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25 Apr 2011 01:26

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U.S.: VIDEO: St. Louis Lambert Airport, when the tornado hit

  • At first, it started getting windy. A dude on his cell phone gingerly walked into the bathroom as if things were normal. Then in a moment, it became clear that this was not just any windy airport terminal, and in a moment, the airport was a wreck. Harrowing. (By the way, the tornado was the strongest in the area in 44 years.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 21:40

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U.S.: Gabrielle Giffords will watch her husband leave for space, but …

  • awesome! Three months after a shooting which changed her life and she barely survived, Gabrielle Giffords will be around to watch her astronaut husband Mark Kelly as he leaves for space on Friday.
  • however … She may be in a position to see her husband leave the planet, but she won’t be in a position to show herself to the world. She uses a walker and can only speak in short sentences. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 20:40

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U.S.: St. Louis Lambert Airport quickly gets up to speed after tornado

  • The speed with which they got this airport up and running is impressive.
  • Traveler Meg Stowe • Reacting with shock not only at the damage St. Louis’ Lambert Airport received but also at the fact that it was open and operational today. The airport, which suffered some pretty rough damage two nights ago, nonetheless reopened to some flights yesterday and more today. The airport itself dates back to the 1950s and is a template of sorts for both the ambition the once-massive Gateway to the West once had, and the architectural damage was stunning to some. “To know what it was and to see what it is now, I’m just devastated,” said airport administrative assistant Vicki Ware, working on her day off. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 20:11

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U.S.: Earl Albert Moore: Colorado mall-bombing suspect just out of prison

  • 1984 The first time lifelong criminal Earl Albert Moore was arrested. SInce then he’s built up a  lengthy record, including theft, drug possession and bank robbery.
  • 04/13/11 Albert, a 65-year-old man known for using many aliases over the years, was released from a Georgia federal prison after serving a sentence for bank robbery.
  • 04/20/11 A man attempts to set off a pipe bomb in a Colorado mall just two miles from Columbine High School. Today, Moore was named as the suspect. Wow. source
  • » And authorities don’t have any leads: It appears that Moore may have already left Colorado. Investigators have put out a call to every FBI office in the country in hopes of finding Moore, who they have a visual match for. The 6’2″ Moore is bald and has viking tattoos on each of his arms. And yeah, he’s dangerous, so if you run into him, call the cops.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Apr 2011 19:32

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U.S.: Despite the tornado damage, St. Louis Lambert Airport reopens

  • today A night after St. Louis’ main airport was damaged by an apparent tornado, Lambert Airport reopened for a handful of flights.
  • tomorrow The airport plans to return to about 70 percent capacity — which is impressive considering what the facility looked like last night. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Apr 2011 13:12

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U.S.: Terry Jones: A pastor, a rabbi, and two bigots walk into a courtroom …

  • Say what you will about Terry Jones and his obvious attempt to draw attention by protesting at the country’s biggest mosque, but dude knows how to wear a faded leather jacket. Too bad we can’t separate the bigot from the sweet threads. Despite being barred from doing so, Jones plans to protest at the Islamic Center of America next week. Jones incited violence in the Middle East by burning a copy of the Koran about a month ago. (By the way, the rabbi next to him, Nachum Shifren, is no saint, either.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Apr 2011 10:39

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U.S.: St. Louis Lambert Airport aftermath: Wide damage, limited injuries

  • All the windows were busted. … The airport looks like a war zone. … Kids were crying. A woman had a busted nose. Everyone was too freaked out to talk.”
  • St. Louis Lambert Airport patron Elizabeth Rastberger • Describing the scene last night as an apparent tornado hit the airport. Rastberger was waiting for a friend when the airport was hit. While five were injured badly enough that they had to go to the hospital, everyone is accounted for and none of the injuries were life-threatening. Passengers had to be evacuated from at least one aircraft, which was officially the scariest place to be last night. The airport remains closed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Apr 2011 09:44

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U.S.: A dozen years after Columbine, jerks still trying to set off bombs

  • 1999 In one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, two Columbine High School students killed a over dozen people, then themselves. The Colorado tragedy caused a spate of copycat incidents nationwide and led to much cultural hand-wringing over why it happened.
  • 2011 On Columbine’s 12th anniversary, Southwest Plaza Mall, located less than two miles away from the site of the shooting, had a close call with an apparent bomb threat. The suspect placed explosives in an area of the mall usually closed to the public. A security guard caught it before it went off. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2011 23:19

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U.S.: A majority of Americans support same-sex marriage

  • YES polling indicates majority support for gay marriage
  • In 1988, 10% of Americans supported equal marriage rights. Now, after twenty-three years of rather intense political struggles, proponents of gay rights can plausibly claim a mandate. Polling over the last eight months strongly suggests that a majority of Americans—51% in the latest CNN poll—support same-sex marriage, and while public policy regrettably hasn’t caught up with public opinion yet, this is nonetheless a huge milestone for the gay rights movement, and civil rights as a whole. The aforementioned CNN poll was the fourth in eight months implying majority support.
  • 2009 two years ago, opponents of gay marriage outweighed supporters by 11%
  • 2012 in a year and a half, gay marriage advocates will outnumber opponents by 16% (if current trends continue)
  • 4% per-year increase in support for gay marriage since 2008; usually, it’s usually around 1-2% per year source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2011 21:39

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U.S.: Tyler Clementi’s roommate charged with hate crimes over suicide

  • The grand jury indictment spells out cold and calculated acts against our son Tyler by his former college roommate. If these facts are true, as they appear to be, then it is important for our criminal justice system to establish clear accountability under the law.
  • A statement from the family of Tyler Clementi • Regarding the charges against the Rutgers student’s former roommate, Dharun Ravi, whose decision to record Clementi on a webcam while with his boyfriend reportedly led to Clementi’s suicide. Ravi is being charged with 15 counts, and the case is being treated like a hate crime, which is a fascinating legal decision that could have long-term ramifications for the way cases like these are treated. By the way, Ravi’s friend Molly Wei, whose room Ravi watched the webcam video from, hasn’t been charged with Ravi, but her case remains open. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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