Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, September 26, 2024…
- The FBI is investigating an explosion that took place in the lobby of a superior court complex Wednesday morning in Santa Maria, California. Five people were sent to the hospital with minor injuries, and people living or working several blocks around the court complex were evacuated. A suspect has been taken into custody. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez / The California Report
- As outer space becomes more accessible and more commercial, more people are choosing to launch their cremated ashes into the cosmos. Reporter: Kerry Klein / KCRW
Explosive Device Thrown Into Central CA Courthouse
A man threw a small explosive device in the lobby of the superior court complex Wednesday morning, in Santa Maria, California. No one was killed or seriously wounded when the small explosion went off, but five people were sent to the hospital with minor injuries and people living or working several blocks around the court complex were evacuated. The suspect was quickly apprehended by law enforcement. The suspect, a 20-year-old local man named Nathaniel McGuire, faces felony charges, including attempted murder and using an explosive device to commit murder. McGuire was supposed to appear in court yesterday for an arraignment related to an illegal gun possession charge and officials postulate he was angry about the legal proceedings against him. Upon his arrest, authorities discovered McGuire was wearing body armor under his clothes and was carrying ammunition on him. Out of an abundance of caution, the courthouse will be closed today as law enforcement officials continue their investigation there.
More People Are Choosing to Send Their Ashes to Outer Space
Outer space is becoming increasingly more commercial. Companies are renting out real estate, or space, on their rockets. And that has led to the creation of companies that allowing people to send cremated ashes to space. One company, Celestis, refers to the process as “Memorial Spaceflights.” Ashes are not sent directly into the vacuum of space, but are contained within their capsules, which are closed inside spacecraft that are being used primarily for other purposes.