Criminology peers at Washington State say Kohberger spoke up in class — except when Idaho college killings were the topic
BOISE, Idaho — Graduate school peers of Bryan Kohberger recall him as actively engaged in their Washington State University criminal justice and criminology program — someone who sought connections while also sharing little about his past in his first semester as a doctoral student.
Kohberger — the man charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the killing of four University of Idaho students — presented a social aptitude with colleagues, making casual conversation between classes, two master’s students who shared several first-year courses with him told The Idaho Statesman.
That lined up with Kohberger’s demeanor at the program’s orientation last fall, when he was one of the first people to introduce himself to others in their group of 13 incoming students, one of his classmates said.
“He seemed gregarious and outgoing, that was really the only impression that I got,” Ben Roberts, a criminal justice graduate student, said in a phone interview with the Statesman. “He was making the rounds. He definitely seemed a little more eager than some of the others that were present to go around and introduce himself.”
—The Idaho Statesman
More than 7,000 NYC nurses strike at Mount Sinai, Montefiore hospitals after labor negotiations crumble
NEW YORK — Thousands of nurses walked off the job early Monday at two major New York City hospitals after contract talks disintegrated overnight, leaving Mount Sinai in Manhattan and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx struggling to care for patients.
In parallel chaotic scenes across two boroughs, striking nurses began picketing in the early morning hours as both hospitals were left without a total of more than 7,000 unionized nurses seeking better working conditions and higher pay.
“I’m here because we’re tired. We are tired,” said Louise Louanga, who walked a picket line at Mount Sinai where she’s worked as a nurse since 1991. “Every day we are short.”
The strike comes after years of nurses sounding the alarm about staffing shortages and poor working conditions at several city hospitals, and two weeks after union nurses delivered 10-day strike notices to eight hospitals throughout the five boroughs.
—New York Daily News
Humpback whale that washed up on the Atlantic City beach had a large head injury; groups call for wind turbine inquiry
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A young humpback whale that washed up on an Atlantic City beach on Saturday had evidence of a head injury, a large hematoma located just behind the blow hole, an official from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said Monday.
“The only thing we suspect may have happened is that it was hit by a large boat,” said Sheila Dean, executive director of the Brigantine-based center. “There was a big hematoma.”
With environmental and citizens groups calling for a federal investigation into whether sonar mapping related to future wind turbine projects off the coast may have played a role in four recent humpback whale deaths in New Jersey, Dean said it was premature to conclude about a cause of death.
Others noted that the National Marine Fishery Service has designated an unusual mortality event for humpback whales based on an increase in mortality that began in 2016, before any wind energy activity. Dean said samples from the whale were being tested “to see what else might be going on.” She said the whale was partially decomposed, which might affect how much could be determined.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
At least 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia
GENEVA — A severe earthquake in Indonesia caused tremors over hundreds of kilometers on Monday evening.
The U.S. earthquake observatory USGS reported the magnitude at 7.6 while the Indonesian agency BMKG estimated the magnitude at 7.9.
Residents in the northern Australian city of Darwin some 600 kilometers (372 miles) to the south felt the effects as well, the Australian website news.com.au reported. Some spoke on social media of the worst tremors in decades.
The quake reportedly lasted two minutes, and occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Indonesia. Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning, but there were no reports of their fears materializing.
—dpa
