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Maine sailor Cole Brauer now first American woman to race solo around world after finishing 4-month journey
BOSTON – Cole Brauer, a 29-year-old sailor from Boothbay, Maine, is now the first American woman to race solo around the world.
Brauer finished the Global Solo Challenge, one of the most extreme sailing events in the world, Thursday morning when she arrived in Coruna, Spain, according to her Instagram page.
“Amazing finish!!!! So stoked! Thank you to everyone that came together and made this process possible,” she wrote.
Brauer has been away from home for four months and was one of ten people in the grueling race.
“The goal of this was always to be the first American woman to race solo around the world,” Brauer told WBZ-TV in an interview last month.
Cole Brauer
About halfway into the race, a massive wave crashed on top of her 40-foot-boat and Brauer slammed into the walls of her vessel. She ended up with bruised ribs and still had two months to go. She had cameras on board which allowed a medical team to watch her constantly.
Brauer admitted the journey was lonely, but said she was able to balance the chaos with beautiful, peaceful sunsets and seeing wildlife at sea.
“So excited to like have a cappuccino and a croissant, cannot wait,” Brauer told WBZ-TV about her plans when she was finished.
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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