As Special Agent In Charge Jerry Parr quickly pushed Reagan into the limousine, the fourth bullet hit Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy in the abdomen as he spread his body over Reagan to protect him. The fifth bullet hit the bullet-resistant glass of the window on the open side door of the limousine. The sixth and final bullet ricocheted off the armored side of the limousine and hit the president in his left underarm, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, stopping nearly 1 inch (25mm) from his heart. Parr's prompt reaction saved Reagan from being hit in the head. Reagan suffered from a punctured lung and heavy internal bleeding. He received medical attention quickly.
The powers of the President were never actually given to anyone else during this time through the presidential line of succession. Secretary of State Alexander Haig caused anger and arguments at a press conference by stating "I am in control here", while Vice President George H. W. Bush returned to Washington D.C. Since the Vice President was not physically present in Washington D.C., Secretary Haig thought that, as Secretary of State, he was to meant to assume command. In reality, according to the US Constitution, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tip O'Neill was to take over from President Reagan, and Vice President Bush to be in charge. Secretary Haig was angry about his mistake as was Speaker O'Neill.
The shooter was 30-year old John Hinckley. Hinckley said that he wanted to shoot President Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster. He planned the assassination after he saw the movie "Taxi Driver" and there was a scene similar to the event.
Hinckley decided to copy DeNiro's character in the movie. He began to stalk President Jimmy Carter. He was surprised at how easy it was to get close to the president—only one foot away at one event. He was arrested in October 1980 at Nashville International Airport for illegal possession of firearms. Even though Carter made a campaign stop there, the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not connect this arrest to the President and did not tell the United States Secret Service.
He wrote three or four more notes to Foster in early March 1981. Foster gave these notes to her dean, who gave them to the Yale police department. After this, the police wanted to find Hinckley, but failed. Hinckley soon moved to Washington, D.C. to carry-out his assassination plan.
Nobody was killed in the attack. Press Secretary James Brady was left paralyzed and permanently disabled. Brady died in August 2014. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was in a psychiatric facility until 2016.
The members of his staff were anxious for the president to appear to be recovering quickly, and the morning after his operation he saw visitors and signed a piece of legislation. Reagan left the hospital on the 13th day. He was able to travel outside of Washington 49 days later.
Before the shooting, Reagan had the lowest approval ratings of any president during his first term in office. After the shooting, Reagan's approval ratings rose. The assassination attempt boosted his popularity and some may say that it helped him win his re-election campaign in 1984.
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 21, 1982. The defense psychiatric reports had found him to be insane while the prosecution reports declared him legally sane.
Following his lawyers' advice, he was not a witness in his own defense. Hinckley was confined at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He was released in 2016.
Murchison meteorite
The Murchison meteorite is named after the place it fell: Murchison, Victoria, Australia. It is large (over 100 kg) and it was seen falling. It is one of the most studied meteorites, since it belongs to a group of meteorites rich in organic compounds, known as carbonaceous chondrites.
On 28 September 1969 at about 10:58 am, a bright fireball was seen. It separated into three fragments before disappearing, leaving a cloud of smoke. About 30 seconds later, a tremor was heard. People found fragments over an area larger than 13 km², with fragments up to 7 kg. One, weighing 680 g, broke through a roof and fell in hay. The mass is over 100 kg.
This type of meteorite is rich in carbon. Murchison contains over 15 amino acids. The amino acids found in the Murchison meteorite can be (and have been) synthesised in laboratory experiments. This was done by the action of electric discharge on a mixture of methane, nitrogen, and water with traces of ammonia.
The amino acids were mostly racemic. This means the chirality of their enantiomers are almost equally left- and right-handed. This suggests they are not caused by terrestrial contamination. A complex mixture of alkanes was isolated as well, similar to that found in the Miller-Urey experiment. Serine and threonine, often earthly contaminants, were absent from the samples.
In 1997 research showed that individual amino-acids from Murchison were enriched in the nitrogen isotope N relative to their terrestrial counterparts. This confirmed an extraterrestrial source. The organic materials identified included sugar-like compounds (polyols).
Several lines of evidence show that the inside of well-preserved fragments from Murchison are pristine (not contaminated). A 2010 study identified 14,000 molecular compounds (including 70 amino acids) in a sample of the meteorite. There may be 50,000 or more different molecular compositions in the meteorite.
Measured purine and pyrimidine compounds are in the Murchison meteorite. Carbon isotope ratios for uracil and xanthine show a non-terrestrial origin for these compounds. The results show many organic compounds which are components of life on Earth were already present in the early Solar System. They may have played a role in life's origin.
Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen is a 2009 American crime drama thriller movie. The subjects in this movie are capital punishment and murder. Jamie Foxx and Viola Davis are in the cast. This movie was rated NC-17 for extreme violence, although was later edited for an R-rating. The movie got negative reviews from the critics. Its box office performance was very good.
Boeing 314
The Boeing 314 Clipper was a flying boat. It was made by the Boeing Airplane Company between 1938 and 1941. It was one of the biggest planes at that time, and it used the wing of the XB-15 bomber. Twelve Clippers were made for Pan Am. Three of them were sold to BOAC during the Battle of Britain (1940).
Pan American had asked for a flying boat with a very long range. Boeing wanted to make it, and Pan American asked for six of Boeing's planes. Boeing engineers used a wing taken from one of Boeing's earlier planes. The new plane had Wright Twin Cyclone.
The plane made flew for the first time on June 7, 1938. The test pilot found some things wrong with the plane. Boeing fixed these and the plane was fine.
Weight was very important. Every passenger could only have of baggage for free. They had to pay $3.25 per lb ($7.15/kg) if they went over this limit.
Pan Am's "Clippers" were meant for luxury. The seats could be changed into beds. The plane normally flew at only , so flights sometimes lasted more than 12 hours. The 314s had a lounge and dining area, and the planes had chefs from four-star hotels. Men and women had dressing rooms, too. The luxury on Pan American's Boeing 314s was better than anything since then. They were for very rich people. It cost about the same amount as it would have cost to fly on Concorde in 2006.
The 314 was also successful because of its Pan Am flight crews. They were very good at long-distance flying. Many of the flights had another crew for training. Only the best pilots flew the Boeing 314. If it was hard to see because of fog, pilots sometimes landed at sea and then moved Clipper on the water.
The first 314, "Honolulu Clipper", started being used in January 1939.