The Sunrise News Sampler

Topping the headlines this morning is news of a student at an all-male Catholic high school in Cincinnati that attempted to kill himself while in class yesterday. NBC reports that the school was immediately placed on lock down and no other students were injured. The shooter was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is in critical condition.

This morning, our daily reports that seven Tuscaloosa County residents recently pleaded guilty to fraudulent claiming and collecting state unemployment benefits. They were each given a suspended sentence of 90 days in jail, put on probation for 24 months, and ordered to pay restitution, court costs, and a $100 fine.

In state news, yesterday, Lt. Governor Kay Ivey launched a campaign to help reduce the number of kids going hungry in Alabama. Auburn University's Hunger Solutions Institute is expected to bring state leaders, industry and community groups together to tackle the food scarcity affecting about a third of the state's children.

In other news across the state, Birmingham police are asking for the public's help in finding the gunman who shot and killed 24-year-old Sherri Williams while she was holding her 10-day-old son.

Meanwhile, in the state government, Republicans are beginning to show divisions similar to those Democrats used to have.  The GOP has found itself divided in recent weeks over private school tax credits, Common Core school standards, and the participation of home-school students in public school activities.

In other news, according to the Israel Defense Forces, in what appears to be the first such attack since a ceasefire ended an eight-day war in November, an air strike has killed a key terror figure responsible for firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

In sports news, Fox Sports reports that Jason Collins has become the first active male athlete in the four major American professional sports to come out as gay, although he joins the ranks of other notable athletes who have announced they're gay.

And in entertainment news, NBC is supposedly lining up musical performances for "The Voice" that will include Rod Stewart, CeeLo Green, Lady Antebellum, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I.