Can we have a "NEWS" thread?

Can we have a news thread about non-politic topics?

I use to read Yahoo for their news, but we've had some problems with their email and our server, so they are blocked here at work.

If you find some news story (non political) that won't get this thread locked, throw it up.

I'll start:

"North Korea Launches Long-Range Missile"

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Eight months ago, the international community stifled a snigger when North Korea's hyped rocket launch ended with a fizzle. At the time, Pyongyang surprised just about everyone by actually admitting its failure, a departure from previous efforts to project success at all costs. But this time, they've succeeded. No one is laughing now. Object seen in orbit after launch "The world is not falling apart, like some would say, but at the same time this is not a joke. There was a lot of pre-media coverage that said that North Korea was not good at missile technology and were sort of ridiculing them," said Philip Yun, executive director of the Ploughshare Fund and a former adviser to the U.S. government. Rocket launch boosts North Korea Japan: Missile launch is intolerable What is a successful rocket launch? North Korea announces rocket launch "Are we that much less secure right now?" he asked. "Marginally, but at the same time, this is something that we have to worry about." What we know is that just before 10 a.m. local time, North Korea launched the long-range Unha-3 rocket carrying "the second version of satellite Kwangmyongsong-3" from the Sohae Space Center in Cholsan County in the country's west. It soared over Okinawa, dropping debris into the sea off the Korean Peninsula, the East China Sea and waters near the Philippines, according to the Japanese government, which slammed the launch as "unacceptable." "The success of the launch -- which most analysts assume is a clandestine missile test -- brings North Korea one step closer to demonstrating a viable and reliable long-range delivery vehicle for a nuclear warhead," said Benjamin Habib, lecturer in Politics and International Relations School of Social Sciences at La Trobe University. "If the missile technology is mastered, the last technical hurdle remaining is miniaturization of a nuclear warhead that can be deployed on the Unha-3 rocket." Yun says that's still some way off. "There's still a lot of work that needs to be done if they're actually going to mount a nuclear device or a weapon on a rocket," he said. "The good news is we have a fair amount of time. The bad news is that if we're not proactive, and if we don't figure out a way to curtail North Korea's actions, they're going to continue to develop and learn more and over the long term we're going to have to deal with it in a much more difficult situation," he said. In the short term, one analyst said that Wednesday's successful test was likely to encourage Pyongyang to attempt another nuclear test. "We don't know if the one in 2009 was a nuclear device rather than a weapon itself. They might need additional refinement and testing of a weaponised as well as a miniaturized version that can fit on a warhead," said Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation. "More concerning would be an explosion that used a uranium-based warhead because the plutonium program is largely capped. The success of the launch brings North Korea one step closer to demonstrating a viable and reliable long-range delivery vehicle for a nuclear warhead Benjamin Habib, analyst "We don't think they have any more available plutonium but the uranium path is really wide open. So if they have a uranium-based explosion, that will cause a great deal of concern in the U.S. and its allies that there is an uncapped nuclear weapons program," he said. The missile that North Korea fired Wednesday appeared to be a four-stage rocket based on old Soviet technology, much less advanced than the rockets being used across the border in China, said Homer Hickam, a former NASA engineer and the author of "Rocket Boys." "What the North Koreans have done is taken the technology the Russians developed 50 years ago and upgraded it a little bit and they're trying to use that old technology to cause a splash in the international scene and to get paid attention to," he said. It seems to have worked. International condemnation has been building since the launch, which came just days after North Korea admitted that technical problems could cause a delay. Multiple theories have been given for the launch's timing, but most analysts agree that a combination of domestic and international pressures and priorities came into play. After the humiliation of the failed April launch, leader Kim Jong Un was desperate to assert his leadership credentials, some analysts say. A rocket launch was also seen as a fitting tribute to mark the first anniversary of the death of his father, former leader Kim Jong Il. Analysts have also pointed to the curious timing of the launch, which came just days before national elections in Japan and South Korea, where the candidates' stance on North Korea is dominating debate in the final days of campaigning. Chung Min Lee, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University, says the launch was also designed to send a message to the United States and China. "Kim Jong Un has told President Obama and Xi Jinping, 'I am not going to do business as usual. I'll go down this particular path, come what may.' This sends a very negative signal and puts the Chinese into a box. Xi Jinping must react either way. I believe that the Chinese will be a lot stronger on North Korea this time than on any other previous occasions," he said. It's not a view shared by Dean Cheng, research fellow in Chinese Political and Security Affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Why did North Korea launch a rocket? "Frankly, I don't expect very much from Xi," he said. "This new Chinese leadership looks to be extraordinarily weak, in part because of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Five of them will have to retire by 2017, which means that the jockeying is already under way for the next succession." He said the government is likely to take a "wait-and-see" attitude while the rest of the international community seeks to exert pressure on North Korea through the United Nations Security Council. "If North Korea develops longer-range ballistic missiles, China doesn't think that they'll be aimed at Beijing. So from China's perspective, it has very little interest or need to come down very hard on North Korea until the U.S., Japan and South Korea make it clear to China that allowing North Korea to do this is going to be more costly than cracking down on them," Cheng said. In a statement Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei expressed regret about the launch. "China has always insisted on bringing peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula through multilateral dialogue. We hope relevant parties stay calm in order to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," he said. China has traditionally been a stumbling block in efforts by the international community to pressure North Korea with sanctions imposed through the U.N. Security Council, Klingner said. "When the U.S. and South Korea went to the U.N. working group after the April launch with a proposed 40 additional entities, China rejected all but three," he said. He added that the U.S.'s ability to convince Beijing to back its efforts on North Korea will be a real test of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and the Obama administration's policy toward China.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/12/world/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch-analysis/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Pics for clicks:

Crazy, random shooter at Oregon Mall, kills two and himself.

As up to 10,000 shoppers strolled amid holiday decorations and background Christmas carols, the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall erupted into a scene of horror Tuesday, when a masked gunman raced inside the mall and began firing dozens of shots.

Emergency 9-1-1 calls, tweets from customers and cell phone calls immediately portrayed a picture of violence, terror and confusion. Conflicting reports suggested the possibility of multiple gunmen and a half-dozen or more casualties, while the assailant apparently remained at large.

Police and emergency medical workers mobilized for the worst.

Early reports suggested two victims were killed and an unknown number injured.

An estimated 100 law enforcement personnel descended on the mall, including local police, state troopers and four tactical weapons teams, backed by members of the FBI and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Clackamas Fire District 1 dispatched 22 emergency vehicles. A fleet of ambulances arrived.

Shoppers, employees and witnesses ran for the parking lots. Stores were locked down. Cell phone circuits became overloaded. Interstate 205 and neighboring streets backed up with traffic. Empty brass cartridges piled up on the floor of the Town Center food court.

Only hours later could authorities sort of what had occurred.

Clackamas Town Center will be closed today and reopen once the investigation is completed. Check the Clackamas Town Center Facebook page or website for updates or call 503-653-6913. Witnesses: Police invite witnesses who have not been interviewed to call Clackamas County's non-emergency police dispatch line at 503-655-8211. Shoppers, employees: Belongings left behind during evacuation will be securely held until the mall reopens. An unidentified gunman, acting alone, fired up to 60 shots before killing himself. The original reports of two dead were confirmed as the only fatalities. One 15-year-old Portland girl was taken by ambulance to OHSU Hospital, where she was in serious condition Tuesday night.

Officials declined to identify the victims.

The gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lt. James Rhodes, a Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said at a news conference. The gunman, reportedly 22, has been tentatively identified, but police did not release his name.

Shaun Wik was eating at Panda Express when he heard the gunman emerged near the mall's food court.

"I heard him yell, 'Get on the ground' twice," said Wik, 20, of Fairview. "Everyone scattered, hit the ground. People were getting trampled."

Bob Schwab, a World War II veteran who walks the mall for exercise, saw a surge of terrified shoppers rush out of the mall while one Santa took cover.

"I was by Santa Claus in front of Macy's when we heard, 'Pow. Pow. Pow,'" said Schwab, a Clackamas resident. "People screamed and ran. I saw Santa drop to the floor."

Sheriff Craig Roberts expressed sympathy for the victims, their families and holiday shoppers who lost their sense of security. He said about 10,000 shoppers were at the Town Center when the rampage erupted.

"For all of us, the mall is supposed to be a place where we can take our families, especially during the holiday season," Roberts said. "Things like this are not supposed to happen."

Clackamas mall shooting: Sheriff Craig Roberts talks at a press conference Tuesday evening Clackamas mall shooting: Sheriff Craig Roberts talks at a press conference Tuesday evening Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts spoke Tuesday evening about the shooting at Clackamas Town Center Watch video Roberts said a physician and two emergency-room nurses at the mall volunteered their services after the shooting, helping victims until emergency crews could arrive.

Vicky Lyashenko, 24, of Portland, said her best friend's sister-in-law, Kristina, 15, was the injured shopper, shot in the chest. She found out via texts from Kristina's family members.

Lyashenko said the girl will undergo surgery to remove bullet fragments. She said the girl is "stable." She declined to release the girl's last name.

According to police, the gunman, wearing a "Jason"-style hockey mask, entered the mall through Macy's department store around 3:25 p.m. The man, who may have been wearing body armor and black or camouflage clothing, hurried past a Salvation Army bell-ringer posted at the door.

Fourteen-year-old Hannah Baggs, leaving the mall, looked directly at the gunman just moments before he entered and opened fire.

"He was, like, 10 feet away from us, wearing a white mask and carrying something heavy with both hands," said Hannah, a freshman at LaSalle High School. "He went running into the store. I was scared, but I didn't tell my mom because I didn't want to get her upset."

In a flash, the sound of gunshots rang out and mall personnel rushed out the door, urging shoppers to leave.

"They said, 'Get in your cars. Get in your cars. We're not kidding,'" said Sharon Baggs of Southeast Portland, Hannah's mother. "It was so surreal."

Some ran from the mall. Others hid deep in stores that front on the concourses, hoping that the gunman wouldn't find them. Still others huddled together, crying.

John Canzano, sports columnist for The Oregonian, who was arriving at the mall to shop, reported that witnesses said they heard as many as 60 shots.

Canzano said the first thing he noticed was people running out of the mall, "kind of crying and upset." He stopped a person who said somebody was shooting in the mall.

"He called the scene, 'Not good, not good,'" Canzano said.

Police still are piecing together details of the incident. They have not yet indicated what the gunman's motive may have been. However, they are sure that the gunman acted alone.

"There was one and only one," Rhodes said.

Rhodes also said police did not engage the gunman and did not fire any weapons in the mall.

Immediately after the shooting, police officers began locking down the massive mall and blocking exits. While four SWAT teams conducted a store-by-store search of the 1.4 million square-foot mall, air traffic above the mall was restricted so helicopter ambulances could land.

The Sunnyside Road off-ramp from Interstate 205 was shut down during the search.

The mall's theaters, full of theater-goers unaware of the chaos outside, were escorted to safety.

At same time, several TriMet buses were called to take witnesses away for orderly interviews by police. Regular bus service was suspended on TriMet's 28, 29, 30, 31, 71, 72, 79, 152, 155 and 156 lines.

Some early unconfirmed reports indicated the gunman was carrying an AR-15 rifle, a semiautomatic, civilian version of the fully automatic, military M-16. Both rifles fire the same high-powered cartridge.

Police declined to confirm what kind of weapon they recovered. The floor was littered with empty shell casings.

An unconfirmed report indicated that that the rifle may have jammed at some point and that police found a full magazine on the floor.

Police worked late into the night, continuing to search retail floors, as well as concourses, service corridors and storage areas. There was no indication that they found anything unusual.

In addition, police will be viewing and analyzing surveillance video shot in stores and the mall's common areas to try to solve discrepancies in the witnesses' accounts.

Police also are working to contact witnesses who left the mall immediately after the shooting, before the investigation began.

Trauma Intervention Program volunteers were at the mall, working with those trying to gain perspective on the day's events.

Clackamas Town Center remained closed throughout Tuesday evening, which would have been one of the busiest days of the year. The mall also will remain closed Wednesday, according to a Clackamas Town Center statement.

A Facebook page has been established to express support for victims and families affected by the shooting.

Lyashenko said that she and young Kristina's family have been jolted by the shooting.

"She is so young, I just couldn't believe it was her," Lyashenko said. "You hear on the news about tragic things like this and you never expect it to happen to one of your loved ones.

"For something like this to happen during the holiday season is heartbreaking. It really makes you want to keep all of your family close because you never know what can happen."

Staff writers Heather Steeves, Steve Mayes, Molly Harbarger and Everton Bailey Jr. contributed to this report

-- Rick Bella

That about sums up how I feel right now, especially since I live a few miles from this Mall and frequent it fairly often.

Uhoh talking about work blocking things... I wonder if this will turn into the only yahoo hotlinks thread..

meh. too much textz. no organization. can't you click on your own regional links? local news channel, etc.

there's a bajillion news outlets online. I know this is "off topic" but it seems a strange use as an aggragator of all things news.

news.google.com works for me.

This just in: I farted!

Why the hell do you guys do that?

Buy an AK, go to a mall, movie theatre, workplace; shoot up unsuspecting civilians trying to hold their budgets and families together and then off yourself?

Fugsamaddawidyou?

Off yourself at home and leave these people alone or,

man up, do the right thing and play paddy-fingers with Sandusky or drop the soap with some gorilla named Turk!

In reply to 914Driver:

That should be "Why the hell do these idiots do that?

Remember not all of us that own guns are the bad guys.

"You guys" is not meant as you guys. But you knew that ...

Some early unconfirmed reports indicated the gunman was carrying an AR-15 rifle, a semiautomatic, civilian version of the fully automatic, military M-16. Both rifles fire the same high-powered cartridge.

Poodle shooter. berkeley you media, every time you write about weapons.

Police declined to confirm what kind of weapon they recovered. The floor was littered with empty shell casings. An unconfirmed report indicated that that the rifle may have jammed at some point and that police found a full magazine on the floor.

Maybe they were lucky he didn't buy an AK like 914 said.

Disappearing Minnesota Moose may get listing as species of 'concern'

Alaskans may take moose for granted. There are hundreds of thousands of the massive, half-ton ungulates wandering the state’s wide open spaces, so we don’t really give them a second thought -- except when one wanders into our backyard or crosses the road in front of us. But in Minnesota, a dwindling moose population has prompted the state's Department of Natural Resources to recommend the moose be labeled a “species of special concern” under the state’s endangered species protections.

That could clear the way for the Minnesota moose to eventually be listed as threatened or endangered if the population continues to fall.

The suggested status still has to be approved, and officials say such a listing shouldn’t hurt Minnesota's relatively meager annual moose hunt. The moose would be just one of 67 animals and 114 plants recommended for endangered species consideration in the state.

Minnesota's moose population is at all-time lows. In the Northeast region of the state, populations have dropped sharply since 2005, when an aerial survey estimated a little more than 8,000 moose in the region. By 2012, that number had dropped to 4,230. Things were even more dire in the northwest, where fewer than 100 moose are estimated to remain.

And the culprit of choice among state officials? Not hunting. Not predation. Rather, climate change.

“Warming temperatures have been correlated with the decline of the northwestern Minnesota moose population, and high temperatures have been correlated with higher mortality observed in the northeastern Minnesota population,” the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said in its recommendation to list the species.

Scott Pengelly, spokesman for the department, said climate change isn’t the only detriment faced by Minnesota moose. He noted that parasites such as the winter tick -- which Alaska moose don’t have to worry about -- have been a problem for moose in the area.

“We’re definitely seeing early signs of climate change,” Pengelly said. “So that combined with a lot of other factors may be contributing to the decline.”

Interestingly, very little is made of moose predation. Nevertheless, as Minnesota's moose population has fallen “precipitously” -- as one DNR employee put it -- the state's wolf population has increased.

That’s thanks in large part to the gray wolf’s own protections provided under the Endangered Species Act. For decades, Minnesota had liberal wolf hunting and trapping regulations, which helped limit the population to an estimated 350-700 animals. By 2008, however, about 3,000 wolves were believed to live in the state.

Wolves are now actively managed under predator-control programs in Minnesota. Up to 400 animals are expected to be killed this year. Interestingly, in the northwest part of the state, where the moose population is most threatened, only 49 wolves have been killed out of a quota of 187. Statewide, about half of the quota of 400 has been met with less than two months remaining in the season.

Predator control programs are still contentious in Alaska, but neither moose nor wolves have ever been listed as endangered in the state. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game estimates the number of wolves in Alaska as between 7,000 and 11,000, with as many as 200,000 moose.

Alaska's moose have problems of their own, though. Hundreds of moose are killed every year on Alaska's roads in collisions with vehicles, and moose on the Kenai Peninsula may have a hard time getting through winter this year after starting the season weaker than normal.

Parliament confirms badger cull pilot still planned for summer

Ministers have rejected calls for the Government to abandon its planned cull of badgers to tackle TB in cattle.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs minister Lord de Mauley yesterday confirmed the culling policy would be piloted initially in two areas next summer.

An independent panel of experts would evaluate the controlled shooting of badgers and report back to ministers for them to decide whether to order more extensive culling.

Labour’s Lord Hoyle said scientific evidence suggested the killing of badgers would make no difference to the problem, with some “eminent” scientists arguing it could make it worse.

“In view of that will you now follow the policy of the Welsh Assembly and decide on a policy of vaccination, rather than elimination,” he demanded at question time.

Lord de Mauley disagreed with Lord Hoyle on the science. “Ultimately, of course, we want to be able to use vaccination both for cattle and for badgers.”

Independent crossbencher Lord Krebs, who carried out a scientific review of the bovine TB issue in the 1990s and has been critical of the Government’s move, asked how the success or failure of the two pilots would be judged. “Is it not right that the Government should take the opportunity between now and next summer, when the cull is proposed to resume, to review all the options for controlling TB in badgers – bearing in mind that not even the most optimistic proponent of culling would consider it is a credible strategy for eradication of this dreadful disease,” Lord Krebs said.

The minister told him an independent panel of experts would oversee the two pilots to test assumptions about the humaneness and safety of the culling plan. He said ministers were constantly reviewing their options and working hard on vaccination research.

Lib Dem Lord Greaves asked how much the aborted culls had cost and who was going to pay. Lord de Mauley said there had been £750,000 on surveying costs, £300,000 on Natural England’s costs and £95,000 on “humaneness monitoring”.

I thought all news WAS political. And I'm with most of the other people, unless it's something off the wall & crazy or will help someone then why bother? We have access to the portion of the news that interests us in a myriad of other places.

TOP GUN IN 3D COMING OUT IN FEBRUARY!

A 3D conversion of Top Gun, the movie that made Tom Cruise a household name, will have a limited release in Imax cinemas in February. The 1986 classic has been re-mastered from high-resolution scans of the original negatives and will be in cinemas Feb. 8, Paramount announced on Tuesday. Top Gun director Tony Scott, who took his own life in August, had been keen on the 3D transformation project and had overseen the process prior to his death. In Top Gun, Cruise plays Navy Lt. Pete (Maverick) Mitchell, who competes with other fighter pilots in an elite training program before engaging in combat with an unnamed enemy. The fast-paced aerial fight scenes were considered to hold potential for 3D conversion. In wake of Scott’s death, Paramount had been undecided what to do with the 3D project. It had been planned as a way to whet appetites for a sequel, which Scott was planning with Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The sequel is not expected to continue without Scott. James Cameron's romantic epic Titanic was re-released in 3D earlier this year and earned $342 million US at the box office. It also captivated audiences in China, considered an important new market for Hollywood studios. Top Gun in 3D will run in theatres for six days, ahead of the film's debut on Blu-ray.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/12/12/top-gun-3d-release.html

1988RedT2 wrote: This just in: I farted!

So did I...ah E36 M3. It happened again.

All I have to wonder is how bad a shot is this guy that he went hunting, but didn't eat for three weeks?

A Winnipeg man who was reported missing last month after setting off on a deer hunting trip has been found alive, according to police.

Brad Lambert, 46, was last seen on Nov. 15 in Marchand, Man., about 85 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, where he bought supplies, in the southeastern part of the province.

Days later, after he failed to show up for work, he was reported missing to police.

Brad Lambert has been found alive, after he went missing on Nov. 15 in the Marchand area. (Winnipeg Police Service )

Lambert's family and friends, as well as an RCMP team, searched for him in the Sandilands Provincial Forest area, where he was going hunting, but did not find him.

On Saturday, he was found on the side of the road near Marchand, just southeast of Steinbach, by man who was driving by in a truck. The man took him to a grocery store to get some food before Lambert was reunited with his family in Winnipeg.

Lambert's family have confirmed he was in contact Saturday and that he is in good condition. There is no word on how he survived the cold or what happened to his black Ford F-150 truck.

The grocery store clerk who recognized him from an earlier visit said Lambert looked tired and "very skinny." The six-foot-tall man normally weighs about 240 pounds.

His wife said he was taken to a hospital for an examination

I think for this to be a long lasting thread you have to ask like this: Can we please stop posting news links?

poopshovel wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: This just in: I farted!

So did I...ah E36 M3. It happened again.

Poop, do you need to wipe that um err... poop

Well, had to go meet up with my family last night for Xmas pictures. Took the busy highway last night that just came to a screeching stop last night. 4 lanes bottle neck down into one with road flares around a stopped Explorer on the shoulder.

Went on the local news website this morning, found this:

WSBTV said: Northbound lanes of Ga. 400 were blocked Wednesday night in north Fulton County after a man was found dead inside a vehicle. Around 6:45 p.m., a Georgia H.E.R.O. operator spotted a stationary vehicle on the right shoulder, underneath the Kimball Bridge Road overpass, according to George Gordon, spokesman for Alpharetta police. When checking to see if the motorist needed help, the roadside worker instead found the man dead in the vehicle, Gordon said. Emergency responders believe the man, whose name was not released, had been shot, according to police. The investigation into the incident forced officers to temporarily close Ga. 400 and re-route traffic off at exits. The roadway was expected to re-open shortly before 9 p.m., Gordon said.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/man-found-dead-in-vehicle-ga-400/nTTjK/

I'll just leave this here:

Damn Florida, you CRAZY!

Baltimore speed camera issues ticket to a stationary car: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/sun-investigates/bs-md-speed-camera-stopped-car-20121212,0,6559038.story

Elementary School Shooting: More than a dozen kids shot and killed.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15907407-alleged-shooter-at-connecticut-school-is-dead-official-tells-nbc?lite

poopshovel wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: This just in: I farted!

So did I...ah E36 M3. It happened again.

Never trust a fart. Especially when you are far from a set of fresh knickers.