Song of the Day: Badlands by Metal Church

Song of the Day: Your Love is Driving Me Crazy by Sammy Hagar

Song of the Day: Nobody Rides For Free by Ratt

Song of the Day: Halloween by Helloween

Song of the Day: Deep Cuts the Knife by Helix

Song of the Day: Real Love by Slaughter

Song of the Day: Piece of Me by Skid Row

Song of the Day: I Must Be Dreaming by Giuffria

Song of the Day: Walks Like A Woman by Baton Rouge

Song of the Day: Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue

Today is one of my friend's birthday, and he is a huge Motley Crue fan. So this is for you, Matt!

Song of the Day: Burning Heart by Survivor

Song of the Day: I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith

Song of the Day: Inside Out by XYZ

Song of the Day: I'll See You In My Dreams by Giant

I am listening to the news right now and apparently there have been several different shootings at Virginia Tech this morning. At least one person is reported dead, and several other "casualties", which means at least 7 others have been shot, but not known if anyone else has died. It is not currently known if all of the shootings are related yet. There may be more than one shooters. The first shootings happened at 7:15am in West Ambler Johnston Hall and the other at like 10am at possibly Norris Hall.

*update*
There are at least 22 fataliies in this shooting spree. The police chief is saying that there was only one shooter and he is now deceased.

Most of the fatalities occurred at Norris Hall, where the shooter just walked down halls and was shooting. He was heavily armed and possibly had a mask on and a large vest. Details are very sketchy and confusing really. Earlier they said they had a suspect in custody and in watching the news, I saw one person on the ground being handcuffed. Maybe that person had nothing to do with the shootings, but was causing trouble. I do not know. If there was only one gunman and he is dead, who was taken into custody and why? Why did the school say a suspect was in custody? The school has been on lockdown and so are other schools in the surrounding area. This appears to be the worst school shooting in the US to date.

One reportedly dead in Virginia Tech shooting
Official: at least 1 dead in Va. Tech shooting
Virginia Tech Shooting
Report: 1 Person Dead; Gunman on the Loose at Virginia Tech University
BREAKING NEWS - One Dead After Shooting at Virginia Tech Dorm
Virginia Tech
Suspect reported held in fatal Va. Tech shooting
Shooting at Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech Campus Closed - One Gunman in Custody
Suspect in Va. Tech shootings arrested
One Dead In Shooting On Virginia Tech Campus
Virginia Tech Shooting: One Dead, 2 Possible Shooters, One In Custody
Chief: At least 20 dead in campus shootings

*update*

This tragedy only seems to get worse as time goes on. Apparently the shooter is dead, although currently it is not known if he killed himself or if there was a shootout with police. That is under investigation now. There are rumors that the gunman was searching for his girlfriend. It is not known if that is true, or if he found her, if she is a victim, or where she is. Another rumor is that the shooter was after a Professor that he was upset with. Witnesses have said that the gunman lined up students in a classroom and started shooting.

*another update*
Police now say that the shooter shot and killed himself. He was an Asian male in his early 20's. It also appears that there are about 32 now dead. Unfortunately some of the news stories seem to overlap each other and then become confusing. They say that there was one gunman, then it is said that the Norris Hall shooter is dead but nothing is said about the Ambler Johnson Hall shooting. It sounds as if they are separating this (this comes from the President of VA Tech). However, then you hear that there was only one shooter. I am beginning to believe that I am hearing conflicting reports and confusing myself! I have a migraine, so forgive me if I have confused anyone. As soon as I know the complete story, I will definately post it.

*another update*
One witness has said that at the beginning of the shootings at Norris Hall, the shooter chained the doors shut, making it impossible for anyone to get out. It sounds like he meant business, no matter who the target was. I have a feeling that the number of dead will still go up. This is very sad. And this school has been plagued with this type of issues, as they had one shooting in August involving an escaped convict (William Morva) and recent bomb threats. How much more can they endure?

Another student, Trey Perkins, was interviewed on one of the news channels (I am not sure which, as I keep changing channels), was a witness in one of the classrooms in Norris Hall. He said the shooter was very calm, did not speak a single word, but came in and shot the instructor. The students then hit the floor and the shooter started shooting around the classroom. After he left, Trey and another student tried to help several students then held the door closed so that the shooter could not get back in. He tried to get back in, but then gave up. Good thinking on their part to keep the door closed or there could be more victims there.

Another witness outside of Norris Hall, thinking quickly, shot this video with his cell phone: Student witness video

There are more news conferences scheduled for this afternoon. I will update again.

At Least 32 Dead After Virginia Tech University Shooting
22 dead in Va. Tech shooting rampage
BREAKING NEWS: 22 Dead In Tech Shooting
Student witness video
VA Tech President news statement
Injured student describes incident*

Song of the Day: Love Kills by Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Song of the Day: You Could Be Mine by Guns 'N Roses

This is my favorite Guns 'N Roses song!

Song of the Day: Domino by Kiss

Update: Raechale Elton murder *Jury recommends that Robert Cameron Houston be sentenced to life without parole*

Today was a good day for justice in the Raechale Elton murder case. After hearing all of the evidence in the sentencing hearing all week, the jurors deliberated today to decide if Robert Cameron Houston would be sentenced to twenty years to life or to life without parole.

During the hearing, which began Monday, jurors heard testimony from several people including a defense expert who said Houston had violent sexual compulsions caused by an undiagnosed disorder.Psychologist Linda Gummow testified that Houston had obsessive compulsive disorder that manifested itself in thoughts that were dominated by violent sexual fantasies.Gummow said the disorder was likely linked to incidents in Houston's childhood. As a child Houston saw his father put a knife to his mother's throat, and he was raped by a friend of his older brother, she said.

Cameron pleaded guilty to Raechale's murder last month in a plea bargain with the State. Since he was 17 when he commited the murder, he did not face the death penalty. However, due to it being a capital crime, the jury had to recommend a sentence. And today, they did just that. They recommended a sentence of life without parole. His formal sentencing by the Judge will be in May.

After deliberating for about five and half hours, the jury in the case of convicted murderer Robert Houston came back with a sentence of life in prison without parole. Eleven of the twelve jurors decided on this sentence.

So, Cameron will receive the harshest sentence possible for his crime, which is appropriate and is what I call justice. He will not have the opportunity for parole - he will be in prison his entire adult life, which really is very sad, but he needs to suffer the consequences for his actions and his decisions. He knew it was wrong, but chose to do it anyway. I hope he suffers every day for the rest of his life.

The family of Raechale Elton did not speak to reporters as they left the courtroom but it was obvious they were pleased by the jury's decision. Houston's mother, Carol Lyman, told reporters that "both families had lost".

Teen's Sentencing Hearing Likely to Wrap Up Friday
Teen Who Raped, Killed His Counselor Gets 'Life'
Jury Sentences Convicted Murderer to Life in Prison Without Parole
Robert Cameron Houston gets life in prison

Amber Alert: Box Elder County, UT

Petra Ponce

An Amber Alert Issued out of Box Elder County
Two Possible Sightings Of Amber Alert Suspect
Amber Alert issued in Box Elder County
Petra's Runaway Information

Song of the Day: Heaven In Your Eyes by Loverboy

Song of the Day: Love Song by Tesla

Song of the Day: No More Tears by Ozzy Osbourne

Song of the Day: Defying Gravity from Wicked the Musical

'Onion Field' killer dies in prison

'Onion Field' killer dies in prison

Story Highlights• Jimmy Lee Smith dies in California prison at age 76
• Smith was a career criminal who helped kidnap and kill a police officer in 1963
• The crime inspired Joseph Wambaugh's book "The Onion Field"


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Jimmy Lee Smith, the lifelong criminal whose role in the 1963 kidnapping and killing of a police officer inspired Joseph Wambaugh's crime book "The Onion Field," has died behind bars at age 76, a state prisons official said.

Smith died Friday at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, where he was being held for failing to report to a parole officer, Bill Sessa, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman, said Saturday.

Foul play was not suspected, but the cause of death was under investigation, according to the county coroner's office.

Smith was once sentenced to death for the killing of Officer Ian Campbell, and his parole after 19 years in prison drew public outrage when he was released in 1982.

His crimes were documented in 1973's "The Onion Field" and the 1979 film of the same name, both written by Wambaugh, a former Los Angeles police officer.

Smith, who was on parole when he killed Campbell, spent the last 25 years of his life in and out of prison. He was arrested again and again on various charges, usually drug crimes.

"Great. Wonderful," former Los Angeles police Chief Daryl Gates told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday. "He should have gone to his death in the gas chamber."

Smith and Gregory Powell were convicted of abducting Campbell and his partner, Officer Karl Hettinger, from a Hollywood street on March 6, 1963, after the officers stopped their car for an illegal U-turn.

After Powell disarmed the pair by pulling a gun on Campbell and threatening to kill him, he and Smith drove them to an onion field near Bakersfield.

There, Powell shot Campbell in the face. Hettinger bolted, running four miles to the safety of a farmhouse.

Powell was arrested that night and Smith the next day.

The two were originally sentenced to death but the sentences were reduced to life in prison with 1970s court decisions that temporarily barred the death penalty.

Powell, who remains in prison, has been denied parole several times.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

'Onion Field' killer dies in prison

Song of the Day: Outside by Staind

Song of the Day: Rock Me by Great White

Song of the Day: Blow My Fuse by KIX

Song of the Day: Nutshell by Alice in Chains

Song of the Day: Panic Attack by Dream Theatre

Song of the Day: Mas Tequila by Sammy Hagar

What a fun song!

Song of the Day: Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue

Song of the Day: Dreams by Van Halen

Song of the Day: Heaven Tonight by Yngwie Malmsteen