MEMORIES OF ROBERT BUTTERWORTH

Robert Butterworth, a psychologist, was just on MSNBC, spouting his learned opinion of Tom Cruise. The set-up is uninspired -- psychologist talking about an actor who thinks psychology is bunk -- but it sparked a stray cog in our head.

A lifetime ago -- December 1990 -- we traveled to New Madrid for a week to cover the Earthquake That Wasn't. A man predicted an earthquake would hit southeast Missouri in the first week of December. We journeyed along the fault line, stopping in places like Black Oak, Ark.; Future City, Ill,; Fort Pillow, Tenn.; and Monkey's Eyebrow, a tiny place in Kentucky.

But New Madrid was home base for our adventure. Butterworth was there, too. Reporters called him a media whore, brought to the Bootheel by dozens of live shots. He said he was there because the people needed his advice, his education, his understanding of the human condition.

Butterworth talked to kids. We remember he used a rubber duck as a prop. He kept advising people that being afraid was all right.

We were in a bar one night, just before the earthquake didn't hit. Butterworth was there, too. For a couple hours a small group of reporters listened as Butterworth railed against the locals, who were partying hard in anticipation of the temblor. Butterworth didn't get their attitude. Didn't they understand that they should be afraid?

The next morning Butterworth left Missouri, probably still perplexed by the Bootheelians, who were eating gumbo and drinking beer. Reality can be rude.

OKLAHOMA BOMB WAS 'REMOTE-CONTROLLED' DEVICE

A Colorado television station, KKTV, is airing the report about Joel Hinrichs III, the guy who blew up outside the football stadium on the University of Oklahoma campus. More than 80,000 people were second-quarter action when Hinrichs went kaboom while sitting on a bench, about 100 yards from the stadium gates.

The bomb was powerful and reportedly made of triacetone triperoxide, TATP. Eyewitnesses say Hinrichs' legs were left behind, and not much else.

KKTV reports that the bomb was strapped to Hinrichs' back. Other media outlets have reported that Hinrichs was denied entry to the football game because he wouldn't let security check his backpack. Oklahoma University President David Boren insists the death was a suicide, nothing more; within a day, Boren said Hinrichs had emotional problems.

It didn't take long for police to release a photo of Hinrichs. This could be because police already had Hinrichs on their radar. On Thursday -- two days before the bombing -- an off-duty police noticed Hinrichs in a feed store. The National Merit Scholar was asking a store employee about various fertilizers, and how much ammonium nitrate each brand contained.

The employee refused to sell Hinrichs any fertilizer. The cop wandered outside, took down Hinrichs' license plate number and wrote up a report. Two nights later, Hinrichs was dead.

The stray pieces don't seem to mesh. Somewhere just beyond current comprehension, there must be sense.

DOBSON 'MAY BE DEAD WRONG' ABOUT MIERS

Words from the man's own mouth. In President Bush loses the support of ultra-radical James Dobson, then Harriet Miers is dead in the water.

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Dobson, founder of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, is one of the most prominent religious conservatives to back Miers, citing his trust in President Bush and a confidential briefing he received about her from the White House.

But in his regular radio broadcast, Dobson prayed he was not making a mistake.

"Lord, you know I don't have the wisdom to make this decision," Dobson said. "You know that what I feel now and what I think is right may be dead wrong."

He added that he worried that his position "could do something to hurt the cause of Christ, and I'd rather sacrifice my life than do that."

Well, if the man insists on such a sacrifice, who are we to convince him otherwise?

Dobson confirmed that soon-to-be-indicted White House aide Karl Rove gave him a "special briefing" on the Miers nomination. One might assume that Rove has more important things to do right now.

WAR ON TERROR COSTS US ABOUT $233 MILLION -- A DAY

This, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. The report claims the bill for the so-called "war on terror" could top $500 billion by the end of the decade -- if there's a drawdown of troops.

According to the report, almost $6 billion a month is going to fund the war in Iraq.

Read more about it here.

FOCK OFF, LORRIE HEASLEY

The Washington woman was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for wearing, as The Associated Press reports, "a T-shirt that bore an expletive and images of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice."

The shirt was a riff on "Meet The Fockers," the annoying movie that reduced Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman (not to mention Robert DeNiro) into pitiful caricatures of their once-great acting selves.

Heasley was asked to cover the shirt, but she says the sweatshirt slipped while she was napping. Southwest Airlines then ordered her to turn it inside-out, or make other travel arrangements.

Heasley, 32, said passengers complained. She told a newspaper in Reno: "I have cousins in Iraq and other relatives going to war. Here we are trying to free another country and I have to get off an airplane ... over a T-shirt. That's not freedom."

God, where to start?

A) Lorrie Heasley is the sort of person who gives all liberals a bad name. We agree wholeheartedly with her sentiment. We just think the shirt is ridiculous and juvenile.

2) She claims her "freedom" was taken away. Why does she think the word "f--ker" on a T-shirt is freedom?

C) Heasley might want to think of the phrase "bad taste" before putting on another shirt. Kids take airplane flights.

It's not just Heasley. We're sick of seeing bumper stickers with profanity. Sick of seeing those back-window stickers of the kid urinating on a rival auto logo. Sick of singers who use the word "f--k" in a song meant to be played to 10-year-old girls.

Sick of people like Lorrie Heasley. Is that the best political dialogue she has to offer?

KARL ROVE CLOSE TO PERP WALK

President Bush's closest political pal is in hot water, close to a boil. He's offered to testify -- for a fourth time -- before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA agent's name.

The White House first denied Rove had anything to do with the leak -- specifically denied it. Now we all know better, and even if Rove did not know Valerie Plame had been an undercover operative, he's left with the slimy fact that he helped leak her name to discredit her husband.

God, does the Mafia stoop this low? Last we heard, they'd whack a guy but leave his wife alone. Honor, you know.

The Associated Press reports the beginning of the end of Rove:

Federal prosecutors have accepted an offer from presidential adviser Karl Rove to give 11th-hour testimony in the case of a CIA officer's leaked identity but have warned they cannot guarantee he won't be indicted, according to people directly familiar with the investigation.

The persons, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, said Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has not made any decision yet on whether to file criminal charges against the longtime confidant of President Bush or others.

The U.S. attorney's manual requires prosecutors not to bring witnesses before a grand jury if there is a possibility of future criminal charges unless they are notified in advance that their grand jury testimony can be used against them in a later indictment.

Rove has already made at least three grand jury appearances and his return at this late stage in the investigation is unusual.

The prosecutor did not give Rove similar warnings before his earlier grand jury appearances.

Now, how to spin the inevitable resignation? "To devote every waking hour to prove his innocence?" "To spend more time with family?" Or, how about the truth: Karl Rove is dirty, and such an alleged man shouldn't be allowed in the White House.

DID OKLAHOMA BOMBER HAVE HELP?

Don the tin-foil hat, Stimpy, and delve into the murky world of scary weirdness. Did Joel Hinrichs III try to get into the football stadium in Norman on Saturday night? Did he have help building the bomb? Where did the explosives in his apartment originate?

What the hell is going on?

According to Channel 9 in Oklahoma City, Hinrichs -- a non-sports sorta guy -- tried to enter the stadium, only to be turned away because he had a backpack and wouldn't let it be searched.

The FBI is playing cool, saying there's "no known link" between Hinrichs and terrorist groups -- at this time. Leaves plenty of wiggle room down the road.

If Joel Hinrichs had tried to enter a football stadium in a bigger media market, would the explosion have been any louder?

PETE FOUNTAIN ALIVE

An update on our riff from Sept. 3, when the musician's sister worried aloud to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Brother Smitty called to alert us that NBC has the good news. Rejoice.

AP: DELAY 'DIVERTED' MONEY TO ROY BLUNT

The Associated Press kicked this story out on Wednesday. The lede sounds dangerous to Blunt, but a close reading shows the money shuffling was probably legal. Sleazy and oozy, like a scab on a pimp, but technically legal. Probably.

It begins:

Tom DeLay deliberately raised more money than he needed to throw parties at the 2000 presidential convention, then diverted some of the excess to longtime ally Roy Blunt through a series of donations that benefited both men's causes.

When the financial carousel stopped, DeLay's private charity, the consulting firm that employed DeLay's wife and the Missouri campaign of Blunt's son all ended up with money, according to campaign documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Then there's this especially ballsy part:

Blunt and DeLay planned all along to raise more money than was needed for the convention parties and then route some of that to other causes, such as supporting state candidates, said longtime Blunt aide Gregg Hartley.

"We put together a budget for what we thought we would raise and spend on the convention and whatever was left over we were going to use to support candidates," said Hartley, Blunt's former chief of staff who answered AP's questions on behalf of Blunt.

Hartley said he saw no similarity to the Texas case. The fact that DeLay's charity, Christine DeLay's consulting firm and Blunt's son were beneficiaries was a coincidence, Hartley said.

Nothing but an M thing -- money from a DeLay organization flowing to a Blunt non-federal PAC, then out to Missouri Republicans. Democrats have done much the same -- recall the 2004 orgy of spending by 527 groups, most of it by Democrats -- and if existing laws allowed Blunt and DeLay to do this, the story won't grow.

But Roy Blunt and Tom DeLay are starting to sound a lot like Al Gore and his "no controlling legal authority" refrain when asked about monks and shady fundraising. Mainstream Republicans criticized the practice then, and rightly so. Where are they now that DeLay and Blunt are proving equally worthy of criticism?

SO, WHO'S THE FATHER?

Katie Holmes, the actress formerly famous for her vow to remain a virgin until she married, is pregnant, according to People magazine.

Holmes has been dating Tom Cruise since before "War of the Worlds" was released. The movie is scheduled for DVD release on
Nov. 22.

ROOMIE OF OKLAHOMA BOMBER ARRESTED

Joel Hinrichs III's roommate is Fazal Cheema, a finance major from Pakistan. He was led away in handcuffs on Saturday night, after Hinrichs detonated a bomb outside the football stadium in Norman.

The Associated Press reports:

Cheema shared a university-owned apartment with Hinrichs, 21, who died Saturday when a device attached to his body exploded as he sat on a bench outside George Lynn Cross Hall.

Cheema and three other Muslim students were led in handcuffs from a party by police after the blast, Ashraf Hussein, president of the Muslim Student Association, said Tuesday. They later were released.

Cheema is "a really, really nice guy," Hussein said.

OU President David Boren said authorities continue to believe that Hinrichs did not try to get into the stadium and that he acted alone. He said Hinrichs' roommate, along with his acquaintances, were questioned by federal authorities.

If Boren is so sure this is an isolated suicide by bomb, then why is the FBI the lead agency in the investigation? Could it have anything to do with media reports that Hinrichs was trying to get into the stadium, and was turned away from the gates because he wouldn't let them search his backpack?

This story reeks. Perhaps authorities are uneasy with alerting the public about Hinrichs' real motivations, which remain unknown.

HEY, STRANGER

Sorry for the paucity of posts the past couple days. It's deadline time for production of a program book for the Missouri State University Ice Bears, the hockey team for the newly renamed school.

Differemt breed of Bear, indeed. We'll be back to a somewhat regular scheduled by Thursday, if not later on Wednesday.

Stay tuned, recheck, all that. And might we suggest a free e-mail feed of CHATTER, sent daily to your in box? It's as simple as entering your e-dress in the box to the right. No purchase necessary, no one will call or come to your door, and we won't sell the e-mail list to the military for recruiting purposes.

WELL, THIS ISN'T VERY COMFORTING

Hurricane Katrina could have been worse. Much worse. Weather researchers say the hurricane probably made landfall as a Category 3 -- and hit New Orleans as a picayune Category 1.

From the Chicago Tribune:

New information compiled by hurricane researchers suggests the system struck southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29 with peak-sustained winds of 115 miles per hour. That would have made it a Category 3 storm, still a major hurricane but a step down from the enormous destructive force of a Category 4.

Katrina might have further downgraded to a strong Category 1 system, with 95 m.p.h. winds, when it punched water through New Orleans' levees, severely flooding most of the city and killing nearly 1,000 people. The levees were designed to withstand a Category 3 storm.

If verified, the information, compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division, could have chilling ramifications.

Notably, it would mean that if a Category 4 or a Category 5 hurricane were to hit the same region it would be even more catastrophic.

This is what cold comfort means.

LONGWANG KILLS 50 SOLDIERS

We told you Longwang would be a killer. Now it's confirmed. From The Associated Press:

Raging floodwaters spawned by a typhoon along China's coast swept away 59 soldiers and washed away two buildings at a military training school, state media reported Tuesday.

At least 15 people were killed after the typhoon slammed into China's southeast coast late Sunday night, the provincial emergency operations said. At its height, the storm had winds of 74 mph, but it was downgraded Monday afternoon to a tropical storm.

The typhoon also killed at least one person on Taiwan.

The 59 soldiers, members of the China's paramilitary armed police in charge of domestic security, were in a training school barracks in Fujian province when the violent floods hit Monday night, state media said. Two buildings at the school were washed away, the reports said.

That was one strong Longwang.

NIPSEY RUSSELL DEAD

We remember the comedian from his many appearances on "The Tonight Show." He was also a mainstay on "Match Game," according to IMDB.

Russell was 80 when he died. From The Associated Press:

The actor, who had been suffering from cancer, died Sunday afternoon at Lenox Hill Hospital, said his longtime manager Joseph Rapp.

Born in Atlanta, Russell launched his television career as Officer Anderson in the 1961 television series "Car 54, Where are You?" He also appeared in the 1994 film version.

He became a fixture on popular television game and talk shows, where he was welcomed for his poetic delivery that earned him the moniker the "poet laureate of television." He also took his signature four-line poetry on the road for readings and performances.

Russell also appeared in the films "Nemo" in 1984, "Wildcats" in 1986 and "Posse" in 1993.

He settled in New York after graduating from the University of Cincinnati and serving as an Army captain in Europe during World War II, Rapp said.

Russell never married. "He always said, 'I have trouble living with myself, how could I live with anyone else,'" Rapp said. "But he was a wonderful guy, very quiet, never bragged."

And he killed on "Hollywood Squares." RIP.

TURNER: NEWSPAPERS NEED STRONG COLUMNISTS

Randy Turner, author of The Turner Report, has posted a thoughtful read on the lack of a strong columnist at the Joplin Globe. Writes Turner:

The newspaper needs to find columnists who can provide a strong local connection. Find somebody who can write authoritatively about Joplin sports, whether it be a man or a woman. Find somebody who can write everyday or at least two or three times a week, about stories that concern the Joplin area. Signature columnists build a strong local identity for a newspaper and build readership.

Amen to those thoughts, with a note that the Springfield News-Leader needs a columnist boost, too.

Mike O'Brien and Sarah Overstreet -- great writers, both -- ought to take a break and recharge. Linda Leicht is soft, so soft. And Brian Lewis wastes perfectly good Sunday space. Out of all of 'em, Michael Brothers is the only vibrant local voice in the pages of the News-Leader.

MIERS NOMINATION BACKFIRES ON BUSH

Monday's announcement -- that White House counsel Harriett Miers is the new nominee for the Supreme Court -- drew surprise and pleasant throat noises from Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Nevada.

But Republicans are on the warpath, saying Bush betrayed them by picking a woman to appease the politically correct crowd. Sen. Orrin Hatch said in a TV interview, "I hope she's a Republican."

And the Free Republic posters are positively apoplectic. Check out this thread, where one Freeper calls the Miers pick an "abomination of a nomination." And that's among the kinder things being typed.

There's a longer thread here, picking apart her biography and noting her lack of a spouse (she often shows up at work at 4:30 a.m. and leaves after 10 p.m.).

Bill Kristol, the neo-con leader, ripped the nomination during an interview on Fox, saying no one could make the case that Miers is the best person -- or even the best woman -- for the job.

She has one undisputed skills set: her loyalty to George W. Bush. That's very worrisome.

HAPPY O.J. ANNIVERSARY

Ten years ago Monday, a California jury acquitted O.J. Simpson of murdering his ex-wife and a friend.

Ten years. What have you done in that time?

FBI TAKES OVER OKLAHOMA BOMBING CASE

Joel Hinrichs' suicide by bomb is in a news squeeze. Bush picks a new justice; tour-boat tragedy in New York; DeLay is indicted. Compared to all that, Hinrichs is nothing.

But several someones in the federal government have an interest in what seems to be the first suicide-by-bomb on a U.S. college campus. According to the Oklahoma Daily:

Because of the nature of the incident, the OU Department of Public Safety turned the case over to the FBI at 5 a.m. Sunday so that it could investigate the circumstances surrounding Hinrichs’ death. The FBI then began searching Hinrichs’ apartment at Parkview Apartments, 606 Stinson Drive.

Hinrichs was sitting on a bench outside George Lynn Cross Hall during the second quarter of the football game Saturday night when the bomb detonated.

Around 7:30 p.m. Saturday night, there was a loud explosion outside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium that was heard as far as five miles away.

A big boom for someone intent on only taking himself down.

BUSH PICKS ANOTHER CRONY

Harriet Miers is White House counsel. She used to be George W. Bush's personal lawyer in Texas. He called her a "pit bull in size 6 shoes," according to ABC News.

How would we know she's a pit bull? She's never been a judge and has no paper trail. The pick is political, not judicial. It's Mike Brown in size 6 shoes.

OKLAHOMA BOMBER IDENTIFIED

Joel Henry Hinrichs III is -- was -- his name. He was 21 and an OU engineering student.

According to the Oklahoma Daily, Hinrichs was a "suicide bomber" who blew up outside the football stadium in Norman on Saturday night, during the second quarter of the OU-Kansas State game.

The apartment complex where Hinrichs lived was evacuated Sunday morning; the OU public safety department said there could be car explosives in the parking lot. Then again, maybe not. Early reports are often wrong, including last night's belief that Hinrichs had a second bomb. He did not, according to OU president David Boren.

There was a second explosion, but it was "the bomb squad making sure there was no second device in the area," according to the Oklahoma Daily. We don't know what that means, but we do know someone named Scooby Axson is helping report the story.

LOCAL MAN TALKS FROM RECTUM

Brandon Peterson of Fair Grove uncorks a corker of a letter to the editor in Sunday's Springfield News-Leader (#1 in Family Living Coverage).

In his missive, "Protestors aren't helping troops," Mr. Peterson uses artful nonsense to try to make a point. Here, let's deconstruct for the kids:

I attended the pro-American rally Sept. 17 on Sunshine Street as a counter rally to the Peace Networks of the Ozarks' anti-war rally.

While there, I talked with some of the anti-war people. After reading their signs and visiting with them, I just don't understand how they can claim that they are supporting the troops. I have served my country for over eight years as active duty Army, and now as a member of the Missouri National Guard. I deployed with both.

While I can't speak for everyone in the military, everyone that I have spoken with feels nothing but disdain for these people. I realize that while some of the anti-war protesters have good intentions, they are doing more harm to the troops than good.

I know the phrase "demoralizing the troops" gets thrown around a lot, but it is true. We hate seeing people protesting something that we have volunteered to do. By protesting the war, all they are doing is encouraging our enemy, prolonging the war and costing us more lives.

Every time the enemy sees that Americans are trying to bring the troops home before our job is done, they see a little bit of hope for their cause, and step up their attacks.

You don't support a sports team by protesting the sport that they play, and you don't support the troops by protesting everything that they are doing.

So much to laugh at; so many chinks in Mr. Peterson's defenses.

•By using the phrase "pro-American rally," he insinuates that anyone who didn't attend is anti-American.

•He admits his ignorance ("I just don't understand") but then proceeds to try and explain the anti-war crowd.

•He says he can't speak for "everyone in the military," but then does so, using the hyperbolic "everyone that I have spoken with agrees with me" line. Don't get out much, do you, Mr. Peterson?

•Anti-war forces are only doing one thing -- "encouraging the enemy, prolonging the war and costing us more lives." That's all they're good for, according to Mr. Peterson. Guess he must be talking to "the enemy" in Iraq to know how they're being affected by the demonstration in Springfield, Mo.

But Mr. Peterson doesn't really bark from his ass until the last paragraph. We've heard that war is hell. We had no idea that war is sport. We also had no idea that there are people willing to cheapen the sacrifices made on battlefields by comparing them to meaningless sporting events.

People like Brandon Peterson are scary, with their rah-rah mindset and blind devotion. Protest is Bad. War is Pro-American. Ignorance is Strength. Pass the Victory Cigarettes.

OKLAHOMA BOMBING KILLS ONE, TERRORIZES MANY

At this hour -- just before midnight -- the cops are still calling it a "suicide." It is that, but it sounds like it could be much more. From The Associated Press:

One person was killed in an explosion in a traffic circle about 100 yards from a packed football stadium at the University of Oklahoma on Saturday night in what authorities were calling a suicide.

"We are apparently dealing with an individual suicide, which is under full investigation," OU President David Boren said in a statement.

There were no other reports of injuries. There was no word on the identity or sex of the person who died.

The loud noise of the explosion could be heard clearly inside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where 84,000 people were watching the Oklahoma Sooners play Kansas State.

Officers cordoned off an area west of the stadium, known as the South Oval, and nobody was allowed out of the stadium immediately after the blast, which occurred shortly before 8 p.m. People were allowed out of the stadium about 8:30 p.m.

A police bomb squad detonated explosives found at the site of the blast. The detonation could also be heard in the stadium area. The area near the stadium was searched by bomb dogs.

"At no time was anyone in the stadium in danger," Boren said.

Kerry Pettingill, Oklahoma homeland security director, said the incident was under criminal investigation and the motive behind the explosion was not known.

As fans streamed out of the stadium after the game, they were routed around the crime scene. Some fans leaving the stadium were escorted by police to buses that were parked near where the explosion occurred.

The state Medical Examiner's Office was on the scene as was the Norman Police Department, firefighters, the FBI and officials of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said an FBI bomb technician was providing assistance to local police. Emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, surrounded the area.

OU police Sgt. Gary Robinson said the body had not been removed as of late Saturday night as a bomb team continued to check the area for possible explosives before detectives could move in for their investigation.

Authorities could be seen searching Kansas State players and coaches amid tight security as they boarded buses to leave the area.

DESPITE BLUNT DENIAL, DREIER DEAL WAS REAL

At least that's the inside word from Human Events, and given the weekly's sources within the GOP, it's a good bet that what you're about to read is true. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent, because there are no innocents in this story:

When news of DeLay’s indictment broke, it was widely believed Hastert would ask his colleagues to bypass Blunt in the Republican chain of command and make the 54-year-old Dreier acting majority leader ... Earlier this week, with DeLay’s indictment by an Austin grand jury appearing imminent, DeLay and Hastert reportedly agreed Dreier would become the stopgap majority leader, holding the position only until DeLay is vindicated in court. A Hastert aide sounded out Dreier, with whom the speaker has a close friendship and had personally tapped for the powerful Rules chairmanship.

But following DeLay’s indictment and rumors of the Dreier-for-Leader plan, conservative Republicans began to make known their opposition to elevating Dreier. A meeting of the conservative Republican Study Committee (held, ironically, in HC-5, which would become the site of the full conference meeting later that afternoon) produced “near-unanimous opposition to Dreier,” according to a source who requested anonymity. While Dreier usually votes conservative (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 92%), many House conservatives did not want a leader who voted for funding for embryonic stem-cell research, against an amendment to ban same-sex marriage, who supports hate crimes legislation and has been soft on illegal immigration. At one point during the Republican Study Committee meeting, Rep. Zach Wamp (Tenn.) vowed to nominate RSC Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) for majority leader if Hastert called for Dreier’s election.

By the time the meeting of the full conference commenced, sources told me, the speaker had gotten word that his support for Dreier would spark a conservative revolt. Accordingly, Hastert pulled back from his original plan and called for Blunt’s elevation.

Roy Blunt's denial of the Dreier deal proves a couple things:

•Blunt has more power than the speaker of the house. Dennis Hastert should hire someone to watch his back.

•Blunt can't be believed or trusted. He screwed over DeLay and Hastert -- his bosses -- and then he lied to the media when asked him about it.

POLICE INSTRUCTOR KILLS TRAINEE

This does not sound like the best way to train someone. Tara Drummond, 23, was one of 30 rookies in a 10-week program at the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy.

Week 7 training? Firearms.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

The trainees were in a classroom in the basement of the academy, located in a converted textile mill, when the gun discharged about 4 p.m., said Carol Morgan, the academy director.

County Sheriff Neil Warren, whose office administers the program for Cobb, declined to discuss details of the shooting.

Drummond was taken to a local hospital where she died a short time later.

She was the first Kennesaw police officer killed in the line of duty, said department spokesman Scott Luther.

Kennesaw police Chief Tim Callahan called the death "a tragic accident," and added: "For the next few days, we want to honor the life of this young officer who would have been a great officer one day."

The class instructor is an "experienced veteran" of the county sheriff's office who has been teaching at the academy for 10 years, Sheriff Warren said.

The instructor is about to experience the ramifications of a state policy that forbids working firearms from classrooms.