Swine Flu News Updates
April 24, 2009 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Swine flu news updates will be posted here continually. Our original post on the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the US can be read here. Swine Flu – Outbreak in Mexico, U.S. Tied To New Unique Strain
Updates & Additional Swine Flu News Story Links
Friday May 1st, 2009
Thursday April 30th 2009
Wednesday April 29th 2009
Tuesday April 28th 2009
Monday April 27th 2009
- The WHO has raised the pandemic alert level to 4, the highest since the scale was developed in 2005.
Sunday April 26th 2009
Saturday April 25th 2009
Friday April 24th 2009
US medical authorities expressed strong concern Friday about an unprecedented multi-strain swine flu outbreak that has killed at least 60 people in Mexico and infected seven people in the United States.
“It’s very obvious that we are very concerned. We’ve stood up emergency operation centers,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spokesman Dave Daigle told AFP.
One major source of concern was that the virus included strains from different types of flu.
“This is the first time that we’ve seen an avian strain, two swine strains and a human strain,” said Daigle, adding that the virus had influenza strains from European and Asian swine, but not from North American swine.
In 11 of 12 reported human cases of swine influenza (H1N1) virus infection in the United States from December 2005 to February 2009, the CDC has documented direct or indirect contact with swine.
But the seven known cases of the previously undetected strain in the United States — five from California and two from Texas — did not have contact with pigs. The seven people infected have all recovered from the flu.
“We have determined that this virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human,” the CDC said on its website. “However, at this time, we have not determined how easily the virus spreads between people.”
Local and state health officials were interviewing not just the people who were infected but the people with whom they had contact, Daigle noted.
CDC says too late to contain U.S. flu outbreak
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday it was too late to contain the swine flu outbreak in the United States.
CDC acting director Dr. Richard Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing it was likely too late to try to contain the outbreak, by vaccinating, treating or isolating people.
“There are things that we see that suggest that containment is not very likely,” he said.
He said the U.S. cases and Mexican cases are likely the same virus. “So far the genetic elements that we have looked at are the same.” But Besser said it was unclear why the virus was causing so many deaths in deaths in Mexico and such mild disease in the United States.
3rd Possible Swine Flu Outbreak In Mexico
Mexico has reported a third possible outbreak of swine flu in Mexicali, near the U.S. border, with four suspect cases and no deaths to date, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.
Source
WHO calls emergency meeting on swine flu
The World Health Organization said on Friday that it was convening an emergency committee to advise whether outbreaks of swine flu in the United States and Mexico constituted an international public health threat.
“WHO will convene, sometime in the very near future, an emergency committee under the International Health Regulations, which will consider whether or not this event constitutes a public health event of international concern,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters in Geneva.
4.4 Earthquake Bay Area – Follow Live Reports On Twitter
March 30, 2009 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake that originated 11 miles outside of the South Bay town of Morgan Hill rattled the Bay Area at 10:40 a.m. today.
The earthquake’s epicenter was about 16 miles east southeast of the San Jose City Hall, according to Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the United State Geological Survey.
The depth of the earthquake was 3.8 miles under the surface, said Caruso, who did not know what underground fault line caused the temblor.
Follow The Quake Reports On Twitter
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4bc979e4-4be5-4306-9c55-845b43dc1882)
Southcenter Mall – Shots Fired In Shopping Mall – Tukwila Washington
November 22, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
UPDATE: The gunman remains at large and police are searching for him, police said.
The mall, located off Southcenter Parkway, is being locked down, officials said. It will remain closed for the rest of the night.
An off-duty sergeant with the Washington State Patrol at the scene said one victim underwent CPR after being hit. At least two victims later were rushed to the hospital.
Two people were put in handcuffs by officers at the scene, the trooper said, but it is not known what connection – if any – they had with the shooting.
——-
UPDATE from KOMO: At least one person was hit by gunfire in a shooting Saturday afternoon inside Southcenter Mall as it was filled with pre-Thanksgiving shoppers, witnesses said.
An off-duty sergeant with the Washington State Patrol at the scene said the victim is undergoing CPR after being hit.
Two people were put in handcuffs by officers at the scene, the trooper said.
Other witnesses told KOMO News they heard at least three shots fired just after 3:30 p.m. in front of the Forever 21 store near the mall’s food court.
The gunfire sparked immediate panic, and people started running for the exits.
Police raced to the scene in their patrol cars, lights flashing.
Shoppers are being evacuated from the mall, and officers are trying to determine exactly what happened and whether a shooter remains at large.
—–
A spokesperson with the Tukwila Police Department confirms that there have been multiple shots fired at Southcenter Mall this evening.
There are eyewitness accounts of several shots fired within the mall and shoppers running for safety.
Tukwila Police have also confirmed they are on the scene, but have so far given no details on any possible injuries or suspects.
New crews are on their way to the mall right now.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9d402c13-e965-4f0a-a815-5d0174e5e31a)
Fires Ravage California Southern California
November 15, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
While this is obviously not a terror related event, in the interest of serving our readers and online community we will continue to monitor this situation and provide links to the latest news and information.
UPDATE: Chaotic, gusting winds fanned wildfires all over Southern California on Saturday. Live links are listed below.
UPDATE: A wildfire fanned by hurricane-force wind ripped through northwestern Los Angeles foothills on Saturday, forcing some 10,000 people to flee their homes and threatening the power supply of California’s largest city.
A separate fire burned a second day in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, where 111 homes have been destroyed.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the fire in the foothills near Sylmar had already destroyed dozens of structures — more than any other in the past decade — and that the flames could take down power lines feeding the city.
“The fire is threatening the power of the city of Los Angeles,” Villaraigosa told a news conference. “We may have to move to rolling blackouts.”
—–
A massive brush fire in Sylmar has burned at least five homes and 2600 acres, forcing evacuations as strong winds are quickly spreading the flames. The flames jumped the 210 Freeway causing L.A. Fire Department to close the roadway.
Winds were gusting up to about 50 mph at 2 a.m. as several homes along Dronefield Avenue burned. The fire jumped the 210 freeway near Cobalt Street, and the freeway was closed shortly after midnight.
As many as a dozen homes burned since the fire started about 10:30 p.m. Friday. An estimated 1,500 acres were blackened in the foothills, mostly north of the freeway.
Officials at Olive View Medical Center, which was without electricity, were working to evacuate some 200 patients to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. The most critical patients and babies were moved first.
Some storage buildings on the hospital campus burned.
Just one injury was reported — a 40-year-old man who suffered serious burns, according to broadcast reports.
Evacuations were ordered north of the freeway. Police were helping firefighters get disabled people out of their homes. As many as 5,000 people were sent to shelters.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=597787d6-8e9a-4365-8d1a-656916a7cc45)
Pueblo Colorado Explosion Levels Building – People May Be Trapped Inside
November 13, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Follow comments from those who are in near the site:
UPDATE: Fire inspector, said that “at this point we have no idea what caused the explosion but it is consistent with a natural gas explosion.”
———
Preliminary reports from Pueblo are that an explosion at the Branch Inn on Union Avenue and “C” Street in Pueblo has leveled the building. There are reports that windows were broken up to one block away due to the strength of the explosion.
We have reports that people may be trapped in the burning building. One woman was seen being loaded into an ambulance at the scene. No reports on the extent of her injuries.
One witnesse at the scene says they saw flames up to 40 feet in the air.
Developing…
The location is in the Union Avenue Historic District, where president-elect Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of thousands less than two weeks ago.
An employee of Larry’s Electric, Sarah King, who’s near the explosion, said, “The building is flat leveled.”
Leroy Lucero, whose office is in the Union Depot, said, “The Branch Inn is completely gone….Anyone that would have been walking there would have been dead.” Lucero said the explosion rattled everything in the depot, and bricks and glass blocks from the building were scattered across the sidewalk and the street.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d822ed61-b4f8-461a-8cbb-b6f8aeb581f2)
Virginia Tech Investigates Reported Sounds of Gunshots
November 13, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
UPDATE: The residence hall is directly across the street from a construction site, which could be the source of the sounds.
——
Police at Virginia Tech are investigating “reported sounds of gunshots” on the campus, according to the school.
An alert on the university’s website says police are conducting a room by room search in Pritchard Hall on the Blacksburg, Va., campus. “Police have walked the halls and report NO residual smell of gunpowder,” WSET-TV reports.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e3cf50e1-e6da-45ca-8f65-36aca7d8550d)
FBI Investigates Implied Threats Against 60 in Shawano WI
November 13, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
From heavy security at the Shawano City Council meeting to a police escort for the mayor, a community is on high alert. A city alder confirms the FBI is investigating implied threats against city and county officials.
“They basically they said you’re on a list, have a good day. Now we have to worry about one more thing in our lives,”
An FBI investigation led to a warning about a threat against dozens of people.
Shawano Alder Bob Kurkiewicz says the FBI warned community leaders that a religious organization just outside of Shawano has made implied threats against them.
The group, run by a man known as Dr. Samanta Roy, has had a contentious relationship with people in the Shawano area for years. Kurkiewicz says it has now escalated to threats against roughly 60 people.
Action 2 News has information that the implied threats are against everyone from the mayor to city council members to even the police chief.
The alder we talked with says the threats are not specific but no one here is taking any chances.
At Wednesday night’s city council meeting, not a word was mentioned about the FBI investigation and the mayor had no comment for the media.
Mayor Lorna Marquardt was surrounded by police officers as she left the meeting.
“We’re taking some extra, precautionary measures to make sure nothing does happen,” Police Chief Ed Whealon said. “We don’t know, but we’re just going ahead, take a little more precautionary measures.”
Chief Whealon wouldn’t talk about the specifics of the situation.
The FBI released a statement:
“The FBI made a public announcement to 60 potential victims in Shawano, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, November 5th. The FBI advised these individuals that they were potential victims of an implied threat that was discovered as part of an ongoing investigation.”
Kurkiewicz confirmed there are references to the religious organization.
Earlier today we received an email from someone who stated that as it is with most things, there are two sides to this story. They provided the following link and requested that we include it in this post.
Background story from 2005 on the Samanta Roy group mentioned in the story
From The Chicago Tribune
The FBI says 60 Shawano residents have been notified they were “potential victims of an implied threat” that authorities discovered during an investigation.
FBI spokesman Leonard Peace in Milwaukee issued a statement Wednesday saying the 60 people were notified a week earlier, on Nov. 5. According to Peace, “The FBI advised these individuals that they were potential victims of an implied threat that was discovered as part of an ongoing investigation.”
He said no specific details of the case could be released because the investigation is ongoing.
Contacted by telephone Wednesday evening, Peace reiterated that no further information is being released at this time.
Shawano City Council Meeting Held Under Tense Conditions
The Shawano City Council held a regularly scheduled council meeting under some very tense conditions Wednesday night. “We are supporting the F.B.I., assisting them”, said Shawano Police Chief Ed Whelon, whose department was providing tight security and metal detectors for the council meeting. “If they need our help, we’ll provide that assistance to them.”
A hit list uncovered by the F.B.I. has the names of 60 people from the Shawano community, including the Police Chief, Mayor, and many of the community leaders present at Wednesday’s meeting.
At a meeting that NewsChannel 7’s Mikel Lauber was present for one week earlier, the City leaders and local residents on the list were told by the F.B.I. and local law enforcement to be vigilant and keep a watchful eye. At that meeting, law enforcement said The Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology, or SIST, was being investigated in connection to the list.
Darlene sense, a member of S.I.S.T. seen holding a video camera in NewsChannel 7’s ‘Secrets in Shawano’ series came to Wednesday’s council meeting, but wouldn’t respond to any questions about the investigation into S.I.S.T. She remained silent, videotaping reporters who questioned her and vehicles parked outside City Hall before she left.
With the community uncertain of how real the threat is, or exactly who’s responsible, local leaders just hope the community will be patient. “We ask you to have some faith in the city”, Whelon said. “And I think given enough time, we’ll be fine.”
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ff532989-17c2-4748-99f3-881facac6e65)
al-Qaeda’s Beheading Emir Captured
November 13, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
The Iraqi army arrested on Wednesday in volatile Diyala Province a militant who is allegedly responsible for many of the brutal beheadings carried out by Al-Qaeda, Arabic satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya reported on Wednesday. Ahmad Hasan al-Azzawi, known as ‘the beheading emir’ was arrested in a raid outside the provincial capital, Baquba, Al-Arabiya said.
The raid reportedly took place early on Tuesday in the mountains north of the village of Khales, 15 kilometres from Baquba – an Al-Qaeda stronghold.
Sunni tribesmen from the local United States-backed Awakening Council helped carry out the raid on a suspected militant hideout, according to Al-Arabiya.
Also on Tuesday, a 13-year-old female suicide bomber killed five security officials and wounded 11 others, the US military said.
Australia Extremists Accused Of Planning Violent Jihad
November 11, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Five Muslim extremists planned terrorist acts in Australia in pursuit of “violent jihad” because they believed Islam was under attack worldwide, a court heard as their trial began Tuesday.
The Sydney men obtained or sought weapons and explosive materials and possessed extremist material venerating the work of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, prosecutor Richard Maidment told a Supreme Court jury.
He said the evidence would show the men were working together between July 2004 and their arrest in November 2005 “to prepare for the commission of one or more terrorist acts in Australia.”
The accused — Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan and Mohammed Omar Jamal — have pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, the men — aged from 24 to 43 — face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Raids on their homes found “large quantities of literature which supported indiscriminate killing, mass murder and martyrdom in pursuit of violent jihad,” Maidment said.
They had pictures and videos showing the hijacked aircraft smashing into the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001, as well as beheadings and death on the battlefield, he said.
Maidment described all five as devout Muslims who believed Islam was under attack throughout the world and that there was a religious obligation to come to its defence.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f203e27d-7e2c-4778-916c-ca363f748d3b)
FBI Headquarters Evacuated After Electrical Fire
November 11, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Authorities say the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., was briefly evacuated because of a small electrical fire in the basement.
No injuries were reported, but two streets were closed while authorities investigated.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko says no criminal activity was suspected and that everything was “under control” by late afternoon.
D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter says there appeared to have been an electrical fire in a utility room underneath the building.
Etter said officials received a call from inside the building around 4:15 p.m. about a loud, explosion-like noise and smoke coming from the ventilation system.
The few people working on the holiday had to leave the building but were later allowed to return.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=42589b65-03fe-4ab6-ab14-5ada70a15408)
Possible Pipe Bomb in Sparks Detonated, Road Closed
November 11, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Minutes before the noon hour Tuesday, local law enforcement detonated a device that could have been a bomb.
Discovered on Stanford Way and Greg St. in Sparks, a device that looked like “a pipe with two caps” on the ends was exploded by a member of the Consolidated Bomb Squad, according to News 4 crews on the scene.
Law enforcement told News 4 they closed the surrounding roadways because of the discovery of the device.
Officials utilized a specialized robot to help deal with the object.
A civilian notified authorities of the presence of the device.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7f546b5e-d06c-4879-8465-93ef8666b4ab)
Bomb Threats At Power Plant Brings In The FBI
November 11, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
A rash of bomb threats have been directed at Appalachian Power’s John Amos Power Plant, the company said.
The latest threat was made Monday, said Joe Haynes, the plant’s community relations manager.
“Every time it happens we stop work, we evacuate and search the area,” he said.
That’s a big, expensive undertaking: There are about 3,000 workers on site during the day shift. Most are installing a scrubber on Unit 3, the largest of the plant’s three power-generating units. A smaller shift works nights.
Appalachian Power is an operating unit of American Electric Power.
Sgt. K.S. Dickson, commander of the State Police’s Winfield Detachment, said that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, “places that are deemed critical infrastructure – which AEP falls under – have an enhanced penalty. The FBI comes in and gets involved. Every time there’s a bomb threat there, we’re notified to bring in our bomb dogs and handlers. AEP has to notify the U.S. Coast Guard; they shut down the Kanawha River. The Homeland Security people are notified. A lot of resources get spent because you have to go through and check everything every time.”
AEP is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the threats, Dickson said. The State Police’s Winfield Detachment’s number to call with information is 304-586-2000.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=400aad65-9b51-4270-b9a3-56226d29f0c3)
Chinese Nuke Sub spotted By Japanese Tracking USS George Washington Near Korea
November 11, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Japanese military forces detected two Chinese submarines in the East China Sea, including a suspected Han-class nuclear powered attack submarine, according to Japanese defense sources.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces detected the submarines with the help of P-3 maritime surveillanceaircraft in early October around the time that the USS George Washington aircraft carrier was conducting operations near South Korea.
The second Chinese submarine, a non-nuclear attack craft, was not further identified.
The submarines were believed to be conducting underwater surveillance of the George Washington and its accompanying warships.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9fdb6757-cbd1-4503-85cf-c4ee991883c7)
Obama To Get Top Secret CIA Briefing
November 6, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
President-elect Barack Obama will learn the full “burdens of office” tomorrow when he receives his first top secret briefing from the Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell.
McConnell will be accompanied by the CIA’s top intelligence analyst, Michael Morel, the Director for Intelligence, and two senior CIA briefers, intelligence officials tell ABCNews.com.
Morel will take over the briefing responsibility for the President-elect through the transition after tomorrow’s initial session, officials say.
Top Obama advisers are eager to begin a strategic shift in counter-terrorism policy with a much greater focus and commitment of resources to going after al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani tribal region.
Officials say the President-elect will learn the CIA still has no specific information on the whereabouts of bin Laden but has a much better set of leads on the location of bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahari.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=392dc925-69cd-4f30-840d-3a3104eee805)
