Random News and Notes 29 September

On this date:

• 1399 – Richard II of England is deposed. His cousin, Henry of Lancaster, declares himself king under the name Henry IV.
• 1493 – Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his second voyage to the new world.
• 1513 – Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean.
• 1789 – Congress votes to create a U.S. army.
• 1833 – A civil war breaks out in Spain between Carlists, who believe Don Carlos deserves the throne, and supporters of Queen Isabella.
• 1850 – Mormon leader Brigham Young is named the first governor of the Utah Territory.
• 1864 – Union troops capture the Confederate Fort Harrison, outside Petersburg, Virginia.

• 1879 – Dissatisfied Ute Indians kill Agent Nathan Meeker and nine others in the “Meeker Massacre.”
• 1918 – After a 56-hour-long bombardment, Allied forces breach the so-called Hindenburg Line, the last line of German defenses on the Western Front during World War I.
• 1932 – A five-day work week is established for General Motors workers.
• 1939 – Germany and the Soviet Union reach an agreement on the division of Poland.
• 1941 – 30,000 Jews are gunned down in Kiev when Heinrich Himmler sends four strike squads to exterminate Soviet Jewish civilians and other “undesirables.”
• 1950 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev repeatedly disrupts a UN General Assembly meeting with his violent outbursts over intervention in the Belgian Congo, US U2 spy planes, and arms control.
• 1966 – Chevrolet introduces the Camaro, which will become an iconic car.
• 1979 – John Paul II becomes the first pope ever to visit Ireland.
• 1982 – three Chicago area residents become ill and die after ingesting Extra-Strength Tylenol later found to be poisoned with cyanide. They are the first of seven victims to lose their lives after taking the over-the-counter pain reliever, which had been tampered with.
• 2008 – Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 777.68 points in the wake of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual bankruptcies, the largest single-day point loss in Wall Street history.
• 2009 – An 8.1 earthquake causes a tidal wave that claims 189 lives in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga.

I told you about hurricane Polo a couple of days ago. Well, there is an update. The remnants of Polo are moving into the central US bringing the risk of heavy rains. The National Weather Service forecasts a moderate risk of excessive rainfall from the Southwest through Texas, Oklahoma, and into the central Plains and Midwest through Saturday, fueled by tropical moisture from Hurricane Polo that hit Baja California Sur. Expect 3 to 6 inches widely, with isolated spots in south-central Texas and the Dallas area possibly reaching a foot, raising flash flood dangers in drought-hardened soils.

Meteorologists call it one of the largest rain events from a Pacific hurricane, mixing relief for parched areas with warnings of life-threatening flooding, strong winds, and possible tornadoes.

The Jack Smith thing has gotten even bigger. Smith, who is appearing before Chuck Grassley’s Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, accessed far more phone and financial records than previously thought. Among the phone records accessed were those of several media figures from all the major outlets. The financial records seem to be from regular Republican donors.

Smith and most of his staffers need to see the inside of a prison over this.

A Kentucky State Trooper was shot and killed on a traffic stop yesterday. Trooper Hayden Phillips, 30, stopped a vehicle on Interstate 65 in Warren County, Kentucky. An occupant of that vehicle, s Emonnie Branch (also reported as Emonni/Imani), 51, of Portland, Tennessee shot Phillips and fled. Louisville Metro Police later located and stopped the vehicle (using a Grappler device) in Louisville. Branch was taken into custody and has been charged with the murder of a peace officer/first responder and was to be returned to Warren County.

Phillips was a three-year KSP veteran who had previously served with the Glasgow Police Department. Hayden Phillips is survived by a wife and three kids.

This one is intriguing. Recently, tail number NASA 844, the last SR-71 to be mothballed (and incidentally the last one off the production line) disappeared from display at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Now word is out that NASA has been in contact with former SR-71 pilots, engineers and maintenance personnel for a possible return to flight.

NASA 844 last flew on October 9, 1999 and hit Mach 3.21 and 80,100 feet.

The Fat Bear Week finals are today. It pits adult female bear 910 against adult male bear 89 – backpack.

Voting for the finals opens at 1200 EDT at the Explore Fat Bear Week site. Vote early and vote often.

A Tim Hortons franchise in Ontario just filed for bankruptcy protections. Why am I telling you? Simple, the franchisee filed because of a change in Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. This particular franchisee saw foreign workers account for 60% – 80% of payroll.

A cautionary tale perhaps? Now get me a double double, an apple fritter and some Timbits.