Firefighters Die In Texas Motel Fire

Four firefighters were killed in a Texas motel fire while on duty Friday.

The firefighters were searching for anyone trapped within the motel when part of the building collapsed and trapped them, leading to the deaths of three of them.

The fourth one died while at the hospital.

At least six other firefighters are in the hospital being treated. One of the firefighters has burns and is in critical condition.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

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Mystery: Amelia Earhart Plane May Be Visible

A sonar image that shows a 22-foot long object about 600 feet below the Pacific Ocean may be the remains of the Amelia Earhart’s plane.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery took the photo on July 15, 2012 during an expedition.

Executive director Richard Gillespie for TIGHAR says that it was someone online who noticed the object in the image posted.

Earhart and her aviator, Fred Noonan, went missing on July 2, 1937 near an island in the western Pacific Ocean.

Gillespie gave more details on Amelia’s disappearance:

She landed the plane safely on a reef off Nikularoro Island. The wreckage washed into the ocean with the high tide and broke up in the surf. There is archaeological evidence on that island that we believe indicates that Earhart was marooned there until her death several days later.

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Science News: 150 Million+ Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil Found in China

Fossil of the Aurornis Xui

The fossil of a flying dinosaur was discovered in China and could be the earliest creature ever discovered on the evolutionary line to birds.

The Aurornis or “dawn bird” will help increase the understanding of how birds transitioned from dinosaurs during evolution.

The fossil measured 50 centimeters from its beak to the tip of its tail and had preserved traces of downy feathers along the tail.

Before this discovery, the Archaeopteryx was considered the oldest relative in the avian lineage.

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Internet Bank Charged with Laundering More than $6 Billion Dollars

The Internet currency exchange, Liberty Reserve, was charged with laundering $6 billion in suspected criminal proceeds.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara represents the Southern District of New York. She says the exchange operated as a “black market bank” in order to “facilitate criminal activity.”

Other officials say Liberty Reserve provided anonymous and easily accessible banking infrastructure usable to criminal networks.

The company is thought to have more than 1 million users across the globe, including 200,000 from the United State.

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Cruise Ship Catches Fire

The third deck of the 11 decks of Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas caught fire early Monday morning.

Guests were awakened and instructed to go to their muster stations after the fire’s discovery.

Royal said the fire was extinguished within two hours and no one aboard was harmed.

The company also tweeted that its guests “will receive a full reufund of the cruise fare as well as a future cruise certificate.”

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Lebanon: Rocket Fired from South Towards Israel

Lebanese security sources say a rocket was shot from southern Lebanon towards Israel on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for Israel’s military said:

An explosion was heard. Soldiers are searching the area. The cause is still being investigated.

The rocket was fired near Marjayoun, a town approximately six miles from the border of Israel.

Israel’s military did not confirm a rocket was fired, but does report residents saying they heard explosions.

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French Soldier Stabbed in Throat While on Duty

A French soldier was on patrol in a busy commercial district outside Paris on Saturday when he was stabbed in the throat.

French President Francois Hollande said the person who stabbed the soldier has yet to be identified and he soldier is still alive.

France's Defense Minister says the motive behind the stabbing was to kill the soldier because he was a soldier.

Local authorities are screening surveillance that could aid with their investigation.


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North Korea Sends Letter to China's President

President Xi (right) and Vice Marshal Choe (left)

An envoy from North Korea delivered a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping and said his country is willing to join stalled nuclear disarmament talks.

What was specifically stated in the letter is not yet known.

The envoy, North Korea Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, made a three day trip to China and received a message from China’s president.

President Xi told Vice Marshal Choe:

The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace on the peninsula is what the people want and also the trend of the times.

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Boy Scouts: Gay Scouts Ban to be Lifted, Gay Adults Still Prohibited

The Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to lift its national ban on having gay Scouts.

However, gay adults are still prohibited from holding leadership roles in the organization.

The Scouts said in a statement:

The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting.

The change in policy is expected to occur on January 1^st, 2014.

The Scouts said that it completed its “most comprehensive listening exercise in Scouting’s history” in regards to deciding on the change. 

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