There are at least 100 casualties being reported. A fire at a fertilizer plant in West Texas (West is the name of a small town 20 miles north of Waco in central Texas) was being fought by fire teams when it exploded, razing homes within 4 blocks and overcoming the emergency triage location.

The fire was whipped by strong southerly winds we had today, 20 to 30mph gusts. Here's some video of the explosion (at the link).

There were emergency responders on the ground fighting this fire when that happened.

Listening to audio of the response, there may be more than 100 casualties, which Waco and communities south are working to take in.

It's bad. Also important to note, given the horror of this week, the explosion happened after the fire broke out, not the other way around.

UPDATE: All residents are being advised to evacuate. West's population is about 3,000

UPDATE2: They moved the triage center from the football stadium due to toxic fumes. Reports of 20 firefighters lost. State Troopers are loading injured people into their cars to take them to hospitals, there aren't enough ambulances.

UPDATE3: 200 injuries, 40 fatalities critically injured reported. (sorry, got that wrong)

video of the blast (very disturbing warning) from ace more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:21 PM | Comments (475)
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By which I mean crazy.

As far as the Neverending Hunt for the Tea Party Malefactor, he does seem animated about gun rights, and is a Christian. But he's also a Democrat, and he's a Huffington Post commenter, apparently.

He's also an Elvis impersonator.

Eh close enough.

Crazed White Male Gun-Toting Tea Party Maniac Finally Did Something

Media and Left Celebrating With Fireworks & Ice Cream Cake

I'm still not sure it's really ricin on those letters.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 06:51 PM | Comments (128)
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I wrote this last night but had to pull it because the West factory explosion was going on. So I'm not really "writing" this now. I'm just publishing it for the purposes of filler. I'ma lookin' for real stuff.

If you've DVR'd the show but not watched it, don't read this. There's a cool dramatic thing that happens at tribal council. You don't want it spoiled.

But this was a great dramatic moment and a bad strategic moment. So I'll talk about that beyond the jump. more...

Posted by: Ace at 09:17 AM | Comments (149)
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With the moon growing and staying out later in the evening, we're going to shift away from deep sky objects to something more local.
Bonus moron astrophotography below. more...

Posted by: CAC at 06:48 PM | Comments (25)
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An unbelievable week is getting worse.

The explosion was reported at around 7:50 p.m. in a frantic radio call from the scene of the fire at West Fertilizer at 1471 Jerry Mashek Dr. just off Interstate 35.

Numerous injuries were reported and multiple ambulances were requested.

Several buildings were reported destroyed and a nearby nursing home was damaged.

There were reports that people were trapped in the nursing home and in an apartment building.

Scanner traffic indicated that some residents of both the nursing home and apartment building were severely injured.

A triage area was established at the intersection of Haven and North Reagan Streets.

A number of buildings were reported to be burning, some in residential areas.

West Middle School was one of the buildings reported to be on fire.

Update: Damn.

Photo: Man says he was 'right there' when explosion rocked West, TX twitter.com/AndyBartee/staÂ…

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) April 18, 2013

I changed the photo because there's some talk that other one might be Photoshoped. Sorry about that. (Via TMI3rd, it was an old photo of a refinery fire.)

9 Medivac helos already on scene, more requested.

This is a bad one. A really bad one.

Here's the Twitter feed of the Waco newspaper.

They set up a triage area in a nearby (looks like a block or two away) on a football field. They are now evacuating that over concern of more explosions.

There was also a report (unconfined so BIG GRAIN OF SALT) that a nearby nursing home collapsed.

Posted by: DrewM at 05:56 PM | Comments (274)
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[Live coverage of the Waco explosion here (thanks to genghis)]
[Bumping the ONT to the top pending any more updates to the Waco thread]

Meet Our Modern Educators

All of these bombers are now either professors (or in prison) and were early gunpowder and pressure cooker enthusiasts.

Now they teach your children and make you pay for the privilege.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 07:59 PM | Comments (534)
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Politico's Dylan Byers says he really wants to know who perpetrated the Boston Massacre so he can get into political mode. Basically he wants to know if he's on Offense or Defense, or, as he puts it, "what sort of national conversation we'll be having," or something like that. (Safe link to The Other McCain.)

Not a safe link, but Buzzfeed makes fun of CNN for goofing so much in their Boston coverage.

Ramesh Ponuru is already declaring Obama's second term a failure, which leads me to ask, along with David Berkowitz, "What took you so long?"

ProgressKY, which bugged McConnell's office, visited the White House days before the group declared Twitter Jihad on McConnell. (Also a buzzfeed link.)

I just got an email from the entire media about that story: What difference does it make?

Sheryl Atkisson:

These survivors had previously been... let's say fearful of prosecution for revealing things that Obama's government would claim to be state secrets. I'm not sure what deal/protection was worked out to get them talking.

Pocketful of Liberty discusses something I worry about -- conservatives becoming "the weird kid" in class.

My initial skepticism about the ricin letters was, I'm sure you all now know, misplaced.

Because, apparently, the only thing that matters anymore is whether the perp was a possible Tea Partier or not (this is what is driving all the heat about the Boston Massacre -- the left wants so bad for this to be the action of someone on the right, so they can use that to further their unending assault on America), I'll note that the messages accompanying the ricin seem to come from someone native born:

"To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."

And the messages demonstrate a familiarity with American political messaging:

"I am KC and I approve this message."

But then, the first quote is apparently lifted off the 'net, from some chiropractor who originally blogged about insurance matters.

Meanwhile, the fair and balanced Gwen Ifil is spitting nails:

No follow-up concerns about CBS's claim that a white suspect is sought, as noted by @rdbrewer4. Also no good reason given to deny the public such information, except "I don't like it when my tribe might look like it has a wayward member."

Al Sharpton addressed this matter with dignity, grace, and spittle.

Why was No-Drama Obama all Mr. Stompyboots over a personal defeat when he's been notably calm about actual US deaths?

Baroness Thatcher's funeral. Video report below. more...

Posted by: Ace at 03:16 PM | Comments (439)
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"For no explicable reason," he says.

In fairness, @DanFosterNRO also tweeted something along these lines so I suppose the remark was more about questioning why at the Courthouse, rather than "What does Amazing Grace have to do with funeral rites and what do Bagpipes have to do with Boston?"

And I suppose it's one of those "Tweet everything you see on the scene to prove that you're doing some reporting" sorts of things. Combined with the two imperatives of Twitter: Say something, no matter how mundane, and try to say it Snarky, because The Kids All Love The Snarky.

To explicate some hypotheses for Boston Globe reporter/Harvard night school professor Billy Baker: Amazing Grace is a devotional song most frequently heard during funerals or memorials for the dead. Bagpipes, being Irish/Scottish, are a popular instrument to render the tune on, especially in heavily-Irish Boston.

And buskers -- street musicians -- tend to play music where there are large groups of people with dollars in their pockets. It may make more sense to play the song on Boylston Street, but given that that's a crime scene and that civilian bagpipers aren't welcome there, he probably went to where the crowds were gathering, which was at the federal courthouse.

I hope this dispels your confusion, Mr. Baker.

Incidentally, while the Expert Baker was baffled, most of the non-experts seemed to understand the connection between Amazing Grace and solemn moments.

Posted by: Ace at 02:21 PM | Comments (308)
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Human Shields Gather: Victims are assembled for purposes of this official speech by the President.

Open thread.

Posted by: Ace at 01:33 PM | Comments (525)
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You.

So that's done.

Manchin:

“If you want to remember those 20 babies… please consider you should vote for this bill.”

I can conceive of a hypothetical bill which might protect some babies, which I do not think the Democratic caucus would support.

Posted by: Ace at 12:33 PM | Comments (519)
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