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Happening Today: Capital Gazette, Exercise, Jahi McMath, Harlan Ellison, Scarlett Johansson

What to Know

  • Five people have died and several others were 'gravely injured' after a shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland, officials say
  • It may seem like a contradiction, but more adults in the U.S. say they are exercising at the same time more of them are becoming obese
  • Harlan Ellison, the prolific author of 'A Boy and His Dog,' has died at age 84, an editor with Subterranean Press, his publisher, said

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Capital Gazette Shooting Suspect Had “Vendetta,” Officials Say

Five people have died and several others are "gravely injured" after a shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper building in Annapolis, Maryland, local and federal officials say. Authorities have identified the five victims as Gerald Fischman, Robert Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters. The suspected shooter is 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News. Anne Arundel County police declined to provide the suspect's name. Authorities said the suspect was armed with smoke grenades and a shotgun. The suspect threatened the community newspaper on social media, police department spokesman Lt. Ryan Frashure said. The suspect is in custody, and authorities are interrogating him, officials said. Ramos sued the Capital for defamation in 2012 after the paper published an article in 2011 about criminal harassment to which Ramos pleaded guilty. Two judges ruled against him. Court documents show Ramos has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. 

Rosenstein, Wray Face Angry House Reps in Hearing on Russia Probe

Republicans accused top federal law enforcement officials of withholding important documents from them and demanded details about surveillance tactics during the Russia investigation in a contentious congressional hearing that capped days of mounting partisan complaints. The hearing was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's first appearance before Congress since an internal Justice Department report criticized the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and revealed new disparaging text messages among FBI officials about President Trump during the 2016 election. Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee suggested the department has conspired against Trump by refusing to turn over documents they believe would show improper conduct by the FBI. They seized on the inspector general report to allege bias against the president by the FBI and to discredit an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign that is now led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Exercise Is on the Rise in the US, But So Is Obesity, Survey Finds

It may seem like a contradiction, but more adults in the U.S. say they are exercising at the same time more of them are becoming obese. About 24 percent of adults last year said they exercise enough each week to meet government recommendations for both muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise, according to a large annual health survey. That was up from 21 percent in 2015. The same survey says 31 percent of adults indicated they were obese last year, up slightly. Another, more rigorous government study has also found adult obesity is inching up. So if more Americans are exercising, how can more also be getting fatter? Some experts think the findings may reflect two sets of people — the haves and have-nots of physical fitness, so to speak.

Girl at Center of Debate Over Brain Death Dies in NJ, Mother Says

A girl at the center of the medical and religious debate over brain death has died after surgery in New Jersey, her mother said. Nailah Winkfield said doctors declared her daughter Jahi McMath dead from excessive bleeding and liver failure after an operation to treat an intestinal issue. McMath had been in a vegetative state since December 2013, when a California coroner ruled that the 13-year-old girl died after suffering irreversible brain damage during an operation to remove her tonsils. Winkfield refused to accept the conclusion and moved the girl to New Jersey, where she has been kept on life support and received care. The state accommodates religions that don't recognize brain death. Winkfield acknowledged her daughter's dire medical condition but said her Christian beliefs compelled her to fight for care because the girl occasionally showed physical signs of life by twitching her finger or wriggling her toe.

Harlan Ellison, Science Fiction Master, Dies at 84

Harlan Ellison, the prolific, pugnacious author of "A Boy and His Dog," and countless other stories that blasted society with their nightmarish, sometimes darkly humorous scenarios, has died at age 84. Ellison's death was confirmed to The Associated Press by Bill Schafer, an editor with Subterranean Press, the author's publisher. A woman who answered the phone at Ellison's office, who declined to give her name, said he died in his sleep. During a career that spanned more than half a century, Ellison wrote some 50 books and more than 1,400 articles, essays, TV scripts and screenplays. Although best-known for his science fiction, which garnered nearly a dozen Nebula and Hugo awards, Ellison's work covered virtually every type of writing from mysteries to comic books to newspaper columns. He was known as much for his attitude as his writing — he described himself once as "bellicose." His targets were anyone or anything that offended him, from TV producers to his own audience.

I Did Not Audition to Date Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson Says

The Black Widow auditions to date no man. Not even you, Tom Cruise. "Avengers" star Scarlett Johansson is calling B.S. on an interview given by former Scientologist member Brendan Tighe on "Megyn Kelly Today." Tighe told Kelly while serving as a member of Cruise's Scientology security unit, he was accidentally sent a report of women who auditioned to be in a relationship with Cruise and one of them was Johansson. Tighe said he only recalled Johansson because it was the only name he recognized. But Johansson said the idea was ludicrous.

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