Week 1.-Eric Garner NYPD I can't breathe chokehold

Cop cleared in chokehold death of Eric Garner

By Larry Celona, Kirstan Conley and Bruce Golding        December 3, 2014 | 2:15pm

A Staten Island grand jury cleared an NYPD cop in the chokehold death of Eric Garner during his caught-on-video arrest for peddling loose cigarettes, the Staten Island district attorney confirmed Wednesday. The panel voted a “no-bill” and dismissed all potential charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo. The blockbuster decision capped weeks of investigation by the special grand jury, which was empaneled in September specifically to review evidence in Garner’s racially charged death.

In a statement released by his union, Pantaleo said: “I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can’t protect themselves.” “It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner,” he added. “My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.”

Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch said it was clear that Pantaleo had tried “to do nothing more than take Mr. Garner into custody as instructed and that he used the take-down technique that he learned in the academy when Mr. Garner refused.” “While we are pleased with the grand jury’s decision, there are no winners here today,” Lynch said. “There was a loss of life that both a family and a police officer will always have to live with. … No police officer starts a shift intending to take another human being’s life and we are all saddened by this tragedy.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled his events for the day — including attending the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting — and headed to Staten Island to meet with elected officials, clergy members and activists.

In a statement, the mayor called Garner’s death “a terrible tragedy that no family should have to endure” and which “put a spotlight on police-community relations and civil rights — some of most critical issues our nation faces today.” De Blasio also said the grand jury’s decision was “one that many in our city did not want,” but cautioned against “violence and disorder” in its wake. “New York City owns a proud and powerful tradition of expressing ourselves through non-violent protest. We trust that those unhappy with today’s grand jury decision will make their views known in the same peaceful, constructive way,” he said.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called the ruling “a terribly disappointing outcome” that ran counter to “the events that led to Eric Garner’s death.” “What makes this even more infuriating is the frequent lack of accountability, which is why I urge the US Department of Justice to launch its own investigation,” she added.

A lawyer for Garner’s family, Jonathan Moore, told the Associated Press he was “astonished by the decision.” 

At the scene of Garner’s death, outside a beauty supply shop on Bay Street, his stepfather railed at the ruling as he paced back and forth. “It ain’t worth a damn, there are two sets of laws. It’s just a license to kill a black man. Who can control the Police Department? They can shoot me the f- -k down and nobody can say anything,” Benjamin Carr said. “Imagine if it was your kid? It’s just like getting a knife and stabbing my heart. You might as well choke me.”

As he spoke, a man hurled a garbage can at a nearby TV news truck, prompting Carr to call for peace. “I don’t want it, and Eric wouldn’t want it,” Carr said. Carr was later seen entering the building that houses the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office.

In a lengthy statement, DA Dan Donovan said New York law barred him from disclosing any details of what took place during the grand jury’s closed-door proceedings, but said all 23 members had attended every session that took place between Sept. 29 and Wednesday.

Donovan also said he had applied for court permission to “publicly release specific information in connection with this grand jury investigation.” It was unclear exactly what charges prosecutors asked the grand jury to consider filing, or how the vote went.

Under New York law, an indictment must be agreed upon by at least 12 members of a grand jury, which can have up to 23 members. Cellphone video of Garner’s July 17 arrest shows Pantaleo wrestling him to the sidewalk on Bay Street, with the white cop’s arms wrapped around the neck of the black suspect. On the ground, Garner was heard repeatedly yelling “I can’t breathe!” as Pantaleo and other cops held him down and handcuffed him.

The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Garner’s death a homicide caused by “compression of neck (chokehold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.” Police union leaders denied that Pantaleo used a chokehold — which is banned by the NYPD — and blasted the autopsy as part of a “political” witch hunt.

Garner’s family has filed notice it plans to sue the city for $75 million on grounds including wrongful death, pre-death pain and suffering, and civil rights violations. The family and adviser Rev. Al Sharpton have also repeatedly called on the feds to investigate his death.

Structure of the Lead:

Who--Eric Garner and two police officer

Why-- Eric Garner’s death was wrongful

What--Cop cleared in chokehold death of Eric Garner

When--in September

Where--in New York

Keywords :

1. empanel---選任

2. condolences---慰問

3. custody---保管

4. clergy---教士

5. infuriating---氣死人

6. accountability---問責

7. stabbing---刺

8. indictment---起訴書

9. homicide---殺人犯

10. autopsy---驗屍

http://nypost.com/2014/12/03/cop-cleared-in-eric-garner-chokehold-death/

Week 7- Hong Kong, occupation

Hong Kong protests: What changed at Mong Kok?

Clashes have erupted again in Hong Kong after the authorities moved in to clear protest camps. For two months pro-democracy activists have occupied various parts of the territory, and protests have occasionally turned violent.

Why are the authorities cracking down now?

Since the street occupations began in September in three key spots - Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay - the authorities have largely tolerated protesters.

But the High Court began granting injunctions to businesses and industry groups to clear roads in November, triggering a round of clearances by bailiffs and the police.

The first clearance in Admiralty on 18 November passed off peacefully.

But clashes erupted the following week when the authorities demolished the entire Mong Kok camp.

Student protesters accused the police of violence, and tried to shut down government offices in Admiralty on 1 December, prompting a strong response from the police.

Another injunction has been granted to clear a section of Connaught and Harcourt Roads - the major stronghold of protesters.

The students have insisted that public opinion is still on their side, but the numbers at protest sites and polls indicate that the public has grown increasingly weary of the disruption and unrest.

At its peak, the pro-democracy movement saw tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents from all walks of life take to the streets. Two months on, just a few hundred remain camped out in tent cities, most of whom are students and young workers.

Meanwhile, a mid-November poll done by the University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme found that a majority of respondents did not support the protests.

A majority also backed the Hong Kong government's clearance of the sites, though some believed that it could allocate other areas for protesters.

Student leaders have also found it difficult to make headway. Earlier talks with city officials proved fruitless, an attempt to travel to Beijing was blocked by Hong Kong authorities, and two leaders - Joshua Wong and Lester Shum - were arrested for obstructing police in Mong Kok and are now out on bail.

On 2 December, three of the co-founders of the Occupy Central movement called for protesters to retreat. The three turned themselves in to a police station the next day, though the authorities have not charged them with any offence.

What is the Chinese government saying?

China's central government has continuously condemned the ongoing street occupations, and state-controlled mainland media outlets have accused pro-democracy activists of "intensifying" the crisis with the latest clash.

One of the Hong Kong business groups that has taken out an injunction to clear the protest sites is a joint-venture controlled by Chinese state-owned Citic Group.

Though it remains unclear whether Beijing had a direct hand in the applications, many in the business sector - which is increasingly reliant on China - have opposed the protests since day one, on the grounds that it would hurt the economy and anger Beijing.

Structure of The Lead:

What---the street occupations in Hong Kong

When---in September

Who---the students, young workers and residents in Hong Kong

Why---the authorities moved in to clear protest camps

Where---Hong Kong

Keywords:

1. granting---發放

2. injunctions---禁令

3. triggering---觸發

4. clearances---間隙

5. bailiffs---法警

6. demolished---拆除

7. allocate---分配

8. obstructing---阻礙

9. reliant---信賴的

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29054196

Week 6- Jackie Chan's son Jaycee in drug arrest

Jackie Chan's son Jaycee in drug arrest

The son of Hollywood actor Jackie Chan has been arrested on drug-related charges 

19 August 2014

Actor Jaycee Chan, 31, and Taiwanese movie star Kai Ko, 23, were detained last Thursday, Beijing police said in a statement on their official microblog.

Police said both men tested positive for marijuana, with more than 100 grams of the drug found at Mr Chan's home.

Their arrest comes amid an ongoing crackdown on drugs which has already netted several celebrity figures.

Gao Hu, 40, who appeared in the 2011 Zhang Yimou film "The Flowers of War", was detained earlier this month for possession of marijuana and methamphetamines, state media said.

'Huge influence'

In June, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "forceful measures" to tackle illegal drug use.

By arresting the son of one of the country's most famous actors, the Chinese authorities are sending a clear sign that drugs will not be tolerated, reports the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.

A government anti-drug advisor told the Associated Press news agency that Chinese celebrities were being targeted because of the "huge influence" their behavior had on "their large numbers of fans".

Beijing Municipal Anti-Drug Office deputy director Jin Zhihai however, said that police were not specifically targeting celebrities.

"If there is an increased crackdown on drugs, the number of celebrity offenders will also rise," he told the Beijing Times on 14 August.

Last week, 42 artist management agencies in Beijing signed an agreement with police pledging not to recruit celebrities with reported drug use problems.

'Very big mistake'

Mr Chan, whose father Jackie was named an official "Narcotics Control Ambassador" by Chinese police in 2009, had been put under "criminal detention" for the suspected crime of "providing a shelter for others to abuse drugs", Beijing police said.

If convicted, he faces a maximum prison term of three years.

Mr Ko, a Taiwanese actor and singer, won the best new actor award in 2011 at the Golden Horse film awards - known as the Oscars of the Chinese-language film industry. He also won a Chinese Film Media award for his role in the movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

Accused of consuming drugs, Mr Ko had received a two-week detention term, his management firm Star Ritz Productions said.

"I feel very regretful, very sorry to all the people who support me. I've been a very bad example, I've made a very big mistake," he said in an interview broadcast on Chinese state television on Tuesday.

Beijing police also said two other people, a 36-year-old assistant and a 33-year-old suspected dealer, were detained in the incident.

Mr Chan's management firm M'Stones International apologised on his behalf for the "social impact" caused and said they would "supervise his rehabilitation and help him return to the right path".

His father Jackie has not yet commented on the incident but his publicist told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Chan had travelled to Beijing to deal with his son's arrest.

Structure of  The Lead :

What---Jackie Chan's son Jaycee in drug arrest

When---19 August 2014

Why---Jaycee Chan and Kai Ko has been arrested on drug-related charges 

Who---Jaycee Chan and Kai Ko

Where---China

Keywords :

1. marijuana---大麻

2. crackdown---嚴打

3. methamphetamines---甲基苯丙胺

4. tolerated---容忍

5. deputy---副

6. You Are the Apple of My Eye---那些年,我們一起追的女孩

7. rehabilitation---復原

8. publicist---公關

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28848199

Week 5-Kaohsiung gas pipeline explosion

Taiwan gas explosion kills dozens

Hundreds more injured as streets of Kaohsiung are ripped open by petrochemical pipeline blast 

Friday 1 August 2014

At least 24 people have been killed and 271 others injured when several underground gas explosions ripped through Taiwan's second-largest city overnight, hurling concrete through the air and blasting long trenches in the streets.

The series of explosions about midnight Thursday and early Friday struck a district where several petrochemical plans operate pipelines alongside the sewer system of Kaohsiung, a south-western port with 2.8 million people.

The fires were believed to have been caused by a leak of propene, a petrochemical material not intended for public use, but the source of the gas was not immediately clear, officials said.

Video from the TVBS broadcaster showed residents searching for victims in shattered storefronts and rescuers pulling injured people from the rubble of a road and placing them on stretchers while passersby helped other victims on a sidewalk. Broadcaster ETTV showed rows of large fires sending smoke into the night sky.

Four firefighters were among the 24 dead and 271 people were injured, the National Fire Agency said. The firefighters had been at the scene investigating reports of a gas leak when the explosions occurred, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

At least five blasts shook the city, said Taiwan's Premier Jiang Yi-huah.

Chang Jia-juch, the director of the Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center, said the leaking gas was most likely to be propene, meaning that the resulting fires could not be extinguished by water. He said emergency workers would have to wait until the gas was burnt away.

The source of the leak was unknown. Chang said, however, that propene was not for public use and that it was a petrochemical material.

The Kaohsiung mayor, Chen Chu, said several petrochemical companies had pipelines built along the sewage system in Chian-Chen district, which has both factories and residential buildings. "Our priority is to save people now. We ask citizens living along the pipelines to evacuate," Chen told TVBS television.

Power was cut off in the area, making it difficult for firefighters to search for others who might be buried in rubble.

Channel NewsAsia said the local fire department received reports from residents of gas leakage at about 8.46pm and explosions started around midnight.

Closed-circuit television showed an explosion rippling through the floor of a motorcycle parking area, hurling concrete and other debris through the air. Mobile phone video captured the sound of an explosion as flames leapt at least nine metres (30ft) into the air.

One of the explosions left a large trench running down the center of a road, edged with piles of concrete slabs torn apart by the force of the blast. A damaged motorcycle lay in the crater and TVBS showed cars flipped over. The force of the initial blast also felled trees lining the street.

Structure of The Lead :

Who---people lived in Kaohsiung

What---24 people have been killed and 271 others injured

When---midnight Thursday (7/31) and early Friday (8/1)

Why---several underground gas explosions

Where---Kaohsiung

Keywords :

1.concrete---具體

2.trenches---壕溝

3.petrochemical---石油化的

4.propene---丙烯

5.shattered---打碎

6.storefronts---店面

7.leak---洩漏

8.extinguished---熄滅

9.sewage---污水

10.rubble---瓦礫

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/taiwan-city-kaohsiung-gas-explosion

Week 4- Ice Bucket Challenge.ALS

Here’s What’s Happening With the Ice Bucket Challenge Money

Justin Worland  Nov. 4, 2014

The ALS Foundation is tripling the money spent on research

New research projects across the country dedicated to solving ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, have begun to receive millions of dollars in additional funding thanks to this year’s Ice Bucket Challenge. The funding marks the ALS Association’s first move toward distributing the $115 million it raised to fight the disease.

“We are tripling the amount annually that we spend on research,” said ALS Association President Barbara Newhouse. “We have a sense of urgency, but we also we recognize that we have to be good stewards of the donor dollars as we move this forward as quickly as researchers can research.”

Some of the first projects to receive funding include one trying to sequence the genes of 15,000 people with ALS, one partnering with pharmaceutical companies to advance drug treatment, and one developing gene therapy that might reduce the spread of the disease through the body. Hospitals and labs around the world that have received funding are Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, the University of California San Francisco, the New York Genome Center and others. The ALS Association has distributed more than $20 million so far and has committed to seeing any project it’s funded through to completion.

"In addition to funding research, the Ice Bucket Challenge money will be used to improve treatment for people living with disease," Newhouse said.

Despite the organization’s now-deeper pockets, Newhouse insists that it will take time before the group will determine fully how to best leverage its influx in cash. Newhouse said she’s been “inundated with proposals” for research projects, and they continue to arrive in her inbox.

“It’s been amazing how many people have come out of the woodwork to say ‘I have the answer,’” she said. “We’re trying to sort through what’s fact and what’s fiction.”

And, while $100 million represents a marked increase in funding for the fight against ALS, Newhouse said it’s more of a starting point than the key to a solution.

Newhouse thinks the funding could lead to a breakthrough—”I’m always a glass half-full kind of person,” she said. “But we would be kidding ourselves if anybody believed that $100 million is going to be all that’s needed to find an effective treatment.”

Structure of the Lead :

Who---The ALS Foundation

Why---distribute money to fight the disease, ALS

What---donate money to people who have ALS by Ice Bucket Challenge 

When---Nov. 4, 2014

Where---all over the world

Keywords :

1.      urgency---急迫性

2.      steward---管理員

3.      pharmaceutical---製藥的

4.      completion---完成

5.      leverage---槓桿作用

6.      sort---分類

7.    ALS---漸凍人肌萎縮性脊髓側索硬化症

Week 3 -nuclear power plant stop construction

Protesters stop Taiwan nuclear plant construction

Monday 28 Apr 2014 1:23 p.m.

Taiwan will stop construction at a controversial nuclear power plant after tens of thousands of protesters blockaded a main street in the capital calling for it to be scrapped. 

Demonstrators broke a police cordon to take control of a busy eight-lane intersection demanding an end to construction of the "Nuke Four" power station outside Taipei. Later on Sunday the ruling Kuomintang party yielded to pressure and promised to stop the work.

"There will be no further construction of reactor one," Kuomintang spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi told reporters.

"Only safety checks will be done and after that it will be sealed for storage. Construction of reactor two will be terminated," he said.

"In the future, any of its commercial operation will be decided by a referendum."

Protest leaders said on Sunday night they were meeting to discuss the announcement.

Chanting crowds gathered on Sunday morning in the square outside the presidential palace where some protesters had already staged an overnight sit-in.

Demonstrators then marched to nearby Chung-Shiao West Road - an eight-lane artery adjacent the main railway station - and swarmed through police lines to occupy the street, bringing traffic to a halt.

Around half an hour later, the outnumbered riot police, who had offered no resistance, retreated to wild applause from the crowd.

Buses and other vehicles were forced to detour around the intersection and traffic ground to a halt.

Police put protester numbers at around 28,500.

The demonstrators are pledging to continue their sit-in until Tuesday, when parliament is due to meet to discuss the power plant.

The power station has been one of the most contentious projects in Taiwan. Intense political wrangling has repeatedly delayed its construction, which began in 1999 and has already cost around TW$300 billion (NZ$11.5 billion).

Structure of the Lead :

Who---demonstrators and parliament

What---Taiwan will stop construction at a controversial nuclear power plant

Why---tens of thousands of protesters calling for stopping nuclear power plant construction

Where---Taiwan

When---Sunday 27 to Tuesday 29 Apr 2014

How---blockaded a main street in the capital

Keywords :

1.controversial---爭論的

2.blockaded---封鎖

3.demonstrators---示威者

4.cordon---警戒線

5.terminated---終止

6.referendum---公投

7.adjacent---鄰里的

8.detour---繞行

9.pledge---誓言

10.parliament---議會

http://www.3news.co.nz/world/protesters-stop-taiwan-nuclear-plant-construction-2014042813

Week 2- Malaysia Airlines MH370, missing

Malaysian Official Denies Report That Missing Jet Flew for Hours

Charlie Campbell  March 13, 2014

Malaysia’s defense minister denied reports  Thursday that the Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may have stayed airborne for as much as four hours after it was lost from radar screens, the Associated Press reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday that U.S. investigators and national-security officials believe that data automatically downloaded and sent to a maintenance-and-monitoring program from the aircraft’s two Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines indicated that the plane may have remained in the air for much longer than previously believed.

That would mean the plane may have traveled more than 2,000 additional nautical miles, reaching points as far as the Pakistani border or even the Arabian Sea, said the Journal.

Acting Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that Rolls-Royce and Boeing, the maker of the Boeing 777, had denied the report, according to the AP.

Erin Atan, Rolls-Royce head of Asia-Pacific and Middle East communications, was unable to confirm or deny the Wall Street Journal reporter earlier when contacted by TIME, citing the terms of sharing information relating to an official accident investigation.

“We are monitoring the situation, and we have offered Malaysia Airlines and related parties all cooperation from the outset,” she said, naturally raising questions as to why this information, if accurate, was not shared with passengers’ families earlier. On Wednesday, U.S. officials told AFP that American spy satellites detected no sign of a mid-air explosion when the jet vanished. Heat signatures from exploding aircraft have been used as a clue in previous incidents but none was spotted in this case, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Wall Street Journal report appeared to widen rather than shrink the search for Flight 370, which has entered its sixth day. Debris spotted in the South China Sea by Chinese satellites on Sunday — but only released overnight — has since been dismissed by Vietnamese officials who claim the area had already been “searched thoroughly.”

India has also now agreed to help out with efforts. “Malaysia and India are in contact on this since yesterday and contact points are being discussed. These contact points will ascertain what assistance is required and what India can offer,” a spokesman at New Delhi’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

India boasts a large military command in its territory in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and operates navy patrols in the busy shipping routes of the Malacca Strait.

Flight 370 took off from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. on Saturday, heading for Beijing, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board. Contact with Malaysian air-traffic control was lost after some 40 minutes over the Gulf of Thailand, at a height of around 10,700 m.

Vietnamese air-traffic control says the plane never entered its airspace, and conflicting reports have emerged that it may have turned back and been spotted by military radar on the northeastern side of the Malay Peninsula by Pulau Perak. No distress call was received. A dozen countries are taking part in the search, with 42 ships and 39 aircraft involved. But efforts have been plagued with confusion and contradictory reports, and complaints increasingly hurled at the Malaysian authorities.

At his end of Congress press conference on Thursday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang revealed that the superpower had eight boats and 10 satellites trying to locate the plane. “As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we will not stop searching for the plane,” he told reporters gathered at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Of the 239 people on board, 153 were Chinese.

Structure of the Lead :

Who---Charlie Campbell

When---March 13, 2014

What---Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may have stayed airborne for as much as four hours after it was lost from radar screens

Why---Malaysian air-traffic control was lost

Where---Malaysia

Keywords :

1.      radar---雷達

2.      maintenance-and-monitoring---維護和監控

3.      nautical---航海天文

4.      spy---間諜

5.      signatures---簽名

6.      shrink---縮小

7.      ascertain---查明

8.      plagued---困擾

9.      contradictory---矛盾

10.  glimmer---微光

http://time.com/22814/missing-jet-may-have-flown-for-extra-four-hours/