News

[ruppy007]

I going to use this thread to post current events. If anyone has a news article to post, go right ahead. I have this one right now.

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USGS: Mount St. Helens could erupt within 24 hours

Observatory 3 miles from volcano's base evacuated


VANCOUVER, Washington (CNN) -- Scientists warn that Mount St. Helens could erupt within 24 hours, and with more force than previously expected.

Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey issued a Level 3 Volcano Alert, indicating an eruption could occur within the next day, said Tom Pierson with the USGS. That level alert is the third of four -- with the fourth being eruption.

The alert was issued after scientists detected the movement of magma, or underground lava, the USGS said.

At noon, scientists began measuring a 50-minute long "harmonic tremor," or steady, even vibration, that indicates magma rising to the surface, Pierson said.

Scientists were weighing whether the movement involved new magma or magma from a 1998 eruption, Pierson said. New magma releases more gas and is more explosive.

"The data suggests that ongoing, intense earthquake activity has weakened the rock dome, increasing the likelihood of an eruption either in the form of more explosions or perhaps lava flow from the dome," U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said.

"The greatest public safety concern at this point is an ash plume and the spread of ash itself," she said. "That might come from an explosion. This is a concern for aircraft travel, and that is the primary concern."

An observatory three miles from the base of the mountain was evacuated Saturday. Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked down the road from the observatory after the order.

Scientists have been closely watching Mount St. Helens since a small eruption spewed a harmless plume of steam and ash thousands of feet into the air Friday. It was the end of a week in which the number of earthquakes near the volcano grew significantly.

One scientist described the eruption, the biggest in 18 years, as a "hiccup."

Seismic activity decreased shortly after the noon (3 p.m. ET) eruption but picked up again within hours. Peter Frenzen, a scientist with the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, said a 2.0 magnitude earthquake was detected.

A small explosion was detected on the south side of the volcano's lava dome, where cracks had been detected in a glacier, said John Major of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Scientists said the presence of magma could indicate the potential for a more serious eruption.

Molten rock is called magma before it reaches the surface, where it is called lava.

Scientists had been predicting a minor eruption after swarms of small earthquakes were detected, and the mountain's volcanic dome shifted three inches since Monday.

In anticipation of an eruption, the mountain was closed to hikers, and the media and sightseers gathered at a visitors center 5 miles away.

According to Pierson, "We realized this morning that we had had more energy released than at any time all the way back to May 18, 1980."

That was when an eruption blew more than 1,000 feet off the top of the mountain. The 1980 eruption killed 57 people, left deep piles of ash hundreds of miles away and caused $3 billion in damages.

After that disaster, small eruptions continued at Mount St. Helens until 1986, when the volcano finally went quiet. Major said Friday's eruption was comparable to the minor eruptions seen during that period.

Mount St. Helens is about 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon.

[ruppy007]

SAMARRA, Iraq (AP) - Bloodied by weeks of suicide bombings and assassinations, Iraqi security forces emerged Sunday to patrol Samarra after a morale-boosting victory in this Sunni Triangle city, and U.S. commanders praised their performance.

American and Iraqi commanders have declared the operation in Samarra, 60 miles northwest of Baghdad, a successful first step in a major push to wrest key areas of Iraq from insurgents before January elections.

But locals were angered by the civilian death toll.

Of the 70 dead brought to Samarra General Hospital since fighting erupted, 23 were children and 18 were women, hospital official Abdul-Nasser Hamed Yassin said. Another 160 wounded people also were treated.


``The people who were hurt most are normal people who have nothing to do with anything,'' said Abdel Latif Hadi, 45.


Twelve miles south of Baghdad, two bodies - those of a woman and a man whose head was severed - were found, with police saying the corpses looked like those of Westerners.


Police Lt. Hussein Rizouqi said no identification was found on the corpses. The woman, who was shot in the head, had blond hair, he said.


Insurgents have used kidnappings and grisly beheadings in their 17-month campaign to drive the United States and its allies out of Iraq. More than 140 foreigners have been kidnapped since April, some as political leverage and others for ransoms. At least 26 have been killed.


A Lebanese electrical company appealed to Iraqi kidnappers to release two employees seized last week, saying they were not working with U.S. forces. The men were among 10 people seized by a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq - the same group that claimed responsibility for abducting two French journalists last month.


U.S. warplanes hammered another rebel-held city, Fallujah, the latest strike in weeks of attacks targeting groups linked to terrorists, particularly the network of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.


The city hospital said two people were killed and 12 were wounded in the airstrikes. Two more people, a man and his wife, were killed and two others were wounded when a tank fired on a house, Dr. Rafe al-Issawi said.


The U.S. military, which confirmed only one strike targeting a building where insurgents were moving weapons, regularly accuses the hospital of inflating casualty figures.


Residents said U.S. troops built temporary checkpoints across two entrances into the city, 40 miles west of Baghdad, regarded by the U.S. military as the ``toughest nut to crack'' in Iraq.


``We're very worried that Fallujah might be next after Samarra,'' Fallujah resident Saad Majid, 40, said. ``I have children. I'm very worried about them. We don't sleep all night because of the strikes.''


U.S. military officials have signaled they plan to step up attacks into key Iraqi cities this fall - partly as a way to pressure insurgents into negotiating with Iraqi officials.


``I have personally informed (Fallujah residents) that it will not be a picnic. It will be very difficult and devastating,'' Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer said Sunday on the Al-Arabiya television network.


But he said Iraqi troops had to establish a presence in all cities.


On Sunday, residents said they heard sporadic explosions as U.S. and Iraqi forces hunted for rebel holdouts in an otherwise calmer Samarra. Iraqi police patrolled the city, while American soldiers and Iraqi National Guard members searched houses for insurgents and weapons.


U.S. commanders praised Iraqi troops during the attack, saying they secured the hospital, a revered shrine and a centuries-old minaret. The Baghdad government has portrayed the battle as a landmark on the road to establishing an effective fighting force.


Washington is eager to raise Iraqis' fighting ability to allow them to take a back seat in combat operations and eventually pull out of Iraq.


``It would be premature to say that it is wrapped up, because insurgencies have a tendency to wax and wane, but clearly, the really good news out of this is that Iraqi forces have fought alongside American forces, and ... they've done well,'' national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said on CNN's ``Late Edition.''


The U.S. military said 125 rebels have been killed and 88 captured in the operation and that security was being restored.


A few grocery stores were open, but most businesses remained shuttered. There was no electricity, but water service resumed. Residents, some waving white flags, walked, saying the military had instructed them not to use cars.


Many took advantage of the calm to collect and bury the dead. Iraqi national guardsmen helped hospital workers put bodies into pickup trucks for transport to the cemetery. Ambulances picked up more bodies strewn in the street and orchards, and more corpses were believed to be inside collapsed buildings.


Residents, leery of straying too far, buried many corpses around nearby mosques rather than more distant burial sites.


The Iraqi Red Crescent Society set up about 30 tents on the road north to Tikrit to treat the wounded and accommodate fleeing families.


In Baghdad's Sadr City slum, five Iraqi civilians were wounded by U.S. tank fire, hospital officials said. The U.S. military had no immediate information.


The area has seen daily clashes and shelling as U.S. and Iraqi forces attempt to root out fighters loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.


``Muqtada Sadr's military has been seriously hurt by the military efforts of the Iraqis and the coalition forces,'' Rice told CNN.


A key al-Sadr aide told The Associated Press that Iraqi authorities launched more talks with the cleric's followers to end the fighting.


Members of the former U.S.-appointed Governing Council met recently with clerics allied to al-Sadr and a representative of Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, said Kareem al-Bakhatti, al-Sadr's chief representative at the meetings.


``God willing, talks will be direct with the Iraqi government soon,'' said al-Bakhatti, the main tribal leader in Sadr City.


Al-Sadr aides said last week the influential cleric plans to launch a new peace initiative to pave the way for elections. Shiites, comprising about 60 percent of Iraq's 25 million people, are eager to hold elections, expecting to dominate the new government.


The last round of peace talks deadlocked Sept. 18 over U.S. demands that al-Sadr's militia disband and disarm.


Roadside bombs exploded outside Baghdad and in Samarra and Baqouba.


One Iraqi was killed and three were wounded by the Abu Ghraib blast, an Interior Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.


Near Ramadi, a U.S. military vehicle hit a roadside bomb but there were no casualties. However, witnesses said U.S. gunfire killed one women in a farm near the scene of the explosion.


The U.S. military did not immediately comment.

[PhunkYMunkY]

Chalk another 'Pointless Thread' point up for Aaron


Get 30 and you win a dishwasher ^_^

[ruppy007]

Sweet. How many do I have now?

[fallenangel]

God dammit, even online I can't get away from the volcano talk. That's all that's on tv. "Volcano update: still hasn't blown up...there were some tremors...will blow in the next 24 hours...update in 30 minutes" It's not going to be powerful enough to be [i]that[/i] interesting. Can't believe there's idiots up there just staring at it for hours upon hours. If the eruption sucks, you can catch it on tv, and if it's big enough to be good...you'd better hope your stupid ass isn't up there staring at it.

Wish it would hurry up n' blow so tv would stop covering it.

disclaimer: if by chance it is powerful enough to get some ash down this way (50 miles southwest of the mountain) n' delay school...I have no problem with the mountain then.
_________________
"I care about people as much as I care about lawn furniture" - Dexter/Michael C. Hall

[Lexar]

He's just copy pasting stuff from the internet...

Nobody really cares, but at least put up a link.

[PhunkYMunkY]

[quote="ruppy007 (Aaron Rupp (ARon Ruppy"] Sweet. How many do I have now? [/quote]
Not sure but you have qualified for an arse-forkin'

[img]http://www.ttsp.org/TCJMShomepage/2004littletelaviv/fun/fork%20attack.jpg[/img]

[slet]

lol

But if I want to read the news I'll go to a website to read news. THis thread is pretty pointless. It's better to make a thread about just 1 news topic if it's really interesting, not posting all kinds of news in one thread.

[ruppy007]

my news comes from CNN

[Lexar]

The punch in your face comes from my fist.

[ruppy007]

[b]Hundreds Arrested in Telemarketing Scheme[/b]

[b]WASHINGTON (AP) - An international investigation of telemarketing fraud schemes has resulted in the arrests of more than 135 people in cases involving more than 5 million victims, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Tuesday. [/b]

The fraud cost victims an estimated $1 billion and included such schemes as bogus lotteries, fake sweepstakes and credit cards, offers of nonexistent investments and tax fraud, prosecutors said. Some cases involved so-called ``recovery rooms'' in which people posing as law enforcement officials offer to help victims recover losses for a fee.

Many of those victimized are elderly. One recent study by AARP of one lottery scheme showed that victims had an average age of 74.

``These cases show how ruthless criminal telemarketers can be in victimizing members of the public, especially the most vulnerable segments of our society,'' Ashcroft said.


The initiative, dubbed ``Operation Roaming Charge,'' has resulted in the arrests of about 100 people in the United States and 35 in several other countries since it began in January. About 70 people have been convicted on fraud charges so far in the United States and Canada.


In addition to the criminal charges, the Federal Trade Commission has brought 27 civil complaints against deceptive or unfair telemarketing practices. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Postal Inspection Service also took civil actions against people accused of telemarketing fraud.


About 190 search warrants have been executed in the United States and Canada, and officials in U.S. states have also taken 279 criminal, civil and regulatory actions as part of the initiative.

[PhunkYMunkY]

WHY

WHY, MR. ANDERSON! WHY DO YOU PERSIST!



--Just stfu already

[ruppy007]

[b]Rehnquist has thyroid cancer surgery[/b]

[b]Chief justice expected back on bench next week[/b]

Monday, October 25, 2004 Posted: 4:24 PM EDT (2024 GMT)



Chief Justice William Rehnquist


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VIDEO
Rehnquist has surgery after a thyroid cancer diagnosis.

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RELATED
Gallery: Profiles of Supreme Court justices


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Toobin: A Rehnquist vacancy would be huge
Health conditions of justices
Next president could realign court
Rehnquist marks 80th birthday

CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST
1972 - Appointed to Supreme Court by President Nixon

1973 - Dissents in Roe v. Wade

1986 - Appointed chief justice by President Reagan

1999 - Presides over President Clinton's impeachment trial

2000 - Writes concurring opinion in Bush v. Gore

2004 -Turns 80; only second justice to do so on court


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Chief Justice William Rehnquist has undergone throat surgery after a diagnosis of thyroid cancer, but is expected to be released from the hospital this week, according to the Supreme Court.

Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the 80-year-old chief justice was admitted to the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday, and underwent a tracheotomy Saturday.

Arberg said he is expected to be released from the hospital this week, and to be back on the bench when court arguments resume next week.

Although no more details were released on Rehnquist's specific condition, thyroid cancer is generally one of the more curable forms of cancer. In many cases the thyroid is removed, and the individual undergoes hormone therapy thereafter.

Fellow Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 71, underwent treatment for colon cancer in 1999, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, 74, had a bout with breast cancer that was diagnosed in 1988. (Health conditions of justices)

Rehnquist's previous health problems have included back and knee problems.

He played tennis regularly until he had knee surgery in December 2002. But friends say he uses a daily stroll, circling the Corinthian columns at the high court, to exercise and to sort out thorny legal issues.

Health problems add fire to campaigns
Rehnquist has led the Supreme Court since 1986, when President Ronald Reagan named him to replace Chief Justice Warren Burger.

Rehnquist is one of the most conservative members of the closely divided court. The news of his health problems is likely to shake up the campaign trail because the next president could help tip the balance on the nation's highest court, which now stands in a loose 5-4 conservative majority.

There has also been great speculation over who on the court would be chosen chief justice if that slot were to open.

President Bush, in a debate earlier this month, said he would pick "strict constructionists" to fill any vacancies.

"I would pick somebody who would not allow their personal opinion to get in the way of the law," he said, adding that there would be "no litmus test except for how they interpret the Constitution."

Sen. John Kerry pointed to Bush's previous comments that he wanted "conservative" judges and to the president's appointment of conservatives to key judicial posts.

"The Supreme Court of the United States is at stake in this race. ... The future of things that matter to you -- in terms of civil rights, what kind of Justice Department you'll have, whether we'll enforce the law," he said in the debate.

"Will we have equal opportunity? Will women's rights be protected? Will we have equal pay for women, which is going backwards? Will a woman's right to choose be protected? These are constitutional rights, and I want to make sure we have judges who interpret the Constitution of the United States according to the law."

Throughout his judicial career, Rehnquist has followed the legal philosophy of judicial restraint, which interprets the Constitution narrowly.

Rehnquist believes the only rights protected by the Constitution are those specifically named, and that judges should consider the framers' original intent when making their rulings. He has consistently opposed using the Constitution as a statement of principles to be interpreted by judges or with reference to the prevailing attitudes.

Shortly after President Richard Nixon named him as an associate justice in 1972, Rehnquist dissented in Roe v. Wade (1973), which established that a woman's right to an abortion was protected under a woman's right to privacy.

To reach its result, the Court necessarily has had to find within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment a right that was apparently completely unknown to the drafters of the Amendment, Rehnquist wrote in his dissent.

Presided over Clinton impeachment
Rehnquist is also a strong supporter of states' rights, believing that matters that can be handled by states should be left to them. In a 1998 speech, he raised concern that the expansion of federal law to deal with issues such as carjacking, domestic violence and parents who don't pay child support could infringe upon federalism.

As chief justice, Rehnquist has had a high level of agreement with his fellow justices. According to The Political Reference Almanac, Rehnquist voted with Justice William Kennedy 92 percent of the time in 1998, and he sided with Justices O'Connor, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas more than 80 percent of the time. Rehnquist was least likely to side with Justice John Paul Stevens, but they still agreed 67 percent of the time.

In addition to his judicial duties, Rehnquist has written books on the Supreme Court's history and on the impeachments of Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson.

In 1999, Rehnquist became the second chief justice in U.S. history to preside over a presidential impeachment, that of President Bill Clinton who was acquitted.

All but one of the nine justices is over 65, and many court watchers expect at least one, perhaps as many as four, retirements in the next four years.

The nine current members of the court have been together a decade, the longest uninterrupted span in nearly two centuries.

Rehnquist told an interviewer in 2001 that "traditionally, Republican appointees have tended to retire during Republican administrations." He would not expand on that thought, but it suggested a political realization that presidents should be allowed to replace one justice with another of similar ideology.

Rehnquist, a widower with three adult children, is a Wisconsin native. He is a graduate of Stanford and Harvard universities where he received undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The justice served in the U.S. military from 1943 to 1946 before becoming a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court during 1951 and 1952. Before becoming an assistant attorney general, Rehnquist practiced law in Phoenix, Arizona, for 14 years until 1969.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/25/rehnquist/index.html

[Lexar]

Did you know you even copy pasted the hyperlinks 'play video'?

seriously, what are you trying to prove here?

[PhunkYMunkY]

[quote="Lexar (Lexar)"] Did you know you even copy pasted the hyperlinks 'play video'?

seriously, what are you trying to prove here? [/quote]
EVEN pastes the adverts at the top of the page