http://www2.wrbl.com/rbl/ap_exchange/georg... /

Centenarian Voter In Obama Speech Dies At 107

ATLANTA (AP) Ann Nixon Cooper, the Atlanta centenarian who President Barack Obama spoke of in his Election Night speech, has died. She was 107.

Obama called Cooper an example of "the heartbreak and the hope," noting she'd lived long enough to remember when black people weren't able to vote and was able to vote for the country's first black president.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Cooper died Monday afternoon.

Atlanta City Councilman Ivory Young said he met her when running for office in 2001 and found her stories about Atlanta history mesmerizing.

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young recounted Cooper's legendary vibrancy, noting that she had taught senior citizens aerobics until she was 100.

He danced at Cooper's 104th birthday party, chuckling at the memory of how she outperformed him.
</sninp>

From Wikipedia:

On December 7, 1941, shortly before 0800, Japanese aircraft from six fleet carriers struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor, and — in the ensuing two attack waves — wrought devastation on the Battle Line and on air and military facilities defending Pearl Harbor.

Onboard Arizona, the ship's air raid alarm went off about 07:55, and the ship went to general quarters soon thereafter. Shortly after 08:00, a bomb dropped by a high-altitude Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber from the Japanese carrier Kaga hit the side of the #4 turret and glanced off into the deck below, starting a small fire but causing minimal damage.

At 08:06, a bomb from a Hiryū "Kate" hit between and to port of Turrets #1 & 2. The subsequent explosion — which destroyed the forward part of Arizona — was due to the detonation of the ammunition magazine, located in an armored section under the deck. Most experts seem to agree that the bomb could hardly have pierced the armor. Instead, it seems widely accepted that the black powder magazine (used for aircraft catapults) detonated first, igniting the smokeless powder magazine (used for the ship's main armament). A 1944 BUSHIP report suggests that a hatch leading to the black powder magazine was left open, with perhaps inflammable materials stocked nearby. A US Navy historical site goes as far as to suggest that black powder might have been stockpiled outside of the armored magazine. However, it seems unlikely that a definitive answer to this question might be found. Credit for the hit was officially given to Petty Officer Noburu Kanai, who was considered to be the JNAF's "crack" bombardier; his pilot was Tadashi Kusumi. The cataclysmic explosion ripped through the forward part of the ship, touching off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. Ironically, the blast from this explosion also put out fires on the repair ship Vestal, which was moored alongside.



Acts of heroism on the part of Arizona's officers and men were many, headed by those of Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship's damage control officer, whose coolness in attempting to quell the fires and get survivors off the ship earned him the Medal of Honor.

Posthumous awards of the Medal of Honor also went to Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, the first flag officer killed in the Pacific war, and to Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, who reached the bridge and was attempting to defend his ship when the bomb hit on the magazines destroyed her.

The blast that destroyed Arizona and sank her at her berth alongside of Ford Island took a total of 1,177 lives of the 1,400 crewmen on board at the time - over half of the casualties suffered by the entire fleet in the attack.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/03/wor... /

Washington (CNN) -- At 108 years old, Cpl. Frank Buckles said Thursday he hopes he lives to see the day when there's a memorial on the National Mall honoring all Americans who fought in World War I.

Buckles, the last surviving U.S. veteran of the war that ended in 1918, came to Capitol Hill in support of legislation to pay tribute to his comrades.

Lawmakers are considering whether to help fund a national rededication of an old city monument already on the Mall or to forgo such support in favor of a monument project under way in Kansas City, Missouri.

Last year, Buckles visited the District of Columbia's World War I Memorial. In his wheelchair and bundled against the cold, he slowly toured the overgrown site and noted the names engraved along the gazebo's marble walls are only of those who hailed from the District of Columbia.

He also saw the rundown condition of the 1930s monument and became determined to symbolically lead a drive to restore the structure and support making it a national memorial.</snip>

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/200...



Syracuse, NY -- Two bankruptcy reorganizations and the mass closing of stores and warehouses during the past decade could not save the parent company of the P&C Foods supermarkets chain.

Syracuse-based The Penn Traffic Co. has filed for bankruptcy for the third time in 10 years. This time, it plans to sell all or most of its assets, consisting mainly of 79 supermarkets in four states, by Jan. 10.

Penn Traffic made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, days after troubling flares were sent up to investors and customers in the form of missed loan payments and empty store shelves. The company made the filing in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del.

Penn Traffic plans to continue to operate its stores under court protection from its creditors while it seeks a buyer. It might already have a buyer in mind, considering it has locked in a date. “We intend to continue to work closely with our vendor partners to provide the fresh products and good value that our customers have come to expect from our stores,” said Gregory J. Young, Penn Traffic’s president and chief executive officer.

The company will also continue to pay its 5,700 employees, who draw $2.3 million each pay period, and continue benefits, according to documents it filed Wednesday with federal bankruptcy court.

The Syracuse-based grocer is expected go before a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Wilmington, where it is incorporated, Thursday. It will seek approval to make arrangements with its lenders for money to operate. Penn Traffic reported to the court and the federal Securities and Exchange Commission that it has assets of $150.4 million, while its liabilities are $136.9 million.
</snip>

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_11...



Another funny man has left us. Carl Ballantine, AKA "The Amazing Ballantine," passed away in his sleep this morning. Sources on the Internet will tell you he was born in 1922 but that's a lie. He was 92 years old.

They'll also tell you his fabled magic act was one of the most hilarious routines ever performed on a stage and they're right about that. Born Meyer Kessler in Chicago, Illinois, Carl started out as a real magician but soon discovered he was better at making audiences laugh than at dazzling them with trickery. So the tricks got deliberately lousier and he got more and more successful. He is said to have been the first performer ever to play Las Vegas with anything resembling a magic act.

It brought him fame, fortune and much acting work. He was one of those guys who worked, if not all the time, then as often as liked. He was best known for his role as Gruber on the TV series, McHale's Navy, and he logged hundreds of guest shots on television, in the movies and on stage. The first time I saw him perform live was in the 1972 revival (in Los Angeles, Chicago and on Broadway) of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in which he played Marcus Lycus opposite the star, Phil Silvers. I can't recall ever seeing two funnier men on a stage together.

Carl did hundreds of commercials, including a memorable one for California Raisins in which he supplied the voice for a Claymation™ character that looked like...Carl Ballantine. He also did cartoon shows, one of which was Garfield & Friends, where he had a recurring role on as a con-artist character named Mr. Swindler.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/ap?article...

Singer Al Martino dies at 82

(AP)

Singer Al Martino, who played the role of Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather," has died at his childhood home in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield, Delaware County.

Publicist Sandy Friedman of Rogers & Cowan says Martino died Tuesday afternoon. He was 82.

Starting in 1952, Martino was known for hit songs including "Here in My Heart," "Spanish Eyes," "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Volare." In addition to acting in "The Godfather," Martino sang the 1972 film's title score, "The Love Theme From The Godfather."

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/...

At least 6 dead from UN plane crash in Haiti—police

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 05:30:00 10/10/2009

PORT-AU-PRINCE – (UPDATE) At least six people died in Haiti on Friday after a UN plane carrying 10 passengers crashed close to the capital, police said.

The plane plunged as it approached the municipality of Ganthier in western Haiti, police officer Cadostin Marc-Andre told Agence France-Presse, noting the bodies were found at the crash site.

Most of the plane's occupants were military officers whose nationality was unknown, he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/1...

Italian ministers and officials were today holding urgent consultations following the discovery of an unmarked wreck that prosecutors believe was used by the mafia to sink radioactive waste.

As a ship carrying equipment for detecting marine pollution headed for the site of the sunken vessel, an investigator said up to 41 others may have been used to dump toxic and nuclear material on the seabed.

A former top mobster said he had personally shipped other waste to Somalia and that the traffic could have led to the death of a well-known Italian reporter.

On Saturday a robot operating 480 metres below sea level sent back murky images of a wreck detected several months earlier by environmental officials.

Among other things, they showed two crushed drums protruding from the bows, which appeared to have been blown out in an explosion.
</snip>