Monday, June 12, 2006

Today in Reno, Nevada a judge has been shot in a courthouse while he stood near a third floor window. The police and a SWAT team have been searching the nearby parking garages for the shooter. Judge Chuck Weller was hit in the chest with the bullet at the Mills B. Lane Justice Center around 11:15 a.m. PDT.

He was rushed to the Washoe medical center said police spokesperson Steve Frady. Police have closed off many blocks in the downtown casino district around the courthouse to look for the shooter.

The police have found one suspect. His name is Darren Roy Mack.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The United States’s largest car manufacturer General Motors today named Mary Barra as its new chief executive.

Barra, 51, will be the first woman to lead a firm in the American auto industry. She has been with General Motors for 33 years, and is currently the global head of product development.

She said in a statement: “With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today’s GM. I’m honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed.”

She replaces Daniel Akerson, who was appointed by the government as both chief executive and chairman in 2009 during the company’s bankruptcy. Akerson plans to stand down on January 15 following his wife’s advanced cancer diagnosis.

In a message to employees, he said: “I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America’s standard bearer in the global auto industry.”

Akerson will also relinquish his chairman role, to be replaced by current director Theodore Solso. The company also announced head of finance Daniel Ammann as its new president.

The appointment comes just days after the US government sold the last of its shares in the company, losing around $9 billion on its initial bailout in 2008 that saw 61% of the firm coming under public ownership.

General Motors recovered from their bankruptcy a year after the appointment of Akerson, and re-entered the stock market in November 2010. It remains the largest car manufacturer in the United States, posting sales figures of $152 billion in 2012. It currently produces fifteen brands of vehicle in 37 countries.

Barra holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, and was recently listed by Forbes as the 35th most powerful woman in the world.

Published:Wednesday, September 7, 2005Updated:Saturday, September 10, 2005 (Travolta, Preston, Moore, Stones, Three Doors Down, Johnson, Smith)

After Hurricane Katrina passed across the United States, various artists and media stars have leapt at a call to action.

John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston flew his private plane to deliver a load of supplies and tetanus vaccine to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Part of a Scientology project which has been using their non-massage “assists”, in an interview Preston mentioned that “auditing” had also been performed on victims.

Kevin Smith is holding an online auction on his Web site.

Sean Penn actually went to Louisiana. After loading down a small boat with his entourage, it was discovered one of them had neglected to seal a hole in the bottom. Penn was wearing a white vest rather than a life vest while bailing. After the motor wouldn’t start, the crew paddled down a flooded New Orleans street. Bystanders jeered at whether any victims could fit aboard the crowded craft. No report on rescue stunts. Local authorities had previously been criticized for not allowing volunteer boaters in to help.

Morgan Freeman, whose home fared well, is organizing an online auction of celebrity items at charityfolks.com, to benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Curt Schilling opened his home to a family of nine driven out of their New Orleans home. The Schilling family will provide housing for the Fields for a year while their home in New Orleans is rebuilt and repaired.

Some celebrities “graced” disaster zones with their presence in the days following Katrina.

Singer Macy Gray and television personality Phil McGraw visited Houston’s Astrodome.

Celebrities visiting New Orleans include Michael Moore (opposite side of lake), singer Harry Connick, Jr., CNN’s Anderson Cooper, actor Jamie Foxx, singer Faith Hill, actor Matthew McConaughey, singer Lisa Marie Presley, comedian Chris Rock, and The Oprah Winfrey Show contributor Lisa Ling and interior decorator Nate Berkus.

Oprah Winfrey visited New Orleans, Houston, and Mississippi.

Monday, November 26, 2007

In the 18 months since Andrea Muizelaar was crowned winner of the reality TV series Canada’s Next Top Model, her life has been a complete whirlwind. From working in a dollar store in her hometown of Whitby, Ontario, to modeling haute couture in Toronto, she had reached her dream of becoming a true Top Model.

But at what cost? Unknown to casual television viewers, Muizelaar had been enveloped in the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which inevitably became too much for her to bear. She gave up modeling and moved back to Whitby, where she sought treatment for her disorder, re-entered college, and now works at a bank. Where is she now? Happy and healthy, she says.

Recently Andrea Muizelaar sat down with Wikinews reporter Mike Halterman in a candid interview that stretched to nearly two hours, as she told all about her hopes and aspirations, her battle with anorexia, and just what really happened on Canada’s Next Top Model.

Saturday, September 2, 2006

Former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, 78, has been moved out of the intensive care unit at Sheba Medical Center after his condition “improved.”

“[There has been] noticeable improvement in his kidney function and the pneumonia in his lungs,” said David Weinberg, a spokesman for the medical center.

Sharon’s condition is still being called “serious” and he is still being held in the care department for respiratory functions.

Sharon suffered a major stroke in January and has been in a coma since then. On August 14, Sharon was admitted to ICU when he developed pneumonia.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Fannie Mae, a housing mortgage lender, has forgiven the mortgage debt of Addie Polk, a 90-year-old woman from Akron, Ohio who attempted to kill herself when she was being evicted from her home on Wednesday.

Polk had lived in her home since 1970, and refinanced her mortgage numerous times since 1997 when she first got a loan taken out against her home. When authorities tried to evict her, she shot herself once in the chest. Fannie Mae took over Polk’s home in 2007 after the loan company filed for foreclosure. One report from Reuters states that authorities tried to evict Polk more than 30 other times in the past.

“Just given the circumstances, we think it’s appropriate,” said Brian Faith, a spokesman for Fannie Mae who also said that the incident was almost immediately “on [their] radar screen”.

Polk is currently undergoing treatment at Akron General Medical Center and is expected to make a full recovery. She can return to her home as soon as she recovers from her injuries.

Polk was recognized on Friday when Dennis Kucinich, who is a democratic representative for Ohio, spoke of her incident during debates on a 700 billion USD bailout bill that the United States House of Representatives passed on Friday. He states that the bill does not focus on people in situations like Polk.

“This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world. This bill fails to address the fact that millions of homeowners are facing foreclosure, are facing the loss of their home. This bill will take care of Wall Street, and the market may go up for a few days, but democracy is going downhill,” said Kucinich on Friday.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a drug-resistant strain of bacteria, killed nearly 19,000 Americans in 2005 alone, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That is more people than were killed by AIDS in the United States. More than 94,000 Americans were afflicted with MRSA infections in 2005.

Although the supergerm, or superbug, is primarily found in hospitals, a growing number of cases have been contracted at public gyms and schools. In Moneta, Virginia, a high school senior died from an infection that spread to his kidney, liver, lungs and heart. In Bedford County, where Moneta is located, school officials have reported five cases of the Methicillin-resistant strain of the Staph bacteria. County officials closed the schools to clean them.

“Certainly, MRSA now has to be viewed as a very important target for prevention and control,” said Dr. David A. Talan, an infectious diseases specialist at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

A Pembroke Pines, Florida teenager killed himself Wednesday, November 19, while broadcasting on the live video site Justin.tv. After making suicide threats and being encouraged by Justin.tv viewers and Bodybuilding.com forum members, Abraham K. Biggs, 19, committed suicide by taking an overdose of opiates and benzodiazepine, which had been prescribed for his bipolar disorder.

Biggs first began blogging about his planned suicide 12 hours before the actual event. He died after taking pills and lying on the bed in front of the webcam. After the broadcast, viewers who apparently thought it was a hoax posted messages such as “OMG”, “LOL”, and “hahahah”.

Hours later, after being alerted by viewers who had noticed that Biggs had stopped breathing, law enforcement and paramedics arrived, discovered his body, and covered the camera. The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office has reportedly confirmed Biggs’ death.

According to Montana Miller of the Bowling Green State University, the circumstances of this case were not shocking: “If it’s not recorded or documented, then it doesn’t even seem worthwhile. For today’s generation it might seem, ‘What’s the point of doing it if everyone isn’t going to see it?'”

Biggs’ sister Rosalind was angry that neither the website nor its viewers reacted soon enough to save him. “They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours,” she said. She described him as “very happy” and “friendly and outgoing.” “On a normal day, you couldn’t really tell that he got as low as he did.” However, he did have relationship problems with his girlfriend, according to a friend.

Mental health professionals have warned about the possibility that other mentally troubled people would copy his actions. According to Dr. David Shaffer of Columbia University, “Any video showing it as heroic or romantic or glamorous could reduce the anxiety people might feel about suicide. It becomes a respectable behavior and lowers the threshold of suicide.” He and other psychiatrists recommend that potentially suicidal teens talk to others and “tell what’s going on.”

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Yesterday at 6:00 UTC at 60° S 78° E , a Japanese whaling ship detained two Sea Shepherd Conservation Society activists in the Southern Ocean. Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research (IRC) deny Sea Shepherd claims that they have been abused. The Japanese government has assured the Australian Government the release of the men.

According to the conservation agency Sea Shepherd, Australian Benjamin Potts, 28, a helicopter assistant, and Briton Giles Lane, an engine room worker, were detained on board a Yushin Maru No. 2 after delivering a letter asking the ship to exit Antarctic waters .

Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd’s vessel, Steve Irwin, said that the Japanese “tried to throw them overboard, then they tied them to a bulkhead and were beating them”.

He alleged that the men were tied to the radar masts before being brought below deck after which the men were not seen. Sea Shepherd’s international director, Jonny Vasic, claimed that they were “basically strapped by the arms with zip-ties and tied with rope around their chests” for 2½ to three hours.

The captain said he was surprised as he expected Japanese whale ships to treated his men more decently.

“We are concerned but I know the Australian and British governments are in touch with the Japanese government.”

Sea Shepherd said it has photographic evidence that the whalers were abusing the men.

However, the Japanese ship refuted the allegations.

“Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue,” Director-general of the IRC Minoru Morimoto said in the press release, “It is illegal to board another country’s vessels on the high seas.”

Detaining the activists was the “only way”, he said. “You couldn’t have them running around the deck not knowing what they’re going to do.”

He said that the activists were making attempts to entangle the screw and were throwing bottles of butyric acid, as rancid butter, onto the deck of the vessel before boarding the vessel. Mr Watson has confirmed this and said that they were to act as a stink bomb but their actions were still peaceful.

Hideki Moronuki, the chief of the whaling section of The Fisheries Agency of Japan, claimed that “nobody took violent action against the two illegal intruders”.

Mr. Moronuki said that they were treated “very, very humanely” and were provided with “a warm, delicious hot meal”, “[a] warm, nice bath” and “[a] nice bed with clean white sheets”.

Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith said that the Japanese government promised him the release of the men late yesterday night.

“Late last night I was advised the Japanese had agreed to this and they had instructed the relevant whaling ship to return the men to the Steve Irwin,” he told ABC radio.

Mr. Moronuki said the “two illegal intruders” will not be released by the vessel’s captain until “Paul Watson has accepted the conditions of the safety of the Japanese vessel”. He said he knew nothing of the comments that the Japanese government agreeing to release the men.

Mr. Watson said the Japanese were “[holding] hostages and make demands” and were acting like “a terrorist organisation”. A press release said Sea Shepherd “will not negotiate with poachers and demands that the Japanese whalers release Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane as soon as possible”.

Mr. Watson said he would not send a zodiac to collect the men as requested in an email because it “endangers the life of the crew, to put them out in these waters in a small boat, 10 miles out of view”.

On Sky TV, IRC spokesman Glenn Inwood said Sea Shepherd were “not answering phone calls or emails at this stage” to take advantage of “fair amount of media coverage” but they were “still making attempts to contact them”.

An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said that Sea Shepherd made a police report at around 7:00 UTC.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Officials from France and Germany have warned people against using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, citing security holes, and encouraged users to find an alternate browser to surf the Internet.

The government agency Certa, which oversees cyber attacks and security, warned against using all versions of Internet Explorer. Officials from Germany had warned last Friday against the browser when malicious code was published on the Internet.

“Pending a patch from the publisher, Certa recommends using an alternative browser,” Certa said in a statement.

Graham Cluley, from the security firm Sophos, said that the weakness had only been exploited in IE6, but he noted that “Microsoft themselves admit there is a vulnerability, even in IE8.” He noted that, since more information into the malicious code is now available on the internet, hackers could alter the code to make it affect other versions of the browser.

The head of Microsoft’s security and privacy department, however, commented that “the risk is minimal. There are very few of them out there,” adding that in order for a computer to be infected by a virus, it would have to be running IE6 and be on a compromised website. “If you look at other browsers, it’s likely they will have other vulnerabilities,” he said to the BBC. “We feel strongly that IE8 is most secure browser on the market.”

Microsoft encouraged users to upgrade to IE8, which they described as the “most secure browser on the market”.

The firm is working on a patch to fix the problem, however, a spokesman said there wasn’t any specific timeframe for its release.