Posts Tagged ‘Video’

Driver, some victims identified in deadly California 200 crash; witnesses describe devastation

Posted in Crime, News, Video on August 15th, 2010 by admin – 2 Comments

Reporting from Lucerne Valley, Calif. —

Authorities said eight people were killed and 10 injured when a driver racing in the California 200 desert race in Lucerne Valley lost control of his off-roader, which went airborne and landed on top of spectators. The driver, who was uninjured, and seven of the eight people killed were identified Sunday by officials.

The driver “got airborne and, when he landed, rolled over straight into the spectators,” said Officer Joaquin Zubieta of the California Highway Patrol, the agency investigating the deadly crash. “People didn’t have much of a chance … to get out of the way.”

Six spectators died at the scene. Nine others were airlifted to local hospitals, two of whom died later in the evening, Zubieta said. Of those hurt, five sustained major injuries and five had minor injuries, officials said. Brett M. Sloppy, of San Marcos, was the driver of the truck, according to Zubieta.

Videos of past California 200 races show spectators dangerously close to vehicles

Posted in News, Video on August 15th, 2010 by admin – 1 Comment

Online videos of previous races of the California 200 show spectators standing dangerously close to the speeding off-road vehicles, with no concrete barriers separating them from the cars.

The California 200 race in the Mojave Desert was the scene of a tragedy Saturday when eight people died after an off-road vehicle slammed into a crowd about 7:48 p.m., just after dusk. Witnesses described a chaotic scene in which the victims had no chance to flee.

A video taken in August 2009 shows off-road vehicles speeding through the desert and becoming airborne a few yards away from a crowd of cheering spectators. A string with racing flags separates them from the vehicles’ path.

With Uribe era ending, Colombia looks back and ahead

Posted in Crime, Education, News, Politics, Tech, Video, economy, what on August 7th, 2010 by admin – 1 Comment

Reporting from Bogota, Colombia —

On his inauguration day eight years ago, leftist guerrillas tried to kill Colombian President Alvaro Uribe with a rocket and mortar attack. The U.S. government had drawn up contingency plans for a rebel-led government, and citizens were hunkering down in their homes at night in fear.

As Colombians who lived through those dark days know, Uribe on Saturday will turn over a far safer country to his successor, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, who was elected in a June landslide after promising to continue Uribe’s policies.

With billions in U.S. aid under Plan Colombia, the hard-line Uribe knocked the FARC guerrilla group on its heels, giving the government the upper hand in its 4-decade-long struggle against insurgents. Expanded police ranks have sharply reduced violent crime in cities. A tripling in foreign investment since 2003, mainly in mining, energy and tourism, is fueling an increasingly dynamic economy.

U.S. charges top leaders of Tijuana-based drug cartel

Posted in Crime, News, Video on July 24th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment
Reporting from San Diego —

Federal authorities announced a wide-ranging criminal case Friday against top leaders of a Tijuana-based drug cartel that ran much of its operations from the San Diego area, allegedly ordering murders, kidnappings and torture of rival traffickers in Mexico.

The racketeering conspiracy case charges 43 cartel lieutenants, enforcers and drug traffickers, among them half a dozen current or former Mexican law enforcement officers, including a top official in the Baja California attorney general’s office who allegedly passed along information obtained from U.S. law enforcement to cartel leaders.

The organized crime group, an offshoot of the Arellano Felix drug cartel, moved some operations to San Diego in recent years, seeking a safe haven from gang wars and law enforcement crackdowns south of the border, said Laura Duffy, the U.S. attorney in San Diego.

In Oakland, young heroes seek justice

Posted in Entertainment, News, Video, economy, what on July 17th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment

Oakland dodged a bullet last week after the verdict in the racially charged case of a young black man shot by a Bay Area Rapid Transit policeman.

The day ended with a few rubbish fires, looting at a Foot Locker and scattered broken windows downtown. But it was nothing like the mayhem after the shooting last year, when hundreds of looters rampaged for hours, ravaging businesses and torching cars.

The response this time was a textbook case of collaboration. Downtown employees were sent home early to clear the area for protesters. Churches and civic groups organized forums to let residents vent. The family of the dead man issued public appeals for calm. And police turned out in such force, there seemed to be more officers than protesters.

Nuclear scientist on way home, Iran says

Posted in Islam, News, Tech, Video on July 14th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment
Reporting from Beirut —

– An Iranian nuclear scientist involved in a murky and clandestine tug-of-war between Tehran and Washington is on his way back to the Islamic Republic, a government spokesman said Wednesday morning.

Shahram Amiri, a 32- or 33-year-old scientist who was in the United States as a result of a defection or a kidnapping, has left America and is en route to Tehran, said the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

“Shahram Amiri left America with a convoy from the interest section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington a few minutes ago,” Ramin Mehmanparast said in comments reported by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Microsoft makes a new push into cellphone operating systems

Posted in News, Tech, Video, what on July 7th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment

Microsoft is the undisputed king of operating systems — except for the ones you hold in your hand.

The company, whose Windows software dominates on desktops and laptops, has been also developing systems for mobile phones for more than a decade.

But its Windows Mobile operating system is not a big hit with consumers. As of the first quarter of this year, it had only about 10% of the nation’s smart-phone market, according to the research firm NPD Group. It lagged behind Research in Motion (BlackBerry phones), Android (from Google, used in a variety of models) and iOS (Apple’s iPhone).

Microsoft’s piece of the pie is not only small, but it has been shrinking. In 2008, it had 30% of the smart-phone market.

Top general in Afghan war apologizes for profile, is summoned home

Posted in News, Video, what on June 22nd, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has been summoned to Washington to explain his controversial comments about colleagues in a recent interview, Obama administration officials said Tuesday.

The officials say Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has issued an apology for his comments, has been ordered to attend the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person Wednesday rather than over a secure video teleconference, so he can discuss his comments with President Barack Obama and top Pentagon officials.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing the general’s schedule.

LAPD makes arrests in unrest after Lakers victory

Posted in Crime, News, Tech, Video on June 22nd, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment

At least 45 people have been arrested in the wake of unrest that followed the L.A. Lakers’ NBA championship victory last week — double the number picked up last year when rioting followed the team’s win.

But that could be just the beginning.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives are now carefully reviewing hundreds of images taken from police videos, business surveillance cameras, TV news footage, Twitter pictures, Facebook pages and other social media sites, looking for more evidence of criminal behavior.

90 dead as China endures severe flooding, landslides

Posted in News, Video on June 20th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment
Reporting from Beijing —

After months of punishing drought, China’s rainy season has returned with a vengeance, causing floods and landslides that as of Saturday were linked to 90 deaths.

An estimated 1.4 million people have been evacuated. On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs raised alert levels because of forecasts by the National Meteorological Center of torrential rains in southern and central China in the coming week.

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