Shonda Rhimes is the most dangerous woman in America. Or, fictional TV America, at least. The showrunner has killed of so many characters during her many incredible years working on programs like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder. However, there's one character she regrets killing, and it's someone who appeared very briefly on Grey's.
Read this article:
This Is The One Character Shonda Rhimes Regrets Killing On Grey's Anatomy - Refinery29
Paging Grey's Anatomy fans! T.R. Knight and Kate Walsh reunited in NYC Thursday, April 20, and took a photo to mark the occasion.
Knight, 44, attended Walsh's performance in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of If I Forget with comic actress Bridget Everett.
"O, my beautiful friends! @bridgeteverett and I got to see @katewalsh in IF I FORGET last night in NYC! She was brilliant, as was the production! So lucky I got to see it. I love these humans," the Catch star captioned an Instagram pic of the trio.
Walsh, 49, reposted the pic. "[Love] my @t.r.knight & @bridgeteverett & so grateful they came to see my show...also: no filter in the world can make me look less tired," she wrote. (Walsh stars in the recent Netflix hit 13 Reasons Why.)
The former costars played Dr. George O'Malley and Dr. Addison Montgomery on the Shonda Rhimescreated medical drama, which debuted in 2005. Knight's beloved character died in the season 6 premiere, while Walsh reprised her role in its spinoff, Private Practice, from 2007 to 2013.
Walsh opened up about her time at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in December 2015. "I loved how smart [Addison] was and capable and how fallible she was. It made it a really fun character to play and Shonda's really good at that at creating very multifaceted characters," she said at the time. "She and I loved working together. We had a great experience and that's always a positive. Doing something else for her works for me!"
Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!
Original post:
'Grey's Anatomy' Stars TR Knight, Kate Walsh Reunite: Photo! - Us Weekly
Introduction
Part I describes the basic behaviour and intended function of an air-delivered gravity bomb containing Sarin, designed along US/USSR cold war lines. When we left off in Part I, a well-crafted gravity bomb will have dispensed its Sarin broadly along this distribution:
Sarin, also commonly known by its old NATO nickname GB, is one of a family of chemical warfare agents known as nerve agents. It was invented by German scientists in 1938-1939 who were performing research on organophosphorous pesticides led by Dr. Gerhard Schrader. Sarin was named by the team of researchers who invented it. It is in a family of chemicals known as organophosphates. There are other chemicals within this family, including the chemical warfare agents Tabun, Soman, VX, and the pesticides Malathion, Parathion, and Amiton.
All of the nerve agents affect the human bodys nervous system. The human nervous system requires a delicate balance of chemicals to regulate itself. Nerve agents bind to a chemical known as acetylcholinesterase and, in doing so, disrupt the electrochemical reactions required for the body to operate properly. The binding of acetylcholinesterase leads to a build-up of acetylcholine, which then in turn leads to a syndrome called a cholinergic crisis. In effect, the nervous system starts to over-act and muscles and glands start to work over-time and cause serious problems. The signs and symptoms will vary in severity and timeline depending on the route of exposure and dose (i.e. the amount of Sarin absorbed). This will be discussed at length below.
There are several ways Sarin can enter the human body. These are called routes of exposure and are as follows:
Sarin acts very quickly through respiratory and ocular exposure, with onset of adverse effects within seconds to a few minutes depending on dose. Absorption through the skin is slower, i.e. minutes to hours, depending on dose. Rate of action for wound exposure is believed to be intermediate in speed between respiratory and dermal absorption. Gastrointestinal absorption is not well documented but is likely to be fast.
Sarin, as it is less persistent and evaporates at a faster rate relative to the other nerve agents, is foremost an inhalation hazard. Absorption through skin takes time, and even someone with liquid Sarin on their skin is extremely likely to suffer inhalation effects from the Sarin evaporating off of their clothing and skin, except in very cold weather. In moderate or warm temperature situations, the only realistic exposure scenarios for a liquid Sarin only, through skin absorption are for partially protected troops already wearing protective masks or donning them very quickly at the onset of a chemical attack. So, with unprotected target populations, the route of exposure of most significance is inhalation of aerosol and vapour.
The cholinergic crisis that Sarin (and its other cousins in the same family) provokes manifests itself in signs (things that are externally observable) and symptoms (subjective indications felt by the victim that are difficult or impossible to observe). This graphic, taken from the canonical Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (various editions accessible online) lists the major signs and symptoms:
Rhinorrhea is a fancy term for a profusely snotty nose. Miosis means pinpointing of the pupils. The rest is either self explanatory or you can look it up in a normal dictionary if unsure.
The order in which signs and symptoms appear and their severity will vary both with degree of exposure and route of exposure. For Sarin, this is principally inhalation. This graphic describes this exposure category in detail:
In the event of liquid absorption through skin, signs and symptoms progress differently. This is really more relevant for the more persistent, slower evaporating agents like Tabun and VX. In the case of Sarin exposure, an unprotected person with lots of Sarin liquid on them will get respiratory exposure from evaporation, and this is very likely to happen faster than dermal exposure. With Sarin, the likely exposure scenario is for someone who has protective equipment for their respiratory tract and eyes (e.g. a gas mask) but unprotected skin. For comparison purposes, this is the progression of signs/symptoms for dermal exposure:
When people die from nerve agent exposure, the mechanism of death is almost always a pulmonary death. Such respiratory failure, which denies the body oxygen happens through several mechanisms with nerve agent poisoning. Depending on route of exposure and dose, any or all of these will be the exact mechanism by which death occurs:
All of these conditions can cause cyanosis , a tell-tale blueish discolouring of skin due to oxygen deprivation.
Most studies of the toxicity of Sarin are derived from data involving animal research. Much of the information is now quite dated, having been developed in the 1950s and 1960s. These should all be taken with a reasonable margin for error. However, the following chart from the US Armys Field Manual 3-11-9 is as useful a summary as any Ive seen. Anyone interest in the footnotes can go to the Field manual and look them up, although some of the references are to studies and documents not readily available online. You might need a good research library.
These numbers probably mean little to most readers so I am going to unpack this at some length. Concentration is measured in milligrams per cubic meter. As there is almost nothing in toxicology thats instant, concentration is measured over a time domain. So for things like vapor exposure, the figures used are in milligrams per cubic meter per minute. For example 50 mg-min/m3 means 50 mgs of Sarin per 1 cubic meter of air for a period of 1 minute.
The key figure here is something called 50th percentile Lethal Concentration LCt50. This is the concentration that is reckoned to kill half of the exposed population, assuming a normal adult male (these studies were all based around Cold War soldiers) breathing at 15 liters of air per minute. This is the MV (respiratory minute volume) on the table. This is equivalent to a soldier engaged in moderate activity. (Someone asleep will be breathing slower, someone running full tilt is likely to be higher.) So, for Sarin, breathing 35 mg Sarin in aerosol or vapour, per cubic meter of air, continuously for 2 minutes, will kill about 50% of the exposed people. This is extremely lethal. By comparison, the similar figure for phosgene, the most lethal chemical weapon used in World War 1, is about 1500 mg-min/m3.
For severely debilitating effects, the figure for Sarin is 25 mg-min/m3, again over the course of 2 minutes, not much less than the lethal figure. It is likely that there would be some lethality at this level. For mild effects, the threshold is around 0.4 mg.
Sarin vapor and aerosol can enter through the skin. However, if you examine the table, these effects require a FAR HIGHER level of concentration and longer exposure. Lethal concentrations (LCt50) for this route of exposure are 6000 to 12000 mg-min/m3 for much longer durations of exposure (30 mins to 6 hours). This is an entirely difference exposure scenario. (The differences in the figures in the table are fordiffering airtemperatures.) So, yes, Sarin is lethal through a route of permeation through the skin, but only at levels that are literally hundreds of times higher than the levels that are dangerous for respiration. The figures for severe effects (4000-800) and minor effects (600-1200) are correspondingly lower, but still MUCH HIGHER than effective concentration levels for absorption via the respiratory route. It should be noted that a very dense aerosol may result in some condensation or deposit of liquid on skin, which behaves as described in the next paragraph.
Percutaneous liquid exposure takes time, as was noted above. Time of exposure is a bit different here, and is less significant than the amount absorbed through the skin. A large gob of Sarin landing mostly on outer clothing and almost instantly removed by decontamination may result in less net absorption of Sarin into the body than a small droplet on the back of the neck that goes unnoticed until symptoms appear.
LD50 for Sarin is calculated at 1700 mg for a 70 kg male. This means that, for a normal 70kg human male, 1700 mg of Sarin absorbed into the human body would kill about half of the people with that level of poisoning. Statistically, some would die with less, and some could survive with a much higher exposure. ED50 is the level of exposure for serious, disabling effects. For Sarin it is 1000 mg for the same assumptions. Note that at this level of dose, some are likely to die. This is an awful lot of Sarin when compared to the amounts that are needed to kill or seriously incapacitate people through inhalation.
The behaviour of Sarin on skin is important. Several things happen when Sarin is on human skin:
For those who are curious, heres what some of the other columns mean:
Now that we understand the practical toxicology here, it is easy to analyze exposure scenarios in the field. It is clear from the toxicological data that Sarin is far more efficient as a killer in an aerosol or vapour form, easily by several orders of magnitude. A weapon system that dispenses its contents in the form of liquid would largely be a waste of expensive Sarin. So, we are now understandably back to the concept of a weapon system that is designed and tested to optimize the quantity of aerosol.
In our suspected scenario in April 2017, there is a well-substantiated allegation that an air-dropped Sarin bomb was dropped. It appears to have functioned as designed and created an aerosol that drifted downwind, as the victims were a distance away from the bomb. Any person close enough to have been splashed with some liquid was probably close enough to the bomb to die very quickly. In any case, the impact point appears to be in the middle of a road.
So, for a person to be seriously ill or to die, there is a need to create an aerosol of a concentration of 25 to 50 mg-min/m3. So, people exposed to an aerosol of this density will get sick and easily could die. People exposed to an aerosol of only 2 or 5 mg-min/m3 may easily get very ill, particularly if they are in it for minutes. But think it through. A cubic meter is a lot of air. And thats a very small amount of Sarin. How much Sarin is actually going to get deposited on their skin, hair, and clothing. A few milligrams, maximum.
Next, these people either escape or are carried away a significant distance and then receive emergency treatment. There are firm reports of responders going to rescue people becoming victims. However there are videos taken in locations some distance away from the impact site. People wearing little or no protective gear are seen handling the victims. Why are they not being seriously affected by Sarin? The simple answer is that these victims were affected by aerosol and/or vapour. Very little material actually got deposited on them. Even if it did, it would have been in the order of a few milligrams. And it takes 1700 milligrams over a period of time to kill someone by simple absorption. Responders arent falling over because, simply, the math doesnt work and Sarin isnt a magical substance.
Why then do emergency responders in more developed/better equipped situations train to wear full protective equipment? For several reasons. Emergency responders wear equipment that is prescribed through obeisance to occupational health and safety regulations, not a what can I get away with and not die ethos. Second, in the early stages of an incident, the chemical agent that was used may not be known. Even if you knew it was a nerve agent, you arent likely to know it was Sarin and not one of its more persistent cousins. VX, for example, is a different game altogether being primarily a contact/liquid hazard and requiring more skin protection when dealing with victims.
The bottom line is that Sarin evaporates quickly, not much is needed to do harm to people, and people who are exposed only to aerosol and vapour are a minimal contact or respiratory hazard to others. Even given this, some responders reported illness. So, the Responders didnt die on film so it wasnt Sarin is an incorrect line to take here and displays a basic ignorance of the facts.
View original post here:
Anatomy of a Sarin Bomb Explosion (Part II) - bellingcat
LAHORE - The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has named its Anatomy department after late Prof Muhammad Tahir.
Prof Muhammad Tahir has been the head of UHS Anatomy department for last 11 years. He died on Wednesday at the age of 87, bringing to an end a prolific career as teacher, a researcher, and an administrator. His work in all these domains was distinguished by a highly original critical thinking and personal vision of morality and ethics.
A memorial service for Prof Muhammad Tahir was held at the university on Thursday which was attended by UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Junaid Sarfraz Khan, faculty members and students.
Prof Junaid Sarfraz Khan planted a Banyan tree at Kala Shah Kaku Campus of the university in the memory of the deceased.
Prof Tahir was a graduate of King Edward Medical College Lahore. He did his MBBS in 1952 with gold medal for standing first in the University. He taught in various national and international institutes. He did his PhD from London University. He had more than 50 research publications to his credit.
See the rest here:
UHS Anatomy Dept named after Prof Tahir - The Nation
Last week I spent a day at the venerable Cleveland Clinicthe citys best-known celebrity, perhaps, next to this guy . The hospital (and really, its a hospital system with outposts in several cities in the U.S. and abroad) has always been on the spear point of progressbut that has been particularly true over the past 13 years, under the guidance of CEO Toby Cosgrove .
As I wrote in my editors letter for Fortune s souped-up Future Issue (on newsstands very soon), I visited Ohios second-largest city to check out a cool piece of technology that the Clinicand its Cleveland cousin, Case Western Reserve Universityare using to teach meds students anatomy: and teach it in a whole new, dynamic, and interactive way.
Case Westerns Dr. Mark Griswold , a professor of radiology who is an expert in magnetic resonance imaging, has worked with colleagues to build a virtual anatomy tool on the Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality platform. Put on the HoloLens visor, plug in the human circulation program (one of various anatomy modules that Griswolds team has built), and youll find yourself staring at a life-size, 3D human figure, with every vein and artery in perfect bodily placement and scale.
You can walk around this anatomically correct scaffold, spying organs and tissues from any angle, and poke your head in to see the interior of, say, a heart. Within, youll see that organs distinct chambersand within those, the discrete valves.
What is most striking is that this body seems to take up real physical space. (Dr. Griswold points out that nearly everyone who has sampled the program walks around the Da Vincian figures outstretched skeletal hands so as not to bump into them.) Everyone who dons the goggles sees the same images, making medical instruction easierand the fact that you experience the real world along with the virtual one makes conversation and consultation easier, too. (Seeing this demo with Dr. Cosgrove, a former heart surgeon who pioneered techniques for valve repair that are widely used to this day, was an extra treat.)
In AR anatomy, the real merges fluidly with the imagined; the laws of the physical world bend just enough to allow for a four-dimensional understanding (3D plus a magnified view of the interior), but not so much that it makes you queasy.
The idea is to teach students anatomy in a way that they absorb the knowledge more readily, more intuitivelyand more quickly. Seeing and touching intertwined veins and arteries as they navigate through the human form gives you an understanding of circulation that is difficult (or maybe impossible) to get by studying even the most finely etched schematic in a textbook.
And the better and faster they learn the human roadmap, the sooner these budding surgeons can start driving on their ownwhich is to say, repairing living bodies.
Have a great weekend. And if you like getting our Fortune Brainstorm Health Daily newsletter, please share with a friend. Were not just sending out a newsletter every day, were building a community. Thank you all for being a part of it.
This essay appears in today's edition of the Fortune Brainstorm Health Daily. Get it delivered straight to your inbox.
Read the original:
How Virtual Anatomy Will Change Med School - Fortune
Artist: Willow Parker
Featured song: Wild
Singer-songwriter Willow Parker grew up in Bend and started performing at local open mic nights about five years ago. Shes still a frequent open mic performer, and can be regularly heard at the Astro Lounges open mic nights on Mondays and M&J Taverns Wednesday open mic. This song, Wild, is one of her originals.
Q: Whats the story behind this song how was it written, recorded, etc.?
A: (The process) varies from song to song. Sometimes Ill come up with themes first, sometimes I really like poetry, so sometimes Ill have the lyrics first. Most of my originals are written in standard tuning, and I was getting a little bored, so I decided to branch out a little bit. The first one I did was open E (tuning). I loved it, I did a few riffs, I thought I was gonna write maybe a couple different songs with it, but they ended up flowing all together, and so the music part came first and then I put lyrics to it.
Q: Whats the story inside this song whats it about?
A: Well, its pretty self-explanatory when you hear it. Basically (its) just about a relationship, love and lust and feeling confident in a relationship with affirmation and attention.
Brian McElhiney, The Bulletin
View original post here:
Anatomy of a Song: Willow Parker, 'Wild' - Bend Bulletin
I honestly don't even know where to begin.
Do I start with how I was robbed on the street in Miami and my purse was stolen with my laptop in it so I am now typing this column on my old computer, the one with a little plastic nub where the letter "R" key fell off so I get a blister on the tip of my finger?
Or a compelling opener might be an excerpt from a dinner conversation at the Naples Beach Hotel where everyone in my crazy extended family was comparing what dosage Zoloft they're on.
Do I write about what it was like to travel with a toddler who was getting over the flu, and how, even though he was cleared to travel by his pediatrician, puked all over me, himself, his car seat, and his grandparents the night before we left? Or how I got, like, four minutes of sleep before my 5 a.m. wake-up call because I was up all night worrying, wondering if I should travel with him?
Maybe I could explain how, even on a good day, traveling with a 400-pound diaper bag o' tricks that bottomless pit of diapers, wipes, sippy cups, food pouches, teething wafers, books, toys, snacks and whatever other crap modern life has done to make our lives so much more pushed me to the brink? Or I could talk about when he'd drop something on the floor of the plane for the 500th time and I had to become a contortionist just so I could reach the one thing that would keep us both sane all while feeling like I was going to bust an organ.
I also could write about the award-winning tantrum the babe had the night of our arrival when he threw his head back so violently while sitting in my lap that the back of his noggin left a nice welt on my cheekbone.
That's when I lost it.
Yes, after 15 months of baby bliss I had my first official, bona fide meltdown. Talk about a slap in the face my sweet little angel had basically cold-cocked me.
I could write about what it's like to drive in a car in a new city with my parents, who absolutely refuse to trust GPS unless it's the one in their own car, as if their GPS was an old friend they could rely on and any other GPS was not to be trusted.
I explained to them, for the 50th time, that our iPhones can do the same thing as the GPS in their beloved Mazda CX-5. Soon everyone in the car had their iPhones programmed with the address so each time there was a direction we'd hear it multiple times, like an echo. "In half a mile, merge left onto Interstate 75 East In half a mile In half a mile "
Still, my mother insisted the GPS was wrong. "She's confused," she'd chime in from the back seat. "She doesn't understand." I have no idea why she thought she knew better, considering she'd never been to Naples in her entire life.
I tried to explain that "she" is actually a computer and in fact does know exactly where we're going and how to get there and how long it will take. But Lindarose wasn't buying it. Every time the GPS dictated a direction she'd say, "OK, honey," in this really patronizing tone dripping in sarcasm as if the GPS was a little old lady suffering from dementia and we were all just humoring her.
It didn't help matters when we rushed out to buy diapers and I plugged in the wrong street address on the way back and we ended up on Mahogany Lane (which is in the only trailer park in all of Naples) instead of Mahogany Run Lane, which is in the fancy-pants golf resort where we were staying.
I could write about what it's like to travel with my parents, who are not only retired from working, but also anything that takes any work in general, like all the rigmarole involved with caring for a toddler. That meant I was the one loading and unloading the baby and the 500 pounds of other crap that this tiny little person somehow requires. It seemed like I was always red-faced and sweating, my clothes wrinkled and disheveled, on the brink of pulling my frizzy humidity hair out and leaving it in heaps on the pavement like dryer lint screaming, "Help me!"
I could talk about how it's taken me this long to realize that I don't need high heels or nice outfits because I am so catatonic by the time I finally get my little monster to bed that I no longer care if I have drool and crusted baby food all over my shirt sleeves and would rather stick a needle in my eye than put on uncomfortable shoes or a shirt that requires a bra.
I could write about the Airbnb my brother and I rented in Miami that was supposed to be all hip and eclectic, when in reality it was a dump in a neighborhood where we were robbed on the street in broad daylight.
Or I could write about how one of my favorite things about being a mother is sharing my baby with my family. How despite it all, it's one the most joyful experience of my life. I could talk about how my brother is the most loving uncle my baby boy could ever ask for. Or how my cousin Leslee showered the babe with an ocean love that came pouring out of her oversized heart.
I also might mention how the baby was oblivious to it all, happy to play in the sand and kick his feet in the sea and to grace us all with the song of his laughter.
The Princess is getting a serious blister on her "R" finger. Email your love to alisonmargo@gmail.com.
Continued here:
Aspen Princess: Anatomy of a meltdown - Aspen Times
One of the tensest events in the history of Greys Anatomy is the infamous scene from As We Know It, which premiered following Super Bowl XL in 2006, the second half of a two-part episode. After surgically removing a bomb from a mans torso, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) hands it over to defuser Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler) and it blows up before he even makes it out of the ER.
Executive producer Shonda Rhimes, Pompeo, and episode director Peter Horton recall the details.
SHONDA RHIMES: I remember having to talk it through with [then ABC Entertainment Group president] Stephen McPherson.It was a big deal that we were doing the Super Bowl episode, so I wanted to make sure it was something they wanted to do. He seemed fine with it. PETER HORTON: It was a very ambitious proposition. There were a number of long days because of that. When that explosion scene came up, the only way you get through it is with a tremendous amount of prep. We worked on how we wanted to do it, what walls we wanted to collapse, what lights we wanted to fall. RHIMES: I always knew the [bomb] moment was going to involve Ellen. I dont know if anyone else was jealous. I dont think anyone thought like, Oh, great, I want to have my hand stuck in a body cavity and stand there with all those horrors. ELLEN POMPEO: It was very late at night when we filmed it. I had been working something like 17 hours. I was exhausted, so I was excited that I didnt have to do the stunt. They had this amazing stunt girl who was going to do it for me. They strapped her toa cable so they could pull her back when Kyle blows up. HORTON: The stunt double was fairly young. She wasnt quite prepared for when she got yanked, having landed on her back and getting her head snapped back. And boy, did it. You could hear it. As stunt people do, she immediately sat up and said, Im fine. But clearly she had whacked her head hard, so she had to go through concussion protocol. Wed only had one take of this thing, and I needed to have a couple of things adjusted from that one take, so I had Ellen do it. POMPEO: We had a knock-down, drag-out fight because he insisted I do the stunt. I said, A fing professional stuntwoman just gave herself a concussion doing it. Ive been working 18 hours. I can barely see straight. Now you want me to try it? He was adamant. I was adamant. We were screaming at each other. I even said to him, Why are you even making me do this? Youre going to use that take with her head bouncingoff the floor, because it looked amazing. It was like slow motion. Anyway, I ended up doing it, despite me not wanting to. And of course they used the first take. HORTON: If you look in the episode, you will see the stunt girl hit her head. We left that in. It had been very effective. But we used part of Ellens take, which is the part she never remembers. We never would have put her in jeopardy. We pulled her much slower than we pulledthe stunt double.
POMPEO: I remember thinking Kyle Chandler was amazing.I wasnt surprised his career really took off after that because he was so natural. RHIMES: He would pitch me ideas on how Dylan, his character, could maybe not explode, and I would show him the linein the script that said, Dylan explodes. Thats literally all it said. He was written to explode. But I did not expect to have Kyle Chandler. I didnt want to explode him. HORTON: Whenever you direct anything, some of your best moments are accidents. When we did the blast, all of these bits of debris fill the air and come slowly down like a rainstorm. It added such a fabulous texture to that moment, when Ellen is sitting up and looking at the remains of poor Kyle Chandler. POMPEO: Nothing seemed as monumental back then because we had no idea how long this show would run or how iconic these moments would become. HORTON:It was the highlight of Greys Anatomy in all of its 12 years. It was a special moment when it all came together in just the right way.
See the original post here:
Grey's Anatomy: A look back at THAT bomb scene - EW.com
Fresno police said they believe a shooting rampage downtown Tuesday that left three white men dead was racially motivated.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the suspect, Kori Ali Muhammad, gave very specific, detailed information to police that led officers to believe this was a hate-motivated crime, but did not elaborate on what those statements were.
If in fact hes lashing out at white people white males in this case that would constitute a hate crime, Dyer said. We believe it is a hate crime, definitely a hate crime.
The chief said investigators dont believe Muhammad worked with anyone else in the attack, calling him an individual that is filled with hate, filled with anger.
Family members said Muhammad had spoken of a war going on between blacks and whites in America.
Heres a rundown of what happened:
Police believe Muhammad killed a Motel 6 security guard, Carl Williams. The unarmed 25-year-old was shot outside the motel on North Blackstone Avenue.
Muhammad cut off his braids and shaved his face, significantly changing his appearance, after Fresno police put out a news release about that killing.
After being aware of that media release, Muhammad made a decision to himself that he was not going to go to jail for shooting a security guard that he was going to kill as many people as he could today and thats what he set out to do, Dyer said.
Grandmother Glenestene Taylor said Muhammad was acting strangely when he visited her Sunday. He was crying, but she believed he was simply going out of town.
I thought thats why hes upset, because he thinks of me as a mother, said Taylor, 81. Hes always telling me, Ill take care of it. Ill protect you. Dont you worry about it. He really didnt want to go but he was going.
The shootings began around 10:30 a.m. in downtown Fresno.
Dyer said that Muhammad fired sixteen rounds in less than two minutes, but immediately surrendered when approached by Fresno Police Officer Frank Borrego, and made spontaneous statements.
Those statements were I did it. I shot them, Dyer said, adding that Muhammad identified himself and said, You guys are looking for me.
He yelled Allahu akbar from the back seat of the patrol car. Muhammad later said he made that statement in order to pledge allegiance to God in case anything happened to him, Dyer said.
The victims of Tuesdays shootings were a 34-year-old white man who was a passenger in a PG&E vehicle, a 37-year-old white man killed on the sidewalk and a 58-year-old man shot in the Catholic Charities parking lot. Another 59-year-old white man was shot at but not struck.
The gunman also approached two Latina women, a mother and daughter, in a vehicle. He pointed the gun directly at them but did not fire. They drove away from the location, hearing gunfire as they left.
Dyer said Muhammad gave very specific, detailed information to police which led officer to believe this was a hate-motivated crime, but did not elaborate on what those statements were.
Muhammad was in the area because of several abandoned houses in the vicinity; according to Dyer, Muhammad was living on the streets and was hoping to stay at one such house. Muhammads grandmother said she didnt believe he was homeless.
Mason and Marcum reported from Fresno, and Branson-Potts and Serna from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Richard Winton and Veronica Rocha contributed to this report.
ALSO
'Dreamer,' 23, sues after he is deported by Trump administration
Fewer shootings by police that's the goal of new rules adopted by the L.A. Police Commission
Woman shot to death in West Hollywood residential area
Here is the original post:
'Filled with hate, filled with anger': Anatomy of a shooting allegedly fueled by hatred of white people - Los Angeles Times
The New York Yankees are the hottest team in baseball. Monday night they beat the Chicago White Sox (NYY 7, CWS 4) for their eighth consecutive win, which is the longest winning streak by any team in baseball this season -- no other club has won more than five games in a row -- and New York's longest winning streak since a 10-gamer in June 2012.
Thanks to this winning streak, the Yankees currently boast a plus-23 run differential, the best in baseball. They rank second among all teams in runs scored per game (5.15) and fourth in runs allowed per game (3.38), so they're playing well in both phases. This eight-game winning streak has had a real impact on their postseason chances. From FanGraphs:
Coming into the season the Yankees had a 15.9 percent chance to make the postseason, according to the projections and depth charts at FanGraphs. Two weeks in, they are up to 39.9 percent, fourth highest in the American League. Improving your odds 24 percentage points in two weeks is pretty great. No, the Yankees won't keep winning forever, but these eight wins are in the bank. They can't be taken away.
What, exactly, has propelled the Yankees to this eight-game winning streak? Well, as I mentioned earlier, they're both creating runs and preventing runs well, and yes, there's a little luck involved too. The Yankees aren't being carried by one or two players. It's a team effort. Here are the biggest reasons the Yankees are now the hottest team in MLB.
It always starts with pitching, doesn't it? Five games into the season the Yankees were 1-4 and their starters had a 7.59 ERA and 1.88 WHIP in 21 1/3 innings. Not once in those five games did a starter record an out after the fifth inning. The Yankees were getting low quality innings from the starters and they were taxing the bullpen. That's a bad combination.
The eight-game winning streak started in New York's sixth game of the season, and since then their starters have pitched to a 2.77 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 52 innings. Only once in those eight games did the starter fail to complete six full innings -- rookie lefty Jordan Montgomery went 4 2/3 innings in his MLB debut Wednesday because he was on a pitch limit. Now the rotation is providing quality innings and bulk innings.
Oddly enough, staff ace Masahiro Tanaka has been the Yankees'worst starter in the early going. He was one of the AL's top hurlers last year, but control issues have hampered him early. Erstwhile ace CC Sabathia reinvented himself as a cutter pitcher last year and has a 1.47 ERA in 18 1/3 innings and three starts so far. He has been the club's most reliable starting pitcher.
Their most electric starter has been Michael Pineda , at least during this eight-game winning streak. He retired the first 20 batters he faced in the home opener April 10, then Sunday night he chucked seven innings of two-run ball. Pineda is both talented and unpredictable. He'll dominate one start and blow up the next -- he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the season, so yeah -- though these last two times out, the good version of the man they call Big Mike showed up.
We all know about Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman , who form arguably the top setup man-closer combination in baseball. Having those two at the end of the game sure makes life easy for manager Joe Girardi. The rest of the bullpen has been very good too, however. Tyler Clippard picked up a save Saturday when Chapman and Betances were unavailable due to their recent workloads, and rookie righty Jonathan Holder has yet to allow a run in five appearances.
Adam Warren , who never quite fit in with the Chicago Cubs last year before being traded back to the Yankees, and Bryan Mitchell competed for rotation spots in spring training and opened the regular season as multi-inning relievers. Mitchell allowed his first run of the season Sunday. Warren allowed his first run Monday after retiring the first 22 batters he faced this season. Those two have combined to allow two runs and six base runners in 13 1/3 innings spread across nine appearances.
Chapman and Betances get all the headlines and deservedly so. They've combined to allow one run with 17 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings. Bullpens are not a two-man show, however. Not these days. Bullpen depth is crucial and the Yankees have gotten strong work from supporting cast members like Clippard, Holder, Warren and Mitchell. The Yankees are second in bullpen ERA (1.36), third in bullpen WHIP (0.96) and fifth in bullpen strikeout rate (10.7 K/9) in all of baseball thanks to their relief depth.
This spring MLB.com ranked 24-year-old Aaron Judge as the 42nd-best prospect in baseball, though his MLB debut did not go too well last season. The Yankees called him up after trading Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers and installed him as their starting right fielder. Judge hit .179/.263/.345 (61 OPS+) in 27 games before suffering an oblique injury. He's a massive human listed at 6-feet-7 and 275 pounds, and pitchers took advantage of that big strike zone -- Judge struck out 42 times in 95 plate appearances (44.2 percent) in 2016.
All throughout the minors Judge's history has been get promoted to a new level, struggle initially, then adjust and rake. He spent the offseason working with the Yankees' hitting instructors and the result is a .275/.356/.650 (175 OPS+) batting line with four very long home runs. Statcast says Judge is responsible for five of the 12 hardest-hit balls in MLB this season. The man is as strong as that 6-7 frame would lead you to believe.
Judge has gone 9 for 25 (.360) with four home runs during the eight-game winning streak, and he also became the first Yankee to be intentionally walked using the automatic intentional walk rule. Pitchers are aware of the damage he can do at the plate and his at-bats have become must-see television for other players around the league.
Judge is always going to strike out a bunch because he's so darn big, though he has been able to cut his strikeout rate down to 28.9 percent. That is still higher than the 21.7 percent league average, but Judge's strikeout rate is no longer untenable like it was last season. The Yankees are in the middle of a youth movement and Judge is one of their most prized young players. He has lived up to the hype this year.
The Yankees know a thing or two about veteran players not living up to their big-money contracts. They released Alex Rodriguez last year and ran out the final season of Mark Teixeira 's contract. There have been countless others over the years.
Last season the Yankees ranked 22nd among the 30 teams in runs per game (4.20) largely because their veterans disappointed. A-Rod and Teixeira dragged down the offense, and others like Starlin Castro , Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury did not give the Yankees nearly as much as expected. They were OK at best.
Castro, Headley and Ellsbury have given the Yankees what they've paid for this season, and that's big production. Check out their performances:
2016 Stats
2017 Stats
During 8-Game Win Streak
2017 Salary
Castro
.270/.300/.433 (93 OPS+)
.365/.389/.538 (157 OPS+)
12 for 32 (.375), 3 2B, 2 HR
$9.9M
Ellsbury
.263/.330/.374 (88 OPS+)
.326/.367/.435 (124 OPS+)
8 for 27 (.296), 4 SB
$21.1M
Headley
.253/.331/.385 (91 OPS+)
.395/.509/.605 (212 OPS+)
10 for 27 (.385), 2 2B, 1 HR
$13M
Ellsbury in particular has helped the Yankees with his lineup versatility. He has started games not only at his customary leadoff spot, but also in the cleanup spot and the No. 5 spot. Ellsbury doesn't fit the traditional middle-of-the-order run-producer mold, but the Yankees have bounced him around and he has produced everywhere he has been in the lineup.
Obviously these three won't play this well all season -- I suppose Castro, who is still only 27, could be figuring things out as he enters what should be the prime of his career -- but they're crushing the ball right now and helping the Yankees win games. They didn't do that much last season.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this eight-game winning streak is that the Yankees have done it without Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius , their starting catcher and starting shortstop. Sanchez injured his biceps taking a swing and landed on the 10-day disabled list the day before the winning streak started. Gregorius has not played at all this season due to a shoulder injury suffered during the World Baseball Classic.
Backup catcher Austin Romine has taken over behind the plate and gone 7 for 21 (.333) with two doubles, one homer, four walks and three strikeouts during Sanchez's absence. Ronald Torreyes has taken over for Gregorius at short, and while his .250/.250/.425 (85 OPS+) batting line is underwhelming, he has come up with some clutch hits. In fact, his two-run triple last Sunday could easily be considered a turning point for the Yankees.
That triple drove in New York's first two runs of the game. They would eventually complete the comeback and win that game to kick off this eight-game winning streak. Torreyes might be hitting .250, but his 10 RBI are second on the team behind Judge, who has 11.
Furthermore, fourth outfielder Aaron Hicks has already swatted three home runs in his limited time, including two in one game last Thursday. His two home runs accounted for all three runs the Yankees scored in their win that night. Hicks his contributed off the bench in a big way already.
Losing Sanchez and Gregorius, arguably the Yankees' two best position players, could have been devastating. Instead, their replacements have played well and helped not only keep the team afloat, but also thrive. The Yankees are getting some nice production from unexpected sources in Romine, Torreyes and Hicks.
Is it better to be lucky or good? It doesn't matter, because the Yankees have been both during this streak. At one point last week they went 1 for 30 (.033) with runners in scoring position during a three-game span, yet they won all three games because A) They've been hitting home runs; and B) The other team kept making mistakes. Carlos Martinez gift-wrapped the Yankees two runs Saturday with a wild pitch and an error, for example.
The Yankees haven't played the best competition during this winning streak -- they've played their past seven games against the struggling Tampa Bay Rays , St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox -- but you can only play who is on the schedule. Besides, one of the reasons the Yankees have played only onepostseason game the past four years has been their inability to beat the teams they're "supposed" to beat. The Yankees have played well during this winning streak and they deserve a lot of credit. They've also benefited from some sloppy play by their opponents. No doubt about it.
Coming into this season I thought the Yankees had the widest range of possible outcomes among all 30 teams in baseball. If the kids like Judge and Sanchez and Greg Bird perform well and the pitching holds together, they could absolutely be in the mix for a postseason spot. But if the kids stumble and the pitching falls apart, a win total in the 70s is not out of the question.
Early on, the Yankees have gotten great work from their pitching staff and Judge, as well as several key veterans and bench players, and it has helped them put together this winning streak. There are still 149 games to play, so this is far from over. If nothing else, the 2017 Yankees sure seem to be a heck of a lot more interesting and exciting than the 2013-16 versions. Those teams were mediocre and boring.
See the rest here:
Anatomy of a winning streak: How the Yankees have become MLB's hottest team - CBSSports.com