American Pharoah

Espinoza,43, on the winner of the Triple Crown,
American Pharoah. 

It was a finish that will go down in history. American Pharoah, a three year old thorough bred colt, took part in competing to be the winner of the Triple Crown. This a series of three different horse races, which consists of the Kentucky Derby in Lousiville; then the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland; and finally the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York. 

American Pharoah, Saturday was the first horse in thirty seven years to win it all. There have only been twelve other winners: 1919- Sir Barton, 1930- Gallant Fox, 1935- Omaha, 1937- War Admiral, 1941-Whirlaway, 1943- Count Fleet, 1946- Assault, 1948- Citation, 1973- Secretariat, 1977- Seattle Slew, and 1978- Affirmed. He was only horse competing in the Belmont Stakes, that won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The jokey, Espinoza, 43, is the oldest jokey, to win the Triple Crown. Both the jokey and American Pharoah's owner, Ahmed Zayat, were confident in their horse. The outcome was what they expected.  

Espinoza and American Pharoah. 

New York Convicts Escape State Prison

Last weekend, in a New York State Prison, two convicts escaped. An employee, a women, on duty during the incident is being questioned for contributing to the successful departure of Richard Matt ,48, and David Sweat, 34. There was not enough evidence to arrest the women, she had been a part of tailoring the clothing of the prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility. Richard Matt had been sentenced to 25 years to life for kidnapping, killing and dismembering his former boss in 1997. David Sweat had been sentenced to life without parole for the 2002 killing of sheriff.


Pictured: Richard Matt (right), and David Sweat (left).

Matt and Sweat had cells right next to each other, and allegedly cut through the steel walls by using power tool and then clambering through a maze of underground pipes. Authorities are questioning how they received the equipment own their own? Also, how they managed to not be heard, using power tools and clambering through pipes? They were last seen Friday night during bed check, and when Saturday morning came, they had left decoys in their beds, and a sticky note with a smiley face stating, "Have a Nice Day!"

Governor Cuomo has been many statements about the "dangerous" situation, and announced a $100,000 reward to whoever can give information leading to the men's capture. In the meantime, authorities have set up road blocks and brought in bloodhounds, helicopters, and hundreds search parties for the two men. The prison is about 20 miles from the Canadian border, and is surrounded by forest.

MERS Outbreak in South Korea

Subway travelers taking extra precautions on their daily trips in the public.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has struck South Korea. Originally, MERS was discovered in Saudi Arabia three years ago. Although fairly new, scientists have discovered that MERS is not easily transmitted from person to person, the only way to spread it is by close contact with an infected person. Close contact meaning living with one, or caring for them. Scientists are still working to discover the mode of transmission behind MERS.

Earlier this week, the seventh death was reported. Most of the victims are older adults with pre-existing symptoms, with the exception of a 16-year-old male. Over 2,500 people are quarantined, and 2,000 schools closed. In South Korea, there have also been traveling restrictions issued.  

Medical agents quarantining an area.

Red Sox Fan Hit by Broken Bat

At the top of the second inning for the Red Sox's game against the Oakland Athletics, a women sitting on the third base line was hit by a piece of a broken bat, and suffered blunt trauma with a open gash, for which she lost an excessive amount of blood. Oakland's Brett Lawrie's metal bat broke on a groundout to second, when the game was halted for emergency assistance for the women. She was rolled off the field on a stretcher. Then she taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center near the Fenway home field of the Boston Red Sox, where authorities released her as Tonya Carpenter. People sitting near her in the stands, including her husband and son, claimed the bat split open her forehead and top of her head. Carpenter had not been paying attention at the time of the incident, another reason was the impact was so critical. Reports given out state Carpenter is in serious condition, but will survive the injuries. Major league baseball expressed their concerns for flying balls and/or bats, and plan on making some implements on their regulation for seasons to come.


Tonya Carpenter taken away on a stretcher.

Shark Bites Young Boy in Florida

A juvenile Bull Shark attacked the boy in shallow water. 

This past weekend, on Cocoa Beach, Florida, a ten year old boy wading in the water near the shoreline was attacked by a six foot juvenile bull shark. The boy was swimming in waist deep water when the shark attacked. Lifeguards rushed to the boy assistance after seeing him struggling in the water. Moments later, they carried him back to shore with a massive bite out of his calf. A witness claimed it was bull shark. He was flown to a trauma hospital in Orlando due to the severity of the bite. Rescuers say it was the worst case they have dealt with all year. Authorities closed down the beach for an hour after, but later that day re-opened it to the public with warning. This particular county, Brevard, have had ten shark attacks reports so far this year.

Cocoa Beach, Florida 

Fallen WWII Veteran Returns Home

WWII veteran, Second Lieutenant Harry B. McGuire, went missing in action in 1944 after the plane he was on was shot down in Italy. McGuire, twenty-four at the time, was a navigator on a B-24H plane, and a part of 718 squadron, 449th bomber group, and the 15th air force. The plane crashed landed on an island of Morgo, Italy, right when it was making its flight back to the base, with ten soldiers aboard. The plane was never seen again. Two remains of soldiers were discovered though, and another one was reported to be captured by enemy forces. The other seven men were reported to be still on the aircraft, and missing in action. It wasn't until 2010, did the US department of defense discover pieces of the wreck buried under ten feet of swamp water deep on the Morgo Island. It was not until more evidence (a human foot and boot), was discovered in 2014, did the department of defense contact Harry Kiefer, McGuire's nephew, for the news. DNA samples were needed to compare with the remains. It came up positive for relation towards Kiefer, and Second Lieutenant Harry B. McGuire was found. He made his homecoming earlier this week back to Chester, Illinois for his proper burial. McGuire earned a purple heart and several other metals for his actions.

WWII B-24H pictured.

Hundreds Missing After Ship Sinks in China

A Chinese cruise ship traveling along the Yangtze River encountered a violent storm and resulted in it capsizing on Monday night. Rescue workers have been scrambling around the sunken ship since; all search desperately for over 400 passengers missing. The Eastern Star carried mostly senior citizens, and rescuers are drilling holes into the boat as an attempt to discover signs of life. The search parties have extended over 135 miles up and down the Yangtze River.

Search team standing on top of the bottom side of the
Eastern Star cruise ship.

Wednesday authorities claimed that eighteen people were determined dead, fourteen survived, and hundreds still missing. Some of the survivors were the ship's captain and a couple crew members, who were taken under custody for questioning. Allegedly, divers in the water used hammers to bang on the submerged parts of the ship, and heard banging in response. To help with the rescue effort, the amount of water being released from the Three Gorges Dam (very large hydroelectric plant, upstream from ship). More than 4,000 people and 110 vessels are  part of the search and rescues still going on at this very moment.

4 People Charged for Cheering too Loud at Ceremony

Four people, all who attended the high school graduation ceremony in Senatobia, Mississippi, were sent a ticket for "disturbing the peace," after they allegedly cheered too loud for a family member graduating. It was sent two weeks later, and they could face a fine up to five hundred dollars if any one of them does not attend the court date. Ursula Millar is one of the victims of this punishment. She claimed at the graduation, all she had done was cheer the name of her niece, Lakaydra, repeatedly. While Henry Walker, the brother of Lakaydra, claimed all he did was cheer, " you did it baby," when his sister walked past him during the closing of the ceremony. The superintendent of the school, Jay Foster, reported multiple problems, about how the graduates missed their name cue, and audience members started to leave from the disruptions made by the four people. He agrees with the warrants given out to the family members, since he had asked the audience to hold their applause until the end.

Superintendent pictured on left, and the three out of the four
people charged on the right, Millar in the red, and Walker on the right.

Son Kills Mother Over Grades

A twenty-two year old man, Tyler Ryan Blansit, last Friday made a call for 911, and reported that his mother was dead in the backyard. Police authorities arrived at the scene, and determined the fourty-five year old, Ann Blansit, died of blunt force trauma. Moments later, Tyler Blansit confessed to killing her with one of his baseball bat. He had been home for several weeks from the University of Alabama off for the summer, when his parents began questioning his grades. Ann Blansit got him infuriated enough to beat her death over an argument. His father was working during the time of the incident. Intense investigation is still underway to determine Tyler Blansit's metal condition, but he is still in jail under the charges of murder.

Tyler Ryan Blansit.

Lion Kills Women in South Africa

Kathrine Chappell

In the Safari Desert, a United States citizen visiting Johannesburg, was hanging a little too far out of a the vehicle when she was attacked and killed by a lion. The twenty-nine year old, Kathrine Chappell from Rye, New York, was in a tour group vehicle when she rolled down the window to take a pictures. In a matter of seconds, a lion from hidden on the side, in the long grass, jumped up, ripped her from the window and mauled her. The tour operator rushed in the driver seat rushed to her assistance. He was unfortunately unsuccessful, and was hospitalized, but reports claim he will survive. Allegedly from the witnesses, the cars on the tour were violating rules of having the windows rolled all the way down. There are signs all over the park stating it, along with slips of the instructions handed out to the guests. Camp staff arrived a couple minutes after the incident along with an ambulance. They chased off the lion, recovered Chappell's body, and rushed the tour operator to the hospital.

Some of the warning signs hung up
outside of the tour areas.