FORT LEE, Va.— An enraged soldier with a gun barricaded herself in an office inside a major command’s headquarters, throwing objects and then shooting herself in the head as law enforcement officials tried to negotiate with her, the Army said Monday.

The heavily-trafficked base went on lockdown while she was barricaded on the third floor of the four-story building that houses the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command. About 1,100 people were inside, but no one else was hurt, Army officials said.

“This situation could’ve been worse,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, who took over as commanding general of CASC at Fort Lee on Friday.
An enraged soldier with a gun barricaded herself in an office inside a major command’s headquarters, throwing objects and then shooting herself in the head as law enforcement officials tried to negotiate with her, the Army said Monday.

The heavily-trafficked base went on lockdown while she was barricaded on the third floor of the four-story building that houses the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command. About 1,100 people were inside, but no one else was hurt, officials at Fort Lee said.

“This situation could’ve been worse,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, who took over as commanding general of CASC on Friday.

The Army did not identify the soldier or give her condition. She was taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, which confirmed that it received a patient from Fort Lee but did not provide other details.

The soldier is a sergeant 1st class who has been in the Army for 14 years and at Fort Lee for three, Lyons said. Her gun was not a service weapon, he said.

“We are sad for our soldier in arms that she faced those kinds of challenges she had to resort to those kinds of actions,” Lyons said.

He said officials did not know whether she was being treated for any mental health issues and could not speculate whether drugs or alcohol might have been a factor. Lyons described the soldier as upset and enraged during the incident but said he couldn’t say whether that was consistent with her personality.

Fort Lee reopened and normal operations resumed within an hour of the incident, Lyons said, with trucks and cars entering and exiting the base. The main gate — closest to the scene — continued to control traffic, but other gates were operating as normal.

The daily population at Fort Lee — 25 miles south of Richmond and 130 miles from Washington — is about 34,000, with members from all branches, their families, civilians and contractors. Fort Lee’s website says the installation has seen enormous growth and renovations over the past decade as a result of realignment and closures of bases across the U.S.

Army officials initially labeled Monday’s incident an “active shooter” situation. The Department of Homeland Security uses the term to describe someone actively trying to kill people, usually in populated areas, with no pattern of choosing victims.

The shooting is the fourth violent act at a Virginia military installation this year. In March, a civilian truck driver shot and killed a sailor aboard a Navy destroyer at Naval Station Norfolk before he was shot and killed by Navy security.

In June, authorities said a sailor repeatedly stabbed another near Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. The same installation was placed on lockdown in April when a sailor shot and killed himself inside a barracks there.

Monday’s lockdown came days after Fort Lee announced in its official newspaper that a new mass warning and emergency notification system would be activated in the coming weeks. The system allows users to input phone numbers, email addresses or pop-up alerts on any computer that’s part of the main Fort Lee network, the newspaper said. Officials said Monday that the system is not yet in place.

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Associated Press writer Brock Vergakis contributed to this report from Norfolk.

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I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness,
more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely
want to contribute to that. ~Ellen DeGeneres

By Josh Gardner and Paul Donnelley
MailOnline, August 25, 2014

Who is the homeless youth who went to the VMAs with Miley Cyrus and
accepted her gong in front of millions? Mystery man takes awards by
storm with emotional speech about life on the streets 

Miley Cyrus stole the show at this year’s VMAs but instead of
twerking and sticking out her tongue, the pop star grabbed the attention
of the audience by promoting her pet cause – youth homelessness.
The
blonde singer won the Video of the Year award for her song Wrecking
Ball but rather than take to the stage and mouth platitudes, Cyrus sent
in her stead a young man named Jesse to read a speech about the subject
close to the star’s heart.

‘My name is Jesse,’ the
22-year-old said. ‘I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6
million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are
starving and lost and scared for their lives. I know, because I am one
of those people.’

The man who stole the show at this year’s VMAs after accepting an award on behalf of Miley Cyrus is Jesse Helt, a wannabe model who was once so destitute he slept in a bush, his mom has today revealed. Jesse, 22, who hails from Salem, Oregon, moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams – but has so far had no luck. Jesse ended up spending Sunday evening with Miley (right) and the pair, who met last week at LA homeless shelter, My Friend’s Place, were even pictured enjoying an In-N-Out Burger after the awards show. His mom Linda Helt said: ‘It’s time for him to have some good luck. He needs to be blessed.’

Life is too short.  Look out for yourself.  If someone continuously mistreats you, have enough respect for yourself to leave them.  It may hurt for a while, but it’ll be OK.  You’ll be OK.  Oftentimes walking away has nothing to do with weakness, and everything to do with strength.  We walk away not because we want others to realize our worth, but because we finally realize our own worth. ~MarcandAngel

If a drop of water falls in lake there is no identity.
But if it falls on a leaf of lotus it shines like a pearl.
So choose the best place where you would shine.

Sms4smile

Always remember that, in someway or another, you’re somebody’s angel, even if you don’t know it. They love you and think of you even if you don’t hear it every day. Trust that there is love all around you even if you cannot feel it. You are not alone. Source: Truth Follower

“Don’t hold to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love.”
 ~Leo Buscaglia

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Caption :This image shows a frame from a video released by Islamic State militants on Aug. 19, 2014, that shows the killing of journalist James Foley by a militant who spoke with a British accent.
(Photo: AP)

Katharine Lackey, USA TODAY, August 24, 2014

British intelligence officials have identified the man who killed an American journalist in a brutal beheading video that surfaced last week, NBC News reported Sunday citing unnamed U.K. security officials.

NBC News said it has not yet confirmed the name of the suspect seen in the video released by Islamic State militants on Tuesday that shows the killing of James Foley, 40.

Earlier Sunday, British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Westmacott, told multiple media outlets that officials were “close” to identifying the man.

“We’re putting a great deal into the search,” he said on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to the use of sophisticated technology to analyze the man’s voice. Westmacott also spoke on NBC’s Meet the Press.

In the video, the man who beheaded Foley is heard speaking with a British accent. United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond acknowledged last week that the militant in the video could be a British national.
Steven Joel Sotloff, a photojournalist and former University of Central Florida student, remains a hostage of the terrorist group and was threatened with death in the same video.

On Sunday, another kidnapped American journalist was released. Peter Theo Curtis, 45, who writes under the name Theo Padnos, had been held by the al-Nusra Front, a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria.

Seven-year old AJ brought me some string beans, but ate a few of them before handed them over. Then brought back another two! He said he likes the light green one more, but still wanted to bring back with him, both the dark and the light green ones.