Another Weekend of Tornadoes in US

Storms ravaged parts of the central United States on Saturday and the early hours of Sunday morning. Specifically hit were Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Reports came in of up to ninety-seven tornadoes.

Woodward, Oklahoma took a direct hit from a tornado just after midnight. Five people are reported dead there, with others in serious to critical condition. Eighty-nine houses and thirteen business were destroyed.

Another twister struck near Wichita, Kansas. Damage is reported at McConnell Air Force Base and the Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing plants. Luckily no one was badly hurt.

Around seventy-five percent of Thurman, Iowa was destroyed by a tornado. The rest of the town of 250 has been evacuated due to the damages. Only minor injuries were reported there.

In Petersburg, Nebraska cars looked as if they had been shot up. Baseball sized hail struck the town overnight. Again, luckily no one was killed or seriously injured.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma began issuing warnings for that time, two days in advance. Tornadoes may still be individually hard to predict, but storms that will produce the deadly storms are predicted further and further in advance, thanks to the advances in technology.

Remembering: Jackie Robinson

Born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was meant to do great things in sports and in life. At UCLA he became the first athlete to letter in four varsity sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.

He would serve in the WWII Army, but was honorably discharghed after facing insubordination charges, when he refused to move to the back of a segregated bus.

It was then that he really began to play baseball. In 1944, he joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League, playing shortstop. By 1945, he had been picked up by the Dodgers, and was playing for their Montreal Royals farm team. There he led the league in batting.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson debuted in Major League Baseball, playing first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the first black player to play in the majors. Jackie would face the racism aimed at him, by becoming the first ever Rookie of the Year.

In 1949, he would move to second base, and be named Most Valuable Player for the National League. 1950 saw him become the highest payed player, earning $35,000. When he retired in 1956 he had a career batting average of .311, 1,518 hits, and 137 home runs. In 1962, his first year of eligibility, we was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. On the 50th anniversary of his debut, MLB retired his number 42.

Remembering: The Assassination of Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth

April 14, 1865, it's been four years and two days since the Civil War began, and five days since General Lee surrendered. The North begins to celebrate the end of the war and the South begins to face the war is over, and they lost.

For the last ten days, President Lincoln has been troubled by a dream, but on this night he is going to a play at Ford's Theater, and has a small chance to relax some. His biggest ordeal is over, the country has been preserved, and soon they'll have to start working on reconstruction and try for healing.

John Wilkes Booth's plan to kidnap the President on March 20, and ransom him in exchange for southern independence, fell through because Lincoln didn't show where he was scheduled to be. Now the Southern cause he believed in lays destroyed, Richmond has fallen, Lee has surrendered, the war is over. Vengeance is all that is left.

Booth tell his conspirators of a change in the plan. Lewis T. Powell will go to Secretary of State Seward's home and kill him. George A. Atzerodt will kill Vice President Johnson. And Booth will go to Ford's Theater, where Lincoln is supposed to be and assassinate him as well. The triple death should throw the nation into chaos, without a clear chain of command. Maybe somehow the South will be able to rise out of the mess, an independent country.

Powell is successful in seriously injuring, but not killing Seward. Atzerodt loses his nerve and flees. Booth though is unnoticed as he slips into the President's box, and shoots him in the back of the head. Jumping down to the stage he shouts, "Sic semper tyrannis! (Thus always to tyrants) The South is avenged!"

Booth escapes Washington DC, only later to be cornered in a barn, by federal troops on a man hunt. Lincoln dies of his wounds the next morning, his dream having come true. Of the eight other people convicted of conspiracy four were hung, four were jailed.

Remembering: Hail and Lightning Kill 1,000 English Soldiers

April 13, 1360, while burning the suburbs of Paris, and preparing to march on Chartes, English troops find themselves in the middle of a storm. The storm, reportedly came out of nowhere, making the day "foul with mist, lightning, and hail".

As lightning struck killing some troops, hail fell killing hundreds of others. Around 1,000 English troops, including two of the leaders, were killed by the storm.

The heavy losses from the storm, were seen as a sign from God, that He was against the war, and England sued for peace. A treaty was signed on May 8, ending the first part of Hundred Years' War, which had began in 1337.

The war would renew in 1369, when the French attacked English holdings in Brittany. The second phase would last until 1453.

Bounty for Vampires in India

The villages surrounding the Indian town of Dharmapuri, are being threatened by vampires. Or so say the villagers who's cows have been mysteriously dying off.

Because of the threat, streets are empty from dusk on, and holy symbols have been painted on walls and doors to keep vampires away.

In response, government officials have offered a reward of one lakh of rupees, or nearly $2000, to anyone who can bring them a dead vampire.

O. Jayaraman, who announced the reward said, "It is a big hoax. Anti-socials whose illegal night activities such as bootlegging and liquor brewing have been disturbed are spreading rumours and killing cattle".

Colorado Sheriff Deputies Accused of Shooting Keg

Three Park County deputies have been suspended while accusations that they shot a keg at an under age party are being investigated.

Last weekend, the officers found a group of teens partying in a remote area of the Pike National Forest. Several of the teens were ticketed for underage drinking.

But according to some of the highschoolers, and their parents, two of the deputies fired a total of three shots at a chain that was holding a keg of beer to a tree.

Undersheriff Monte Gore says he has asked the Teller County Sheriff's Office to investigate the incident, to avoid conflict of interests.

Coup in Guinea-Bissau

Late Thursday night government troops seized part of the country's capital, including the ruling party's headquarters and the national radio and TV stations. So far the army has not made any official statements.

Outgoing prime minister and presidential hopeful, Carlos Gomes Junior's home came under attack, and he was kidnapped by some of the troops. His location is unknown. Nor is the where abouts of Raimundo Pereira, the country's interim president, known.

After the loud night, filled with military vehicles, gunshots, and explosions; the streets have been very quiet, with many people deciding to stay home.

Soldiers have taken up stations around foreign embassies, including the UN offices. They appear to be keeping anyone from seeking refuge on in the embassies.

The Economic Community of West African States, as well as other nations, have condemned the coup, calling for the return of order and law.

Remembering: Fort Sumter

April 12, 1861 the Civil War begins as Confederate forces fire on the US held Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, the first state to do so. On January 9, Star of The West, a supply ship, attempted to reach the fort, but warning shots were fired, and the ship fled.

On February 15, the Confederate Congress declared that all Union forts must be "either by negotiation or force". Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, refused their demand of surrender.

By April 6, Sumter was the last federal installation that hadn't been coerced into surrender or been seized. Lincoln sent word to the South that a ship would be sent, with nothing but food in it. There would be no reinforcements, no ammunition, just humanitarian aid.

The South's answer was sent April 12 at 4:30am, as the Confederate guns unleashed. They would fire on the fort for thirty-three straight hours. Over four thousand shells were fired by the time the fort surrendered.

The war between the states had begun, and would last until April 8, 1865.

Nebraska Could Continue Keystone XL

The Keystone XL Pipeline might have been attacked by the federal government, but that doesn't seem to be stopping it from continuing. Already Oklahoma and Texas have decided to finish their parts of it.

Now Nebraska may give it the go ahead as well. The state government has a vote before that it would allow the Department of Environmental Quality to evaluate the social, environmental and economic impact of any proposed route.

If the bill passes, then the department could submit a route to the state. At which point the state could then give it a full go ahead. Opponents of the pipeline are worried, because the Department of Environmental Quality has never told Governor Dave Heineman, no. The Governor is a big supporter of the pipeline.

Standoff in The South China Sea

BRP Gregorio de Pilar

On Sunday, a Philippine Navy surveillance aircraft spotted eight Chinese fishing boats in Philippine waters. The BRP Gregorio de Pilar was dispatched. Tuesday upon boarding one of the vessels it's inspection crew found "large amounts of illegally collected corals, giant clams and live sharks" in the boat's compartments.


The inspection team returned and reported. Before the Gregorio de Pilar could begin making arrests, two Chinese maritime surveillance ships showed up, and placed themselves between the fishing boats and the Gregorio de Pilar.


With this began the standoff. The Philippines have protested to the Chinese government, but China responded by stating that the area is Chinese territory. This despite the area being recognized as belonging to the Philippines by UN treaty. China in fact claims almost the whole South China Sea to be theirs.

Wednesday the Philippines dispatched a coast guard vessel to join the Gregorio de Pilar. By the time it arrived on Thursday, a third Chinese vessel had arrived. Latest reports from the BBC state that the Gregorio de Pilar has pulled back, but the Philippine government would not state why.


The Philippines are scheduled to undergo naval operations with the US Navy, April 16-27, near the area.