Happenings in Boston: The Boston Marathon Bombings and MIT Shooting – On Monday April 15th, Boston was hit with a tragedy when a series of bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston marathon. Then, on Thursday night into Friday morning, mayhem ensued in Watertown, MA. Two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing shot and killed an MIT police officer, and then proceeded to throw explosive devices at police officers during as they attempted to escape. As of Friday morning, one has been pronounced dead while the other remains at large. “We believe this man to be a terrorist,” said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. “We believe this to be a man who’s come here to kill people.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/19/dzhokhar-tsarnaev_n_3114881.html
Texas Explosion – As many as 70 people were killed, plus hundreds injured, in a fertilizer plant explosion on Wednesday, April 17th in West, Texas. The cause of the blast has not yet been determined, but authorities in the area are reportedly advising residents to leave town immediately. Emergency crews from throughout central Texas who were sent to help are being forced to pull back due to concerns of a second explosion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/18/fertilizer-plant-explosion-texas_n_3106023.html
Senate Votes Down Background Check on Guns
The Senate failed to accrue the 60 votes needed to expand background checks on firearm purchases. The vote was 54-46 with four Republicans siding with the majority of Democrats to support the measure and five Democrats opposing the measure.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/…
Senator of Mississippi and President Obama Both Threatened with Ricin Letters – Paul Kevin Curtis from Mississippi was charged with sending ricin-laced letters to the President, as well as to the Senator of Mississippi. FBI confirmed the presence of ricin in these letters, and Curtis is currently being held in the Lafayette County Jail in Oxford. Curtis, an Elvis impersonator and aspiring novelist, suffers from Bipolar disorder and believes he was the target of a government conspiracy after coming across a hospital refrigerator filled with dismembered body parts.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/04/18/obama-letter-ricin-mississippi/2092795/
Montana Government Signs Bill Decriminalizing Gay Sex – A law in Montana deeming gay sex as equivalent to bestiality was removed from Montana code on Thursday, April 18th. Gay rights activists are hoping that full legal equality may be close at hand.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/…