Obituary
Newspoem 31 December 2015
[*This newspoem was compiledin 2015 from every mention of a death in the fluffy daily news source The Skimm. How many middle eastern deaths are equivalent to that of one American celebrity?]
Yesterday, a man suspected of killing his ex-wife and five of her family members was found dead in the woods in the Philly suburb. At least 141 people were killed, most of them children. Police believe he took his own life. Today, eight children — whose ages range from 18 months to 15-years-old — were found dead inside an Australia home in the northern city of Cairns. A woman who’s believed to be the mother of seven of the children was also found inside the home, suffering severe stab wounds. This comes just days after a gunman took people hostage inside a Sydney cafe. Three people including the gunman were killed after police stormed in 16 hours later. On Tuesday, an Amtrak train going from DC to NYC derailed in Philadelphia, killing at least seven people. Six US Marines and two Nepalese soldiers were on board, and at least three bodies were reportedly found near to the crash site. Dozens were killed in an earthquake that struck Tuesday — less than three weeks after Nepal suffered a different earthquake that killed more than 8,000. At least 72 people were killed. Yesterday, reports came out that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his own defense chief for doing unforgivable things like falling asleep during a meeting; this year alone, 15 other officials have been killed for ‘disobeying’ him. Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group that kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria last year has come up with another way to terrorize people; a New York Times report came out that said the group’s been raping hundreds of women and girls, with group members praying to produce kids who will one day join Boko Haram. On Sunday, a train hit a truck at a railway crossing in Louisiana, leaving the truck driver dead and two others injured. Today, gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a bus there, killing at least 43 people. Yesterday, a shootout between rival biker gangs in Waco, TX killed nine people and injured 18 others. But many of them don’t make it — just last month, a boat capsized on its way to Italy, killing as many as 700 people. Last night, police arrested the suspect in a quadruple murder in DC. At least 13 people have been killed by the storms so far, and several more are missing. Over the weekend, a Cleveland officer was acquitted in the killing of two unarmed black people in 2012. There were tornadoes spotted in both states, and yesterday, one tornado just over the Mexican border killed 13 people. China’s state TV says that five people were killed, and about 15 have been rescued — including the ship’s captain and engineer. They’re now in custody. At least 19 people are confirmed dead, and at least 14 survived. More than 1,000 workers have died while building those stadiums. Last year, a Cleveland police officer shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice when he mistook the boy’s toy pellet gun for the real thing. South Korea has been dealing with an outbreak of the MERS virus that’s killed seven people and infected dozens. Yesterday, the US State Department said that the 36-year-old American was killed while fighting ISIS in Syria; Broomfield was a civilian who went on his own, and is thought to be the first US citizen to die while fighting with the Kurds. Libyan officials said he was killed, but the US isn’t positive yet. The terrorist, who has ties to al-Qaeda, was charged with leading a 2013 attack in Algeria that killed at least 35 people, including three Americans. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in Darfur since the conflict started more than ten years ago. Today, al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch said that its leader – who was also the terror group’s no. 2 in command – was killed in a US drone strike. Yesterday, a suspect was arrested in the shooting deaths of nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, SC. Yesterday, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apologized to the victims and their families for the first time, before he was officially sentenced to death. In other capital punishment news, Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 others were sentenced to death over the weekend in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.Since last weekend, Karachi — a southern Pakistani city — has been going through a heat wave that’s killed more than 800 people. Last Friday, dozens of people were killed in three terror attacks around the world. In Tunisia, a gunman shot at least 38 people to death on a hotel beach. Many of them were British tourists. In Kuwait, a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in a Shiite mosque. ISIS has claimed responsibility for both. In France, a man decapitated his boss at a chemical plant before trying to blow it up. 17 Egyptian soldiers and more than 100 militants were killed. Also this week, a top Egyptian official was assassinated in a suspected militant attack. He died yesterday at age 106. There was another shark attack in the Carolinas yesterday. This morning, an Indonesian military plane crashed into a hotel in a residential neighborhood in one of the country’s biggest cities. At least 37 people were killed, but officials think that number could go up during the search and rescue effort.
Yesterday, James Holmes was found guilty of murdering 12 people and wounding 70 others in a Colorado movie theater; three years ago, he snuck into a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” and opened fire; now, he faces either life in prison or the death penalty. Yesterday, a gunman killed four Marines at a military facility in Chattanooga. A 21-year-old man ended up dead in Demi Moore’s pool over the weekend. Earlier this month, Sandra Bland, the black 28-year-old civil rights activist, was arrested after a traffic stop in Texas. She was found dead in her jail cell three days later. Last week was the one year anniversary of Eric Garner’s death at the hands of police. And next month is the one year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death at the hands of police. Today, Oskar Groening, the 94-year-old known as the “accountant of Auschwitz” was convicted on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder, and sentenced to four years in prison. E.L. Doctorow, the award-winning novelist, died yesterday at age 84. Last night, two people were killed and at least nine were injured when a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Lafayette, LA. The gunman then killed himself. This one comes eerily just over three years after James Holmes opened fire on a crowded movie theater in Denver, CO, killing 12 and injuring 70. Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurds in northern Iraq; the Kurds allegedly retaliating with a car bomb yesterday that killed two Turkish soldiers. Also on Friday, Turkey launched airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. After being found unresponsive in a bathtub almost six months ago, Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston’s only child passed away yesterday at age 22. She was treated in a hospital before being moved to hospice care last month. Houston died more than three years ago after being found in a bathtub as well. Yesterday, a white University of Cincinnati police officer was indicted on a murder charge for shooting an unarmed black man. This week, the group confirmed that its previous leader, Mullah Omar, is dead. Cecil lived in a protected national park where it’s illegal to hunt; he was lured out of the park by hunting guides that were hired by the American dentist, who shot the lion. Yesterday in Jerusalem, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stabbed six marchers at a gay pride parade. Over the weekend, a police officer was shot multiple times and killed there during a traffic stop, investigators later found marijuana in the car. One firefighter’s been killed while fighting the blaze. Yesterday marked one year since unarmed black teen Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, MO.; and last night, protests in Ferguson turned violent. Also over the weekend, Christian Taylor — an unarmed black college football player — was shot and killed by police trainee Brad Miller at a car dealership in Texas; Miller was fired. Junior Seau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction; Seau committed suicide three years ago and was found to have suffered a brain condition linked to repeated hits to the head. Yesterday, the Hall of Fame football player and broadcaster Frank Gifford died at age 84 of natural causes. A New York Times report says ISIS is using the promise of raping Yazidi women to recruit men in Iraq and Syria. Earlier this week, the group claimed responsibility for a Baghdad car bomb that killed at least 70 people. Yesterday, a bomb exploded at a busy tourist site in Thailand’s capital. At least 20 people were killed. Explosions at a Chinese warehouse in a port city last week killed at least 112 people; although it’s still unclear exactly what happened, everyone within about two miles of the warehouse has had to evacuate because chemicals could be in the air. Yesterday, Morgan Freeman’s 33-year-old step-granddaughter was stabbed to death in New York City. Julian Bond, civil rights activist died over the weekend at the age of 75; he was a former chairman of the NAACP, Georgia state congressman, leader in the fight against the Vietnam War, and an overall big name in the 1960s civil rights movement. This week, three firefighters died in Washington state while fighting massive wildfires. ISIS recently beheaded an 82-year-old archaeologist, who oversaw an ancient site in the Syrian city of Palmyra—the same city that ISIS took control of earlier this year; this archaeologist tried to protect valuable artifacts after ISIS came to town. Two years ago, a 19-year-old Baruch College freshman died during a fraternity hazing ritual; yesterday, five men were charged with things like criminal homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Yesterday, up to 70 migrants were found dead in the back of a truck in Austria. Tropical Storm Erika slammed into the small Caribbean island of Dominica, killing at least four people. Canadian police said there are two reports of suicides related to the Ashley Madison hack. This comes just months after the Taliban admitted that its leader had been dead for years, and named a new guy to take his place. This move comes as ISIS is launching more frequent attacks in neighboring Iraq; overnight, a car bomb killed more than 60 people in Baghdad when it exploded at the most popular food market in the city. Last night, a massive 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile; at least five people were killed. Yesterday, at least 10 people were killed and seven more were injured in a shooting at an Oregon community college. Early this morning, a US military transport plane crashed in Afghanistan, killing at least 11 people — including six US service members. Yesterday, everyone saw photos of a drowned toddler who washed onto a beach in Turkey; he was a Syrian refugee who drowned with 11 others, including his five-year-old brother, trying to get to Greece. Two journalists in their 20s were in the middle of a live interview early yesterday morning when a gunman shot and killed them; that gunman was a former employee of the same station, WDBJ, where they worked. Yesterday, one of two panda cubs born last weekend died. Officials there say more than 220 people were killed and at least 450 were injured in a stampede outside the holy city of Mecca, where millions of muslims head every year as part of a religious pilgrimage called the hajj. This isn't the first time the hajj has been dangerous or deadly: earlier this month, a crane collapse at a mosque in Mecca killed over 100 people. Yesterday, the horror director Wes Craven died of brain cancer at age 76. Over the weekend, a Houston sheriff's deputy was killed at a gas station in the city's suburbs while filling up his patrol car. Yesterday, the British government announced that it had conducted its first drone strike against ISIS in Syria; the strike killed three ISIS members, including two British citizens. Back in June, the body of an unidentified little girl was found in a garbage bag near the Boston Harbor; last week, her mother and her mother's boyfriend were identified, charged in her murder, and pleaded not guilty — the boyfriend, who was charged with murder, claims the girl was possessed by demons. Yesterday, the former owner of a peanut company in Georgia was sentenced to 28 years in prison because his company knowingly shipped peanut butter contaminated with salmonella to customers, causing nine deaths and hundreds of illnesses between 2008-2009. Earlier this summer, debris was found on a French island; many, including Malaysia's prime minster, said it was from MH370: the plane that disappeared last year on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board. Last year, GM started to recall millions of cars because of problems like faulty ignition switches that could unexpectedly turn off a car, which issue has been linked to more than 120 deaths; \GM knew about the problem for almost a decade and didn't do anything about it. Yesterday, protests in the Ukranian capital got violent: one person was killed and dozens were injured when a grenade was thrown. This week, a tropical storm hit Japan, causing major flooding and landslides; at least two people died and several others are missing. Yesterday, a veteran Chicago police officer was shot and killed while on a regular patrol. Yesterday, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, the legendary WWE wrestler — now 72-years-old — was arrested and charged in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, in the early 80s. Over the weekend, Egyptian security forces accidentally killed at least 12 tourists and injured 10 others, after mistaking them for militants. Meanwhile, yesterday, southern Utah was hit by flash flooding caused by a thunderstorm; at least eight people were killed, and five others are missing. Last night, a male university professor at Mississippi's Delta State University who was suspected in two murders shot and killed himself; this was after he was suspected of killing another male professor on campus earlier in the day. Last week, a cargo ship with 33 people on board went missing in the middle of the hurricane near the Bahamas; yesterday, search and rescue teams found debris they say is most likely from the ship. Last week, an Israeli couple was killed in a shooting in the West Bank. Then over the weekend, a Palestinian man killed two Israelis in a knife attack in Jerusalem's Old City. Yogi Berra, the legendary baseball player, died at age 90. Yesterday, President Obama became the first Nobel Peace laureate to bomb another Nobel Peace laureate when a US airstrike killed 22 people at the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. On Saturday, twin bombings in Turkey’s capital killed at least 95 people. Yesterday, Israeli PM Netanyahu called an emergency meeting with his top security officials after three Israelis were killed in attacks by Palestinians; three Palestinians, including two attackers, were also reportedly killed. More than 30 people have died in the recent wave of violence, and both sides accuse the other of provoking the attacks. Yesterday, a Dutch investigation confirmed that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was brought down by a Russian-made missile fired from an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists; last year, MH17 was shot down while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and all 298 people on board died. This comes as there are three ongoing investigations into that time the US bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, killing at least 22 people. This new leak is coming from a second unknown source — the highlights: that US drone strikes often kill civilians; that — at one point — 90% of the people killed by US drone strikes were not targets; that the military often labels these deaths “enemy killed in action” anyway. These attacks have resulted in many clashes with Israeli security; 9 Israelis and 41 Palestinians (including the assailants) have been killed in this latest wave of violence. Yesterday, the US said it killed the leader of a terror group linked to al-Qaeda in an airstrike last week in Syria. Yesterday, a US soldier was killed there during a joint mission with US special forces and Kurdish troops o rescue Kurdish troops from being executed by ISIS; he's the first American killed in combat in Iraq since the US troop withdrawal in 2011. Today, at least 42 people died in a bus crash in wine country in southwestern France. So far this year, more than half a million migrants and refugees have come to the EU by boat or land, and thousands have died trying. No deaths have been reported so far. The 7.5 magnitude quake was centered in Afghanistan, but was also felt in Pakistan, India, and Tajikistan; more than 200 people have died so far. Over the weekend, a Russian plane crashed in Egypt; all 224 people on board were killed, most of them Russian citizens. Two recent suicide bombings in Turkey killed more than 130 people, and it looks like ISIS may be to blame. At least seven people have died and more than 100 have been injured because of a defect that can cause the airbag to explode and spray shrapnel during a crash. This morning, a cargo plane in South Sudan crashed shortly after takeoff; at least 41 people on board and on the ground were killed. Yesterday, officials said an officer who they thought was killed in the line of duty probably committed suicide. In its report, Doctors Without Borders says that not only did the US repeatedly bomb the hospital, but they also believe a US warplane shot at people trying to run from the burning building. But yesterday, ISIS claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that killed dozens of people in Beirut. It’s been a dark few days for the world, after coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday left at least 129 people dead and more than 350 injured. At least two people were killed, including a woman who blew herself up, and seven people were arrested. Last month was the hottest October on record, and it comes during what’s expected to be the hottest year on record; forecasters also say that a storm that hit the northwestern US earlier this week could be an early sign of a new El Nino; three people were killed, and hundreds of thousands are without power. Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people every year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border; one of the pilots is dead, and Russia says the other was rescued, and according to Russia, a marine was also shot and killed by rebel groups as he tried to rescue the pilots. Chicago is on edge after yesterday, a white police officer there was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Laquan McDonald, a black teen, last year; the charges came just hours before a graphic police video of the incident was released. Last Friday, a gunman killed three people and injured nine others when he attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. Yesterday, the trial started for one of the police officers who’s been charged in connection with Freddie Gray’s death. Reminder: last December, an AirAsia plane flying from Indonesia to Singapore crashed in the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board. Ships with dead bodies washed up on Japan’s shores at least 12 times in two months. Gunmen opened fire in the middle of a holiday party at a center that serves people with developmental disabilities; at least 14 people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded. The shooters — a married couple — were both shot dead after a manhunt. Yesterday, the rock singer Scott Weiland — whose signature move was shouting lyrics through a megaphone held up to a mike — died at age 48. Chennai, India is going through severe flooding from rainfall that started earlier this week; more than 250 people have been killed and thousands have been evacuated–this is the worst rain the country has seen in 100 years, and it’s not over yet. Meanwhile, over the weekend, the governor of a city in Yemen was killed in an attack claimed by ISIS. In other sad news, yesterday, Kristin Cavallari’s 30-year-old brother Michael was found dead. Over the weekend, two police officers shot and killed a black man near Los Angeles; a video of the shooting shows the officers firing at 28-year-old Nicholas Robertson multiple times as he appears to crawl away. Today is the third anniversary of the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, CT that killed 20 students and six adults. Two years ago, a Texas teenager killed four people in a drunk driving crash; his lawyers used “affluenza” as a defense, saying the 16-year-old was a rich kid who never had limits set for him—he was sentenced to probation. Yesterday, one of the six Indian men convicted of a 2012 fatal gang rape was released from prison after a three-year sentence; four of the other men convicted were given death sentences, and one killed himself in prison, but because the sixth man wasn’t 18 at the time, he got off with India’s maximum punishment for juveniles: three years. Yesterday, six American soldiers were killed in a Taliban suicide attack in Afghanistan. Over the weekend, two black people — 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and 55-year-old Bettie Jones — were shot and killed by Chicago police. Since late last week, in parts of the Midwest and South, heavy rains, flash floods, and tornadoes have killed dozens of people, including 11 people in Dallas who died when the city was hit by a group of tornadoes over the weekend. Yesterday, a grand jury chose not to accept charges against two police officers involved in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Meadowlark Lemon, the former star of the Harlem Globetrotters, died over the weekend at the age of 83. Yesterday, the US said targeted airstrikes have killed 10 ISIS leaders in the past month. One of those leaders was a French national and Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the terrorist who planned the Paris attacks. The Ebola outbreak killed more than 11,000 people around the world, mostly in these West African countries.
An official said this is believed to be an isolated incident, and an investigation is underway.