lunes, 31 de diciembre de 2012

Nine killed, more than 20 hurt in Oregon bus crash: state police

Teresa Carson Reuters 7:07 pm CST, December 30, 2012 PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Nine people were killed and at least 20 others injured on Sunday when a charter bus headed to Canada from Las Vegas skidded off an icy highway and crashed down an embankment in northeastern Oregon. The Oregon State Police said a preliminary investigation showed the charter bus, carrying about 40 people en route to Vancouver, British Columbia, "lost control on the snow/ice covered westbound lanes of Interstate 84" near Pendleton. The bus crashed through a guardrail and went down an embankment of around 200 feet. People trained in rope rescue were needed to bring victims back up to the highway, police said. State Police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said nine people had been confirmed killed in the crash. "We are continuing to try and confirm the total number of passengers and number of injured persons transported to area hospital or secondary locations due to severity of injuries." the state police said in a written statement. The bus driver survived the crash but investigators had not yet been interviewed because of the severity of his injuries, police said. St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton received 18 of the injured, said Larry Blanc, the hospital's director of communications. "About 10:30 this morning we got the call and declared a Code D, which means we bring in extra staff and supplies," he said, adding that D stands for "disaster." "There are various types of injuries. Some of the <b>...</b>
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Hillsborough Disaster Smear MP Dies (News Bite)

Former Conservative MP Sir Irvine Patnick who helped smear Liverpool fans after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has died aged 83, according to reports. Sir Irvine Patnick, who represented Sheffield Hallam between 1987 and 1997, was a source for a Sun story criticising the supporters' behaviour in the tragedy. He was knighted in 1994 but faced calls this year for him to be stripped of his title after he was heavily criticised in the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report on the stadium disaster. A statement, which the BBC said had been issued by his family, said: "Sir Irvine Patnick OBE, died peacefully on 30 December 2012, aged 83, in Sheffield. "He was a much loved husband of Lynda and father of Suzanne and Matthew. "He'll be sadly missed by his brothers and by all his family and friends." Sir Irvine questioned the behaviour of Liverpool fans in the Commons just two days after the tragedy. He was later named by the Hillsborough Independent Panel as one of the sources who briefed journalists that those involved were "drunk and aggressive" and forced entry into the football ground, contributing to the deadly crush. The panel found the origin of The Sun's story, along with negative coverage in other newspapers, was a Sheffield-based news agency, which had been briefed by officers from South Yorkshire Police, a local Police Federation spokesman and Sir Irvine. Their allegations were reported by White's News Agency and were based on meetings with police officers and <b>...</b>
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Hillary Clinton Hospitalized Due to Blood Clot Stemming from Concussion

Washington: US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was sent to the hospital on Sunday with a blood clot stemming from a concussion she suffered earlier this month and was being assessed by doctors, a state department spokesman said. "In the course of a follow-up exam today, secretary Clinton's doctors discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago," spokesman Philippe Reines said in a statement. "She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at New York-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours," Reines said, adding that doctors would continue to assess her condition. "They will determine if any further action is required," he said. US officials said on 15 December that Clinton, who earlier cancelled an overseas trip because of a stomach virus, suffered a concussion after fainting due to dehydration. They have since described her condition as improving and played down suggestions it was more serious. Clinton's illness forced her to cancel planned testimony to Congress on 20 December in connection with a report on the deadly attack on the US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, in September that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans and raised questions about security at far-flung posts.. Clinton, 65, has said she remains ready to testify and was expected to appear before congressional committees this month before she steps down, as planned, around the time of US <b>...</b>
From: L0VETV
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BREAKING NEWS: 5 Killed In Tour Bus Crash I-84

5 Killed in Oregon Tour Bus Crash on I-84 5 Killed in Oregon Tour Bus Crash on I-84 PENDLETON, Ore. — A tour bus careened through a guardrail along an icy Oregon highway and several hundred feet down a steep embankment Sunday, killing nine people and injuring more than 20 others, authorities said. The charter bus carrying about 40 people lost control around 10:30 am on snow- and ice-covered lanes of Interstate 84 in a rural area of eastern Oregon, according to the Oregon State Police. The bus crashed near the start of a 7-mile section of road that winds down a hill. The bus came to rest at the bottom of a snowy slope and landed upright, with little or no debris visible around the crash site. More than a dozen rescue workers descended the hill and used ropes to help retrieve people from the wreckage in freezing weather. The bus driver was among the survivors, but had not yet spoken to police because of the severity of the injuries the driver had suffered. Lt. Greg Hastings said the bus crashed along the west end of the Blue Mountains, and west of an area called Deadman Pass. The area is so dangerous the state transportation department published specific warnings for truck drivers, advising it had "some of the most changeable and severe weather conditions in the Northwest" and can lead to slick conditions and poor visibility. St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton treated 26 people from the accident, said hospital spokesman Larry Blanc. Five of those treated at St. Anthony were <b>...</b>
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Russian plane crash impact - Video Capture

Faulty brakes may be to blame for a Russian airliner sliding off the runway and crashing into a motorway, an investigator has said, as the death toll rose to five. "After landing the pilot uses all the available brake systems on the plane, but for some reason the machine did not stop," a member of the investigation team told Russia's Interfax news agency. "Most likely it was faulty reverse engines or brakes." Amateur footage captured the moment the Tu-204 plane smashed onto the road after it overshot a runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. The footage, taken from a vehicle on the motorway, shows luggage and other debris flying from the aircraft and hitting other cars on the road. Loud bangs can also be heard as the plane impacted with the ground and the cars were hit by the wreckage. Five people - the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two flight stewards - were killed in the crash and another three seriously injured The Red Wing Airlines aircraft burst through a perimeter fence on to the motorway at Russia's third busiest airport. Officials said the plane - travelling from the Czech Republic - was carrying eight crew members and no passengers. It broke into pieces and caught fire after crashing. The cockpit of the aircraft was sheared off from the fuselage and a large chunk gashed out near the tail during the impact. Investigators are examining flight recorders and other evidence to try to determine the cause of the accident. Prior to Saturday's crash, there had been no <b>...</b>
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Woman Charged With Hate Crime In NYC Subway Shoving Death

Woman Charged With Hate Crime In NYC Subway Shoving Death A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since Sept. 11 and thought he was one was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said. Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion. Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney. Menendez, who was arrested after a tip by a passer-by who saw her on a street and thought she looked like the woman in a surveillance video released by police, admitted shoving Sen, who was pushed from behind, authorities said. "I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office. Sen was from India, but police said it was unclear if he was Muslim, Hindu or of some other faith. The 46-year-old lived in Queens and ran a printing shop. He was shoved from an elevated platform on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens. Witnesses said a muttering woman <b>...</b>
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Hillsborough smear MP dies - ESPN

The former Conservative MP who played a role in smearing Liverpool fans after the Hillsborough disaster has died.

Sir Irvine Patnick was a key source for a 1989 story in the Sun newspaper which made false allegations about supporter behaviour on the day of the tragedy under the headline "The Truth".

The politician, who was MP for Sheffield Hallam between 1987 and 1997 and was knighted in 1994, died on Sunday aged 83.

There had been calls for him to be stripped of his knighthood when his role in the Sun's notorious coverage of the disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died, was highlighted by an independent report published in September.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel's findings cleared fans of any blame for the tragedy, which happened at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989, and revealed the extent to which the emergency services attempted to cover up their own culpability.

It also found that the source for the Sun's story was the Sheffield news agency Whites, which reported conversations with South Yorkshire Police and Patnick.

Following the release of the report, Patnick said he was "deeply and sincerely sorry" about his role in smearing Liverpool supporters. He said he had passed on police information that was "inaccurate, misleading and plain wrong".

A statement issued to the BBC by his family read: "Sir Irvine Patnick OBE, died peacefully on December 30, 2012, aged 83, in Sheffield. He was a much loved husband of Lynda and father of Suzanne and Matthew. He'll be sadly missed by his brothers and by all his family and friends."

Two investigations into police behaviour around the disaster have been launched since the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report. The original inquest verdicts of accidental death were quashed at the High Court on December 19, leading campaign groups to hope that fresh inquests will help bring to justice those responsible for the tragedy.

Shelia Coleman, of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said Patnick's death showed that the fresh investigations must take place as quickly as possible.

She told the Liverpool Echo: "Quite simply, Irvine Patnick's death serves as a timely reminder of why it's absolutely imperative that all enquiries into the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent cover-up take place as swiftly as possible.

"Otherwise, we are not going to be able to hold people responsible for their role in the scandal. It needs to be remembered that this man vilified Liverpool and was part of a lying machine which shamefully damaged the reputation of those fans.

"The purpose of his death should be to put increasing pressure on the authorities to ensure that investigations are not delayed any further so that people can be held accountable."

Walton MP Steve Rotheram agreed that Patnick's death showed that people must be brought to justice as quickly as possible.

"It is nearly 24 years since the disaster, and the families now won't be able to see some of the perpetrators face justice," he said. "Therefore it's really important that fresh inquests start work as swiftly as possible.

"I don't know if it's possible to have a knighthood revoked posthumously, but the sooner we can reach a conclusion the better for everyone involved."

According to the Cabinet Office, a person cannot be stripped of their knighthood posthumously, as the honour effectively ceases to exist when they die.

Man killed, 3 others wounded Sunday night - Chicago Tribune

Raw video of the crime scene shooting outside 6900 S. Western Avenue. (Posted: Dec 31, 2012/Peter Nickeas)

By Peter Nickeas Tribune reporter

5:45 a.m. CST, December 31, 2012

A man was killed and another young man shot in the head in separate South and Northwest side shootings about the same time Sunday night, authorities said.

The shooting death was the third gunshot wound homicide in Chicago since 11 a.m. Sunday -- one happened about 11:30 a.m. and the other about 5:10 p.m.

The man killed, 19-year-old Junior Estudillo, was shot about 10:10 p.m. near the intersection of School Street and Keeler Avenue in the Kilbourn Park neighborhood while he was in a car with two other people, police said.

Estudillo was pronounced dead about 12:15 a.m. at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. He was shot in the abdomen, police said.

The other two people in the car – a 19-year-old shot in the face and shoulder and a 25-year-old man shot in the back and buttocks – are still alive. A friend of the three drove them to Norwegian American Hospital and they were transferred to Stroger.

Someone walked up to the car and opened fire, police said, though it's not clear if the car was moving at the time of the attack.

About the same time in the Lithuanian Plaza neighborhood on the Southwest Side, an 18-year-old was shot in the temple while standing near a bus stop at 69th Street and Western Avenue.

He's in critical condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center, police said.  A westbound CTA bus driver making a left turn onto Western Avenue saw young men or boys running across the street and then saw the 18-year-old in the street.

"I really didn't see much. It looked like he was having a seizure," said Rosalind Brown, the bus driver, of the man shot. "The boy was laying in the middle of the street, right by the side of the bus stop."

It's not clear if police were able to get usable video from cameras on the bus. The boy was shot across the street from a police department blue-light camera, mounted atop a traffic light pole and just east of another one a bit west on 69th Street.

Police held the bus until about 11:35 p.m. An evidence technician showed up at the scene a short time after the bus left. A CTA supervisor lingered at the scene while the evidence technician took photos and looked for evidence.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

Nobel Scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini Dies in Rome - U.S. News & World Report

In this photo from April 18, 2009, Italian neurologist and senator for life Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Prize winner for Medicine in 1986, is seen at a press conference for her 100th birthday, in Rome.

In this photo from April 18, 2009, Italian neurologist and senator for life Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Prize winner for Medicine in 1986, is seen at a press conference for her 100th birthday, in Rome.

By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died at her home in Rome on Sunday. She was 103 and had worked well into her final years.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, announcing her death in a statement, called it a great loss "for all of humanity." He praised her as someone who represented "civic conscience, culture and the spirit of research of our time."

[PHOTOS: Nobel Prize Winners 2012]

Italy's so-called "Lady of the Cells," a Jew who lived through anti-Semitic discrimination and the Nazi invasion, became one of her country's leading scientists and shared the Nobel medicine prize in 1986 with American biochemist Stanley Cohen for their groundbreaking research carried out in the United States. Her research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.

Italy honored Levi-Montalcini in 2001 by making her a senator-for-life.

A petite woman with upswept white hair, she kept an intensive work schedule well into old age. "At 100, I have a mind that is superior — thanks to experience — than when I was 20," she said in 2009.

"A beacon of life is extinguished" with her death, said a niece, Piera Levi-Montalcini, who is a city councilwoman in Turin. She told the Turin daily newspaper La Stampa that her aunt passed away peacefully "as if sleeping" after lunch and that the scientist had kept up her research studies several hours a day "right up until the end."

Levi-Montalcini was born April 22, 1909, to a Jewish family in the northern city of Turin. At age 20 she overcame her father's objections that women should not study and obtained a degree in medicine and surgery from Turin University in 1936.

She studied under top anatomist Giuseppe Levi, whom she often credited for her own success and for that of two fellow students and close friends, Salvador Luria and Renato Dulbecco, who also became separate Nobel Prize winners. Levi and Levi-Montalcini were not related.

After graduating, Levi-Montalcini began working as a research assistant in neurobiology but lost her job in 1938 when Italy's Fascist regime passed laws barring Jews from universities and major professions.

Her family decided to stay in Italy and, as World War II neared, Levi-Montalcini created a makeshift lab in her bedroom where she began studying the development of chicken embryos, which would later lead to her major discovery of mechanisms that regulate growth of cells and organs.

With eggs becoming a rarity due to the war, the young scientist biked around the countryside to buy them from farmers. She was soon joined in her secret research by Levi, her university mentor, who was also Jewish and who became her assistant.

"She worked in primitive conditions," Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack told Sky TG24 TV in a tribute to her fellow scientist. "She is really someone to be admired."

[READ: EU's Nobel Prize Win: Deserved but Awkward]

Italy's premier, Mario Monti, paid tribute to Levi-Montalcini's "charismatic and tenacious" character and for her lifelong battle to "defend the battles in which she believed."

Only a few months ago, she helped sponsor an appeal to the government for more attention of fund-strapped young scientists in Italy.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi praised Levi-Montalcini's civil and moral efforts, saying she was an "inspiring" example for Italy and the world, the ANSA news agency said.

An Italian scientist, who worked for some 40 years with Levi-Montalcini, including in the United States, said the work the Nobel laureate did on nerve growth factor was continuing. The protein assists portions of the central nervous system that have been damaged by disease or injury.

9 killed in tour bus crash along Oregon highway - USA TODAY

The bus driver lost control on I-84, which was covered with snow and ice.

Taken down: The top terrorist threats killed or indicted in 2012 - CNN (blog)

By Wes Bruer, CNN

One of the most wanted terrorists in Yemen. A son of the Haqqani Network founder. A man whose capture was worth $5 million to the FBI: The United States and its allies took out some of these key terror leaders throughout 2012.

Take a look at those top leaders and more who were killed or indicted in the past year:

1. Abu Yahya al-Libi
Al-Libi was second in command of al Qaeda under Ayman al-Zawahiri and a senior leader of the terror group's external operations against the West. Al-Libi was also an Islamic scholar who appeared in many recruitment videos. The U.S. State Department offered a $1 million reward for his capture. He was killed on June 4 in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.

2. Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso
A senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative, al-Quso was wanted for his role in the USS Cole bombing in 2000, which killed 17 U.S. sailors. The U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for his capture. Al-Quso was killed on May 6 in a U.S. drone strike in Shabwa province, Yemen.

3. Badr Mansoor
Described as the most senior Pakistani in al Qaeda, Mansoor was the predecessor of Ilyas Kashmiri and one of the Americans' main targets. U.S. officials said he was a coordinator for the Taliban and al Qaeda's shura council. Reports say Mansoor was killed on February 9 in a U.S. missile strike in Miranshah, Pakistan.

4. Badruddin Haqqani
Haqqani was a commander in the Taliban-aligned Haqqani Network and son of the group's founder. He was responsible for many high profile attacks in Afghanistan including assaults on the U.S. Embassy and Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in 2011. The U.S. State Department had designated him a terrorist under an executive order. Haqqani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan, in August 2012.

5. Abu Usman Adil
Adil was emir of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU - an ally of al Qaeda and the Taliban - and raised the terror group's profile in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The IMU has claimed credit for numerous suicide attacks in Afghanistan since Adil became the leader. The IMU announced Adil was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in April.

6. Sakhr al-Taifi
Al-Taifi was the second highest al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan. The Saudi national commanded foreign insurgents and directed attacks against coalition forces. He frequently traveled between Pakistan and Afghanistan to carry out orders from al Qaeda senior leaders. Al-Taifi was killed on May 27 in a joint Afghan and coalition security operation in Kunar province, Afghanistan.

7. Zulkifli bin Hir
Zulkifli bin Hir was a member of the central command of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al Qaeda aligned terror group based in Southeast Asia. Bin Hir was also believed to have trained members of the terror group Abu Sayyaf in bomb-making. He was on the FBI's most wanted list and offered a $5 million reward for his capture. Bin Hir was killed on February 2 in a Philippine airstrike in Sulu province, Philippines.

8. Aslam Awan
A senior al Qaeda external operations planner, Awan plotted attacks against the West. Although not well known to the public, he had been tracked by the intelligence community for some time. Awan was killed on January 10 in a U.S. drone strike in Miranshah, Pakistan.

9. Adis Medunjanin
Medunjanin was an al Qaeda operative tasked by senior external operations leaders in Pakistan to blow up the New York subway. The Bosnian national was a co-conspirator with terror suspect Najibullah Zazi and was just days away from carrying out his plot before authorities stopped it. Medunjanin was charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, among other charges, and was sentenced to life in prison on November 16.

10. Sheikh Khalid bin Abdel Rehman
A senior leader and prominent religious figure in al Qaeda. The Kuwaiti national is believed to have been the successor of Abu Yahya al Libi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in June earlier this year. Rehman was killed on December 6 in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan.

Russia Air Crash - Faulty Brakes Likely Cause

Faulty brakes may be to blame for a Russian airliner sliding off the runway and crashing into a motorway, an investigator has said, as the death toll rose to five. "After landing the pilot uses all the available brake systems on the plane, but for some reason the machine did not stop," a member of the investigation team told Russia's Interfax news agency. "Most likely it was faulty reverse engines or brakes." Amateur footage captured the moment the Tu-204 plane smashed onto the road after it overshot a runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. The footage, taken from a vehicle on the motorway, shows luggage and other debris flying from the aircraft and hitting other cars on the road. Loud bangs can also be heard as the plane impacted with the ground and the cars were hit by the wreckage. Five people - the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two flight stewards - were killed in the crash and another three seriously injured The Red Wing Airlines aircraft burst through a perimeter fence on to the motorway at Russia's third busiest airport. Officials said the plane - travelling from the Czech Republic - was carrying eight crew members and no passengers. It broke into pieces and caught fire after crashing. The cockpit of the aircraft was sheared off from the fuselage and a large chunk gashed out near the tail during the impact. Investigators are examining flight recorders and other evidence to try to determine the cause of the accident. Prior to Saturday's crash, there had been no <b>...</b>
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Russian Plane Crash RAW VIDEO Of Moment Of Impact Red Wing Airlines Tu-204 KILLS 4

Russia Plane Crash: Video Of Moment Of Impact Dramatic amateur footage emerges of the moment a plane overshot the runway and careered across a motorway, killing four people. Video footage shows the moment a passenger aircraft crashed into a motorway in Russia after it overshot the runway. The footage, captured from a vehicle on the motorway, shows luggage and other debris flying from the aircraft and hitting other cars on the road as the plane smashed into the ground. Louds bangs can also be heard as the plane impacted with the ground and the cars were hit by the wreckage. Four people - the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and a flight steward - were killed in the crash and another four seriously injured after the aircraft overshot a runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. The Red Wing Airlines aircraft burst through a perimeter fence on to the motorway at Russia's third busiest airport. Officials said the Tu-204 plane - travelling from the Czech Republic - was carrying eight crew members and no passengers. It broke into pieces and caught fire after crashing. Russia Plane Crash The passenger plane was sheared in two The cockpit of the aircraft was sheared off from the fuselage and a large chunk gashed out near the tail during the impact. Witnesses told state channel Rossiya-24 they saw a man thrown from the plane as it rammed into the barrier of the motorway and described pulling other people from the wreckage. The airport was closed after the crash and flights were routed to <b>...</b>
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