Curiosity drills first Mars rock sample

The Curiosity rover drilled 2.5 inches into a Martian outcrop to collect samples.

For the first time, Mars has been drilled into and a sample of the rock collected. NASA’s Curiosity rover is carrying the only sample of gray rock, not the red dust on the surface of the planet. The sample was collected on Feb. 20 and will be analyzed by various equipment on Curiosity to give NASA scientists a look at the potentially ancient rock. This is the first time any rover has drilled anywhere other than Earth, all samples of moon rock having been taking by astronauts.

 

Burger King and Jeep twitters hacked

Hackers used Burger King’s Twitter account to claim the company had been bought by McDonald’s, also changing the Twitter handle and avatar to match McDonald’s image On the morning of Feb. 18, the hackers tweeted from the account obscenities and racial epithets before the account was shut down after about one hour. The following day, Jeep’s twitter account was hacked. Police say they believe that the same people are responsible. The hackers changed the Twitter account to say Jeep had been bought by Cadillac, but the account was closed 10 minutes later.

 

Shooting in Las Vegas

Gunfire on the Las Vegas strip early Feb. 21 left three people dead and three others injured. The shooting closed about a block and a half of the strip, as several vehicles were wrecked. One of the killed was aspiring rapper Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as Kenny Clutch. The shooting began at about 4:20 a.m., and police have yet to find the suspects involved, but are looking at security footage from four of the Nevada city’s biggest casinos that were nearby: Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, Bally’s and the Flamingo.

 

Judge grants Oscar Pistorius bail

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic runner who was accused of shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, was granted bail. On Friday, Pistorius, a double-amputee, was declared by a judge to not be a flight-risk, nor at risk of harming anyone else. Pistorius claims he shot his girlfriend thinking she was an intruder. His next court date is set for June 4th.

Pistorius’s brother, Carl, is now facing his own homicide charges for a 2008 driving accident in which a motorcyclist died. The charges had been dropped but are now being reinstated, an event that is legal according to South African law.

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