National Spotlight
Oldest Discovered U.S. Time Capsule Opened Yesterday
The oldest discovered time capsule in U.S. history, left by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere in 1795, was opened at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Tuesday. Conservators from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, removed five newspapers, 24 coins, a silver plaque inscribed by Paul Revere, a medal depicting George Washington and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The capsule had previously been opened by museum and state officials in 1885 for cleaning and documentation. (ABC, NBC)
IED Detonates Outside NAACP Building
An improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated against the wall of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) building in Colorado Springs, CO, Tuesday morning. Denver chapter NAACP President Sondra Young stated the explosion was a domestic act of terrorism and could be a hate crime. A gasoline canister was placed near the IED, but did not ignite during the explosion. Officials say the bombing was intentional. However, no one was hurt and the building suffered only minor damages to its exterior. The FBI and Colorado Springs Police Department are investigating the case. (Los Angeles Times)
Florida Ends Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
Florida became the thirty-sixth state to legalize gay marriage on Tuesday when state judge Sarah Zabel lifted the temporary ban on same-sex marriage. Federal Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional in August, after a federal lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida on behalf of a gay-rights group and same-sex couples. Although same-sex marriage is now legal in Florida, the merits of the case will still have to be presented to the Court of Appeals for the eleventh circuit and possibly the Supreme Court. (New York Times, Chicago Tribune)
Jury Selection Process Begins for Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect
The jury selection for the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two brothers accused of the Boston Marathon attack, began this past Monday in Boston. The chosen jurors will determine whether or not to convict Tsarnaev on the 30 federal count charges involved with the bombings and consecutive manhunt, which killed three people and injured 260 others. If convicted, the jurors are responsible for deciding if Tsarnaev will receive the death penalty, which Massachusetts has not used since 1947. While the trial may be delayed by the jury selection process, it is expected to begin Jan. 26 and last several months. (Reuters)
International News
Twelve Killed in Paris Newspaper Terrorist Attack
At least two masked gunmen entered the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday and killed 12 people, including two police officers. Charlie Hebdo has frequently published cartoons harshly criticizing the Prophet Muhammad and Islamic terrorist groups, leading to speculation that the gunmen may be linked with Islamic extremist groups. French President François Hollande declared the shooting an act of terror and raised France’s nationwide terror alert level following the attacks.
Deputy Mayor of Paris Patrick Klugman confirmed late Wednesday that three suspects had been identified, but French authorities have not yet apprehended the gunmen, as a citywide search of Paris is ongoing. President Hollande declared Thursday a national day of mourning to remember the 12 lost in the shooting. (New York Times)
Tail of Missing AirAsia Plane Found
A search and rescue team has located the tail of the AirAsia flight QZ8501, which went missing Dec. 28. The “black box,” the flight recording device which carries data that could explain the reasons behind the plane’s crash, is presumed to be located in the sunken tail of the plane. The black box data should be recoverable for up to a month following the crash, giving diving crews hindered by poor weather time to recover the device. Flight QZ8501, which took off from Surabaya, Indonesia, and was headed for Singapore, was carrying 162 passengers onboard before it went missing. There were no survivors from the crash and 40 bodies have been recovered thus far from the wreckage. (BBC News)
A version of this story appears on page 5 of the Thursday, January 8, 2015 issue of the Daily Nexus.
