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Package explosions in Austin kill two people and seriously injure another; at least 50 people are dead after a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Packages keep exploding in Austin, with deadly consequences
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- Police in Austin, Texas, are investigating a string of incidents involving explosive devices in packages left outside homes, which have killed two people and seriously injured one other. [NYT / Maya Salam]
- A teenager was killed and a 75-year-old woman was injured in two separate explosions in Texas’s capital city on Monday. Another explosion on March 2 killed a 39-year-old man named Anthony Stephan. [Austin American-Statesman / Mark D. Wilson, Roberto Villalpando, and Katie Hall]
- Police originally believed the first bombing was an isolated incident, but no longer. Authorities now say they believe the explosions are related, and that the packages were not delivered by the US Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx. [CNN / Tina Burnside, Ralph Ellis, and Joe Sterling]
- Officials are also exploring whether the incidents could be racially motivated. Stephan and teenager who was killed on Monday were both African-American, and the injured woman is Hispanic. [Washington Post / Eva Ruth Moravec, Amy B. Wang, and Mark Berman]
- All three packages were delivered to doorsteps and exploded when they were opened, police said. All appear to have been delivered early in the morning. [San Antonio Express-News / Kelsey Bradshaw]
- Police are urging people who find packages on their front doorstep to call 911 before they open them, prompting a rash of emergency calls. [Austin American-Statesman / Mark D. Wilson, Roberto Villalpando, and Katie Hall]
- The string of explosions comes the same week as the annual South by Southwest festival, which draws thousands to the city. But none of the explosions have occurred near the festival grounds. [Houston Chronicle / Alejandra Matos, Andrea Zelinksi, and St. John Barned-Smith]
- Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are on the ground helping local police with the investigation. The US Postal Service is also working on the effort. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. [KUT / Stephanie Federico, Joseph Leahy, and Andrew Weber]
A deadly plane crash, and conflicting stories as to why it happened
- At least 50 people are dead after a plane carrying 71 passengers crashed near the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. [Associated Press]
- Observers on the ground noted that the plane was flying strangely; it approached the airport’s single runway from the wrong direction. But there are differing stories on what exactly happened — airport officials said they could not get through to the pilot when they signaled the plane not to land, while airline officials insisted air traffic controllers had sent the wrong signal to the pilot. [Washington Post / Pradeep Bashyal and Annie Gowen]
- The plane ended up nosediving into a field near the runway and bursting into flames. The crash ground operations at the busy airport to a standstill. [NYT / Jeffrey Gettleman]
- The flight was operated by the US-Bangla Airlines and was coming from Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city. [BBC]
Miscellaneous
- Stinkbugs will (probably, eventually) invade your home and haunt your dreams, and we can blame their spread on globalization. [New Yorker / Kathryn Schulz]
- British authorities are investigating the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter. It’s part of a long history of attempted and successful Russian assassinations by poison. [Foreign Policy / Elias Groll]
- Has Saturday Night Live lost its political edge? This weekend’s six-minute cold open blending Robert Mueller with The Bachelor suggests ... yes. [Atlantic / David Sims]
- A small Vermont town has a pretty successful track record of producing Olympic athletes. Here are some of the ways they do it. [Outside Magazine / Katie Arnold]
Verbatim
“I don’t know. Overall, I — I can’t say overall that they have all gotten better.” [Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proves unable to answer a question about how schools in her home state of Michigan are faring / 60 Minutes]
Watch this: How’s Syria’s Kurds are trying to create a democracy
It’s an unlikely place for a democratic revolution. [YouTube / Sam Ellis]
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