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January 16, 2013 | | Explainer President Obama just signed twenty-three executive orders, that sure is a lot. The Daily Beast’s Caitlin Dickson digs in to Obama’s gun–control proposal to see what he can do right away—and what he’ll have to beg Congress for. REALLY? Hey, NRA, the century is not even 13 years old, declaring a “fight of the century” might be a bit premature. The nation’s largest gun lobby vowed to use all their resources to fight President Obama in a fundraising letter distributed on Wednesday—the same day Obama announced a crackdown in gun laws. “I warned you this day was coming and now it is here,” NRA president Wayne LaPierre declares in the leaflet, which is being circulated at the 35th Annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, the NRA and other gun advocacy groups spend the whole day in closed-door meetings to draft a response to Obama’s proposal to reduce gun violence, which included a ban on assault weapons, higher-capacity magazine guns, and stricter background checks. Fire at Will Now that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed sweeping gun-control laws, a strange new ad promises gun-loving New Yorkers their firearms will be safe in the Lonestar State. The Daily Beast’s David Freedlander reports. HOSTAGES Forty-one hostages—including an unspecified number of Americans—were seized by militants at a gas field in Algeria on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department confirmed. Specific details concering the Americans in custody have yet to be released, a move the State Department deems necessary to “protect their safety.” Described by the State Department as a terrorist attack, the incident allegedly took place at a gas operation in In Aménas, a joint-venture operation that includes BP. Citing two Mauritania-based news agencies, Reuters places the blame on Islamic militants, most likely retaliating against France for its intervention in Mali. ‘LITTLE EARTHQUAKE’ At least two people are dead and another 13 were injured in central London when a helicopter crashed into a crane near a bus station in a busy part of the city during the morning commute on Wednesday. The helicopter crashed into the crane near the Vauxhall Cross bus station at 8 a.m. local time, and then hit various vehicles before bursting into flames. One of the fatalities has been confirmed as the pilot, Pete Barnes, 50. “When I heard the explosion—it was like a little earthquake,” eyewitness Sarah-Beth Casey told The Telegraph. Sixty firefighters responded to the scene at Wandsworth Road, with the London Fire Brigade station manager Bruce Gain saying crews arrived to the scene within four minutes. | | 
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