►After publishing an interactive map showing the locations of pistol permit holders in New York's Westchester and Rockland counties, the Journal News of West Nyack, New York, has hired armed security guards [1]. The paper has received extensive backlash because of its decision to publish the map, which took place last month after the Newtown, Connecticut, school shootings.

►Washington, D.C., news radio WTOP is reporting that high-school and middle-school students in Virginia's Stafford County returned from winter break today to find sheriffs' deputies in their buildings [2]. The deputies, "who are armed, will stop at the schools as part of their routine patrols and make rounds, checking inside and outside the buildings," says WTOP. Meanwhile, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, returning students "will see an enhanced police presence and improved locks on classroom doors after an 18-year-old student was accused of plotting to shoot students at the high school," notes the Norman Register [3].

►In Alabama, the state's branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had released a video [4] titled "Run, Hide, Fight" to instruct people on what to do if they are in a mass shooting event such as the one at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elemetary. The video, which was originally produced by the Houston, Texas, Police Department [5], portrays an active shooter inside an office building. According to AL.com, "the video will be offered for training purposes to law enforcement agencies. It will also be used to help train education officials and private employers."

►The Center Daily Times reports that a server at Penn State University [6] was hacked last fall and personal information--including Social Security numbers--of former students at the Altoona, Pensylvania, campus may have been obtained. The university is now notifying the individuals who may be affected.