Next flyby target selected
NASA determines the next likely target destination for a flyby by New Horizons, a small object in the Kuiper Belt called 2014MU69. It orbits almost a billion miles away from Pluto. A full proposal about the mission will be evaluated by NASA experts before the go ahead is officially given. NASA Science Mission Directorate Chief Grunsfeld:
Even as the New Horizon’s spacecraft speeds away from Pluto out into the Kuiper Belt, and the data from the exciting encounter with this new world is being streamed back to Earth, we are looking outward to the next destination for this intrepid explorer. While discussions whether to approve this extended mission will take place in the larger context of the planetary science portfolio, we expect it to be much less expensive than the prime mission while still providing new and exciting science.
Palin, Trump interview
Palin interviews Trump on One America News. The talk about economics, veterans, and Trump’s confontation with Jorge Ramos:
Palin: You schooled that radical activist. And that was the right thing to do.
Trump: He was totally out of line. He was screaming and ranting and raving. And I said ‘Who is this guy?’ I’m suing Univision actually for $500 million dollars. His daughter works for Hillary Clinton and he was trying to put on a show. But actually he was hurting the rest [of the reporters in attendance].
Campaign claims over 130 superdelegates
Senior Clinton campaign officials claim that she has already secured about 130 superdelegates publicly backing her, but a person familiar with recent conversations in Minneapolis says that officials are telling supporters and the undecided in the last few days that private commitments increase that number to more than 440—about 20 percent of the number of delegates she would need to secure the nomination. It is estimated that 4,491 delegates will attend the convention, meaning that a candidate would need 2,246 to win. Clinton says her campaign’s attention to delegate totals is about ensuring that her support from voters translates into the nomination.
This is really about how you put the numbers together to secure the nomination. As some of you might recall, in 2008 I got a lot of votes but I didn’t get enough delegates. And so I think it’s understandable that my focus is going to be on delegates as well as votes this time.
Comes out of coma, describes attack
Gardner wakes from her medically-induced coma and tells her husband that she couldn’t see Flanagan approaching in front of her because of the bright lights of the camera. She says that Flanagan first targeted Parker, before turning to shoot Ward. She remembers seeing him wearing body armor. Husband:
Then he shot three times at my wife, and she was trying to dodge everything. He missed twice, and then she dove to the ground and curled up in a ball, and that’s when he shot her in the back. I don’t think she ever felt like she was in danger after she got up and walked to the ambulance after being shot, but she didn’t know the extent of her injuries at that point, but the surgeon told me that a couple of centimeters and she wouldn’t be walking and a couple of centimeters more and she wouldn’t be alive.
Once Flanagan left, Gardner started walking away in search of help – despite suffering a bullet wound in her back. An ambulance took her to Roanoke Memorial Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery, followed by additional surgery to her abdomen, where a kidney and part of her colon were removed. She is expected to make a full recovery.
Rolling Stone profile
Rolling Stone publishes a profile of Karpeles and Mt. Gox, titled The Rise and Fall of a Bitcoin Kingpin. On stealing Gameboys and mobile phones as a teenager by hacking shopping websites:
A lot of people respected me for that. I did feel more important, in a way. If I need something, I press a button and I get it.
On what he felt like when he realized $650 million in bitcoins were gone:
It really felt unreal. I don’t know how to describe that. When you get a hospital operation without any anesthetic, it hurts at first, but at some point the pain reaches a point where you don’t feel anything anymore.
New York Times interview
Cyrus is interviewed by The New York Times about hosting the VMAs and talks about her famous twerk with Robin Thicke
Everything I’ve ever done has been true to me at that minute. Even down to my TV show [“Hannah Montana”] — when I started I was 12 years old, and that was like a dream to me. So that was my truth at that moment. Me coming out of that teddy bear, to me, wasn’t just a teddy bear. My dad always explained it to me that you step into your happiness. That’s kind of like what I was doing. When I broke down the bear belly, I was really breaking out — my show ended, and then I didn’t really work for two years. That’s when I did my most self-exploration. [The performance] was kind of going into this way of saying, ‘I’m just going to do what will make me happy.’ At that moment, that’s what really made me happy…I knew who I was, and I knew the power that I held, but I don’t think I realized my full power until that show. I didn’t realize I could make such a big reaction. I didn’t think that many people would care. I knew I was famous, but I didn’t know what that meant. Everything was coming to an end and starting a new beginning. In every way.
I was in the studio with Kanye [later] that night, and we watched it back and we didn’t say anything. He was like, “That was sick,” whatever. We woke up the next day, and he was like, “Whoa.” He called and said, “Turn on your TV.” I was staying at the Trump Hotel and Donald Trump literally called and said, basically, “I know everyone’s talking about it, but I loved it.” I had no idea anyone was talking about it yet. Even people around me really judged me. People that I really loved and thought were my friends judged me for it. They were like, “You were on drugs when you did that performance.” I did nothing! I still don’t get it.
Drops nuggets supplier after animal cruelty video
McDonald’s and Tyson Foods both sever ties with T&S Farm in Dukedom, Tennessee, which was under contract to Tyson Foods, after an undercover video, released by Mercy For Animals, by showed workers stabbing, beating and stomping on chickens in an undercover video shot by animal rights activists. Tyson supplies the chicken meat to McDonald’s. Tyson:
Animal well-being is a priority at our company and we will not tolerate the unacceptable animal treatment shown in this video. Members of our animal well-being team are investigating, however, based on what we currently know, we are terminating the farmer’s contract to grow chickens for us.
McDonald’s:
[We] find the behavior depicted in this video to be completely unacceptable. We’re committed to working with animal welfare and industry experts to inform our policies that promote better management, strong employee education and verification of practices.
Invites audience member to inspect hair
During a speech in Greenville, SC, Trump says his hair is real.
I don’t wear a toupee – it’s my hair. I swear!..[motions to audience member]…Come here – come here. We’re gonna settle this… You have to do an inspection here…This is crazy, just real quick. We don’t wanna mess it up too much, because I do use hair spray, that I do…Is it mine, look? It is? Say it, please.
The woman inspects the hair:
I believe it is.
.@realDonaldTrump summons attendee to stage, asking her to confirm authenticity of his hair: http://t.co/2b2fWMVU3F http://t.co/64B1RxHCEQ
— CBSN (@CBSNLive) August 27, 2015
Flanagan’s family statement
Flanagan’s family makes several statements to the media.
It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness we express our deepest condolences to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. We are praying for the recovery of Vicki Gardner. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims’ families and the WDBJ television station family….Words cannot express the hurt that we feel for the victims. Our family is asking that the media respect our privacy…It’s a shock to everyone.
Parker’s father calls for stronger gun laws
Andy Parker says that gun laws must be strengthened:
Everybody that she touched loved her, and she loved everybody back. I’m not going to let this issue drop. We’ve got to do something about crazy people getting guns. [I will do ] whatever it takes to get gun legislation to shame legislators into doing something about closing loopholes and background checks. This is not the last you’ve heard of me. This is something that’s Alison’s legacy that I want to make happen.
Flanagan named as suspect
Police say Flanagan, who goes by the name Bryce Williams when reporting, is the suspect in the murders. He is reported to be driving a cream-colored Dodge Charge, and to be 20 minutes north of Verona.
Police in pursuit
Governor McAuliffe says on the Ask the Governor radio show on WTOP that the suspect is believed to be a disgruntled employee of WDBJ-TV. He says police are pursuing the suspect on Interstate 64. He says that law enforcement personnel have a photo of the suspect and that he was known to the victims.
We believe it’s a disgruntled employee of the station, and they’re in pursuit.
ABC receives Manifesto
ABC News says a man claiming to be Bryce Williams called the network over the last few weeks saying he wanted to pitch a story and wanted to fax information. A little after 10 a.m. the network receives another phone call from a man identifying himself the shooting suspect. The caller says the authorities are after him and “all over the place” before hanging up. The network says it receives a 23-page fax. The writer says the attack was triggered by his reaction to the 2015 Charleston church shooting.
Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15…What sent me over the top was the church shooting. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them…The church shooting was the tipping point… but my anger has been building steadily.. I’ve been a human powder keg for a while.. just waiting to go BOOM!!!!
He says Jehovah spoke to him, telling him to act, and quotes the Virginia Tech mass killer, Seung Hui Cho, calling him “his boy.” as well as expressing admiration for the Columbine High School killers. Part of the document is titled A Suicide Note for Friends and Family.
Flanagan posts video
Flanagan posts his video of the shooting to Facebook (viewer discretion advised).
Tweets after shooting
Flanagan tweets (under the name Bryce Williams) that he filmed the shooting, as well as claiming Parker was racist. The account is deactivated by Twitter.
Alison made racist comments…EEOC Report filed…They hired her after that???…Adam went to HR after working with me one time!!!…I filmed the shooting see Facebook.
Tweets ‘black hand’ source pic
Right to Rise tweets the original photograph, showing Bush meeting a voter in an entirely different location.
Mysterious hand revealed. Meant to use Valencia. Fail. Not deleting it from our servers. pic.twitter.com/sczIMf1REx
— Paul Lindsay (@Paul_Lindsay) August 22, 2015
Declines McWhopper promo
McDonald’s declines to participate in Burger King’s “McWhopper” promotion
https://www.facebook.com/McDonaldsUS/posts/10153001312727014
Proposes McWhopper
Burger King proposes the McWhopper, which combines elements of the “Big Mac” and “Whopper” burgers to create a new double-decker burger, sold for one day in a franchise jointly run by employees of both companies. Burger King says the promo will promote Peace Day, linked to 21st September, which is The United Nations International Day of Peace. Burger King promotes the idea in full page ads in the New York Times, social media, and a taste test on the TODAY show.
We come in peace. In fact, we come in honor of peace. We know we’ve had our petty differences, but how about we have a ceasefire on these so-called “burger wars”?.. We appreciate that’s a lot to swallow so we’ve put together mcwhopper.com to give you a better understanding of our proposal. Let’s end the beef, with the beef.
Dog found thumb drive
A Black Labrador named Bear is credited with sniffing out a hidden thumb drive during a search of Fogle’s home, helping lead to his arrest and conviction. The two-year-old rescue dog is trained to detect electronic devices by the scent of their chemicals. Trainer:
It’s just like any other K-9 training, like with the narcotics or explosives or anything. You get the dog used to the odor and reward them as they indicate on it.
Porn star claims affair while wife pregnant
Dillon says Duggar met her in March 2015, at Philadelphia’s Gold Club, and paid her thousands of dollars to spend two nights with her, while his wife was approximately five months pregnant.
He walked into the Gold Club like a normal patron and said he’d been a fan for a long time and has watched my career grow. He even said from before my boob job until recently, and that he loved watching my very first scene on [an adult website].
After spending $600 on private dances, he offers her a $1,500 to spend the night togehter. However she says he “manhandled ” her:
He was basically tossing me around like I was a rag doll. It was very traumatic. I’ve had rough sex before, but this was terrifying. He [later] said something along the lines of, “I’m sorry, I was not in my right mind…that’s what you do in your movies , so i figured you’d be OK with it…
They spend another night together, which she says she was fine with except that he called her degrading names.
I actually really hope that his wife leaves him and takes his children away from him and leaves him a lonely, bitter man. I don’t think he deserves happiness.