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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

A pipe has burst in New York City, the largest city in the United States, causing a generator to explode. The explosion occurred in Midtown Manhattan near Grand Central Terminal (GCT) and the Chrysler Building, and approximately at the intersection of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue. Nearby buildings have been evacuated, and a large area has been blocked off. There are reports of a very large crater at the scene.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has officially ruled out terrorism. Grand Central Station was quickly evacuated soon after the incident. Subway lines 4, 5 and 6 have no service in both directions between the 125th Street Station and the Bowling Green Station. 42nd Street Shuttle service has been shut completely.

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) received a call at 5:56 p.m. EDT (UTC-4) reporting an explosion. More than 170 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Witnesses reported that buildings in the nearby area shook. This was a five-alarm response.

At least 20 people have been reported injured, and one woman, Lois Baumerich, died from a heart attack. Two people are currently in critical condition.

There are potentially harmful materials at the scene of the explosion and HAZMAT crews are on the scene to clean up debris. There are reports that pipes were wrapped in asbestos, but the air is being tested, and results should be available late Wednesday night.

ConEdison Workers are on the scene as well, and it appears that they are working nearby.

Emergency workers are reporting that the situation is not under control. They are still unable to confirm why the pipe exploded due to the inaccessible nature of the scene at the source of the explosion. The pressure of steam has subsided and the air appears to have cleared, revealing the crater. Disruption of electricity in the surrounding area is minimal.

GCT is reported to be reopened at this time. An area was cordoned off and people trapped in the vicinity due to fears of asbestos pollution resulting from the explosion.

According to a press conference with the mayor, the pipe involved was built in 1924, and a likely cause of the eruption and explosion was cold water leaking into the pipe, possibly from rain or from a water pipe. A tow truck had fallen into the crater left by the explosion, and the explosion also shattered glass on nearby buildings.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

A discussion group about weblogs, or blogs for short, that meets at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society last week began releasing video tutorials about how to blog using various web and software tools.

Harvard University‘s Berkman Center hosts the blogging discussion group, which has met weekly for the past two years.

After months of discussion and collaboration on the new tutorials, at Friday’s evening meeting presenters showed off some of their early video tutorials, which stream recorded audio, and previously-captured video of a computer screen, along with simultaneous live audio from a microphone.

Participants learned how similar tutorials can be constructed using free software tools such as CamStudio. Audio of the session was made available on the World Wide Web.

Shimon Rura, a local software developer, presented a recent screen-capture + voiceover flash file he had made, demonstrating how to use a bookmarklet in the Frassle blogging package. Other participants discussed video demonstrations of how to podcast, and how to use specific blogging tools such as WordPress.

There was also disussion of a recent initiative to set up a Blogging101 site for distributing and translating these instructional materials. Rebecca MacKinnon, a noted blogger and Berkman Fellow, spoke about the BloggerCorps initiative to connect non-profits who want broader exposure with local blogging enthusiasts.

The meeting was held inside the main conference room in the Berkman Center’s Cambridge offices on Massachusetts Avenue.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

The available information about the phosphorous cloud following the railway accident in the Ukraine last Monday is becoming more and more cryptic.

The political involvement of most media and other factors are causing contradictions among official sources that are making press work extremely hard. Moreover, no one is permitted to enter the accident location. The site of the accident was closed to visitors following the injury of three TV journalists who got too close.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate Bob Ely of Illinois took some time to answer a few questions from Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn.

Ely, a graduate of Yale University, worked for 18 years as an investment banker in Chicago before leaving the industry in 2000 to become a full-time investor and entrepreneur. Last year, he opened a campaign website and filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a candidate challenging President Barack Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Thus far, Ely has appeared on the Democratic primary ballot in New Hampshire, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. His strongest showing occurred in Louisiana, where he won 6.57 percent of the vote, finishing in third place behind Obama and attorney John Wolfe, Jr.. Discussing the primary, he told Politico that despite being “a candidate who bought no ads and did exactly zero campaigning,” he won 120 of Louisiana’s 4,395 voting precincts, and defeated President Obama in 457. Overall, Ely has won a total of 15,502 primary votes.

On Tuesday May 29, Ely will appear on the Texas primary ballot alongside Obama, Wolfe, and historian Darcy Richardson, who suspended his campaign last month. It will be Ely’s last chance to qualify for Democratic National Convention delegates. Four of his fellow challengers have already done so: anti-abortion activist Randall Terry and perennial candidate Jim Rogers both qualified in Oklahoma, Wolfe qualified in Louisiana and Arkansas, and prison inmate Keith Russell Judd qualified in West Virginia. For various reasons, the Democratic Party stripped the delegates from each of these candidates.

On his campaign website, Ely outlines a plan for a “job’s bank”, which would use the existing organization for unemployment benefits to create a program where businesses can hire individuals to new positions with government salaries of minimum wage. He also wants to make it easier for businesses to terminate employees, and has proposed an increase in taxes and tariffs. He is concerned about the federal budget deficit and wishes to significantly reduce government spending. On other issues, Ely has proposed a plan for “basic health care” coverage, endorses “amnesty” for illegal immigrants in certain situations, and supports a strong, but frugal military used only to “protect America, Americans and America’s clear national interests”

With Wikinews, Ely discusses his personal background and views of President Obama, a few details about his campaign, and such political issues as jobs, energy, taxes, and nuclear proliferation.

Friday, November 6, 2009

The government of Saudi Arabia removed an eleven-year ban on livestock imports from Somalia after fears of Rift Valley Fever were allayed, senior Somali officials said on Thursday.

The decision was well received across Somalia, as hundreds of thousands of farmers heavily rely on animal exports to the oil-rich Middle East. Under the new arrangement, Saudi officials will closely examine animals before they are shipped off to Saudi soil.

“This is a tremendous decision for Somalis across the Horn of Africa,” said Idiris Ibrahim Abdi, the livestock minister of Somaliland, the self-declared republic in northern Somalia, which has developed one of the most sophisticated animal processing plants in its port town of Berbera.

According to news accounts, the Saudi agricultural ministry said the decision is based on years of cross-examination and monitoring of animal farms in Somalia.

Animal trade is one of the few surviving economic engines of Somalia’s largely destroyed economy. Business leaders and animal farmers have largely welcomed the Saudi decision.

“This decision will allow me to triple my animal sales to shipping companies,” said Mohamed Hassan Kahde, an animal farmer in the central town of Beledweyne.

An official with the Puntland Meat Processing Authority told the Voice of America news agency that they expect to export more than half a million heads of goats and cows to Saudi Arabia in time for the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage, which will be performed by early December.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

At the 132nd running of the Preakness, the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown, Robby Albarado rode Curlin to a photo finish victory over Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. Going into the final stretch run, Curlin made a valiant charge to beat Street Sense by a head with a winning time of 1:53.46, matching the fastest ever finishing time in Preakness race history. Thus, for at least another year, the Triple Crown trophy will remain unclaimed. Affirmed was the last horse to accomplish what has become a rare feat for thoroughbred horses, back in 1978.

Curlin’s win was as fast as track record holders (for 1 3/16 mile races) Tank’s Prospect and Louis Quatorze, winners of the Preakness in 1985 and 1996, respectively. Curlin (4) paid $8.80 to win at odds of almost 7-2. The top three finishers in the Preakness were also the top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby, albeit in a different order. The $2 exacta of Curlin and Street Sense (4-8) paid $23.20. The $1 trifecta of Curlin, Street Sense, and Hard Spun (4-8-7) paid $25.00. Edgar Prado rode C P West to a 4th-place finish, capping off a $1 superfecta (4-8-7-9) of $340.30.

If a rematch happens between Street Sense and Curlin, it may not happen very soon. Carl Nafzger, trainer of Street Sense, has not indicated that he will run Street Sense in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

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