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Ted Stevens

August 10, 2010 by · Comments Off on Ted Stevens 

Ted Stevens, (CNN) – The family of former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, the iconic Alaska lawmaker, offered his prayers for the victims of a plane crash of Alaska Tuesday amid news reports that Stevens was on the plane.

The chief of staff former senator, Mitch Rose, read a family statement to CNN, but said he could not confirm reports that Stevens was aboard a flight that crashed in Alaska, killing at least five people.

Stevens served more time in the U.S. Senate than any other Republican in history.

He earned the nickname “Uncle Ted” and a reputation as one of the most effective of all legislators to curry favor with the electorate, a senator who channeled billions of federal dollars to his home state.

November 18, 1923, Stevens graduated from UCLA and Harvard Law School and moved to Alaska in the 1950s to work as a lawyer. He was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1964 and 1966.

In December 1968, when Alaska was only 9 years old, was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill a vacancy created by the death of EL Bartlett.

Voters elected him over and over again, and by 2007, was the senior Republican senator in history, a man whose name became synonymous with the policy of Alaska.

In July 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Stevens for making false statements on financial disclosure forms. He was sentenced on October 27, 2008. The following month, Stevens lost a bid for reelection to Democrat Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage.

Citing prosecutorial misconduct, a federal judge later dismissed Stevens conviction.

It is especially known for pushing Congress to authorize a 800-mile pipeline to the ice-free port of Valdez, an act that dramatically improves the energy security of the United States and said the state’s economic future.

“I am proud to have played a role in that transformation,” said Stevens, who had been hailed Alaskan of the Century by the state legislature.

Stevens survived a plane crash that killed his wife in 1978, later remarried.

Vanuatu

August 10, 2010 by · Comments Off on Vanuatu 

Vanuatu, AFP – SYDNEY – A major earthquake of 7.5 magnitude shook the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday, generating a small tsunami and sending thousands of frightened people running to the hills.

The undersea earthquake, 35 kilometers (22 miles) deep and only 40 of the capital Port Vila, shook buildings in the city for about 15 seconds, but do not appear to have caused significant damage.

Foreign tourists from the hotel and some residents scrambled to higher ground in case of a tsunami, local people said, as police sirens sounded to warn people to evacuate.

“We have no damage. But we have evacuated our guests to the top of the hill to be safe, although we have not received any tsunami warning yet,” said Rowan Lulu hotel employee told AFP.

“Many people are fleeing to higher ground in the city as a precautionary measure, but as far as I know there is no major damage Vila, things just fall from the shelves,” he said.

“What was very clear,” said another hotel employee.

Witnesses said people working in the tallest buildings in the capital were also evacuated, while the powerful earthquake was felt in other islands further north.

“People are moving to higher ground,” said resident Steve Ayong-Nirua AFP.

“There was a radio call asking motorists to drive slowly in case of aftershocks,” he added.

The Tsunami Warning Center said a Pacific tsunami of 23 centimeters (9.2 inches) hit Port Vila, but warned of bigger waves can be seen in other areas.

“The largest wave amplitudes can still be seen along coasts near the earthquake epicenter,” the center said.

Vanuatu, which lies between Fiji and Australia and north of New Zealand, is located in the Ring of Fire “known for its high volcanic and seismic activity caused by friction between the plates are moving in the earth’s crust.

In May, a 7.2 earthquake triggered a brief tsunami warning, and at least three earthquakes measuring 6.0 or stronger have affected the archipelago since early July.

The country was hit by three major earthquakes in October, while a giant plume of volcanic ash disrupted domestic flights in neighboring New Caledonia in recent months.

U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.5 Finally, while Geoscience Australia said it was 7.6 at a depth of 60 kilometers.

Pacific Center said no tsunami caused widespread, while New Zealand scientists believe that the country was not under any threat of destructive waves.

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