about 190 miles east of Louisville, received a 911 call on Saturday afternoon about a shooting and the Nickell parents were found dead in the kitchen of the home. After receiving a tip on the whereabouts of a suspect's vehicle, the other two victims and Nickell were found later at the apartment complex, Price said.

Authorities didn't give a motive for the shootings, which remain under investigation.

The Nickell family's pastor told The Lexington Herald Leader that he had struggled with drug addiction for years.

James Kelly Caudill, pastor at Tom's Branch Free Will Baptist Church, said Nickell had been through treatment, but seemed to suffer a setback after his sister, Becki, died several months ago, according to the Herald Leader.

"This boy ... he just never did really get over that. I think it just inflamed his addiction," Caudill told the Herald Leader. "It just come to a head."

He and his parents attended morning and evening worship services together Feb. 4. That night, Nickell sat between his parents on the front pew, but was "out of it" on some substance, Caudill said.

Nickell blurted out unknown words during the service, and his mother calmed him, Caudill said.

"This has been a horrific murder spree," Price said in a Facebook post Saturday night. "There are no words to describe the heartbreak in seeing four lives taken due to the actions of one man. I have worked in law enforcement for 34 years. This is one of the most disturbing acts of violence I have ever seen."

Price said later in another Facebook post: "Working a murder is never easy. Working the murders of four innocent people that are part of your community is even tougher."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Kentucky gunman killed his parents, girlfriend and her mother, police say

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A Kentucky gunman killed his parents, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's mother at two locations Saturday afternoon in Johnson County, before turning the gun on himself, state police said Sunday. Cops released the victims' names and their relationships with the shooter, Joseph Nickell.

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Southwest Airlines cancels hundreds of flights after running low on de-icing fluid

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Hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights out of Chicago's Midway International Airport were canceled on Sunday due to a shortage of de-icing fluid, the airline has confirmed.

"Throughout the storms, we've actively worked to manage our glycol levels (used to de-ice aircraft) but due to the severity of the winter weather Southwest has proactively canceled about 220 flights as of midday Sunday," the airline confirmed in a statement to The Chicago Tribune.
'MOB' BREAKS OUT AT DE MOINES AIRPORT AFTER 14-HOUR DELAY
Additionally, Southwest Airlines responded to a tweet from a passenger who inquired about the scores of canceled departures.

"Due to having to de-ice many of our aircraft because of the weather, we are running low on deicing fluid. Safety will remain our top priority in this circumstance. Please reach out to our Team or Reservations Agents to get rebooked just as soon as possible," the company wrote.

Southwest wasn't the only airline affected by the icy conditions: Harsh winter weather also grounded dozens of other flights out of Midway on Sunday, the airport confirmed via Twitter.

"Airlines have canceled 250+ flights today due to winter operational issues," tweeted Midway. "Confirm flight status w/ your airline."
PASSENGER'S CIGARETTE BREAK CAUSES MASSIVE DELAYS
By Monday morning, Southwest Airlines had said it expected to operate on a "close to normal schedule."

"The glycol has been replenished and the airport deicing equipment is fully functional," said Southwest in a statement to Fox News. "Those developments, coupled with a more positive weather forecast for Chicago position us to safely operate our more than 250 departures out of Chicago Midway.

"We will continue to work with our Customers on their travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience the disruption in service has caused," the airline added.

This is the second time in recent months that Southwest's de-icing issues caused headaches at Midway International Airport. Shortly after Christmas, Southwest was forced to cancel roughly 90 flights when harsh conditions kept its de-icing crews from servicing its planes.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX TRAVEL NEWS
The city of Chicago saw three more inches of snowfall on Saturday night and into Sunday, which accumulated atop the 10 inches that fell in the area late last week, per the Associated Press.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Southwest Airlines cancels hundreds of flights after running low on de-icing fluid

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights out of Chicago's Midway International Airport were canceled on Sunday due to a shortage of de-icing fluid, the airline has confirmed. "Throughout the storms, we've actively worked to manage our glycol levels (used to de-ice aircraft) but due to the severity of the winter weather Southwest has proactively canceled about 220 flights as of midday Sunday," the airline confirmed in a statement to The Chicago Tribune.

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Peter Rabbit film production team apologize after backlash for hurting character through allergies.

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The makers of the new film Peter Rabbit have apologised after facing a backlash over their depiction of a character's allergy.

A scene in the film shows a character who suffers a blackberry allergy being pelted with them by a gang of bunnies.

In a joint statement, Sony Pictures and the filmmakers said they "should not have made light" of the issue.

Campaigners condemned the scene and some Twitter users adopted the hashtag #boycottpeterrabbit.

The charity Kids with Food Allergies Foundation said in a Facebook post "food allergy 'jokes' are harmful to our community".

A petition calling on Sony Pictures to apologise also attracted thousands of signatures.

The offending scene is shown in a film adaptation of the Beatrix Potter book Peter Rabbit, which was released in US cinemas this weekend.

The human character Tom McGregor, who has an allergy to the berries, is attacked by Peter and his friends who shower him with the fruit, even shooting one into his mouth, until he is forced to use an EpiPen to treat his reaction.

What films will you be watching in 2018?

Seven food allergy myths debunked

Scientists sniffing out western allergy epidemic

On Sunday, Sony Pictures said in a statement that it was wrong for the filmmakers to include the segment, "even in a cartoonish, slapstick way".

Image Copyright @thomascmurray @thomascmurray Report

Image Copyright @thomascmurray @thomascmurrayReport

"We sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologise," the statement said.

Food allergies

You can be allergic to any food but reactions to eggs, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy make up about 90% of all food allergies

Symptoms can include hives, vomiting, swelling in the mouth and throat and a shortness of breath

The most serious reaction is anaphylaxis, which can occur within minutes of exposure to a food and can be fatal if untreated - symptoms include breathing difficulties and feeling lightheaded

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The makers of the new film Peter Rabbit have apologised after facing a backlash over their depiction of a character's allergy. A scene in the film shows a character who suffers a blackberry allergy being pelted with them by a gang of bunnies.

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After Texas massacre, military rushed to add more than 4,000 to gun ban list

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the months since, the US Department of Defense has scrambled to ensure all of its branches have properly updated the FBI's system to track personnel kicked out of the military who are barred from owning firearms.

That push, a CNN review has found, has uncovered a backlog so significant that the FBI's tally of dishonorably discharged former service members has ballooned by 4,284 names in just three months, a 38% leap.

The FBI figures track the reasons civilians and ex-military personnel are barred from owning guns. The agency separately quantifies dishonorable discharges, which includes personnel convicted by a general court-martial. Other types of military dismissals that could legally stop someone from owning a gun are not broken out from the civilian population in the FBI data.

Since 2015, the number of people barred from owning firearms because they were dishonorably discharged had hovered at about 11,000, according to FBI statistics published online. That number suddenly jumped to 14,825 last November, then to 15,583 in December. It now stands at 15,597.

The Defense Department has not yet publicly acknowledged that the military has vastly expanded its submissions since the shooting. The belatedly filed reports mean that, for an unknown period, more than 4,000 people had the opportunity to buy guns from dealers while they should have been legally barred from it.

"I'm encouraged that they're trying to hurry up and get through this backlog. But it was a failure of duty and responsibility to not report these people to the federal database. I'm highly disappointed," said US Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Virginia), a former Navy SEAL now working on a bill to improve the background check system.

New scrutiny across military branches

Dishonorable discharges are reserved for people convicted by the military of violence or serious misconduct - crimes equivalent to a felony - and thus federally prohibited from owning guns. The armed forces are also required to report personnel who receive a "bad-conduct discharge" for causes such as domestic violence or dealing drugs, which also disqualifies them from gun ownership. The Texas church shooter received a bad-conduct discharge. But only dishonorable discharges are reflected in the recent jump.

CNN tracked the sharp increase in dishonorable discharges in the FBI's records by reviewing archived pages of the agency's website, which publishes occasional updates of the data within its background check system.

CNN reached out to all five branches of the military. The US Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy acknowledged that they have been combing through old records.

"We are in the process of conducting a thorough review of past cases to ensure that any prior failures to report are rectified and the appropriate information is provided to the FBI," said Capt. Christopher R. Harrison, a spokesman for the Marines. He said the Marine Corps was planning changes that would "increase the speed and efficacy of reporting."

The Air Force has been under particular scrutiny because of the Texas case. Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson told Congress in December that her military branch is reviewing cases dating back to 2002.

The US Navy pointed to a December DOD Inspector General's report, unrelated to the Texas shooting, in which it promised to conduct a thorough search of cases dating back to 1998 to make sure all missing files are sent to the FBI.

The US Army said it would be "inappropriate" to comment, citing a pending lawsuit about its failures to report these types of cases.

The US Coast Guard assured CNN its numbers weren't included in this recent spike, because it always reports to the FBI on time. And no Coast Guard personnel were dishonorably discharged in November or December, it said.

"We can't speak to what the other services are doing. The Coast Guard puts information into the FBI database upon receiving the results of trial. We are not clearing a backlog of personnel," said spokeswoman Alana Miller.

The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General is currently reviewing how the Air Force failed to process the case file for Texas shooter Devin Patrick Kelley. It is also reviewing how the branches of the military submit relevant information to the FBI.

Even before its release, however, the 4,000-person backlog hints at a problem the military has long known about - and has not completely fixed.

A 1997 inspector general report noted that the military was often neglecting to notify the FBI when someone was convicted. The Navy failed to do so 93% of the time; the Army, 79% of the time. The report's authors blamed poor policies that put "little emphasis" on sharing the information. But failure to report dishonorable discharges continued to be common, highlighted by similar IG reports in 2015 and 2017.

The 2017 IG report showed that the military branches are failing to report the final status of 31% of cases to the FBI. Firearms data experts said the sudden addition of 4,000 names might mean the reporting has now caught up.

Officials at the section of the FBI that runs the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, called NICS, declined to say why the figures have spiked so quickly.

"The NICS Section does not speculate on changes in statistics," said FBI spokesman Stephen G. Fischer.

Extensive flaws in gun background checks

The nation's firearm blacklist is limited in myriad ways. For one thing, it extends only to guns purchased at licensed dealers. When someone who should not be able to buy a gun tries to purchase one there, FBI examiners have only a nerve-wracking three days in which to complete a background check, drawing on fragmented and incomplete federal and local records. Some states extend that time period, but it's still a race against the clock. Federal agencies are required by law to turn over prohibitory records to the FBI, but as the military's failures show, they sometimes do not.

Licensed dealers, of course, are not the only route to a firearm. In many states, people can buy a gun from a neighbor, acquaintance or local trader without having to undergo a background check.

Still, an estimated 78% of gun owners undergo background checks, so blocking dishonorably discharged personnel from buying guns through dealers is important.

"The background check system has blocked over three million illegal attempts to buy guns. But a database is only as good as the data in it," said Avery W. Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for stronger government regulation of firearms.

As much as the sudden additions to the federal database point to a backlog, Gardiner pointed out, it's also a sign the armed forces are trying to get the record up to date.

"It seems the military worked quickly after the Sutherland Springs massacre to get its data into the background check system. I hope other state and federal agencies aren't waiting for the next high-profile shooting before making sure that their data is in the background check system too," Gardiner said.

Two difficult questions now: Did these 4,000-plus people kicked out of the military buy a gun before they were added to the ban list? And if they bought guns, is there is any way to retrieve them?

There's no national registry of firearm owners, due to gun owners' fears about being tracked by government. And by law, when a person passes the FBI background check, the FBI destroys that file. It means it's difficult, if not impossible, to track legal purchases by owner - unless a state, like California or Connecticut, has a registry of all gun sales.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is typically the agency that recovers guns that fall into the wrong hands, but it has not been ordered to check whether this group purchased firearms. The law enforcement agency relies on referrals from the FBI, but the FBI only sends over names of people who failed the background check. Until last October, any of the newly added people might have lied on a dealer's federal form and passed the background check without a problem.

"There is no mechanism to conduct retroactive background checks on approved transactions. ATF investigates when it receives reliable, verifiable information that a person prohibited by federal law possesses a firearm," said Frank Kelsey, an ATF spokesman.

Congressman Taylor said he's worried about those who "slipped through the cracks."

"I'm a rigorous defender of the Second Amendment," Taylor said. "But it is troubling. If you're not supposed to have a gun, you're not supposed to have a gun."

Taylor has co-sponsored the Domestic Violence Loophole Closure Act, which would give the DOD a three-day deadline to report any service members convicted of domestic violence to the FBI's database.

The extent of the military's failures could soon be laid bare. The cities of New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco have joined forces to sue the Defense Department and others in federal court, claiming the military's carelessness has put its citizens at risk. The lawsuit seeks to subject the military to civilian court oversight until the underreporting problem is fixed. In court documents, the government calls the attempt "drastic" and "inappropriate," saying the cities are trying to "intercede in ongoing agency compliance efforts." It plans to file a motion to dismiss. Last month, the judge ordered the Pentagon to search for any internal records that explain the department's ongoing failure.

"There's very good reason to believe those databases remain dangerously incomplete," said Ken Taber, the lead lawyer representing those cities.

Taber, for one, doubts the federal government will find a way to recover any guns from the thousands whose dishonorable discharges went unnoted for years. That would require figuring out whether each of those people purchased firearms, and then tracking them down - something he says is unlikely to ever happen.

"I think there's a huge public policy concern," he said. "I'd like to know if they'll get them. But I'm not holding my breath."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Military rushes to add 4,000 to gun ban list

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the months since, the US Department of Defense has scrambled to ensure all of its branches have properly updated the FBI's system to track personnel kicked out of the military who are barred from owning firearms. That push, a CNN review has found, has uncovered a backlog so significant that the FBI's tally of dishonorably discharged former service members has ballooned by 4,284 names in just three months, a 38% leap.

# data[].attributes.body
After Texas massacre, military rushed to add more than 4,000 to gun ban list

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the months since, the US Department of Defense has scrambled to ensure all of its branches have properly updated the FBI's system to track personnel kicked out of the military who are barred from owning firearms.

That push, a CNN review has found, has uncovered a backlog so significant that the FBI's tally of dishonorably discharged former service members has ballooned by 4,284 names in just three months, a 38% leap.

The FBI figures track the reasons civilians and ex-military personnel are barred from owning guns. The agency separately quantifies dishonorable discharges, which includes personnel convicted by a general court-martial. Other types of military dismissals that could legally stop someone from owning a gun are not broken out from the civilian population in the FBI data.

Since 2015, the number of people barred from owning firearms because they were dishonorably discharged had hovered at about 11,000, according to FBI statistics published online. That number suddenly jumped to 14,825 last November, then to 15,583 in December. It now stands at 15,597.

The Defense Department has not yet publicly acknowledged that the military has vastly expanded its submissions since the shooting. The belatedly filed reports mean that, for an unknown period, more than 4,000 people had the opportunity to buy guns from dealers while they should have been legally barred from it.

"I'm encouraged that they're trying to hurry up and get through this backlog. But it was a failure of duty and responsibility to not report these people to the federal database. I'm highly disappointed," said US Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Virginia), a former Navy SEAL now working on a bill to improve the background check system.

New scrutiny across military branches

Dishonorable discharges are reserved for people convicted by the military of violence or serious misconduct - crimes equivalent to a felony - and thus federally prohibited from owning guns. The armed forces are also required to report personnel who receive a "bad-conduct discharge" for causes such as domestic violence or dealing drugs, which also disqualifies them from gun ownership. The Texas church shooter received a bad-conduct discharge. But only dishonorable discharges are reflected in the recent jump.

CNN tracked the sharp increase in dishonorable discharges in the FBI's records by reviewing archived pages of the agency's website, which publishes occasional updates of the data within its background check system.

CNN reached out to all five branches of the military. The US Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy acknowledged that they have been combing through old records.

"We are in the process of conducting a thorough review of past cases to ensure that any prior failures to report are rectified and the appropriate information is provided to the FBI," said Capt. Christopher R. Harrison, a spokesman for the Marines. He said the Marine Corps was planning changes that would "increase the speed and efficacy of reporting."

The Air Force has been under particular scrutiny because of the Texas case. Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson told Congress in December that her military branch is reviewing cases dating back to 2002.

The US Navy pointed to a December DOD Inspector General's report, unrelated to the Texas shooting, in which it promised to conduct a thorough search of cases dating back to 1998 to make sure all missing files are sent to the FBI.

The US Army said it would be "inappropriate" to comment, citing a pending lawsuit about its failures to report these types of cases.

The US Coast Guard assured CNN its numbers weren't included in this recent spike, because it always reports to the FBI on time. And no Coast Guard personnel were dishonorably discharged in November or December, it said.

"We can't speak to what the other services are doing. The Coast Guard puts information into the FBI database upon receiving the results of trial. We are not clearing a backlog of personnel," said spokeswoman Alana Miller.

The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General is currently reviewing how the Air Force failed to process the case file for Texas shooter Devin Patrick Kelley. It is also reviewing how the branches of the military submit relevant information to the FBI.

Even before its release, however, the 4,000-person backlog hints at a problem the military has long known about - and has not completely fixed.

A 1997 inspector general report noted that the military was often neglecting to notify the FBI when someone was convicted. The Navy failed to do so 93% of the time; the Army, 79% of the time. The report's authors blamed poor policies that put "little emphasis" on sharing the information. But failure to report dishonorable discharges continued to be common, highlighted by similar IG reports in 2015 and 2017.

The 2017 IG report showed that the military branches are failing to report the final status of 31% of cases to the FBI. Firearms data experts said the sudden addition of 4,000 names might mean the reporting has now caught up.

Officials at the section of the FBI that runs the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, called NICS, declined to say why the figures have spiked so quickly.

"The NICS Section does not speculate on changes in statistics," said FBI spokesman Stephen G. Fischer.

Extensive flaws in gun background checks

The nation's firearm blacklist is limited in myriad ways. For one thing, it extends only to guns purchased at licensed dealers. When someone who should not be able to buy a gun tries to purchase one there, FBI examiners have only a nerve-wracking three days in which to complete a background check, drawing on fragmented and incomplete federal and local records. Some states extend that time period, but it's still a race against the clock. Federal agencies are required by law to turn over prohibitory records to the FBI, but as the military's failures show, they sometimes do not.

Licensed dealers, of course, are not the only route to a firearm. In many states, people can buy a gun from a neighbor, acquaintance or local trader without having to undergo a background check.

Still, an estimated 78% of gun owners undergo background checks, so blocking dishonorably discharged personnel from buying guns through dealers is important.

"The background check system has blocked over three million illegal attempts to buy guns. But a database is only as good as the data in it," said Avery W. Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for stronger government regulation of firearms.

As much as the sudden additions to the federal database point to a backlog, Gardiner pointed out, it's also a sign the armed forces are trying to get the record up to date.

"It seems the military worked quickly after the Sutherland Springs massacre to get its data into the background check system. I hope other state and federal agencies aren't waiting for the next high-profile shooting before making sure that their data is in the background check system too," Gardiner said.

Two difficult questions now: Did these 4,000-plus people kicked out of the military buy a gun before they were added to the ban list? And if they bought guns, is there is any way to retrieve them?

There's no national registry of firearm owners, due to gun owners' fears about being tracked by government. And by law, when a person passes the FBI background check, the FBI destroys that file. It means it's difficult, if not impossible, to track legal purchases by owner - unless a state, like California or Connecticut, has a registry of all gun sales.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is typically the agency that recovers guns that fall into the wrong hands, but it has not been ordered to check whether this group purchased firearms. The law enforcement agency relies on referrals from the FBI, but the FBI only sends over names of people who failed the background check. Until last October, any of the newly added people might have lied on a dealer's federal form and passed the background check without a problem.

"There is no mechanism to conduct retroactive background checks on approved transactions. ATF investigates when it receives reliable, verifiable information that a person prohibited by federal law possesses a firearm," said Frank Kelsey, an ATF spokesman.

Congressman Taylor said he's worried about those who "slipped through the cracks."

"I'm a rigorous defender of the Second Amendment," Taylor said. "But it is troubling. If you're not supposed to have a gun, you're not supposed to have a gun."

Taylor has co-sponsored the Domestic Violence Loophole Closure Act, which would give the DOD a three-day deadline to report any service members convicted of domestic violence to the FBI's database.

The extent of the military's failures could soon be laid bare. The cities of New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco have joined forces to sue the Defense Department and others in federal court, claiming the military's carelessness has put its citizens at risk. The lawsuit seeks to subject the military to civilian court oversight until the underreporting problem is fixed. In court documents, the government calls the attempt "drastic" and "inappropriate," saying the cities are trying to "intercede in ongoing agency compliance efforts." It plans to file a motion to dismiss. Last month, the judge ordered the Pentagon to search for any internal records that explain the department's ongoing failure.

"There's very good reason to believe those databases remain dangerously incomplete," said Ken Taber, the lead lawyer representing those cities.

Taber, for one, doubts the federal government will find a way to recover any guns from the thousands whose dishonorable discharges went unnoted for years. That would require figuring out whether each of those people purchased firearms, and then tracking them down - something he says is unlikely to ever happen.

"I think there's a huge public policy concern," he said. "I'd like to know if they'll get them. But I'm not holding my breath."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Military rushes to add 4,000 to gun ban list

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the months since, the US Department of Defense has scrambled to ensure all of its branches have properly updated the FBI's system to track personnel kicked out of the military who are barred from owning firearms. That push, a CNN review has found, has uncovered a backlog so significant that the FBI's tally of dishonorably discharged former service members has ballooned by 4,284 names in just three months, a 38% leap.

# data[].attributes.body
After Texas massacre, military rushed to add more than 4,000 to gun ban list

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the months since, the US Department of Defense has scrambled to ensure all of its branches have properly updated the FBI's system to track personnel kicked out of the military who are barred from owning firearms.

That push, a CNN review has found, has uncovered a backlog so significant that the FBI's tally of dishonorably discharged former service members has ballooned by 4,284 names in just three months, a 38% leap.

The FBI figures track the reasons civilians and ex-military personnel are barred from owning guns. The agency separately quantifies dishonorable discharges, which includes personnel convicted by a general court-martial. Other types of military dismissals that could legally stop someone from owning a gun are not broken out from the civilian population in the FBI data.

Since 2015, the number of people barred from owning firearms because they were dishonorably discharged had hovered at about 11,000, according to FBI statistics published online. That number suddenly jumped to 14,825 last November, then to 15,583 in December. It now stands at 15,597.

The Defense Department has not yet publicly acknowledged that the military has vastly expanded its submissions since the shooting. The belatedly filed reports mean that, for an unknown period, more than 4,000 people had the opportunity to buy guns from dealers while they should have been legally barred from it.

"I'm encouraged that they're trying to hurry up and get through this backlog. But it was a failure of duty and responsibility to not report these people to the federal database. I'm highly disappointed," said US Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Virginia), a former Navy SEAL now working on a bill to improve the background check system.

New scrutiny across military branches

Dishonorable discharges are reserved for people convicted by the military of violence or serious misconduct - crimes equivalent to a felony - and thus federally prohibited from owning guns. The armed forces are also required to report personnel who receive a "bad-conduct discharge" for causes such as domestic violence or dealing drugs, which also disqualifies them from gun ownership. The Texas church shooter received a bad-conduct discharge. But only dishonorable discharges are reflected in the recent jump.

CNN tracked the sharp increase in dishonorable discharges in the FBI's records by reviewing archived pages of the agency's website, which publishes occasional updates of the data within its background check system.

CNN reached out to all five branches of the military. The US Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy acknowledged that they have been combing through old records.

"We are in the process of conducting a thorough review of past cases to ensure that any prior failures to report are rectified and the appropriate information is provided to the FBI," said Capt. Christopher R. Harrison, a spokesman for the Marines. He said the Marine Corps was planning changes that would "increase the speed and efficacy of reporting."

The Air Force has been under particular scrutiny because of the Texas case. Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson told Congress in December that her military branch is reviewing cases dating back to 2002.

The US Navy pointed to a December DOD Inspector General's report, unrelated to the Texas shooting, in which it promised to conduct a thorough search of cases dating back to 1998 to make sure all missing files are sent to the FBI.

The US Army said it would be "inappropriate" to comment, citing a pending lawsuit about its failures to report these types of cases.

The US Coast Guard assured CNN its numbers weren't included in this recent spike, because it always reports to the FBI on time. And no Coast Guard personnel were dishonorably discharged in November or December, it said.

"We can't speak to what the other services are doing. The Coast Guard puts information into the FBI database upon receiving the results of trial. We are not clearing a backlog of personnel," said spokeswoman Alana Miller.

The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General is currently reviewing how the Air Force failed to process the case file for Texas shooter Devin Patrick Kelley. It is also reviewing how the branches of the military submit relevant information to the FBI.

Even before its release, however, the 4,000-person backlog hints at a problem the military has long known about - and has not completely fixed.

A 1997 inspector general report noted that the military was often neglecting to notify the FBI when someone was convicted. The Navy failed to do so 93% of the time; the Army, 79% of the time. The report's authors blamed poor policies that put "little emphasis" on sharing the information. But failure to report dishonorable discharges continued to be common, highlighted by similar IG reports in 2015 and 2017.

The 2017 IG report showed that the military branches are failing to report the final status of 31% of cases to the FBI. Firearms data experts said the sudden addition of 4,000 names might mean the reporting has now caught up.

Officials at the section of the FBI that runs the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, called NICS, declined to say why the figures have spiked so quickly.

"The NICS Section does not speculate on changes in statistics," said FBI spokesman Stephen G. Fischer.

Extensive flaws in gun background checks

The nation's firearm blacklist is limited in myriad ways. For one thing, it extends only to guns purchased at licensed dealers. When someone who should not be able to buy a gun tries to purchase one there, FBI examiners have only a nerve-wracking three days in which to complete a background check, drawing on fragmented and incomplete federal and local records. Some states extend that time period, but it's still a race against the clock. Federal agencies are required by law to turn over prohibitory records to the FBI, but as the military's failures show, they sometimes do not.

Licensed dealers, of course, are not the only route to a firearm. In many states, people can buy a gun from a neighbor, acquaintance or local trader without having to undergo a background check.

Still, an estimated 78% of gun owners undergo background checks, so blocking dishonorably discharged personnel from buying guns through dealers is important.

"The background check system has blocked over three million illegal attempts to buy guns. But a database is only as good as the data in it," said Avery W. Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for stronger government regulation of firearms.

As much as the sudden additions to the federal database point to a backlog, Gardiner pointed out, it's also a sign the armed forces are trying to get the record up to date.

"It seems the military worked quickly after the Sutherland Springs massacre to get its data into the background check system. I hope other state and federal agencies aren't waiting for the next high-profile shooting before making sure that their data is in the background check system too," Gardiner said.

Two difficult questions now: Did these 4,000-plus people kicked out of the military buy a gun before they were added to the ban list? And if they bought guns, is there is any way to retrieve them?

There's no national registry of firearm owners, due to gun owners' fears about being tracked by government. And by law, when a person passes the FBI background check, the FBI destroys that file. It means it's difficult, if not impossible, to track legal purchases by owner - unless a state, like California or Connecticut, has a registry of all gun sales.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is typically the agency that recovers guns that fall into the wrong hands, but it has not been ordered to check whether this group purchased firearms. The law enforcement agency relies on referrals from the FBI, but the FBI only sends over names of people who failed the background check. Until last October, any of the newly added people might have lied on a dealer's federal form and passed the background check without a problem.

"There is no mechanism to conduct retroactive background checks on approved transactions. ATF investigates when it receives reliable, verifiable information that a person prohibited by federal law possesses a firearm," said Frank Kelsey, an ATF spokesman.

Congressman Taylor said he's worried about those who "slipped through the cracks."

"I'm a rigorous defender of the Second Amendment," Taylor said. "But it is troubling. If you're not supposed to have a gun, you're not supposed to have a gun."

Taylor has co-sponsored the Domestic Violence Loophole Closure Act, which would give the DOD a three-day deadline to report any service members convicted of domestic violence to the FBI's database.

The extent of the military's failures could soon be laid bare. The cities of New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco have joined forces to sue the Defense Department and others in federal court, claiming the military's carelessness has put its citizens at risk. The lawsuit seeks to subject the military to civilian court oversight until the underreporting problem is fixed. In court documents, the government calls the attempt "drastic" and "inappropriate," saying the cities are trying to "intercede in ongoing agency compliance efforts." It plans to file a motion to dismiss. Last month, the judge ordered the Pentagon to search for any internal records that explain the department's ongoing failure.

"There's very good reason to believe those databases remain dangerously incomplete," said Ken Taber, the lead lawyer representing those cities.

Taber, for one, doubts the federal government will find a way to recover any guns from the thousands whose dishonorable discharges went unnoted for years. That would require figuring out whether each of those people purchased firearms, and then tracking them down - something he says is unlikely to ever happen.

"I think there's a huge public policy concern," he said. "I'd like to know if they'll get them. But I'm not holding my breath."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Military rushes to add 4,000 to gun ban list

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the months since, the US Department of Defense has scrambled to ensure all of its branches have properly updated the FBI's system to track personnel kicked out of the military who are barred from owning firearms. That push, a CNN review has found, has uncovered a backlog so significant that the FBI's tally of dishonorably discharged former service members has ballooned by 4,284 names in just three months, a 38% leap.