
Pulse massacre survivors are set to revisit the nightclub before it's razed
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Survivors and family members of the 49 victims killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre nine years ago are getting their first chance Wednesday to walk through the long-shuttered, LGBTQ+-friendly Florida venue before it's razed and replaced with a permanent memorial to what was once the worst U.S. mass shooting in modern times.
In small groups over four days, survivors and family members of those killed planned to spend a half hour inside the space where Omar Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed after a three-hour standoff with police.

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Protesters in Kenya's capital demand official answers over a blogger's death in police custody
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Winnipeg Free Press
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Protesters in Kenya's capital demand official answers over a blogger's death in police custody
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Protesters took to the streets of the Kenyan capital on Thursday to vent their anger over the death of a blogger in police custody. Albert Ojwang was arrested June 5 in Homa Bay in western Kenya and driven 400 kilometers (248 miles) to Nairobi for what police said was publishing 'false information' about a top police official on social media. He subsequently died at the Central Police Station after 'hitting his head against the cell wall,' police said. Amnesty International and local activists have questioned that account. The protesters occupied the road in Nairobi leading to the parliamentary building, where the national budget was due to be presented Thursday. At least two cars were set on fire in a street nearby. Police on Monday fired tear gas to disperse another protest demanding accountability for Ojwang's death. Authorities have since said an official investigation is underway. President William Ruto in a statement on Wednesday said Ojwang's death was 'heartbreaking and unacceptable.' 'I strongly condemn the actions and omissions, including any negligence or outright criminality, that may have contributed to his untimely death,' Ruto said. The blogger's death comes almost a year after several activists and protesters were killed and abducted by Kenyan police during finance bill protests. The rallies led to calls for the removal of Ruto, who has been criticized for what some say is his authoritarian streak.


Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
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Austrian school shooter planned attack in detail but his motive remains unclear, investigators say
GRAZ, Austria (AP) — The former student who killed nine students and a teacher at a school in Austria and then took his own life planned the attack in detail, but he appears to have shot his victims at random and investigators still haven't been able to ascertain his motive, officials said Thursday. The 21-year-old had left the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz three years ago, breaking off his studies after attending for three years, police said. They said they knew of no personal connection between the gunman and the students he shot, but that one of the two teachers he shot had once taught him. They were still investigating whether that was a factor. The attack prompted Austria to declare three days of national mourning, and large numbers of candles have been laid in Graz's main square and outside the school. The assailant, an Austrian who lived with his mother near Graz and whom officials have declined to identify, used a Mercury double-barreled shotgun and a Glock 19 handgun in the shooting. Michael Lohnegger, the head of Styria province's criminal police office, said that he arrived at the school Tuesday morning with a backpack containing the weapons, and put on equipment including shooting glasses and a headset in a bathroom before starting a roughly seven-minute shooting spree. He opened fire indiscriminately on the building's third floor before shooting open the locked door of a fourth-floor classroom and again firing indiscriminately, Lohnegger told a news conference. Lohnegger said that he had enough ammunition to continue shooting and it was unclear why he hadn't; the assailant then returned to the bathroom and shot himself fatally in the head. A search of his home uncovered a farewell letter and video, which Lohnegger said added up to 'an apology directed to his family for the crime and a general thank-you,' but offered no 'indication for a motive.' They also found a handwritten note that showed he had planned the attack 'down to the smallest detail' — setting out how he would proceed, but giving no date for the crime. It suggested that he had lacked enough time to build a fully functional pipe bomb, and investigators found one that wouldn't have worked. Lohnegger said a picture had emerged of 'a very introverted person' who largely didn't take part in real-world activities, and that his great passion was taking part in online first-person shooter games. 'But even here, there is no information from his personal surroundings that he ever expressed any anger or resentment toward the school, students or teachers,' he added. The man had no previous police record and 'there were definitely no particular problems with him at this school.' The shooter was in unspecified vocational training at the time of the attack, investigators said. He had bought the shotgun legally in Graz in early April, and the handgun from another shop in the city in late May. He had a license to own weapons that required a report from a psychological expert, which apparently was produced in March. Starting in March, he took part in shooting practice five times at a shooting club in Graz, using a hired firearm, Lohnegger said. The slain students were six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17. Eleven people were wounded in the attack, and authorities said on Wednesday that their lives weren't in danger. ___ Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.