Gun rights group endorses background checks
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has recently endorsed the proposed legislation that would require background checks prior to gun purchases, among other regulations. The group, which was founded in 1972 and has more than 650,000 members and supporters, said that it was “the right thing to do” to support a strong background check system for most gun purchases. The new legislation was proposed in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where 20 children and six staff members were killed by a gunman. While the issue is split among anti-gun and pro-gun groups, the National Rifle Association still strongly opposes it.

Cop fired for Trayvon Martin shooting targets
A little over a year after the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Florida police sergeant Ron King was fired on April 12 after bringing shooting targets that resembled Martin to a training session. The cutout targets each depicted a male figure in a hooded sweatshirt with a canned drink in one hand, which is symbolic of how Martin was dressed the night he was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch person in his neighborhood. The police sergeant claimed that the targets were meant to be used as “no-shoot training aid” to help officers decide when to fire.

51 humans infected with bird flu in China
A new variation of the bird flu, or the H7N9 virus, has been found in 51 people in China. This virus is typically seen in birds, and was never known to affect humans until recently. Officials are not sure how the patients became infected, but they believe the virus could have come from unsanitary poultry products. This has prompted many cities to suspend trading poultry until the virus is under control. Although the virus seems to be spreading, officials do not suspect that it is transmitted from human to human. According to reports, at least 11 of the 51 people have died so far.