Attendees of Midwest FurFest—Illinois' premier convention for people who like dressing up as anthropomorphic animals—were forced to flee a suburban Chicago hotel in full costume after it was hit with a seemingly deliberate chlorine gas leak.

On Thursday, United States officials said the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has likely used chemical weapons to attack Syrian citizens. In a letter sent to Congressional leaders, the White House said intelligence agencies believe, with “varying degrees of confidence,” that Assad used the chemical weapon sarin “on a small scale.” The Obama administration said more conclusive evidence was needed before the U.S. took any action, a caution, which, considering our recent history in Iraq, is a good thing.

While drum circles imperil the future of Occupy Wall Street, the protesters of Occupy Maine (yes, that's a thing, and please, people, no "The 99% cahn't get theyah from heeah" jokes) have been contending with a far more serious threat: Someone tossed a homemade chemical bomb at the Portland encampment.