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Nation & World
Anniversary of beating causes change
Five years ago Tuesday, Matthew Shepard was attacked by two men he met in a bar in Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard willingly got into a truck with the two men before they drove him to a sheep ranch. There they secured him to a fence and beat him into a coma with the butt of a pistol and later died. Both attackers were caught and sentenced to life in prison.
Since the incident that shocked the town of nearly 500,000 people, residents say there is more tolerance toward gays than there was before. Education classes and seminars are being offered as well as diversity workshops and fund-raisers to aid HIV groups. The University of Wyoming, where Shepard attended school, supports the Rainbow Resource Center where gay students are encouraged to hang out.
Because Laramie is such a small town, residents are constantly aware that certain individuals still carry anti-gay attitudes but are thankful for the positive change that has come out of a tragic situation.
Car bomb kills six in Bogota, Colombia
Amid decades of civil warfare, a car bomb was detonated Wednesday, killing six and wounding at least 15 others. Police officers and civilians were among the dead.
According to authorities, the explosives, possibly fertilizer and fuel, went off in a commercial area that is notorious for smuggling goods. Police were alerted to the scene when they received a call about an abandoned car.
This is only one incident in a country haunted by a history of violence. Last year a mortar attack occurred on the presidential palace and last February an explosion in Florence wounded nearly 60 people. The government, right-wing paramilitary groups and leftists rebels have all been involved in the war.
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