From the Boston bombings to Trudeau attack ads and muzzled MPs, managing editor, George Browne, takes a look back at the big news stories that shaped this week.
DAY OF CELEBRATION TURNS TRAGIC
On a day that Bostonians were out en masse to celebrate the coming of spring, and cheer on those runners brave enough to pound the pavement for the marathon, their picture postcard moment was shattered by two explosions, followed by death, destruction and terror, as shown here in pictures and sound.
New details about the suspects were revealed on Thursday and the manhunt began.
What ensued was a dragnet the city of Boston had never experienced before.
By the end of the day Friday one suspect had been killed and the other had been captured.
READ MORE: More details about Dzhokar Tsarnaev emerge online
With Boston under siege, Health specialist Carmen Chai writes about the psychological ramifications of a city on lockdown.
Despite all of the efforts by authorities and the massive media attention, this story hasn’t fully come together; there remain many unanswered questions. Did they act alone? Was it part of a larger conspiracy?
For the victims and their families; the question of why, why would two young men take such actions that shattered the lives of many.
In a special report for Global News, Dina Kraft, who spent ten years covering bombings in the Mideast, reflected on a bomb strike close to home in her new city of Boston.
“A little over a year after relocating to low-key Boston, I had let my guard down. I no longer thought about crowds, no longer felt unsafe walking into a public building or event where no security person waited to check my bag.”
WEST TEXAS BLAST, RICIN LETTERS
As details of the Boston bombings dominated headlines, news of a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas sent news crews scrambling to cover yet another tragedy in America.
A public already nervous about alleged terrorist activity after the Boston bombings – letters laced with Ricin were sent to President Obama and Senator Roger Wicker.
Organized terrorist threats were put to rest after experts were able to quickly identify the man accused of sending the letters via online detective work. Nicole Bogart reports.
THE BLOOD SPORT OF POLITICS
In a sweeping victory on Sunday, Justin Trudeau, eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, had one day of grace before Conservative attack ads flooded the airwaves.
And for those political quiz buffs – can you name 20 facts about Justin?
In a lunch interview with Globalnews.ca’s political reporter Laura Stone, a Conservative backbencher set off a political firestorm by revealing details about how MPs are being muzzled by their own party.
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- Mental health support still lacking 4 years after mass shooting: Nova Scotia mayor
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
Conservative Senator Mike Duffy repaid more than $90,170 in Senate housing allowances to the Receiver General Friday, despite telling Global News one day earlier he was unsure he had to repay any money.
CYBER BULLYING VS. SCHOOLYARD SAFETY
From our Investigative Data Desk – Patrick Cain and Anna Mehler Paperny scoured over raw data obtained from the Toronto District School Board under access-to-information laws, in what the board calls “the largest youth census in Canada”.
They discovered cyber bullying is still rare as Toronto teens say they’re still more likely to get teased, taunted or gossiped about in real life than bullied online.
And in the majority of high schools surveyed, students said they felt safer in the community than in the outdoor spaces of their own schools.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What a Bostonian means when he or she says ‘They messed with the wrong city’ is ‘You don’t think this changes anything, do you?'”
– Dennis Lehane, from an op-ed in the New York Times
HEROS AND ACTS OF KINDNESS
While this week was filled with angst and tragedy, there were some bright lights. We give the last word to those acts of kindness in the midst of chaos and the heroes who helped the victims of the explosions.
Comments