School security ten years after Columbine

(CNN) -- In the wake of the tragic shootings at Columbine High School, some schools across the country turned themselves into near-fortresses.

They installed metal detectors and security cameras, banned backpacks, required students to carry IDs and posted police in the hallways -- all in the name of keeping students safe.

Now, 10 years after those highly publicized shootings in which two young men killed 13 people and themselves, school security has taken another dramatic turn.

Some of the noticeable security measures remain, but experts say the country is exploring a new way to protect kids from in-school violence: administrators now want to foster school communities that essentially can protect themselves with or without the high-tech gear.

Give the kids guns so they can defend themselves. I'm going to Hell.

Italy earthquake death toll reaches 283

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) — This quake ravaged medieval city took a limping step toward normalcy Thursday as butchers, bakers and other shopkeepers reopened for business, three days after a deadly earthquake made the historic center uninhabitable and halted nearly all economic activity.

The death toll from Italy's worst quake in three decades reached 283, including 20 children and teens, police said.

Sad that so many people died, but it's good to hear that the city is rebuilding.

Actress Natasha Richardson dies at 45

Some sad news...

Acclaimed actress Natasha Richardson, the wife of actor Liam Neeson and daughter of acting legend Vanessa Redgrave, died Wednesday of a critical head injury resulting from a skiing accident; she was 45.

Jury finds Barros guilty of manslaughter

Chiara Levin
From BostonHerald.com...

A jury has found Casimiro Barros guilty of voluntary manslaughter - but not first-degree murder - in the 2007 death of Chiara Levin during what the district attorney called a “Wild West” shootout in the city.

Good to see that our justice system works as long as celebrities aren't involved.

Three dead after Chicago shooting today

Three people were killed in a shooting this afternoon on Chicago's Southeast Side, officials said.

My thoughts are with the victims' loved ones.

Plane crash near Buffalo kills 50

From USATODAY.com...

Investigators on Friday were beginning to move into the crash scene of the Continental commuter plane that plummeted into a house near Buffalo, killing all 49 people aboard and a resident of the home.

My thoughts go out to the victims' loved ones.

John Updike dies

From Boston.com...

John Updike, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, whose jeweled prose and quicksilver intellect made him for decades one of America's foremost literary figures, died today. He was 76.
Mr. Updike, a long-time resident of Beverly Farms, died of lung cancer at Hospice of the North Shore in Danvers, said his wife, Martha.

I can't say I'm familiar with Updike's work, but I'd love to check it out someday. Rest in peace.