Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

24 Feb 2012 08:54

tags

U.S.: Marines killed in helicopter training at California’s Camp Pendleton

  • what Two military helicopters collided in midair Wednesday night. The collision, which happened during a routine training session along the Arizona-California border, killed seven U.S. Marines.
  • why The investigation is still on-going, so officials have not announced the cause of the collision. The crash occurred at night with a lot of dust in the air from the aircraft, limiting visibility. source

27 Dec 2011 21:23

tags

U.S.: Deadly helicopter crash kills surgeon, others picking up heart transplant

  • heroics On Monday morning, a Mayo Clinic surgeon and two others traveled by helicopter from Jacksonville to Gainesville, Fla. to pick up a heart transplant needed for surgery.
  • tragedy The helicopter crashed before reaching its destination; the aircraft’s three passengers — a surgeon, a procurement technician, and the pilot — all died. source
  • » View this as a call to action. No one is entirely sure why the helicopter went down, though it was overcast as the helicopter left Jacksonville. The crash itself is still being investigated for any outlying conditions, but the engine of the helicopter might have been the cause. “We’ve seen a number of instances where that engine simply failed,” said Kansas City aviation attorney Gary Robb. The heart readied for transplant is now no longer viable. In a country where 100,000 people are on transplant lists and only 35% of the population counts themselves as potential donors, one has to wonder if more potential donors could prevent traveling such long distances in the future.

08 Aug 2011 14:31

tags

U.S.: President Obama tries to reassure after credit rating downgrade

  • No matter what the agencies say, we will always be a AAA country.
  • President Barack Obama • Talking about the S&P’s downgrade of the United States in a speech today. He explained that they didn’t downgrade us because they didn’t believe that we would default on our debt, but because our politics get too much in the way — and because the threat of default was used as a bargaining chip. He also talked about our real challenge — long term deficit reduction. He stuck to his guns on policies like tax  cuts for the wealthy, and also said that we need to keep unemployment benefits around to keep our recovery going. However, just from this speech it’s clear that it isn’t going to be easy. It’s evident that despite the fact that Obama has good intentions, the politics simply aren’t going to change overnight. Obama also honored the troops that died in the helicopter crash over the weekend, which was well-deserved and moving. source