Random News and Notes 7 September

On this date:

• 1571 – At the Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean Sea, the Christian galley fleet destroys the Turkish galley fleet.
• 1630 – The town of Trimountaine in Massachusetts is renamed Boston. It became the state capital.
• 1701 – England, Austria, and the Netherlands form an Alliance against France.
• 1776 – The American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship Eagle in New York Harbor. It was the first use of a submarine in warfare.
• 1778 – Shawnee Indians attack and lay siege to Boonesborough, Kentucky.
• 1812 – On the road to Moscow, Napoleon wins a costly victory over the Russians at Borodino.
• 1813 – The earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname “Uncle Sam” occurs in the Troy Post.
• 1864 – Union General Phil Sheridan’s troops skirmish with the Confederates under Jubal Early outside Winchester, Virginia.
• 1864 – In preparation for his march to the sea, Union General William T. Sherman orders residents of Atlanta, Georgia, to evacuate the city.
• 1876 – The James-Younger gang botches an attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Two gang members died in the gunfight, and two townsmen were killed. Charlie Pitts was killed during the pursuit, and the Younger brothers were captured and sent to prison for life. Jesse and Frank James managed to get away back to Missouri, splitting up from the rest of the gang permanently.
• 1888 – An incubator is used for the first time on a premature infant.
• 1892 – The first heavyweight-title boxing match fought with gloves under Marquis of Queensbury rules ends when James J. Corbett knocks out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round.
• 1912 – French aviator Roland Garros sets an altitude record of 13,200 feet.
• 1916 – The U.S. Congress passes the Workman’s Compensation Act.
• 1940 – Germany’s blitz against London begins during the Battle of Britain.
• 1942 – The Red Army pushes back the German line northwest of Stalingrad.
• 1953 – Nikita Krushchev elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
• 1954 – Integration of public schools begins in Washington D.C. and Maryland.
• 1965 – Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio.
• 1970 – Jockey Bill Shoemaker earns 6,033rd win, breaking Johnny Longden’s record for most lifetime wins; Shoemaker’s record would stand for 29 years.
• 1977 – Panama and US sign Torrijos-Carter Treaties to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the US to Panama at the end of the 20th century.
• 1978 – Secret police agent Francesco Gullino assassinates Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in London by firing a ricin pellet from a specially designed umbrella.

We start the day’s news in Miami where an Amazon Prime cargo 767 went off the runway, left the airport grounds and crossed a perimeter road striking multiple vehicles before coming to rest and bursting into flames. The crash killed five people on the ground and injured five others, including three critically. The two-person crew survived with injuries, and firefighters from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed in with over 60 units to douse the fire and free trapped victims.

Warning NSFW language:

Both the FAA and NTSB are investigating possible factors like high landing speed, gusting winds, and runway conditions. The FAA issued a ground stop for the airport in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

Our next story comes to US from Columbia. This one is going to take some ‘splainin’ so buckle up. José Olger Melo Charry is a corporal in the French Foreign Legion. José is (was?) a Colombian national. While in Columbia on leave, he was kidnapped by a group of former FARC rebels. He managed to escape after being held for several days in Nariño, and reached a police station on his own after wandering through the bush for four days.

José was taken to a hospital in Pasto, the Capitol of Narino state, where he remains under observation. According to reports he “is doing well”.

There was a regional election in Germany on Saturday. AfD fell just short of an outright majority in the Saxony-Anhalt region.

These results are a major win for the party. It is looking like there will be federal elections in the near future and if that happens, watch out.