- UncategorizedBush calls for ban on gay marriage
Sunday, June 4, 2006 United States President George W. Bush used his weekly radio address to propose the country’s Constitution be amended to ban same-sex marriages. Mr. Bush formally defined marriage as a “union between a man and a woman” and said that an amendment was needed because the presence of “activist” courts left him with no alternative. He also stated that, “Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and a wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society.” Democrats have accused the government of using this as a smokescreen to divert attention from more…
- UncategorizedBull moose shot by police in Alaska
Sunday, October 18, 2009 University of Alaska Anchorage campus police shot a bull moose on Thursday after it became entangled within fencing material. The animal was reportedly in an “agitated state” when it got its antlers stuck in a fence used to support young trees. Attempting to free itself, the moose struggled as it began moving towards the campus’s Fine Arts Building. Police blocked off the area and alerted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game before they shot the bull as it became an “imminent threat”. Police chief Dale Pittman said that the preferred method of taking down the animal was with tranquilizers, but the university’s police are not…
- UncategorizedJohn Vanderslice plays New York City: Wikinews interview
Thursday, September 27, 2007 John Vanderslice has recently learned to enjoy America again. The singer-songwriter, who National Public Radio called “one of the most imaginative, prolific and consistently rewarding artists making music today,” found it through an unlikely source: his French girlfriend. “For the first time in my life I wouldn’t say I was defending the country but I was in this very strange position…” Since breaking off from San Francisco local legends, mk Ultra, Vanderslice has produced six critically-acclaimed albums. His most recent, Emerald City, was released July 24th. Titled after the nickname given to the American-occupied Green Zone in Baghdad, it chronicles a world on the verge of…
- UncategorizedWikinews Shorts: November 13, 2008
A compilation of brief news reports for Thursday, November 13, 2008. Contents 1 Study shows that carrying excess fat around waist increases risk of early death 2 EU abolishes rules banning oddly-shaped fruit 3 Vase bought for £1 sells for £32,450 4 Blackwater may pay financial penalties for improper arms shipments Contribute to Wikinews by expanding these briefs or add a new one. A new study has found that people storing extra fat around their waist have a strongly increased chance of early death, even if their overall weight is average. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine today, found that for each addition 5 cm on the waist,…
- UncategorizedWikinews international report: “Anonymous” holds anti-Scientology protests worldwide
Sunday, February 10, 2008 The Internet group Project Chanology today held protests critical of the Church of Scientology. The protests marked what would have been the 49th birthday of Lisa McPherson, who is claimed to be a victim of the Church of Scientology’s practices. Lisa died in 1995 during a running of what Scientologists refer to as an Introspection Rundown, a procedure intended to help Church members deal with a psychotic or deeply traumatic event. Protests were planned throughout the day in 14 countries and over 50 different cities. The estimation of total protesters world wide for Feb. 10, 2008 is 9,250 people. Wikinews had correspondents at a number of…
- UncategorizedApple introduces iPhone and Apple TV
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Apple Inc. today has introduced the much-anticipated iPhone at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco. The iPhone is claimed to be “a revolutionary mobile phone” as stated on the Apple website. The device appears to be running a mobile version of the Apple operating system Mac OSX. It is approximately the same size as a 5th generation iPod, it has a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen display that is used to access all features of the phone including number dial, as well as making phone calls. The iPhone plays music, movies, displays pictures and is able to connect to a wireless network. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the…
- UncategorizedOil spill reported in Gulf of Mexico
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 At least 21,000 gallons of crude oil has spilled into the Gulf of Mexico near the United States mainland coast, about 30 miles off the shore of Galveston, Texas. The U.S. Coast Guard says that oil is still leaking at a rate of 80 to 400 gallons a day. The High Island Pipeline began to leak on Sunday and was immediately shut down when a pressure loss was detected. The pipeline is owned by Plains All American Pipeline who state that the incident is “under investigation” and that officials are working to “minimize the impact of the incident.” “A medium crude oil pipeline ruptured 30 miles…
- UncategorizedBlow out sales prices likely on mattresses as new U.S. fire-resistant standards take effect
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 If you are in the market for new bedding, and not too concerned with the new United States guidelines for mattress fire resistance, now might be a good time to buy. Mattresses sold in the U.S. must meet new federal guidelines for flammability starting on July 1. The peak heat release rate is limited to 200 kW during a 30 minute test. The total heat release is limited to 15 MJ within the first 10 minutes.” The flammability of mattress sets sold in the U.S. is subject to a new mandatory federal regulation requirement passed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on February 16 last…
- UncategorizedNo prosecution for UK minor who called Scientology a ‘cult’
Saturday, May 24, 2008 The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of the government of the United Kingdom told the City of London Police on Friday that there will be no prosecution for a 15-year-old boy who called Scientology a “cult” at a May 10 peaceful protest. The City of London Police had previously confiscated the boy’s protest placard and gave him a court summons at the demonstration, which took place near St Paul’s Cathedral at the Church of Scientology‘s London headquarters on Queen Victoria Street. The boy’s poster read: “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult”. The human rights organization Liberty has come out strongly against the City…
- UncategorizedStrongest earthquake in 40 years hits Southeast Asia
Sunday, December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean – The death toll continues to grow and millions face a homeless life in the new year as coastal communities in south Asia struggle against continued aftershocks and flooding caused by the largest earthquake to strike the planet in more than a generation. The magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake struck off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004, at 00:58:50 UTC (or 07:58:50 local time in Jakarta and Bangkok). The earthquake was the strongest in the world since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska, USA in 1964, and the fourth largest since 1900. More than 140,000 deaths[1] were caused…