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10 Oct 2011 22:38

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U.S.: Man jumps to death near “Occupy San Diego” protest

  • The Occupy movement’s first casualty? While authorities aren’t entirely sure whether or not the death — a 42-year-old man who jumped eight stories off a parking structure near the protest site — was directly related to the protests, the death nonetheless cast a bit of a pall on the still-young protest, which has drawn a crowd of hundreds in San Diego. The man had flyers in his pockets (officials haven’t released details on what was said on the flyers), but it was unclear whether they were directly related to the Occupy protest happening nearby, or whether his death was a suicide. Nonetheless, organizers said there would be a moment of silence on Monday in honor of the man. source

18 Jul 2011 11:25

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U.S.: Drug executive’s mansion home to two separate, bizarre deaths

  • weird A few weeks back, Rebecca Nalepa, the girlfriend of drug company executive Jonah Shacknai was found killed at the man’s 27-room mansion in strange circumstances that authorities suspect may be suicide.
  • weirder Now Shacknai’s son, six-year-old Max, has died from a fall suffered at the mansion two days before Nepala’s death. Officials have not tied the two incidents, but two strange deaths in one mansion is nonetheless bizarre. source

28 Apr 2011 14:42

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U.S.: Catastrophic storms, tornados wreak a historic toll

  • The carnage in context: Obviously, it’s tough to quantify the costs in property damage, land damage, and the hideous trauma that has been thrust upon so many, and in the case of the trauma it’ll probably never be. That said, in terms of the most irreversible damage done, lives lost, we at least know this much — this was a big one by America’s standards. With the death-toll grimly ticking upwards as hours roll by, this will be at least the 7th largest loss of life by storm in American history, and that could easily change in the following days. Our thoughts are with them. (photo by Dusty Compton, from the Tuscaloosa News’ photo gallery) source

29 Aug 2010 11:27

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Tech: YouTube marks Hurricane Katrina’s fifth anniversary perfectly

  • Today is the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. Many sites have been covering this anniversary of the tragedy in their own ways, but our favorite thus far is YouTube’s treatment of the disaster. This is the first major event that happened on their watch, and the videos here reflect a tragedy that is very much of this generation. It even created a poorly-timed meme. Great job putting this together, guys. source

24 Jul 2010 13:52

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24 Jul 2010 13:41

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Music, World: Love Parade tragedy: Mass panic blamed for festival stampede

Apparently something spooked the crowd of German techno fans, leading to the mass stampede. The festival appears to not be going on anymore. source

04 Jul 2010 22:50

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U.S.: Yikes: A bunch of horses freak out, trample an Iowa crowd

  • 23 people were injured, and one killed, at an Iowa parade source
 

11 Jun 2010 10:05

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World: No stranger to tragedy: Nelson Mandela’s family hardships

  • 1st His first child, Thembikele, died in a car crash in 1969.
  • 2nd His second child, Thembikele, lived only nine months.
  • 3rd His third child, Makgatho, died of an AIDS-related illness.
  • 4th His marriage to Winnie Mandela ended in 1996 after 38 years. source

24 May 2010 10:11

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24 May 2010 10:04

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Culture: Brittany Murphy’s husband suffers a fate similar to his wife’s

  • december Actress Brittany Murphy was found dead of reasons later discovered to include drug intoxication.
  • may Her husband, director Simon Monjack, was found dead last night in the same house. Yikes. source