Friday, April 20, 2007

Around 1:40 p.m. CDT, NASA employees reported that two shots were fired in the NASA Building 44 in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. A SWAT team later reported that Bill Phillips, a contract engineer with Jacobs Engineering, had killed David Beverly as well as himself, leaving a female hostage physically unharmed.

Phillips entered a conference room with gun drawn and ordered all but one person out. Phillips barricaded himself on the second floor of the two-story building, with David Beverly and another female hostage. The building was evacuated and police were summoned. NASA security, Houston police and a SWAT team were on the scene.

Houston news reported at 5:22 p.m. CDT that Bill Phillips, the gunman, and David Beverly, the hostage, were both dead. Police reported that the SWAT team heard one shot and decided to engage, but before they reached the room they heard another shot. When SWAT reached the scene, the male hostage was dead from a bullet to the chest, the gunman was dead from a bullet to the head, and the female hostage, Fran Cranshaw, was gagged and bound to a chair with duct tape, but was otherwise unharmed.

All NASA employees had first been warned to stay in their buildings but were later told by NASA they were free to go home if their working day was over. Mission Control locked its doors during this incident, as this is a standard procedure in such situations. No NASA Mission has been affected by this incident, according to NASA.

In the first press conference, police said that communication to the gunman had not yet been established, but that negotiators had already tried it two times unsuccessfully.

The motive of the hostage-taking, and whether the three people had any connection to each other, is currently under investigation.

The Houston Chronicle reports that last month Phillips had received one e-mail from his employer, Jacob engineering Inc., “describing problems with his work and offering suggestions on improvement.” Jacobs printed that e-mail on March 18, the same day he bought the 38-caliber gun that police suspect was used in the shooting.

Despite reassurances by Cranshaw and Beverly, Phillips would not believe that management was not going to fire him, according to Cranshaw. During the 3-hour standoff, Phillips used a dry-erase board in the room indicating he was tired of being called “stupid,” police said last Saturday.

Michael Sampson, the co-manager of the space agency’s Electronic Parts and Packaging Program, who had known Beverly for ten years, described him as friendly, peaceful person, with a positive attitude to his co-workers.

Relatives describe Phillips as a loner who always kept to himself. He had lost his father in 2003, but had decided not to return to his hometown in Tennessee. Smith, a cousin of Phillips, remarked that in the Christmas card he had received from him last year, Phillips said that he was feeling lonely and without family, but nothing in the card suggested anything so tragic.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

On November 1, 2006 the old five, ten, twenty and fifty cent coins will be illegal tender, but the Reserve Bank of New Zealand says there are still at least 100 million still to be returned.

According to the Reserve Bank, most of the old coins have been lost in drains or buried in rubbish. “We think there is still another 100 million sitting around in people’s homes,” Brian Lang, currency manger for the Reserve Bank, said.

Lang said: “So far, just over 280 million coins have been returned, but there are more out there. Since 1967 the Reserve Bank has issued more than a billion of the old ‘silver’ coins. So if you don’t want to be stuck with loads of old coin – there’s never been a better time to empty your coin jars, sweep the car glove box and rummage behind the couch cushions.”

The coins still awaiting to be handed in, by either spending them, taking them to a bank or donating them to charity, are estimated to be worth between NZ$5 million and $50 million.

“A last-minute burst of publicity may convince people to bring the coins in. It’s a bit of a hassle though. Human nature being what it is, people just don’t care,” Lang said.The Karori Wildlife Sanctuary located in Wellington say that they have collected over $9,000 in old coins. Sanctuary spokesman, Alan Dicks said: “The campaign was particularly fitting because the old coins depicted tuataras and kiwis, both of which can be found living at the sanctuary. The money will go towards supporting general ecological restoration of the sanctuary. We want to get over ten grand, but the more the better.”

Lang said: “Though the coins will no longer be legal tender, banks will continue to exchange them until at least the end of the year,” and the Reserve Bank will always exchange them. “We are still getting people coming in with two-dollar notes,” Lang added.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

As gas prices have risen in the United States, the regional transport authority for southeastern Pennsylvania, SEPTA, has seen a sharp increase in ridership, which has caused overcrowding on the trains.

“As fuel prices have continued to rise, SEPTA ridership has steadily increased and is the highest in 18 years,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph Casey. Monthly ridership was 22 percent higher last month than a year ago.

“They have crushed loads on their rail lines, already where people are standing, and there’s not enough seats,” said Rich Bickel, the director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

“At peak times some railcars are standing room only and commuter parking lots are nearly full. All Regional Rail lines are running near full capacity and the train station parking lots are at about 90 percent capacity or more,” SEPTA spokesperson Felipe Suarez said.

While SEPTA awaits new Silverliner V trains from Hyundai Rotem, which begin arriving in 2009, it had hoped to lease eight rail cars from New Jersey Transit, at an agreed-upon rate of US$10,000 per month. However, due to problems with insurance and liability indemnification, the deal fell through, according to Casey.

SEPTA has entered a new agreement to purchase the eight rail cars from NJ Transit. The transit authority will pay US$670,000 for the cars and assorted supplies plus one additional inoperative car which will be used for spare parts. The rail cars will be operated using a SEPTA provided locomotive as they are not self-propelled.

The cars are being disposed of by NJ Transit because it has switched from single-floor cars to double-decker cars.

SEPTA is expecting to raise US$3.1 million by selling rail that has been out of service since 1981 at auction.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

For the first time in 40 years, the Royal Mint has chosen a new set of designs for the reverse of the coins, first introduced in the Coin Design Competition 2005. The designer, Matthew Dent of Bangor, North Wales, was paid £35,000 (GBP) for his designs, which depict the Shield of the Royal Arms spread over the six denominations below £1, with the entire shield embossed on the £1 coin.

The new coins are expected to come into circulation this summer – and Mr Dent envisions a success: “I can imagine people playing with them, having them on a tabletop and enjoying them. I felt it was important to have a theme running through from one to another.” he said, referring to the puzzle-like nature of the new design, which requires the coins to be arranged in a particular way to see the Shield of the Royal Arms.

The chief executive of the Royal Mint, Andrew Stafford, has said that the obverse of the coins will still depict the portrait of the Queen, like it has since 1998. The old coins will remain legal tender until they slip out of circulation.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Three men have been arrested and a further six “positively identified” following the public release of photographs showing “persons of interest” to police in relation to the Sydney riots last year.

A 20-year-old man from Warilla, a suburb of Wollongong, handed himself into police yesterday after seeing his photograph in a newspaper. He was subsequently charged with riot and affray.

An 18-year-old man from Bella Vista was arrested in a Baulkham Hills hotel yesterday afternoon after he was identified by the public. A 33-year-old Miranda man was also charged after handing himself into police last night. He will appear in Sutherland Local Court today.

Following the release of the photographs on March 8, police have received information from the public identifying seven of those wanted in relation to the riots.

New South Wales police minister Carl Scully yesterday urged the others to turn themselves into police before being arrested. “I’d say to those people, save yourselves the embarrassment and turn up to a police station”, he said.

Police and the police minister have also criticised Sydney’s middle eastern community for failing to assist in identifying men wanted for revenge attacks after the riots.

“Generally speaking, when Caucasians are put on the front pages of newsletters, they’re identified”, said Mr Scully.

“And unfortunately, when footage is presented of people of Middle Eastern background, we get zip.”

A spokesman from the Lebanese Friendship Association said that the middle eastern community was being persecuted.”We are sick and tired of people saying why aren’t we doing enough”, said Keysar Trad.

“If the beat police can’t recognise them, then the chances of anyone recognising them are very, very slim.”

Other Muslim leaders urged parents to question their children and hand them into police if they suspect they took part in the revenge attacks which occurred after the riot. Lebanese Muslim Association spokesman Abdul El Ayoubi said parents should have questioned their children when the events first occurred.

“If (their children) were involved then they have a duty to take them in”, he said.

“What they have done now, might be nothing to what they could do next time.”

The NSW Islamic Council has also backed Mr Ayouvi’s calls.

Detective Superintendent Ken McKay, the head of strike force Enoggera which is investigating the riots, said he was confident of making many more arrests over coming days thanks to the assistance of the public. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we had, within the next day or two, the majority of them.” he said yesterday.

“I’m confident (of arresting all 20). If I was a betting man I’d be running at close to odds-on.”

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Since June 2019, the people of South Gippsland Shire, located at the southernmost tip of Australia, have been without a local council, after a state government inquiry found “high levels of tension” within the council. Administrators were appointed by the Victorian state government in July 2019, who have governed the shire since then. However, South Gippsland’s council is scheduled to be restored with an election to be held via post from October 5-22, 2021.

Wikinews interviewed one of the candidates standing in this election, Mat Morgan. He is running as a candidate in the Coastal-Promontory Ward, and is endorsed by the Australian Greens. The Coastal-Promontory ward covers towns such as Venus Bay, Waratah Bay, Yanakie, Foster, Port Welshpool, and Toora, and elects three councillors to the South Gippsland Shire Council.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Hundreds of thousands of air travelers had their travel plans disrupted in Europe by volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

Tens of thousands of air travelers were stranded when all flights into and out of the United Kingdom were grounded, as it became one of the first nations to be affected. The grounding was even more extensive than that following the September 11 attacks of 2001 when only trans-Atlantic flights were canceled.

Eurocontrol released a statement saying “…most air traffic in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden is suspended.”

The grounding is because the volcanic ash drawn into the jet stream is of a particle size which allows it to remain aloft in the atmosphere. Ingestion of this foreign matter, because of its distribution, would lead to flame outs in all aircraft engines. The composition of the ash also means that it would first melt into glass if it were to enter the engine of an aircraft before solidifying again as it cooled. This could lead to damage to the compressors and fan blades, which would make it impossible to restart the engines, even if the aircraft were to exit the cloud.

The current contingency is informed by the experience of British Airways Flight 9, which on June 24, 1982 suffered just such complete engine flame outs when it flew through the plume of Mount Galunggung in Indonesia. In that case, the flight crew after many efforts was able to restart the engines, though one failed shortly after, and the aircraft landed without casualties.

The UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has stated that “restrictions will remain in place in UK controlled airspace until 1300 (UK time) tomorrow, Friday 16 April, at the earliest,” and that “We will review further Met Office information and at 0230 (UK time) tomorrow we will advise the arrangements that will be in place through to 1800 (UK time) tomorrow.” The NATS statement concluded “…the situation cannot be said to be improving”.

In addition to Northern Europe, the ash is drifting south; Berlin and Hamburg airports in Germany are closed, and airports in the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France are described as now being closed or closing. Some flights from Spain and Portugal, together with upwards of 4,000 flights across Northern Europe, have been affected, and the knock-on effect of aircraft and crews out of position could disrupt air travel worldwide for up to 72 hours.

One affected group are British musicians booked to play at this weekend’s Coachella Festival in California. Amongst those stranded are Frightened Rabbit, Gary Numan, The Cribs and Bad Lieutenant.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

A Knoxville, USA woman has sold her name on eBay and received an offer. Terri Iligan, age 33, will legally be named “goldenpalace.com” after the required legal work is complete.

The casino owning the website paid $15,199 over the eBay auction service.

She said that she got the idea when trying to find how much it would cost to send one of her children to a golf school previously attended by Tiger Woods.

In an interview by Knoxville TV station WATE, she said, “To my kids and to my husband, I will always be Terri.” As to the opinion of her husband and children, she said, “He thinks it’s funny. As long as they get to call me mom, they don’t care.”