VIDEO: There are nearly as many guns as people in the United States. Mass shootings have surged in recent years, including a high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead this year, a Las Vegas shooting where 58 concert-goers were murdered in 2017, and a 2016 Florida nightclub attack that killed 49. The rash of deadly incidents has led to a boost in business for specialists who help people prepare for active shooter scenarios. VOA goes along with a security expert as he teaches a church congregation in Virginia how to be prepared should the worst happen.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On April 20, 1999, two teenage gunmen kill 13 people at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The shootings impact school security nationwide; lockdown drills are instituted and emergency responders develop plans to deal with future school shooting situations. Most schools start locking exterior doors during the school day and allow students to bring cell phones to school so worried parents can contact them. Before Columbine, few schools locked their doors and most students were not allowed to use cell phones in school.

Chaotic week. North Korea, a scathing assessment of the president by former FBI director James Comey; court appearances by his personal lawyer Michael Cohen; along with adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with the president. It’s all added up to a tumultuous week for the the president as the political phenomenon of Donald Trump continues to break the mold.

National Guard troops on the border with Mexico. Undocumented people taking sanctuary in churches. Desperation in East Africa and Yemen. A court decision that makes it more difficult to deport some legal immigrants with criminal records. Here’s this week’s immigration roundup from VOA News.

VIDEO: An American father who lost his son in Iraq was comforted by a chance encounter in Washington with the nurse who cared for the soldier during his final moments. Army nurse Paula Couglin could never forget preparing 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe’s body for burial, and the fallen soldier’s father laughed when she told him why.

Tourists appear to be Beijing’s latest weapon to boost its claims to disputed areas in the South China Sea. China is waiving visas for foreign visitors who want to travel to its southernmost province. The move will make a nearby, widely disputed sea more accessible to curious travelers.

VIDEO: What if refilling a prescription was as easy as withdrawing money from an ATM? South Africa is testing ATM-like machines that can dispense HIV medications. In Johannesburg, VOA checks out the devices health experts say could be a game-changer in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa.