World Sports

Head of MIT’s Media Lab resigns amid Jeffrey Epstein controversy – reports – The Guardian

Saturday, September 07, 2019

The director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, Joi Ito, has reportedly resigned in the wake of continued scrutiny over the center’s financial relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The prestigious university center had admitted to accepting some financial donations from Epstein, despite the financier’s history of pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a child. But new reports from the New Yorker and the New York Times…

House panel is probing U.S. military use of Trump-owned property in Scotland – The Washington Post

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Colby Itkowitz Missy Ryan September 7 at 4:42 PM The House Oversight Committee is investigating why a financially struggling airport near a Trump-owned golf course in Scotland has seen an uptick in expenditures by the U.S. military since President Trump took office. Chairman Elijah E. Cummings and Rep. Jamie Raskin, both Maryland Democrats, sent a letter to the Defense Department’s acting secretary, Patrick M. Shanahan, in June asking for all…

California boat fire: The Conception was a ‘fire trap’ experts say – Los Angeles Times

Saturday, September 07, 2019

A day of diving off Santa Cruz Island ended like countless others aboard the Conception, with dozens of divers asleep in tightly arranged bunks that all but filled the belly of the 75-foot boat. As always, there were two ways out in case of emergency — up a curved stairway at the front of the cabin, or through an escape hatch in the ceiling over bunks at the rear. Before…

Iran Breaks With More Limits in Nuclear Deal as It Pushes for European Aid – The New York Times

Saturday, September 07, 2019

In fact, American officials are not confident at all. Since Mr. Trump left the agreement in May 2018, not a single other participant has joined him in renouncing it or reimposing sanctions. Rather, the Europeans have sought workarounds that would keep Iran within the terms of the deal, and they have argued that Mr. Trump erred gravely by scrapping the agreement rather than building on it. Russia and China appear…

Hurricane Dorian’s aftermath in the Bahamas: The latest – CNN

Saturday, September 07, 2019

In a story of how residents came together to save one another amid dangerous conditions, Jensen Burrows and d’Sean Smith — as well as a dozen other jet skiers — rescued 100 people who were trapped in flooded homes in the Bahamas on Tuesday. “They did a phenomenal job, not just with us. What we saw when we came out is that they continued to go back in and over…

California boat fire: Smoke likely killed 34 trapped below deck, raising new questions about origin point – Los Angeles Times

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Authorities said Friday they believe smoke inhalation caused the deaths of 34 people aboard the Conception dive boat, raising new questions about exactly where the fire started and how it spread. The fire broke out early Monday morning during a Labor Day weekend diving expedition, trapping the victims who were sleeping. Five crew members who were above deck at the time were able to escape and said the fire was…

Hurricane Dorian’s aftermath in the Bahamas: The latest – CNN

Saturday, September 07, 2019

In a story of how residents came together to save one another amid dangerous conditions, Jensen Burrows and d’Sean Smith — as well as a dozen other jet skiers — rescued 100 people who were trapped in flooded homes in the Bahamas on Tuesday. “They did a phenomenal job, not just with us. What we saw when we came out is that they continued to go back in and over…

NOAA Says Trump Was Right About Hurricane Dorian’s Threat To Alabama – NPR

Saturday, September 07, 2019

President Trump holds a doctored chart as he talks with reporters after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office of the White House, on Wednesday in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP President Trump holds a doctored chart as he talks with reporters after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office of the White House, on Wednesday in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP…

At vigil for Conception boat fire victims, love of diving unites and soothes mourners – Los Angeles Times

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Addressing a mournful crowd, Don Barthelmess described the unique shared experiences of divers. The weightlessness of being underwater. Sliding into a damp and cold wetsuit at 6 in the morning. The sway of an underwater kelp forest. The longtime diver stood in front of several hundred people spread out on the grass at Santa Barbara’s waterfront Chase Palm Park at a vigil Friday evening for the 34 victims of the…

Is Xi Mishandling Hong Kong Crisis? Hints of Unease in China’s Leadership – The New York Times

Saturday, September 07, 2019

The government’s deepest fear now appears to be that the demands for greater political accountability and even universal suffrage heard on the streets in Hong Kong could spread like a contagion through the mainland. So far, there have been few signs of that. As the crisis has grown, the government has dispatched thousands of troops from the People’s Armed Police to Shenzhen, the mainland city adjacent to Hong Kong, but…

Iran is to blame for its recent aggressive behavior. But so is Trump. – Vox.com

Saturday, September 07, 2019

This week alone, Iran vowed to restart research and development on its nuclear program and signaled that it may start to enrich uranium faster. All this came just days after Tehran failed to launch a space rocket in direct defiance of the US and others worried about its missile program. There’s no question that Iran is acting more aggressively these days. But here’s the thing: nobody should be surprised by…

NOAA disavows National Weather Service tweet that refuted Trump’s claim Dorian was headed toward Alabama – CNN

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Hundreds stranded on Outer Banks island, ‘catastrophic’ flooding as Hurricane Dorian moves off coast – NBC News

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Helicopters airlifted food and water to stranded residents of a North Carolina Outer Banks island Friday after it suffered “catastrophic flooding” as Hurricane Dorian swept up the coast, the governor said. Dorian, a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, was quickly moving away from the Mid-Atlantic states Friday night and heading for Nova Scotia, the National Hurricane Center said. But the storm surge left behind inundated…

California dive boat owner says crew tried to save passengers from deadly fire – CBS News

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Santa Barbara, California — The owner of a dive boat that caught fire and sank near Santa Barbara this week, killing 34, spoke out about the disaster Friday and he’s defending the actions of his crew. Speaking for the first time, Glen Fritzler, the owner of the Conception, said that as the fire raged on the boat’s second level, his crew tried to save the passengers trapped below. He claims…

India’s Chandrayaan-2 Fails To Make Soft-Landing On Moon’s South Pole – NPR

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Indian Space Research Organization employees react as they learn that mission control lost communication with its unmanned landing module moments before it touched down on the moon’s south pole Saturday (local time.) Aijaz Rahi/AP hide caption toggle caption Aijaz Rahi/AP Indian Space Research Organization employees react as they learn that mission control lost communication with its unmanned landing module moments before it touched down on the moon’s south pole Saturday…

American Airlines mechanic charged with sabotaging plane – BBC News

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Image copyright Reuters An American Airlines mechanic has been charged with damaging an aircraft in July as he was allegedly “upset” over stalled union contract negotiations. The plane, with 150 people on board, was scheduled to fly from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas on 17 July. But it aborted take-off after the pilots received an error message about the flight computer. Upon inspection, a piece of foam was found…

Hurricane Dorian crashes into Outer Banks in North Carolina – The Washington Post

Friday, September 06, 2019

Fenit Nirappil Sarah Kaplan Mark Berman September 6 at 3:41 PM JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A weakened but still dangerous Hurricane Dorian bombarded North Carolina with pounding winds and drenching rain on Friday, causing severe storm surges and flooding in the Outer Banks. After devastating the Bahamas and strafing parts of the southeastern United States this week, Dorian made landfall Friday morning in North Carolina when its eye scraped across Cape…

Justice Dept. Investigates California Emissions Pact That Embarrassed Trump – The New York Times

Friday, September 06, 2019

“These are four car companies standing in the way of something the president wants to do,” Mr. Revesz said. “Now the enormous prosecutorial power of the federal government is brought to bear against them. This should make any large companies very nervous.” He said the Justice Department investigation was surprising because the agreement between California and the auto companies has not yet been signed or legally formalized. “It is extremely…

California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns – USA TODAY

Friday, September 06, 2019

CLOSE Thirty-four people died after a diving boat caught fire off Santa Cruz Island in California. USA TODAY Victims in the tragic dive boat fire likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Friday. All the passengers and one crew member had been sleeping in tight quarters beneath the deck, and all had signs of smoke inhalation. A preliminary examination shows they died before being burned….

Britain’s House Of Lords Approves Bill Blocking No-Deal Brexit – NPR

Friday, September 06, 2019

A monitor in the House of Lords shows its approval of a bill blocking a no-deal Brexit Friday. House of Lords 2019 / Photography by Roger Harris hide caption toggle caption House of Lords 2019 / Photography by Roger Harris A monitor in the House of Lords shows its approval of a bill blocking a no-deal Brexit Friday. House of Lords 2019 / Photography by Roger Harris Britain’s House of…