The disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, who has not been seen in public for 18 months, is set to stand trial accused of corruption charges and abuse of power. Analysts say he is expected to be found guilty when the trial concludes. Bo's wife Gu Kailai has already been convicted of murdering United Kingdom businessman Neil Heywood. She has since been given a suspended death sentence. The murder reportedly had been over a business deal gone wrong.
"The United States strongly condemns any and all use of chemical weapons... We are formally requesting that the United Nations urgently investigate this new allegation. The U.N. investigative team, which is currently in Syria, is prepared to do so," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement Wednesday in light of a new report claiming that chemical weapons were used by pro-Bashar al Assad forces against opposition forces in the current civil war in Syria. In the report, Assad's forces may have gassed as many as 1,300 people in what would be considered the worst chemical attack in decades. Assad's forces, for its part have vehemently denied committed the attack. Its chief ally Russia also suggested that rebel forces may have stage the assault to provoke international action.
20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill was accused of opening fire at an Atlanta-area elementary school on Tuesday. Armed with an AK-47 and after barricading himself in the front office of the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, Hill was charged with firing about six shots toward the school officers before surrendering to police thanks to the heroism of bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff,