In brief: 12-year-old boy shoots, injures 2 at N.M. school
Roswell, N.M. – A 12-year-old New Mexico boy drew a shotgun from a band-instrument case and shot and wounded two classmates at his middle school Tuesday morning before a teacher talked him into dropping the weapon and he was taken into custody, officials and witnesses said.
A boy was critically injured and a girl was in satisfactory condition following the shooting at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell.
Gov. Susana Martinez said the students were in the gym, where they typically hang out before classes start during cold and inclement weather. The 12-year-old opened fire with the shotgun there at about 8 a.m.
Christie: Administration ‘let down the people’
Trenton, N.J. – Republican Gov. Chris Christie, faced with a widening political scandal that threatens to undermine his second term and a possible 2016 presidential run, apologized again Tuesday, saying his administration “let down the people we are entrusted to serve” but the issue doesn’t define his team or the state.
On the eve of his second term, he opened his annual State of the State address by touching only briefly on the apparent political payback plot, involving road lane closures that caused major backups at the George Washington Bridge.
“The last week has certainly tested this administration,” he said. “Mistakes were clearly made. And as a result, we let down the people we are entrusted to serve. I know our citizens deserve better.”
Carbon emissions rise, increase in coal blamed
After several years of shrinking pollution, carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. climbed 2 percent last year due to a slight bump in coal consumption, according to a report.
Some 5.38 billion tons of carbon dioxide were released into the air in 2013, up from 5.27 billion tons emitted in 2012, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Rising natural gas prices have boosted the use of coal in the last year to generate electricity.
Emissions in 2013 are still more than 10 percent below 2005 pollution levels, the report noted. That means the U.S. is well on its way to reaching President Barack Obama’s goal of slashing carbon emissions 17 percent by 2020.