I was always grateful for someone allowing the truth to come out.
Craig Ford
Anchor, reporter and assistant news director
for WTVA-TV, Tupelo-Columbus, Miss.
Taste of outside world: Smugglers sneak KFC into Gaza
(Photo: NBC News)
The demand for KFC in the Gaza strip has led one company to beat the Israeli blockade by smuggling the fast food through tunnels from Egypt.
‘The buck stops at my desk’: Builder behind destruction of 2,300-year-old Mayan pyramid defends bulldozing
The owner of a road-building company in Belize that has been blamed for the near destruction of one of the country’s biggest Mayan pyramids said Thursday that the landowner gave permission to extract the material.
Businessman Denny Grijalva said the landowner had allowed excavations on his property for more than a decade.
In 1998, then businessmen Alfredo Martinez extracted stones from the same area also to build a road. Martinez is now Belize’s ambassador in neighbouring Guatemala.
Archeologists in Belize and around the world expressed outrage at the demolition of the Nohmul complex in northern Belize to extract crushed rock. (Jules Vasquez / AFP / Getty Image)
The greatest Dodger of all time: Sandy Koufax
What began with a simple question from sports writer Houston Mitchell: “Who are the 10 greatest Dodgers of all time?” turned into a massive wave of feedback, with 12,231 ballots surging in. And after a lengthy wait, we can finally reveal that the top Dodger of all time is legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax.
What made Koufax so great (beyond his victory on our ballot):
Koufax was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards (1963, ‘65 and ‘66), as well as the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award by a unanimous vote (1963, when he went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA). Many people will tell you that the greatest pitcher in baseball history was Sandy Koufax on four days’ rest. Second greatest? Sandy Koufax on three days’ rest.
As for the rest of the top three, the groundbreaking Jackie Robinson came in second, and the longtime voice of the Dodgers, Vin Scully, took third.
Many thanks to everyone who sent in a ballot, and feel free to check out the rest of the top-ranking Dodgers here!
Photos: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times, Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images
fdny:
The FDNY’s 285 new Probationary Firefighters give the “Count on Deck,” during their graduation ceremony on May 17. It was the first class to graduate in five years, and the most diverse in the Department’s history. View more photos: http://on.nyc.gov/16s68qq
npr:
A new rifle goes on sale this week, and it’s not like any other. It uses lasers and computers to make shooters very accurate. A startup gun company in Texas developed the TrackingPoint rifle, which is so effective that some in the shooting community say it should not be sold to the public.
— A New ‘Smart Rifle’ Decides When To Shoot And Rarely Misses : All Tech Considered
Photo: Courtesy of TrackingPoint
Iconic Presidential Photos
The Presidential Libraries are now on Pinterest. You’ll find some of the most requested images from the holdings of all 13 Presidential Libraries.
We’re pinning the historic moments, meetings with world leaders, Air Force One, First Ladies, and much more. You’ll find a fair share of White House pet pics too.
Take a look and let us know what else you would like to see!
http://pinterest.com/ourpresidents/
Photos: Lyndon B. Johnson gives Senator Richard Russell the “Johnson Treatment.” 11/7/63.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower Meeting the Troops Prior to the Normandy Invasion. 6/5/44.
The Big Three — Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference. 2/9/45.
John F. Kennedy points to a reporter at a news conference. 11/20/62.
Gerald R. Ford in the Oval Office. 3/25/75
(via retrocampaigns)
My two huskies - Kodi and Saffy.
Here’s fun time lapse video of the building of our new National News Desk, which sits in the middle of the USA TODAY newsroom.
