Wednesday, January 4, 2006

NORMAN, Okla. – National Weather Service officials are warning of continued fire dangers throughout Oklahoma and Texas due to serious drought conditions.

More than 220 homes and businesses have been destroyed by fire in Oklahoma since Nov. 1, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Wildfires in 29 of the state’s 77 counties have claimed more than 360,000 acres. Meanwhile, officials in Texas say 238 homes and 254,555 acres have been lost to wildfires in that state since Dec. 26.

Unseasonably warm weather and wind gusts of up to 40 mph have combined to make an already dangerous situation worse across the Southern Plains, which also include parts of Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico, said Jason Levit of the National Storm Prediction Center in Norman.

“The region also continues to remain in a severe to extreme drought situation,” Levit said. “Dry surface vegetation will continue to serve as an excellent fuel for any fires that develop.”

Some dry areas, such as the Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes, may soon see some much-needed rain. Levit says the already fire-ravaged Southern Plains will have no such luck, however, and people should be aware of the severe danger that will continue to threaten the region.

In Oklahoma, state authorities and the National Guard have established a command post in Shawnee, about 40 miles east of Oklahoma City, where they have been joined by officials from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Weather Service.

The state was granted access to relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Dec. 28, said Gov. Brad Henry. The Governor requested fire management grants to help cover expenses related to the wildfires that began the previous day. FEMA’s approval means funds are now available to local governments and volunteer fire departments that responded to the blazes in Hughes and Seminole counties. Requests involving nine other counties were approved in the days that followed.

Fires hit the northeastern part of Oklahoma City, the state’s capital and largest city, on Sunday. Fires were said to have destroyed 20 homes over the weekend.

A National Guard helicopter and firefighters from North Carolina were sent to battle a blaze near the town of Davis, in south-central Oklahoma, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the BIA sent two airplanes to help fight a fire near Eufaula, in eastern Oklahoma. Three other BIA aircraft aided crews fighting fires near Wewoka, in central Oklahoma, and additional fires were reported near Knowles, Oklahoma City, Ponca City and Tishmingo.

Authorities said additional National Guard helicopters and Forest Service planes are available to battle other fires as they break out.In addition to teams from North Carolina, other firefighters from Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee have arrived and are being stationed throughout the state.

The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office said one man has died from injuries sustained from recent wildfires. A 68-year-old Hughes County man died Dec. 28 from thermal burns and smoke inhalation. The death is in addition to that of a 68-year-old Carter County woman who died last month while trying to use a garden hose to save her home from being consumed by flames.

The governor’s office said the state continues to await word on a request for a federal disaster declaration made Friday. A disaster declaration by President George W. Bush would qualify Oklahoma for federal funds to place firefighters ahead of where blazes are burning, and would provide temporary housing assistance and low-interest loans for those whose homes or businesses have been destroyed.

Texas authorities say they have 92 aircraft and 650 state workers working to fight fires, and have been joined by crews from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The U.S. Forest Service is also helping the state to handle the emergency.

Despite efforts, wildfires on Monday claimed nearly the entire town of Ringgold, destroying 45 buildings that comprised about 80 percent of the town.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

The Vancouver Canucks, hockey team to Vancouver, British Columbia, unveiled it’s new home and away uniforms today. Keeping the trade-mark Orca, the jersey has remixed the colors as well as adding a green stripe for both the home and away uniforms. This is the 5th jersey the team has gone through since 1970 when the team was founded.

The redesign has been met with some criticisms. John Carter a graphics arts instructor at a local college was quoted as calling the redesign an “utter disappointment.”

The design uses the same core colors in the original design, and on the back it also has their original jersey’s hockey stick symbol. The president and CEO of the Canucks, Chris Zimmerman, recognizes this saying, “Our goal when we set out was to celebrate our heritage and to design a sweater that reflects our extraordinary city and province. “We wanted to unveil a sweater that reflects our past and our future.” Zimmerman also went on to say the design represents, “who we are and the connection to the community.”

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The death toll in a collision between two helicopters in Arizona, United States has been finalised at seven after the only survivor died. James Taylor was an emergency nurse present on one of the helicopters, which were both Bell 407s performing patient transfers to nearby Flagstaff Medical Center. The other six, including two patients, died at the scene.

Taylor, 36, worked at Salt Lake‘s St. Mark’s Hospital, and also part-time with Life Flight, who operated the helicopter he was on board at the time. He had only recently started working at St. Mark’s after 17 years at the Intermountain Medical Center, and was also a veteran of Desert Storm as a member of the Utah Army Reserve.

His sister said of him “He loved serving others … and especially being paged for lifeflight duty. He gave his life trying to save another … he truly was a hero.” As well as an extended family mostly residing in Utah Taylor is survived by his wife and three young sons.

Zion’s Bank have established the James Taylor Memorial Fund to help the family he left behind.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Nearly 20,000 websites have been attacked by unknown malicious computer users using a technique known as an SQL injection. The attackers have inserted code to install malware onto visitors’ computers. The code exploits a newly-discovered weakness in Adobe Flash Player, a very common web-browser plugin. The attacks prompted an investigation by the Taiwanese information security industry into the source of these attacks.

An SQL injection is a common method employed by malicious users to attack and deface websites, arising from website mistakes in checking user input. Attackers take advantage of these weaknesses to inject information of their choosing into the website. For example, in June of 2007, Microsoft UK found its webpage changed to a picture of the Saudi Arabia flag, an attack which was carried out using an SQL injection.

According to SecurityFocus, this most recent series of attacks stems from a vulnerability in versions 9.0.115.0 and 9.0.124.0 of Flash Player. It allows attackers to load any code they wish onto a computer running these versions of Flash.

As the vulnerability in Flash is newly discovered, Adobe has not yet released a newer version which fixes the problem. For the time being, computer security experts recommend that internet users with one of the unprotected versions of Flash disable the plug-in on Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer to prevent malicious users from gaining control over their computers.

The most recent version of the Flash Player, version 9.0.124.0, does not appear to be vulnerable to this exploit.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes.

Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of which natural enamel is made, bond with teeth to repair tiny areas of damage.

Yamagishi and colleagues have tested their paste on a lower premolar tooth that showed early signs of decay. They found that the synthetic enamel merged with the natural enamel. The synthetic enamel also appears to make teeth stronger which will improve resistance to future decay. As with drilling, however, there is still the potential for pain: The paste is strongly acidic to encourage crystal growth and causes inflammation if it touches the gums.

The paste is reported in the journal Nature.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Jeremy Hanke, editor of MicroFilmmaker Magazine. The magazine, which is free to read online, was started as a resource for the low budget moviemaker and features book, independent film, equipment and software reviews as well as articles on film distribution, special effects and lighting.

He says that one of the goals of the magazine is to “connect low-budget filmmakers via a feeling of community, as many…..often compete so viciously against one another in film festivals for coveted “shots” with Hollywood, that they can quickly forget their similarities.”

When asked if films made on a shoestring budget can really compete with those made for millions of dollars, he replied, “no…yes…and absolutely. Allow me to explain.” And so he does in the interview below.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as the head of the International Monetary Fund after he was arrested and charged with sexually attacking a chambermaid at a hotel in New York. In a statement to the executive board of the IMF, he said he was resigning from his position “with immediate effect” to “devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence.” Officials at the IMF said they would soon be releasing information about his successor.

In the statement to the board, he said it was “with infinite sadness” that he had to resign, and paid tribute to the IMF. “To all, I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me,” he said.

The politician is currently being held at the notorious Rikers Island, where he has been put on suicide watch, after a judge at a court in Manhattan denied him bail for fears he was a flight risk after he reportedly tried to flee the country on a passenger jet. In court earlier this week, where Strauss-Kahn appeared tired, he denied the charges against him and offered $1,000,000 bail, but the judge refused.

Prosecutors allege Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted a chambermaid at a luxury hotel near Times Square. “The maid described being forcibly attacked, locked in the room and sexually assaulted,” a spokesperson for the New York Police Department said.

Detectives said the politician was detained in the first class cabin of the Air France passenger plane which was minutes from leaving for Paris. Strauss-Kahn had reportedly fled the hotel “in a hurry” after the attack, leaving a number of personal effects behind. He was charged with committing a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.

Investigators have this week continued to search the hotel room where the alleged attack took place, removing a piece of carpet in the suite which they hope will prove the allegation by the chambermaid that he forced her to have oral sex. Benjamin Brafman, the lawyer defending Strauss-Kahn, said forensic evidence found in the room at the Sofitel New York hotel “will not be consistent with a forcible encounter”.

Strauss-Kahn is to make another court appearance to plead for bail again this morning, Brafman said; the defence is reportedly considering telling the judge he will surrender his passport, wear an electronic tag, and remain under strict living conditions.

The IMF has said it will soon release information about Strauss-Kahn’s successor; John Lipsky, the deputy head, has been acting as head since the arrest at the weekend. The incident comes at a critical time for the IMF as it tries to the financial states of struggling eurozone countries. Strauss-Kahn was meant to discuss the bailouts of Greece and Portugal with European Union financial officials at a meeting in Brussels earlier this week.

Before his arrest he was expected to announce his candicacy in the race for the French presidency, and analysts suggested he posed a real threat to Nicolas Sarkozy, but the charges will likely put and end to the hopes of his supporters.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rico Daniels is a British TV presenter living in France who is known for his two television series — The Salvager — whilst he still lived in the UK and then Le Salvager after he moved to France. Rico has been in a variety of jobs but his passion is now his profession – he turns unwanted ‘junk’ into unusual pieces of furniture. Rico’s creations and the methods used to fabricate them are the subject of the Salvager shows.

Rico spoke to Wikinews in January about his inspiration and early life, future plans, other hobbies and more. Read on for the full exclusive interview, published for the first time:

Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.

The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.

“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.

“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.

“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.

“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”

The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.

Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”

The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.

“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.

The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:

“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”

Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.