WebProNews

Author: Val Powell

  • Heroic Passenger Lands Plane After Pilot Dies Mid-flight

    Can you imagine being on an airplane and suddenly your pilot dies? That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday evening to a passenger aboard a small plane headed to Humberside Airport. John Wildey, the passenger, was left with no choice but to take over the controls and land the plane or face certain death.

    The plane took off from Sandtoft Airfield (approximately 25 miles from Humberside).  Shortly after takeoff, the pilot became ill. Humberside Airport located near the city of Hull in northeast England, received a distress call from Wildey explaining the dire situation.  Rory Murray was one of two flight instructors at the airport. He was given the task of coaching the novice pilot via radio that night. Murray said he had to keep Wildey calm while giving him instructions.  As you can imagine, Wildey was scared but managed to keep his composure.

    That night John Wildey made four attempts at landing, and at 7:50 p.m. local time, he finally brought the Cessna 172 aircraft to a stop – the control tower cheered. Upon landing, emergency personnel immediately went to his aid.

    “It’s a fantastic feeling, knowing I have achieved something and probably saved somebody’s life,” said Murray. “I think without any sort of talk down he would have just gone into the ground and that would have been the end of it.”

    “He made quite a good landing, actually,” Murray added. “He didn’t know the layout of the airplane. He didn’t have lights on, so he was absolutely flying blind as well.”

    NBC News reported that John Wildey may have had previous flying experience, but never had to land a plane prior to the incident on Tuesday. It was also reported that the pilot was pronounced dead later that evening. The cause of the his death has not been determined yet.

     

    (photo via nbc)

     

     

  • The Walking Dead Season 4 Has New Cast

    The Walking Dead Season 4 Has New Cast

    Season 4 of the AMC television series, ‘The Walking Dead’ premieres on Oct. 13. Given the carnage of Season 3, many of the  show’s most familiar cast members will not return. Laurie Holden (Andrea), Iron E Singleton (T-Dog), Michael Rooker (Merle) and Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori), are gone.

    Season 4 of ‘The Walking Dead’ may be the best yet. See why.

    Norman Reedus, will continue to play Daryl Dixon in the post-apocalyptic zombie series. He was, however,  not happy to see some of his cast-mates leave the show. “I hate it when one of the OGs goes,” he said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It really bums me out. It’s taken three seasons for people to get wrapped up in certain characters. I think once you invest in those characters to have those characters go is just like ‘Ah, man.’ I think people are sort of left hanging on a string.”

    Reedus, admits that adjusting to new cast members has also been a bit of a struggle. He feels that after 3 years with the “OGs”, he finally got to a place where he understood his cast-mates and feels as though he’s been left high and dry by their departure. He refers to the writing techniques used for season 4 as “interesting”. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly Reedus said,  “It’s weird to delegate authority to newbies in the group and on set,” says Reedus. “It’s odd, to be honest. Starting the season, there’s certain techniques that the writers are using to integrate the storylines of other people and it’s interesting.”

    Despite being bummed about not having his old crew, he believes the unfamiliarity the new cast has with each other should play well for the show. The “fear”, as he puts it, reminds him of  season 1, “the fear is back…which is awesome to see people afraid again” he said.  “I think the internal fear has always been something hanging in the wind, and who’s gonna f— over who and who can you trust?”

    Last season The Walking Dead premiered with a massive 12 million views. The premiere of season 4 is expected to have an even bigger viewership. Like Norman Reedus said, it should be “interesting”.

    Check out this scene between Norman Reedus and Naomi Watts.

    (video via amc)

  • US Captures Al Qaeda Leader Responsible for ’98 Embassy Bombing

    According to CNN, U.S forces have captured Abu Anas al Libi, in Tripoli, Libya. Al Libi is said to be a key Al Qaeda operative and had been wanted for his role in the bombing of the U.S. embassies in  Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Nairobi, Kenya. The bombing in Nairobi killed more than 200 people and wounded another 5,000. The blast in Dar es Salaam went off synchronously , leaving 11 people dead.

    Its been well over a decade since U.S. officials have been searching for al Libi. The government even put out a $5 million reward leading to his capture,  on charges of murder, destruction of government property, destruction of U.S. defense utilities and conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.

    The 49-year-old fugitive, whose birth name is actually Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai,  is said to have also attempted to establish an al Qaeda presence in his native country of Libya, and according to western intelligence sources, al Libi appears to have been in the country in 2011, around the time Moammar Gadhafi was ousted.

    Al Libi is also known to be a key ally of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda’s most capable operative. In 2000, the police raided his home in Manchester, England, and found documents detailing plans to destroy various embassies. The documents became known as the “Manchester Manual”. He fled England and had since been at large till now.

    His capture marks the most significant victory against al Qaeda  since the killing of Osama bin Laden, two years ago.

     

    (source via CNN)

     

     

  • Tropical Storm Karen Weakens En Route to Gulf

    Good news for Gulf Coast residents. Tropical Storm Karen has weakened and according to The National Hurricane Center Karen’s maximum sustained winds have dropped to 40 mph, diminishing its potential impact to the region. The center reported on Saturday afternoon that the storm was stalled about 130 miles south-southwest of Morgan City, La .

    A tropical storm warning is still in effect from Morgan City, LA as well as the Gulf region of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Though a storm warning is likely to be in effect through Sunday, forecasters expect the storm’s energy to continue to dissipate. Rain build up is expected to reach 1 to 3 inches over the central Gulf Coast and southeastern U.S. by Monday night, with scattered areas  reaching up to 6 inches.

    At the hurricane center in Miami, forecasters said the storm no longer had a chance of strengthening into a hurricane.

    On Friday at state of emergency was declared in  Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Interior Department recalled workers, that were affected by the government shutdown, to assist state agencies in preparation for the storm. Mandatory evacuation were also ordered by state and local officials – but that was Friday.

    Now that the threat has diminished surfers at Florida’s Pensacola Beach, were taking advantage of the big waves that reached as high as 8 feet. Officials are however, still advising the public to exercise caution.

     

     

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Writes Letter in Defense of Fan

    On August 7th, a college student was jailed for a day and now faces charges for hugging Real Madrid soccer star, Cristiano Ronaldo. The over-zealous soccer fan rushed on to the Sun Life Stadium soccer field and proceeded to hug the soccer player during a match between Real Madrid and Chelsea.

    The fan is a 19-year-old Albanian native and Canadian citizen, named Ronald Gjoka, who attends Palm Beach State Community College. Due to the incident, the young man now faces serious legal issues, including deportation.

    After hearing of Gjoka’s plight, the Cristiano Ronaldo (arguably the most famous soccer player since Pele), wrote a letter on behalf of his fan to the Miami-Dade State attorney’s office.

    A copy of the letter was obtained by the Miami Herald. “I am concerned because I understand he may face potential problems with Immigration and his college if the criminal charges against him are not dismissed … I understand your position and the importance of enforcing rules and laws. However, I respectfully request that you and your office reconsider this decision and dismiss the two criminal charges this young man faces.”

    Signed, “Sincerely, Cristiano Ronaldo.”

    Gjoko lives with his mother in Lake Worth and is currently in the US on a student visa . He says he is a true Ronaldo fan and given his proximity to the soccer player on that day, he could not resists running on to the field to give him a hug. The hug caused the stadium to erupt with cheers that lasted about 30 seconds.

    Gjoka’s attorney, Richard Hujber, was the one that reached out to Ronaldo’s lawyer, asking that Ronaldo write a letter on his client’s behalf. Hujber say his client acknowledges his mistake. Huber is now asking that the stadium officials and local Miami-Dade attorney’s office dismiss the charges and says his client already received punishment from having to spend a day in jail.

    (video via fox sports)

  • Sinead O’Connor Calls Miley Cyrus “F***ing Stupid” in Second Open Letter

    Miley Cyrus and Sinead O’Connor are at it again. The controversial 46-year-old Irish singer, blasts Cyrus for mocking her mental illness.

    On Thursday, Sinead O’Connor wrote an open letter to Miley Cyrus, “The music business doesn’t give a s*** about you, or any of us.” she wrote,“They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think it’s what YOU wanted …and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, ‘they’ will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone.” 

    The twerking sensation, Cyrus, then responded with this tweet “Before Amanda Bynes…. There was….”

    The tweet compares Sinead O’Connor to Amanda Bynes, both of whom have been treated for psychiatric problems. As to be expected, this prompted yet another heated open letter by O’connor via Facebook. Sinead’s new letter to Miley, calls  Cyrus’ tweets ‘anti-female’, ‘irresponsible’,  ‘dangerous’, and ‘f***ing stupid’.

    “Miley… Really? Who the f**k is advising you? Because taking me on is even more f**kin’ stupid than behaving like a prostitute and calling it feminism. You have posted today tweets of mine which are two years old, which were posted by me when I was unwell and seeking help so as to make them look like they are recent,” O’Connor wrote. She then threatened legal action against Cyrus if the tweets were not removed and urged Cyrus to apologize to her and all the people that suffer from mental illness.

    After reading O’Connor’s response, the 20-year-old Pop singer tweeted, “Sinead. I don’t have time to write you an open letter cause I’m hosting & performing on SNL this week.”

    The SNL (Saturday Night Live) reference seemed to be a slight jab, considering O’Connor was banned from the comedy show for ripping up and image of the Pope on live TV, in 1992.

    Cyrus then extended an invitation for them to meet up and talk about the issue.

    Chances are there will be more jabs and low blows to come from these two.  Let’s see if there’s another round.

     

    (photo via billboard)

  • ‘I Quit” Video:Marina Shifrin Gets Job Offer From Queen Latifah

    ‘I Quit” Video:Marina Shifrin Gets Job Offer From Queen Latifah

    Marina Shifrin was fed up with her old job. It wasn’t enough for the 25-year-old video producer at Next Media Animation to clear her office desk and make a final exit. Instead, she made a YouTube video to make her feelings clear – it went viral overnight. In her video, Shifrin broke out into a sequence of interpretive dance moves to Kanye West’s song, ‘Gone’, proclaiming to everybody that she was quitting her job. The captions in her video stated that she was tired of her boss caring more about the quantity of the videos she produced instead of the quality.

    Her sensational video earned her a guest appearance on the “Queen Latifah Show“. During the show, Latifah asked Shifrin if she had any regrets to which Shifrin responded, “no, sometimes I think you need to forcefully close one door in order for the other one to open a little easier.” Latifah then asked her guest if she was looking for a job; Shifrin responded, “yes, are you hiring?”. “I’m a boss,” Latifah said. “And bosses can hire!” Latifah went on to offer Shifrin a position as a digital content producer for her show.

    Shifrin was clearly surprised by the offer and shook Queen Latifah’s hand in acceptance. As of today Shifrin’s video has well over 14 million views on YouTube.

    Marina Shifrin’s former co-workers, were not to be outdone; they quickly put up a response video entitled “We’re Hiring”. The video aims to present their work environment as positive and laid-back. Take a look at the video below to see their response.

  • Winning Maryland Mega Millions Ticket: $189 Million

    Winning Maryland Mega Millions Ticket: $189 Million

    Sukhwinder Singh didn’t believe the news when he got a call at 6am Wednesday, telling him he sold the winning Mega Millions ticket. “I thought it was somebody joking with me,” said the Dash In convenience store owner,“This is the first time somebody hit the lottery in my store, so I’m so excited and so happy to see who hit the lottery”. Singh sold the only winning ticket from his convenience store, located on Quarterfield Road in Severn, Maryland.

    Singh has a lot to be happy about because he also wins – a $100 000 commission goes to the store that sells the ticket. “I will go for vacation. Maybe go to Canada or somewhere else, so we’ll see what happens.” he said to a local news reporter.

    According to the Maryland Lottery, the Mega Millions winner hand-picked the numbers 0 7-10-30-37-53, Mega Ball: 1. Still, the winning ticket-holder has yet to come forward.

    The winner has 182 days to claim the prize at the Lottery Claim Center, located at Washington Blvd. in Baltimore. If and when that happens, he or she will receive a $189 million jackpot. The winner could also claim a cash payout of $130 million but would be left with $86 million after taxes. The state of Maryland also wins big, collecting $11.3 million in tax revenue from the prize money.

    To win the lottery, you have to be incredibly lucky, considering the odds are 175.7 million to one. So far this year, there have been two winners – in February, a Mount Airy woman walked away with a $26 million jackpot.

    As of Wednesday, the Mega Millions was back at $12 million, and the Powerball was at $70 million. Who will be Maryland’s next lucky lottery winner?

     

     

  • Strategy Devised for North Korean Nuclear Weapons Threat

    On Wednesday, U.S. Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, said that the United States and South Korea had devised a strategy for dealing with North Korea’s nuclear and chemical weapons threat.

    Chuck Hagel met with South Korea’s minister of defence, Kim Kwan Jin, at the 45th annual defence meeting between the two nations in Seoul. At the meeting, both officials signed a pact that would provide a “tailored deterrence” to North Korea’s threat. Neither men gave details as to exactly what the “tailored deterrence” entails, but Kim Kwan Jin went on to express deep concerns about North Korea’s three recent nuclear tests.

    The US defense secretary was especially concerned with the underground nuclear test carried out in February by the North Koreans. The detonation was suspected to have advanced North Korea’s capabilities to strike the US with long-range missiles.

    “It has increased its capabilities, its missile capabilities, its three nuclear tests. So that is constantly forcing a review of our strategies.” said Hagel. Hagel also went on to say that the U.S. would, if necessary, use all its military capabilities including nuclear capabilities should North Korea take any aggressive actions against South Korea.

    The transfer of wartime control from U.S. to South Korean forces was another topic of discussion for Hagel and Kim. Eight years ago the U.S. committed to defending South Korea should they be attacked by the North Koreans. The target date for the transfer had been set for 2012 but was postponed till 2015 because the initial timing was not suitable.

    Hagel said the U.S. would continue to work with South Korea and assess its military conditions and that the U.S. will not make any decision that is not in the interests of both nations.

    Hagel concluded his visit to South Korea on Wednesday. His time was also spent commemorating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and South Korea and presiding over the transfer of command of U.S. forces in South Korea.

     

    (photo via news.yahoo.com)

  • NBA 2K14 Video Game is a Slam Dunk

    NBA 2K14 was released just in time for the start of the NBA season. The latest version of the popular series hit stores today to the delight of many eager fans.

    At the moment, 2K14 is only available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 gaming consoles. The Xbox One and PS4 are set to release this November and both systems will carry a compatible version of the game.

    So far the reviews have been very positive for this video game. Many critics are giving high reviews equal to or better than that of the previous version.

    One item of the video game that is sure to cause heated debate amongst game fans, is the player’s overall rating. The game’s developers invented a scoring system measured from 0-100 to rate the players on-court abilities. Jason Collins ranks as the game’s worst player (hmm, no surprise there) with a 50 point rating, while the super human (and arguably the best real-life player in the NBA) Lebron James, is a near-perfect, 99.

    The most heated arguments will likely be over the ratings given to the mid tier players. For instance, Marc Gasol gets a lower overall rating than Andrew Bynum and Al Jefferson in this video game reality, but is that really accurate? While assessing player skill level is somewhat subjective, the developers did an excellent job of re-creating the playing style and mannerisms of the real-life players featured in the game (funny how they do that).

    Game fans will also be very happy with the level of realism in other aspects of the game including graphics, gameplay, star power – even the announcers feel super real. The timing and movement of the characters is noticeably more precise than in previous versions as well. One drawback, is that you will have to re-learn how to use the controls. You won’t be able to use your finely-honed skills of yesteryear, and the new control functions are a bit tricky to get used to.

    NBA 2K14 does, however, feature the new Path to Greatness mode. This mode allows you to create your own narrative using the game’s star player, Lebron James.  Lebron starts out as a rookie and works his way up through a league that is created by you, the player.

    Overall this game does not disappoint. In fact,  2K Sports improved upon the high standards of the game’s previous iterations by making it realer and even more fun to play.

    (video via youtube)

  • Miley Cyrus Pregnant with Juicy J’s Baby?

    OMG! Only weeks ago Miley Cyrus  twerked her way into the headlines with an over- the- top, over- sexualized performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.

    Miley then sexed it up for us again with the release of her music Video ‘Wrecking Ball.’ At the start of her video; she sheds a fake tear or two – a throwback to an 80’s video from Sinead O’connor. Nothing compares, however, to the parts in her video where Miley suggestively licks the tip of a sledgehammer, parades around a warehouse in skin tight, nipple-showing underwear, then actually swings from a wrecking ball, wearing nothing more than her birthday suit. Folks, this is shock value at its finest.

    Well, its clear that Miley Cyrus wants attention… a whole lot of attention, and she’s surely getting it. Her single, Wrecking Ball as of today, has well over 170 million views on youtube and is currently #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, knocking off Katy Perry.  Her hit 23 featuring none other than Juicy J, is now steadily climbing the charts, as well.

    Ok, so they made a hot song together… but now she’ pregnant?! With Juicy J’s Baby?! Wait a minute…that can’t be right.

     

    The internet was in a frenzy once the rumour got out. The 38-year-old, ‘It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp’ rapper, Juicy J and 20-year-old, former Disney child star turned professional twerker, Miley Cyrus, apparently started the rumor at the BET Music Awards in Atlanta last weekend, when they publicly announced they were expecting a baby.

    Parents across America, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Turns out it was all just a joke.  She admitted on Twitter that the rumors are false. Seems like Miley was simply displaying her exceptional ability to garner media attention.  She then continued the joke by tweeting an exchange she had with a friend when asked what she would have named the baby – Miley’s response: “Juicy J Jr, Duh.”

    The rumor should make good comedic material for her upcoming appearance as host on SNL, Oct 5th.

     

    (image and video via youtube)

  • Obamacare Hindered by Republicans

    The Republicans have decided to play hardball. The party voted 231-192 in favor of a spending plan that would stall Obamacare for a year. They also voted 248-174 to repeal Obamacare’s tax on medical devices. The devices tax is especially harmful because it taxes medical innovation.

    Time, however, is running out for congress.  If no deal is reached by the start of Tuesday, the government will be forced to shut down. House Republicans and Democrat are yet again finding it difficult to reach a compromise.

    The Republicans are opposed to the President’s medical device tax because they believe it will send jobs overseas. This is a viewpoint shared by a number of House Democrats as well. Despite this, Democrats intend to stand firm so as to to push Obamacare through. President Obama is also prepared to veto an opposition if necessary.

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the Republicans’ defiant game plan “pointless”. It turns out that even if the shutdown were to happen it would not stop Obamacare from continuing. This is because the funding needed for Obamacare comes mainly from new taxes and cost cuts to government programs like Medicare. In other words, even if Republicans succeeded at forcing a government shutdown the Democrats could still vote Obamacare into law. A government  shutdown does stop the law from taking effect. This was pointed out to Republican Senator of Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, by the Congressional Research Service.

    A shutdown of the government would cause major disruption to Americans. Thankfully, the U.S. Postal Service,  Social Security and Medicare would still continue to function but and estimated 800 000 government workers would not get paid. The overwhelming majority of Americans don’t want this to happen.

    Republicans are vehemently opposed to many of the provisions of  Obamacare, including forcing health insurance companies to provide coverage for anyone who wants it as well as making it mandatory for Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine.  Even so, if Obamacare becomes law, all Americans would have to abide by it and a government shutdown would only cause the public unnecessary pain. Republicans are concerned that they may be blamed for the shutdown. This would almost certainly undermine their plans for dealing with the federal debt ceiling – an issue that needs to be resolved only a week later.

    (source via CNN.com)

     

     

     

  • Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s Tearful Goodbye

    Steve Ballmer announced to an arena of Microsoft employees that, after 33 years with the company, he will resign as its CEO within 12 months.

    On June 11, 1980,  Steve Ballmer became the 30th member of the Microsoft company and the first business manager hired by Bill Gates. In 1981,  Microsoft became incorporated, and Ballmer acquired 8 percent of the company.  He then sold a portion of his shareholdings, leaving himself with a 4% stake. His current net worth is estimated at around $18 billion according to the Forbes 400 list.

    During his time at Microsoft, Ballmer ran several company divisions, including sales and support, operations and operating systems development. In 1998, he became the number 2 guy behind Chairman and CEO Bill Gates after being promoted to President of the company. His promotion caused him to relinquish his title as Executive Vice President of Sales and Support.

    Ballmer has worn many hats at Microsoft and is accredited with much of the company’s early successes. After becoming the official CEO of the corporation in 2000, Microsoft’s annual revenue grew from $25 billion to $70 billion, with an annual gross profit higher than that of Google’s.

    In more recent years, however,  Microsoft made many missteps – much of which was seen as poor leadership by Ballmer. Under his leadership, Microsoft missed many tech trends, causing the company to play catch up. Innovations like Zune and Windows Vista failed miserably. Bing (Microsoft’s search engine), controls less than 10% market share compared to Google’s 85%. The company also missed the social media and handheld tablet trends,  allowing companies like Apple and Google to surge past it in innovation.

    Ballmer is known for his flamboyant stage presence and his talent for public speaking which he often used to energize and motivate employees. His farewell speech was no different. His energy was high, and the arena was attentive. “This is my whole professional world…Microsoft is like a fourth child to me,” he said tearfully. Leading up to end of his speech,  ‘Time Of my Life,’ the theme song from the movie Dirty Dancing was played at his request.

     

    (video via youtube.com)

    (reference via wikipedia)

  • Is Robert Pattinson Dating Sean Penn’s Daughter?

    It appears as though Robert Pattinson, star of the “Twilight” movies, has moved on from his cheating former ex-girlfriend/”Twilight” co-star, Kristen Stewart. Pattinson has been spotted with the daughter of legendary Hollywood actor Sean Penn. The 22 year-old model Dylan Penn(Sean Penn’s daughter) has been rumored to be seeing Pattinson, age 27, for about two months now.
    On Sept. 7th, the the two were spotted at LA’s Viper Room. An eyewitness told Life and Style Magazine that Pattinson appeared to be really in-to his date. “They were touchy-feely and very flirtatious. There was a level of comfort there,” said the party attendee. “You could tell they’ve hung out a few times.”

    It was also reported that the couple left the Viper Room and headed to Chateau Marmont for drinks and french fries after which they arrived at Pattinson’s LA pad where the two got a bit more affectionate. Pretty lucky guy, but exactly who is he dating? Is there another woman in the picture?

    Rob Pattinson is rumored to be dating his personal trainer too.

    Turns out Pattinson’s personal trainer Sydney Liebes may also have his heart. Liebes helped to get the actor in shape for his film Mission: Blacklist. Recently, they tried to evade the paparazzi when they hurriedly left Pattinson’s LA home, taking separate cars to the gym. The brunette and Pattinson have been seen together on a number of other occasions. Only a few weeks ago,  Pattinson and Liebes were spotted holding hands during a night out at Soho House in West Hollywood.

    Pattinson just a few months earlier was rumored to be dating a  string of other ladies, including Pop singer Katy Perry and even Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s Granddaughter. So is this just gossip and hype, or is Rob Pattinson just playing the field like any other young Hollywood celeb would? What do you think?

     

    (pic of Sydney Leibes via Twitter.com)

    (video and image via youtube.com)

  • Oracle Team USA Takes 2013 America’s Cup in Epic Win

    It seemed like a long shot, and it was. On Wednesday afternoon Oracle Team USA showed up at San Francisco Bay facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 8-1 against Emirates Team New Zealand. Though Oracle Team USA were the defending champs, they did not seem likely to repeat their victory from three years ago. Throughout most of the race, New Zealand fans were exuberant as they watched what seemed like a sure win for their team…but it was not to be. The Americans gave an incredible performance to retain the cup. “It was a fantastic race,” said Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill. “We wouldn’t have had it any other way, coming from behind.” The crowd along the waterfront roared as the American team stormed past the finish line with a commanding 45 second lead.  Final score 9-8 in favor of Oracle Team USA – they had to win 8 consecutive races to keep the cup.

    http://youtu.be/uVSvjRul42I

    This epic showdown was a much welcomed boost for the image of the sport, given the recent string of bad press. British Olympic sailing champion  Andrew Simpson’s untimely death  during a training accident, as well as the rampant accusations of spying and favoritism within the sport have struck a nasty blow to its image. Only days before the Cup Finals began,  Oracle Team USA were found guilty of cheating. It was discovered that several members of the team had unfairly weighted their 45-foot catamaran. The weight increased the performance to the catamaran, giving them an unfair advantage during competition. Though the act was done without the rest of the team knowing, the entire team was penalized with a 2- race- penalty, a $250, 000 fine, the expulsion of three crew members and the suspension of one. This marked the most severe penalty in the races 162 year history. Team CEO, Russell Coutts believed the decision was “grossly unfair”.

    On Wednesday, however,  Oracle Team USA managed to redeem themselves in EPIC fashion. This year’s final race of the The America’s Cup is one that many people are describing as one of the most spectacular comebacks in sporting history.  It was indeed epic to the very end. The hope for many of the sport’s participants is that the excitement of Wednesday’s epic final will create greater interest and new fans.

     

    (video from youtube.com)

  • Shooting Near Roosevelt Field Mall: 2 Shot, 1 Killed

    Residents of Garden City, an affluent community in Nassau County, NY, were on high alert this morning when news reports announced a shooting nearby the Roosevelt Field mall. Word of the shooting prompted the Roosevelt Field mall to go into lock-down. Police vehicles quickly went into action closing off surrounding streets while police helicopters surveyed the area. A number of local schools and businesses were affected and went into lock-down as well.

    Garden City police confirmed that the shooting did not happen at the mall but instead just outside the premises. The incident actually took place on 645 South Street at approximately 10:50 am. The sound of gunfire sent shoppers and passersby fleeing in fear for their lives. NBC New York reported that the shooter went into the office of Savenergy,  a light fixture company,  and allegedly shot two people, killing one. The alleged shooter was identified by police as San Ho Kim, a 64 year old Asian man about 6′ 2″ in height and wearing a grey jacket at the time of the incident. Police also said the the man fled the scene in a Honda Pilot SUV with the license plate number FMA 3648.

    Law enforcement officials suspect that the shooter may be a disgruntled former business associate of Savenergy. Supposedly he held a grudge over a business deal that didn’t go well for him. They however,  do not believe that Kim intends to continue his shooting spree but ask residents to remain vigilant as he may still be armed and dangerous.

     

    http://youtu.be/EcSprje_5iY

    The Garden City school district took no chances with the safety of its students. ‘We are holding all the students in the buildings at this time,” said Cindy Morris, secretary to the superintendent of Garden City public schools, Dr. Robert Feirsen, “We are in lockout in all public schools in Garden City.” The lock down continued till mid afternoon but the community remains shocked and fearful.

    The identity of the man killed in the attack has not yet been announced. The surviving victim is said to be Savenergy’s owner and  he is reportedly at the hospital being treated for his injuries. Garden City police are asking that anyone who sees Kim or knows of his whereabouts call 911 immediately.

    (Video from Youtube.com)

  • BlackBerry Sold? Who’s Buying? Will They Go Private?

    In mid August, BlackBerry, the Canadian smartphone company, announced that it was up for sale. The past few years have been difficult for the mobile communications company as they have failed to keep up with the competition from companies like Apple and Samsung.

    According to The Guardian, a consortium of investors lead by Fairfax Financial have agreed to acquire BlackBerry for just $9 per share (a $4.7 billion valuation of the company). The stock price is a far cry from the glory days of the company, when it once had a high of $148 per share on the Nasdaq.  The company also announced on Friday that it intends to lay off 4500 employees due to lackluster sales of its new handheld devices including the Z10, Q10 and the new Z30.

    The sale of the company and its employee layoffs, however, does not come as much of a surprise to many analysts, considering that BlackBerry was in the red last quarter. BlackBerry subsequently announced last month that it was considering it’s ‘strategic options’, including, selling the company entirely and possibly going private.

    In the opinion of many analysts, going private may give the company the opportunity it desperately needs to restructure. “Going private would allow BlackBerry to restructure behind closed doors where they can focus on building the company and focusing on the enterprise sector,” said Krista Napier, senior analyst, mobility, at IDC Canada.

    Fairfax currently owns 10% of BlackBerry and is currently its largest shareholder. It’s been rumored that some Toronto based investors are part of the consortium that submitted an intent to purchase. Exactly who they are has still not been revealed to the public.

    The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported former co-CEO and founder of BlackBerry, Mike Lazaridis was in discussions with private equity groups, the Blackstone Group and the Carlyle Group about purchasing BlackBerry and taking it private. This move would be a bit of a surprise considering Lazaridis retired from the company as recently as March of this year. None of the speculation was confirmed by Lazaridis.

    At the moment there is only a letter of intent for the acquisition of BlackBerry. Several weeks of due diligence remain so there is still time left to deal. How this will all play out remains to be seen.

    (Image from Wikimedia Commons)