diff --git a/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 2c11909..064a4be 100644
--- a/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
     package="com.example.android.soonami">
 
+    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
+
     <application
         android:allowBackup="true"
         android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/example/android/soonami/MainActivity.java b/app/src/main/java/com/example/android/soonami/MainActivity.java
index 9d202b1..ae83d06 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/example/android/soonami/MainActivity.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/example/android/soonami/MainActivity.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import android.os.AsyncTask;
 import android.os.Bundle;
 import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
+import android.text.TextUtils;
 import android.util.Log;
 import android.widget.TextView;
 
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
 
     /** URL to query the USGS dataset for earthquake information */
     private static final String USGS_REQUEST_URL =
-            "http://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query?format=geojson&starttime=2012-01-01&endtime=2012-12-01&minmagnitude=6";
+            "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query?format=geojson&starttime=2014-01-01&endtime=2014-12-01&minmagnitude=7";
 
     @Override
     protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
@@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ protected Event doInBackground(URL... urls) {
             try {
                 jsonResponse = makeHttpRequest(url);
             } catch (IOException e) {
-                // TODO Handle the IOException
+                Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Problem making the HTTP request.", e);
             }
 
             // Extract relevant fields from the JSON response and create an {@link Event} object
@@ -154,6 +155,12 @@ private URL createUrl(String stringUrl) {
          */
         private String makeHttpRequest(URL url) throws IOException {
             String jsonResponse = "";
+
+            // If the URL is null, then return early.
+            if (url == null) {
+                return jsonResponse;
+            }
+
             HttpURLConnection urlConnection = null;
             InputStream inputStream = null;
             try {
@@ -162,10 +169,17 @@ private String makeHttpRequest(URL url) throws IOException {
                 urlConnection.setReadTimeout(10000 /* milliseconds */);
                 urlConnection.setConnectTimeout(15000 /* milliseconds */);
                 urlConnection.connect();
-                inputStream = urlConnection.getInputStream();
-                jsonResponse = readFromStream(inputStream);
+
+                // If the request was successful (response code 200),
+                // then read the input stream and parse the response.
+                if (urlConnection.getResponseCode() == 200) {
+                    inputStream = urlConnection.getInputStream();
+                    jsonResponse = readFromStream(inputStream);
+                } else {
+                    Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Error response code: " + urlConnection.getResponseCode());
+                }
             } catch (IOException e) {
-                // TODO: Handle the exception
+                Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Problem retrieving the earthquake JSON results.", e);
             } finally {
                 if (urlConnection != null) {
                     urlConnection.disconnect();
@@ -201,6 +215,11 @@ private String readFromStream(InputStream inputStream) throws IOException {
          * about the first earthquake from the input earthquakeJSON string.
          */
         private Event extractFeatureFromJson(String earthquakeJSON) {
+            // If the JSON string is empty or null, then return early.
+            if (TextUtils.isEmpty(earthquakeJSON)) {
+                return null;
+            }
+
             try {
                 JSONObject baseJsonResponse = new JSONObject(earthquakeJSON);
                 JSONArray featureArray = baseJsonResponse.getJSONArray("features");