I70 Closures in Colorado

Interstate 70, through Colorado, is having some issues, this weekend.

From Aurora, to the Kansas border it was closed Saturday afternoon, due to blowing snow.

Officials were unsure when it would be reopened.

To the west of Denver, eastbound I70 was temporarily closed due to a twelve vehicle pileup, near Lookout Mountain.

Only minor injuries occurred, and the closure caused slowing on westbound.

That has since been cleared, and both directions are now moving regularly again.

Tunnels through the mountains of Colorado are being metered, slowing traffic near them, but no closures are currently reported.

The Growing Conflict Between Canada and Mexico in Sports

Baseball became the latest medium for violence between Canada and Mexico, on Saturday.

A bench clearing, punches thrown and connected fight occurred in the ninth inning of a game between the two countries.

Organizers of the The World Baseball Classic said no one would be disciplined over the brawl.

The two countries have a growing sports rivalry, which is increasingly physical.

Previously, it's been mostly contained to soccer games, with both men's and women's games having confrontations.

Officials, especially in Canada, are becoming increasingly worried by this, as they see it hurting their national image.

Mexico, on the other hand, appears to be desiring of more physical conflicts.

It will be up to sports leagues how long they will allow this to go on.

7 Kidnapped From Nigeria Killed

Italy and Greece have confirmed that their citizens, who were kidnapped in Nigeria last month, have been killed.

After their confirmation, Briton deemed it likely that their citizen had been killed as well.

Lebanon, who had four citizens among the kidnapped, has made no comment.

The hostage takers had announce the killings on Saturday, but no one could confirm til Sunday.

According to the kidnappers, they killed them because British and Nigerian forces were trying to free them.

However, according to the governments no rescue attempts had been made.

Spring Forward

It's time to spring forward.

Daylight savings time begins on Sunday.

Once it hits 02:00, it's actually 03:00.

Remember to change any non automatic clocks, when you go to bed.

It's also a good time to change batteries in smoke detectors or other battery powered emergency warning devices.

Police on Strike in Egypt

Egyptian police are tired of being used against protesters.

Police had been put in the situation of defending the government from the protesters, and both sides had taken casualties and fatalities.

Towards this police in ten, of the twenty-nine provinces, have gone on strike.

In some cases they've not only closed their stations, but left the cities as well.

The government is working on replacing the police with military forces.

Syrian Rebels Threaten Israel

Israeli Defense Forces have begun bringing more troops in to strengthen defenses in the Golan Heights.

Rebel forces in Syria have threatened to retake the land, that Israel captured in 1967, and that Syria surrendered in 1974.

The Syrian government has mostly lost control of their area near the Heights, but hasn't given up on them yet.

On Wednesday, rebels captured twenty-one UN peacekeepers, who were in the Golan Heights, and held them hostage until Saturday.

The UN has a thousand strong force of peacekeepers between Israel and Syria, to try and enforce peace.

Colorado Senate Advances 5 of 7 Gun Bills

Colorado Senate chambers

Five of the seven gun control bills, facing Colorado's Senate, were advanced on Friday.

Voting was almost completely on party lines, with some Democrats switching to the Republican side.

Gun control is extremely controversial in Colorado, which has a proud gun owning history.

The Senate voted to move forward on:

• House Bill 1224 limits gun ammunition magazines to fifteen rounds.
• House Bill 1228 revives fees for gun purchasers who need background checks.
• House Bill 1229 adds a background check requirement for guns sold in private transactions.
• Senate Bill 195 requires people seeking concealed carry permits to take gun training courses in person, not online.
• Senate Bill 197 expands a ban on gun ownership for people convicted of certain domestic violence offenses.

SB 195 and 197 will now move to the House for consideration.

Governor Hickenlooper has said he will sign HB 1224 and 1229, but has avoided commenting on HB 1228.

Sponsors of the other two bills withdrew them from the floor, effectively ending them.

• House Bill 1226 ends Colorado's law which keeps public college campuses from banning concealed weapons.
• Senate Bill 196 adds legal liability for gun sellers and owners.

SB 196 was considered the most controversial of all of the bills.

Kidnapped UN Peacekeepers Safe After Being Released

Twenty-one UN peacekeepers were released into Jordan, on Saturday.

They had been detained by Syrian rebels, since Wednesday.

Rebel forces had threatened to keep them until the Syrian military left the area, but gave into international pressure.

A planned retrieval of them had to be cancelled on Friday, due to heavy shelling from Syrian military forces.

The UN confirmed their release, saying all were unharmed.

Suicide Bombers Kill 19 as Hagel Visits Afghanistan

Crews use a crane to lift a damaged car in Kabul

Two suicide bombers struck in Afghanistan, on Saturday.

The attacks happened within hours of Chuck Hagel's, the new US Defense Secretary, arrival in the country.

One struck at the Afghan Defense Ministry, in Kabul, killing ten and injuring fourteen.

In Khost Province, another killed eight children and a police officer and injured a dozen.

A police officer saw him approaching a group of children, told them to get away, then hugged the bomber to try and block some of the blast.

The Taliban claimed the first attack, but avoided responsibility for the second.

Kenyatta Wins Kenyan Presidency

Kenyatta

The votes are finally all counted and a winner has been announced in the Kenyan presidential election.

With 50.07% of the vote Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is now president elect Kenyatta.

Kenyatta narrowly lost the last election, in 2007.

His father was Kenya's first prime minister and president.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who came in second with 43.31% of the vote, has promised to challenge the results.

Odinga has asked his supporters to avoid the violence which marred the last election.

Both Odinga and Kenyatta started off as socialists, but Kenyatta has brought his political ideology closer to the center.