2008 Woodie Awards
News Briefs
The Associated Press
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: News
Local
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gambling for charity, in church of all places, would be legal in South Carolina under a bill that was approved by a Senate panel Thursday.
The legislation would let churches and other nonprofit groups host card and other casino games to raise money, exempting them from South Carolina's 200-year-old law that prohibits dice and card games.
Though the law is rarely enforced, poker's rise in popularity has led to a few arrests recently in large cash poker games.
The bill discussed Thursday specifically says five-card draw, Texas Hold'em and seven-card stud should be allowed for charities and churches.
"It's a money making opportunity for nonprofits," said state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.
The executive director of the South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations said groups want to raise money through events like casino nights.
National
DEKALB, Ill. - A man dressed in black opened fire with a shotgun and two handguns from the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, killing four people and injuring several others before committing suicide, authorities said.
University Police Chief Donald Grady confirmed the deaths following a news conference, according to local newspapers.
It was not clear whether the dead victims were among the 18 people school President John Peters had reported as wounded. He wouldn't confirm any fatalities other than the gunman.
Witnesses in the geology class said "someone dressed in black came out from behind a screen in front of the classroom and opened fire with a shotgun," Peters said.
The gunman shot himself on the stage after a brief rampage that sent terrified students screaming, crying and running for the doors around 3 p.m.
"At this point I'm being told it was less than two minutes," Grady said. "This thing started and ended in a matter of seconds."
Grady said the gunman was not a student at the school. "It appears he may have been a student somewhere else," he said, adding that police had no apparent motive.
Seventeen victims were brought to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb, according to Theresa Komitas, a spokeswoman. Three were in extremely critical condition.
Five were airlifted to other hospitals, including a female with a chest injury and two other victims with head injuries. One patient there died, a male but not the shooter, Komitas said.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gambling for charity, in church of all places, would be legal in South Carolina under a bill that was approved by a Senate panel Thursday.
The legislation would let churches and other nonprofit groups host card and other casino games to raise money, exempting them from South Carolina's 200-year-old law that prohibits dice and card games.
Though the law is rarely enforced, poker's rise in popularity has led to a few arrests recently in large cash poker games.
The bill discussed Thursday specifically says five-card draw, Texas Hold'em and seven-card stud should be allowed for charities and churches.
"It's a money making opportunity for nonprofits," said state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.
The executive director of the South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations said groups want to raise money through events like casino nights.
National
DEKALB, Ill. - A man dressed in black opened fire with a shotgun and two handguns from the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, killing four people and injuring several others before committing suicide, authorities said.
University Police Chief Donald Grady confirmed the deaths following a news conference, according to local newspapers.
It was not clear whether the dead victims were among the 18 people school President John Peters had reported as wounded. He wouldn't confirm any fatalities other than the gunman.
Witnesses in the geology class said "someone dressed in black came out from behind a screen in front of the classroom and opened fire with a shotgun," Peters said.
The gunman shot himself on the stage after a brief rampage that sent terrified students screaming, crying and running for the doors around 3 p.m.
"At this point I'm being told it was less than two minutes," Grady said. "This thing started and ended in a matter of seconds."
Grady said the gunman was not a student at the school. "It appears he may have been a student somewhere else," he said, adding that police had no apparent motive.
Seventeen victims were brought to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb, according to Theresa Komitas, a spokeswoman. Three were in extremely critical condition.
Five were airlifted to other hospitals, including a female with a chest injury and two other victims with head injuries. One patient there died, a male but not the shooter, Komitas said.
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