Michigan Passes Right to Work Bill

Thousands of protesters massed on the Michigan capitol building, on Tuesday.

They are protesting a "right to work" bill that would allow workers to choose whether they want to be in a union or not.

Many unions see it as a threat, to their near absolute power, as it would keep them from drawing dues from people who did not wish to participate in the union.

Reports are that the Warren and Taylor school districts were shut down, as so many of their teachers called out so that they could join the protests.

Governor Rick Snyder stated that "Too often the educational system's all about the adults. To see schools shutting down because of an issue like this is not appropriate in my view."

As of 9:08 CST the Michigan house passed the bill, and it headed for the Governor's signature, he is expected to sign.

The passage of the bill would see Michigan become the twenty-fourth US state with "right to work" legislation.

Democrats are expected to challenge the bill, using law suits and recall elections.

Judges Won't Oversee Referendum After Shooting at Tahrir Square

The scene in Egypt has only become uglier after a shooting at Tahrir Square. Early Tuesday morning, unknown gunmen opened fire on the crowd, injuring nine people. It is thought that the gunmen were Islamist extremists, as the crowd they opened fire on is purely anti Morsi.

After the shooting, a pro Morsi group setup nearby, with obvious intent of starting up more confrontations there. Police are doing everything they can to keep the sides from clashing further, but they are completely outnumbered. Outside of the presidential palace, other anti Morsi protesters knocked down a section of the wall, outside it's grounds. The military blocked them from entering the compound.

Protests are not limited to Cairo, they're all over the country. Alexandria has seen some of the most violent clashes, and thousands continue in their protests there. All across the country pro Morsi supporters chant "The people want implementation of Islamic law" as the anti Morsi camps seek to let the world know that"The people want to bring down the regime".

Tuesday afternoon, the judiciary announced that they will not oversee the constitutional referendum. If they don't it could make Saturday's vote irrelevant, as their presence would help make it legal. The judiciary has seemed highly anti Morsi ever since his November 22 decrees.

Colorado Police Break up Sex Trafficking Ring

The accused pimps

The Colorado Attorney General's Office announced, on Monday, that twelve people had been arrested as part of a sting against a sex trafficking ring.

Eight of the twelve are accused of sex trafficking and pimping underage girls, while the other four are accused of being amongst their customers.

Three of them told police they were part of the Crips gang.

The group operated in Aurora, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Lakewood, and Parker.

Attorney General John Suthers promised that, "the men who paid for sex with minors will be brought to justice".

It was not released how long the group had been running, or how many girl had been caught in the trafficking.

Diarra Forced to Resign in Mali

Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra was arrested in Mali, late Monday night.

Soldiers came to his home, dragged him into a car, and then drove him to the Kati military camp.

Within hours, Diarra was seen resigning, on national TV, early Tuesday morning.

In March, a military junta took over the country.

They were eventually forced, mostly by international pressure, to appoint a prime minister.

Their choice was Diarra, who had regularly campaigned for international troops to help reunite the country.

The northern section of the country was taken over by Islamists, while the south was busy dealing with the coup.

Drug Ring Shut Down in Colorado

Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey announced that sixteen people had been arrested as part of a drug ring investigation, in Colorado.

The drug ring had been taking place in Aurora, Denver, Edgewater, Lakewood, and Wheat Ridge.

They had been bringing in meth from Arizona and cocaine from California.

When police moved in, they also found that the group had been running a cockfighting organization.

Amongst the charges, the ring members face, are various drug charges and money laundering.

Chavez Announces Successor Just in Case

Hugo Chavez has once again headed to Cuba for cancer treatment.

This time was different, however, as he admitted that his continued illness might end his reign.

Chavez was just reelected, to another term, two months ago.

During the campaign he regularly assured voters that he had beaten cancer, but it now looks like that may have been subterfuge to not look weak.

Before leaving for Cuba, he announced a successor, in a press conference.

He asked the people to vote for Vice President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro if the need should arise for a new election, due to his incapacity to continue on as President.

If an election does take place, Maduro would face a big challenge, as Chavez only won the October election with fifty-four percent of the vote.

CU Students in Jail for Lacing Brownies With THC

Two CU students are in jail after they laced brownies with THC and then gave them to their class.

Eight people ate the brownies, three of whom became ill afterwards, and were hospitalized for a short time.

Their teacher had set a "bring food to class day", and was one of those hospitalized.

THC is the active ingredient in marijuana.

As they had not informed anyone that the brownies had marijuana in them, they face charges of drugging the eight people.

Under Colorado law they could face up to twelve years of jail time, for each count, meaning they could face nearly one hundred years in prison, just for that.

Police have also added second degree assault charges, for those who became ill.

Thomas Ricardo Cunningham, twenty-one, and Mary Elizabeth Essa, nineteen, will now each have a felony on their record, for the incident.

Egypt's Military Given Power to Arrest Dissidents

Egypt's government gave the military extra powers, on Monday.

Under the new law, the military now has the right to arrest anyone who was seen as a threat to the referendum, scheduled for Saturday.

They will also be in charge of protecting "vital institutions", such as polling locations.

Opposition leaders have cried out against this measure, as one more strike against democracy and free speech.

The military stressed that this is a limited time power, that they will no longer have come Sunday, and that it is purely a safety measure.

Morsi's government announced the step after opposition leaders refused to recognize the referendum as legitimate.

Australian Police Issue Advisory Against Using Apple Maps

Apple Maps' problems continues, as does the app's failings.

Australian police have issued an official advisory against using the guide program.

The maps and directions are so bad that police say they have had to rescue multiple people from life threatening situations, because they followed the instructions Apple Maps gave them.

According to Victoria police they've rescued six people who had been looking for the town of Mildura, but were taken over forty miles away, thanks to the app.

Instead of the town they ended up in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park desert, where temperatures hit over one hundred and ten degrees and there is no cell reception.

Police have also contacted Apple, in hopes of getting the issue fixed.

Apple says that fixing it has become a top priority, amongst many fixes for the map app.

US Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque

US Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, twenty-eight, died from a head wound sustained during an operation in Afghanistan.

He was part of the SEAL team which rescued an American doctor, who had been kidnapped.

The operation took place Saturday night, Checque died Sunday morning.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, on Sunday, "The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy's grip. They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night. In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld. The torch of freedom burns brighter because of them."

Checque originally came from Monroeville, Pennsylvania, before joining the Navy, and eventually becoming a SEAL.

He joined the Navy in 2002 after graduating from high school, according to a brief service record provided by the Defense Department. After attending recruit training in Illinois and advanced training in Virginia, he entered the SEAL program in April 2003.

Checque was assigned to his first SEAL unit in August 2004, and transferred to SEAL Team Six, in September 2008.

His former high school superiors and classmates at Norwin High School in North Huntington, Pennsylvania, remembered him as diligent and enthused about joining the military. "He worked hard everyday and never complained," his former wrestling coach Rich Ginther told CNN affiliate WPXI. "I remember his senior year him basically telling us what he was training for, and it was to get in special forces."

The current vice principal, who graduated two classes ahead of Checque, called him a role model for the current students.  "It's scary to hear these kind of stories that come out," said Micheal Choby, "but I'm going to testament to the kind of man Nick built himself to be for these kids who are here aspiring to be in the military."

Former classmate Stefanie Stewart says she sat next to Checque on the school bus almost every day.

"He always knew he wanted to go into the military," she said. "He was a very driven individual, had a very keen sense of mind. A strong minded person. But underneath that, you could tell he had a good heart."

Checque, who enlisted in the Navy in October of 2002, was the recipient of the following awards and decorations: Bronze Star Medal w/Combat 'V', Joint Service Commendation Medal w/Combat 'V', Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/Combat 'V', Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon (2), Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.