New evidence suggests nuclear weapon blueprints less threatening

Marisa Gallelli

The nuclear weapon blueprints that Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan provided to Libya have been determined to be a relatively crude design of a bomb by American and European arms experts. The investigation into the blueprints has established a new link between Khan and the underground nuclear black market while comforting investigators who see Khan’s plans as less threatening in the spread of nuclear weapons, according to the New York Times.

KERRY, DEMOCRATIC FRONT RUNNER

Senator John Kerry solidified his position as front-runner in the Democratic presidential nomination race by winning the states of Washington, Michigan and Maine, once strongholds of Howard Dean. Kerry has continued his dominance by being victorious in Virginia, according to the Washington Post.

METRO EXPLOSION KILLS MOSCOW CIVILIANS

An explosion, which caused clouds of smoke through the tunnels in the Moscow metro, killed at least 22 people and wounded 30 during their rush hour on Friday, Feb. 6. The explosion came from the second wagon of a train that left Avtozavodskaya station and began heading northwest to the central Paveletskaya station, according to the New York Times.

TENET ACKNOWLEDGES PREWAR INTELLIGENCE FAILURE

George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, in an address at Georgetown University, conceded that American spy agencies might have overestimated Iraq’s illegal weapons capabilities due to the failure to penetrate the Iraq government’s inner workings. This was Tenet’s first effort at providing an insight to prewar intelligence failure, according to the New York Times

MASS. TO PERMIT GAY MARRIAGES

Massachusetts’ highest courts have ruled that gay marriages will be permitted come Monday, May 17, making it the only state to do so. Lawmakers will soon debate the proposal of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages, according to the New York Times.

CAR BOMB EXPLOSION KILLS IRAQI JOB APPLICANTS

Outside the police station in Iskandiriya, a town 30 miles south of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded killing at least 54 people and wounding at least 60 others. The car, holding about 500 pounds of explosives, detonated when a line of Iraqis waiting to apply for jobs with the police was formed, according to the New York Times.

Posted to the web by Marisa Gallelli