Cessna Private Jet Crash at Shenandoah Valley Leaves 4 Dead

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Leslie Park

FAA investigated the incident of the private jet crash on Sunday afternoon at Shenandoah Valley. The plane flew over the restricted zone in D.C. and military f-16s intercepted a plane with a sonic boom which shocked the residents in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The supersonic speeds of the responsive fighter jets jolted over the nation’s capital region with high warning alerts. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) are investigating the incident. Virginia State Police reported no survivors.

The FAA said that a Cessna Citation aircraft departed from Elizabethton, TN, and was headed to Long Island McArthur Airport in New York. The plane didn’t land at Long Island airport and turned around over the airport flying a straight path to D.C. NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) F-16 jets intercepted the plane around 3:20 p.m., and the military aircraft tried to make contact with the Cessna pilot until the plane crashed in Shenandoah Valley.

The NORAD was authorized to operate at supersonic speeds and the sonic boom that resulted startled DMV area residents. According to the data from FlightAware, the Cessna flew over 34,000 feet altitude and dropped down to 20,000 feet in a very short time.

Virginia State Police said in a statement, it was notified of a possible aircraft crash at 3:50 p.m. in the Shenandoah mountains regions at Stanton and Blue Ridge Parkway. FAA and NTSB are going to a future update, according to NPR.

John and Barbara Rumpel, a Florida-based company, owned the Cessna aircraft. John Rumpel said his daughter, his 2-year-old granddaughter, her nanny, and the pilot were on aboard the flight. Barbara Rumpel said on her Facebook, “My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter

Ukraine Shoots Down 29 of the 30 Russian Missiless

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Leslie Park

Photo from Google Map

Amid the G7 summit held in Japan, Russia fired 30 cruise missiles at all different places in Ukraine on Thursday, and 29 of them were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defense system, according to AP. Russia claimed that its target was to U.S. Patriot missile system in Kyiv. The U.S. Patriot system was a little damaged but is still working in operation.

One hits the southern part of Odesa, leaving one killed and two injured. Putin threatened the U.K. for backing Ukraine and supports the long-range Storm Shadow missiles which have been successfully used in Ukraine. Russian forces are starting to retreat from the Bakhmut according to CNN.

Russian forces hit focused on the mining field of Bakhmut which was an important center for salt and gypsum mining in the Donetsk region and the most industrial mainstream of the country as known the Donbas. It is also a very important region between Ukraine and Russia in terms of being the stepping stone of Russian expansion toward Ukraine, with two important cities Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region which are also the cultural, historical, and economic hubs of Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian military and Russia’s Wagner private army both reported further Russian retreats around the city of Bakhmut on Thursday, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned counteroffensive,” Reuter said. Wegner group is on the front line of this war, how long does it stay in the war zone and how does Zelensky play with allies and get more weapons to repeal them from his country?

President Zelensky needs more missiles and jets to fight against Russia. The G7 Summit will likely seek more and stronger sanctions against Russia.

WHO Says Don’t Take No-Sugar Sweetener

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Leslie Park

After the pandemic, many Americans have gained a few pounds of weight, especially those who work from home, which is the most significant change from a few years back. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to this weight gain.

Today, WHO released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

WHO says the use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children after its findings of a systematic review of the available pieces of evidence. Results of the review also suggest that there may be unfavorable effects from long-term use of NSS, like an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortalities in adults.

According to WHO, “Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars [intakes], such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” says Francesco Branca, WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety. “NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health.”

The most common NSS include acesulfame K, aspartame, advantage, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia, and stevia derivatives. Some exception applies to personal care and hygiene products like toothpaste, skin cream, and medications or low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols) which are sugars or sugar derivatives containing calories are not considered NSS.

The WHO guideline on NSS is for establishing lifelong healthy eating habits, improving dietary quality, and decreasing the unnecessary health risk of NCDs worldwide.

Microbes may help Plastic Waste Management at Certain Temperature

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Leslie Park

Captured from BBC

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest headaches on this planet, as it covers from the tip of mountains to the bottom of the ocean. Every day, more than 60 million plastic waste bottles are sent to landfill or incinerated, and 10 million bottles go to the sea. Many scientists from countries have been seeking solutions to the “Plastic Problem.”

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL recently discovered that we have some help. They buried pieces of plastic in the Alps and the Artic and found that certain temperatures may be key to solving the problem. The scientists posted the study and discovery at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles.

In their studies, there are certain microbes in the Arctic and the Alps that eat up certain types of plastic left in their environment. Using microbes to break down plastics at as low as 59 degrees Fahrenheit is more cost-efficient compared with other microorganisms to eat up plastic at required temperatures of at least 86 degrees Fahrenheit to process.

As part of the research, Dr. Joel Rüthi from WSL and their team took samples of 34 types of microbes – 19 types of bacteria and 15 types of fungi – which were found growing on plastic that had been kept in the ground for one year in Greenland, Svalbard, and Switzerland. They then let these tiny organisms grow in darkness at temperatures of 15C in a laboratory before seeing if they would be able to break down plastic.

The plastics they tested included: Polyethylene (PE) – which is non-biodegradable – polyester-polyurethane (PUR) – which is biodegradable – as well as two other biodegradable plastic mixtures, polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA), according to BBC.

The “Title 42” Ends Worrying US-Mexico Border Cities of Illegal Immigrants

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Leslie Park

Photo captured from CSMonitor.com

Migrants from South American countries to the southern border of the U.S. and Mexico are surging rapidly, due to the “Title 42 expulsion” (which is preventing communicable diseases spread to the US thus migrants from the southern borders are sent back to third countries instead of processing to legal entry to the US.) which ends on Thursday. Officially ending the pandemic by CDC, May 11, 2023, is a big day for the border crossing migrants. Like flooding water demolishes a dam with power, the influx of people from the southern border is expected to bring another disaster to many states, some warn.

During the pandemic, migrants from the southern border moved to NYC and Washington D.C. and showed cities as not having enough facilities to handle the migrants moved into such cities from Texas. D.C. Mayor Bowser cried out to the federal government to get aid for the migrants through buses sent by the Texas Governor, Greg Abbott.

Many criticize Texas Governor Abbott, however, just as many Americans are blaming the Biden administration for the immigration law since he took office, which has not differed much from the Trump administration. During the presidential election debate, Biden criticized Trump’s immigration policy as being ineffective.

US Customs and Border Protection has already seen an uptick in migrants crossing the border with Mexico, with more than 8,000 daily encounters, according to a Homeland Security official – a number that officials predict could reach 10,000 once Title 42 is lifted. There are around 25,000 migrants in custody, the official said, straining processing facilities that are already over capacity. “I think that there is no question that this is going to be extremely challenging,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday in Brownsville, Texas, according to CNN.

The end of “Title 42” means alternative immigration law reform will be needed to control or maintain the influx of people from the southern border to the US. Recently, the Biden administration sent 1,500 troops to the southern border, and lawmakers are seeking solutions for this “humanitarian war.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I- AZ) introduced a bipartisan bill to extend Title 42.

In the meantime, more than 700,000 people on the Mexico side border are going to seek a way to cross over into the U.S. border. Many Americans worry about the flooding of migrants from the southern countries to the US which might worsen living conditions for many of the low-income families already struggling under the current economic climate.

“Persona non grata” between China and Canada

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Leslie Park

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared China’s diplomat Zhao Wei “persona non grata” (In Latin phrase for unwelcome person) and ordered her to leave Canada on Monday, May 9, 2023. China also ordered the removal of Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, Canada’s diplomat in its Shanghai Consulate in China as countermeasures on Tuesday, May 10, 2023. Both diplomats have 5 days to leave their respective countries.

The China diplomat Zhao Wei is accused of collecting Mr. Michael D. Chong (MP)’s family and relatives information in Hong Kong. Mr. Chong has criticized China’s Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang that abuses human rights. In 2020, Canada imposed sanctions against people in connection with the Uyghur genocide. In response, the People’s Republic of China government also imposed sanctions against Mr. Chong with countermeasures.

Canadian government imposed sanctions against many Russian officials after Russia went on invasion in Ukraine in 2022. Mr. Chong was sanctioned by the Russian government as a countermeasure.

“China reserves the right to further react,” Beijing said in a statement, according to BBC, “Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou, held in Canada on US fraud charges in 2018, and Beijing’s subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges. All three were freed in 2021.” It seems China is abusing diplomatic tactics as retribution for what could be just human rights action from other nations.

Discovered Liquid Meth in Tequila Bottles at the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Leslie Park

Photo from CDC

10 tons of liquid methamphetamine stored in 11,520 bottles of tequila for distribution to the world has seized by the Mexican Navy on Monday. Authorities used sniffer dogs and a chemical identification system to locate a container housing where at least 8,640 kilograms of the drug were bottled as tequila liquor at the Port of Manzanillo, a city located on the western coast of Mexico.

The Navy investigators of this mission took the sample of the tequila bottle to the lab, and they seized the bottles after they were confirmed to be meth. The navy seized and destroyed 114 tons of meth earlier this year. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ), 106,699 people died from Drug overdose in 2021 in the U.S.

In 2021, 106,699 drug overdose deaths occurred, resulting in an age-adjusted rate of 32.4 per 100,000 standard population in the United States. Adults aged 65 and over had the largest percentage increase in rates from 2020 through 2021. Drug overdose death rates increased for each race and Hispanic-origin group except non-Hispanic Asian people between 2020 and 2021.

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone increased by 22%, while the rate of deaths involving heroin declined by 32% between 2020 and 2021. From 2020 through 2021, the rate of drug overdose deaths increased for deaths involving cocaine and those involving psychostimulants with abuse potential.

At the end of the 19th century, the Opium War between Britain and China was brought about by the trade deficit and destabilized the Chinese empire, fueling instability in the East. It seems that again in the 21st century, opium different from that has become a weapon to infiltrate economically superior countries and gradually collapse countries and their people. Perhaps the Mexican Navy can continue to do more in preventing the spread, and those in other developed nations can follow in destroying the opium that will surely bring about instability in their own nations.

Cease-Fire Agreement made in between SAF and RSF: Three days of Cease-Fire in Sudan for Exodus of 36 nationalities from War-Zone

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Leslie Park

Photo from Wikipedia

The Secretary of the U.S. State Department, Antony Blinken announced that a three-day cease-fire agreement was reached between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces starting midnight Monday. The civil war between the two military factions failed several times to reach a cease-fire agreement previously, and 36 nationalities had been at risk in the meantime.

Blinken said “To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan,” in a statement on Monday.

Many neighboring countries have been involved in this civil war and the capital of Sudan, Khartoum is deserted and the most vulnerable city in this power struggle. The WHO (World Health Organization) said that more than 400 people had been killed.

President Biden ordered the evacuation of all American personnel from the embassy in Khartoum on Saturday.

South Korea evacuated its 25 nationals from Sudan, and Saudi Arabia said Monday that it had evacuated 357 people from more than two dozen counties from Sudan, according to NBC News. Since April 15, Sudan’s conflict has overshadowed Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia. There are allegations that Sudan has been sending Russia gold in exchange for weapons and soldiers, which has continued to heighten the conflict rather than calm it.

FBI raids Chinatown in Manhattan, Arrests Two Men

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Leslie Park

F.B.I. arrested two men in a Chinatown in lower Manhattan on early Monday. The two men are accused of acting as agents of the People’s Republic of China in connection with a police outpost that operated in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

The two men: Lu Jianwang (61) and Chen Jinping (59) have brought attention to the law enforcement authorities in how they have acted differently than what they said when they posed as volunteers to help renew Driver’s Licenses in Chinese.

Globally, more than 100 Chinese police operations which are not authorized by the local Governments seem to exist. However, this is the first time criminal charges in connection with the Chinese Police outpost have been brought and will likely bring more attention to Chinatowns globally.

F.B.I. and the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn are investigating the Chinatown outpost as existing without jurisdiction or diplomatic approval. They found out that one of the men, Mr. Lu is a naturalized American citizen and Mr. Chen has not yet confirmed his natural identity by F.B.I.

“The two men were charged with obstruction of justice and accused of destroying evidence as well as conspiring to act as agents of the People’s Republic of China, according to the people with knowledge of the matter,” according to NBC.

More detailed updated investigation will be announced by the F.B.I. as they are prepared for public awareness.

Volcano and Earthquake Erupts In Far-Eastern Island Russia

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Leslie Park

From Google

One of the most active volcanoes erupted on the far-eastern island of Kamchatka, Russia on Tuesday, and it spewed ash up to 12 kilometers into the sky. This volcano is a stratovolcano that is built up of alternate layers of lava and ash. The Shiveluch volcano erupted just after midnight and reached a crescendo about six hours later, spewing out an ash cloud over an area of 108,000 square kilometers (41,700 square miles), according to the Kamchatka Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Geophysical Survey, according to Reuter.

After the volcano erupted, the lava flowed from the volcano to the villages through the highway covered with ashes and mud as thick as 3.5 inches. Air flights are detouring to avoid the ash-covered sky.

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake broke the faultline in the town of Vilyuchinsk, on the Kamchatka peninsula. The epicenter is located in a mountainous region all the way up where the stratovolcano, Shiveluch volcano erupted on the same day. Kamchatka is normally known for winter sports and hot springs. About 300,000 people live on this peninsula, and most of them are indigenous people.

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