A lot has happened in the world over the past week. Let’s catch up on the major news headlines:
Delta plane tipped on Toronto runway
On Monday Feb. 17, a Delta plane coming from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport burst into flames upon impact on the runway and turned upside down. The crash left the 76 passengers and four crew members dangling upside down from their seat belts.
There were no deaths, but there were 21 people who were treated at local hospitals and had life threatening injuries. This flight was one out of 800 flights after the two snow storms that dropped 20 inches of snow that was allowed to fly into the airport while others were canceled.
Todd Aitken, a fire chief with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said that, “the runway was dry and that there were no crosswind conditions.”
This incident comes about after two back-to-back airplane crashes in the U.S. that have people worried about the safety of flying.
Interstate 80 closed due to sinkhole repair
On Monday Feb. 10, I-80 eastbound was closed due to a depression in the center lane. The hole opened up while NJDOT crews were conducting tests. On Monday crews evacuated the area and fixed the 11 foot by 11 foot sinkhole that was four feet deep on Tuesday, Feb. 11. This sinkhole is just 75 feet away from another sinkhole that was repaired back in December. Following the recent incident of the sinkhole testing of the Interstate have been undergoing.
On Sunday, Feb. 15, another void was identified and was filled on Monday with grout to repair the hole before weather conditions worsened this week. Following the void and sinkhole of the previous week, New Jersey State Police began manually controlling several traffic signals on Route 46, Route 10 and Route 15. They will continue to do so on weekdays during the morning and evening rush hours to improve traffic flow and improve congestion.
Testing on the Interstate continued on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday to ensure the safety of the road.
New Jersey tap water conditions called into question
With the increase in snow storms in our area, salt usage on our roads and sidewalks have taken an intake. Following the intake salt and brine have been found in our waterways causing high concentrations of sodium and chloride causing a result of salt tasting water. This issue is not directly health concerning because the amount of sodium in the water is not above the average in an average person’s diets and should not pose a direct problem.
Authorities will keep an eye on the conditions to maintain safe drinking water and for it to be safe to use.
Pope Francis hospitalized for bronchitis turning into pneumonia in both lungs
Pope Francis, according to the Vatican, has been in the hospital since Friday due to a case of bronchitis that he has had since the beginning of February. Over the weekend, it seemed that the Pope was improving in his condition. Pope Francis’s fever went down and he looked like he was feeling better. Following the weekend, on Monday it was announced that the Pope would be extending his stay at the hospital due to a medical test finding an infection in his respiratory tract.
On Tuesday, the Pope underwent more testing following his stay finding that he had bilateral pneumonia. The Vatican said that, “The infection ‘arose on a picture of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis.”
In order to keep up with treatment, the Pope will be receiving additional medication and drug therapies for recovery. The Pope according to the Vatican is in fair condition despite the diagnosis and has since been working from the hospital. With him still in the hospital, some Vatican events have been canceled and it is unsure whether he will be at the Sunday noon blessing which is the second one he has missed.
Knight Foundation invests $25M in American Journalism Project
On Tuesday, Feb. 18, Knight Foundation this week will announce a $25 million investment in the American Journalism Project (AJP) which is dedicated to local news. The investment in the project is the largest grant that they have received and one of the largest grants given by the foundation to a single organization.
The money given by the foundation will give AJP the chance to grow their reach from supporting just 50 newsrooms to possibly 60 in the next three years. Amongst the struggle of newsrooms in recent years, many areas are left without a local news station and with this investment it makes possible to support local news initiatives. AJP will also have access to Knight Resiliency Lab, which will provide local news organizations with support to grow stronger and more sustainable.
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Wikimedia
