(last year)
WORLD
Sexual assault reports soar in Egypt
SAPA-AP, Mail & Guardian
Reports of sexual assaults come as millions of Egyptians take to the streets to demand President Mohammed Morsi’s ouster.
A vigilante group formed to protect women in the square, which has become the epicentre of anti-government rallies, said it recorded the highest number of attempts – 46 – on Sunday as the majority of protesters were festive as families with small children and others spilled into side streets and across boulevards, waving flags, blowing whistles and chanting.
The atmosphere became less friendly in Tahrir as night fell on the badly-lit plaza, which has seen a rise in attacks against women since shortly after the 18-day revolution that forced the resignation of Morsi’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, in 2011.
Sexual harassment has long been common in Egypt, but its increasing frequency and violence has shaken the protest movement.
Chechen rebel calls for attack on Winter Games
AP- Sydney Morning Herald
A leading Chechen rebel on Wednesday called on Islamist militants in Russia’s North Caucasus to disrupt the upcoming Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, reversing his previous appeal not to target civilians in the region.
Sochi is hosting the Winter Games in February, a pet project for President Vladimir Putin, who is determined for them to be a success. The overall bill for the games stands at $51 billion, making them by far the most expensive Olympics in history.
Doku Umarov, a widely known Chechen rebel leader, urged his fighters to “do their utmost to derail” the games, which he described as “satanic dances on the bones of our ancestors.”
“We have the obligation to use all means to prevent this,” he said in a video posted on a rebel website on Wednesday.
AdvertisementUmarov last year urged his fighters to avoid hitting civilian targets because Russians in Moscow were taking to the streets en masse to protest against Putin.
Early Calculator: The Sad Story of an Inventor at Buchenwald
Frank Thadeusz, Der Spiegel
Curt Herzstark’s fate seemed to be sealed in 1943 when the Nazis sent him to Buchenwald concentration camp. But then Herzstark, the son of a Jewish industrialist, received the unexpected opportunity to become an Aryan.
ANZEIGE
“Look, Herzstark,” one of the camp commandants said to him, “we know that you are working on a calculating machine. We will permit you to make drawings. If the thing is worth its salt, we’ll give it to the Führer after the final victory. He’ll certainly make you an Aryan for that.”The engineer had made a pact with the devil. Night after night, after daily forced labor in the camp, Herzstark made detailed design plans for the world’s smallest mechanical calculating machine. He was given special rations as motivation, and he eventually survived the concentration camp. But there was no final victory, and Hitler was never able to enjoy the invention.
Herzstark’s life should have turned to fame and fortune after the end of the war, because the Viennese inventor was something of a Steve Jobs of the mechanical age. His design was revolutionary. At a time when bookkeepers and counting house owners used heavy office machines and pencils to cope with monstrous columns of numbers, he surprised the professional world with a small, elegant device that performed the four basic arithmetic operations and fit into the pocket of every work coat.
USA
City College of SF to lose accreditation in 2014
Nanette Asimov, SFGate
Beset by mismanagement and unable to convince overseers that it had repaired extensive problems, City College of San Francisco will lose its accreditation a year from now and its elected Board of Trustees will be stripped of decision-making powers, the college learned Wednesday.
The decision by an accrediting commission allows the college of 85,000 students – among the largest in the country – to stay open until July 31, 2014, unless an appeal is successful or if the college can make enough progress to win an extension.
State law prohibits taxpayer funds from going to unaccredited institutions, so if the commission’s decision stands, the college would probably be forced to shut its doors.
City College will appeal the decision, interim Chancellor Thelma Scott-Skillman said as she, Brice Harris, chancellor of California’s community college system, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced the stunning verdict.
Also, BART union is on strike.
Possible arrival of Trader Joe’s vexes South Tampa neighborhood
Erin Sullivan, Tampa Bay Times
The grocery store that is not just a grocery store is causing angst in a small corner of South Tampa, and its birth hasn’t even been confirmed.
“The ladies were crying this morning,” said Yve Cocho, a manager at Einstein Bros Bagels, of the women who have worked out together for years at the neighboring Shapes gym, a possible location for Trader Joe’s – the most hyped grocery store arrival in Tampa in recent memory.
Fans of the California-based grocery chain speak reverently of its products: the Thai lime-and-chile cashews, the cookie butter, the triple ginger snap cookies, the spicy hummus. In 2011, two New York moms got into a slap fight over a package of Trader Joe’s frozen vegan pad thai with tofu.
Karen Miller isn’t familiar with Trader Joe’s, but stories about the passion people have for the store make her worried for her neighborhood.
The only thing I freak out about is HOW SMALL THE PARKING LOT IS here in SLC!
Yarnell Fire: Blaze 45% contained, services for Prescott 19 set for Tuesday
Staff & Wire, ABC15 (sounds like a band name)
Forest officials say the Arizona wildfire that claimed the lives of 19 firefighters is now 45 percent contained.
Nearly 700 fire personnel are fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire near Prescott, and have been able to boost containment from 8 percent to 45 percent as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.
According to Incident Command, crews expect to have the fire fully contained by 12 a.m. Friday, July 12.
In a 3 p.m. news conference, officials said the memorial services for the fallen hotshots have been scheduled for Tuesday, July 9 from 11 a.m .to 1 p.m. at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.
APS told ABC15 it will be covering the costs associated with this service.
The 19-hearse procession from Phoenix to Prescott will take place Sunday morning.
UTAH
Police arrest man after fight over seat saving at LDS church
Ben Winslow, Fox 13
A man was arrested outside a church in Plain City on Sunday after authorities said an argument over “seat saving” in the pews escalated to a fistfight in the parking lot and another man being hit by a car.
Weber County Sheriff’s deputies received multiple 911 calls from an LDS chapel reporting a fight in progress in the parking lot on Sunday morning.
Deputies said it began with an argument before sacrament services over “seat saving.” The bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Meadows Ward told FOX 13 it was an unusually packed meeting – more than 400 people were in attendance for a missionary’s farewell and a baby blessing.
“There was some seats that were allegedly saved, and there was a disagreement over whether they were saved or not and an individual sitting there,” Weber County Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Lowther told FOX 13. “This continued to escalate throughout the day.”
5 Takeaways from the Leg’s Calling for AG Investigation
Eric Peterson, City Weekly
The Utah Legislature authorized the creation of an investigative committee of lawmakers ordered to investigate the allegations that controversy-soaked Attorney General John Swallow is not fit for public office.
There was no surprise that House lawmakers would authorize a nine-member committee to look into allegations of misconduct by Attorney General John Swallow, who is under multiple investigations from federal, state and other investigative bodies. But the nuts and bolts of the hearings today offer some important takeaways, presented here in no particular order of relevance.
1 The House GOP is worried voters will come at ’em like a torch and pitchfork mob if they’re seen as botching the investigation
“Does anyone think Swallow is going to be the issue in 2014? Or do you think the republicans in the majority will be the issue in 2014?” House Majority Leader Brad Dee asked the GOP caucus Wednesday morning as they huddled before heading into open session. “If you think its John Swallow, you’re missing the boat.”
The concern of blowback especially arose as some worried that if the investigative committee was stacked with Republicans it could be seen as Republicans protecting their party’s own. It was especially worrisome for Salt Lake County Republicans who worried that they could be punished at the polls if the investigation appears unfair.
OTHER
All-American Reads: NewsHour Staff Recommends Books to Enjoy This 4th
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