Thursday, August 22, 2013

52 Injured in Southern California Bus Accident

Fifty-two people were injured in a bus accident near Irwindale, California, on Thursday morning.

Eight of the injured were listed in guarded condition, due to non life threatening injuries requiring further care.

The bus was taking elderly passengers to a casino.

Police say that the driver tried moving to his left, but struck a car and then over corrected to the right, causing the bus to flip on it's side.

Eastbound Interstate 210 was shut down for about six hours, due to the accident.

Al Qaeda Rockets Fired From Lebanon Hit Town in Israel

Two rockets fired from Lebanon struck into Israel, on Thursday.

They landed in the town of Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv plowing holes into pavement, and throwing shrapnel which damaged nearby cars and homes.

Luckily, no one was injured in the attack.

An Al Qaeda linked group, Brigades of Abdullah Azzam claimed responsibility for the attack.

They actually launched four rockets, however, one failed to make into Israel and the other was shot down by an Iron Dome battery.

The IDF said that they regarded the incident as a one time situation, and held back from retaliating. 

Ramadi Suicide Bombing Kills 14 in Iraq

Fourteen people were killed when an explosion struck outside of an Iraqi military headquarters in Ramadi.

A suicide bomber blew up his car just outside of the building.

Ten of the dead were civilian bystanders.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Al Qaeda is considered the likely suspect.

2 Killed 4 Wounded in Kashmir Firefights Between India and Pakistan

Soldiers guard the border
Fire was exchanged twice across the Kashmir border, on Thursday.

In the first exchange, in the Rakhchakri sector, a Pakistani soldier was killed and two Indian civilians were wounded.

The second exchange took place in the Tatta Pani sector, killing another Pakistani soldier and injuring two more.

Both Pakistan and India accuse each other of starting the firing and say that they then responded in defense.

Exchanges of fire have become more and more common over the past few months. 

This has put an increasing strain on relations between the two countries.

US Army: Master Sergeant George A. Bannar Jr

Master Sergeant George A. Bannar Jr., thirty-seven of Orange, Virginia, died on August 20.

He was killed during combat, in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

It was his fifth deployment to Afghanistan.

Bannar was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Among his completed courses were: Airborne School, Warrior Leaders Course, Jumpmaster School, Air Assault School, Advanced Leaders Course; Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course; Senior Leaders Course, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Course, Military Free Fall School, Military Free Fall Jumpmaster School, Advanced Military Free Fall Parachutist School, Basic Instructor Course, Small Group Instructor Training Course, Special Forces Qualification Course.

His decorations include: Bronze Star with Valor Device, Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device, five Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, five Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, three Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbons, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Expert Field Medical Badge, Air Assault Badge, Canadian Parachutist Badge, Royal Netherlands Army Parachutist Badge, Venezuelan Parachutist Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge, Combat Medical Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, Special Forces Tab.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

51 Major Fires Burning in the US

Fifty-one major fires are currently burning in ten US states.

The ten states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Over nineteen thousand firefighters are busy battling the blazes.

Focus is currently centering on Montana where twenty-one of those fires are located and the governor has declared a state of emergency.

Dozens more smaller fires are burning in several other states.

So far this year more than thirty-two thousand fires have burnt fifty-three hundred square miles.

This has caused budgetary strains on the US Forest Service and other firefighting agencies.

The Forest Service has already spent nine hundred and sixty-seven million dollars fighting fires.

They have been forced to start moving money meant for other areas towards the firefighting funds.

20 Injured in Kansas School Bus Crash

Twenty people were injured when a school bus over turned in Kansas, on Wednesday.

The bus driver lost control, while on a curved ramp, and the bus slid down the embankment and over turned.

Thirty students and adults were aboard the bus, when the accident occurred.

None of the injuries were serious, with most being scrapes.

An investigation is underway to determine why the driver lost control.

The ramp from Kansas Highway 7 to Kansas Highway 32 was closed from the time of the accident until Wednesday evening.

Ammonia Leak and Explosion in Mexico Claims 7 Lives

Seven people are dead after an ammonia pipeline was struck open and exploded.

Another forty-three were injured, either in the blast or from inhaling the ammonia.

According to authorities, a construction crew accidentally struck the pipeline carrying the ammonia to a petrochemical plant.

Twelve hundred residents were evacuated from the surrounding area.

Pemex, which runs the pipeline, is unclear when the area will be completely cleaned up.

6.2 Quake Causes Minor Damage in Mexico

A 6.2 earthquake shook up Mexico, Wednesday morning.

It was centered about sixty miles east of Acapulco.

No injuries were reported, however minor damage did occur.

Bricks feel from buildings, cracks appeared in sidewalks and walls, and items fell from shelves.

The quake was felt in Mexico City, where people rushed out of buildings.

Rebels Say Syria Killed 1600 With Chemical Weapons

Syrian rebel forces once again are accusing the regime of launching a chemical weapons attack.

This time, they say that as many as thirteen hundred people were killed by some sort of gas.

So far at least six hundred bodies have been recovered from the affected areas of Damascus.

Doctors say that the symptoms described appear similar to sarin nerve gas.

The government denied the accusations say they were attempts to discredit president Assad.

Russia was quick to back up it's ally, saying that such a claim was preposterous.

Meanwhile, western nations have called for a UN investigation.