memeorandum: House investigators talking to new Benghazi whistleblowers (Sharyl Attkisson/CBS News)

9:15 AM ET, April 18, 2013

Top Items:

EMS Director Says 60 To 70 Dead In West Explosion — West EMS Director Dr. George Smith says as many as 60 or 70 people died and hundreds were injured Wednesday night in a fertilizer plant explosion in West. — A rescuer earlier said he knew of five deaths.

Discussion: RT, KWKT-TV, CBS Dallas, Associated Press, PoliticusUSA, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Reuters, Twitchy, The BRAD BLOG, U.S. News, Hot Air, Ed Driscoll, Firedoglake, Mashable, Patterico's Pontifications, NPR, This Just In and Balloon Juice

Selwyn Crawford / Dallas Morning News:

Live video: Explosion, injuries reported at fertilizer plant near Waco in West, Texas — A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant rocked the town of West, north of Waco, causing multiple injuries and leaving people trapped and buildings on fire. — Firefighters were reported among …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Chicago Boyz, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Moderate Voice, The Agonist and AMERICAblog

Lateef Mungin / CNN:

Explosion hits fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas — Are you there? Please send photos and videos to iReport, but please stay safe. — (CNN) — An explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant Wednesday night in the area of West, Texas, sending a massive fireball into the sky and causing dozens of injuries, officials said.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Booman Tribune, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Crooks and Liars

Washington Post:

Fertilizer plant explosion injures at least 160 in central Texas; 5 to 15 feared dead — A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in central Texas Wednesday night left more than 160 people wounded and killed an estimated five to 15 people, officials said, likely including firefighters …

Discussion: Restoring Liberty and Outside the Beltway

Lateef Mungin / CNN:

Deadly blast rattles Texas town — Are you there? Please send photos and videos to iReport, but please stay safe. — (CNN) — The full extent of the devastation will have to wait until the light of day Thursday. But residents of the small Texas town of West already know what to expect.

Discussion: Business Insider and National Review

Waco Tribune-Herald:
UPDATED: Fatalities confirmed in West plant explosion

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Gawker and Los Angeles Times

Randy Lee Loftis / Dallas Morning News:
West fertilizer plant said in report that it presented no risk

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Macleans.ca and Quartz

BuzzFeed:
Massive Explosion In Texas Injures More Than 100, Leads To Evacuations

Discussion: Joe. My. God., Mediaite and U.S. News

Gabrielle Giffords / New York Times:

A Senate in the Gun Lobby's Grip — SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived …

Discussion: American Prospect, Washington Post, Washington Wire, Yahoo! News, TIME, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, The Week, Pharyngula, AMERICAblog, Mediaite, American Power, Politico, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh, U.S. News, CNN, The Hill and msnbc.com

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate rejects background checks on gun purchases in 54-46 vote — The Senate delivered a devastating blow to President Obama's agenda to regulate guns Wednesday by defeating a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks. — It failed by a vote of 54 to 46, with 5 Democrats voting against it.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Morning Read, CNN, The Impolitic, The Lonely Conservative, Hit & Run, The PJ Tatler, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Outside the Beltway and Whiskey Fire

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Senate Blocks Drive for Gun Control

Discussion: Politico, BOR, The Agonist, CNN, msnbc.com and Post Politics

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Gun Control Effort Had No Real Chance, Despite Pleas

Discussion: The Maddow Blog

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Open thread: Senate gun-control vote-a-rama; Update: Toomey/Manchin fails, 54/46; Update …

Discussion: USA Today, New York Times, Mediaite and Patterico's Pontifications

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
At Pivotal Point in Presidency, Obama Routed on Gun Control

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Roll Call, National Review, The Michael Bane Blog, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Hot Air and Instapundit

Boston Globe:

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says — Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today in an appeal …

Discussion: The Hill, msnbc.com, CBS Boston and The Boston Marathon

Los Angeles Times:
Videos point to 2 suspects in Boston Marathon bombing

Discussion: Daily Mail and Weasel Zippers

FBI:
No Arrest Made in Bombing Investigation

CNN:
Hillary Clinton reacts to Boston bombing

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Daily Mail: Boston bomber is caught on camera: FBI reveals store footage shows 'dark-skinned man …

The Boston Globe:
Image shows suspect carrying, perhaps dropping, black bag

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, American Power, Talking Points Memo, The Reaction, The Week, CNN and The Hill

Miketoole / CBS Boston:
CBS News: Possible Suspect In Boston Marathon Bombings Identified

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Raw Story, Riehl World News, Informed Comment, The Gateway Pundit, Mashable, Reuters, JustOneMinute, Mediaite and PoliticusUSA, more at Mediagazer »

U.S. News:

Feds arrest suspect in ricin-positive letters sent to Obama, senator — The ricin-laced letters sent to President Obama and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker were both postmarked April 8 and sent from Memphis, Tenn., signed “I am KC and I approve this message.” A third letter went to Michigan Sen. Carl Levin.

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, The Week, Twitchy and Towleroad News #gay

Lady Liberty 1885:

Paul Kevin Curtis and the Ricin Letters — NOTE: This post was embargoed by LL1885 pending confirmation of the suspect's identity. We did not want to get the wrong guy. It was written at 2:16 pm EST and held until now. Paul Kevin Curtis Arrested for Ricin Letters My co-blogger …

Discussion: Clarion-Ledger, The Week, Weasel Zippers and Doug Ross

Jason Howerton / TheBlaze.com:

MIND-BOGGLING DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT RICIN LETTER SUSPECT: 'I'M ON THE HIDDEN FRONT LINES OF A SECRET WAR' — Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, of Tupelo, Miss., has been arrested in connection with ricin letters that were sent to both Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and President Barack Obama," The New York Times reports.

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, Ed Driscoll, No More Mister Nice Blog, Restoring Liberty, BuzzFeed, Patterico's Pontifications, The Jawa Report, Mediaite and The PJ Tatler

Washington Post:

GOP abandons Mark Sanford; ex-wife says sons ‘upset’ over encounter with former mistress — Following revelations that his ex-wife accused him of trespassing on her property earlier this year, former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R) has lost the support of his national party.

Discussion: Post Politics, Washington Monthly, Dependable Renegade, The Greenroom and msnbc.com

Jason Zengerle / New York Magazine:
How Savvy Jenny Sanford Sabotaged Ex-Husband Mark's Political Comeback

Discussion: Power Line, The Hinterland Gazette, Right Turn, Balloon Juice, U.S. News and Washington Wire

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Republicans pull plug on Mark Sanford

Jacob Sullum / Hit & Run:

Obama Responds to His Gun Control Defeat With Self-Righteous Solipsism — “There are good people on both sides of this thing,” President Obama said in a gun control speech a couple of weeks ago, “but we have to be able to put ourselves in the other person's shoes.”

Discussion: Power Line, Betsy's Page, White House.gov Blog and Instapundit

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
A Lame Duck Squawks, But Why?

Discussion: Washington Times

Jordy Yager / The Hill:

Lawyer up, Issa warns CIA staff — In separate letters to the legal offices of the CIA, State Department and Defense Department, Issa said some witnesses on the issue might need lawyers, if their agencies decide to retaliate against them for their testimony.

Discussion: Hot Air

Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:
House investigators talking to new Benghazi whistleblowers

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:

Patricia Maisch, Hero Of Tucson, Escorted Out Of Capitol For Shaming Senate — WASHINGTON — Patricia Maisch, a hero of the Tucson shooting that left six dead and another 13 wounded, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), was escorted by police out of the Capitol Wednesday …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Mediaite, ThinkProgress and The Raw Story

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:

Max Baucus Says He Fears Obamacare Is Headed For ‘Huge Train Wreck’ — WASHINGTON — A senior Democratic senator who helped write President Barack Obama's health care law stunned administration officials Wednesday, saying openly he thinks it's headed for a “train wreck.”

Discussion: Power Line and Weasel Zippers

Vicki Needham / The Hill:

House Democrats, restaurant owners backing minimum wage increases — House Democrats are gathering support behind a proposal to raise the minimum wage for hourly and tipped workers. — Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Donna Edwards (D-Md.) unveiled a new association of restaurant owners …

Discussion: Campaign for America's Future

David Edwards / The Raw Story:

Texas teacher claims she couldn't have fondled black student because she's racist — A teacher in Texas has invoked her own racism in a defense against charges that she fondled an African-American student in her first grade class at Northwest Preparatory Academy Charter School in Humble.

Discussion: Gawker, Wonkette and KHOU-TV