Electrocuted Save Daughter Pool

Electrocuted Save Daughter Pool, A California tech executive died Sunday after he jumped into a swimming pool to save his daughter, who was being electrocuted and turning blue in the water, PEOPLE confirms.

Jim Tramel, 43, of Burlingame, California, saw his daughter, 9, struggling in the pool at a home in Palm Springs during a family gathering and leaped in to save her, police said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

Tramel was electrocuted as well, and both father and daughter had to be pulled from the pool by others at the gathering. The electrocutions likely occurred “as a result of faulty pool wires,” police said.

When paramedics arrived, father and daughter were receiving CPR, police said. Tramel was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center a short time later. His daughter was said to be in critical condition at Loma Linda Medical University.

Five other people, including four other kids, were also electrocuted, though not as severely, police said.

Tramel, who most recently worked in sales at RevJet in San Carlos, was remembered as a kind, loving and gregarious man.

“He could walk into any room, everyone was excited to meet him. I don’t think he ever met anyone he didn’t consider a friend,” one friend told KGO-TV.

RevJet CEO Mitchell Weisman has created a GoFundMe page for Tramel’s family. “We are, in a word, heartbroken,” Weisman wrote.

Italy Rescues Migrants

Italy Rescues Migrants, Italian coast guard and navy vessels rescued nearly 1,400 migrants from boats and rubber dinghies in the southern Mediterranean on Tuesday, officials said, indicating numbers were rising as the weather warms up.
About 570 were rescued by the navy and about 780 by the coast guard, according to Tweets from both branches of the military.

Also on Tuesday, some 730 migrants who had been rescued in various operations in previous days and transferred to a larger ship arrived in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo.

Most of the migrants were from African countries and were believed to have left from Libya, which is widely lawless.

Officials fear the numbers of migrants trying to reach southern Italy by sea, relatively contained so far this year, will increase as sailing conditions improve in warmer weather.

More than 1.2 million Arab, African and Asian migrants have streamed into the European Union since the start of last year, most of them via Greece rather than Italy after a much shorter sea journey from nearby Turkey.

FTC Sues Volkswagen

FTC Sues Volkswagen, The Federal Trade Commission added to Volkswagen AG VLKAY 2.23 % ‘s legal woes with the filing of a complaint on Tuesday claiming the auto maker’s advertising falsely touted its diesel vehicles as environmentally friendly.

The FTC said in October that it was investigating Volkswagen’s advertising practices, weeks after the company admitted it installed some 600,000 U.S. vehicles with software meant to trick emissions tests.

The false-advertising complaint was filed in federal court in San Francisco, where civil litigation against Volkswagen has been consolidated. As part of the consolidated litigation, the FTC would be allowed to be part of any global settlement Volkswagen reaches in that court. The FTC does not have the authority to impose fines.

MedStar Computer Virus

MedStar Computer Virus, Hackers crippled computer systems Monday at a major hospital chain, MedStar Health Inc., forcing records systems offline for thousands of patients and doctors. The FBI said it was investigating whether the unknown hackers demanded a ransom to restore systems.

A computer virus paralyzed some operations at Washington-area hospitals and doctors’ offices, leaving patients unable to book appointments and staff locked out of their email accounts. Some employees were required to turn off all computers since Monday morning.

A law enforcement official said the FBI was assessing whether the virus was so-called ransomware, in which hackers extort money in exchange for returning a victim’s systems to normal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss publicly details about the ongoing criminal investigation.

“We can’t do anything at all. There’s only one system we use, and now it’s just paper,” said one MedStar employee who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to speak to reporters.

MedStar said in a statement that the virus prevented some employees from logging into systems. It said all of its clinics remain open and functioning and there was no immediate evidence that patient information had been stolen.

Company spokeswoman Ann Nickels said she couldn’t say whether it was a ransomware attack. She said patient care was not affected and the hospitals were using a paper backup system.

When asked whether hackers demanded payment, Nickels said: “I don’t have an answer to that,” and referred to the company’s statement.

Dr. Richard Alcorta, medical director for Maryland’s emergency medical services network, said he suspects it was a ransomware attack. He said his suspicion was based on multiple earlier ransomware attempts on individual hospitals in the state. Alcorta said he was unaware of any ransoms paid by Maryland hospitals or health care systems.

“People view this, I think, as a form of t*rror*sm and are attempting to extort money by attempting to infect them with this type of virus,” he said.

Supreme Court Public Employee Unions

Supreme Court Public Employee Unions, Conservatives bent on crippling the power of public employee unions lost their best opportunity in years Tuesday when the Supreme Court deadlocked over a challenge to the fees those unions collect from non-members.

Rather than seeking to reschedule the case for their next term, the justices simply announced they were tied 4-4 – a verdict which leaves intact the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholding the fee collections.

That was a major victory for the unions and the court’s four liberal justices following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last month. During oral argument in January, it had appeared almost certain that the court would strike down the requirement in 23 states that teachers and government workers contribute to the cost of collective bargaining, even if they disagree with their unions’ demands.

The result would have been the demise of a nearly 40-year-old Supreme Court precedent that allows unions to impose such requirements on non-members. It would have made it harder for unions representing teachers, police and firefighters, and other government workers to maintain their power by affecting their pocketbooks.

The judicial deadlock allows the California Teachers Association to keep collecting the fees, but it does not have nationwide impact. The 9th Circuit standard applies only to states within its jurisdiction, including Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington as well as California.

The challengers in the case immediately promised to file a petition asking for a rehearing when the court returns to full strength. But five votes are required to win that effort. The court also could accept a similar case in the future; the National Right to Work Foundation has five cases in lower courts now that seek to strike down mandatory union dues and fees.

“With the death of Justice Scalia, this outcome was not unexpected,” Terry Pell, president of the Center for Individual Rights, said. “We believe this case is too significant to let a split decision stand.”

It was the second time in two weeks that the justices had deadlocked in the wake of Scalia’s death, but the first major case to emerge in a tie. And it’s an indication that without Scalia, the justices may be equally divided in several other cases before the term ends in June.

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