Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Colorado High Schooler Arrested Over Explosive Device

A sixteen year old high school student has been arrested in Lafayette, Colorado.

The student is being investigated for bringing an explosive device to school.

A teacher at Centaurus High School found the device in a "high traffic area", on Monday morning.

After finding the device, the teacher took it outside and called police.

Police evacuated the school and used bomb dogs to search for further devices, but found none.

The Boulder County Bomb Squad safely detonated the device, in a nearby field.

According to authorities, the device would have caused injuries to those in it's proximity, had it gone off.

School resumed on Tuesday.

Vermont Passes Assisted Suicide Bill

Lawmakers in Vermont have passed a bill that will make the state the third to allow for assisted suicide.

Under the bill, if a person's primary doctor and a second opinion both agree that the patient has a terminal illness then the person may request for a lethal dosage of drugs.

Patients must also be considered mentally capable of making such a decision.

The request must be witnessed by two people, who are not connected to the case.

After fifteen days, the person can then request the drugs again.

If both requests are made and all requirements met then a doctor may prescribe the drugs.

For it to be legal the person must take the drugs themselves.

Governor Peter Shumlin is expected to sign the law into being.

4 US Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

Four US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, on Tuesday.

They were in a convoy traveling through the Zhari district of Kandahar province, when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb.

In 2013, fifty-six ISAF troops have been killed, with forty-three of them being Americans.

Around one hundred thousand ISAF troops are still present, throughout Afghanistan.

They are scheduled to leave in 2014.

Taliban forces continue to assault the ISAF and free Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's war with the Taliban has no end in sight.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Hickenlooper Signs Law Enforcement Dog Training Law

Governor Hickenlooper signed a bill on Monday, which requires new training for law enforcement personnel.

The new bill requires all Colorado law enforcement officers to be trained in how to deal with dogs.

Colorado has seen several police shootings of dogs, over the past year, most of which likely could have been avoided.

Law enforcement agencies were sought out during the creation of the bill.

It does allow officers leeway if they believe that they or others are in danger.

Colorado Gas Leak Sends 31 Junior Highers to the Hospital

Thirty-one students ended up being sent to the hospital after a gas leak at Ignacio Junior High School, in Colorado.

None of their symptoms were serious, they all suffered from headaches, nausea, and vomiting and were sent to the hospital as a precaution.

Officials say that a backed up collection tank caused the gas.

According to the fire department, there was no risk of an explosion as the fumes weren't flammable, just nauseating.

The collection tank had been installed in 1998, and had not been cleaned since then.

Fumes only affected one science classroom, which the school plans to have reopened later this week, after the collection tank is emptied.

US Justice Department Seizes AP Phone Records

According to the Associated Press, the US Justice Department seized some of their phone records, from April and May of 2012.


Records for over twenty phone lines were taken, including multiple reporters and the press agency's switchboard.

The AP called the seizure a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" of freedom of the press.

AP Chief Executive Gary Pruitt said, "There can be no possible justification for such an overboard collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters".

In a press release, the US Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia said that they had been extremely "careful and deliberative" when taking the records.

Minnesota Senate Approves Same Sex Marriage

Minnesota's state senate approved same sex marriage on Tuesday.

The bill passed with a vote of thirty-seven to thirty.

Last week it passed the house.

Governor Mark Dayton has already said he will sign it, on Tuesday afternoon.

The law will go into effect in August.

It's passage makes Minnesota the twelfth state to legalize same sex marriage.

Abortion Doctor Gosnell Guilty of Murder

A jury trying Doctor Kevin Gosnell found him guilty on three counts of first degree murder, on Monday.

Doctor Gosnell has been on trial for four counts of first degree murder and one count of third degree murder.

Gosnell ran an abortion clinic and was known to do late term abortions.

He had been accused of doing post birth abortions, which is where the first degree murder charges came in.

Originally, there had been seven counts of first degree murder, but the judge threw them out due to lack of evidence.

The third degree count came over a woman who died from complications after she had an abortion performed by him.

Eight former employees pleaded guilty to lesser charges and testified against Gosnell.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

19 Shot at New Orleans Mother's Day Parade

Nineteen people were wound, on Sunday, when shots were fired at a Mother's Day parade, in New Orleans.

Three of them are in serious condition.

The spectators were marching behind the parade when six or seven shots went through the massed people.

Most of the injuries were the result of people being grazed by bullets.

Police believe that it was not aimed at the parade, but a street gang shooting whose bullets just happened to hit the marchers.

Popocatepetl Causes Evacuations Near Mexico City

Saturday night the Popocatepetl volcano let forth a burst of steam that reached about half a mile into the sky.

Over night, Popocatepetl could be seen to be emitting glowing rocks as well.

As a precaution, the government sent soldiers and federal police to clear a seven square mile area, around the volcano.

Shelters were set up for those evacuated.

Authorities are preparing to evacuate an even wider area, if it is deemed necessary.

Popocatepetl is located only about twenty-five miles from the nearest suburbs of Mexico City.