33 passengers hospitalized after Ryanair flight plummets almost 30,000 feet
Over 30 passengers were hospitalized, with some complaining about bleeding from their ears, after a Ryanair flight plummeted 28,000 feet in less than 10 minutes on Friday, according to authorities and flight tracking software.
“I can safely say it was the most terrifying thing I ever experienced,” passenger Roxanne Brownlee told ABC News.
A spokesperson from Ryanair said an “inflight depressurization” on the plane, which was carrying 189 people, from Dublin, Ireland, to Zadar, Croatia, caused oxygen masks to deploy. The plane made an emergency landing at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany.
Minerva Galvan@MaingdAmazing video from Mr. Kevin Burke. You can see how terrified we were. No-one speaking, no-one moving. Silence and just silence.#Ryanair #nightmare
“The oxygen masks just fell down in front of us — we were given no context, there was no announcement,” said Brownlee. “We were all kind of scrambling trying to put the oxygen masks on and people were screaming, crying and shouting.”
When the plane began to plummet, Brownlee and another passenger, Sara Sihelnik, said they had no updates from the hostesses or captain.
“It was that moment we were plummeting that we were thinking, ‘This is it, we’re going to die,’” said Brownlee.
Once the plane arrived at the airport, 33 people were taken to the hospital “to be treated for headaches and earaches and nausea,” according to authorities. Sky News reported that some people complained they were bleeding from their ears.
Minerva Galvan@MaingdA picture from one of the passengers of the flight FR7312, from Dublin to Zadar. She cannot fly due her injuries. We are still in the Frankfurt-Hahn. No information, no alternatives, no place to rest.#Ryanair#nightmare @Ryanair
“They brought in about 100 burgers, for 189 of us there. They said elderly and families with small children can sleep on cots in the basement, the rest of us was just sort of left floating around,” said Brownlee. “So we were all awake upwards of 36 hours of the entire ordeal — just completely exhausted, shattered and I would just say shocked with the treatment that we received from Ryanair.”
Courtesy of FlightRadar24.comAccording to a Ryanair spokesperson, “Customers were provided with refreshment vouchers and hotel accommodation was authorised, however there was a shortage of available accommodation.”
On Saturday, another Ryanair flight took a majority of the passengers to their destination in Croatia. Out of the 33 people admitted to the hospital, 22 were released and bused to Croatia because they were told not to fly.
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FDA recalls heart meds used to treat high blood pressure over cancer concerns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a voluntary recall of several medications that contain the active ingredient valsartan, which is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure.
“This recall is due to an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which was found in the recalled products, the FDA said in a statement Saturday. “However, not all products containing valsartan are being recalled.”
Officials say NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen —a substance that could cause cancer. They said those findings are based on results from recent laboratory tests.
The administration said the carcinogen’s presence is “thought to be related to changes in the way the active substance was manufactured.”
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KENDRICK LAMAR and SZA: ‘BLACK PANTHER’ Lawsuit Over Song
Kendrick Lamar and SZA were monumentally huge artists and that’s what propelled the soundtrack for “Black Panther” … not a 19-second clip an artist claims was a rip-off of her artwork.
Kendrick and SZA just filed legal docs asking a judge to give Lena Iris Viktor the boot in her lawsuit which claims Kendrick and Co. ripped off her artwork in the music video for “All the Stars.”
Kendrick and SZA claim in the new docs … even if the artwork in the video was a rip-off, she’s not entitled to the profits they made from the song because “common sense and logic dictate that the alleged 19 second use of the artwork in the video” is not what generated the success of the song.
The duo goes on to say the success of the album is the result of his “worldwide popularity as well as numerous accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize and dozens of Grammys.”
Kendrick and SZA also give credit for the album’s success to the incredible cultural impact of the “Black Panther” flick.
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Childish Gambino Shares 2 New “Summer” Songs: Listen
Donald Glover returns with “Summertime Magic” and “Feels Like Summer”
Donald Glover is back with more new Childish Gambinomusic. Glover has shared a pair of new songs, “Summertime Magic” and “Feels Like Summer,” this morning. Check them out below. They appear on streaming services under the title Summer Pack, and will also be on his upcoming fourth studio album, his first under new label Wolf+Rothstein/RCA.
Glover previously debuted a song called “Saturday” on the “SNL” episode for which he was both host and musical guest. Also on the episode, Glover performed his single “This Is America,” which received a political Hiro Murai-directed visual.
This fall, Childish Gambino heads out on tour with Rae Sremmurd and Vince Staples. He is also set to perform new music during the New Zealand edition of his Pharos live experience in November. Glover has previously said that the next Childish Gambino will be the last under that name, explaining, “I think endings are good because they force things to get better.”
Read “What Does Atlanta Hip-Hop Think of ‘Atlanta’ the Show?” on the Pitch.
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The U.S. Navy Is Just Now Allowing Black Female Sailors To Wear Their Natural Hair
Hair styling has never really been a “just hair” issue for black women. Whether rocking it in the professional world or during a protest, afros, locs and braids have long served both as a means of personal, religious and sociopolitical expression.
The U.S. military has had strict dress and grooming codes in place. But, as more and more black women have joined the armed forces, the issue of hair became more complicated. Many soldiers lobbied for the right to wear their hair in varied styles.
According to the Marine Corps Times, the U.S. Marines became the first branch to allow locs and twists, starting the policy in December 2015. According to News One, the U.S. Army followed suit in January 2017.
Now, according to the Associated Press, the U.S. Navy is joining in on the inclusive hairstyle movement and will allow locs, ropelike strands (such as braids or twists), wider hair buns and ponytails to be worn by its female servicemembers.
“Because of the texture of my hair, it stood straight up,” recalled Captain Thurraya Kent, who was forced to remove her braids under the old policy. “It was a very embarrassing moment that stays with you.”
Kent went on to serve as the senior member of the group who recommended the policy update.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson and Yeoman First Class LaToya Jones announced the new policy during a Facebook Live event on Tuesday. Other black servicewomen in the recommendation group joined as well, per OANN.
“It’s my honor to announce that CNO and CNP have announced the following recommendations: loc hairstyles will be authorized, hair bun width will be authorized to be equal to the width of the back of the head, ponytails will be authorized in all service, working and PT uniforms,” Jones noted proudly.
“I think it’s a step forward,” noted Lieutenant Commander Jess Cameron. “They’re getting more female feedback in the service, and updating what I think are somewhat antiquated guidelines that maybe no longer serve their purpose in today’s society, today’s military.”
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Everything You Need To Know About The Ongoing Protests In Haiti
Article via: Everything You Need To Know About The Ongoing Protests In Haiti
You may have seen images circulating the internet depicting the violent and deadly protests that have recently occurred in Haiti. Swarms of Haitian workers shut down the capital of Port-au-Prince Monday following the government’s announcement of increased fuel prices. The prices had long been subsidized, but where raised in order to free up government funds to comply with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) austerity measures.
“I ask for your patience because our administration has a vision, a clear program,” said Prime Minister Guy Lafontant said in a televised announcement according to TeleSurv. Shortly after announcing the new measures, the prime minister put a temporary halt to what would’ve been a 38 percent gasoline price increase, 47 percent diesel price increase and 51 percent kerosene price increase.
According to The Globe Post, the protests may have incited a comprise, as IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice confirmed the organization agreed to restructure conditions imposed on the Haitian government during a briefing on Thursday. Calls for the resignation of many high ranking government figures may have also led to the speedy about face.
This whole ordeal can’t simply be reduced to anger over gas prices, though. The price increase was simply the spark that ignited the powder keg. There’s quite a bit to unpack, so we’re here to offer some background.
Unfortunately, as often is the case with many major protests, there was a lot of misinformation going around, but Twitter user @AdoreAmanda_ had time today. Citing, long-terms frustrations over poverty, a horrible education system and corruption, she broke it all the way down.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_I wish y’all would stfu on saying Haiti is rioting solely because of rising gas prices. There is FAR more to it then that and I got time today.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_I wish y’all would stfu on saying Haiti is rioting solely because of rising gas prices. There is FAR more to it then that and I got time today.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Endless NGOs, IMF loans that’ll take generations to pay back, the purposeful weakening of Haiti’s government by outside nations paired with the insane corruption in Haiti are just a few factors.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Endless NGOs, IMF loans that’ll take generations to pay back, the purposeful weakening of Haiti’s government by outside nations paired with the insane corruption in Haiti are just a few factors.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Haiti is fed tf up with these neoliberal policies that are DESTROYING an entire nation, keeping people in poverty and making the rich even richer.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Haiti is fed tf up with these neoliberal policies that are DESTROYING an entire nation, keeping people in poverty and making the rich even richer.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_This recent spike in gas prices was literally to please the IMF!!!!
amanda@AdoreAmanda_This recent spike in gas prices was literally to please the IMF!!!!
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Now obviously my people are being counterproductive af by destroying business, setting buildings on fire, etc etc…but by now y’all should know Haitians don’t fucking play and when a country is pushed to the point where they feel they have nothing to lose this is the outcome.
As CFR notes, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere with more than half of its population living below the poverty line. The country also heavily relies on foreign aid. Natural disasters and ineffective humanitarian relief management have also negatively affected its economy, especially with regards to tourism.
Haiti was thrown into extreme debt almost immediately after its independence. After the country’s slaves won freedom for themselves in a war with France, France refused to acknowledge it as a country until Haiti paid France the full worth of all those newly freed slaves.
Haiti won independence in 1804 according to CFR, and agreed to pay France $22 billion in today’s dollars in 1825, literally at gunpoint (France had set up a naval blockade of the island country) in order to gain international recognition, Forbes reports.
Haiti, which at the time was poised to become one of the richest countries in the West thanks to its plentiful natural and agricultural resources then spent the next 122 years paying as much as 80 percent of its revenues paying France back for its “stolen slaves.”
While it struggled to get out from under this crippling debt, the United States spent nearly two decades destabilizing the country politically during World War I and the the lead up to World War II. President Woodrow Wilson invaded the country in 1915 claiming doing so was necessary to keep out the German forces, then instituted a policy of segregation, slavery and fake news that led to several rebellions, the deaths of at least 15,000 Haitians and the forced dissolution of a series of governments hostile to the U.S. presence.
The U.S. pulled out in 1934, leaving a power vacuum that was eventually filled by Kim Il-Sung-esque dictator Francois Duvalier.
Haiti was still under a mountain of debt when hit by the devastating 2010 earthquake. Following the disaster, Haiti was largely forgiven of its debts, but had to borrow roughly $2.6 billion in order to rebuild, as its coffers were drained from years of paying debtors.
“For an entire century, Haiti geared its economy to paying back the French debt and missed out on industrialization, education, and development of its government and democratic institutions,” noted Brian Concannon, founder and executive director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. “It really couldn’t develop.”
The IMF’s measures were supposedly meant to help Haiti accelerate its development, and Rice has said the organization still wants Haiti “to move as quickly as possible” in carrying out reforms. However, there is no definitive timeline as of yet.
Emmett Till Murder Investigation Reopened 62 Years After Slaying
Emmett Till was a 14-year old boy who was brutally beaten and shot for allegedly making sexual advances against a white woman. The white women later confessed she lied.
Watch the 2017 update here:
Thankfully, federal authorities have reopened the lynching case of Emmett Till, a black teenager whose brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955 helped launch the modern civil rights movement.
The Department of Justice informed Congress in a report in March that it is reopening the case after “the discovery of new information,” which was not detailed. The decision was first reported on Thursday by The Associated Press.
A DOJ spokeswoman, reached by HuffPost in an email on Thursday, said it cannot provide further comment because it is an open investigation.
The department’s decision comes nearly 63 years after Till, a 14-year-old Chicago native, was kidnapped, beaten, tortured and shot after a white woman accused him of making sexual advances against her in a store in Money, Mississippi. Since his death, two white men acquitted of the crime confessed to his murder, and the woman recanted her allegations against him.
The horrifying case began in August 1955, when Till was abducted at gunpoint while staying with family near Money. Three days after he was taken in the night, his mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River with a cotton-gin fan tied to it with barbed wire for weight.
His mother, Mamie Bradley, insisted on having an open casket funeral for him so that the world could see the savagery done to him because of racial hatred.
Authorities charged two white men for his murder, Rob Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, after Bryant’s then-wife, 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, claimed that Till whistled at her, grabbed her and made sexual advances against her inside her husband’s store.
Both men were acquitted by an all-white jury. Years later in a paid magazine interview, they confessed to killing Till but were never retried. No one else was ever charged.
Milam and Bryant died in 1981 and 1994, respectively.
The case was closed in 2007, with authorities stating that there were no surviving suspects and the statute of limitations at that point precluded federal charges.
Last year the book The Blood of Emmett Till was published with a confession from Carolyn Bryant, today Carolyn Donham, that she lied under oath about her claims against Till. She confessed during an interview in 2008.
“Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” she was quoted as saying.
Donham today resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will turn 84 this month. A man who answered her door declined to comment to the AP on her behalf.
Civil rights activist the Rev. Jessie Jackson Sr. was among those reacting to the department’s decision on social media on Thursday by urging the passing of a bill that would make lynchings unlawful at the federal level as well as a hate crime.
Rev Jesse Jackson Sr
✔@RevJJackson
In memory of #EmmettTill and thousands of other black men, women & children lynched, we must finally pass anti-lynching law.
ABC 7 News – WJLA
✔@ABC7News
#BREAKING: Federal government reopens investigation into the 1955 slaying of black teen Emmett Till, a case that shocked the worldhttp://wjla.com/news/nation-world/government-reopens-probe-of-emmett-till-slaying …
Till’s cousin Deborah Watts, who co-founded the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, called the news “wonderful” when reached by the AP. She declined to comment further on the case.
“None of us wants to do anything that jeopardizes any investigation or impedes, but we are also very interested in justice being done,” she said.
We hope Emmett Till gets justice.
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Karrine Steffans Claims ‘POWER’ Star Rotimi Left Her After Miscarriage
Karrine Steffans, previously known as “Superhead,” is taking her personal life public once again, calling out Power actor Rotimi for using her during their relationship and leaving her once he landed a role on the STARZ hit, shortly after she lost their child.
The author took to Instagram last weekend to speak on their past relationship, claiming she drove him to auditions and allowed him to move into her home. She also claimed they were expecting a child together, but that she suffered a miscarriage.
Soon after, according to the former video vixen, Rotimi dumped her as his career began taking off. Read her full accusations aimed at the Naija actor and recording artist below.
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Draymond Green’s visit to Israel draws criticism: ‘Horribly offensive’
If you do not follow sports I should tell you Draymond Green is on the same basketball team as Stephen Curry and was ‘memed’ after his hilarious reactions to Fergie’s horrific rendition of the national anthem.
Warriors All-Star Draymond Green, who along with his teammates has expressed disinterest in visiting the White House, is receiving criticism for his trip to Israel where he met President Reuven Rivlin and fired guns at a border police training center.
Or Shkedy@OrshkedyDraymond Green(@Money23Green) was a guest today of the Israeli SWAT Dep.
Part of Green’s trip was sponsored by the Friends of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).
“You got played,” Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King chided Green, according to the JTA. “Flashing a toothy grin w/ a sniper rifle in Israel on a trip (organized) by Friends of the IDF is so horribly offensive. They’ve recently slaughtered unarmed Palestinians w/ those rifles.”
Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation, piled on.
“Why reject Donald Trump and accept the invitation of Rivlin?” Zirin wrote. “It is, frankly, shocking to see Draymond Green smiling and shooting guns in their company. These counterterrorism border police units are part of a military that shot and killed Palestinians who were protesting at the border in May, less than two months ago.”
“I’m confident that if he had been briefed, he would not have gone,” Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill told the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Maybe, maybe not. Green is, among other things, intellectually curious. According to the Jerusalem Post, Green visited “several historical sites around the country.” He also played basketball at a sports center donated by FIDF supporters from Michigan, according to CBN.
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Papa John’s founder resigns as chairman after using a racial slur on a call
He was undergoing an exercise on how to handle controversial situations when he made the comment.
Papa John’s founder John Schnatter resigned as board chairman from the pizza company after he apologized for using a racial slur on a conference call that was set up to teach Schnatter how to not say offensive things.
This is the latest in the fallout for Schantter, who faced increasing pressure after he admitted using the n-word and described a scene of violence against African Americans on a conference call in May.
Forbes first reported the call, which was set up to help take Schnatter through a “role-playing exercise” to help him deal with racially sensitive situations. Schantter stepped down as CEO from Papa John’s last year, after he blamed NFL leadership for failing to stop anthem protests, which he said had driven down the chain’s sales.
Read more: Papa John’s Founder Drops N-Word During Sensitivity Training Call
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