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Disasters - SERIES 261 {12 articles}

Where the Earth Became a River: Indonesia Quake Liquefied Solid Ground

10/5/2018, 9:08:34 PM
Survivors of the Sept. 28 Indonesia earthquake describe riding as much as a mile on earthen rafts carried by liquefied soil: for the people of Palu, a scientific phenomenon, liquefaction, had violently entered the realm of personal experience. ✔ The 16-year-old Mr. Simamora and his friends, attending a retreat with dozens of students and teachers, watched as the narrow A-frame Protestant church, with its steeple and image of Christ with outstretched hands over the doors, was swept away ✔ Mr. Arifin’s daughter, Zahara, also made a miraculous escape, and was sitting on his lap in a makeshift camp as he spoke ✔ Petobo village on Friday, a week after the earthquake upended the area



Photos of the week | Pictures | Reuters

10/5/2018, 9:49:41 PM
A migrant, part of a group intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea, stands in line after arriving on a rescue boat at the port of Motril, southern Spain. REUTERS/Juan Medina ✔ A migrant, part of a group intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea, stands in line after arriving on a rescue boat at the port of Motril, southern Spain ✔ More than 80 percent of Tsukiji fish traders are opposed to the move, said a survey by a group fighting the relocation.REUTERS/Issei Kato Close 11 / 20 A waterspout is formed during a storm in the Mediterranean Sea



Senators: Utility 'woefully' unprepared for gas explosions

10/5/2018, 8:16:15 PM
BOSTON (AP) — The natural gas company at the center of the explosions north of Boston last month was "woefully unprepared" to prevent or respond to the unfolding disaster, Sens. E ✔ BOSTON (AP) The natural gas company at the center of the explosions north of Boston last month was woefully unprepared to prevent or respond to the unfolding disaster, Sens ✔ The omission of these sorts of safety measures from Columbia Gas' operating procedures prior to this disaster is alarming and unacceptable, the senators wrote



PETER OBORNE: May's caught Corbynitis - and we're all going to pay 

10/5/2018, 11:46:48 PM
According to Mrs May, Britain is returning to the sunlit uplands of lavish government spending. What a disaster! The PM has betrayed Conservative values and - even worse - made a strategic mistake. ✔ Anyone who doubts this should take a look at our neighbours ✔ And yesterday it was reported by Bloomberg that Chinese spies had secretly installed tiny microchips which ended up in American firms’ computers ✔ This is all part of a pattern of aggressive and bullying behaviour as China tries to convert its economic success into political power



Liberals vow to target Sen. Susan Collins in 2020 over Kavanuagh support

10/5/2018, 8:30:20 PM
Liberal group vowed Friday to try to unseat Sen. Susan Collins in 2020 over the Maine Republican’s decision to support Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, paving the way for a final confirmation vote. ✔ Susan Collins in 2020 over the Maine Republican’s decision to support Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, paving the way for a final confirmation vote ✔ We’re committing, right now, to working with anyone we can to finish the job in #2020, DFA said on Twitter



Opinion | Partisanship is poison. How will the Supreme Court survive?

10/5/2018, 11:49:12 PM
Hopefully, Kavanaugh will be the “team player” he promised to be during the confirmation hearings. ✔ For years, the justices have been keenly aware of the institutional stakes and the looming threat to their standing in an era of increasing partisanship and broad distrust of institutions ✔ Jennifer Rubin: No op-ed can clean up the Kavanaugh mess Elizabeth Bruenig: Kavanaugh is one more step in America’s cycle of self-destruction



Trump signs FAA Reauthorization Act, which will regulate airline seat sizes

10/5/2018, 11:25:41 PM
The bill funds the Federal Aviation Administration through 2023 ✔ The deadline to reauthorize funding for the FAA was Oct. 7 ✔ The law provides $1.68 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Fund for long-term disaster recovery, such as Hurricane Florence



Jenny waving her knickers at that train? Sorry, it was all a fake!

10/5/2018, 11:15:01 PM
When I was a boy, in the early Thirties, me and my pals would run to the railway bridge near our homes and inhale the intoxicating smoke and steam as an engine whistled below. ✔ It wasn't the red beret that attracted me, more the extra two shillings and sixpence a day you got once you'd done your jumps that I could send home to my mother ✔ To order a copy for £16 (offer valid till October 15) p&p free, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640



Bette Midler apologizes for tweet claiming 'women are the N-word of the world'

10/5/2018, 9:23:34 PM
Bette Midler has apologized for a tweet evoking John Lennon and Yoko Ono's racially charged lyrics from their 1972 song, "Woman Is the ... of the World." ✔ Men who hurt women can no longer be placed in positions of power ✔ Colbert devoted a segment of his CBS show to breaking down how to opt out of the reportedly not opt-outable alert system, which appeared on mobile phones across the nation at 11:18 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday



Meet Young Kim, an Asian American immigrant woman running for Congress under Trump's Republican Party

10/5/2018, 10:22:38 PM
Some other year, under some other president, Republican Young Kim might have been a shoo-in to represent a majority-minority congressional district containing pieces of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.Kim’s profile is as compelling as it is rare for someone running under the GOP b... ✔ Andrew Janz, a Fresno County prosecutor challenging incumbent Rep ✔ Jerry Brown ushered in a new era of transparency in California law enforcement on Sunday, signing two new laws that for the first time give the public access to internal police investigations and video footage of shootings by police officers and other serious incidents



A massive new biography of Ronald Reagan forces comparisons to President Trump - Los Angeles Times

10/5/2018, 8:59:17 PM
The new biography 'Reagan' shows the former president in a flattering light that can't help but cast a shadow on President Trump. ✔ And 2) Could Reagan, who signed hefty state and federal tax increases; approved the California Therapeutic Abortion Act; OKd IRCA, the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which legalized some 4 million immigrants; and as governor of California signed a set of landmark environmental bills even be nominated by the GOP today ✔ For the most part, the wider world in which Reagan had such a large role is missing ✔ :: Reagan: An American Journey Bob Spitz



Did MI5 murder Stephen Milligan?

10/5/2018, 9:58:37 PM
The 45-year-old MP's death was ruled as misadventure but now BBC newsman John Simpson questions whether Milligan was a victim of foul play. ✔ And the day he was found was the day of the Conservative Winter Ball, a time when his death would cause maximum embarrassment.’ Take also Gerald James, a businessman who achieved prominence during the early Nineties when his company, the arms firm Astra, was caught up in the so-called ‘Arms to Iraq’ affair



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