Rescue workers remove an injured person on a stretcher following a building explosion and collapse in East Harlem, Wednesday, March 12, 2014 in New York.Image: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press Seven people are dead in East Harlem this morning as recovery efforts continue through the rubble of the two buildings that collapsed on Wednesday. The body of the seventh victim was found at 7:12 a.m., according to the FDNY. Five people are still missing. The major explosion that shook uptown New York City around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday was the result of a gas leak. Residents of 1646 Park Ave., one of the two five-story apartment buildings that crumbled, say they called 311 last month when nauseating gas smells permeated the building. “The first time was unbearable,” Ruben Borrero, who lives in the building, told Mashable at the scene on Wednesday. “You walked into the building, and you had to walk straight back out. It was that bad.” City officials, however, say the first tip they received of the gas leak was call to Con Edison that came in around 15 minutes before the explosion. The map above shows the location of the two buildings the collapsed in East Harlem on March 12. Among the victims are two women who lived in the buildings and worked for a church blocks away. Another, 45-year-old Griselde Camacho, was a sergeant for Hunter College’s public safety office. Building resident Rosaura Hernandez-Barrios, 22, also died. Minutes after the buildings tumbled, thick smoke and a sulphuric smell crept through the neighborhood. Firefighters struggled throughout the day to extinguish the blaze and start searching for victims. At least 65 people were injured, 27 of those were transported to hospitals. Shattered glass, wood shards and pieces of broken brick covered the sidewalks blocks away from the site. Layers of dust enveloped vehicles parked on the street. Portions of the elevated Metro North train tracks were covered in debris, leading to a temporary shutdown and continued delays on Thursday. The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at a nearby school. More than 100 people lined up for food and counseling Wednesday afternoon. The shelter remained open throughout the evening for those who didn’t have a place to sleep. “This is going to be an extended operation,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press conference hours after the blast. “This is a tragedy of the worst kind because there was no indication in time to save people.” Building Collapse in New York City A general view on the corner of 116th and Park Ave in Harlem where the building collapse took place around 9:30 a.m. on March 12. Image: Mashable Christina Ascani Firefighters respond to an explosion that leveled two apartment buildings in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. Image: Mashable Christina Ascani Con Edison crewmembers try to reach gas pipes underground. Image: Mashable Christina Ascani Debris covers the Metro North rail line across the street from the two-building collapse. Image: Mashable Christina Ascani A police perimeter was […]
Miss New York Kira Kazantsev walks the runway after she was named Miss America 2015.Image: Mel Evans/Associated Press Miss New York, Kira Kazantsev, took home the title of Miss America during Sunday’s competition, making it the third consecutive year Miss New York has snagged the crown. During the interview portion of the event, Kazantsey was asked what issue she would want female U.S. Senators to advocate for, to which she answered sexual assault in the military. And during the talent competition, Kazantsey performed a cover of Pharrell’s hit song “Happy” and managed to incorporate a bit of Anna Kendrick’s “Cups” routine from the film Pitch Perfect. Kazantsey, a 23-year-old graduate of Hofstra University, is an aspiring lawyer, and was recently accepted to Fordham University’s law school. Although she represented New York, she actually grew up in California. An advocate for domestic violence awareness, Kazantsey takes the crown from last year’s winner, Nina Davuluri. Miss Virginia Courtney Paige Garrett received first runner up. BONUS: 13 Royally Odd Things You Missed at Miss America Miss America Highlights 1. Spelling errors 2. A Ventriloquist puppet that looked oddly like Joan Rivers. 3. Collared evening wear 4. A nod to Pop-Up Video 5. Twirls 6. A pre-show “Hottest Dad” contest 7. A thumb war to decide the winner 8. Cheetah attacks So I guess @Pharrell and I can’t stop collaborating. #MissAmerica #WhatIsHappening?? pic.twitter.com/AhsTA62PJJ — Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) September 15, 2014 9. Anna Kendrick tweeting about Miss New York’s “Happy” cups performance 10. A baaaaad goat impression 11. Dramatic turns #Judging pic.twitter.com/cOsVUj9om6 — Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) September 15, 2014 12. Gary Vaynerchuk: Businessman, Wine Guy, Selfie-Snapping Miss America Judge 13. Miss New York winning, giving the state a three-peat Image: AP Photo/Julio Cortez/Associated Press Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/09/14/miss-new-york-miss-america/
Mother Jones, the left-leaning magazine that has been publishing hidden camera footage from a private meeting between Mitt Romney and some of his wealthiest backers, has published the full 49-minute recording in two clips on YouTube. The previously released footage, in which Mitt Romney speaks candidly about Barack Obama supporters, Iran, Palestine and other issues, has sparked a great deal of controversy in the political world. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Romney team, which was attempting to use this week to “reboot” the campaign’s message. In a hastily-called press conference Monday night, Romney said he hoped the full versions of the videos would be released so that viewers could get the full context, and hear the question he was responding to. Now Mother Jones has obliged. (Watch part one of the video above, and part two below.) On YouTube, the most popular of the short videos posted by Mother Jones has already amassed more than 1.4 million views. Images courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/18/full-romney-hidden-camera/
Ever wonder how the President of the United States uses Twitter? You can find out in the video above, shot during a Twitter Q&A that President Obama held after a campaign rally in Newton, Iowa earlier this year. “I’m the master tweeter,” exclaimed the President after typing the following tweet composed of exactly 140 characters — even though a shorter tweet is easier for others to retweet and is therefore considered preferable. His team celebrated the 140-character tweet as a “twoosh.” .@jwarner180 bio fuels, wind , solarall getting cheaper each year & oil getting more expensive. Why we need all-of-the-above strategy. -bo — The White House (@whitehouse) May 24, 2012 The tweets were sent from the official White House account — which just hit 3 million followers — and not any of the Obama campaign’s accounts. Obama used the Twitter town hall to answer questions on energy and other topics from a MacBook Pro. How should politicians use Twitter to engage with citizens? Who’s your favorite politician on Twitter? Share your ideas in the comments. window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”twitter_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/06/obama-twitter-video/
Political Kombat Political Kombat ’12: Obama Vs. Trump Political Kombat ’12: Romney Vs. Cain and Santorum Political Kombat ’12: Romney Vs. Gingrich and Ron Paul Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/08/political-kombat/
Is foreign money infiltrating American politics through insecure online donations to Barack Obama? That’s one question pondered in a report published Monday but quickly denied by the Obama campaign. The study was conducted by the Government Accountability Institute, a research group run by conservative author, strategist and researcher Peter Schweizer. An 109-page examination of “fraudulent and foreign online campaign contributions,” it points out three ways in which the Obama campaign may be receiving foreign funds, which is illegal. First, the report, titled “America the Vulnerable,” claims the Obama campaign “lacks the industry-standard level of credit card security for donations,” but “uses it for merchandise purchases” on the campaign store. Donors on the official Obama site don’t need to include their credit card security number, the three- or four-digit code found on every card. The Obama campaign previously claimed it doesn’t need that code — called the CVV — because “they are able to vet contributions on the back end using sophisticated techniques that it doesn’t disclose,” claims the report (the Obama campaign since said it uses an Address Verification System to verify credit cards). Second, the report highlights Obama.com, a domain that’s not owned by the Obama campaign but points to a campaign donation page. According to the GAI, a majority of traffic to that site has come from abroad: “In 2008, Obama.com was purchased by an Obama fundraiser living in Shanghai, China, whose business is heavily dependent on relationships with Chinese state-run television and other state-owned entities. According to industry leading web analytics site Markosweb, an anonymously registered redirect site (Obama.com) features 68% foreign traffic. Starting in December 2011, the site was linked to a specific donation page on the official BarackObama.com campaign website for ten months. The page loaded a tracking number, 634930, into a space on the website labeled “who encouraged you to make this donation.” That tracking number is embedded in the source code for Obama.com and is associated with the Obama Victory Fund. In early September 2012, the page began redirecting to the standard Obama Victory Fund donation page.” The GAI report also noted several occasions where foreigners have received Obama donation pitches, but doesn’t confirm those foreigners were actually able to donate. GAI’s report also examines the Romney campaign, stating the following: “About 11.9% of the Romney campaign’s Internet traffic comes from foreign sources. Examining over 100,000 backlinks on the Internet that link to the Romney campaign’s webpage, approximately 12.8% of those are from foreign sources, including foreign language news sites and blogs.” However, the report isn’t as accusatory toward the Romney campaign as it is of the Obama campaign. The Obama campaign’s response? A Monday afternoon blog post explaining that the campaign screens for foreign IP addresses and requires a copy of a valid passport from a contributor identified as valid but donating from abroad. It also dismisses the GAI as having a right-wing agenda and claims the campaign “does not accept donations from foreign nationals or any other ineligible individual.” “OFA has […]
Space Shuttle Atlantis to New Home Ready to Roll Photo Credit: NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis Starts Its Early-Morning Trek Photo Credit: NASA Atlantis Rolls to Final Home Photo Credit: NASA Watching the Space Shuttle Go By Space shuttle workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, watch as the space shuttle Atlantis is transported on a 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Visitor Complex Photo Credit: NASA Ariel View of Space Shuttle Atlantis Rolls to Its New Home Photo Credit: NASA Saying Goodbye Space shuttle team members carry a “We Made History Atlantis” banner as the spacecraft moves out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its 10-mile trip to the Kennedy Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display. Photo Credit: NASA Atlantis Rolls to Final Home: Underside View Photo Credit: NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis’s New Home Ariel view of the Kennedy Space Center visitor complexPhoto Credit: NASA A Long Journey Photo Credit: NASA Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/02/shuttle-atlantis-new-home/
Cord-cutting startup Aereo got an early win Wednesday in its on-going lawsuits with major broadcasters including ABC, NBC and CBS. A federal judge in the Second District of New York denied broadcasters’ request for a preliminary injunction against the New York-based startup. Aereo argued that such an injunction would essentially put it out of business. In his decision, Judge Alison Nathan writes of the litigious broadcasters that, “although [the plaintiffs] have demonstrated that they face irreparable harm, they have not demonstrated that the balance of hardships decidedly tips in their favor. “As such”, Nathan says, “the Court denies Plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction.” In a statement, Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia said: “Today’s decision shows that when you are on the right side of the law, you can stand up, fight the Goliath and win. This isn’t just a win for Aereo, it’s also a significant win for consumers who are demanding more choice and flexibility in the way they watch television. We said from the start that we believed that a full and fair airing of the issues would reveal that Aereo’s groundbreaking technology falls squarely within the law. We are grateful to the court for its thoughtful and measured approach to this matter. Today’s decision should serve as a signal to the public that control and choice are moving back into the hands of the consumer – that’s a powerful statement.” Aereo is a startup that offers users access to over-the-air television from their computers, phones, tablets and connected TV devices. The beauty of Aereo is that it works outside of the house. Users just have to login to the service and they can access live television, as well as any programs they have recorded from a cloud-based DVR. To get around some of the potential legal challenges involved with sharing broadcast signals, Aereo has employed a unique technical solution: each user has access to an individual micro-antenna that acts just like the type of antenna you might put in your own home or apartment. By limiting the antennas to one per user, Aereo has a legal argument against the local and major broadcast networks that want to shut the service down. Still, the broadcasters are suing Aereo. And despite the preliminary injunction, this battle isn’t going to end any time soon. We’re still in the very early stages of this case. What makes the Aereo case important is that it has the potential to get hard answers for a number of important legal issues facing the future of broadcasting. Whether Aereo wins or loses, it’s a case worth following. As a fan (and subscriber) of Aereo’s service (I am also a cable subscriber), I’m relieved that for now I can continue to access live TV from my iPad. Let us know your thoughts on the Aereo lawsuit in the comments. Aereo Ruling Preliminary Injunction Denied Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/11/aereo-injunction-denied/
How’s this for a jump through political history? C-SPAN’s digital team sent Mashable this supercut of every presidential nominee since 1984 — when the network began broadcasting conventions — accepting his party’s nomination for president. From Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush to Barack Obama, the gang’s all here. The video isn’t just political history, but time capsule of technology as well — watch as the clarity of the footage improves greatly over time. Do you think the 2016 nominations will be broadcast in 3D? Images courtesy of Flickr, Beverly & Pack Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/28/president-nominations-video/
You might not recognize the latest ad in Obama’s presidential campaign as politically charged on first listen. The video features Girls star Lena Dunham comparing her first time voting to losing her virginity. Specifically targeting women, Dunham advises how to make your “first time” special. “You want a guy who cares whether you get health insurance, and specifically whether you get birth control,” says Dunham in the ad, which has stirred controversy for its sexy tone. Dunham has been known to raise eyebrows before, like when she ate cake naked at the 2012 Emmys. The Obama campaign ruffled feathers earlier this election season when it released a video that compared Big Bird to Bernie Madoff. What do you think of the ad? Is this offensive or do critics need to lighten up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/26/obama-lenda-dunham-first-time/
