Random News and Notes 18 May
On this day in 1863 the siege of Vicksburg commenced. Beginning in the winter of 1862-63, Grant made several attempts to capture Vicksburg. On May 16, Grant fought the Confederates under John C. Pemberton at Champion Hill and defeated them decisively. He then attacked again at the Big Black River the next day, and Pemberton fled into Vicksburg with Grant following close behind. The trap was now complete and Pemberton was stuck in Vicksburg, although his forces would hold out until July 4.
At 8:32 a.m. PDT on this date in 1980, Mount St. Helens, a volcanic peak in southwestern Washington, suffers a massive eruption, killing 57 people and devastating some 210 square miles of wilderness. On the morning of May 18, Mount St. Helens was shaken by an earthquake of about 5.0 magnitude, and the entire north side of the summit began to slide down the mountain. The giant landslide of rock and ice, one of the largest recorded in history, was followed and overtaken by an enormous explosion of steam and volcanic gases, which surged northward along the ground at high speed. The lateral blast stripped trees from most hill slopes within six miles of the volcano and leveled nearly all vegetation for as far as 12 miles away. Approximately 10 million trees were felled by the blast.
The landslide debris, liquefied by the violent explosion, surged down the mountain at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The avalanche flooded Spirit Lake and roared down the valley of the Toutle River for a distance of 13 miles, burying the river to an average depth of 150 feet. Mudflows, pyroclastic flows, and floods added to the destruction, destroying roads, bridges, parks, and thousands more acres of forest. Simultaneous with the avalanche, a vertical eruption of gas and ash formed a mushrooming column over the volcano more than 12 miles high. Ash from the eruption fell on Northwest cities and towns like snow and drifted around the globe for two weeks. Fifty-seven people, thousands of animals, and millions of fish were killed by the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
There were a series of random shootings in Austin TX over the weekend. The random attacks began late Saturday, May 17, and stretched into Sunday morning, targeting pedestrians and buildings across the area. Officers arrested a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy after a vehicle stop in Manor, with a third juvenile caught later that night.
The names of the three have not been released.
A brawl broke out inside a Chipotle in the Navy Yard neighborhood of DC last night. A group of “youths” started fighting in the busy restaurant.
Yeah. Dummy pulls that crap with a highchair near my young children and he’s probably catching one center mass. Also, that shit ain’t compatible with civilization.
In some 2A news that affects me the 2nd Circuit just struck down the law about concealed carry on private property. Prior to this ruling, concealed carry was banned at privately owned, but open to the public establishments unless the owner/proprietor posted specific signage stating carry was allowed.
The Court unfortunately left a ban on carry in public parks in place.