Wednesday, May 18, 2005File:Bush Embassy photo.jpg

On May 10 while visiting Georgia’s capital Tbilisi a live hand grenade landed within 100 feet of United States President George W. Bush.

The grenade was wrapped in a dark plaid cloth handkerchief. According to Brian Paarmann, the FBI’s legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, it was “tossed in the general direction of the main stage” about 1:30 p.m., right after Bush began speaking, and landed less than 100 feet from the podium. The grenade reportedly bounced off a child’s cap and then was removed by a Georgian security officer.

The White House initially stated that the president was in no real danger, however the event has lead to a review of security measures at presidential events.

An FBI official at the U.S. embassy in Georgia confirms that an explosive device was thrown, but due to a malfunction it failed to detonate. “This hand grenade appears to be a live device that simply failed to function due to a light strike on the blasting cap induced by a slow deployment of the spoon activation device,” the FBI stated.

The FBI is still investigating the incident. According to their report the device failed to explode because of a malfunction. “The activation device deployed too slowly to hit the blasting cap hard enough,” agent Bryan Paarmann said. A 20,000 laris (US$10,978) reward is offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.

The grenade was a knock-off of a Soviet-designed RGD-5, which has a lethal range of about 100 feet. “We consider this act to be a threat against the health and welfare of both the president of the United States and the president of Georgia as well as the multitude of Georgian people that had turned out at this event,” Paarmann said. It had initially been believed to be a non-explosive model used for military training.

Monday, August 16, 2010

US president Barack Obama has endorsed permitting a mosque to be built a few blocks away from the site where Al Qaeda terrorists intentionally crashed two planes into the World Trade Center towers in 2001, otherwise known as ‘Ground Zero’. The site is located in New York City.

Obama, who stated his endorsement at an annual dinner celebrating the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, said, “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.”

Reaction to the presidential endorsement was mixed. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of building the Cordoba House Islamic Center, has said that Obama’s comments were a “clarion defense of the freedom of religion.” However, many Republicans were angry, including US Representative Peter King, Republican-New York, who said that “President Obama is wrong.” Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer stated that “the governor of New York offered to help find land to build the mosque elsewhere. A mosque really seeking to build bridges … would accept the offer.” Other right-wing politicians, including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, have opposed the mosque, calling the World Trade Center site “hallowed ground.”

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Women’s rights advocate and Georgetown University Law Center graduate Sandra Fluke announced her candidacy yesterday to run for the California State Senate.

The Democrat previously stated she would run for a seat in the United States Congress being vacated by retiring Congressman Henry Waxman. She informed the Los Angeles Times that she decided to run for the California State Senate instead of the U.S. Congress because she felt she would be able to accomplish more for the people of California as a state Senator.

She will attempt to gain election to the seat currently occupied by Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, California. Lieu is currently in the beginning of his own campaign for Congressman Waxman’s seat representing California’s 33rd congressional district.

In a release to the press, Fluke said: “I am extremely moved by the outpouring of local and national support I have received since I announced that I was considering running for office. My entire career has been devoted to the public interest, whether representing victims of human trafficking or advocating for working families.”

She described her intentions for the California legislature: “I am committed to continuing that fight in Sacramento, working to protect our environment, ensure our access to health care, and create the jobs that are desperately needed. While I strongly considered offering my candidacy for Congress, I feel there is a better way for me to advance the causes that are important to our community.”

Fluke characterized herself as a new voice for progressivism: “I believe that the families and communities of this district — from West Hollywood to West L.A. and from Santa Monica to Torrance and beyond — deserve to have a fresh perspective from a new generation of progressive leadership in Sacramento, and I am eager to get to work fighting for the causes that matter most to our future as a community, state and nation.”

After graduating from law school, Fluke moved to Los Angeles where she used her skills as a lawyer to help improve conditions for individuals related to improving the living wage and advocating for better foster care for children.

Fluke was nominated as a candidate by Time magazine for their Person of the Year of 2012. Time concluded Fluke helped give U.S. President Barack Obama an edge in his 2012 presidential re-election campaign.

Fluke was a featured speaker on September 5, 2012 at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fluke spoke to attendees at the convention about the consequences for women of electing Republican candidate for U.S. President Mitt Romney over incumbent President Barack Obama. Fluke campaigned with President Obama in his bid for re-election.

She was recognized April 22, 2012 with the Stand Up for Choice Award. Fluke was given the Stand Up for Choice Award at the “Third Annual Multi-Generational Brunch” of the organization NARAL Pro-Choice America which was held in New York City (NYC), New York in the United States.

Fluke received a nomination in March 2012 as a candidate for Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. The list is released annually as a special edition of Time magazine, titled Time 100.

She gave testimony to the US Congress on February 23, 2012 before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee at a hearing about women’s health and contraception. She also worked for Sanctuary for Families in NYC which worked to crack down on human trafficking and domestic violence.

Friday, February 19, 2021

A series of winter blasts have struck the US state of Texas in recent days, leaving at least ten people dead in the aftermath. On Wednesday, the second wave of the storms impacted utilities and water systems, with cities asking citizens to conserve water usage. Reports early Wednesday indicated more than two and a half million homes and businesses were without power. Texas is the only one of the 48 contiguous US states with its own separate power grid.

One media source indicated carbon monoxide poisoning killed a mother and her child in the city of Houston. A house fire killed a woman and three children in the city of Sugar Land. The storm has impacted shipments of COVID-19 vaccine, according to at least one report. Citizens were asked to conserve usage of electricity where possible. Reports from the city of Tyler indicate roads were nearly impassible on Monday and Tuesday due to ice and snow.

Earlier in the month, winter conditions contributed to a massive vehicle pile up in the city of Fort Worth, taking the lives of at least five people. Some victims were trapped in their vehicles for hours, awaiting rescue. During a press briefing, an emergency services official said this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Monday, March 1, 2021

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Saturday, October 6, 2007

Torbjorn Zetterlund is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Willowdale riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Kenyan government has dismissed 25,000 striking health workers, mostly nurses, citing failure to heed government orders to recommence work and concern for the welfare of hospital patients. Speaking on behalf of the government, Alfred Mutua stated the workers were dismissed “illegally striking” and “[defying] the directive … to report back to work”, which he called “unethical”. The government asks that “[a]ll qualified health professionals, who are unemployed and/or retired have been advised to report to their nearest health facility for interviews and deployment”, Mutua stated.

The workers, who had been on strike for four days, were wishing to have improvements made to their wages, working conditions, and allowances. The strikes have caused a significant number of Kenyan hospitals to cease operations. According to Kenya Health Professionals Society spokesperson Alex Orina, the average monthly wage plus allowances for health workers in Kenya is KSh25,000 (£193, US$302 or €230) approximately. With an increasing number of reports of patients neglected in hospitals emerging, two trade unions met with the Kenyan government yesterday and negotitated a return to work, although a significant proportion of demonstrators defied the agreement, The Guardian reported.

Orina told Reuters the dismissals were “cat-and-mouse games, you cannot sack an entire workforce. It is a ploy to get us to rush back to work, but our strike continues until our demands are met”. Frederick Omiah, a member of the same society, believed the government’s actions would “make an already delicate and volatile situation worse”, expressing concern that demonstrations may continue in the capital Nairobi, amongst other locations. Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union chairperson Dr. Victor Ng’ani described government actions as “reckless”.

Mutua said the health workers were “no longer employees of the government” and had been eliminated from the payroll. While Ng’ani told the BBC of difficulties with finding other workers as skilled and experienced, Mutua reportedly stated that this would not be an issue. “We have over 100,000 to 200,000 health professionals looking for work today,” Mutua commented. “There will be a lag of a day or two … but it is better than letting people die on the floor, at the gate, or suffer in pain”.