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Waitress tipped to make history for women on Broadway
The musical Waitress has not yet begun serving its specials onstage yet, but it will make history. Lorin Latarro, hired to choreograph the Broadway production, joins a female writer, composer and director. It’s the first time on Broadway that the four top creative spots in a show have been filled by women.
“The fact that it’s the first time across these four departments is an amazing moment,” said Diane Paulus, the director.
Waitress, which was a 2007 film starring Keri Russell, tells the story of a waitress and piemaker trapped in a smalltown diner and a loveless marriage. The musical has a story by Jessie Nelson, who wrote, directed and produced “Corrina, Corrina” with Whoopi Goldberg and “I Am Sam” with Sean Penn.
It will have songs by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, who is making her Broadway debut. And it will star Jessie Mueller, who won a Tony for best leading actress in a musical when she played Carole King in the musical Beautiful.
Sara said she was proud to be part of an all-female team: “It’s really fun to be an example of the way it can look. We are deeply committed to finding a way to build a unified vision.”
There has been frustration over the lack of women getting the chance to have their work produced onstage.
According to the League of Professional Theatre Women, only 28% of productions were written by women during the 2013-14 Broadway and off-Broadway season.
The Interval, a website trying to raise the profile of women in theatre, found that of the 11 new plays on Broadway last season, only one was written by a woman and only four were directed by women. Only one of 10 new musicals was directed by a woman.
2019/20 US Tour
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Sara Bareilles talks about Broadway to Billboard
Additional casting announced for Broadway debut of Waitress
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Hyman Rickover, Deputy Commander for Nuclear Propulsion, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., May 6, 1976
Avedon, Richard
Serie: The Family
Gelatin-silver print
Image Dimensions: 10 x 8 inches
Paper Dimensions: 14 x 11 inches
Framed Dimensions: 22.68 x 18.66 x 1.5 inches
© The Richard Avedon Foundation.
John de Butts, Chairman of the Board, AT&T, New York City, May 5, 1976
Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State, Washington, D.C., June 2, 1976
Mike Mansfield, U.S. Senator, Montana, Majority Leader of the Senate, Washington, D.C., March 2, 1976
A. Philip Randolph, Founder, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, New York City, April 8, 1976
George Meany, President, AFL-CIO, Washington, D.C., March 3, 1976
Jimmy Carter, Democratic Candidate for the Presidency, Plains, Georgia, March 5, 1976
Gerald Ford, President of the United States, Washington, D.C., March 18, 1976
Hubert Humphrey, U.S. Senator, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., March 12, 1976
Jerry Brown, Governor, California, Sacramento, California, March 20, 1976
Katherine Graham, Chairman of the Board, Washington Post Company, Washington, D.C., March 11, 1976
Nelson Rockefeller, Vice President of the United States, New York City, June 28, 1976
F. Edward Hébert, U.S. Congressman, Louisiana, Washington, D.C., July 8, 1976
James Skelly Wright, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1976
Barbara Jordan, U.S. Congresswoman, Texas, New York City, July 14, 1976
Leonard Woodcock, President, United Automobile Workers, New York City, April 19, 1976
Frank Fitzsimmons, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, D.C., May 6, 1976
Arnold Miller, President, United Mine Workers, Washington, D.C., May 6, 1976
Thomas Gleason, President, International Longshoreman's Association, New York City, June 29, 1976
Frank Church, U.S. Senator, Idaho, Washington, D.C., March 1, 1976
Daniel Inouye, U.S. Senator, Hawaii, New York City, July 14, 1976
Thomas (Tip) O'Neill, U.S. Congressman, Massachusetts, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., May 6, 1976
Peter Rodino, U.S. Congressman, New Jersey, New York City, July 14, 1976
Andrew Young, U.S. Congressman, Georgia, New York City, July 15, 1976
Carl Albert, U.S. Congressman, Oklahoma, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., March 12, 1976
Emanuel Celler, former U.S. Congressman, New York, New York City, August 12, 1976
Thomas Eagleton, U.S. Senator, Missouri, New York City, July 14, 1976
Charles Shaffer, attorney, Rockville, Maryland, New York City, July 9, 1976
Richard Kleindienst, former Attorney General of the United States, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1976
Herbert J. Miller, Jr., attorney, Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., August 10, 1976
Joseph Califano, attorney, Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., June 8, 1976
Cesar Chavez, organizer, United Farm Workers, Keene, California, June 27, 1976
Ronald Reagan, former Governor, California, Orlando, Florida, March 4, 1976
Walter Annenberg, publisher, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Radnor, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1976
Edmund Muskie, U.S. Senator, Maine, Washington, D.C., March 1, 1976
Eugene McCarthy, former U.S. Senator, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., March 2, 1976
Bella Abzug, U.S. Congresswoman, New York, New York City, June 19, 1976
Melvin Laird, former Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., June 8, 1976
George Bush, Director, CIA, Langley, Virginia, March 2, 1976
James Angleton, former Chief of Counterintelligence, CIA, Arlington, Virginia, July 8, 1976
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., May 7, 1976
Elliot Richardson, Secretary of Commerce, Washington, D.C., May 4, 1976
Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady, McLean, Virginia, August 24, 1976
J. Paul Austin, Chairman of the Board, Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, Georgia, August 21, 1976
Jules Stein, founder, Music Corporation of America, New York City, May 28, 1976
Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Congresswoman, New York, New York City, July 12, 1976
George McGovern, U.S. Senator, South Dakota, Washington, D.C., March 1, 1976
W. Mark Felt, former Associate Director, FBI, Fairfax, Virginia, July 8, 1976
Rose Mary Woods, secretary, Washington, D.C., July 30, 1975
Arthur Burns, Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C., May 4, 1976
William Simon, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D.C., May 4, 1976
Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1976
Benjamin Bailar, Postmaster General of the United States, Washington, D.C., July 8, 1976
Ralph Nader, consumer advocate, Washington, D.C., June 8, 1976
Clark Clifford, attorney, Washington, D.C., August 10, 1976
Cyrus Vance, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Rockefeller Foundation, New York City, August 20, 1976
I. F. Stone, journalist, Washington, D.C., July 8, 1976
Peter Rozelle, Commissioner, National Football League, New York City, July 7, 1976
Edward Wilson, Chairman of the Board, J. Walter Thompson, New York City, April 16, 1976
Daniel Boorstin, Librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1976
A. M. Rosenthal, Managing Editor, New York Times, New York City, August 20, 1976
Felix Rohatyn, Chairman, Municipal Assistance Corporation, New York City, April 15, 1976
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former U.S. Representative to the United Nations, New York City, July 12, 1976
Roger Baldwin, founder, American Civil Liberties Union, New York City, June 2, 1976
William Paley, Chairman of the Board, CBS, New York City, April 13, 1976
Edward Kennedy, U.S. Senator, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1976
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy, Hyannisport, Massachusetts, September 2, 1976
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Left to right: General Fred C. Weyand, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Admiral James L. Holloway, Chief of Naval Operations; General George Brown, Chairman, U.S. Air Force; General David Jones, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force; General Lou
George Wallace, Governor, Alabama, Ocala, Florida, March 5, 1976
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Annan Not Hopeful About Return of Weapons Inspectors to Iraq - 2002-08-08
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that he is not optimistic about the return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Baghdad. The comments came in response to a speech by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in which he called on the United Nations to "honor its obligations" regarding sanctions on Iraq.
Mr. Annan said he has yet to receive a response to the letter he sent the Iraqi government earlier this week spelling out the terms under which chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix would return to Baghdad for technical discussions. U.N. inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction left Iraq on the eve of a joint British-U.S. bombing raid in December 1998, launched to punish Iraq for blocking inspections.
In his speech, Mr. Hussein demanded the United Nations reply to 19 questions Iraq posed during an initial round of talks in March aimed at allowing the inspectors to return to Iraq. The questions involved a variety of issues, including no-fly zones, U.N.-imposed sanctions and threats against Mr.Hussein's government. Reacting to the speech, Mr. Annan said he sees little shift in the Iraqi leader's position.
"I think the questions are the same, and I don't see any change in attitude," Mr. Annan said. "As you know, I wrote to them two days ago. I have not gotten a formal response yet. But I think the president's statement insisting on answers to the 19 questions does not show any flexibility from their previous position."
Mr. Annan also said there is nothing new in the Iraqi leader's call for the United Nations to honor its obligations concerning U.N. sanctions against Iraq. The sanctions, imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, are linked to confirmation from U.N. weapons inspectors that Iraq is not stockpiling or producing biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.
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Full Text of President Bush's 2008 State of the Union Address
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Seven years have passed since I first stood before you atthis rostrum. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined. We have faced hard decisions about peace and war, rising competition in the world economy, and the health and welfare of our citizens. These issues call for vigorous debate, and I think it's fair to say we've answered that call. Yet history will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of American self-government.
All of us were sent to Washington to carry out the people's business. That is the purpose of this body. It is the meaning of our oath. And it remains our charge to keep.
The actions of the 110th Congress will affect the security and prosperity of our Nation long after this session has ended. In this election year, let us show our fellow Americans that we recognize our responsibilities and are determined to meet them. And let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time.
From expanding opportunity to protecting our country, we have made good progress. Yet we have unfinished business before us, and the American people expect us to get it done.
In the work ahead, we must be guided by the philosophy that made our Nation great. As Americans, we believe in the power of individuals to determine their destiny and shape the course of history. We believe that the most reliable guide for our country is the collective wisdom of ordinary citizens. So in all we do, we must trust in the ability of free people to make wise decisions, and empower them to improve their lives and their futures.
To build a prosperous future, we must trust people with their own money and empower them to grow our economy. As we meet tonight, our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty. America has added jobs for a record 52 straight months, but jobs are now growing at a slower pace. Wages are up, but so are prices for food and gas. Exports are rising, but the housing market has declined. And at kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future.
In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth. But in the short run, we can all see that growth is slowing. So last week, my administration reached agreement with Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader Boehner on a robust growth package that includes tax relief for individuals and families and incentives for business investment. The temptation will be to load up the bill. That would delay it or derail it, and neither option is acceptable. This is a good agreement that will keep our economy growing and our people working. And this Congress must pass it as soon as possible.
We have other work to do on taxes. Unless the Congress acts, most of the tax relief we have delivered over the past 7 years will be taken away. Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders.
Most Americans think their taxes are high enough. With all the other pressures on their finances, American families should not have to worry about the Federal government taking a bigger bite out of their paychecks. There is only one way to eliminate this uncertainty: make the tax relief permanent. And members of Congress should know: If any bill raising taxes reaches my desk, I will veto it.
Just as we trust Americans with their own money, we need to earn their trust by spending their tax dollars wisely. Next week, I will send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs totaling more than $18 billion. And this budget will keep America on track for a surplus in 2012. American families have to balance their budgets, and so should their government.
The people's trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks -- special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate. Last year, I asked you to voluntarily cut the number and cost of earmarks in half. I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into committee reports that never even come to a vote. Unfortunately, neither goal was met. So this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I will send it back to you with my veto. And tomorrow, I will issue an Executive Order that directs Federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by the Congress. If these items are truly worth funding, the Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote.
Our shared responsibilities extend beyond matters of taxes and spending.
On housing, we must trust Americans with the responsibility of homeownership and empower them to weather turbulent times in the housing market. My administration brought together the HOPE NOW alliance, which is helping many struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The Congress can help even more. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, modernize the Federal Housing Administration, and allow state housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. These are difficult times for many American families, and by taking these steps, we can help more of them keep their homes.
To build a future of quality health care, we must trust patients and doctors to make medical decisions and empower them with better information and better options. We share a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding consumer choice, not government control. So I have proposed ending the bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance through their employer. This one reform would put private coverage within reach for millions, and I call on the Congress to pass it this year. The Congress must also expand health savings accounts, create association health plans for small businesses, promote health information technology, and confront the epidemic of junk medical lawsuits. With all these steps, we will help ensure that decisions about your medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor's office -- not in the halls of Congress.
On education, we must trust students to learn if given the chance and empower parents to demand results from our schools. In neighborhoods across our country, there are boys and girls with dreams -- and a decent education is their only hope of achieving them. Six years ago, we came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, and today no one can deny its results. Last year, fourth and eighth graders achieved the highest math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. And African-American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs. Now we must work together to increase accountability, add flexibility for states and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts, and provide extra help for struggling schools. members of Congress: The No Child Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America's children, their parents, and their teachers to strengthen this good law.
We must also do more to help children when their schools do not measure up. Thanks to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships you approved, more than 2,600 of the poorest children in our nation's capital have found new hope at a faith-based or other non-public school. Sadly, these schools are disappearing at an alarming rate in many of America's inner cities. So I will convene a White House summit aimed at strengthening these lifelines of learning. And to open the doors of these schools to more children, I ask you to support a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income college students realize their full potential. Together, we have expanded the size and reach of these grants. Now let's apply that same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools.
On trade, we must trust American workers to compete with anyone in the world and empower them by opening up new markets overseas. Today, our economic growth increasingly depends on our ability to sell American goods, crops, and services all over the world. So we are working to break down barriers to trade and investment wherever we can. We are working for a successful Doha round of trade talks, and we must complete a good agreement this year. At the same time, we are pursuing opportunities to open up new markets by passing free trade agreements.
I thank the Congress for approving a good agreement with Peru. Now I ask you to approve agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. Many products from these nations now enter America duty-free, yet many of our products face steep tariffs in their markets. These agreements will level the playing field. They will give us better access to nearly 100 million customers. And they will support good jobs for the finest workers in the world: those whose products say "Made in the USA."
These agreements also promote America's strategic interests. The first agreement that will come before you is with Colombia, a friend of America that is confronting violence and terror and fighting drug traffickers. If we fail to pass this agreement, we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere. So we must come together, pass this agreement, and show our neighbors in the region that democracy leads to a better life.
Trade brings better jobs, better choices, and better prices. Yet for some Americans, trade can mean losing a job, and the Federal government has a responsibility to help. I ask the Congress to reauthorize and reform trade adjustment assistance, so we can help these displaced workers learn new skills and find new jobs.
To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. Our security, our prosperity, and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. Last year, I asked you to pass legislation to reduce oil consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together we should take the next steps: Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions. Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions-free nuclear power. Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future. Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources. And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride. The United States is committed to strengthening our energy security and confronting global climate change. And the best way to meet these goals is for America to continue leading the way toward the development of cleaner and more efficient technology.
To keep America competitive into the future, we must trust in the skill of our scientists and engineers and empower them to pursue the breakthroughs of tomorrow. Last year, the Congress passed legislation supporting the American Competitiveness Initiative, but never followed through with the funding. This funding is essential to keeping our scientific edge. So I ask the Congress to double Federal support for critical basic research in the physical sciences and ensure America remains the most dynamic nation on earth.
On matters of science and life, we must trust in the innovative spirit of medical researchers and empower them to discover new treatments while respecting moral boundaries. In November, we witnessed a landmark achievement when scientists discovered a way to reprogram adult skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells. This breakthrough has the potential to move us beyond the divisive debates of the past by extending the frontiers of medicine without the destruction of human life. So we are expanding funding for this type of ethical medical research. And as we explore promising avenues of research, we must also ensure that all life is treated with the dignity it deserves. So I call on the Congress to pass legislation that bans unethical practices such as the buying, selling, patenting, or cloning of human life.
On matters of justice, we must trust in the wisdom of our Founders and empower judges who understand that the Constitution means what it says. I have submitted judicial nominees who will rule by the letter of the law, not the whim of the gavel. Many of these nominees are being unfairly delayed. They are worthy of confirmation, and the Senate should give each of them a prompt up-or-down vote.
In communities across our land, we must trust in the good heart of the American people and empower them to serve their neighbors in need. Over the past seven years, more of our fellow citizens have discovered that the pursuit of happiness leads to the path of service. Americans have volunteered in record numbers. Charitable donations are higher than ever. Faith-based groups are bringing hope to pockets of despair, with newfound support from the Federal government. And to help guarantee equal treatment for faith-based organizations when they compete for Federal funds, I ask you to permanently extend Charitable Choice.
Tonight the armies of compassion continue the march to a new day in the Gulf Coast. America honors the strength and resilience of the people of this region. We reaffirm our pledge to help them build stronger and better than before. And tonight I am pleased to announce that in April we will host this year's North American Summit of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the great city of New Orleans.
There are two other pressing challenges that I have raised repeatedly before this body, and that this body has failed to address: entitlement spending and immigration.
Every member in this chamber knows that spending on entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is growing faster than we can afford. And we all know the painful choices ahead if America stays on this path: massive tax increases, sudden and drastic cuts in benefits, or crippling deficits. I have laid out proposals to reform these programs. Now I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and grandchildren.
The other pressing challenge is immigration. America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We are increasing worksite enforcement, we are deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings, we have effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals.
This is the business of our nation here at home. Yet building a prosperous future for our citizens also depends on confronting enemies abroad and advancing liberty in troubled regions of the world.
Our foreign policy is based on a clear premise: We trust that people, when given the chance, will choose a future of freedom and peace. In the last seven years, we have witnessed stirring moments in the history of liberty. We have seen citizens in Georgia and Ukraine stand up for their right to free and fair elections. We have seen people in Lebanon take to the streets to demand their independence. We have seen Afghans emerge from the tyranny of the Taliban to choose a new president and a new parliament. We have seen jubilant Iraqis holding up ink-stained fingers and celebrating their freedom. And these images of liberty have inspired us.
In the past seven years, we have also seen images that have sobered us. We have watched throngs of mourners in Lebanon and Pakistan carrying the caskets of beloved leaders taken by the assassin's hand. We have seen wedding guests in blood-soaked finery staggering from a hotel in Jordan, Afghans and Iraqis blown up in mosques and markets, and trains in London and Madrid ripped apart by bombs. And on a clear September day, we saw thousands of our fellow citizens taken from us in an instant. These horrific images serve as a grim reminder: The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists -- evil men who despise freedom, despise America, and aim to subject millions to their violent rule.
Since September 11, we have taken the fight to these terrorists and extremists. We will stay on the offense, we will keep up the pressure, and we will deliver justice to the enemies of America.
We are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century. The terrorists oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear. Yet in this war on terror, there is one thing we and our enemies agree on: In the long run, men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny. That is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to people in Lebanon,
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories. And that is why, for the security of America and the peace of the world, we are spreading the hope of freedom.
In Afghanistan, America, our 25 NATO allies, and 15 partner nations are helping the Afghan people defend their freedom and rebuild their country. Thanks to the courage of these military and civilian personnel, a nation that was once a safe haven for al-Qaida is now a young democracy where boys and girls are going to school, new roads and hospitals are being built, and people are looking to the future with new hope. These successes must continue, so we are adding 3,200 Marines to our forces in Afghanistan, where they will fight the terrorists and train the Afghan Army and police. Defeating the Taliban and al-Qaida is critical to our security, and I thank the Congress for supporting America's vital mission in Afghanistan.
In Iraq, the terrorists and extremists are fighting to deny a proud people their liberty and to establish safe havens for attacks across the world. One year ago, our enemies were succeeding in their efforts to plunge Iraq into chaos. So we reviewed our strategy and changed course. We launched a surge of American forces into Iraq. And we gave our troops a new mission: Work with Iraqi forces to protect the Iraqi people, pursue the enemy in its strongholds, and deny the terrorists sanctuary anywhere in the country.
The Iraqi people quickly realized that something dramatic had happened. Those who had worried that America was preparing to abandon them instead saw tens of thousands of American forces flowing into their country. They saw our forces moving into neighborhoods, clearing out the terrorists, and staying behind to ensure the enemy did not return. And they saw our troops, along with provincial reconstruction teams that include foreign service officers and other skilled public servants, coming in to ensure that improved security was followed by improvements in daily life. Our military and civilians in Iraq are performing with courage and distinction, and they have the gratitude of our whole nation.
The Iraqis launched a surge of their own. In the fall of 2006, Sunni tribal leaders grew tired of al Qaida's brutality and started a popular uprising called "The Anbar Awakening." Over the past year, similar movements have spread across the country. And today, this grassroots surge includes more than 80,000 Iraqi citizens who are fighting the terrorists. The government in Baghdad has stepped forward as well -- adding more than 100,000 new Iraqi soldiers and police during the past year.
While the enemy is still dangerous and more work remains, the American and Iraqi surges have achieved results few of us could have imagined just 1 year ago:
When we met last year, many said containing the violence was impossible. A year later, high profile terrorist attacks are down, civilian deaths are down, and sectarian killings are down.
When we met last year, militia extremists -- some armed and trained by Iran -- were wreaking havoc in large areas of Iraq. A year later, coalition and Iraqi forces have killed or captured hundreds of militia fighters. And Iraqis of all backgrounds increasingly realize that defeating these militia fighters is critical to the future of their country.
When we met last year, al-Qaida had sanctuaries in many areas of Iraq, and their leaders had just offered American forces safe passage out of the country. Today, it is al-Qaida that is searching for safe passage. They have been driven from many of the strongholds they once held, and over the past year, we have captured or killed thousands of extremists in Iraq, including hundreds of key al-Qaida leaders and operatives. Last month, Osama bin Laden released a tape in which he railed against Iraqi tribal leaders who have turned on al-Qaida and admitted that coalition forces are growing stronger in Iraq. Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among the terrorists there is no doubt. Al-Qaida is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated.
When we met last year, our troop levels in Iraq were on the rise. Today, because of the progress just described, we are implementing a policy of "return on success," and the surge forces we sent to Iraq are beginning to come home.
This progress is a credit to the valor of our troops and the brilliance of their commanders. This evening, I want to speak directly to our men and women on the frontlines. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen: In the past year, you have done everything we have asked of you, and more. Our nation is grateful for your courage. We are proud of your accomplishments. And tonight in this hallowed chamber, with the American people as our witness, we make you a solemn pledge: In the fight ahead, you will have all you need to protect our nation. And I ask the Congress to meet its responsibilities to these brave men and women by fully funding our troops.
Our enemies in Iraq have been hit hard. They are not yet defeated, and we can still expect tough fighting ahead. Our objective in the coming year is to sustain and build on the gains we made in 2007, while transitioning to the next phase of our strategy. American troops are shifting from leading operations, to partnering with Iraqi forces, and, eventually, to a protective overwatch mission. As part of this transition, one Army brigade combat team and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home and will not be replaced. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit. Taken together, this means more than 20,000 of our troops are coming home.
Any further drawdown of U.S. troops will be based on conditions in Iraq and the recommendations of our commanders. General Petraeus has warned that too fast a drawdown could result in the "disintegration of the Iraqi security forces, al-Qaida-Iraq regaining lost ground, [and] a marked increase in violence." Members of Congress: Having come so far and achieved so much, we must not allow this to happen.
In the coming year, we will work with Iraqi leaders as they build on the progress they are making toward political reconciliation. At the local level, Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds are beginning to come together to reclaim their communities and rebuild their lives. Progress in the provinces must be matched by progress in Baghdad. And we are seeing some encouraging signs. The national government is sharing oil revenues with the provinces. The parliament recently passed both a pension law and de-Ba'athification reform. Now they are debating a provincial powers law. The Iraqis still have a distance to travel. But after decades of dictatorship and the pain of sectarian violence, reconciliation is taking place -- and the Iraqi people are taking control of their future.
The mission in Iraq has been difficult and trying for our nation. But it is in the vital interest of the United States that we succeed. A free Iraq will deny al-Qaida a safe haven. A free Iraq will show millions across the Middle East that a future of liberty is possible. And a free Iraq will be a friend of America, a partner in fighting terror, and a source of stability in a dangerous part of the world.
By contrast, a failed Iraq would embolden extremists, strengthen Iran, and give terrorists a base from which to launch new attacks on our friends, our allies, and our homeland. The enemy has made its intentions clear. At a time when the momentum seemed to favor them, al-Qaida's top commander in Iraq declared that they will not rest until they have attacked us here in Washington. My fellow Americans: We will not rest either. We will not rest until this enemy has been defeated. We must do the difficult work today, so that years from now people will look back and say that this generation rose to the moment, prevailed in a tough fight, and left behind a more hopeful region and a safer America.
We are also standing against the forces of extremism in the Holy Land, where we have new cause for hope. Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel. Israelis have leaders who recognize that a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state will be a source of lasting security. This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year. The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace.
We are also standing against the forces of extremism embodied by the regime in Tehran. Iran's rulers oppress a good and talented people. And wherever freedom advances in the Middle East, it seems the Iranian regime is there to oppose it. Iran is funding and training militia groups in Iraq, supporting Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, and backing Hamas' efforts to undermine peace in the Holy Land. Tehran is also developing ballistic missiles of increasing range and continues to develop its capability to enrich uranium, which could be used to create a nuclear weapon. Our message to the people of Iran is clear: We have no quarrel with you, we respect your traditions and your history, and we look forward to the day when you have your freedom. Our message to the leaders of Iran is also clear: Verifiably suspend your nuclear enrichment, so negotiations can begin. And to rejoin the community of nations, come clean about your nuclear intentions and past actions, stop your oppression at home, and cease your support for terror abroad. But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf.
(continued on Part 2)
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GE Reports Higher Third Quarter Profits - 2002-10-11
General Electric says its third-quarter profits rose 25 percent in line with analysts' expectations.
A G.E. statement says net income rose over $4 billion, or 41 cents per share during the three-month period ending September 30, while sales rose 11 percent to nearly $33 billion.
Company officials say growth was helped by the sale of G.E.'s electronic commerce unit as losses widened in other divisions. G.E. also says it expects to meet its profit forecast for the year, despite tough economic conditions.
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Iran Rejects European Nuclear Proposal
Iran has rejected Europe's proposal for ending the deeply divisive standoff over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, saying it is unacceptable and below Iran's "minimum expectations."
A Foreign Ministry spokesman announced Iran's decision Saturday and said authorities in Tehran would formally notify the Europeans of Iran's position within days.
Despite the rejection, the spokesman said Iran would like to continue dialogue on the matter.
Diplomats from Britain, France and Germany had sought Friday to entice Iran into a binding commitment not to build nuclear weapons by offering to provide fuel and other long-term support to help the country generate electricity with nuclear energy.
The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has set an emergency meeting for Tuesday to warn Tehran not to resume uranium enrichment activities at its Isfahan nuclear plant.
IAEA monitors will travel to Iran this week to begin inspections at the plant.
Some information for this story provided by Reuters and AFP.
Ahmadinejad Sworn in as Iran's New President
Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared at his swearing-in ceremony Saturday that the Iranian nation cannot be intimidated. Without directly mentioning the controversy surrounding his country's pursuit of nuclear technology, Mr. Ahmadinejad told parliament that Iran would respect international norms, but would never surrender to what he called "illegal requests." In a nation where 70 percent of the population is under age 30, Mr…
Iranian 'Shape Charges' Discovered in Iraq
U.S. and other coalition officials in Iraq are voicing concern about the recent discoveries of highly-sophisticated and lethal roadside bombs being smuggled into the country from Iran. Speculation about whether insurgents in Iraq were now using so-called "shape charges" as roadside bombs, reached new heights after Wednesday's deadly attack against a U.S. Marine vehicle in the western town of Haditha. Fourteen Marines were killed after their amphibious…
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Ivory Coast's Armed Forces Fight Against AIDS
In war divided Ivory Coast, members of the military are particularly at risk of spreading and being infected by HIV/AIDS. The Ivorian Ministry of Defense has launched a new program that will attempt to make soldiers on both sides of the conflict aware of the dangers of the disease.
The American government has made available $5 million over four years to the non-governmental organization Populations Services International. The group is making people aware of the danger of AIDS in Ivory Coast, and how to prevent it.
Part of the American money will be used to reinforce programs and testing to prevent AIDS in Ivory Coast's military.
Ivory Coast has been divided into a government held south and a rebel held north since 2002, when a failed coup escalated into civil war. The Ministry of Defense is in the process of developing plans that will treat rebel soldiers as well as the armed forces.
Dr. Didier Adjoua, who works with the non governmental organization Populations Services International, says that there are plans to rehabilitate hospitals and treatment centers in rebel held territory.
Dr. Adjoua says that people from in the army and rebel forces will be trained to sensitize their peers to the dangers of HIV/ AIDS. He also says that there are plans for new mobile units that will travel from barrack to barrack providing soldiers with information and AIDS tests.
Brian Howard, a researcher with the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ivory Coast says that military personnel are among the people most at risk from HIV/AIDS.
"Their young they are stationed far from their home, often from months at a time often faraway from their families, they move around a lot," said Mr. Howard. "They are often in situations of power vis a vis the local population which is often economically vulnerable at the time especially women"
Ivory Coast has one of the highest AIDS rates in West Africa. Free HIV testing for government military has already existed for several years. Tests are kept confidential, and military records say that between January to September 2005 over 250,000 people were tested.
But Ivory Coast's fight against AIDS has become more difficult because of the war, because rebel fighters have not had access to the same resources as government soldiers.
HRW: African Governments Neglecting Education of AIDS Orphans
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that African governments are failing to act to meet the education needs of children orphaned by AIDS. The U.S.-based rights organization has issued a report, which also offers guidelines to governments. Human Rights Watch says about four million children affected by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are no longer receiving an education. They are among 12 million children orphaned by AIDS, whose parents are ill with AIDS, or who have the…
UNICEF Launches Global Children's AIDS Campaign
The United Nations Children's Fund kicked off a new campaign by calling on East Asian countries to take stronger action to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among children and adolescents. UNCEF says AIDS is increasingly affecting Asia's youth. The UNICEF campaign, launched around the world Tuesday, marks a renewed effort to stem a tide of new HIV infections, especially among the young. The campaign "Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS" comes as HIV…
Arab States Aim to Protect Rights of People with AIDS
Legal experts from 14 Arab countries are meeting in Cairo to review laws affecting the rights of people with HIV and AIDS. The U.N.-sponsored meeting is the first of its kind in the Arab world, where AIDS is a rapidly growing problem that is rarely talked about. The United Nations says AIDS is a bigger problem in the Middle East than generally thought, and it is growing fast. But U.N. officials say many of the legal systems in the Arab world do not yet protect the…
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Kenya Launches Fight Against Its Top Child Killer, Malaria
By Raymond Thibodeaux
Kenya has launched a campaign against malaria, which remains the country's leading cause of death for children under the age of five.
Malaria kills more than 34,000 Kenyan children under five every year, according to a recent estimate by UNICEF, the United Nations fund for children. About 90 children a day die of the mosquito-borne disease, which is easily treatable.
UNICEF director Ann Veneman is in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to help launch the country's anti-malaria campaign, part of her tour through Kenya and Uganda this past week.
"It's a persistent problem. You know of course there isn't a vaccine for malaria, per se," she said. "There isn't a way you can just vaccinate kids [against] measles or polio so they won't get the disease. So, one of the best ways to protect children is through bed nets."
The anti-malaria campaign plans to hand out at least 60,000 insecticide-treated mosquito nets to families in northeastern Kenya, where the disease seems most acute. Their goal is to cut in half the number of children who die of malaria.
Also, aid workers plan to distribute anti-malarial drugs to the region's health clinics and hospitals by the end of the year.
About 90 percent of the one million malaria deaths worldwide are in Africa, and 70 percent of them are children under five.
Some health experts say close to $2 billion are needed to effectively combat Africa's malaria problem.
Still, experts say, only about $200 million are spent annually, a significant rise from past years, but still far below what's needed.
Kenyan businesses expect to raise about 30 million Kenyan shillings, or about $400,000, for the campaign. It's one of the first times private businesses in Kenya have chipped in to fight malaria.
Ms. Veneman praised Kenya's business community, which on the program's launch kicked in nearly $80,000.
"This is a wonderful initiative on the part of the private sector in Kenya," she said. "I think the social responsibility on the part of successful companies in developing countries is a growing recognition on the part of the private sector that it is in everybody's best interest to fight some of the very serious problems that people confront in these countries. There's a lot of poverty, a lot of disease and there're ways we can partner together to make a difference, especially on behalf of children."
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki plans to be in Kisumu in western Kenya to kick-start a similar anti-malaria program there.
Drug Shown to Dramatically Cut Malaria Deaths
For the first time, new research shows that a drug derived from an ancient Chinese herb prevents death in severe cases of malaria. Researchers hope their finding results in greater availability of the drug. Experts say, left untreated, death is certain in severe cases of malaria. But in the first large, clinically controlled trial of artesunate, a drug derived from the leaves of the ancient Chinese plant artemisinin, mortality was slashed by 35 percent. "No trial has…
Raymond Thibodeaux
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Rights Groups Criticize Chinese Crackdown on Gay Festival
Human rights groups are protesting a recent crackdown on China's gay and lesbian community, which has been slowly moving into the open.
In 2001, China took homosexuality off the list of official mental illnesses. Human Rights Watch's Scott Long points to this as among recent positive moves. But he says Chinese authorities have taken a step back when they banned what would have been the country's first-ever gay and lesbian culture festival.
"Until about four years ago, the Chinese medical profession was still following a version of the diagnostic manual that still listed homosexuality as an illness," said Mr. Long. "That has also changed, but that may not have filtered down into how individual doctors or just ordinary people perceive it. Things have certainly gotten better, though, but this latest raid shows that the government can still step back, as well as forward."
Human Rights Watch and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network wrote joint letters to the Chinese government, decrying what they described as human rights abuses. Chinese authorities had banned organizers from using the originally planned venue for the event, which included several days of films, plays, exhibitions and seminars about homosexuality. Then, on Friday, when some organizers tried to move the festival to a private bar, police raided the bar and forcibly shut down the event.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The executive director of the Canadian organization, Joanne Cseste, said she was especially disappointed at the crackdown because she felt the festival had the potential to raise awareness of a still very sensitive subject among the Chinese public.
"And in that sense, it's a real shame because this was not a bunch of people with megaphones on the street," she said. "These people, these were artworks and films and other things that could really reach out to the public."
One of the most important issues for gays and lesbians is the ability to be open about their sexual orientation, according to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's Paula Ettelbrick. She adds that this also applies to homosexuals in China.
"If the community there feels that they need to find a space in public, certainly in a large city like Beijing, and that they are ready as a group to be out, that in many ways is the most important feature," she noted. "Nobody around the world is ready for gay people to come out. We had to eventually, as a community, in every piece of the world, find the time in which we needed to be more out publicly and to start changing awareness and attitudes about who we are."
Ms. Ettelbrick adds that she thinks crackdowns like the one in China are an indication of what she describes as the increased visibility of homosexuals around the world. She adds her belief that many countries feel that homosexuality is a western concept that is being imposed on them.
"And I think there is a concern on the part of other parts of the world, and a resistance to gay people, not just as gay people, but as encroachments from the west," she added. "And that's a very clear signal that comes out of many parts of the world."
Official statistics list approximately 30 million homosexuals in China, although the state-run Xinhua news agency acknowledges that few Chinese will openly say if they are gay or lesbian.
Hong Kong Government Sweetens Electoral Reform Package Ahead of Crucial Vote
Hong Kong's government has offered to make changes to its unpopular electoral reform package to appeal to pro-democracy lawmakers, ahead of a crucial vote on Wednesday. But the plan appears headed for defeat in the legislature with pro-democracy lawmakers set to vote against it because they say it falls short of granting full democracy. The electoral reform package is Chief Executive Donald Tsang's first attempt at…
Chinese Dissident's Life Sentence Upheld
A Chinese court has upheld the life sentence of a U.S.-based pro-democracy dissident. Peng Ming was arrested last year in Burma, and was convicted in China of terrorism and kidnapping. Peng Ming was arrested in Burma in May 2004. His supporters say he was there to set up a safe haven for fleeing Chinese dissidents. The Burmese authorities then turned him over to China, where he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in October for organizing…
By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong Legislature Rejects Government's Electoral Reforms Proposal
The Hong Kong government has suffered a defeat in its bid to enact electoral reforms that it billed as an important step in the territory's democratic development. A key part of the plan was voted down by pro-democracy legislators, who say the proposal did not go far enough. Despite being a minority bloc in Hong Kong's Legislative Council, pro-democracy lawmakers managed to defeat the government's electoral reform plans Wednesday. The…
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WFP: Humanitarian Aid Getting to Darfur Despite Insecurity
The World Food Program (WFP) says it has been able to successfully feed up to three million internally displaced people in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur. The organization says it has been able to do this even though problems of security remain and it still has no access to certain areas. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva, where she interviewed a WFP Official who recently returned from Darfur.
The war in Darfur between Sudanese-backed Arab Janjaweed militia and rebel African groups has been going on for four years. Many of the 2.5 million people who were forced to flee their homes have been living in camps managed by the United Nations.
WFP Public Information Officer Louis Vigneault says life in the camps has become, what he calls, sort of normal for these people, but he tells VOA that nothing in Darfur is really normal.
He says it is difficult to travel safely from one place to another. And the situation has become more complicated because the rebel and pro-government groups have splintered into rival sub-groups. He says this causes problems for humanitarian agencies which are no longer sure who is in charge.
"So, one day you send a security assessment mission and they go and they talk to the military leaders on their way to their destination and it is fine and nobody has any objection for the humanitarian convoy to pass by the next day," he noted. "And, the first thing you realize the next day is that someone else, a lieutenant or another general, has taken over and he does not want to follow the orders of the other one that you have met the day before. So, you face now a roadblock. So, you do not have any safe route."
Vigneault spent three days visiting camps for internally displaced people in El Fascher and Kutum in northern Darfur. He says people in the camps say they would like to return home. For now, they prefer to remain in the camps where life is more secure and where they have access to food, water, health care, education and other basic needs.
He cautions people against thinking the situation in Darfur is acceptable just because the humanitarian operation is running well.
"We really need to work out a political resolution of that conflict to find a solution to it and not having the conflict just go on and on for years and years and years having in mind that it does not really matter because the vulnerable population has access to any kind of humanitarian relief so it is really not a problem for them," he added. "And, that is really the danger that we are getting into now."
Vigneault says aid agencies are afraid the international community, believing the situation in Darfur has reached tolerable levels, might not exert the effort needed to bring the conflict to an end.
Sudan Confirms Deployment of UN Peacekeeping Force
A U.N. Security Council delegation visiting Sudan says the Khartoum government has agreed to the deployment of a United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. South African ambassador Dumisani Kumalo made the announcement Sunday following hours of talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum. He says Mr. Bashir has agreed to allow the speedy deployment of around 20,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers. Khartoum had…
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ASEAN: No Breakthrough on South China Sea Issue
By Steve Herman
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 5th from left, joins hands with the ASEAN leaders for a group photo before the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - China Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Oct. 9, 2013.
BRUNEI - With U.S. President Barack Obama absent, Chinese leaders have been able to bask in the spotlight at summits this week in Asia. That allowed them to highlight their stances on contentious issues, especially the territorial dispute involving the South China Sea.
Obama had been expected at the summits in Brunei to push for a regional maritime code of conduct that could help avert armed clashes in the disputed waters.
South China Sea Dispute Map
China lays claim to 80 percent of the South China Sea, overlapping those made by several neighboring countries. And its officials this week have expressed no enthusiasm for outsiders applying pressure regarding the disputes.
At the 18-nation East Asia Summit China's premier, Li Keqiang met with other regional heads of government and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and called for the talks to focus on areas of cooperation such as economic development and improving people's livelihoods.
Premier Li said East Asia's significant progress in past years has been achieved because the region has been spared military conflicts “which has allowed the countries in this region to keep their focus on development.”
The premier asserted that “freedom of navigation in the South China Sea has never been an issue and will never be one.” He also said China will continue to work for progress in consultations with ASEAN members on a code of conduct in the disputed waters “on the basis of consensus building.”
In other words, China wants to settle the issue country-to-country, not collectively as Washington, Tokyo and some ASEAN members prefer.
An ASEAN-China joint statement issued Thursday revealed no breakthrough. It merely contains a pledge by the regional body and Beijing to “work towards the conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of consensus.”
Kerry at the East Asia Summit said “a Code of Conduct is a necessity for the long term, but nations can also reduce the risk of miscommunication and miscalculation by taking steps today.” He added that “the rights of all nations, large and small, must be respected.”
Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also have claims in the sea conflicting with China's.
The summit's host, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, told reporters at the event's conclusion, there have been “positive developments” recently towards a code of conduct. “ASEAN and China instructed ministers and senior officials to intensify discussions on the proposed CoC [Code of Conduct],” he said.
Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan, which has a separate territorial dispute with China in the East China Sea, told the summit tensions over the South China Sea directly affect regional peace and stability.
The Japanese leader told reporters he would like to see a code of conduct on the South China Sea between ASEAN and China implemented “soon.”
The Philippines government is expressing a similar sentiment.
At the East Asian Summit, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Vietnam's foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, signed a so-called 123 accord. If signed by President Obama and subsequently not blocked by the U.S. Congress, the agreement would allow American atomic energy firms into Vietnam in exchange for Hanoi's pledge not to enrich its own uranium.
A senior U.S. State Department official, speaking on background noted Vietnam "has taken steps towards the development of a robust domestic infrastructure to support its nuclear-power generation program." And that with this agreement "Vietnam has signed on to the strongest global standards of non-proliferation."
Secretary Kerry, minutes after signing the agreement, told Vietnam's prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, “it would create numerous opportunities for our businesses between our two countries. And obviously our nuclear cooperation is quite significant.”
Kerry also told the Vietnamese leader that he looked forward to visiting his country “somewhere in the next few months.”
The U.S. Secretary of State made the remark before heading to Malaysia. However, his Friday visit to Manila has been canceled due to the threat posed by a tropical storm approaching the Philippines.
Kerry was dispatched to Asia to stand in for President Obama.
The president pulled out of his trip to the back-to-back regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei, as well as planned visits to Malaysia and Philippines last week because of the U.S. government shutdown.
China Offers Closer Ties at ASEAN Summit Skipped by Obama
China has offered to improve ties with Southeast Asia using a regional summit to compete for influence with the United States, whose President Barack Obama was notable for his absence. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei on Wednesday, pledging to boost Chinese investment in the region. Mr. Li also struck a conciliatory tone on long-running maritime disputes with ASEAN members. He said…
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang struck a conciliatory tone on long-running maritime disputes with ASEAN members and pledged to boost investment
ASEAN Leaders to Discuss Territorial Disputes, Integration at Summit
The vastly diverging economies represented in ASEAN will pose challenges to the creation of a proposed free trade area
Steve Herman
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Central Mediterranean: 588 People Rescued While Unknown Number are Presumed Drowned
AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK – WEBWIRE – Friday, November 3, 2017
Maud Veith/SOS Méditerranée - More than 500 people are now safely onboard a search and rescue vessel run by MSF and SOS MEDITERRANEE, but an unknown number of people are missing presumed drowned after a grueling day of rescues in the Mediterranean.
During grueling rescue operations yesterday in the central Mediterranean, a total of 588 people were saved from distressed boats, and an unknown number of people are missing and presumed drowned after their boat capsized, according to staff on the Aquarius, a search and rescue ship operated by the organizations Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and SOS MEDITERRANEE.
“The situation suddenly turned into a nightmare when one of three rubber boats overloaded with men, women, and young children collapsed and dozens of people fell into the sea,” said Seif Khirfan, an MSF medical doctor on the Aquarius. “Our teams launched all available flotation devices, distributed life jackets, and pulled people from the water. We were able to revive a man in cardiac arrest who was then medically evacuated by helicopter to Italy. Although no bodies were recovered, we witnessed people submerged under the water.”
Due to the worsening conditions on the Mediterranean as the season grows colder, there were multiple cases of mild to moderate hypothermia among those rescued. The medical team also treated people for injuries they had suffered while inside Libya, where refugees and migrants are exposed to alarming levels of violence and exploitation.
“One man had an open fracture and dislocation of his left ankle which was one month old,” Dr. Khirfan said. “He told me he sustained the injury trying to escape gunfire in Libya. Another man had his arm broken a week earlier while arbitrarily detained in Libya.”
The vast majority of people rescued in the Mediterranean by MSF have traveled through Libya, and they tell of widespread abuse at the hands of smugglers, armed groups, and militias. The abuses reported include being subjected to violence (including sexual violence), arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, financial exploitation, and forced labor.
“People do not undertake this journey lightly,” said Luca Salerno, MSF’s coordinator on the Aquarius. “People do not risk their own lives and the lives of their children if there are easier options available to them.”
MSF urges governments to ensure safe and legal channels for people seeking asylum.
“The European Union and individual member states need to take urgent action to provide safe and legal channels for people to seek asylum, create legal migration pathways, and make wider use of legal entry schemes so that desperate people are not forced to risk their lives on the Mediterranean,” Salerno said.
( Press Release Image: https://photos.webwire.com/prmedia/7/216080/216080-1.jpg )
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Lifestyle / Society
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2 questioned in Birmingham 3-year-old’s abduction facing unrelated charges
by: Emma Simmons, Cory McGinnis, Drew Taylor, Phil Pinarski, and Erica Pettway
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Latest on the kidnapping of 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney (all times local):
10/23 – 4 p.m. City of Birmingham and Mayor Woodfin hold a vigil for Cupcake and her family
10:30 P.M. NEARLY 74 HOURS SINCE KAMILLE “CUPCAKE” MCKINNEY’S ABDUCTION
It has been nearly 74 hours since Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney was abducted in Tom Brown Village during a birthday party.
6 p.m. TWO PEOPLE ARE ARRESTED, QUESTIONED IN ABDUCTION CASE
On Tuesday afternoon, Chief Patrick Smith of the Birmingham Police Department announced that two “persons of interest” in the abduction case had been arrested on charges unrelated to the investigation.
Patrick Devone Stallworth and Derick Irisha Brown have been questioned by the police the last couple of days in the case.
“During the investigation, detectives interviewed both subjects in relation to the disappearance of Kamille McKinney,” Smith said. “Although investigators were unable to gather pertinent information on the location of Kamille McKinney, evidence was obtained to allow detectives to obtain warrants on both subjects.”
Stallworth, 39, of Birmingham, was arrested and charged with four counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography with the intent to distribute. Stallworth, who was found to have the information on his phone, is being held on a total bond of $500,000.
Stallworth previously pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in 2004 and spent 30 days in jail.
Brown, 29, was originally charged with kidnapping, but ultimately had her probation revoked. She is being held with no bond.
In 2018, Brown was charged with three counts of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault, attempting to elude and four count of reckless endangerment after she took her three children from a foster home at gunpoint after she lost custody of them. Court documents indicate the kidnapping charges were ultimately dismissed last November, but a grand jury in Jefferson County indicted her on three kidnapping charges.
The case is still pending in court.
In court documents filed Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Shawn Allen said Brown violated her probation.
“The State has learned that during the course of being questioned on an unrelated matter, the Defendant admitted to the Birmingham Police Department that she made efforts to contact victims and/or witness in the case in violation of the conditions of the Defendant’s bond,” Allen stated.
During the press conference, Smith said he believed there were other people involved in taking McKinney. In addition, Smith said he believes “Cupcake” is still alive.
“In my heart, I believe she is alive and we are going to press forward that she is alive,” Smith said.
McKinney has been missing since Saturday night. Law enforcement encourage the public to speak out if they have any knowledge on her whereabouts.
WATCH: Amber Alert Update – BPD holds a press conference regarding missing 3-year-old, “Cupcake”
The Birmingham Police Department will be holding a press conference at their headquarters in regards to Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s abduction.
CBS 42 will have the press conference on of FB page, website and on-air starting at 6 p.m.
Family speaks as the community comes together to pass out flyers and continue to search for missing 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney.
ADDITIONAL REWARD OFFERED
In a hastily-called press conference, Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith announced additional rewards for information leading to Kamille’s location or an arrest in her disappearance.
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr along with Governor Kay Ivey are offering a $5,000 reward and an anonymous citizen is offering $1,000. The rewards offered are a total of $6,000.
“We have quite a few leads we’re following up on…we’re doing everything we can to bring this child home,” Chief Smith says.
According to Chief Smith, officials believe Kamille may still be in the area. Police have not disclosed whether she was in the vehicle that was recovered.
If you have any information regarding the investigation or the location of Kamille, “Cupcake” McKinney please call Crimestoppers 205-254-7777, or TIPS at 205-297-8413.
LOCAL ATTORNEY MAKES OFFER FOR CHILD’S RETURN
Birmingham attorney Eric Guster, of the Guster Law Firm, took to Facebook Live Tuesday morning in an effort to bring Kamille home. The 3-year-old was last seen at a birthday party in the Tom Brown Village Saturday night.
In the video, which has been shared over 1,000 times, Guster offers his services to Kamille’s abuctor(s) for $1, in exchange for the child’s safe return.
“If you reach out to me…you bring me this child, pay me a dollar, I’m your lawyer at that point. I can’t tell people who you are…I won’t even look at your face. I just want this baby back,” Guster says.
The well-known lawyer says he will not represent the abductor(s) at a trial, but he promises to keep them anonymous, an attorney-client privilege. Guster has served as a legal analyst for media including MSNBC, CNN, The Today Show, FOX News Channel and Good Morning Britain.
As of Tuesday morning, Birmingham Police have not released any updates on the investigation into Kamille’s disappearance. As of Monday, officers have detained two people and recovered one vehicle in connection with the abduction. An Amber Alert for Kamille was expanded from Alabama into surrounding states.
Anyone with information related to Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s kidnapping is urged to contact Birmingham Police at (205) 297-8413. Tips may also be directed to Crime Stoppers at (205) 254-7777.
by Rod Carter / Jan 20, 2021
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - Vice President Kamala Harris is making history as the first woman and first woman of color to ever hold a presidential office.
Women across the country in her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, watched and celebrated with great pride.
by Staci DaSilva / Jan 20, 2021
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) - A pandemic couldn’t stop the excitement of Polk State College students as they watched President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take their oaths of office Wednesday.
While they would normally be watching the inauguration together somewhere on campus, members of the Student Government Association watched history unfold over Zoom.
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Excessive Palestinian violence
By - The Washington Times - Tuesday, October 10, 2000
When will the Palestinians be satisfied? They boasted of victory Saturday as they demolished the Jewish holy site known as Joseph's Tomb, the burial grounds of the son of the biblical patriarch, Jacob, and one of the earliest settlements in the Jewish Promised Land. They celebrated as they trampled on Hebrew religious scripts, and to a Jewish scholar defending the site, they had a message: never return. Hillel Lieberman, reportedly a cousin of the U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate, was brutally beaten and killed. The response was quite a thank-you from the Palestinians who had smirked as Israel evacuated the area, called Nablus, or Shechem, hours earlier.
Israel had also allowed the Palestinians to take control the previous day of the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem's Old City, the site of the Jewish Second Temple. The Palestinians celebrated that action by raining stones on Israeli police from the sanctuary during afternoon prayers. Prime Minister Ehud Barak had seen the same response on a larger scale when he ordered the withdrawal of Israel's army from Lebanon in May and the Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerillas responded with violence. The Palestinians have shown time and again how they will respect Jewish religion and life should they continue receiving Israeli concessions. The United States and Israeli Mr. Barak should take note, and refuse to bow to Palestinian terrorist tactics.
It seems the Clinton administration does not have the courage to do so. In the face of all this, the United States refused to veto a U.N. resolution which condemned Israel for "excessive use of violence." Despite a promise to Mr. Barak to veto the resolution, Mr. Clinton instead ordered American ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke to abstain from voting Saturday "on the grounds that this was in the best interests of the United States and Israel."
Two days later, the death count stands at almost 100, and the violence has moved from the West Bank and Gaza City in the south to the Lebanon border in Israel's north. Though Mr. Barak had threatened military action if the Palestinians did not stop the violence by last night, there was no sign of the Palestinians' letting up. As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak rallies the Arab nations including Iraq for a summit to discuss the peace process, Mr. Clinton was unable to arrange a peace summit.
The United States must not undo the partnership it has worked generations to forge with the lone democratic state in a neighborhood of Middle Eastern dictatorships and monarchies. The Clinton administration's silence in the face of the Palestinian determination to continue violence against Israel is a betrayal of its longtime ally. It is time Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian destroyers knew the world has had quite enough.
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On stand, accuser's mom rips Jackson
By - The Washington Times - Monday, April 18, 2005
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — The mother of Michael Jackson’s accuser lashed out at the pop star from the witness stand yesterday, declaring that Mr. Jackson “really didn’t care about children, he cared about what he was doing with children.”
The woman resisted answering questions by defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. and began her fourth day on the witness stand by making speeches to the jury.
She looked at Mr. Jackson across the courtroom and said: “He managed to fool the world. Now, because of this criminal case, people know who he really is.”
Mr. Jackson is accused of molesting one of the woman’s sons — a teenage cancer patient — in February or March 2003, giving the boy alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy’s family captive to get them to rebut a TV documentary about the singer.
During another combative day on the stand, the woman repeatedly denied that Mr. Jackson or anyone associated with him had tried to help her and her family when her son was stricken with cancer.
Asked whether Mr. Jackson arranged a blood drive at his Neverland ranch, she said, “I was responsible for that.”
Mr. Mesereau elicited testimony that the woman received checks for $20,000 and deposited them in her mother’s bank account. She also said she opened a bank account in which people could deposit money for her son’s benefit.
“Did you withdraw thousands of dollars from that account?” Mr. Mesereau asked.
“Yes,” said the woman.
“And was any of that money for medical expenses?” the attorney asked.
“No,” she said.
She denied that she misled a reporter for a local newspaper into writing a story saying the family was poverty-stricken and was paying $12,000 for each chemotherapy treatment the boy received. The story included an address to send contributions.
She said that the $12,000 figure was a typographical error and that she meant $1,200.
But she ultimately acknowledged that the family was paying for nothing because the father’s health insurance covered the boy’s treatment.
Mr. Mesereau led her through questions and answers involving her relationship with comedian Chris Tucker and his girlfriend, Aja. She acknowledged Mr. Tucker once gave the family a car but insisted it was because he needed room for Aja’s new car.
Mr. Mesereau pressed her on whether she made any attempts to get help when the family thought Mr. Jackson was holding them captive.
“Did you complain to anyone in the building that crimes were being committed against you and your family?” Mr. Mesereau asked.
“No, but I am now,” she said.
Mr. Mesereau also noted that the woman was able to telephone comedian Louise Palanker during that period.
“If you could call [Miss Palanker], why couldn’t you call police?” Mr. Mesereau asked.
“I couldn’t. I was hoping she could,” the woman responded.
Mr. Mesereau then asked, “You didn’t call 911?”
“I have now,” the woman said.
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Prosecutor seeks to challenge Hillary
By - The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 9, 2005
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Jeanine Pirro, a high-profile prosecutor in the New York suburbs, said yesterday that she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton next year.
Mrs. Clinton, leaving a New York City event, ignored reporters’ shouted questions about Mrs. Pirro’s announcement.
Mrs. Pirro said the former first lady is more interested in running for president than being senator — speculation that Mrs. Clinton has sought to quash.
“When Mrs. Clinton first came to us and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked New York to put out a welcome mat and we did,” the Westchester County district attorney said in a statement.
“But now she wants us to re-elect her even though she won’t promise to serve out her term and wants to use us as a springboard to the presidency. She’s asking us to become her doormat.”
National polls have shown Mrs. Clinton is the leading contender for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, though the former first lady has said she is focused on her Senate re-election bid and is not thinking about a run for the White House.
Among those Mrs. Pirro may face in the Republican primary is Edward Cox, a Manhattan lawyer who is a son-in-law of former President Richard M. Nixon.
Mrs. Pirro, 54, said she would formally announce her candidacy tomorrow. She said in May that she would not seek a fourth term as district attorney.
Mrs. Pirro has won praise for her Internet stings of would-be child molesters, work with battered women and her battle against underage drinking. She is seen often on national television as a commentator on high-profile crimes. In 1997, she made People magazine’s “most beautiful people” list. She has been pro-choice on abortion.
Mrs. Pirro brushed aside questions about her husband, lawyer-lobbyist Albert Pirro, who has been an issue in most of her campaigns. He was in federal prison for tax fraud when she was re-elected district attorney in 2001. In 1986, he refused to release information about his law practice, and she had to withdraw as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.
A statewide poll issued last week by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute had Mrs. Clinton leading Mrs. Pirro by 63 percent to 29 percent, but Mrs. Pirro predicted yesterday that the gap would narrow.
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Jim Bowden stood behind the bullpen mounds at the Washington Nationals' training facility this sprin
National Party Of Australia
Josh Smoker
By - The Washington Times - Thursday, March 27, 2008
Jim Bowden stood behind the bullpen mounds at the Washington Nationals’ training facility this spring and looked across a row of talented young pitchers warming up over the course of an hour.
Collin Balester. Ross Detwiler. Garrett Mock. Josh Smoker. John Lannan. Tyler Clippard.
None of those prospects were likely to make the Nationals’ Opening Day roster, at least not in 2008. But Bowden doesn’t think purely in terms of the immediate present these days. He can’t help but think ahead to 2009 or 2010 and wonder which pitchers from that group will be toeing the rubber at Nationals Park and leading this franchise toward its goal of winning a championship.
“We’ve got some pretty good choices here,” Bowden said. “And if one or two of them don’t do it, we’ve got other options, we’ve got other choices. We’re in a much better position than we were last year.”
And that’s no accident.
Since undertaking a massive overhaul of their minor-league system two years ago, the Nationals have emphasized pitching above all else. They’ve used top draft picks on arms. They’ve traded away veteran position players for minor-league hurlers. They’ve signed a horde of teenage pitchers from the Dominican Republic.
All of it with a single purpose in mind: To find and develop the future ace of Washington’s major-league staff, something this organization desperately needs.
“Whew, that’s probably on top of the list,” manager Manny Acta said. “In order for you to go all the way, you’re going to need a No. 1 [starter] and a No. 2. When it comes to the playoffs, that’s how you win games. Look at every team that goes all the way. That’s important. That’s at the top of the list.”
Of course, it’s easier said than done. There may be no more difficult task in professional sports than developing an ace. Scores have tried. Only a few have succeeded.
Why is it so difficult? Why can’t scouting directors and GMs correctly identify which 21-year-old pitcher is going to be the next Roger Clemens and which one is going to be the next Todd Van Poppel?
Because there are so many variables involved. Health. Mental makeup. The ability to throw breaking balls for strikes. The ability not to be fazed by big-league hitters.
And because there’s no one formula to becoming a big-league ace. Some of the game’s greatest were power pitchers in the mold of Clemens and Nolan Ryan. Others dominated because of their ability to throw with pinpoint precision, a la Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer. Still others win because they can make the ball dart left, right and down like Brandon Webb and Mariano Rivera.
“People have been at this 107 years and still haven’t figured out a perfect science to who’s going to be successful as a pitcher,” Nationals team president Stan Kasten said.
Kasten knows a thing or two about developing pitchers. His Atlanta Braves teams of the early 1990s won primarily because of a starting rotation that included Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery.
But that’s not necessarily how the Braves figured it would work out back then. Kasten can’t help but laugh now as he thinks back to his farm system of the late 1980s and how few thought Glavine would ever develop into a front-line starter.
“When he came up, I remember people saying he didn’t have an out pitch,” Kasten said.
The most-heralded pitcher in the Atlanta organization at that time was a tall right-hander named Dennis Burlingame. He never made it to the majors.
“He was going to be the guy,” Kasten said. “And he got hurt. That’s all it takes. That’s the thing with pitchers. You just don’t know.”
Which explains why the Nationals have made a point not to put too much faith into any one of their young pitchers, but rather have gone out of their way to stockpile a half-dozen or more kids in the hopes that one or two of them pan out over time.
It’s the old Branch Rickey system. “Quality out of quantity,” the famed Brooklyn Dodgers GM would describe his method for developing players.
The Nationals believe they’ve built up a deep pool of pitching candidates over the last two years. From that quantity, they hope to find quality.
“It’s just like playing the lotto,” Acta said. “The more tickets you play, the better chance you have of winning.”
There are no shortage of intriguing possibilities within the Washington system.
There’s Balester, the lone top-tier pitching prospect remaining from the organization’s days in Montreal. There’s Colton Willems, a first-round draft pick in 2006. There’s Mock, the key pitcher acquired (along with Matt Chico) in the 2006 trade of Livan Hernandez.
And then there’s the Class of ‘07: Detwiler, Smoker and Jack McGeary. Three highly touted left-handers all selected early in last summer’s draft, which has since been ranked the majors’ best.
Given how precious a commodity left-handed pitching is, the Nationals still sometimes can’t fathom how they pulled off last summer’s draft heist.
“You got three of them in the same draft,” Bowden said. “You can go 10 years and not get three.”
Detwiler, the sixth overall pick from Missouri State, became the first member of the class to reach the big leagues when he earned a September call-up and pitched one inning of relief in Atlanta. Perhaps the most complete pitcher in the organization, the 22-year-old fits the profile of an ace.
Smoker and McGeary, both 19, face much-longer paths to the majors. McGeary actually is living a double life these days as a student at Stanford during the school year and then a Nationals farmhand during the summer.
So the organization clearly has a stable of young pitchers who could develop into Washington’s ace of the future. The problem: This organization has no ace of the present.
When the Nationals debut their new ballpark on national television Sunday night, they’ll most likely be sending a 30-year-old journeyman named Odalis Perez to the mound. Perez, while a serviceable big-league pitcher, wouldn’t fit anyone’s description of an ace.
But such is the current state of the Washington rotation. Team officials hoped to give the ball on Opening Night to either Shawn Hill or John Patterson, but both right-handers’ lingering injury troubles put an end to those plans.
Hill, whose trademark sinker can be virtually unhittable at times, hasn’t been able to overcome tightness in his right forearm and will open the season on the disabled list. The club hopes he’ll be ready within a couple of weeks, but given Hill’s injury history — surgeries on his right elbow, left shoulder and right forearm — there are no guarantees anymore.
Patterson, too, was capable of dominating opposing hitters and put it all together in 2005 to do just that for the Nationals. But his career has been derailed time and again by injuries, and after making only 15 combined starts the last two seasons and then struggling to reach 85 mph with his fastball this spring, the club decided enough was enough. Patterson, last season’s Opening Day starter, was released less than a year later.
Even so, executives around baseball expected another team to snatch up Patterson before long, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with a right-hander high on talent but seemingly doomed to be hurt.
“Certainly there’s always risk,” Bowden said upon announcing the Patterson release. “We all saw what happened with Chris Carpenter in Toronto when they finally cut the ties and he went on to win a Cy Young [in St. Louis] and got the team to the World Series. Nothing is ever for sure in baseball.”
No, there are no guarantees in this sport, certainly not when it comes to young pitchers. But it’s the Catch-22 of building an organization: As difficult as it is to develop pitchers, you can’t win without them.
Which is why the Nationals were cautiously optimistic as they scanned those bullpen mounds in Viera, Fla., this spring and saw promising young pitcher after promising young pitcher.
For a franchise that has spent years trying to find an ace, that was a beautiful scene.
“That’s the clearest testimony we can point to of this organization accomplishing what we’ve been trying to do,” Kasten said. “Whatever happens up here in Washington with our rotation, we know there’s another wave on its way. It’s a very exciting time for us.”
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Jenks joins Red Sox, Ordonez stays with Tigers
By BEN WALKER - Associated Press - Thursday, December 16, 2010
Bobby Jenks, Kerry Wood and Josh Willingham changed uniforms while Magglio Ordonez stayed in Detroit as several teams tried to wrap up business Thursday before taking a holiday break.
A December flurry of activity saw Minnesota reach a deal with Japanese batting champion Tsuyoshi Nishioka and the Los Angeles Dodgers get reliever Matt Guerrier.
Also in the works: Looking for a lefty in the bullpen, the New York Yankees are trying to close a deal for free agent Pedro Feliciano.
The Boston Red Sox stayed busy, reaching agreement with Jenks on a $12 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement.
The right-handed Jenks posted 27 saves for the White Sox last season, but lost the closer’s role at the end of the year when he struggled with injuries.
The Red Sox agreed to a one-year contract with right-handed reliever Matt Albers, who made 62 appearances for Baltimore, and sent utilityman Eric Patterson to San Diego to complete the trade for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
Wood is going back to the Cubs on a one-year deal with a base guarantee of $1.5 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told the AP.
The 33-year-old Wood was the NL Rookie of the Year with the Cubs in 1998 and nearly helped pitch them into the 2003 World Series. Wood, whose career has been slowed by injuries, split last season with Cleveland and the Yankees. He’s expected to be a late-inning reliever in Chicago.
The Oakland Athletics acquired Willingham from the Washington Nationals for a pair of prospects, right-handed reliever Henry Rodriguez and outfielder Corey Brown.
The A’s, who had trouble scoring this year, have added Willingham and David DeJesus to their outfield in the offseason. Willingham hit .268 with 16 homers and 56 RBIs for the Nationals.
"I think this team is ready to win," Willingham said. "And the organization, with the moves it has already made this offseason, proves it is ready to win also."
Ordonez and the Tigers agreed on a $10 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told the AP.
Detroit declined Ordonez’s $15 million option in October, but wanted the six-time All-Star outfielder back if he recovered from a season-ending ankle injury in July.
Ordonez turns 37 next month. He hit .303 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs in 84 games last season.
Nishioka and the Twins reached a preliminary agreement on a three-year contract worth about $10 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told the AP. He hit .346 last season in Japan.
Nishioka can play shortstop or second base, and the Twins have a need for middle infielders after J.J. Hardy was traded and Orlando Hudson became a free agent.
Minnesota also traded backup catcher Jose Morales to Colorado for minor league left-hander Paul Bargas.
In other moves, the Yankees completed a contract with former All-Star catcher Russell Martin, Cleveland agreed to terms with infielder Adam Everett on a minor league deal and Toronto brought back designated hitter-first baseman Edwin Encarnacion.
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Obama concerned about France-Russia warship deal
BRUSSELS (AP) - President Barack Obama says he’s expressed concern to France about its intentions to keep building warships for Russia at the same time that Europe and the U.S. are trying to isolate Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
Obama is speaking at a news conference hours before he’ll have dinner with French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH’ oh-LAWND’).
Obama says he recognizes the 3-year-old deal is large and important for French jobs. But he says it would have been preferable for France to pause defense deals while Russia is violating international law and the sovereignty of its neighbors.
Obama says Hollande understands his position on the issue but that France has made a difference decision. But he says that doesn’t negate cooperation between France and the U.S. on sanctions against Russia.
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Kansas woman trying to help kids in Ukraine
Stephanie Nance
By - Associated Press - Tuesday, March 4, 2014
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Wichita-area woman who founded an organization to help disadvantaged children in Ukraine has been anxiously waiting to see how that country’s current problems will affect her efforts.
Stephanie Nance of Maize founded Project TLC, a group that identifies and tries to help disadvantaged children in communities and orphanages in Ukraine. She also has adopted three children from Ukraine and visits often.
Nance was in Ukraine last month when the battles began in Kiev. She returned to Maize on Friday, a day before Russian troops entered the Crimea region of Ukraine, The Wichita Eagle reported (https://bit.ly/1onfp6L ).
“We are still trying to figure out what this will mean for us,” Nance said. “Things are changing really fast over there.
Nance, who has 12 children, said she began traveling to Ukraine after her son Ralph was born in 2007 with Down syndrome. She found that children born in Ukraine who were mentally or physically disabled can end up in institutions, such as orphanages. After traveling there to adopt a child she was “heartbroken by the kids we had to leave behind,” Nance said.
“Adoption is great, but not all kids can be adopted. … So, if they couldn’t be adopted, we looked at ways we could give them some extra attention.”
One way was to hire paid caregivers to give children more attention.
But since returning to Maize, Nance has been trying to stay in contact with caregivers at the orphanages and remains hopeful her organization will still be able to help.
“We are going to walk in faith that we can still help kids,” she said.
Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, https://www.kansas.com
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State officials to be sentenced in corruption case
By PHILIP MARCELO - Associated Press - Thursday, November 13, 2014
BOSTON (AP) - Three former officials in the state Probation Department were to be sentenced on charges they rigged the agency’s hiring process to favor politically-connected candidates.
Federal prosecutors have recommended a nearly six-year prison sentence for former Probation Commissioner John O’Brien and five-year sentences for his former deputies, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke.
But O’Brien’s lawyers, in their sentencing memorandum, argued that imposing nearly the maximum allowable sentence under law, as prosecutors recommend, would be a “grave injustice.” They’ve asked for leniency, arguing that O’Brien “has been punished enough.”
U.S. District Court Judge William Young was set to hand down his sentence Thursday afternoon. Both O’Brien and Tavares were convicted by a jury of racketeering and mail fraud this summer, while Burke was found guilty of the lower charge of racketeering conspiracy.
The two-month trial shined a light on patronage culture in state government.
“Although society has attempted to rid itself of crony politics, the defendants apparently never received that message,” prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office for Massachusetts wrote in their sentencing memorandum.
Prosecutors alleged the defendants, led by O’Brien, created a “sham” process designed to circumvent the agency’s merit-based hiring policies. The defendants made sure coveted probation officer jobs went to candidates backed by legislators or other officials, often at the expense of more qualified applicants.
No current or past lawmakers were ever charged, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who was among the prominent politicians named during the course of the trial, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, a former state lawmaker, is among the prominent figures that have publicly defended O’Brien since his conviction.
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Patriots open 37-17 lead over Bengals early in 4th
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates a touchdown by running back Stevan Ridley against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) more >
By - Associated Press - Sunday, October 5, 2014
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady became the sixth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 50,000 yards, hitting Rob Gronkowski on a 27-yard pass against Cincinnati and then adding two touchdown passes as the New England Patriots opened a 37-17 lead early in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
One play after surpassing the milestone, Brady connected with Tim Wright for a 17-yard touchdown that gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead through one quarter and prompted fans to chant the 37-year-old quarterback’s name. Brady hit Gronkowski on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and, on the ensuing kickoff, Brandon Tate fumbled and Kyle Arrington returned it 9 yards for a touchdown that made it 34-10.
Stevan Ridley had a 1-yard touchdown run, running 19 times for 94 yards through three quarters, and Stephen Gostkowski had three field goals.
Brady entered the game needing 60 yards to reach 50,000 career yards passing and topped it in the first quarter while leading New England to touchdowns on its first two possessions. One week after the second-biggest loss of his career, a 41-14 Kansas City Chiefs victory, Brady completed 20 of 30 passes for 255 yards through three quarters.
Wright, who was acquired from Tampa Bay for six-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Logan Mankins, had five catches for 85 yards, and Gronkowski had six for 100.
Andy Dalton completed 12 of 20 passes for 177 yards and two second-half touchdowns, a 37-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu and a 17-yarder to A.J. Green that made it 34-17 with 3:43 left in the third quarter. Green had four catches for 71 yards and Sanu caught four passes for 66.
The Patriots scored on Gostkowski’s 48-yard field goal with 1:17 left in the first half, then took advantage after Darrelle Revis forced A.J. Green’s fumble deep in Bengals’ territory. Brady led New England to the 1, and Gostkowski’s field goal made it 20-3.
The Patriots’ loss to the Chiefs on Monday night led to a week of questions about whether their aging quarterback’s skills had diminished. But Brady again looked like a three-time Super Bowl champion, leading New England easily to its first two touchdowns.
Brady was 2 for 2 for 50 yards on the opening possession, and he also ran the ball three times, gaining 4 yards on a fourth-and-1 at the 5. He then tried again for no gain before Ridley ran it in the final yard to make it 7-0.
The Bengals, the only remaining unbeaten team in the NFL, moved to the New England 34 on the ensuing possession but Mike Nugent was short on a 52-yard field goal attempt. Brady took the Patriots in, hitting Gronkowski for the milestone and then Wright for the score on the next play.
The second period was sloppier, with the teams combining for eight penalties for 91 yards. New England was penalized eight times for 84 yards in the first half.
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Jones picks up for his pal and leads Duke to championship
Duke’s Tyus Jones reacts during the second half of the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament championship game against Wisconsin Monday, April 6, 2015, in Indianapolis. Duke won 68-63. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) more >
By RALPH D. RUSSO - Associated Press - Tuesday, April 7, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - At the bottom of the pile, two young basketball players and old friends embraced, celebrating the championship they had been talking about winning long before choosing to play together at Duke.
Tyus Jones picked up his big buddy, Jahlil Okafor, scoring 23 points and hitting two huge 3s late to help the Blue Devils overcome their big man’s foul trouble and beat Wisconsin 68-63 on Monday in the NCAA Tournament championship game.
Jones is the star Duke freshman who can get a little overlooked in the long shadows of fellow rookies Okafor and Justise Winslow. Both of them were hampered by fouls against the Badgers. Okafor played 22 minutes and scored 10 points, though he made his presence felt late as the Blue Devils were pulling away with a 12-5 surge to end the game.
“I told him to pick me up and he said, ‘I got you,’” Okafor said about Jones. “He told me to stay ready.”
Jones nailed a straight-on 3 with 4:08 left that gave Duke the lead for good. He then put a seal on the Blue Devils’ fifth national title with another 3 from the top to make it 66-58 with 1:24 left. Jones’ face lit up and his jaw dropped, looking amazed at what he had just done.
“That’s just one of those situations where you dream of hitting a shot like that late in the game,” said Jones, who was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Final Four. “It was just emotions running through me and you just got to soak it all in. You don’t expect to make a shot like that, but my teammates have confidence in me. When I saw it go through the hoop, it was one of those things … I’m at a loss for words to be honest.”
Jones and Okafor came to Duke as a package deal of sorts. Jones, the slick 6-foot-1 guard from Minnesota and Okafor, the 6-11 stud from Chicago, have been friends since grade school and played together for USA Basketball.
“We just hugged each other,” Okafor said. “This is what we wanted to do. I’ve known Tyus since third grade. For us to be together is a special moment.”
Big shots late have become Jones’ specialty at Duke. The first step is not being afraid to take them.
“We give him confidence,” Okafor said. “He’ll tell you first off that we give him the confidence. He knows that we believe in him. And that makes it easier on him.”
Jones said he spent the night before the championship game watching old “One Shining Moment” videos from NCAA tournaments past on YouTube. He was alone - but it turned out that he wasn’t alone.
“I heard Jahlil did as well. I’m sure a number of the guys on the team did as well,” Jones said. “You’re just so invested emotionally and physically to just have it right in front of you, you just want to make sure you make the most of it.”
Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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Chicago officer pleads not guilty to murder charges
Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke arrives for a court hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. It was Van Dyke’s first appearance in court since a grand jury indicted him on Wednesday, ... more >
By CARLA K. JOHNSON - Associated Press - Wednesday, December 30, 2015
CHICAGO (AP) - A white Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald pleaded not guilty Tuesday.
Jason Van Dyke is “hanging in there” and wants to tell his side of what happened so he’s not seen “as this cold-blooded killer,” defense attorney Dan Herbert said after the court hearing. Herbert added that they haven’t ruled out asking for a change of venue. The case is in Cook County Criminal Court in Chicago where demonstrators have staged marches protesting the shooting and how it’s been handled.
Van Dyke, 37, faces six counts of first-degree murder and one of official misconduct in the death of 17-year-old McDonald. The officer, wearing a dark suit and blue striped tie, appeared in court Tuesday as his lawyer entered the plea on his behalf.
Judge Vincent Gaughan set the next hearing for Jan. 29.
Cook County prosecutors were not available for comment after the arraignment.
Public outcry has been furious since a dashcam video was released last month showing the veteran officer shooting McDonald 16 times. The teenager, armed with a knife, was veering away from officers when Van Dyke opened fire.
The footage sparked days of street demonstrations, the forced resignation of Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and a broad federal civil rights investigation of the Police Department’s practices and how allegations of officer misconduct are handled.
Over the weekend, Chicago police killed two other people, a 55-year-old woman who was shot accidentally and a 19-year-old man police described as “combative” before he was shot. Both were black. Police have not released the race of the officer or officers involved and will not say how many officers fired their weapons or what the man and woman were doing before they were shot.
Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said in a statement Tuesday that the shootings raise questions about why officers don’t have more options besides using lethal force.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, under pressure from community activists to resign since the McDonald video was released, returned to Chicago after cutting short a family vacation in Cuba, spokesman Adam Collins said late Tuesday night. It was unclear if the mayor was at his home, where protesters had gathered outside earlier Tuesday.
Herbert, the lawyer for Van Dyke, said policy changes in the Chicago Police Department would be beneficial.
The mayor’s office, which had already said some changes would be forthcoming, said in a statement late Tuesday night that Emanuel and Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante would announce Wednesday “a major overhaul” of the policy regarding how officers respond to incidents and the use of force.
The statement also said the police department will also begin to require every officer who “responds to calls for service” to be equipped with a Taser and trained to use it by June 1, 2016.
Van Dyke, who has been free since paying the $150,000 required of his $1.5 million bail, was suspended from the police force without pay after he was charged.
Following Tuesday’s hearing, the Rev. Marvin Hunter, McDonald’s great-uncle, called for gavel-to-gavel televised coverage of the trial. He said it would be “in the best interest of fairness and justice in this case.”
Hunter added that he and others think there is a culture within the Cook County criminal justice system and the Chicago Police Department “where police feel comfortable with murdering African-American people.”
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Maine holding hearings about scalloping cutback
By - Associated Press - Tuesday, September 15, 2015
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine fishery regulators are preparing to hold a series of public hearings about a plan to cut back the number of scallop fishing days in the coming season.
The proposal would cut back the number of scallop fishing days in the southern scalloping zone from 70 to 60 days. The hearings will be held on Tuesday in Augusta, on Wednesday in Ellsworth and on Thursday in Machias.
The Midcoast and eastern Maine zone would have 70 days, the same as last year. The far eastern zone, which includes scallop-rich Cobscook Bay, would remain at 50 days.
The proposal says the upcoming scallop fishing season would begin in early December and end in mid-April.
Maine scallops were worth almost $7.5 million last year. That is the most since 1993.
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The Latest: Sheriff's office names man dead after standoff
By - Associated Press - Thursday, March 3, 2016
BEL AIR, Md. (AP) - The Latest on the death of a man during a standoff with deputies in Bel Air, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore (all times local):
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office is identifying a man killed by deputies after he fired on them and continued to make threats.
Maj. William Davis says the man who died Wednesday evening at his home in Bel Air was 36-year-old Travis Bradley. The sheriff’s office originally reported he was 35 years old, but Bradley recently had his 36th birthday.
Davis says deputies responded to a call of a soldier who was suicidal, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and had at least one gun in the house. He says they tried for three hours to get him to surrender peacefully, during which he fired two rounds at deputies and said he would “shoot it out.”
Davis says the man used a rifle with a scope, so deputies had to pull back.
Davis says when the man came out of the house a second time, he made motions and indications with a hand that he was armed, and officers believed he was. After deputies fired, they found he did not have a gun on him, but they found loaded firearms inside the house.
Bradley was white. Davis declined to release the races of the deputies involved.
Maryland deputies shot and killed a 35-year-old man following a standoff at a home.
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that deputies responded to a home in Bel Air on Wednesday afternoon after reports of a suicidal subject. Deputies attempted to communicate with the unidentified suspect, but he eventually exited the home and fired a gun, causing officers to seek cover. No one was injured at the time.
Deputies say the suspect then retreated into the residence.
Members of the Special Response Team attempted to negotiate with the suspect. Authorities say the suspect exited the home again and moved toward deputies. The sheriff’s office says his actions caused deputies to fear for their safety, leading them to shoot and mortally wound the man.
Deputies involved have been placed on routine administrative leave pending an investigation.
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Packers need to find balance on offense
By - Associated Press - Wednesday, November 16, 2016
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Without Eddie Lacy, the Green Bay Packers’ offense has become the most pass-happy attack in the NFL.
With Lacy out following ankle surgery that’s sidelined him for the past four games and will keep him out Sunday night at Washington, the Packers’ sputtering offense has been at its best throwing early and often. Coach Mike McCarthy, however, wants to build a more balanced attack after Aaron Rodgers dropped back 59 times and handed off only 10 times in last week’s blowout loss at Tennessee.
“I always want to run the ball more, but I also want to throw it 55 times a game, too,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “That’s the way games are. You have to run the ball. Everything starts with running the football. You can’t extend your offensive line and your pass-protection unit the way we have. Running the football is very important for a number of different reasons.”
To that end, Green Bay was awarded running back Christine Michael on waivers Wednesday. Michael joins a backfield with veteran James Starks, who returned last week after missing four games following knee surgery.
Michael was released by the Seahawks on Tuesday despite being the team’s leading rusher with 469 yards (4.0 average) and six touchdowns. The hope is he will help deliver the balance the failed trade with Kansas City last month for Knile Davis didn’t provide. Davis carried five times for 5 yards in two games before he was released Oct. 31.
“It allows us to get balanced again,” receiver Jordy Nelson said of Starks and before the addition of Michael. “I think that’s what we were able to do early in the year, just stay balanced. It allowed us to get into the play action. It makes the defense worry about another playmaker out there. I think he brings the screen game into it as well, like he did last week when he scored a touchdown on a screen.
“When you don’t have a running back, it’s hard to do those things. We’ve tried to manage. I think we’ve done a decent job with the circumstances but, hopefully, we can get some guys healthy and get back to a normal offense.”
The Packers’ offense has been anything but normal. They are passing two-thirds of the time, the highest rate in the league. Rodgers had a big game in almost upsetting Atlanta in Week 8 and rallied the team from deficits in losses to Indianapolis in Week 9 and Tennessee in Week 10. However, without the threat of a running game, the statistical production hasn’t been consistently good. While Rodgers is third with 22 touchdown passes, he ranks 16th with a passer rating of 93.9, 20th with a completion rate of 63.1 percent, and 29th with 6.53 yards per dropback.
Redskins cornerback Josh Norman said don’t be fooled by those mediocre numbers.
“Hey, man, let’s not get things mistaken over there,” said Norman, who called Rodgers and New England’s Tom Brady the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
“That guy can hit you at any time, any place, anywhere, any given day, any given game,” Norman added. “I really don’t care what the outside noise is. I know who we’re facing and that’s a cerebral quarterback that’s the best of the best at what he’s doing. Regardless of what others may think of him, I know for a fact that that is the toughest quarterback challenge to face because he has everything in his toolbox, in his arsenal, to make them win.”
Time is of the essence for Green Bay’s offense to build an effective identity. With Starks and Michael, can it find balance? With Rodgers, is throwing the football repeatedly the way to go?
The Packers have lost three in a row and four of their last five games. At 4-5, their best road to the playoffs is through the beleaguered NFC North, in which neither Minnesota nor Detroit (both 5-4) has seized control.
“It doesn’t matter stats-wise if we’re running it a bunch of throwing it a bunch,” Rodgers said. “We just need to find a way to win. If we’ve got to throw it 60 times to win, we’ve done that before. Obviously, you’d love to have some balance, but, at this point in the season, it comes down to winning football games.”
For more NFL coverage: https://www.pro32.ap.org and https://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
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The Latest: FBI offers reward in fatal shooting of judge
Raymond Myles
By - Associated Press - Monday, April 10, 2017
CHICAGO (AP) - The Latest on fatal shooting of a judge outside his Chicago home. (all times local):
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who fatally shot a judge outside his Chicago home.
Authorities say Cook County Associate Judge Raymond Myles and a woman were getting ready to go to a gym early Monday when they were shot outside his home. The 66-year-old Myles was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The 52-year-old woman was reported in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples says the woman was walking to the garage at Myles’ home when she came upon a man holding a gun. Words were exchanged and the offender shot the woman.
Staples said when Myles heard the gunshot, he came outside to investigate. He exchanged words with the gunman before the man shot him several times. Staples said the shooting may have been the culmination of a robbery attempt.
Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office confirmed Myles had been a Cook County judge since 1999.
A Cook County Circuit Court judge has been shot to death outside his home on the South Side of Chicago.
Chicago police say Associate Judge Raymond Myles and a female acquaintance were shot shortly before 5 a.m. Monday.
Myles was pronounced dead at a hospital. The unidentified woman is expected to survive.
Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples said at a news conference that the woman encountered someone with a gun outside the home, they exchanged words and the woman was shot.
Myles heard the commotion and gunshot, and was shot multiple times after also exchanging words with the shooter.
Staples says it doesn’t appear that any property was stolen.
Chief Judge Timothy Evans said in a statement that colleagues knew Myles “for his kindness and his impartial administration of justice.”
Police say a Cook County Circuit Court judge has been shot to death outside his home on the South Side of Chicago.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says via Twitter that notifications to relatives “have been made in the senseless murder of Judge Raymond Myles.”
The Chicago Tribune and WLS-TV report that a woman was wounded in the shooting shortly before 5 a.m. Monday outside the judge’s home in Roseland and that Myles was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The woman’s name has not been released.
Myles was an associate judge in the court’s criminal division.
The shooting is under investigation.
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Taplin scores 30 to lead Tulsa to a 73-71 win over UConn
By PAT EATON-ROBB - Associated Press - Thursday, February 15, 2018
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Tulsa is streaking toward the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Sterling Taplin scored a career-high 30 points and the Golden Hurricane won their fourth straight game Thursday night, edging UConn 73-71 on the road.
Junior Etou had 15 points and DaQuan Jefferies added 14 off the bench for Tulsa (15-10, 8-5), which swept the season series from the Huskies. They also won by two points in Oklahoma last month, but needed double overtime in that one.
Christian Vital had 13 of his 20 points in the first half for UConn (12-14, 5-8) when the Huskies built up a 12-point lead. UConn, which has lost five of its last six, led 40-31 at intermission.
But Taplin said his team’s confidence did not waiver.
“No matter what adversity we go through, we’re a team and we’re a family,” he said. “We’re going to do whatever we need to do to get the win.”
Tulsa began chipping away in the second half and Taplin’s seventh 3-pointer of the game gave the Golden Hurricane a 51-50 lead with just over seven minutes left, their first since 8-7. The junior guard made 10 of his 12 shots, including 7 of 8 from behind the arc.
Tulsa led 68-61 after a 3-pointer by Lawson Korita.
But back-to-back 3-pointers by Terry Larrier brought UConn within a point at 68-67 and the Huskies took the lead back on Vital’s free throws with 54 seconds left.
Layups by Taplin and Jefferies made it 72-69 Tulsa, before Isaiah Whaley got underneath to cut the lead to a point with nine seconds left.
Etou missed one of his two foul shots on the other end, but Jalen Adams’ drive to the basket failed to find the bucket or a whistle as the buzzer sounded.
“It was a great win for us,” said Tulsa coach Frank Haith. “I thought our guys battled all night after being down at the half.”
Tulsa: This was Tulsa’s first win over UConn in Connecticut. The Golden Hurricane were 0-4 before Thursday night, but 4-0 against the Huskies in Oklahoma.
“Just winning here was big,” Taplin said. “Staying together and playing for each other. We want our team, especially our seniors, to have a great finish to their year.”
UConn: The Huskies won the rebounding battle 35-30 after going eight games without outrebounding an opponent. Tulsa, meanwhile, had outrebounded its opponents by an 11.3 margin in its last three games.
The teams each hit 11 3-pointers during the game. But Tulsa was 11 of 20 from behind the arc and UConn was 11 of 31.
“We were settling for 3, after 3, after 3, after 3,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie. “And that’s toughness. You’ve got to drive the basketball.”
Tulsa’s Kaplin and UConn’s Vital played prep school ball together at St. Thomas More in Montville, Connecticut.
Vital said it was his job to stop his former teammate and he just didn’t do it.
“I can’t allow my matchup to go for 30 in our house, even if we’re in half-zone, half man (defense), whatever it is. I can’t allow that to happen. He made some tough shots on me. But that layup at the end of the game, I’ve got to do a better job defensively and not allow him to get to the basket.”
COBB RETURNS
The game marked the return of UConn forward Eric Cobb, more than a month after he was suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. The 6-foot-9 junior played four minutes, but did not score or get a rebound.
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane head home for two games against South Florida on Sunday and UCF on Feb. 21.
UConn: The Huskies embark on a two-game road trip, facing East Carolina on Sunday and Cincinnati on Feb. 22.
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Pentagon appoints officer to do new review of Niger attack
War_Conflict
Patrick Shanahan
By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press - Thursday, April 4, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) - Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has appointed a four-star officer to take another look at the military’s investigation into the 2017 attack in Niger that killed four U.S. soldiers, and review whether additional punishments should be meted out.
In a statement Thursday, the Pentagon said the investigating officer will do a “new, narrowly-scoped review” and give Shanahan recommendations on whether the reprimands already made were appropriate. The officer’s name was not released.
Officials have said that nine individuals have been held accountable for lapses in training and other mission preparedness. The punishments have largely been letters of reprimand. But officials and members of Congress have questioned whether more senior officers should be disciplined. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel actions.
The initial investigation found multiple failures leading up to the October 2017 attack, but determined that none of those shortfalls directly caused the overwhelming enemy ambush and firefight, which also killed four Nigerien troops, wounded a number of forces from both countries, and sent troops running for their lives.
That investigation report came out last May, detailing a series of “individual, organizational, and institutional failures and deficiencies that contributed to the tragic events.” But it concluded that “no single failure or deficiency was the sole reason” for what happened.
It said the U.S. forces didn’t have time to train together before they deployed, and did not do preparatory battle drills with their Nigerien partners. And the report said lax communication and poor attention to details led to a “general lack of situational awareness and command oversight at every echelon.”
Since then, administrative actions - mainly the letters of reprimand - were taken against nine individuals, including Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks, who was serving as the commander of special operations forces in Africa at the time. He was the most senior officer punished, leading some to question whether other more senior leaders had unfairly escaped unscathed.
In addition, a number of troops, including those killed, have been recommended for valor awards, mainly Silver Stars and Bronze Stars. But none of those have been announced either.
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., peppered Shanahan with questions about the lengthy delay in any announcements and when final decisions would be made.
Shanahan said he was aware that his predecessor, Jim Mattis, had received final recommendations and had been reviewing them. But, Shanahan said, “I did not find that sufficient. So, I convened my own review so I can insure from top to bottom as the appropriate accountability.”
Gallego said he wanted to be sure the Pentagon review didn’t simply place all the blame on junior officers and let senior officers “off the hook.”
“These families and the American public deserve to know exactly what happened, and the junior officers that are being reprimanded right now should know that there’s going to be equal reprimands, especially for general officers, should they have done anything wrong,” said Gallego.
Shanahan responded that the fundamental reason he is doing his own review is to be certain there is a full accounting, from the troops on the ground to the most senior officer.
The U.S. military in Africa has taken a number steps to increase the security of troops on the ground, adding armed drones and armored vehicles and taking a harder look at when American forces go out with local troops. Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, head of U.S. Africa Command, has said that the U.S. has cut the response time needed for medical evacuations.
U.S. Special Operations Command has made changes in pre-deployment and readiness training, and addressed other staffing and decision-making shortfalls. The changes include insuring that forces conduct training together before they deploy and the exercises must be evaluated by a senior officer.
The review found that a large personnel turnover after training but before deployment led to some of the problems with the team in Niger.
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Premier: China will offer Taiwan 'preferential policies'
A military band plays the national anthem during the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Friday, March 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) **FILE** more >
By - Associated Press - Friday, March 15, 2019
BEIJING (AP) - China will introduce more “preferential policies” for Taiwan so the self-governed island’s residents can enjoy the same treatment as mainland Chinese citizens, Premier Li Keqiang said Friday.
Li said new initiatives will be implemented to invite people from Taiwan to “work hand-in-hand to realize our shared dream for the nation.” They follow 31 incentives recently introduced to bolster China’s argument that political unification should follow increasingly close economic ties.
Such appeals form the carrot in China’s strategy toward Taiwan in contrast with the stick of threatened military attack.
China has used increasingly aggressive rhetoric toward Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid a civil war 70 years ago, but has sought to balance the two approaches to try to avoid alienating those in the island republic who are wary of Beijing.
The ruling Communist Party maintains that Taiwan is part of China. It opposes Taiwan independence and formally says it seeks a “peaceful reunification.”
President Xi Jinping did not rule out the use of force during a January speech on cross-strait relations, when he proposed a “one country, two systems” approach akin to China’s current arrangement with the former British colony of Hong Kong. That would enable Taiwan to keep its own economic and legal system.
The suggestion has been rejected by Taiwan’s independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen, who said China must accept the continued existence of the Republic of China, the formal name of the former mainland government that fled to Taiwan in 1949. The U.S. switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but remains a key Taiwanese bulwark against China’s threats.
China appears pleased with the impact of last year’s “31 Measures,” and Li held open the possibility of even greater advantages, while offering no details.
“When people on both sides of the strait enjoy the same development opportunities, they will become closer and closer,” Li said at a news conference held on the closing day of the ceremonial legislature’s annual session.
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Conservatives staging free speech rally attacked by critics
Medics transport a supporter of President Donald Trump to an ambulance after he was attacked by counter-protesters in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. About a dozen pro-Trump demonstrators were met by several hundred counter-protesters as they tried to rally. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A free speech demonstration staged by conservative activists quickly fell apart in downtown San Francisco on Saturday after several hundred counterprotesters surged the area, outnumbering and attacking those gathered, including knocking one in the mouth.
A photographer working for The Associated Press witnessed a Trump supporter being taken away in an ambulance and an injured San Francisco police officer on the ground by San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza.
Team Save America organized the rally to protest Twitter, which it said squelches conservative speech. Members of the group wore red “Make America Great Again” Trump campaign hats and carried pro-police “Thin Blue Line” flags and U.S. flags.
Philip Anderson, the organizer of the event, posted photos to social media of his bloody mouth with a front tooth missing and another hanging loosely. He said anti-fascist protesters attacked him “for no reason.”
Anderson took the stage at about 1 p.m. and was greeted by chants and plastic water bottles and glass bottles thrown over police barricades.
The event was canceled, although both sides lingered in the area into the afternoon.
The San Francisco Police Department said three officers suffered non life-threatening injuries when they were assaulted with pepper spray and caustic chemicals. One officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment, the department said.
No arrests were made, the department said.
Anderson called the counterprotesters hypocrites and said they are the reason why he’s voting for President Donald Trump.
“I love America, I love this country and I love free speech,” he said.
Knoxville Police: Green Magnet put on brief lockdown after shooting
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Home » Former Tyson Foods President Buddy Wray dies
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Buddy Wray, a former Tyson Foods executive whose career with the company spanned over 50 years, has died. | Tyson Foods
Former Tyson Foods President Buddy Wray dies
Buddy Wray’s career with Tyson Foods spanned more than 50 years
Donald E. "Buddy" Wray, former president and chief operating officer of Tyson Foods, has died.
Wray, started his career at Tyson Foods in 1961. He worked in a variety of managerial positions within the company before being named chief operating officer in 1992. In that capacity, he oversaw all operations, including live poultry production, processing and sales. About one year later, Wray became president and chief operating officer. He held that position until he retired in 2000. He served as a member of Tyson’s board of directors from 1994 to 2003, and he returned as an adviser to the company in 2008, and assumed a role as executive vice president and special assistant to the president and CEO from 2009 to 2014.
“Buddy Wray was a legendary figure at Tyson Foods,” said John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods. “From the earliest days of the growth of Tyson Foods, Buddy, along with my dad and Leland Tollett made the company succeed, from the early 1960s through the 1990s. He was instrumental in everything the company did for over 50 years. There is no way to express what Buddy meant to the company and thousands of its team members during that time. He was also a long-time dedicated Springdale community leader who will be missed by many and long remembered.”
Donnie Smith, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, added: “Buddy was one of my mentors and I will miss his leadership, insight and especially his friendship. He earned the gratitude and respect of all of us here at Tyson Foods and we will never forget him.”
He was honored in 2000 as the University of Arkansas “Distinguished Alumni of the Year,” was selected “Man of the Year” by The Poultry Federation (TPF) in 1999, and was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2015, according to TPF.
Outside of his work with Tyson Foods, Wray was an active servant to a number of organizations, including the Jones Trust, the Endeavor Foundation, Arvest Bank of Springdale, the Care Foundation, the National Advisory Board for the American Studies Institute at Harding University, the Northwest Arkansas office of the American Heart Association, the dean’s advisory boards for the Sam M. Walton College of Business and College of Agriculture at the University of Arkansas, and the Board of Trustees of College of the Ozarks in Missouri.
Former chairman, president, CEO of Hormel Foods dies
Former Tyson CFO Dennis Leatherby dies at 58
Former Georgia Poultry Federation president dies
Former president, CEO of Perdue Farms dies
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Author: Kieza, Grantlee
Lust, science, adventure - Joseph Banks and his voyages of discovery The extraordinary life of one of the world's most famous and notorious adventurers Sir Joseph Banks was a man of passion whose influence spanned the globe. A fearless adventurer, his fascination with beautiful women was only trumped by his obsession with the natural world and his lust for scientific knowledge. Fabulously wealthy, Banks was the driving force behind monumental voyages and scientific discoveries in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Arctic. In 1768, as a galivanting young playboy, he joined Captain James Cook's Endeavour expedition to the South Pacific. Financing his own team of scientists and artists, Banks battled high seas, hailstorms, treacherous coral reefs and hostile locals to expand the world's knowledge of life on distant shores. He returned with thousands of specimens of plants and animals, generating enormous interest in Europe, while the racy accounts of his amorous adventures in Tahiti made him one of the most famous and notorious men in England. As the longest-serving president of Britain's Royal Society, Banks was perhaps the most important man in the scientific world for more than half a century. It was Banks, one of the first Europeans to set foot on Australia's east coast, who advised Britain to establish a remote penal settlement and strategic base at Botany Bay, and he eventually became the foremost expert on everything Australian. Early governors in the colony answered to him as he set about unleashing Australia's vast potential in agriculture and minerals. For decades, major British voyages of exploration around the globe only sailed with his backing. By award-winning bestselling writer Grantlee Kieza, Banks is a rich and rollicking biography of one of the most colourful and intriguing characters in the history of exploration.
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#UpRooted Stories
Spotlight: Ireland
Minahil and her family fled pakistan become of violence and discrimination against women. Minahil was five years old when she got to ireland. She spent nine years in a centre for refugees. This where she met Natasha.
Late 2015 Minahil family received legal status. She plans to become a politician or a doctor and plans to continue on being a social activist. She speaks Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic and English.
Natasha and her family fled Zimbabwe due to human rights violations and arrived in Ireland in 2011 when she 9-years-old. Natasha lived with her mother and brother awaiting a decision on their applications.
Early last year, Natasha and her family were granted legal status to remain in Ireland. Natasha speaks English and Shona, and hopes to study biochemistry in University.
Natasha, 14, and Minahil,15, met in a residential centre for asylum-seekers in Ireland where they lived with their family members for 4, and 9 years respectively, while awaiting decisions on their applications from the Irish Government. They are best friends, forming a special bond through their shared experience of fleeing their home countries, living in limbo as asylum-seekers, being separated from family members and very recently, receiving legal status to remain in Ireland.
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Tag: Space Launch System (SLS)
SLS Hot Fire Test Should Have Lasted 8 Minutes, Not 1
Today, at close to 04:30 PM local time (CST), NASA achieved a major milestone with the development of the Space Launch System (SLS) – the heavy launch system they will use to send astronauts back to the Moon and crewed missions to Mars. As part of a Green Run Hot Fire Test, all four RS-25 engines on the SLS Core Stage were fired at once as part of the first top-to-bottom integrated test of the stage’s systems.
This test is the last hurdle in an eight-step validation process before the Core Stage can be mated with its Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and sent on its maiden voyage around the Moon (Artemis I) – which is currently scheduled to happen sometime in November of 2021.
Continue reading “SLS Hot Fire Test Should Have Lasted 8 Minutes, Not 1”
If Rockets were Transparent: Video Shows You How Rockets Use up Their Propellant
I always remember hearing the comparison of how the Space Shuttle’s main engines would drain an average family swimming pool in under 25 seconds. Or that the Saturn V used the equivalent of 763 elephants of fuel. But just how much fuel does a rocket burn during its ascent to orbit? As you might expect, the amount varies with different rockets.
A great new video provides an incredible visual of how much fuel is burned by four different rockets, from launch to the various stage separations by showing what rocket launches would look like if the rockets were completely transparent.
Continue reading “If Rockets were Transparent: Video Shows You How Rockets Use up Their Propellant”
Watch NASA Test an SLS Tank to Destruction
By the time a rocket actually launches, it’s components have been through a ton of rigorous testing. That’s certainly true of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) which is the most powerful rocket ever built. That’s right, something is finally going to surpass the Saturn V, the rocket that took Apollo astronauts to the Moon.
Continue reading “Watch NASA Test an SLS Tank to Destruction”
NASA’s 2024 Moon Mission is called Artemis, and Will Need an Additional $1.6 Billion in Funding
The Moon’s going to have more human visitors in the year 2024. NASA has announced that their mission to the Moon, which is named Artemis after the Greek goddess of hunting, has been advanced by four years, from 2028 to 2024. But there’s a catch: they need more dough to do it. $1.6 billion more.
Continue reading “NASA’s 2024 Moon Mission is called Artemis, and Will Need an Additional $1.6 Billion in Funding”
Lockheed Martin Shows off its new Space Habitat
In their pursuit of returning astronauts to the Moon, and sending crewed missions to Mars, NASA has contracted with a number of aerospace companies to develop all the infrastructure it will need. In addition to the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft – which will fly the astronauts into space and see them safety to their destinations – they have teamed up with Lockheed Martin and other contractors to develop the Deep Space Gateway.
This orbiting lunar habitat will not only facilitate missions to and from the Moon and Mars, it will also allow human beings to live and work in space like never before. On Thursday, August 16th, Lockheed Martin provided a first glimpse of what one the of habitats aboard the Deep Space Gateway would look like. It all took place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where attendees were given a tour of the habitat prototype.
At it’s core, the habitat uses the Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), a refurbished module designed by the Italian Space Agency that dates back to the Space Shuttle era. Like all MPLMs, the Donatello is a pressurized module that was intended to carry equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle.
While the Donatello was never sent into space, Lockheed Martin has re-purposed it to create their prototype habitat. Measuring 6.7 meters (22 feet) long and 4.57 meters (15 feet) wide, the pressurized capsule is designed to house astronauts for a period of 30 to 60 days. According to Bill Pratt, the program’s manager, it contains racks for science, life support systems, sleep stations, exercise machines, and robotic workstations.
The team also relied on “mixed-reality prototyping” to create the prototype habitat, a process where virtual and augmented reality are used to solve engineering issues in the early design phase. As Pratt explained in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, their design makes optimal use of limited space, and also seeks to reuse already-build components:
“You think of it as an RV in deep space. When you’re in an RV, your table becomes your bed and things are always moving around, so you have to be really efficient with the space. That’s a lot of what we are testing here… We want to get to the moon and to Mars as quickly as possible, and we feel like we actually have a lot of stuff that we can use to do that.”
This habitat is one of several components that will eventually go into creating the Deep Space Gateway. These will include the habitat, an airlock, a propulsion module, a docking port and a power bus, which together would weigh 68 metric tonnes (75 US tons). This makes it considerably smaller than the International Space Station (ISS), which weighs in at a hefty 408 metric tonnes (450 US tons).
Artist’s impression of the Deep Space Gateway, currently under development by Lockheed Martin. Credit: NASA
Moreover, the DSG is one of several components that will be used to return astronauts to the Moon and to Mars. As noted, these include the Space Launch System (SLS), which will be the most powerful launch vehicle since the Saturn V (the rocket that carried the Apollo astronauts to the Moon) and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), which will house the crew.
However, for their planned missions to Mars, NASA is also looking to develop the Deep Space Transport and the Mars Base Camp and Lander. The former calls for a reusable vehicle that would rely on a combination of Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) and chemical propulsion to transport crews to and from the Gateway, whereas the latter would orbit Mars and provide the means to land on and return from the surface.
All told, NASA has awarded a combined $65 million to six contractors – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Space Systems, Orbital ATK, NanoRacks and Bigelow Aerospace – to build the habitat prototype by the end of the year. The agency will then review the proposals to determine which systems and interfaces will be incorporated into the design of the Deep Space Gateway.
In the meantime, development of the Orion spacecraft continues at the Kennedy Space Center, which recently had its heat shields attached. Next month, the European Space Agency (ESA) will also be delivering the European Service Module to the Kennedy Space Center, which will be integrated with the Orion crew module and will provide it with the electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and water it will need to sustain a crew in space.
Artist’s impression of the Mars Base Camp in orbit around Mars. When missions to Mars begin, one of the greatest risks will be that posed by space radiation. Credit: Lockheed Martin
Once this is complete, NASA will begin the process of integrating the spacecraft with the SLS. NASA hopes to conduct the first uncrewed mission using the Orion spacecraft by 2020, in what is known as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2), which will involve a crew performing a lunar flyby test and returning to Earth, is expected to take place by mid-2022.
Development on the the Deep Space Transport and the Mars Base Camp and Lander is also expected to continue. Whereas the Gateway is part of the first phase of NASA’s “Journey to Mars” plan – the “Earth Reliant” phase, which involves exploration near the Moon using current technologies – these components will be part of Phase II, which is on developing long-duration capabilities beyond the Moon.
If all goes according to plan, and depending on the future budget environment, NASA still hopes to mount a crewed mission to Mars by the 2030s.
Further Reading: Orlando Sentinel
NASA Moving Ahead with Deployment of Orion Capsule and Space Launch System
On October 11th, 2010, Congress signed the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act, which allocated the necessary funding for the space agency to commence preparations for its “Journey to Mars“. For the sake of mounting the first crewed missions to the Red Planet, several components were designated as being crucial. These included the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
Despite a recent announcement that NASA would be prioritizing a return to the Moon in the coming years, both the SLS and Orion are on track with the eventual goal of mounting crewed missions to Mars. In recent weeks, NASA conducted critical assessments of both components and their proposed launch schedules, and determined that they will be launched together in 2020 for the sake of conducting Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1).
This test flight, which will be uncrewed, will test both systems and lay the foundations for the first crewed mission of the SLS and Orion. Known as Exploration Mission- 2 (EM-2), which was originally scheduled for 2021, this flight is now expected to take place in 2023. EM-1 will also serve to establish a regular cadence of mission launches that will take astronauts back to the Moon and eventually on to Mars.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts further into space than ever before using a module based on Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV). Credit: NASA
The recent review came on the heels of an earlier assessment where NASA evaluated the cost, risk and technical factors of adding crew to the mission. This review was initiated as a result of the crew study and the challenges related to building the core stage of the SLS. Foremost among these was the recent tornado damage caused to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the SLS is currently being built.
On top of that, there are also the challenges related to the manufacture and supply of the first Orion Service Module. This module, which is being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), serves as the Orion’s primary power and propulsion component, until it is discarded at the end of each mission. During the summer of 2016, the design of the Service Module was also the subject of a critical design review, and passed.
After conducting their review, NASA reaffirmed the original plan to fly the EM-1 uncrewed. As acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot announced in a recent NASA press release:
“While the review of the possible manufacturing and production schedule risks indicate a launch date of June 2020, the agency is managing to December 2019. Since several of the key risks identified have not been actually realized, we are able to put in place mitigation strategies for those risks to protect the December 2019 date.”
In addition, NASA has established new production performance milestones to address a key issue identified by the review, which was scheduling risks. Based on lesson learned from first-time builds, NASA and its contractors have adopted new measures to optimize building plans which will ensure flexibility – specifically if contractors are unable to deliver on schedule.
At this juncture, NASA is on track to develop the new deep space exploration systems that will take astronauts back to the Moon and beyond. Cost assessments for EM-1, which include the SLS and ground systems, are currently within their original targets. By June 2020, NASA estimates that cost overruns will remain within a 15% limit for the SLS and just slightly above for the ground systems.
As part of the review, NASA also considered when the test of the Orion’s launch abort system (which needs to happen ahead of EM-1) would take place – which they chose to move up to April 2019. Known as Ascent-Abort 2, this test will validate the launch abort system’s ability to land the crew safely during descent, and ensure that the agency can remain on track for a crewed flight in 2023.
To build the SLS and Orion, NASA is relying on several new and advanced manufacturing techniques. These include additive manufacturing (3-D printing), which is being used to fashion more than 100 parts for the Orion spacecraft. NASA is also using a technique known as self-reaction friction stir welding to join the two largest core stages of the rocket, which are the thickest structures ever joined using this technique.
Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 Expanded View. Credit: NASA
Integration of the first service module is well under way in Bremen, Germany, with work already starting on the second. This is taking place at the Airbus integration room, where crews on eight-hour shifts are busy installing more than 11 km (6.8 mi) of cables that will connect the module’s central computers to everything from solar planes and fuel systems to the module’s engines and air and water systems.
These crews also finished installing the Orion’s 24 orientation thrusters recently, which complement the eight larger engines that will back up the main engine. The complex design of the module’s propulsion system requires that some 1100 welds be completed, and only 173 remain. At present, the ESA crews are aiming to finish work on the Orion and ship it to the USA by the summer of 2018.
As far as the assembly of the SLS is concerned, NASA has completed welding on all the major structures to the rocket stages is on track to assemble them together. Once that is complete, they will be able to complete an engine test that will fire up the four RS-25 engines on the core stage simultaneously – the EM-1 “green run”. When EM-1 takes place, the launch will be supported by ground systems and crews at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The agency is also developing a Deep Space Gateway (DSG) concept with Roscosmos and industry partners like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. This space station, which will be placed in orbit around the Moon, will facilitate missions to the lunar surface, Mars, and other locations deeper into the Solar System. Other components currently under consideration include the Deep Space Transport, and the Martian Basecamp and Lander.
These latter two components are what will allow for missions beyond the Earth-Moon system. Whereas the combination of the SLS, Orion and the DSG will allow for renewed lunar missions (which have not taken place since the Apollo Era) the creation of a Deep Space Transport and Martian Basecamp are intrinsic to NASA’s plans to mount a crewed mission to the Red Planet by the 2030s.
But in the meantime, NASA is focused on the first test flight of the Orion and the SLS, which will pave the way towards a crewed mission in a few years’ time. As William Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, indicated:
“Hardware progress continues every day for the early flights of SLS and Orion. EM-1 will mark a significant achievement for NASA, and our nation’s future of human deep space exploration. Our investments in SLS and Orion will take us to the Moon and beyond, advancing American leadership in space.”
For almost forty years, no crewed spaceflights have been conducted beyond Low-Earth Orbit. And with the retiring of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011, NASA has lost the ability to conduct domestic launches. For these reasons, the past three presidential administrations have indicated their commitment to develop the necessary tools to return to the Moon and send astronauts to Mars.
Not only will this restore the United State’s leadership in space exploration, it also will open up new venues for human exploration and create new opportunities for collaboration between nations and between federal agencies and industry partners. And be sure to check out this video showcases NASA’s plans for Deep Space Exploration:
Further Reading: ESA, NASA
Where Do We Go Next? Building the Deep Space Gateway
I don’t have to tell you that the vision of human space exploration in the Solar System has kind of stalled. Half a century ago, humans set foot on the Moon, and we haven’t been back since. Instead, we’ve thoroughly explored every cubic meter of low Earth orbit, going around and around the Earth. In fact, back in 2016, the International Space Station celebrated 100,000 orbits around the Earth.
The space shuttle was the last US vehicle capable of taking humans up into orbit, and it was retired back in 2011. So things look pretty bleak for sending humans out to explore the Solar System.
Earlier this year, however, NASA announced their next great step in their human space exploration efforts: the Deep Space Gateway. And if all goes well, we’ll see humans living and working farther from Earth, and for longer periods than ever before.
After the space shuttle program was wrapped up, NASA had a bunch of challenges facing it. Perhaps the greatest of these, was what to do with the enormous workforce that built and maintained the space shuttle fleet. Thousands were laid off, and moved to other aerospace jobs and other industries, but the space agency worked to develop the next big launch system after the shuttle.
Originally there were the Ares rockets, as part of the Constellation Program, but these were canceled and replaced with the Space Launch System. We’ve done a whole episode on the SLS, but the short version is that this new rocket will be capable of lifting more cargo into orbit than any rocket ever.
The first version, known as the Block 1 will be capable of lofting 70,000 kg into low-Earth orbit, while the upcoming Block 2 will be able to carry 130,000 kg into LEO – more than the mighty Saturn V rocket.
What are you going to do with a rocket this powerful? Launch new space telescopes, robotic missions to the outer Solar System, and put humans into space, of course.
In addition to the SLS, NASA is also working on a new capsule, known as the Orion Crew Module. This Apollo-esque capsule will be capable of carrying a crew of 4 astronauts out beyond low-Earth orbit, and returning them safely back to Earth.
But if you can send astronauts out beyond low-Earth orbit, where will they go?
The Deep Space Gateway.
The plan is to put a brand new space station into a cis-lunar orbit. Specifically, it’s known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit. It won’t actually be orbiting the Moon, but it’ll be on an orbit that allows it to serve as a stepping stone to the Moon. Sort of a bridge between Lagrange points. This station will range in distance from 1,500 to 70,000 km from the Moon in a way that keeps it relatively easy to reach.
From the outside, it’ll look like a smaller version of the International Space Station, with a group of 4 pressurized modules connected together: a power module, habitation module, cargo logistics pod, and an EVA module.
Space inside the Gateway will be cramped, with astronauts needing to share their living quarters, reconfiguring the space as necessary. Seriously, the ISS is going to feel like a luxury hotel after spending time in the Gateway.
Artist illustration of Habitation Module. Credit: Lockheed Martin
The station will be solar powered, with arrays providing 40 kW of energy. It’ll also have 12 kW ion thrusters which will be used for station keeping, as well as traditional hydrazine thrusters. The first habitation module will be capable of supplying the astronauts for 30-60 days, but a later cargo logistics pod will extend the length of missions.
Right now, there are a group of contractors being considered to build the Deep Space Gateway. The designs I’m showing you come from Lockheed Martin, but things could change.
The goal of the Deep Space Gateway will be to keep humans alive in space outside the Earth’s protective magnetosphere for at least a year, studying the effects of deep space on the human body.
But in the long term, the Gateway will serve as a stepping stone to Mars. The astronauts will assemble the future Deep Space Transport, a spacecraft that will carry humans to the Red Planet. But more on that later.
On the International Space Station, astronauts are protected by the Earth’s magnetosphere from solar radiation and cosmic rays. But on board the Deep Space Gateway, there’ll be no such protection. Instead, the station will need to be reinforced with radiation protection. At the same time, the region actually has less space junk, so it won’t need to same kind of micrometeorite protection.
In addition to being a science platform, the DSG will serve as a base of operations for exploring the Moon. In the near term, NASA is planning new lander and rover missions to the Moon. The Gateway could serve as a dock for missions blasting off from the Moon, where astronauts could unload science samples, and refurbish a rover for another mission down on the lunar surface.
Another intriguing idea is that the Deep Space Gateway could be used as a place to study samples from Mars without a risk of contaminating Earth. Under the current planetary contamination guidelines, samples from Mars need to be sterilized before they can be brought to Earth.
It’s hard to search for life in your samples, when you need to kill all life in your samples. But I’m sure the astronauts would be willing to take the risk of catching Martian flu for a chance to discover there’s life on Mars.
When will we actually see the Deep Space Gateway?
Not for a few years, sadly. Building the Gateway is going to require a few launches of the SLS, and there are already a bunch of missions queued up to use this new launcher.
SLS Block 1 Expanded View. Credit: NASA
The first launch of SLS will be an uncrewed test with an Orion capsule, sometime in 2019, known as EM-1. This will be followed by the launch of the Europa Clipper mission, also in 2019.
Once those missions are out of the way, the first crewed launch with SLS blasts off some time between 2021 and 2023. Designated as EM-2, this is when the construction of the Deep Space Gateway begins. 4 astronauts will spend 3 weeks beyond low Earth orbit, delivering the first module to the Deep Space Gateway: the Solar Power Electric Bus.
In 2024, EM-3 will have another crew of 4 blast off with the Deep Space Gateway’s Habitation Module. EM-4 should lift off by 2025 with the Logistics module. Finally, some time around 2026, mission EM-5 will deliver the station’s Airlock module.
SLS Block 2. Credit: NASA
What comes next? After the Deep Space Gateway, there’ll be the Deep Space Transport. If you’ve seen The Martian, think of the Hermes spacecraft that ferries the crew to and from Mars. The details are thin right now, but if all goes well, the pieces of the Transport will launch to the Gateway by 2027.
The various components will be assembled by the astronauts over the course of several launches, and once completed, the Deep Space Transport would make a series of 1-3 year missions to and from Mars. It’ll carry a crew of a six astronauts in a large habitation module and keep them alive for the journey.
The first mission could head out in 2033, with a human flyby of Mars. Side note, wouldn’t it be heartbreaking to get that close to Mars, and not actually be able to set foot on the surface? Anyway, future missions to Mars will include landings, and perhaps a visit to the SpaceX luxury Martian hotel where the astronauts can relax and apologize to each other for what they did when they all got space madness.
But this is so far in the future, it’s pretty hard to even wrap my mind around it yet.
Of course, these are all long term plans. And as I’ve mentioned in previous episodes, long term plans have a tendency of getting canceled. Who knows if the Deep Space Gateway actually get constructed, or if NASA will shift its support to private missions to Mars.
We’ll just have to stay tuned.
Podcast (audio): Download (Duration: 10:13 — 3.5MB)
Podcast (video): Download (Duration: 10:13 — 131.2MB)
Ready to Leave Low Earth Orbit? Prototype Construction Begins for a Deep Space Habitat
In 2010, NASA announced its commitment to mount a crewed mission to Mars by the third decade of the 21st century. Towards this end, they have working hard to create the necessary technologies – such as the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. At the same time, they have partnered with the private sector to develop the necessary components and expertise needed to get crews beyond Earth and the Moon.
To this end, NASA recently awarded a Phase II contract to Lockheed Martin to create a new space habitat that will build on the lessons learned from the International Space Station (ISS). Known as the Deep Space Gateway, this habitat will serve as a spaceport in lunar orbit that will facilitate exploration near the Moon and assist in longer-duration missions that take us far from Earth.
The contract was awarded as part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnership (NextSTEP) program, which NASA launched in 2014. In April of 2016, as part of the second NextSTEP Broad Agency Announcement (NextSTEP-2) NASA selected six U.S. companies to begin building full-sized ground prototypes and concepts for this deep space habitat.
Alongside such well-known companies like Bigelow Aerospace, Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada, Lockheed Martin was charged with investigating habitat designs that would enhance missions in space near the Moon, and also serve as a proving ground for missions to Mars. Intrinsic to this is the creation of something that can take effectively integrate with SLS and the Orion capsule.
In accordance with NASA’s specifications on what constitutes an effective habitat, the design of the Deep Space Gateway must include a pressurized crew module, docking capability, environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), logistics management, radiation mitigation and monitoring, fire safety technologies, and crew health capabilities.
The design specifications for the Deep Space Gateway also include a power bus, a small habitat to extend crew time, and logistics modules that would be intended for scientific research. The propulsion system on the gateway would rely on high-power electric propulsion to maintain its orbit, and to transfer the station to different orbits in the vicinity of the Moon when required.
With a Phase II contract now in hand, Lockheed Martin will be refining the design concept they developed for Phase I. This will include building a full-scale prototype at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, as well as the creation of a next-generation Deep Space Avionics Integration Lab near the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Artist’s concept of space habitat operating beyond Earth and the Moon. Credit: NASA
As Bill Pratt, Lockheed Martin’s NextSTEP program manager, said in a recent press statement:
“It is easy to take things for granted when you are living at home, but the recently selected astronauts will face unique challenges. Something as simple as calling your family is completely different when you are outside of low Earth orbit. While building this habitat, we have to operate in a different mindset that’s more akin to long trips to Mars to ensure we keep them safe, healthy and productive.”
The full-scale prototype will essentially be a refurbished Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), which was one of three large modules that was flown in the Space Shuttle payload bay and used to transfer cargo to the ISS. The team will also be relying on “mixed-reality prototyping”, a process where virtual and augmented reality are used to solve engineering issues in the early design phase.
“We are excited to work with NASA to repurpose a historic piece of flight hardware, originally designed for low Earth orbit exploration, to play a role in humanity’s push into deep space,” said Pratt. “Making use of existing capabilities will be a guiding philosophy for Lockheed Martin to minimize development time and meet NASA’s affordability goals.”
The Deep Space Gateway will also rely on the Orion crew capsule’s advanced capabilities while crews are docked with the habitat. Basically, this will consist of the crew using the Orion as their command deck until a more permanent command module can be built and incorporated into the habitat. This process will allow for an incremental build-up of the habitat and the deep space exploration capabilities of its crews.
Credit: NASA
As Pratt indicated, when uncrewed, the habitat will rely on systems that Lockheed Martin has incorporated into their Juno and MAVEN spacecraft in the past:
“Because the Deep Space Gateway would be uninhabited for several months at a time, it has to be rugged, reliable and have the robotic capabilities to operate autonomously. Essentially it is a robotic spacecraft that is well-suited for humans when Orion is present. Lockheed Martin’s experience building autonomous planetary spacecraft plays a large role in making that possible.”
The Phase II work will take place over the next 18 months and the results (provided by NASA) are expected to improve our understanding of what is needed to make long-term living in deep space possible. As noted, Lockheed Martin will also be using this time to build their Deep Space Avionics Integration Laboratory, which will serve as an astronaut training module and assist with command and control between the Gateway and the Orion capsule.
Beyond the development of the Deep Space Gateway, NASA is also committed to the creation of a Deep Space Transport – both of which are crucial for NASA’s proposed “Journey to Mars”. Whereas the Gateway is part of the first phase of this plan – the “Earth Reliant” phase, which involves exploration near the Moon using current technologies – the second phase will be focused on developing long-duration capabilities beyond the Moon.
NASA’s Journey to Mars. NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s. Credit: NASA/JPL
For this purpose, NASA is seeking to create a reusable vehicle specifically designed for crewed missions to Mars and deeper into the Solar System. The Deep Space Transport would rely on a combination of Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) and chemical propulsion to transport crews to and from the Gateway – which would also serve as a servicing and refueling station for the spacecraft.
This second phase (the “Proving Ground” phase) is expected to culminate at the end of the 2020s, at which time a one-year crewed mission will take place. This mission will consist of a crew being flown to the Deep Space Gateway and back to Earth for the purpose of validating the readiness of the system and its ability to conduct long-duration missions independent of Earth.
This will open the door to Phase Three of the proposed Journey, the so-called “Earth Indepedent” phase. At this juncture, the habitation module and all other necessary mission components (like a Mars Cargo Vehicle) will be transferred to an orbit around Mars. This is expected to take place by the early 2030s, and will be followed (if all goes well) by missions to the Martian surface.
While the proposed crewed mission to Mars is still a ways off, the architecture is gradually taking shape. Between the development of spacecraft that will get the mission components and crew to cislunar space – the SLS and Orion – and the development of space habitats that will house them, we are getting closer to the day when astronauts finally set foot on the Red Planet!
Further Reading: NASA, Lockheed Martin
VP Pence Vows Return to the Moon, Boots on Mars during KSC Visit
Vice President Mike Pence (holding Orion model) receives up close tour of NASA’s Orion EM-1 deep space crew capsule (at right) being manufactured for 1st integrated flight with NASA’s SLS megarocket in 2019; with briefing from KSC Director/astronaut Robert D. Cabana during his July 6, tour of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center – along with acting NASA Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr., Senator Marco Rubio and Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Vice President Mike Pence, during a whirlwind visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, vowed that America would fortify our leadership in space under the Trump Administration with impressive goals by forcefully stating that “our nation will return to the moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars.”
“American will once again lead in space for the benefit and security of all of our people and all of the world,” Vice President Mike Pence said during a speech on Thursday, July 6, addressing a huge crowd of more than 500 NASA officials and workers, government dignitaries and space industry leaders gathered inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center – where Apollo/Saturn Moon landing rockets and Space Shuttles were assembled for decades in the past and where NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion deep space crew capsule will be assembled for future human missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Pence pronounced the bold space exploration goals and a reemphasis on NASA’s human spaceflight efforts from his new perch as Chairman of the newly reinstated National Space Council just established under an executive order signed by President Trump.
“We will re-orient America’s space program toward human space exploration and discovery for the benefit of the American people and all of the world.”
Vice President Mike Pence speaks before an audience of NASA leaders, U.S. and Florida government officials, and employees inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pence thanked employees for advancing American leadership in space. Behind the podium is the Orion spacecraft flown on Exploration Flight test-1 in 2014. Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett
However Pence was short on details and he did not announce any specific plans, timetables or funding during his 25 minute long speech inside the iconic VAB at KSC.
It remains to been seen how the rhetoric will turn to reality and all important funding support.
The Trump Administration actually cut their NASA 2018 budget request by $0.5 Billion to $19.1 Billion compared to the enacted 2017 NASA budget of $19.6 Billion – including cuts to SLS and Orion.
By contrast, the Republican led Congress – with bipartisan support – is working on a 2018 NASA budget of around 19.8 Billion.
“Let us do what our nation has always done since its very founding and beyond: We’ve pushed the boundaries on frontiers, not just of territory, but of knowledge. We’ve blazed new trails, and we’ve astonished the world as we’ve boldly grasped our future without fear.”
“From this ‘Bridge to Space,’ our nation will return to the moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars.” Pence declared.
Lined up behind Pence on the podium was the Orion spacecraft flown on Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in 2014 flanked by a flown SpaceX cargo Dragon and a mockup of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew capsule.
The crewed Dragon and Starliner capsules are being developed by SpaceX and Boeing under NASA contracts as commercial crew vehicles to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Pence reiterated the Trump Administrations support of the ISS and working with industry to cut the cost of access to space.
Vice President Mike Pence (holding Orion model) tours manufacturing of NASA’s Orion EM-1 crew capsule during July 6 KSC visit – posing with KSC Director/astronaut Robert Cabana, acting NASA Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr., Senator Marco Rubio, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and KSC Deputy Director Janet Petro inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. Credit: Julian Leek
Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot also welcomed Vice President Pence to KSC and thanked the Trump Administration for its strong support of NASA missions.
“Here, of all places, we can see we’re not looking at an ‘and/or proposition’,” Lightfoot said.
“We need government and commercial entities. We need large companies and small companies. We need international partners and our domestic suppliers. And we need academia to bring that innovation and excitement that they bring to the next workforce that we’re going to use to actually keep going further into space than we ever have before.”
View shows the state of assembly of NASA’s Orion EM-1 deep space crew capsule during inspection tour by Vice President Mike Pence on July 6, 2017 inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center. 1st integrated flight with NASA’s SLS megarocket is slated for 2019. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
After the VAB speech, Pence went on an extensive up close inspection tour of KSC facilities led by Kennedy Space Center Director and former shuttle astronaut Robert Cabana, showcasing the SLS and Orion hardware and infrastructure critical for NASA’s plans to send humans on a ‘Journey to Mars’ by the 2030s.
“We are in a great position here at Kennedy, we made our vision a reality; it couldn’t have been done without the passion and energy of our workforce,” said Kennedy Space Center Director Cabana.
“Kennedy is fully established as a multi-user spaceport supporting both government and commercial partners in the space industry. As America’s premier multi-user spaceport, Kennedy continues to make history as it evolves, launching to low-Earth orbit and beyond.”
Vice President Mike Pence holds and inspects an Orion capsule heat shield tile with KSC Director/astronaut Robert Cabana during his July 6, 2017 tour/speech at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center – accompanied by acting NASA administrator Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr., Senator Marco Rubio and Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Pence toured the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O & C) where the Orion deep space capsule is being manufactured for launch in 2019 on the first integrated flight with SLS on the uncrewed EM-1 mission to the Moon and back – as I witnessed for Universe Today.
Vice President Mike Pence tours manufacturing of NASA’s Orion EM-1 crew capsule during July 6, 2017 KSC visit with KSC Director/astronaut Robert Cabana inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. Credit: Julian Leek
Watch for Ken’s onsite space mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Orion crew module pressure vessel for NASA’s Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) is unveiled for the first time on Feb. 3, 2016 after arrival at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. It is secured for processing in a test stand called the birdcage in the high bay inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at KSC. Launch to the Moon is slated in 2019 atop the SLS rocket. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) blasts off from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in this artist rendering showing a view of the liftoff of the Block 1 70-metric-ton (77-ton) crew vehicle configuration. Credit: NASA/MSFC
Opportunity Reaches ‘Perseverance Valley’ Precipice – Ancient Fluid Carved Gully on Mars
Opportunity rover looks south from the top of Perseverance Valley along the rim of Endeavour Crater on Mars in this partial self portrait including the rover deck and solar panels. Perseverance Valley descends from the right and terminates down near the crater floor. This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from raw images taken on Sol 4736 (20 May 2017) and colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Now well into her 13th year roving the Red Planet, NASA’s astoundingly resilient Opportunity rover has arrived at the precipice of “Perseverance Valley” – overlooking the upper end of an ancient fluid-carved valley on Mars “possibly water-cut” that flows down into the unimaginably vast eeriness of alien Endeavour crater.
Opportunity’s unprecedented goal ahead is to go ‘Where No Rover Has Gone Before!’
In a remarkable first time feat and treat for having ‘persevered’ so long on the inhospitably frigid Martian terrain, Opportunity has been tasked by her human handlers to drive down a Martian gully carved billions of years ago – by a fluid that might have been water – and conduct unparalleled scientific exploration, that will also extend into the interior of Endeavour Crater for the first time.
No Mars rover has done that before.
“This will be the first time we will acquire ground truth on a gully system that just might be formed by fluvial processes,” Ray Arvidson, Opportunity Deputy Principal Investigator of Washington University in St. Louis, told Universe Today.
“Opportunity has arrived at the head of Perseverance Valley, a possible water-cut valley here at a low spot along the rim of the 22-km diameter Endeavour impact crater,” says Larry Crumpler, a rover science team member from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science.
NASA’s unbelievably long lived Martian robot reached a “spillway” at the top of “Perseverance Valley” in May after driving southwards for weeks from the prior science campaign at a crater rim segment called “Cape Tribulation.”
“The next month or so will be an exciting time, for no rover has ever driven down a potential ancient water-cut valley before,” Crumpler gushes.
“Perseverance Valley” is located along the eroded western rim of gigantic Endeavour crater – as illustrated by our exclusive photo mosaics herein created by the imaging team of Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo.
Read an Italian language version of this story here by Marco Di Lorenzo.
The mosaics show the “spillway” as the entry point to the ancient valley.
NASA’s Opportunity rover acquired this Martian panoramic view from a promontory that overlooks Perseverance Valley below – scanning from north to south. It is centered on due East and into the interior of Endeavour crater. Perseverance Valley descends from the right and terminates down near the crater floor in the center of the panorama. The far rim of Endeavour crater is seen in the distance, beyond the dark floor. Rover deck and wheel tracks at right. This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from raw images taken on Sol 4730 (14 May 2017) and colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/Marco Di Lorenzo
“Investigations in the coming weeks will “endeavor” to determine whether this valley was eroded by water or some other dry process like debris flows,” explains Crumpler.
“It certainly looks like a water cut valley. But looks aren’t good enough. We need additional evidence to test that idea.”
The valley slices downward from the crest line through the rim from west to east at a breathtaking slope of about 15 to 17 degrees – and measures about two football fields in length!
Huge Endeavour crater spans some 22 kilometers (14 miles) in diameter on the Red Planet. Perseverance Valley slices eastwards at approximately the 8 o’clock position of the circular shaped crater. It sits just north of a rim segment called “Cape Byron.”
Why go and explore the gully at Perseverance Valley?
“Opportunity will traverse to the head of the gully system [at Perseverance] and head downhill into one or more of the gullies to characterize the morphology and search for evidence of deposits,” Arvidson elaborated.
“Hopefully test among dry mass movements, debris flow, and fluvial processes for gully formation. The importance is that this will be the first time we will acquire ground truth on a gully system that just might be formed by fluvial processes. Will search for cross bedding, gravel beds, fining or coarsening upward sequences, etc., to test among hypotheses.”
Perspective view of Opportunity’s traverse along Endeavour crater rim over the last few weeks towards the Perseverance Valley “spillway” on Mars during Spring 2017. The entry point for the planned drive back into the crater is visible as the low notch just to the left (east) of the current (sol 4718) rover position. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/NMMNH /Larry Crumpler
Exploring the ancient valley is the main science destination of the current two-year extended mission (EM #10) for the teenaged robot, that officially began Oct. 1, 2016. It’s just the latest in a series of extensions going back to the end of Opportunity’s prime mission in April 2004.
What are the immediate tasks ahead that Opportunity must accomplish before descending down the gully to thoroughly and efficiently investigate the research objectives?
In a nutshell, extensive imaging from a local high point promontory to create a long-baseline 3 D stereo image of the valley and a “walk-about” to assess the local geology.
The rover is collecting images from two widely separated points at a dip at the valley spillway to build an “extraordinarily detailed three-dimensional analysis of the terrain” called a digital elevation map.
“Opportunity has been working on a panorama from the overlook for the past couple of sols. The idea is to get a good overview of the valley from a high point before driving down it,” Crumpler explains.
“But before we drive down the valley, we want to get a good sense of the geologic features here on the head of the valley. It could come in handy as we drive down the valley and may help us understand some things, particularly the lithology of any materials we find on the valley floor or at the terminus down near the crater floor.”
“So we will be doing a short “walk-about” here on the outside of the crater rim near the “spillway” into the valley.”
“We will drive down it to further assess its origin and to further explore the structure and stratigraphy of this large impact crater.”
NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover passed near this small, 90-foot-wide and relatively fresh crater in April 2017, during the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon. The rover team chose to call it “Orion Crater,” after the Apollo 16 lunar module, Orion, which carried astronauts John Young and Charles Duke to and from the surface of the moon in April 1972 while crewmate Ken Mattingly piloted the Apollo 16 command module, Casper, in orbit around the moon. The rover’s Navigation Camera (Navcam) recorded this view assembled from raw images taken on Sol 4712 (26 April 2017) and colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
The six wheeled rover landed on Mars on January 24, 2004 PST on the alien Martian plains at Meridiani Planum – as the second half of a stupendous sister act.
Expected to last just 3 months or 90 days, Opportunity has now endured nearly 13 ½ years or an unfathomable 53 times beyond the “warrantied” design lifetime.
Her twin sister Spirit, had successfully touched down 3 weeks earlier on January 3, 2004 inside 100-mile-wide Gusev crater and survived more than six years.
Opportunity has been exploring Endeavour almost six years – since arriving at the humongous crater in 2011. Endeavour crater was formed when it was carved out of the Red Planet by a huge meteor impact billions of years ago.
“Endeavour crater dates from the earliest Martian geologic history, a time when water was abundant and erosion was relatively rapid and somewhat Earth-like,” explains Crumpler.
Exactly what the geologic process was that carved Perseverance Valley into the rim of Endeavour Crater billions of years ago has not yet been determined, but there are a wide range of options researchers are considering.
“Among the possibilities: It might have been flowing water, or might have been a debris flow in which a small amount of water lubricated a turbulent mix of mud and boulders, or might have been an even drier process, such as wind erosion,” say NASA scientists.
“The mission’s main objective with Opportunity at this site is to assess which possibility is best supported by the evidence still in place.”
Extensive imaging with the mast mounted pancam and navcam cameras is currently in progress.
“The long-baseline stereo imaging will be used to generate a digital elevation map that will help the team carefully evaluate possible driving routes down the valley before starting the descent,” said Opportunity Project Manager John Callas of JPL, in a statement.
“Reversing course back uphill when partway down could be difficult, so finding a path with minimum obstacles will be important for driving Opportunity through the whole valley. Researchers intend to use the rover to examine textures and compositions at the top, throughout the length and at the bottom, as part of investigating the valley’s history.”
The team is also dealing with a new wheel issue and evaluating fixes. The left-front wheel is stuck due to an actuator stall.
“The rover experienced a left-front wheel steering actuator stall on Sol 4750 (June 4, 2017) leaving the wheel ‘toed-out’ by 33 degrees,” the team reported in a new update.
Thus the extensive Pancam panorama is humorously being called the “Sprained Ankle Panorama.” Selected high-value targets of the surrounding area will be imaged with the full 13-filter Pancam suite.
After reaching the bottom of Perseverance Valley, Opportunity will explore the craters interior for the first time during the mission.
“Once down at the end of the valley, Opportunity will be directed to explore the crater fill on a drive south at the foot of the crater walls,” states Crumpler.
As of today, June 17, 2017, long lived Opportunity has survived over 4763 Sols (or Martian days) roving the harsh environment of the Red Planet.
Opportunity has taken over 220,800 images and traversed over 27.87 miles (44.86 kilometers) – more than a marathon.
See our updated route map below. It shows the context of the rovers over 13 year long traverse spanning more than the 26 mile distance of a Marathon runners race.
The rover surpassed the 27 mile mark milestone on November 6, 2016 (Sol 4546).
As of Sol 4759 (June 13, 2017) the power output from solar array energy production is currently 343 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.842 and a solar array dust factor of 0.529, before heading into another southern hemisphere Martian winter later in 2017. It will count as Opportunity’s 8th winter on Mars.
“The science team is really jazzed at starting to see this area up close and looking for clues to help us distinguish among multiple hypotheses about how the valley formed,” said Opportunity Project Scientist Matt Golombek of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
NASA’s Opportunity rover scans around and across to vast Endeavour crater on Dec. 19, 2016, as she climbs steep slopes on the way to reach a water carved gully along the eroded craters western rim. Note rover wheel tracks at center. This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from raw images taken on Sol 4587 (19 Dec. 2016) and colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/Marco Di Lorenzo
Meanwhile Opportunity’s younger sister rover Curiosity traverses and drills into the lower sedimentary layers at the base of Mount Sharp.
And NASA continues building the next two robotic missions due to touch down in 2018 and 2020.
NASA as well is focusing its human spaceflight effort on sending humans on a ‘Journey to Mars’ in the 2030s with the Space Launch System (SLS) mega rocket and Orion deep space crew capsule.
13 Year Traverse Map for NASA’s Opportunity rover from 2004 to 2017. This map shows the entire 44 kilometer (27 mi) path the rover has driven on the Red Planet during over 13 years and more than a marathon runners distance for over 4763 Sols, or Martian days, since landing inside Eagle Crater on Jan 24, 2004 – to current location at the western rim of Endeavour Crater at the head of Perseverance Valley. After studying Spirit Mound and ascending back uphill the rover has reached her next destination in May 2017- the Martian water carved gully at Perseverance Valley near Orion crater. Rover surpassed Marathon distance on Sol 3968 after reaching 11th Martian anniversary on Sol 3911. Opportunity discovered clay minerals at Esperance – indicative of a habitable zone – and searched for more at Marathon Valley. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU/Marco Di Lorenzo/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Learn more about the Opportunity rover and upcoming SpaceX launch of BulgariaSat 1, recent SpaceX Dragon CRS-11 resupply launch to ISS, NASA missions and more at Ken’s upcoming outreach events at Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL:
June 17-19: “Opportunity Mars rover, SpaceX BulgariaSat 1 launch, SpaceX CRS-11 and CRS-10 resupply launches to the ISS, Inmarsat 5 and NRO Spysat, EchoStar 23, SLS, Orion, Commercial crew capsules from Boeing and SpaceX , Heroes and Legends at KSCVC, ULA Atlas/John Glenn Cygnus launch to ISS, SBIRS GEO 3 launch, GOES-R weather satellite launch, OSIRIS-Rex, Juno at Jupiter, InSight Mars lander, SpaceX and Orbital ATK cargo missions to the ISS, ULA Delta 4 Heavy spy satellite, Curiosity explores Mars, Pluto and more,” Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings
This graphic shows the route that NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove in its final approach to “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of Endeavour Crater during spring 2017. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/NMMNH
13 Years on Mars! On Christmas Day 2016, NASA’s Opportunity rover scans around vast Endeavour crater as she ascends steep rocky slopes on the way to reach a water carved gully along the eroded craters western rim. This navcam camera photo mosaic was assembled from raw images taken on Sol 4593 (25 Dec. 2016) and colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/Marco Di Lorenzo
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Daniel Craig to undergo minor ankle surgery for Bond injury
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Bond is out of commission for a few weeks. Star Daniel Craig is undergoing minor ankle surgery after sustaining an injury while filming the 25th installment in the franchise in Jamaica.
The news came Wednesday in a tweet from the official James Bond twitter account. The statement says that production will continue during the 51-year-old actor’s two-week post-surgery rehabilitation and that the film will stay on track to hit its April 2020 release date.
This is Craig’s fifth outing as 007.
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Commentary OpinionBRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
Chance to save a painfully failing U.S. education system
Thomas Sowell reveals why Trump pick Betsy Devos is coming under heavy fire
Published February 5, 2017 at 4:57pm
One of the painful realities of our time is that most public schools in most low-income, inner-city neighborhoods produce educational outcomes that are far below the outcomes in other neighborhoods, and especially in more affluent neighborhoods.
Attempts to assign blame are too numerous to name, much less explore. But as someone who has, for more than 40 years, been researching those particular minority schools that have been successful, I am struck both by their success and by how varied are the ways that success has been achieved.
In doing research for a 1976 article, "Patterns of Black Excellence," I discovered that the educational methods used to educate low-income, minority children in successful schools ranged from very traditional and strict methods in some parochial schools to very different approaches in other schools.
One of the most successful schools I visited was in an aging building in a rundown ghetto neighborhood in New York, where a friend told me that I was "brave" – he meant foolhardy – to park a car.
Instead of being given a guided tour of the school, as happens in too many other places, the principal simply walked with me down the corridors on each floor and let me decide which classroom door I wanted to open and enter.
Wherever we went in, the class in progress was clearly one where children were learning, were well-behaved and were saying intelligent things in plain English. They were doing work that was either at their grade level or somewhat above their grade level.
Yet most of these kids were looked like kids you can see in any ghetto across the country. Most were from families whose incomes were low enough for their children to qualify for free or subsidized lunches in school.
After a day spent observing the classes, and later examining the statistics on their outstanding performances on various tests, I was moved to the verge of tears as I left. Why couldn't this be done in many other schools?
One reason was that this principal did not follow the rigid dogmas imposed by the educational establishment, but he used whatever ways of teaching produced good results. That makes waves. There were attempts to get him removed as principal.
Nor was he the only successful educator to come under fire from the educational establishment.
In California, high-school teacher Jaime Escalante taught calculus so successfully in a predominantly Latino school that, at one time, something like one-fourth of all Latino students who passed the AP calculus test – in the entire country – came from the school where he taught.
Like other highly successful educators, especially in places where failure is the norm, Escalante was controversial within the education establishment. The teachers' union demanded that his large math class be reduced in size. He ended up leaving that high school to go teach elsewhere.
When Marva Collins was a public school teacher who came to work early to help some of her students, and who used teaching methods that differed from what education schools and education bureaucrats prescribed, she likewise came under fire.
She left and created her own school in a Chicago black neighborhood. This was done with little money and initially with old textbooks discarded by the public school system. Her success was striking enough for her to be offered an opportunity to be nominated to be secretary of education.
After much soul-searching, Marva Collins declined the offer. It was probably just as well. She could run her own school in Chicago as she wished. In Washington, the political jungle was another story.
Against this background, it is hardly surprising that Betsy DeVos, who has for more than 20 years been promoting parental choice in the schools their children attend, has come under heavy fire from the educational establishment.
If she becomes secretary of education, the stranglehold of the teachers' unions and the educational bureaucracy on the education of millions of students will be in jeopardy. If her nomination is rejected, millions of children from low-income, inner-city families will lose a chance to escape a painfully failing system.
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, Calif. He is the author of 28 books, including "Dismantling America" and "Applied Economics."
The irrelevance of truth in an age of indoctrination
Walter E. Williams 1936-2020
Why blacks should vote GOP: Charter schools
Race, rhetoric and results
Fact-free politics and mythical catchwords
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Conservationist Says Toxic Foam Spill In The Farmington River 'Saddening And Frustrating'
By Ray Hardman • Jun 18, 2019
Firefighting foam that spilled into the Farmington River shown contained by a boom.
A recent accidental dump of firefighting foam into the Farmington River near Bradley International Airport has conservationists concerned.
“It's tremendously upsetting for so many reasons,” said William Dornbos, the executive director of the Farmington Watershed Association, which seeks to preserve and protect the Farmington River. “We’ve been working for decades to protect and restore the river. What we are trying to focus on now is preventing this from happening again.”
Dornbos said there are about 31,000 gallons of water mixed with the firefighting foam that is still in the area of the river known as the lower Farmington. Ironically, this segment of the river was recently designated as a “Wild and Scenic River” by the federal government.
This early on, Dornbos said it’s unclear what the long-term effects of the spill will be on the environment and public health. So far, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has warned citizens not to touch the foam, or to eat fish caught in that area of the river.
The foam contains a hazardous chemical compound known as perfluorinated compounds, or PFAS. PFAS are in a class of pollutants called "forever chemicals," because of the persistence in the environment. Dornbos says environmental officials may have to take drastic measures to properly remove the PFAS from the Farmington.
“What I've been told is that it could entail dredging of the river sediment, and there could be removal of soil from the riverbank, vegetation and soil from the riverbank,” said Dornbos.
Dornbos said this is only one of two such spills on the Farmington in decades, but it could have been a lot worse.
“As tragic as this release was in the lower Farmington River, it's actually fortunate that the spill did not happen further up the river, because the Barkhamsted Reservoir, which is a part of the Farmington River, is the drinking water supply for over a half million people, that includes people who live in the Farmington Valley, and the Greater Hartford area, all the way down to Glastonbury.”
Dornbos said that’s all the more reason to make sure a spill like this never happens again. That means learning more about the firefighting foam and where it is stored in other communities along the Farmington.
"If there are fires or releases of foam can it be contained and prevented from going into the sewer and then going into the river?" he said. "And then more broadly we are going to have to take a close look at the firefighting foam and where it might be stored or used near the river."
Dornbos said the spill near Windsor did not affect the upper Farmington River, which is still safe for canoeing, paddling and fishing.
What Are The PFAS Chemicals Involved In The Farmington River Spill?
By Diane Orson & Harriet Jones • Jun 18, 2019
Courtesy: CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
There’s increasing concern over a chemical spill into the Farmington River that happened earlier this month. An accident June 9 at Bradley Airport released 50,000 gallons of firefighting foam containing chemicals known as PFAS -- and a substantial amount of it made its way from the sewer system into the waterway. In the days since, it’s become evident that it’s going to be very hard to contain and remove the chemicals from the spill.
Sleeping Giant State Park Reopens, After More Than A Year Of Cleanup
By Patrick Skahill • Jun 13, 2019
Patrick Skahill / Connecticut Public Radio
Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden is once again open to visitors following a series of storms last spring that saw tornadoes touching down just outside the park’s border.
Connecticut Approves Massive Boost To Offshore Wind
By Patrick Skahill • Jun 5, 2019
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public Radio
A measure to boost Connecticut’s investment in offshore wind sailed through the state Senate this week. The bill could shift up to 2,000 megawatts of Connecticut’s power to offshore wind by 2030.
Connecticut Poised To Collect Millions More Through “Hidden” Electricity Tax
Frankie Graziano / Connecticut Public Radio
For the past two years, lawmakers have directed more than $100 million earmarked for energy efficiency upgrades to instead, be swept into the state’s general fund.
Last week’s budget agreement got rid of those funding sweeps, but it was unable to reverse a more than $50 million diversion scheduled for July.
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BEST And FUNNIEST Animal Auditions On Got Talent 2019! | PART 2 | Got Talent Global
Watch the best animal auditions from Britain's Got Talent, America's Got Talent, Poland's Got Talent and World's Got Talent 2019! Including performances by: Melissa Arleth and Hanta on America's Got Talent Lukas and Falco on America's Got Talent Mickey YuYu on World's Got Talent Dogs of Anarchy on Poland's Got Talent Dominguez Poodles on America's Got Talent Dave and Finn on Britain's Got Talent Subscribe to Got Talent Global: http://www.youtube.
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Optimism high, opportunity seen as change hits City Hall
Time will tell whether the winds of change blowing through City Hall at breakneck speed are good for Worcester. Several longtime and widely-respected city officials are handing in their keys and heading for new (greener?) pastures. Among the most notable is one of the more recent names added to that list: City Manager Mike O'Brien. But there are others: Chief Economic Development Officer Tim McGourthy. Public Works and Parks Commissioner Bob Moylan. City Auditor Jim DelSignore. Some have already gone, like City Planner Joel Fontane, whose position remains unfilled.
�We are,� says At-Large City Councilor Konnie Lukes, �at a significant crossroads in the city's history, what's happening right now.�
While it may not qualify as chaos, the sizable loss of key personnel from city government � and the areas where the loss is occurring � could cause some to at least question Worcester's immediate future. The loss of so much institutional knowledge and the energy brought to the job by the likes of O'Brien could cause unrest among the ranks. At times like this, it can take an eternal optimist to look past the storm to see calm waters.
�I think change is good,� says no less an optimist than Mayor Joe Petty. �The garbage will be picked up, the streets will be plowed, the lights will be turned on, and police and fire will respond.�
Actually, says Petty, the goal is not just to maintain, but to increase the progress and services provided to New England's second largest city. For the time being, anyway, he has put his eggs in one basket, having successfully lobbied his council colleagues to approve the hiring of former state Sen. Ed Augustus to a short-term contract as city manager.
�We'll keep the progress going,� Petty says.
McGourthy agrees � and echoes the mayor's refrain about change being a good thing. He does not find himself irreplaceable � In February, McGourthy will take over at the Research Bureau � and believes Worcester is well-positioned to build on the momentum of projects like CitySquare.
�I think change is always good for an organization to tackle issues in new ways,� McGourthy says. In this case, that organization is a half-billion-dollar-a-year business that has benefited from having the right people in key positions. �A new city manager and chief economic development officer will build upon what we've done. I think we've laid a strong foundation for growth.�
District 1 City Councilor Tony Economou believes that foundation is strong enough to sustain the city through tumultuous times.
�I will credit the city manager and his departments heads,� Economou says. �I believe a good system is in place. I think people like [McGourthy] and [Moylan] have set up a good system under them, which I think will help us get through this relatively unscathed.�
Of all the personnel losses, it is McGourthy's departure that has some people most concerned.
�We built up a very good relationship with [McGourthy],� says Craig Blais, president and CEO of the Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC). That organization has worked particularly close with McGourthy and his Economic Development Office on the planned Theatre District Master Plan.
�I don't see losing any momentum as far as the Theatre District downtown,� Blais says.
There are some questions about the future of some of the efforts involving McGourthy. For example, he notes, there is the Worcester Redevelopment Authority (WRA). McGourthy heads up the WRA, an outfit O'Brien has eyed for an increased role in city planning.
�Where are we going with all that and the WRA? That's where I say there is opportunity,� Blais says. �What does it all mean for a reinvigorated WRA? How does that fit in the structure of a new Economic Development Office?�
Blais says he would, at some point, like to sit down with the new city manager to discuss what role the WBDC and other organizations, such as the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, will play in keeping the ball rolling on business development and planning in Worcester.
Whether it is losing McGourthy, hiring a new city manager or transitioning from a staple like Moylan in Public Works and Parks (he will be succeeded by Paul Moosey), change, says Councilor-elect Mo Bergman, is inevitable.
�It always happens,� he says. �You have procedures in place that ensure the stability of city government. There will be replacements for everybody. There will be challenges to get people caught up to speed, but I don't necessarily look at it as a negative. Everybody leaves at some point.�
Bergman does acknowledge that an awful lot of change is happening all at once within city government. He sees that as another positive, however.
�Everybody can get to know each other, relationships can start off on a clean slate,� he says, adding he does not see a marked drop-off in the momentum that has been gained in several areas of the city. �I don't think in the long-term it slows down. No matter who gets hired, there will be a natural learning curve.�
Proving that Petty does not have exclusive rights to optimism, Bergman says he sees good things ahead for Worcester.
�I'm an optimistic person by nature,� Bergman says. �This is a great opportunity for lots of new skill sets to be put to the test.�
Have a story tip or idea? Call Walter Bird Jr. at 508-749-3166, ext. 322, or email him at wbird@worcestermagazine.com. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @walterbirdjr and catch him with Paul Westcott every Thursday morning at 8:35 on radio station WTAG 580AM for all things Worcester!
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Former trainer shares heartbreaking story of Makaiko the dolphin
Posted on 10/09/2020 by World Animal Protection
I met Makaiko the dolphin while working as a marine mammal trainer at an attraction in Mexico in 2001, 19 years ago. This is the story of his life performing for people. But it’s also the sad reality for thousands of other dolphins trapped in captivity for tourist entertainment
They were trained for hours on end, forced to do tricks such as jumping up and down, pushing people at their feet. They had to endure us touching them and getting in the water with them for hours and hours.
By Lorena Kya Lopez, a former marine mammal trainer
Early years in Japan
Makaiko (meaning ‘inner strength’), a bottlenose dolphin, was born in 1996 in the waters of Taiji, Japan. He lived with his large family: around 80 members belonged to his pod.
They socialised with other pods and spent their days playing and roaming the Pacific Ocean’s reefs, enjoying the large amount of food available to them.
The pod demonstrated solidarity and cooperation with each other, which helped to protect them and make them stronger. If a dolphin from their pod fell ill, they would all join forces and help the dolphin recover.
Life was exactly as it should be.
Lorena Kya Lopez, during filming for our mini documentary, Fooled By A Smile
But one dark day, as the dolphins were going about their daily business, loud motorboats approached the pod.
They were trying to get away from these boats. Mothers were trying to find their young. The leaders of the pods whistled to urge their family members to get away too.
During the chaos, something heavy started falling around some of the dolphins, including Makaiko. It was the hunting nets people use to capture dolphins to slaughter and sell them for their meat or for other parts of the cruel global wildlife trade. This trade includes using live dolphins to be sold to dolphinariums for tourist entertainment.
While the water turned red from the blood of the dolphins who tried to escape or were killed, Makaiko was lifted out of the water, unable to move in the net.
Makaiko had been captured. And so began the rest of his life in captivity.
The first days of captivity
After Makaiko was captured, he was transported in a stretcher that hurt his fins and belly. He was sprayed with water to keep his skin from drying out. Knowing what we know about dolphins, this must have been a painful, stressful and scary moment for them.
After arriving at his temporary new home, he was placed in a small tank. The water in this tank didn’t come from the ocean, and was treated with chemicals to keep it clean.
This place was just very different from the ocean. Very empty, sterile and quiet.
It took a few days in the new place before Makaiko – and his sibling Kumiko, who was also there – got food for the first time. They had been swimming in their tank, looking for food, but there was nothing in it.
It wasn’t until they went to the surface and people approached them and started throwing dead fish at them that they had a chance to eat. The dead fish were not as nutritious as the food they would normally get in the ocean, but at that point, it was better than nothing.
The people who looked after for them tried to teach them tricks right from the start, rewarding Makaiko and the other dolphins with food only if they complied.
Transport to Mexico
Makaiko stayed at the dolphinarium in Japan for 10 months. Then, one day all of a sudden, he and his sister were pulled out of the water, put in the transport stretcher again, after which they were put in a dolphin transportation box.
In that box, they couldn’t see anything, they could only hear. They were in that box, out of water, for a full 56 hours. The people taking them put a special cream on them which prevented their skin from drying out, but it also meant their skin couldn’t breathe.
Makaiko started bleeding and was clearly hurting but nothing was done to alleviate his pain.
After 56 hours, they arrived in Mexico.
After Makaiko and his sister Kumiko arrived in Mexico, which is when I first met them, they were put in an even smaller tank than the one they'd been living in Japan. They got to meet other dolphins who lived there as well: Miku, who was only two years old – she was mischievous but very sweet – and Rocko, a young male who was strong and kind. Both of them were born in captivity in tanks in Japan so they had never seen the ocean.
In this dolphin venue in Mexico City, called Six Flags, different people took care of them and also taught them the tricks they had been trying to learn in Japan.
Dolphins performing at a tourist attraction (not Makaiko or any of the dolphins mentioned in this blog)
I was one of the carers of both Makaiko and Kumiko. Another time, I can tell you more about Kumiko, but for now, I will just say that Kumiko became depressed after her arrival in Mexico, and did not live very long.
After staying a while at Six Flags, Makaiko – together with Miku and Rocko – was once again put in the transport stretcher that hurt him so much, and was transported to another dolphin venue in Isla Mujeres, taking over 16 hours.
The dolphins were bleeding upon their arrival at this dolphin venue where I was also taking care of them as I moved with the dolphins from Mexico City to Isla Mujeres.
As I said, this journey brought them to the Caribbean waters at Isla Mujeres, where the tanks were slightly bigger and the water warmer.
Becoming an entertainer
This is where they were properly trained to become entertainers in the dolphin industry.
The dolphins had to push us, the trainers, with their noses, lifting us on their dorsal fins, and even jumping over our heads. And like in Japan, if the dolphins weren’t complying with what was asked of them they would be denied food.
I would always come back at night to give them some extra food so they wouldn’t be as hungry.
The water was too warm, leading to skin irritations and fungus infections. The sun was too bright, causing skin burns.
The dolphins were getting weaker each day.
I would take care of the burns and the skin problems as much as possible and I would try to be soothing and calming towards the dolphins. I would even go in the water and just hang out with them, rather than asking them to perform tricks all the time.
I like to believe that it made a difference to their physical and mental well-being, but of course, the overall circumstances were very difficult for the dolphins.
There was no doubt that they were suffering.
At some point, there was talk of rescuing the dolphins and bringing them to a seaside sanctuary, but this mission failed. Someone had alerted the dolphin venue that the government would be confiscating the animals, so they had time to move them to a legal shelter and as such, stop the confiscation of the animals.
Not a ‘good enough’ entertainer
At the same time, I got fired from the job because I was involved with the rescue mission, which the dolphin venue found out about.
After I was fired, the dolphins had been left behind without food or clean water. I came back one more time to say goodbye, and it was one of the hardest days of my life. The dolphins stayed in their place for about two months, with people only coming in to feed them and to train them.
Then, once again, Makaiko’s live was turned upside down: he was left behind in his home, alone.
The other dolphins had been taken to another dolphin venue on a Caribbean Island, to start their lives as entertainers, but Makaiko was said to be a ‘foolish’ dolphin who didn’t listen to orders and was too big and heavy so he wouldn’t be transported to the other dolphin venue.
He stayed alone for some time, without food, and with a growing sense of anxiety he started banging his head against the walls. At some point, people would come in with dead fish, and to clean the water. This was the only time Makaiko wasn’t alone.
Makaiko was rescued by the government after Miku and Rocko had been taken away and I then had the chance to look after Makaiko again.
After his rescue, Makaiko was placed with a company called Aqua World that was supposed to take better care of the dolphins. Me and another person were hired by Aqua World to rehabilitate Makaiko. This is when Makaiko’s rehabilitation process started.
We took care of him, fed him, kept him company and made sure he was as well as he possibly could be in captivity, mentally and physically. We also filled his pool with sea water, instead of the water treated with chemicals, and we spent hours cleaning the pools to avoid the seaweeds from growing too rapidly.
Dolphin with a tourist attraction (not Makaiko or any of the dolphins mentioned in this blog)
It was clear that Makaiko was sad, as he once again started banging his head against the walls and we tried everything to stop him from hurting himself.
Through the rehabilitation, he eventually did start to feel better. More and more kind people helped out with his care. Overall, the rehabilitation took 12 months.
Finally, Makaiko was transported to Dolphin Discovery at Isla Mujeres, where he would spent the last four years of his life.
At this new venue, he could swim in sea water but was still confined to only a very small part of the sea due to the barriers in the water.
There, every day, he performed tricks for many people, only being fed during the performance sessions and afterwards as a reward. It must have been so boring, the same thing day in day out, knowing that he loved roaming the ocean in Japan.
Makaiko’s final days
Makaiko and the other sea animals at the venue that were working as entertainers had to be temporarily moved to the place where he had been rehabilitated because of Tropical Storm Emily.
On his return to the venue, which was partially destroyed by the storm, he was put in the water, which was still quite rough from the storm. Nets had been put down due to the destruction and Makaiko got tangled up in them.
The people looking after them didn’t see any of this, so Makaiko died. He lay tangled up in the nets in the dolphin venue where he was exploited to entertain thousands of people.
No dolphin should have to endure the same sad life and death that Makaiko did.
That is why I joined forces with World Animal Protection: to share the story, to raise awareness and to work against the dolphin entertainment industry.
This cruel industry is part of the global wildlife trade, which subjects millions of wild animals to suffering every day, and puts people and the planet at risk too.
Sign World Animal Protection’s petition urging global leaders to end the global wildlife trade. Forever.
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Mick Foley Recalls Vince McMahon Being Adamant About Not Signing Him
By Marco Rovere | July 16, 2020
As a guest with Inside The Ropes, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley talked about his debut with the WWE in 1996. Prior to joining the company, Foley mentioned how he had heard from people that Vince McMahon was not the biggest fan of his. Foley noted that WWE ended up caving in and signing him.
"I was not supposed to be a star in WWE," Foley said. "I heard in good faith that Mr. McMahon was not a fan of mine, at all. The direct quote was, 'Cactus Jack will never step foot inside of a WWE ring'. As Mick Foley, I stepped inside as Mankind.
"Even then it was just a concession to Jim Ross, he would bring up my name at every booking meeting as potential talent. Finally Mr. McMahon in the fall of 1995 slammed his hand down on a table and said, 'Alright, I'll bring him in but I'm covering up his face.'"
Foley also discussed the Mankind character and the look he was given. He talked about how the mask for Mankind was decided upon and how it involved The Undertaker, who had to wear a phantom of the opera type mask due to an injury he suffered from Mabel in 1995.
"One of the prototypes they did not use was the mask that ended up becoming the Mankind mask," Foley said. "Not only would I have not gotten my break had it not been for The Undertaker, had I not been paired with The Undertaker for that initial run, I might be any number of places but there's no way I'm here 23 years after the fact."
The Undertaker just recently announced his retirement at the end of his docuseries on the WWE Network "The Last Ride". Foley talked about The Undertaker and how Taker would get him excited to watch professional wrestling.
"To me, he's the greatest character driven performer that the wrestling business has ever seen," Foley said. "The suspension of disbelief is so important in professional wrestling and he made it so easy to do that. I'd come running for the T.V. when The Undertaker was on."
During the time when Foley debuted with the company, there were a lot of gimmicky characters in the company. Some of the notable ones include The Repo Man, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese and even a dentist named Dr. Isaac Yankem, who would go on to become Kane. Foley talked about the original name McMahon had come up with for his character.
"Luckily somebody in creative had told me the name they had figured out for me was The Mutilator," Foley said. "Mr.McMahon sees me and it's about the third time we've met and he says, 'Do you know your name?' and I lied and said no and he said 'In this business, we've had crushers, we've had destroyers, we've had executioners, but we've never had a Mutilator, and that's what you are.' "
"He gave me the first name of Mason, Mason the Mutilator. That's instant death in this business. He asked what I thought and I said 'I like it, I like it a lot, but, what if inside of Mason the Mutilator, it was Mankind the Mutilator?'"
"The Mutilator" part of the name was eventually dropped and the rest is history.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Inside The Ropes with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Erik Of The Viking Raiders On If He Thinks Sarah Logan Will Return To WWE
AJ Styles Says Roman Reigns Returning Would Be A Big Help For WWE Ratings
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Turnkey, TrustRadius, Homeward, Geekdom, Ion, GasMob, & More TX Tech
Angela Shah
Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news in Texas.
—Turnkey Vacation Rentals, an Austin-based company founded in 2013, has raised $48 million to expand to new markets and further develop its technology. The round was led by Altos Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Adams Street Partners, Greenspring Associates, and Harmony Partners. Turnkey has now raised more than $100 million, the company said in a news release. Turnkey integrates smart locks, decibel monitors, a system to schedule housekeeping, and uses tablets to automate property management for vacation rental owners, the company says. The company has had one million people stay at the homes it books for, which now has surpassed more than 5,000, the company says. It was founded by CEO and chairman John Banczak and president and chief development officer TJ Clark.
—TrustRadius, which makes a business-to-business software review program, has raised $12.5 million in a Series C round led by Next Coast Ventures. Returning investors Mayfield Fund and LiveOak Ventures also participated in the investment. The new funding brings the total raised by the Austin startup to $25 million. TrustRadius plans to double its current headcount of 59 in the coming year, according to a blog post from Next Coast Ventures.
—Homeword, an Austin-based real estate startup that works to help people make all-cash offers when buying a new home, has received $4 million in equity funding led by LiveOak Venture Partners and another $21 million of debt financing from Genesis Capital and Keystone Bank. Individuals who founded other real estate-tech businesses, including Opcity and Apartment List, also participated, according to Homeword. Homeward offers to give a person who is selling a home a credit for the value of their home equity, and uses that to purchase a new home for the buyer, letting the individual close on the new home even if the old one hasn’t yet sold. Homeward will lease the new home back to the buyer for up to six months and, once the old home sells, the startup will sell the new home to the buyer at the original price. The company charges 1.9 percent of the purchase price. If the customer can’t sell his or her old home, Homeward offers to buy the home at a pre-agreed, “fair market price,” the company says.
—Holt Ventures, the $25 million venture arm of Caterpillar tractor dealer Holt Cat, participated in a $5.2 million funding round for Irvine, CA-based Augmentir, which makes augmented reality and machine learning software that aims to improve productivity of industrial workers. Pritzker Group Venture Capital led the round, and Lerer Hippeau and other existing investors also participated.
—Geekdom Fund, a San Antonio investment firm founded in 2014, has raised $40 million for its latest pooled investment fund, according to a securities filing. Geekdom may raise $10 million more, too, the filing says. The San Antonio Business Journal first reported the news. Geekdom Fund invests in IT startups around the country. Just last week, a startup it invested in called Bitfusion, which has offices in Austin and Silicon Valley, was acquired by VMWare. Terms weren’t disclosed. Geekdom Fund raised a $20 million fund in 2017.
—Houston civic and technology leaders broke ground on the Ion, the city’s planned innovation hub (photo above). “We want to create a dynamic destination, where startups want to be and where people come to Houston and say, ‘That’s our first stop to find out what’s happening in innovation,’” Rice University president David Leebron told me in an interview in April. The university is a partner in the project that aims to repurpose a now-closed Sears store in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. The site and the surrounding area’s potential as a tech hub was originally part of Houston’s proposal to attract Amazon’s so-called HQ2 project.
—Texas Medical Center employees can now fill up their tanks at the parking lot. Houston-based GasMob, which has a fleet of refueling vehicles, will now operate on three parking lots on the medical campus, including that of the TMC Innovation Institute. Customers download the GasMob app and arrange for gasoline delivery, thereby avoiding the need to find a gas station. GasMob buys the fuel at wholesale and sells it to customers for what it says are competitive retail prices.
Xconomy national correspondent David Holley contributed to this report.
Sept. 15 – Challenges of Implementing Innovation in Drug Discovery & Development
Phenotypic Screening & Profiling to Understand a Compound's Disease Impact
Eurofins Discovery
What’s Next in Neuroscience Therapies
New approaches & tech are on the horizon that could change how researchers and clinicians approach brain and neurological disorders
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The shocking resemblance between Kim Taehyung and his father
Have you ever wondered where V gets his good looks from? The 25-years-old has been titled the most handsome man of 2020. Turns out he is the mirror image of his dad. Don't believe me? Keep scrolling to see it for yourself!
Kim Taehyung was born on December 30th, 1995, to a family of farmers.
He was brought up with two younger siblings, his sister Kim Eon Jin and brother Kim Jeong Gyu.
The 5’10” superstar shares a close bond with his family and considers his father as his role model.
Kim Taehyung's father
In 2019, one of the BTS members posted a picture of a mysterious man on their group’s Twitter handle. The post was captioned as ‘He took after his father’. It didn’t take long for the fans to realize that the man was V’s dad, because of the insane resemblance. Doesn’t he look like Taehyung from another decade?
Tae has incorporated his father’s features, from his intense eyes to his sharp jawline. He takes great pride in being compared to his dad. During the review of their album ‘BE’, RM pointed out how V looked like his father in one of the postcards. This made Taehyung very happy who responded by saying ‘Yes, I do look a lot like him’. Watch the full video here.
V with his parents
Stunning visuals is not the only thing V inherited from his dad. The BTS member is the most stylish and charming K-pop idol. In fact, he is known as the ‘Gucci boy’ for his impeccable fashion sense. Tae claims to have learned the skill of styling from his father. Looks like Mr. Kim passed down more than just good looks to his son. What do you think about this resemblance?
Watch the video below to know more about V's family!
BTS V: From a farmers' boy to global sensation!
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Your Daily Dish
Feeding Outrageous to you Daily
David Bowie Ties Elvis Presley Album Chart Record in the U.K.
January 29, 2016 | By Sara Wilkins
Courtesy of WENN Newsdesk
David Bowie has tied a record set by Elvis Presley almost 40 years ago with 12 albums in the new U.K. top 40.
Presley fans dashed out to buy The King’s records following his death in 1977 and Bowie’s devotees have done the same to honor the passing of the rocker earlier this month.
Three weeks after his death, Bowie’s final album Blackstar has scored a third week at the top of the charts, while Best of Bowie and Nothing Has Changed feature in the new top five, at three and five, respectively.
Adele remains at two in the countdown with her own record-breaking release, 25, and Justin Bieber’s Purpose is at four.
Meanwhile, Canadian stars Shawn Mendes and Bieber rule the top of the U.K. singles chart – Mendes’ breakthrough hit “Stitches” lands another week at the top, ahead of Bieber’s “Love Yourself.”
Jonas Blue and Dakota’s dance version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” hit debuts at three, and Bieber’s “Sorry” and Snakehips’ “All My Friends” round out the top five.
Notable Celebrity Deaths of 2016
While death is a natural part of life, it seems like 2016 has seen an abnormally high amount of notable deaths. From politicians and athletes to actors and musicians, it ...
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United Nations Report: For First time, Over Half Of People With HIV On Medication
Source: Associated Press
For the first time in the AIDS epidemic that has spanned four decades and killed 35 million people, more than half of all those infected with HIV are on drugs to treat the virus, the United Nations said in a report released this week.
AIDS deaths are also now close to half of what they were in 2005, according to the U.N. AIDS agency, although those figures are based on estimates and not actual counts from countries.
Experts applauded the progress, but questioned if the billions spent in the past two decades should have brought more impressive results. The U.N. report was released in Paris where an AIDS meeting begins this weekend.
“When you think about the money that’s been spent on AIDS, it could have been better,” said Sophie Harman, a senior lecturer in global health politics at Queen Mary University in London.
She said more resources might have gone to strengthening health systems in poor countries.
“The real test will come in five to 10 years once the funding goes down,” Harman said. The Trump administration has proposed a 31 percent cut in contributions to the U.N. starting in October.
According to the report, about 19.5 million people with HIV were taking AIDS drugs in 2016, compared to 17.1 million the previous year.
UNAIDS also said there were about 36.7 million people with HIV in 2016, up slightly from 36.1 million the year before.
In the report’s introduction, Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS’ executive director, said more and more countries are starting treatment as early as possible, in line with scientific findings that the approach keeps people healthy and helps prevent new infections. Studies show that people whose virus is under control are far less likely to pass it on to an uninfected sex partner.
The report notes that about three-quarters of pregnant women with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, now have access to medicines to prevent them from passing it to their babies. It also said five hard-hit African countries now provide lifelong AIDS drugs to 95 percent of pregnant and breast-feeding women with the virus.
“For more than 35 years, the world has grappled with an AIDS epidemic that has claimed an estimated 35 million lives,” the report said. “Today, the United Nations General Assembly has a shared vision to consign AIDS to the history books.”
The death toll from AIDS has dropped dramatically in recent years as the wide availability of affordable, life-saving drugs has made the illness a manageable disease.
Click here for New Jersey HIV/AIDS Resources.
Featured Video: St. Barnabas Medical Centers
Police in Jackson and Howell Help Cancer Patients
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{{Icons|1|Billion|Musician|American|Male|2006|YouTuber}} {{YouTuber |title = Avenged Sevenfold |username = avengedsevenfold |image = <gallery> Avenged Sevenfold1.jpg|Appearances Avenged Sevenfold.jpg|YouTube Icon </gallery> |style = Music |join date = January 5, 2006 |Twitter = TheOfficialA7X |Facebook = AvengedSevenfold |other media = [http://avengedsevenfold.com/ Official Website]<br>[https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/avenged-sevenfold/id6766228 iTunes]<br>[http://www.bravadousa.com/avengedsevenfold//?wmgref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avengedsevenfold.com%2F Store]<br/>[http://theofficiala7x.tumblr.com/ Tumblr]<br>[https://www.instagram.com/avengedsevenfold/ Instagram]<br>[https://soundcloud.com/avengedsevenfold SoundCloud]<br>[http://avengedsevenfold.com/shows Tour Dates] |vids = 157+ |update = Unscheduled |status = Active |collab = |full name = |nationality = American |residence = |channel trailer = [[File:Avenged Sevenfold - Set Me Free Official Audio|thumb|225px]] |most viewed video = [[File:Avenged Sevenfold - So Far Away (Official Music Video)|thumb|225px]] |first video = [[File:Avenged Sevenfold - Almost Easy Live|thumb|225px]] }} '''Avenged Sevenfold''' (or simply '''A7X''') is an American hard rock/heavy metal band formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California by Matthew Charles Sanders, (lead vocals), James "Jimmy" Owens Sullivan, (drums), Brian Elwin Haner Jr. (lead guitar), Matt Wendt, (bass), and Zackery James Baker, (rhythm guitar and backing vocals). Their bassist was replaced in 2000 by Justin Sane, and again in 2001 by Dameon Ash, and yet again in Jonathan Lewis Seward, who also does backing vocals; he's still in the band to this day. After the tragic death of The Rev in 2009, he was briefly replaced by Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater fame. After Mike left the band, he was replaced by Arin Ilejay in 2011, and again by Brooks Wackerman in 2015, whose still in the band. Most of the founding members of the band were great friends since childhood. Most of the core members of the band have stage names, which isn't that common when it come to bands formed at the turn of the 21st century or later. They did this because they were part of of the 2000's punk scene, and they did it especially because they wanted to piss other people in the scene off, (and supposedly, it worked, too). Matthew is M. Shadows, Brian is Synyster Gates, Zackery is Zacky Vengeance, Jonathan is Johnny Christ, and James was The Rev. The only member of the current band that doesn't have a stage name is Brooks Wackerman, since he joined well into the band's career. Since they formed, they've released a total of 7 albums. They are Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001), Waking the Fallen (2003), City of Evil, (2005), Avenged Sevenfold, (2007), Nightmare, (2010), Hail to the King, (2013), The Stage, (2016). They're currently recording their eighth studio album. ==History== ===Formation=== Avenged Sevenfold formed in 1999 at Huntington Beach, California by Matthew Sanders (a.k.a. M. Shadows), Jimmy Sullivan (a.k.a. The Rev), and Matt Wendt. The band began recording tape demos and performing at clubs to build revenue. Around the same time, southpaw guitarist Zackery Baker (a.k.a. Zacky Vengeance) joined the band. Months later, Wendt left for college, and Justin Meacham took over as the next bassist. ===''Sounding the Seventh Trumpet''=== In late 2000, the band was picked up by Good Life Recordings, and began developing material for an album. ''Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'', the band's first studio album, was released on July 24, 2001. It took a budget of only $2,000 to develop. Shortly after the album's release, Brian Haner Jr. (a.k.a. Synyster Gates), joined the band as the secondary guitarist. The album featured thirteen tracks. Two singles were "Darkness Surrounding" and "Warmness on the Soul". Despite the release, it did not garner much attention or popularity. A month after the album's release, Meacham attempted suicide by consuming an excessive amount of cough syrup. He was hospitalized, remained in critical condition, and left the band. Dameon Ash took over as the next bassist, but did not garner any credit on any of the band's future recordings. On January 18, 2002, Sevenfold severed the ties with Good Life Recordings and signed with Hopeless Records. They re-released ''Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'' on March 19, 2002. The band went on a national tour to promote the album. Months later, Ash left the band. Jonathan Seward (a.k.a. Johnny Christ), who was a high school senior at the time, dropped out of school, and joined the band, despite only being eighteen years of age at the time. ===''Walking the Fallen''=== With the initial lineup assembled, Sevenfold released their second studio album, ''Walking the Fallen'' on August 26, 2003. The album included twelve tracks. One single was "Unholy Confessions". Still, the band did not gain much popularity. To gain revenue, the band went on another national tour. By November 2003, Sevenfold signed with Warner Bros. Records. ===''City of Evil''=== Sevenfold released their third studio album, ''City of Evil'', on June 6, 2005. It did far better than the previous two albums, and gathered attention to international countries. Eleven tracks were included in the album. "Beast and the Harlot" and "Bat Country" turned out to be hugely successful singles. While on tour, the album sold enough copies to become certified gold, and was later platinum in late 2009. In early 2006, Sevenfold embarked on a worldwide tour to Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. By fall of 2006, Sevenfold announced that they were cancelling the remainder of the tour to return to the studio to record new material. ===Self-titled album=== Avenged Sevenfold released their fourth studio album on October 30, 2007, named after the band itself. The album included ten tracks. Singles were "Almost Easy", "Scream", and "Afterlife". The band again went on tour to promote the release, including a concert at Long Beach, close to their formation home. ===''Nightmare''=== In late 2009, Sevenfold returned to the studio to record new material. However, as their development was in session, a few causalities arose. On December 28, 2009, The Rev died. An investigation in the following months regarding Sullivan's death revealed that the latter overdosed on acute polydrug with combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol. Unwilling to hire a new drummer with material still needed to be recorded to complete the album, Sevenfold recruited Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater to act as a fill-in drummer. Portnoy accepted and did the drums for the album. A single titled ''Nightmare'' was released digitally on May 18, 2010. A lyric video was released on YouTube in June of that year, gaining 275,000 views in a single day. The fifth studio album was officially released on July 27, 2010. The album included eleven tracks, including singles of the title track released two months prior to the album, "Buried Alive", "Welcome to the Family", and "So Far Away". Even after Sullivan's death, the latter was partially credited on some tracks, while Mike Portnoy was fully credited on all tracks doing the drums. Shortly after the album's release, Portnoy left to resume duties with Dream Theater. == Trivia == * M. Shadows is married to Valary DiBenedetto. * They have two sons, River, born in 2012, and Cash, born in 2014. * Valary is the sister of Michelle DiBenedetto, the wife of Synyster Gates, which makes Synyster and Shadows brothers in law. * Synyster and Michelle have two children, a son Nicolangelo, born in 2017, and a daughter, Monroe, born in 2019. [[Category:Users who joined in 2006]] [[Category:Male YouTubers]] [[Category:American YouTubers]] [[Category:YouTube Musicians]] [[Category:One Million Subscribers]] [[Category:Two Million Subscribers]] [[Category:Three Million Subscribers]] [[Category:Four Million Subscribers]] [[Category:One Billion Views]]
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