Monday, October 4, 2010

Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle, who qualified fifth, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2010 Price Chopper 400 held on October 3, 2010 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. This became his second win of the season.

Biffle was chased by Jimmie Johnson up to the finish line, but was not able to catch him this weekend. Following the race, Johnson became the points leader after three of ten events in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kevin Harvick managed the third position in the closing laps of the race, after starting twenty-fourth on the grid. Pole position winner Kasey Kahne collided with the wall earlier in the race, which prompted him to a thirty-seventh place finish.

Tony Stewart, from the Stewart Haas Racing team, clinched the fourth position, after leading the most laps with 76. Jeff Gordon followed Stewart in fifth, while Carl Edwards could only manage sixth.

Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, and A. J. Allmendinger rounded out the top ten finishers in the race. Other drivers in the Chase, such as Denny Hamlin finished twelfth, and Kyle Busch finished in twenty-first.

Johnson now heads the Drivers’ championship with 5,503 points, eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin. Manufacturers’ ?hampionship standings is lead by Chevrolet with 212, thirty-seven points ahead of Toyota and 77 ahead of Ford. Once the race concluded, Johnson commented, “I know we came [into Kansas] second. Of course, I wanted to be leading. I could care less where the 11 [Hamlin] was [Sunday]. It’s just not time to worry about that stuff. After Talladega, teams and drivers can work on a strategy of protecting or taking chances. We have to get deeper into the Chase to be concerned about who the points leader is.”

Friday, March 26, 2010

Two medium intensity seisms were registered in Chile. These quakes are aftershocks of the March 11 Pichilemu earthquake. According to the University of Chile Geological Survey, the first one took place at 9:59 local time (13:59 UTC); its epicenter was located 17 kilometers northeast of Pichilemu, with a magnitude of 4.7. It lasted about ten seconds. The second aftershock had a magnitude of 5.1, and occurred at the 10:57 local time (14:57 UTC), with its epicenter located 15 kilometers north of Cobquecura.

The National Emergencies Office graded the scale of the seisms on the Mercalli scale, which attempts to quantify the amount of physical damage caused by an earthquake. The intensities of the smaller aftershock were determined to be V in Pichilemu, III in Talca and II in San Fernando, while the larger 5.1 magnitude earthquake only hit IV in Pichilemu, but registered a IV in Talca as well, due to its closer proximity to that city.

Thursday morning the Municipality of Pichilemu posted a letter via Facebook to all those affected by the February 27 and March 11 earthquakes in the surrounding areas of Pichilemu, like Ciruelos, Alto Ramírez, and others. However, they didn’t name the village of Espinillo. The mayor of Pichilemu, Roberto Córdova, was criticized for not giving aid to the village. Córdova responded that he was “doing his best to aid [the surrounding areas]. [The Municipality] is going to replace the [balustrades] destroyed by the 11 March earthquake,” and “these places are receiving the aid they require.”

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Molten steel spilled out and killed 32 workers at the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation mill in the city of Tieling in Liaoning province, China.

The ladle containing 1,500-degree-Celsius liquid steel poured into an open room, where employees take breaks in-between shift changes, at 7:45 a.m. local time. At least 6 others were injured, one of them critically.

“It is the most serious accident to hit China’s steel industry since 1949,” said China’s deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety, Sun Huashan.

At least 4 workers have been arrested after the accident. The manager of mill, an operator, technician and a supervisor of a workshop were all arrested and are being questioned as an investigation in launched into what caused the accident to occur.

Saturday, July 9, 2005

A Friday protest in downtown Richmond drew around 200 protesters to Virginia’s state capital to demonstrate against strip mining practices of Massey Energy Company. Demonstrators marched through town and gathered in front of the company’s office building where nearly 20 laid in the street of the city’s main thoroughfare, and were nearly arrested. A few linked arms around a sidewalk structure to avoid being hauled away by police.

Chanting “Blankenship, Blankenship, Blankenship,” and waving bed sheets for flags, the demonstrators demanded to be seen and heard by the Massey Chairman and CEO, Don Blankenship. Arrests for civil disobedience were avoided when two security guards were sent by the company to retrieve a list of their demands.

The demonstration, timed to coincide with Scotland’s G8 conference, was organized by a group called “Mountain Justice Summer” and environmentalists to protest mountain top removal mining techniques. The company’s mining operations are located in the Appalachian Mountain chain in the states of Virginia, West Virginia , Kentucky and Tennessee. Massey is the United States‘ fourth-largest coal mining operation.

A statement issued by a Massey spokesman defended their respect of people’s rights, and decried what they said was, “a great deal of misinformation.”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that unofficial “legal observers” accompanied the demonstrators and carried notebooks to record crowd and police activity.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The popular American soap opera The Young and the Restless, currently the reigning Emmy Award-winner for best daytime drama, celebrated 35 years on the air Wednesday.

The 35th anniversary also comes after the series, known colloquially as Y&R, marked its 1,000th straight week as the highest-rated soap opera in a daytime slot. In addition to keeping the #1 spot every week since December 1988, Y&R has also been the top-rated soap in the African-American demographic since 1991.

A trend-setter since the beginning, Y&R relied on character-driven storytelling, accentuated with understated sexuality from its cast, which at that time was mostly young, in order to bring in teenage and twentysomething viewers who were ignored by soap producers and networks up to that time. These traits immediately set Y&R apart from other soap operas, and other soaps have since mimicked Y&R’s formulaic approach to offering something for everyone, especially younger viewers.

Since premiering on March 26, 1973, Y&R has become a worldwide cultural institution in its own right, racking up an impressive 100 Emmy Awards between the writers, producers, cast and crew since 1974. The show has aired in over 100 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, and reaches a worldwide audience of ten million daily. So far-reaching was Y&R’s appeal that Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci chose the serial’s theme song as accompanying music to her floor exercises at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In Australia, where Y&R has aired since 1974, the show was canceled by the original network that aired it in 2007, prompting a widespread fan backlash in that country. It was quickly moved to a pay channel.

Over the past 35 years, countless characters, marriages, divorces, births, deaths, and every joy and trauma in between have visited the residents of Genoa City, where Y&R is set. To commemorate the milestone, Mike Halterman from Wikinews interviewed three actresses who have played long-running characters on Y&R, and asked them to share their memories. All three responded to questions about what being on Y&R means to them, what their favorite storylines were, what they perhaps would have wanted to do all over again, and what they’d love to tell their fans directly.

Below are portions of all three interviews.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Anthony Weiner announced his resignation yesterday afternoon as a Democratic representative from New York to the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he has filled for twelve years. He has been under pressure from politicians within his own party after a sex scandal engulfed his life and that of the Democratic party.

Weiner told reporters it was “impossible” to continue in his role after the events of the last few weeks, including revelations that he was involved in sexual relationships with a number of young women over the internet, including sending lewd photos of himself, and then lying about his actions to reporters.

He announced his resignation at a press conference in a Brooklyn senior center where 20 years ago he began his political career and apologized for his “personal mistakes”. His wife, Huma Abedin, did not accompany him, but Weiner apologized to her in his speech, saying that he hopes “most importantly, that my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage that I’ve caused.” He took no questions from reporters.

On June 6, Weiner had admitted to corresponding with women he met on the internet, including exchanging lewd photos. But on June 11 he declared in an emotional interview he would not resign. Under pressure from Democrats, Weiner requested a two-week leave of absence from his position in order to obtain treatment to become “a better husband and healthier person.”

However, Democratic politicians became increasingly anxious to put the growing scandal behind them, as it distracted members from more important issues such as problems with Medicare and the need for more jobs. As the scandal gained momentum, a variety of politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, called on him to resign. President Barack Obama said he would resign if he were in Weiner’s place in an interview with ABC News.

“Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations,” Pelosi said in a statement after Weiner announced his resignation. “Today, he made the right judgment in resigning.”

The scandal came to light May 27 after Weiner accidentally sent a photograph of his crotch on his public stream on the social networking website Twitter, and then tried to cover it up by blaming hackers for posting the picture, denying all responsibility.

Weiner later admitted sending online messages to other women, including to a 17-year-old high school student in Delaware, though a police investigation uncovered nothing illegal. On Wednesday, a former porn actress revealed that she had engaged in an online relationship with Weiner and that Weiner had asked her to lie about the nature of their contact.

More photos have continued to emerge, including one showing his nude genitals, and others showing him half naked. On Wednesday, the National Enquirer published images of Weiner cross-dressing while he was a college student at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. In one photo, he is seen wearing a bra and pantyhose, while in another he is oiled and wearing swimming trunks.

Colleagues said Weiner wanted to wait for the return home of his wife, Abedin, before making a final career decision. He has been married for almost a year to Abedin, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child. She is a top aide to Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, and the couple’s wedding was presided over by former President Bill Clinton. She returned home to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning after having traveled with Clinton in the Middle East and Africa since June 8.

Weiner’s district covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, boroughs of New York City. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of New York City in 2005, and he was considered a potential candidate for future races. Known to be an outspoken supporter of liberal causes, he has irked conservatives and Democratic leaders. In 2009, he pushed for government-run health care, even though Obama had opposed the idea.

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Buffalo, New York — In an unanimous vote, the City of Buffalo‘s Planning Board voted to table the Elmwood Village hotel Proposal, postponing voting on legislation for up to 30 days.

The Board said its decision was due to the lack of public involvement, saying that there have not been enough meetings.

The Elmwood Village Hotel is a proposed project by Savarino Construction Services Corporation and was designed by Karl Frizlen of The Frizlen Group. The hotel would be placed on Elmwood and Forest Avenues in Buffalo, New York. In order for the hotel to be built, at least five buildings, that include both businesses and residents, must be demolished.

The Forever Elmwood Corp. is a Buffalo-based non-profit organization founded in 1994. Justin Azzarella, the Executive Director for the organization voiced support for the proposal, stating: “I am here today to lend Forever Elmwood’s support the hotel project. Particularly, Forever Elmwood is encouraged by the fact that this building follows the more stringent Elmwood Village Design Guidelines. We have been speaking with Savarino Construction, and they have promised us [Forever Elmwood] that they will engage the community further, including the surrounding Block Clubs and businesses. For that reason, while Forever Elmwood is in support of this project and the type of project that it is, we are asking also that the project be tabled so that the community can be further engaged. Specifically the surrounding Block clubs which include the Granger, Claremont, Asland and The Lincoln Parkway Block Clubs.”

“Because of the excellent work that Karl does and the game plan that they have, I think its an ideal use of this particular location. I think that this particular type of development needs to be encouraged and promoted as opposed to roadblocked,” said a man who owns five properties near the proposal site.

However, Evelyn Bencinich, a resident of Granger Place and whose house would be located directly behind the hotel said, “My property value will be depreciated or non-existent because no one is going to want to live behind a multi-story hotel. We are facing up to a year of noisy and dangerous demolition and construction. Children, pets and even drunk rebellers could wander on site and get hurt. Traffic tie-ups caused by large machinery and garbage bins is inevitable. Where will pedestrians walk? We could experience increased unsanitary flooding in our yards and basements due to the digging and cementing for the underground parking garage. Rats will be displaced into the immediate neighborhoods and be in great abundance. Once we get past the year of nightmare construction, what if you build it and they don’t come? We could ultimately have a seven million dollar rooming house on our corner.”

Patty Morris, co-owner of Don Apparel with Nancy Pollina at 1119 Elmwood also asked that the project be tabled saying, “this has only been public knowledge for less than two weeks and the public never saw the redesign. How can you vote on anything that no one has seen yet? The Board cut off Morris saying, “so specifically you don’t have any problem with it [the design] you just…” Morris then said, “Oh I am totally against this project, but thats besides the point isn’t it.”

The planning board is also concerned that the current design may still be too big.

At one point Board member Susan Curran Hoyt said, “we know you’ve cut down your number of rooms on this project, but we still see it doesn’t seem to fit the description of a ‘botique’ hotel,” and asked Eva Hassett, Vice President of Savarino Construction, “we wonder if you could reduce the rooms further.”

“One thing I didn’t talk about was the price levels of these rooms and that will be important to know. The room rate will be somewhere between US$120 and $160 a night, which is about the same price of the Hampton Inn down town and the smaller you make the hotel, the more expensive the rooms will get. We believe that we’ve made a good compromise in terms of the size of the hotel and perhaps botique means different things to different people,” said Hassett.

The board was also concerned that there is not enough parking asking, “are there alternative plans for valet parking off-site, in the event that you have a full hotel or a large event going on?”

“We are exploring several possibilities with respect to additional parking for valet and parking near-by,” replied Hassett. “We are also exploring the possibility of using the rear of 1105 Elmwood for additional parking, which would give us an additional ten or eleven spaces.”

The new design has a total of 55 parking spaces for 72 rooms, with 39 of them underground and the rest on ground level.

Hassett also said that a “parking study” will be done on the area.

Concerns that the second floor of the hotel will be too close to the property of 605 Forest were also brought up. The board asked how far the hotel would be from the property and Karl Frizlen replied saying it would “be approximately five feet from the property line,” but he also admitted that, “I do not know exactly how close the house next door” will be from the hotel, but did say “I think the house is about four or five feet away from the property line and we [the hotel] sit right on the property line.”

The board is concerned the setback from the property is not enough saying the space between the building and the hotel is “pretty narrow.”

The City’s Common Council also agreed to table the proposal also citing the need for more public engagement and the need for more organizations to respond including the Buffalo Preservation Board and the Office of Historic Preservation.

During that meeting, Hassett also said the proposal to try and get a variance to obtain the properties of 605 and 607 Forest were “now off the agenda.”

The Common Council is expected to meet and hold a public hearing about the project and the rezoning of the properties to be demolished (1119-1121 Elmwood) on Tuesday March 7, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. At the moment the properties are not zoned for a hotel.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Sunday that a NextGen airspace upgrade for the Washington, D.C. metro area would be in place in time for the holiday travel week. The FAA said this will improve the efficiency of air travel in this area.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said this upgrade highlights the difference the federal government is making in air travel. He also said this upgrade will improve on-time performance and reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

FAA administrator Michael Huerta said with the busy holiday travel season approaching, it is important to get travelers to their destination safely and on time.

The D.C. metroplex now includes three Optimized Profile Descents (OPDs) that allow aircraft to descend smoothly to the airport, as opposed to a staircase-style decent. This reduces fuel burn during decent because every time an aircraft levels off, it needs to burn more fuel for each step in the descent. The FAA said it will benefit three major airports in the area: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Baltimore–Washington International Airport (BWI).

In a video describing the OPDs in D.C., Brian Townsend, a tech pilot and captain for American Airlines, said this gliding down approach will be more environmentally friendly than the traditional approach.

This initiative at the D.C. metroplex involves collaboration by United, Southwest, and American Airlines and some labor unions, and is also an effort to improve efficiency for aircraft arriving and taking off from surrounding airports such as Joint Base Andrews, Richmond International Airport, and other small airports in this region.

The agency announced yesterday it has finished the work for the NextGen system in D.C. NextGen is a replacement for the ground-radar-based system that has been in operation since World War Two. They also completed a NextGen metroplex project in North Texas last week. The NextGen system is expected to cost billions of dollars to implement and the FAA funding is expected to expire in late 2015. Lawmakers, however, are holding hearings to possibly extend the funding window next year.

NASA is also conducting studies of the NextGen System. Researchers are using a brand new laboratory to test NextGen’s operations with simulated flights. They plan also to put unmanned aerial vehicles into the National Airspace System.

According to the National Weather Service, a storm system originating over the Gulf of Mexico flowing to the Northeast region of the U.S. may affect travel this week, bringing heavy snow, rain, and winds.