1. Slain Va. Tech cop an Army vet, dad of 5
(CBS/AP)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech police officer who was gunned down in a campus attack joined the force six months after the university was the scene of the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. He was a proud policeman who recently invited a friend to ride along with him, which made his death during a traffic stop even more puzzling.
Deriek W. Crouse, an Army veteran and married father of five, was killed Thursday after pulling a driver over in a school parking lot. Police said the gunman walked up, shot the officer and then fled on foot before he apparently killed himself nearby. The deceased suspect was not involved in the traffic stop.
The suspect has not been identified but University spokesman Larry Hincker on Friday said he was not a student. Police said they don't know what motivated the killing or whether there was any link between the shooter and Crouse.
"At this point, we haven't been able to establish any kind of immediate connection between the officer and the shooter," State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told The Associated Press late Thursday. "That's obviously something that's being looked into."
Va. Tech shooting stirs bad memories; Vigil held
Va. Tech gunman kills officer, later found dead
Series of scares for Va. Tech since '07 massacre
Va. Tech gunman kills officer, later found dead
Series of scares for Va. Tech since '07 massacre
State police said in a news release early Friday that ballistics tests confirmed Crouse and the deceased suspect had been shot by the same handgun. The tests have "officially linked the two fatal shootings," the release said.
Authorities also said a review of Crouse's in-car video showed a male suspect with a handgun at the officer's car at the time of the shooting.
The news release said clothing found inside a discarded backpack recovered by Blacksburg police seemed to match that of the male subject in the officer's video. Police said they were awaiting confirmation of the deceased suspect's identity as well as autopsy results from the medical examiner in Roanoke.
The events unfolded on the same day Virginia Tech officials were in Washington, fighting a federal government fine over their handling of the 2007 massacre where 33 people were killed. The shooting brought back painful memories. About 150 students gathered silently for a candlelight vigil on a field facing the stone plaza memorial for the 2007 victims. An official vigil is planned for Friday night.
Ironically, Crouse was killed across the street from the dormitory where the 2007 massacre that began, reports CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano.
Police said Crouse called in the traffic stop at 12:15 p.m. After a few minutes passed without hearing from the officer, dispatch tried to get in touch with him, but didn't get a response. About 15 minutes later, police received the first call from a witness who said an officer had been shot at the Cassell Coliseum parking lot and the gunman had fled on foot.
2. U.S. official: Iran does have our drone
(CBS News)
U.S. drones have been spying on Iran for years
Officials: Drone downed in Iran on CIA mission
Iran shows intact drone, boasts of cyberattack
Satellite images show damage to Iranian missile compound
A U.S. official tells CBS News that there is "high confidence" that a captured American aircraft shown on Iranian television today is, in fact, one of this country's most sophisticated spy planes.
The Pentagon declined to comment, but the American official says analysis of the video confirms the RQ-170 unmanned drone was captured. Exactly how that happened is still being analyzed.
CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that the aircraft presented as the unmanned U.S. surveillance drone appeared to be nearly intact, though the undercarriage was obscured by propaganda banners draped below the wings.
The message on the left proclaimed, "America cannot do any harm to us." And on the right, against a background of American flags and skulls, the message read: "We have trampled on America."
U.S. officials - still studying the video - are convinced the aircraft is the stealth drone reported lost over the weekend. But, the Pentagon declined comment, with spokesman George Little citing intelligence concerns.
"We did have a UAV go missing, but when it comes to sensitive reconnaissance missions, we call them sensitive for a reason," Little said.
Officials: Drone downed in Iran on CIA mission
Iran shows intact drone, boasts of cyberattack
Satellite images show damage to Iranian missile compound
Military officials originally said controllers lost contact with an RQ-170 drone as it flew over Western Afghanistan. However, sources say the spy plane was actually on an intelligence-gathering mission deep inside Iran.
The stealth drones, capable of sending back real-time streaming video, have been used for several years to monitor Iran's nuclear sites and search for other covert operations.
U.S. officials have denied Iran's shifting claims that the drone was either shot down or commandeered by a cyber attack.
But, the displayed aircraft showed no signs of a crash impact, meaning it came down in a relatively flat, controlled descent. U.S. officials cannot explain how the plane landed apparently undamaged.
Iran now says it will exploit its propaganda prize by reverse engineering the classified systems and sensors. But weapons expert Joseph Cirincione says that may prove difficult.
"You can get dimensions, you can get chemical composition, but it's very hard to duplicate the performance of the parts you're trying to reverse engineer," Cirincione says.
Still, the U.S. is clearly concerned secrets could be compromised. Sources say officials considered launching a mission to either recover or destroy the downed drone, but ultimately concluded there was no workable option.
While getting much out of the downed plane will be difficult, the Iranians can glean details about the aircraft's mechanisms and sensors, and, worse perhaps, share that with Russia or China.
This photo released on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, claims to show the chief of the aerospace division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, left, listening to an unidentified colonel as he points to US RQ-170 Sentinel drone which Tehran says its forces downed earlier this week.
(Credit: AP Photo/Sepahnews)3."Awkward Silence" music video sums up situations we've all been in
(CBS) - True story: My mother once asked my school principal when she was expecting... my principal wasn't pregnant. That was a rough year of school. Which leads me to this hilarious music video for the song "Awkward Silence" by i8athumbtack that sums up that situation and so many others so well.
I personally love that they included the very situation I've seen unfold, but we've all been there in some way, shape or fashion before (and if you haven't for some reason, then I hate you).
A truly amusing tribute to circumstances that are never fun to be in, but often fun to watch from the safety of our computers. To check out more from the band i8athumbtack, you can go to their YouTube page by clicking here.
Source:http://www.cbsnews.com/
Top 3 T.V. News Stories 12-9-2011
1) President Obama had an interview with 60 minutes in which he answers questions about his chances of re-election. The president compares himself to the captain of a boat. He said a storm may appear and the boat will toss and turn and throw side to side, but the captain jobs is not to be able to control the weather, but to lead the boat out of the storm. That is the way I see my job. The Presidents approval rating is now at 44%. No president since Truman has been re-elected with anything below a 48% approval rating, Analyst say the bright spot is that 2/3 think the president has tried to fight for his policies.
2) A former FBI agent has been missing for almost 4 years. Robert Levinson went missing in Iran while undercover as a private investigator trying to crack a cigarette smuggling ring. His captures released a video last november, giving the family hope that he is still alive.The family posted the video on their website today. Levinson vanished in 2007 by the Kish Island in Iran. But thanks to the new video, investigators may have pinned pointed music playing in the background that is from the specific area of Baluchistan.
3) The crisis in Erurope may have been deverted by an agreement signed last night by 29 nations. The agreement includes a 290 million bailout along with strict regulations on future debt and spending. Political analyst point out this is the first step in stabilizing the European market. This is leaving the U.S. breathing a little easier today, and the stock markets reflected the relief. An alarming 20% of u.s. business market comes from Europe. The deal is not completely finished yet though. It still needs to be ratified by the countries.
Top 3 T.V. News Stories 12-9-2011
1) President Obama had an interview with 60 minutes in which he answers questions about his chances of re-election. The president compares himself to the captain of a boat. He said a storm may appear and the boat will toss and turn and throw side to side, but the captain jobs is not to be able to control the weather, but to lead the boat out of the storm. That is the way I see my job. The Presidents approval rating is now at 44%. No president since Truman has been re-elected with anything below a 48% approval rating, Analyst say the bright spot is that 2/3 think the president has tried to fight for his policies.
2) A former FBI agent has been missing for almost 4 years. Robert Levinson went missing in Iran while undercover as a private investigator trying to crack a cigarette smuggling ring. His captures released a video last november, giving the family hope that he is still alive.The family posted the video on their website today. Levinson vanished in 2007 by the Kish Island in Iran. But thanks to the new video, investigators may have pinned pointed music playing in the background that is from the specific area of Baluchistan.
3) The crisis in Erurope may have been deverted by an agreement signed last night by 29 nations. The agreement includes a 290 million bailout along with strict regulations on future debt and spending. Political analyst point out this is the first step in stabilizing the European market. This is leaving the U.S. breathing a little easier today, and the stock markets reflected the relief. An alarming 20% of u.s. business market comes from Europe. The deal is not completely finished yet though. It still needs to be ratified by the countries.
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