Shots have been fired at an elementary school in DeKalb County, Georgia, according to US media. Children and staff have been evacuated from the building.

There is an active shooter at McNair Elementary School in Decatur, Georiga, according to the DeKalb County school board chairman, WSB-TV reported.

Chairman Melvin Johnson said there have been reports of shots fired.

Have you seen this man?

Emin Bernd Alihodic was born on July 21, 1951 in Siegen, Germany and immigrated to the United States sometime in the late 1980s.

Emin Bernd Alihodic was born on July 21, 1951 in Siegen, Germany and immigrated to the United States sometime in the late 1980s. Alihodic left behind two children and an ex-wife. His son, Jens Alihodic Luschnt, 35, came to Palm Springs on Monday, Aug. 12 to search for his biological father with only a newspaper article describing how his dad was rescued twice off Mount San Jacinto on Feb. 9, 2009 and then again on May 13, 2010.

Jens, who speaks little or no English, was adopted by his step-father at the age of 10 and only knows a little about his biological father from stories his mother told him through the years.

“I’d like to know more about him. How’s he been living all these years,” the younger Alihodic said through a German/English interpreter.

said he started looking for his father about a year and a half ago after meeting the love of his life, Karin Huebers. He and Karin want to start their own family soon and through her urging, they traveled to Palm Springs to search for his biological father.

“I didn’t have the ambition before, but now I’m curious about my real dad. I’d like to at least meet him and talk a little. I’d ask him what he’s been doing for the past 30 years,” he said.

Jens said he found a second wife, Karen Schleich, living in San Francisco who also would like to reconnect with Emin and hopes the younger son finds success in the Coachella Valley. Jens and Karin went to the last known addresses searching and learned he was seen as recently as last March.

“So the good news is that he is still alive and still in the area somewhere,” he said. Jens and Karin only have two weeks to locate Emin and will be returning to Germany on Friday, Aug. 23. If Emin reads this story and would like to reconnect with his grown son, he should emailjensluschnat78@gmail.com.

There should be an immediate and significant change in the way participants in White House press conferences are chosen.

It’s time an unfortunate truth was faced:  the White House Press Corps has done a poor job of covering the current Chief Executive. On the other hand, a number of non-traditional news outlets have discussed how the Obama Administration has been unacceptably evasive and non responsive to legitimate, timely and important questions.

The latest is a Yahoo! News analysis.  It reports that Press Secretary Jay Carney has dodged questions over 9,000 times.  But even when not dealing with outright stonewalling, there is a noticeable lack of follow-up questions to Carney’s uninformative responses.

In the face of the Administration’s cavalier disregard for the vital role played by journalists in keeping the American people informed, the White House press corps has been as tame as house cats. Indeed, it was not until the truth came out that Associated Press reporters were being bugged that anything resembling a tough line of questioning was observable at what passes for press briefings.  Considering the seriousness of the charge, even the questions about that were quite tame.

What does get a rise out of these elite news folks?  Mother Jones  discussed how angry they became when they were kept away from the President’s golf game with Tiger Woods.

The criticism from alternative news media has become withering.  Politico notes that the President has become “a master at limiting, shaping, and manipulating media coverage…”  Townhall  notes that the President has made “glaringly misleading or false claims” without serious challenge by the White House Press Corps. Slate openly asks, “Who needs the White House Press Corps?”  Laura Ingraham directly blames a flaccid White House Press Corps for failing to follow up on the White House’s blatantly false statements about the events surrounding the murder of America’s ambassador to Libya. And The Week  poses the key question, “Is it time to disband the White House Press Corps?

Even those few White House correspondents inclined to be objective-and even rarer, opposed-to the President’s policies appear to be more protective of their privileged status than in pursuing hard questions of an Administration mired in foreign and domestic policy missteps virtually since the first day of its first term.  Incidents such as the refusal to prosecute voter intimidation, the fast and furious issue, the assault on Tea Party groups, the Benghazi cover-up, the inability to assist the nation in recovering from the Great Recession, the failed reset with Russia, and a number of other problems that would have prompted aggressive questioning of prior Administrations by the White House Press Corps have not been pursued diligently.

There is a way to deal with this diminished professionalism.  It’s time that the current system of responding mainly to the representatives of elite news media was tossed, and a more representative and modern procedure enacted in its placed.  The system of giving priority to Washington-based journalists is archaic in an era of jet travel and instant media. It also fosters an incestuous, “inside the beltway” mentality where no one really wants to rock the boat for folks they may depend on for access, or may socialize with at the next fashionable cocktail party.  It should not pass without notice that Jay Carney is married to Claire Shipman, a senior correspondent for ABC.

Allowing reporters from both regional traditional media-for example, newspapers other than the Washington Post or the New York Times, and those from what has now become the more courageous and ubiquitous news provider, internet news sources, to play a much larger roll would be a great start. Allowing the same handful of reporters from the same handful of outlets to monopolize press briefings has not served the public well.

By ROBIN RICHARDS, News West — Rick Daniels, city manager at Desert Hot Springs, Calif., is to become city manager in Needles, subject to final contract provisions to be brought before Needles City Council in August.

Council met with Daniels in executive session before the July 23 regular meeting; he remained for the regular session of the council up until the announcement was made.

Council Member Linda Kidd reported the city received 11 applications in response to announcements that it was seeking a manager. Of those, three were interviewed; Daniels was the top pick.

Daniels’ extensive resume may be viewed at http://rickdanielscitymanager.com/. Experience includes economic development as President/CEO of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership where he assisted in recertification of a Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone; water issues with the Salton Sea; community improvement and code enforcement; and involvement with a multi-species habitat conservation plan.

With a 1974 Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon he worked with a variety of city government departments in Portland, served as Director of Community Development in Gresham, became Director of Land Use and Transportation in Washington County and served as vice president and general manager of Oregon Waste Systems Inc. and Washington Waste Systems, Inc. He has served the community of Desert Hot Springs since 2007.

Honorable Yvonne Parks, Mayor,

This letter is to notify you that I will be leaving the City in early September to pursue other opportunities in either the private of public sector. I have been fortunate, honored, and humbled to have served the good and decent people of Desert Hot Springs and their City Council. I will work with you to assure a smooth transition.

Over the last 6 years much has been accomplished in Desert Hot Springs under your Council’s leadership; Street and Parks Improvements, Downtown Renovation, Graffiti Removal, Community Health and Wellness Center, Local Business Prosperity, New Business Recruitment, Workforce Development and the soon to be completed Borrego Family Health Clinic. Equally important is that the public is safer today because of the major improvements to the City Police Department and their proactive approach to community policing and crime fighting since “Operation Falling Sun”.

In public service one only hopes that as one departs, the community is better off and progress towards their community vision has been initiated. Under your Council’s leadership and the administrative support that the management team has provided, that progress is evident. Desert Hot Springs’ brightest days are ahead of it as it moves closer to the “Shining City on the Hill” to which your leadership has been aiming.

Joyce and I have made many friends in the community that will last a lifetime. It is with  mixed emotions that I move on with my career. Thank you for the opportunity to have served as your City Manager.

Respectfully and optimistically,

Rick Daniels