Gaddafi Killed After Bloody Firefight
SIRTE, LIBYA – After 42 years in power, Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed by rebels last Thursday after being shot in a firefight. ABC News reported it "was a day Libyans feared would never come." Known as the "mad dog" dictator, Gaddafi died after National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters took out loyalist soldiers in his hometown of Sirte, the final stronghold in Libya. Al Jazeera News reported one of the NTC spokespersons said Gaddafi was shot in the head in the crossfires of a gunfight. He was not killed instantly; his death did not come until he arrived at the hospital. Reports say Gaddafi pleaded, "Don't shoot, don't shoot," before being shot. French warplanes fired a warning shot on a convoy of vehicles carrying the ruthless dictator before his death. A U.S. defense official said a U.S. drone assisted in the attack with the French fighter, which believed Gaddafi was in the convoy. The death of Gaddafi is a victorious turn for the NTC and the Libyan revolution. NATO officials have announced they will end their seven-month campaign over the country.
Fairlawn Haunted House Focus of Local Protest Group
PULASKI COUNTY, VA – It is the time of year when haunted houses are popping up everywhere, just in time for Halloween. However, one local so-called haunted location, the St. Albans Asylum, is at the forefront of local protestor's call. Last week, WDBJ7-TV (Roanoke, Va.) reported many protestors are upset about the tagline "asylum" placed on the Fairlawn, Va. fright. Last Friday, 13 protestors showed up in opposition of the ghost tour at the former hospital for the mentally ill. Many of the protestors, including Travis Ford, were noted saying the tour lacks a degree of "respect" for people who had family members who were once at St. Albans. In defense, ghost tour Organizer Don Hanauer said the tour is simply "a way to save the building and give people a good scare for Halloween." His plans are to restore the 100-year-old plus building and open it as a community center.
Folk Music Legends Join Occupy Wall Street Protests
NEW YORK – Known best for their folk music, musical artists Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie have joined Occupy Wall Street protesters this past week, CBS News reported. The two shouted out protest anthems as more than 1,000 demonstrators joined with them in singing and chanting. Seeger is not new to protests by any means; he coined a popular protest ballad titled "We Shall Overcome" in the golden days of his career. This demonstration has essentially taken over Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan and is in its second month, attracting tens of thousands of people from the U.S. and the world. Some residents living nearby have complained the nuisance and sanitation is a growing concern, some going as far as to call for the protestors to exit the park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the lack of hierarchy within the demonstrators has "made it difficult to negotiate with them." He too has called for a mass exodus in order to clean the area. Still, the protests have become a popular tourist trap — right behind The Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial.
Jack's Tax Eyed for Small Tennessee Town
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. – The town known for the famed Jack Daniel's whiskey might be imposing a tax on the brew if one citizen has his way. According to Fox News, a private citizen from the Lynchburg, Tenn. area wants to impose a $10 tax on each barrel the distillery produces. Being the largest industry in the county, the Jack Daniel's plant could produce enough tax revenue to help pay for infrastructure and new schools, said Charles Rogers, the 75-year-old who proposed the tax. Rogers said the tax would be a beneficial way for Jack Daniel's to give back to the community. For the company, the tax would add about three cents on the bottle. But in a year, that amount would equate to nearly four million, a price the company is afraid might affect future growth. Voters may be able to decide the tax's fate next March in time for the presidential primary.
