Wikinews:Briefs/July 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
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The Audio Wikinews - News Brief is a two to five minute audio newscast summary of each day's top stories on Wikinews.
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News Brief Transcript for July 21, 2009
Intro
From Wikinews, the free news source, this is the Audio Wikinews Brief for Tuesday, July 21, 2009. I'm James Pain, and here are today's current stories.
A black spot about the size of the Earth that appeared on the upper cloud surface of the planet Jupiter on July 19 has been confirmed to be the result of a massive object, probably a comet or asteroid, crashing into the planet, according to the results of infrared observations of the planet taken at NASA's Mauna Kea Observatory. The spot, located near Jupiter's south pole, was first reported by Anthony Wesley, an amateur astronomer from Murrumbateman, New South Wales, Australia who was observing the planet late on the 19th. Wesley called in a tip to NASA whose Jet Propulsion Laboratory began their own observations at the Infrared Telescope Facility. A team under Glenn Orton then confirmed Wesley's original theory. Wesley's tip was instrumental in securing the best possible observations. "We were extremely lucky to be seeing Jupiter at exactly the right time, the right hour, the right side of Jupiter to witness the event. We couldn't have planned it better", said Orton in a NASA press release. The object responsible for Jupiter's new black spot was not detected prior to its impact.
About 30 workers at the Vestas wind turbine plant in Newport, Isle of Wight, England have occupied their factory in protest against the upcoming closure of the plant. The factory, the main site for the manufacture of turbines for wind power in the United Kingdom, is scheduled to close at the end of July, bringing with it the loss of 625 jobs. The workers, most of whom are not affiliated with any union, began their occupation around 7pm. Speaking via mobile phone from the factory, "Mark", a worker in Vestas's finishing shop who prefers not to give any last name for fear of management reprisals, called the atmosphere "really good." "It's all right, we're getting a lot of support", he said. Mark told Wikinews that the workers at Vestas have received messages of support from members of the SWP, the TUC, and Unite. Members of the Socialist Party are also taking part in the industrial action and the party has announced its support for the occupation. Mark closed by thanking the public for its support, saying "we've got to keep on doing this sort of work — it's for all our futures"
Twenty years ago, on July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crash landed in Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.. 111 of those on board were killed - but the actions of the crew helped save the other 185 flying on the DC-10. The airliner was a trijet, with one engine mounted in the tail. This engine had a cracked fan disc which went undetected by the airline despite inspections, and on that flight the component failed completely, shattering and sending debris flying. This debris damaged all three hydraulic systems that controlled the aircraft, leaving the jet without any conventional means of control. A ceremony was held in Sioux City to mark the anniversary. The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation resulted in new procedures for the way airlines inspect their aircraft in the U.S.
Outro
This has been a News Brief from Wikinews.org, the free news source, and has been released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license. Until next time, thank you for listening and good day.
