Gun Goes Off in Oakland Middle School

Bay City News reports that a gun smuggled into a classroom by a 13-year-old boy at Cole Middle School in Oakland yesterday seemed to have discharged unintentionally.

No one was injured, but the shot hit a radiator in the classroom and the school was evacuated yesterday.

Reiser Seeking Appeal in Case

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Hans Reiser, the UC Berkeley alumnus who had admitted he strangled his estranged wife, is attempting to appeal his conviction by claiming his attorney is not effectively representing him.

Reiser accused defense attorney William Du Bois of basing jury selection in part on Chinese astrology and said the lawyer had “oxytocin excess” because people who have too much of the hormone “enjoy betraying others.”

The Consumer Price Index reportedly showed a decrease of 1 percent in October prices for goods and services, as compared with September.

The New York Times reports that the decline is the steepest single-month drop since the survey was initiated 61 years ago, prompting fears of deflation.

Daschle Chosen as Health and Human Services Secretary

According to The Washington Post, president-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to be the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.