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MIKEGROLL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Workers harvest early apples at Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, N.Y. ByMartinCrutsinger The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S. economy staged a far bigger rebound last quarter than first thought, outpacing the rest of the developed world and bolstering confidence that it will remain sturdy in coming months despite global headwinds. The economy as mea- sured by gross domestic product expanded at an an- nual rate of 3.7 percent in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department re- ported Thursday. That's more than a percentage point greater than the ini- tial 2.3 percent estimate and a sharp upgrade from the anemic 0.6 percent ad- vance during the January- March quarter. To be sure, the GDP re- port provides a back- ward look at the U.S. econ- omy. Since the spring, it has been hit with deepen- ing concerns about a slow- down in China and recent turbulence in global finan- cial markets. It remains un- clear how the U.S. will fare in the months ahead if de- velopments abroad deteri- orate. The robust second-quar- ter numbers, however, indi- cate a level of growth un- matched by the rest of the developed world and a solid footing heading into the second half of the year. "The U.S. economy en- tered the current market turbulence with momen- tum, which will help it to shrug off the drag from China and other develop- ing economies," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. In contrast, Japan — the world's No. 3 economy — shrank at an annual pace of 1.6 percent in the second quarter. Germany eked out 0.4 percent growth, while the United Kingdom ex- panded at a modest 0.7 percent rate. France didn't grow at all. The U.S. economy will probably cool slightly in the third quarter, but econ- omists still expect solid growth that should keep fueling jobs and spending. Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, projects GDP growth of 2.5 percent in the current July-Septem- ber quarter. "The economy regained a massive amount of momen- tum in the second quarter and all the evidence from July's activity and employ- ment data suggests that momentum continued into the third quarter," Ash- worth said in a note to cli- ents. Mark Zandi, chief econo- mist at Moody's Analytics, is forecasting the economy to grow around 2.8 percent in third quarter and accel- erate to a 3.5 percent an- nual rate in the October-De- cember period. But he said that is based on an expec- tation that the recent mar- ket turbulence will not in- flict long-lasting damage on the economy. "My forecast rests on the assumption that this is a garden variety mar- ket correction, with stock prices dropping by 10 per- cent from their recent high," Zandi said. "If we get a bigger decline of 20 percent, then that will hurt consumption and housing, and we will not get the job growth we are expecting." Economy's 2nd quarter went from solid to stellar REBOUND By Jonathan Drew and Alan Suderman The Associated Press MONETA,VA. On the day he was fired from a Virginia TV station, Vester Flana- gan pressed a wooden cross into his boss' hand as two police officers walked him to the door. "You'll need this," he said. More than two years later, Flanagan — fulfill- ing a threat to put his con- flict with station manag- ers into "the headlines" — gunned down two station employees during a live morning broadcast, one of them a cameraman who had filmed his firing. But as station employ- ees struggled Thursday to explain the events that framed Flanagan's an- ger, others who had run across the gunman in the time since he lost his job at WDBJ-TV described a man whose hair-triggered tem- per was increasingly set off by slights that were more often imagined than real. A former co-worker at a call center where he worked until late 2014 recalled how her off-hand comment that the often boisterous Flana- gan was acting quiet led him to try to grab her by the shoulder, and tell her never to talk to him again. At a bar in Roanoke, the manager recalled Flana- gan was so incensed when no one thanked him as he left that he sent a nearly 20- page letter, lambasting em- ployees' behavior. As Flanagan encoun- tered repeated tensions with others around him, he described himself as the aggrieved and unap- preciated victim. "How heartless can you be? My entire life was dis- rupted after moving clear across the country for a job only to have my dream turn into a nightmare," Fla- nagan wrote in a letter to a judge filed as part of his 2013 lawsuit against the television station. "Your Honor, I am not the mon- ster here." The lawsuit was dis- missed in July 2014. But in recent weeks, Flana- gan laid careful plans for retribution. He contacted ABC News about what he claimed was a story tip and filled his Facebook page with photos and video montages seemingly de- signed to introduce him- self to a larger audience. On Wednesday, Flana- gan killed 24-year-old Ali- son Parker, a reporter for WDBJ, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, while the two conducted a live in- terview for the station's morning broadcast, then went online to claim that they had wronged him in the past. After the killing, Flana- gan texted a friend sug- gesting he had "done some- thing stupid," investigators wrote in a search warrant. He turned the gun on him- self when police caught up to him a few hours later. In- side his rental car, investi- gators found extra license plates, a wig, shawl, sun- glasses and a hat as well as some stamped letters and a "to do" list. Colleagues of the jour- nalists shot to death re- turned to their morning show Thursday, in a broad- cast that opened with im- ages of Parker and Ward. "We come to you with heavy hearts. Two of our own were shot during a live shot yesterday morn- ing," said Kim McBroom, the anchor whose open- mouthed shock was seen around the world Wednes- day after Ward's camera re- corded the attack. Later, during an after- noon news conference, the station's general manager, Jeffrey Marks, recalled a se- ries of problems with Fla- nagan while he worked at WDBJ from March 2012 to February 2013. Flana- gan accused a news pho- tographer of trespassing on private property. He confronted an anchor over a story and attempted to reach the company's CEO to complain. He filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as the lawsuit. But there was no inkling then or since of what was to come, Marks said. Former co-workers said they'd seen Flanagan around Roanoke, but none had any conver- sations with him, let alone confrontations. "We are still at a loss to figure out what happened to him in those 2 ½ years," Marks said. Others who crossed paths with Flanagan dur- ing that time, though, re- called a man who took of- fense easily. When Flanagan landed a job at a UnitedHealthcare call center in Roanoke af- ter he was fired, he was usually boisterous and in- tense, notable for his loud laughter. So Michelle Kibo- deaux, who worked with Flanagan, took note one day when he seemed quiet. "I told him, 'You're be- ing quiet today. The shoe's on the other foot.' He said, 'You don't know me well enough to judge me.'" Kibodeaux said when she turned to walk away, Flanagan tried to grab her by the shoulder, but she ducked under his hand. "He said, 'Don't you walk away from me. Don't you turn your back on me,'" she recalled. Flanagan told her never to speak to him again and she steered clear. Three or four months ago, Flanagan's temper was set off again by a visit to Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint in downtown Roanoke. Afterward, gen- eral manager Heather Fay told The Associated Press, she received a 15- to 20- page letter from Flanagan criticizing the staff for tell- ing customers to "have a nice day" instead of "thank you." "You could tell he was really angry," Fay said. "It was bizarre, for sure." RAMBLING MANIFESTO On -a ir g un ma n th re at en ed t o make 'headlines,' showed anger WDBJ-TV Vester Lee Flanagan II, was a former employee at WDBJ who appeared on air as Bryce Williams. STEVE HELBER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WDBJ-TV7news morning anchor Kimberly McBroom, le , hugs meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner a er their early morning newscast at the station, Thursday in Roanoke, Va. COURTESY OF WDBJ-TV7 A screenshot from WDBJ-TV7, in Roanoke, Va., shows reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward. Parker and Ward were killed, Wednesday. FacebookPage 4,276fans + 10 this week .. and growing, every week! Daily News Facebook fans receive special posts of breaking news, sports, weather and road closures, clicking right to full stories and photos published on redbluffdailynews.com ... Tehama County's most-visited local website ... things that that fans want to know about, sooner rather than later! www.facebook.com/rbdailynews "LIKE" us at "Like" a story or item, leave a review, make a post on the site ... and more! YOU'LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B