Monday, July 2, 2012

Waldo Canyon Fire Nears 19,000 Acres

Residents in Colorado Springs are starting to be allowed to return home after being evacuated due to the threat of the Waldo Canyon Fire.

Several thousand people are still evacuated, and most of those returning are still on alert.

The fire has burned close to 19,000 acres, killed 2, and burned down 346 homes.

1,500 personnel are battling the blaze, which is around fifty-five percent contained.

So far the fire has cost nearly nine million dollars, and it's cause is under investigation.

Fire fighters hope to have full containment by July 16.

Several other fires are burning throughout Colorado, with a total of fifty-six currently burning in the US, most of which are in the Rocky Mountain region.

Efforts have been hampered nationally with the grounding of the military's firefighting C130 fleet, after one of them crashed.

Other parts of the world are struggling with their own fires, most notably Spain, where more than two thousand people and forty-one aircraft are fighting fires there that combined have burned nearly 200,000 acres.

Last Weather Forecast You'll Ever Need

Aaron Justus of CBS 6, in Richmond, Virginia, gave one of best forecasts ever on Sunday.

Keeping a straight throughout, the weatherman warned of volcanic eruption, a global super storm, and even a Godzilla appearance.

But don't worry, all will return to normal, and you'll be glad to have the 100 degree temps and summer weather back.

Fire Fighting C130 Crashes

The military has grounded their fleet of seven fire fighting C130s after the eighth crashed in South Dakota.

At least one of it's crew was killed in the crash, which is being blamed on fatigue cracks in the wings.

The remaining planes will be cleared once they all have been thoroughly checked.

It is a really bad time for the planes to be missing from action, due to the amount of fires across the country.

With the eight gone, only fourteen C130s, which are all contracted to the federal government, remain in the fight.

Nieto Elected President of Mexico

Enrique Pena Nieto was elected President of Mexico in Sunday's election.

A few problems did occur during the voting yesterday, including armed men breaking into a Monterrey polling station and stealing ballot boxes.

In Rincon Chamula troops had to be called out to stop violence between supporters of the PRI and the Green Party.

Reports from there list several as being injured and three dead.

Nieto brings the Institutional Revolution Party back to power after twelve years of the National Action Party.

Before that the PRI had held power for over seventy years.

The PRI is also expected to end up with governors in twenty-one of the thirty-one states.

During the course of out going President Calderon's term, more than sixty thousand Mexicans are believed to have lost their lives in the drug war.

Drug lords gained a lot of territory during the time that PAN ran the country, causing many people to want the old powers back in hopes of returning stability.

Mexico's economy is however growing strongly, with only 4.5% unemployment, and a blossoming middle class.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Astronauts Return From International Space Station

Three of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station returned to earth Sunday.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers had been on board the ISS since December 2011.

They returned to earth via a Russian Soyuz capsule, landing in Kazakhstan.

During their time aboard they accepted the arrival of SpaceX's Dragon Capsule, the first commercial vehicle to dock with the station.

On July 14, three new crew members are scheduled to replace them.

Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin remain on board with NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, and are scheduled to come back to earth in September.

Spain Wins Euro 2012

In a less one sided match than it sounds, Spain took down Italy with a final score of 4-0.

Italy played the last twenty-seven minutes short handed, and until the final few minutes were still playing strong.

No matter what the did during the game, Spain just seemed to have the answer.

Spain showed themselves to be the better team, becoming the first team to win three Euro Cups in a row.

They left the game having not allowed a goal in more than 510 minutes.

One of the most notable things about the Spanish team, is that there is no super star, they are a team, rather than a single person back by his team.

The Spanish will likely be the team to beat for at least the next few years.

Turkey Scrambles Jets in Response to Syrian Aircraft

Less than a week after promising to do so, Turkey scrambled jets in response to approaching Syrian Aircraft.

On Sunday, Turkey said that during the course of Saturday there were three separate incidents.

In each case Turkey scrambled two jets in response to Syrian helicopters nearing the border.

Syrian forces did not cross the border, so there were no violent results.

Remembering: Canadian Independence

Throughout much of the 1800s Canadian dependence on Britain shrunk, and autonomy seemed more an eventuality.

Then in the 1860's, with much of the world focused on the civil war happening to the south, calls for secession from the empire began.

In 1864 the Maritime provinces held a conference to discuss forming their own country. Delegates from Ontario and Quebec came as well.

Later in the year, a second conference was held in Quebec, with talks increasingly focusing on how to have a peaceful secession from Britain.

The conferences resulted in a delegation being sent to London in 1866, to discuss things with the British government.

On July 1, 1867, through the British North America Act, Britain established the Dominion of Canada, a self governing country that was still part of the empire.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Storms Kill 13 in Eastern US

A series of violent storms left thirteen dead and more than three million without power, in the mideast and eastern United States, on Saturday.

Most of the deaths were caused by falling trees, though some were heat related.

Six were killed in Virginia, two in New Jersey, two in Maryland, and one each in Kentucky, Ohio and Washington DC.

The states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio were joined by Washington DC in declaring themselves disaster areas.

It is expected to take several days to restore power to all those effected.

Mexican Elections Sunday

Nieto, Mota, Orbador
On Sunday Mexico will vote for it's new President, as well as many other positions in congress, the senate, governors, and local ones as well.

Former governor Enrique Pena Nieto is seen as the leading candidate, but it is still up for grabs.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Josefina Vazquez Mota are both seen as still having possibilities of winning.

Nieto formerly was the Governor of Mexico state, and belongs to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which held power for more than seventy years, until 2000.

Obrador is the former Mayor of Mexico City and belongs to Party of the Democratic Revolution, and almost won in 2006. His campaign has seen a recent surge of support from students.

Mota, a businesswoman and former education secretary, belongs to the National Action Party, which currently holds the presidency.

A lot of focus has gone into how each candidate pledges to end corruption, work on the nation's poverty, and deal with the war on drugs.

At least 55,000 people have been killed in drug related violence, since the last Presidential elections, in 2006.

Mexico faces a population with more than one third below the poverty line, this whilst only having a 4.5% unemployment rate.