Mich. State Employees Had Clean Water 8 Months Before Everyone Else

Mich. State Employees Had Clean Water 8 Months Before Everyone Else, By last January, people in Flint, Michigan, knew something was wrong with their water. It smelled and tasted bad. It was the color of rust. And they’d already been told it was contaminated with chemicals that can cause cancer.

Publicly, the state insisted all this was nothing to worry about. Privately, they made sure their own employees wouldn’t have to drink Flint’s water.

After a notice went out informing Flint residents that their water had unacceptable levels of total trihalomethanes – a chlorine byproduct that can cause cancer – the Flint office of the Department of Technology, Management and Budget installed water coolers, according to an email obtained by Progress Michigan.

“While the City of Flint states that corrective actions are not necessary, [the department] is in the process of providing a water cooler on each occupied floor, positioned near the water fountain, so you can choose which water to drink,” the department’s facilities team wrote on January 7, 2015.

But the Department of Environmental Quality, which was notified about the budget department’s decision to buy bottled water (and noted that “certain departments” seemed concerned about the water quality notice) was still insisting that the contaminated water was perfectly safe to drink.

“It’s not like an eminent [sic] threat to public health,” a briefing the department sent to Gov. Rick Snyder on February 1, 2015, reads in part. The DEQ went on to suggest that city officials were exaggerating the threat so they could get more money out of the state for infrastructure improvements.

It would take eight more months for the state to admit that the water in Flint really was unsafe. The budget department might have had clean drinking water provided by the state, but ordinary people in Flint did not.

New Star Wars Toys 2016

New Star Wars Toys 2016, Want to get a closer look at the costumes the rebel scum of Rogue One will be wearing in the first Star Wars anthology film?

Well, if you’re in Nuremberg, you might get a chance, thanks to a display at the Nuremberg Toy Fair (via EW). The costumes for characters played by Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, and Jiang Wen are being showcased to spectators.

Pictures Of Star Wars: Rogue One Costumes https://t.co/bVS8xKZS32 pic.twitter.com/iGqK0xnmGO

– Lightsabr (@LightsabrNet) January 28, 2016

Final Rogue 1 Costume unveiled this morning pic.twitter.com/nde7jvBl1P

– Darren (@DarrenArsenal1) January 27, 2016

Directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star War Story will follow the rebel strike team that stole the Death Star plans, revealing the fatal flaw which allowed Luke Skywalker to destroy the fully armed and functional battle station.

IGN recently got the chance to sit down with martial artist Donnie Yen to talk about the upcoming Ip Man 3 and what fans can expect from Rogue One.

“I’m very excited to be the first Chinese actor to ever be in the biggest movie franchise in the world, Star Wars. My children love Star Wars and I saw Star Wars as a kid. It’s so great to be a part of it and I’m sure it’s going to be great,” he said.

IGN also got to speak with another Rogue One star, Mads Mikkelsen, about how he feels joining the iconic franchise.

“It is a big thing, but so was Hannibal and so was Bond. The thing is, we don’t go to change the ‘thing’ about it,” Mikkelsen said. “We address it as a job. We focus on the character and start working.”

Stretch Armstrong Series

Stretch Armstrong Series, Netflix is flexing more muscle in kids’ programming, announcing an original series from Hasbro Studios based on Stretch Armstrong, the blond gel-filled toy bodybuilder popular in the 1970s.

The streaming leader also announced the pickup of live-action tween drama “The Greenhouse” and animated series “Lalaloopsy.”

The 26-episode Stretch Armstrong series, Hasbro Studios’ first original programming for Netflix, is slated to debut in 2017. The animated animated action/comedy series is about an over-scheduled teenager named Jake Armstrong and his two best friends. Then the trio are accidentally exposed to an experimental chemical, they become Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters – a team of stretchable superheroes.

Hasbro has tried to turn Stretch Armstrong into a film property before. Relativity Media cut a deal in 2013 for a live-action movie based on the action figure but passed on the project; that came after Universal Pictures backed out of plans for an adaptation produced by Brian Grazer.

“With roughly half of our 75 million members regularly watching kids content, we’re happy to expand our original slate with these three great series,” Andy Yeatman, Netflix’s director of global kids’ content, said in a statement. “We know kids love Netflix and that’s in part because they never really outgrow us.”

“The Greenhouse,” also set for 2017, comes from Nutz Productions, a subsidiary company of Ananey Communications. The series is set in an elite boarding school in Southern California, where students are divided into two rival houses that must join forces to conquer challenges when an evil plot is uncovered. Paula Yoo (“West Wing,” “Defiance,” “Eureka”) is adapting with showrunner Giora Chamizer, who wrote and created the original series.

“Lalaoopsy,” based on the line of dolls from MGA Entertainment, will feature original music and follows the misadventures of six friends and their pets through a whimsical world. The 13-episode series is scheduled to premiere in the fall of 2016.

Vice Adm Ted Branch

Vice Adm Ted Branch, The admiral in charge of the Navy’s intelligence operations has been barred from seeing military secrets for more than two years.

Vice Admiral Ted Branch had his access to classified information revoked in November 2013 after he was linked to a $20million corruption scandal.

Branch is yet to be charged, but he has not been cleared either – leaving the Navy in the bizarre predicament of having an intelligence chief who is unable to read top secret documents.

Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless, one of Branch’s deputies, has also had his access to classified information suspended.

According to the Washington Post, senior Navy officers have to check rooms are clear of any sensitive documents or files before Branch walks in.

He is also reportedly unable to be briefed on secret missions and some national security issues.

A senior official told the Post that the Navy was ‘frozen’ until Branch is either charged or cleared.

‘We have no actionable information on Admiral Branch, good, bad or otherwise. All we know is that he’s wrapped up in this somehow,’ the source said.

‘Is it optimum? No, it’s not optimum. But it’s where we are,’ they added.

Branch is a three-star admiral, director of naval intelligence and is also the Navy’s chief information officer.

He was originally a fighter pilot, serving over Grenada, Lebanon, the Balkans and Iraq, before climbing the military ladder.

In 2013, he was linked to a $20million fraud scandal which saw the head of a Singapore-based Navy supplier arrested on bribery charges.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Justice Department had been investigating Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), which restocked U.S. ships in Asia.

Leonard Glenn Francis, chief executive of GDMA, was charged with bribing senior Navy officers with prostitutes, grand dinners, luxury hotel stays and cash.

He pleaded guilty to the scam, which is said to have seen military officials accept the bribes in turn for directing U.S. ships to Francis’ ports so the Navy could be overcharged for supplies to the tune of $20million.

Numerous Navy officials have been arrested and Francis could face 20 years in prison.

Neither Branch or Loveless have been arrested or charged and the Navy has not released any information on how they are linked to the case.

A source close to the probe told the Post that Branch and Francis met 16 years ago and remained in touch with each other afterwards.

Both Branch and Loveless declined to comment.

Navy spokeswoman Rear Admiral Dawn Cutler said Branch and Loveless’ suspension ‘has not impacted the Navy’s ability to manage operations’, and that their deputies cover any work that requires access to classified information.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Daytona Rolex 24 2016

Daytona Rolex 24 2016, • The following was distributed by Continental Tire: Continental Mandates Air Pressure Change for GTD: Both IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practices were rain soaked Friday, requiring teams to move to the Continental wet tire. Following several issues in the GTD class, and due to the increased loads of the GTD platform in 2016, Continental has mandated that all GTD teams up their minimum pressure to 26 psi cold, for wet tires at Daytona.

There were no problems reported at the Roar test in early January while on Continental’s ExtremeContact Dry Race tire. Also of note, this is the same wet tire used in the GTD class since Continental’s entry into IMSA and there have been no issues reported.

[3:30 p.m. ET]
• IndyCar and sports car driver James Davison has been added to the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage lineup. Davison drove for the team through the first portion of 2015 before exiting the program, and said team owner Kevin Buckler brought him in to add another layer of speed to support Antonio Perez and the other drivers in the car. Davison set numerous poles in the car as the Pro in a Pro-Am lineup, and it’s believed his return could be a foreshadowing of a pairing with Perez, provided Perez’s backers fund a full season program after Daytona.

• Stevenson Motorsports driver Dion von Moltke is in the team’s No. 9 Audi R8 GT3 LMS for Daytona, Sebring, and possibly Petit Le Mans, but continues to search for more opportunities between IMSA’s biggest events. “I want to be here full-time, but there aren’t many seats at the moment, so I’m looking at GRC.” Growing popularity for the Global Rallycross series would certainly boost DvM’s profile, whose career has been defined by sports cars.

• P2 and PC constructor ORECA is expanding its horizons by entering the driving gear market. A line of race suits and the rest of the necessary safety apparel is expected to be launched in America in the coming months.

• The crash by Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 16 Change Racing during FP1 will force the Lamborghini Huracan to miss the 30-minute FP2 as repairs are completed. The team reported some form of brake issue as the possible cause of Pumpelly’s crash, which took place on an out lap.

• Heavy rain is expected for qualifying, which starts at 4 p.m. ET.

• As noted in RACER’s FP2 session report, Continental Tire is looking into the cause of the multiple tire failures that took place in a short span during the 30-minute session. A blown right-rear on the No. 007 TRG-AMR car halted the session due to debris on the front straight, and the team was looking into the extent of the damage with qualifying on the horizon.

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