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Teenager Speaks About The Aftermath Of Her Brother's Suicide

WASHINGTON (WUSA9)--Sixteen year-old Leilani Tizon is a courageous teenager who talks candidly about an issue rarely discussed in public: suicide.

It's the 10th leading cause of death for Americans, and it leaves shattered families in its wake.

"It sounds harsh but I've spent the last five years thinking that my brother doesn't love me. And that this is my fault," Leilani told us, from the living room of her suburban Washington home.

Growing up, Leilani and Christopher Tizon were inseparable.

"My brother and I were best friends. We were 6 ½ years apart," she said. "He was 18 when everything happened. I was 11."

Their father, Robert, was on a deployment to Saudi Arabia with the Air Force, when Christopher put a loaded gun to his left temple and pulled the trigger.

"He was very handsome," said Leilani, glancing over her shoulder at a large framed photo of her brother. She smiles.

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DROP OFF DIAPERS and WIN ‘MOMMY and ME’ CUPCAKE DECORATING CLASS at OCCASIONALLY CAKE

DROP OFF DIAPERS and WIN ‘MOMMY and ME’ CUPCAKE DECORATING CLASS  at OCCASIONALLY CAKE

 

Occasionally Cake of Old Town Alexandria needs diapers as part of the Northern Virginia Family Service Diaper Drive. Customers can drop off diapers from Sat., May 4 through Mother’s Day, Sun., May 12, and be entered to win a Mommy and Me Cupcake Decorating Class, to be held on Tues., May 14 at 5 p.m. Three winners will be chosen from a raffle drawing.  Call (703) 647-9638 or visit www.occasionallycake.com for more information.

The Mommy and Me Cupcake decorating will be taught by owner, Sabrina Campbell, mom of two daughters and soon-to-be son. She will discuss cupcake decorating techniques, creativity and tips for parent and child.

HERO CENTRAL: Mobile USO Brings Food, Friends And Fun On Base

FT. MYER (WUSA 9) - Sometimes at the crack of dawn, Jenn Hall hits the road with the Mobile USO. The custom-made vehicle represents USO-Metro on wheels.

The vehicle serves food, fun and support to over half-a-million military families in the Metropolitan area.

The Mobile USO travels on dirt roads and into the "boonies," according to Hall, the Mobile USO Coordinator.

"It's cool to go to places like that. These guys are out there forever...They don't have a lot out there. Their base is very, very, very small," said Hall. The vehicle serves hotdog meals to 25 military installations for USO-Metro.

On a Wednesday, Hall drives to the Indian Head military base in South Potomac, Maryland.

4-Year-Old Boy Killed in Pedestrian Crash

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA9) -- A four-year-old child was killed when a vehicle struck him in Va. today, officials said. 

The Alexandria Fire Department responded to the 6300 block of Stevenson Ave. after a report of a pedestrian that had been hit by a vehicle at approximately 11:05 a.m. A woman and her son were rushed to the hospital. The child who was in critical condition has was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

The boy ran into the street as an 84-year-old man was driving a 2010 Jeep Commander eastbound on Stevenson Ave. When the boy's mother ran after him, both were hit by the vehicle. The driver remained on the scene. The mother sustained non-life threatening injuries, officials said. 

 

 

 

 

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Post-Newtown, NRA Membership Surges to 5 million

HOUSTON (USA TODAY -- Efforts to pass gun-control legislation have only made the National Rifle Association stronger, as the membership rolls now surpass a record 5 million, NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre told the gun rights group's annual meeting Saturday.

"The state of the NRA is stronger and larger than it has ever been," LaPierre told more than 3,000 NRA members. "Our commitment to freedom is unwavering and our growth is unprecedented. ... By the time we're finished, the NRA must and will be 10 million strong."

About one-tenth of the members have joined in the past six months, the NRA says.

LaPierre's defiant speech echoed many of the themes of the weekend's convention: Political elites and their allies in the media are pushing a gun-control agenda that will lead to a more dangerous America.

The NRA, LaPierre said, is "at the middle of the river of America's mainstream, and what we want is exactly what most Americans want," he said.

Two Men Found Injured in a Parked Van in VA.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA9) -- Police responded to the 500 block of Four Mile Road in Alexandria, Va. to find two adult males with life threatening injuries in a parked van.

They were both taken to the hospital. It is unknown at this time what happened to them, police said. 

More information will be posted as it becomes available. 

Arrest made in White House ricin case

TUPELO, Miss. (USA TODAY) -- A local man whose home and business were searched as part of an investigation into ricin-poisoned letters sent to President Obama and other officials was arrested Saturday, the FBI said.

Everett Dutschke, 41, was arrested after days of speculation that he, and not another local man with whom he'd feuding -- and who had himself had earlier been arrested in the case -- had mailed the letters. The other recipients were Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, who comes from this city of 37,000, and an 80-year-old local judge, Sadie Holland.

On Tuesday charges initially filed against Kevin Curtis, 45, a sometime Elvis impersonator, were dropped after FBI agents found no physical evidence to support circumstantial evidence that had been based on similarities between the ricin letters and Curtis' online writings. Asked who might have wanted to frame him, Curtis and his lawyers mentioned Dutschke.