Nearly a quarter century has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court, in Symm vs. United States, ruled that college students had a right to treat their dorms as their residence for voting purposes. It's a fact which Republicans seem to find very inconvenient --- especially given the fact that, in 2008, the youth vote, heaviest in precincts where college campuses are located, favored Barack Obama over John McCain by a two-to-one ratio. The numbers were similar against Mitt Romney in 2012.

Thus, in 2011, despite the fact that his investigation failed to establish a single instance of voter fraud by any student, Maine's Republican Secretary of State Charlie E. Summers sent an intimidating letter to lawfully registered student voters seeking to convince them to "cancel" their voter registration where they go to school.

"Back in February," of this year, writes Laura Conaway at Maddow Blog, "an Indiana Republican proposed revoking the right for students to register at their colleges. After college Democrats and Republicans in Indiana joined in pushing back, the sponsor promised to amend her bill so that it would be constitutional, by which she meant dropping the idea."

Not to be outdone, this month three North Carolina Republican State Senators have introduced the appropriately numbered S666, which would strip the right of the parents of students from claiming a personal state tax exemption, which ranges from $2,000 - $2,500, if the student lawfully uses their dorm as their residence for voting purposes.

A related bill, S667, deceptively titled the "Equalize Voter Rights" act, would also strip tax exemptions for parents whose student children fail to register their car at the same place they register to vote. According to WRAL, "That also could cut down on college student registration, since many students maintain their vehicle registration in their home counties."

As the state's Democratic House Minority leader notes, both bills "would raise taxes on middle-class families who are trying to put their children through college." But, apparently Republicans are now in favor of tax increases, at least in NC, as long at it might help curb the increase in the youth vote seen over the last several elections.

But what may be most troubling of all, is that it seems the esteemed GOP state Senators in NC must be entirely unaware of the provisions of the 24th Amendment which, long ago, outlawed all poll taxes.

5:50pm PT: Boston Police tweet: "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody." Watertown residents stream into streets to cheer police as cars roll back out of town...

5:47pm PT: Local media: Second "suspect alive, in custody, and they're asking for a medic. It's over." Applause heard breaking out around scene. || Boston Police tweet: "Suspect in custody. Officers sweeping the area."

4:31pm PT: "Barrage of gunfire" heard in Watertown. "Body found on a boat," reports NBC's Pete Williams. Area locked down, officials respond, reports of suspect surrounded...unclear whether person is still alive...

12:51pm PT: Noteworthy developments since I last checked in here. The suspects are brothers from Chechnya and have been in the U.S. for two years or more. The one who was killed is 26-year old Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The one still on the lam is 19-year old Dzhokhar. Here's another good timeline of the overnight events through 8:40am ET today as the city remains shut down during the on-going manhunt...

3:15am PT: All MBTA transit trains and buses have been shut down, as the man hunt continues. Since I suspect this is all going to be over, one way or another, by the time I wake up, and since it's the second near-all-nighter I've had here in a row, I'm going to try and hasten things by going to sleep. Though I'll likely still be following along and retweeting on The Twitters.

1:55am PT: It's been a wild night, where we've been trying to keep up with and/or make sense of developments via Twitter.

So far, one MIT officer has been shot dead. Another local law enforcement official is in critical condition after a gunfight with the alleged Boston Marathon bombing suspects. One of those suspects, the one seen in the black hat in photos released by the FBI earlier today, is now dead, according to officials.

The other suspect, in the white hat, is being pursued in the Watertown area at this time, where residents have been asked to stay inside, lock their doors, and do not open it unless it is for the police who are going yard-by-yard searching for the second suspect. He is believed to be armed and very dangerous.

Here, via CBS Boston, is what happened up until now, over the past 5 hours or so, according to a description offered by the Middlesex District Attorney...

 

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: As we slam into Earth Day weekend... Deadly fertilizer explosion slams Central Texas town; Flooding, sinkholes, extreme weather slam Chicago; PLUS: Nebraskans unite to slam the Keystone 'Export' pipeline ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Report: alarming levels of of resistant bacteria on grocery meat & poultry; Chevron defies CA on emissions, undercuts biofuels; Chevron ignored regulators warnings in refinery explosion; Scientists question NOAA report on climate, drought; New study shows once again how "Climategate" emails were distorted; Utility industry can survive - and lead - clean energy transition; Obama inks Arctic international fishing accord, GOP complains; Innovating 'dumb' LEDs; Why can't we quit fossil fuels? ... PLUS: Think those chemicals have been tested? Think again ... and much, MUCH more! ...

First read this short story please. Then this one.

Thank you.

UPDATE 4/18/2013, 5:41pm PT: AP reports West, TX mayor says "around 35 people, including 10 first responders" were killed in the explosion. "He said not all the bodies have been recovered. Muska told the LA Times the number might be as high as 40 dead and said he got that number because all other residents and first-responders were identified."

UPDATE 4/18/13 3:23am PT: Waco's KWTX has revised their earlier report of "as many as 60 or 70" dead, which was sourced to the town's EMS Director Dr. George Smith. They now report a death toll of "five to fifteen people", as of 4:45am local time, sourced to "officials". AP confirms the report of "between five and 15 people" killed, a number which is expected to rise, according to Waco Police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton. They add that "more than 160 others" are injured. Among the dead are believed to be "A group of volunteer firefighters and a single law enforcement officer who responded to a fire call at the West Fertilizer Co. about an hour before the blast. They remained unaccounted for early Thursday morning."

UPDATE 10:30pm PT: Randy Lee Loftis at Dallas Morning News reports...

Loftis adds via Twitter: "OSHA online records show no federal inspections of #West Fertilizer Co. in the past 5 yrs."

UPDATE 10:10pm PT: Texas Dept. of Public Safety spokesperson holds short press conference: "Tremendous amount of injuries...There are confirmed fatalities. Number not confirmed yet ... Devastation like Iraq or Oklahoma City ... 50-75 houses and apartments destroyed... Nursing home w/ 130 residents was in path of fire ... Wish I could tell you more." A reporter asks for a death toll number, asks the spokesman to "confirm 60-70" number. He says he "cannot confirm that number."

UPDATE 9:44pm PT: Dallas NBC affiliates live coverage cannot confirm death toll reported by Waco's KWTX below, but says 200+ injured, "at least 40 critically" at this moment.

UPDATE 8:59pm PT: Really hoping local media has it wrong... Waco's KWTX is now reporting: "West EMS Director Dr. George Smith says as many as 60 or 70 people died and hundreds were injured Wednesday night in a fertilizer plant explosion in West."

KHOU 11 News Houston is reporting "5 firefighters & 1 police officer" among the dead. They add: "Hundreds of others are wounded in the town with a population of about 2,800."

Amazing video of blast added to top: [More UPDATES at bottom of article]...

UPDATE 9:15pm PT:

Apartment near explosion in #West twitter.com/roncorning/sta…

— ron corning (@roncorning) April 18, 2013

EARLIER...

Like we needed more news today...fake or otherwise. Unfortunately (see photos and seismograph chart below), this one is not fake. From Reuters tonight...

The photos tweeted below are pretty amazing. [ALSO UPDATES NOW ADDED]...

I'm getting ready for today's BradCast on KPFK/Pacifica, so, in the meantime, if you're wondering what you may have missed today, among other things, it seems the Boston Marathon Bomber has taken down another victim: CNN.

As Josh Marshall at TPM describes this montage, it was "CNN's 90 Minutes of Awesome"...

To be fair, it wasn't only CNN who blew it today, they just led the pack. Salon has the timeline of CNN's epic failure and the similar ones that accompanied it from Fox, AP and Reuters as well.

If South Carolina used anything but the exact same 100% unverifiable voting machines that previously resulted in the inexplicable election of Alvin Greene as their 2010 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, I'd say Stephen Colbert's sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch has just won her upcoming May 7th Special Election for the U.S. House over former Gov. Mark "Appalachian Trail" Sanford.

From AP tonight...

But again, before you Democrats get too excited at this point, please read this. Thank you.

UPDATE 4/17/2013: Sanford responds and National Republicans toss him under bus...

 

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Some good news for a change: U.S. inks climate agreements with China and Japan; Another oil company quits the Arctic (for now); California sets wind energy record; Lax state regs contributed to Chevron refinery fire; Go underdogs: scrappy InsideClimateNews.org wins a Pulitzer; PLUS: Florida invaded by giant slimy snails ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): It’s official: EPA delays climate rule for new power plants; East coast seismic tests could harm marine mammals; CO: Benzene found 1400 ft from leak site; Critics slam NOAA drought report; Protesters mark 3 yr anniversary of BP Oil Disaster at trial; Reuters bungles climate science report; Antarctic ice melting at record rate: study; China cozies up to Iceland for Arctic access ... PLUS: Unhappy Returns: Climate Change's Big Tax on American ... and much, MUCH more! ...

[UPDATED MANY TIMES AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE, NOW INCLUDING FINAL WRAP (FOR NOW) ON THE DAY AFTER.]

From AP, via National Memo...

More photos at ThinkProgress...

The blasts reportedly occurred near the Marathon headquarters in a nearby hotel. The headquarters has been locked down. Additionally, NBC News is reporting:

MANY UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY, AND A WRAP UP ON THE DAY AFTER, ALL NOW FOLLOW BELOW...

So...funny thing. After yesterday's BradCast on KPFK, I drove the delightful Desi Doyen (of our Green News Report) out to The Young Turks' studio where she was scheduled to guest host once again last night. Two minutes or so before airtime, the third guest-host had yet to arrive. Guess who was drafted into last-minute duty?

Unshaven, jacket-free and prep-less, the show went on. With Desi, myself, and the great Jimmy Dore on board, it was an all-KPFK/Pacifica Radio episode of TYT, to boot!

We discussed, among other things, the mass stabbing in TX yesterday (where nobody died!); Rand Paul's claim that Republicans and he are civil rights champions; Obama's attempt to slash Social Security; and the plan for a vote in the U.S. Senate on a gun sale background check bill.

Below are a few short edited video segments with the three of us on last night's lively hour of The Young Turks [Update 4/16/2013 - The Turks have posted a few more clips --- including our discussion about Pat Robertson and climate change denier extraordinaire Rep. Joe Barton --- so I've also now added those below as well]...

 

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Profits vs. People at Obama's EPA confirmation hearing; Victory for the people in the federal fracking wars; GAO says nuke evacuation plans inadequate; Climate change is coming for your wine; PLUS: Environmental groups push back against Big Oil with hysterical ads ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Solar panels could destroy U.S. utilities, according to U.S. utilities; Wind Energy Record in California, equal to 2 nuke plants; Obama Budget Drains Tax Breaks For Big Oil; Keystone XL using old, badly welded pipelines?; Rep. Joe Barton Says Biblical 'Great Flood' Proves Climate Change Not Man Made; Tea Party Leader arrest after Agenda 21 threats; 85% of tax experts support a carbon tax; Climate change's big tax on Americans; Nike: betting against climate scientists is 'false hope' ... PLUS: Video: Sen. Bernie Sanders' call for climate action is full of awesome ... and much, MUCH more! ...

On Wednesday's BradCast on KPFK/Pacifica Radio, I interviewed Brendan Cummings, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. He's fresh off his win in federal court where a U.S. Magistrate Judge found earlier this week that the Obama Administration violated federal law by not taking the effects of fracking into account in its environmental assessment before leasing areas of the Monterey Shale Formation in California to oil companies.

We discussed the case and its first-of-its-kind ruling, the impact it may (hopefully) have on similar fracking land leases elsewhere in the state and nation, and what the hell supposedly "liberal" Democrats like Barack Obama and CA Gov. Jerry Brown must be thinking.

I also covered this week's election fraud felony guilty pleas by a staffer for Newt Gingrich's 2012 Presidential campaign, the pending felony charges against a co-defendant and additional arrests that prosecutors say may be coming soon. All a part of Gingrich's failed attempt to qualify for the 2012 GOP Presidential primary in Virginia, and his unbelievable hypocrisy in downplaying fraud in his own campaign that was far worse than anything ACORN ever did (or, actually, didn't do.)

Finally, we had an extended Green News Report segment with Desi Doyen, to discuss, among other things, Rep. Joe Barton's amazing comments today, and the new attempt by Fox "News" to raise George Orwell from the grave by describing environmentalists as "climate deniers"...

Download MP3 or listen online below...

P.S. The BradCast now also airs Saturday at 3pm ET and Sunday at 4pm ET on The Progressive Voices Channel on TuneIn! (And download the great TuneIn app on your smart device if you haven't already!)

P.P.S. Still looking for someone to help with an official logo for The BradCast. We need one! Good with logos? Drop me an email with ideas! See this and this for potential inspiration!

Yes, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) actually said this...during a hearing in the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power today...

Here's what he actually said --- out loud --- via RAW STORY [emphasis added]...

You may remember Barton from 2010, after the BP oil spill in the Gulf, as the man who actually apologized to BP's then CEO during a U.S. House hearing, for what he described as a White House "shakedown", after the company agreed to pay some $20 billion to help clean up the unprecedented disaster and help restore the livelihoods of many who lost everything thanks to the spill.

This seems to me to be a potentially larger issue --- with broader national implications --- than it's currently being regarded as in the bulk of the corporate media.

I'm prepping to interview Brendan Cummings, the lead litigator in this case, later today on my KPFK/Pacifica Radio show. [That interview is now here...] Cummings argued the case on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity which sued the Obama Administration along with the Sierra Club.

So, for now, here's how the matter is being reported this week by Virginia Hennessey of the Monterey County Herald [emphasis added]...

And here is the actual 30-page ruling [PDF] of U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal issued earlier this week.

UPDATE 4/11/13: My interview with Brendan Cummings, senior attorney from Center for Biological Diversity who won this landmark case, is now posted here...

 

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Ernie Moniz, Obama's nominee for Energy Secretary, heads to easy confirmation in Senate; Former NRC chair says US nukes should be replaced; Fukushima is drowning in a sea of radioactive water; Exxon gets a medal for safety?!? PLUS: Conservative icon Margaret Thatcher believed in SCIENCE, and ACTION on climate change... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Frackers Losing $1.5b Yearly to Leaks; Australia's Coal Industry Headed For Failure; Judge denies BP's attempt to reduce oil spill payouts; Worst wildlife disease in N. America just got worse; Toxic chemicals in Great Lakes plastic pollution; Cost of air pollution scourge underestimated; Billionaire Koch Brother's bizarre self-delusion on climate science; When You Account For The Oceans, Global Warming Continues Apace... PLUS: How Far Can Climate Change Go? ... and much, MUCH more! ...