Remembering: Elizabeth II Becomes The Queen

Born, April 21, 1926, as the first daughter of Prince George, Elizabeth saw first her uncle's coronation and then after he abdicated, her father's.

During WWII she and her sister were sent to the countryside for safety, but when she reached eighteen she joined the women's services and as a second lieutenant drove and repaired military trucks.

In 1947, she married Phillip Mountbatten, a prince of Greece and Denmark, who renounced his titles in order to marry her.

On February 6, 1952 whilst in Kenya, on a world goodwill tour, they received word that her father had died. Immediately, she was proclaimed Queen, but it would take over a year for the full coronation ceremony to took place.

She would finally be crowned on June 2, 1953 as Queen of the United Kingdom, in a ceremony that dates back for a millennium.

During her rule, she has set many firsts for the monarchy, among them being the first reigning monarch to visit many of the commonwealth countries and the first monarch ever to pay income tax.

Despite beginning to give some of her duties to her children, she is still going strong and is showing no signs that she'll stop anytime soon. 

'Muslim Patrol' Roving London's Streets

A group calling themselves the 'Muslim Patrol' has been increasingly roving East London.

They 'patrol' various 'Muslim' neighborhoods enforcing Shariah laws, such as no alcohol and dress codes.

As they went unchecked, they began growing in numbers, and spreading to areas where Muslims are minorities.

Now British police have begun having to crack down on them, as they've become violent and began posting their exploits on Youtube.

Some Muslims, including clerics, have spoken out against the patrols, but the groups are still continuing.

3 Killed When Tanker Explodes in Georgia Pileup

Three people are dead after a pileup in Georgia.

It happened Wednesday morning under a dense fog advisory, on Interstate 16, in Twiggs County.

Twenty-seven vehicles ended up involved, but then a fire started.

The fire caused a tanker to explode, killing three people.

Traffic in both directions was closed for several hours.

Eastbound lanes were expected to open in the early afternoon, with Westbound lanes opening by the evening.

Thousands Protest After Belaid Assassinated in Tunisia

Thousands of Tunisians broke out into protests after a popular politician was assassinated.

Police have had to use tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters, in many cities.

In Sidi Bouzid, the police station was burned down, causing the police to evacuate the town, which had seen the start of the revolution in January 2011.

Army units are being deployed to several cities, in hopes of maintaining the peace.

Chokri Belaid had been one of the leading secular politicians, in the country.

Belaid had belonged to the Democratic Patriots party, and been very outspoken against Islamists dominating the new constitution.

His party and their allies have called for a nation wide strike, on Thursday, in protest of his death.

Solomon Islands Tsunami Kills 6 After 8.0 Quake

Six people were killed in the Solomon Islands, by a tidal wave on Wednesday.

Waves came in as much as five feet high, ripping through low lying areas.

Five villages were severely damaged by the wave and it's preceding quake.

The tsunami was set off by an 8.0 quake, which struck just after noon (SITZ).

Wednesday's quake occurred about fifty miles west of the Santa Cruz island chain.

Lata, the main island in the chain and the closest to the quake, saw most of the damage and all of the casualties.

Several aftershocks, over 6.0, followed it in succession, but after an hour things began calming down.

Tsunami watches and warnings had sprung out over the Pacific, but nowhere else saw anything, and most cancelled theirs, before the time came.

USPS Cutting Saturday Mail

Saturday mail delivery is officially going to end, as the United State Postal Services continues to try and find ways to cut into it's nearly sixteen billion dollar deficit.

The change will begin in August, and would not see an end in parcel deliveries.

They figure they could save thousands of work hours,
 without laying off a single person.

This is the first year in which the USPS could have attempted this move.

Previously congressional appropriations bills have blocked the USPS from ending the six day delivery schedule, but Congresses own stop gap funding measures have left the postal service with a little more autonomy.

Noting the autonomy, the USPS jumped at the opportunity, which could still be stopped by Congress, but isn't likely to be.

Disney Confirms Stand Alone Star Wars Movies

Bob Iger, CEO at Disney, confirmed a few rumors, on Tuesday.

He confirmed that at least two non trilogy, or stand alone, Star Wars films are in the making. Two of the writers will be Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg.

Iger also said that they will be released within the same six years as the new trilogy is supposed to be, starting in 2015.

We had already told you that Zack Snyder is set to direct one of those films.

With the confirmation that there are multiple films in the making, really makes us wonder, where in the galaxy they could take place.

However, Iger's comment that they'll be released at the same time makes one wonder if they'll also likely take place in the same period of time.

French Already Looking to Leave Mali

Three weeks in and France is talking four weeks out.

France's storm into Mali has been seen as extremely successful.

So successful that they are already talking about leaving.

Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, has been quoted as saying that French numbers could begin to diminish as early as the beginning of March.

Their hope is that by then enough African troops will be in place to replace them and take over the future mission of ensuring security.

Some worry that once France leaves, the Al Qaeda forces will strike back and push through the allied troops.

While France is dedicated to ensuring Al Qaeda does not have any control, in the region, they do not wish to get drawn into a long fight, as happened to allied nations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If France can make this blitzkrieg effort a success, then it will likely be used as a threat to keep Al Qaeda from trying to take down any other countries.

8.0 Quake Strikes Pacific Causing Tsunami Warnings

An 8.0 earthquake struck just after noon (SITZ), on Wednesday. The initial quake was followed by aftershocks as high as 6.6, 6.4, and 6.3.

It occurred in the Pacific Ocean, about two hundred miles east of the Solomon Islands and fifty miles west of the Santa Cruz Islands.

Reports are coming in that some villages, in the Solomon Islands, were destroyed by the quake. A shallow quake, it occurred less than four miles below the surface.

Various tsunami warnings were issued for Pacific rim countries with island countries across the ocean sounding the alarm, for people to seek high ground.

Tsunami warnings were put into place for: Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, Wallis, and Futuna. Tsunami watches were created for: American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, and eastern Indonesia.

Lata Wharf, in the Solomon Islands, saw a surge of three and a half feet. Expectations are that some areas may see around six feet of tsunami.

Same Sex Marriage Passes House of Commons

Wish a vote of four hundred to one hundred and seventy-five, the British Parliament voted to allow for same sex marriage.

The bill will now have to pass the House of Lords.

Even if it makes it pass there, it will likely face many legal challenges before it could become fully legal.

But it is a significant step taken by Parliament.

It also showed that Prime Minister David Cameron can only count on half of his own party supporting him, in fact he only garnered just over a third of them.

Cameron had come out supporting the bill, but many Conservatives broke ranks with him and voted against it, others yet simply abstained.