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2018 Westminster car attack
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On 14 August 2018, three people were injured when a silver Ford Fiesta hit them near the Palace of Westminster. The car then went on to crash into the separation barrier of the pavement situated between St Margaret Street / Abingdon Street and Old Palace Yard The London Metropolitan Police responded within seconds and arrested the driver, Salih Khater, without further incident. An ambulance immediately behind the Ford stopped and gave assistance to the injured. Khater was subsequently found guilty of two counts of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison. The incident occurred at 07:37 BST on 14 August 2018. A silver Ford Fiesta was captured on CCTV negotiating Parliament Square, before making a sharp left turn and going the wrong way along the empty northbound lane of St. Margaret Street and then crossing a pedestrian island onto the southbound lane, hitting cyclists and pedestrians in the process. The car then progressed into Abingdon Street and branched left into an access road for Old Palace Yard where it crashed into a closed barrier and came to a stop near the House of Lords. The incident lasted 15 seconds. Three people sustained injuries, with one having serious, but not life-threatening injuries.
The Metropolitan Police stated that the incident appeared to be a deliberate act. The Counterterrorism Chief of the Metropolitan Police reported that police did not believe the individual to be known to the Security Service (MI5) or to the counterterrorism policing unit. [5] A witness told reporters that the car had accelerated after hitting the cyclists rather than slowing down.
A UK Government official described a 47-second video of road users including a white van apparently tailing the suspect prior to the incident as "classic security behaviour".
The Independent reported friends of the arrested man saying that the crash may have been accidental.
Salih Khater, a 29-year-old male British citizen from Birmingham who entered the UK in 2010 as a refugee from Sudan, was detained by police at the scene on suspicion of terror offences. He is known to police in his local area but not as a national security threat. The Assistant Commissioner leading the investigation said that Khater initially refused to cooperate with the police. The police searched three addresses in the Midlands on the evening of the incident, two in Birmingham and a residence in Nottingham. On 15 August 2018, police announced that Khater was being held on suspicion of attempted murder as well as an 'act of terrorism'.On 18 August, Khater was charged with one count of attempted murder of members of the public and one count of attempted murder of police officers. On 20 August, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, he was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 31 August.
Khater was due to stand trial on 4 February 2019, but in January 2019, Mr Justice Sweeney pushed the date back to 24 June 2019. The defendant entered not guilty pleas to all charges, but did not provide any further comments. He was remanded in custody.
On 17 July 2019, Khater was found guilty at the Old Bailey of two counts of attempted murder. He was remanded in custody to be sentenced on 7 October.
On 14 October 2019, Khater was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 15 years. Sentencing, Mrs Justice McGowan said Khater had acted with "terrorist motives".
Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted, "My thoughts are with those injured in the incident in Westminster and my thanks to the emergency services for their immediate and courageous response. " London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed similar sentiments, adding that "all Londoners, like me, utterly condemn all acts of terrorism on our city. The response of Londoners today shows that we will never be cowed, intimidated or divided by any terrorist attack. " Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted, "My thoughts are with those hurt and injured outside Parliament this morning in what is being treated as a terrorist incident. Our thanks go to our emergency services who responded immediately. Their bravery keeps us safe day in, day out. "
Sadiq Khan and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said that Parliament Square could be pedestrianised, stating that vehicle attacks had become the terrorist's "weapon of choice" in Europe and the western world.
United States President Donald Trump tweeted that "these animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength". [26]
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Road Crash
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Ten of the Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces
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It’s no surprise that the most expensive divorce was of course had by the wealthiest man in the world. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ recent split from his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott cost him a whopping $35 billion and made headlines around the world.
Even the world’s richest aren’t protected when poor estate planning is in place. New research by OLBG reveals the cost of some of the most expensive celebrity divorces in history and some are quite unbelievable.
Scroll through the gallery to find out which men shelled out big bucks to part ways with their significant others and who surprisingly didn’t have prenups in place.
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Famous Person - Divorce
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Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash
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Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17)[a] was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down on 17 July 2014 while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. [3] Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 km (31 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage of the aircraft fell near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km (25 mi) from the border. [4] The shoot-down occurred in the War in Donbas in an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels. [5]
The responsibility for investigation was delegated to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) and the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT), who concluded that the airliner was downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine. [6][7] According to the JIT, the Buk that was used originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Federation[8][9] and had been transported from Russia on the day of the crash, fired from a field in a rebel-controlled area and returned to Russia afterwards. [1][2][8] The findings by the DSB and JIT are consistent with the earlier claims by American and German intelligence sources[10][11] and claims by the Ukrainian government. [12] On the basis of the JIT's conclusions, the governments of the Netherlands and Australia held Russia responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation and were pursuing legal routes as of May 2018[update]. [13][14] The Russian government denied involvement in the shooting down of the airplane,[9][15][16] and its account of how the aircraft was shot down has varied over time. [17] Coverage in Russian media has also differed from that in other countries. [18][19]
This was Malaysia Airlines' second aircraft loss during 2014, after the disappearance of Flight 370 on 8 March,[20] and is the deadliest airliner shoot-down incident to date. [21]
Flight 17, which was also marketed as KLM Flight 4103 (KL4103) through a codeshare agreement,[22] was operated with a Boeing 777-2H6ER,[b] serial number 28411, registration 9M-MRD. [6]:30 The 84th Boeing 777 produced, it first flew on 17 July 1997, exactly 17 years before the incident, and was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines on 29 July 1997. [23] Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines and carrying 280 seats (33 business and 247 economy), the aircraft had recorded more than 76,300 hours in 11,430 cycles before the crash. [6]:30 The aircraft was in an airworthy condition at departure. [6]:31
The Boeing 777, which entered commercial service on 7 June 1995, has one of the best safety records among commercial aircraft. [24] In June 2014 there were about 1,212 aircraft in service, with 340 more on order. [25]
The incident is the deadliest airliner shoot-down incident to date. [21] All 283 passengers and 15 crew died. [6]:27 By 19 July, the airline had determined the nationalities of all 298 passengers and crew. [20]
The crew were all Malaysian, while over two-thirds (68%) of the passengers were Dutch. Most of the other passengers were Malaysians and Australians; the remainder were citizens of seven other countries. [6]:27
Among the passengers were delegates en route to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, including Joep Lange, a former president of the International AIDS Society, which organised the conference. [28] Many initial reports had erroneously indicated that around 100 delegates to the conference were aboard, but this was later revised to six. [29] Also on board were Dutch Senator Willem Witteveen,[30] Australian author Liam Davison,[31] and Malaysian actress Shuba Jay. [32]
At least twenty family groups were on the aircraft and eighty passengers were under the age of 18. [33][34]
The flight crew were captains Wan Amran Wan Hussin and Eugene Choo Jin Leong, and first officers Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi and Muhd Firdaus Abdul Rahim. [35][h]
An armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine led some airlines to avoid eastern Ukrainian airspace in early March 2014 due to safety concerns. [37][38] In the months prior to 17 July, reports circulated in the media on the presence of weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, in the hands of the rebels that were fighting the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine. On 26 May a spokesperson of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that a surface-to-air missile system that was being used by the rebels near Donetsk airport had been destroyed by a helicopter of the Ukrainian army. On 6 June 2014 The International New York Times reported that surface-to-air missiles had been seized from military bases. On 11 June the newspaper Argumenty nedeli reported that a Buk-M1 missile launcher had been present in an area under the separatists' control. On 29 June the Russian news agencies reported that insurgents had obtained a Buk missile system after having taken control of a Ukrainian military unit A-1402;[39][40] the Donetsk People's Republic claimed possession of such a system in a since-deleted tweet. [39][41][42] Such air defence systems cannot reliably identify and avoid civilian aircraft. [43][44] The Ukrainian authorities declared in the media that this system was not operational. [6]:187–188 According to the subsequent statement of the Security Service of Ukraine three Buk missile systems were located on Ukrainian territory controlled by militia at the time that Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down. On the night following the downing of MH17, two Buk launcher vehicles, one of which carried three missiles, (out of a normal complement of four), was observed moving into Russia. [45][46][47]
Several aircraft from the Ukrainian Air Force were shot down in the months and days preceding the MH17 incident. On 14 June 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 military transport was shot down on approach to Luhansk International Airport, with loss of nine crew members and forty troops. [6]:183 On 14 July 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport aircraft flying at 6,500 m (21,300 ft) was shot down. [6]:183 The militia reportedly claimed via social media that a Buk missile launcher, which they had previously seized and made operational, had been used to bring down the aircraft. [48] American officials later said evidence suggested the aircraft had been shot down from Russian territory. [49]
On 16 July, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported that at about 13:00 local time terrorists used MANPADs against a Su-25 jet which was performing a flight mission in the ATO zone. According to the report, the airplane received minor damage and was forced to make a landing. [50][51][52] Later, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported on the second Su-25 that was attacked on the same day at about 19:00 local time near the Ukrainian-Russian border in the area of Amvrosiivka. [53][54] According to the details reported by Ukraine's RNBO spokesperson Andriy Lysenko, the Ukrainian Su-25 was shot down by an R-27T medium range air-to-air missile fired by a MiG-29 jet from Russian territory while the Su-25 was at an altitude of 8,250 m.[6]:185[55] The Russian Defence Ministry said that the accusations were false. [56][57] In response to additional questions by the Dutch Safety Board, the Ukrainian authorities reported that a "provisional investigation" had revealed that the airplane had been shot down while flying at an altitude of 6,250 m. Ukrainian authorities also thought that the Su-25 could have been shot down with a Pantsir missile system from Russian territory, though they thought this less likely. [6]:185
On 17 July, an Associated Press journalist saw a Buk launcher in Snizhne, in Donetsk Oblast, 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of the crash site. The reporter also saw seven separatist tanks near the town. [58] Associated Press journalists reported that the Buk M-1 was operated by a man "with unfamiliar fatigues and a distinctive Russian accent" escorted by two civilian vehicles.
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Air crash
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Margaret River artist Ian Thwaites transforms beach pollution into 'sought-after' artwork
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Artist Ian Thwaites spends his weekends combing the beaches of Western Australia in search of creative inspiration.
The coastline in his local Margaret River is renowned for its stunning beaches.
Masses of tourists flock there each year seeking a slice of the untouched seaside.
But he is not there for the famous, pristine coastline, rather for the washed-up rubbish that he collects on his walks.
"I use materials that I find in the environment … we use driftwood, get plastic from the beach and do all sorts of arty, constructive works out of those materials," Mr Thwaites said.
"Really, it's value-adding to something, whether it be a fallen tree, a piece of driftwood, or some plastic off the beach.
"To take that piece and make it valuable again, make it sought-after, make it a treasured thing by putting it in combination with other materials or presenting it in a way that people want to have it in their homes."
Discarded and lost fishing gear is his most frequent finds, with huge quantities of floats, nylon fishing rope and cray pots ending up in his studio.
"I've got a lot of friends who have a couple of cray pots, and of course a big storm comes along, and they say, 'Oh, I lost my cray pot,'" Mr Thwaites said.
"Well, you didn't actually lose it — I'll find it over the next 12 months in pieces."
Boats and ocean scenes feature heavily in Mr Thwaites's sculptures.
He whittles sea vessels from Marri, Huon Pine, Jarrah, and other Australian timbers, sometimes setting them on a sea of beach-found plastics, a slab of driftwood or even old kangaroo bones.
"I think, that within all of us, there is a sense of wonderment when seeing a boat sail purposefully out to sea," Mr Thwaites said.
"The image raising several questions: who is on board? Where are they going? What is their cargo? Where have they been?"
He uses boats as metaphors to make statements and observations on a range of topics, from fossil fuel reliance and climate change to reflections on human nature and, "the desire to sail away to another life, place, or reality".
Mr Thwaites has been a high school woodwork teacher in Margaret River for decades, but he only started using beach rubbish in his artwork after a school excursion saw his students forage the local coastline for debris.
"We got kids down on the beach cleaning up beaches," he said.
"Then of course, when they finished collecting all the rubbish, they just wanted to throw it in the landfill, so I make sure it doesn't go to landfill."
This set Mr Thwaites off on an ongoing quest to combine his passion for the environment with fine woodworking, taking pains to imagine the secret journey that each piece might take to end up in his hands.
"Each one of these pieces has a story," he said.
"And so, trying to tell that story through the pieces of work that you make is one of the things that we try to do.
"[I'm] just wondering, you know, 'How did this get there? Where did it come from? What was it used for?'"
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Environment Pollution
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2010 transatlantic aircraft bomb plot crash
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On October 29, 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of 300 to 400 grams (11–14 oz) of plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia's security chief. They were bound from Yemen to the United States, and were discovered at en route stop-overs, one at East Midlands Airport in the UK and one in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. One week later, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took responsibility for the plot, and for the crash of UPS Airlines Flight 6. [1] U.S. and British authorities believed Anwar al-Awlaki of AQAP was behind the bombing attempts, and that the bombs were most likely constructed by AQAP's main explosives expert, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. [2][3] The bombs were probably designed to detonate mid-air, with the intention of destroying both planes over Chicago or another city in the U.S.[4][5] Each bomb had already been transported on passenger and cargo planes at the time of discovery. On October 28, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Interior Minister in charge of Counter-terrorism, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, called John Brennan, the U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and former Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Riyadh to warn him of the plot. [6] The Saudis provided the U.S. and Germany with the tracking numbers and destinations of the packages, and told them to look for toner cartridges. [7][8] The packages had been dropped off by a woman at FedEx and UPS offices in Sana'a, Yemen, on October 27, and were scheduled to arrive in Chicago on November 1. [8][9]
Saudi Arabia had reportedly learned of the plot through Jabir Jubran Al Fayfi, a former Guantánamo Bay detention camp inmate who had been handed over to Saudi Arabia for rehabilitation in 2006. Al-Faifi had escaped in 2008 and re-joined AQAP, but turned himself in to Saudi authorities on October 16, 2010, and provided them with information about the plot. [10][11] Yemeni officials suspected al-Faifi had not actually rejoined al-Qaeda, but had become a double agent. [11] They said his tip appeared to be based on more recent information than al-Faifi could access, and that the information must have come from a Saudi double agent in AQAP. [12]
The first package left Sana'a, Yemen, on a passenger plane, flying to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [13] It then was next placed on a UPS cargo plane to Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany, where UPS Airlines has a hub. [13][14] There, it was placed on UPS Flight 232, a Boeing 767 cargo plane bound for East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire. [15][16] From there, it was to fly to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [3][15][17]
The UPS plane landed at East Midlands Airport at 2:13 a.m. local time on October 29. [18] British military and police explosives experts had been alerted to the existence of the bomb, and conducted an initial search of the plane's cargo in the airport's UPS parcels distribution depot. [19] Officers from Scotland Yard Counter Terrorism Command joined them. [20]
U.S. authorities provided the tracking number of the package, and the computer printer inside was scanned with explosives detection equipment, x-rayed, subjected to chemical swabs, and sniffed by sniffer dogs. No explosives were detected. [21][22] Removing the suspect package for further examination, the authorities allowed the UPS plane to proceed to Philadelphia at 4:20 a.m. local time. [18][23] At 10:00 a.m. the British gave the all-clear, and removed safety cordons from the airport. [9][24][25][26]
Later forensic examination indicated that the bomb was inadvertently disarmed by Scotland Yard explosive officers, who took the printer cartridge out of the printer during their examination that morning, around three hours before the bomb was due to explode at 10:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. Eastern time). [18][19][27] The officers were unaware when they took the device apart that it was a bomb. [20]
British officials continued to believe that there were no explosives in the package,[18] but U.S. authorities insisted that the package be inspected again. British authorities then consulted with officials in Dubai, who had discovered a similar bomb in a printer cartridge, and MI6 spoke with the Saudi tipster. Scotland Yard explosives officers flew the printer and the cartridge in a police helicopter to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Fort Halstead near London, and discovered the bomb at around 2:00 p.m..[18][20][23][26]
Qatar Airways said that the package with the second bomb had been carried on two of its commercial passenger jets. The first was a 144-seat Airbus A320 that flew from Sana'a, Yemen, to Doha International Airport in Doha, Qatar, on October 28. [9] The second passenger plane was an Airbus A321 or Boeing 777 flying from Doha to Dubai. The seating capacity of the second plane was anywhere from 144 to 335, depending on which aircraft was used. [14][22][28][29]
The second package was discovered on a FedEx Express plane at the FedEx depot at the Dubai airport at around 9:00 a.m. GMT on October 29. [30] The plane was scheduled to fly to Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, and then on to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. [31][32]
The packages were addressed to former locations of two synagogues in Chicago. Investigators believe the terrorists used outdated information that they found online. [33] One package was addressed to a church in Lakeview that had once been the meeting place of Congregation Or Chadash, and the other had been sent to a closed synagogue in East Rogers Park. [2][33][34] Simon Calder observed in The Independent:
Yemen is not a natural provider of office supplies to organisations such as synagogues in the Chicago area. Therefore, you might fondly imagine that the staff in the parcels offices in the capital, Sana'a, might have checked the despatches more closely before allowing them anywhere near an aircraft, cargo or passengers. But they didn't. [35]
The packages were addressed to specific people at the addresses—the names used were those of historical figures from the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades. [2][36] One package was addressed to Diego Deza, a Grand Inquisitor during the Spanish Inquisition. The other was addressed to Reynald Krak (Raynald of Châtillon), a French crusader who was beheaded in 1187 by Sultan Saladin of the 12th-century Muslim Ayyubid dynasty. [36]
Brian Fishman of the New America Foundation said the choice of names was an inside joke. [36] "The jihadis ... narrative is that non-Muslims are always on the attack, always trying to take Muslim lands. The jihadis like the narrative, because it justifies violence, since they claim that they’re only defending Islam," he said. [36] He felt the destination of Chicago may have had meaning as well, as the latest edition of Inspire (AQAP's online magazine) may have had a photo of Chicago on its cover. [36][37] Fishman points out that this parallels Osama bin Laden posing in front of a map of East Africa shortly before the 1998 United States embassy bombings. [36] U.S. and UK officials believed the planes, and not the addresses on the ground, were the targets. [38]
Each package contained a Hewlett-Packard HP LaserJet P2055 desktop laser printer.
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Air crash
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Vigerslev train crash
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The Vigerslev train crash occurred on 1 November 1919, when an express train collided at speed with a stopped train near Vigerslev, Denmark, due to a dispatcher error. 40 people were killed and about 60 injured. Vigerslev is nowadays a part of Copenhagen's western Valby district. Vigerslev train station is nowadays the Hvidovre station of the B-line of Copenhagen's S-tog network. The accident happened to the west of Vigerslev station, between current Rødovre station and Hvidovre station. At the time, the area around the track was farm land. Train number 168 en route from Kalundborg to Copenhagen Central Station was delayed by about 15 minutes due to the heavy traffic on the line. The train consisted of 15 wagons pulled by DSB Litra K 150. [1] It was initially made of two baggage cars, a mail carriage, four two-axle 3rd class compartment coaches, a four-axle 1st class compartment coach, a four-axle 2nd class compartment coach and another two-axle 3rd class compartment coach. At Holbæk, four additional coaches were added at the rear-end (another two-axle 3rd class compartment coach, an old two-axle first class compartment coach, a two-axle third class compartment coach fitted with a heating boiler and a brake compartment and an open-plan 3rd class coach). The last wagon was a well occupied 3rd class passenger car. [2] Most of the carriages were between 17 and 56 years old and only two (the 2nd class coach and the tail-end 3rd class coach) were less than 10 years old. All of them were made out of wood with steel frames. Train 168 was followed by an unscheduled train that carried firefighting equipment to Køge, where it was urgently required to fight a large fire. It was composed of four goods wagons and salon-composite coach Bj 665[3] pulled by DSB Litra KS 276. [4]
This train on its part was followed an extra express train service, train 8064, on its way from Korsør to Copenhagen Central Station. Pulling it was a high speed DSB Class P steam locomotive that could reach 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). [5] The wagons after the locomotive were a two-axle mail carriage, a four-axle baggage car, two four axle 1st class compartment cars and seven of four-axle 3rd class corridor coaches. Against the timetable, train 168 stopped just after passing Vigerslev station. It was almost 20:50. It later turned out that an 8-year-old boy opened one of the outer doors of the train and fell out. Another passenger pulled the emergency brake in response to that. The train now had to drive back to search for the boy. However, the train dispatcher decided that the train carrying the fire fighting equipment had priority and signalled that the track was free to this train. Train 168 had to wait at the Vigerslev station, the engineer of train 168 was told to look for the boy as soon as the other train had passed. After the train passed, train 168 reversed in the direction of Brøndbyøster station, passing the entry signal from behind. The train dispatcher had only thought about the train carrying the firefighting equipment, and gave train 168 a free path to Brondbyøster. Shortly after he noticed that he didn't think about the express train, and he tried to contact Brøndbyøster station. This was unsuccessful however, as his colleague at Brondbyøster was busy with the throughcoming express train. After the dispatcher at Vigerslev managed to have phone contact with the Brondbyøster dispatcher and made him aware of the danger, he grabbed a red signalling lantern, ran toward the engineer of train 168 and commanded him to reverse. The engineer followed his command, but the steam locomotive accelerated only slowly. Train 168 had only travelled 130 metres (430 ft) from the entry signal at Vigerslev towards the direction of Brondbyøster. The boy who fell off the train had been found next to the track, he had survived with a broken leg. Meanwhile, the dispatcher ran towards Brondbyøster to signal the express train to stop with his lantern. The express train, however, was already nearing rapidly. Although the red entry signals, the red tail signals of train 168 and the dispatcher's lantern were visible to the engineer of the express train, the train didn't brake, as passengers in the train would later testify. On 21:01 the express train crashed into train 168 at full speed. The last five carriages of train 168 were completely smashed, 30 passengers died in these. Parts of the carriages crashed down an 8 metres (26 ft) high embankment. The express train's locomotive and its three front wagons came to a stop on the remains of train 168's carriages. 6 passengers of the express train died, as well as the engineer and the fireman, who died on the site, badly burned by the boiling water escaping from the locomotive's boiler. In total 40 people died, 58 were injured of which 27 badly. It was the worst railway accident in Denmark in number of victims. The damage to equipment was 1.2 million Danish krone. As the accident took place away from a station, the site was not lit, which complicated the salvage operations. The only light source available were the front signals of the train carrying the fire fighting equipment, that travelled back to the site of the accident. The dispatcher in Vigerslev was sentenced to two months jail time in 1920. The express train locomotive was repaired, upgraded as a class Pr Pacific in 1943 then wrecked in another accident in 1951 when it collided head-on with a DSB Litra R locomotive. [6] One of the driving wheel axles of the locomotive is on display at the Forstadsmuseet in Brøndbyøster. Eight carriages in both trains were badly damaged or totally destroyed.
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Train collisions
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Wembley Central rail crash
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The Wembley Central rail crash was a fatal railway accident that occurred on 11 October 1984 just outside Wembley Central railway station, Greater London. The 17:54 passenger train from London Euston to Bletchley, formed of two Class 310 electric multiple units, collided with a Freightliner train which was leaving Willesden yard. The first two coaches of the passenger train overturned onto their sides and three passengers were killed; 17 passengers and the driver were injured. The passenger train had passed a signal at 'danger' after the driver had suffered a transient episode of amnesia, brought about by a rare medical condition. As a result, he had cancelled the AWS warnings at the signals approaching Wembley without realising. Shortly after 18:00 a Freightliner train, 4D62, the 16:00 from Willesden to Holyhead consisting of locomotives 86006 and 85035 hauling 20 loaded Freightliner wagons was signalled from a goods line on to the Down Slow line just to the south of Wembley Central station. The train attempted to negotiate the crossovers that led from the goods line to the Down Slow line when its eleventh wagon was struck by an eight-car electric multiple-unit passenger train, 2A85, the 17:54 from London Euston to Bletchley, consisting of two 4-car Class 310 electric multiple-units. The resulting impact led to the deflection of the passenger train to its left towards the adjacent Fast lines with the remaining coaches derailed and overturned onto their sides apart from the rearmost coach. [1]
Emergency services were quickly called to the scene and arrived within twelve minutes. The resulting collision caused damage to track, signalling and overhead line equipment with the debris blocking all main lines into and out of Euston. Three passengers died, with a further seventeen passengers, including the driver of the passenger train, taken to a nearby hospital, with two detained. One detained passenger was released on 15 October and the other on 1 November. [1]
The Down Fast line was restored at 18:22 on 12 October and later closed to traffic on 14 October to enable repairs to be completed. The Up Slow line was restored at 18:54 on 13 October and the Down Slow Line was restored on 06:00 on 15 October. [1]
A formal inquiry was ordered under the Regulation of Railways Act 1871 and was conducted by the Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways who opened the inquiry. Evidence was heard in public in London on 9 November and addressed the question of whether the freight train was moving or stationary at the moment of impact. [2]
The investigation turned its attention to the medical board when it was discovered that the driver Ronald Armstrong (born 25 July 1921) was found to have an unusual medical history. Armstrong regularly informed the board about suffering episodes of irregular disturbed vision that occurred three to four times a year without warning. Armstrong said he did not have such an episode when driving a train although he did suffer disturbed vision while driving his car. [3]
Armstrong had also suffered from morning headaches which dated back many years which often occurred when getting up. Although the symptoms were dull, never severe and frontal in situation, he slept well but tended to wake in the early hours. He also suffered from bouts of indigestion, which was treated with bicarbonate of soda. Armstrong also suffered from panic attacks with an episode occurring before the accident. One medical condition he no longer suffered from was breathlessness and he also lost his sense of smell 18 months before the accident occurred. [3]
Coordinates: 51°32′58″N 0°17′36″W / 51.54957°N 0.29330°W / 51.54957; -0.29330
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Train collisions
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15 February 2003 anti-war protests
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On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests started across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the war took place. At the time, social movement researchers described the 15 February protest as "the largest protest event in human history". [1]
According to BBC News, between six and ten million people took part in protests in up to sixty countries over the weekend of 15 and 16 February. [2]
Some of the largest protests took place in Europe. The protest in Rome involved around three million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. Madrid hosted the second largest rally with more than 1.5 million people protesting the invasion of Iraq; Mainland China was the only major region not to see any protests on that day, but small demonstrations, attended mainly by foreign students, were seen later. [3]
In 2002, the United States government began to argue for the necessity of invading Iraq. This formally began with a speech by US President George W. Bush to the United Nations General Assembly on 12 September 2002 which argued that the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein was violating United Nations (UN) resolutions, primarily on weapons of mass destruction, and that this necessitated action. [4]
The proposed war was controversial with many people questioning the motives of the US government and its rationale. [5] One poll which covered 41 countries claimed that less than 10% would support an invasion of Iraq without UN sanction and that half would not support an invasion under any circumstances. [6]
Anti-war groups worldwide organised public protests. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 anti‑war protests, the demonstrations on 15 February 2003 being the largest and most prolific. [7]
The invasion of Iraq began on 20 March 2003. The 15 February international protests were unprecedented not only in terms of the size of the demonstrations but also in terms of the international coordination involved. Researchers from the University of Antwerp claim that the day was possible only because it "was carefully planned by an international network of national social movement organisations. "[8]
Immanuel Wallerstein has spoken of the international protests as being organised by the forces of "the Porto Alegre camp in reference to the emergence of global social movements who had been organising around international events such as the 2001 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. "[9] Some commentators claim this is an example of "grassroots globalisation", for example one book claims that "The worldwide protests were made possible by globalisation ... But make no mistake—this was not your CEO's globalisation. The peace demonstrations represented, not a globalisation of commerce, but a globalisation of conscience". [10]
The idea for an international day of demonstrations was first raised by the British anti-capitalist group Globalise Resistance (GR) in the wake of an anti-war demonstration in Britain of 400,000 on 28 September. At the time GR was involved in planning for the Florence European Social Forum (ESF) and brought up the suggestion at an ESF planning meeting. According to GR's Chris Nineham, "There was considerable controversy. Some delegates were worried it would alienate the mainstream of the movement. We, alongside the Italian delegates, had to put up a strong fight to get it accepted. "[11]
The proposal was accepted and at the final rally of the ESF, in November 2002, the call officially went out for Europe-wide demonstrations on 15 February 2003. This call was firmed up in December at a planning meeting for the following ESF which took place in Copenhagen in 2003. This meeting was attended by delegates from many European anti-war organisations, the US group United for Peace and Justice, and representatives of groups from the Philippines. The decision was taken to set up a Europe-wide anti-war website and to commit to spreading organisational coordination both within and beyond Europe. An email network connecting the different national organisations across Europe, and eventually also the different US groups, was set up. [8][12]
In December 2002, the Cairo Anti-war Conference pledged to organise demonstrations in Egypt and the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq (which came out of the Cairo conference) sought to co-ordinate more demonstrations across the world. Around this time, the US anti-war group International ANSWER called for actions in North America supporting the proposed protests in Europe. [13]
Another important platform for the spreading call to demonstrate internationally occurred at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil which took place at the end of 2002. European delegates sought to popularise the plan for the increasingly international demonstration. They met with some success, including the organisation of an anti‑war assembly which was attended by almost 1,000 people. [11]
The song "Boom! ", by System of a Down, had a music video filmed on the day of the protest, showing the many protest locations and people's opinions on the Iraq War. Demonstrations took place across Europe and some of the largest drawing attendance figures in the tens of thousands in many cities. Approximately one-fifth of the total demonstrators worldwide protested in Europe. In Austria, 30,000 people (SW estimate) took to the streets of its capital, Vienna. [14] In Switzerland in order to "concentrate the movement" most activists agreed to organise a single demonstration for the whole country in Bern. On the day roughly 40,000 people joined the protest in front of the Bundeshaus, the seat of the Swiss federal government and parliament. The demonstration, which ran under the slogan Nein zum Krieg gegen Irak – Kein Blut für Öl! (No to war in Iraq – no blood for oil!) was the largest in Switzerland since 1945. [15]
In Slovenia, roughly 3,000 people gathered in Ljubljana's central park of Kongresni trg, supported by the mayor Danica Simšič, and marched the streets in one of the largest demonstrations since independence in 1991. [16]
The Benelux countries had large demonstrations for their total population size. In Belgium organisers had expected around 30,000 people to attend a demonstration in Brussels, which is the home of the European Parliament. They were shocked by a turn out of approximately 100,000 people (WSWS and GLW estimate). The march took over 3 hours to cross the city.
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2019–2021 locust infestation - Wikipedia
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Ongoing locust infestation in East Africa, Arabian peninsula and Indian subcontinent
2019–2021 locust infestation
June 2019 – present
Map
Position and trajectory of the remaining locust swarms in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, October 2020
2019–2021 locust infestation is a pest outbreak of desert locusts which is threatening the food supply across the regions of East Africa , the Arabian Peninsula , and the Indian subcontinent . The outbreak is the worst in 70 years in Kenya and the worst in 25 years in Ethiopia , Somalia and India . [2] The plague began in June 2019 and continued into 2020, although locust swarms have experienced steady declines in population and geographical reach from May to October, and as of November 2020, primarily found in the Horn of Africa and Yemen. [3]
The current outbreak began when Cyclone Mekunu in 2018 produced heavy rains in the Rub' al Khali of the Arabian Peninsula ; [4] in Spring 2019, swarms spread from these areas, and by June 2019, the locusts spread north to Iran, Pakistan, and India and south to East Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa . [4] By the end of 2019, there were swarms in Ethiopia , Eritrea , Somalia , Kenya , Saudi Arabia , Yemen , Egypt , Oman , Iran , India , and Pakistan . [5] By June 2020, a separate swarm appeared in South America, affecting Paraguay and Argentina . [6]
In April 2020, travel and shipping restrictions precipitated by the spread of COVID-19 began to hamper efforts to control the locusts, preventing the transport of pesticides, equipment, and personnel, and contributing to the global incidence of COVID-19 related food insecurity . [7]
Locust swarms worldwide faced a steady decline in size from May to October, as countries and intergovernmental organisations have instituted extensive aerial and ground pest control efforts aided by low quantities of rainfall in several affected regions and the absence of storm activity in the Indian Ocean . As of October 2020, only Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen harbour significant swarms of gregarious locusts, with the remainder of the population situated in isolated pockets in Kenya, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia. While locust swarms continue to threaten countries around the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden , as well as their immediate neighbours, they are not expected to return to countries east of the Arabian Peninsula, nor to those west of Sudan. [3]
Swarm near Satrokala, Madagascar during a 2014 outbreak, illustrative of swarm sizes.
When periods of heavy rainfall follow periods of relative drought, solitary desert locusts emerge to feed on new-growth foliage and lay eggs in the newly moist soil, which prevents them from drying out. [8] The sight and smell of other locusts, as well as sensory stimulation from contact between locusts' hind legs, precipitates changes in the locusts' behaviour and morphology ; the previously green, nocturnal and solitary creatures become larger, develop black-and-yellow colouring, and begin to seek out other locusts, a process known as gregarization. [9] These changes result in the formation of large locust swarms that gregarize nearby locusts and breed profusely, allowing them to undergo rapid, exponential growth. The swarms proceed to feed on the newly abundant vegetation, making use of improved swarm coordination, the result of larger brain sizes, as well as increased range, the result of increased metabolic activity, larger muscles, and longer wings, to travel up to 130 km a day in search of new vegetation and moist weather, often propelling themselves by the wind. [10] [11]
Black and yellow colored Desert Locust.
This particular desert locust plague traces back to May 2018, when Cyclone Mekunu passed over a vast, unpopulated desert on the southern Arabian Peninsula known as the Rub' al Khali , filling the space between sand dunes with ephemeral lakes, which allowed locusts to breed undetected. This was exacerbated in October 2018 by Cyclone Luban , which spawned in the central Arabian Sea , moved westward, and rained out over the same region near the border of Yemen and Oman . [12] [13] [14] [4] The Indian Ocean Dipole , an irregular oscillation in sea surface temperatures between the western and eastern parts of the Indian Ocean, has increased in magnitude due to the effects of climate change . [14] This shift has resulted in increased cyclone activity over the last decade in the Persian Gulf , previously home to very few cyclones, and is associated with flooding in countries along the western Indian Ocean , dry weather in the east, and bushfires in Australia . [15]
The two cyclones created conditions conducive to mass locust reproduction, enabling three generations of locusts to breed over a nine-month period, which increased their number in the Arabian desert roughly 8,000-fold.
Affected countries[ edit ]
Locust swarms have infested 23 countries as of April 2020. East Africa is the epicenter of the locust crisis—with Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda among the affected countries. However, the locusts have traveled far, wiping out crops in Pakistan and damaging farms in Yemen, a fragile country already hit hard by years of conflict.
Africa[ edit ]
By the summer of 2019, swarms had reached over the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden into Ethiopia and Somalia , where they continued breeding and started causing concerns. This might have been as far as the locusts got were it not for the fact that during October 2018, East Africa experienced unusually widespread and intense autumn rains, which were capped in December by a rare late season cyclone Pawan that made landfall in Somalia . These events triggered yet another spurt of reproductive activity. [12] [16] [17]
In January 2020, the outbreak was affecting Ethiopia , Kenya , Eritrea , Djibouti , Somalia , and Burundi . The infestation "presents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa ," according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). [18] Rising sea surface temperatures (cf. the Indian Ocean Dipole ) tip the scales in favor of circulation patterns like the one that set the stage for the desert locust outbreak. Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization said, he thinks, "we can assume there will be more locust outbreaks and upsurges in the Horn of Africa.” [19] [20] The situation was fueled by unusually heavy rains, [8] causing a big concern in the Horn of Africa, where more than 24 million people are food insecure and 12 million people are internally displaced. [21] Favourable conditions for the locusts prolonged the menace through January 2021.[ citation needed ]
Kenya[ edit ]
On 28 December 2019, several large, immature swarms were first reported to have crossed into Kenya from Somalia, entering through the towns of Mandera and El Wak . [5] Heavy rains over the preceding short rain season (October–December) created an environment conducive to locust breeding, [22] and over the next two months the swarms spread and matured, infesting 21 counties by the end of February and reaching Kenya's borders with Uganda and Tanzania. [23] By then, the plague was Kenya's worst locust outbreak in over seventy years, affecting approximately 70,000 hectares (172,973 acres) of land, and leading the country's agriculture minister to state that authorities were unprepared for an infestation of such scale. [24] Over the next three months, particularly favourable rains caused locust swarms to migrate to the north-western counties of Kenya, [25] [26] and by mid-May, cumulative crop and pasture losses were estimated at between 5-15 percent in northern Kenya and 1-5 percent in south-eastern Kenya. [22]
However, low levels of rainfall in May, in conjunction with both new and continued ground and aerial pest control initiatives, led to the locust population, which had been stagnant over the preceding two months, declining, with reduced average swarm sizes and a less widespread distribution of locusts, which were, by then, primarily resident in the north-western counties of Turkana and Marsabit . [27] Continued low rainfall and the relative lack of greenery in north-western Kenya resulted in a progressive decline in both swarm size and overall population from June to September, resulting in reduced levels of locust maturation, which placed much of the remaining locust population in recession . [28] [29] As of October 2020, a few small (1–10 km2) swarms, slowly maturing at the border between the north-western counties of Baringo , Laikipia , and Samburu , are the only remaining gregarious locust populations in the country. [3]
Somalia[ edit ]
Somalia ’s agriculture ministry called the outbreak a national emergency and major threat to the country’s fragile food security, saying the “uncommonly large” locust swarms are consuming huge amounts of crops. [24] Combating the crisis isn't likely to be easy, especially in Somalia, where parts of the country are in the grip of the al-Qaida -linked al-Shabab extremist group. [30] Desert locusts are breeding in the regions of Galmudug (Mudug), Puntland and Somaliland . Over the next six months, projections indicate that more than 100 000 hectares of land will require direct control interventions in Somalia. [31]
Eritrea[ edit ]
In swarms the size of major cities, the locusts also have affected various parts of Eritrea . The military and general public have been deployed to combat the crisis according to Eritrea's Agricultural Ministry. [24] In Eritrea, big swarms of immature adults that migrated from Ethiopia, were identified and controlled around Shieb, Gahtielay, Wengebo and Beareze of the Northern Red Sea Coast. Moreover, the swarms of Tree Locust have been detected in Tserona , Mai-seraw, Quatit and Digsa districts of Southern Eritrea. [31]
Ethiopia[ edit ]
The locusts also are heading towards Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country, in that nation's worst outbreak in 25 years. Some residents were surprised to find the locusts inside their living rooms.
According to the Agriculture Ministry officials, the relatively few locusts reaching Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa are “leftovers” from the “massive invasion” in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Spraying is being conducted around the city to stop the outbreak from spreading elsewhere. [24] Millions of people in this country already cope with the constant risk of drought or flooding, [32]
The desert locust infestation in Ethiopia has deteriorated, despite ongoing ground and aerial control operations. Hoppers have fledged, and an increasing number of small immature and mature swarms have continued to devour crop and pasture fields in Tigray , Amhara , Oromia , and Somali regional states. In Amhara, some farms have registered nearly 100 percent loss of teff , a staple crop in Ethiopia. Moreover, eggs are hatching profusely and forming hopper bands in the Somali region, due to the heavy rainfall.
Despite major control and prevention operations, substantial crop losses have already occurred in the Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia. The hopper bands (young locust populations moving together) have covered nearly 430 square kilometres and have consumed about 1.3 million metric tonnes of vegetation over a two-month period. The formation of bands is ongoing in the rangelands of the Ethiopian Somali Region; and massive new swarms will arrive from Yemen and Somalia. A swarm even forced an Ethiopian passenger plane off course in December. [31]
Food ran out for the nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray, which was partially caused by the Tigran War . [33]
Uganda[ edit ]
They are now heading toward Uganda and fragile South Sudan, where almost half the country faces hunger as it emerges from civil war. Uganda has not had such an outbreak since the 1960s and is already on alert. [30] Uganda has not had to deal with a locust infestation since the ’60s so there is concern about the ability for experts on the ground to be able to deal with it without external support, This week Uganda’s prime minister told agriculture authorities that “this is an emergency and all agencies must be on the alert,” the government-controlled New Vision newspaper reported. [32]
South Sudan[ edit ]
They are also now heading towards South Sudan, where almost half the country faces hunger as it emerges from civil war. They have not had such an outbreak since the 1960s and is already on alert. [30] In a country like South Sudan, where already 47% of the population is food insecure this crisis would cause devastating consequences. [32]
Djibouti[ edit ]
The Government of Djibouti estimates that the damage caused by the desert locust infestations on vegetation cover (crops and pastures) have already caused a loss of around US$5 million for the six regions of the country. [31] In Djibouti, it is estimated that over 1,700 agropastoral farms across the country and nearly 50,000 hectares of pastureland have been destroyed by the swarms. [21]
Burundi
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have both stated that the phenomenally heavy rains have contributed to not only the devastating 2019 Burundi landslides , but also a "serious and widespread desert locust outbreak". The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (the DLCO-EA which Burundi is not member to) noted the necessity for urgent and decisive action from all partners, as well as the resources to support large-scale ground surveys, aerial spraying services, provision of chemicals, information dissemination, and further capacity building for control operations.
Arabian Peninsula[ edit ]
Cyclones in May and October 2018 brought heavy rains that gave rise to favourable breeding conditions in the Empty Quarter of the southern Arabian Peninsula for at least nine months since June. Some countries like UAE and Iraq have seen small hopper groups but the situation is under control in these regions. [34]
Yemen[ edit ]
In January 2019 one of the first swarms reached Yemen and it became one of the first breeding grounds for the desert locusts and caused them to spread more.
Saudi Arabia[ edit ]
From January to June 2019 the locusts started to enter Saudi Arabia. They have so far tried a lot to control the locusts.
South and South-West Asia[ edit ]
After June 2019 swarms invade the Indo-Pakistan border from Iran and up to three generations occur due to longer than normal monsoon, giving rise to large numbers of swarms.
Pakistan[ edit ]
Since June 2019, the locust outbreak has been impacting eastern Pakistan. [35] In November 2019, Karachi saw the first locust attack in the city since 1961. [36]
On 29 January 2020, the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government declared emergency in nine southern districts of the province to control the spread of locusts. The emergency was declared in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Karak, Kohat, Hangu, North and South Waziristan districts. [37]
On 1 February 2020, the Pakistani government declared a national emergency to protect crops and help farmers. [38]
Iran[ edit ]
In Iran, as with the rest of the Asian countries, the locust started arriving in the first six months of 2019. Heavy rains in southwest Iran exacerbated the situation. The control operations have been less successful in Yemen and Iran. [39]
India[ edit ]
The swarms in India came from Iran and Pakistan, but the situation has been brought under control with the help of pesticides and specialist equipment. Although extent of damage is to be assessed but there's no major loss. A number of timely measures and a change in wind direction have prevented a spread and large-scale damage to the rapeseed and cumin seed crops, the officials said. The outbreak began late 2019 in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Three villages in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, which shares a border with Pakistan's desert areas, came under fresh locust attacks in January (2020). In Gujarat, locust attacks in December(2019) damaged crops, mainly rapeseed and cumin seed, planted on about 17,000 hectares. Parts of western Rajasthan have destroyed crops spread over at least 350,000 hectares of land. The districts adversely affected by the large scale coordinated attacks by locusts include Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Churu and Nagaur. India has been able to bring swarms of desert locusts under control in two key oilseed producing states. [40] [41]
In May, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, parts of India such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were severely affected by locust swarms measuring a kilometer wide, the worst locust attack in 27 years. [42] [43] On 27 June 2020, millions of locusts swarmed on a massive scale in Gurgaon, Delhi-NCR region, made look like a sand storm in the sky.
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NBA Players Who Married Celebrities Even More Famous Than Themselves
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Basketball is one of the most-watched sports in the United States, making many of the NBA players known among fans. Here are some of the court stars who dated celebrities. Over the years, NBA players have bagged the creme de la creme of the entertainment industry as their partners. While some have lasted the long haul, many of them have fizzled out due to society's pressure. From Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert to Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson, here are 15 NBA players that have dated celebrities way more famous than them. What says love better than a union of sports lovers. Sasha Vujacic is a professional basketball player hailing from Slovenia and currently part of the New York Knicks’ roster. He first became famous when he originated as a first-round draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. He has since made a name for himself in the industry, playing both locally and internationally. He met the iconic Grand Slam tennis star, Maria Sharapova, at a friend’s barbecue in 2009, and the pair immediately kicked things off and began dating. Unfortunately, their love for sports wasn’t enough to make them last forever, as they called things off two years after a rumored engagement. It was a union of beauty when the former Miss America met the basketball player. Vanessa first gained prominence when she became the first African-American to bag the title Miss America in 1984. In 1999, she and basketball player, Rick Fox, fled to the Caribbean to be together. A year later, they welcomed a beautiful daughter. Sadly, they divorced in 2004 as a result of cheating allegations from both parties. That was also the same year that Rick retired from professional basketball. These are some of the iconic couples of the basketball industry. La La Vasquez is a television personality and actress who became famous at the age of 15. While in high school, she had a show of her own alongside rapper Ludacris. In 2001, she joined the MTV network family and rose to become one of their most talented producers. She later left and began working with boxer Mike Tyson on his documentary, “Tyson.” It was around that time she met basketball player Carmelo Anthony, who was, at the time, playing for the Denver Nuggets. On December 25, 2004, the pair became engaged and eventually tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony six years later. Their life chronicles on La La’s show titled “Full Court Life.” The singer, actress, and record producer began dating the Congolese-Spanish basketball star player in 2012. Keri became famous at the age of 14 when she bagged her first record deal. She has gone on to write songs for A-listers, including Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige. Sadly, her relationship was not as successful as her career as she and Serge broke up in 2016 after four years. IMAN SHUMPERT AND TEYANA TAYLOR Teyana began her journey as a singer when she signed to Pharrell Williams’ record label in 2007. In 2012 she joined Kanye West’s GOOD Music label and gained popularity when she featured in his music video “Fade.” Teyana has been private about her relationship with basketballer Iman Shumpert as news about them only came to light when they got married. In 2015, they welcomed their first child through a home birth, and Shumpert delivered the child with his bare hands. Iman is currently playing for the Houston Rockets as a shooting guard. NICK YOUNG AND IGGY AZALEA Australian rapper Iggy Azalea gained worldwide fame for her YouTube videos and later debuted her first studio album, “The New Classic,” which reached the top of the Billboard charts, making her the first non-American female to achieve such a feat. Advertisement Before the release of that album, she began dating Los Angeles Lakers star, Nick Young. The pair moved in together in California and announced their engagement in 2015. Unfortunately, they called it quits after a year when Iggy exposed footage of Young bringing another woman to their home. TRISTAN THOMPSON AND KHLOE KARDASHIAN No one probably heard of Tristan Thompson before his relationship with the “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” star, Khloe Kardashian. Tristan, a Canadian born athlete, played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He and Khloe began their romantic relationship in 2017 and welcomed a daughter named True. Their relationship has been plagued with several cheating rumors, with the latest being that of Tristan and Kylie’s BFF, Jordyn Woods. Although the iconic singer is currently married to American football quarterback Russell Wilson, Ciara has had her fair share of other relationships. One of which includes American-Israeli professional basketballer Amar’e Stoudemire. Ciara and Stoudemire became an item in 2011, with details of their relationship being kept private. Unfortunately, they didn't last the long haul because the singer caught him cheating. RIHANNA AND J.R. SMITH While many might not know this, the Barbados queen of music dated the Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard back in 2012. Advertisement Rumors of their relationship first surfaced when they were seen holding hands and getting cozy during an outing. Sadly, their relationship fizzled out, and many suggested Smith’s cocky behavior was the reason behind it. CHRIS WEBBER AND TYRA BANKS The notable model was once involved with basketballer Chris Webber for two years between 2002 and 2004. During their time together, Tyra was often seen sitting courtside at the Sacramento Kings games; Chris was playing for the team at that time. Rumors of their engagement began swirling around, but it was soon debunked when she stopped coming to the games. The iconic actress has had her fair share with athletes as she was previously married to NFL player Chris Howard. In high school, she dated NBA Player Jason Kidd, but with all the relationships she’s had with athletes, the only one that has stood the test of time was with Dwyane Wade. The two began dating in 2009 and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony five years later. After several years of infertility problems and several miscarriages, the couple finally welcomed their daughter last year via surrogacy, Kaavia James. Eva Longoria is a prominent actress who rose to fame for her role in the series “Desperate Housewives.” In 2004, she met San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker and instantly fell in love. In less than three years, they were happily married. The two were having a rest time until Longoria stumbled upon hundreds of text messages from other women on her husband’s phone, leading to their divorce in January 2010. Eventually, Eva found love in the arms of media mogul Jose Baston, and they have been married for almost three years MARKO JARIC AND ADRIANA LIMA The Brazilian model and actress Adriana Lima dated shooting guard Marko Jaric. The Serbian NBA player and Adriana tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony on Valentine's Day in 2009. Unfortunately, they separated after five years together, and their divorce was finalized in 2016. During their union, they welcomed two beautiful daughters. LAMAR ODOM AND KHLOE KARDASHIAN If there is any female celebrity with a long dip in the pool of NBA players, it sure is Khloe Kardashian. The reality star tied the knot with her ex-husband, Lamar Odom, after a month of dating. He featured in the family’s reality show ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ before they had their spinoff series. Sadly, the show ended after two seasons, approximately the same time they began having problems in their marriage. Odom was arrested severally for DUI and was addicted to drugs. Khloe couldn’t take it anymore, so the pair separated. Their divorce was finalized in December 2016. KRIS HUMPHRIES AND KIM KARDASHIAN This list would not be complete without Kim Kardashian’s short-lived marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries. The pair began dating in October 2010 and got engaged in May 2011. Two months later, they tied the knot in an extravagant wedding that reportedly cost $10 million. Sadly, all that couldn’t keep them together as they separated just after 72 days together. It is not sure if their union was genuine or a publicity stunt; regardless, we would never forget it. While marriage is hardly a factor in your career, it seems basketballers have difficulty sustaining their relationship with famous women. If you are a basketball fan, let us know which of these couples had you feeling some type of way. Also, remember to share with your friends.
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U.S. Withdrawal From the INF Treaty: The Facts and the Law
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President Trump announced on Oct. 20 that the United States would pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a 1987 bilateral agreement prohibiting the United States and Russia from possessing, producing or test-flying ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers and their launchers. Speaking at a rally in Elko, Nev., Trump cited Russian violations as the chief reason for U.S. withdrawal and said the United States would develop intermediate-range missiles until Russia and China—which is not party to the INF Treaty—agreed to cease development of their own intermediate-range missiles. Interestingly, prior to Trump’s announcement, White House officials had indicated that the administration had not yet decided to withdraw from the treaty. Shortly after the president’s statement, National Security Adviser John Bolton traveled to Moscow to discuss Russia’s violations and the prospect of a U.S. withdrawal. The INF is the latest in a series of treaties and international agreements that the administration has decided to terminate, and the pace of withdrawals appears to have accelerated since Bolton replaced H.R. McMaster as Trump’s national security adviser. The INF Treaty has long been in Bolton’s sights. In a 2014 Wall Street Journal opinion piece co-authored with John Yoo, entitled “An Obsolete Nuclear Treaty Even Before Russia Cheated,” Bolton criticized the Obama administration for “engaging in contortions to save the INF” in the face of renewed Russian aggression and called on Washington to withdraw from the treaty. Bolton’s personal views aside, there are also real strategic concerns underlying U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty, should the administration follow through. Moreover, Trump’s announcement is hardly the first time Russia has been accused of significant breaches of the treaty. INF Treaty Was a Cold War Success Story The INF Treaty was a Cold War success story. The process that culminated in adoption of the treaty began in the late 1970s, when the Soviet Union introduced a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range missile, the SS-20, to replace older models of intermediate-range missiles. The SS-20 was mobile, accurate and more easily concealable, and its 5,000-kilometer range could reach Western Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, most of Asia, Southeast Asia and Alaska from Soviet territory. The United States was concerned that this development would give the Soviet Union a strategic edge and would reshape the security environment in Europe and elsewhere. In consultation and coordination with its NATO allies, the United States advanced a “dual track” approach to address this emerging threat. One prong of this approach focused on deploying new U.S. intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles to Europe. The United States and its NATO partners decided to replace the older medium-range Pershing I ballistic missiles with more efficient, longer-range Pershing II missiles and add new ground-launched cruise missiles. The second prong involved bilateral U.S.-Soviet negotiations to secure a reduction of intermediate-range missiles. After President Ronald Reagan assumed office, he announced in November 1981 that the United States would cancel its deployment plans in exchange for the elimination of Soviet SS-20, SS-4 and SS-5 missiles (known as the “zero-zero option”). By late 1986, the year of the Reykjavik summit, bilateral U.S.-Soviet negotiations had gained traction. In 1987, both parties agreed to eliminate intermediate ballistic and cruise missile systems fitted for land-based weapons delivery with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Unlike other bilateral U.S.-Soviet arms-control treaties, which limited only the number of weapons each side was allowed to maintain, the INF Treaty called for eliminating an entire class of weapons. As a result, the Soviet Union destroyed 1,846 missiles and the United States destroyed 846 missiles by May 28, 1991. Shortly thereafter, the United States concluded another arms-control treaty with the Soviet Union that addressed strategic nuclear weapons, known as START I—the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (1991). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia and the post-Soviet republics assumed the USSR’s obligations under the INF Treaty. A History of Russian Violations The Obama administration reinvigorated arms-control cooperation with Russia, which culminated in the conclusion in 2010 of New START— a successor of previous instruments that places limits on possession and deployment of strategic weapons, including nuclear warheads, nuclear bombs and inter-continental ballistic missiles. As recently as February 2018, both the U.S. and Russia appeared to be meeting their arsenal-reduction obligations under the treaty. At the same time, friction developed with regard to INF compliance. The administration was aware of evidence of Russian noncompliance as early as 2008. In July 2014, President Obama officially accused Russia of testing an intermediate-range land-launched missile in violation of the INF Treaty. Every year since 2014, the State Department’s Annual Report on “Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Non-proliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments” has cited Russian violations of the INF Treaty. While few details about the nature of Russia’s violations were made public, the Obama administration demanded that the Russian government terminate all testing of the land-launched missile. For the first time since 2003, the administration also convened two meetings of the Special Verification Commission (SVC) pursuant to Article XIII of the INF Treaty in 2016 and 2017 to discuss compliance challenges. (See Rick Houghton’s discussion of the SVC.) At those meetings, Russia denied breaching the treaty. In March 2017, Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee that Russia had fired a land-launched cruise missile in violation of the INF, posing a risk to “most of our facilities in Europe.” The 2018 State Department Compliance Report identified the Russian designator for the missile—9M729. In response to Russia’s alleged non-compliance, the Commerce Department has imposed sanctions on Russian companies that participated in development of the missile. Following an INF policy review concluded in late 2017, the Trump administration announced that it would continue to seek a diplomatic resolution with Russia through the SVC, while “commencing INF Treaty-compliant research and development … by reviewing military concepts and options for conventional, ground-launched, intermediate-range missile systems.” The administration also raised the specter of a U.S. withdrawal from the INF: The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review warned that “the United States will not forever endure Russia’s continuing non-compliance.” In their July 2017 Brussels Summit Declaration, NATO members recognized the threat of Russian non-compliance with the INF, citing Russia’s 9M729 missile system. NATO members further stressed that “in the absence of any credible answer from Russia on this new missile, the most plausible assessment would be that Russia is in violation of the Treaty.” A few months later, NATO’s North Atlantic Council reiterated that the U.S. was in full compliance with the INF Treaty but that Russia possessed a missile system that raised “serious concerns.” In response to President Trump’s announcement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg again backed U.S. allegations that Russia has violated the INF. He stressed that "[t]he treaty is not working if it's only being respected by one side. The problem, the threat, the challenge is the Russian behaviour, which has been ongoing for a long time." The European Union, by contrast, called on the U.S. to remain in the treaty and warned that a U.S. withdrawal would ignite an arms race and undermine a central pillar of Europe’s security architecture. Russia has remained firm in denying that it has violated the INF, labeling reports that it had deployed missiles in violation of the treaty as “Fake News.” In addition, Russia has accused the United States of violating the INF. Among the violations cited by Moscow are the development of the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense system and ballistic target missiles, along with the U.S. use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The State Department provided a detailed rebuttal in 2017. The China Angle When the United States and the Soviet Union signed the INF Treaty in 1987, the world’s supply of intermediate-range missiles was limited to those two states as well as European NATO members. Since that time, however, new powers unconstrained by treaty obligations—unlike Russia—have developed and tested intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles. In particular, China’s intermediate-range ballistic missiles now constitute “approximately 95 percent” of the People’s Liberation Army missile force. Consequently, Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern in light of efforts by China, North Korea and Iran to acquire intermediate-range missiles. In the past, Russia expressed support for the idea of expanding the INF to include more states, and in 2007 Russia and the U.S. issued a joint statement in support of imparting a “global character to this important regime.” But as ambitions for a multilateral INF have retreated, China’s stockpile of intermediate-range missiles has grown—as has Russian skepticism of the merits of the treaty itself. In June 2013, then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin complained that “nearly all of our neighbors are developing these kinds of weapons systems” and described the Soviet Union’s decision to conclude the INF Treaty as “debatable to say the least.” The United States appears to share the concern that its continued adherence to the INF Treaty jeopardizes not only the U.S. strategic posture vis-à-vis Russia but also its ability and readiness to counter the missile threat from China and other actors. Bolton expressed this view in his 2014 op-ed, and it now appears to reflect the view of the Trump administration. On Oct. 22, Trump remarked that “China is not included in the agreement. They should be included in the agreement.” In light of China’s unfettered development of intermediate-range ballistic missiles, some commentators have welcomed the administration’s intent to terminate the INF Treaty. Writing for the National Interest, Nathan Levine argues that the development and placement of intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Japan, Guam, the southern Philippines or northern Australia would enable the United States to check China’s aggression in the Pacific while minimizing danger to U.S. forces and assets. Writing for Bloomberg News, Eli Lake maintains that Trump made the right choice—likening Trump’s strategy to Reagan’s decision to enhance the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe, which forced the Soviet Union to come to the negotiating table. Others have criticized the president’s move. Some commentators have focused on the haphazard manner in which the president appears to have handled the potential INF withdrawal, expressing concern that it sends a clear signal of unilateralism to the rest of the world that undermines trust in U.S. commitment to treaties. For example, one former NATO supreme allied commander, Gen. Philip Breedlove, commented, “We have to take action…[but] it needs to be in accordance and in coordination with our allies ... we have to embrace Europe and move forward with Europe.” Jim Miller, former undersecretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration, similarly said that “[t]he rollout of this decision put the U.S. in the position of being the one that will have killed the treaty, and that will be detrimental to our ability to work not just with Russia or China, but our allies as well, and it will be detrimental to our ability to sustain the New START Treaty, which is even more in the U.S. interest than the INF treaty.” Some critics have highlighted the risks involved in the resumption of U.S. development of intermediate-range missiles, something Trump’s comments and the administration's policy review suggest is likely. A U.S. pullout from the INF Treaty, in this view, could trigger an arms race between the United States, Russia and China, with destabilizing consequences for the U.S. and its allies. Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said that “Once the United States withdraws from the treaty, there is no reason for Russia to even pretend it is observing the limit…Moscow will be free to deploy the 9M729 cruise missile, and an intermediate-range ballistic missile if it wants, without any restraint.” An INF pullout would also add to concerns of an arms race triggered by the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, which, according to the Federation of Atomic Scientists, “reverses decades of bipartisan policy and orders what would be the first new nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War.” For their part, Russia and China have reacted negatively to the news of an impending U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that “Unilateral withdrawal will have a multitude of negative effects.” Russia similarly has criticized the decision, though local media sources seem to suggest many Russians question the credibility of Trump’s threat of withdrawal. At least one Russian politician suggested that Trump’s announcement is simply “blackmail.” Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev, who chairs the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote on his Facebook page that since no formal steps have been taken by the U.S. to trigger the INF Treaty’s termination clause, “Trump’s statement qualifies as continuing blackmail rather than an accomplished act of law.” INF Termination by the U.S. From a Legal Perspective There is room for interpretation as to whether Trump and Bolton’s statements indicated an intention to withdraw the United States from the INF Treaty entirely or merely to suspend its operation in whole or in part due to a material breach by Russia. Under Article 60(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), which is widely considered as customary international law, “A material breach of a bilateral treaty by one of the parties entitles the other to invoke the breach as a ground for terminating the treaty or suspending its operation in whole or in part.” In other words, the United States has the right to either suspend or terminate a treaty if a material breach occurs. If Russia in fact deployed an INF-class missile, that would arguably qualify as a material breach. If the administration in fact intends to withdraw from the treaty, it would need to follow Article XV of the INF Treaty, which outlines the conditions and procedure for withdrawal: 1. This Treaty shall be of unlimited duration. 2. Each Party shall, in exercising its national sovereignty, have the right to withdraw from this Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events related to the subject matter of this Treaty have jeopardized its supreme interests. It shall give notice of its decision to withdraw to the other Party six months prior to withdrawal from this Treaty. Such notice shall include a statement of the extraordinary events the notifying Party regards as having jeopardized its supreme interests. As far as we are aware, the U.S. has not yet issued a formal notice of withdrawal clarifying what “extraordinary events” necessitated it. Bolton told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that while the president strongly intends to withdraw, the U.S. would consult its European and Asian allies, in addition to Russia, before making a formal announcement. On Tuesday, Bolton reiterated that an official announcement would be made “in due course” and that no progress had been made over two days of talks in Moscow. It might be that the threat of withdrawal is a negotiation tactic aimed at pressuring Russia to comply with the INF and putting pressure on China to accept limitations on its own arsenal. If the U.S. follows through with withdrawal, it would be able to point to plausible claims that could satisfy the requirements of the INF termination clause. Even if we interpret “extraordinary events related to the subject matter of this Treaty” as referring only to relevant developments along the U.S.-Russia axis, the U.S. has a credible claim of repeated, prolonged Russian non-compliance with the core obligations of the INF Treaty, which the treaty’s dispute resolution mechanism failed to resolve. Adding China’s growing missile arsenal to the mix would only strengthen the U.S. claim. Therefore, there seem to be no significant legal obstacles preventing the U.S. from terminating the treaty under international law. The main question from the international perspective is whether this move—should it be executed—is wise and prudent, not whether termination is lawful. Neither is Trump likely to face significant legal hurdles at home. Congress has long expressed concern about the INF Treaty in light of evidence of Russian non-compliance, holding hearings to address the subject. In 2015, Congress attempted to nudge the Obama administration into leveraging continued U.S. compliance with New START to pressure Russia into complying with the INF Treaty. Furthermore, in the past few years, most recently in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2019, Congress has required the president to submit a determination to Congress on Russia’s compliance with the INF Treaty and whether the treaty’s key prohibitions “remain binding on the United States as a matter of United States law” (Section 1243). The NDAA also expressed the sense of Congress that Russia’s testing and deployment of missiles covered by INF constituted a material breach of the treaty, defeating its object and purpose. Therefore, it was the sense of Congress that the United States “is legally entitled to suspend the operation of the INF Treaty” (Section 1244). As such, Congress has given a clear statement supporting the suspension—if not the termination—of the INF Treaty in light of a material breach. Even in the absence of this statement, Trump likely has the domestic constitutional authority to terminate the treaty unilaterally, without congressional approval. While the Constitution lays out the process for entering into treaties, vesting the power to conclude treaties in the president with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, it is silent with respect to which government branch has the power to terminate treaties. Still, as Curtis Bradley has observed, since the early 20th century executive-branch practice and congressional inaction have led to a broad consensus that presidents have unilateral power to terminate treaties, especially when the treaty contains a termination clause. (As Scott Anderson observes, however, it is important to note that one could interpret Congress’s statement as sanctioning only the suspension of the treaty, not a withdrawal. Interesting questions arise under this interpretation as to whether such implicit congressional rejection of withdrawal trumps the president’s unilateral power to terminate the treaty.) In the few cases in which the courts have been called to address this issue, they did not prevent the president from exercising unilateral termination authority. In Goldwater v. Carter, the Supreme Court famously declined to adjudicate whether President Jimmy Carter’s unilateral termination in 1978 of the 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan—undertaken as part of a realignment of the U.S. relationship with China—was constitutional. Prior to the treaty’s termination, Congress had enacted the International Security Assistance Act, in which it expressed the sense of Congress that the executive should consult the legislature before making any policy changes that might affect the 1954 Taiwan Treaty. Extensive debates ensued in the Senate, but that chamber ultimately failed to vote on a resolution that required Senate approval to terminate the Taiwan Treaty. A group of senators and members of the House then turned to the courts. When the case reached the Supreme Court, four justices concluded that the case presented a non-justiciable political question, while Justice Lewis Powell, adding his vote to the majority, said he would dismiss the case on the ground that it was not ripe for adjudication. In 2002, President George W. Bush’s withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty made its way to court in Kucinic v. Bush—the most recent case of a unilateral termination by the U.S. of a bilateral arms-control treaty with Russia. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case, brought by a group of members of Congress, on standing and political-question grounds. In light of the clear expression of Congress’s position on the INF matter, there is little reason to believe that the courts would weigh in against termination of the INF Treaty by the president, should the issue make its way into a courtroom. Conclusion It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will follow through with termination of the INF Treaty. While the administration would likely not face any legal hurdles in doing so, the strategic value of withdrawal is less certain. On the one hand, continued U.S. compliance in the face of Russian non-compliance undercuts the U.S. strategic position, especially considering the INF-class missile systems that other actors have acquired. Furthermore, NATO appears to support a tougher stance against Russia on INF compliance. Nevertheless, a U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty would constitute yet another retreat from international instruments and institutions. When coupled with the Trump administration’s intent to replenish the U.S. nuclear arsenal, withdrawal might undermine other long-standing international arms-control regimes, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and encourage other actors to opt out and fend for themselves.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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American Airlines Flight 1 (1941) crash
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American Airlines Flight 1, dubbed "the New Yorker",[1] was a regularly scheduled, multiple stop flight from La Guardia Airport to Chicago Municipal Airport. It had intermediate stops at Newark, New Jersey; Buffalo, New York; Detroit, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana. On October 30, 1941, on the flight's leg between Buffalo and Detroit, the American Airlines Douglas DC-3-277B operating the route crashed into a wheat field approximately one half mile east of the town of Lawrence Station, Ontario, southwest of London. All aboard, including 17 passengers and 3 crew, were killed. [2]
The probable cause of the crash was not determined in the published Civil Aeronautics Board accident report. [3]
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Air crash
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Ohio killer's son, wife continue innocence crusade
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Over Labor Day weekend in 2006, 48-year-old Kathy Wangler died mysteriously in her home in Lima, Ohio, from carbon monoxide poisoning. Her husband, Dr. Mark Wangler, a top anesthesiologist, said it was an accident caused by a faulty water heater.
The story was featured this past Friday night on "48 Hours Mystery." The 911 call made by Mark Wangler was played on the broadcast. In the call, the operator asks, "What is your emergency?"
48 Hours Mystery: House of secretsVideo: Mark Wangler's 911 call
Wangler replies, "My carbon monoxide detector's going off and my wife's having a seizure."
The operator asked, "Is she still conscious, is she still breathing?"
Dr. Wangler has always insisted Kathy's death was a bizarre accident, "48 Hours Mystery" Correspondent Peter Van Sant reported.
Wangler told Van Sant, "We had the carbon monoxide alarm down in the basement."
Van Sant said, "A piercing sound?"
"Yeah, yeah, exactly," Wangler said.
But police were skeptical from the start.
Lt. Clyde Breitigan, of the Allen County Sheriff's Department, said, "Mark and Kathy treated each other equally evil." Dr. Wangler moved on with his life and got remarried to an old friend, Esther.
Esther Wangler told Van Sant she loves her husband "very much."
After three years of investigating, police arrested Wangler, believing he pumped automotive exhaust from an engine in the garage to the bedroom where Kathy Wangler slept.
Breitigan said, "They examined and tested the water heater, the furnace They could not find anything malfunctioning." Van Sant asked Wangler directly during the "48 Hours Mystery" interview, "Did you murder your wife, Kathy?"
Wangler said, "Absolutely not. No."
Van Sant pressed, "Kill her with carbon monoxide?" Wangler said, "No."
Esther is adamant he is innocent.
When asked if she was living with a killer, Esther Wangler said, "No. No. You know, if I was living with the evil genius, I think I might be one of the first to know."
This past March, Mark Wangler was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Esther Wangler and Mark Wangler's son, Aaron Wangler said on "The Early Show" Monday they do not believe it's possible Mark Wangler killed Kathy.
The jury, co-anchor Chris Wragge noted, took less than two weeks and less than nine hours to convict Wangler. Wragge said, "I know, watching that piece, you're shaking your head a lot, kind of in disbelief. If a jury was able to find you guilty as quickly as they did, how come you seem to think he's so innocent?"
Esther Wangler said many things did not come out during the trial.
"If the prosecution was really interested in the truth, they would have tested the samples of Kathy's lung tissue. First of all, they withheld the fact that they had these samples from the defense, even though they're required by law to disclose any exculpatory evidence to us. Secondly, they say they never tested the lung tissue samples, but if their theory is Kathy was breathing in particles of engine exhaust - unspecified engine exhaust - at the time of her death, surely that would tell the story, wouldn't it?"
Why didn't they see any of this? Why weren't those suspicions raised?
Esther Wangler said, "I really don't think the jury understood the instructions fully about 'beyond a reasonable doubt.' There's a great deal of theatrics, a great deal of bias in the investigation that continued into the courtroom."
Aaron Wangler, Kathy Wangler's son, said he's still in disbelief that things have unfolded as they have. "I don't feel like, Esther said, people really understood the science behind it. With our test witnesses and everything, I just feel like the jury didn't even comprehend what they were saying and even get the logic behind it," he said. "And it's just hard to still face the facts of what's happening with our lives."
When Wragge raised the issue of Mark Wangler's anesthesiologist background in this case, Esther Wangler protested, saying, "No, no. When have you had surgery and have carbon monoxide mentioned as an anesthetic? That's absurd. It's an absurd premise."
"But it seems to be a premise that the jury bought into," Wragge said.
Esther Wangler responded, "Yeah, the jury was part of the local community, which was saturated with -- saturated with bias, hearsay and half-truths in the local media. Yet our change of venue motion was denied by the judge. So, they were exposed to all kinds of information ahead of time. And people have to believe that anesthesiologists gas people which isn't what they do now. They typically use IVs and inject drugs that way."
The Wanglers, Esther Wangler said,are having problems with the appeals process. "In order to file the appeal, we must have the official transcript," she said. "The person who is typing that official transcript is the wife of the lead detective. It's a clear conflict of interest, but it's something the court refuses to address. She says it will take her at least six months to type this transcript. In neighboring counties in Ohio, it's required to be done within two weeks."
Aaron Wangler said he has spoken with this father since the trial and they email each other every week.
"He's keeping optimistic, positive. Praying a lot," Aaron Wangler said. "You know, (he's) just hoping that this whole process starts taking place and that we can get justice, which was not served."
"But you both sit here and you vehemently, I guess, support the fact that, that an innocent man is in jail right now?" Wragge asked.
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Mass Poisoning
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[Video] Ask a U of M Expert: What climate change and droughts mean for our future
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According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, over 40% of the United States is in a moderate or severe drought — which is expected to persist with little to no improvement. Locally, over 72% of Minnesota is in a severe drought, which means that crop yields are low, feed for cattle is expensive, fire danger is high, and river flow and well levels are low. The University of Minnesota’s Jessica Hellmann discusses the need for people to understand the short- and-long term impacts of droughts and climate change on our agriculture industry, environment and everyday lives. 0:42 — This summer, Minnesota and the U.S. have experienced elongated drought and extreme weather due to climate change. How is the agriculture and environment community being affected right now by this? What are the visible embodiments of climate change? Hellmann: Extreme events like drought and heat are natural features of the climate, but climate change is changing the frequency of these extremes — they are becoming less rare. Extremes appear to be increasing by three mechanisms — one we understand well and the other we are still learning about. First, extremes become more frequent because the mean climate is shifting. This makes the hottest days hotter and the driest days drier. Second, climate change appears to be altering basic atmospheric processes such as the jet stream and El Nino. Changes to those patterns are changing the “normal” weather conditions. And, third, a warmer climate intensifies Earth’s hydrological cycle bringing deeper droughts and stronger storms. All of this is worrisome because people, plants and animals often respond more to extremes than changes to average conditions — leading to crop failure, wildfire and even mortality. It is also challenging to predict extreme events. We know they will become more frequent, but to adapt successfully, we’ll need better forecasting — and climate scientists are working hard on that. We expect climate extremes to get steadily worse until we transition our economy to safer energy sources (like renewable energy) and other sustainable practices. 2:34 — What actions can the average person — regardless of if their awareness and passion about agriculture and the environment — do to support our local and national communities in addressing climate change and its local impacts, like droughts? Hellmann: Every ton of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases that we do not release to the atmosphere helps reduce global warming. That means that any action we take to reduce emissions — individually or collectively — has a positive effect. At the same time, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by humanity is so large that each person’s action to reduce emissions is just a drop in the bucket. That is why it is so important that we act together to reduce emissions and shift our economy and society to cleaner, more sustainable technologies and practices. We act together by taking individual action — like purchasing an electric vehicle or using public transit — and then talking with our neighbors about why we do those things. We act together by attending public meetings where citizens help create action plans for neighborhoods and towns. We act together by starting new green businesses. Together is more than national and international policy; it can occur at any scale where the efforts of one are multiplied by the commitment of others. To successfully tackle climate change, we need to build political will and take personal responsibility, but we also need to build new ways of doing things at any level of organization that’s accessible to us. 1:29 — How can experts, community leaders and journalists adapt the way we talk about climate change and extreme weather to better lead and spur attainable action to address the long term outcomes? Hellmann: Experts have come a long way in communicating about climate change. Though the consequences of climate change and the future of unabated greenhouse gas emissions are scary and we need to honestly face those risks, we now know that fear and guilt won’t motivate action. Hope and informed actions that bring people together around sustainable practices are much more likely to be successful. There is reason to be hopeful because every bit of change we can muster makes a difference and because change can be the basis of economic rebirth. We also need to make clear that many of the solutions needed to slow and stop climate change are available to us now — and they’re cost-effective. We need to make those solutions more widely available, and we need to create a policy environment that favors them over unsustainable practices. At the same time, we do not yet know all the answers and we have to continue to: fill essential knowledge gaps through research, make sure that sustainable options are accessible to all people through policy and engagement, and create sustainability leaders for our entire economy and society through education.Jessica Hellmann, director of the Institute on the Environment and the Ecolab Chair in Environmental Leadership, is an expert on global change ecology, climate adaptation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. She counsels state and national governments on natural resource management so that future generations can enjoy the beauty and function of nature as we do today. Hellmann also works with governments and corporations to build investment in climate change adaptation. -30- About “Ask a U of M Expert” “Ask a U of M Expert” is a recorded video conversation between a University expert and journalists on current and trending topics. All media are welcome to republish this content. If you would like to schedule an interview with the faculty member or be invited in future “Ask a U of M Expert,” please contact University Public Relations at unews@umn.edu. Tim Johnson, a professor of poultry microbiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, shares his expert analysis on the utilization of cutting-edge genomics that enables poultry producers to identify and eliminate high-risk Salmonella. Undergraduate students in Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering have the chance to do field research with faculty and grad students to get a closer look at the careers they’re pursuing. A U of M cancer patient and her doctor team up against a formidable foe. As someone who started in medical sales and now works in data analysis, alum Nicholas Smith encourages graduates to keep an open mind about their career paths. In the burgeoning Planetary Health movement, nurses lead the way. Undergraduate students in Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering have the chance to do field research with faculty and grad students to get a closer look at the careers they’re pursuing.
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Droughts
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Rescue efforts slowed a week after Zimbabwe mine collapse
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Rains and flooding have slowed rescue efforts at a Zimbabwean mine where a shaft collapsed last week, trapping at least 10 artisanal miners On Location: November 16, 2021 Associated Press -- Rains and flooding have slowed rescue efforts at a Zimbabwean mine where a shaft collapsed last week, trapping at least 10 artisanal miners. Hopes of finding survivors are vanishing and relatives camped at the site on Tuesday expressed their desperation for decent burials of their loved ones who they now presume are dead. The mine shaft in Bindura town, about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) northeast of the capital, Harare, collapsed Wednesday after artisanal miners digging for gold blasted a support pillar, said deputy minister Polite Kambanura. The mine was no longer operational, and the artisanal miners who use rudimentary and unsafe methods took over, he said while touring the site on Tuesday. Rescuers retrieved one body on Monday, but given the rains and flooding, rescue efforts have been hindered, he said. Kambanura said about 10 miners are trapped under rubble and water. An association representing small scale miners, however, estimated 40 miners were trapped. Ascertaining the actual number is difficult due to the haphazard nature of artisanal mining in the economically struggling southern African country. “Maybe, by some miracle we might find some still alive, it has happened before,” said Kambanura, referring to an incident when some artisanal miners survived after days of being trapped underground last year. But some relatives of the miners camped at the site were less optimistic. “No one survives this long in water and under all those rocks. My fear is the bodies are rotting in there. They should just give me the body, I want to give my son a decent burial,” said Nyangu Kajuda, sitting with about a dozen other women inside a tent pitched by a private funeral parlor. Artisanal mining has been rampant in Zimbabwe for decades, but it has surged following the shutdown of most economic activities due to a COVID-19 induced lockdown, according to conservation groups that have been trying to get the government to end the menace. Zimbabwe’s mineral rich national parks, abandoned mines, rivers and even towns are often swarmed with people, including young children, seeking gold. Violent and politically connected gangs often try to control the activities. A report by the International Crisis Group last week alleged that “hundreds of miners’ lives” have been lost in the violence, while some, such as the Bindura miners, succumb to frequent collapse of mine shafts. Police sometimes carry out raids on the mines following reports of widespread violence, but they have been unable to end the mining, or the violence. The government says it plans to regularize artisanal mining to ensure safety standards and to absorb the thousands of miners, and their earnings, into the formal economy.
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Mine Collapses
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Gas explosions kill six people in Ogun in one week – Police
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The police in Ogun said they have commenced an investigation into the multiple gas explosions that occurred in Abeokuta in the past week.
This is contained in a statement released on Saturday by Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesperson.
Six persons have been confirmed dead, while eight other persons were injured in the multiple gas explosions.
PREMIUM TIMES reported a gas explosion on Friday, at Onikoko area of Abeokuta, barely 24 hours after the Obasanjo Presidential Library gas explosion.
Two persons were injured in the explosion on Friday.
“The Ogun state police command in conjunction with other security and government agencies, has constituted a technical investigative team to unravel the cause or causes of the recent explosions in Abeokuta metropolis, killing six and injuring eight other persons.
“Two gas plants suspected to have supplied the gas and the cylinders that caused these explosions have been sealed up by the Command, while samples of the gas from the plants have also been taken for analysis by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON),” Mr Oyeyemi said in a statement.
Four incidents of gas explosion occurred in Abeokuta metropolis in the past week, killing six.
PREMIUM TIMES reported a gas explosion at Obasanjo Presidential Library on Thursday, killing one person. Three persons, including an infant, died in a gas explosion at Oke-Egunya area of Abeokuta on May 12, while two more persons died in the gas explosion that happened at Conference Hotel on May 18.
Mr Oyeyemi, a deputy superintendent of police, said the outcome of the investigation of the gas explosions will be made public.
“In order to prevent further disaster, welders throughout the state are advised to stop using oxygen gas simultaneously with liquified petroleum gas-LPG (cooking gas), while carrying out their welding jobs.
“Area commanders and DPOs have also been directed to disseminate this information to welders and their associations as well as maintenance technicians in their respective jurisdictions and monitor compliance,” the Ogun police said.
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Gas explosion
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Cristiano Ronaldo sets all-time men's international scoring record with dramatic double
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Cristiano Ronaldo set the all-time men's international scoring record by netting twice in Portugal's victorious World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland. He tallied two goals late, including one deep in stoppage time, to lead his nation to a dramatic comeback win.
Ronaldo officially set the mark when he scored his first with one minute left in stoppage time to tie the score at 1-1 at the Estadio Algarve.
The 36-year-old had only scored once in his country's opening three Group A qualifying matches, but he doubled his account with a second finish in the 96th minute, becoming the most prolific frontman to ever grace men's international football in the process.
The Portugal star squandered a chance to set the new mark earlier in the game via penalty kick. The newly-signed Manchester United star had a chance to seal the record from the spot in the first half, but he was denied by 19-year-old goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu .
His big moment couldn't be held off forever, though, as Ronaldo scored on a Goncalo Guedes assist in the 89th minute, meeting the cross with a perfectly placed header.
THE RECORD-BREAKING GOAL FOR RONALDO ? pic.twitter.com/RXZO2aVQy0
And then, in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Ronaldo added a winner, sealing a 2-1 win for Portugal in the process.
RONALDO FOR THE WIN!!!
SCENES ??? pic.twitter.com/FqIvPyzoIP
Ronaldo's staggering exploits in the final third for Portugal have helped cement his standing as one of the greatest players of his generation.
He left Euro 2021 even with Ali Daei on 109 international goals and he has now surpassed the Iran legend. He wrapped up the tournament as the outright top scorer in Euros history on 14, and he is the only player to ever play and score in five consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has also won two trophies with his country, including Euro 2016, but his achievements at club level are arguably even more impressive.
Ronaldo has scored 674 goals in 894 games across spells at Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, and has yet to show any signs of slowing down despite advancing towards his late thirties.
The Portuguese striker has lifted 30 club trophies, including seven league titles and five Champions League crowns, with a Suppercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia double capping off his last campaign in Italy with the Bianconeri.
He shocked the football world by sealing a surprise return to United on deadline day, bringing to an end his three-year stay at Juve, and will be expected to continue to deliver the goods in the final third at Old Trafford over the course of his two-year contract.
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Break historical records
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Read SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell’s speech to 2021 graduates, urging US educational reforms
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SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell returned to her alma mater on Monday and delivered Northwestern University’s commencement address to the class of 2021. Speaking virtually, Shotwell gave Northwestern’s students an overview of her career, especially focusing on the nearly two decades that she’s worked for Elon Musk’s SpaceX. As one of the company’s first employees, she has been with SpaceX from its early startup days to now, a space company with nearly 10,000 employees and worth $74 billion. “The one accomplishment that we have that I am most proud of is helping to get our country flying astronauts again on American-made rockets and spaceships,” Shotwell said. She gave advice to graduates and also declared that she is “worried about our nation’s children,” saying the U.S. education system is “not preparing our children for their future.”
“We are not giving all of our children an education that will shape them into resourceful and productive people that our country needs to remain relevant. Every child is a resource to better our future and our future will be driven by technology,” Shotwell said during her address. Shotwell received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1986 and 1988, respectively, from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, and currently serves on the university’s board of trustees. Northwestern also awarded Shotwell with an honorary degree. “Hey, Class of 2021, I’m incredibly proud to be your commencement speaker. Thank you, Morty [Schapiro] for inviting me, and thanks to the board and Lanny Martin, its chairman, for allowing me to speak, even though you guys know me for my six years of service on this board, and that this invitation is a tiny bit risky. But it is an honor to follow in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s steps. Last year she brought gravitas to this event, while she honored George Floyd and implored graduates to participate in our democracy. This is a special year to do the Northwestern University commencement. This is my 35th anniversary of my Northwestern University undergraduate commencement, and most importantly, Stephen Colbert, who also graduated from NU – or almost did – in 1986, did this speech exactly 10 years ago, and he predicted that the speaker for 2021 would be, and I quote, ‘a zoo parrot with a mortar board that has been trained to say congratulations.’ So here I am, Gwynne Shotwell, your zoo parrot, for the class of ’21; congratulations to you. Class of ’21, you have achieved something important. All graduations deserve a celebration but you, this class of 2021, have an even greater achievement: You not only survived but succeeded throughout the insanity of 2020 and into this year. You were able to focus and invest in your future during a period of immense suffering. But many of the issues that we face going forward will be different. I think highly dynamic social, political and economic situations are the new normal, and you are now better prepared to succeed in them. You have lived it and not just survived, but succeeded. Feel good about that and carry that new skill with you; I think you will use it. Okay, before I share a few jewels of my life lessons learned, there are a few things you should know about me to help put my remarks in context. I am a mother, a wife, a mechanical engineer, and nerd. We aren’t all nerds, but I’m proud to be one. I’m a longtime SpaceX employee and leader, an active listener, a rancher, of course a wildcat, and an aspiring winemaker. I love my country, even though it is flawed and I’m committed to helping resolve its social injustices. And I am desperate to be a grandmother, but my children aren’t cooperating in my vision, at least yet. My road to Northwestern started in Libertyville, Illinois, which is a small town north of the university – that’s where I grew up. I did very well in elementary and high school academics, and I also worked incredibly hard at having a full social life. I decided to be a mechanical engineer, after my mother took me to a Society of Women Engineers event when I was only 15 or 16. I applied only to Northwestern University School of Engineering. But it wasn’t because it was the best engineering school – I applied because of Northwestern’s richness in other fields. It was ranked among the top, or was the top at that time. This was important to me because as a teenage girl in the late ’70s – yep, I’m that old – I was terrified as being tagged as a nerd. Now I’m super proud to be one. I was accepted by Northwestern – I’m not sure I would be today, so I think I timed that properly – and I completed two degrees from this fine institution, a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in applied math. Though I criticize my engineering education as too theoretical. I think the best engineers are those that can put the theoretical to practice, and I got almost no practice as an undergrad. Northwestern highlighted the criticality of broad-based thinking. Just being good in math and science will not drive success. It’s whole-brain thinking brought to practice that does. I’m thankful that Dean Ottino has brought a strong focus of this concept and applied it so well here to Northwestern engineering. As I was building my own foundation in engineering, I also found time to build a family. I gave birth to and raised two extraordinary children who are better people than I, and could be president of the universe, rather than just being president of SpaceX. One is a double alum in mechanical engineering from Northwestern and one will be a double alum from Stanford, both in mechanical engineering and business. As a mother giving advice to potential future parents: Never tell your children what they should be when they grow up – they will in fact do the opposite. But you can be a good role model, or show them good role models, as my mother did for me – she was an artist. For the last nearly 19 years I have worked for one of, if not the, finest physicist and engineer, Elon Musk. He gave me the opportunity to help him grow SpaceX from 10 people to nearly 10,000 people, and from zero revenue to billions annually. I have helped bring the commercial launch business back to this country, along with the tens of thousands of jobs that come with it. The one accomplishment that we have that I am most proud of is helping to get our country flying astronauts again on American-made rockets and spaceships. We are now positioned to fly astronauts from all over the world on our Dragon spaceship and later this year we will fly the first all-civilian mission, where regular everyday people will travel to space on a multi-day journey around Earth. And this is just the beginning. I hope that I have helped create a path that allows humans to live on Earth, the moon or Mars, whichever their choice. I hope for a future where people can live even further out, amongst other star systems and galaxies. I often joke about wanting to meet other people and see otherworldly fashion. I know I won’t see that in my lifetime, but I hope that my work serves as a foundation or a small beginning to achieve that. Okay, so now that you know more about me, it’s time to share some advice. I’ll name three and then I’ll go back and talk about them. Set and try to achieve absolutely absurd goals, and don’t be afraid of failing, if you can’t achieve them. Work hard, really hard, and be helpful. Be kind, but at minimum, be respectful. Don’t be afraid to admit that if you fail, you were wrong and take a different path – or better yet, don’t even consider trying something and not getting the outcome that you want as failure. Consider it growth. When I was considering joining SpaceX back in 2002 I was struggling with a decision and drawing it out for weeks. It seemed so risky for me personally to join this little start-up, in an industry where none had ever succeeded. At the time I was a part-time single mother, and this was just too far out of my comfort zone. I was driving on the freeway here in L.A. when it finally hit me: I was being a total idiot. Who cares if I tried this job and either I failed or the company failed? What I recognized at that moment was that it was the trying part that was the most important. Try that risky thing, be a part of something exciting. I don’t want to imagine what my life and career would be like had I said no. I’m sure I would have been fine but I would not have been a part of this amazing company, working alongside such extraordinary people. Not taking that job would have been the fail. On a business level, SpaceX took massive reputational risks, mastering the technology and operations associated with landing a rocket. In fact we were continually criticized by our competitors and the media for these failures. I looked on these failures as a source of pride. Our very first attempt to land the rocket on a drone ship, we hit it. We didn’t land on it, but we hit the drone ship – that tiny target was hundreds of miles away from the launch site in a vast ocean. After about a dozen attempts we finally succeeded in landing that rocket and landing rockets has become almost routine for us. Still tricky, but it’s almost routine. And that technology has been enormously helpful to our business and is critical to establishing a settlement on Mars. If you can’t land the rocket, you can’t get people to the surface. Working hard and being helpful. I was hired as vice president of business development – that means head of sales. Well I did my job and we got customers, but then their missions needed to be managed and we needed an accounting and finance function because we actually were bringing in money, we needed to work closely with the launch ranges and get permission to be able to launch from them, so I took that on as well. And, as we demonstrated success, we needed a government affairs function to play defense for us in D.C., as our competitor started fighting us. I remember even vacuuming the carpets before a big customer event. In 2008, when we won our biggest contract to date – a nearly $2 billion effort from NASA to take science experiments and cargo to-and-from the International Space Station – Elon needed a partner, and he asked me to do it. I think it was in large part because I had kept growing my scope, being helpful in other areas to the company, all trying to do a great job. Being kind, but at minimum, you must be respectful. Note that almost everyone that you interact with every day is battling some demon or trying to get through some issue. Please consider this as you battle your way to work on the subway, as you’re hurrying through the lines at the grocery store, or as you get frustrated with someone in a meeting at work. At SpaceX we have a ‘no a------’ policy. These kinds of people – a------ – interrupt others, they shut down or co-opt conversation, and they create a hostile environment where no one wants to contribute. This is not a way to promote sharing good, innovative, and even outrageous ideas that are required to solve hard problems. In short, the best way to find solutions to hard problems is to listen harder, not talk louder. Embrace the ideas of your fellow workers, especially when they differ greatly from yours. Stuff that I’m not sharing lessons on but that I think are really important, especially to talk about in a commencement speech in 2021. I’m worried about a lot of things, but I’m not knowledgeable enough in these things to have any useful advice for you, at least not yet. However, I cannot in a commencement speech in 2021 fail to mention the things that I worry about knowing, that many are problems I want to help tackle in the future. I’m worried about our nation’s children. We are not giving all of our children an education that will shape them into resourceful and productive people that our country needs to remain relevant. Every child is a resource to better our future, and our future will be driven by technology. That is why I am so concerned about the science and math test scores that we have in this country. China scores first. Ireland – I just bring this up because it’s what my heritage is, my ancestors are from Ireland – scores 12th, and the United States ranks 25th. Worse than that, if there is a worse than scoring 25th in math and science as well as reading, is that the gap between our lowest scoring students and our highest scoring students is widening. We are not preparing our children for their future. I love this country and I’m worried about the widening, economic, social and racial divide which was amplified during the pandemic. Not addressing education for our youth is not helping that. We are not treating our neighbors with the respect that they deserve. We are not listening hard to each other and respectfully working on the really important issues that we face as a country and as a human race. I haven’t helped our country work on these issues yet – I whine a lot about it – and it’s time, probably in the very near term, for me to commit and help fix them. Maybe we can work on these things together. So I’ve given you some actual experience that taught me that more can be accomplished when crazy ideas are respected, listened to and evaluated. That being helpful and hardworking pays off; it did for me. And that wasting resources, especially human capital, is a moral and ethical sin. And that a small group of people, like those of us here at SpaceX, can change an industry, and by extension can help change the world. Growing up and even early in my career, my friends, colleagues and I focused on getting ahead with an aside or maybe even an afterthought that maybe we should do something good for the world.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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An Illinois man in connection with a Massachusetts bank robbery
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BOSTON – An Illinois man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 in connection with a Massachusetts bank robbery and an Illinois bank robbery. Eugene Davis, 54, of Chicago, Ill., pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Sept. 9, 2021. In July 2019, Davis was indicted on the Massachusetts bank robbery. In March 2021, Davis was charged in the Northern District of Illinois with an unrelated bank robbery, and the case was recently transferred to this District for plea and sentencing purposes. According to the charging documents, Davis robbed a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in South Boston on June 3, 2019. Davis walked into the bank pulling a suitcase and handed a handwritten demand note to the teller. The note said that there was a bomb in the bag, that everyone was going to die and to please put all the money into Davis’s hand. The teller took $6,055 cash out of the teller drawer and gave it to Davis who placed it in his shirt and walked out of the bank. Davis was apprehended later that day and ultimately confessed to committing the bank robbery and to writing the note used in the bank robbery. On May 22, 2019, Davis robbed a Chase Bank in Chicago, Ill. Davis entered the bank pulling a wheeled suitcase and handed the teller a demand note. The note stated that Davis had a bomb, demanded money and threatened that no dye packs be included or they would all die. The teller provided approximately $3,460 in cash to Davis who then departed the bank with the money. The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Chicago Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
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Bank Robbery
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Ariarne Titmus ends Katie Ledecky’s reign in Olympic 400m freestyle thriller
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The reign of American swimming legend Katie Ledecky is over – at least for now. The five-times Olympic gold medallist was beaten by Australian 20-year-old Ariarne Titmus in the muchhotly-anticipated women’s 400m freestyle final at Tokyo 2020, with Games debutant Titmus outlasting her more experienced rival to come within a quarter of a second of a new world record.
When Titmus set the previously-second fastest time in history at the Australian trials in June, she delivered a message to her American rival. “Well, she’s not going to have it all her own way I guess,” said the Tasmanian. Those words took on new meaning on Monday.
The pair’s encounter has been eagerly awaited ever since Titmus, then only a teenager, upstaged Ledecky at the 2019 world championships in Korea. This lived up to the hype. Canada’s Summer McIntosh went out strong to touch in first, before Ledecky and Titmus settled into their rhythm at the top of the race. There they remained – Ledecky a body-length ahead of her challenger at the halfway mark.
But Titmus surged in the final 100m. They touched the wall almost together at the last turn and it was on – the defining stretch of the race. Ledecky tried to fight back, but it was in vain. Titmus held on to earn Australia’s second gold of this meet, after the weekend’s relay victory.
“It’s surreal,” said Titmus after her win. “I’m over the moon – I’m trying to contain it as much as I can, I’ve got a big program ahead of me, and then I can enjoy this afterwards. I’d prefer to know that I did everything for my other races as well, so I’m trying not to get too excited just yet.”
The Australian was full of praise for her rival, who won her first gold as a 15-year-old at London 2012 and then dominated the pool at Rio 2016. “I wouldn’t be here without her. She’s set this amazing standard for middle-distance freestyle for girls. If I didn’t have someone like her to chase, I definitely wouldn’t be swimming the way I am.”
Silver medallist Ledecky said the race had lived up to the hype. “Certainly a tough race,” she said. “I think we delivered. You can’t get much better than that. A tremendous race, a lot of fun, I can’t be too disappointed with that. That was my second best swim ever. If felt like I fought – I fought tooth and nail – and that’s all you can ask for.”
Emma McKeon earlier added an individual 100m butterfly bronze to her Olympic medal haul, touching home third in a thrilling final on Monday morning. Canada’s Maggie MacNeil was the unexpected champion, hitting the wall five one-hundredths of a second ahead of China’s Yufei Zhang.
The stage was set for a blistering final after McKeon – who came to the Games holding the second fastest time in the world this year – qualified third in Sunday’s semi-final behind Yufei and France’s Marie Wattel. The final line-up also boasted reigning champion Sarah Sjöström of Sweden and 18-year-old American Torri Huske – all gold medal contenders.
McKeon had a slow start out of the blocks, touching the lane at the turn in fourth, but recovered with a flying second 50m. As five swimmers all came towards the wall together it was 21-year-old MacNeil who edged ahead to claim gold.
Despite being barely one-tenth of a second away from the gold medal, McKeon was delighted with her effort - a new personal best. Asked whether it was a case of “close but no cigar”, the 27-year-old left no doubt that she was looking at the bright side.
“I think that was a cigar!” McKeon said. “I got an Olympic medal. To do a PB in an Olympic final – I’m pretty happy – you can’t ask for more, that’s the fastest time I have ever swum.”
The morning finals concluded with the men’s 4x100m relay, won comfortably by the United States, a full second clear of the Italians in second, with Australia claiming bronze. Australia were towards the back of the pack for most of the race, touching the wall sixth on the penultimate turn, but Rio gold medallist Kyle Chalmers had a strong final lap to secure a medal.
The action continues on Monday night. The women’s 1500m freestyle event makes its Olympic debut, while Titmus and Ledecky will be back in the pool for their 200m freestyle heats.
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Break historical records
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WelcomeFest concert canceled for 2021
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Editor's Note: Due to an unanticipated security staff shortage, which is a national issue, the 2021 WelcomeFest concert has been canceled. The Division of Student Affairs is grateful to Program Council for their work planning this event and disappointed to cancel for reasons outside of their control. We are working to plan another concert soon. Don't miss Buffs on the Roam on Aug. 21, a night out with your herd. Download the CU Boulder Life app for event details. Original announcement: Freddie Gibbs will headline the 2021 WelcomeFest concert Saturday, Aug. 21, at Farrand Field. EDM artists Lucii and Covex and local openers Roses & Rubies and Don’t Tell Nora also will perform. The annual concert is part of Fall Welcome and is sponsored by Program Council. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free for all CU Boulder students who provide their Buff OneCard at wristband locations, including first-year students, transfer students, returning students, graduate students and law students. Wristbands will be distributed between Farrand Hall and Farrand Field starting at noon on Aug. 21. Additionally, a second wristband location will open up at 4 p.m. at the tents beside Imig Music. Wristbands are needed for entry to the event. Please check out the Program Council website for more information on wristband locations and permissible items to bring to the event. Freddie Gibbs is an American hip-hop artist originally from Gary, Indiana. He has released over a dozen albums or mixtapes across the last decade, including his most recent album Alfredo, which was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards and became his first to land in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Lucii, also known as Lucii the Alien, is an up and coming EDM artist known for her high energy and melodic tracks that incorporate a variety of EDM subgenres. Part of Liquid Stranger’s record label WAKAAN, Lucii has a large following on Spotify and SoundCloud and her profile has grown with a series of releases and appearances at high profile festivals over the past several years. Covex was born and raised in Boulder and attended CU Denver. His debut album A Change of Perspective will be released Aug. 18. Covex has played alongside and received support from many artists such as Illenium, San Holo, Said the Sky, Slow Magic and more. Covex will be performing at Red Rocks with Big Gigantic and NGHTMRE in September 2021.
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Organization Closed
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WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot
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A vial and syringe are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS The drive to produce vaccines in Africa is designed to help more developing countries access COVID-19 shots after rich nations bought up most of this year's supply. Moderna said last October it would not enforce patents related to its shot during the pandemic, raising hopes that other companies might be able to copy it and help boost COVID-19 vaccine production. In practice, though, it is hard to replicate a vaccine without the information on how it is made, and the World Health Organization-backed tech transfer hub in South Africa - set up in June to give poorer nations the know-how to produce COVID-19 vaccines - has so far not reached a deal with the company. "The talks have not yielded any results," Martin Friede, WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research coodinator, told Reuters. Moderna did not respond to a request for comment. The case highlights the challenges faced by the WHO as it battles to expand vaccine production to help address the glaring inequalities between rich and poor nations in the pandemic. More than three quarters of the 5.5 billion COVID-19 shots administered worldwide have gone to high and upper-middle income countries, which make up just over a third of the world's population. Currently only 3 percent of Africa is vaccinated, the African Union's top health official said last week, compared with more than half of the United States and three quarters of Spain. Friede said Moderna's vaccine had been chosen as an abundance of public information and its pledge not to enforce patents made the shot slightly easier to copy than some rivals. "We have to make a choice now. The deadline is upon us; time to start ordering chemicals. We've chosen Moderna," he said. But even if the hub manages without Moderna's help, it could take more than a year to get a distributable vaccine as clinical trials would only begin in the latter half of 2022, he added. In May, the United States said it would support waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines in order to help speed an end to the pandemic. But the idea has faced opposition from pharmaceutical firms, which argue they need to oversee any technology transfer due to the complexity of the manufacturing process. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech separately struck a deal in July for South Africa's Biovac to help make around 100 million doses a year of their COVID-19 vaccine for Africa. Their shot, like Moderna's, uses so-called mRNA technology. However, the deal is to "fill and finish" the vaccine, the final stages of production where the product is put into vials, sealed and packaged for shipping. It does not cover the complicated process of mRNA production, which Pfizer and BioNTech will do at their European plants. Neither responded to requests for comment. The WHO has been trying to persuade Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to join forces with its African tech transfer hub. But COVID-19 vaccine makers have warned that non-authorised producers would compete for vital raw materials and production gear that the established players - most of which have earned huge profits from vaccination - rely on. Hub consortium partner Afrigen Biologics will produce the initial batch of doses, before transferring the skills and technology to local manufacturing partner, Biovac Institute - both are Cape Town-based - which will mass produce the vaccines. "This is not something that we are asking industry to give us for free," Friede said about talks with the companies for access to information, adding that royalties, territorial limitations and other constraints could be built into a deal. Healthcare analysts doubt the plan can be mobilised quickly. "There are many steps which will require lots of iterations before they can be ready for prime time commercial grade production," said Prashant Yadav, a global healthcare supply chain expert at the Center for Global Development in Washington.
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Organization Established
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October 1998 Central Texas floods
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The October 1998 Texas Flooding was a flood event that occurred across parts of South Texas and Southeast Texas on the weekend of October 17 and October 18, 1998. The storm that caused it was one of the costliest in the recorded meteorological history of the United States, bringing rainfall of over 20 inches (510 mm) to some parts of Southeast Texas and causing over $ 1.19 billion in damages (2020 USD). 31 people were killed as a result of the storm, mostly from drowning. The storm was created when a very strong upper-level trough approached from the Western United States and collided with very warm, moist air which had been sitting over Southern Texas for the past few days. This caused dew points in the area to be in the mid 70s that weekend. Also, an area of very warm and moist air was present nearby due to Hurricane Madeline, which was sitting off the west coast of Mexico. [3][4] On October 16, the storm was being forecast by the National Weather Service to produce a significant amount of rain, and was only missing one ingredient for it to be a disastrous storm. The missing ingredient was a cold front, and one was moving steadily across the Western United States. Forecasters predicted that if this were to arrive at the same time as the rain, there would be heavy rain and possibly flooding. [5] At 3:30 AM Central Standard Time, the National Weather Service in New Braunfels, Texas issued a flash flood watch for all counties in South, South-Central, and Southeast Texas. Between the hours of midnight and 4 A.M. on October 17, 1998, small clusters of rain showers and thunderstorms began to form over Southern Texas very far ahead of the approaching cold front. For the next few hours, storms did not organize much into powerful clusters until the convection formed over the northern part of Bexar County, Texas, which included the city of San Antonio. After this formation, the storms rapidly increased in formation and power until the cold front arrived. The convection spread very quickly into other counties after this intensification. These counties included Travis, which included the city of Austin, Texas. The cold front would soon arrive to the area, bringing torrential rains. [6]
The cold front arrived in Southern and Southeastern Texas on the evening of Saturday, October 17 1998. This caused the storm to rapidly intensify until the torrential downpours began over the entire area. This started to flood many rivers and other bodies of water in the area, including the San Marcos River, the Guadalupe River, Canyon Lake, and the Medina River. The rainfall caused widespread flash flooding across the urban area of San Antonio and the city of Austin. Heavy rains continued for the entire day of October 18, 1998, and eventually tapered off and moved away to the coast and soon offshore. It caused major flooding in seven different river basins, and drained nearly 10,000 square miles (26,000 km2). The rain caused record rain totals in fifteen bodies of water, as recorded by the United States Geological Survey. [7]
The flood event impacted many areas, mostly in Southern Texas. Also affected were Southeast Texas and South-Central Texas, and there was minor flooding along the coast of the state. The greatest impact was in Southern Texas, which included the urban areas of San Antonio and Austin, and all of their surrounding suburbs. The counties with the most significant rainfall, damage, and fatalities were Travis County, Bexar County, Guadalupe County, and Caldwell County. This area included both the cities of San Antonio and Austin. In a small area in Caldwell County, there was 29 inches (740 mm) of rain estimated by the United States Geological Survey. This included the area of Lockhart, Texas, which was badly flooded by the storm due to its close proximity to the San Marcos River. Most of the county picked up an estimated 20–30 inches of rain, including San Marcos, Texas, New Braunfels, Texas, and Kyle, Texas. [8]
Source: Kelly 1999, pp. A1–A2
31 people were killed as a result of the flooding across nine different counties and 24 separate incidents in South, Southeast, and South-Central Texas. 29 of these deaths were caused directly from the storm, and two were caused indirectly. Of the 31 deaths, 24 (or 77%) were caused by drowning. Of the deaths caused by drowning, 22 of them were caused by a driver driving their vehicle into high water on a road flooded by the torrential downpours. There were 16 different incidents when these types of deaths occurred, four of them involving in multiple deaths. 63% of these incidents involved a truck, van, or sport utility vehicle. Other deaths included three cardiac arrests, three incidents of multiple trauma, and one death caused by hypothermia after being submerged in the water. [2]
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Floods
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Harlem riot of 1964
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The Harlem riot of 1964 occurred between July 16 and 22, 1964. It began after James Powell, a 15-year-old African American, was shot and killed by police Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan in front of Powell's friends and about a dozen other witnesses. Immediately after the shooting, about 300 students from Powell's school who were informed by the principal rallied. The shooting set off six consecutive nights of rioting that affected the New York City neighborhoods of Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant. In total, 4,000 New Yorkers participated in the riots which led to attacks on the New York City Police Department (NYPD), vandalism, and looting in stores. Several protesters were severely beaten by NYPD officers. At the end of the conflict, reports counted one dead rioter, 118 injured, and 465 arrested. In the early 1900s appeared the first signs of resurgence in the north of Manhattan. After the construction of new subway routes that go as far as 145th street, speculators and real estate agencies took advantage of this opportunity and invested large sums of money in what is now called Harlem. Houses were bought and then sold over and over to a much higher price, upbringing the neighborhood for high-income households. By the year 1905, too many habitations had been constructed and many stayed uninhabited which led landlords to compete with each other lowering rents. To avoid the upcoming total financial destruction of the area, many housing buildings opened up to Black Americans. [citation needed] The next step to the creation of a black neighborhood was strengthened by the ever-increasing migration of blacks from southern states which resulted in the founding of the Afro-American Realty Company opening more and more homes for the black community. The "Negro" churches took over Harlem's development after the fall of the Afro-American Realty, being the most stable and prosperous black institutions of the now segregated area. They made their profit by selling properties at high price while relocating the neighborhood uptown. Consequently, the Church is the reason why Harlem was so prolific in the 20th century. In the early 1920s, many black American institution such as NAACP, Odd Fellows, and The United Order of True Reformers started moving their headquarters to Harlem which, with the continuous migration of blacks, received the name of "Greater Harlem".
The cultural aspect of Harlem was predominated by jazz music and a very envious nightlife reserved for whites. Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were part of "Greater Harlem" at the time. With its saturated concentration of Afro-American, public figures like Father Divine, Daddy Grace and Marcus Garvey started spreading their ideas of salvation for the negro community. After World War II, the rich portion of the "Harlem Negroes" moved to the suburbs. Tension within the neighborhood raised year after year between residents, welfare workers and policemen. In daylight, the neighborhood was quite charming, the architecture added a high-class cachet and children looked joyful playing in the streets. At night, it was quite the opposite. Homicides were six times more frequent than the average of New York City. Prostitution, junkies and muggers were part of Harlem's nightlife.
The events of the Harlem riot of 1964 were recorded in the writings of two newspaper reporters, Fred C. Shapiro and James W. Sullivan. They assembled testimonies from other reporters and from residents of each of the boroughs, and gave testimony of their presence at the riots.
Consistently annoyed by the presence of young students on his stoops, Patrick Lynch, the superintendent of three apartment houses in Yorkville, at the time a predominately working-class white area on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, voluntarily hosed down the black students while insulting them according to them: “Dirty niggers, I'll wash you clean”;this statement had been denied by Lynch. The angry wet black students started to pick up bottles and garbage-can lids and threw them at the superintendent. This immediately drew the attention of three Bronx boys, including James Powell. Lynch then retreated to the inside of the building pursued by Powell, who according to a witness, "didn't stay two minutes. " As Powell exited the vestibule, off-duty police Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan, who witnessed the scene from a nearby shop, ran to the scene and shot at the 15-year-old James Powell three times. The first round, said to be the warning shot, hit the apartment's window. The next shot hit Powell in the right forearm reaching the main artery just above the heart. The bullet lodged in his lungs. Finally, the last one went through his abdomen and out his back. The autopsy concluded on the fatality of the chest wound in almost any circumstance. However, the pathologist said that Powell could have been saved suffering only the abdominal perforation with a fast response of the ambulance. The sequence of events is still unclear on many aspects such as the spacing of the shots and, crucially, Powell's possession of a knife.
To the sound of broken glass, Gilligan ran to the apartment building holding his badge and gun. He first yelled, "I'm a police lieutenant. Come out and drop it. " He then fired the warning shot as he saw Powell raising the knife. With his gun, Gilligan blocked Powell's second attack deflecting the knife to his arm. The apparent attack led Gilligan to fire a third round that killed the young Powell.
In opposition, witnesses saw Powell ran into the building not carrying any knife. As he exited the vestibule, some said he was laughing until the lieutenant shot him. From the point of view of the French class which according to New York Times reporter, Theodore Jones, "have had the best view of the ensuing tragedy"; when Gilligan pulled his gun, the young Powell threw up his right arm, not holding a knife but as a defensive gesture.
The most controversial episode remains the testimony of Cliff Harris, Powell's Bronx friend, interviewed the day following the death of James Powell.
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Riot
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An Urgent Rescue Plan for Puerto Rico
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The Biden administration has pledged to provide Puerto Rico—home to more than 3 million U.S. citizens—with the resources and technical assistance it needs to recover and prosper in the wake of multiple natural disasters and ongoing economic and fiscal crises. Puerto Rico stands at a crossroads—and acting boldly and with urgency, the Biden administration can provide the island with the relief it needs. While Puerto Rico’s economic crisis has been at the forefront of recent public policy discourse, hurricanes Irma and Maria, subsequent natural disasters, and controversies involving the Puerto Rican central government have made it clear that Puerto Rico’s problems will continue to grow worse every day without an intervention of stimulus and support from the federal government. In addition to these hurdles, the Trump administration spent the past four years impeding Puerto Rico’s recovery1 at every opportunity,2 treating the island and its people unfairly and with callous disrespect. The Biden administration, however, has the power to implement immediate policy changes to help give Puerto Rico the chance to rebuild and recover. The administration should also work with Congress to craft legislation to address long-standing inequities in federal funding and change how certain laws are applied. The following recommendations will provide Puerto Rico with much-needed assistance and send a message of serious commitment to resolve long-standing, systemic issues. The time to act is now. The Biden administration should urgently take the following eight actions that would immediately deliver relief to Puerto Rico—including reestablishing the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status and undertaking other economic policies that would help the island recover and prosper. President Bill Clinton established the White House interagency working group on Puerto Rico in 2000, formally known as the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status.3 Its focus was to examine proposals for Puerto Rico’s future political status and for a process by which Puerto Ricans could choose a status option—deciding for themselves the island’s future relationship with the United States (statehood, more autonomy for the commonwealth, free association, or independence). This debate has been ongoing since the United States acquired Puerto Rico in 1898 after the Spanish American War. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917 and have been officially a commonwealth since 1952. The status debate and the political limbo in which Puerto Rico continues to find itself is the central issue the task force was originally intended to address.4 The Bush administration continued this tradition by issuing two reports in 20055 and 2007.6 The Obama administration expanded the task force’s range of recommendations to include suggestions on policies that promote job creation, education, health care, and clean energy and the environment in the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra, as well as overall economic development on the island.7 Currently, as Puerto Rico faces multiple crises, reestablishing the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico with additional resources and authority would be an important step toward providing the island with much-needed relief. To do so, the administration should: In addition to providing funding, it is crucial that the Biden administration work hand in hand with the commonwealth and municipal governments to ensure a swift recovery for Puerto Rico. These are just some of the many steps that the administration can take to provide much-needed, tailored relief to Puerto Rico. The Jones Act is a protectionist law dating back to the 1920s that requires that all interstate commerce within the United States be conducted on U.S.-owned, crewed, and manufactured ships. This restriction has made essential goods such as food less affordable for Puerto Rico’s residents. As a result of higher prices for goods, the law’s effect on competitiveness, and lost jobs, the Jones Act has been shown to cost Puerto Rican consumers $1.5 billion per year.10 In addition, the Jones Act could have delayed delivery of aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Correcting this situation would not only help consumers on the island, but it could also prevent loss of life in the event of natural disasters. The Biden administration should commit to waiving the Jones Act for two years as a pilot and then have the White House Task Force on Puerto Rico study the pilot waiver, put out a report on its widely documented deleterious effects on Puerto Rican consumers,11 and consider next steps. Waiving the Jones Act could prove to be an important tool for aiding Puerto Rico’s economy as well as increasing accessibility to goods on the island, especially in times of emergencies. Residents of the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra continue to suffer due to long-existing abysmal health care access, which has been exacerbated by natural disasters. Vieques and Culebra also have disproportionately high cancer rates because of exposure to munitions-specific carcinogens directly attributable to the U.S. Navy’s history of using the islands for military exercises. While there have been efforts to repair the damage since the military stopped using Culebra in 1975 and Vieques in 2003, cleanup is far from complete.12 Federal funding could be directed toward building hospitals to withstand climate change effects, improving ferry systems, and continuing decontamination and cleanup efforts. Several U.S. administrations have sought to address problems on Vieques and Culebra, but they will not be solved without a substantial investment of resources and bandwidth. As such, the Biden administration should revive the Vieques13 subgroup in the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico with a higher-profile mission and representatives. Since the island municipality of Culebra14 faces similar issues, it should also be included in the subgroup. Targeted relief for these islands can come through federal action, martialing resources in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and other federal agencies. President Biden also needs to ensure that HRSA addresses the dire health care situation facing the U.S. citizens of Vieques and Culebra. HRSA, as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable.”15 This mission is tailor-made for tackling the health crisis in the island municipality. FEMA should also step in and finally fully fund Vieques’ only health care facility, locally known as the CDT, the Spanish acronym for Diagnostic and Treatment Center.16 The president should also order the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the Environmental Protection Agency to accelerate the cleanup process in both Vieques and Culebra and appoint a senior interagency coordinator to ensure the process is sped up and that the community’s concerns are taken into account. DOT must also aggressively provide technical assistance and identify funding programs to finally fix the chronically deficient ferry system17 used to carry Vieques and Culebra residents to the main island for most of their medical needs. Other than by plane, this is the only way most Viequenses can receive critical care.18 The Biden administration should support legislation to create a victims compensation fund to settle health claims by individuals in Vieques who have suffered for decades with chronic diseases that are a direct result of the naval training exercises conducted in the former military training range there. President Biden should therefore support the Vieques Recovery and Redevelopment Act, a bipartisan bill that would accomplish this aim.19 For 60 years, the people of Vieques sacrificed for the U.S. national defense. It is time for these U.S. citizens to finally see this regrettable chapter closed once and for all. Through these proposed executive actions and legislation, the Biden administration has a historic opportunity to bring hope to the families in Vieques and its sister island of Culebra. Puerto Rico is dangerously dependent on imports for more than 80 percent of food consumed on the island.20 Delayed shipments and deliveries after hurricanes Irma and Maria demonstrated the need to have more robust local food sources. Federal support for the island’s agricultural sector is an important step toward promoting local agriculture. The administration should: Federal support for Puerto Rico’s agricultural sector is an essential step in the island’s reconstruction process to build a more stable and less dependent economy. Given the outsize role the federal government plays in public safety and security in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Biden administration needs to play a key role in addressing ongoing public safety issues such as narcotrafficking and civil rights protections within the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD). Administration policy toward Puerto Rico on public safety issues should include the following: In order for Puerto Rico to prosper, it is essential to address the ongoing public safety concerns that affect communities all over the island—and that affect the security of communities stateside as well. Puerto Rico is an island with unique circumstances that greatly differ from those of the continental United States. However, there are currently several federal regulations that do not conform with the unique circumstances of the island. Several examples are discussed above—such as cabotage regulations (including the Jones Act), USDA restrictions, language issues, and food importation. Continuing to apply a cookie-cutter approach to a unique situation is clearly not the right course. A subgroup of the task force could be created to identify other areas where targeted changes to existing federal regulations—or waivers, where practicable—could be crafted to address unique conditions in Puerto Rico. Mental health disabilities are common after traumatizing events, which include natural disasters such as hurricanes Irma and Maria as well as continuous seismic activity. However, these mental health disabilities are often unaddressed. Creating targeted programs for Puerto Ricans with mental health disabilities is an important step toward helping the population of the island. By making this a priority for HHS and other agencies, the Biden administration can ensure that this vulnerable population receives the proper services it needs. Beyond executive action, the Biden administration has the opportunity to work with congressional leaders to swiftly deliver needed assistance to Puerto Rico. The administration should particularly focus on working with Congress on legislation related to Puerto Rico’s debt, the powers of the FOMB, Puerto Rico’s political status, and other economic and social policies. Puerto Rico is currently undergoing a process of restructuring the island’s more than $70 billion in public debt.26 This debt has burdened Puerto Rico’s economy and has led to the implementation of austerity measures that negatively affect public services. Canceling some of Puerto Rico’s debt would bring much-needed relief amid the ongoing debt restructuring process. The administration should support congressional cramdown legislation to make possible significant reductions in privately held Puerto Rican debt, using the Territorial Relief Act as a starting point. Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the act includes provisions that would terminate certain debts if they meet eligibility criteria.27 In 2016, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) into law.28 In addition to establishing a process for restructuring Puerto Rico’s debt, PROMESA also created a Financial Oversight and Management Board with considerable power over Puerto Rico to oversee the debt restructuring process, the extent of which has been a subject of controversy since its inception. In response, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced the Amendments to PROMESA Act of 2020 to establish provisions ensuring transparency in all matters related to the FOMB and its members and reduce the austerity measures that have hampered the delivery of essential services.29 Chairman Grijalva’s bill is a first step toward mitigating concerns of the unchecked and opaque power of the FOMB. Puerto Rico is uniquely positioned to manufacture pharmaceuticals and medical equipment because of federal tax incentives that transformed it into a hub of pharmaceutical production. Unfortunately, in 1996, Congress decided to phase out tax incentives provided under Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).30 It is no surprise that, as economists on the left and right have pointed out, Puerto Rico’s recession and ongoing financial crisis started in 2006, the year that Section 936 benefits finally ended. Implementing new incentives—especially during the coronavirus pandemic—would make the United States less reliant on foreign countries such as China and others in the Asia-Pacific region for medical devices and drug manufacturing and would put many skilled Puerto Ricans back to work. Given Puerto Rico’s unique status as a domestic jurisdiction that, per Section 933 of the IRC,31 is considered foreign for tax purposes, creating specific tax incentives for U.S. manufacturing to relocate from Asia and other international jurisdictions to the commonwealth would allow Puerto Rico to help the United States as a whole in an area of considerable past success and expertise for the island. A potential starting point for such tax incentives could be legislation introduced by Sen. Bob Menéndez (D-NJ) and Rep. Thomas Suozzi (the Territory Economic Development Tax Credit Act32) and Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Stacey Plaskett (D-NY) (the Territorial Economic Recovery Act).33 Moreover, President Biden could propose such incentives in his first budget request. In order to provide relief for Puerto Rico, full equity in federal health programs is a much-needed step. Puerto Rico receives less funding than other jurisdictions, often faces fiscal cliffs, and is at constant risk of funding cuts due to the arbitrary, unequal funding formulas Congress has legislated, which have excluded Puerto Rico from full participation in crucial federal benefits. It is for this reason that the administration should work with Congress to draft an immediate relief package for Puerto Rico that addresses inequity in access to federal programs. This package should: As discussed above, the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra have unique health care challenges that require the distribution of appropriate resources. Specifically, more research needs to be conducted about the lack of health services and best practices to address these issues. Therefore, the administration should work with Congress to create a congressionally directed medical research program within the DOD to help funnel resources to the islands. This would help provide relief that addresses the unique necessities of the islands. Puerto Rico has been under the U.S. flag since 1898, and Puerto Ricans were made U.S. citizens in 1917. Since it became a commonwealth in 1952, six nonbinding plebiscite votes—including the most recent vote in November 2020—have been held on the island without any concrete outcome from the federal government. The role of Congress in this process is crucial, and the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021 is a starting point for this discussion.36 The White House—either through the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status or other senior administration officials—should also initiate talks with representatives of all status options toward a federally binding process, as President Biden promised during his campaign.37 Puerto Rico needs an urgent, holistic rescue plan to address the many socioeconomic challenges the island faces. The more than 3 million U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico have an equal right to the federal resources that the executive and legislative branches can but did not provide during the previous administration.38 President Biden has a unique opportunity to deliver on his promise to provide needed relief, resources, and tools for the island to overcome daunting challenges and lead the longer-term efforts in Congress to ensure more equitable treatment of the island and its people. If properly executed, these recommendations could help Puerto Rico recover from recent natural disasters and put the island on more secure footing for years to come. Federico A. de Jesús is the principal at FDJ Solutions and a consultant for the Center for American Progress. He is also the former deputy director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration and previously served in the Obama-Biden administration. Laura Rodriguez is the vice president for Government Affairs at the Center. Efforts at Former Military Sites on Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico, Are Expected to Continue through 2032” (Washington, 2021), available at https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-268.
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Financial Crisis
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Report ranks UGA, other schools on graduating Pell Grant recipients
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uga ATHENS, GA - CIRCA 2007: Close up view of the Georgia Arch on the University of Georgia Bulldogs campus in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Dot Paul/University of Georgia/Collegiate September 24, 2021 at 5:20 am EDT By Tim Bryant In a list published by The Chronicle of Higher Education , the University of Georgia ranks 23rd among four-year public universities for its graduation rate among students who receive federal Pell Grants. The report says UGA has a 79.5 percent six-year graduation rate for its Pell Grant recipients. The Chronicle says the University has the twentieth highest number of students who get the grants. From Sam Fahmy , UGA Today... UGA’s 79.5% six-year graduation rate for Pell Grant recipients (based on data from the cohort of first-year students who began in 2012) puts it just ahead of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. UGA has since increased its graduation rate for Pell Grant recipients to 81% for the 2013 and the 2014 cohorts, according to data from the university’s Office of Institutional Research. Among the four-year public universities ranked in the top 50 for graduation rates among Pell Grant recipients by the Chronicle, UGA has the 20th most Pell Grant recipients. “The University of Georgia is committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds can achieve their goals,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “We are proud to be among the nation’s best in helping Pell Grant recipients succeed, and we will continue working to expand the opportunities available to these deserving students.” The graduation rate ranking for Pell Grant recipients comes on the heels of UGA’s No. 16 U.S. News and World Report ranking among the best public universities in the nation and UGA’s recognition as a recipient of INSIGHT Into Diversity’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for the eighth consecutive year. “Seeing students thrive in their academic pursuits is immensely rewarding,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “I am grateful for the dedication of the faculty, staff and academic leaders who make such high levels of student success possible.” Tailored support, engaging learning environment UGA has made expansion of need-based scholarship aid a key priority. The Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program, for example, established in 2017, has created more than 600 endowed, need-based scholarships. To date, donors have given over $90 million through the program for need-based aid. The UGA Foundation recently allocated another $1 million in matching funds to the program to encourage donors to create additional scholarships. Besides funding, the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program offers tutoring, academic coaching, tailored advising sessions, success workshops and more. There are currently more than 500 Georgia Commitment Scholarship recipients on campus, and they have a 96% retention rate. UGA has long been a leader in providing students with hands-on learning experiences that are associated with greater engagement, higher graduation rates and career success. The Office of Experiential Learning offers scholarships to support experiential learning activities, as does the Office of Global Engagement and several additional campus units. An increasing number of Georgia Commitment Scholarships now include funding for experiential learning. “We have been working hard to ensure that all students, regardless of their income levels, are able to succeed and graduate in a timely manner,” said Rahul Shrivastav, vice president for instruction. “The Georgia Commitment Scholarship program is serving hundreds of students on campus, and experiential learning scholarships help students afford travel, technology, software or other costs associated with experiential learning activities. We’re constantly thinking of ways to enhance our academic environment while minimizing costs for students.” For students with financial need who have one semester remaining to graduate, the Office of Student Financial Aid offers one-time completion grants. Other need-based scholarship programs include the Georgia Access Scholarship and REACH Georgia. To address food insecurity among students, the Division of Student Affairs offers the Let All the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship.
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Financial Aid
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2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests
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The 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests were a series of civil disobedience protests held in Canada. The main issue behind the protests was the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) through 190 kilometres (120 mi) of Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation territory in British Columbia (BC), land that is unceded. Other concerns of the protesters were indigenous land rights, the actions of police, land conservation, and the environmental impact of energy projects. Starting in 2010, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs and their supporters made their opposition to the project known and set up a camp directly in the path of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, a path similar to that which would later be proposed for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. Northern Gateway was officially rejected in 2016, but the CGL project moved through planning, indigenous consultations, environmental reviews and governmental reviews before being approved in 2015. However, the approval of all the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs was never granted. In 2018, the backers of the pipeline project gave the go-ahead to the CA$6.6 billion project and it began construction. Access to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline construction camps in Wetʼsuwetʼen territory was blocked and the Coastal GasLink project was granted an injunction in 2018 to remove the land defenders. In January 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of British Columbia removed the blockades and CGL pre-construction work in the territory was completed. Subsequently, the blockades were rebuilt and Coastal GasLink was granted a second injunction by the BC Supreme Court in December 2019 to allow construction. In February 2020, after the RCMP enforced the second court injunction, removing the Wetʼsuwetʼen blockades and arresting Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders, solidarity protests sprang up across Canada. Many were rail blockades, including one blockade near Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory which halted traffic along a major Canadian National Railway (CNR) line between Toronto and Montreal and led to a shutdown of passenger rail service and rail freight operations in much of Canada. The Eastern Ontario blockade was itself removed by the Ontario Provincial Police. Blockades and protests continued through March in BC, Ontario and Quebec. Discussions between representatives of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and the governments of Canada and British Columbia have led to a provisional agreement on the Wetʼsuwetʼen land rights in the area. The Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline is a 670-kilometre-long (420 mi) natural gas pipeline designed to carry natural gas from mines in north-eastern British Columbia to a liquefaction plant located at the port of Kitimat. The project is intended to supply natural gas to several Asian energy companies, who are partners in the project. The pipeline's route passes through unceded lands of several First Nations peoples, including 190 kilometres (120 mi) of Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. Within the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory, the pipeline does not pass through reserves, only through traditional territory. [4]
The consortium developed its plans for the pipeline route in the early 2010s, securing the approval of several First Nations councils along the route, but did not secure the approval of the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen, the hereditary government of the Wetʼsuwetʼen peoples, although most of the elected band councils of the Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nations did enter into a benefits agreement with TCEnergy, the owner of the pipeline project. In 2014, British Columbia authorities approved the environmental assessment of the project, then approved permits to construct the project in 2015 and 2016. TC Energy was given final approval by its partners to begin construction of the project in 2018, still without the consent of all of the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs. Only one of the nine sitting house chiefs, Samooh (Herb Naziel) supports the project. [5]
The Wetʼsuwetʼen are an Indigenous nation made up of five clans including the: Gilseyhu (Big Frog), Laksilyu (Small Frog), Gitdumden (Wolf/Bear), Laksamshu (Fireweed) and the Tsayu (Beaver Clan). [6] These five clans' territory lies in the central western portion of British Columbia. The language spoken by the Wetʼsuwetʼen people is Babine-Witsuwitʼen, one of the Athabaskan languages. [7] Their traditional government, predating Confederation, is a system of chiefs representing each clan, called the hereditary chiefs. The chiefs have been represented by the non-profit Office of the Wetsuweten since 1994, before having a joint office with the Gitxsan. [8][9] The elected band councils were created by order of the Government of Canada, under the Indian Act, to govern the reserves put in place, of which the Wetʼsuwetʼen have several. According to hereditary chief Na’Moks (John Ridsdale), "it's the hereditary chiefs' duty to protect the territory". [10] According to Na’Moks, the pipeline "is going along rivers, it will go over rivers and even in some instances, it will go under. One hundred and ninety kilometres of the proposed route will run through our territory. It threatens our water, our salmon, and our rights, our title, our jurisdiction". [10] The pipeline would also go through areas of cultural significance to the Wetʼsuwetʼen. [11]
In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada issued the Delgamuukw-Gisdayʼwa decision, which ruled that aboriginal title exists as an exclusive territorial right for indigenous people. [4][11] The ruling was made in an appeal of a Supreme Court of British Columbia decision, which had ruled against recognition of Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan land rights. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a new trial was warranted, but encouraged a negotiated settlement. [4] The Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan then entered the treaty process with the BC government. However, the BC government's position that the Nations would only receive 4 to 6 per cent of their territory was unacceptable and the nations walked away from the process. Hence, the boundaries of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and Gitxsan nations' traditional territories are not yet recognized in Canadian law. In the absence of an agreement over aboriginal title and rights, the hereditary chiefs' position is that their full consent is required for any energy or resource projects within their territory, and the CGL does not have their consent. [12] The rights and title issue has also been the basis for several solidarity protests, which have also objected to the actions and presence of the RCMP within the Wetʼsuwetʼen traditional territory (known in Babine-Witsuwitʼen as yintah). [13]
Beginning in 2010, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs and their supporters set up barricades and checkpoints along the Morice West Forest Service Road that provides access to the construction of pipeline projects that threatened their territory, originally the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, and later also Coastal GasLink (planning for which began in 2012). The largest of those camps is Unistʼotʼen Camp, directly in the path of the pipeline, established in 2010 as a checkpoint, and has since added a healing centre. [14]
After TC Energy received its partners' go-ahead in November, it appealed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia to grant an injunction to stop the blockade of its intended route through the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. A temporary injunction was issued in December by BC Supreme Court Judge Marguerite Church to allow CGL pre-construction work. [15]
On January 7, the RCMP conducted a raid to enforce TC Energy's injunction, removing the barricades on the Morice Forest Service Road and arresting 14 of the Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders. [16] The RCMP faced criticism from protesters for the amount of force used in the bloodless raid, including police snipers. The RCMP set up a continuous presence along the road, setting up a local detachment called the Community Industry Safety Office. [17] The Wetʼsuwetʼen remained in place along the road, but did not make any further efforts to disrupt the CGL pre-construction work.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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2010 West Papua floods
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The 2010 West Papua floods occurred on 6 October 2010 in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua. The floods, which have centered on the town of Wasior in West Papua,[1] resulted from heavy rains resulted in a river overflowing its banks, causing landslides. [2]
At least 145 people have reported to have been killed in the floods, as of October 12, 2010. [1]
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the area on October 12, 2010. [1] Many survivors have been evacuated to the city of Manokwari. [1] Large amounts of aid had been mistakenly sent to the town of Wasior in the aftermath of the flooding, despite the mass relocation of the relocation of its residents to Manokwari. [3] Officials and NGOs blamed miscommunications for the mistake. [3]
As of December 2010, there were plans to relocate 5,100, or around 7,900 people, to temporary settlements as part of a relocation program for people affected by the floods. [4]
The government of Indonesia has blamed heavy rains for the severe flooding, rather than illegal logging and deforestation by locals. [5]
This article about a flood is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. This Indonesia-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Floods
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Indians Fire
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The Indians Fire was a wildfire in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest in the Santa Lucia Range which that started on June 8, 2008 and burned uncontained until July 10 scorching 81,378 acres (329.33 km2) of land. [1] This fire burned predominately within the Los Padres National Forest, Monterey Ranger District, inside the Ventana Wilderness. Other affected properties include portions of Fort Hunter Liggett military base and private property. The suppression cost exceeded $40.7 million, not including resource damages and rehabilitation costs. On June 10, 2008, a residential structure on the Chase Ranch burned down. The ranch had restricted access; therefore, the damage was not documented by the Forest Service. A Forest Service Fire Prevention Technician risked her life to evacuate the reluctant cabin owner, just before the fire burned over the cabin. [3]
On June 11, 2008, during a burnout operation, aggressive fire behavior produced a fire plume which burned over Forest Service firefighters along the Del Venturi Road. An entrapment occurred when a rotating vertical plume developed and the crew became overcome by the fire. [4] Three firefighters sustained major burns and were evacuated from the fire. [4]
The fire was ignited when an unattended campfire escaped into the vegetation during the night. [2] Two subjects admitted to lighting the campfire that escaped from their control, and using the campfire without removing all flammable material from around the campfire. [citation needed] One camper awoke during the night to find Escondido Campground on fire. After their brief attempt to put out the fire, they hiked out 2.7 miles to their vehicle. Then drove out through the Fort Hunter Liggett main gate, at 3:58 a.m., without stopping to report the fire. The fire burned undetected for an additional 8 ½ hrs. until a hiker walking along a ridge, saw the smoke from 10 miles away and reported it at 12:36 p.m.[citation needed]
The escaped campfire occurred when the campfire ring had not been cleared of flammable ground litter and the campers went to sleep with the fire still burning. [citation needed] A burning log, which extended outside of the campfire ring, burned through and fell into oak leaf litter surrounding round the fire ring. The forest litter ignited and continued to spread during the night. The fire burned for a period of at least 5–6 hours before it escaped the campground. If the fire had been reported after it initially ignited, it would have been suppressed and contained the same day. The two subjects responsible for causing the Indian Fire pleaded guilty in Federal court. [citation needed]
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Fire
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Tigray mothers share shocking accounts of dire famine conditions
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Testimonies from parents of severely malnourished children, medics, IDPs and residents who beg for food suggest dramatic worsening of situation in Ethiopia’s war-hit region. Eighteen-month-old Haftom Hailay is too weak to cry. All the boy, weighing three kilogrammes, can do is sigh in pain. His mother, malnourished herself, has no milk to breastfeed him. Where they came from in Aragure, a village east of Mekelle, the capital Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, the need for food is desperate. “One month ago, everything ran out,” Haftom’s mother, Girmanesh Meles, 30 told Al Jazeera. More than 10 months into the conflict, the famine-like conditions, which up until early July were limited to rural areas of Tigray, have now reached the outskirts of Mekelle. “It became normal to spend four days eating nothing,” said Girmanesh, who like others tried to survive by eating sparingly whatever crops her relatives from Mekelle could donate. “I waited for two weeks in the village … hoping someone would help,” she added. “But no one was able to help. Everyone was like us.” Worried about her son’s wellbeing, Girmanesh on September 11 embarked on foot from Aragure to bring Haftom to Tigray’s flagship Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle. “My relatives told me to stay in the village, that there is nothing the hospital can do,” said Girmanesh. “[But] watching my boy getting weaker each day, I could not sit and wait until he dies in my hands.” During the past two months, the main hospital in Mekelle has received 60 children with severe acute malnutrition. Of those 60, six have died, according to Dr Abrha Gebregzabher, a paediatrician supervising the treatment of malnourished children at Ayder hospital. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in November 2020 launched a military offensive to remove the governing party of Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, accusing it of attacking federal forces. The continuing conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced more than two million – and more recently, has expanded to the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. Communications have been cut off across Tigray since June 29, when Tigrayan fighters retook most of the region. However, Al Jazeera managed to contact people in Mekelle and gather exclusive footage showing the extent of the humanitarian crisis. Interviews with 12 people in the city – including first-hand testimonies of parents currently caring for severely malnourished children, doctors, nurses, internally displaced people (IDPs) and residents trying to survive by begging for food – as well as videos and images taken from inside Ayder hospital suggest the dire humanitarian conditions are worsening. In one image, a small emaciated boy is crying, a feeding tube going into his nose, his skeletal feet covered in wounds. The others show similar scenes. According to the United Nations, more than 400,000 people are facing famine-like conditions and 1.8 million are on the brink of famine across Tigray. The region of some six million people remains under a “de facto humanitarian blockade”, the UN said earlier this month, warning of a “looming catastrophe” and urging all warring sides to allow and facilitate the unimpeded passage of aid. The September 2 statement by Grant Leaity, the UN’s acting humanitarian coordinator for Ethiopia, said a minimum of 100 trucks of food, non-food items and fuel must enter the region every day – but access has been extremely difficult. “Stocks of relief aid, cash and fuel are running very low or are completely depleted. Food stocks already ran out on 20 August,” it added. Separately, the World Food Programme said last week that, since July 12, 445 contracted non-agency trucks have entered Tigray, but only 38 have returned, calling their disappearance “the primary impediment” to stepping up humanitarian response. Ethiopian authorities and Tigrayan officials have traded the blame for the blocking of aid convoys attempting to enter Tigray. According to the United States officials, less than 10 percent of needed humanitarian supplies reached Tigray over the past month due to obstruction of aid access. In Mekelle, people interviewed by Al Jazeera said the deteriorating humanitarian situation was due to the blockade following the withdrawal of federal troops from the city in late June. “Up until the siege, we were in a relatively better condition because the residents of Mekelle used to bring us food,” said Tesfay Gebretsadik, who fled to the capital from Humera, in western Tigray. “After the siege, all donations stopped. The inflation, and everything gets heavy. Residents are focused on saving their own life.” Al Jazeera reached out to the spokesperson of the Ethiopian prime minister’s office, Billene Seyoum, for a comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. While aid corridors and telecommunications remain shut, Tigray’s banks have also been cut off from the federal system. This means that it is impossible to send remittances into the region, where cash is running out. “Economic activities are stuck,” Micheal Gebreyesus, 35 a resident in Mekelle told Al Jazeera. “Since early September, we are only allowed to withdraw 1,000 birr (approximately $22; previously 2,000-birr withdrawals were permitted) per month,” he added, lamenting that the sum cannot cover the skyrocketing prices of basic food items. “Teff (essential grain to bake injera) is 6,000 birr ($130.43) per quintal (220 pounds). Cooking oil is 700 ($15) birr and that is if you are lucky to get it in the market. Essential vegetables like tomato and onion are 100 birr ($2.17) per kilo.” This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. The crisis is driving residents to beg for food, including those like Worknesh Welday who were better off a few months ago. The 25-year-old mother-of-two said she was ashamed she had to go from house to house, knocking on strangers’ doors to ask for a loaf of bread or a small portion of injera. “I am used to spending two days eating nothing. But my children cannot spend more than one day. They cry; I beg so that they stop crying,” said Worknesh. Since the fighting erupted, thousands of people from across Tigray have fled to Mekelle in search of safety. Sheltered in schools, these IDPs people are waiting for food aid. During the past two weeks, four people in Mai’woyni secondary school have died, residents said. “They died … after weeks of starvation. Two of them were elderly and the remaining [were] children,” said Tesfay, the IDP from Humera who spends his days begging outside the school. Meanwhile, in Ayder hospital basic medical supplies and medicines are also running out. Doctors and nurses who spoke to Al Jazeera called on regional authorities and international aid group to support them, warning that most services have been suspended and the food stock for patients has finished. “We are struggling to continue with extremely limited resources. We are struggling to provide food to patients,” said Dr Sentayhu Mesgana, the hospital’s deputy medical head. “We have suspended further diagnosis due to electric interruptions and lack of spare parts. By now, the hospital is only providing basic services.” According to Dr Sentayhu, health centres across Tigray are unable to send patients to the referral hospital due to a lack of fuel affecting ambulance services. “We don’t know how many people are dying across the region from malnutrition. We are disconnected with the health centres due to the telecommunications blackout. We could only know about patients who managed to arrive here. Only a few can make it,” said Dr Sentayhu. “We cannot do adult nutritional support to the general public which is very costly and ineffective given the dire situation we are in.” Inside the hospital, another boy, 13-month-old Gebreanannya Tesfay, cries relentlessly. Doctors weighted him four kilogrammes (8.8 pounds) when he was brought there on August 22. His father, Tesfaye Hiluf, who used to make a decent living as a farmer in Mai’alem, a village on the outskirts of Mekelle, could no longer feed his family. “We ran out of food two months ago. We tried to survive by asking friends for help. There was nothing to eat for three weeks. I could not afford to buy milk for my son when the mother failed to breastfeed him. He cries non-stop,” Tesfaye said. “Listening to his cries, there are days when I contemplate killing myself.” With medical supplies running out, Dr Abrha, the paediatrician looking after malnourished children, feared the worst is yet to come. “The stock of therapeutic milk will run out in three weeks given there are no new cases,” Dr Abrha said. “That means we will suspend the treatments after three weeks.” For now, Haftom and Gebreanannya are still getting the therapeutic milk. Food insecurity in conflict-hit Ethiopian region remains dire, with increasing reports of people dying of hunger. War-hit region facing severe shortage of aid, cash and fuel due to ‘de facto humanitarian aid blockade’, UN says. Since July, 445 trucks have entered Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray, but only 38 returned – hampering future aid deliveries. The US pressures all sides to stop fighting and negotiate peace in northern Ethiopia.
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Famine
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Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire
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The Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire was a disastrous fire that occurred on 1 August 2004 in Asunción, Paraguay. After the fire broke out, exits were locked to prevent people from stealing merchandise. The building also lacked adequate fire protection systems. Over 300 people were killed and more than 500 were injured. The president of the supermarket company, as well as various employees, were later sentenced to prison terms for their actions during the fire. The Ycuá Bolaños V supermarket, located in the capital city of Asunción, Paraguay, opened on 7 December 2001. The two-story building consisted of an underground parking garage on the lower level and a sales area and food court on the second story. Two separate mezzanines contained administrative offices and an extension of the food court. [1]
According to the defense attorney of the building's owner, the bakery and food court kitchen were not properly ventilated, which would cause smoke and gas to accumulate in the building. [2] The structure also lacked a fire sprinkler system and the smoke detectors did not work. [1][2]
The fire broke out on 1 August 2004, with two explosions on the first floor. The fire burned for seven hours before firefighters were able to extinguish it. The final death toll was 327, and more than 300 injured. [3] The cause was believed to be a faulty barbecue chimney that leaked hot flammable gases into the ceiling, which ignited. [citation needed]
Several survivors of the fire and volunteer firefighters alleged that, when the fire broke out, doors within the complex were deliberately closed under the direction of the owners, Juan Pío Paiva and his son, Víctor Daniel, trapping people inside, in order to prevent people from fleeing with merchandise without paying for it. The management of the shopping center denied the charge. [4] Paiva, his son and a security guard surrendered to the police and were formally charged. On 5 December 2006, Juan Pío Paiva, Víctor Daniel Paiva and the security guard were convicted of involuntary manslaughter with a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The prosecution however was seeking a 25-years-in-prison term. [5] As the verdict was read, angry survivors and family members of the deceased started a violent demonstration inside the court room, which later spread onto the streets of Asunción. The prosecution demanded a retrial. [6]
On 2 February 2008, a new court ruled that the trio committed negligent homicide. Juan Pío Paiva, president of the company, received a sentence of 12 years in prison. His son Víctor Daniel Paiva, present at the start of the fire, was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Security guard Daniel Areco, who closed the doors, was condemned to 5 years in prison. Additionally, shareholder Humberto Casaccia, also present at the start of the fire, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for endangering people in the work place. [5] Architect Bernardo Ismachowiez, who both designed and built the complex, spent two years in house arrest for "dangerous activities in construction". [7] Both Víctor Daniel and Juan Pío have since been released on probation in 2013 and 2014 respectively, after a ruling from the Court of Appeals decided they were to serve the remainder of the sentence in liberty for good behavior. [8]
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Fire
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Afghans face 'tsunami of destitution' as famine looms
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Afghans face a “tsunami of destitution” and need $200m a month in aid to stave of starvation and catastrophe after the Taliban takeover, the United Nations has warned. Large numbers of Afghan civilians risk dying in the coming months as the country is caught in a stand-off between its new Taliban rulers and the nations that once bankrolled the ousted government. The rapidly worsening situation was leading to a wave of “incredible suffering and hunger spiralling out of control across Afghanistan,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, who heads the UN's food branch in Afghanistan. She said the crisis was “pushing millions and millions of its people in every corner of the country to the brink of survival and the country towards potential chaos”. Her warning came after the UN earlier this week warned that more than half the population were now short of food. There have been reports of orphans starving to death and ruined parents selling their children. The country of some 38m faces economic and humanitarian collapse after aid was halted following the Taliban's surprise victory over Ashraf Ghani's administration. Boris Johnson told MPs that Britain was working with UN agencies and others “to mitigate the consequences for the people of Afghanistan of the Taliban takeover”. “What we can't do at the moment is write a completely blank cheque to the Taliban government, the Taliban authorities,” he said. “We need to ensure that that country does not slip back into being a haven for terrorism." Afghanistan had long been descending into crisis as drought and the effects of the war tipped people into poverty, but the country is now quickly accelerating into the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Amir Abdullah, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme said: “We need something like $200m a month just to keep people alive and slowly start putting them back on their feet.” The first snows have already fallen and temperatures are quickly dropping, meaning it will be difficult to get aid to remote areas. He said the country had often faced rural hunger, but the collapse of the state now meant starvation was also spreading to the urban middle classes.
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Famine
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The Truth About George Clooney's Relationship With Julia Roberts
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Numerous celebs have taken their marriage vows seriously, proving that love can really last in Hollywood. Finding love in Hollywood is easy, but making it last is another story. Almost every day, fans find out about yet another celeb heartache , breakup, or divorce, making it hard to believe that stars ever find true love. However, to much surprise, some celebrities have only been married once and plan to keep it that way. RELATED: The Truth About George Clooney's Relationship With Julia Roberts Numerous celebs have taken their marriage vows seriously, proving that love can really last in Hollywood. While it can be a brutal world full of gossip, rumors, and even infidelity, the stars on this list are happily in love and have been for many, many years. Love conquers all for these stars and these ten celebrities and their significant others prove that love is stronger than Hollywood. 10 Jon Bon Jovi Fans would think a rockstar like Jon Bon Jovi would have countless romances, but this star has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1989 . The "Its My Life" singer and his wife, Dorothea Hurley have been married for over 30 years and their secret to a prosperous love life in Hollywood is "mutual respect." RELATED: 10 Artists Who Deserve Residency In Las Vegas The stars were featured on the cover of People, where the rockstar shared that their secret to keeping their marriage alive and raising their four kids is respecting one another and not letting "celebrity" get in over your head. "We work hard at it, but we enjoy each other and we never fell for the trappings of what celebrity can do," the rocker shared. 9 Meryl Streep Actress Meryl Streep has been with her husband Don Gummer for over 40 years, showing fans that true love can last in Hollywood. The star dated Gummer for only six months after they tied the knot in 1978, and since then, he's been on his wife's side throughout all her major movie success and award show wins . Their secret to their long-lasting marriage is "communication," as Streep shared with New Zealand Women's Weekly. "You have to talk about all the issues that arise, even the smallest things. You have to listen to your partner's problems, suggestions, and advice, and accept that you're not always right. Conversation is key to a successful marriage." 8 Ron Howard Hollywood director Ron Howard is just one of a few stars who can say he knows a thing or two about successful marriages. The A Beautiful Mind director married his wife Cheryl Alley in 1975 and the two have welcomed four children, the oldest of whom is famous actress Bryce Dallas Howard who stars in Jurassic World. RELATED: John Mayer Was Busted Stalking Jennifer Aniston's Old Pics, Is He Still In Love? During an interview with HuffPost Live, the actor shared his thoughts on his long-lasting marriage , stating, "I felt really lucky when we met. It's crazy - we were teenagers, it shouldn't have worked. We got married young, that shouldn't have worked either, and yet it really and truly has." 7 Susan Lucci Susan Lucci is best known for her role on ABC's All My Children starring as Erica Kane from 1970 to the show's end in 2011. While her character on the daytime soap has a total of ten different marriages, her real-life love life has consisted of one man named Helmut Huber. The actress married the Austrian businessman back in 1969 and the two have been inseparable ever since tying the knot. He has been accepting of her very public life , with Lucci sharing, "I'm his second wife, so he had some practice before me. I don't think that being married to a person who has a public career is for everybody. He was, when I met him, and he remains, very self-possessed, very self-confident, and very funny." 6 Kevin Bacon Celebs Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick first met on the set of the television movie Lemon Sky in 1988 and ended up getting married the same year. Today, the A-list couple celebrate 32 years together, proving that nothing gets in the way of their love for one another. RELATED: Who Are Kevin Bacon's Children, And What Do They Do? People want to know their secret to staying together in a world like Hollywood where breakups are inevitable. According to the couple, it's important that while the kids are important, the marriage comes first, always celebrate an anniversary, and it's also important to help keep the house clean by working together. 5 Goldie Hawn Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell surprisingly never got married , but they've been together for over 35 years. The actress told the Stylist that for couples to grow, arguments can be necessary , but it's important that both people work through it together. "You have to learn how to work your way through an argument and be skillful about it and resolve it. Things happen during a marriage or a union, things that are said that shouldn't have been said, or things that are done that shouldn't have been done, or you feel neglected," Hawn shared, adding, "If two people really want to be together there's something to cherish, so you keep it fresh by surprising each other." 4 Denzel Washington Actor Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta Pearson first met on the set of the television movie Wilma back in 1977, and finally got married in 1983, after the actor revealed that Pearson actually turned him down a few times. However, he credits his wife of 37 years for doing the "heavy lifting" in their marriage. When the actor was asked about his marriage by The Oprah Magazine, O, he stated, "What pops in my head: security, food, a beautiful home. The difference between a house and a home, it's a big difference. You can buy a house, but that doesn't make it a home - and not to say a man can't make a house a home, but my wife has made our house a home, and raised three beautiful kids, and protected them and sacrificed for them. She did the heavy lifting." 3 Dolly Parton Country star Dolly Parton has mostly kept her marriage life private and that might just be the reason why she and her husband have celebrated 55 years together. Parton met her husband Carl Thomas when she was just 18 and now at 76-years-old, Parton's marriage is stronger than ever . "I always joke and laugh when people ask me what's the key to my long marriage and lasting love. I always say 'Stay gone!' and there's a lot of truth to that. I travel a lot, but we really enjoy each other when we're together and the little things we do," she shared with People back in 2018. 2 Mariska Hargitay Actress Mariska Hargitay met her husband of 16 years Peter Hermann when they were both working on the set of Law & Order: SVU. The couple got married in 2004 and are raising three children together. Speaking with Good Housekeeping, the famous actress described her marriage with Hermann as "the perfect balance of opposites." She shared, "I bring him out, he brings me in; he slows me down, I make him go faster." She adds, "I don't always know what he's thinking, but we want the same things. We trust that the other person wants what we want and shares the same values. That's our gift." 1 Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have been happily married for 23 years and have countlessly defended their marriage with rumor after rumor that the two were on the rocks. There's no doubt that these Hollywood stars are each other's best friends and will be for a very long time. When Broderick was asked about the secret to his long marriage with SJP, he shared, "I don't know the secret at all, but I, you know, but I'm very grateful and I love her and, it's amazing. I mean, I can't believe that it's been that long. It doesn't feel like it."
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Famous Person - Marriage
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The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force
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The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. The task force will be led by Kelly L. Gibson, the Acting Deputy Director of Enforcement, who will oversee a Division-wide effort, with 22 members drawn from the SEC’s headquarters, regional offices, and Enforcement specialized units. Consistent with increasing investor focus and reliance on climate and ESG-related disclosure and investment, the Climate and ESG Task Force will develop initiatives to proactively identify ESG-related misconduct. The task force will also coordinate the effective use of Division resources, including through the use of sophisticated data analysis to mine and assess information across registrants, to identify potential violations. The initial focus will be to identify any material gaps or misstatements in issuers’ disclosure of climate risks under existing rules. The task force will also analyze disclosure and compliance issues relating to investment advisers’ and funds’ ESG strategies. Its work will complement the agency’s other initiatives in this area, including the recent appointment of Satyam Khanna as a Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and ESG. As an integral component of the agency’s efforts to address these risks to investors, the task force will work closely with other SEC Divisions and Offices, including the Divisions of Corporation Finance, Investment Management, and Examinations. “Climate risks and sustainability are critical issues for the investing public and our capital markets,” said Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee. “The task force announced today will play an important role in enhancing and coordinating the efforts of the Division of Enforcement, the Office of the Whistleblower, and other parts of the agency to bolster the efforts of the Commission as a whole on these vital matters.” “Proactively addressing emerging disclosure gaps that threaten investors and the market has always been core to the SEC’s mission,” said Acting Deputy Director of Enforcement Kelly L. Gibson, who will lead the task force. “This task force brings together a broad array of experience and expertise, which will allow us to better police the market, pursue misconduct, and protect investors.” In addition, the Climate and ESG Task Force will evaluate and pursue tips, referrals, and whistleblower complaints on ESG-related issues, and provide expertise and insight to teams working on ESG-related matters across the Division. ESG related tips, referrals and whistleblower complaints can be submitted here.
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Organization Established
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16 Celebrities Who've Been Married the Most Times
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Asked to come up with the most famous celebrities who married the most times, there's a good chance that Elizabeth Taylor is one of the first names you think of. The two-time Oscar-winner was married eight times to seven different husbands, including twice to her co-star Richard Burton. But, while Taylor might be the most famous name associated with a plethora of spouses, she's far from the only celebrity who's walked down the aisle four or more times. From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the 21st century, there are many big-name stars who haven't let past breakups destroy their faith in the institution. For some of the individuals on this list, it actually took from the Golden Age of Hollywood until now to have the time to rack up so many marriages. So read on to check out 16 stars who definitely weren't afraid to say "I do" all over again, and for celebs on the other end of the spectrum, check out 15 Celebrities Who Say They're Never Getting Married. Any list of celebrities who have married the most times has have to start off with Taylor. The beloved actor was married eight times to seven different husbands: hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr., actor Michael Wilding, producer Mike Todd, actor and singer Eddie Fisher, actor Burton (above), politician John Warner, and construction worker Larry Fortensky. Most famously, she married Cleopatra co-star Burton twice. They were married from 1964 to 1974, got divorced, and then married again from 1975 to 1976. Taylor had four children: two sons with Wilding, a daughter with Todd, and another daughter with Burton. Like Taylor and Burton before them, here are 15 Onscreen Couples You Totally Forgot Dated in Real Life. Composer and producer David Foster is currently on his fifth marriage. Foster has been married to singer B.J. Cook, Rebecca Dyer, songwriter Linda Thompson, model and reality star Yolanda Hadid, and his current wife, singer and actor Katharine McPhee (above). The 71-year-old musician's relationship with Hadid was showcased on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and his relationship with McPhee has made headlines, particularly because of their 35-year age difference. Foster has five children from previous relationships and is currently expecting his sixth with McPhee. For more celeb couples with several years between them, check out 27 Celebrity Couples With Huge Age Gaps. With the highest number of marriages on this list, we have Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was married nine times. Her husbands were Turkish politician Burhan Asaf Belge, hotel magnate Conrad Hilton Sr., actor George Sanders, banker Herbert Hutner, oil executive Joshua S. Cosden Jr., Mattel executive Jack Ryan, lawyer Michael O'Hara, lawyer and actor Felipe de Alba, and businessman Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt (above). The actor's longest marriage was to Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her 2016 death. Her shortest was to de Alba—the marriage was annulled the day after they wed. Gabor had one child, Constance Hilton, with her second husband. Like Taylor, Larry King was married eight times to seven different women. When he passed away in January of this year, he was still married to his last wife, actor Shawn Southwick (above), though they were separated. His previous wives were his high school sweetheart Freda Miller, Annette Kaye, former Playboy bunny Alene Akins, Mickey Sutphin, production assistant Sharon Lepore, and businesswoman Julie Alexander. Akins and King were married twice—from 1961 to 1963 and then again from 1967 to 1972, following his marriage to Sutphin. From his marriages, King had five children. Director Martin Scorsese has been married five times, to Laraine Marie Brennan, writer Julia Cameron, actor Isabella Rossellini (above), producer Barbara De Fina, and book editor Helen Schermerhorn Morris. Morris and Scorsese tied the knot in 1999 and remain married to this day. From his relationships, Scorsese has three children: Catherine Scorsese with Brennan, Domenica Cameron-Scorsese with Cameron, and Francesca Scorsese with Morris. For more on famous offspring, check out 25 Celebrity Kids Who Look Just Like Their Parents. James Cameron is another filmmaker who's been married five times. The Avatar director wed Sharon Williams, producer Gale Anne Hurd, fellow director Kathryn Bigelow, Terminator star Linda Hamilton, and actor Suzy Amis (above). Cameron has been married to Amis since 2000. They met on the set of his film Titanic, in which she played Rose's granddaughter, Lizzy. Amis and Cameron have three daughters, and Cameron also has a daughter from his relationship with Hamilton. Want more celebrity relationship trivia sent right to your inbox? Sign up for our daily newsletter. Actor Melanie Griffith has been married four times, to Don Johnson, Steven Bauer, Johnson again, and Antonio Banderas (above). Griffith's first marriage to Johnson only lasted for only six months when she was 18 years old and he was 26. They married again 13 years later following her marriage to Bauer. This time, the marriage lasted seven years, and they welcomed their daughter, actor Dakota Johnson, together. Griffith also has two other children, Alexander Griffith Bauer and Stella Banderas. Nicolas Cage has had four wives, including two well-known women. Cage's former spouses are actor Patricia Arquette, Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley, former waiter Alice Kim (above), and makeup artist Erika Koike. His shortest marriage was with Koike—they got married in Las Vegas and requested an annulment after four days. Cage has a son named Kal-El Cage with Kim, and a son named Weston Cage from a previous relationship with actor Christina Fulton. For more star duos with considerable age differences, here are 27 Celebrity Couples With Huge Age Gaps. How's this for a twist? Comedian Richard Pryor was married seven times, but to five spouses. That's right, he married two of his wives twice. Pryor's wives were Patricia Price, Shelley Bonus, model and actor Deborah McGuire (above), interior designer Jennifer Lee, and actor Flynn Belaine. Pryor was married to Belaine from 1986 to 1987 and then again from 1990 to 1991. He was also married to Lee from 1981 to 1982—this was his fourth marriage—and he then re-married Lee in 2001. They were married at the time of his 2005 death. Pryor had seven children from various relationships, including his marriages with Price, Bonus, and Belaine. Kelsey Grammer has walked down the aisle four time. The Frasier star wed dance teacher Doreen Alderman, Leigh-Anne Csuhany, dancer and reality star Camille Donatacci, and flight attendant Kayte Walsh (above). Much like Foster's, Grammer's relationship with his third wife was documented on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. And the Frasier star has seven children: a daughter with Alderman, two children with Donatacci, three children with Walsh, and one child from another previous relationship. Pamela Anderson has had four spouses, with her latest marriage being a brand new one. Anderson married her bodyguard Dan Hayhurst on Dec. 24, 2020, and he became her fourth husband. Previously, Anderson was married to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, with whom she had two sons, Brandon and Dylan Lee. Anderson then married musician Kid Rock (above). Her third and fourth marriages were both to poker player Rick Saloman—their 2007 marriage was annulled and they married again in 2014. It was also reported that Anderson married producer Jon Peters in 2020, but she later said that it was never legal. English actor Joan Collins has had five husbands. Her first husband was actor Maxwell Reed. Her second was actor and singer Anthony Newley, which whom she had two children, Alexander and Tara Newley. Her third husband was music executive Ronald Kass, with whom she had a daughter named Katyana Kass. Her fourth was Swedish singer Peter Holm. And the Dynasty star's fifth—and current husband— is producer Percy Gibson (above). As you may know, Collins is the sister of romance novelist Jackie Collins. For more famous families, check out 13 Celebrities You Had No Idea Were Related. Another member of the five spouses club is singer Kenny Rogers. He married Janice Gordon, Jean Rogers, Margo Anderson, actor Marianne Gordon, and Wanda Miller (above). Rogers and Miller were still married when the country music icon died in March 2020. Rogers, who has five children in total, had one kid each with Janice, Anderson, and Marianne, and then twins with Miller. As you have surely noticed, it's not uncommon for people who have been married many times to marry the same person more than once. That's also the case for TV reporter Barbara Walters, who was married four times to three husbands. Walters was married to Robert Henry Katz briefly in the late 1950s. Then, she was married to Lee Guber from 1963 to 1976, with whom she shared a daughter named Jacqueline Guber. Lastly, she married Merv Adelson from 1981 to 1984, got divorced, and then remarried him two years later from 1986 to 1992. Fans know Rue McClanahan as Blanche on The Golden Girls, and, like her TV counterpart, McClanahan was very into men. The actor was married six times, to Tom Bish, Norman Hartweg, Peter DeMaio—the first three were all actors—then Gus Fisher, Tom Keel, and Morrow Wilson. McClanahan had one child, a son named Mark, with her first husband. She wrote about her many marriages in her 2007 autobiography, My First Five Husbands… And the Ones Who Got Away. Okay, so she's not there yet, but soon Jennifer Lopez will have been married four times. Lopez has been married to Ojani Noa, who was a waiter at the time, dancer Cris Judd, and singer Marc Anthony. The singer and actor's first two marriages only lasted for about a year each, but she was married to Anthony for ten years and they share twins Emme and Max. The 51-year-old is now engaged to former pro baseball player Alex Rodriguez (above).
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Famous Person - Marriage
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PG&E charged with 4 homicides, environmental crimes for allegedly starting Zogg Fire
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REDDING, Calif. — The Shasta County District Attorney’s Office has filed 31 criminal charges against PG&E, including felony charges for sparking the 2020 Zogg Fire through criminal negligence and four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The charges also include enhancements for injury to a firefighter who was paralyzed from the chest down after being struck by a falling tree in the firefight.
The fire killed three people who tried to run for their lives, including eight-year-old Feyla McLeod and her mother Alaina Rowe McLeod. Their bodies were found burned beyond recognition in a pickup truck that ran off the road into the burning forest.
"A little 8-year-old girl. My daughter. Our daughter. My wife. Running for their lives, literally," said father and husband Zach McLeod. "Put yourself in their shoes. Think about their last moments. What they went through. Really think about it."
Another Igo, California resident, Karin King, was found burned to death on the roadside next to her car.
A fourth victim, Kenneth Vossen, died at the UC Davis burn center after succumbing to wounds from the fire. He had second and third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body and was found lying in a pond on his property where he’d apparently attempted to douse the flames on his body.
Similar to the pending criminal charges filed earlier this year in Sonoma County for the 2019 Kincade Fire, PG&E will face charges for illegally sparking a fire that destroyed more than a hundred home and for environmental damage.
VIEW THE COMPLAINT:
RELATED: A wildfire in California killed a mother and daughter. Is PG&E to blame, again?
WILL ANYONE GO TO PRISON?
The question of whether a person is charged in the case is not academic. It’s the only way the alleged Zogg Fire crimes would be punishable with prison time.
If the PG&E corporate entity is convicted of the manslaughter felonies, the maximum punishment would be a fine of $10,000 for each person killed in the fire.
No individual employees or officers of PG&E were arrested for Friday’s charges; however, Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett said the criminal investigation could still lead to arrests.
“If there is an individual or individuals that made decisions that caused this fire to happen, then they'll be held liable and they would be arrested for that,” Bridgett said in an interview with ABC10. “We're committed to continuing to build a case, if we can, against specific individuals.”
Prosecutors chose to file the slate of felonies and misdemeanors against the PG&E corporation on Friday Sept. 24, due to the 1-year deadline set by California’s statute of limitations on misdemeanors. Most felony charges come with a three-year filing deadline, allowing prosecutors at least two more years to develop charges that could lead to an arrest.
Families of the dead would like to see more meaningful accountability than that.
“A corporation can't go to jail and hear their loved ones were killed. I think it's very important for us to continue our investigation and dig as deep as we can,” Bridgett said. “They lost their lives in a very horrific and tragic fashion that was completely preventable.”
RELATED: PG&E ‘continues to engage in criminal thinking,’ says former regulator
Relatives of the dead say that criminal accountability for the fire is about more than punishment.
“It’s about making sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Zach McLeod, the father of Feyla and husband of Alaina, said.
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said in a statement that the company, "accepted Cal Fire’s determination, reached earlier this year, that a tree contacted our electric line and started the Zogg Fire. We accept that conclusion. But we did not commit a crime.”
RELATED: ‘Leading with love?’ | PG&E CEO blocks fire victim on Twitter
Poppe's comments came in a corporate video release recorded the day before the charges were unveiled.
She did not take questions or explain why she believes the fire was not a crime, but did rebut the charges by saying "two trained arborists walked this line and independent of one another determined the tree in question should stay."
In federal court, PG&E has not described whether those arborists actually walked over to the tree and looked at its trunk on all sides. PG&E also hasn't ever explained why the tree was allowed to stand after being marked for removal in 2018.
PROBLEM THAT SPARKED FIRE ‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS’
Cal Fire arson investigators and the Shasta County DA concluded PG&E should have prevented the Zogg Fire from ever happening. Their report found that a 105-foot-tall pine tree threatening a PG&E power line by leaning over it “should have been obvious.” The investigation found the tree also had a “large” injury from previous fire damage since at least 2018.
“Anyone who was up there looking at those trees would have seen it,” Bridgett said.
Photos from the arborist report show the bottom four feet of the tree had an open wound about four feet tall at its base in which most of the interior wood had rotted or burned away.
A federal judge found PG&E contractors had marked the tree as a hazard in 2018, but that the company violated state safety rules by failing to follow up and cut the tree down.
"Someone should have marked it, stayed right there, called someone, and had it cut," Zach McLeod said. "Right then and there."
“All other possible causes of the Zogg Fire were eliminated during the investigation,” the Zogg Fire criminal investigation found.
Prosecutors allege a pattern of criminal safety neglect by PG&E. Some of the 31 charges include smaller fires caused elsewhere in Shasta County found to have been caused by unmaintained trees striking power lines.
CHARGES WOULD NOT BE PG&E’S FIRST HOMICIDES
PG&E pleaded guilty in June 2020 to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in Butte County for killing people in the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history.
Outside of court, PG&E’s leaders promised that this wouldn’t happen again.
The Zogg Fire broke out three months after PG&E entered those guilty pleas in a Butte County courtroom, where prosecutors warned the company that murder charges could be filed if it caused a deadly fire again.
Shasta County prosecutors considered charging PG&E with second-degree murder in the Zogg Fire, but decided the facts they have right now are better suited to the same felony manslaughter charges that applied in the Camp Fire.
“We want to file what we know we can prove,” Bridgett said. “When we're looking at murder charges, we're looking very close to intentional conduct.”
Bridgett said the evidence so far shows culpability that is short of intent to kill, but still far more serious than a mere accident.
“They know that there's a risk. They know that risk could cause great bodily injury or even death. And they do it anyway. They disregard it,” Bridgett said. “If you've got a known hazard that sits for two years, it's just not an accident. They knew it was there. They left it, they didn't remove it and people died. They're still responsible for killing people.”
The Zogg Fire has already been probed by a federal judge who supervises PG&E because the company is already a federal felon on probation for the 2010 San Bruno gas explosion.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup found that PG&E caused the Zogg Fire by committing safety violations.
RELATED: PG&E ‘continues to engage in criminal thinking,’ says former regulator
He discovered that, in 2018, PG&E contractors had marked a dangerous tree leaning over the power line, but the company never followed up to cut the tree down.
Utility companies have a legal duty to fix safety threats along their power lines, including removing and trimming hazard trees.
The pine tree in this case fell on a PG&E power line in a windstorm on Sept. 27, 2020, and sparked the Zogg Fire, according to arson investigators at Cal Fire.
‘THEY HAVEN’T DONE WHAT THEY NEED TO DO’
PG&E had a state-issued safety certificate at the time the Zogg Fire sparked, under a law written by lawyers for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office after the Camp Fire.
Newsom’s office has previously claimed, “no governor in California history has done more to hold PG&E accountable and force the company to make fundamental change.”
District Attorney Bridgett says PG&E is not a changed company.
“It certainly shows that they haven't done what they need to do to prevent these types of wildfires,” Bridgett said. “They're not doing what they need to do to stop this from happening.”
After the Zogg Fire, PG&E was allowed to keep its safety certification under the law signed by Newsom.
State officials have named PG&E as the cause of major wildfires every year from 2017-2020 and the company is the lone suspect in causing the massive Dixie Fire, which is still burning.
The Dixie Fire has reached nearly 1 million acres in size after destroying the town of Greenville, Calif., and roughly half of Lassen Volcanic National Park.
With charges pending in both Sonona and Shasta County, the PG&E corporation is already a repeat felon and probation violator. PG&E has 91 felony convictions on its record.
No one has spent a night behind bars for those crimes.
"Someone needs to be held accountable," Zack McLeod said. "No family should have to go through this. No little girl and mother should have to face what they faced."
WATCH MORE: Shasta County District Attorney announces charges:
GO DEEPER: This story is part of ABC10's FIRE - POWER - MONEY reporting project. If you have a tip that could reveal more about California's crisis with utilities and wildfires, please contact investigative reporter Brandon Rittiman at brittiman@abc10.com.
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Gas explosion
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2017 Costa Rica earthquake
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The 2017 Costa Rica earthquake occurred 16 kilometres southeast of Jacó, which is about 100 kilometres southwest of the capital, San Jose[2] on November 12, 2017. At first, the quake was measured at a magnitude of 6.8, it was a magnitude 6.5 earthquake with a max intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale. [3] The quake was felt most severely in the provincial districts of Quepos, Parrita and Garabito—of which Jacó is capital. [4] The earthquake killed at least 3 people. [5] The earthquake could be felt throughout Costa Rica, and in some parts of Nicaragua and Panama. [6] Also, it was followed by more than 20 aftershocks throughout the night, the first measuring 5.1 just four minutes after the first quake. [7]
Electricity was knocked out in some areas. There was no major infrastructure damage from the tremor that hit the lightly populated area. [2] At least one building in Jacó had been evacuated due to apparent damage and there were reports of walls collapsing and objects falling in other parts of the country. [4] South Jacó had lost power lines and there were downed poles. There were landslides due to the quake that had caused a blockage on the highway from Jacó to other cities. [8]
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Earthquakes
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South Korea Enters Space Race, Set to Launch Its First Lunar Mission in 2022
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South Korea, a relative latecomer to the global space race, has been working on a lunar orbiter programme since 2016, Yonhap news agency reported. Seoul: South Korea is on track for its first lunar mission, with its first launch of a lunar orbiter slated for the second half of 2022, the country’s space research institute said on Sunday, after the country’s lunar project suffered multiple delays.Also Read - Scientists Just Found a Significant Volume of Water Hidden Inside Mars South Korea, a relative latecomer to the global space race, has been working on a lunar orbiter programme since 2016, Yonhap news agency reported. Also Read - NASA Spacecraft Enters Sun's Atmosphere 'Corona' For First Time in History. WATCH The spacecraft is expected to reach the moon by December 16, 2022, and conduct a year-long mission that could even be extended, according to the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Also Read - Amid Omicron Variant Threat, South Korea Extends Overseas Travel Advisory The lunar orbiter will conduct various missions, such as capturing images of shadowed regions of the moon using NASA’s ShadowCam, it added. The country’s lunar orbiter project has been making little progress due to technical and budgetary issues. Under the current government, the orbiter was originally slated for launch in December this year. The country’s lunar programme was at risk of another delay when it decided early this year to scrap its original travel path and use a low-energy trajectory in order to increase the spacecraft’s fuel efficiency.
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New achievements in aerospace
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Since the tsunami: India and Japan are strengthening ties in disaster risk reduction and building resilient infrastructure
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The writer is the Ambassador of Japan to India Today, March 11, 2021, commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake that claimed close to 20,000 lives. On this solemn occasion, I pray for the repose of so many souls and express my heartfelt sympathy to those who lost their loved ones. Ten years ago, when the earthquake hit the northeastern part of Japan, the people of India offered their prayers for people thousands of kilometres away from their home. Much needed relief materials were provided by India. Thousands of Indian blankets warmed up those who had lost their homes and tonnes of biscuits and water bottles helped the people overcome their hunger. On behalf of the government and the people of Japan, I would like to renew my heartfelt gratitude for these noble gestures. The courageous rescue mission of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) can never be forgotten. In their first overseas deployment, 46 members of NDRF engaged themselves in search and rescue in the town of Onagawa, where 85% of the buildings were swept away by a 14.8m high tsunami, and more than 800 people lost their lives. I would like to thank NDRF for their dedication, which left a touching impression on the people of Onagawa. After 10 years, the efforts for the reconstruction of Tohoku region are steadily moving forward. Onagawa has also shown a notable rebirth. If you climb a hilltop, the calm blue sea can be panoramically seen over Seapal-Pier Onagawa – a commercial centre symbolically opened in 2015. There are no tall tide walls blocking the view. The residents are determined to continue living with the sea in the future as they have done for generations, despite the devastation they experienced. They have chosen so not just because of nostalgia. Engineers of Onagawa had been surveying the town area as early as March 2011 to accurately identify the tsunami run-up points. This laid down the basis for an objective decision on infrastructure needs. The Reconstruction Council of Onagawa, formed a month after the disaster, with the participation of all local groups, was the other key driver to enhance the partnership between the citizens and the town hall, in drawing a reconstruction concept. In this process, Onagawa reaffirmed that the core of the town’s economy is the fisheries, and centred economic recovery in the reconstruction. Thus, the concept of reconstruction, based on scientific evidence and a socio-economic approach was finalised quickly. This minimised the time needed to rebuild the infrastructure and helped communities not be dissolved. Eliminating the need for tall tide walls, Onagawa retains the charm of the town living with the sea. Now, Onagawa, where the NDRF lent their helping hand, is reborn vibrantly. Onagawa’s reconstruction has shown us what “Build Back Better” means. Their revival also demonstrated what inclusive resilience can deliver. Having received immense kindness 10 years ago, Japan has been contributing towards strengthening disaster management capacity and building resilient infrastructure in India, and is keen to share our expertise. In 2017, Japan and India signed an MoC on cooperation in disaster risk reduction, under which bilateral workshops have been held, and cooperation between research institutions and private sectors have been promoted. JICA’s technical cooperation is also underway. Technology transfer for forest restoration and disaster prevention/ mitigation measures in Uttarakhand and capacity development for mountainous road development are a few examples. Building resilient infrastructure is also supported through our financial assistance under the concept of “Quality Infrastructure”. The Delhi Metro is a prominent specimen, and now, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail is on its way as the next shining example of the work we do together. Japan is also willing to contribute to building resilience through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, initiated by PM Modi, as a founding member. Japan-India cooperation on this international platform will also be conducive for the realisation of our shared vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. I cannot overemphasise how indebted we are to the people of India for their support and friendship at a time of our national crisis. We remain committed to working together for India’s aspirations towards disaster risk reduction and a resilient society as it moves to a $5 trillion economy. Views expressed above are the author's own. Dear Chetan, secular isn’t bad, it’s beautiful “Hindutva kills Sikhs & Muslims” says Rahul Gandhi, but can he tell us what killed Sanjith? Can Mamata go national? Successful coalitions at the Centre have been usually headed by leaders with weak power bases Is a green Diwali possible? Indians don’t easily take to modifying individual behaviour to bring about civic order Ultra right and wrong: Women in India face a new threat to their freedom of choice Money is the key to happiness: However, per capita GDP, not GDP itself, is the real measure of national progress Will history say Xi Huzoor? His consolidation of power doesn’t mean China’s supreme leader will have it easy Nehru, Iqbal, cricket and the question of Muslim identity Why Jinnah is irrelevant: Uttar Pradesh politics needs a modern vocabulary away from competitive communalism Cricket’s new chokers: Team India must learn to accept its shortcomings if it wants to overcome them
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Tsunamis
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December 2017 Southern California wildfires
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A series of 29 wildfires ignited across Southern California in December 2017. Six of the fires became significant wildfires, and led to widespread evacuations and property losses. The wildfires burned over 307,900 acres (1,246 km2), and caused traffic disruptions, school closures,[8] hazardous air conditions,[9] and power outages;[10] over 230,000 people were forced to evacuate. The largest of the wildfires was the Thomas Fire, which grew to 281,893 acres (1,140.78 km2), and became the largest wildfire in modern California history, until it was surpassed by the Ranch Fire in the Mendocino Complex, in the following year. On December 5, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Ventura and Los Angeles Counties,[21] followed by San Diego County on December 7;[22] U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently declared a State of Emergency for California on December 8. [23]
This swarm of wildfires was exacerbated by unusually powerful and long-lasting Santa Ana winds,[24] as well as large amounts of dry vegetation, due to a then-far unusually dry rainy season thus far. They also occurred at the end of an unusually active and destructive wildfire season; the fires cost at least $3.5 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $2.2 billion in insured losses and $300 million in fire suppression costs.
These maps depict the location and burn areas of some of the major wildfires. The first report of the fire was at 6:26 p.m. on December 4 just north of Santa Paula, near Steckel Park and Thomas Aquinas College. Fanned by Santa Ana winds, over the next few hours it rushed 12 miles (19 km) across rural backcountry into the city of Ventura, burning close to 500 homes and consuming 50,000 acres (200 km2). Over the next days, it advanced toward Ojai and had jumped Highway 33 and the Ventura River into the Rincon Oil Field area. By December 8, the Thomas Fire had grown to 143,000 acres (580 km2) with only 10% containment, and fire officials estimated that the fire had cost at least $17 million to fight. [60] By the evening of December 10, the Thomas Fire had reached 230,000 acres (930 km2) in size, becoming the fifth largest wildfire in modern California history,[61] and the largest wildfire recorded in California during the month of December. [62] There were multiple periods of time when the fire was advancing at a rate of over an acre a second. The Thomas Fire had also destroyed at least 794 structures while damaging 187 others, and cost at least $38.4 million to fight, becoming at least the 10th most destructive wildfire in California history. [64] Early on December 11, the Thomas Fire had grown to 230,500 acres (933 km2), while containment of the fire had increased to 15%. [63] On December 13, the Thomas Fire's northwestern flank linked up with its southwestern flank, to the east of Carpinteria, enveloping an area containing Ojai and Lake Casitas. Early on December 16, the Thomas Fire reached a size of 259,000 acres (1,050 km2), with 40% containment, surpassing the Rim Fire as California's third-largest wildfire. [67] On December 19, the Thomas Fire reached 272,000 acres (1,100 km2), with 55% containment, surpassing the burn area of the Rush Fire in California to become the second-largest wildfire in modern California history. [68] During the evening of December 22, the Thomas Fire expanded further to 273,400 acres (1,106 km2), with containment at 65%, surpassing the Cedar Fire of 2003 to become California's largest wildfire in modern history. [69] On December 24, the Thomas Fire grew to 281,620 acres (1,139.7 km2), after the fires from a back-burning operation completely merged into the Thomas Fire's northwestern flank, though containment of the wildfire also increased to 86%. [72]
On January 8–9, 2018, a winter storm struck California, bringing heavy rain to Southern California, and prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, over potential mudslides in areas affected by wildfires. [73] At least four inches (100 mm) of rain fell over the two-day period, causing several major mudflows.
On January 12, 2018, the U.S. Forest Service declared the Thomas Fire 100 percent contained, at 281,893 acres. [76][77] Afterward, Los Pedros National Forest officials continued monitoring the burn area of the Thomas Fire for hotspots. On March 22, 2018, InciWeb declared the Thomas Fire to be inactive and ceased providing updates. [78] On June 1, 2018, the Thomas Fire was officially declared to be out, after more than two months in which no hotspots were detected within the perimeter of the burn area. [79]
On December 5, at 12:28 p.m. PST, a wildfire broke out near University Parkway and Varsity Avenue in San Bernardino, just off Interstate 215. The wildfire quickly grew to 100 acres (40 ha), causing the closure of Interstate 215, and triggering evacuation orders for residents in the area. Students at Shandin Hills Middle School, on Little Mountain Drive, were also evacuated to Holcomb Elementary School. [38] At 6:30 p.m. PST on the same day, the road closure and the evacuation orders had been lifted, though the Little Mountain area still remained closed off. [38] On December 6, the Little Mountain Fire grew to 260 acres (110 ha), while firefighters worked to contain the flames. Firefighters made progress on the fire that day, due to the weakening of the Santa Ana winds in the area beginning on the evening of December 5. [38] During the evening of December 7, firefighters managed to extinguish the Little Mountain Fire, with no increase in acreage. [39][36] Three civilians were burned by the fire, and were sent to a hospital for treatment. [37] Three garages suffered minor damage, but no other structures were damaged by the fire. [36] An investigation revealed that the fire was caused by an illegal cooking fire at a homeless camp. [80]
The Liberty Fire was reported on December 7, at 1:14 p.m. PST, in Murrieta, in Riverside County. The Liberty Fire began as a vegetation fire. By the evening the Liberty Fire had grown to 300 acres (120 ha), with 10% containment. [47] On the next day, with the improved weather conditions, firefighters made much more progress on the fire, bringing it to 90% containment. Late on December 9, the Liberty Fire was fully contained. Six structures and an outbuilding were destroyed by the fire. [48]
On December 7, a small brush fire broke out at Huntington Beach. [82] The small brush fire burned 2 acres (0.81 ha) before it was fully contained on the same day, damaging a daycare center and a bank. [83]
On December 7, 2 small brush fires broke out north of Buellton, in Santa Barbara County. The brush fires were collectively dubbed as the "Woodchopper Incident", with the first fire burning 5 acres (2.0 ha) and the second fire burning 4 acres (1.6 ha), before they were both contained later on the same day. The brush fires briefly caused the closure of Highway 101. [84]
On December 8, at 9:30 a.m. PST, the Sweetwater Fire broke out in eastern San Diego County, south of Interstate 8 and just west of Japatul Valley Road, in Descanso. The wildfire burned about 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land, before it was fully brought under control about 4 hours later.
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Fire
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Rajinikanth Recovering Well After Surgery, Likely To Be Discharged In Few Days
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In an official statement from the hospital, it is revealed that Rajinikanth underwent a surgical procedure and recovering well. Superstar Rajinikanth. 2021-10-29T15:41:13+05:30 Rajinikanth Recovering Well After Surgery, Likely To Be Discharged In Few Days Superstar Rajinikanth was admitted to Kauvery Hospital on Thursday after experiencing giddiness. In an official statement released by the hospital, it is revealed that he underwent a surgery and is now on his road to recovery. The statement read, "Mr Rajinikanth was admitted to Kauvery Hospital, Alwarpeet, Chennai yesterday (28th October 2021) following an episode of giddiness. He was thoroughly evaluated by the expert panel of doctors and was advised to undergo Carotid Artery revascularization." The statement, which was signed by Dr Aravindan Selvaraj, Co-Founder and Executive Director Kauvery Hospital. Giving an update about the days to come, the statement further said, "The procedure was performed successfully today (29th October 2021) and he is recovering well. He is likely to be discharged from the hospital after few days." The superstar was trending on social media recently after the trailer of his much-awaited film 'Annaatthe' was released. The Siva directorial looks like a complete entertainer and also stars Keerthy Suresh.
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Famous Person - Recovered
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LOOK: Chesca, Doug Kramer mark 13th wedding anniversary with throwbacks
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I was 15 when I finished my first novel. An unpolished set of words wrapped in a Word… By: Alex Brosas INQUIRER.net / 05:26 PM October 10, 2021 Celebrity couple Chesca Garcia-Kramer and Doug Kramer penned sweet messages for each other and shared some throwback photos to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary. The couple posted the messages and photos on their Instagram pages yesterday, Oct. 9, the date they were married. “Every year on every important occasion you always gift me with a beautiful piece of jewelry,” Chesca said. “You should know that the wonderful husband that [you are] is already a gift to me. You’re my precious gift from God. Nothing means more to me than having your heart fully.” For her, the “love and care” her Doug shows her and their kids give them security. She also affirmed him for the quiet life and family they built together, something “far more valuable than an island filled with jewels.” “Happy sweet 13 years together, My Love! I love doing married life with you! I love you with all my heart @dougkramer!” she said. On the same day, Doug promised her, “I’d marry you over and over again!” “These 13 [years] of marriage since Oct 9, 2008, and 18 [years] overall since Oct. 9, 2003 have been an amazing journey!” Doug noted, as he showed photos from their wedding day and from when they were still a very young couple. View this post on Instagram For him, he wouldn’t change anything in their life despite the challenges, adding he’ll gladly go through everything again as long as they’re together. “No magic formula, we’ve gone this far only because we choose to make it work, and we choose to love each other every single day!” the former Philippine Basketball Association player said. “I love you more than you’ll ever know, sweetheart. Happy Anniversary to us!”
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Famous Person - Marriage
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2008 European Junior Swimming Championships
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The European Junior Swimming Championships is an annual swimming competition for European swimmers organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation and held over five days. [1] The competitor age for females was 15 to 16 years; for males it is 17 to 18 years until 2015. [1] From 2016 the competitor age is for females 14 to 17 years and for males 15 to 18 years. [2]
Until 1989 the European Junior Diving Championships was held together with European Junior Swimming Championships, and even since then has sometimes been co-hosted with the European Junior Swimming Championships, for example in Palma de Mallorca in 2006. A stand-alone European Junior Swimming Championships was not held in 2015; instead the junior swimming events formed the bulk aquatics program at the 2015 European Games. European Games champions and medalists for that year were simultaneously treated as champions and medalists of the European Junior Swimming Championships for the purposes of 2015. All records were set in finals unless noted otherwise. All times are swum in a long-course (50m) pool. (updated after the 2011 edition)
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Sports Competition
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1946 Chatkal earthquake
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On November 2 of 1946, west Kyrgyzstan (then the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union) was struck by a magnitude 7.5-7.6 earthquake, the largest in the republic since 1911. [1] The earthquake's hypocenter is probably located beneath the Tien Shan Mountains, near the border with Uzbekistan and north of Namangan. The earthquake had a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, and IX on the MSK scale. This shock rocked the entire country and Tian Shan Range. Severe property damage was reported in its aftermath but the number of deaths and injuries remains unknown. It has been considered one of the most devastating earthquakes in Central Asia. Two days later, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck nearby Turkmenistan, killing 400 people. [2]
The Talas-Fergana Fault is a massive 800 km long intracontinental strike-slip fault running through the Tien Shan Mountains, the largest in Central Asia. [3][4] It has produced several significant earthquakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater in the past 6000 years with recurrence intervals on segments of the fault between 145 and 850 years, and an average of 375 years. [3] Earlier studies and research on this event concluded that the earthquake occurred on a secondary branch of this fault known as the Atoinok Thrust Fault. [5][6]
Man-made structures within a 1,500 km2 area around the epicenter were completely destroyed. Shuduger, Kichitovar, Chontovar villages were severely damaged or totally destroyed. Intensity X to VIII was evaluated to occupy an area perpendicular to the Chatkal Range, and parallel to the fault. [7][8] The meizoseismal area however, was parallel to the Talas-Fergana Fault, indicating most of the seismic energy was released parallel to the fault instead. Landslides, loams and rockfalls dammed rivers. A rockfall dammed the Naryn River, forming a quake lake. This threatened the small community of Toktogul with a possibility the rockfall dam breaching, causing a surge. Surface ruptures up to 300 meters long and 50 meters wide fissured the landscape. The earthquake's strength was also felt in Osh and Tashkent, Uzbekistan where the shaking intensity was VI (Strong) to IV (Light), causing substantial damage to buildings. Numerous aftershocks continued throughout the region. The largest included a magnitude 5.5 and 5.4 in 1955 and 1959. [9][10] Another magnitude 5.6 struck near Toktogul Reservoir on October 28 1971. [11]
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Earthquakes
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Federal investigators release initial findings on Coolidge gas explosion
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According to the preliminary findings by NTSB, the pipeline involved in the explosion was originally not configured to carry natural gas. FOX 10's Jennifer Martinez reports.
PHOENIX - The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released its preliminary report on a gas line explosion in Coolidge that destroyed a home and killed a man and his 14-year-old daughter.
Related: Father, daughter killed and woman severely burned after Coolidge gas line explosion
NTSB investigators said a natural gas pipeline ruptured around 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 15, about 120 yards away from a family’s rural farmhouse on the outskirts of Coolidge, a small Pinal County city located south of Phoenix.
Authorities said the explosion was heard for miles and the resulting fire burned for more than 2 ½ hours, and according to investigators, a 46-foot section of the pipeline was ejected during the explosion.
The NTSB said the fractured and unaffected portions of the pipeline still were undergoing analysis and testing and the agency’s investigation of the explosion was ongoing.
As the investigation continues, pipeline expert Don Deaver, who is working on the case, is weighing in.
"What happened was the gas pipe broke into two pieces, and there was a 40 foot section that was thrown away, so they were two sections shooting gas out, going up and out at the speed of sound, 1,400 feet per second., and all of that gas was coming up and forming a big cloud, so to speak, natural gas that get bigger and bigger and bigger. With time, it moved towards the house," said Deaver, who is with Deatech Consulting Company.
Right before the explosion, the NTSB said the gas pressure of the pipeline was below the maximum allowed operating pressure.
Deaver said the pipeline was not designed for natural gas service, and according to the NTSB report, the pipeline was originally installed in 1985, and had previously been transporting crude oil. Authorities said the pipeline was converted to natural gas service about 20 years ago, and acquired by Kinder Morgan Inc. in 2012.
"Natural gas is much more dangerous than crude oil. Crude oil is an environmental concern, but this pipeline was not likely to be designed for this rupture propagation and control, and that’s the reason why you had this big hole, and you had a huge section thrown out, 46 feet out," said Deaver.
We have reached out to Kinder Morgan for comment, but officials with the company have yet to respond.
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Gas explosion
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Boebert faces calls for federal, state investigations into abuse of authority allegations
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A comedy writer and documentary filmmaker is asking federal and state authorities to investigate U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, accusing the Silt Republican of abusing her position to squelch a political critic.
In letters delivered in late October to the acting U.S. attorney for Colorado and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Toby Morton, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, resident, said he wants them to determine whether Boebert improperly used a congressional staffer and the assistance of law enforcement officials in an attempt to shut down a satirical website he maintains and discourage him from producing a film about the freshman lawmaker.
"Her actions against me to date have been predicated on legal threats, harassment, and intimidation," Morton said in an Oct. 25 letter to Weiser obtained by Colorado Politics.
"The most disturbing fact presented in this correspondence alleges that Representative Boebert called upon either Colorado state or local law enforcement to obtain private information from a police database for the purpose of disseminating said material on the internet via a third party," Morton wrote. "These events set a dangerous precedent that not only obstructs my right to engage in political commentary, and possibly my physical wellbeing, but also constitutes a clear and present danger to public order as we know it."
Morton also filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, asking for an investigation into whether the allegations described in his letters to state and federal authorities amount to a violation of House rules.
Morton's complaints focus on what he described as a threatening email allegedly sent to him in May by Boebert's press secretary and an encounter in July between Boebert and Morton's cameraman outside Shooters Grill, the restaurant she owns in Rifle, that culminated in a social media account linked to Boebert posting an image of the cameraman's license plate and name.
A Boebert spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush and one of Morton's lawyers, told Colorado Politics that he was alarmed by Morton's allegations suggesting potential abuse of police power.
"If the state and local police are being used for political purposes, to gather information about political opponents, that's something that needs to be investigated," the University of Minnesota law professor said in a telephone interview.
"When you start getting the police taking sides in partisan politics, we're in big trouble," he said. "It's critically important that law enforcement be neutral. And if that's not the case in Colorado, that needs to be investigated by the Colorado attorney general. They need to sort that out. And the same thing, if there are issues in D.C., law enforcement needs to be neutral of partisan politics."
Morton is also represented by Massachusetts attorney John "Jack" Alden.
In a letter to Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Kirsch dated Oct. 26, Morton said: "The following facts and information in my petition to your office demonstrate that Representative Boebert has utilized the privilege of her office in furtherance of her objective to silence my voice as a political critic." (On Dec 1, Denver attorney Cole Finegan, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate two weeks earlier, was sworn in as Colorado's U.S. attorney.)
Morton points to potential criminal and civil violations of numerous state and federal laws he says have been identified by his legal counsel, including federal laws against deprivation of rights, law enforcement misconduct and stalking, and state laws against harassment, official misconduct and misuse of official information. He's also seeking "pattern and practice" investigations by the U.S. attorney and state attorney general into possible misconduct by law enforcement officials.
Spokesmen for the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office and the Colorado Attorney General's Office had no comment. A spokesman for the Office of Congressional Ethics said the office's rules prohibit commenting.
Morton submitted summaries of the complaints and additional material to the U.S. House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, suggesting in a Nov. 1 letter to the committee's senior investigative counsel that his submission shows "habits and patterns demonstrated by Representative Boebert where she utilizes contact with law enforcement to provide her with political benefit and personal favor."
Taken together, Morton contends, the information he submitted "should meet and exceed any standard under your jurisdiction that is required to call Representative Boebert before the committee as a relevant witness to the events prior to and during the insurrection."
In June, the bipartisan U.S. House Committee on Ethics — a different entity than the Office of Congressional Ethics — decided against pursuing a complaint filed in March against Boebert by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, who alleged Boebert played a role in instigating and assisting the Jan. 6 attack. Applauding the committee's decision in a June 14 statement, Boebert called Jayapal's complaint "nothing more than baseless partisan rhetoric" based on "leftist media talking points."
Morton, a Colorado native who has written episodes of "MADtv" and "South Park" and portrayed Scott Tenorman and other characters on "South Park," launched a parody website in January that mocks Boebert's numerous brushes with the law and alleged links to far-right conspiracies.
The site — TheLaurenBoebert.com — features a photo of Boebert available in her online press kit, the same image that greets visitors to her congressional webpage. Morton's site calls Boebert a "QAnon sympathizer," referencing glowing comments she made last year about the conspiracy movement she later disavowed, and reproduces some of Boebert's tweets, including one sent last year that declares, ""I am the militia."
"This website is a parody," Morton's site says, alongside links to additional sites maintained by Morton that take aim at Republican lawmakers and Boebert allies Ted Cruz, Jim Jordon, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene and others.
Several months after the site went up, Morton said Boebert's press secretary Jake Settle sent him an email demanding that he take the site down, claiming it used photos that were "copyrighted property of the U.S. federal government" and Boebert's congressional office. "Additionally," the email said, "the entire website is a defamatory impersonation, and it goes against relevant terms of service and U.S. law. Please remove immediately or face further action."
Rather than comply with the demands, Morton publicized Settles's email and saw a big jump in traffic to the site.
— Toby Morton (@tobymorton) May 3, 2021
While Boebert's office didn't respond in May to numerous requests for comment about the email, Denver-based First Amendment attorney Steve Zansberg, who represents Colorado Politics and other media outlets, said at the time that the claims lacked merit.
"In short, no, she does not have a legal leg upon which her threatened claims can stand," Zansberg told Colorado Politics, noting that photographs produced by the federal government are in the public domain and that courts have made clear that parody sites are fully protected speech.
In his letters to the U.S. attorney and Colorado's attorney general, Morton asserts that Settles's email amounted to a "threat of legal action," adding, "the correspondence, being authored by a government employee, and dispatched by a government email account, is both harassing and intimidating."
After announcing plans this summer to produce a documentary about the congresswoman, Morton traveled to Colorado in early July to interview constituents and shoot footage with the help of a cameraman he'd hired locally in the state's 3rd Congressional District, including in Rifle, where Boebert operates the gun-themed Shooters Grill.
"The journey to Colorado for my documentary, 'The Real Lauren Boebert,' turned out to be much more than expected including a face to face confrontation, and now, DM's from her inner circle/burner accounts," Morton tweeted , referring to an exchange on July 8 with Boebert across the street from her restaurant and subsequent exchanges on Twitter.
Morton said on Twitter that he and his cameraman had been filming interviews and other footage in and outside another restaurant near Shooter's Grill when Boebert "began yelling at us from across the street," prompting the filmmakers to pack up and return to their car. Boebert followed them, Morton said.
As they filmed each other with smart phones, Boebert and Morton's cameraman exchanged words. According to the two videos, which were posted to Twitter later that day, Boebert repeatedly asks why they were filming near a construction area and declares that an "Officer Gonzalez" was on the way to make sure there wasn't "an issue."
With permission from the restaurant across from Shooter’s Grill, we began filming interviews and exterior footage for my website, https://t.co/zjr5H9soIR . After @LaurenBoebert began yelling at us from across the street, we decided to pack up. She then followed us to our car... pic.twitter.com/jPtkkmPMEH
— Toby Morton (@tobymorton) July 9, 2021
"It's just a little weird with you walking through the place taking pictures and recording," Boebert says in the video. "I don't know — are you scoping out the place to see how you could break in easier?" Saying she believes the cameraman is "acting a little sketchy," Boebert says she's filming so she can show the video to "Officer Gonzalez," adding, "If you stick around, you'll meet him."
After asking whether he's making a documentary "or a paid tracker" — a political operative who follows candidates to gather opposition research — Boebert says she called the police "because I want to see what you're doing. We've had a lot of sketchy stuff happen with this construction site, and you're over there filming it."
A couple hours after Morton posted the video of the exchange recorded by his cameraman and sent Boebert a message asking her to 'Stop Harassing My Friends," Morton said in his letters requesting an investigation, a Twitter account he'd previously been unfamiliar with, @Freedom53597835 , posted the video shot by Boebert with the message, "Don’t be shy post the whole video…"
Don’t be shy post the whole video… pic.twitter.com/1vcpxrppvv
— freedomfighter (@freedom53597835) July 9, 2021
Later, Morton says he learned that the same account posted an image of his cameraman's license plate and first name in a tweet that was later deleted. At almost the same time, the same Twitter account posted a reply to another of Morton's tweets, using the cameraman's first name: "Michael your moms wondering if you’ll make it home in time for dinner?"
"Therefore, it is apparent that Representative Boebert was provided information about my cameraman’s identity from this 'Officer Gonzalez' or other law enforcement official(s)," Morton said in his letters to the U.S. attorney and attorney general. "This conclusion is reached logically in that cameraman’s license plate and name were published on the @Freedom53597835 Twitter account."
While Boebert has more than 1 million Twitter followers between her personal and congressional accounts, the @Freedom53597835 account has only a few hundred. The account was created in February. Prior to the exchanges with Morton, it had posted fewer than a dozen tweets, including liking and retweeting Boebert's tweets a few times and responding twice to tweets critical of Boebert with a photo of Boebert with her middle finger extended and the message, "And I was like ... Why are you so obsessed with me."
Morton and other online activists speculated that the account was Boebert's "sockpuppet," a false online identity typically created to express support for the account holder's public identity. On July 10, however, after tweeting several stills of Morton's cameraman from the video shot by Boebert, @Freedom53597835 declared : "Up to 200 fans/followers thanks guys. But just some food for thought if this was really Lauren’s burner account don’t you think it would have a lot more tweets?" The account has been inactive since July.
Morton's complaints don't include the cameraman's full name, noting that he doesn't want to be involved "based on Boebert’s intimidation, harassment, and fear about retaliation."
Painter, Morton's lawyer, acknowledged that the man's identity could have been gleaned some other way but said the possibility a law enforcement officer helped Boebert or her allies dox the cameraman demands an investigation. (Numerous websites allow users to determine vehicle registration information, including the owner's name, from license plate numbers.)
"We don't know exactly how they got the license plate matched with a name, what the role of the police officer was who never came at the same time that Toby was there with the camera, but it is very serious if, indeed, a member of Congress has a relationship with the police where the police officers could be brought in to to go after political opponents, give private information on political opponents and so forth," Painter said.
"So this certainly crosses the threshold in these allegations of something that needs to be investigated, particularly in light of some of the other conduct that's already in the public domain people know about," he added.
Painter was a prominent critic of the Trump administration, including leading a lawsuit alleging Trump violated the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause. He ran for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota in 2018 as a Democrat after he left the Republican Party, maintaining there was no room for Trump critics in the GOP. Painter has said recently that he's considering a run next year for governor of Minnesota as an independent.
"These are serious concerns," Painter said. "We go back to what happened in the summer of 2020, where the president ordered the protestors cleared out Lafayette Park by the police for a campaign photo (opportunity) over at St. John's Church in June of 2020. The use of the police in law enforcement for political purposes is a very, very dangerous practice, and I think we need to get to the bottom of it, whether it's the U.S. Department of Justice and the use by the president, or whether it's something at a state and local level."
Linking to a page on his parody site that promotes the documentary, Morton on Nov. 19 tweeted : "Press Secretary to @laurenboebert didn’t have to send me a bogus cease and desist for my website. Lauren didn’t have to harass us while filming in her hometown. Lauren didn’t have to harass us via her burner account. But she did, and now it’s my turn."
Morton's complaints describe Boebert's history with the Garfield County sheriff, who last year endorsed Boebert's campaign and made clear he wouldn't enforce a court order after Boebert's restaurant defied a public health order to shutter during the early months of the pandemic. Morton also describes an offer by the Rifle chief of police to assist Boebert set up an outside dining area in front of her restaurant when indoor dining was prohibited.
The documents Morton submitted to the January 6 committee propose a link between his allegations and Boebert's activity leading up to the events of Jan. 6, including a pair of tours she took of the U.S. Capitol that have drawn both scrutiny from her critics and firm denials of wrongdoing from Boebert.
In October, Boebert firmly rejected allegations in a Rolling Stone article based on unidentified sources that reported she was among nearly a dozen congressional Republicans who took part in meetings and conversations with planners behind the Jan. 6 rally that preceded attempts by Trump supporters to prevent certification of President Joe Biden's election.
"Let me be clear," Boebert said in a statement dated Oct. 25. "I had no role in the planning or execution of any event that took place at the Capitol or anywhere in Washington, DC on January 6th. With the help of my staff, I accepted an invitation to speak at one event but ultimately I did not speak at any events on January 6th. Once again, the media is acting as a messaging tool for the radical left." She went on to charge "the left" and Rolling Stone with making false accusations and "grasping at straws" to attack her.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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Partial solar eclipse will be visible early Thursday morning in Michigan: When to see it
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A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the northeast early Thursday morning. DETROIT – Overnight Wednesday (Detroit time), the moon will pass in front of the sun, blocking part of the sun and casting its shadow on the earth. The sun will rise Thursday morning (June 10) just before 6 a.m., with half of it already blocked by the moon -- and voila! A partial solar eclipse . The partial eclipse will be visible on the low northeastern horizon. As the moon slides by, the blocked “chunk” of sun will get progressively smaller -- so if you want to see it, set an alarm! The eclipse will be over by 6:37 a.m.
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New wonders in nature
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Nearly four years after a Pakistan International Airlines' flight crashed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 47 people, a probe report has said that the aircraft had three “technical anomalies” for which the airline's engineers were responsible, according to a media report.
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Wed, Aug 18, 2021 | Updated 01.24PM IST
LAST UPDATED : Dec 20, 2020, 08:00 PM IST
Nearly four years after a Pakistan International Airlines' flight crashed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 47 people, a probe report has said that the aircraft had three “technical anomalies” for which the airline's engineers were responsible, according to a media report. The US Department of Transportation said it has revoked permission for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to conduct charter flights to the United States, citing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerns over Pakistani pilot certifications. An 11-member team of technical experts of Airbus aerospace company visited the Jinnah International Airport here and inspected the runway, air traffic control tower and radar control station as part of its initial investigation into the PIA air crash involving its aircraft that killed 97 people, according to media reports. Minutes after the news of the PIA plane crash near Karachi airport broke across news outlets, several social media users started posting images of a PIA plane about to land, with both engines on fire. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended its flight operations from Karachi after the Sindh provincial government forcibly quarantined its pilots over fears they might be infected with the coronavirus on their return from the UK, according to a media report. The flight from Lahore to London was ready for departure at 9 pm when the pilot, Anwaar Chaudhry, asked the other crew members to make steward Awais Qureshi, whom he called a notorious smuggler, leave the aircraft, the Dawn reported. The airline staffers offered to take the passengers to their desired destination by a bus. However, the passengers turned down the offer and refused to leave the plane. Following this, the airline staffers switched off the plane's air conditioning system, resulting in suffocation of passengers, including minors, in the plane. Pakistan International Airlines has taken a senior pilot off-duty for allegedly sleeping on a London-bound flight, risking the lives of over 300 passengers on board by handing over the aircraft to a trainee. "Since we have been bearing financial loss on this route for the last six months or so we have arrived at a decision to suspend this route," the official said, adding that unless a special subsidy is not given by the government on this route it may not be restored in the near future. Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) decision to suspend flights between Mumbai and Karachi from May 8 is not due to low passenger traffic caused by escalating border tensions.Instead, it could have to do with its lease on aircraft that will expire at the end of this month. "Pakistan International Airlines, in a communication to authorities concerned, has said that its Karachi-Mumbai flight will not be open for sale (bookings) from May 11," a company associated with the flight operation said. In a bid to capture market share from its Middle Eastern competitors, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has notified prospective passengers that it remains unaffected by a recent ban on electronic items on US and UK-bound flights. The plane, which had 47 people onboard, including singer-turned-Islamic-preacher Junaid Jamshed, crashed near Havelian while heading towards Islamabad from Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. A PIA spokesman confirmed that the pilot of the ill-fated plane had given a 'mayday' distress call. While no Indian carrier flies to Pak, PIA is the only airline that flies directly between the two countries. Before Saturday’s decision, it had 5 flights a week to India. The airline has attributed this to poor traffic in the recent past, which indicates a fall in travel between the two countries. All domestic and international flights run by Pakistan's ailing flag carrier were cancelled on Wednesday as the country-wide strike by PIA employees opposing the government's privatisation move entered the second day.
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Air crash
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Ocean Isle Beach house fire
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The Ocean Isle Beach house fire occurred on October 28, 2007. Shortly before 7:00 AM, EDT, a four alarm fire severely damaged a three-story beach house on a waterfront lot on Scotland Street in Ocean Isle Beach, a town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The house was occupied by 13 college students on a weekend vacation and was owned by the family of one. Twelve of the college students attended the University of South Carolina, Columbia campus, while the thirteenth attended Clemson University. Seven people were killed, all by smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. It was the deadliest fire in Brunswick county in decades. Although smoke alarms were present and had activated within the house, it had no sprinkler system or alarm monitoring system, neither of which were required by building codes or local laws. Survivors of the fire said smoke detectors woke them "with only moments to escape." The following September, many students joined several of the survivors and mothers of fire victims in a trip to Washington DC to advocate additional congressional efforts regarding fire safety and prevention. The three-story frame house, which was raised on stilts, with an additional ground floor for parking, was situated on a narrow peninsula adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. Witnesses heard the smoke alarms sounding as the house became fully involved on the windy morning before the first units of the local Fire Department arrived on scene four minutes after notification. Seeing the smoke, the first responding units immediately called for additional manpower by radio during their approach even before they arrived on scene. [1]
Five students who were on the home's first floor got out. Only one occupant of the second floor, a male, was able to escape. He jumped from a window at the equivalent of a third-story height into a canal located adjacent to the edge of the property. There were some reports that a second male student also escaped through a lower floor window. Town Fire Chief Robert Yoho stated that who survived and who did not seemed to be almost entirely based upon where they were in the house when awakened by the smoke alarms. "All the survivors came from the first floor, with the exception of one, and that is the one that jumped from the third-story window" he told a reporter from WRAL-TV. [2]
Even before the fire department arrived, witnesses stated that it would have been impossible to gain entry and rescue anyone still inside, although firefighters initially made an unsuccessful attempt to do so. A home video camera recording taken from about a block away showed the house enveloped in flames as the first fire trucks could be heard arriving. Broadcast of the audio of the 911 calls and that home video on television news media and over the Internet drew International publicity to the fire, as did photos of the devastation and interviews with eyewitnesses and community leaders in the aftermath. Six of the USC students were killed, as well as the student from Clemson University. Although families of those apparently killed were all notified of the likelihood of the deaths, the bodies were all taken to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for positive identification. The six survivors were all treated at a local hospital for various minor injuries, and released. Ocean Isle Beach officials and citizens responded to the scene expressing both shock over unprecedented tragedy in the small community and offered concern and support to families and to other students. Between 35 and 50 from the University of North Carolina had been staying at other homes close by for a service event of their fraternal organization, and had interacted socially with the occupants of the house that burned earlier in the weekend. Some of these students had witnessed the fire and aftermath. Upon learning of the disaster Sunday morning, a USC official flew to the scene to assist local authorities, students and families. Meanwhile, at Ocean Isle Beach, church leaders and social workers remained close by all day to offer grief counseling and other support as might be needed, even as the universities back in South Carolina prepared to do so as well. Other Ocean Isle Beach residents brought food and drinks share with those working on the grim task of removing the victims and others handling duties on-site. Fire Chief Yoho said that counseling and support will also be made available for his firefighters, especially some of the younger ones involved in recovering the victims. [2]
Later Sunday, Andrew Sorensen, President of the University of South Carolina flew back to Columbia from an out-of state meeting in Washington, D.C., and held a press conference immediately upon arrival. He stated: "all members of the Gamecock Nation are saddened by the loss of six young lives" and he called for remembrance of the student from Clemson University who was killed as well. Clemson University President James F. Barker issued a statement on Monday regarding the tragedy. "As the Clemson Family mourns the loss of one of our students we reach out to our sister institution, the University of South Carolina, in their loss," he said. "In our state all of us are connected and we feel their loss as they feel our loss. Our deepest sympathies are felt for the families of these seven students. We are working with our students and these grieving families to help them in the difficult days ahead. "[3]
Alumni and others affiliated with the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapters involved as well as their national affiliates and other Greek fraternal groups were also mobilizing support, as were those in various home communities, as the word spread through non-official communications about the identities of those who died and those who had been injured but survived. One of the surviving students was hospitalized again later Sunday night in her hometown for the effects of smoke inhalation. Through the Internet, and the Facebook service, by Sunday night, the news media reported that large volumes of communications and expressions of support and caring for the victims and families had been posted from websites all over the world. This was reported to be continuing as of November 2. Late Tuesday afternoon, authorities officially identified the seven teenagers killed in the fire: Cassidy Fae Pendley, 18; Lauren Astrid Kristiana Mahon, 18; Justin Michael Anderson, 19; Travis Lane Cale, 19; Allison Walden, 19; William Rhea, 18—all students at the University of South Carolina. Emily Lauren Yelton, 19, was a student at Clemson. [2][4] ABC News published photos of the seven victims on the front page of its website. [5]
The cause of the fire was under investigation immediately afterwards by state and federal ATF teams. On October 29, the Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith reported to the news media that she had been told that the initial indications were that the fire had been accidental in origin, and that it probably had started somewhere near the rear of the home or deck at the western side of the house. [6] The next day, ATF spokesman Earl Woodham confirmed that its agents ruled out arson, stating "There is no indication that this fire was deliberately set. "[7] The investigation was continuing as October 30. Ocean Isle Beach Fire Department Chief Robert Yoho said the house might have been burning for as long as 20 minutes before any emergency personnel arrived.
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Fire
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NASA Says Sun Emitted Massive Radiation That Will Hit Earth This Weekend, Northern Lights Expected
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A bright flash at the Sun's lower centre captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory Highlights X-class denotes the most intense solar flares The solar wind is the second most powerful this year Intense flares can disturb the GPS and communication signals A massive solar flare could create dazzling northern lights over parts of the US on Sunday, according to NASA. The space agency said a sun storm erupted on October 28 and sent a vast cloud of charged particles that should reach Earth on Halloween (Sunday, October 31). When these particles hit Earth's atmosphere, they will amplify the regular northern lights. Though solar fares carry harmful radiation emitting from the Sun, this one does not pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However, some intense ones can disturb the atmosphere where GPS and communication signals travel. In a blog , NASA has classified the Sun storm as a powerful X1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares. The number provides the intensity. For instance, X2 is twice as intense as an X1. NASA has also released an image of the October 28 event captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly. The image showed a bright flash at the Sun's lower centre and extreme ultraviolet light in flares represented by teal colour in the image. As the solar wind is intense, the second most powerful this year, the resultant northern lights should be visible from as far south as New York, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, Maryland, and Nevada. "This could be a great show for people in the mid-to-upper US latitudes for aurora," C Alex Young, an associate director at NASA, told space.com . Young said the solar flare accompanied a coronal mass ejection (CME), a huge eruption of radiation. “The current estimates for the CME are that it will reach Earth on October 31," Young added. Seeing auroras can be difficult, especially if you live in a big city filled with streetlights and other light pollution. For a better experience try to get away from city lights and find the darkest sky possible.
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New wonders in nature
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Minnesota gets another chance to see the Northern Lights
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MINNESOTA, USA — If you missed the Northern Lights the last time they were visible above Minnesota, you might get another chance to spot them tonight. After the sun emitted a significant solar flare, known as a coronal mass ejection, on Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a strong geomagnetic storm watch for this weekend. It takes a few days for energy from that flare to reach Earth, which is why the Northern Lights could be visit tonight. According to the National Weather Service Twin Cities, the lights will mostly likely be visible Saturday night between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m., and will be the most intense between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. NWS Twin Cities says rural western Wisconsin and western Minnesota have the best chance to see the aurora. The best way to increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights is to get away from big city lights, let your eyes adjust to the darkness and focus on the northern horizon. However, if clouds move through, the lights won't be as visible. KARE 11 meteorologist Ben Derry says some cloud cover is forecast to move in later in the day, but likely won't last all night and will eventually clear out. According to the Northern Lighthouse Project, geomagnetic storms are disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field that can create vibrant auroras both at high latitudes (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) and at lower latitudes (southern Canada and northern United States). They range from G1 (Minor) to G5 (Extreme) and happen after a CME or when a high-speed solar wind stream whips past Earth, unsettling the magnetic field.
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New wonders in nature
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Norilsk Nickel pays $2.5 billion to Russia over massive Arctic oil spill
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Norilsk Nickel has confirmed it has paid Russia $US2 billion ($2.5 billion) for damage caused by a fuel spill last year which caused the country's worst Arctic environmental disaster.
The leak of 21,000 tonnes of diesel into rivers and subsoil from a rusty-looking storage tank at the mining firm's Norilsk power plant in Siberia angered Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Norilsk is a remote city of 180,000 situated 300km inside the Arctic Circle.
It is 2,900 kilometres north-east of Moscow.
The fuel and lubricants spilled into the Ambarnaya River, which feeds a lake from which springs another river that leads to the environmentally-delicate Arctic Ocean.
The penalty, by far the biggest fine for environmental damage in Russia, sent a message to companies to modernise their production, Russian officials said.
Nornickel, which was told to pay $US2 billion in damages by a Russian court in February, decided not to appeal the ruling.
The world's biggest producer of palladium and a leading player in nickel set aside money to cover the potential fine months before the court ruling.
Its 2020 net profit fell by 39 per cent as a result of the provision.
The environmental impact from the spill could last for "decades", Russia's Greenpeace climate project manager Vasily Yablokov said.
Alexei Knizhnikov of the World Wildlife Fund's Russia operation said the damage to fish and other resources could exceed 1 billion rubles ($20.8 million).
The fuel spill was followed by a series of smaller incidents in the Arctic over the following 10 months, raising criticism of Nornickel's environmental and safety measures.
The company is currently trying to halt water flowing into its two main mines in the same area, and is fixing its processing plant after part of it collapsed during renovation work in February, killing three workers.
Its work in Siberia has made Norilsk one of the most heavily-polluted places on Earth.
Reuters
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Environment Pollution
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Maxstoke air crash
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The Maxstoke air crash occurred on the 19 August 1918. A No. 14 Aircraft Acceptance Park Handley Page O/400 of the Royal Air Force took off from Castle Bromwich Aerodrome. [1][2] The aircraft was taking part of a test flight, testing a dynamo and lighting system. While flying over North Warwickshire, the pilots lost control of the aircraft and crashed into a field at Maxstoke, North Warwickshire, killing all seven crew on board. [1] The pilots were Canadian Lt. Robert Edward Andrew MacBeth and Lt. Frederick James Bravery. The other crew were air mechanics. Charles William Offord was testing the dynamo and lighting system and J May was performing a rigging test. Albert J. Winrow and H. Simmons were to make up war load to pilot's instructions and G. Greenland was responsible for the petrol pumps. [1][2] MacBeth and Simmons were buried in the Maxstoke cemetery. [2]
The cause of the accident was determined to be loss of control due to wing failure when the aircraft lost fabric from a wing. It was the deadliest accident involving the Royal Air Force at the time. [1][2]
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Air crash
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Dramatic new discoveries in the ancient Egytptian burial ground :Inside the Tombs of Saqqara
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Dramatic new discoveries in the ancient Egytptian burial ground. A special report produced with Smithsonian Channel Twenty miles south of Cairo, on the Nile's west bank, where riverfed crop fields give way to desert, the ancient site of Saqqara is marked by crumbling pyramids that emerge from the sand like dragon's teeth. Most striking is the famous Step Pyramid, built in the 27th century B.C. by Djoser, the Old Kingdom pharaoh who launched the tradition of constructing pyramids as monumental royal tombs. More than a dozen other pyramids are scattered along the five-mile strip of land, which is also dotted with the remains of temples, tombs and walkways that, together, span the entire history of ancient Egypt. But beneath the ground is far more—a vast and extraordinary netherworld of treasures. This article is a selection from the July/August issue of Smithsonian magazine One scorching day last fall, Mohammad Youssef, an archaeologist, clung to a rope inside a shaft that had been closed for more than 2,000 years. At the bottom, he shined his flashlight through a gap in the limestone wall and was greeted by a god’s gleaming eyes: a small, painted statue of the composite funerary deity Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, with a golden face and plumed crown. It was Youssef’s first glimpse of a large chamber that was guarded by a heap of figurines, carved wooden chests and piles of blackened linen. Inside, Youssef and his colleagues found signs that the people buried here had wealth and privilege: gilded masks, a finely carved falcon and a painted scarab beetle rolling the sun across the sky. Yet this was no luxurious family tomb, as might have been expected. Instead, the archaeologists were astonished to discover dozens of expensive coffins jammed together, piled to the ceiling as if in a warehouse. Beautifully painted, human-shaped boxes were stacked roughly on top of heavy limestone sarcophagi. Gilded coffins were packed into niches around the walls. The floor itself was covered in rags and bones. This eerie chamber is one of several “megatombs,” as the archaeologists describe them, discovered last year at Saqqara, the sprawling necropolis that once served the nearby Egyptian capital of Memphis. The excavators overseen by Youssef uncovered hundreds of coffins, mummies and grave goods, including carved statues and mummified cats, packed into several shafts, all untouched since antiquity. The trove includes many individual works of art, from the gilded portrait mask of a sixth- or seventh-century B.C. noblewoman to a bronze figure of the god Nefertem inlaid with precious gems. The scale of discoveries—captured in the Smithsonian Channel documentary series “Tomb Hunters,” an advance copy of which was made available to me—has excited archaeologists. They say it opens a window into a period late in ancient Egyptian history when Saqqara was at the center of a national revival in pharaonic culture and attracted visitors from across the known world. The site is full of contradictions, entwining past and future, spirituality and economics. It was a hive of ritual and magic that arguably couldn’t seem more distant from our modern world. Yet it nurtured ideas so powerful they still shape our lives today. * * * Travelers visiting Egypt have long marveled at the vestiges of the pharaohs’ lost world—the great pyramids, ancient temples and mysterious writings carved into stone. But Egyptology, the formal study of ancient Egyptian civilization, didn’t begin in earnest until Napoleon Bonaparte invaded at the turn of the 19th century and French scholars collected detailed records of ancient sites and scoured the country for antiquities. When Jean-François Champollion deciphered hieroglyphs, in the 1820s, the history of one of humanity’s great civilizations could finally be read, and European scholars and enthusiasts flocked to see not only the pyramids at Giza but also the colossal Ramses II statues carved into the cliffs at Abu Simbel and the royal tombs in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings. Apart from its eroding pyramids, Saqqara was known, by contrast, for its subterranean caverns, which locals raided for mummies to use as fertilizer and tourists ransacked for souvenirs. Looters carted off not only mummified people but also mummified animals—hawks, ibises, baboons. Saqqara didn’t attract much archaeological attention until the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, who became the first director of Egypt’s Antiquities Service, visited in 1850. He declared the site “a spectacle of utter devastation,” with yawning pits and dismantled brick walls where the sand was mixed with mummy wrappings and bones. But he also noticed the half-buried statue of a sphinx, and probing further he found a sphinx-lined avenue leading to a temple called the Serapeum. Beneath the temple were tunnels that held the coffins of Apis bulls, worshiped as incarnations of Ptah and Osiris. Since then, excavations have revealed a history of burials and cult ceremonies spanning more than 3,000 years, from Egypt’s earliest pharaohs to its dying breaths in the Roman era. Yet Saqqara has remained overshadowed by the glamour of Luxor to the south, where in the second millennium B.C. pharaohs covered the walls of their tombs with depictions of the afterlife, and the Great Pyramids just miles to the north. It certainly took a while for Mostafa Waziri, the archaeologist directing the latest project, to be converted to Saqqara’s charms. He spent most of his career excavating in Luxor, but in 2017 he was appointed director of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (making him, among other things, a successor to Mariette). The new job entailed a move to Cairo. Continuing to dig in southern Egypt was therefore no longer practical, he says, but on his doorstep was another great opportunity: “I realized it was less than one hour from my office to Saqqara!” Working with an Egyptian team, including Youssef, the site director, Waziri chose to excavate near a mysterious temple called the Bubasteion, dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet, that had been cut into limestone cliffs near the site’s eastern boundary around 600 B.C. A group of French archaeologists had worked nearby for decades, where they found, among other discoveries, the 14th-century B.C. tomb of King Tutankhamen’s wet nurse, Maia. But Waziri targeted an area that the French team had used to pile the debris from their excavations, calculating that whatever lay beneath it had remained untouched. His approach paid off. In December 2018, Waziri announced the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb, intact and ornately carved, that belonged to a high-ranking priest named Wahtye. The next season yielded intriguing caches of animal mummies—not just cats but a cobra, a lion cub, a mongoose and even a scarab beetle. Then, in September 2020, the team unearthed a vertical shaft dug 30 feet down into the bedrock, the first of the “megatombs.” In separate niches at the bottom were two giant coffins, and when the archaeologists cleared the surrounding debris they found dozens more. “I had to call the [antiquities] minister,” says Waziri. “He asked me, ‘How many?’” Eight months later, Waziri is still counting. * * * In a simple conservation lab set up at the site, Youssef and his colleagues admired the first coffin to be removed from the shaft. Sealed with black resin, it was roughly human-shaped but huge and squat—more than 7.5 feet long and 3 feet wide—with a wide, impassive face. Removing the intricately carved wooden lid revealed a glint of gold: A second coffin was nested inside, complete with gilded mask. Beautifully preserved, it showed the face of a woman with large, kohl-lined eyes. The rest of the inner coffin was intricately painted in blue, green and red, and included flower and leaf motifs and a depiction of the sky goddess, Nut, with outstretched wings. Most exciting, though, were the hieroglyphs, because they provided valuable information about the occupant: not just spells to aid her journey to the afterlife but details of her family, as well as her name: Ta-Gemi-En-Aset. These details and the distinctive style of the coffin indicate that she lived during the sixth or seventh century B.C., at the start of Egypt’s Late Period, when a pharaoh named Psamtik I reunified the country after a period of instability and foreign invasions. Egypt was strong and prosperous once again, a global power alongside Babylon and Persia. Psamtik also revived the powerful city of Memphis, then home to around two million people, and nearby Saqqara to hold its dead. According to Campbell Price, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum in England, the name Ta-Gemi-En-Aset means “she who was found by Isis.” The coffin inscriptions describe her mother as a singer, and include a symbol representing a sistrum, a musical rattle used in temples. Price suggests that Ta-Gemi may have belonged to the cult of Isis, and perhaps played a role in rituals and festivals in a nearby temple devoted to the goddess. The second coffin retrieved from the shaft was similar to Ta-Gemi’s, and it also contained an inner coffin with a gilded mask. This time, the portrait mask showed a bearded man named Psamtik (probably in honor of one of several pharaohs of this period who shared the name). At first, the team wondered whether Ta-Gemi and Psamtik were related. The hieroglyphs revealed that their fathers had the same name: Horus. But their mothers’ names were different, and further discoveries revealed a different picture. The team dug deeper, a painfully slow process that involved the help of local laborers, who scooped out the sand by hand and hauled basketsful of debris to the surface using a traditional wooden winch called a tambora, the design of which hasn’t changed in centuries. Below Psamtik’s burial niche was a room filled with many additional coffins, covered in rubble and damaged by ancient rockfalls. The bottom of the shaft led to a second, even bigger cavern, inside of which were jammed more than a hundred coffins of different styles and sizes. There were also loose grave goods, including ushabtis, miniature figures intended as servants in the afterlife, and hundreds of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris statuettes. There were even coffins buried in the base of the shaft itself, as if whoever put them there was running out of space. The result was a megatomb described by the research team as the largest concentration of coffins ever unearthed in Egypt. Power, glory, the spoils of war and awe-inspiring monuments mark ancient Egypt's historical epochs Research by Matthew Browne Great collections of mummies and coffins have been found before, but never grouped so densely together. This was mass burial on an astonishing scale, and it shines a light on Egyptian culture at a moment of transition. In the Old Kingdom, in the third millennium B.C.—Djoser’s time—the elites appear to have favored private family spaces such as the priest Wahtye’s rock-cut tomb, which included an ornate, above-ground chapel for visitors lined with painted reliefs, inscriptions and statues of Wahtye himself. Burial shafts dug into the floor of such tombs were dedicated to particular family members. By the Late Period, some 2,000 years later, well-to-do Egyptians such as Ta-Gemi and Psamtik were packed into tight, shared spaces like cheap crates. Why did people who could clearly afford expensive coffins settle for such a crowded resting place? According to Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at the University of Bristol, in England, they did so in part because by then the practice was simply routine. Shared tombs became popular across Egypt around 1000 B.C., driven by economic necessity as the kingdom faced a period of instability and collapse. When Psamtik I restored order in the seventh century B.C., the practice stuck. “We know that from the Late Period, that’s how burials are done,” Dodson says. Campbell Price, of the Manchester Museum, adds that the answer also has to do with Saqqara’s pyramids. The necropolis had always been a center for religious cults, from the time high-ranking Egyptians were first buried there, often in low, flat-roofed tombs called mastabas, and probably long before. To help bring the country together after turbulent times, Psamtik encouraged a revival of traditional rituals and belief; after a long period as a backwater, Saqqara exploded again in popularity. Far more than a local cemetery, says Price, it became a pilgrimage site, “like an ancient Mecca or Lourdes,” attracting visitors not just from Egypt but from all over the eastern Mediterranean. Buildings such as the Step Pyramid were already thousands of years old at this time, and people believed their creators, such as Djoser and his architect Imhotep, were gods themselves. Cults and temples sprang up. Pilgrims would bring offerings, and they vied for burial spaces for themselves and their families near the ancient, sacred tombs. “Saqqara would have been the place to be seen dead in,” says Price. “It had this numinous, divine energy that would help you get into the afterlife.” That created conditions for a thriving commercial operation entwined with the spiritual one, resulting in a kind of real estate market for the dead. “It’s a business,” says Dodson. There was probably a sliding scale of options available. Senior officials and military officers were interred in large tombs near the Old Kingdom pyramids of Unas and Userkaf, for example, while the poorest in society were probably buried “in the desert in a sheet.” But the wealthy middle classes appear to have opted for a shared shaft, perhaps with a private niche if they could afford it, or were simply piled with others on the floor. If you wanted to be close to the magical energy of Saqqara’s gods and festivals, Dodson says, “you bought yourself a space in a shaft.” The supersized burials unearthed by Waziri’s archaeology team reveal how intense the desire for particular locations became—and how profitable they were. Instead of digging new tombs, the priests in charge of burials reused older shafts, expanding them and, Price and Dodson suggest, cramming in as many coffins as they could. The cliffs of the Bubasteion, overlooking the landscape and close to the main processional route, may have been one of the most sought-after spots of all. * * * Last October, the archaeologists found a new shaft beneath the ruins of the Bubasteion—the chaotic, painted chamber illuminated by Youssef’s flashlight. It was another megatomb, bursting with some of the finest coffins and mummies yet discovered, as well as grave goods including a falcon-topped wooden box (possibly a canopic chest, used to store internal organs removed during mummification) and numerous painted Ptah-Sokar-Osiris statues, one of which contained seeds, a symbol of rebirth. Many of the burials date later than the other finds at Saqqara, to the era of Greek rule in Egypt following the Late Period, after Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great’s top generals, founded a new dynasty of pharaohs in 305 B.C. With the Ptolemaic pharaohs came strong Greek cultural influences, particularly at the Mediterranean capital of Alexandria, home to some of the finest scholars of the Hellenistic world, such as the mathematician Euclid and the physician-anatomist Herophilus. Hundreds of thousands of migrants from across the Greek world settled elsewhere in Egypt, and many were awarded plots of land. Public life was Greek-run, but in private life, including religious worship, there was considerable freedom, and many of the new arrivals appear to have adopted Egyptian beliefs and customs, including mummification. As time went on, says Dodson, “more people who self-identified as Greeks were being buried according to Egyptian customs.” Saqqara was as busy as ever, and the new discoveries suggest the priests were still squeezing as many bodies as possible into the shafts. In a nearby shaft, the team unearthed cat mummies along with human remains. Previous excavations had discovered a huge cat necropolis at the Bubasteion, where the animals, sacred to the feline goddess Bastet, were embalmed and left as offerings. It was one of many local animal cults. Just north of the Bubasteion is the Anubieion, a temple complex dedicated to the jackal-headed god of death, Anubis, where mazelike tunnels are estimated to have held millions of mummified dogs. Beyond that are catacombs once filled with mummified ibises, hawks and baboons. To the west is the Serapeum, where Apis bulls were laid to rest. These cults always existed at Saqqara. Their roots stretch back to predynastic times, and they thrived especially in the Late Period, during the renaissance inaugurated by Psamtik, perhaps because they were seen as archetypally Egyptian, says Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist based at the American University in Cairo—a symbol of national identity when foreign influence was an ever-present threat. But they became even more popular under the Greeks, with millions of animals bred to order, presumably on nearby farms, and often sacrificed shortly after birth. Waziri and his colleagues found animal mummies of varying qualities, which were probably priced accordingly. X-rays reveal that some “mummies” have no cat remains inside at all. And the mix with human bones suggests that if priests ran out of space in the dedicated animal catacombs, they simply commandeered older human tombs. The animal cults, in other words, became an ever more significant economic and spiritual force, helping to drive Saqqara’s final flourish. Or as Price puts it: “Saqqara was like an enormous, divine magnet or battery, powered by all these animal mummies.” To the Greeks, part of the appeal of such Egyptian customs may have been the ease of making a personal plea to the gods, by visiting a stall selling mummified animals and choosing from a range of prepared products on offer. And the reward would likewise have been appealing: the promise, unique to Egyptian theology at that time, of an eternal afterlife of splendor. By contrast, “Greek ideas for the afterlife were pretty dull,” says Price. In classic Greek literature, for example, the dead were mere shadows inhabiting a dark underworld.
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New archeological discoveries
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Tellers scoff at would-be bank robber
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When Julius Kearney tried to rob a bank in the central Arkansas town of Pine Bluff, one teller started laughing and told him the bank was fresh out of cash and another teller made fun of him, police say. Both tellers also doubted that he had a gun in his pocket, as he had claimed. Kearney, 23, allegedly entered a bank and told a teller to stuff a bag full of money. His other hand was allegedly thrust in his pocket to make it seem like he was carrying a gun, police said. The first teller laughed at the robbery attempt and told Kearney the bank was out of money. Kearney then allegedly went to another teller a few feet away and tried the same method to rob the bank, police said. This time, he was handed deposit slips as the teller told him that if he wanted to steal money, he had better first put some money in the bank, they said. The tellers told police that Kearney then allegedly threw down his plastic bag in disgust and walked out of the bank. He was arrested a few minutes later about four blocks away after bank employees called police for help. "Most everybody was happy. He wasn't," said Sgt Bob Rawlinson of the Pine Bluff police. Kearney was arrested on suspicion of attempted bank robbery and could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
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Bank Robbery
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Space race: The ambitions, plans and delays of launching superpowers
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, following its landmark human flight last month, has launched an uncrewed mission of NASAs future moon landing technology today. The flight, known as NS-17 or New Shepard 17, set off from a Blue Origin site in West Texas. The NASA payload on board is to test technologies including a Doppler Lidar sensor array, which is hoped will help landing crafts get more detailed images of their landing zone. The NS-17 will also have a descent landing computer on board, which handles processing of the sensor data. NASA has pledged to land the next man and the first woman on the moon in as soon as 2024, under its Artemis programme. Space Race: Jeff Bezos sues NASA over Elon Musk deal Meanwhile, the UK and its growing number of space tech companies, have seven launch sites in planning – with hopes to catapult a constellation of satellites into the Earth’s orbit. The UK currently has its sights set on satellites for their broadband and scientific purposes, including more accurate climate modelling. However, the race to the moon has seemingly begun its second round after China in December became the first country to return lunar samples since the Soviet Luna-24 mission in 1976. Russia revealed on Tuesday that its first mission to the Moon in decades has been postponed due to “problems” in the testing of its Luna-25 spacecraft. The country’s space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed last week that the mission – which was originally scheduled for October 1 – had been postponed until May 2022. The Luna-25 mission from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east, aims to sample ice deposits on the Moon’s south pole. If successful next year, the mission will be Russia’s first to the Moon’s surface in 45 years – and the first in its post-Soviet history. Read more New frontier: UK renews outdated space policies as giants seek commercial travel “More time” was needed to complete successful trials, chief engineer at Russia’s state aircraft design bureau NPO Lavochkin, Alexander Shirshakov told Interfax news agency. “We have encountered certain problems during testing.” “A safe landing system is of crucial importance and we are working on Luna-25’s soft landing system,” he explained. It follows the announcement of Russia collaboration plans with China in March for a joint lunar station. While Russia has also nudged to intentions to leave the International Space Station, opting for its own orbital station which it plans to launch around 2025 to 2030. China, the third country to launch a human into space in 2003, yesterday launched twin radar satellites, known as Tianhui-2, designed for 3D mapping – its 29th orbital launch this year so far. Little information about the satellites has been released regarding the latest launch, but Chinese state media reported that the pair of satellites will help with “scientific experiments and research, land and resources surveying, and geographic surveying and mapping.” It follows the completion of China’s three-month long expedition on Mars with its Zhurong rover last week, which forms part of its greater plans involving the Red Giant. Read more Seraphim: Private investors inject $6.5bn into space tech in just six months The rover, which has sent back 10 gigabytes of raw data from the Mars surface to its Tianwen-1 orbiter, will give China “a deeper understanding of the geology of Mars”, chief designer of the Tianwen-1 ground application system, Liu Jianjun, told CCTV. Jianjun added that it will also give China the opportunity to “even see if we can find evidence of the existence of an ancient ocean in Utopia Planitia.” China’s launch plans currently focus on Mars, for which it has a rather ambitious three-step plan, spearheaded by state-owned rocket manufacturer China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the Global Times first reported. Following on from the successful Tianwen-1 probe mission, the country’s first interplanetary exploration that was able to orbit, land and drive on Mars in one attempt, androids will be launched for scientific sampling and to explore a potential Mars base site. The next step will be a manned Mars mission, where China hopes the building of a Mars base will be carried out. The third phase will see attempts of an Earth to Mars shuttle, including a cargo fleet to scale its Mars development. The timetable for these mission launches will be 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and 2043, among others that are yet to be decided, CALT said. Read more Space race between US, China and Japan to bring Mars soil to Earth intensifies A nuclear propellant system is also being considered as an option for the manned Mars exploration missions, head of the state-owned rocket maker, Wang Xiaojun, revealed. In a bid to trim down the scale of its Mars probe and transport missions, CALT is also looking into a “Sky Ladder” system, according to Xiaojun, which would act as starting point for launches. The Mars sample-return mission, the first stage of its Mars plans, will launch sometime around 2030. A separate exploration of the Jovian system – across Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – is also bound for around the same time, according to CALT officials. While Australia is looking to launch its first commercial rocket this year from the Eyre Peninsula, after this week receiving the go-ahead from the federal government. Australian space company Southern Launch is set to send a rocket from Taiwan’s TiSPACE into space after bagging a launch permit, which was announced on Monday. The suborbital rocket Hapith I, to be tested by the Taiwanese firm, will be launched from Southern Launch’s Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex in South Australia. “Two more suborbital launches and several orbital launches have been planned to follow this test launch,” TiSPACE said in a statement at the beginning of the week.
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New achievements in aerospace
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They were supposed to die in prison. Instead, they earned freedom as college graduates
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The 25 graduates marched to the middle of the prison yard. A recording of “Pomp and Circumstance” played but was drowned out by cheers. Dozens of mothers, fathers, friends and professors sat in the blazing sun looking toward a stage set up on the basketball court, just beyond a blue mural that said “Forgive.” One woman beamed and teared up at the sight of her grandson dressed in a cap and gown. Allen Burnett, dressed in a white button-down shirt and black pants, sat among the crowd and watched the men at California State Prison in Lancaster take their seats. Tin Nguyen entered the prison yard that day for the first time in nearly two years — a guest, not an inmate — and noticed his old gambling table was still there. Over the summer, Burnett and Nguyen had crossed a different stage at Cal State Los Angeles; Burnett with magna cum laude honors, and Nguyen with summa cum laude status. Most every day since, Burnett said he gets a call from prison. Oftentimes, it’s one of his former classmates on the inside asking him about life as a college graduate beyond the barbed wire-topped walls. :: Burnett, 48, and Nguyen, 48, are among 37 freed and currently incarcerated men at the prison who were the first inmates to earn a bachelor’s degree from a California public university as part of an expanding initiative that has gained statewide attention. Launched at Cal State Los Angeles by a communications professor, the degree program imparts an otherwise unheard-of message to its students: You are worthy. Politics Once shunned, people convicted of felonies find more employers open to hiring them Labor shortages are prompting more companies to consider the 20 million people with convictions, but criminal background checks, job restrictions and other barriers hold back hiring. Oct. 5, 2021 Along with Burnett and Nguyen, 10 of the 37 graduates are now free and one more is expected to be released in March. Some of the freed men work as advocates for the incarcerated. Burnett works at Human Rights Watch’s Leadership Council, which campaigns to stop life-without-parole sentences. Many who remain imprisoned intend to find a way to work on rehabilitation programs on the inside. On his first day out of prison after 27 years, Burnett bought shoes from a discount store, visited Target and stopped at the beach to smell the ocean air. Then he made his way to the place he had dreamed about the most while behind bars: Cal State L.A. Column One A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times. Burnett had been serving a life sentence for a crime he committed when he was 18, when he was involved in a fatal carjacking. His sentence was commuted after his mother encouraged him to apply for early release under Gov. Jerry Brown. He learned in 2019 that he’d get the chance to go before a parole board to make his case, and he was granted freedom in 2020. As he puts it, he was supposed to die in prison. He had learning challenges as a kid and didn’t believe that he was worthy of a higher education. But in prison, books and education became a respite. Burnett earned an associate degree, then in 2016 got a chance to enroll in classes from Cal State L.A. He read Henry David Thoreau’s transcendentalist writings about Walden while sitting in a cell at night. He studied Google and social media in the classroom and typed on computers without access to internet — technology he encountered only after he was released. And he met professors — people who for the first time in his life believed in his ability to transform himself. Opinion Apodaca: UC Irvine law professor sees college degrees as a way to reduce recidivism Investing in prison education can improve the life of not just the incarcerated but society at large. Feb. 1, 2021 They seemed to understand that although he lives with the tremendous weight of his mistakes, his past alone — a kid who’d found his father dead from a drug overdose at the age of 5, who’d suffered abuse when he was young and got caught up in a life of crime — did not define his future. “We were teaching the professors about life without parole and what it feels like to be isolated, to be told that you’re not worthy, that you should die in prison, because that’s what it is — death by incarceration,” Burnett said on the Cal State L.A. campus. “And then they were telling us, ‘You are worthy. You do deserve an education. You do deserve to sit in this space and have these conversations with us.’” He now hopes that he can help change a system like the one he grew up in. “I’m educating people who don’t really know about our criminal justice system — talking to people about how childhood trauma is trans-generational, and how we — our trauma — develops into this other thing where we can hurt other people. Like they say, hurt people hurt people. But healed people help people.” :: For the record: 7:38 p.m. Nov. 4, 2021A previous version of this article identified Bidhan Chandra Roy as a communications professor. He is an English professor. It started with Bidhan Chandra Roy. The English professor initially visited the prison while volunteering with Paws for Life, an outreach program that teaches inmates how to care for dogs. When he started teaching uncredited writing classes through Words Uncaged — a writing therapy program he founded at the prison — he was compelled to further help the men. “When you come in here, you just see these buried, incredible people that have kind of been thrown away and forgotten. And when you sit down and speak to any of these men, you’re like, ‘Why is no one paying attention to you; why are you not getting a chance to have an education?’ And it’s a glaring kind of disjuncture for anyone, I think, with an ethical sensibility,” he said. “I’m not justifying any actions done — but these people are not the same people anymore. And just to kind of throw lives away seems like a terrible travesty,” he said, adding that the men he’s met have enriched his own life. Opinion Editorial: For former prisoners to have a shot at a normal life, we need successful reentry programs Coming home after prison can be even more hazardous than being locked up. People reentering society need a comprehensive program of of public and private services Oct. 28, 2021 He approached Taffany Lim, executive director of Cal State L.A.'s Center for Engagement, Service and the Public Good, to launch a B.A. program in communications for men who had already earned their associate degree — or oftentimes, multiple associate degrees — while in prison. Associate degree programs in prisons were not a new concept. The ability to get a bachelor’s degree, however, had been something less common, but one that Lim believed made sense. In 2016, after the prison initiative was approved with initial funding from the nonprofit education-focused Opportunity Institute and later from the Mellon Foundation, it was one of 67 college and university programs selected by the Obama administration to receive Second Chance Pell Grant funding for incarcerated students. “I was behind concrete, barbed-wire razor, a gun tower. But when I walked in that class and the professor shook our hand and shut the door, I was free.” Tin Nguyen The program began with 45 students. Some have since been transferred to different prisons; one died from COVID-19. In all, 37 students have graduated from the program, including 12 from the classes of 2020 and 2021 who were granted an early release after a life sentence. “Correctional education is transformative. And any student you talk to that has succeeded in earning a trade certification or diploma — it’s life altering,” said Shannon Swain, superintendent of correction education at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill to expand higher education for incarcerated individuals. But Burnett recognizes it’s an opportunity some may not believe he deserves after preventing another person from living out their future. “Other people will read this and they’ll think about that,” he said. Someone who has lost someone may wonder, “‘What about my son, or my daughter who was going to school, who was working and then someone just came and just took their life? What about them? Nobody’s saying anything about them.’ I’m mindful of that.” “I think as I’ve learned as a crime survivor, it’s possible to hold two emotions,” said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of the California branch of the victims rights and the criminal reform group Alliance for Safety and Justice. The person suspected of killing her brother in 2017 is in custody awaiting trial. While she too waits, she also believes that a person doesn’t change on their own simply because they’re in prison. It takes work. “We know the majority of people in jail or prison are going to come home,” she said. “How do we ensure our communities become safer and remain safe? I think many people would agree that education is part of that” restoration process.:: Nguyen felt as if he’d won the Super Bowl in July as confetti poured down during his graduation ceremony while his mother and sisters cheered him on. While in prison, Nguyen started taking community college classes, which set him up with enough credits to enter the Cal State program. In class, he was no longer just an inmate or a number — he felt like an individual. “I was behind concrete, barbed-wire razor, a gun tower. But when I walked in that class and the professor shook our hand and shut the door, I was free,” he said. Nguyen felt like he grew up trapped between Vietnam and the United States. Fluent in neither country’s language, the Vietnamese refugee grew up believing he was dumb. He got involved with gang life at a young age, and when his friend was shot and killed in front of him as a teenager, a rage erupted. He landed behind bars for the first time when he was 17. At 24, he was sentenced to life without parole for taking the life of a man during a robbery. “I was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. I served 28 years, and the last 10 years I spent on this yard enrolling and learning with these men.” Allen Burnett Nguyen, like Burnett, spent two decades in California State Prison before his lifelong sentence was commuted and he was released. But he was immediately detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which wanted to send him back to Vietnam. Ten months later, he was freed. The crime that landed him in prison for the last two decades is never absent from his mind. He won’t make peace with it, he said, until he gets the chance to apologize in heaven. Until then, he’ll strive for redemption. “If you give us an opportunity, a chance, we can change. If you give us some form of redemption, we can change,” Nguyen said. “I’m not the same man I was back then — that young, immature, impulsive, violent, dangerous, angry guy. When society allowed me to redeem myself, to give me the opportunity to change, I took it. And I think there’s a lot of guys out there in prison right now just like me.” He is now pursuing a master’s degree in business administration. :: In the prison yard, the crowd shielded themselves from the sun with their commencement programs as the graduation ceremony unfolded. A handful of students performed during the ceremony, sharing pieces in a style of group slam poetry they’d learned in a class taught by one of their communication professors, Kamran Afary. “We are sons, fathers, husbands, humans — college grads rising above the status quo.Forget what statistics say.We’re communication scholarsat Cal State L.A,” one student said. Before the names were read and the tassels turned, Burnett walked up to the stage. He addressed his professors: “You didn’t just come here and just have us recite a bunch of stuff and just give lectures — you added to our understanding of who we are as human beings. Through you, we were able to develop the language where we can go out and be advocates for ourselves. You allowed us to believe in ourselves, and we did. You gave us the tools, you gave us the understanding and then we taught you something too — that there’s human beings inside these prison walls.” And he addressed his friends: “I was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. I served 28 years, and the last 10 years I spent on this yard enrolling and learning with these men.” For more than a year, he’d told those inside the prison about his simple joys: tending to a garden when he’d gone years without access to plants beyond a sliver of a crack in the prison yard that let him see shades of wildflowers in the distance; sitting in traffic knowing that he was going somewhere. Now, he shared his dreams with them for their future. “What do I want my legacy to be? I want to see all y’all free.” The view from Sacramento For reporting and exclusive analysis from bureau chief John Myers, get our California Politics newsletter.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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2011 World Netball Series
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The 2011 World Netball Series was the third edition of the World Netball Series, an annual international netball competition held under fastnet rules. The 2011 event was held in Liverpool, England, which also hosted the event in 2010. The tournament was contested by the top six national netball teams from the previous year, according to the IFNA World Rankings. At the end of the preliminary round-robin matches, Australia, England, Jamaica and New Zealand progressed to the semi-finals, while South Africa and Fiji contested the 5th/6th place playoff match. England and New Zealand advanced to the final, with Australia eventually finishing third. In the final match of the tournament, England defeated New Zealand by 33–26 to claim their first gold medal in a major netball tournament. [1]
The 2011 World Netball Series was played in Liverpool over three days, from 25–27 November. All matches were held at the Echo Arena Liverpool, which has a seating capacity of 7,500 for sporting events. The tournament comprised 20 matches played over three days. The six teams played each other once during the first two days in a round-robin format. At the end of two days, the four highest-ranked teams from this stage progressed to the finals, played on the final day of competition, in which the 1st-ranked team played the 4th-ranked team, while 2nd played 3rd. The winners of these two matches contested the Grand Final; the remaining teams competed in third- and fifth-place playoffs. The top six international netball teams contest the World Netball Series each year. Five teams returned from the previous tournament; Malawi were replaced by Fiji in 2011.
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Sports Competition
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1996–1997 strikes in South Korea
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In December 1996 and January 1997, South Korea experienced the largest organized strike in its history, when workers in the automotive and shipbuilding industries refused to work in protest against a law which was to make firing employees easier for employers and curtail labor organizing rights. Among other things, the Korean government intended to postpone the legal recognition of the recently established Korean Confederation of Trade Unions until the year 2000. The officially recognized Federation of Korean Trade Unions then called upon its 1.2 million members to go on strike on December 26. [1] This was its first call for a general strike since the union's founding in 1962. [2]
After a single day, the strikes started spreading to other sectors including hospitals. [3]
On December 28, South Korean riot police used methods such as tear gas against the strikers in order to dispel crowds. Strikers responded by throwing bricks. [4]
In late January 1997, the strike ended after the labor laws were amended by the government. [5]
In December 1996 and January 1997, there was a massive four-week nationwide strike in South Korea in protest against newly passed labor laws which gave employers more power to lay off employees, made it easier to hire temporary/strike replacing workers and put off allowing multiple unions to be formed at a given enterprise. This resulted in the mobilization of three million workers, which shut down auto/ship production, disrupted hospitals, subways and television. The two main unions involved were The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) working with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (FCTU). This strike was notable due to its consistently high levels of worker participation and high level of public support. Two months after the end of the strike, the government passed very similar laws with only small concessions, making the strikes enormously successful in mobilization but only marginally successful in terms of actual results. [5]
From 1985 to 1996 South Korea experienced a series of strikes that resulted in a clash of old laws and governmental frameworks that were incompatible with modern working practices. South Korea was able to endure these strikes and the lost revenue associated with them because of the "Three Lows" low interest rates, the lower value of the dollar against the yen and low oil prices. After these lows dissipated South Korea felt that it could no longer afford continued labor unrest. Many companies attempted to institute practices that would allow for cost cutting such as reliance on contract workers and part-time workers, in addition to allowing for voluntary retirement and adopting a no work no pay policy. These moves were actively opposed by labor groups and the need for labor reform became clear. This belief also led to South Korea's New Korea Party (NKP) creating the Labor-Management Relations Reform Committee (LMRRC) on May 9. This consisted of members of various labor interest groups, university professors and lawmakers. Its 30 members held several public hearings on the creation on new labor policies and created the New Labor Law. [6] This new Labor law would make it easier and legal for companies to lay off workers, increase the legal work-week by 12 hours and allowing companies to modify working hours, make the use of scab labor during strikes legal and outlawing strike-pay. [7]
The South Korean government said changes were necessary to make South Korea "more competitive with other developing economies" that were emerging as competitors to Korea. [7] The committees that had been created were unsuccessful in creating a new labor bill after six months of hearings, so the NKP decided to create a new secret committee to create the bill on December 3. Then on December 26 in the wee hours of the morning four busses filled with NKP members arrived at the capital and in the course of twenty minutes eleven bills were passed. This action not only angered those outside the governmental walls but also the LMRRC and those in other political parties who felt cheated. None of the other parties were aware of this vote and the outrage that resulted from these dishonest political maneuvers were major contributors to the strikes and labor disturbances that followed hours later. [8]
The two main unions involved in the 1996–1997 strikes were the FKTU partnered with the KCTU. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions was formed in 1960 when the General Federation of Korean Trade Unions was dissolved after a military coup. The GFKTU was preceded by the General Council of Korean Unions which was banned in 1947. Until the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions was recognized by the government in November 1999, the FKTU remained the sole legal association of trade unions in South Korea. In 1990, workers and trade unionists illegally created the Korean Trade Union Congress. By the end of the year, they had 600 affiliated trade unions and 190,000 members. In 1995 the KTUC merged with other unrecognized trade unions and formed the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. By 1997, the KCTU had grown to include 907 trade unions and 400,000 members. They received deferred legal recognition in 1996 and finally achieved full legal status in 1999. The two unions competed with each other for members and many trade unions formerly affiliated with the FKTU defected to the KCTU. The difference in origins between the FKTU and the KCTU are reflected in their different political strategies. The FKTU advocates for "constructive engagement with employers at enterprise and industry levels" and generally discourages industrial action. The KCTU takes the opposite stance, arguing that their goals can only be met by direct action. [9]
The strike was planned to begin on Friday, January 13 with a four-hour walkout in the heavy industrial export industries, including 34,000 workers at Hyundai Motor Co., 18,000 workers at Kia, 21,000 workers at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard. It would also include transit workers who operate the subway in Seoul, workers at the 10 major hospitals in Seoul, and tens of thousands of others. The initial demand was for a repeal of the new labor law but as the strike went on, demands for the Kim Young Sam government to be overturned were added. [10] The initial turnout was surprising because the labor movement in Korea had experienced what was called a "double failure" in the 90s when it failed to gain serious political power and also failed to improve its organizational efficiency. Despite this, the unions involved were able to effectively bring South Korea's economy to a halt on only a few hours’ notice. [6]
The government declared all strike action illegal and coordinated with business leaders to attempt to break the strike by using replacement workers and threats of reprisal. [7] On January 6, the government threatened to arrest at least 20 union officials. [11]
On January 16, riot police fired tear gas at thousands of workers marching toward Myongdong Cathedral. As a result, Kwon Young Kil, the strike's leader, announced on January 18 that the KCTU would strike only on Wednesdays until Feb 18, when they would resume all-out strikes if the government didn't cancel the law. They would also hold mass protests every Saturday.
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Strike
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Archaeologists unearth ‘ancient Egyptian Pompeii’ near Luxor
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CAIRO, April 8 (Reuters) - Archaeologists said on Thursday they had uncovered a large ancient pharaonic city that had lain unseen for centuries near some of Egypt’s best known monuments. The city was built more than 3,400 years ago during the opulent reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, the Egyptian archaeologist overseeing the excavations, Zahi Hawass, said. The team began searching for a mortuary temple near Luxor in September, but within weeks found mud brick formations in every direction, Zahi Hawass said in a statement. They unearthed the well-preserved city that had almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life along with rings, scarabs, coloured pottery vessels and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep's cartouche. "The city's streets are flanked by houses ... some of their walls are up to three metres high," Hawass said. The excavations lie on the West Bank of Luxor near the Colossi of Memnon, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, or mortuary temple of King Ramses II, not far from the Valley of the Kings. A new archaeological discovery is seen in Egypt, in this undated handout photo. Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology and High Council of Antiquities Joint Mission/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES "This is a very important discovery," Peter Lacovara, director of the US-based Ancient Egyptian Heritage and Archaeology Fund, told Reuters. The state of preservation and the amount of items from everyday life brought to mind another famous excavation, he added. "It is a sort of ancient Egyptian Pompeii and shows the critical need to preserve this area as an archaeological park," said Lacovara, who has worked at the Malqata palace area for more than 20 years but was not involved in the excavations. The site contains a large number of ovens and kilns for making glass and faience, along with the debris of thousands of statues, said Betsy Bryan, a specialist of Amenhotep III's reign. "Just to locate the manufacturing centres opens up the detail of how the Egyptians under a great and wealthy ruler such as Amenhotep III did what they did. This will furnish knowledge for many years to come," she added. The city extends west to the ancient workmen's village of Deir el-Medina, Hawass said. According to historical references it included three of Amenhotep III’s palaces and the empire’s administrative and industrial centre, Hawass’s statement added.
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New archeological discoveries
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Jasmine Camacho-Quinn Smashes 100m Hurdles Olympic Record in Semi-Final
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Puerto Rico hurdler Jasmine Camacho-Quinn set a new Olympic record in the semi-final of the 100 meter hurdles at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
Camacho-Quinn won the semi-final race with a time of 12.26 seconds, beating the previous record of 12.35 set by Australia's Sally Pearson when she won gold at the 2012 London Games.
Also through from Camacho-Quinn's semi-final are Jamaica's Megan Tapper, who came second with a time of 12.62 second, and the Netherlands' Nadine Visser who posted a time of 12.63 seconds.
Camacho-Quinn is one of the favorites to win the final on Monday.
Among her challengers will be Jamaican Britany Anderson, who won her semi-final race with a time of 12.40 seconds, beating American world record holder Kendra Harrison who posted a time of 12.51 seconds.
The first semi-final was won by Nigeria's Tobi Amusan with a time of 12.62 seconds. The Bahamas' Devynne Charlton came in second, qualifying for the final with her time of 12.66 seconds.
The U.S. swept the podium at Rio 2016, with Brianna Rollins taking gold. Nia Ali took silver for Team USA, with Kristi Castlin winning bronze.
Team USA will be hoping for more medals at Monday's final.
Gabriele Cunningham qualified from her semi-final with a time of 12.67 seconds, while world record holder Kendra Harrison clocked 12.51 seconds.
Harrison set the world record time of 12.20 seconds at a race in London in July 2016, weeks after failing to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Winning the gold on Monday would make Harrison the first world record holder to also win Olympic gold in the women's 100 metres hurdles for 33 years.
A medal for Camacho-Quinn would be only Puerto Rico's tenth in Olympic history. Only one Puerto Rican athlete has ever won a gold medal at the summer Olympics, when Monica Puig took the gold in the women's tennis singles at Rio 2016.
Team USA is currently sitting second in the Tokyo medal table behind China. U.S. athletes have so far secured 20 gold, 23 silver and 16 bronze medals. The U.S. topped the medal table at the 2016 Rio games, bringing home 46 golds, 37 silvers and 28 bronze.
One of Team USA's top medal hopes on the track, Trayvon Bromell, failed to qualify for the men's 100 meter final on Sunday despite being tipped as a pre-games favorite.
Bromell wrote on Twitter he would "walk away with a smile because I know I showed many that after 4 years out, you can still fight and make dreams come true."
Fred Kerley went on to win the silver for Team USA with a time of 9.84 seconds. Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs won gold with a time of 9.80 seconds. American Ronnie Baker came in fifth with a time 9.95 seconds.
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Break historical records
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Delhi logs no COVID death, 45 new cases in last 24 hrs; positivity rate at 0.06%
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No fresh death due to COVID-19 was reported Delhi on Thursday, 16th time since onset of second wave of coronavirus pandemic, the city's health bulletin said. The death toll stands at 25,080. On July 18, July 24, July 29, August 2, August 4, August 8, August 11, August 12, August 13, August 16, August 20, August 21, August 22, August 23 and August 24, too, no death due to COVID-19 was recorded, according to official data. On March 2 this year, the national capital had reported zero death due to the virus. On that day, the number of single-day infections stood at 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent. In the last 24 hours, the city reported 45 new cases, and with today's count, the cumulative total reached 14,37,595 and the active tally touched 413. The case positivity rate is at 0.06%, a slight increase from yesterday's 0.05%. In the same time span, the city also reported 21 recoveries taking the recovery total to 14,12,102. A total of 72,153 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours including 48,908 RT-PCR tests and 23,245 Rapid antigen tests. The total number of tests conducted so far has gone up to 2,53,53,327. The bulletin said 98,578 people received COVID-19 vaccination in the last 24 hours and the cumulative number has gone up to 1,27,04,010. On Wednesday, the city had registered 35 cases and one fatality.
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Disease Outbreaks
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California towns invaded by flying bugs: 'They're in everything'
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August 21, 2015 at 6:59 a.m.
| UPDATED:
August 12, 2016 at 1:24 a.m.
LONE PINE, Calif. (AP) — The gas station’s ground was covered with the small winged bugs. Piles of carcasses, inches deep, sat swept to the sides.
On the road, they rained onto car windshields. They flew by the thousands toward even the smallest sources of light, and crept along windows and kitchen tables.
Such has been the skin-crawling reality for the past two months in the high-desert communities at the foot of the Sierra Nevada’s eastern slopes, where residents have seen an explosion of the black-and-red seed bug species Melacoryphus lateralis.
“They’re in everything. There’s no way to get rid of them or eradicate them. They’re just here,” said Blair Nicodemus, 33, of Lone Pine, while driving with a bug creeping on his windshield. “Sometimes there will be these micro-plumes that’ll come through where there will be just thousands of them, and they’ll be all over you. … I’m sure I’ve eaten at least two dozen, because they get into your food.”
Such outbreaks have happened in Arizona’s Sonoran desert near Tucson, but scientists say it’s the first one they have record of in California.
The influx has been driven by a mild winter and monsoonal weather, which provided healthier vegetation for the nutrient-sucking bugs, said David Haviland, an entomologist with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Kern County.
The bugs’ flight into town and toward the lights in homes, businesses or cars, however, might be related to the drying up of native vegetation in the summer heat and the drought, said Nathan Reade, agricultural commissioner for Inyo and Mono counties.
The half-inch insects are the main topic of conversation in the area.
A printout in a hotel lobby in a Lone Pine motel warned people to keep their doors shut at night, and a hotel worker advised people to keep their car windows up if lights are on. A Dollar General Store in Inyokern limited its store hours after dark to avoid dealing with the bugs.
Lia Sensanbaugh of Inyokern doesn’t turn on her lights when at home. “I’ve got them real bad,” she said. “I’ve been living off my TV light for about a month and a half.”
Gas stations and rest areas along Highway 395 — a roadway that crosses through sparsely populated and rural areas — are prime bug targets because of their lights. After dark, the bugs swirl like surreal artwork below the Pearsonville Shell gas station’s overhead lights.
“Millions, tens, twenty, we can’t count it,” gas station owner Soma Praba said. “At night time, if you go into the station, they’ll follow. They go everywhere. They get on your body, your head.”
Each morning Praba’s workers have spent three hours sweeping the ground and using a leaf blower to clear away piles of the bugs. Around eight times a day, workers will sweep, discovering two hours later that the same amount of bugs are back, Praba said with frustration.
Spraying insecticide hasn’t helped, Praba said, and exterminators have been equally stymied. The only reprieve seems to be a windy day and the recent smoke from fires.
“We are tired of it,” Praba said. “I am waiting for the first snow to come.”
At a Lone Pine gas station this week, the side of the building was covered with bugs, and a woman was hosing off the wall, despite the drought, said Kathi Hall, who owns the town’s Mt. Whitney Restaurant with her husband.
Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Breeden said some people in town use umbrellas while getting gas because of the swarms overhead. She’s fielded many dozens of concerned calls and never seen anything like this in her 33 years there.
She put together a notice this week to post around town explaining to visitors that the bugs are a harmless nuisance in the hopes that they’ll return when the bugs die down.
That said, Breeden joked, “If frogs come, we’re all leaving.”
——
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Insect Disaster
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Woman killed in crash caused by gas explosion
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A natural gas explosion may have caused a deadly crash in the Poconos on Christmas Day.
Author: WNEP Web Staff
Published: 5:31 PM EST December 28, 2020
Updated: 5:31 PM EST December 28, 2020
UGI crews were working on Route 314 in the Swiftwater area on Monday, where the blast and crash happened.
The Monroe County Coroner says a woman from New York, Ana Abreu, died at the hospital, and three other people in her vehicle were injured.
He says it appears the blast caused the car to roll over an embankment.
A neighbor tells us, initially, she didn't know what had happened.
"Originally, we thought that the trench opened up from all the water. Because there was so much flooding, there was so much wind and rain, and ice and water, sometimes those things happen. But it wasn't until we saw UGI and saw UGI keep coming back and then heard the information on the scanner. That's how we found out what it was," said Kate Lee of Pocono Township.
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Gas explosion
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CFMMEU fined over $200,000 for its involvement in a Townsville stadium strike
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A Victorian man who flew from Brisbane to Hobart on flight VA702 today has tested positive to COVID-19 and has not been allowed to board a flight to Melbourne
A Watch & Act warning is in place for a fire in the northern parts of Mokine, in WA's Northam Shire. Keep up to date with ABC Emergency
The Federal Court has fined the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) $190,000 for organising a strike at the North Queensland Stadium in 2019.
Additionally, CFMMEU official Grant Harradine was fined $20,000 for organising the strike action against a local subcontractor over a four-day period in March 2019.
The court found the strike involved workers refusing to work as part of a campaign to coerce the subcontractor to make a building enterprise agreement with the CFMMEU.
It found 16 employees took part in the action, which resulted in the subcontractor not being able to perform any work on the project for three days.
Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Stephen McBurney said the disruption to critical path work was serious.
"The penalties imposed by the Federal Court reflect the gravity of the offending conduct," Mr McBurney said.
"The CFMMEU's actions were motivated by a desire to pressure a local subcontractor to comply with the union's will, regardless of the cost to the company,
"Not only will the respondents be compelled to pay a high price for their unlawful conduct, but the court also made an order for payment of legal costs in addition to the penalties imposed."
A total of $77,500 in fines were handed to employees with 11 receiving penalties of $5,000 and five receiving $4,500 fines.
Commissioner McBurney said it was important as a regulator to protect anyone impacted by unlawful conduct.
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Organization Fine
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UK ramps up ‘no-deal’ Brexit preparations amid impasse
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government ramped up preparations Tuesday for the possibility that the country could leave the European Union in 101 days without a divorce deal — putting soldiers on standby and warning thousands of businesses and millions of households to get ready for the worst. With the country’s departure set for March 29, it remains unclear whether British lawmakers will approve the divorce agreement that Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government has negotiated with the EU. The alternative, a “no-deal” Brexit, risks plunging the British economy into recession and touching off chaos at the borders. “The government’s priority remains to secure a deal, but we need to recognize with 14 weeks to go, that a responsible government is preparing for the eventuality that we leave without a deal,” Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said. Members of May’s Cabinet agreed to activate all the government’s no-deal plans and advised the public to prepare for disruptions. Ministers insisted the steps were sensible. “Just because you put a seatbelt on doesn’t mean that you should crash the car,” Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said. Some 3,500 troops will be on standby to help deal with any disruptions, Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said. The contingency plans also call for public service announcements to guide individuals on issues ranging from bank card payments in the EU to traveling with pets. Businesses will receive a 100-plus page online package to help them get ready. Emails to 80,000 of the most likely to be affected companies will be sent over the next few days. The British government has already published dozens of papers advising of possible “no-deal” disruptions to the economy and daily life, saying businesses could face red tape at the border, consumers could see higher credit card fees and patients could endure delays to medical treatment. There was even a warning that Britain could be at greater risk from falling space junk, because the U.K. will no longer receive data from the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking Program. The government has drawn up plans to charter boats to bring in essential goods in case supplies are disrupted. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC that “I’ve become the largest buyer of fridges in the world” in order to stockpile medicines. Opposition politicians said no amount of keep-calm-and-carry-on preparation could sugarcoat the impact of a chaotic Brexit. “This is the reality of a no-deal Brexit: soldiers on the streets, medicines being stockpiled in the NHS (health service), and airports and ferry terminals grinding to a halt,” Labour Party lawmaker Ian Murray said. Some manufacturers have begun stockpiling parts and goods in anticipation of post-Brexit hiccups to trade. But many businesses — especially smaller firms — have done little to mitigate the economic shock of leaving without a deal. The British Chambers of Commerce said Tuesday that economic growth and business investment in 2019 were likely to be lower than previously forecast because of the uncertainty over Brexit. Director-General Adam Marshall said business were “delaying or pulling hiring and investment plans and, in some cases, moving operations elsewhere in order to maintain hard-won supply chains.” The British government and the EU sealed a Brexit deal last month, laying out the terms of the U.K.’s orderly departure and establishing an extendable transition period to give the two sides time to reach a permanent new trade relationship. But May postponed a parliamentary vote on the deal last week when it became clear legislators would overwhelmingly reject it. She tried to win changes from the EU to sweeten the deal for reluctant lawmakers, but was rebuffed by the bloc, which insists the agreement can’t be reopened. May’s authority has also been shaken after a no-confidence vote from her own party last week. She won it, but saw more than a third of Conservative lawmakers vote against her. May insisted Monday she could win “clarification” from the EU to reassure skeptical lawmakers before Parliament votes on the deal during the week of Jan. 14. Opposition legislators — and many members of May’s Conservative Party — remain opposed to the Brexit deal. But with Parliament divided on what should replace it — a harder Brexit, a softer Brexit or no Brexit at all — the whole process is at an impasse. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused May of deliberately wasting time, delaying the vote to force Parliament to choose between her deal and no deal. Labour’s Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said the no-deal plans were part of scare tactics designed to push lawmakers into backing May’s deal. A no-deal exit “would be catastrophic for the U.K. and that’s why no deal has never been a truly viable option,” he said. “It is a political hoax, and deep down I think the government and this prime minister knows it.”
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Human services agencies JVS and Kadima to merge
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Two Southfield-based human services agencies will merge in January to serve their clients and better position themselves to adapt to the changing mental health funding landscape.
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Organization Merge
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2010 China floods
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The 2010 China floods began in early May 2010. [8][9][10] Three hundred and ninety-two people died, and a further 232 people were reported missing as of June 30, 2010,[11][12] including 57 people in a landslide in Guizhou. Fifty-three of the deaths occurred from the flooding and landslides between May 31 and June 3,[13] and 266 deaths occurred between June 13 and June 29. [14] Four hundred and twenty four people were killed by the end of June,[11] including 42 from the Guizhou landslide; 277 more were killed and 147 left missing in the first two weeks of July,[15][16][17] bringing the death toll as of August 5 to 1,072. [2][4] A landslide in early August in Gansu killed at least 1,471 people and left 294 missing. In total, the flooding and landslides killed at least 3,185 people in China by August 31. [1] More than 230 million people[1][18] in 28 provinces, municipalities and regions,[6][2][11] especially the southern and central provinces and regions of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing Municipality, Gansu, Sichuan and Guizhou, and the northeastern province of Jilin were affected, while at least 4.66 million people[19] were evacuated because of the risk of flooding and landslides in the latter half of June. [5][20][21][22][23] By early August, over 12 million people were evacuated,[6][2] and that number rose to 15.2 million by August 31. [1]
Millions lacked drinking water. A total of 1.36 million houses were destroyed[6][2] and more than 97,200 square kilometres (37,500 sq mi) of crops were inundated,[19] while 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi) of farmland had been completely destroyed by the end of June. [24] Dozens of rivers remained flooded, including the Pearl River in Guangdong province,[23] which had been affected by severe drought during the spring as its outflow was severely reduced. [25] The total damages from the floods were roughly 83.8 billion yuan as of June 27, 2010,[19] and over 275 billion yuan (41 billion USD) by August 8. [6][2]
By late August,16.5 million hectares (41 million acres)
[1] of farmland were affected by the flooding, while 2.09 million hectares (5.2 million acres) were completely destroyed. [6][11]
In late May 2010, heavy rainfall caused a train derailment in Jiangxi, killing at least 19 people, and the closure of the Shanghai-Kunming railway line for 24 hours due to a landslide. Many major rivers in China, including the Yangtze, Yellow and Songhua Rivers were flooded to danger levels. The Chinese Government allocated over 2.1 billion yuan for rescue and relief work. [2] The Jialing River, Han River and Huai River surged higher than warning levels. [26]
The grim situation of the 2010 South China floods exceeded the levels of the 1998 Yangtze River floods. [27] The flooding attracted attention from the state leaders of the Chinese Government and the public, who brought aid to the victims of the flooding. The death toll from the floods continued to rise,[28] as floodwaters began to recede in some areas by the end of June. [29] Throughout the East Asian Monsoon season, the worst of the flooding shifted from Southwestern China to Central China by June and July and moved to Northern and Northeastern China by late July and August, leaving the southern provinces in a heat wave while the Northeastern and Northwestern provinces were continuously lashed by flooding rains. [30] Unusual climate patterns were linked to the persistent flooding, including an El Niño-like Modoki, jet stream patterns[31][32] (also possibly linked to low solar activity), deforestation worsening the landslides and global warming. [33]
After experiencing severe drought, heavy rains triggered a landslide in Guizhou Province around 2:30 pm on June 28 that trapped 99 people in the village of Dazhai, Gangwu Township, Anshun. Ganwu received 257 millimetres (10.1 in) of rain on June 27, a record for the township,[34] and the resulting landslide lasted two minutes and unleashed up to 2 million cubic metres (2.6 million cu yd) of mud and rock, burying at least 37 buildings and homes in Dazhai. [35] Officials stated there was little hope for survival of the buried victims, and the torrential rains were likely to continue. [5] The rains hampered rescue efforts in the search for survivors from the 38 families buried by the landslide. [36] Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu urged the use of all resources to rescue any survivors. [37] The first body, a child, was found by rescue workers in the late afternoon of June 29. [38]
More than 1,100 rescue workers searched to find the remaining victims, including up to 30 children and infants, and eight of the original missing turned up alive. [39] By July 1, 10 bodies had been found at the site of the landslide, and 89 still missing and feared dead. At least 1,000 people were evacuated from the village in the aftermath of the landslide. [35] A total of 42 bodies were found by June 29, and the remaining 57 missing were presumed dead. [14]
Seventeen levees were breached in Jiangxi and 33,900 water conservancy projects were damaged. The direct economic loss is about 25.5 billion yuan. A 347-metre-wide (1,138 ft) breach of the Changkai dike on the Fuhe River, which burst its banks on June 21 and again on June 23, in Luozhen Township, Fuzhou City, forced 1.32 million people to evacuate. [40] The breach was repaired on June 27. [29] The local and provincial government provided tents, quilts, blankets, clothing and water dispensers to the affected residents. [40] The flood crest of the Gan River passed the city of Nanchang on June 23. [41]
Residents of the city of Ganzhou were protected from the flooding by drains built in the area during the Song Dynasty. [42]
In Fujian, 400 victims of flooding were safely transferred and properly rehoused. Seventy-six people were killed and 79 were missing from landslides in the province by June 21. [43][44] The village of Baozhuang was completely cut off for six days before rescue workers brought the residents to safety. [45] More than ten consecutive days of rain hit Nanping, and factories were destroyed. The number of people affected was totalled at 1.3 million, damages totalled 5.5 billion yuan, and 365,000 people were relocated. [29] Flooding destroyed a bridge in the province on July 7, travel was disrupted in 20 counties and the town of Taining was completely under water at one point. [46]
34.96 million people in Guangxi were affected, 37 deaths, 164.58 thousand hectares of crops affected, 16,395 residential housings collapsed. The direct economic loss is about 24.0543 million yuan, of which 10.2081 million were agricultural losses. On June 2, 42 people were killed in a series of landslides that hit Cenxi, Rong County, Teng County, Donglan County and Fangchenggang City. [47][48]
At least four million people have been affected in Anhui Province. 5,100 houses have collapsed, and a further 17,700 houses were damaged.
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Floods
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1945 Australian National Airways Stinson crash
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On 31 January 1945 a Stinson Model A aircraft departed from Melbourne for a flight of 127 nautical miles (235 km) to Kerang, Victoria—the first leg of an Australian National Airways regular scheduled service to Broken Hill, New South Wales. It crashed 50 nmi (93 km) from Melbourne. All ten occupants were killed in the accident. The aircraft was one of four Stinsons imported in 1936 by Airlines of Australia (AoA). Three had now crashed with the loss of 17 lives, and the fourth would not be permitted to fly again. It was determined that the accident was caused by a fatigue crack in the main spar of the left wing that caused the outer part of the left wing, outboard of the engine nacelle, to separate from the remainder of the aircraft. The expert panel investigating the accident believed this to be the first fatal aircraft accident anywhere in the world directly attributable to metal fatigue. The accident and related matters were investigated by a Supreme Court judge who also found that the aircraft's left wing failed in flight due to a fatigue crack. The judge made five recommendations including one that a safe flying life should be fixed for each metal aircraft registered in Australia to avoid further failures due to metal fatigue. This practice is now called safe-lifeing. The aircraft was a modified Stinson Model A registered VH-UYY and operated by Australian National Airways (ANA) as the Tokana. On 31 January 1945 the Tokana departed from Melbourne's Essendon Airport at 7:55 am local time for a flight to Broken Hill, stopping at Kerang and Mildura. [Note 1] On board were two pilots and eight passengers. A strong and gusting wind was blowing from the south-west and the sky was mostly overcast with the base of the clouds about 2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level. About 20 minutes after takeoff the aircraft was approaching Redesdale and several people observed it flying about 1,000 ft (300 m) above ground level, just below the cloud base. [1]
Several witnesses reported hearing a sharp crack followed by cessation of noise from the engines. When they looked up they saw the Stinson spiralling downwards. Part of one wing had separated from the remainder of the aircraft and it was drifting slowly towards the ground. As they watched, they saw the whole tail assembly break free from the fuselage. Moments later the wreckage struck the ground and a pall of black smoke rose into the air. [1][2] Part of the left wing, outboard of the engine nacelle, continued to drift down slowly and reached the ground about ¾ mile (1.2 km) from the main wreckage. [3]
The crash occurred 21 minutes after taking off from Essendon Airport. [4] The flight covered a distance of only 50 nmi (93 km) and ended in farming country about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Redesdale. [1] The site of the crash was once part of "Spring Plains" Station which had been owned by John Robertson Duigan and was where he constructed and flew the first aeroplane in Australia. [5]
The main wreckage consisting of the fuselage, right inner wing, and left inner wing still with its engine attached, struck the ground inverted and was immediately consumed by fire. The bodies of the eight passengers were found in what remained of the cabin but were burned beyond recognition. The violent gyration of the fuselage threw the two pilots through the roof of the cockpit. Their bodies were found unburned 12–15 yards (11–14 m) from the main wreckage. The tail of the aircraft broke away from the fuselage and fell to the ground about 220 yards (200 m) from the main wreckage. [3]
The outer section of the left wing, outboard of the engine nacelle, was found about ¾ mile (1.2 km) from the main wreckage. Apart from the fracture surfaces on the inboard ends of the spars it was almost undamaged. The right wing was torn into three sections by the violence of the gyrations and struck the ground 150 yards (140 m) from the main wreckage. The right engine was torn away from the right wing and struck the ground about 50 feet (15 m) from the main wreckage. It was slightly damaged by the fire. [3] The main wreckage trail was about 100 yards (91 m) long. [6] In the gyrations of the aircraft after separation of the outer part of the left wing, other parts broke free and separated from the main wreckage. Many small pieces of wreckage were found scattered over a wide area. [3]
The Stinson Model A was a tri-motor with three Lycoming R-680 radial engines, each of 235 horsepower (175 kW). It was approved to fly at a maximum weight of 10,500 lb (4,763 kg). Four Stinson Model A aircraft were imported to Australia in 1936 and operated by Airlines of Australia. [Note 2][7]
After the outbreak of war in the Pacific in December 1941, Airlines of Australia had found it impossible to obtain spare parts for the Lycoming R-680 engines in its two remaining Stinsons (a Stinson had crashed in February 1937 and another in March 1937[8]). In early 1943 the decision was made to convert both aircraft to twin-engine configuration by removing the Lycoming engines and installing a 550 horsepower (410 kW) 9-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1 Wasp engine on each wing. These engines had been imported to Australia in large numbers for use as tank engines. The noses of the two aircraft were to be re-built by installing streamlined structures made of aluminium sheet. [2][7]
By October 1943 VH-UYY had been converted to twin-engine configuration in the Essendon Airport facilities of Australian National Airways which had taken over Airlines of Australia. The increase in total power from 705 to 1,100 hp (526 to 820 kW) improved the takeoff, climb and one-engine-inoperative performance of the aircraft and permitted the maximum weight to be increased to 11,200 lb (5,080 kg) for takeoff. [Note 3] For the next 15 months Tokana was used on the Melbourne-Kerang-Mildura-Broken Hill route. [1]
VH-UYY flew for 13,763 hours, including 2,797 hours since its conversion to a twin-engine aeroplane. [Note 4][3]
Investigators were able to determine the most likely sequence of the in-flight break-up:[3]
Investigators found nothing in the wreckage to indicate there had been an explosion or fire in the aircraft prior to it striking the ground. It was immediately clear that the outer part of the left wing had broken away from the aircraft.
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Air crash
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Orgreave rail accident
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The Orgreave Train Collision occurred on 13 December 1926[1] near Orgreave Colliery signal box on the Great Central Railway line about 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) east of Sheffield. A goods train had collided with a preceding goods train on the same line, and the wreckage had obstructed the adjacent passenger line. A workmen's train, known as a paddy mail, ran into the wreckage; paddy mails were workmen's trains operated in connection with all three shift changes at the collieries. These were hauled from Sheffield Victoria, as far as Orgreaves Colliery Sidings by the main line company, using whatever locomotive was available. At this point the colliery's own locomotives took over and in connection with this operation 'Rothervale No.6' was fitted with vacuum brakes. The train then ran to Orgreave Colliery platform and Treeton Colliery. The line at Orgreaves Colliery[Note 1] was quadruple track, the centre tracks being the Main Lines operated under Absolute Block regulations, and the outer lines were designated Goods Lines, and they were worked under Permissive Block regulations. Whereas the Absolute Block System maintains a space interval between trains to prevent collision, the Permissive Block System permits trains to follow one another into a block section without special protection other than a speed restriction, usually of 4 mph. At about 5 a.m. on 13 December 1926 the Orgreaves Colliery signalman had the 2.50 a.m. Mexborough to Woodford goods train, consisting of around 40 wagons, mostly empty, standing on the Up Goods Line at his home signal, waiting for clearance forward. He accepted the 1.15 a.m. Dewsnap to Nottingham goods train from Darnall West on the Up Goods Line under the Permissive Block regulations. This train collided with the rear of the stationary Woodford train. The weather was said to be foggy, dense in places. In the collision, a number of empty wagons were derailed and some were thrown foul of the Up Main line. Just before 5.30 a.m. a workmen's train colloquially referred to as the Orgreave "Paddy Mail" left Sheffield Victoria, and having called at Darnall and running on the Up Main line ran into the wreckage. The workmen's train consisted of 14 assorted elderly vehicles hauled by an ex-G.N.R. "Atlantic" locomotive driven by Fred Bagley of Neepsend engine shed. The train was carrying around 800 miners travelling to their work at collieries. The locomotive of the workmen's train hit the wagons at moderate speed, as the train was slowing to take branch points and the train was brought to a halt within 50 yards; some damage was done to the front coaches. Although there were many minor injuries to the colliers going on shift only 19 miners required the attention of staff at Sheffield Royal Hospital, one being detained with back and thigh injuries, and there were no fatalities. Many of the uninjured miners from Orgreave left the train and walked along the lines to their pit to start the morning shift, to avoid losing pay for the day. For miners working at Treeton it was too far to walk within the time and many were taken back to Sheffield by the railway. The Absolute Block System was implemented to prevent train collisions by ensuring that only one train could be in any railway route section at one time. The Permissive Block System was used in situations where goods and mineral trains needed to close up to previous trains in congested areas, but it was in general restricted to goods and mineral trains only, and restricted to a speed of 4 mph, and prohibited in foggy conditions. It seems likely that Permissive Block working should not have been in operation at the time of the Orgreaves collision; and that the Nottingham train should have run sufficiently slowly that it did not collide with the stationary train in front. When the collision took place, the guard of the Nottingham train should have run back down the line, exhibiting a red hand signal to place detonators on both the approaching lines (the Goods Line and the Main Line) to protect the point of the collision. It is not clear why these mandatory safety measures were not adopted.
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Train collisions
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IndyStar Wine & Food Experience 2021 canceled as organizers cite COVID delta variant surge
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See video highlights from the IndyStar Wine & Food Experience at Clay Terrace in Carmel, Ind., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Jenna Watson and Michelle Pemberton, Indianapolis Star It looks like local foodies won't be toasting the return of an in-person IndyStar Wine & Food Experience this fall. The event, which had been slated for Sept. 25 at Clay Terrace in Carmel , has been canceled, as the national USA Today Wine & Food Experience tour was scrapped Friday; its organizers citing the surge of the delta variant of COVID-19. The tour was to hit six cities, including Naples, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; and Scottsdale, Ariz. The IndyStar festival has become one of the area’s most anticipated foodie events, offering the chance to taste dishes from some of the best local restaurants, sip wines, watch cooking demonstrations and mingle with notable chefs. Last year’s event, which was to be held at Carmel Civic Square, also was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and subbed with a two-week virtual experience in October , in which diners were encouraged to visit participating restaurants for chances to win gift cards. The plan for the 2021 festival was to focus less on celebrity appearances than in the past, and spotlight local restaurants, wineries and other alcohol companies sampling. But the rise in coronavirus cases forced the call off of that and a series of other events, said Jason Taylor, president of the USA Today Network Ventures division of Gannett/USA Today. 'After careful thought and consideration, we have made the tough decision to cancel the 2021 USA Today Wine & Food Experience Tour, as well as the majority of our other planned in-person events. The Delta Variant is continuing to surge and we want to make sure we are doing our part to slow the spread and keep our communities safe," Taylor said in a released statement. "We can't wait to be back in person when it's safe to do so." Like last year, ticket holders of the canceled in-person event will get automatic refunds — by Sept. 17 — and a promotional program will be implemented to help to support committed restaurants by encouraging patronage of their takeout and delivery programs.
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Organization Closed
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Trio Wins Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine For Work On Cells And Oxygen
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The winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine are Gregg Semenza of the U.S., Peter Ratcliffe of Britain and William Kaelin of the U.S. They're seen here on a screen during a news conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images
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The winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine are Gregg Semenza of the U.S., Peter Ratcliffe of Britain and William Kaelin of the U.S. They're seen here on a screen during a news conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Three scientists who made important discoveries about how cells sense and adapt to different oxygen levels have won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, in the first announcement of Nobel winners for 2019.
William G. Kaelin Jr. of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University, Peter J. Ratcliffe of Oxford University and the Francis Crick Institute and Gregg L. Semenza of Johns Hopkins University were jointly awarded the prize.
"The seminal discoveries by this year's Nobel laureates revealed the mechanism for one of life's most essential adaptive processes," the Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute said.
The scientists studied hypoxia — low oxygen levels — and while many people might know about that condition because of its link to high altitude, Ratcliffe has called hypoxia "an important component of many human diseases including cancer, heart disease, stroke, vascular disease, and anemia."
2019 Medicine Laureates William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza have identified molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/LiExfH74rh
The three physicians "found the molecular switch that regulates how our cells adapt when oxygen levels drop," said Randall Johnson, a member of the Nobel Committee.
"Cells and tissues are constantly experiencing changes in oxygen availability," Johnson said. "As an embryo grows and develops, as muscles work, the oxygen available changes as the tissues themselves change. Cells need a way to adjust to the amount of oxygen they have, while still doing their important jobs."
Johnson added, "Scientists often toss around this phrase 'textbook discovery.' But I'd say this is really a textbook discovery."
The committee said the discoveries are of fundamental importance for physiology and could blaze the trail for new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases.
"We make knowledge. That's what I do as a publicly funded scientist," Ratcliffe said by phone in an interview with the Nobel Committee. And he added that he could not have predicted the impact his work would have.
"It is important that scientists have the courage, and are allowed to derive knowledge for its own sake — i.e., independent of the perceived value at the point of creation. And the history of science tells us over and over again that the value of that knowledge can increase" in a number of random and unpredictable ways.
The prize of 9 million Swedish crowns ($913,000) will be shared equally by the three winners.
Kaelin was born in New York and received an M.D. from Duke University. He did his specialist training in internal medicine and oncology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Ratcliffe was born in Lancashire, United Kingdom, and studied medicine at Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University and did his specialist training in nephrology at Oxford. He is the director of clinical research at the Francis Crick Institute in London, the director of the Target Discovery Institute in Oxford and a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.
Semenza was born in New York. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Harvard and his M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. He did his specialist training in pediatrics at Duke University. He is the director of the Vascular Research Program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering.
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Awards ceremony
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WTO set to agree Yemen's membership terms
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WTO set to agree Yemen's membership terms
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
GENEVA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Yemen’s 13 year pursuit of a seat at the World Trade Organization is set to end successfully this month, making its entry into the global trade club a formality early next year.
According to an agenda circulated to WTO members this week and seen by Reuters on Friday, the WTO working party on Yemen’s accession will meet on Sept. 26 “with a view to adopting” the key documents setting out its membership terms.
The arrangement will be rubber-stamped by the full WTO membership and then again at a ministerial meeting in December, opening a three month window for Yemen to ratify it.
WTO officials say the deal was made possible after Ukraine agreed terms for Yemen’s membership, effectively withdrawing a veto that had been the only obstacle for more than a year.
All other WTO members have signalled they are ready for Yemen to join, and many had privately said they were mystified by Ukraine’s objections, since it had negligible trade links with Yemen.
Yemen first applied to join the WTO in April 2000 and will become its 160th member.
Its accession will be a boost for a country that is struggling to recover from the turmoil brought by pro-democracy protests in 2011, which forced the president to step aside, took the country to the brink of civil war and dealt a blow to its already dismal economy.
Its addition to the global trading club will bring an early boost to Roberto Azevedo, the new head of the WTO, which is struggling to retain its credibility as the global forum for trade negotiations after 12 years of stalemate.
Being part of the Geneva-based body, whose members are bound to keep to the global trading rules, may help shore up confidence in its impoverished economy.
Yemen, a U.S. ally, relies on oil and gas exports for most of its foreign currency earnings. But frequent attacks on oil installations such as its main pipeline, which was blown up on Sunday, deprive the government of vital revenue.
Neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, provided a $1 billion loan to beef up Yemen’s central bank reserves last year but other foreign aid out of $7.9 billion pledged by donors in 2012 has been slow to arrive. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alison Williams)
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Join in an Organization
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Shipwreck from 1880s revealed by shifting Lake Michigan water levels
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A change in Lake Michigan water levels has revealed a shipwreck from the 1880s that is visible in western Michigan for the first time since 2018. Experts believe it's the wooden spine of the Contest, said Craig Rich, director of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association. The wreckage is along the shore in Muskegon County, near where the White Lake channel meets Lake Michigan. In 2018, major parts were seen for the first time since 1974, a result of changes in lake current, water levels and sand. Now the wreckage is visible again. "The lake is a very living organism and it changes every day, basically," Rich said Wednesday. "Things get covered and uncovered all the time." There was speculation in 2018 that the shipwreck was another schooner, the LC Woodruff. But experts subsequently settled on the identity as the 124-foot-long Contest, based on measurements and other findings, Rich said. According to the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, the Contest had a streak of bad luck even before its demise. Among the incidents: In October 1855, the ship suffered a collision in Lake Huron; in April 1868, it sprang a leak and lost cargo; and in September 1868, it sank and was raised, incurring a loss of $11,000. "It's rare to get a glimpse of one," he said. "It's a great little day trip for anybody who wants to visit that area."
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Shipwreck
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EuroBasket Women 2015
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The 2015 European Women Basketball Championship, commonly called EuroBasket Women 2015, was the 35th edition of the continental tournament in women's basketball, sanctioned by the FIBA Europe. The tournament was co-held in Hungary, which hosted the championship for the fifth time after 1950, 1964, 1983 and 1997, and Romania which hosted it for the second time after 1966, on 11–28 June 2015. The event was hosted by more than one country for the first time. [2][3][4][5]
Serbia won their first title by defeating France 76–68 in the final. [6]
Initially six member federations expressed their intention to organize the tournament: Belarus and Lithuania, who applied a joint bid;[7] Hungary, Israel, Serbia and Spain. [8] Lithuania later refused the plan of a joint bid[9] and eventually two countries submitted an official candidation, Belarus and Hungary. The final decision was made by the FIBA Europe Board on 18 December 2011 in their meeting in Munich, which awarded the organization rights to Hungary by majority vote. FIBA Europe president Ólafur Rafnsson was on the opinion that "it was an excellent choice as Hungary has tradition in basketball and especially in women's basketball." Attila Czene, State Minister for Sport of the Ministry of National Resources was also pleased, stating that the European Championship great opportunity to upgrade and expand the infrastructure, as Hungary's aim "is to invest in sport and basketball is a main team sport." "As a former Olympic champion, I am happy that we can reintroduce team sport in Hungary. Basketball is a bit behind handball right now and we are trying to close this gap, with 2015 we can start making progress" – he added. [3]
Romanian Basketball Federation has announced that FIBA Europe board has granted them the rights to co-host EuroBasket Women in 2015 with Hungary. Originally Hungary applied to host and was awarded the tournament as the only host country. According to the announcement current plan has Romania hosting groups in Cluj-Napoca, Oradea and Timișoara. [4][5][10]
The qualification was held from 7 June 2013 to 25 June 2014. The draw was held on 29 November 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. [11][12]
The seeding was announced on 20 November 2014. [11] According to the FIBA Europe regulations the participating nations are seeded based on their record in EuroBasket Women 2013 final tournament (shown in brackets for first 6 teams) or EuroBasket Women 2015 qualification (shown in brackets with symbol Q). [11]
Spain (1)
France (2)
Turkey (3)
Serbia (4)
Belarus (5)
Czech Republic (6)
Croatia (Q1)
Slovakia (Q2)
Lithuania (Q3)
Ukraine (Q4)
Poland (Q5)
Latvia (Q6)
Montenegro (Q7)
Russia (Q8)
Sweden (Q9)
Italy (Q10)
Great Britain (Q11)
Greece (Q1st)
Hungary (host)
Romania (host)
Ana Dabović
Céline Dumerc
Sandrine Gruda
Alba Torrens
Sonja Petrović
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Sports Competition
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Taco John’s International inked its biggest area development agreement to date with the largest Wendy’s franchisee
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Taco John’s International inked its biggest area development agreement to date with the largest Wendy’s franchisee, Meritage Hospitality Group, Inc. Per the terms of the agreement, the group will build 50 new Taco John’s restaurants by March 31, 2026 with options to develop an additional 150 restaurants. “Taco John’s is the perfect fit for our company. While exploring concepts to expand our portfolio, we were quickly attracted to Taco John’s,” says Gary Rose, president and COO of Meritage Hospitality Group. “We are excited about the Mexican restaurant segment and the Bigger, Bolder, Better direction of the brand. We’re excited to open our first restaurants near our headquarters in west Michigan in 2022.” “This is historic for our brand,” said Brooks Speirs, vice president for franchise development. “As we begin our aggressive growth into new markets, there is no better partner than Meritage. While getting to know the group, I’ve been impressed with the organizational infrastructure, attention to detail, commitment to people, operations capabilities and development of top-notch restaurants. The best is yet to come for Taco John’s!” Differentiating itself in the popular Mexican quick-service segment, Taco John’s prides itself on a unique menu that features delicious, quality-made food. Its commitment to quality has established the brand as the go-to restaurant in its markets. Additionally, its significant drive-thru business, which represents 65 percent of systemwide sales, has helped insulate the brand from recent market shifts. “Over the last few years, we have been building fantastic momentum,” says Jim Creel, president and CEO of Taco John’s. “As a 50-plus year-old brand we knew we needed a modern look to energize our current locations. At the same time, we have elevated our executive team and board. Our evolution has helped us become an even more appealing investment to large multi-unit operators. The agreement with Meritage is a capstone moment, illuminating all the hard work the Taco John’s team has put in place.” Taco John’s is a thriving legacy brand with strong unit-level economics, prime markets available for multi-unit development and a unique menu. The brand has recently launched several new and innovative menu items, a refreshed brand look and feel, and is rolling out a systemwide remodel program to attract new consumers and retain longtime fans. As Taco John’s expands, it is seeking qualified, experienced and passionate franchisees, franchise groups and convenience store operators to develop the concept in key markets.
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Sign Agreement
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Serious crash leaves two people in critical condition in Perth hills
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A man and woman are in a critical condition in hospital after their car smashed into a power pole in the Perth Hills this morning. Emergency services were called to the crash on Welshpool Road near Melaleuca Road in Lesmurdie just before 11.30am. The driver and passenger, both aged in their 30s, were rushed to Royal Perth Hospital. It is unclear who was driving at the time. In pictures supplied to The West Australian, a gold sedan can be seen blocking two lanes of traffic along the busy road. The driver’s side of the car is dented, with the passenger side completely totalled. No other injuries have been reported. Traffic is banked up in the area, with Welshpool Road eastbound closed between Crystal Brook Road and Tonkin Highway.
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Road Crash
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SA bus driver hailed a hero after saving 40 school kids during fatal crash
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A South Australian bus driver has been hailed a hero after his actions saved 40 school kids during a fatal crash. Just moments after he’d picked up students from Clare High School on Tuesday, in the Clare Valley north of Adelaide, the bus was involved in a fatal crash with a ute. Tragically, the ute driver, a 51-year-ol Blyth man, died at the scene. Watch the a full report on the bus crash in the video player above. The bus driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries while all the school students in his charge escaped unscathed. Julie Newlands, who witnessed the horrifying road incident, told 7NEWS: “He’s done an amazing to get that bus where it was and to not an have any injuries in that bus.” Newlands also said she “felt sorry” for the bus driver because of the trauma of what he’d witnessed. “Oh the sound was horrific,” she recounted. ‘The sound was horrific.’ “It was a massive bang and then another couple of bangs, two or three bangs afterwards.” South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the deadly incident was tramautising for the children on board. “We’ve got a group of children now who’ve experienced a very traumatic incident, something that will probably stay with them for a very long time,” he told reporters on Wednesday. Sharryn Daly, principal of Clare High School, is offering counselling services for anyone on the bus. “We’ve deployed extra student counsellors today for support and also the department is very good in deploying extra support staff for the school,” she said to 7NEWS. The man who died has been identified as a father-of-two who had recently recovered from bowel cancer. The incident occurred around 3.40pm on Tuesday at Blyth Road, Armagh. The road was closed in both directions between Kurrang Avenue and St Georges Terrace as emergency services examined the accident.
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Road Crash
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L'Innovation department store fire
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The L'Innovation fire was a fire which took place at the À L'Innovation department store on the Rue Neuve in Brussels, Belgium on 22 May 1967. 251 people were killed, 62 injured and the department store itself, the work of the architect Victor Horta, was destroyed. In the aftermath of the fire, there was speculation that it might have been started by anti-American, Maoist protestors in the context of the Cold War and opposition movements against United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The Innovation fire remains the deadliest fire in Belgian history. The Innovation department store was situated on the fashionable Rue Neuve in Brussels. It was housed in a purpose-built edifice constructed by the leading Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta in 1901. The store had five floors and, in 1967, had daily takings of 30 million Belgian francs (roughly 4,300,000 euros of 2015). An exhibit featuring American merchandise that began on 5 May and included blue jeans, barbecue equipment and paper dolls had created outrage among a pro-China group called "Action for the Peace and Independence of Peoples." In the days leading up to the fire, picketing outside the store had taken place, while pamphlets promising greater conflict also circulated. The blaze began in the five-story structure at approximately 13:30 when more than 1,000 people were in the store. The store was built with an atrium in the center open to all floors and topped with a skylight, an architecture that behaved like a chimney giving a steady air draft to the store's wooden floors and walls. Cries of "fire!" caused panic, with virtually the entire store engulfed in just 10 minutes. No sprinkler system or other active fire fighting system was present. Many shoppers rushed to windows, since the main stairway was enveloped in thick black smoke, while some jumped to their deaths before fire ladders arrived. Still others went to the roof and escaped via nearby buildings. Some employees, having become used to the exploding fireworks that protestors had set off, ignored pleas to leave the building until it was too late. The origin of the fire was a source of confusion, with store management first stating that the inferno began in the first-floor children's wear department. That was a contradiction of witnesses who had seen exploding butane canisters in the third floor camping department, as well as fourth floor problems[clarification needed] in the kitchen of the store's restaurant. Further controversy came about when one witness claimed to have heard one person shout after the fire began, "I'm giving my life for Vietnam!" On May 30, a funeral service for the victims, attended by Belgium's King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola, was held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Other towns also held funeral masses. The fire marked the worst single-building fire worldwide since the 1961 Niteroi circus fire in Brazil, and was Belgium's greatest disaster since the August 1956 coal mine fire at the Bois du Cazier colliery in Marcinelle. Coordinates: 50°51′11″N 4°21′24″E / 50.85306°N 4.35667°E / 50.85306; 4.35667
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Fire
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1968 Sulawesi earthquake
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The 1968 Sulawesi earthquake struck Indonesia on August 14. It had a Richter magnitude of 7.4, spawned a large tsunami, and killed roughly 200 people. The earthquake had a Richter magnitude of 7.4. It created a tsunami with wave heights of 8 m (26 ft) to 10 m (33 ft), which soon traveled onto Sulawesi. The most extensive waves reached 300 m (980 ft) inland, destroying 700 homes and killing around 200 people. [2]
The earthquake ruptured along Palu-Koro fault[3] in Manimbaja Bay. It caused subsidence that decreased elevations by as much as 2 m (6 ft 7 in) to 3 m (9.8 ft) along the coast. It also appeared to uplift at least one of the Togian Islands. [2]
The earthquake was near the Celebes Sea; it sank the island of Tuguan. [4]
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Earthquakes
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KARE 11 Investigates: Rapes, murders, assaults undercut DHS claim they release mentally ill suspects safely
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Part 4 of “The Gap: Failure to treat, Failure to protect” exposes how no one tracks crimes committed after suspects still incompetent to stand trial are released. In the last five years, 30-year-old Alandes Augustin has been charged with a bevy of crimes, from bank and store robberies to domestic assaults. He is also severely mentally ill. Many of his charges were put on hold or outright dismissed after judges found him mentally incompetent to stand trial. Then in March 2020 prosecutors charged Augustin with beating his girlfriend and stabbing a man in the chest several times all on the same night. After being found incompetent to stand trial, a judge ordered the Department of Human Services to treat Augustin’s mental illness. But DHS would not hold on to Augustin for long, releasing him five months later based on a policy the state agency announced in 2018, records show. RELATED: Mentally ill suspects charged with crimes go untreated; the public goes unprotected Citing a shortage of hospital beds, DHS said it would release mentally ill patients back to the community when the agency deemed that they no longer needed hospital care – even if they still were not competent to stand trial. DHS says such releases – called provisional discharges – are done safely. “If a person is not able to go back to jail and they’re not able to be maintained safely in the community then we don’t provisionally discharge them,” said DHS Chief Medical Director Dr. Kylee Stevens. “It’s as simple as that.” Augustin’s case and a host of others show otherwise. About six months after DHS provisionally discharged Augustin from a secure treatment facility, police were called to a St. Paul apartment building where they found him once again stabbing a man, according to the criminal charges. Augustin is far from the only suspect provisionally discharged by DHS who has gone on to cause more harm to the public. A KARE 11 investigation has identified beatings, stabbings, sexual assaults, and murders by patients who were released who were still incompetent. DHS says it has provisionally discharged 665 defendants back to the community since 2018, though won’t reveal their names citing patient confidentiality. The agency says it does not know how many have been discharged while still incompetent to stand trial. What’s more, when KARE 11 asked Dr. Stevens whether DHS tracks how many patients provisionally discharged under the new policy have committed new crimes, she replied: “We have no way of tracking that information.” So, KARE 11 attempted to do what no one else has: Identify how many provisionally discharged defendants have gone on to be charged with new crimes. Even with limited access to court records, KARE 11 identified 58 such cases so far. Some of those released were later charged with minor crimes such as trespassing, public urination or sleeping on public transit, suggesting they live in extreme poverty or are homeless. Others are far more serious. They illustrate how a lack of treatment and supervision can result in a revolving door in which defendants are repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial, but are considered well enough to be released into the community – where they commit new crimes. Some of those cases: Then there’s Terrion Sherman, found incompetent to stand trial for aggravated robbery and assault charges, then committed to the St. Peter State Security Hospital in October 2018. Although he was still not competent to stand trial, DHS provisionally discharged him to a Fridley group home in May 2019, where records show he missed taking medications 76 times in just eight months. Despite reports from the group home that he repeatedly failed to follow his treatment plan, KARE 11 documented how his provisional discharge was never revoked. Free to come and go from the group home, in February 2020 Sherman was charged with brutally murdering his girlfriend, Abigail Simpson, in an apparent psychotic episode. “Oftentimes there isn’t real monitoring for these individuals who are provisionally discharged and that’s what puts the public in danger,” said Brandon Vaughn, an attorney representing Simpson’s family in a potential lawsuit. “If we as society have made a policy decision that we’re going to do it this way, we need to know what the consequences of that are,” said retired Senior Judge Kathryn Messerich. “And we need to do better.” Prior to 2018, Minnesota already had one type of gap case – where mentally incompetent defendants are not ordered to DHS for treatment. Instead, the charges are often dismissed, and the defendants released back into the community. Some of those defendants – including Gregory Ulrich – went on to commit additional crimes. Records show Ulrich called 911 to admit he was responsible for the mass shooting at a Buffalo medical clinic earlier this year. He is awaiting trial on first degree murder charges. DHS’s 2018 policy change created another type of gap case. The agency decided to provisionally discharge defendants committed as mentally ill if doctors decided they no longer need hospital care. They are released even if they still are not competent to stand trial. That puts mentally ill defendants in legal limbo. If they are not competent to stand trial, they cannot be held in jail indefinitely where there’s no treatment, Judge Messerich explained. As a result, they’re often just released into the community. “There’s not a lot you can do,” she said. “It’s very much a problem,” Ramsey County Chief Public Defender Jim Fleming told KARE 11. Fleming says it’s no secret that people are falling through the gaps. “Everybody knows about them who are working in the system. We all know about them. The prosecutors know, the defense attorneys know, the judges know.” But DHS officials argue their policy change is not to blame. “Do things happen sometimes when people are on provisional discharge? Certainly. I don’t – and I can’t – tie that to any change that we made in our process,” Dr. Stevens said. Before DHS provisionally discharged him in 2020, Alandes Augustin had already been charged with numerous thefts, twice with domestic assault, punching a jail guard and robbing a downtown Minneapolis bank. Then on March 16, he beat his girlfriend, according to video and police records. Records indicate his rampage continued. Augustin went to a nearby room and knocked on the door. When the man inside opened, Augustin allegedly pushed his way in and stabbed the man repeatedly in the chest and arms, according to surveillance video described in the criminal charge and police report. He was found incompetent to stand trial and committed to DHS in April 2020. But the agency provisionally discharged him in September. Augustin would end up living with a friend at low-income apartment building in St. Paul, where in February police reports say the two got into an argument over a missing phone. Augustin grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his friend in the head, chest and stomach, according to the criminal complaint and police records. A judge once again found Augustin incompetent to stand trial. He was ruled mentally ill and sent back to DHS for treatment. Three months later, in July 2021, records show DHS again provisionally discharged him to a residential treatment facility. When KARE 11 tried to speak with him, we were told he no longer lived there.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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UNWFP warns 3 million more now ‘teetering on the edge of famine’-Business Journal
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The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries, has risen to 45 million as acute hunger spikes around the world. This number has risen from 42 million earlier in the year, and 27 million in 2019, the agency said, in a news release. The increase is based on those who desperately living within the official hunger classification of IPC4 and above, in Afghanistan, alongside other increases in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kenya, and Burundi. “Tens of millions of people are staring into an abyss. We’ve got conflict, climate change and COVID-19 driving up the numbers of the acutely hungry, and the latest data show there are now more than 45 million people marching towards the brink of starvation,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. He was speaking following a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan, where WFP is ramping up its support to assist almost 23 million people in need there “Fuel costs are up, food prices are soaring, fertilizer is more expensive, and all of this feeds into new crises like the one unfolding now in Afghanistan, as well as long-standing emergencies like Yemen and Syria,” he added. The WFP said that together with humanitarian partners in hunger hotspots across the world, they are doing everything possible to increase aid for millions who risk starvation. However, available resources are unable to keep pace with demand, at a time when traditional funding streams are under huge strain. WFP estimates that the cost of averting famine globally now stands at $ 7 billion, up from some 6.6 billion, earlier in the year. “As the cost of humanitarian assistance rises exponentially, we need more funds to reach families across the globe who have already exhausted their capacity to cope with extreme hunger,” added the WFP chief. The agency said families facing acute food insecurity, are being forced to make “devastating choices to cope with the rising hunger.” A vulnerability analysis across the 43 countries surveyed, shows families being forced to eat less, or skip meals entirely. Sometimes children are being fed, while parents sacrifice meals, and are forced to go hungry. In Madagascar, where pockets of famine are already a reality, some are being forced to eat locusts, wild leaves, or cactus to survive.
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Famine
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A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just in ...
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SCIENCE
A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just in Time for Passover
Israel battles a swarm of millions of locusts that flew from Egypt that is giving rise to a host of ecological, political and agricultural issues
March 6, 2013
Locusts covering a bush during the 2004 swarm near the Red Sea cost in Israel. Amir Ayali
Locusts have plagued farmers for millennia. According to the Book of Exodus , around 1400 B.C. the Egyptians experienced an exceptionally unfortunate encounter with these ravenous pests when they struck as the eighth Biblical plague. As Exodus describes, “They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.”
Locusts attacks still occur today, as farmers in Sudan and Egypt well know. Now, farmers in Israel can also join this unfortunate group. Earlier today, a swarm of locusts arrived in Israel from Egypt, just in time for the Jewish Passover holiday which commemorates Jews’ escape from Egyptian slavery following the ten Biblical plagues. “The correlation with the Bible is interesting in terms of timing, since the eighth plague happened sometime before the Exodus,” said Hendrik Bruins , a researcher in the Department of Man in the Desert at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. “Now we need to wait for the plague of darkness,” he joked.
With the help of the Lord, Moses delivers a plague of locusts upon the Egyptians, seen in the photo of a Bible page. Photo via New York Public Library, Renaissance and medieval manuscripts collection
While the timing is uncanny, researchers point out that–at least in this case–locust plagues are a normal ecological phenomenon rather than a form of divine punishment. “Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think there’s any religious significance at all to insects in the desert, even a lot of them, and even if it seems reminiscent of a certain Biblically described incident,” said Jeremy Benstein, deputy director of the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Tel Aviv.
In this region of the world, locusts swarm every 10 to 15 years. No one knows why they stick to that particular cycle, and predicting the phenomena remains challenging for researchers. In this case, an unusually rainy winter led to excessive vegetation, supporting a boom in locust populations along the Egyptian-Sudanese border. As in past swarms, once the insect population devours all of the local vegetation, the hungry herbivores take flight in search of new feeding grounds. Locusts–which is just a term for the 10 to 15 species of grasshoppers that swarm–can travel over 90 miles in a single day, carried mostly by the wind. In the plagues of 1987 and 1988 (PDF)–a notoriously bad period for locusts–some of the befuddled insects even managed to wash up on Caribbean shores after an epic flight from West Africa.
When grasshoppers switch from a sedentary, solo lifestyle to a swarming lifestyle, they undergo a series of physical, behavioral and neurological changes. According to Amir Ayali , chair of the Department of Zoology at Tel Aviv University, this shift is one of the most extreme cases of behavioral plasticity found in nature. Before swarming, locusts morph from their normal tan or green coloring to a bright black, yellow or red exoskeleton. Females begin laying eggs in unison which then hatch in synch and fuel the swarm. In this way, a collection of 1 million insects can increase by an order of magnitude to 1 billion in a matter of several days.
From there, they take flight, though the exact trigger remains unknown. Labs in Israel and beyond are working on understanding the mathematics of locust swarming and the neurological shifts behind the behaviors that make swarming possible. ”If we could identify some key factors that are responsible for this change, we could maybe find an antidote or something that could prevent the factors that transform innocent grasshoppers from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll,” Ayali said. “We’re revealing the secrets one by one, but there’s still so much more to find out.”
A swarm of locusts will consume any green vegetation in its path–even toxic plants–and can decimate a farmer’s field almost as soon as it descends. In one day, the mass of insects can munch its way through the equivalent amount of food as 15 million people consume in the same time period, with billions of insects covering an area up to the size of Cairo, Africa’s largest city. As such, at their worst locust swarms can impact some 20 percent of the planet’s human population through both direct and indirect damages they cause. In North Africa, the last so-called mega-swarm invaded in 2004, while this current swarm consists of a measly 30 to 120 million insects.
Estimating the costs exacted by locusts swarms remains a challenge. While locust swarms reportedly cause more monetary damage than any other pest, it’s hard to put an exact figure on the problem. Totaling the true crost depends on the size of the swarm and where the winds carry it. To be as accurate as possible, costs of pesticides, food provided to local populations in lieu of wrecked crops, monitoring costs and other indirect effects must be taken into account. No one has yet estimated the cost of this current swarm, though the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) allots $10 million per year solely to maintain and expand current monitoring operations.
A swarm of locusts descends upon Israel. Photo by Amir Ayali
This morning, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture sprayed pesticides on an area of around 10,000 hectares near the Egyptian border. To quell a plague of locusts, pest managers have to hit the insects while they’re still settled on the ground for the night and before they take flight at dawn. So far, pesticide spraying is the only option for defeating the bugs, but this exacts environmental tolls. Other invertebrates, some of them beneficial, will also shrivel under the pesticide’s deadly effects, and there’s a chance that birds and other insectivores may eat the poisoned insect corpses and become ill themselves. Researchers are working on ways to develop fungus or viruses that specifically attack locusts, but those efforts are still in initial investigative stages.
Even better, however, would be a way to stop a swarm from taking flight from the very beginning. But this requires constant monitoring of locust-prone areas in remote corners of the desert, which is not always possible. And since the insects typically originate from Egypt or Sudan, politics sometimes get in the way of quashing the swarm before it takes flight. “We really want to find them before they swarm, as wingless nymphs on the ground,” Ayali said. “Once you miss that window, your chances of combating them are poor and you’re obliged to spray around like crazy and hope you catch them on the ground.”
In this case, Egypt and Israel reportedly did not manage to coordinate locust-fighting efforts to the best of their abilities. “If you ask me, this is a trans-boundary story,” said Alon Tal , a professor of public policy at Ben-Gurion University. “This is not a significant enemy–with an arial approach you can nip locusts in the bud–but the Egyptian government didn’t take advantage of the fact that they have quite a sophisticated air force and scientific community just to the north.”
Ayali agrees that the situation could have been handled better. He also sees locusts as a chance to foster regional collaboration. Birders and ornithologists from Israel, Jordan and Palestine often cooperate in monitoring migratory avian species, for example, so theoretically locusts could likewise foster efforts. “Maybe scientists should work to bridge the gaps in the region,” Ayali said. “We could take the chance of this little locust plague and together make sure we’re better prepared for the next.”
For now, the Israelis have smote the swarm, but Keith Cressman , a senior locust forecasting office at the FAO’s office in Rome warns that there is still a moderate risk that a few more small populations of young adults may be hiding out in the desert. This means new swarms could potentially form later this week in northeast Egypt and Israel’s Negev region. His organization warned Israel, Egypt and Jordan this morning of the threat, and Jordan mobilized its own locust team, just in case.
For those who do come across the insects (but only the non-pesticide covered ones!), Israeli chefs suggest trying them out for taste. Locusts, it turns out, are the only insects that are kosher to eat. According to the news organization Haaretz , they taste like “tiny chicken wings,” though they make an equally mean stew. “You could actually run out very early before they started spraying and collect your breakfast,” Ayali said. “I’m told they’re very tasty fried in a skillet, but I’ve never tried them myself.”
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Insect Disaster
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Firefighters search mud after Brazil dam collapse; 58 dead
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By MARCELO SILVA DE SOUSA and PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press | Monday, January 28, 2019, 12:05 a.m.
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Civil firefighters survey a destroyed rail bridge on Sunday, two days after a dam collapse in Brumadinho, Brazil. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The confirmed death toll rose to 58, with up to 300 people still missing, authorities said. In an ominous sign, nobody was recovered alive Sunday, a stark difference from the first two days of the disaster, when helicopters were whisking people from the mud.
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The slow speed of search efforts was due to the treacherous sea of reddish-brown mud that surged out when the mine dam breached Friday afternoon. It is up 24 feet deep in some places, and to avoid the danger of sinking and drowning searchers had to carefully walk around the edges or slowly crawl out onto the muck.
Even those efforts were suspended about 10 hours Sunday because of fears that a second mine dam in the southeastern city of Brumadinho was at risk of failing. An estimated 24,000 people were told to get to higher ground, but by afternoon civil engineers said the second dam was no longer at risk.
Areas of water-soaked mud appeared to be drying out, which could help firefighters get to areas previously unreachable. Still, it was slow going for the search teams, and residents were on edge.
“Get out searching!” a woman yelled at firefighters near a refuge set up in the center of Brumadinho. “They could be out there in the bush.”
Brazilian searchers got reinforcements late Sunday, when more than 100 Israeli soldiers and other personnel arrived with plans to join recovery efforts.
Throughout the weekend, there was mounting anger at the giant Vale mining company, which operated the mine, and questions rose about an apparent lack of an alarm system Friday.
Caroline Steifeld said she heard warning sirens Sunday, but there was no alert when the dam collapsed Friday.
“I only heard shouting, people saying to get out. I had to run with my family to get to higher ground, but there was no siren,” she said, adding that a cousin was still unaccounted for.
In an email, Vale told The Associated Press that the area has eight sirens, but “the speed in which the event happened made sounding an alarm impossible” when the dam burst.
People in Brumadinho desperately awaited word on their loved ones. Romeu Zema, the governor of Minas Gerais state, said that by now most recovery efforts would entail pulling out bodies.
The flow of waste reached the nearby community of Vila Ferteco and an occupied Vale administrative office. It buried buildings to their rooftops and an extensive field of the mud cut off roads.
Some residents barely escaped with their lives.
“I saw all the mud coming down the hill, snapping the trees as it descended. It was a tremendous noise,” said a tearful Simone Pedrosa, from the neighborhood of Parque Cachoeira, 5 miles from where the dam collapsed.
For many, hope was evaporating.
“I don’t think he is alive,” Joao Bosco said of his cousin Jorge Luis Ferreira, who worked for Vale. “Right now, I can only hope for a miracle.”
The carpet of mining waste also raised fears of widespread environmental contamination and degradation.
According to Vale’s website, the waste is composed mostly of sand and is non-toxic. However, a U.N. report found that the waste from a similar disaster in 2015 “contained high levels of toxic heavy metals.”
Over the weekend, courts froze about $3 billion from Vale assets for state emergency services and told the company to report on how they would help the victims.
Neither the company nor authorities had reported why the dam failed, but Attorney General Raquel Dodge promised to investigate. “Someone is definitely at fault, she said.”
Dodge noted there are 600 mines in Minas Gerais alone that are classified as being at risk of rupture.
Another dam administered by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton collapsed in 2015 in the city of Mariana in Minas Gerais, resulting in 19 deaths and forcing hundreds from their homes.
Considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, that disaster left 250,000 people without drinking water and killed thousands of fish. An estimated 60 million cubic meters of waste flooded nearby rivers and eventually flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Sueli de Oliveira Costa, who hadn’t heard from her husband since Friday, had harsh words for the mining company.
“Vale destroyed Mariana and now they’ve destroyed Brumadinho,” she said.
Other residents quietly noted that Vale was the main employer in the area.
“The company is responsible for a new tragedy, but it’s the principal employer,” said Diego Aparecido, who has missing friends who worked at Vale. “What will happen if it closes?”
Environmental groups and activists said the latest spill underscored the lack of environmental regulation in Brazil, and many promised to fight any further deregulation.
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Marina Silva, a former environmental minister and presidential candidate, toured the area Sunday. She said Congress should bear part of the blame for not toughening regulations and enforcement.
“All the warnings have been given. We are repeating history with this tragedy,” she told the AP. “Brazil can’t become a specialist in rescuing victims and consoling widows. Measures need to be taken to avoid prevent this from happening again.”
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Mine Collapses
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Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 crash
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Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 was an American domestic flight from Cold Bay, Alaska to Seattle, Washington on June 8, 1983. [1] Shortly after takeoff, the Lockheed L-188 Electra of Reeve Aleutian Airways was travelling over the Pacific Ocean when one of the propellers broke away from its engine and struck the fuselage, damaging the flight controls. The pilots were able to make a successful emergency landing at Anchorage International Airport; none of the fifteen passengers and crew on board was injured in the incident. The aircraft involved in the incident was a Lockheed L-188C Electra, powered by 4 turboprop engines, with manufacturer's serial number 2007 and registration N1968R. It had been delivered to Qantas in 1959. In 1968, after service with other airlines, including Air New Zealand and the California Airmotive Corporation, the aircraft was sold to Reeve Aleutian. [2] It had flown approximately 33,000 hours in service at the time the accident happened. [3]
Just after takeoff from Cold Bay Airport, on the Alaska Peninsula for a flight across the northern Pacific Ocean to Seattle, Washington, with 10 passengers, the crew noted an unusual vibration in the aircraft, but were unable to isolate the source. As the aircraft climbed from FL190 (approximately 19,000 feet (5,800 m)) to FL250 (approximately 25,000 feet (7,600 m)), the Flight Engineer left the cockpit to visually check the engines from the passenger cabin, but saw nothing amiss. The Flight Attendant went into the cockpit to discuss the vibration, which suddenly increased in intensity as she went back into the cabin. She looked out the window and saw the propeller on the No. 4 engine (the outboard engine on the right wing) detach itself and fly spinning under the fuselage. The propeller tore a gash 8 feet (2.4 m) long in the aircraft's belly, depressurizing the cabin and jamming the flight and engine controls. [4][5] The pilots managed to gain some control of the aircraft by using the autopilot and diverted the aircraft to Anchorage. With the engine throttle controls jammed at cruise power, on approach to land the crew was able to make the aircraft descend and climb after shutting down No. 2 (the left inboard) engine in combination with lowering and raising the landing gear. [4][6]
The Electra landed safely at Anchorage International Airport, in spite of the loss of almost all flight controls. The crew had to shut down all engines once the aircraft was on the ground to help bring it to a stop; one tire blew out and the brakes caught fire. [5] Nobody was hurt when the propeller hit the fuselage or during the emergency landing. The captain, 54-year-old James (Jim) Gibson, with 5,700 hours' experience flying Electras, was honored for the successful landing by a meeting with President Ronald Reagan in the White House. [3][7] The Air Line Pilots Association also honored Captain Gibson, 39-year-old First Officer Gary Lintner and 45-year-old Flight Engineer Gerald "Moose" Laurin later in 1983 with its Superior Airmanship Award. [8]
The propeller fell into the Pacific Ocean and was never recovered for examination. The reason for its separation is unknown. [4]
Following the accident, the aircraft was repaired and returned to service. [9] N1968R was de-registered in 2001 and was exported to Canada as C-GHZI, where it was used as a firefighting craft. It has continued in this role, as of August 2020 operating as Air Spray 484, dropping retardant on wildfires in Northern California. It returned to its base in Alberta, Canada on August 28, 2020. Still as C-GHZI, the L188 was airworthy and in service in May 2021. [10]
The airline continued flight operations after the accident but began to succumb to financial issues in the early 1990s. Reeve Aleutian Airways ceased operations on December 5, 2000. [11]
The events of Flight 8 were featured in season 12 of the TV series Mayday, in an episode named "Fight for Control". The episode includes interviews from the flight crew and witnesses, a dramatic reenactment of the flight, and actual footage of the flight's emergency landing. [12]
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Air crash
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Michael Pennington shared with us what happened
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It has been days since a crazy encounter at the Pontchartrain Square Shopping Center in Mandeville. Michael Pennington, the man punched in the face during the incident, shared with us what happened. He said he is bruised up but will survive. "Someone needed to de-escalate the problem. I did not mean by force or anything. My head still hurts. Slight concussion. I still feel headaches. My back. What hurts worse is my ribcage," Pennington said.It was Monday when Pennington said he had just left the UPS store when he overheard an argument between a man identified as Richard Suarez and at least one woman. "I stepped out the car and that is when I heard the man yelling curse words and other obscenities at the lady on the sidewalk. My first thought was 'dude you need to calm down,' and he escalated it from that point. He came around the cars. At that point, I knew it was not going to end pretty for myself," Pennington said.He said he does not remember what happened next. "I do not remember the punch. I do not remember getting hit," Pennington said.Pennington went to the hospital and was released several hours later, and is now recovering at home.Suarez was arrested hours after the incident on multiple charges including second-degree battery and simple assault. Police said he is an Army veteran and he checked himself into the VA hospital that night. "I know we have been having trouble with COVID, Christmastime coming around. I would tell him to calm himself down. Life is not as bad," Pennington said. Thinking back on the situation at hand, Pennington said he would not do anything differently in defending the women. He also said he is thankful for the one who recorded the video that has now gone viral on social media. "Without that, it could have been his word against mine about what happened. It could have been that I started something when I was just trying to leave," Pennington said.Since the incident, several GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help Pennington with his medical expenses.Including this wellness fund: Fundraiser by Michael Cerrato: Wellness Fund For Mike Pennington (gofundme.com) MANDEVILLE, La. — It has been days since a crazy encounter at the Pontchartrain Square Shopping Center in Mandeville. Michael Pennington, the man punched in the face during the incident, shared with us what happened. He said he is bruised up but will survive. "Someone needed to de-escalate the problem. I did not mean by force or anything. My head still hurts. Slight concussion. I still feel headaches. My back. What hurts worse is my ribcage," Pennington said. It was Monday when Pennington said he had just left the UPS store when he overheard an argument between a man identified as Richard Suarez and at least one woman. "I stepped out the car and that is when I heard the man yelling curse words and other obscenities at the lady on the sidewalk. My first thought was 'dude you need to calm down,' and he escalated it from that point. He came around the cars. At that point, I knew it was not going to end pretty for myself," Pennington said. He said he does not remember what happened next. "I do not remember the punch. I do not remember getting hit," Pennington said. Pennington went to the hospital and was released several hours later, and is now recovering at home. Suarez was arrested hours after the incident on multiple charges including second-degree battery and simple assault. Police said he is an Army veteran and he checked himself into the VA hospital that night. "I know we have been having trouble with COVID, Christmastime coming around. I would tell him to calm himself down. Life is not as bad," Pennington said. Thinking back on the situation at hand, Pennington said he would not do anything differently in defending the women. He also said he is thankful for the one who recorded the video that has now gone viral on social media. "Without that, it could have been his word against mine about what happened. It could have been that I started something when I was just trying to leave," Pennington said. Since the incident, several GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help Pennington with his medical expenses.
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Famous Person - Recovered
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Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 crash
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On May 30, 1972, Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 crashed while attempting to land at the Greater Southwest International Airport (GSW) in Fort Worth, Texas during a training flight. All four occupants aboard the training flight were killed. The crash was determined to be caused by the aircraft flying through wake turbulence, and led to sweeping changes in procedures for maintaining minimum safe distance behind aircraft that generate substantial wake turbulence. Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 was a training flight operated using a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 (registration (registration N3305L[2]). The aircraft was manufactured in 1965, and had operated for 18,998 hours at the time of the accident. [1]:25 The purpose of the flight was to flight check three Delta pilots. Flight 9570 had a total of four occupants, including the two-man flight crew actually flying the aircraft, an additional pilot awaiting his flight check, who would have been riding in the rear, and an FAA air carrier operations inspector, who was on board for proficiency checking, and was riding in the “jump seat”, a fold down seat between the pilot and co-pilot. [1]:23–24
Also involved in the accident was American Airlines Flight 1114, a training flight conducted using a McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas DC-10. [1]:2 Flight 1114 was not damaged or affected by the accident. On May 30, 1972, Flight 9570 departed Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas at 06:48 Central Daylight Time, and proceeded to GSW to perform training approaches and landings. Flight 9570 requested an ILS approach to GSW's Runway 13. The clearance was granted, and Flight 9570 was advised that the American Airlines DC-10 was already in the traffic pattern to perform "touch-and-go landings" at GSW. Flight 9570 landed without incident. [1]:1–2
After landing at GSW, Flight 9570 received new takeoff and climb-out clearances, made training maneuvers including an ILS missed approach. Flight 9570 then requested approval for landing on Runway 13, behind the American DC-10 which was also inbound for a landing on the same runway. The air traffic controller gave Flight 9570 clearance to land on Runway 13 with an advisory "caution, turbulence. "[1]:2 The controller did not advise the DC-9 that they were following a "heavy," though the controller did advise that they were following a DC-10 which experienced pilots should have known was a "heavy" aircraft. [1]:14–15
On approach to the runway, the DC-9 began to oscillate about the roll axis, then rolled rapidly to the right. After rolling 90 degrees to the right, the right wingtip struck the runway. The airplane continued to roll to the right, until the fuselage struck the runway in a nearly inverted position. [1]:2 The aircraft was damaged by impact forces, and destroyed by a subsequent fire. All four occupants were killed. [1]:3
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident. The manner of the crash suggested to the NTSB that the accident was caused by wake turbulence from the DC-10 it had followed. Prior to the Flight 9570 accident, the Federal Aviation Administration had no specific wake turbulence based aircraft separation standards in place. Instead, separation was determined by air traffic control radar resolution limits and, in some cases, runway occupancy restrictions. [3] However, the rapidly increasing use of large jets that cause substantial wake turbulence, such as the Boeing 747, DC-10, and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar in recent years had increased the risk of wake turbulence related accidents. However, prior to Flight 9570, most accidents involving wake turbulence involved smaller aircraft than the DC-9. [4]
Recognizing wake turbulence as a potential cause, the NTSB performed test and research activities to confirm their hypothesis. [1]:5 The NTSB performed wake vortex testing at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center at Atlantic City Airport in New Jersey, initially using a Lockheed L-1011 (a trijet similar in size to the DC-10) and then later using a DC-10 loaned to the NTSB. Colored smoke was emitted from the airport control tower, and observations of the smoke as a L-1011 or DC-10 aircraft flew by the tower provided information about the length of time a vortex would remain after the aircraft was clear. [1]:6
The NTSB's tests demonstrated that the wake turbulence caused by an aircraft the size of the DC-10 was sufficient to upset the flight of a following DC-9 to the magnitude experienced by Flight 9570. [1]:7 Following these tests, the probable cause of the accident was determined to be:[1]:21
An encounter with a trailing vortex generated by a preceding "heavy" jet which resulted in an involuntary loss of control of the airplane during final approach. Although cautioned to expect turbulence the crew did not have sufficient information to evaluate accurately the hazard or the possible location of the vortex. Existing FAA procedures for controlling VFR flight did not provide the same protection from a vortex encounter as was provided to flights being given radar vectors in either IFR or VFR conditions. While the risk to small aircraft was already known, the crash of Flight 9570 demonstrated that medium-sized aircraft such as the DC-9 were also vulnerable to wake turbulence. [5] As a result, the investigation into Flight 9570 prompted changes to the minimum distance that all small and medium sized aircraft must maintain when following "heavy" aircraft, and the procedures for maintaining those distances. [1][4][6]
The NTSB recommended that the FAA develop new minimum aircraft separation standards that take into account wake separation effects of larger aircraft on following aircraft. In response, the FAA developed mandatory minimum separation requirements based on maximum takeoff weight. All aircraft weighing more than 300,000 pounds would be classified as "heavy". Under the new rules, any plane lighter than a "heavy" must maintain at least five miles of separation behind a "heavy" aircraft; a "heavy" behind another "heavy" must maintain four miles of separation. [4] These regulations became the standard for maintaining minimum safe distance between aircraft; the definition of "heavy" was revised downward to aircraft weighing at least 255,000 pounds in 1994. [3]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board.
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Air crash
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Hommelvik train collision
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The Hommelvik train disaster was a train collision at Hommelvik Station, on the Meråker Line (today part of the Nordland Line) in Norway. On 19 November 1940, a train with workers from Trondheim Central Station to Trondheim Airport, Værnes collided with the local train from Kopperå just east of Hommelvik Station. The Hommelvik train disaster killed 22 people. The trains were supposed to have passed at Hommelvik Station, but the engineer thought he had seen the other train, and had left the station. The accident occurred at 08:03, and was caused by there being virtually no light to see with, since all outdoor sources of light were covered. [1]
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Train collisions
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the Cal Grant funded students across California’s colleges and universities
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Every fall, thousands of aspiring and continuing college students across California, particularly those from low-income communities and communities of color, grapple with the problem of how to finance a college degree. Today’s students are put in an impossible situation. College graduates earn 80% more than those with just a high school diploma, on average. But college is more expensive than ever and need-based financial aid has not kept pace with rising costs. In addition, the process to access and keep available aid is extremely complex. Students must choose: Do they risk going into debt they may never fully pay back, or miss out on the benefits of a college degree? Students have few places to turn for help to complete applications, verification and additional steps to secure financial aid. Ultimately, many students will not pursue higher education because the resources needed to navigate the system are unavailable, or they think they’re not eligible for financial aid. In a historic investment, the California Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom this year expanded financial aid through the Cal Grant, the state’s financial aid program. The changes address major barriers that prevent community college students from accessing the financial aid they need. However, the additional funding alone is not enough; we still need to simplify pathways to financial aid for all California students. The Legislature is currently considering Assembly Bill 1456, which aims to address systemic barriers through the Cal Grant Equity Framework. The proposed framework, the product of years of collaboration between students, higher ed institutions and advocates, streamlines the existing Cal Grant programs, entitlement and competitive categories by establishing the Cal Grant 2 for students at community colleges and the Cal Grant 4 for students at four-year institutions. This much-needed reform addresses the confusion and unnecessary complexities that the students we advise must navigate every year. Additionally, the bill eliminates requirements that complicate the financial aid system for students across California’s colleges and universities. Currently, there are eligibility barriers for students seeking a Cal Grant based on their age or when they graduated from high school, depending on the higher education segment in which they are enrolled. These limitations are often barriers for students from low-income families who otherwise qualify for a Cal Grant. The bill also leverages federal, state and campus financial aid funds to help students cover costs beyond tuition. Expenses including rent, food, transportation and textbooks add up and sometimes mean that attending a community college ends up being more expensive than attending a public four-year institution. Comprehensive reform to California’s financial aid system must cover the total cost of pursuing a higher education. AB 1456 simplifies an overly complicated system and removes eligibility barriers that have restricted financially vulnerable students from accessing Cal Grants. It would make the system more transparent and predictable for students and families trying to pay for college, letting them know what support is available before they apply versus having to guess if they will qualify. The Legislature should approve AB 1456. Students deserve, and California’s economy depends on, a financial aid system that creates real pathways to economic opportunity and a diverse, skilled workforce for the future. ••• Jaclyn Piñero is CEO of uAspire, a national nonprofit focused on college affordability and removing the financial barriers to higher education through student advising, counselor training, and policy and systems change.
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Financial Aid
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Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 crash
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On March 4, 1966, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 (CP402) struck the approach lights and a seawall during a night landing attempt in poor visibility at Tokyo International Airport in Japan. Of the 62 passengers and 10 crew, only 8 passengers survived. An American Broadcasting Company news vice-president who had been touring the network's Asian bureau was among the 64 fatalities. The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-43, registration CF-CPK,[1] c/n 45761/237, delivered to the airline on October 14, 1965. Flight 402 was a Hong Kong to Tokyo to Vancouver flight, which took off at 16:14 Japan Time from Kai Tak International Airport on the first leg of the journey. The flight was in a holding pattern for almost one hour, waiting for visibility at the destination to improve from landing minima. The tower controller cleared the flight for an instrument approach when visibility improved, but the crew had to abort the approach when visibility dropped again. At 20:05 local time, the pilot radioed the control tower that he was diverting to Taiwan, and was told the visibility at the airport had increased above minimums again to five-eighths of a mile. The pilot then decided to make another approach before diverting. [2]
The ground-controlled approach was normal until the aircraft was seen on the precision approach radar suddenly descending below the glide slope. At 850 m (2,790 ft) from the runway threshold, the aircraft's landing gear struck part of the approach lighting system. The pilot lost control of the aircraft as it hit several more obstructions, including the 2 m (6.6 ft) seawall at the runway threshold, leaving a half mile long trail of burning wreckage on the airfield. The Japanese government-appointed investigation team concluded in their report, issued two years later, that there was no fault in the airport's control tower. [3] They stated the cause was pilot error, while acknowledging that poor visibility could have caused an optical illusion that confused the pilot. The probable cause statement was that the "Pilot misjudged landing approach under unusually difficult weather conditions. "[4]
This accident was one of five fatal aircraft disasters—four commercial and one military—in Japan in 1966. Less than 24 hours later, BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707, taxied past the still smoldering wreckage of the DC-8, then broke up in flight shortly after departure when it encountered extreme clear-air turbulence in the lee of Mount Fuji while flying the opposite direction towards Hong Kong, killing all 124 passengers and crew. This brought the total death toll from both accidents in the Tokyo area to 188, then a record for a 24-hour period. [5]
Less than a month before, All Nippon Airways Flight 60, a Boeing 727, crashed into Tokyo Bay while on approach to land at the same airport, killing all 133 aboard. In addition, two other incidents occurred, on August 26 and November 13. The combined effect of these five accidents shook public confidence in commercial aviation in Japan, and both Japan Air Lines and All Nippon Airways were forced to cut back some domestic service due to reduced demand. [6]
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Air crash
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The death toll from poisoned beer in the Mozambique rises to at least 69 with 169 in hospital.
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Officials in Mozambique say at least 69 people have now died after drinking home-brewed beer last week.
The mass poisoning occurred when people attending a funeral on Friday, in the village of Chitima, fell ill.
Seven fatalities were initially confirmed on Saturday morning.
"As we prepared to determine the cause of death of people, we began to receive a lot of people with diarrhoea and other muscle aches," local government official Paula Bernardo said. "After that we began to receive dead bodies from several neighbourhoods." Ms Bernardo, who is the district director for Health, Women and Social Action, told the public broadcaster at least 169 people remained in hospital.
Samples of the brew and suspicious objects found inside the drum have been sent to the capital Maputo for testing.
The woman who brewed the beer and several members of her family were among the dead, making it difficult for investigators to ascertain what could have contaminated the brew.
Home brews concocted from corn, sorghum or other crops are commonly consumed in many parts of Africa and funerals on the continent are often accompanied by drinking and feasting.
The outgoing president, Armando Guebuza, declared three days of national mourning.
Meanwhile, at least 14 people have died and dozens of others left seriously ill after consuming toxic liquor in northern India, officials said.
The victims were rushed to various hospitals after the incident was reported in Kharta village near the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.
"The number of people who have now lost their lives due to alcohol poisoning has increased to 14 and around two dozen are being treated in the trauma centre of King George's Medical University," a local police spokesman said. Local media reports gave a much higher number of victims in serious condition. "At present 117 persons are admitted at the medical university and six are undergoing treatment at Balrampur hospital," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted the state's chief medical officer, SNS Yadav, as saying.
The state government said it was taking a serious view of the incident.
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Mass Poisoning
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Rice riots of 1918
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The rice riots of 1918 (米騒動, kome sōdō) were a series of popular disturbances that erupted throughout Japan from July to September 1918, which brought about the collapse of the Terauchi Masatake administration. A precipitous rise in the price of rice caused extreme economic hardship, particularly in rural areas where rice was the main staple of life. [1] Farmers, who compared the low prices they were receiving from government regulation with the high market prices, had tremendous hostility to rice merchants and government officials, who had allowed the consumer price to spiral out of control. The inflation came in the early-20th-century inflationary spiral, which also affected most consumer goods and rents, and so urban dwellers also had considerable scope for grievances. The Siberian Intervention further inflamed the situation, with the government buying up existing rice stocks to support the troops overseas, which further drove rice prices even higher. The government intervention in economic affairs (low regulated rice prices) caused rural protests spread to towns and cities. The rice riots were unparalleled in modern Japanese history in terms of scope, size, and violence. The initial protest occurred in the small fishing town of Uozu, Toyama Prefecture, on 23 July 1918. It started with peaceful petitioning but quickly escalated to riots, strikes, looting, incendiary bombings of police stations and government offices and armed clashes. In 1918, there were 417 separate disputes involving more than 66,000 workers. [1] Some 25,000 people were arrested, of whom 8200 were convicted of various crimes, with punishments ranging from minor fines to the death penalty. [2]
Taking responsibility for the collapse of public order, Japanese Prime Minister Terauchi and his cabinet resigned on 21 September 1918. A link to Japanese imperialism is debated. Scholars argue that to alleviate the demand for rice, which exceeded the production capabilities of Japan at the time, colonial rice production in Taiwan and Korea was intensified. [3]
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Riot
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Japan's recovery from tsunami disaster, by the numbers
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TOKYO (AP) — Ten years after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s northeastern coast, triggering meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, much has been achieved in disaster-hit areas but they are still recovering. Numbers show how much progress has been made and what still remains. ___ 9.0 EARTHQUAKE The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was one of the strongest temblors on record. It struck off the coast at 2:46 p.m. and generated a towering tsunami that reached land within half an hour. ___ 18,426 DEAD The National Police Agency says 18,426 people died, mostly in the tsunami, including 2,527 whose remains have not been found. Local authorities still regularly conduct searches in the sea and along the coast for traces of those still missing. None of the fatalities has been directly linked to radiation. ___ 42,500 PEOPLE HAVEN’T RETURNED Nearly half a million people were displaced across the northeastern region. Ten years later, 42,565 people, including 35,725 from Fukushima, still haven’t been able to return home. ___ $295 BILLION COST The government has spent 32 trillion yen ($295 billion) for the region’s recovery, including construction of roads, seawalls and houses, and support for people’s livelihoods. In addition, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the destroyed nuclear plant, says its costs for decommissioning, compensating evacuees and decontamination of radioactive materials outside the plant will total 21.5 trillion yen ($200 billion), though analysts say it could be much higher. ___ 2.4% OFF-LIMITS A decade after the disaster, no-go zones remain in nine Fukushima municipalities surrounding the wrecked nuclear plant. The area accounts for 2.4% of prefectural land, down from more than 10% in the initial no-go zone. Decontamination efforts, such as the removal of topsoil and tree branches and the washing down of roofs, helped reduce radiation levels. But many residents are reluctant to return because of a lack of jobs and continuing radiation concerns. ___ 14 MILLION TONS OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE About 14 million tons of radioactive soil, trees and other waste from decontamination efforts across Fukushima are packed in massive numbers of plastic waste bags piled at temporary storage sites. The bags, enough to fill 11 enclosed baseball stadiums, are now being transported to a medium-term storage facility being built in the two towns that are home to the Fukushima nuclear plant. The government has promised to remove the bags from the prefecture in 30 years, but a final repository has not been determined. ___ 432 KILOMETERS (270 MILES) OF SEAWALL Much of Japan’s northeastern coastline hit by the tsunami has been fortified with enormous concrete seawalls as high as 15 meters (50 feet). All of the walls have been completed except for sections of the eastern coast of Fukushima. When completed, the total length will be 432 kilometers (270 miles). Critics say the walls look like giant fortresses and block sea views, while posing a possible risk of preventing water from flowing back to sea if they are breached by a future tsunami. ___ 4,000 NUCLEAR PLANT WORKERS About 4,000 workers are employed every day at the damaged nuclear plant to help in its decommissioning, which officials say will take up to 40 years, a target critics say is overly optimistic. They are removing spent fuel rods from cooling pools, reinforcing a seawall to protect from future tsunamis, treating radioactive cooling water leaking from the reactors and removing highly contaminated debris. ___ 1.24 MILLION TONS OF RADIOACTIVE WATER Since the disaster, contaminated cooling water has leaked from the damaged reactor containment vessels into the basements of reactor buildings, where it mixes with groundwater. Much of the water is treated and stored in 1,000 huge tanks now crowding the plant. The operator, TEPCO, says the tanks currently contain 1.24 million tons of water and will be full in the fall of 2022. It says the water and tanks need to be removed to make room for facilities needed in the decommissioning process.
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Tsunamis
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1999 İzmit earthquake
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On 17 August 1999, an earthquake in northwestern Turkey killed around 17,000 people[5] and left more than 250,000 people homeless. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The event lasted for 37 seconds, severely damaging the city of İzmit. The earthquake occurred along the western portion of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). The Anatolian Plate, which consists primarily of Turkey, is being pushed west about 2–2.5 cm (0.8–1.0 in) a year, as it is squeezed between the Eurasian Plate to the north and the Arabian Plate to the south. [6] Major earthquakes in Turkey result mainly from slip along the NAFZ or the East Anatolian Fault. The Izmit earthquake had a rupture length of 150 kilometers (93 mi) extending from the city of Düzce all the way into the Sea of Marmara along the Gulf of İzmit. Offsets along the rupture were as large as 5.7 meters (18.7 ft). [7]
From the timing of P-wave and S-wave arrivals at seismometers there is strong evidence that the rupture propagated eastwards from the epicentre at speeds in excess of the S-wave velocity, making this a supershear earthquake. [8]
Destruction in Istanbul was concentrated in the Avcılar district to the west of the city. Avcılar was built on relatively weak ground mainly composed of poorly consolidated Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, which makes this district vulnerable to any earthquake. [9]
The earthquake was heavily felt in this industrialized and densely populated urban area of the country, including oil refineries, several automotive plants, and the Turkish navy headquarters and arsenal in Gölcük, increasing the severity of the loss of life and property. The earthquake also caused considerable damage in Istanbul, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from the earthquake's epicenter. [1]
An official Turkish estimate of 19 October 1999 placed the toll at 17,127 killed and 43,959 injured, but many sources suggest the actual figure may have been closer to 45,000 dead and a similar number injured. [5] Reports from September 1999 show that 120,000 poorly engineered houses were damaged beyond repair[citation needed] and approximately 20,000 buildings collapsed, resulting in more than 250,000 people becoming homeless after the earthquake. [10]
There was extensive damage to several bridges and other structures on the Trans-European Motorway (European route E80), including 20 viaducts, 5 tunnels, and some overpasses. Damage ranged from spalling concrete to total deck collapse. [11]
The earthquake sparked a disastrous fire at the Tüpraş petroleum refinery. The fire began at a state-owned tank farm and was initiated by naphtha that had sloshed out of a holding tank. Breakage in water pipelines, results of the quake, nullified attempts at extinguishing the fire. Aircraft were called in to douse the flames with foam. The fire spread over the next few days, warranting the evacuation of the area within three miles of the refinery. The fire was declared under control five days later after claiming at least seventeen tanks and untold amounts of complex piping. [12]
The earthquake caused a tsunami in the Sea of Marmara that was about 2.5 meters high. The tsunami caused the deaths of 155 people. [13]
A massive international response was mounted to assist in digging for survivors and assisting the wounded and homeless. Rescue teams were dispatched within 24–48 hours of the disaster, and the assistance to the survivors was channeled through NGOs and the Red Crescent and local search and rescue organizations. The following table shows the breakdown of rescue teams by country in the affected locations:
Search and Rescue Effort as of 19 August 1999. Source: USAID[15]
In total, rescue teams from twelve countries assisted in the rescue effort. Oil Spill Response Limited were activated by BP to deploy from the United Kingdom to the Tüpraş Refinery where their responders successfully contained the previously uncontrolled discharge of oil from the site into the sea. [16]
The U.K announced an immediate grant of £50,000 to help the Turkish Red Crescent, while the International Red Cross and Red Crescent pledged £4.5 million to help victims. Blankets, medical supplies and food were flown from Stansted airport. Engineers from Thames Water went to help restore water supplies. [citation needed] India also assisted by providing 32,000 tents and 2 million rupees to help in the reconstruction process. [citation needed]
US President Bill Clinton[17] and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif later visited Istanbul and İzmit to examine the level of destruction and meet with the survivors. [citation needed]
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Earthquakes
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Support Surges For Beloved Hackettstown Dad, Special Ed Teacher & Coach Diagnosed With Cancer
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Support is on the rise for a beloved Hackettstown father, longtime special education teacher and coach who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Ed Wehmeyer, a lifelong Hackettstown resident, was diagnosed with stage III cancer in September, according to a GoFundMe launched by his daughter, Jordyn.
“We are kindly and humbly asking for your help,” writes Jordyn.
Wehmeyer was well-known for his athletic talent in high school, Jordyn says. He was inducted into the Hackettstown High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
“My father still enjoys going to all the Hackettstown athletic events to support the Tigers,” writes Jordyn. “He has dedicated his life to being a coach and supporter of the Tiger community.”
Wehmeyer also worked for more than 25 years as a health and physical education teacher for special needs children, his daughter says.
“Into his retirement, he continued to work with special needs adults until he was diagnosed with his illness,” Jordyn writes.
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Famous Person - Sick
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Cubana de Aviación Flight 493 crash
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Cubana de Aviación Flight 493, registration CU-T188, was a Douglas DC-4 en route from Miami, Florida, to Havana, Cuba, on April 25, 1951. A US Navy Beechcraft SNB-1 Kansan, BuNo 39939, was on an instrument training flight in the vicinity of Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, at the same time. The two aircraft collided in mid-air over Key West, killing all 43 aboard both aircraft. Flight 493 departed Miami at 11:09 a.m. that day and was cleared to climb to 4,000 feet on a direct heading to Key West. Approximately ten minutes later, the SNB-1 took off from Key West NAS for simulated instrument training. Although the flight was not cleared to a specific altitude or heading, standard instrument training procedures were in place. At 11:49 a.m. Flight 493, heading south, and the SNB-1, heading west, collided over the Key West NAS at an estimated altitude of 4,000 feet. The four-motored transport, with 34 passengers and five crewmen, power-dived into the ocean a half-mile offshore at a speed estimated by onlookers at 600 miles an hour and sank in water 20 feet deep. The Navy plane, a twin-engined Beechcraft with a crew of four on a routine instrument-training flight, went to pieces as it fell and crashed two miles west of the transport. Witnesses' accounts of the collision varied. Mrs. Lucille Cleary, wife of a Navy pilot, said she believed the tail of the transport was on fire before the planes rammed. Other spectators said they saw no fire on either plane. George and Charles Faraldo, operators of a Key West Flying Service, looked up as they heard the noise of the collision. They
said the left wing of the transport had been sheared off opposite the outer engine. The plane then went into a tight spiral, the Faraldos related, but the pilot managed to pull out with full power. Then it went into a straight nose-dive. As it crashed, water spewed so high into the air that they could see it over the treetops at the airport. Although the Navy plane was engaged in blind flying practice, Capt. R. S. Quackenbush Jr., commanding officer of the Boca Chica Naval Air Station here, said that in such cases "one of the pilots has clear visual observation at all times." The DC-4 fell just offshore from the "Little White House" where President Truman sometimes vacations. He spent three weeks here last month. Hundreds of sunbathers on the beaches were shocked to attention by the explosive noise of the collision and saw the planes plummet into the sea. The transport splashed columns of water fifty feet into the air. There was no hope from the beginning that anybody on either plane had survived. Rescue boats swarmed to the scene so quickly that the first body from the Navy plane was recovered within ten minutes and the first from the airliner within 15 minutes. By 11 p.m., Navy divers had brought up 19 bodies from the submerged wreckage of the transport. Shortly before dark, diving operations were halted temporarily and efforts were started to raise the wreckage to the surface. The engines came up first. The fuselage, which rolled up like a ball on impact with the water, will not be raised until morning, but the Navy craft used searchlights to continue the hunt
for more bodies through the night. An investigation of the crash was started immediately by a naval board of inquiry headed by Captain Quackenbush. Officials also were here from the Civil Aeronautics Authority. Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) investigators determined that there were no mechanical problems with either aircraft. Both were operating under visual flight rules, as the weather at the time of the crash was clear and calm. The probable cause of the accident was given by the CAA as a failure on the parts of both air crews to exercise due vigilance in looking for and avoiding conflicting traffic. The CAA also called for a review of air traffic control procedures.
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Air crash
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High lead levels found in groundwater bores near contaminated Wangaratta recreation reserve
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High lead levels have been detected in groundwater used for drinking by a household near the North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve in north-east Victoria.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) carried out tests on 16 groundwater bores within a one kilometre radius of the sportsground, that is currently closed due to lead contamination caused by pellets from a nearby shooting range.
The EPA found lead levels were above recommended health drinking water standards in groundwater tested at five locations, one which used the groundwater for drinking.
The EPA's north-east manager, Clare Kiely, said the authority was unsure if the extended contamination was connected to the pellets at the recreation reserve and more investigations needed to be carried out.
"We will be requiring further analysis of both the soil on the recreation reserve and some further analysis of the groundwater and from that a clean-up plan will be developed and the contaminated soil needs to be cleaned up," she said.
The authority's findings have prompted Ms Kiely to remind people not to drink groundwater.
"We cannot directly connect what we have found in the groundwater with the issue with the North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve," she said.
"It's not uncommon generally to find metals in groundwater, which is why it's recommended that people don't drink groundwater, and if they do then each household needs to take some responsibility to do some testing."
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Environment Pollution
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Police Scotland apologises for failings that contributed to car crash death
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Force fined £100,000 over incident in which woman lay undiscovered for three days after crash was reported First published on Tue 7 Sep 2021 10.13 BST Police Scotland has apologised after being fined £100,000 for admitting that its failings “materially contributed” to the death of a woman who lay seriously injured next to her deceased boyfriend in their crashed car for three days after the incident was first reported to the police. The force pleaded guilty to health and safety failings after the deaths of John Yuill, 28, and Lamara Bell, 25, who died after their car crashed off the M9 near Stirling in July 2015. The fine was handed down at the high court in Edinburgh. Bell and her partner, both parents of young children, had been reported missing by friends after they were last seen in the early hours of Sunday 5 July. The couple, both from the Falkirk area, left the south shore of Loch Earn, Stirlingshire, after a weekend camping trip. Iain Livingstone, the chief constable of Scotland, offered an unreserved apology to the families and said the force would cooperate fully with a forthcoming fatal accident inquiry into the pair’s deaths. “The preservation of life and helping people who are in crisis go to the heart of our duty to keep people safe. Police Scotland failed Lamara and John in that duty, and for that I am sorry,” Livingstone added. He said the force’s failure to save Bell “undoubtedly weakened the relationship of trust that exists in Scotland between policing and the communities we serve.” Despite a call being made to police by a local farmer later on the morning of the crash reporting that the couple’s blue Renault Clio had left the road at Bannockburn, the information was not recorded properly. Police only responded three days later when another member of the public made a 999 call after spotting a blue object at the bottom of the motorway embankment. The court heard that he saw the female passenger move her arms and moan “help me” and “get me out”. He tried to reassure her and told her he would contact the emergency services. Bell was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a head injury, broken bones and kidney damage as a result of dehydration, but died four days later in hospital. At the high court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, the office of the chief constable of Police Scotland admitted Bell and Yuill remained “unaided and exposed to the elements” in the car for three days, and that the failings “materially contributed” to Bell’s death. Pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the force admitted that between 1 April 2013 and 1 March 2016 it failed to provide an “adequate and reliable call-handling system”, failed to ensure it was not vulnerable to “unacceptable risks caused by human error”, and failed to ensure that all relevant information reported by the public was recorded on its IT system. As a result, on 5 July 2015 a police officer at the Bilston Glen call-handling centre failed to record the report from a farmer that a car was at the bottom of an embankment off the M9 near Stirling. Although Sir Stephen House, who was chief constable at the time of the incident, apologised immediately, saying the force had “failed both families”, the catastrophic error highlighted serious concerns about systemic problems within Police Scotland, which was centralised into a single force in 2013 and had since had severe cuts in control room staff. On Tuesday, House, who is now deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said: “I hope that the guilty plea offered today by Police Scotland brings some measure of closure to the families of John Yuill and Lamara Bell. “I acknowledged at the time of their deaths that the organisation I then led had failed in our duty to keep them safe. The regret and sadness I felt then remains with me today.” The court heard there was an ongoing recruitment crisis at Bilston Glen, with a significant number of staff vacancies, at the same time as concerns were being raised about increased volume of calls because of the closure of other centres. Serving police officers were recruited to work overtime as service advisers, including the call handler who took the original call about the M9 crash.
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Road Crash
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Samoan Clipper crash
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Samoan Clipper was one of ten Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-42 flying boats. It exploded near Pago Pago, American Samoa, on January 11, 1938, while piloted by aviator Ed Musick. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash. The aircraft was carrying only airmail and express freight; no passengers were aboard. The aircraft developed an oil leak shortly after taking off from Pago Pago harbor, and the crew decided to return to port. However, the S-42, fully loaded with fuel, was too heavy to land safely in the limited space of the harbor, so the crew elected to dump fuel before landing. While fuel dumping was in progress, there was a fire and explosion which destroyed the aircraft, killing all aboard. [1] The exact cause of ignition for the fire could not be determined. [2]
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Air crash
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Nicolas Cage Marries Riko Shibata in Surprise Las Vegas Wedding: ‘We Are Very Happy’
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The Leaving Las Vegas star and his new wife met over a year ago in Shiga, Japan. Riko Shibata and Nicolas Cage during their wedding. Courtesy of The Wynn Hotel Photos from the wedding, obtained by Us, showed Cage and Shibata standing beneath a lush green arch with candles and fairy lights around them. After they said their “I dos,” their rep said they enjoyed “a small celebration” with their guests. Cage’s marriage to Shibata is his fifth. In March 2019, he and Erika Koike called it quits four days after they wed in Las Vegas . The California native was granted a divorce two months after he filed for an annulment, claiming he was too drunk to “understand” his vows. Legal documents obtained by Us at the time suggested the makeup artist also failed to disclose “the full nature and extent of her relationship with another person” at the time of their marriage. Additionally, Cage was not made aware of “the full nature and extent of her criminal history,” according to his filings. Read article Cage and Koike were first linked in April 2018 after they were spotted on vacation together in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Oscar winner was also previously married to Patricia Arquette from 1995 to 2001 and Lisa Marie Presley from 2002 to 2004.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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