At least 200 dead, thousands still sheltering after Japan floods
TOKYO — More than 7,000 people were still in evacuation shelters and many more were struggling with basic needs Thursday after severe flooding and landslides last week in western Japan that caused at least 200 deaths. The disastrously heavy rainfall caused damage over a widespread area, with most of the deaths in and around Hiroshima. Power and water outages were common, and damage to roads and railway tracks disrupted deliveries of food and relief supplies.
Water shortages were even affecting some of the evacuation centers, which are usually priority destinations for relief supplies.
Takao Kusunoki, an evacuee staying at a junior high school in Ehime, said he has not been able to take a bath for four days now, and could only clean himself with a wet towel. “I’m so sweaty, and I want to take a bath as soon as possible,” he told the Mainichi newspaper. “We need our water system restored.”
Floodwaters have subsided in most places but left behind massive debris including broken trees, furniture and mangled cars that still need to be moved out of the way.
Disrupted distribution systems are keeping lives in the disaster zone difficult. Convenience stores are open shorter hours, and dozens of outlets of major chains such as Family Mart, 7-Eleven and Lawson were closed due to delayed deliveries, supply shortages or flooding in Hiroshima, Okayama and Ehime. McDonald’s said five outlets in Hiroshima and another in Ehime were without water.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a disaster response meeting Thursday recalled seeing “horrendous” damage during his visit the previous day to Kurashiki city, where a river broke through its embankment and flooded a wide area.
“After seeing that, I even feel more strongly about doing whatever it takes so that the people who were affected could live safely again as soon as possible,” said Abe, who had canceled a trip to Europe and the Middle East to respond to the disaster.
Abe said the government obtained temporary housing for people whose homes were damaged or lost so they could move in and be more comfortable.
More than 700 houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 23,000 were flooded, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters 200 deaths had been confirmed and another person was found without vital signs. Suga said 21 people are missing and about 40 others are still out of contact with their families.
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Diddy says ‘Black Panther’ was a ‘cruel experiment’
The star wasn’t as impressed by the movie as everyone else.
Diddy has called Black Panther a “cruel experiment”, despite the acclaim the movie has received for improving representation in Hollywood.
The Marvel movie featured a predominantly black cast, including Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, and more.
While the film’s representative nature has been widely applauded, Diddy wasn’t as impressed with it. “Black Panther was a cruel experiment,” he told Variety. “We live in 2018 and it’s the first time that the film industry gave us a fair playing field on a worldwide blockbuster, and the hundreds of millions it takes to make it,” he said.
“When Adidas invests in Kanye and it’s done properly, you have the right results,” he continued. “When Live Nation invests in artists and puts them in arenas the same way U2 would be, you have the right results. Black Panther, Black-ish, fashion; it’s all about access. If you’re blocked out of the resources, you can’t compete. And that’s my whole thing – to be able to come and compete.”
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Papa John’s Founder Drops N-Word During Sensitivity Training Call
On Wednesday, the founder of Papa John’s, apologized for dropping the N-word during dropped the N-word during a sensitivity training call in May and now he’s apologizing.
“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true,” founder John Schnatter said in a statement issued through the company, New York Daily News reports. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”
According to the Daily News, Papa John’s stock fell “up to 6% in intraday trading, wiping out roughly $96 million in market value.”
This isn’t the first time that Papa John Schnatter let his inner racist out. In January, he left his job as CEO of the company amid comments he made during NFL anthem protests.
Apparently when Papa John was speaking with his staff about how he was going to avoid a scandal, Schnatter allegedly involved President Trump’s favorite chicken spot owner Colonel Sanders.
“Colonel Sanders called blacks ‘niggers,’ ” Schnatter allegedly said.
And in true Republican form, Papa John added that Sanders never publicly apologized, nor was he condemned for saying the N-word.
“Schnatter also discussed growing up in Indiana, where he said people would kill African-Americans by dragging them from their trucks — a reflection that was interpreted as offensive by other parties on the call, according to the report,” the Daily News reports.
Papa John’s said in a statement Wednesday that it “condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting. Our company was built on a foundation of mutual respect and acceptance. … We take great pride in the diversity of the Papa John’s family, though diversity and inclusion is an area where we will continue to strive to do better,” the statement read, according to the Daily News.
Papa John is currently looking for work at the Waffle House where his position on race will be appreciated.
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Orange is the New Black Trailer
Season 5 of Orange is the New Black left us on edge as armed guards stormed in to the old pool to take away our key favorites linked arm in arm: Piper, Cindy, Taystee, Suzanne Alex, Red, Frieda, Nicky, Gloria, and Blanca.
Now, Netflix has picked up OISTNB for Season 6 and 7. Watch the trailer for Season 6 below:
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Here’s the official synopsis:
“Picking up one week after the emergency response team stormed Litchfield Penitentiary, the ladies of Litch have been torn apart, literally and figuratively, as they enter a new facility in the sixth season of Orange Is The New Black. Now newbies they must navigate new rules and power dynamics, starting at the bottom, and getting hazed by inmates and tortured by guards. Friendships will be tested and new allegiances formed — some by choice and others by circumstance — as the women face a slew of charges from the riot. Will they take plea deals and turn on each other or band together and keep their bonds intact?”
‘Breast is Best’ Declares Pamela Anderson to Trump
Moving in to settle a fight over breastfeeding, Anderson cited her own experiences and said simply, “Breast is best.”
In a letter to the World Health Organization on behalf of PETA, she endorsed the group’s support for breastfeeding after the New York Times suggested in a story that the Trump administration was favoring formula.
Blond bombshell and PETA spokeswoman Pamela Anderson knows how to grab the attention of President Trump — and the world.
Moving in to settle a fight over breastfeeding, Anderson cited her own experiences and said simply, “Breast is best.”
In a letter to the World Health Organization on behalf of PETA, she endorsed the group’s support for breastfeeding after the New York Times suggested in a story that the Trump administration was favoring formula.
“Thank you for standing firm in support of breastfeeding. Breast is best — that’s why I nursed my own sons and I encourage other moms to continue this natural practice, which has been essential to human health since the dawn of time,” said Anderson.
The administration said it wants to keep formula in the mix for new mothers, and Trump ripped a report from the Times that he wants to “water down an international resolution supporting breastfeeding.”
Trump tweeted this week, “The failing NY Times Fake News story today about breast feeding must be called out. The U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don’t believe women should be denied access to formula. Many women need this option because of malnutrition and poverty.”
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5 adults claiming to be parents of detained children ruled out by DNA tests
The Trump administration said it used DNA screenings to identify and rule out five adults who claimed to be parents of children being held at the southern border.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Tuesday that the agency found two adults through DNA swabbing who thought they were biological parents and were not.
Another three adults admitted they weren’t parents before the DNA swab was complete.
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Who is Dana Sabraw? 5 things to know about judge who ordered reunification of immigrant families
The federal judge who ordered the reunification of children separated from their families along the Mexican border is the son of an immigrant with the middle name “Truth.”
The government acknowledged it failed to meet Tuesday’s deadline set by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw to reunite about 100 children under age 5 with their families after they were seized along the Mexican border when their parents were arrested for illegally entering the U.S.
Dana Sabraw, based in San Diego, last month gave the government 14 days to reunite children under 5, some of whom had been separated from their families for weeks. He allowed 30 days for older kids.
So who is this guy? His Federal Bar Association profile and his own legal rulings shine some light.
More: 3 young migrant children reunited with their dads in El Paso
More: Mexicans comprise a bigger share of border prosecutions
His mother is an immigrant
Sabraw’s father met his mother while he was an Army soldier stationed in Japan during the Korean War. They were married in her native Japan before settling in San Rafael, California, where the judge was born in 1958. He was given a Japanese middle name – Makoto – in honor of his mother’s family. The name translates to “true” or “truth.”
Man could lose limbs after contracting flesh-eating bacteria in New Jersey waters
MILLVILLE, N.J. – It’s a summertime tradition — fishing for crabs in rivers and bays. But a New Jersey man from Cumberland County who has done it many times before is now fighting for his life after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria while crabbing, CBS Philly reports.
“The choice is life or limbs and I’ve heard that multiple times,” said Dilena Perez-Dilan, after her 60-year-old father, Angel Perez, contracted the disease while crabbing last week off the Maurice River in Commercial Township. “The sores started showing up on his legs and he started hallucinating.”
Perez-Dilan says on July 2 her father was crabbing at his favorite spot near Matt’s Landing on the river. Complaining of pain, he went to an urgent care center the next day and got antibiotics, but the swelling only got worse as the bacteria spread to his bloodstream.
“They told us that his kidneys shut down and that he would need dialysis immediately,” she said.
Angel Perez contracted flesh-eating bacteria while crabbing in New Jersey waters.
Perez had to have a leg surgically drained as an infectious disease doctor investigated the cause of the infection. It turned out to be Vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria common to warm brackish water that is usually only a concern if you eat contaminated raw shellfish.
Police ID woman found dead in trash compactor at New York City condo building
An employee at a 29-story condominium tower in Manhattan stumbled across a gruesome sight.
The building employee found a woman stuffed in a trash compactor in the complex at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to the New York Police Department.
A resident of the building, 48-year-old Lara Prychenko, was unconscious and unresponsive, police said, and pronounced dead at the scene.
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Judge: FBI agent charged after backflip shooting can carry gun
An FBI agent who is accused of accidentally shooting a man while performing a backflip in a bar can have his gun back, a judge has ruled.
Chase Bishop, 29, was off-duty when he was filmed dropping his gun while dancing. As he picked it up he fired one shot, seriously wounding a man.
Video of the 2 June incident in a Denver nightclub led to his arrest.
On Tuesday a county judge in Colorado – where he is facing a second-degree assault charge – issued the ruling.
During the court appearance in Denver Mr Bishop’s protection order was amended to allow him to resume carrying his service pistol both while on and off duty, a spokesman for the Denver District Attorney’s office told the Denver Post.
Image copyrightCBSThe judge issued the ruling “so long as it is done in a manner pursuant to FBI policy,” said the spokesman Ken Lane.
Mr Bishop, who lives and works in Washington DC, was off duty and on vacation when he was filmed at Mile High Spirits, a distillery and dance club in Denver.
Mobile phone video shows him dancing in a circle of people. A gun falls out of his waistband while he does a backflip, and goes off as he picks it up from the floor.
Image copyrightDENVER POLICE DEPARTMENTA lawyer for Mr Bishop told the judge that the man who was shot in the leg, Tim Reddington, 24, and his family did not object to the agent continuing to carry his gun.
In an interview less than a month after the shooting, Mr Reddington, who had recently moved to Denver from Chicago, said he did not blame the agent.
“I don’t want to blame anybody, throw anybody under the truck,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America programme.
Dancing FBI agent charged after shooting
Mr Bishop’s drug and blood alcohol tests, which will not be released, do not warrant any further charges, prosecutors told the Denver Post.
Colorado law prohibits anyone from carrying a gun while under the influence of alcohol.
Lawyers say that a plea deal is being negotiated to settle the assault charge, but did not disclose any details.
According to the FBI website, “agents are to be armed at all times”.
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