Spanish Miners Launch Rockets at Police

Miners in Spain have been striking for over three weeks now.

They have been protesting austerity cuts that the government has begun.

Over the last few weeks they've clashed with police and the Spanish Civil Guard.

At times, police have used rubber bullets and tear gas to force rioting miners to back down.

But now things have escalated as the miners began launching home made rockets at the police lines.

So far no one has been seriously hurt, but things are becoming increasingly dangerous, with talks of bringing in the military to end the strike.

Remembering: The 49th Parallel

In 1818 British and US delegates agreed upon a border from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, along the forty-ninth parallel.

They further agreed that the Oregon territory would be a jointly occupied area, shared by the two countries.

But by the early 1840s Oregon was filling up with US citizens and pressure was rising.

In the 1844 election, James K. Polk ran and won on a ticket of promising to deliver the fifty-fourth parallel as a border for the west, or he would fight.

Luckily very few wanted a third war between Britain and the US, so negotiations started again.

On June 15, 1846 the two countries agreed upon the extension of the border along the forty-ninth parallel, all the way to the Strait of Georgia.

The border between the US and Canada was now secure all along its length. It has almost ever since been the longest unmilitarilized border in the world.

High Park Fire Jumps Containment

Thursday saw the High Park Fire, in Colorado, jump containment lines and grow to over 52,000 acres.

Firefighters had been using Highway 14 as one of the containment lines, but embers crossed and the fire gained a foothold to the north of the lines.

The spread caused eighty more homes to be sent evacuation notices.

So far the fire has killed one and  destroyed one hundred and eighteen structures, many of which were homes.

Over 1,200 personnel are now fighting the fire, many from out of state, with that number expected to be 1,500 by the end of Friday.

Despite the jump, total containment is up to around fifteen percent.

The fire was started by lightning, Saturday morning, and is the largest in the country. It is nearing Colorado state records.

Remembering: The Bear Flag Republic

By 1846 the scene in California was extremely tense.

Most of the population, of the northern most part of Mexico, was made up of citizens from the United States.

The situation became even worse with rumors of war between the US and Mexico, over whether Texas could join the US.

In the spring of 1846, John C. Freemont, an officer in the US Army, began encouraging Californians to form militias and prepare for rebellion.

It is unknown if he did so on his own initiative, or under orders.

Either way, his encouragement worked, and on June 14, 1864 the revolt began bloodlessly.

The next day a flag was designed, and California was declared an independent country.

After the militias won a few small battles with Mexican forces, Freemont took command of their troops.

Rebellion spread, gaining more and more cities, but on July 7, a separate group of US troops raised the US flag over California territory.

The Bear Flaggers ultimate goal had been to join the US, and so they ended their own government to join the US as a territory.

In 1850 California would join the US as a state, bringing the Bear Flag with them.

Remembering: Old Stars and Stripes

On June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress approved a flag for the fledgling United States.

It was based on the Grand Union flag, which had been originally made by Betsy Ross.

Legend is that George Washington asked her to make it, to his specifications.

The flag was made with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars to represent each of the colonies.

At first, each time a state joined the country a star and a stripe were added.

It was in 1818 that Congress added a law that changed it to changing just the stars, and the amount of stripes was reset to thirteen to represent the original colonies.

Now, June 14 is known as flag day, in the US.

Remembering: Alexander The Great

In 356 BC, one of the most influential people to ever live was born.

Alexander, son of King Phillip II of Macedonia and Queen Olympias and taught by Aristotle, would become known as The Great well before his death.

At the age of sixteen he was leading troops in his father's army, and by eighteen helped his father conquer Greece.

Phillip was assassinated in 336 BC, and Alexander took the throne.

Two years later he invaded Persia, facing superior and larger forces, Alexander simply out maneuvered and used extremely efficient strategy to beat his foes, never losing a single battle.

By 330 BC all of Persia and Asia Minor had been made part of his empire, and by 327 northern India and much of Central Asia as well.


As he went he founded cities and spread Greek culture, political structure, and economics.

In 326 his army refused to continue, they were simply tired of fighting and wanted to go home.

Whilst back in Babylon, building a fleet to return home, Alexander became ill, and on June 13, 323 BC Alexander the Great died.

He had never declared a successor, and his only child was yet unborn.

By 322 his army and empire had split into factions, who constantly tried to conquer each other.

Much of Taiwan Under Water

Many areas of the island of Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, are under water.

Torrential rains have caused flash flooding, bringing knee to waist high standing water in some areas.

At least four people have been killed in mudslides in the hills.

More than 3,000 people have been forced to evacuate.

Rains continue to plague the island and may not stop til Thursday evening.

Spain Trying to Retake Gibraltar Via The UN

Spain is pushing for Britain to give up control of Gibraltar, and surrender The Rock and it's people to Spanish rule.

Just bigger than two and a half miles, the city is home to around 30,000 people, who are considered British citizens.

Spain gave the strategic location to England in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, but lately has decided they really want the place back.

In recent years, arguments over fishing rights have arisen, and Spain has expressed anger over new tax laws that Gibraltar started using.

But on Tuesday night the city held celebrations that were part of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

During the celebration a giant image of the Queen and a Union Jack were projected onto the face of The Rock of Gibraltar.

The image was very visible in bordering Spain, and the Spanish are responding by taking their attempts to claim the city to the UN.

The UN is unlikely to aid Spain in the matter, but it shows an almost desperate air in the Spanish attitude.

Spain is not the only country trying to take British territory.

Argentina has been trying to threaten it's way into taking the Falkland Islands from the United Kingdom.

Thirty years ago the two fought a war over the islands, after Argentina invaded and occupied them.

Honda Recalling 50,000 2012 Civics

Honda has announced a recall of 50,000 of the 2012 Civic.

Apparently the drive shaft may have been assembled wrong.

Concerns are that it could disconnect from the wheel.

If that happens while you're driving it could easily lead to a crash.

Honda said:

Honda will voluntarily recall approximately 50,000 model-year 2012 Civic vehicles in the United States to inspect and, if necessary, replace the left driveshaft. The left (driver's side) driveshaft in certain vehicles may not have been properly assembled, potentially allowing it to separate from the outer CV joint while in operation.

If separation occurs, the engine will no longer propel the vehicle in any gear, and the vehicle may roll away if the parking brake has not been set when the gear selector has been placed in the Park position, increasing the risk of a crash or personal injury. No crashes or injuries have been reported related to this issue.

Honda is announcing this recall to encourage owners of all affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda. Mailed notification to customers will begin in late-June 2012.

In addition to contacting customers by mail, in late-June, owners of these vehicles will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going on-line to www.recalls.honda.com or by calling 800-999-1009, and selecting option 4.

Vending Machine Pizza

It's gone over extremely well in Europe, and this fall it will be available in the US.

What is it? Fresh pizza from a vending machine.

A1 Concepts, out of Amsterdam, started distributing machines in 2009, and they're now going to cross the Atlantic.

For six dollars you get a ten and a half inch pizza, with your choice of choice of margherita, pepperoni, ham or bacon as toppings.

All ingredients are fresh, including the dough, and the machines are connected to the internet, so they can self reorder when running low.

Customers can also pay for a pizza cutter and napkins.

At this point it is unknown where in the US the machines will first appear, but they're supposed to be in every major metro by the end of 2012.

The company has put out a video showing how the machine works.