Monday, January 25, 2016

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Alaska, United States, near the state’s most populous city of Anchorage. City authorities say they do not know of any injuries caused by the earthquake, which occurred early yesterday morning.

The earthquake’s epicentre was 162 miles (about 260 km) away from Anchorage, where residents reported feeling intense shaking. Associated Press reporter Mark Thiessen said he was woken from sleep by the quake, despite having taken sleeping pills earlier.

In the city of Kenai, gas explosions destroyed two homes. The quake destroyed four homes in total; the two other homes were damaged by fire, but did not explode. Authorities said around twenty people took shelter in a local armoury opened up for those whose homes were evacuated.

In Anchorage, utility companies reported small-scale power outages.

The quake was followed by two smaller quakes. Its focus was around 50 miles (80 km) underground, which, according to the National Weather Service, meant that the quake struck too deep to cause a tsunami.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The BBC have announced the appointment of Bob Shennan as controller for BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music. Shennan was previously controller at news and sports station BBC Radio Five Live and head of Channel 4‘s abortive 4 Digital Group radio venture. Channel 4 had won a licence to launch three digital radio stations but dropped the plans at an advanced stage in the face of the economic downturn.

At Five Live Shennan increased listening figures to 7 million. Critics claimed that this was achieved through the introduction of phone-in shows and a decline in coverage of harder news. He also launched the part-time digital-only station BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra.

The BBC’s director of Audio and Music told The Stage that Shennan is “an outstanding leader with extensive radio experience and a proven track record in station management”. He said that “Bob’s energy, enthusiasm and passion for Radio 2 will ensure that the station remains creative and vibrant, and continues to offer unique programmes to the widest possible audience”.

Radio 2 is Britain’s most popular radio station with 13.06 million listeners and a 16% share. 6 Music is the network’s digital-only sister station. The post of controller became vacant last year when Lesley Douglas resigned following the scandal over crude phone calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross to actor Andrew Sachs during a pre-recorded music programme.

Friday, May 6, 2005

On Thursday the 22nd of March, 2005, Anna Ayala, a woman from Las Vegas, claimed to have found a human finger in her bowl of chili at a Wendy’s restaurant located at 1405 Monterey Highway, just south of downtown San Jose, California, owned by Fresno-based Jern Management.. The finger, which probably belonged to a woman as it had a long and manicured fingernail, did not belong to any of the restaurant employees. The food supplies were seized by officials to be traced back to its manufacturers, while the restaurant was permitted to open again later with chili prepared from fresh ingredients.

Wikinews reporter David Vasquez drove his car up to the drive-thru menu and found that chili was still on the menu, at a price of US$1.19 for a small serving. He also witnessed workers unloading supplies from a semi-trailer truck in the restaurant’s parking lot, and carting them into the back door of the establishment.

Initially, county health officials said Ayala was fine and the finger had been cooked, which would have killed any bacteriae in the finger. However, on March 27, officials admitted they were not so sure anymore. Tests were done on the finger to determine this. Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, Santa Clara County’s health officer, said that even if the finger was still raw when Ayala bit into it, the risk was low that she would have become infected with anything. However, he advised that Ayala should undergo a series of precautionary follow-up tests.

Sales at Wendy’s went down because of the incident. Wendy’s International, Inc. (WEN) closed at US$39.43 on Thursday the 22nd, and as the stock exchange was closed for the Good Friday holiday, traders did not weigh in the stock until the next Monday.

By Tuesday the 5th of April, officials had still not succeeded in tracking down the owner of the finger. The fingerprint on the detached digit has been run through an FBI database as well as the local criminal database in Santa Clara County, but no matches were found. According to Rich Reneau, who was leading the investigation at the time, the fingerprint was marginal, and the likelihood of finding a match was slim.

Wendy’s stock did not go down significantly and was trading at US$39.37 that morning.

The next day, on Wednesday the 6th, Las Vegas police searched the home of Anna Ayala. About a dozen officers conducted the search at Ayala’s home at Maryland Parkway and Serene Street at about 4 p.m. local time (23:00 UTC), according to witnesses at the scene. Ayala and other residents were handcuffed and brought out of the house. Ayala said that her teenage daughter, Genesis Reyes, had torn shoulder ligaments as a result of the search. The Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a photo of Reyes wearing a sling in their Friday edition. In San Jose, police spokeswoman Gina Tepoorten confirmed to reporters that investigators had served the warrant in cooperation with Las Vegas police on Wednesday, but she refused to reveal specific details about the warrant. By that time, Wendy’s was offering a US$50,000 reward for information leading to the source of the finger.

Research by the Associated Press uncovered Ayala’s history of lawsuits. Ayala successfully won her suit for medical expenses against the national El Pollo Loco chicken-chain, a previous employer, after her daughter Genesis contracted salmonella poisoning, allegedly from eating at the restaurant. However, Ayala lost another suit against General Motors in 2000 claiming that a wheel fell off her car. She also started a sexual harassment suit against her former boss in 1998. A total of 13 lawsuits in California and Nevada had been filed. Ayala replied the focus should be on Wendy’s, and not her record of law suits. Nick Muyo, a spokesman for the San Jose Police department, said not to expect new information in the case for at least a week.

On Wednesday the 13th there was a potential new lead in the investigation. A spotted leopard had torn off part of a finger from an owner of exotic animals, Sandy Allman, in Pahrump, Nevada. The portion of Allman’s torn off finger was approximately the same size – 1 1/2-inches long. Pahrump is approximately 45 miles away from Las Vegas. Carol Asvestas, who owns an exotic animal sanctuary, told the San Jose Mercury News she witnessed the leopard tear off the finger. She reported the incident to a hotline run by Wendy’s offering the US$50,000 reward. Cindy Carroccio told the San Jose Mercury News that the finger was not reattached, and that the clinic “gave it back to her (Allman) in a little bag of ice.” On the same day the lead was announced, Ayala decided to drop her lawsuit against Wendy’s, due to emotional stress.

However, when Allman’s prints were sent to San Jose police, they didn’t match. Two days later, on Friday the 15th, Wendy’s doubled the reward to US$100,000. The company revealed that employees had passed polygraph tests. Wendy’s continues to claim that there is no evidence that the finger ever entered their supply chain, pointing to a lack of any accidents among the workers at their suppliers. Wendy’s tip line had received reports from across the United States, from “folks who either have lost a finger, or know somebody who lost a finger,” San Jose police Sgt. Nick Muyo told the Associated Press.

On Thursday the 21st of April, Anna Ayala was arrested at or near her home in Las Vegas on Thursday evening, in connection with the case, shortly after Wendy’s finished its own internal investigation. According to court documents, she has been charged with one count of attempted grand larceny related to the chili case, and one count of grand larceny in an unrelated real estate deal, and is being held without bail in Clark County, Nevada, pending extradition. A press conference by the San Jose Police and Wendy’s was held on Friday, April 22, at 13:00 PDT. The charge related to the case states the finger could not have been prepared at Wendy’s, where the chili is heated to 170 degrees for 3 hours. There is also an inconsistency in Ayala’s account of finding the finger and claiming it caused her to vomit compared with police saying there was no vomit at the scene. The incident has caused Wendy’s 2.5 million dollars worth of damages, which Ayala could be criminally responsible for. Until recently, the San Jose police had not accused Ayala of planting the finger herself.

The unrelated charge stems from an incident, also in San Jose, when Ayala allegedly received an $11,000 down payment on a mobile home she did not own.

Ayala was incarcerated at the Clark County Detention Center, awaiting a fugitive review hearing on Tuesday, April 26, 2005, at 7:30 a.m. local time. She was processed and given inmate ID 01964047. Her case number was 05F07229X. Ayala waived extradition at the hearing, and her attorney said they were ready to come to San Jose to defend against the charges.

On Friday, May 6, 2005, Ayala was transported to San Jose, California. Ayala was booked into the main Santa Clara County jail, and is awaiting arraignment. Ayala will likely be arraigned on Monday or Tuesday at the Santa Clara County Superior Court, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Boyd.

On September 9, 2005, Ayala plead guilty to conspiring to file a false claim and attempted grand theft, and will be sentenced on November 2, 2005. She faces up to ten years in prison, and her husband faces up to 13 years behind bars.

Until the middle of May, the owner of the finger still had not been found.

But on May 13, 2005, police announced that they had identified the finger tip as belonging to an associate of Ayala’s husband [1]. The associate had lost his finger tip in an industrial accident at an asphalt company[2] in December, 2004. Police had received the information from an undisclosed caller to Wendy’s hot-line.

Photos related to this incident:

• The Wendy’s location where the finger was discovered, shortly after closing time March 22

• Chili was still on the menu as the restaurant closed for the evening on March 22

• Workers unload fresh supplies after closing time on March 22

• The Wendy’s location on March 27

• Ayala residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, shot on April 22, 2005 by Wikinews contributor David Vasquez

• Note on Ayala residence door, photographed on April 22, 2005 by David Vasquez

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Kyle Rittenhouse, the suspect in a shooting of protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States that left two people dead, was released from a Wisconsin jail Friday after his lawyers posted US$2 million bond.

His lawyers had reportedly set up a drive to collect donations for the defendant. His sister made public requests for assistance in raising funds for her brother’s bail. Shortly after Rittenhouse’s release, one of his lawyers posted a photo to Twitter showing him and actor Ricky Schroder standing next to each other and smiling.

A resident of Antioch, Illinois, Rittenhouse is accused of crossing state lines and shooting and killing two people who were participating in demonstrations protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. One other person was injured in the altercation. Rittenhouse’s charges include intentional homicide and illegally possessing a firearm. If convicted, Rittenhouse could receive up to a lifetime prison sentence.

Rittenhouse was not old enough to own or possess a firearm in the state of Illinois at the time of the incident. He claimed to have obtained his weapon by having an older friend purchase it on his behalf using stimulus money Rittenhouse received from the state during the coronavirus lockdown. A suspect in Wisconsin has been charged for allegedly providing the weapon to Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse turned himself in to authorities on the morning following the shooting, and his lawyers have claimed the defendant acted in self defense. Court Commissioner Loren Keating said he considered Rittenhouse a flight risk, prior to setting the US$2 million bond. Rittenhouse, in remarks to The Washington Post, contended he would have died had he not been armed that night. Some conservative groups have come to Rittenhouse’s defense regarding the incident.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

PORTO ALEGRE-RS, Brazil —The fifth World Social Forum (WSF) has kicked off in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The Forum is back in its original home, Porto Alegre, after last year being held in Mumbai, India. The event was opened January 26, 2005 and it is scheduled to continue until January 31.

The World Social Forum is an annual meeting organized by left organizations, mainly from Brazil. It discuss strategies to fight back against the neo-liberalism, capitalism and imperialism. According to the organizers “The World Social Forum is an open meeting place where groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism, but engaged in building a planetary society centred on the human person, come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, for formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action.”

Just under 6000 different groups and organizations will participate in the six day event which joins discussions, protests and festivals.

Both the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez are to be guests at the forum; however the reception of the two leaders is set to be quite different. Da Silva (commonly referred to as Lula) has faced criticism from the leftists set to make up the majority of participants at the forum due to the allegedly weak results of the government social politics and the way the government conducts the Economy. This is in stark contrast to the reception that he received at the 2003 forum (also in Porto Alegre), where he was hailed as a hero.

Hugo Chávez on the other hand is set to receive a warmer welcome for enforcing a 2001 law allowing for the expropriation of idle agricultural land from large estates. However, the government of Venezuela has also received criticism for what some feel to be intimidation of journalists and other anti-democratic acts.

This year the event has been tarnished by the Brazilian journalist Políbio Braga, who alleges illicit negotiations between the World Social Forum and GP Equipamentos Elétricos Ltd, a Brazilian company contracted to work on the infrastructure for the forum. He also accuses the Brazilian government of trying to stop the police investigation into the matter.

In 2006 the forum is scheduled to be held in Venezuela and/or simultaneously in different cities around the world.