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NRA declines to participate in Obama gun town
hall
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The nation's largest gun rights organization is
declining to send official representatives to a
nationally televised town hall with President
Barack Obama on gun violence. "The National Rifle
Association sees no reason to participate in a
public relations spectacle organized by the White
House," NRA spokesman told CNN, which is
moderating the live town hall Thursday evening in
Virginia. The NRA and Obama have been bitter
enemies on the issue of new gun regulations --
each accusing the other of engaging in politics
instead of working to find solutions to end gun
violence. Some of the groups invited to attend
the town hall, which will feature direct audience
questioning of the president, include Gun Owners
of America, American Firearms Retailers
Association, Everytown for Gun Safety and the
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, among
others. CNN is dedicated to ensuring that the
audience would be evenly divided between
organizations that support the Second Amendment
as well as groups that back gun regulation. On
the overall issue of gun control, 48 of
Americans support stricter laws, while 51 were
opposed, according a CNN poll released last
month.
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In Other News

• Coloring books are no longer just for the kids.
  In fact, adult coloring books are all the rage
  right now. And while researchers and art
  therapists alike have touted the calming benefits
  for over a decade, it's childhood favorite
  Crayola that's gotten adult coloring books some
  serious grown-up attention. The famous crayon
  makers just launched a set of markers, colored
  pencils and a collection of adult coloring books,
  Coloring Escapes, last month. And though the
  first commercially successful adult coloring
  books were published in 2012 and 2013, the
  once-niche hobby has now grown into a full-on
  trend, with everyone from researchers at Johns
  Hopkins University to the editors of Yoga Journal
  suggesting coloring as an alternative to
  meditation.
• Baltimore County officials say a school bus
  carrying high school students got stuck in a
  sinkhole that opened up after a water main break,
  but the students got off safely. Police posted a
  photo online showing the rear of the bus sunken
  into water on the submerged section of road.
  County schools spokesman Mychael Dickerson says
  the bus was driving slowly toward a stop, then
  suddenly couldn't move. Dickerson says that he
  doesn't know how many students were onboard but
  that they exited safely and went to school on
  another bus. Police say the water main break
  caused the road collapse, and motorists were
  asked to avoid the area.