Amendment 64 Task Force Finished

The Amendment 64 Task Force has finished it's study and will make it's final recommendations to Colorado lawmakers.

Made up of advocates, law enforcement, and regulators the task force had the mission of deciding how marijuana should be grown, sold, and taxed.

State lawmakers will now review the suggestions and use them as the basis for future laws to govern marijuana, in Colorado.

Amendment 64, passed in November, and partially legalized weed in the state.

The federal government has not yet decided if it will try to block Colorado's law and a similar one in Washington.

Marijuana is illegal in the US and international bodies, such as the UN, are pushing the government to keep states from legalizing it.

4 Killed in Upstate New York Shootings

Myers

Two shootings and a fire have left four dead and two wounded, in upstate New York.

It began with the fire in Mohawk, and was soon followed with the first shooting at John's Barber Shop.

A short time later, a second shooting occurred at Gaffey's Car Wash, in Herkimer.

Authorities believe that both shootings and the fire were the work of sixty-four year old Kurt Myers.

A man hunt is under way for Myers, who is considered armed and dangerous.

Schools in the area are on lockdown.

Police were seen removing multiple firearms from the scene of the fire.

Lockheed Martin Announces Breakthrough in Water Purification

Lockheed Martin has announced a breakthrough in water purification.

According to the company, they have produced carbon membranes with regular holes only about a nanometer in size.

The holes are big enough to allow water molecules to pass through, but small enough to block bigger molecules, such as salt, from getting through.

Lead engineer John Stetson said, "It's five hundred times thinner than the best filter on the market today and a thousand times stronger. The energy that's required and the pressure that's required to filter salt is approximately one hundred times less."

He also added that graphene is only one atom thick, yet a thousand times stronger than steel.

Despite that strength, it tears easily, due to it's being so thin.

Graphene would also be much cheaper than most purification methods.

If proven viable, the filters could help provide clean water to nearly a billion people who do not have access to clean water.

They also would allow for ships at sea to more easily provide drinkable water. 

Other applications are being considered for the material, as well.

Terrorists Attack Indian Police Training Camp in Kashmir

Indian police shield and carry a wounded officer

Five Indian police officers were killed and eight wounded in an attack, on Wednesday.

It happened at a police training camp in Srinagar in Kashmir province.

Two shooters were involved, and both were killed.

Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack.

Indian Home Secretary RK Singh stated that evidence showed the attackers came from the other side of the border with Pakistan.

Pakistan responded that it was impossible for them to have come from their side of the border.

Suicide Bomber Strikes at Buzkashi Game

A suicide bomber struck a Buzkashi game in the Kunduz province of Afghanistan, on Wednesday.

Ten people were killed and at least ten wounded, in the crowd of over three thousand.

Among the dead was the likely target, the district police chief, and members of his family.

Buzkashi, also known as goat grabbing, is Afghanistan's national sport.

Two teams compete against each other by trying to carry a headless goat carcass into the scoring area, while riding horses.

Dead Pigs Continue to Come Ashore in Chinese River

Chinese workers have now pulled over six thousand dead pigs from the Huangpu River.

Farmers upstream have been dumping pigs, that die from an epidemic, into the river, since burying them takes time.

Shanghai gets it's tap water from those waters.

Yet officials say that the water is perfectly safe for drinking.

Public concern is growing over the occurrences which are apparently quite common.

Some people wonder if the pigs have been used by restaurants.

Chinese citizens, across the country, fear that similar things might be being done to their water, as well.

For now the government is content with the status quo, but as public concern grows, they may eventually have to act.

Pope Francis I

Francis I, center, waves to the crowds after being announced.

It only took two days for the College of Cardinals to select a new leader for the Catholic church.

They selected seventy-six year old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, of Argentina as the two hundredth and sixty-sixth pope.

Pope Francis I, as he has chosen to now be called, brings with him many firsts.

He is the first pope from the Americas, first Latin American pope, and the first Jesuit to hold the office.

Francis I, formerly was the archbishop of Buenos Aires.

US Army: Staff Sergeant Rex Schad

US Army Staff Sergeant Rex Schad, twenty-six of Edmond, Oklahoma, died on Monday from wounds sustained.

He and other allied troops were attacked in Jalrez District, Afghanistan.

It was his second deployment to Afghanistan.

Schad was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.

US Army: Captain Andrew Pedersen-Keel

US Amry Captain Andrew Pedersen-Keel, twenty-eight, of Madison, Connecticut, died on Monday from wounds sustained.

He and other allied troops were attacked in Jalrez District, Afghanistan.

It was his second deployment to Afghanistan.

He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Pedersen-Keel had been a 2006 graduate of West Point and then continued on to other military schools and training: US Army Airborne School, US Army Ranger School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Combatives Level I Course, Sniper Employment Leaders Course, Pathfinder Course, Maneuver Captain's Career Course; The Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course; Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course.

Among his awards were: two Bronze Stars, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Air Assault Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab.