Tsunami waves in Hawaii smaller than expected

Honolulu, Hawaii (CNN) — A tsunami generated by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile struck Hawaii Saturday, but an official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the island chain “dodged a bullet” after smaller-than-expected waves were reported.
The first waves of the tsunami were recorded on The Big Island around noon (5 p.m. ET), 16 hours after the Chilean temblor.
Gauges showed water levels rising 3 feet in Hilo, and remaining at that level.
“It’s almost the best sort of tsunami you can possibly have, one that’s big enough that everyone sees that something happened, but not big enough to cause any damage,” said Gerald Fryer, a geophysicist with the warning center.
He cautioned, however, that the center would not give the all-clear until activity in the water decreased.
Are you in Hawaii? Send your images, videos of the tsunami
“But it’s beginning to look like we escaped sort of with the skin of our teeth,” he added.

The arrival of the tsunami waves was preceded by receding water that exposed reefs and churned up silt.
Earlier, Hawaiian residents scrambled to stock up on water, gas and food as sirens pierced the early morning quiet across the islands ahead of the tsunami.
Roads to beaches and other low-lying areas were closed and seaside hotels were moving guests to higher ground.
At Honolulu’s Hilton Waikoloa Hotel, guests with cars headed inland and buses moved hundreds of others to a nearby evacuation center.
At supermarkets, residents stocked up on essentials like water and toilet paper in anticipation of the high waters. One sign at a local store limited families to two cases of Spam.
Local coverage: KITV, KHON
Beaches that would normally be crowded with sunbathers at midday on a Saturday were deserted. Commercial and recreational vessels seeking safe waters lined up a mile off the coast.
County sirens were sounding hourly “to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas,” Hawaii’s Civil Defense Division said in a statement.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, the highest level of a tsunami alert, for the entire Pacific region, including countries as far away as Russia, Japan and Australia.
California and Alaska are under a tsunami advisory.
Tsunami waves came ashore along the Chilean coast shortly after the earthquake, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Victor Sardina told CNN.
He said the largest was 9 feet near the quake’s epicenter. Another wave, 7.7 feet, hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water and boats littering the docks.
A large wave on the island of Juan Fernandez — 400 miles (643 km) off Chile’s coast — killed three people, Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza said. Ten people were missing.
Navigational buoys in Ventura County, California, sustained minor damage as a result of a 2-foot surge and waves, according to the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. The Ventura County Fire Department had one report of damage to a resident’s dock from the surge.
Speaking Saturday afternoon in Washington, President Barack Obama urged people in Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa, also under a tsunami warning, to prepare.
“We can’t control nature, but we can and must be prepared for disaster when it strikes,” he said in a brief statement at the White House.
He told residents along the U.S. west coast to be prepared as well, as “there may be dangerous waves and currents throughout the day.”
The 13th Air Force, in Hawaii, launched planes carrying loudspeakers to alert people in coastal areas not near sirens to evacuate.
Before the tsunami struck, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said she had already declared a state of emergency.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said his agency and the Department of Homeland Security were closely monitoring the situation.
“FEMA stands ready to assist should a request for assistance be made, and does have pre-deployed assets in Hawaii, including food, water, generators and other resources.”
In 1960, a tsunami triggered by an earthquake on South America’s west coast destroyed much of downtown Hilo and killed 61 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake had a magnitude between 8.25 and 8.5, the USGS said, and the waves in Hilo Bay reached 35 feet, but only 3 to 17 elsewhere.

CNN;

Santiago, Chile (CNN) – A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, killing at least 147 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin.

Warning sirens were sounded in Hawaii at 6 a.m., although any possible tsunami would not strike for several hours. Tsunamis can travel at 400 to 500 mph, the speed of a jet plane, said Georgia Tech geology professor Kurt Frankel.

A large wave killed three people and 10 were missing on the island of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles (643 km) off the coast of Chile, said Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza.

On mainland Chile, the task of trying to save survivors and recover the dead was fully under way by late morning. Buildings lay in rubble, bridges and highway overpasses were toppled and roads buckled like rumpled paper.

“This is a major event. This happened near some very populated areas,” said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “With an 8.8, you expect damage to the population in the area.”

iReport.com: Did you feel it? Share information, images with CNN

President Obama said the United States stands ready to assist Chile in rescue and recovery efforts, and that the country would take any steps to prepare for a potential tsunami along American shores.

The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. off the Pacific coast, about 60 miles northwest of Chillan, Chile, the USGS said. Santiago, the capital, is 200 miles northeast of the epicenter.

At least 33 aftershocks were reported, the most recent being a 6.3-magnitude in Argentina.

“There are really aftershocks like every hour,” said Felipe Baytelman, speaking to CNN from Santiago.

Chilean officials took to the airwaves to try to control any jitters.

“We are taking all the necessary measures at this time,” Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said.

Bachelet declared areas of catastrophe, similar to a state of emergency, which will allow her to rush in aid. She said the town of Chillan — which was destroyed by a killer quake in 1939 — was one of the worst affected.

Check out the world’s biggest earthquakes since 1900

“I would like to offer my condolences to the families of…people who lost their lives during the earthquake,” said President-elect Sebastian Pinera. “The number of victims could get higher.”

The capital lost electricity and basic services, including water and telephones. Bachelet said regional hospitals had suffered damage; some were evacuated. A major bridge connecting northern and southern Chile was rendered inoperable, and the Santiago airport was shut down for at least the next 24 hours.

Chilean television showed buildings in tatters in Concepcion, in coastal central Chile. Whole sides of buildings were torn off, and at least two structures were engulfed in flames. Video showed roads that were destroyed and impassable.

The earth’s rumbling was felt by millions in Chile and in parts of Argentina, as well. Some buildings were evacuated in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, which is 690 miles from Santiago.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was trying to contact the Santiago-based U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for an assessment of the earthquake and information on staffers.

As recovery efforts continued in Chile, threat of a tsunami loomed.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning, the highest level, for the entire Pacific region, including Hawaii and countries as far away as Russia and Japan.

“We have information of high-altitude waves that could be seen in the following hours,” Bachelet said. “We are evacuating people in lower areas to higher ground.”

California and Alaska were under a tsunami advisory.

Follow tsunami warning information

“An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.

USGS geophysicist Victor Sardina said several tsunami waves had come ashore along the Chilean coast; the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake’s epicenter.

The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii is 11:19 a.m. (4:19 p.m. ET), according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

But evacuations of coastal areas began at 6 a.m. Outdoor siren systems in each Hawaiian county sounded simultaneously to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas.

Saturday’s temblor comes weeks after an 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated parts of Haiti and killed more than 220,000 people. The Chilean quake, at magnitude 8.8, was 700 to 800 times stronger.

CNN Chile suffered damage to its broadcast facilities, although it is still actively newsgathering.

Eduardo de Canto, the head of airport operations in Santiago, told Chile’s TVN that the terminal in the airport is severely damaged, although he said runways were operational.

Santiago resident Leo Perioto jumped out of his bed in his apartment at the top of a six-story building.

“The whole building was shaking,” he said. “The windows were wobbling a lot. We could feel the walls moving from side to side.”

Glass shattered at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, but there appeared to be no structural damage, said Alessandro Perez.

Anita Herrera at the Hotel Kennedy in Santiago said electricity was out and guests were nervous.

“Our hotel is built for this,” she said. “In Chile, this happens many times.”

All but two U.S. Embassy personnel in Chile are accounted for, the U.S. State Department said. No decision has been made about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s planned trip next week to five Latin American countries, including Chile.

Coastal Chile has a history of deadly earthquakes, according to the USGS. Since 1973, there have been 13 quakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher.

Saturday’s epicenter was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake recorded in the world, a magnitude 9.5 quake in May 1960 that killed 1,655 and unleashed a tsunami that crossed the Pacific.

The earthquake off the west coast of South America caused a tsunami that reached the Hawaiian Islands in about 15 hours. This tsunami caused little damage elsewhere in the islands, but the Hilo Bay area was hard hit. Sixty-one people lost their lives and about 540 homes and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged. The wave heights in Hilo Bay reached 35 feet compared to only 3-17 feet elsewhere.

CNN;

Pacific under tsunami threat after massive 8.8 quake strikes Chile

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she expected the death toll to rise.

“We are taking all the necessary measures at this time,” she told reporters.

The full extent of the damage was not yet known, although there were reports of collapsed buildings and hundreds of people in the streets.

The capital of Santiago lost electricity and basic services including water and telephones. Bachelet said regional hospitals had suffered damage; some were evacuated. A major bridge connecting northern and southern Chile was rendered inoperable, and the Santiago airport was shut down for at least the next 24 hours.

Chilean television showed buildings in tatters in Concepcion, with whole sides torn off. Roads in the city were broken up.

Television Nacional de Chile reported that only three stories of a 15-story building remained standing.

Numerous aftershocks — including one of magnitude 6.9 — were felt within hours of the initial quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

“There are really aftershocks like every hour,” said Felipe Baytelman, speaking to CNN from Santiago.

The quake’s epicenter was located off the coast of Maule, about 200 miles southwest of Santiago. It struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET), when most people were sleeping.

Jolted out of bed

“This is a major event. This happened near some very populated areas,” said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with USGS. “With an 8.8 you expect damage to the population in the area.”

The earth’s rumbling was felt by millions in Chile and in parts of Argentina, as well. Some buildings in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, were evacuated.

iReport.com: Did you feel it? Share information, images with CNN

Bachelet declared areas of catastrophe, similar to a state of emergency, that will allow her to rush in aid. She said the town of Chillan — which was destroyed by a killer quake in 1939 — was one of the worst affected.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, the highest level of a tsunami alert, for the entire Pacific region, including Hawaii and places as far away as Russia and Japan.

Follow tsunami warning information

California and Alaska are under a tsunami advisory.

“An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.

USGS geophysicist Victor Sardina said several tsunami waves had come ashore along the Chilean coast; the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake’s epicenter.

“I urge people in coastal zones to move to higher ground,” Bachelet said at a morning news conference.

The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii was 12:46 a.m. local time (6:46 p.m. ET). But evacuations of coastal areas were to begin at 6 a.m. (12 p.m. ET).

Saturday’s quake comes just a few weeks after an earthquake devastated parts of Haiti. That quake was magnitude 7.0. The Chilean quake, at magnitude 8.8, was a thousand times stronger. An earthquake displaces 64 times more energy for each additional point on the magnitude scale.

Check out the world’s biggest earthquakes since 1900

The full extent of the damage was not yet known, although there were reports of collapsed buildings and hundreds of people in the streets. The ceiling of a parking lot in the fashionable Las Condes neighborhood of Santiago came crashing down, crushing at least 50 cars.

CNN showed pictures from TV Nacional, a 24-hour network that broadcasts across the country. CNN Chile has suffered damage to its broadcast facilities, although it is still actively newsgathering.

Santiago resident Leo Perioto jumped out of bed in his apartment at the top of a six-story building.

“The whole building was shaking,” he said. “The windows were wobbling a lot. We could feel the walls moving from side to side.”

Glass shattered at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, but there appeared to be no structural damage, said Alessandro Perez.

Anita Herrera at the Hotel Kennedy in Santiago said electricity was out and guests were nervous.

“Our hotel is built for this,” she said. “In Chile this happens many times.”

Coastal Chile has a history of deadly earthquakes, according to the USGS. Since 1973, there have been 13 quakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher.

Saturday’s epicenter was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake recorded in the world: a magnitude 9.5 quake in May 1960 that killed 1,655 and unleashed a tsunami that crossed the Pacific.

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BBC PERSIAN

بخت های اسکاری: نامزدهای بهترین بازیگر زن

امزدهای اسکار امسال برای بهترین بازیگر زن مریل استریپ، ساندرا بولاک، کری مالیگان، گابوری سیدیبی و هلن میرن هستند.

مریل استریپ و هلن میرن تا به حال طعم اسکار بهترین بازیگر را چشیده اند. اولی دو بار و دومی یک بار.

بازیگر جوان فیلم تحصیلات هم با جوایزی مثل بفتا به قدر کافی هیجان زده هست.

حالا دیگر تا شب اسکار مدت زیادی باقی نیست. شبی که یکی از این پنج نفر با اسکار طلایی خود به خانه خواهد رفت.

در زیر معرفی مختصری از هر یک از این پنج نامزد را می خوانید

مریل استریپ ۱۵ بار نامزد اسکار بهترین بازیگر زن بوده و ۲ بار این جایزه را برده است.
مجموعا برنده ۸۳ جایزه بوده و ۹۰ بار نامزد جوایز مختلف شده است.
متولد ژوئیه ۱۹۴۹ نیوجرسی امریکاست.
بسیاری از منتقدان او را بزرگ ترین بازیگر زن زنده در جهان می دانند.
در اولین فیلمش، جولیا (۱۹۷۷) بازی چشمگیری کرد و سال بعدش برای فیلم شکارچی گوزن نامزد اسکار شد.
فیلم هایی که اسکار بهترین بازیگر زن را نصیبش کرده، کریمر علیه کریمر (۱۹۷۹) و انتخاب سوفی (۱۹۸۲) است.
مریل استریپ صاحب ۴ فرزند است و مشهور است که از پس تقلید هر لهجه ای برمی آید.
او بارها نقش شخصیت های واقعی را بازی کرده، از جمله نقش جولیا چایلد در فیلم اخیرش جولی و جولیا، اتل روزنبرگ، کارن سیلک وود، و لیندی چامبرلین.

خواندنی:
تنسی ویلیامز او را برای بازی در نسخه سینمایی اتوبوسی به نام هوس در دهه ۸۰ می خواست؛ اما گویا مریل استریپ در آن زمان دسترس نبود.
در فیلم شکارچی گوزن در سال ۱۹۷۸ مبلغ ۳۵ هزار دلار و برای فیلم جولی و جولیا در سال ۲۰۰۹ مبلغ ۵ میلیون دلار دستمزد گرفت.

مجموعا برنده ۳۴ جایزه است و ۳۳ بار نامزد جوایز گوناگون شده است.
ساندرا بولاک متولد واشنگتن دی سی در سال ۱۹۶۴ است. مادرش آلمانی بود و خواننده اپرا.
در دانشگاه کالیفرنیای شمالی بازیگری خواند. بعد به نیویورک آمد و در برنامه های تلویزیونی و سینمایی به بازی پرداخت.
در فیلم های مرد ویرانگر و کشتی با ارنست همینگوی (سال ۱۹۹۳) بازی هایی به یادماندنی کرده است. اما با فیلم سرعت (۱۹۹۴) مشهور شد.
او حالا یکی از محبوب ترین چهره های هالیوودی است.

خواندنی:
بولاک در سال ۹۴ برای فیلم سرعت مبلغ ۵۰۰ هزار دلار دستمزد گرفت و در سال ۹۷ ، برای فیلم سرعت ۲ مبلغ ۱۲ میلیون و ۵۰۰ هزار دلار.
بولاک در جایی درباره رقیب امسالش در بخش بهترین بازیگر( مریل استریپ) گفته:

آکادمی اسکار نباید هرسال مریل استریپ را نامزد کند. مریل استریپ باید هر سال جایزه بگیرد. اساسا در اسکار باید بخش مریل استریپ داشته باشیم.

میرن پیش از این هم اسکار بهترین بازیگر زن را برده است.
او مجموعا ۶۵ جایزه سینمایی و تئاتری برده و ۵۰ بار نامزد جایزه شده است.
متولد جولای ۱۹۴۵ در بریتانیا ست.
پدربزرگش از اهالی روسیه تزار بود که در سال ۱۹۱۷ برای خرید اسلحه برای جنگ جهانی اول به لندن آمد. اما انقلاب ۱۹۱۷ روسیه اتفاق افتاد و او ناچار شد در لندن بماند. بعدها همسر و پسرش (پدر هلن) در لندن به او پیوستند.
هلن میرن در سال ۲۰۰۳ برای خدماتش در عرصه بازیگری، از ملکه بریتانیا نشان سلطنتی دریافت کرد.

خواندنی:
میرن مجموعا شش بار نقش ملکه ها را بازی کرده است:

در فیلم های ملکه (۲۰۰۶)، الیزابت اول (۲۰۰۵)، شاهزاده مصر (۱۹۹۸)، ملکه برفی (۱۹۹۵)، دیوانگی شاه جرج(۱۹۹۴)، و کالیگولا و پسرم (۱۹۷۹)

متولد مه ۱۹۸۳ است.
گابوری سیدیبی در هارلم بزرگ شده است. مادرش بازیگر خیابانی بود و پدرش راننده تاکسی.
در کالج مرسی، روانشناسی خوانده است.
او دراین فیلم پرشس نقش زن سیاهپوست چاق بی سوادی را بازی می کند که دومین فرزند خود را حامله است و دعوت می شود به مدرسه برود، تا شاید زندگی اش جهت دیگری پیدا کند.
فیلم پرشس از فیلم هایی است که در اسکار امسال نامزد جایزه های زیادی است از جمله جایزه بهترین فیلم و فیلمنامه.

خواندنی:
گابوری سیدیبی درباره اندام درشتش گفته:

“من به خودم عشق می ورزم. شب ها تنها می خوابم و صبح ها تنها بیدار می شوم. برای همین، اگر خودم را دوست نداشته باشم دیگر دلیلی برای زندگی ندارم.
ظاهرم را دوست دارم و با آن مشکلی ندارم.”

این دختر جوان بریتانیایی تاکنون برنده ۱۳ جایزه و نامزد ۱۱ جایزه سینمایی شده و نبوغش بسیاری را شگفت زده کرده است.

او متولد ۲۸ مه ۱۹۸۵ است.
مدتی پیش جایزه بهترین بازیگر زن را از جشنواره بفتا هم دریافت کرد.
کری مالیگان پیش از تحصیلات در سریال تلویزیونی خانه قانون زده، محصول بی بی سی، که اقتباسی است از از رمان چارلز دیکنز به همین نام بازی کرده بود.
فیلم تحصیلات مجموعا نامزد سه اسکار است:
بهترین فیلم سال، بهترین بازیگر زن نقش اول و بهترین فیلمنامه اقتباسی.

خواندنی:
کری مالیگان نخستین بار در فیلم غرور و تعصب (۲۰۰۵) در نقش کیتی بنت، در کنار کیرا نایتلی بازی کرد.

الگوی نادرست برای زن بودن و مرد بودن در بریتانیا

تحقیقی که به درخواست دولت بریتانیا انجام شده، نشان می دهد نمایش تصاویرسکسی در رسانه ها، تاثیر مخربی روی بچه ها دارد و معصومیت آنها را به خطر انداخته. این تحقیق همچنین افزایش خشونت علیه زنان را با این تصاویر مرتبط می داند.

Colleagues Will Continue Working With Whale That Killed Trainer

RLANDO, Fla. —  Trainers will continue working with a killer whale that grabbed one of their colleagues and dragged her underwater, killing her, but SeaWorld said Thursday it is reviewing its procedures after the attack.

People lined up to get into the park a day after the whale named Tilikum killed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau as a horrified audience watched. Tilikum had been involved in two previous deaths, including a Canadian trainer dragged under water by him and two others whales in 1991.

Killer whale shows are suspended indefinitely in Orlando and at the park’s San Diego location.

LIVESHOTS: Sea World Trainer Autopsy Results Released

“We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change,” SeaWorld said in a post on its blog.

Chuck Tompkins, who is in charge of training at all SeaWorld parks, said Thursday that Tilikum will not be isolated from the Orlando location’s seven other whales. Tilikum fathered some of them and will continue mating with others.

“We want him to continue to be part of that social group,” Tompkins said.

Trainers will review safety procedures and change them as needed, but Tompkins said he doesn’t expect the killer whale shows to be much different.

“We’re going to make any changes we have to, to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Brancheau, 40, was rubbing Tilikum from a poolside platform when the 22-foot, 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her long braid in its mouth and dragged her underwater.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that trainers trying to help her could not get into the water because Tilikum was so aggressive. They had to coax him into a smaller pool and raise him out of the water on a platform before they could free her.

She likely died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning, the medical examiner’s office said.

Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched Tilikum charge through the pool with Brancheau in his jaws.

Tompkins said the whale was lying in front of Brancheau when her braid swung in front of him and he apparently grabbed onto it.

“We like to think we know 99.9 percent of the time what an animal is doing,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday. “But this is one of those times we just don’t know.”

Kelly Vickery, 24, of Tallahassee was at the noon show Wednesday next to where the attack happened and said the whales seemed to be acting odd, swimming around the tank rapidly. Trainers said the whales “were having an off day, that they were being ornery,” she said.

Tompkins disputed that, saying nothing seemed abnormal.

Vickery returned Thursday with her sons so they could see the areas of the park they had missed a day earlier, though she acknowledged being there felt “weird” a day after the tragedy.

“But it’s an animal, and it’s an accident,” she said.

Audience member Eldon Skaggs, who saw the attack, said Brancheau’s interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first. But then, the whale “pulled her under and started swimming around with her.”

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale “took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off.”

Because of his size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with Tilikum, and only about a dozen of the park’s 29 trainers worked with him. Brancheau had more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most. Tompkins says the park believes he is the biggest male killer whale in captivity.

Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.

A few months later, SeaWorld asked the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for permission to bring Tilikum to Orlando temporarily, according to agency documents obtained by The Associated Press. The agency is responsible for issuing permits to bring orcas and other marine animals into the U.S.

In a Jan. 8, 1992, letter, the agency said SeaWorld wanted to bring Tilikum to Orlando to provide medical treatment and care unavailable in Canada. The letter does not specify Tilikum’s medical condition, nor does it mention his role in the deadly attack on the trainer.

Nancy Foster, director of the agency’s office of protected resources, said in the letter to Brad Andrews, SeaWorld’s vice president of zoological operations at the time, that “prudent and precautionary steps necessary for the health and welfare of Tilikum were not taken by Sealand or SeaWorld.”

Despite that, the documents show SeaWorld Orlando got permission in October 1992 to permanently display Tilikum and the two other killer whales involved in the Canadian trainer’s death. Both of the other whales have since died.

Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Brancheau’s older sister, Diane Gross, said the trainer wouldn’t want anything done to the whale.

“She loved the whales like her children, she loved all of them,” said Gross, of Schererville, Ind. “They all had personalities, good days and bad days.”

Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna said he has known Brancheau professionally for the last 10 years and also believes she would not want anything to happen to Tilikum.

Brancheau’s passion for marine life began at age 9, Gross said, on a family trip to Sea World.

According to a profile in the Orlando Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando’s leading trainers. She also addressed the dangers of the job.

“You can’t put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you,” Brancheau said.

Billy Hurley, chief animal officer at the Georgia Aquarium — the world’s largest — said there are inherent dangers to working with orcas, just as there are with driving race cars or piloting jets.

“In the case of a killer whale, if they want your attention or if they’re frustrated by something or if they’re confused by something, there’s only a few ways of handling that,” he said. “If you’re right near pool’s edge and they decide they want a closer interaction during this, certainly they can grab you.”

It was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld’s San Diego park. He escaped with a broken foot.

In 2004, another whale at the company’s San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him.

Wednesday’s attack was the second time in two months that an orca trainer was killed. On Dec. 24, 29-year-old Alexis Martinez Hernandez fell from a whale and crushed his ribcage at Loro Parque on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Another Storm Bears Down on New England

AP;

Another big, powerful snowstorm barreled into the winter-weary Northeastern U.S. states Thursday, disrupting airline flights, closing schools and threatening high winds that could team up with the wet, heavy snow to topple trees and power lines.

The storm was expected to drop at least 8 inches of snow over much of the region and linger more than 24 hours, meaning more headaches Friday. More snow is predicted for much of the region Saturday, too.

Back-to-back storms have been blamed for a number deaths, including a man who was hit by a snow laden tree branch in Central Park. In upstate New York, state police report two deaths in traffic accidents on slick roads, one near Rochester and another southeast of Syracuse.

Click here for Fox News’ Winter Travel Center.

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights in the New York City area and Philadelphia. Continental Airlines canceled 70 of its 200 flights at the major international airport in Newark, New Jersey, as well as all 200 flights planned by regional partners.

Officials at Philadelphia International Airport said nearly one-fifth of the flights scheduled there for the day had been scratched. The predictions of strong winds later in the day were the main reason, said airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica.

Thousands of schools across the region either closed or planned to let out early, and New York State Police attributed traffic deaths to the weather.

The National Weather Service put much of the East Coast under wind advisories and warnings from 4 p.m. (2100 GMT) Thursday until as late as 7 a.m. Friday.

The agency warned of wind gusts 55 mph  or higher in coastal and mountainous areas.
Even coastal New England, which was seeing rain but nothing like the 18 inches  of snow expected in some parts of northern New Jersey and upstate New York, was under coastal flood watches because of the wind.

In upstate New York, where a storm hit the area with up to 2 feet of snow on Wednesday, some 150,000 homes and businesses lost power. By late Thursday morning, 60,000 customers were still without power, mostly in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills.

Winter storm warnings stretched into Ohio and along much of the Appalachian Mountains, with snow and wind expected as far south as the Tennessee-North Carolina line.

ABC NEWS;

Whale Kills Trainer at SeaWorld’s Shamu Stadium

By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Feb. 24, 2010

A female trainer was killed today by a 12,000 pound killer whale at SeaWorld’s Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Fla., according to police and local media.

olice said Dawn Brancheau, 40, an experienced trainer at the tourist attraction, slipped or fell into a tank holding the killer whale Tillikum, and witnesses described the animal coming to the surface to attack the woman.

“Brancheau was pronounced dead at the park after being recovered from the pool. Orange County Sheriff’s Office homicide investigators continue to investigate the death of the trainer who was reported to have 16 years of experience working with killer whales,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in an e-mailed release.

Branchaeu reportedly fell into a holding tank at the park sometime after 2 p.m.

Tillikum, a male or bull whale, has lived at the park since 1992, and is one of eight killer whales there.

“Currently deputies with the full cooperation of SeaWorld have secured the scene and homicide detectives have been requested to respond and conduct a death investigation follow-up, along with our forensics unit,” said Capt. Angelo Nieves of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in a statement.

One witness, park visitor Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV that she watched the whale grab Brancheau.

“He was thrashing her around pretty good. It was violent,’” Biniak said.

The whale “took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off,” she said.

Visitors were evacuated and the park closed following the attack.

“We had a female trainer back in the whale holding area. She apparently slipped or fell into the tank and was fatally injured by one of the whales,” said Jim Solomons of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

He added there was no evidence of “foul play.”

Dan Brown, vice president and general manager of SeaWorld Orlando, called Brancheau one of the park’s “most experienced trainers.”

“It is with great sadness that I report that one of our most experienced animal trainers drowned in an incident with one of our killer whales this afternoon,” said Brown. “We have never, in the history of our parks, experienced an incident like this,” he said.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends and of the trainer and will do everything possible to assist them in this difficult time.”

United Nations General Assembly Recognizes 21 March as International Day of Nowruz

Feb. 23rd 2010
UN Sixty-fourth General Assembly

The General Assembly this afternoon recognized the International Day of Nowruz, a spring festival of Persian origin, and moved back the dates of the next high-level dialogue on Financing for Development, as it continued its sixty-fourth session.

According to the preamble of the resolution on the International Day (document A/64/L.30/Rev.2), Nowruz, which means new day, is celebrated on 21 March, the day of the vernal equinox, by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year.  It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

The Assembly called on Member States that celebrate the festival to study its history and traditions with a view to disseminating that knowledge among the international community and organizing annual commemoration events.

Welcoming the inclusion of Nowruz into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 30 September 2009, the text notes the festival’s “affirmation of life in harmony with nature, the awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal and the solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life”.

The text was introduced by Azerbaijan’s representative, who said that, as a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world with themes important to all humanity, Nowruz encouraged intercultural dialogue and understanding.  Speaking after the Assembly took action on the draft, the representative of Iran marked its adoption by quoting lines of the Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi that expressed the holiday’s theme of rebirth “on our planet and in our souls”.