20 Years ago, another Kentucky school was attacked. Locals have never forgotten

For longtime residents in western Kentucky, Tuesday's shooting at a local high school brought back painful reminders of another deadly attack two decades ago.

On December 1, 1997, an armed teenager walked into Heath High School in West Paducah and shot his schoolmates, who had just finished a prayer session. Three girls were killed.

Christina Hadley Ellegood was stunned when she heard about the latest shooting. She lost her sister Nicole in the earlier attack.

"I thought this can't be true," Ellegood told CNN affiliate WPSD. "How in our world, can our small community be going through this? How can it be so close to home? I'm honestly still in shock."

On Tuesday, an armed teenager started shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, about 30 miles southeast of West Paducah, killing two students and injuring 18 others, police said.

Authorities identified the slain students as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15.

A 15-year-old student was arrested at the scene, and he will be charged with murder and attempted murder, Gov. Matt Bevin said. It's likely the suspect will be charged as an adult, but his name won't be released unless he's indicted, Marshall County Attorney Jeff Edwards said.

Authorities have not provided a possible motive.

Pouring out of the school, some panic-stricken students sought shelter at a nearby auto body shop.

Jeff DeFew, whose family owns the shop, said he was still processing what happened hours later.

"We're going to have to figure out something to keep our kids safe," he said, recalling the West Paducah shooting.

"That was when this school shooting stuff started to happen. That was even before Columbine," he said.

That gunman, Michael Carneal, was a 14-year-old freshman when he carried out the attack. He later pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, and agreed to accept a life sentence in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Last month, Ellegood and other families of the Heath High School victims marked the 20th anniversary of the tragedy and honored the three victims -- her sister Nicole Hadley, 14, Jessica James, 17, and Kayce Steger, 15 -- with a new memorial.

"We just had the 20-year anniversary. Here we are going through this. We never wanted anyone else in our community to go through something like this," Ellegood told WPSD.

Ellegood offered her family and the community's support to those affected by the latest school shooting.

"We're here for you," she said. "Let us know what we can do to help. We understand what you're going through in a way that no one else does."

CNN's Nick Valenica, Holly Yan, AnneClaire Stapleton and Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.

Makar Sankranti 2018: History, Importance and Significance

Makar Sankranti 2018: Makar Sankranti is the festival of kites, sweets made of sesame and the arrival of spring. After months of gruelling winter, Makar Sankranti marks the day when Sun transmigrates from its zodiac and moves northwards from Tropic of Cancer to the tropic of Capricorn. Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival in India, it is called by many names across the country. Its called Thai Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Maghi in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and Bhogali Bihu in Assam. This year the festival will be celebrated on January 14.

People fly kites in the mornings and take a dip in holy rivers like Ganga and Yamuna. It is a ritual which is believed to wash away sins. In Gujarat people start manufacturing kites in large numbers a month before Sankranti. Melas are a must during Makar Sankranti and the most famous one being the Kumbh Mela. Though Kumbh Mela is held in many places occasionally but it supposed to be held every 12 years in Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain and Nashik. It is called the Magha Mela or mini-Kumbh Mela in Prayag), Makara Mela in Odisha and Tusu Mela in parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The festival is dedicated to the Sun God and is a marker for new beginnings. As the sun takes a new journey and when winter begins to turn towards summer according to Hindu Calendar. In Hindu epics it is called the Uttaarayan. In Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah waited for the sun to be in Uttarayan for him to die peacefully.

On Makar Sankranti, people traditionally share and eat sweets and laddoos made of sesame (til) and jaggery (gur) that helps in keeping our body warm during the still chilly weather. Another custom is kite flying, which is both fun and beneficial for health, as it allows us to stay in the sun. Kite flying also has symbolic meaning in Indian culture. It is also said that the higher your kite goes, the higher you will rise in life. Adding to the fun factor is the kite flying competitions. This is all about cutting other people’s kite strings while saving your own kite and making sure it soars high in the sky.

When is the next full moon? How to see the January supermoons

 

 2017 might have been a terrible year for some, but for astronomy lovers it was great, with a total solar eclipse and plenty of cosmic goings-on. It looks like in 2018 the skies will be just as busy, kicking off with a supermoon on the first day of the year.

These massive-looking full moons are truly beautiful, and capturing one on camera is the end goal for many a sky-watcher. We’ve been treated to three supermoons in a row, with the first one being at the start of December. However, you can still catch the next two.

What is a supermoon? A supermoon is a full moon that appears to be much bigger than usual. This is because the moon orbits the earth in a an oval shape rather than a circle, making it closer to the earth at some points. Every 29.5 days when it reaches the closes point to the earth this is known as a perigee. Now and again, this perigee will also fall at the same time as a full moon. There are no effects of a supermoon but it looks mesmerising in the sky, appearing around 14% bigger and 30% brighter than your average full moon. Depending on where it is on the horizon it can look even larger, in a trick of the eyes called ‘the moon illusion’.

When are January’s supermoons? We have two supermoons this month, with the first falling on New Year’s Day – this is nicknamed the wolf moon. Then, on January 31st, the so-called blue moon will arrive, which is also a supermoon.

What’s the best way to see a supermoon? You don’t even have to stay up late to view it as the best time to watch a supermoon is just after moonrise when it’s rising up off the horizon. If you’d like to know what time that is for you, check out this moonrise calculator. If it’s still way too chilly for you to even think about venturing outside, Slooh are livestreaming the supermoon too. Technology is wonderful sometimes. Don’t worry, either, as unlike the solar eclipse, you won’t need any special glasses or equipment to look straight at it.