FBI Investigation in Pennsylvania School District

Lower Merion School District, a suburban Philadelphia school district with a total of two high schools, has been accused of secretly spying on its students through webcams on school-issued laptops. Michael and Holly Robbins filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the school district illegally wiretapped their son Blake’s computer without his consent after school officials accused Blake Robbins of "improper behavior in his home" with photographic evidence from the webcam.

In response to this allegation, the school acknowledged that it had in fact activated 42 laptop webcams in the past 14 months. The FBI is currently investigating Lower Merion School District to determine if it violated federal law with the school-issued webcams or not.

The lawsuit states that at no point did the school notify students or parents that the laptops were equipped with webcams that were accessible by the school. Superintendent Christopher McGinley issued a statement addressing the accusations, saying "this notice should have been given and we regret that was not done." Lower Merion currently awaits verdict from the FBI’s investigation.

Haiti Follow-Up: How are Things Now

Despite efforts and millions of dollars donated from dozens of relief organizations, health hazards, hunger, and disease are still abundant in Haiti. However, the Coast Guard, State Department, Pentagon and Haiti’s leading cell phone carrier have come together to more quickly and efficiently receive cries for help from Haitian victims and relieve them. They have created an emergency contact network that allows Haitians to text what they need to survive.

Word has spread rapidly about the text-message relief organization, with 18,000 text messages received already. The increased communication between Haitians and the U.S. allows us to better understand their needs and get them shipped faster. The heart-wrenching texts include messages such as, "I’m hungry and I have no one" and "People are unable to breathe due to the smell of the dead," according to Ryan Banks, a Coast Guard volunteer.

Officials from the State Department are pleased with how effective the program seems to be for the time being, and plan on continuing the use of the text messaging relief program for months and possibly years to come.

Software Engineer Flies Plane into IRS in Violent Rampage

Andrew Joseph "Joe" Stack III flew a single-engine plane into an International Revenue Service (IRS) office building in Austin, Texas last week, killing himself and one other from blunt force and injuring two people. The building contained approximately 300 people at the time; IRS officials say they were lucky to have so few harmed, despite the tragic fatality of Vernon Hunter.

The violent attack by Stack came after he wrote a malicious and accusatory letter to the government (particularly the IRS) blaming it for his personal financial issues the morning of his attack. Also, prior to the plane crash, Stack torched his $230,000 Austin home, leaving it ablaze as he set off on the Piper Cherokee PA-28 plane.

Stack’s wife Sheryl and her daughter fled to a hotel the previous night because they were concerned about their own safety, believing that something might have "boiled in his brain." Friends of Stack claimed to have no knowledge of his rage, and his wife sent her dearest condolences to the families that were affected.