UNITED STATES: Aftermath of Condo Collapse Grows
Questions still abound after a condominium complex in Florida suddenly collapsed, putting hundreds at risk.
On the night of June 24, the seaside section of the Champlain Towers in Surfside, Florida, a suburb of Miami, collapsed, sending 12 stories of concrete and steel crashing to the ground. As of this posting, at least 16 people are confirmed dead, with close to 150 missing. In one good turn of fortune, around 135 have been accounted for.
According to reports, the building was under examination for its 40-year safety recertification. Research by Florida International University showed that thew building had been sinking since the 1990s. In 2018, an inspection of the pool deck showed a “major error” in its construction.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett has said that he would like the north portion of the Champlain Towers to be temporarily evacuated to check the building’s structural integrity and to ensure the safety of the residents there.
“We were devastated to hear of the catastrophic Champlain Towers building collapse in Surfside. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are thankful for the first responders who are working around the clock in rescue efforts,” the Miami Heat posted on Twitter.
The tragedy was so severe that President Biden declared ta formal state of emergency, and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the Surfside Building Collapse beginning on June 24, 2021, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Miami-Dade County.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.
“I am grateful for the heroic first responders, search and rescue teams, and all FEMA, state, county, local, and volunteer personnel who are working around the clock to try to save lives and for those who are dedicated to helping survivors with many needs, including temporary housing,” Biden said in a statement. “We will continue to coordinate closely with officials on the ground throughout this terrible ordeal and my administration is ready to provide any support or assistance that is needed.
“This is an unimaginably difficult time for the families enduring this tragedy. For those who are waiting in anguish for word of their loved ones as search and rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of this catastrophic incident, the pain of the uncertainty is an added, heartbreaking burden. My heart goes out to every single person suffering during this awful moment.”
Bill Cosby Released: From Prison
A stunning decision from Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has led to a fallen star getting his freedom.
On June 30, the court ruled that Bill Cosby should be released from prison immediately. The reasoning for the ruling is that there was an agreement between Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor and Cosby that he would never be prosecuted for his remarks during a deposition in the Andrea Constand case. However, when another prosecutor decided to try Cosby on the matter later – where he was found guilty and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in 2018 – the Court decided that this violated Cosby’s Fifth Amendment rights, and therefore the entire conviction has been thrown out. Additionally, Cosby will likely never be tried for the matter again.
As of this posting, there has been no response from any of Cosby’s alleged victims. He left the facility at 2:30 pm that same day.
Meanwhile, former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack was sentenced to three years for her role in the NXIVM case. Mack received less than the 17-year possible sentence due to her cooperation against cult founder Keith Raniere, who was sentenced to over 100 years in prison last year.
EUROPE: Celebrating LGBT People
On June 29, the Prime Minister hosted a reception in the garden of 10 Downing Street to mark Pride Month 2021 and to celebrate the contribution of LGBT people from across the UK.
The reception reflected on the government’s work so far to tackle LGBT injustice and looked ahead to June 2022 when the UK will host ‘Safe To be Me: A Global Equality Conference.’
The PM said the UK’s first ever global LGBT conference will be about ‘kindness, tolerance and openness’ and will look at what more can be done to promote LGBT equality around the world.
Speaking at the Downing Street Pride reception, planned in partnership with the GREAT campaign, the PM said he was proud to live in one of the most open and tolerant countries in the world and that LGBT equality was a key economic asset of the UK. He said that “whomever you love, however you identify, whether you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans – I want this government to have your back.”
The event in the garden of Downing Street was attended by LGBT people whose lives have been positively impacted by the work of the UK Government, as well as those representing key organizations working on LGBT issues in the UK and internationally.
This included Chris McNaghten and Jon Swan – one of the first same-sex couples to get married in Northern Ireland after legislation came into effect making it legal last year.
The PM congratulated them both and said he was proud same-sex marriage was now legal in all parts of the UK.
Johnson also met with Caroline Paige, the first openly transgender Officer in the British Armed Forces. They discussed the work being done to make the British Armed Forces more inclusive and praised the Ministry of Defense announcement earlier this year which allowed former Armed Forces personnel who were dismissed from service on the basis of their sexuality to apply to have their medals restored.
The PM said he was ‘hugely proud of our country’s record on LGBT issues’ but warned that ‘we must not rest on our laurels’. He recognized that discrimination still exists and that sadly LGBT people are still victims of disgraceful hate crimes. He met with Joshua Ormrod who was attacked as he left a Liverpool nightclub with friends earlier this month. The PM condemned the shocking attack and commended Joshua’s bravery. He told the reception the government was committed to doing all it could to make our country a safe place for everyone.
As well as changes to the laws on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland and the rightful return of medals to those dismissed from service due to their sexuality, some of the government’s wider work on LGBT rights includes a commitment to bringing forward a ban on conversion therapy, changing blood donation rules to allow men who have sex with men the ability to donate blood if they are in a long-term relationship, and making the preventative HIV treatment PrEP routinely available across England as part of the government’s aim to end HIV transmission by 2030.
The event was also attended by the Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch and the PM’s Special Envoy on LGBT Rights Nick Herbert.
CANADA: Heatwave Sizzles Canada
A “pressure-cooker” heatwave that’s broken several temperature records in a matter of hours in the US northwest and western Canada is being mirrored across large parts of the northern hemisphere, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on June 29.
“An exceptional and dangerous heatwave is breaking in northwestern United States of America and western Canada; this is obviously a part of the world which is more accustomed to cool weather,” said Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “Temperatures are likely to reach as high as 45C by day for perhaps five or more days; so that’s a very long spell, with extremely warm nights in between.”
According to the UN agency, in 2018, vulnerable over-65s faced a record 220 million more “heatwave exposures” than between the 1986 and 2005 average.
Canada’s all-time temperature record was broken on Sunday (June 27) in Lytton, British Columbia, with a high of 46.6C. “This smashed the previous record – normally when you break a record, it’s by a small margin – this smashed the record by a full 1.6C,” Ms. Nullis said.
Less than 24 hours later, Lytton broke the record again, this time measuring 47.9C, despite the fact that “it’s in the province of British Columbia, it’s to the Rocky Mountains, the Glacier National Park, and yet we’re seeing temperatures which are more typical of the Middle East or North Africa,” Ms. Nullis continued.
Such extreme temperatures pose a major threat to people’s health, agriculture and the environment “because the region is not used to such heat and many people do not have air conditioning,” WMO said in a statement, before welcoming the fact that the authorities had issued a series of early weather warnings to limit the risk to those most vulnerable.
Citing Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan, WMO said that higher temperatures would likely peak early this week on the coast and by the middle of the week for the interior of British Columbia; afterwards, the baking heat is expected to move east towards Alberta.
“Yukon and North West Territories have recorded their all-time highest temperatures not just in June, but any point in the year. We are setting records that have no business in being set so early in the season,” said Mr. Castellan.
WMO’s Ms. Nullis explained that the extreme heat is caused by “an atmospheric blocking pattern” which has led to a “heat dome” trapped by low pressure either side.
“Normally you have the jet stream which is this vast high-moving belt of wind which …moves weather on, but it’s not happening this time…it’s almost like a pressure cooker effect and you’ve got very, very high heat.”
CARIBBEAN: Migrants Sent Back to DR
An upsurge in deadly clashes between gangs in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has displaced more than 5,000 people since the beginning of the month, the United Nations said on June 10, citing preliminary estimates from its humanitarian agency, OCHA. People are fleeing to safer areas to stay with relatives, though many others, including children, are sleeping outside or in informal shelters.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos repatriated 38 migrants to the Dominican Republic June 25, following the interdiction of an illegal voyage in Mona Passage waters near Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. The interdiction is the result of ongoing efforts by Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) partner agencies to combat illegal migrant smuggling.
The aircrew of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection maritime patrol aircraft detected the illegal voyage, approximately 15 nautical miles northwest of Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos responded to the sighting and interdicted the 35-foot vessel with the assistance of the cutter’s small boat. The cutter’s crew safely embarked the migrants from the makeshift vessel that was grossly overloaded vessel and taking on water. A Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine unit also responded and arrived on scene to assist.
Prior to embarking cutter Joseph Tezanos, the crew provided the migrants with lifejackets. Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, the migrants receive food, water and basic medical attention.
“The strong partnerships, collaboration and efficient coordination between the Coast Guard and our CBIG and Dominican Republic navy partners helped save the lives of all the migrants in this case and ensured their safe return to the Dominican Republic,” said Capt. Gregory H. Magee, Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan.
“To anyone considering taking part in an illegal voyage, don’t take to the sea! These voyages are extremely dangerous, the vessels are unseaworthy and most often grossly overloaded. Additionally, they have no lifesaving equipment and the conditions onboard are inhumane.”
Cutter Joseph Tezanos later rendezvoused with a Dominican Republic Navy vessel just off Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where the crew transferred and completed the repatriation of the migrants to Dominican Republic Navy authorities.
