Calgary on Edge After day fearing exlosive CP train would topple into Bow River

The dark wooden bridge that crosses the Bow River is a great, gaping mystery to the city of Calgary; its origins and safety record unknown, held totally under the provenance of Canadian Pacific.

That was true even at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, when the deputy fire chief of the flood-besieged city received even more bad news; an eastbound 102-car train derailed, leaving six sleek black rail cars filled with flammable petroleum product stranded on the 101-year-old Bonnybrook Bridge as it slowly collapsed into still-swollen Bow River.

It would drop about 15 feet throughout the day, bringing Calgary closer, inch-by-inch, to another disaster after a week that had been unbearably chalk full of them.

With resources stretched by more than a week of unprecedented flooding that trashed thousands of homes, bridges and roads, the mayor lashed out at Canadian Pacific. He also lamented the municipal government’s lack of control over CP’s domain.

“How is it that we don’t have regulatory authority over this when it’s my guys down there risking their lives to fix it?” Mayor NaheedNenshi said.

Once again, a swath of the city was shut down, creating gridlock so intense that some drivers complained of commutes stretching three hours. Again, Mr. Nenshi begged employers to keep their employees at home.

Hunter Harrison, the CEO of CP, said the piers of the bridge were built on gravel, not bedrock. The flood caused the bridge to tilt, then crack, derailing the cars as they travelled across the track early Thursday at 14 kilometres per hour.

By Thursday afternoon, acting fire chief Ken Uzeloc said the bridge had been stabilized. The fuel-bearing tanks were anchored in place by heavy train cars weighted with grain and stones. Secondary tethers tied each tank in place.

There was a small chance the train could explode.

“There are still flammable liquids that are in there,” he said. “We have that possibility … but my concern was more that a floating rail car would float downriver, taking out a bridge that would impact the stability of Deerfoot Road.’’

With the train secure, city officials reopened major arteries time for rush hour. But they still faced hours of arduous work.

If crews tried to pull the cars while full, they could snap open like a pill capsule, he said. Instead, empty cars were paired alongside the damaged track and three pumps were installed to transfer the petroleum distillate, a product used as a solvent in polishes, paint thinner and paint.

It would take several hours to complete pumping, Chief Uzeloc said; they would then decide how to move the empty cars off the track.

James Carmichael, the regional senior investigator with the TransportationSafety Bureau, said two people were on hand to investigate the incident. He believed it was too soon to say whether the flood weakened the bridge.

“Right now they are trying to stabilize it the best they can to do the work they need to do to get it cleared off,” he said.

The derailment forced a nearby wastewater treatment plant to evacuate, leaving untreated sewage spilling into the urban waterway.

Messrs .Nenshi and Harrison met on Thursday, but it was clear the derailment had strained relations between city hall and one of the city’s largest companies.

“I’ll be very blunt. I’ll probably get in trouble for saying this,” Mr.Nenshi said. “We’ve seen a lot of people lose their jobs at CP over the last year. How many bridge inspectors did they fire?”

Mr. Harrison disputed the mayor’s remarks, saying the Bonnybrook Bridge was inspected five times, although it was unclear when the company looked at the structure.

“We’ve talked publicly about the downsizing, but we’ve not done anything with the engineering personnel or bridge inspectors or supervisors of the bridge inspectors,” Mr. Harrison told reporters at the Emergency Operations Centre in Calgary, where he was to meet the mayor.

“It was clearly a failure of the piers at the bottom of the river,” he said. “We couldn’t have seen anything from an inspection on top unless there was severe movement as a result of the failure down below.’’

After the meeting, Mr. Nenshi said Canadian Pacific Railway had apologized for the chaos caused by the train and that he and Mr. Harrison and both agreed to work together more on safety.

Source: nationalpost

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Target , QVC latest companies to drop Paula Deen products

Country cooking queen Paula Deen's admission last week that she had used the N-word in the past and once planned a slavery-themed wedding has caused two more companies to jump ship Thursday. Target announced it was severing ties with the former TV chef and later shopping networkQVC announced it was "taking a pause" in its relationship with Deen. 

"We have made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com," a company rep told FOX411'sPop Tarts column. "Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory."

Diabetesdrug maker Novo Nordisk also said Thursday it and Deen have "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now."

"For now, we have decided to take a pause,"  QVC president and CEO Mike George said in a statement. "Paula won’t be appearing on any upcoming broadcasts and we will phase out her product assortment on our online sales channels over the next few months."

In response, Deen issued a statement to her QVC customers saying, "As you know, I have some important things to work on right now, both personally and professionally. And so we’ve agreed that it’s best for me to step back from QVC and focus on setting things right."

Target and QVC join Walmart and Caesars Entertainment (Wednesday), Smithfield Foods (Monday), and the Food Network (last Friday) in the list of companies no longer doing business with Deen.

But not everyone is running fast in the other direction.

Retailers JC Penney and Sears have not said the will stop selling her products.

The fate of her magazine “Cooking with Paula Deen” remains unknown. Its Alabama-based publisher Hoffman Media told a local news outlet that it “does not condone discrimination of any kind,” adding "we are not in a position to discuss her magazine and contract right now.” Hoffman Media did not respond to a request for further comment. 

And Deen's annual “Paula Deen Cruise” on board the “Mariner of the Seas” has been flooded with so many calls, the cruise is adding an extra departure in 2014. 

"Due to so many requests from Paula’s fans in the past we are actually planning two cruises for 2014 and look forward to both," a rep for the cruise told FOX411's Pop Tarts column. "It’s always an amazing time with Paula, her family and fans. If she goes – we go."

Deen, 66, is also still scheduled to make appearances at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show in Houston and Dallas in September, and in Washington, DC in November. She remains a key personality on the website with tickets to see her specifically ranging from $95 to $500.

“PaulaDeen has been a friend of The Metropolitan Cooking & EntertainingShow for many years. She has apologized and we are taking her apology at her word and moving forward accordingly,” the show's rep told us. “The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show does not condone or believe in the use of derogatory slurs by anyone. This is a nation of forgiveness and second chances. In that spirit we intend to go forward with the MetroCooking Shows in Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC as planned with Paula as a presenter.” 

And for publisher Random House, slated to release “Paula Deen’s New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up” in October, her predicament has proven to be a book-selling bonanza. The cookbook, ranked in the 1,500s on Monday, moved all the way to No. 1 on Thursday. 

Source:foxnews

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Brazil vs Uruguay Live Stream Free: Watch Online Confederations Cup 2013 Semi-Final Football

Brazil vs Uruguay in the Confederations Cup 2013 semi–final takes place on Wednesday with Brazil looking to extend their amazing winning streak in the tournament and make the final. The game will kick off at 3p.m. ET and can be watched online through free live stream (details below).

Brazil have no injury worries coming into this game, and head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has his full squad at his disposal after Paulinho, David Luiz and Bernard all overcame recent injuries.

Uruguay will recall Luis Suarez and defender Diego Godin back to the first team after resting them. However, Andres Scotti is suspended following his sending off against Tahiti. In addition Diego Lugano returns after a ban.

Brazil have had a relatively easy time of it in the competition until now but Uruguay will no doubt be looking to cause an upset, and an all South American semi-final should be a tense and exciting affair.

There will be no love lost between the teams, and of course Uruguay defeated hosts Brazil in the 1950 World Cup final to win the competition and break Brazilian hearts.

Uruguay also defeated Brazil by their largest ever margin – 6-0 all the way back in 1920.

Source: christianpost

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Lightning make captain Vincent Lecavalier team’s first compliance buyout

The NHL's buyout period began Wednesday night at 11 p.m. ET, and while we already knew a few names who were getting checks cut to them soon -- IlyaBryzgalov, Danny Briere, Tomas Kaberle -- there will be plenty more coming before the July 5 deadline.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward VincentLecavalier will soon join that list of compliance buyouts as the team confirmed they will use one of their two options on their captain.

Fromthe Lightning:

"Vinny has been a significant reason for many of our past successes, including the 2004 Stanley Cup, and his contributions to the community are immeasurable," said Yzerman upon announcing the buyout. "The Lightning organization is indebted to Vinny; we thank him for all he has done here and we wish him well as he moves forward.

"After much internal deliberation, we believe this will prove to be a pivotal move for us as we strive to achieve our long term goal of competing at the highest level, year-in, year-out. The economics and structure of the CBA are necessitating this decision and we at the Lightning are excited at the newly created opportunities this presents to us."

Before a compliance buyout can go through, a team must put the player on waivers for 24 hours. Once that period expires, then a check can be cut. Teams cannot re-sign players they buyout for a one year period. In Lecavalier's case, because he has a no-move clause he can reject going on waivers, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Damian Cristodero.

Said Lecavalier's agent to the Tampa Times:

"Listen, we're going to sit down and have conversations and start looking through various teams with possible needs, fits," Lecavalier'sagent Kent Hughes said. "He's got a young family. He's got to go through hockey-wise what fits and family-wise and make a decision."

According to CapGeek, a Lecavalier buyout will cost the Lightning $30 million over a 14-year span.

The first overall pick in the 1998 NHL Draft, once dubbed the "Michael Jordan of Hockey" by former Lightning owner Art Williams, Lecavalier's production has dwindled since a 108-point season in 2006-07. With 0.8 points per game over the last three seasons, the 33-year old Lecavalier will certainly have his suitors (on a much cheaper deal) once he becomes a free agent.

Here's what it looked like when Vinny signed in 2008, saying he was happy to spend the rest of his career in Tampa Bay.

Source: yahoo

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George Zimmerman Trial: Trayvon Martin “viciously attacked” former neigh watch volunteer, defense says in opening statement

(CBS/AP) In opening statements Monday, defense attorneys portrayed murder suspect George Zimmerman as a citizen looking out for his neighborhood when he was confronted and attacked by Trayvon Martin, a stark contrast to prosecutors' picture of a vigilante who profiled the Forida teen.

PICTURES:George Zimmerman in court

READ:Trayvon Martin Shooting: A timeline of events

Zimmerman, 29, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, is on trial for second-degree murder in Martin's shooting death. Zimmerman claims he shot the teen in self-defense during an altercation in a Sanford, Fla. gated community in February 2012.

"GeorgeZimmerman is not guilty of murder," said defense attorney Don West during opening statements Monday. "He shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked. The evidence will show you how and why it happened the way he did.""

VIDEO:Zimmermantrial: Prosecutor opens with profanity

West described the case as "sad," and said, "there are no monsters here."

"[Martin's mother] Sybrina Fulton and [Martin's father] Tracy Martin are grieving parents. Without question, they have a right to grieve," West said." They have a right to feel how they feel."

Using diagrams, West led jurors in detail through the defense's version of the events of Feb. 26, 2012.

After calling a non-emergency dispatcher to report a suspicious person, West said, Zimmerman got out of his car to give the dispatcher more information about where Martin was going. When the dispatcher told him not to follow Martin, West said, Zimmerman stopped.

In a contrast to the state's version of events, West said Martin was the first to confront Zimmerman after the phone call ended.

"TrayvonMartin decided to confront George Zimmerman instead of going home. He had plenty of time, but he chose not to do that," West said. "...He turned to George Zimmerman, out of the darkness, and said, 'Why are you following me?'"

VIDEO:George Zimmerman trial: Self-defense, murder at case's core

Martin, not Zimmerman, was the aggressor on the confrontation that ensued, West said. He said a witness would testify who saw Zimmerman and Martin struggling - a neighbor who said he saw Martin on top of Zimmerman in the moments before the fatal gunshot.

"[The neighbor] called it a 'ground and pound.' That's the words he used," West said. "A ground and pound is when you're mounted on someone, they are helpless, and you are basically beating them senseless."

West also showed the jury pictures of Zimmerman bleeding from the face after the altercation and played a recording of a neighbor's call to 911, in which screams for help can be heard in the background.

The disputed tape was the subject of much pre-trial wrangling, with defense experts arguing the quality was too poor to reliably analyze who was screaming on the tape. A state expert who said he heard Martin screaming in the background of the call was banned from testifying at trial by a judge.

"What we know, everyone will agree to this...those are the screams of someone in a life threatening situation," West said. "Someone screaming repeatedly, over and over and over again for help, needing desperately for someone to come to their assistance."

In their opening statements earlier on Monday, prosecutor John Guy implied that it may have been Trayvon Martin screaming in the background of the call.

"Listen carefully please, to that call. Listen carefully ... when the gunshot goes off, Trayvon Martin was silenced immediately," Guy said. "When the bullet the defendant fired passed through his heart, when that gunshot rings out on the 911 call, the screaming stops."

Guy portrayed Zimmerman as a vigilante who profiled Martin as someone who was about to commit a crime in his neighborhood, followed him, confronted him, and decided to take the law into his own hands.

"'[Expletive] punks,'" Guy said, recounting Zimmerman's words in the call to non-emergency dispatchers. "'These [expletive,] they always get away.' Those were the words in that grown man's mouth as he followed in that dark a 17-year-old boy who he didn't know....those were the words in that man's chest when he got out of his car armed with a fully loaded semi automatic pistol and two flashlights to follow Trayvon Martin, who was walking home from a 7-Eleven armed with 23 ounces of Arizona brand fruit juice and a small bag of Skittle candies."

In sharp contrast to Guy's opening statement in which he dramatically quoted Zimmerman's obscenity-laced remarks, West included a "knock - knock" joke in his remarks.

"Knock, knock, who's there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? All right good, you're on the jury. Nothing? (audience laughs) That's funny," said West.

The court was on recess for a lunch break until 1:30 Monday, when the defense was expected to continue their opening statements to the jury.

Source: cbsnews

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Bobby 'Blue' Bland dies at 83

Bobby'Blue' Bland, who has died aged 83, was among the great storytellers of blues and soul music. In songs such as I Pity the Fool, Cry Cry Cry and Who Will the Next Fool Be, he created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed.

It was a skill that came gradually. His husky voice was gorgeous from the start, but as a young man he followed BB King – for a while literally, as his valet and chauffeur – and his singing took on a special character only after he began to study the recorded sermons of the Detroit preacher CLFranklin,Aretha's father. "That's where I got my squall from," he recalled. That alchemy of blues and gospel cadences would create one of the most affecting voices in black music.

He was born just north of Memphis in Tennessee and in his late teens he hung out in the city with King, the pianist RoscoGordon and the singer Johnny Ace, an informal musical gang known as the Beale Streeters. He made a few recordings for Chess and Modern, and then signed with Duke. After a few inconsequential singles, he began working with the bandleader Bill Harvey and the arranger Joe Scott, and within a few years, in pieces such as Little Boy Blue and I'll Take Care of You, this collaboration transformed his recordings from the equivalent of low-budget B-movies to widescreen epics.

For much of the 50s Bland toured the "chitlin' circuit" of southern clubs and theatres with Duke's other star, the singer and harmonica player Little Junior Parker, in a revue called Blues Consolidated. That was also the title, in 1958, of their first, shared, album, notable not only for hits such as Bland's Farther Upthe Road, which topped the R&B chart in 1957, but also for its overheated sleevenotes by "Dzondria Lalsac" (probably Duke's proprietor Don Robey), in which Bland becomes "the freewheeling master rogue of the Blue Note, rockin' 'em this and that-a-way, across the forty-eight!!!".

Some of Bland's best work, done under Scott's direction in 1960-63, appeared on the albums Two Steps from the Blues, Here's the Man!!! and Call on Me, such as the ferocious homily Yield Not to Temptation, the joyous Turn on Your Love Light and a virtuoso reading of the blues standard (Call It) Stormy Monday, featuring a guitar line by Wayne Bennett that has become a blues guitarists' set piece. Occasionally, saccharine songs and lush orchestrations would move Bland rather more than two steps from the blues, but his admirers endured his straying and waited for him to find his way back with poised renderings of strong material such as Blind Man and Black Night.

During the 60s Bland placed more than a dozen records in the R&B top 10, reaching No 1 with I Pity the Fool and That's the Way Love Is, but his kind of soul music was being eclipsed by the catchier sounds of Motown and the funkier ones of Stax, and by the end of the decade he was working less and drinking more. Duke was sold to ABC, which made Bland the object of crossover marketing, rebranding him as a mainstream soul singer. Bland dutifully strolled into the Technicolor sunsets of His California Album (1973), Dreamer (1974) and Reflections in Blue (1977), and in Get On Down with Bobby Bland (1975) he sauntered along Nashville's Music Row.

Some relief from this high-sugar diet was provided by recorded encounters with his old friend King, the first in 1974 at a studio-recorded junket where they genially reminisced and swapped favourite songs, the second in 1976 at the Coconut Grove in LosAngeles, where Bland, previously rather the junior partner, was more assertive and received top billing. They continued to give joint concerts for years afterwards.

While King and other blues artists were increasingly performing for young white listeners, Bland preferred to tour the southern circuit and play to his core audience: African American, mature, predominantly female. Having spent the early 80s making half a dozen lavish albums for MCA in a vaguely Barry White manner, in 1985 he signed with Malaco, a Mississippi company specialising in southern soul, and the move brought him closer to the people who cared for him most. This last stage of his recording career produced 10 albums of well-honed material by Malaco's inhouse writers and producers, in which he embarked again on the stormy seas of heartbreak and ecstasy with an even surer hand on the wheel. His last release was Blues at Midnight in 2003.

Bland was admired by artists including Van Morrison, who featured him at some of his concerts, and Mick Hucknall, who made the album Tribute to Bobby in 2008. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1997.

His son Rodd, who is also a musician, survives him.

Bobby Bland (Robert Calvin Brooks), blues and soul singer, born 27 January 1930; died 23 June 2013

Source: guardian

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Nadal exist Wimbledon in opening-day upset

In one of Wimbledon's greatest upsets, an ailing Rafael Nadal was knocked out in straight sets Monday by a player ranked 135th - the Spaniard's first loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam event.

Steve Darcis of Belgium stunned the two-time champion 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4. He ended Nadal's 22-match winning streak and eliminated one of the Big Four of men's tennis on the very first day of the grass-court Grand Slam.

Nadal was sidelined for seven months with a left knee injury after losing in the second round of Wimbledon last year. He seemed to be struggling physically. He was unable to turn on the speed or use his legs to spring into his groundstrokes, limping and failing to run for some shots.

Big surprise

Darcis was as surprised as everyone else with the result.

"Rafa Nadal didn't play his best tennis today,'' the 29-year-old Belgian said.

"The first match on grass is always difficult. It's his first one. Of course, it's a big win. I tried to come to the net as soon as I could, not play too far from the baseline. I think it worked pretty good today.''

Nadal was coming off his eighth championship at the French Open last month but, on this day, he never looked like the player who has won 12 Grand Slam titles and established himself as one of the greatest players of his generation.

It's the second straight early Wimbledon exit for Nadal, who was ousted in the second round last year by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol.

After that loss, Nadal took the rest of the year off to recover from the knee problem. Since returning to action this year, he had made it to the finals of all nine tournaments he entered, winning seven.

After winning the French Open, Nadal pulled out of a grass-court tuneup in Halle, Germany. He came to Wimbledon without any serious grass-court preparation.

Darcis is the lowest ranked player to beat Nadal at any tournament since Joachim Johansson - ranked No. 690 - defeated the Spaniard in 2006 in Stockholm.

GustavoKuerten, in 1997, was the last defending French Open champion to lose in the first round at Wimbledon.

Darcis, who had won only one previous match at Wimbledon, played the match of his life Monday, going for his shots and moving Nadal from corner to corner. Darcis amassed a total of 53 winners, compared with 32 for Nadal.

Darcis finished the match in style, serving an ace down the middle - his 13th - as Nadal failed to chase after the ball.

Federer through

Earlier, Roger Federer began his bid for a record eighth title at the All England Club with the same dominance that has defined his grass-court greatness.

Ten years after his first Wimbledon championship, Federer opened the tournament on Centre Court as defending champion and looked right as home as he dismantled Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

This was a grass-court clinic from Federer that lasted 68 minutes. He had 32 winners, seven aces and just six unforced errors.

He won 90 per cent of the points when he put his first serve in. When his serve is clicking, Federer usually is unbeatable. On this day, he won his first 15 service points and 24 out of the first 25.

"I'm happy to get out of there early and quickly,'' Federer said. "Soit was a perfect day.''

Earlier, Wimbledon produced an upset in the women's draw with fifth-seeded Sara Errani eliminated by Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig 6-3, 6-2.

Second-seeded Victoria Azarenka overcame a right knee injury from a scary fall beating Maria Joao Koehler of Portugal 6-1, 6-2.

Source: alijazeera

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