Gun Sales Soar After Shooting

Colorado gun sales and background checks have climbed dramatically since the shooting in Aurora, on Friday.

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, they approved 2,887 background checks over the weekend.


That number is an increase of forty-three percent over the previous weekend, and thirty-nine percent over the same weekend last year.

Interest in concealed carry licenses have also seen a huge increase.

Classes which were half empty, are now over flowing and booked through most of August.


It is common for numbers to jump immediately after a mass shooting, such as the one Friday.


Dramatic increases have occurred after every major shooting in the US, since records were kept.

Typhoon Vicente Injures 118 in Hong Kong

At least 118 people were injured in Hong Kong, when Typhoon Vicente struck the city.

Hundreds of trees were uprooted, and buildings were damaged.

A level ten, the highest level there is, advisory was set whilst the storm struck.

It has since been downgraded to a level eight, which keeps public buildings closed.

Most internationally notably due to that was the closure of the stock market.

Flights out of the airport were also cancelled or delayed due to the storm.

Philippines and Vietnam Decry China's Sansha City

On Sunday China declared several disputed islands to be one city of theirs, naming it Sansha.

Laying in the South China Sea, the islands are disputed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China also announced that they will be sending a military garrison to defend the islands.
 
Philippine President Benigno Aquino compared the moves to that of a squatter saying, "If someone entered your yard and told you he owned it, would you agree? Would it be right to give away that which is rightfully ours?"

Vietnam called the act a "serious violation" of their rights to their territory.

Already this year there have been several verbal battles over the islands.

During one of those times, Philippine and Chinese naval forces nearly clashed.

Clashes in India Kill 19

The death toll in north east India has reached nineteen.

Clashes have been occurring between the Bodo tribes and Muslim settlers.

Armed villagers also attacked a train, that was transporting prisoners who had been arrested in attempts by police to stop the violence.

More than 25,000 people have fled have fled the Kokrajhar and Chirang regions in the state of Assam.

District authorities have authorized a issued a curfew from 6pm to 6am, until order is restored.

Part of the curfew allows for police and other security forces to shoot on sight, anyone who breaks the curfew.

Missouri Declares State of Emergency

Missouri declared a state of emergency, Monday afternoon.

Governor Jay Nixon made the call due to the record heat and severe drought facing the state.

At least twenty-five have been killed so far in the state, by the heat, and nearly a thousand emergency room visits have been reported.

The declaration allows for state agencies to put money into helping local areas with emergency situations.

Last week the US Department of Agriculture declared every one of the 114 Missouri counties to be primary national disaster areas.

That move allows for federal funding to aid farmers in receiving low interest loans.

Sally Ride, Dead at 61

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, died earlier today at the age of sixty-one.

Ride had been battling pancreatic cancer for the last seventeen months.

She was on the space shuttle for two different missions, during her career.

After her retirement, from NASA, she became a member of the faculty at University of California San Diego and the California Space Institute.

During the investigations of both space shuttle accidents, she was the only person selected to be on each of the panels.

Snoop Lion Debuts

Seems Snoop is tired of being "d o double g", at least for a little bit.

The famed rapper, actor, and marijuana spokesman is going to be using a different name for his next album.

Snoop will be switching from rap to reggae, and for that he'll be going as Snoop Lion.

Already there are separate Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr accounts for Lion.

His reggae band is known as "The Jungle", and their album "Reincarnated" is set to come out by the end of the year.

"La la la" is the first single off the album, the video easily reminds of earlier Snoop songs with smoother vocals and an extremely basic video.

Attacks in Iraq Kill 107

At least 107 people have lost their lives in a series of attacks in Iraq, on Monday.

Nearly three hundred more were injured in the bombings and shootings all across the country.

Iran backed Al Qaeda groups are being blamed for the attacks, but no one has actually claimed responsibility.

The attacks on Monday, as well as ones on Sunday, come during the Muslim holy days of Ramadan, which began Saturday.

Before these attacks, there had actually been a whole two weeks without attacks, in the country.

Many of the attacks were aimed at police, security forces, and or Iraqi military.

In June a total of 237 were killed, and 603 were wounded.

The increase in violence comes as many Iraqis are finally returning home, as they are fleeing the violence in Syria.

Fire Kills Four Along the French Spanish Border

A fire along the Spanish French border has now claimed another life, bringing the total to four dead and twenty-three injured.

The blaze started Sunday, but has already engulfed more than 32,000 acres, due to winds reaching up to fifty-five miles an hour.

Nearly five hundred fire fighters and twenty-two aircraft are battling the flames in the Alt Emporda region of Spain.

Flames on the French side have been completely contained.

Officials have ordered residents in seventeen towns, on both sides of the border, to keep their windows closed and avoid going outside, due to the smoke.

Fire fighting efforts are being made jointly, by the two countries.

Remembering: The Thirteen Lost in Aurora

On the night of July 20, 2012 twelve people lost their lives in Aurora, Colorado when a masked and armored gunman began shooting in the movie theater they had come to.

Ten died at the scene, two more at hospitals, and the thirteenth was lost in a miscarriage caused by the trauma.

Fifty-eight more people were injured, at least eight of which are still in critical condition.

This post shall serve as a memorial for the twelve that died in the tragedy.



Alex Sullivan, 27, was out celebrating his birthday with his friends. Sunday would've been his first wedding anniversary.

He was a graduate of Gateway High School, in Aurora.

His family remembers him for having a huge heart.

Micayla Medek, 23, graduated from Hinkley High School, lived in Westminster, and was attending Aurora Community College.

Her family "hope[s] this evil act doesn't shake people's faith in God."

She had been in the process of saving money for a trip to India, with coworkers.

Jessica Ghawi, 24, also went by Jessica Redfield, was an aspiring sports broadcaster.

Originally from San Antonio, Texas, she had moved to Denver for an internship towards her dream.

She was a huge Colorado Avalanche fan, and didn't miss a game.

In June she had just left a mall in Toronto when a gunman opened fire there. Her blog talked about the incident and how it affected her.

"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."

John Larimer, 27, was from Chicago, graduating from Crystal Lake South High School.

He was stationed at Buckley Air Force Base as a cryptologist with the US Navy.

Matt McQuinn, 27, died protecting his girlfriend from the bullets.

Samantha Younger was wounded in the leg, but survived the onslaught because of his sacrifice.

He moved to Aurora, in November 2011 from Butler Township in Ohio.

He was a graduate of Butler-Vandalia High School.

Staff Sergeant Jesse Childress, 29, lived in Thornton.

He was an Air Force cyber systems operator at Buckley Air Force Base.

When the shooting started he dove in front of a friend from the base, taking a bullet that would have hit her.

A very active person, he could always be found playing one sport or another.

His friends knew him as a huge nerd, who had named his black Scion "The Batmobile".

Veronica Moser Sullivan, 6, was at the movie with her mother, Ashley Moser, who was shot multiple times.

She had just begun learning to swim, and loved it.

Ashley Moser's unborn child was lost in a miscarriage while she was undergoing surgery for the injuries she received from being shot multiple times.

Jon Blunk, 25, shielded his girlfriend from the bullets.

He sacrificed himself to save Jansen Young's life.

Blunk was a former member of the US Navy, and had been planning on reenlisting, in hopes of becoming a SEAL.

He had been scheduled to spend the week in Reno, Nevada to visit his children who are two and four.

Alexander Boik, 18, had graduated from Gateway High School.

He was set to attend Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in the fall.

AJ's friends and family remember him as someone who would do anything for a laugh.

Alex Teves, 24, was from Phoenix, Arizona.

Alex shielded his girlfriend, Amanda Lindgren, from bullets, saving her life.

He had recently earned his master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Denver.

Rebecca Wingo, 32, was the mother of two daughters, nine and five, who she had moved to Aurora, in September, to be near.

Wingo had formerly worked for the US Air Force as a translator and had recently started a new job, in the medical field.

Her family remembers her as an extremely giving person.

Gordon Cowden, 51, lived in Aurora, and was from Austin, Texas.

He had taken his two teenage kids to the movie.

Both his kids escaped unharmed.