USA
Investigators said they have not been able to determine a clear motive why Terry Ratzmann, a churchgoing computer technician, killed seven people before taking his own life at an evangelical service in a Brookfield, Wis., hotel Saturday. No suicide note or related documents have been found, police said Sunday, but they believe he might have been about to lose his job. Ratzmann regularly attended services for the Living Church of God, a denomination that focuses on "end-time" prophecies and emphasizes world news to prove these are end times. Ratzmann reportedly walked out of a recent service, appearing to be upset, but investigators don't know why.
The Hamilton, N.J., post office that handled anthrax-laced letters reopened Monday more than three years after handling the deadly mailings that followed the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The facility was ordered closed after NBC-TV anchor Tom Brokaw, two US senators, and the offices of the New York Post received contaminated letters. Anthrax attacks killed four people across the country. Investigators have not determined who was responsible.
Operation Community Shield, a new initiative of the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that targets violent gangs, has arrested 103 alleged members of MS-13, a Honduran street gang, in seven major cities in recent weeks, authorities said Monday.
Ashley Smith, the woman who ended a massive manhunt for the suspect in Atlanta's courthouse slayings by calling 911 after Brian Nichols freed her, said she discussed God, family, pancakes, and the manhunt with him while being held hostage in her own apartment Saturday. Nichols is accused of shooting four people, including a judge and two other persons fatally. He surrendered peacefully and was expected in court Monday to face charges.
In the latest US snub of Sinn Fein, the political party affiliated with the Irish Republican Army, US Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts refused to meet with Gerry Adams, its leader, Thursday - St. Patrick's Day. Adams has met with the senator each year since Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord. But recent IRA "criminal activity and contempt for the rule of law" were cited as the reasons for Kennedy's decision, which follows similar announcements by the White House and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R).
