Four killed, four others injured in Buffalo, New York shooting

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Four people were killed and another four wounded in an early-morning shooting at a Buffalo, New York restaurant yesterday. The shooting occurred as a party held in the restaurant was coming to a close.

At about 2:30 a.m. EDT (06:30 UTC), shots were fired outside the City Grill in downtown Buffalo. The victims were leaving a party in the restaurant, said authorities. The City Grill’s managers had just decided to close the restaurant until it was scheduled to next open due to an argument inside when the shooting happened.

At least 100 people had attended the party, in order to celebrate the first anniversary of a couple whose wedding was held last year. A formal anniversary event was scheduled for a later date, officials said. The couple had married in Texas one year ago and came to Buffalo to celebrate with friends and relatives. The 30-year-old husband, who was born in Buffalo, was one of the four killed in the shooting, but his wife was not hurt.

Police have not yet released the identities of the victims. Of the three others killed, one was a 26-year-old man and two others were women. Those two were identified as 27-year-old Shawntia McNeil by McNeil’s mother, Ruby Martin, and 32-year-old Tiffany Wilhite by Martin and Tiffany Wilhite’s father, Raymond Wilhite. Three of the four were pronounced dead at the crime scene, while the fourth died in a hospital. The four injured in the shooting were all men, said authorities. As of Saturday afternoon local time, one was in critical condition at an area hospital, two were in stable condition, and one was in good condition.

Latoya Nuness, who witnessed the shooting as she was leaving the restaurant with friends, said, “I’ve never been through anything so crazy.” She and her companions then ran into the kitchen for cover. “They were just shooting whoever they could shoot,” she said.

Police arrested 25-year-old Buffalo resident Keith Johnson in connection with the shooting on Saturday afternoon. Johnson was charged with four counts of second-degree murder. Police do not know if he was a part of the fight that happened inside the City Grill, and have asked witnesses to step forward.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Stock prices dropped sharply in Europe and Asia Monday, with fears of economic problems in the United States causing some of the biggest single-day losses in recent years.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 5.5 percent – its biggest fall since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Losses of between three and seven percent were recorded in India, China, Britain, France, Germany and Canada.

While there are many factors linking national economies, analysts blame recent losses on fears of a recession in the United States.

The United States is the main export market for many overseas businesses. Foreign investors also have bought large stakes in U.S. companies.

When American home loan companies began reporting large numbers of defaulting loans in late 2007, the losses spread to other financial institutions, tightening credit markets and sparking worries about Americans’ high levels of debt.

Last week, President Bush proposed a $145 billion stimulus plan to encourage more consumer spending. But analysts say the measure may not be able to prevent a recession – defined as a broad decline in a nation’s economy over a period of at least six months.

U.S. markets are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday, but stock futures trading indicates further losses are expected when markets reopen Tuesday.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The Centre for Independent Studies has released a paper calling for reform of university student fees system. The paper, authored by Andrew Norton, argues that the cap on loans to full fee paying students is too low. The current cap allows for loans during a lifetime of AU$50,950.

“Setting the FEE-HELP limit at this amount biases the market against courses that are long or have high per year costs, or both,” argues Norton in the paper. “The loan cap is a crude way of controlling lending, taking no account of course costs or capacity to repay.”

According to Norton, this undermines student choice and competition. He argues that the system should function more like commercial lending.

“A truly radical reform would make student loans mimic commercial loans: students with good earning prospects could borrow large sums, other students could borrow less, and some could not borrow at all,” he said. “Instead of denying or limiting loans to people doing high cost courses, as now occurs, the government could deny loans to people who are unlikely to repay.”

The paper was criticised by Senator Kerry Nettle, Education Spokesperson for the Australian Greens. She argued that the changes would mean an increase in costs to students already struggling to pay, and called on Education Minister Julie Bishop to rule out the changes.

“To consider refusing loans to those deemed less able to repay would further cut off higher education for Australians from low socio-economic backgrounds,” she said. “Julie Bishop should use her address to the National Press Club tomorrow to rule out any moves to further deregulate the HECS system.”

“Student fees have spiralled upward under the Howard government and any further deregulation would just make a bad system worse,” she added.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006Kabul Afghanistan saw the worst violence on Monday since the fall of the Taliban, after a large U.S. Military cargo truck crashed into about a dozen vehicles at an intersection in Kabul killing at least 7 civilians and injuring about 40. “There was a traffic jam and all the vehicles were stopped,” said one witness, 21-year old shopkeeper Mohammad Wali. “The American convoy hit all the vehicles which were on the way. They didn’t care about the civilians at all.”

A U.S. military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick, said no U.S. troops had been hurt, and that an investigation has begun into the incident.

The U.S. military also said the crash was caused by brake failure but Afghans often complain about aggressive driving tactics of the U.S. military. Convoys often pass through crowded areas at high speed and occasionally disregard road rules. U.S. military says such driving is necessary to protect the troops from attack.

Afghan rioters also claimed U.S. troops had shot and killed civilians at the scene of the accident.

Chanting “Death to America,” rioters stoned the U.S. convoy involved in the accident Monday before heading to the center of Kabul where they ransacked offices of international aid groups and searched for foreigners. Smoke billowed from burning buildings along the path of destruction.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

According to Pakistani officials, at least ten suspected terrorists were killed in North Waziristan by suspected US drone strikes earlier Wednesday. This is the second US drone attack in the span of two days.

Conflicting media reports say that the first strike consisted of either four or five missiles launched from an unmanned aerial vehicle. They hit a vehicle and a suspected rebel compound in the town of Hamzoni, killing three people.

In the second attack in the Maizar Madakhel area, another five people were reported dead. Pakistani officials say that the area is controlled by Taliban commander Hatiz Gul Bahadur.

Although the US government does not usually confirm drone strikes in Pakistan, analysts say that they are the only ones in the vicinity with access to machinery capable of carrying out said attacks.

On Tuesday, a similar double drone strike killed eight suspected rebels from the same group in the Datta Khel region of Pakistan.

According to the BBC, the US has increased drone strikes recently, and that such attacks have killed several hundred people since August 2008.

Thursday, April 7, 2005

A 27-year-old former beauty student from the Gold Coast of Australia faces the death penalty. She was allegedly caught at Bali airport importing marijuana from Australia in October. Appearing before an Indonesian judge after authorities found 4.1kg of high-grade cannabis in her unlocked boarding bag, she could be sentenced to death by firing squad, the maximum penalty for the crime.

With that possibility looming for Ms. Corby, her father journeyed to her side, and an anonymous email petition was distributed around Australia and overseas, calling on the Australian government to ensure that, innocent or guilty, Ms. Corby is returned to Australia to escape execution.

An Australian witness who volunteered information which he says will endanger his own life, has testified that Schapelle Corby was unwittingly caught up in a domestic Australian drug-running operation gone wrong. The man alleged that Australian airport workers had placed the contraband in her luggage after it had been checked-in, with the drugs to have been removed before the luggage left Australia. [1]

Ms. Corby, who says she is innocent of the charges, staggered and paused to vomit while being led through a throng of journalists watching her trial in Jakarta, Indonesia, earlier today.

“I’m really sick,” Ms. Corby told Densbar’s head judge Linton Sirait, who told her to take better care of herself in jail so she would not get diarrhea. “Don’t be stressed,” Judge Sirait added as he adjourned the trial until April 14.

Her sister said a doctor would visit her in prison to assess her condition. Her father, suffering with prostate cancer, said it was difficult to watch his daughter struggling so hard when things were nearing the “nitty-gritty now.”

He added: “The stress and the whole thing and the stomach cramps and the nerves. It’s getting on top of her.”

Australian politicians, noting the public support thrown behind the Gold Coast citizen, are promising to take her case up on several issues with the Indonesian Attorney-General later today. However, Mr. Corby expressed doubts that politicians could work things out: “It depends on what they call justice here [in Indonesia]. It looks a bit fairyland to me.”

“Everything’s reversed here. You’re guilty until you’re proven innocent,” commented Mr. Corby in Indonesia. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is said to be monitoring the case to ensure the court hands down a just and fair verdict.

Saturday, April 8, 2006

A Honolulu man who fell into the sewage-contaminated Ala Wai Yacht Harbor died Thursday night of a massive bacterial infection that caused the loss of one of his legs, septic shock, and ultimately organ failure.

Oliver Johnson, 34, a Honolulu mortgage broker, died between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. HST Thursday (0715-0730 UTC Friday) when his family removed him from life support. On Friday, March 31, Johnson had apparently fallen into the waters of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, located at the mouth of the Ala Wai Canal on the western side of Waikiki.

At the time, the canal and surrounding beaches were contaminated by over 48 million gallons of untreated sewage. The extent to which the sewage spill contributed to Johnson’s symptoms remains unclear.

Johnson earlier reported that he had fallen accidentally into the harbor, then later indicated that he had been involved in a fight on board a boat and had been pushed or thrown into the harbor waters. A security guard at Johnson’s apartment reported that he was bloodied and soaking wet, and that he stumbled into the lobby and collapsed. Paramedics took Johnson to Straub Hospital where he was treated and released.

Johnson reported steadily worsening leg pain that weekend and was admitted to Queen’s Hospital on Sunday with breathing difficulties. Doctors that night amputated his left leg above the knee to try to halt the spread of the infection, and Johnson was placed in a medically induced coma.

Initially suspecting that Johnson had contracted streptococcus-caused necrotizing fasciitis, doctors later found that Johnson had contracted three different bacteria, two of which, vibrio vulnificus and aeromonas hydrophila, have flesh-eating properties. Despite the amputation, Johnson’s condition steadily worsened to the point where doctors said that his other leg and left arm would also have needed to be amputated to save his life.

An autopsy performed by the Honolulu medical examiner’s office reported that Johnson had suffered from massive organ failure caused by septic shock. The medical examiner noted that Johnson had a vulnificus infection on his foot and suffered from chronic alcoholic liver disease which may have contributed to the infection’s taking hold.

The Honolulu Police Department has opened a third-degree assault case; with Johnson’s death, homicide detectives are also investigating. State health officials are also investigating Johnson’s illness.

Johnson’s family has retained an attorney to investigate the causes surrounding his illness and death. It is not clear yet whether any legal action will be taken.

Wednesday, March 9, 2005File:Plastic bag stock sized.jpg

They are cheap, useful, and very plentiful, and that is exactly the problem, according to researchers. A report issued on Feb. 23 by a cadre of environment and economics researchers suggested that Kenya should ban the common plastic bag that one gets at the checkout counter of grocery stores, and place a levy on other plastic bags, all to combat the country’s environmental problems stemming from the bags’ popularity.

Friday, April 22, 2005

Motorola has recently confirmed plans that it will launch an iTunes compatible mobile phone. The firm, which released quarterly results on Friday, revealed that the phone would be available in a few months time.

There had been speculation that the wireless communications giant would scrap the phone after an underwhelming response from US operators, however CEO Ed Zander confirmed the company’s intentions at the results presentation.

The phone, when launched, will allow users to easily download digital music from Apple’s popular iTunes music store onto their handset. The combination of mobile phone and MP3 player is a long awaited example of the much touted “technological convergence” often mentioned by the industry’s CEO’s.

Wikinews will have a reporter live at Apple’s WWDC keynote (when the software is likely to be released) on June 6 to cover the event.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Pichilemu, Chile — A power outage affected many areas of Chile this evening. It is presumed to have been caused by a fault in the Chilean Sistema Interconectado Central (Central Interconnected System). Power was cut off between the Antofagasta Region and Los Lagos Region, including cities like Santiago, Valparaíso, La Serena, Pichilemu and Talca, at 20:50 (23:50 UTC). After twenty minutes, power was restored in some parts of Providencia.

It surprised the people that were in shopping centers and in massive events, like the game between Deportes La Serena and Audax Italiano, which was cancelled, and the solidarity concert “Rock por Chile” (“Rock for Chile”) that was being performed in Santiago’s Movistar Arena. The outage also interrupted the Chilean Subway; personnel are currently evacuating users.

The communications manager of Chilectra, the Chilean main power provider, reported to TVN that the power is coming back slowly to the Metropolitan Region. “We don’t know exactly what happened. We are not receiving power in the distribution network in Santiago. The power is coming back, but is probable that in the outlying areas will be more difficult. […] After the earthquake we did the corresponding fixes, so we don’t know if this is related to the earthquake directly,” Larraín said.

The Presidency General Clerk Minister, Cristián Larroulet said, as reported by El Mercurio, that the power was going to be restored in around three hours. “Effectively there’s an outage from Taltal until Los Lagos, probably because of the debility of the lines because of the earthquakes […] It is another consequence of the earthquake that affected our country,” he added.

The Interior Minister, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, as reported by El Mercurio at 22:20 local time (01:20 UTC), informed from the ONEMI that the outage that affected many areas of Chile was produced by a failure in a 500 kilowatts transformer from Charrúa-Temuco, that caused a major fault in the Central Interconnected System.

According to Clemente Pérez, Santiago’s Metro chief executive, Santiago’s subway was going to work normally today if the power service remains stable. The Central Interconnected System chief executive, Eduardo Ricke Muñoz, estimated at 22:44 local time (01:44 UTC) that the power service was going to be rerun in all the affected areas in the following two hours. It was later reported by El Mercurio that the failed transformer was located near Los Ángeles, in the Bío Bío Region.

At 23:54 local time (02:54 UTC), Rodrigo Hinzpeter said: “We still cannot rerun the power service in the Bío Bío region, but we are doing our best and we hope to restablish it in the next few hours”.

At 00:30 local time (03:30 UTC), ONEMI reported that the power was restored in an 88 per cent. They detailed by region:

• In the Antofagasta Region, the power in Taltal was restored.
• In the Atacama Region, the power was restored totally.
• In the Coquimbo Region, 98% of power has been restored.
• In the Valparaíso Region, the power was restored totally.
• In the Metropolitan Region, the power was restored totally.
• In the O’Higgins Region, the power was rerun completely.
• In the Maule Region, the power was completely restored.
• In the Bío Bío Region, power has not been restored (0%).
• In the Araucanía Region, 90% of the power supply has been restored.
• In the Los Ríos Region, the power was completely restored.
• In the Los Lagos Region, 90% of the power supply has been restored.

At 01:28 local time (04:28 UTC), Rodrigo Hinzpeter, the Interior Minister, informed via his Twitter account (@rhinzpeter), that the 93% of the power supply was rerun. The State Clerk also warranted that in Concepción, the power was restored in a 40%.

Later, ONEMI ratified the information that Hinzpeter provided, and detailed the power recovering region by region, and the regions that have changed their percentage are:

• The Coquimbo Region, the power was restored in a 98%.
• In the Bío Bío Region, the power has been restored in a 40%. San Pedro de La Paz, Coronel, Lota, Tomé and Penco have the power rerun. Arauco, Lebu and Talcahuano still don’t have power.
• The Los Lagos Region, has the power restored completely.