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The terrorist attacks on 9/11 devastated the United States. Terrorists used our own planes against us as bombs and took down the World Trade centers in New York and flew a plane into the pentagon in Washington D.C. These events lead the US into taking in a lot more actions into preventing terrorism.
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The Patriot Act is signed by President George Bush on October 26th, 2001. This is in wake to the 9/11 tragedy. This allows the government to intercept any electronic communications related to terrorism. This also allows them to detain people if they feel they have information into terrorist activities.
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Osama bin Laden was the person in charge of leading the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It was a big victory for the United States when the CIA lead mission lead to the death of Bin Laden. This was America's number one priority since 9/11.
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President Obama signed an extension of the Patriot Act. It was a four year extension and is now in effect until June 1st of 2015. This now allows the government to go after lone wolves who are individuals suspected of terrorist related activities not linked to terrorist groups.
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The Boston Marathon kicks off from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, with runners and wheelchair competitors over the next few hours heading toward the state capital. Some 23,000 people participate in the race, with many times more people cheering them along. It is a tradition in Boston to run the marathon on Patriot's day which is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and concord on April 19, 1775. These were the first battles of the American Revolutionary war.
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Bombs go off at the finish line of the Boston marathon killing 3 people and injuring more than 260 others. This is the biggest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11. Boston is shaken up.
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Federal agents say that the know the bombs were made in pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, and other shrapnel, but they were still unsure of who planted them and why.
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President Obama signed an emergency declaration for Massachusetts and orders federal aid to supplement the local response to the bombings.
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Investigators release photographs and video of the suspects and ask the public to help their manhunt. The suspects are brothers Tamerian Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Later that night a MIT police officer was shot allegedly by the suspects. They stole an SUV at gunpoint from a Cambridge gas station.
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There is an early morning gun battle. Tamerlan ends up dying in the battle while Dzhokhar escapes. Boston goes on shutdown mode. All mass transit was shutdown for almost 12 hours. After 12 hours on the manhunt, Dzhokhar is captured.
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Authorities say that participants are not allowed to have any backpacks. The spectators are also encouraged to not bring any backpacks. If you do, authorities say they are allowed to search them. They also announced that there will be double the authorities on duty to watch for any suspicious activity. Homeland security will also be in place.
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A man placed a hoax bomb near the finish line of the 2013 Boston marathon. He did this just a few hours after a service in remembrance of the people that died the year before. The hoax bomb was a rice cooker filled with confetti. The man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and being in possession of a hoax device.
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This will be the first event since the bombing. Authorities and participants are hoping they have done enough to prevent another tragedy. Some people say they have done too much while others say they need to do more. At the end of the day, everybody wants to have a safe race.
