Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Boston Bombings Suspect Will Face Criminal Charges, Not Be Designated Enemy Combatant
- Badly Wounded Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Responding to Questions
- Relief Teams Rush Aid to China Quake Survivors
- More Millennials Buy House Before Getting Married
Boston Bombings Suspect Will Face Criminal Charges, Not Be Designated Enemy Combatant
The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has been charged, the Justice Department announced Monday. CNN reports that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged in federal court with use of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death. He could face the death penalty if convicted. Tsarnaev, 19, made his initial appearance Monday before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in his hospital room at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. The decision to charge Tsarnaev in civilian court put an end to speculation that he would be charged as an enemy combatant, a designation sometimes used against terrorists. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the decision not to treat Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant was "absolutely the right way to go and the appropriate way to go." Carney said that because Tsarnaev is a naturalized U.S. citizen, he cannot be tried by a military commission. Despite being seriously wounded and heavily sedated, Tsarnaev has begun responding to brief questions from his hospital bed, officials said.
Badly Wounded Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Responding to Questions
Despite a serious throat wound preventing him from speaking, the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect is beginning to respond to questions from investigators, according to federal officials, NBC News reports. Nearly 48 hours after he was taken into custody following an intense gun battle and manhunt, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was communicating with a special team of federal investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. Word that the badly wounded suspect was able to communicate with authorities came as a surprise, especially after details about the severity of his injuries began to emerge. Tsarnaev, who remains in serious condition, was responding to questions mostly in writing because of the throat wound, according to the officials. The throat wound may be the result of a suicide attempt, investigators said. Officials are hoping to glean more information about the twin blasts last Monday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured more than 170, and determine whether Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in a gun battle with police Thursday night, received assistance from others.
Relief Teams Rush Aid to China Quake Survivors
Rescuers and relief teams are rushing supplies to rural provinces in China after a deadly earthquake over the weekend, CBN News reports. The 7.0 quake struck parts of Sichuan province Saturday morning, killing at least 188 people and injuring more than 11,000. The quake triggered landslides, cutting off roads and disrupting phone and power connections in the mountainous region. The Chinese Red Cross has deployed relief teams with food, water and medicine, and rescuers are still struggling to find survivors. "We are searching in a method called 'dragnet,'" said Chen Xiuyu, company commander of the Chengdu military region. "The method means we will search every village, every house, and will never give up trying to save the life of every resident." The quake was among the deadliest China has seen in the past three years.
More Millennials Buy House Before Getting Married
Millennial couples are more likely to buy a house together before they take their wedding vows than their parents and grandparents were, according to a new Coldwell Banker Real Estate survey. Almost a quarter of married homeowners aged 18 to 34 bought a home together before they were married, compared with 14 percent of those aged 45 and older. "We didn't expect to find that couples committed to each other to buy homes before they were married," says Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist who works for Coldwell on lifestyle surveys and buyer habits. "It's almost like buying a home is the new engagement ring." The online survey of 2,116 adults March 8-12 found that couples who bought homes before marriage were all planning to tie the knot. "Increasingly, Americans and especially millennials see marriage as something that should be entered into only after you've taken several steps toward showing your maturity," says Stephanie Coontz, co-chair of the Council on Contemporary Families. "It's not something you jump into." Two-thirds of couples getting married these days lived together before they walked the aisle; buying a home together is a big proof of commitment.
Publication date: April 23, 2013
