Oil tanker freed in Northwest Passage off Canada

A ship carrying 9m litres (2m gallons) of oil has been freed after running aground two weeks ago off the coast of northern Canada.

A Department of Transportation spokeswoman told AFP news agency the ship's owner had lightened the vessel's load by pumping out some of the oil.

The oil tanker was dislodged without leaking any oil into Arctic waters, the Canadian Coast Guard said.


The MV Nanny became stuck when it hit a sandbar in the Northwest Passage.

The operation to free the ship, which is owned by Newfoundland-based Woodward's Oil, took place over a period of two days near the village of Gjoa Haven in the Nunavut federal territory.

The Department of Transportation is conducting an investigation into how the oil tanker became stuck on the sandbar.

Gjoa Haven, or Uqsuqtuuq in the Inuktitut language, is the only settlement on King William Island.

The Northwest Passage is one of the most fabled sea routes in the world - the most direct shipping route from Europe to Asia through the Canadian Arctic. Historically, it has been ice-bound throughout the year.

read more

Wife on trial for killing husband on Canada hunt trip

The trial of an American who says she killed her husband on a hunting trip after mistaking him for a bear has begun in Canada.

Mary Beth Harshbarger fatally shot her husband Mark with a rifle during a 2006 Newfoundland hunting expedition.
Canadian prosecutors contend it was too dark for her to fire a gun safely and are trying her for criminal negligence.
Ms Harshbarger pleaded not guilty. The trial began with testimony from the couple's hunting guide.
Guide Lambert Greene testified in a Newfoundland courtroom that he and Mark Harshbarger, 42, were walking back toward his pickup truck when he heard a shot followed by a loud scream.
He said he found Mr Harshbarger lying dead on the ground, covered in blood.
"Mary Beth was hysterical," Mr Lambert testified. He said she screamed: "I shot my husband, I shot my love."
Mrs Harshbarger, 45, faces at least four years in prison if she is convicted. She was extradited to Canada from her native Pennsylvania to stand trial after losing a lengthy US court battle.

read more

US breakfast killing spree in Kentucky

Stanley Neace, 47, went on the killing spree in a trailer park in Jackson, rural Breathitt County, Kentucky.

He chased his wife into a neighbouring trailer where he shot her, her daughter and three witnesses, reports say.

Police say they are looking into why Neace flew into such a wild rage; there are reports he was facing eviction.

State troopers found him dead at the porch of his trailer, slumped over his own gun.

The shooting happened during an argument with his wife Sandra, 54, after she brought him some eggs for breakfast, a relative of the neighbours he killed said.

Mrs Neace's daughter Sandra Strong, 28, was also killed.


The other victims were named as neighbours Dennis Turner, 31, Teresa Fugate, 30, and Tammy Kilborn, 40.



   " Over eggs? I thought that was crazy. I mean just because his eggs weren't hot?”

 Sherri Anne Robinson Victim's relative

Ms Fugate was shot in front of her seven-year-old daughter, whom Neace spared.

"Her daughter said, 'Please, please don't shoot me,' and he said, 'All right, you can leave,' and she ran out," Ms Fugate's sister Sherri Anne Robinson told the Associated Press.

Mrs Kiborn was another neighbour who stepped out onto her porch during the commotion, reports said.

Neace apparently waited an hour for the police to arrive before turning the gun on himself, police heard the shot as they drove up to the trailer.

Other neighbours had fled in terror during the rampage.

Breathitt County is Kentucky's rural eastern region, where gun ownership is widespread.

"Over eggs? I thought that was crazy. I mean just because his eggs weren't hot?" Ms Robinson said.

But Jackson police say there may be other factors that led to the shooting and they are still investigating.

The landlord of the Mount Carmel trailer park where Neace lived told reporters he had begun the process of evicting him because he had become hostile to neighbours in recent months.

"He was unpredictable, little things would set him off," Ray Rastegar told the Associated Press.

But County Sheriff Ray Clemons said he had known Neace for some years, and he did not have a bad record.

"He was a little hot sometimes, but we never had any major problems. Nothing like this."

read more

US News College Rankings

High School seniors across the nation have spent the last several months narrowing down their choices post-high school. The parents obviously have a say in what’s going on and where the students will attend. More importantly, the students ability to perform well in school and have a college education supplemented ranks high  regarding how specific colleges are chosen. For those doing their best to narrow down the choices, US News & World Report has published the US News College Rankings report for everyone to review.

The report includes large, research-oriented universities, liberal art colleges and of course schools that place a higher priority on undergraduate learning. Although the rankings offer up great information about various universities, it appears that the information is a bit one-dimensional. The top 20 schools in the list in both categories are rank depending on undergraduate academic reputation, graduation and freshman retention. Obviously other factors include faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni involvement. The US News College Rankings has added some more realistic information for those students and families prepping to enter college in the near future.

The new rankings take into consideration the best schools for “B” students, rankings of historically black colleges and universities as well as the diversity of the national universities. As a nation, we seem to be climbing out of the financial crisis, everyone is still looking to find the best education for their buck. The rankings have been divided now to include the national universities and liberal colleges based on average cost of attending and of course the needs of the students. The US News College Rankings now give the public a better look at the big picture of the various colleges and universities.

read more