Monday, October 11, 2010

Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

On Monday, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia rejected a guilty plea from Travis McMichael after McMichael offered in court to plead guilty to federal hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

It is highly unusual for a U.S. judge to reject a plea agreement, which would waive McMichael’s right to appeal.

McMichael said he was willing to plead guilty to attacking Arbery out of racial animosity, which would make Arbery’s murder a hate crime. In the proposed plea deal, he would have spent the first 30 years of his sentence in a federal prison. After that, he would move to a Georgia state prison for the rest of his life. Per this deal, even if his state charges were overturned, McMichael would still spend many years in prison.

In court, federal prosecutors urged Judge Wood to accept the plea deal, but Arbery’s family asked her not to. The dead man’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said that the men who killed her son did not deserve to choose their living conditions: “Granting these men their preferred choice of confinement would defeat me. It gives them one last chance to spit in my face.”

Prosecutors claimed they had talked with the victim’s family about the plea deal in advance, but lawyers for Cooper-Jones disagreed.

Judge Wood explained that Cooper-Jones’ statement was part of her decision, but her main reason was that she did not want to be held to the strict 30-year sentence agreed upon by prosecutors and McMichael’s lawyers.

Wood’s decision casts doubt on whether McMichael’s father, Gregory McMichael will also plead guilty as planned. Gregory McMichael also helped kill Arbery.

In February 2020, the McMichaels and a third man, William Bryan, chased Arbery, 25, in trucks as he jogged through their suburban Georgia neighborhood. Travis McMichael then fought with Arbery on foot and shot him to death. Bryan took cell phone video of the event, which later appeared on the Internet.

In November 2021, all three men were convicted of murder in Georgia’s Glynn County Superior Court. They were sentenced to life in prison, though only Bryan was granted the possibility of parole. The state of Georgia did not at that time have its own hate crime law, and prosecutors decided to charge the men on the federal level.

Jury selection for Travis McMichael’s federal hate crimes trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, February 7.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Minas, one of the largest states of Brazil, has stopped the sale of the Toyota Corolla over safety concerns.

The move was made after nine Corolla customers reported that their cars automatically accelerated. The state public prosecutor’s office said in an online statement on Tuesday that the problem is blamed on accelerator pedals sticking underneath floor mats. Local government said the issue was “putting in danger the lives of occupants”.

According to the prosecutor’s office, sales of Corollas may resume when Toyota alters the floormats in its current models. Toyota has recalled over eight million vehicles worldwide due to acceleration problems.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Semicon Taiwan goes to the final day on September 14, one of exhibitors Siemens AG imported containers named “exiderdome” to Taiwan and held an exhibition at A13 Parking Lot in Xinyi District, Taipei City for professionals from some industries such as automation, semiconductor, and electronics experiencing the advantages on automation solutions by Siemens.

For this special exhibition, Wikinews Reporter Brock interviewed Stephen Huang (International Account Manager of Automation and Drives Department, Siemens Limited) and Ken Cheng (Director of Automation and Drives Department, Siemens Limited) for information on this exhibition.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, sent as the post-time odds-on favorite in this year’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, breaks down in the opening stretch of the race, shattering any chance of a Triple Crown winner this year. Bernardini, the 12-1 4th choice out of 9, ends up winning this year’s Preakness, stopping the clock at 1:54.65. Following up 5 1/4 lengths behind was Sweetnorthernsaint, sent to the post at 8-1, and Hemingway’s Key at 29-1, six lengths further back.

According to Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Barbaro’s injury was “significant” and “would require major stabilizing surgery.” Barbaro’s injury effectively ended the horse’s racing career.

Bernardini, a colt by A.P. Indy out of Cara Rafaela, by Quiet American, was bred and is owned by the Darley Stable of Sheikh Mohammed, is trained by Tom Albertrani, and was ridden to victory by Javier Castellano. Today’s Preakness marks the first Preakness win for jockey Javier Castellano, who previously rode Ghostzapper to a win in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Preakness was only Bernardini’s 4th career start.

Bernardini paid $27.80 on a $2 win bet. The $2 Exacta of Bernardini and Sweetnorthernsaint (8-7) paid $171.60, the $1 Trifecta with Hemingway’s Key in third (8-7-3) paid $1,956.40, and the $1 Superfecta with 2nd-favorite Brother Derek (8-7-3-6) paid $11,151.20.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Two weeks after a disastrous earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the situation at the severely damaged Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant has been described by the Prime Minister as “very grave and serious”. In a nationally televised report to the nation on Friday, Naoto Kan said the Japanese government was “not in a position where we can be optimistic.”

Radiation is reported to still be leaking from the plant, in Fukushima prefecture. “The source of the radiation seems to be the reactor core,” said Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama, adding that radiation was “more likely” coming from the core than from the reactor’s spent fuel pool.

On Thursday three workers stepped into contaminated cooling water in the reactor’s turbine room while trying to replace cables at reactor No. 3, Nishiyama said. The water seeped into the the boots of two of the workers, touching their skin and causing lesions; the third worker’s clothing protected him from the water. The two workers with skin lesions were hospitalized for radiation exposure. The radiation level of the contaminated water measured 10,000 times the level of cooling water in an undamaged reactor.File:Fukushima I by Digital Globe 2.jpg

Work has been stopped on attempts to reattach a permanent power line to the cooling system in reactor No. 3, and the building has been evacuated. Nishiyama could give no predictions of when work would resume. The possibility that water is leaking from the core of reactor No. 3 increases the danger for workers who attempt to cool the crippled plant. The reactors must be cooled before more safety work can begin.

Japan had been using seawater for cooling since the disaster crippled the power plant’s cooling systems, but U.S. officials were concerned that saltwater could harm the equipment, causing it to seize up and corrode, thereby worsening the situation.