This aerial photo shows a view of homes on the North side of the fertilizer plant explosion site Thursday, April 18, 2013, in Near West, Texas. A massive explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160, officials said overnight.
It’s been a rough week, so let’s be careful out there.
- Explosion in Texas: A blast at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, Tex., has killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160, sending smoke and flame hurtling hundreds of feet into the sky. (TIME.com)
- Sinkhole in Chicago: A street in the Windy City’s southeast suddenly opened up, swallowing three cars and sending one person to the hospital. (Chicago Tribune)
- Ricin in Washington: A Mississippi man has been arrested in connection with the poisoned letters that were mailed to the White House and the office of a Mississippi senator. (USA Today)
- Bombs in Boston: While the Internet chases down suspects, President Obama and other leaders spoke at an interfaith service for the victims of the marathon bombing. Meanwhile, comfort dogs have arrived in Boston to help survivors cope with the tragedy. (via TIME.com, Whitehouse.gov, BuzzFeed)
In Other News: Twitter Music is here! Although we may not be using it. (Flavorwire)
Castle Perilous: An episode of the ABC drama featuring a bomb attack has been delayed due to the Boston bombing. A whole week. (TVLine.com)
This Means War: Barry Diller’s Aereo streaming service is taking on broadcasters with a full-page ad in the New York Times. Nothing like fighting struggling network television via struggling print newspapers. (The Verge)
Where Do the Words ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ Come From? Whoa. (mental_floss)
‘Oopsy-Daisy Homophobe’: Hey, remember, ‘Accidental Racist’? Stephen Colbert’s parody of the cringeworthy Brad Paisley/LL Cool J track is even funnier. (The Colbert Report, via Salon)
Meet the New Boss: BuzzFeed has a new CEO, Colonel Meow. ALL HAIL COLONEL MEOW! (BuzzFeed)
David Foster Wallace on Ambition: The late author of Infinite Jest talks gets the illustrated treatment in this interview he did with Leonard Lopate. (via Brain Pickings)
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