Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who skipped an overseas trip
this past week because of a stomach virus, sustained a concussion after
fainting, the State Department said Saturday.
The 65-year-old Clinton, who's expected to leave her job soon after
serving as America's top diplomat during President Barack Obama's first
term, is recovering at home after the incident last week and is being
monitored by doctors, according to a statement by aide Philippe Reines.
No further details were immediately available, reports The Associated Press.
The statement said Clinton was dehydrated because of the virus and that
she fainted and sustained a concussion. She will continue to work from
home in the week ahead and looks forward to being back in the office
"soon," the statement said.
Congressional aides do not expect her to testify as scheduled at
congressional hearings on Thursday into the September 11 attack against a
U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans,
including the U.S. ambassador.
The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss Clinton's status.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs
Committee had planned to hear from Clinton, and department officials had
taken steps to set the stage for her appearance, with Tom Nides, a
deputy secretary of state, briefing some members of the House committee
staff about her testimony.
Clinton backed out of a trip to North Africa and the Persian Gulf on
Monday because she was sick. She caught the virus during a recent visit
to Europe.
She's known for her gruelling travel schedule and is the most travelled
secretary of state, having visited 112 countries while in the job.
`’What Oshiomhole taught me during the campaigns’
He was recently appointed as the Chief of Staff to
Governor Adams Oshiomhole, after the victory of his boss in the July 14,
2012 governorship election in Edo State. Patrick Obahiagbon
(Igodomigodo), a former Majority Leader in the state House of Assembly,
became a national figure while representing the people of Oredo Federal
Constituency in the House of Representatives. He is a man of bombast..
In this interview with SIMON EBEGBULEM, in his usual way of expressing
himself, he speaks on his new job, the vision and mission of Oshiomole,
as well as the 2015 election, among other issues.
Excerpts: There appeared to be an alteration between you and the
Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, at the Benin Airport, when the
Sultan of Sokoto visited Benin City last weekend. Can you shed some
light on what actually happened?
Did you say altercation? I beg I no know book oooo (I am not literate
o). But let me asseverate (explain) that my brief from the comrade
governor was very pellucid (clear) and it was an executive request to me
to proceed to the Benin Airport and accord all the protocols to the
Sultan of Sokoto. I was to lead him to the Government House as a guest
of the governor. I was also copiously in the know against the backdrop
of the concatenation of colloquy (discussions) between His Eminence, the
Sultan of Sokoto, and the comrade governor that there was a consensus
between the Edo State government and His Eminence that the state
government was to play host to the Sultan whilst he was in Edo State. I
had no difficulty therefore in executing the governor’s request with
clinical finish and political blitzkriegism (alacrity). So how has it been transiting from a lawmaker to the Chief of Staff to the Governor?
It has it been interesting, challenging and quite titillating. Whereas
the ambience (responsibility) of parliament was laisser-faire, it’s a
different kettle of fish here in Osadebey Avenue. The comrade governor
is an incredible workaholic who has no patience for indolence, hedonism
or opportunistic razzmatazz. To a large extent, I would say he is a
perfervid (incurable) perfectionist. You will understand therefore why
we need to be in daily attunement (touch) with the cosmic forces to
enable us keep pace with his boundless energy and stupendous verve.
The job of the Chief of Staff is, of course, quite more demanding in
terms of the application of the regime of mental magnitude than when I
was in parliament. You can choose when you go to parliament or not. In
fact, some members of parliament really don’t even show up until pay day
even though I can hardly remember a day I was not part of parliamentary
sittings in my unbroken twelve years in the legislature. But as Chief
of Staff, who are you not to be at work on a daily basis when you are
working with a governor that is at work every day by 8am (or even before
8) and don’t get home from work until about 8pm,most times (or even
much later)? Don’t forget that the office of the Chief of Staff is
supposed to be the clearing house of government which means I have to be
on my toes to catch up with the comrade’s burning desire to put Edo
State on the indelible map of transformation. It would interest you to
know that even on weekends, the comrade governor is at work and that is
precisely the fundamental reason Edo State is working again. You went through the length and breadth of the state during the campaigns. How was it?
The campaigns really afforded me the opportunity to appreciate the
compassionate and down- to- earth side of the comrade governor. I was
particularly touched most times when the governor eagerly entered the
rain in a no-holds barred manner to address the people. On one occasion
when he attended the passing out ceremony of Youth Corps members in
Okada, it rained donkeys and cows (cats and dogs) but the governor got
into the rain and addressed the Corps members for over one hour,
drenched and, of course, myself and his security aides could not but
stand in the rain with him and this happened most times in the course of
the campaigns. This endeared him further to me as a man that had a date
with history.
The campaigns also made me know that the comrade governor has a
passion for coconut especially coconut water which re-energizes him for
more action after every sip, and he passionately shared with me, his
security aides and the television camera guy anything he ate or drank,
especially the period of the campaigns when we did the helicopter round.
These were emotional and touching moments indeed. You people used helicopters during the campaigns;
sometimes you flew into Benin at night even when the weather was not
pleasant. Were you at any point scared that something unpleasant might
happen?
Those were breathtaking moments when the pilot alone was in charge of
our lives, but I had no fears for a second because I believed that
there were the hands of God in the emergence of the comrade governor in
the affairs of Edo State. Don’t forget that the way the governor emerged
and took suzerainty of Edo’s political turf speaks volumes of the
mysterious workings of divine providence and my mystical anchorage left
me not in doubt that “as it is above, so it is below”. The good Lord of
Hosts is always by those who give their all for the collective
upliftment of the people. The governor himself, I must mention, also
displayed a commendable sense of intrepidity (courage) even in the face
of mercurial weather convulsions. Some persons were shocked that you agreed to work with
the campaign train even after you lost the House of Reps ticket in the
ACN?
No doubt that most of my political fidus achates (associates) and PDP
faithful endeavoured to capitalize on the fact that I did not get my
ticket to get back to the House of Representatives as an intervention
point to sway me back to the PDP, but they were those who did not know
me well and have not followed my politics intimately. My political
peregrination has had all the trappings of progressivism from my student
union days; so, to me, coming to the ACN at the time I did was not all
about the politics of political ticketocracy (of just getting ticket to
contest election). The comrade governor is just a phenomenon in the
politics of Edo State and I am delighted that he has offered me the
opportunity to be part of his salubrious and revolutionary vision in
taking Edo to the next level and, for that matter, from the epic piazza
of his political sanctum sanctorum (inner recess). But there is this fear in some quarters that the comrade
governor may not perform in his second coming, like many second term
governors?
Let me state emphatically that the comrade governor is not only aware
that he was democratically invested with a pro- Edo mandate, he is also
conscious of the historical and sociological responsibilities that such
a leviathan mandate commands and he is consequently poised not only to
consolidate on the gains of yesterday, but to also turn Edo into an
agricultural hub and an industrial sub and super structure. I therefore
urge all Edo citizens not to be in tenterhooks, but be ready to be in
utilitarian cahoots with Mr. Governor as he takes Edo steadily and
surely to the next level.
Vanguard
Marisol Bello, Wendy Koch, Yamiche Alcindor, Haya El Nasser, Martha T. Moore, Laura Petrecca and Mary Beth Marklein
NEWTOWN,
Conn. -- The horror wrought by a lone gunman on this close-knit
community crystallized Saturday afternoon as the 26 victims of the Sandy
Hook school massacre were publicly identified.
Among the dead
were the educators who hailed as heroes -- the school's principal and
psychologist, who didn't hesitate to rush toward the sound of the
gunfire, and the first-grade teacher who used her body to shield her
tiny charges from the bullets. Six of the victims were adults. STORY: Many of young school victims were shot multiple times FULL COVERAGE: Nation mourns shooting victims
The
young victims -- 20 in all -- epitomized the children of that age,
bright, smiling faces, some of them missing their front teeth. Most of
them were first-graders.
All of them died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to state medical examiner H. Wayne Carver.
The victims included:
Dawn
Hochsprung, the school's popular principal. She was known for her
enthusiasm, frank opinions and love of teaching. Hochsprung, 47, a
veteran teacher and administrator, worked at the school for two years,
where those who knew her say she immediately became a beloved figure.
Board of Education chairwoman for the Newtown public schools Debbie
Liedlien says residents are feeling "a deep sense of loss" over her
death.
Town officials say Hochsprung was killed while lunging at the gunman as she tried to overtake him. STORY: Heroism no surprise to those who knew slain principal
"I
would expect her to jump right into the chaos," said neighbor Judith
Neukam. "I think she would have felt responsible for it and she would
have taken that responsibility."
Family friend Fraser Randolph,
60, of Danbury, has known Hochsprung and her husband, George, for more
than 15 years. He said Hochsprung and her husband, who is also a
teacher, often talked about educational policies over dinner with him.
"She
was always talking about education--always looking for ways to solve
problems, communicate better with parents and break down administrative
barriers to better serve the needs of kids," Randolph said.
Mary Sherlach spent most of her professional life trying to help kids from taking a wrong turn.
A
school psychologist at the Sandy Hook Elementary School since August
1994, she worked closely with students, parents and teachers.
I "am always ready to assist in problem solving, intervention and prevention," Sherlach, 56, wrote on her professional website.
She died while trying to protect others, Diane Day, a therapist who works at the school, told The Wall Street Journal. STORY: School psychologist died trying to protect others
When
reached at Scherlach's home in Trumbull, Conn., a friend of the family
read a statement that was written by Scherlach's daughter Maura
Schwartz.
"There are no words to describe the devastating loss
that we feel at this time," it said. "Our family has lost a loving
mother, dedicated wife and above all, a wonderful, caring woman who was
beyond dedicated to her students."
Victoria Soto was
known as Miss Victoria Soto in Room 10, a smiling teacher who
underscored her enthusiasm over teaching first-graders with exclamation
points.
On her page on the school's website, she
wrote: "I absolutely love teaching first grade!'' and "I look forward to
an amazing year in first grade with my amazing students of room 10!"
Soto's lifelong dream was to be a teacher.
"She was all about molding those young minds," her cousin, James Wiltsie, told ABC News. STORY: Woman in iconic photo is sister of slain teacher
The
27-year-old died in the classroom she loved, reportedly making the
ultimate sacrifice Friday by sheltering her students in a classroom
closet and coming between them and the gunman, Wiltsie said.
It's not clear how many of Soto's students died.
Gillian Chanko is now 13 and in 8th grade but remembers Soto as a young teachers' aide.
"She was really, really nice," she said. "It didn't surprise me that she was one of the first to try to save her kids."
Soto
still lived where she grew up in Stratford, Conn. She graduated from
Eastern Connecticut State University and was getting a master's in
special education at Southern Connecticut State University.
"I
love to spend time with black lab Roxie," she wrote. "I love spending
time with my brother, sisters and cousins. … I also love flamingos and
the New York Yankees."
Wiltsie told ABC: "Unfortunately, she lost
her life, but knowing the way she lost it, I'm proud to call her family.
… She was a hero trying to protect the children."
Emilie
Parker, 6, was a blonde blue-eyed first-grader, an artist who always
toted around her crayons and paper. She was a big sister to two younger
sisters who always turned to her for comfort.
In an
emotional press conference, Emilie's father, Robert, described the last
conversation he had with his eldest daughter. He was teaching her
Portuguese, and she asked him how he was doing.
"She
told me she loved me, and I walked out the door," he said. Robert
Parker kept his composure as he spoke but became emotional as he
described how his two younger girls always turned to Emilie when they
needed comfort.
"She was the type of person who could light up a room," he said. "She is an incredible person and I'm so blessed to be her dad."
Parker said he didn't know how he and his wife would get through this tragedy.
He
and his family moved to Newtown eight months ago when he accepted a job
as a physician assistant in the neonatal intensive care unit at the
Danbury hospital. He said he was at the hospital when he heard about the
shooting from his wife. He said at first he thought it couldn't have
been very serious, but as the day wore on, the enormity of it hit him,
he said.
"I don't know how to get through this," he said.
A
Facebook page created by the family shows Emilie at baseball games with
her father and watching over her younger sisters. The family plans to
return her remains to Utah, where they are originally from.
Jesse Lewis loved math and horse-back riding. The 6-year-old was in Soto's class, his father Neil Heslin told the New York Post.
"He was just a happy boy," Heslin told the paper.
Jesse
lived on a horse farm, Wild Rose Farm, with his mother. He loved to
play with the animals on the farm and had been horseback riding since he
was 1 and 1/2 years old.
Neighbor Judy Petro said she
occasionally saw Jesse riding with his mother, Scarlett, as the pair cut
through the Petros' property to reach a horse trail in the
neighborhood.
"They rode horses, and we gave her permission to
ride through our land to get to the trail that the horses go on. Once in
a while her son came with her. She's a very nice woman and very
generous. It's just horrible that it happened. The whole thing is just
unbelievable,'' Petro said.
Noah Pozner, 6, was one of the victims in
the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec.
14.
Washington Post via AP
Another
neighbor, Irene Arfaras, described Scarlett Lewis as "very friendly''
and "a hard worker'' for running the farm in addition to a day job.
Scarlett Lewis is the author of Rose's Foal,
a children's book she wrote about a draft horse and how she teaches her
foal about life. In an author's note on Amazon, she said she wrote the
book about the foal, born the day after 9/11, in honor of her sons.
She
described taking photographs for the book with her son "in a red Flyer
Wagon with his blanket and pacifier waiting patiently in the
background.'' What Lewis wrote about the now deceased draft horse could
now be said about her own child: "We miss her dearly every day, and this
book also helps keep her memory alive. Of course we look forward to
seeing her in heaven."
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, was the
daughter of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene. She, her parents and older
brother moved to Newtown this summer from Manitoba, Canada, where Greene
taught music. Greene thanked friends on Facebook, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
"As we work through this nightmare, we're reminded how much we're loved
and supported on this earth and by our Father in heaven. As much as
she's needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me, Ana beat us
all to paradise. I love you sweetie girl," his post said.
Lauren
Rousseau, 30, had spent years working as a substitute teacher and doing
other jobs. So she was thrilled when she finally realized her goal this
fall to become a full-time teacher at Sandy Hook. Her mother, Teresa
Rousseau, does not hold back when describing what the job meant to her
daughter. "It was the best year of her life," she told the Danbury News-Times, where she is a copy editor. Rousseau has been called gentle, spirited and active. She had planned to see The Hobbit
with her boyfriend Friday and had baked cupcakes for a party they were
to attend afterward. She was a Danbury native, a graduate of the
University of Connecticut and the University of Bridgeport, a lover of
music, dance and theater. "I'm used to having people die who are older,"
her mother said, "not the person whose room is up over the kitchen."
Noah
Pozner, 6, is the youngest of five children. His parents are divorced
and his mother, Veronica, is a nurse, said Rabbi Shaul Praver of
Congregation Adath Israel. He was at the firehouse yesterday with
parents and will be buried on Sunday as is Jewish custom.
Benjamin
Wheeler was 6 and a relative newcomer to Newtown. He was one of two
sons of David and Francine Wheeler. David is a writer and performer with
the Flagpole Shakespeare Repertory Theater. According to his biography
on the website, he and his wife and two sons just moved to Newtown in
April 2011. They had lived in New York City before that, where David
Wheeler worked as an actor on stage, film and television. Other victims:
By Abdulrahman Abdulmalik The presidency has just released a statement mourning the
victims of this afternoon’s helicopter crash in Bayelsa.
It also gave the names of the other four victims of the crash.
They are Dauda Tsoho, an aide to Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna
and Warrant Officer Mohammed Kamal, an aide to former National Security
Adviser, Owoye Azazi, and the pilots, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba
and Lt. Adeyemi O. Sowole.
Messrs Yakowa and Azazi had earlier been confirmed dead in the helicopter crash.
“President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has expressed utter shock and
sadness over the crash Saturday in Bayelsa State of a military
helicopter resulting in the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna
State and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Owoye Azazi
(rtd), their aides, Dauda Tsoho and Warrant Officer Mohammed Kamal and
the pilots, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba and Lt. Adeyemi O. Sowole.
“The President extends deep and heartfelt condolences to the families
and friends of the deceased, and the governments and people of Kaduna
and Bayelsa States. He describes the sudden loss of these distinguished
Nigerians as extremely painful to the entire nation.
“President Jonathan has ordered an investigation into the cause(s) of the crash.”
LibertyReport
BY SEGUN OLATUNJI
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday in
Abeokuta said he had no problem with President Goodluck Jonathan as
being speculated in some quarters.
President Olusegun Obasanjo
Obasanjo however said he would not allow himself to be prevented by
anyone from discussing pressing national issues and party affairs.
The former president said this when the National Chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, paid him a visit at his
Hilltop Country Home in Abeokuta.
Obasanjo told Tukur that his passion, patriotism and love for the
country would not allow him to remain silent on burning national issues.
He said “If there is anything that requires my comment, position or
views, I will say it. It is only if you kill me. It is my passion,
patriotism and love that will continue to make me state my views. If I
see something inimical to the party’s growth, I will talk.
“And also to disabuse the minds of rumour mongers, the President is
my President. Without Nigeria, there will be no party. Even when I was
in prison, I was not quiet. Those who want me and the chairman to
quarrel; this visit will keep them quiet. But my mouth will not be
quiet.”
Obasanjo also dispelled recent rumours about his death.
“I am still alive anyway,” he said.
Earlier, the PDP national chairman said he was in Abeokuta to see
Obasanjo for his consistent role in the party, country and the
international community.
On the perennial crisis rocking the Ogun State chapter of the PDP,
Tukur declared, “Whoever that the people have elected as far as I’m
concerned, is the chairman of our party in Ogun.”
“Let me assert that there is no crisis here in Ogun PDP at all. I
have come here because of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the
leader of our party and I’m now the chairman.
“Our principle today is rebuilding our party based on equity and
justice. Because it is only when you give people the leadership they did
not merit that you have a crisis.”
General Andrew Azazi (rtd) and Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna state
By SaharaReporters, New York
Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati and a spokesman of the Nigerian
Navy have confirmed the crash of a helicopter in the Nembe-Okoroba area
of Bayelsa State that claimed the lives of Kaduna state Governor Patrick
Yakowa and former NSA, Andrew Owoye Azazi this afternoon Nigerian time.
In his statement, Mr. Abati disclosed that two Nigerian navy pilots
as well aides of Governor Yakowa and Mr. Azazi also died in the crash.
Apart from Azazi and Yakowa, four other persons died in the crash,
they include: Governor Yakowa’s special adviser, Dauda Tsoho and Warrant
Officer Mohammed Kamal who was Azazi bodyguard as well as two naval
pilots, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba and Lt. Adeyemi O. Sowole.
Also, Commodore Kabir Aliyu of the Nigerian Navy disclosed that a
Navy’s Agusta helicopter crashed, even though he would not confirm the
identities of the passengers who died.
The spokesman was willing to state only that the ill-fated Agusta
helicopter “was conveying Very Important Personalities (VIPs) to Port
Harcourt from Okoroba village.”
In his statement, the naval officer disclosed: “A Nigerian Navy
Agusta helicopter (Helo 07) crashed today, Saturday 15 December 2012 at
about 3:30 p.m. around Nembe-Okoroba area in Bayelsa State. The
helicopter was conveying some VIPs to Port Harcourt from Okoroba Village
also in Bayelsa State.”
Another military source told SaharaReporters that the helicopter
caught fire on impact. The source disclosed that some of the passengers
on board were burnt beyond recognition.
The Nigerian Navy had two helicopters at the scene of the burial of
the father of presidential aide, Oronto Douglas. SaharaReporters
determined that Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa of Kaduna state and
former National Security Adviser, Andrew Owoye Azazi, were on board the
doomed helicopter.
A source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Azazi, a retired general, had
invited Governor Yakowa to fly with him on the helicopter to the Rivers
State capital, Port Harcourt. The governor’s flight was reportedly late
in arriving in Yenogoa, the capital of Bayelsa State. 1. PHOTO of Nigerian Navy Augusta 109 Helicopter that crashed today
2. Below: Navy pilot: Mohammed Dabba 3. Governor Yakowa and Azazi walk towards the -ill-fated helicopter
4. Oronto Douglas, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa and Gov. Yakowa at the burial ceremony in Okoroba-Nembe
BEIJING
(AP) — A knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a
primary school in central China as students were arriving for classes
Friday, police said, the latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks
at Chinese schools and kindergartens.
The attack in the Henan
province village of Chengping happened shortly before 8 a.m., said a
police officer from Guangshan county, where the village is located.
The
attacker, 36-year-old villager Min Yingjun, is now in police custody,
said the officer, who declined to give her name, as is customary among
Chinese civil servants.
A Guangshan county hospital administrator
said the man first attacked an elderly woman, then students, before
being subdued by security guards who have been posted across China
following a spate of school attacks in recent years. He said there were
no deaths among the nine students admitted, although two badly injured
children had been transferred to better-equipped hospitals outside the
county.
A doctor at Guangshan's hospital of traditional Chinese
medicine said that seven students had been admitted, but that none were
seriously injured.
Neither the hospital administrator nor the doctor would give his name.
It was not clear how old the injured children were, but Chinese primary school pupils are generally 6-11 years old.
A
notice posted on the Guangshan county government's website confirmed
the number of injured and said an emergency response team had been set
up to investigate the attacks.
No motive was given for the
stabbings, which echo a string of similar assaults against
schoolchildren in 2010 that killed nearly 20 and wounded more than 50.
The most recent such attack took place in August, when a knife-wielding
man broke into a middle school in the southern city of Nanchang and
stabbed two students before fleeing.
Most of the attackers have
been mentally disturbed men involved in personal disputes or unable to
adjust to the rapid pace of social change in China, underscoring grave
weaknesses in the antiquated Chinese medical system's ability to
diagnose and treat psychiatric illness.
In one of the worst
incidents, a man described as an unemployed, middle-aged doctor killed
eight children with a knife in March 2010 to vent his anger over a
thwarted romantic relationship.
USAToday
4. Oronto Douglas, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa and Gov. Yakowa at the burial ceremony in Okoroba-Nembe