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27 Dec 2011 21:23

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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.

14 Jun 2011 16:01

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Politics: Chris Christie on his use of a state helicopter to attend son’s game

  • I’m not admitting it was wrong. What I’m saying is that, if the public perceives for a moment that I’m using that for a perk of office, I want to take that away from them right away. But I would not make a different decision if I had to do it again because it was important for me as a father to be there for my son.
  • New Jersey Governor Chris Christie • Speaking with Piers Morgan, in an interview to be aired tonight. Morgan asked Christie about his decision to use a state helicopter to attend his son’s basketball game. Christie replied that it’s important to him to be there for his son, which is a quality that speaks well for Christie’s character as a family man. It is, however, a strictly personal motivation to fly to watch his son play. It has no value whatsoever to the people, and it’s undeniably what he’s concerned some might view it as, a perk of his office. He also makes it clear that his decision to pick up the tab on the flight was not about a standard of ethics, just image management. Which, even though this story isn’t that major, is an odd thing to admit on national television. Maybe that speaks well for Christie, too — this seems like a pretty honest answer, if not a politically tactful one. source

02 Jun 2011 20:07

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Politics: Chris Christie’s controversial chopper convoy costs Christie cash

  • $2,151.50 the out-of-pocket cost the New Jersey governor will pay for his helicopter flight to his son’s high school baseball game … which kinda looks sort of wrong
  • $1,232.29 the amount the state Republican party will pay for the leg of the journey from the game to a donor event, where Iowans tried to get him to run for president source
  • » But he says he doesn’t use it much! Since the governor took office in 2010, he says he’s only used the chopper 33 times — a level he describes as the “most judicious” of any recent governor. He was trying to also prevent state troopers from speeding down the highway. We have a suggestion for you, Chris Christie: You have three things on your schedule you need to be at. Instead of trying to cram so much in, pick two.

03 Sep 2010 20:18

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Music: Deerhunter’s new video, “Helicopter,” totally effing brings it

  • In front of a backbeat that we can best describe as “underwater reggae,” Deerhunter’s new song, “Helicopter,” doesn’t blaze like the band’s most well-known hits (“Strange Lights,” “Never Stops,” “Nothing Ever Happened”), but if nothing else seems to suggest that the band might have yet another artistic breakthrough in them. It’s them and Animal Collective at the top of the indie game, and based on this, they deserve it.

20 Jun 2010 20:48

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U.S.: Holy crap: Officials shoot and kill fugitive bear from helicopter

This bear attacked an old guy at Yellowstone, so authorities took to a helicopter and shot it to death. It was the first bear mauling around the park in 25 years. source

19 Feb 2010 10:25

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U.S.: Stranded National Guard helicopter: No deaths but a tough rescue

  • 13 of 17 passengers rescued from a remote part of West Virginia source

27 Oct 2009 23:16

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Offbeat: Sketching by helicopter: Well, that’s one way to remember New York

London-based artist Stephen Wiltshire went up over New York by helicopter, memorized it, and then started sketching it. That’s a lot of pencil scratching. source
 

17 Oct 2009 17:55

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World: In Rio de Janeiro, gangs shoot down police helicopters. (Holy crap!)

  • Dang it, Associated Press. This is simply too crazy to not post. We’re going to feel guilty about breaking the boycott for this article, but this is some Ikari Warriors action going on in Rio de Janeiro. So, Chicago’s looking a lot better now in 2016, eh, International Olympic Committee? (Oh wait, we forgot how crazy this was.)source

03 Sep 2009 10:00

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World: One of India’s most powerful politicians dies in helicopter crash

  • Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy never lost an election. After going missing Wednesday morning, the Indian president was found with the wreckage of his helicopter this morning. Four other people also died in the crash, which happened in a remote, hilly area. Reddy was a popular politician who had recently been re-elected chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh region. source

09 Aug 2009 11:19

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U.S.: Fox News rubs a huge scoop in its competition’s face

Fox got photos from someone who was supposed to be on the NYC copter that killed nine when it slammed into a plane. Papers not owned by Rupert got sloppy seconds. source