Vox Sentences: There have already been 2 school shootings in the US this week

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A Kentucky high school reels after a fatal shooting Tuesday; a volcano erupts near a Japanese ski resort.

A Kentucky high school is the site of the latest mass shooting

Stephen Lance Dennee/Associated Press

• At least two people were killed and 17 others were injured in a Monday shooting at a high school in Kentucky, officials said. [Vox / German Lopez]
• The suspect is a 15-year-old male student who was arrested by a Marshall County sheriff’s deputy and is currently in police custody. [Courier Journal / Thomas Novelly]
• The Kentucky shooter hasn’t been named, but he will be charged with murder and attempted murder, officials said. [CNN / Holly Yan, AnneClaire Stapleton, and Paul Murphy]
• Both of the victims who died were also 15-year-old students, a boy and a girl. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said officials were trying to determine if other victims who sustained gunshot wounds were also students, as is believed to be the case. [NPR / Colin Dwyer]
• A motive hasn’t been determined, but officials have said it didn’t appear the shooter was targeting individuals. [Courier Journal / Thomas Novelly]
• It’s not the only school shooting this week; on Monday, a 15-year-old girl in Italy, Texas, was shot by a 16-year-old male classmate. [NYT / Daniel Victor]
• It’s yet another mass shooting, in a country that has had more than 1,500 since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. The US has six times as many gun homicides as Canada and nearly 16 times as many as Germany. US citizens also own almost half of the world’s civilian-owned guns. [Vox / German Lopez]

A volcano in Japan sets off a deadly avalanche

• The sudden eruption of Mount Kusasu-Shirante in central Japan triggered an avalanche and rained ash on the slopes of a nearby ski resort Tuesday, leaving a trail of chaos in its wake. [Japan Times]
• The eruption is responsible for the death of at least one person: a soldier who was training nearby. Several other soldiers were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries. Meanwhile, 10 people were hit by rocks at the ski resort, which injured five seriously. Five others were hurt by debris that smashed the windows of a gondola. [NYT / Austin Ramzy]
• Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and has 111 active volcanoes, as well as frequent earthquakes. The country’s Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert level from 1 to 3 after the most recent eruption, warning people not to come within a one-mile radius of the crater in the case of another eruption. [Washington Post / Anna Fifield]
• In other volcano news: In the Philippines, the country’s most active volcano, Mount Mayon, spewed lava and ash for a second day, forcing the evacuation of approximately 56,000 people. [NPR / Scott Neuman]

Miscellaneous

• Cryptocurrencies have been the focus of much angst. Now there’s a new group scrutinizing them: the IRS. [NYT / Richard Holden and Anup Malani]
• If the old adage “history has a way of repeating itself” is true, then you might want to keep your snow shovel handy. That’s because the last time the US government shut down and the Winter Olympics were held, it was when the 2013-’14 “polar vortex” was hitting the East Coast. [Washington Post / Ian Livingston]
• Miki Agrawal, the controversial “She-E-O” of the period panties company Thinx, is out after employee complaints, and Thinx workers are hoping this heralds a new era at the company. [Racked / Hilary George-Parkin]
• Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is pregnant. At 49, she will be the first senator to have a baby while serving. A notable achievement, given the chamber’s age limits and overwhelming male majority. [Chicago Sun-Times / Lynn Sweet]

Verbatim

“Left-limbed dogs ... are more pessimistic in their outlook than right-limbed dogs.” [Researchers at the Queen’s University School of Psychology explain the results of a study on pet “paw preference” / Atlas Obscura]

Watch this: The 32-year-old prince who’s shaking up Saudi Arabia

This young prince is transforming Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. [YouTube / Johnny Harris]

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