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Sources

Connecticut Lawmakers Approve Historic Gun Bill

NEW YORK TIMES, HARTFORD COURANT (USA)

Worldcrunch

WASHINGTON – Connecticut lawmakers approved a comprehensive package of gun laws in the early hours of Thursday.

The sweeping package bans the sale of magazines carrying ten or more bullets, requires background checks on all firearms sales, sets up a registry of weapons offenders and imposes mental health monitoring in schools.

The Senate passed the bill 26-10 on Wednesday, and at 2.26 a.m. on Thursday, the House of Representatives approved it 105-44. Governor Malloy is expected to sign the bipartisan bill at noon today, reports the Hartford Courant.

The law package comes 110 days after Adam Lanza fired 154 shots in about 4 minutes with a semiautomatic rifle, killing 26 students and teachers in the Connecticut town of Newtown, reports the New York Times. The vote is a first in a state that has been at the heart of the U.S. gun manufacturing industry.

Connecticut Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, whose district includes Newtown, told the Hartford Courant that since the killings, he had been “working, as have others … to see what we can do to heal that community — if we can do anything.” “What we can do to make Connecticut safer?” he asked, “I'm proud that we've done that."

In an emotional moment for the Connecticut state Senate, McKinney recited the names of the 20 first-graders and six educators that were shot at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newton three months ago, reports the Hartford Courant.

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Migrant Lives

They Migrated From Chiapas When Opportunities Dried Up, Orchids Brought Them Home

An orchid rehabilitation project is turning a small Mexican community into a tourist magnet — and attracting far-flung locals back to their hometown.

They Migrated From Chiapas When Opportunities Dried Up, Orchids Brought Them Home

Marcos Aguilar Pérez takes care of orchids rescued from the rainforest in his backyard in Santa Rita Las Flores, Mapastepec, Chiapas, Mexico.

Adriana Alcázar González/GPJ Mexico
Adriana Alcázar González

MAPASTEPEC — Sweat cascades down Candelaria Salas Gómez’s forehead as she separates the bulbs of one of the orchids she and the other members of the Santa Rita Las Flores Community Ecotourism group have rescued from the rainforest. The group houses and protects over 1,000 orchids recovered from El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, after powerful storms.

“When the storms and heavy rains end, we climb to the vicinity of the mountains and collect the orchids that have fallen from the trees. We bring them to Santa Rita, care for them, and build their strength to reintegrate them into the reserve later,” says Salas Gómez, 32, as she attaches an orchid to a clay base to help it recover.

Like magnets, the orchids of Santa Rita have exerted a pull on those who have migrated from the area due to lack of opportunity. After years away from home, Salas Gómez was one of those who returned, attracted by the community venture to rescue these flowers and exhibit them as a tourist attraction, which provides residents with an adequate income.

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