Gunman shoots 17 people at Northern Illinois University

THE death toll from a shooting at a US university today is now six, with four of the victims being female, the university president has said.

Dr John Peters spoke to reporters at the scene of the Valentine's Day massacre at Northern Illinois University's DeKalb campus outside Chicago.

He said four people, including the gunman, died at the scene, and two died later at the hospital.

Another 16 people were injured.

The gunman, who was described as a white male about 6ft (180 cm) tall, used a shotgun and two handguns, Police Chief Donald Grady told CNN.

Packed classroom

One student told local radio that roughly 100 students were in the classroom when the man stood up and opened fire.

Other witnesses said bloodied victims were hit by buckshot.

The 25,000-student campus, which is 100km west of Chicago, was shut down and classes cancelled, the university said on its website.

Gunman stood on stage

"He was aiming towards the crowd but I don't think he was aiming at a specific person," a witness named Sheila told WBBM radio.

"He was quiet. He just stood on the stage in front of everybody and just started shooting.

"I saw him holding the gun and it was huge. I thought it was fake and then I realised he was really shooting at people and I got down.

"I saw a lot of blood. I have blood all over my clothes."

Mass panic

A student told of the panic as people tried to flee.

Jillian Martinez told the Chicago Tribune she was sitting in the back of the class when the gunman suddenly “appeared” and began shooting.

“There's this door in the lecture hall nobody ever goes through,” she said.

“I remember seeing it open, and thought it was weird that somebody had opened the door.

“All of a sudden, there was someone standing there.”

She said the man then began his rampage.

"All I saw was the flash of shooting.

"He pulled out his gun, he just started shooting at all the kids. He just started shooting at people, and I ran out of there as fast as I could."

The shooting came 10 months after 32 students and faculty were shot down by a mentally disturbed student at Virginia Tech University in the deadliest massacre ever at a US school.

Northern Illinois University, chartered in 1895, is a teaching and research institution with nearly 1300 teachers. It has 862 international students from 88 nations.

With Reuters and AFP
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23217812-401,00.html

Emergency days added to school year

ST. ANN — The Pattonville School Board has approved a 2008-09 school calendar with six more emergency days. District officials said the state is requiring all school districts to add the days to the end of the school calendar.

The district will have to change the last day of school based on how many of the six days are used; Pattonville has a 177-day school year, but the calendar tentatively shows it at 183.

The first day of school will be Aug. 14 and the last day is set for June 4. But it could be as early as May 28, depending on how many emergency closings occur.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/9E9645192E371ACA862573DF001697C0?OpenDocument

Microsoft Makes Unexpected $44.6B Offer for Internet Icon Yahoo

Microsoft Offers $44.6B for Yahoo

Friday February 1, 9:14 am ET
By Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer

Microsoft Makes Unexpected $44.6B Offer for Internet Icon Yahoo
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.'s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets.

The surprise offer of $31 per share, made late Thursday and announced Friday, comes with Sunnyvale-based Yahoo in a vulnerable position.

In a statement Friday, Yahoo said it will "carefully and promptly" study Microsoft's bid.

With its profits steadily sliding, Yahoo's stock slipped to a four-year low earlier this week and a new management team has been trying to steer a turnaround but sees more turbulence through 2008.

The announcement sent Yahoo's share price up 60 percent in premarket trading, while Google fell 8 percent, weighted down by a fourth-quarter earnings report that missed Wall Street expectations.

In a letter to Yahoo's board of directors, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer indicated the world's largest software maker is determined to bring the two companies together.

To underscore its resolve, Microsoft is offering a 62 percent premium to Yahoo's closing stock price Thursday.

Since reaching a 52-week high of $34.08 in October, Yahoo shares have fallen 46 percent. Yahoo climbed $10.40 a share, or 54 percent, to $29.58 in premarket trading. Microsoft shares fell $1.40, or 4.3 percent, to $31.20.

Ballmer revealed in the letter that Yahoo had rebuffed a previous overture a year ago, saying it had a turnaround in the works. But he pointedly noted Yahoo has instead deteriorated significantly.

"A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved," Ballmer added.

Microsoft's previous offer was rebuffed by Terry Semel, who stepped aside last year as chief executive under shareholder pressure.

Microsoft sent its latest takeover offer to Yahoo late Thursday, shortly after Semel resigned as the company's chairman. The letter is addressed to Semel's successors, new Chairman Roy Bostock and the current CEO, co-founder Jerry Yang, who is one of Yahoo's largest shareholders.

"Microsoft's consistent belief has been that the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! clearly represents the best way to deliver maximum value to our respective shareholders, as well as create a more efficient and competitive company that would provide greater value and service to our customers," Ballmer wrote.

In a prepared statement, Yahoo said its board "will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo's strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders."

Under terms of the proposed deal, Yahoo shareholders could choose to receive cash or Microsoft common shares, with the total purchase consisting of 50 percent cash and 50 percent stock.

Microsoft said it sees at least $1 billion in cost savings generated by the combination, and intends to offer significant retention packages to Yahoo engineers, key leaders and employees. The software giant said it believes the takeover would receive regulatory clearance and close in the second half of 2008.

Signaling Microsoft doesn't intend to take no for an answer, Ballmer wrote that the company "reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo's shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal."

Google shares fell $46.55, or 8.3 percent, to $517.95 in premarket trading after the Mountain View-based company reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates.

While Yahoo is struggling, Microsoft is thriving. The Redmond, Wash.-based company last week forecast a rosy 2008 -- despite broader economic worries -- after it blew by Wall Street's expectations for a second consecutive quarter.

AP Business Writer Jennifer Malloy in New York contributed to this story

source : http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080201/microsoft_yahoo.html