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Solar powered plane completes first leg of transcontinental trip

Tue, 07 May 2013 06:54:48 GMT

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Transport

Sources [edit]

Washington Post. "Sun power sends 'high-tech dragonfly' across the US" — Sydney Morning Herald, May 6, 2013
euronews. "Sun-powered plane begins trans-American trip" — euronews, May 5, 2013
Associated Press. "Solar plane lands in Ariz., 1st leg of major trip" — USA Today, May 4, 2013

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Australian Jesse Williams drafted in fifth round by the NFL's Seattle Seahawks

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:28:05 GMT

Wikinews Sports

Sources [edit]

Dan Nancarrow. "Jesse Williams drafted by Seattle" — Kiama Independent, April 28, 2013
Jerry Brewer. "In Jesse Williams, Seattle Seahawks might have made another deft NFL draft pickup" — Seattle Times, April 27, 2013
Phil Lutton. "Jesse Williams tipped to go in first round" — Brisbane Times, April 23, 2013
"1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012" — Australian Bureau of Statistics, May 24, 2012

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Reports of at least fourteen dead this week due to gun-related suicides in the United States

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:53:18 GMT

Correction — February 6, 2013

This article does not conform to our neutrality policy, due to its manner of presentation of an out-of-context selection of facts. The lapse appears to have been unintentional by all parties involved. We apologize for the error.

Crime and law

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More information at Wikipedia:

Sunday, February 3, 2013

A number of suicides as a result of self-inflicted gunshot wounds took place around the United States this week with reports of deaths in Arizona, California, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington.

Last Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alston Badger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 51 years old.

On Monday in Clark County, Nevada, Jody Sherman, the Ecomom founder and CEO, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Another suicide occurred Monday in New Jersey. Chester and Rosaria Andraka died after Chester allegedly shot Rosaria before killing himself. Chester was a former police officer and there were few signs of trouble in the relationship prior to their deaths.

Another murder-suicide shooting took place on Monday. This one occurred in Elmont, New York, where 58-year-old Audley Dennis is believed to have shot his 46-year-old wife, Karen Rodgers-Dennis, before he shot himself. The couple allegedly had a history of fighting, with a family friend telling the New York Post, “They had their altercations. They would argue and yell, have outbursts."

Greensburg, Indiana, where one of this week's gun-related suicides took place
Image: Dopey9928.

In Greensburg, Indiana on Tuesday, local police Lieutenant Larry G. Dance committed suicide, dying from a self-inflicted gunshot. He had joined the police force on January 1, 1995. He left behind by a wife and two daughters.

On Tuesday in Waldorf, Maryland, local police reported an attempted murder-suicide with sixty-four year old Linda Lindsey believed to have shot her husband before fatally shooting herself. Her husband was reported to have survived and be in critical condition.

Devin Peterson, a twenty-two year old, allegedly committed suicide with a state trooper's shotgun following his alleged theft of a police cruiser, another car and a police chase on Interstate 80 in Nevada on Wednesday.

A seventy-year-old man from Renton, Washington died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound on Wednesday shortly after he called 911 to tell the dispatcher he was planning to take his own life.

On Wednesday, three people died in a murder-suicide in Oxnard, California that involved at least one gun. The deceased included two women and the suspected male shooter.

On Thursday, Lee Vining Fire Chief Tom Strazdims reported an Oregon man likely commited suicide by shooting himself in the parking lot of the town's visitor center.

Also on Thursday, the body of a suspected gunman accused of killing a call center CEO and injuring a lawyer was found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound in Mesa, Arizona. Police had been searching for the man since Wednesday following the shooting at a mediation session over a lawsuit.

In another reported suicide on Thursday, this one in the Baltimore area, a man was found dead in the parking lot of the Timonium gun range of a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

In Radcliff, Kentucky on Thursday, alleged burglar Michael Strand exchanged gunfire with police after they attempted to bring him in for questioning. Following a lull of approximately an hour, police entered the apartment and found the man dead from an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In Medina, Ohio on Thursday, United States Marine Andrew Baumgartner, who served in Afghanistan and had been discharged several months ago, got into an altercation with Sgt. Scott Schmoll after Schmoll felt a gun on Baumgartner's person. Following this, Baumgartner hid in nearby woodlands, emerged to knock on the door of a local home to tell the resident he had been hit by a car, only to disappear into the woods again. He subsequently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police discovered his body alongside items they believed he had stolen.

The problem of suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound is recognized by some gun groups. The Royal Oak shooting range in Michigan stopped renting guns this week following after twelve people having attempted to kill themselves with guns rented from the range since 2001 (five of them were successful). Three of the incidents occurred in the past four months, with two of them fatal.

These suicides take place against a backdrop of gun control discussion in the United States Congress, where former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and an NRA spokesperson appeared before the body this week to discuss the possible need for stricter gun control laws.

According to the Maine Center of Disease Control and Prevention, guns are used in 85% of male suicides in the state. Debate has continued this week in the state about gun control as it relates to suicide. Iran's PressTV published an opinion piece claiming that for every gun owner who uses their weapon in their home for self-defense, there are eleven suicide attempts involving a weapon. In the United States, veterans are more likely to use guns in acts of suicide than acts of homicide. The number of daily suicides by veterans is currently 22.

Guns are often used in suicide attempts, with PolitiFact reporting on Wednesday that there were 4,643 non-fatal gun involved suicide attempts in 2010. This number contradicts testimony by Wayne LaPierre of NRA to the United States Congress regarding unintentional deaths cause by firearms as LaPierre cited 600 deaths. Australia instituted tougher gun control regulations in 1996, including gun buy back programs. According to a study by Andrew Leigh of Australian National University and Christine Neill of Wilfrid Laurier University, these programs correlate to an 80% drop in suicides involving guns at a time when other methods of suicide remained consistent.

Similar research done in the United States has similar results. A 1991 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found stricter gun control in the District of Columbia was a likely cause of a reduction in the number of suicides by gun shot in D.C. compared to surrounding areas.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

"Radcliff man who died after exchanging gunfire with police killed himself, police say" — The Courier-Journal, February 1, 2013
Carrie Wells and Jessica Anderson. "Man committed suicide at Timonium gun range, police say" — Baltimore Sun, February 1, 2013
Bob Jones. "Surveillance video shows Marine, burglary suspect trying to get into Granger Twp home before suicide" — ABC 5, February 1, 2013
Robert Long. "Why isn’t suicide prevention part of Maine’s public safety debate?" — Bangor Daily News, February 1, 2013
Dave Gilson. "10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down" — PressTV, February 1, 2013
Andrea Chang. "After Jody Sherman death, tech community seeks dialogue on suicide" — Los Angeles Times, February 1, 2013
"Greensburg Police Lt.'s Death Ruled Suicide" — Eagle Country 99.3 FM, January 31, 2013
Greg Jaffe,. "VA study finds more veterans committing suicide" — Washington Post, January 31, 2013
Benett Kessler. "Report of attempted suicide in visitors center parking lot in Lee Vining" — Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News, January 31, 2013
Associated Press. "Suspected Phoenix gunman found dead of apparent suicide" — Oregon Live, January 31, 2013
Patrick Clark. "After Suicide of Jody Sherman, A Call to Talk About the Emotional Strain of Life at Startups" — BeatBeat, January 31, 2013
Times staff writer. "Neighbors heard shots during apparent murder-suicide in Oxnard" — Los Angeles Times, January 31, 2013
Catherine Kavanaugh. "Royal Oak gun range changes policy to stop walk-in suicides" — Daily Tribune, January 31, 2013
Associated Press. "100 lbs. of pot worth $495k in Nevada suicide case" — Watertown Daily Times, January 31, 2013
Eric Anderson. "Elmont Couple Found Dead After Murder-Suicide" — Long Island Media, Inc., January 30, 2013
Charles County Sheriff's Office. "Attempt Murder/Suicide In Waldorf" — thebaynet, January 30, 2013
"As a result of National Rifle Association and other private-sector (safety-education) programs, fatal firearms accidents are at the lowest level in 100 years." — PolitiFact, January 30, 2013
Jenny Manning. "Renton Man Found Dead At Heritage Park Of Apparent Self-Inflicted Gun Shot" — Renton Patch, January 30, 2013
Mike Frassinelli and Brendan Kuty. "18 days before apparent murder-suicide, Facebook post portrayed Parsippany lovers" — Star-Ledger, January 29, 2013
"Assistant U.S. Attorney Alston Badger’s death ruled suicide" — The Post and Courier, January 29, 2013
"Stephen King says since Australia passed tough gun laws, "homicides by firearm have declined almost 60 percent."" — PolitiFact, January 25, 2013
"Washington, D.C., had some of the strictest gun laws in the country. And when they passed them, violence skyrocketed." — PolitiFact, January 17, 2013

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FanFiction.Net adult content purge felt across fandom two weeks on

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 14:50:36 GMT

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

FanFiction.Net's purge removed stories from Harry Potter, Naruto, Twilight, Hetalia - Axis Powers.
Image: alixe75 on ffdotnetrants.

Two weeks ago, FanFiction.Net purged the site of much of the adult content, surprising many fan fiction readers and writers; leaving several archives on the Internet unprepared for a deluge of new users, problems continuing to this day. FanFiction.Net removed around 62,000 stories after a change allowing writers under the age of eighteen to register.

FanFiction.Net spelled out the reasons for their purge on the front page of the site:

“	Please note we would like to clarify the content policy we have in place since 2002. FanFiction.Net follows the Fiction Rating system ranging from Fiction K to Fiction M. Although Fiction Ratings goes up to Fiction MA, FanFiction.Net since 2002 has not allowed Fiction MA rated content which can contain adult/explicit content on the site. FanFiction.Net only accepts content in the Fiction K through Fiction M range. Fiction M can contain adult language, themes and suggestions. Detailed descriptions of physical interaction of sexual or violent nature is considered Fiction MA and has not been allowed on the site since 2002.	”
	— FanFiction.Net

According to alixe75 on LiveJournal's ffdotnetrants, FanFiction.Net deleted 2,002 Naruto stories, 1,497 Twilight stories, 1,256 Harry Potter stories, 670 Glee stories, 364 Inuyasha stories, 364 Hetalia - Axis Powers stories, 282 Kingdom Hearts, 213 Pokemon stories, 143 Yu-Gi-Oh stories, 127 Dragon Ball Z stories and 47 Doctor Who stories amongst others. rahirah on Dreamwidth provided another statistic, "Approximately 11% of all BtVS [Buffy the Vampire Slayer] stories were zapped. That may not sound like much, but FFnet is big - that comes to thousands of stories." feckless-muse on Dreamwidth reported the purge included banning users. Despite the purge, Alexa reports no drop in traffic to FanFiction.Net.

1 Critics United
2 Fan response
3 Fan fiction archives
4 Sources
5 External links

Critics United [edit]

Note — June 20, 2012

Critics United is a subcommunity of FanFiction.Net users; this was not clearly explained in the article.

Some in the fan community blamed Critics United for the purge, and a few Tumblr users created a group to fight them. The group earned a mention on the Huffington Post.

According to feckless-muse, "people reporting these so called site violations are literally ganging up on the writers and leaving comments like the ones below en masse. The poor writers are spending hours (and in some cases months and years for ongoing fics) on their works only to be abused, bullied and then having their work deleted without notice." With these sentiments being echoed on LiveJournal, jessioriginal reported threats from the group at the same time the purge took place.

“	It's been suggested that part of the reason behind the purge were the mass-reports coming from a trollish community on FanFiction that felt they have the right to judge which stories do and do not belong on the site. Unfortunately, they are not alone. My Fatal Fanfiction story—a Fatal Frame parody revolving around the recent purge—was targeted by them. Apparently the short prologue with references to the characters, story, and setting of the game was enough for them to declare my story an original work. They have since demanded I change it or remove it, threatened me, they've reported my story, and they keep leaving those kind of reviews.	”
	— jessioriginal on LiveJournal

Two months ago, David Anderson, of Dudley, Massachusetts, created a petition condemning Critics United which drew increased interest in light of the purge. By earlier today, 224 people signed it including Danny Kleemann of Peoria, Illinois, Brian George O'Connor of Chatham, New York, Tegan Chin of Arlington, Texas, Holly Reichert of Euclid, Ohio, Claire Owen of Houston, Texas, Joanna Zhang of Charlotte, North Carolina, Amber Keystone of Monroe, Louisiana, Lily Hamilton of Charlotte, North Carolina, Allison Law of Charlotte, North Carolina and Erica Winchester of Clinton, Massachusetts who all signed today. Earlier this week, Timothy Hall signed, saying "The profiles are being deleted due to either content violations or inactivity, including the stories in connection with the profiles. Most of profile and story deletions are because of depicted content about adult or violent themes being detailed beyond its 'suggestion' even in the slightest manner."

So great was one person's anger, they created a page about Critics United on Encyclopedia Dramatica several months ago. People mentioned this and praised people trolling Critics United on Tumblr and LiveJournal as recently as yesterday.

Correction — Jun 18, 2012

the Critics United page on Encyclopedia Dramatica was created on June 6, after the purge.

Fan response [edit]

A scene from Mary West's mature rated Harry Potter fan fiction "Time for a Change"
Image: SSHGGillian.

Twelve days ago, a FanFiction.Net contributor named Charlotte Weatherly created a petition on Change.org requesting FanFiction.Net stop its own destruction by purging stories. Earlier today, the count of signatories stood at over 30,000, many offering their perspectives on why the site acted in error. Kara Bularzik's comment, liked over 270 times, said: "... I cannot believe so much valuable work is being trashed because it doesn't fit parameters that have not been strictly enforced since they were put into action. [...] What is the point of a ratings system if anything disagreeable is automatically purged? [...] I am truly disheartened, and I hope either a different course of action is taken or I wish ff.net and its future users (all within the PG reading range) the best as I sadly look for a site where one can truly 'unleash their imagination'." Zaynab Quadri's comment, liked 88 times, expressed a similar sentiment: "Writers give warnings when they write explicit content, so if anyone's reading anything they shouldn't be, that's their own fault. Let the writers have freedom of speech." Lex Black's comment, liked by 30 people, said: "Some of the best stories are being threatened by this. This rule hasn't been inforced^[sic] for ten years and limiting creativity now is ridicules.^[sic] If it upsets you, then be MATURE enough to not read it."

People continue to support the petition, with Maria Adams of San Diego, California, Matthew Sandrock of Santa Maria, California, Jessie Brown of Clinton, Mississippi, Cynthia Mora of Renton, Washington, Anis Rosdi of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, James Clarke of Cedar Point, North Carolina, Blair Ritchie of Ashland, Oregon, Rianna McMahan of Auburn, Washington, Hannah Johnson of Tuolumne, California and C.J. Concepcion of Goodyear, Arizona signing today. Discussion of the petition on a FanFiction.Net message board generated over 3,000 messages, and is still active.

On Dreamwidth, members urged FanFiction.Net users to back up their work lest it be deleted. Users auronlu, vieralynn and others encouraged people to spread the word of possible deletion.

The purge story was picked up by Hannah Ellison at the Huffington Post two days ago, who compared the FanFiction.Net purge to a book burning. Ellison went on to say, "[t]hese unpaid authors are at the mercy of the sites willing to house their work and as such must adhere to the lines drawn in the very murky sand of copyright law. Some of these authors spent months writing and editing novel length works to then have them deleted entirely, as if they were something with no artistic or cultural worth; artefacts that either follow the rules or don't." Ellison's post earned 1,900+ Facebook likes, with 50 comments on the article.

Ellison's story appeared on several Tumblr posts. xmarisolx posted her response on Tumblr a day ago, claiming FanFiction.Net was shooting itself in the foot, driving traffic to other archives such as An Archive of Our Own (AO3). candycanine, quoting Heinrich Heine, supported Ellison's book burning reference.

Talking to Wikinews, former fan fiction writer and current professional writer Angelia Sparrow indicated a lack of surprise over FanFiction.Net's actions saying, "Ten years ago they purged all the NC-17 stuff. Sounds like they just did a cleanup again. We're getting more puritanical everywhere, you know? All Romance Ebooks is strongly limiting what romances can contain."

Long time Thunderbirds fan fiction writer Tikatu told Wikinews, "The content purge hasn't bothered me at all, really, though I've been lurking around on ff.net's Critics United. They've been blamed for all the deleted stories -- never mind that they don't have enough people to have reported that many fics."

Anime fan fiction writer and artist Hurricane Islandheart defended FanFiction.Net's actions, saying "All FF.net was doing was catching up on their site maintenance and reports - people just freaked because they'd finally been caught breaking the rules." She reinforced this idea on her LiveJournal.

“	I think that's what finally killed me about fandom. That bullshit merited coverage by the Huffington Post, and all that happened was FF.net finally decided to deal with some reports and enforce their rules for a little while again. They've done this before. We did it at MediaMiner, when that site was actively moderated - reports would pile up in slack time, when all the mods were busy, and when we'd finally get a chance to look at them, some would take it as a "sudden attack" on their fics. No, it's not a "sudden attack" - you got away with breaking the rules for a while, but now, between some mods who have time on their hands and a group targeting shitty fics, they finally got caught. (For the record - my fics flagrantly disregarded the rules at FF.net, and for the last few years I had a notice up on my profile in boldface that said as much and that I was aware of it. I was never, ever, reported; I never, ever had CU comment on any of my fics; I never, ever had FF.net staff remove them. I finally got sick of the site and took them down myself a few days ago, since I've decided to make my move to AO3 permanent.)	”
	— Hurricane Islandheart on LiveJournal

Fan fiction archives [edit]

In response to the purge, users flocked to other sites and archives. Recommendations for sites included DreamWidth, LiveJournal, YourFanFiction.Com and An Archive of Our Own (AO3).

AO3 experienced down time as the site's servers could not handle the additional load from FanFiction.Net users, generating a number of 50 errors at the height of the problem. The site's parent organization, Organization for Transformative Works, not mentioning server problems on their Dreamwidth account, updated their website six days ago to discuss the situation.

“	This sudden and dramatic expansion has come about largely as a result of changes on Fanfiction.net, who have recently introduced more stringent enforcement of their policies relating to explicit fanworks which have resulted in some fans no longer being able to host their works there. One of the primary reasons the AO3 was created was in order to provide a home for fanworks which were at risk of deletion elsewhere, so we're very keen to welcome these new users, but in the short term this does present us with some challenges!	”
	— Lucy Pearson, Organization for Transformative Works

The traffic increase came on the back of Quantcast-reported increase earlier in the year, 57,201 visitors at the end of April, up from 40,560 at the end of March. Alexa reported a big drop in traffic for the archive the day of the purge and traffic has subsequently remained at above average before FanFiction.Net purge levels. This matches other organizationally reported increase. AO3 took measures to reduce server load such as disabling tag filtering, improving statistics caching, turning off alphabetical listing of users, suspending the ability for people to request invitations to and from the site. Even before FanFiction.Net's adult content purge, AO3's invitation code queue exceeded 17,000. Before the site closed registration, Tumblr user alien-rz requested a code and received a confirmation e-mail saying "You’ve been added to our queue! Yay! We estimate that you’ll receive an invitation around 2012-12-13."

FanFiction.Net users like fujiwara-nanaho registered for Dreamwidth in case FanFiction.Net removed their content.

No problems were reported by Hurricane Islandheart on MediaMiner.Org, an anime-centric fan fiction site popular in the mid-'00s that is largely absent of moderators at the moment. The site saw an increase in traffic earlier this year, going from 24,156 at end-December, according to Quantcast, to 58,558 visitors at the end of March this year.

According to Tikatu, a member of FanFiction.net Writers Unite, an eFiction software based site, YourFanFiction.com went down under the additional traffic strain. According to Tumblr users, having been created in response to the purge, the site swelled to over a thousand users including a number of Tumblr users like bluelilacflame, konata-the-espeon and getwhatyouwantorjustgetold.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

Hannah Ellison. "The Book Burning That Wasn't: Thousands of Works of Fiction Destroyed and No One Pays Attention" — Huffington Post, June 14, 2012
Lucy Pearson. "Update on AO3 performance issues" — Organization for Transformative Works, June 11, 2012

External links [edit]

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US fans turn out for 2012 Phoenix Comicon

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 19:58:49 GMT

Saturday, June 2, 2012

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At the Phoenix Comicon 2012, 30,000 fans turned out for the stars and monsters, and some walked away with autographs. Friends Hunter Lewis, Justin Rose, Ryan Scola and Taylor Fajen acquired Jon Bernthal's autograph.
Video: Crtew.

Fans at Phoenix Comicon 2012 pose behind backdrops and throughout the Phoenix Convention Center. From back left to right: Tony "Swordman" Camp, Jim "Batman" Camp, and Tina "Good Witch" Camp. From front left to right: Katie "Super Woman" and her cousin Stella "Bat Girl" Camp.
Image: Crtew.

After getting Jon Bernthal's autograph, friends (from left to right) Ryan Scola, Justin Rose, Taylor Fajen (as creeper box head) and Hunter Lewis celebrate their new possessions.
Image: Crtew.

At Phoenix Comicon 2012, fans, like "The Zombie Chicks," entertained other fans by dressing up and playing their parts. From left to right: Zombies Tori Hoganson, Emmalaine Wright and Lyle Yanak.
Image: Crtew.

Camera operator Joey Deihl captures the frightening moment when 13th Floor Haunted House character "Nemesis" meets his friend Montana E. at Phoenix Comicon 2012.
Image: Crtew.

Eddie Deleon and Raquel Munguia pose with the 13th Floor Haunted House monster "Colossus" at Phoenix Comicon 2012.
Image: Crtew.

Phoenix, Arizona — Last weekend, Phoenix fans of comics, science fiction, horror, fantasy, cos-play, anime and manga, Society for Creative Anachronism, and more, marked a milestone as the city held its tenth annual Phoenix Comicon at the Phoenix Convention Center. The event — which is entirely the work of more than 700 volunteers according to coordinator Colin Aprill — generated around US$5 million for the "Valley of the Sun" during its four-day run. Wikinews was there.

As one unknown source from the crowd was overheard saying, "It's all about the fans." Descending into the hall by escalator gave a sense of the scale to the creativity in the center. Fans could be seen scattering about in a flurry of motion on their way from one event to another and producing their own spectacle, most in costume, on their way.

This year the four-day convention in the Valley was estimated to set a new attendance record as 30,000 visitors showed. Most were clothed in costumes that transformed themselves into Batmans, creeper box heads, furries, Lady and Knight couple, pirates, pixies, Star Trek officers, Star Wars' Empire troopers, Superwomen, and zombies. One of the most common activities at Comicon was people taking photos of each other while they took turns posing or snapping shots.

The Camp family stopped intermittently to have their photos taken by others. The Camps were led by eldest brother Jim "Batman" Camp. He attended Comicon with his sister Tina "Good Witch" Camp, who brought her daughter Katie "Super Woman." Sibling Tony Camp, who attended with his daughter Stella "Bat Girl," was said to be "the instigator" behind the family's turnout at Comicon. "You get to be dressed up and can act goofy, and you don't feel weird because everybody is dressing up, too," said Tony about the family-friendly event.

The exhibit hall was filled with artists and merchants selling comic books, trinkets, memorabilia, wares and keepsakes. Amidst the shoppers, the photo opportunities continued to attract the most attention. For all the star-studded autograph booths and an artist alley with famed comic book artists, the most fun was simply enjoying the presence of other fans in costume.

The Thirteenth Floor Haunted House took advantage of the photo-op activity by supplying monsters "Nemesis" and "Collosus" for more of this activity. Manager Tim Pugsley says the company owns five out of the top 1300 haunted houses in the United States. The monsters' human counterparts remained anonymous on purpose. "The characters don't get ruined that way," said a handler.

Montana E. had his picture taken with "Nemesis" by friend Joey Deihl, while Eddie Deleon and young Raquel Munguia posed with "Collosus."

Fans also gathered Saturday for a flash mob event, in which people danced or acted to Michael Jackson's mega-hit song "Thriller". An entertainment group calling themselves "The Zombie Chicks" attended the flash mob and then later drifted in trance through the exhibitor hall of the convention center. "We're here for the performance, not for the stuff," said Tori Hoganson, who pointed like a bored consumer at the trinkets in a stall. She was careful to use as few words as possible to speak her mind out of character before going back mindfully to her mindless performance. She was accompanied by her friends, who in human form are known as Emmalaine Wright and Lyle Yanak. The group was watched closely and held at bay by "The Keeper" Ben Fondren, who lurked nearby as a faceless shadow.

The fans also turned out to see big stars, like William Shatner, who portrayed Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series; LeVar Burton, who is synonymous with the ship's engineer Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation; or Jon Bernthal, who was the sometimes hero and sometimes anti-hero Shane Walsh in the TV series The Waking Dead.

Father and son John and David Phelps, who are both Star Trek fans, attended the event together and were excited to see Shatner. "He can be funny, but he's also fun to laugh at," said John Phelps with a smile. His son David liked to laugh at Shatner when the artist attempted to sing. Shatner has had an alternative "tongue-in-cheek" career singing hits such as "Common People" on the 2004 album Has Been.

Hunter Lewis got Jon Bernthal's autograph, which came penned with the message, "I F@&#'in hate Zombies." Zombies were the main source of the angst that bedeviled characters in his hit TV show. Hunter's friends Justin Rose, Ryan Scola and Taylor Fagen also met with Bernthal in the autograph line. This was just one of many examples of how friends and family were bonding and sharing together in the spectacle throughout the convention center.

There were also breakout sessions for classes, performances, gaming, and crafts. Nyki Robertson Crosby, a.k.a. "Lady Thunder," who is the matriarch of one of the largest houses for the Society for Creative Anachronism in the Phoenix area, sponsored a class on creating a "Basic T-shirt Tunic" so that anyone who wanted to attend an S.C.A. event in costume could fit in with a minimal investment in time, effort and money. She said the secret is to create a costume that could be one someone would wear between 600–1600 A.D. "We're the Society of Creative Anachronism and not the Society of Creative Accuracy," Robertson Crosby said.

The Phoenix Comicon was carnivalesque in its look and feel. And it spread well beyond the convention center as knights and Wonderland characters and more walked the streets of Phoenix and lunched and dined with the "civilians". The civilians were the ones who kept asking, "What's going on?"

They may have been "out of towners" visiting the "Valley of the Sun" between May 24–27, because after ten years, Phoenix now has an established tradition.

This year's largest Comicon is to be Comic-Con International San Diego 2012, July 12–15 in California.

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Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

"Welcome to Comic-Con International" — San Diego Comic-Con International, June 2, 2012 (date of access)
Dan Spindle. "Phoenix Comicon a $5 million economic impact" — KSAZ-TV, June 1, 2012
Michael Contreras. "Record number of fans attend 10th annual Phoenix Comicon" — Downtown Devil, May 28, 2012

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US Air Force upgrades F-22 oxygen system after deadly crash

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:19:55 GMT

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

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A pair of F-22s, from file.

The United States Air Force is replacing emergency oxygen handles on its 170 F-22 Raptor jet fighters. The move follows a report into a November 2010 crash that killed a pilot in Alaska.

The report finds Captain Jeffrey Haney's death was partly due to aircraft design flaws. The experienced 31-year-old was on a night mission when his aircraft crashed nose-down among mountains. Planemaker Lockheed Martin now faces legal action from his widow Anna, which they vow to contest.

The report identified three separate problems with the ring handle to activate emergency oxygen. The first was that pulling the ring could require intense effort, the second that it was possible to drop the ring between seats, and the third that pilots in cold-weather gear could struggle to grasp it.

Now new handles have been designed in Arizona and the Air Force will place them on all of the $143 million aircraft. All 40 Raptors at Haney's base, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, have received the $47 upgrade. The Air Force bought 200 of them.

Haney's death has been attributed by his employer as the result of his "channelized attention" on getting the main oxygen system to restart after it automatically cut out when it detected engine bay air leaks. This makes breathing through the jet's mask difficult. The Air Force say he should have activated his emergency oxygen but the accident report and lawsuit question his ability to do so. The report notes he was conscious and fighting to keep his jet airbourne up until impact.

Documents filed with a court in Illinois claim the handle's position is "in an area impossible for a pilot to reach while he or she maneuvered the sophisticated aircraft at speeds exceeding the speed of sound and while he or she experienced forces many times the force of gravity."

The fatal accident is not the only such problem to beset the F-22, which despite being billed by the Air Force as their most advanced fighter has never been deployed to combat since coming into service seven years ago. Three other Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson pilots activated emergency oxygen supplies during "physiological incidents" last month, said a spokesperson for the base. Raptors were grounded nationwide for five months last Summer over the oxygen systems.

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Sources [edit]

The Associated Press. "F-22 fighter jets retrofitted after Alaska crash" — CNBC, March 21, 2012
W.J. Hennigan. "Air Force to modify F-22 following fatal crash" — The Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2012

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'America’s Toughest Sheriff' to endorse Rick Perry for U.S. President

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:22:32 GMT

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sheriff Joe Arpaio in February 2011.
Image: Gage Skidmore.

Governor Rick Perry in October 2011.
Image: Gage Skidmore.

Joe Arpaio, the Sheriff for Maricopa County, Arizona, is expected to endorse Republican Party presidential candidate Governor Rick Perry of Texas this week at a New Hampshire campaign event, according to sources. Arpaio is expected to appear with Perry in Hudson, New Hampshire today, and will remain in the state for three days.

Arpaio, who refers to himself as "America’s Toughest Sheriff", is known for his tough stance on illegal immigration. As Sheriff, he has led raids to gather and arrest illegal immigrants and publicly supported Arizona's stringent 2010 immigration law. GOP presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney have all sought his endorsement. He endorsed Romney in 2008.

The endorsement could help Perry with conservative voters who have had problems with his record on illegal immigration. Perry was attacked for signing a bill that granted in-state tuition benefits to college-age illegal immigrants. He defended the bill during a September presidential debate, saying those criticizing him for it, "don’t have a heart". He later backed down from the statement.

As Governor of Texas for eleven years, Perry has overseen the state that has the longest border with Mexico. He vetoed a bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to receive driver's licenses and signed another that requires identification to vote.

During his presidential campaign, Perry has opposed the proposed full-length border fence, calling it impractical. Instead, he favors targeted fencing combined with mobilization of enforcement personnel.

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Sources [edit]

Dean Shalhoup. "Perry, Arizona sheriff coming to Hudson Tuesday" — Nashua Telegraph, November 28, 2011
Arlette Saenz. "Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Endorse Rick Perry Next Week" — ABC News, November 26, 2011
Doug Mataconis. "Rick Perry's Immigration Problem" — Outside the Beltway, September 24, 2011

External links [edit]

Rick Perry's views on security

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Internet hacking group LulzSec disbands

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:02:19 GMT

Monday, June 27, 2011

Internet

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LulzSec Logo

The computer hacking organization Lulz Security disbanded yesterday, said the group in a statement. Released via Pastebin, it states "[o]ur planned 50 day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance."

The announcement comes a day after The Guardian released leaked IRC logs of private conversations between LulzSec members and days after the arrest of a British teenager in connection to the group.

With the announcement the group released previously unseen private information. Included was AT&T and AOL internal data, Battlefield Heros Beta user account data, and user information from the NATO bookstore. In total over 810,000 people's user information was present in this final release.

LulzSec became known after they allegedly hacked the Play Station Network, rendering the service unusable. The group allegedly proceeded to hack US federal government websites such as those of the FBI and CIA. One of their last hacks targeted the Arizona Department of Public Safety in which they allegedly copied hundreds of confidential documents.

While LulzSec has disbanded, there are copycat organizations in Italy and Brazil.

Sources [edit]

Ian Sherr and Don Clark. "Hacker Group Calls It Quits" — Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2011
Salvador Rodriguez. "LulzSec calls it quits after 50 days" — Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2011
Elizabeth Montalbano. "LulzSec Hacks Arizona Police Computers" — InformationWeek, June 24, 2011
Ryan Gallagher and Charles Arthur. "Inside LulzSec: Chatroom logs shine a light on the secretive hackers" — The Guardian, June 24, 2011
Salvador Rodriguez. "LulzSec claims hack into Arizona Department of Public Safety" — Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2011

External links [edit]

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

Lulz Security

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Smoke from Arizona fire spreads to other states

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:13:59 GMT

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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Satellite image of smoke from the Wallow Fire.
Image: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Smoke from eastern Arizona's Wallow Fire has drifted into New Mexico and Colorado, where officials have issued a health advisory. The wildfire in Arizona continued to burn Tuesday night when weather conditions settled down, although conditions will likely become worse Wednesday. Covering 365 square miles, the fire has created hazy conditions as far away as Iowa. Residents of small communities including Greer and Alpine have been warned to evacuate. The Wallow Fire is currently the nation's largest wildfire; another fire is burning in southern Arizona. So far, about 3,000 people have evacuated the area around the Wallow Fire.

Around 2,500 firefighters are working to combat the wildfire; around four buildings have burned so far while hundreds more are at risk. On Monday, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a state of emergency declaration allowing access to special funds. High winds up to 60 MPH have been reported, allowing the fire to continue to move north. Joe Reinarz, the firefighting operation's commander, said, "The bad news is it's supposed to pick back up all the way through Thursday." U.S. Highway 180 was closed by officials for around two miles because of thick smoke obscuring drivers' visibility. The wildfire is decimating the ponderosa pine forest in the area; Kelly Wood, a Pinetop Fire Department spokesperson, said, "Normally, you can see the forest for miles. Now, there’s just smoke."

The large amounts of smoke have started to take a toll on area residents. Director of the local White Mountain Regional Medical Center Jerry Campeau said, "It’s very irritating. The first symptom is sinus pain. Then the throat gets irritated, sometimes so badly you can cough up blood. When you start to have tightness in the chest, then it’s serious." Patients have been taken away by road, as the smoke prevented any air transportation. The blaze began May 29 in the Bear Wallow area and has become the second largest in Arizona's history. National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said a large area of high pressure was causing smoke to be blown eastward. He said, "These fires have been going pretty good for the last four to six days, and with the dry conditions, they’re burning hot right now."

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Sources [edit]

Bob Christie. "Ariz. wildfire sends smoke, haze into other states" — The Associated Press, June 7, 2011
Marc Lacey. "Residents Told to Flee as Arizona Fire Spreads" — The New York Times, June 7, 2011
BBC News. "Arizona Wallow Fire triggers more evacuations" — BBC News, June 7, 2011
The Associated Press. "Wildfire becomes 2nd largest in Ariz. history" — CBS News, June 7, 2011

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Atlanta Thrashers sold to True North Sports and Entertainment, moving to Winnipeg

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:48:02 GMT

Canada

Sources [edit]

Postmedia News. "NHL returns to Winnipeg with Thrashers purchase" — Vancouver Province, May 31, 2011
Tim Tucker. "It's official: Thrashers moving to Winnipeg" — Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 31, 2011
Bob Condor. "Winnipeg group has deal to buy, move Thrashers" — NHL.com, May 31, 2011
Chris Vivlamore. "Updated: Talks continue with TNSE; no announcement Tuesday" — Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog), May 23, 2011
Stephen Brunt. "Atlanta Thrashers set for Winnipeg move" — The Globe and Mail, May 19, 2011
Associated Press. "Coyotes to remain in Glendale next year" — ESPN, May 11, 2011
Josh Kosman. "Atlanta's Sports Woes: Owner puts Hawks, Thrashers & arena up for sale" — NY Post, June 18, 2010

External links [edit]

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

Winnipeg NHL team

Drive to 13,000: Season ticket drive information

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Pope speaks with astronauts in orbit for first time

Sun, 22 May 2011 14:45:40 GMT

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Space

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Astronauts receive a call from the Pope
Image: NASA.

The International Space Station
Image: NASA.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke with astronauts aboard the International Space Station yesterday, marking the first time a pope has conversed with astronauts in orbit.

Organized by the European Space Agency (ESA), the call originated from the Vatican Library at 7:11 am Eastern time. German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, president of the Italian Space Agency Enrico Saggese, and General Giuseppe Bernardis of the Italian Air Force were also in the room at the Vatican. Aboard the spacecraft were Italian, U.S., and Russian crew members of the Endeavour STS-134 mission and Expedition 27.

Endeavour commander and U.S. astronaut Mark Kelly greeted His Holiness aboard the spacecraft. The Pope wished Kelly's wife, Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, well as she recovers from an assassination attempt that took place in January. Doctors inserted a hard plastic implant, or a bone flap, into Giffords's skull last Wednesday. The Pope also asked of the astronauts' impressions of the planet from space.

"We fly over most of the world and we don't see borders, but at the same time we realize that people fight with each other and there is a lot of violence in this world," Kelly said. The Pope sent his condolences to Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, whose mother died earlier this month while he was in space.

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Sources [edit]

Space.com. "Pope Benedict XVI Makes 1st Heavenly Call to Astronauts in Space" — Fox, May 21, 2011
Staff. "From space, a link to God: Pope speaks with astronauts" — CNN, May 21, 2011
Associated Press. "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has surgery on skull" — Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2011

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Space Shuttle Endeavour launches for final time

Wed, 18 May 2011 19:55:42 GMT

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Space

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26 August 2012: US astronaut Neil Armstrong dies

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The crew of Endeavour's final mission, STS-134, which launched on Monday at 8:56 AM EDT.
Image: NASA.

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Video of Endeavour's final launch. (Video: NASA)

The Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on its final mission, STS-134, at 8:56 AM EDT Monday. The mission's primary objectives are to deliver Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 and ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 3, as well as other materials and supplies, to the International Space Station (ISS).

The shuttle launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with six crewmembers aboard, including mission commander Mark Kelly, pilot Gregory Johnson, and mission specialists Roberto Vittori, Andrew Feustel, and Gregory Chamitoff.

The shuttle is scheduled to arrive and dock with the ISS on Wednesday morning (EDT) to begin a two-week stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. While aboard the station, the crew is scheduled to perform four extra-vehicular activities, or spacewalks, to install components to the exterior of the ISS.

Endeavour is scheduled to land for the final time on June 1st.

Mission commander Mark Kelly is the husband of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in the 2011 Tucson shooting. Rep. Giffords flew to Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch.

The launch was originally scheduled for April 29, but was delayed hours before the launch after the discovery of a technical problem that required that the launch be scrubbed in order to be fixed.

Before liftoff, commander Mark Kelly shared his thoughts on the mission: "As Americans, we endeavour to build a better life than the generation before and endeavour to be a united nation. In those efforts we are often tested. This mission represents the power of teamwork, commitment and exploration. It is in the DNA of our country to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop."

Approximately 500,000 spectators came to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch, but a passenger aboard a commercial flight from New York to Palm Beach, Stefanie Gordon, obtained video from her seat on the airplane.

STS-134 is the 25th and final mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, and the 134th and penultimate mission of the Space Shuttle Program. Endeavour, NASA's youngest space shuttle, was originally built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger after the 1986 disaster that killed its seven crewmembers during the ill-fated launch of the STS-51-L mission. Endeavour's first flight was STS-49 in May 1992.

There is only one scheduled shuttle mission remaining after STS-134, which will be STS-135. That mission, using Space Shuttle Atlantis, is currently scheduled for a July launch.

"Today's final launch of Endeavour is a testament to American ingenuity and leadership in human spaceflight," commented NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who is a former astronaut and veteran of four spaceflights himself. "As we look toward a bright future with the International Space Station as our anchor and new destinations in deep space on the horizon, we salute the astronauts and ground crews who have ensured the orbiter's successful missions. The presence of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at the launch inspired us all, just as America's space program has done for the past 50 years."

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Sources [edit]

Chris McGreal. "Space shuttle Endeavour blasts off one last time" — The Guardian, May 16, 2011
Ned Potter. "Sweet Goodbye: Mark Kelly Launches in Space Shuttle as Gabrielle Giffords Watches" — ABC News, May 16, 2011
Kate Auletta. "Space Shuttle Endeavor Launch: Passenger On Commercial Flight Takes Photos, Video of Launch" — AOL Travel, May 16, 2011
Joshua Buck and Candrea Thomas. "NASA's Shuttle Endeavour Heads To Space Station On Its Final Mission" — NASA, May 16, 2011
Justin Ray. "Mission Status Center" — Spaceflight Now, May 16, 2011
"Space Shuttle Endeavour Begins Mission" — C-SPAN.org, May 16, 2011
"STS-134 Mission Overview" — NASA, May 16, 2011
"Charles Bolden Biography" — NASA, September 2009

External links [edit]

Photo and Video of Endeavour's final launch from airplane

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Mother charged with hurting baby; Munchausen Syndrome by proxy?

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:16:38 GMT

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Tucson, Arizona police say that Blanca Montano, 21, an Arizona mother, was arrested and charged with child abuse on Tuesday for purposely injuring her seven-month-old daughter. Hospital staff reported Montano to authorities after the child was found to be suffering from nine separate, rare infections which became worse after the mother's visits.

Investigation by police determined that Montano had knowingly poisoned her child and made her sick. Montano was then prevented from visiting and the child noticeably improved.

	"[Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy] ... is not a mental illness. It is a form of abuse, just like sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse – it's just a variant.
—Dr. Marc Feldman, psychiatrist, University of Alabama

Montano hospitalized her two children at University Medical Center in Tucson in February where they were diagnosed and treated for an infection. While one child improved and was released, her infant daughter became increasingly sick and was significantly worse following visits from her mother. Suspecting that the mother was exhibiting symptoms of a rare condition known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, in which a mother intentionally harms her child to obtain attention or sympathy for herself, hospital officials contacted police and set up a hidden camera in the infant's room.

Police say that when the mother realized that there was a camera in the hospital room, she covered the child's crib with a towel.

KOLD News 13 obtained a search warrant which said doctors "believe that Blanca is giving her daughter something to make her sick. They indicated the ingestion of feces could cause the infections."

Dr Marc Feldman, a psychiatrist at the University of Alabama, says that Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is not a psychiatric disorder. "It is not a mental illness. It is a form of abuse, just like sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse – it's just a variant," he said.

Montano is out on $50,000 bail and will next appear in court on April 15.

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Sources [edit]

Sherisse Pham. "Mother Accused of Poisoning Own Baby; Rare Case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy?" — ABC News, April 7, 2011
Som Lisaius. "Children taken from mother accused of Munchausen's" — KOLD News 12, April 6, 2011

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Southwest Airlines flight diverts due to 'rapid decompression in the cabin'

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:48:53 GMT

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Southwest Airlines Flight 812 carrying 118 passengers between Phoenix, Arizona and Sacramento, California was forced to divert to the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station in Arizona, after a hole appeared in the top of the aircraft; the plane landed safely at Yuma.

The plane was forced to make an emergency descent down to 11,000 feet and reportedly descended 16,000 feet in one minute. One passenger identified as Cindy said, "[t]hey had just taken drink orders when I heard a huge sound and oxygen masks came down and we started making a rapid decent. They said we’d be making an emergency landing. There was a hole in the fuselage about three feet long. You could see the insulation and the wiring. You could see a tear the length of one of the ceiling panels."

In a statement issued by Southwest Airlines they informed that, "Southwest Airlines Flight 812, the scheduled 3:25 pm departure from Phoenix to Sacramento today, diverted to Yuma, Ariz due to loss of pressurization in the cabin. Upon safely landing in Yuma, the flight crew discovered a hole in the top of the aircraft. There are no reported Customer injuries. One of the Flight Attendants, however, received a minor injury upon descent."

Southwest Airlines have provided a replacement aircraft to take the 118 passengers to Sacramento. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it is investigating "an in-flight fuselage rupture."

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Sources [edit]

Ben Mutzabaugh. "Southwest flight makes emergency landing, 'hole' found on top of jet" — USA Today, April 1, 2011
"Passengers Of Damaged Southwest Flight Arrive In Sacramento" — CBS Sacramento, April 1, 2011
Press Release. "NSTB Launching Team to Investigate Airliner Fuselage Rupture" — National Transportaion Safety Board, April 1, 2011

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Southwest Airlines Flight 812

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Jeff Gordon wins the 2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:10:41 GMT

Monday, February 28, 2011

NASCAR

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22 October 2012: Matt Kenseth wins third NASCAR Sprint Cup race of 2012
1 May 2011: NASCAR driver Kyle Busch wins 2011 spring race in Richmond, Virginia
18 April 2011: NASCAR: Johnson beats Bowyer for victory in Aarons' 499
10 April 2011: Matt Kenseth wins 2011 NASCAR Samsung Mobile 500
21 March 2011: NASCAR driver Kyle Busch wins 2011 Jeff Byrd 500

Jeff Gordon in 2007
Image: Karen Phillips.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, who qualified 20th, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500 held on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, United States. This became his first Sprint Cup win of the season. Throughout the course of the race there were eight cautions and 29 lead changes among twelve different drivers.

Phoenix International Raceway , the race track where the race was held.
Image: Pitlane02.

With ten laps remaining in the 312 lap race, Kyle Busch was first, but Gordon passed him one lap later. Gordon maintained the lead to win the race, while Busch finished in the second position. Jimmie Johnson took third, ahead of Kevin Harvick in fourth. Ryan Newman managed the fifth position, after starting 14th on the grid. Kasey Kahne, from the Red Bull Racing Team, clinched the sixth position, after leading none of the laps during the race. Tony Stewart followed Kahne in seventh, while Kurt Busch could only manage eighth.

A. J. Allmedinger, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the top ten finishers in the race. After doing his victory lap, Gordon shouted, "That’s why I love racing. Hell, yeah." Following the race, Kyle Busch became Drivers' Championship leader with 80 points. Next, Kurt Busch was second with 77, eight points ahead of Stewart and Allmendinger. Gordon and Mark Martin was placed fifth and sixth with 65 points. Bobby Labonte, Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, and David Gilliland rounded out the top-ten point positions.

The 2011 season will continue on March 6, 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 2011 Kobalt Tools 400. The race will be televised in the US on Fox at 3:00 p.m. EST.

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Wikipedia has more about this subject:

2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500

"Jeff Gordon wins Phoenix Cup race" — Sporting News, February 27, 2011
"Lap-by-Lap: Phoenix" — NASCAR, February 27, 2011
"Racetrax" — Fox Sports, February 27, 2011
"Drivers' standings" — NASCAR, February 27, 2011
"Schedule" — ESPN, February 27, 2011

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Solar powered plane completes first leg of transcontinental trip

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Australian Jesse Williams drafted in fifth round by the NFL's Seattle Seahawks

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Reports of at least fourteen dead this week due to gun-related suicides in the United States

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FanFiction.Net adult content purge felt across fandom two weeks on

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US fans turn out for 2012 Phoenix Comicon

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US Air Force upgrades F-22 oxygen system after deadly crash

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'America’s Toughest Sheriff' to endorse Rick Perry for U.S. President

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Internet hacking group LulzSec disbands

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Pope speaks with astronauts in orbit for first time

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Space Shuttle Endeavour launches for final time

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Mother charged with hurting baby; Munchausen Syndrome by proxy?

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Southwest Airlines flight diverts due to 'rapid decompression in the cabin'

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Jeff Gordon wins the 2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500

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