Jerry decided to buy a gun like those in his beloved gangster movies. After saving for years, he purchased a revolver but accidentally shot himself in the knee only 10 minutes into his first trip to the gun range. An 80-year-old woman died in a house fire that investigators believe was caused by her falling asleep on the couch with a cigarette. Her husband was devastated by her death, as they had both recently quit smoking in an attempt to live to 100 years old. To reduce long lines and wait times, a new online scheduling system called InfoPass allows immigrants to book appointments with immigration officers from home instead of spending the night waiting in line. The new system processes over three times as

1. 1. JERRY DECIDED TO BUY A GUN
Jerry Baldwin was 30 years old. He was the manager of a pizza restaurant. He lived in an apartment
about one mile north of the restaurant. He walked to and from work. When it was raining, he took the
bus.
Jerry loved gangster movies. When a new one came out, he would go to the theater and watch the new
movie three or four times. Then, when it went to video, Jerry would buy the video at Barney's Video
Store. Jerry had a home collection of over 1,000 gangster videos. Old ones, new ones, color, black and
white, English, Spanish, Japanese--he loved them all. He could tell you the name of the movie, the
director, the stars, and the plot. Did you say you liked "Pulp Fiction"? Well, Jerry would rattle off all
the details of that movie. And then he would invite you to his place to watch it some time. He was a
nice guy.
Jerry finally decided that he would like to own a gun, just like the gangsters. So he saved his money for
a couple of years. Then he went to a gun store and bought a used .38 caliber revolver for $300. While
there, he also bought a couple of boxes of ammunition. The following Saturday morning, he went to the
gun club to practice with his new revolver. He was in the club for only 10 minutes when he
accidentally dropped his pistol. The gun went off, and the bullet went into Jerry's right knee.
2. WOMAN DIES IN HOUSE FIRE
An 80-year-old woman died Tuesday afternoon in a fire. The blaze was reported about 2:30 p.m.
at a home on Sunnyside Avenue. The victim was identified as Mary Cass. Her husband, Roy Cass, 80,
was not at home at the time of the fire. Investigators from the local fire department were trying to
determine the exact cause of the fire. They said it looked like the woman had fallen asleep on the sofa
with a cigarette in her hand.
The value of the home was estimated at $700,000. The Casses were married in 1945. Both of
them had been smokers throughout most of their lives.
Mr. Cass said, "Six months ago, we decided to quit smoking, because we wanted to live to be 100.
So we went to a smoking cessation clinic. The clinic worked! We both managed to quit a month ago.
At least I thought we both did. I can't believe she was smoking behind my back."

2. Mr. Cass started sobbing after his remarks. He repeatedly cried out his wife's name. Authorities
took him to a nursing home where he could be kept under surveillance.
"We've had too many instances of long-time married couples who, if they discover their spouse is
dead, commit suicide within 48 hours," said a nursing home spokesperson. "Mr. Cass's behavior has
been erratic, from talking nonstop to crying to staring vacantly. We are going to have to watch him
closely."
3. IMMIGRATION GOES ONLINE
Thousands of immigrants who need to file papers related to immigration status, green cards, and
resident cards no longer have to stand in line for hours on end. The immigration office now has a new
system called Info Pass. Applicants simply schedule a time and a date to meet with an immigration
officer using Info Pass. They don't even have to go to the immigration office. Info Pass is a website that
they can access on their home computer or a library computer.
To beat the crowds, immigrants in Los Angeles used to get in line the night before. They would
start lining up outside the building at 6:00 p.m. and spend the night in the cold or, occasionally, in the
rain. By the following morning, there might be 200 people in line. This, of course, was an unpleasant
surprise to people who thought they were early birds by arriving at 7:00 a.m. Sometimes people would
sell their place in line to others for $50 or more.
Where there are lines, there are vendors. No one had to worry about going hungry in line because
of the variety of hot and cold food and drinks being sold all night long. Occasionally the police
received reports about people being pickpocketed while waiting in the overnight lines. But such reports
were rare. Many immigrants prefer not to get involved with police for fear of being sent back to their
native country.
With the new system, people with appointments are in and out of the building within an hour.
Applicants show up 15 minutes before their appointment time. Things are so efficient now that about
120 applicants per hour can be processed through the immigration office. Before Info Pass, it was about
40 people an hour.