KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) – Diana Nyad ended her fourth attempt to swim across the Straits of Florida on Tuesday, her decades-old dream thwarted, more than anything else, by jellyfish.
Storms brewing around her and repeated jellyfish stings forced her out of the water at 12:55 a.m., her crew said. She traveled by boat close to a rocky shoreline in Key West on Tuesday afternoon, just over 72 hours after setting out from Cuba. She made a final short swim to a waiting crowd.
“I've been dreaming of this crossing for 35 years now and tried it four times. and should I say that there's no disappointment? no,” she said. “I'm not going to get that moment I dreamed of for so long.”
Nyad turns 63 on Wednesday and, all told, logged 41 hours and 45 minutes of swim time. Her team acknowledged at 8 a.m. that she had to be pulled from the water, but said it had been about 20 minutes earlier, not nearly seven hours earlier as was the case. She also spent time out of the water during a stormy Sunday night, though that was not acknowledged until Tuesday afternoon.
Under rules set by the World Open Waters Swimming Association, she could emerge from the water and preserve her chance at a record if her life was in danger. all of that was made moot by the fact that she didn't finish.
Her lips swollen from jellyfish stings, she appeared weary as she was helped up from the water at her arrival in Key West, though she insisted her muscles weren't even sore. She was given asthma inhalers, oxygen and an intravenous drip, mostly out of sight of the gathering crowd.
She all but ruled out a fifth try at attempting the crossing, though she also had ruled out a fourth one after failing last year.
“I'm not a quitter, but the sport and this particular ocean are different than they used to be,” she said. “These jellyfish are prolific. and, you know what? to me, there's no joy in that.”
She added: “This isn't swimming. It's like some Navy SEAL.”
Nyad plunged into the water Saturday afternoon in Havana and lasted longer and made it further than on her previous attempts, her team said. She first tried the swim in 1978, in a shark cage. She tried twice last year, without a shark cage, but again and again the record eluded her.
Australian Susie Maroney successfully swam the Straits in 1997, but she used a shark cage. In June, another Australian, Penny Palfrey, made it 79 miles (127 kilometers) toward Florida without a cage before strong currents forced her to abandon the attempt.
Monday night proved the most challenging of all for Nyad, with team members fending off sharks, waves crashing in stormy weather, jellyfish sting after sting, and Nyad fighting off a lowered body temperature and the threat of hypothermia.
“Instead of getting hit with one doozy they got hit with three,” said Vanessa Linsley, a member of Nyad's team. “They got hit with the weather, they got hit with the jellyfish and they got hit with the sharks all at the same time.”
Nyad had been training for three years for the attempt. She was accompanied by a support team in boats, and a kayak-borne apparatus shadowing her to keep sharks at bay by generating a faint electric field. A team of handlers was on alert to dive in and distract any sharks that made it through.
She took periodic short breaks to rest, hydrate and eat high-energy foods such as peanut butter. She said she had been reduced to tears several times – and expected more to flow – but turned reflective after arriving in Key West.
“I didn't get that final moment, but what a magnificent experience it all was,” she said.
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Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Cook County has a new medical examiner. Commissioners voted for Dr. Stephen Cina on Tuesday.
Board President Toni Preckwinkle nominated him for the job after the scandal involving unclaimed bodies at the morgue.
The Florida forensic pathologist, 46, admitted that some of his pals in the business asked him why he wanted to run the embattled morgue.
“My friends and colleagues have asked me why I want this position, as it is widely viewed as incredibly challenging in the medical examiner community,” he told Cook County commissioners during a Tuesday afternoon confirmation hearing.
“I love Chicago and Cook County, and I really love a challenge,” Cina told commissioners before they voted to hire the 47-year-old chief administrative officer at the University of Miami Tissue Bank, during a roughly two hour confirmation hearing.
But he added: “I can't do it alone,” imploring the help of county commissioners and the staff he'll manage.
And those same friends and colleagues, according to Cina, say he's up to the challenges of running the $6.8 million operation. Those challenges range from improving technology to filling vacant positions to cutting burial costs for some of the indigent, which means looking harder at the less-expensive option of cremation.
Cina is set to start Sept. 10, nine months after the Sun-Times first reported that bodies were piling up in a body storage cooler at the West Side facility— a scene so horrendous that a medical staff employee called it “sacrilegious.”
Employees said the stench was so awful — apparently from bodily fluid pooling on the floor of the cooler — that after the Sun-Times reported the complaints the state labor department launched an investigation.
The crowded cooler was the result of the slashed state funding for burials of those on public aid, but Preckwinkle also blamed morgue management.
In the end, Medical Examiner Nancy Jones announced she'd step down Aug. 1 and one of her top deputies was forced to resign this month.
Confident and steady Dr. Cina fielded questions and addressed concerns from county commissioners wanting to know everything from which celebrity he most looked like to how he'd balance running the morgue — which handles everything from homicides to unattended deaths and where more than 5,000 autopsies are conducted each year — with a forensic pathology consulting business.
He vowed to follow county rules on side jobs and a top aide to Preckwinkle, whose office oversees the medical examiner's office, will have to keep an eye on that to make sure the two jobs don't conflict.
“At first it's a 60-plus hour a week job,” he said, noting that in addition to doing autopsies, he'll be meeting with law enforcement, which relies on medical examiner's work in homicides and other investigations, as well as other work outside the office.
As for his star double?
“We could not get past who you really look like — who do you think we thought you look like?” Commissioner Deborah Sims, a South suburban Democrat, asked during a lighter moment.
Cina replied: “The wrong answer is Kenny Rogers after plastic surgery, the right answer would be Sean Connery….”
Sims admitted: “We thought you looked a lot like Burt Reynolds.”
While it's going to take money to meet some of Cina's goals, Commissioner Tim Schneider, northwest suburban Republican, reminded Cina that these are lean fiscal times in county government.
Cina said that when he started at the tissue bank a year ago they were dealing with a shortage of staffing but were still able to increase donations and revenues.
He said he's well aware of the partial hiring freeze at the county and the projected $267.5 million budget deficit next year.
“I don't believe we have a blank check for the office,” Cina said, noting that changes and improvements will be done over time.
In the end Tuesday, the county board voted 13-1 to confirm Cina, with Commissioner John Fritchey casting the sole “no” vote. Commissioner William Beavers voted “present.”
Fritchey said it's nothing personal, but that he simply had more questions than answers about Cina and his credentials.
Cina, 46, has previously worked as the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in Fort Lauderdale.
He will be paid $300,000 a year during his five-year term, and will be allowed to keep his side job as a consultant.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
A man who died after a car came rolling into his room at a La Mesa elder care facility on Tuesday was a decorated war hero.
Henry Hashiguchi was seated next to a wall inside the facility on Mills St.Tuesday afternoon when the unoccupied car came crashing into the building, throwing him to the ground.
The 89-year-old widower fell on his head and was transported to a local hospital.
Police initially believed Hashiguchi’s injuries were non-life threatening, but he died in the hospital shortly after arriving.
When officers arrived, the car was partially inside the building, and there was no driver inside.
Family members of Hashiguchi told NBC 7 San Diego that he was a decorated war hero, who received two purple hearts and a Congressional gold medal.
He was also one of the thousands of Japanese Americans who were forced into internment camps in the U.S. during World War II. after being released from the camp, he immediately joined the Army, his son told NBC 7 San Diego.
"They all wanted to volunteer because they wanted to prove their loyalty to the United States," Rich Hashiguchi said.
Hashish’s company helped to rescue the lost Texas battalion, the Texas Rangers, when they were completely surrounded by Germans. He was at one point, shot in the neck.
After losing his wife of nearly 60 years in 2006, Henry began suffering from dementia and was placed in a La Mesa senior home, where he died on June 26 after being struck by the unoccupied vehicle.
Police later found the owner of the car and determined he either forgot to set his parking break, or he left the car in gear and it rolled backwards across the street and into the building.
The car rolled about 260 feet before crashing into the building, police said.
His son and daughter can’t believe their father, who survived so many close calls in war, would end up dying like this.
That’s why they want the car’s owner to be held accountable.
"People need to take responsibility for their actions that’s called Karma,” daughter Donna West said. “ I would like to see that kind of thing done."
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A crowd of casual, nondescript white-shirted people hovered near the entrance of the dark-bricked Webster Hall on Tuesday afternoon, taking a break from this summer’s New Music Seminar. Leaning casually against the wrought-iron fence chatting were teenaged singers Christina Grimmie, her long brown hair dyed red, and Charity Vance, a classic Southern sweetheart with blonde hair and green eyes. the two have a combined 1.6 million fans on YouTube.
The New Music Seminar is a festival and conference celebrating new artists. the seminar portion of the event gives producers, writers and musicians including Sean Parker, Wyclef Jean and Andrew WK the opportunity to discuss and learn about the music making process. at night, the young and upcoming stars spread across the city to perform.
For its inaugural effort, the conference brought 150 artists to perform in 17 different venues. it also rounded up four YouTube stars for its main show on Monday night. the headliners were Ms. Grimmie; Ms. Vance; smiley heartthrob Tyler Ward; and the tall, surnameless singer-guitarist Noah.
So what’s it take to be YouTube-famous? Betabeat had the opportunity to chat with each of these four young stars.
Christina Grimmie, also known by her Youtube account name zeldaxlove64, rose to fame with her collaboration with fellow YouTube singer Sam Tsui on Nelly’s “Just a Dream.” Her star rose even further with her cover of “Party in the USA.” Ms. Grimmie, who was homeschooled, has already produced an album, find me. she is currently working on her second album. Last year, her fans voted her up to sing “Higher” with Taio Cruz at the Coca Cola Red Carpet Live. “I’ve never been to anywhere super official like this,” Ms. Grimmie told Betabeat. “And it’s a really big deal for me to be here and even asked to perform.”
On writing her own music:I’m gonna wean off of doing the covers, not to upset people, not to lose fans, but when you’re an artist and you know it, you don’t want to be known forever as “that cover girl on YouTube.”
On jamming with YouTubers IRL:me and Noah and Charity actually went up in this little hotel room and we were jamming for a while. You don’t know how good it feels to just jam with people that share the same passion that I do, so yeah we’ve been bonding and hanging out. They’re not intimidating people, they’re not ego-driven people. when I find people like that who share the same passion as me, they’re automatically my friends.
On hobbies:aside from gaming, I always kinda liked to draw, and I can only draw if I’m looking at something, but…what I would like to do—and it sounds really weird, and out there, and random—is I like to design video game maps, and not just because they’re video games, but because I have a weird thing with structures for maps, for games like, role playing games and things like that. (Giggles) so lame!
When I was young, I set up Beanie Babies. We had so many, me and my brother. I would set up the furniture, and one would be the castle and one day I’d be locked in a cage and you would have to go up to him and save him and that would be like a side quest for a game, I would love to build the maps around it and the shops and…I don’t know! It’s so random!
Not that kids don’t have that in them, but I still have that in me, like I will still do that, that’s still fun to me. Kinda like Barbies…I’m not gonna lie, me and my friends there we broke out the Barbies two years ago and played Barbies. I’m sorry. they were great.
You can’t get rid of [toys]. they have little faces, they’re like “No, Christina don’t leave me.”
On trolls and haters:I’m not gonna lie, it really, really upset me at one point. I was maybe a year into my videos. People would throw out the jokes and they would think it’s funny, whether it’s how I look or how I sound at this amount of seconds. It’s so stupid and cliché, but you’ve got to look past and
On the fans:I invited them a month, I think, in advance. Team Grimmie was really there [Monday] night. it was so amazing!
It’s funny how many people have my pouf haircut. I love seeing people like that. there was literally a mini-me last night. she was yea high (gestures around her shoulder) and she had my same old hair and Zelda shirt and my shoes that I always where. I’m like, “You are like me, it’s so funny!” I love how people really engage in my personal life. some people call that copying. I call that being a true fan.
It took some work, but we sussed out Noah’s last name: It’s Guthrie. the South Carolina crooner has over nine million views on YouTube for his bluesy cover of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It.” Mr. Guthrie was in New York recently for a stint on the Today show, and but a few weeks later he was invited back to the city for the Gramercy Theater concert. He is currently working on a new album in Los Angeles.
On being from South Carolina:Everyone’s like, “So where are you from?” “South Carolina.” “Aw yeah that’s what I thought.” I was like, “What does that even mean?”
On his LMFAO cover:I did that cover to myself as a joke and thought people would like it, and apparently they did and it slingshot a bunch of stuff into motion. It’s been kind of a whirlwind. I’ve been getting calls for shows and executives and big wigs and whatnot (I just said what not), but it’s been crazy and I’ve got a lot of attention.
On fame:It’s been kinda weird. It’s funny though because in your hometown, no matter how big you are, more people know you there but less people know of you. I could walk into one room in my hometown and everybody’d just be like, “Oh man, hey what’s up, yeah you did this thing!” and then I walk into another room 10 minutes later and it’ll be like, “Uh, what are you doing? get out.”
I don’t know why but it’s always at the bank. I always go to the bank and they’re like, “Hey you’re that guy!” I’m like, “Well, you’ve been my teller for like a year.”
So now I matter. I don’t know. Gained some friends, lost a few, and it’s been interesting.
Tyler I just met last night. I used to—and I still do, kinda, just because it’s funny—I put out a new video…and he’s really good, and he’s very good at production, that’s kinda what I envy him for, and I’ll put out a video, and just be like, “All right, this is out…what’s Tyler doing? Where’s his new video, I wanna see it.” and it always just trumps mine. I met him and I was very happy to know that he’s a very nice person, he’s very humble and just an awesome, generous and genuine person.
I just met Charity. I’ve seen her on YouTube but I saw her perform last night for the first time and her songs are great, and she’s awesome. Really excited to maybe work with her in the future.
On going to college:I’m taking a year-ish off, maybe half a year. I’m really interested in Berkelee Boston and their online program, but there’s also the problem of getting into Berklee. I would really love to do their online program for music business or something and I could just take it on the road. But yeah, I definitely want the higher education.
Would you ever get plastic surgery to look better on a webcam? We heard that’s a thing now.Ooh that’s a little intense. the thing I do is dieting; it’s just my thing. It’s been a personal goal of mine since I was younger. I’ve struggled with it my whole life, but I would never go to that extreme [of plastic surgery].
YouTube followers: 3,638Age: 19Mistaken for a staff member by another reporter outside Webster Hall, Ms. Vance did not bother to correct the man and instead directed him inside to ask for passes. the Arkansas native was on Season nine of American Idol. she is prolific in her performances in Nashville, and has already come out with an album, titled Charity Vance. Her new EP, “Let’s Pretend,” came out on June 4.
On panels:I’ve been through a ton of panels. I’ve got to see and hear really, really incredible writers that I look up to talk about experiences, different ways they cowrite and just hear how they’ve made it and what their take is on the industry. I got to go to the YouTube panel and hear Noah speak.
On the fans and the haters:I do have a lot of love on YouTube and on the social networks, but there’s one comment I got in particular that really warmed me and was awesome. it said something like, “This girl’s got something great, even her haters know it.”
I read every single comment, I answer as many as I can. the tweets get sent to my phone as text messages. It’s an honor to talk to [the fans].
I just had a new EP come out, an acoustic EP (Let’s Pretend). I love these songs, they really mean a lot to me, and it’s acoustic, so it’s very intimate. I’ve been getting great reviews from the fans and some of the music blogs too.
On how to become a YouTube star:just let it be a fun thing, let it be a passion of yours. Don’t change yourself. We need to see people that are big being relatable. I look up to Christina—I’m a little bit older than Christina. I look up to Noah. it doesn’t matter—age—on YouTube, it doesn’t matter anything. just put it up if you like it. I really think it’s an awesome way to have fun, make friends and make fun videos that you love.
YouTube followers: 920, 211Age: Censored by publicist, but has graduated college.
Mr. Ward works with two producers—Michael Gene Binder, who has produced over 100 albums, and Jeremy McCoy, who toured with the Fray, OneRepublic and Kelly Clarkson. once a football player at the United States Air Force Academy, he now has a reputation as a prominent local artist in Colorado and a national one who has played with the Jonas Brothers, Augustana and others.
On fame:[Some people] come out and ask me for favors, and it gets really really old. My friends, though, have been really supportive, and that’s great.
[The ones that ask are] just being like, “Hey, can I have a sponsorship for these guitars?” or “Hey can you get me a guitar for free?” I’m like, “No.” It’s just really annoying.
On fans and trolls:This is crazy to think about, but I did not know I was playing a show at all. We actually had this gig, and I remembered that I had to go to New York to play it. I got in and just went on Facebook and was like, “Hey! There’s this show.” there weren’t many people there but there was just like a handful of fans that came out to say hi. within in a two-hour period [since the Facebook post], it was pretty cool.
People who are really negative, you just brush off your shoulder. they troll and then the true fans call back and then the person feels like an idiot afterwards. My fans take care of me.
On those muscles:I really love working out. There’s this program called Insanity, and it’s like really, really intense and I do that for fun. I know that it’s really hard. I was touring and I was kinda getting out of shape, and so I did it.
On collaborations:I worked with Cody Simpson recently. Mostly though I’m just planning to do my original album. There’s a guy on YouTube named Trafik, and we’re going get together and do something soon.
On Broadway:I wanted to see the Book of Mormon, but when I went it was sold out. I’m going to go again when I come back on my tour early in December.
On how to be big on YouTube:find something you’re really good at, and work hard at it, and be smart about it. That’s the best advice to give. I think.
On being a YouTube star:It’s a full time job, and supports your living, which is awesome. You have fans all over world that like what you do.
it could have been a parade. Children held balloons. Parents pulled wagons. Spectators applauded. As crowds gathered at the Duquesne roundabout on East 20th Street, people in bright blue T-shirts handed out pinwheels, stress balls and bubble wands. But they also handed out tissues. despite the smiles and photographs and festival-like atmosphere, those who participated in the Walk of Unity on Tuesday afternoon, from Duquesne to Joplin’s Cunningham Park, were well aware of its purpose. the route followed the path of the historic 2011 tornado. “I woke up with a knot in my throat this morning,” said Tammy Niederhelman, who walked in memory of her son, Zachary Allen Williams. the 12-year-old was one of 161 people whose deaths were attributed to the May 22, 2011, tornado. he was in the bathtub when the tornado hit their house. he died instantly. Niederhelman walked the route with family members, each wearing a T-shirt with a photo of the deceased East Middle School student. They carried flowers meant to be placed at a cross at 20th Street and Texas Avenue, where the boy died. By contrast, Duquesne Mayor Denny White, sporting a “Duquesne round-a-bouters” T-shirt and a straw hat, was all smiles as he prepared to begin the walk and paused to speak of the courage and dedication of his town. Of the approximately 750 homes in Duquesne, 450 had some sort of damage, including more than 200 that were demolished. Nine people died in the storm in Duquesne. most of the damaged homes have been repaired, and building permits have been issued for projects to replace many of the homes that were destroyed. “It’s a happy day for us,” said White, whose business was destroyed and rebuilt. “we made it through a tough year.” he described the walk as “an uplifting experience. it shows you what a little town can do if we put our minds to it.” Duquesne resident and storm survivor Cindy Sundy offered a unique perspective as she began the walk: “May 22 last year was the best day of my life. because it could have been the worst day, and it wasn’t.” she and her family rode out the tornado as it leveled their home at East 24th Street and Duquesne Road. They have rebuilt on the same spot. “we made the decision when we were staring at what was left,” Sundy said. about a half-mile into the walk on East 20th Street, Gary Doolen, a Duquesne resident who was severely injured in the storm, handed out bottled water to walkers in front of his newly built apartment. “I’m still healing,” said Doolen, who suffered a crushed spleen and two broken ribs, and had pieces of a cellphone taken out of his back after the tornado. “It’s been a long year.” he was employed by the Missouri Department of Transportation. his injuries and subsequent pneumonia and bronchitis made it necessary for him to retire early. new Joplin High School graduate Jarred English walked toward South Range Line Road wearing a shirt bearing the slogan “Proud Graduate of Northpark Mall.” three hours after the tornado leveled many of his friends’ homes, the 18-year-old National Guardsman went to work in recovery efforts. he will leave for training soon at Fort Jackson, S.C., but during the walk he reflected on how much his community means to him. “when I’m done with training, my permanent unit will be in Joplin and I’ll be coming home,” he said. when the walkers reached the parking lot of the 15th Street Wal-Mart, employees with SNC Squared, a systems network computer consulting firm, posed for photos in matching Hawaiian shirts. Earlier in the day, they had celebrated their store’s new location at 26th Street and Jackson Avenue, and they planned to walk the route back to it. Noting the festival-like atmosphere, SNC employee Jared Wilkinson said he believes people are “glad to see progress has been made.” A contingent of 78 Dillons grocery store chain employees from across the Four-State Area wore matching T-shirts with “Dillons” emblazoned on the back. the Joplin store at 1402 E. 20th St. was destroyed in the tornado. Corporate spokeswoman Sheila Lowrie said Dillons is “looking forward to coming back to Joplin. we are still considering options.” Four former employees of Greenbriar Nursing Home, wearing matching tie-dye T-shirts, were walking in memory of the 11 residents and one employee lost in the tornado when it bore down on 2502 S. Moffet Ave. “we ran the 5K last Saturday in their memory, too,” said one of the group, Jessica Bradham. They all have relocated to other employment, but they try to get together at least once a month and stay connected via a Greenbriar Facebook page. “This was our family that we lost,” Bradham said. “we considered them that.” As the group traveled west, Dan Rees, who uses a wheelchair, propelled himself along by his own arm power. “my niece and her husband lost their house off of 26th Street, and I have been heavily involved in the Stained Glass Theatre, where we lost three people,” Rees said. “I’m doing this largely in support of that.” Dotting the entire route, members of the Joplin club Kites over Route 66 kept their kites in the air. On May 22 last year, they were flying their kites when someone heard a report that a storm was coming. They headed home and escaped injury. As the group passed Optical Outlet at 20th Street and Connecticut Avenue, Pam and George Lockwood watched from in front of the business they chose to rebuild at the same location. it opened earlier this year. Walkers paused to take pictures of a sign on their message board that read: “161 prayers have been sent to Heaven.” in a now-cleared lot on West 20th Street, Michelle Hare and a group of friends and family members paused for a moment at a homemade memorial for her son, Lantz Hare, a 16-year-old who would have graduated Monday night. “his body was found here,” his mother said. “we will finish the end of the walk. we just meet here sometimes; it is a place to sit and remember him.” the group passed by the steeple raising at the Joplin LDS Stake Center, 2200 S. Indiana Ave., where the sounds of some crowd members singing “How great Thou Art” silenced the walkers. the hymn mingled with distant sounds of cadences by the Joplin High School drumline, playing to the west near the site of their former school. Walkers funneled between a fleet of Joplin school buses to a groundbreaking ceremony there for a new high school. Standing at 1318 W. 26th St., where the Stained Glass Theatre was leveled by the tornado, Judy Korn and Lucy Pendergraft looked over the memorial to Randy Mell: a single rose in a makeshift vase made of a plastic water bottle held upright by stones. They had been Mell’s co-workers at the Jasper County Courthouse and were among fellow employees wearing navy blue shirts with the message: “in Memory of Randy Mell: Nov. 15, 1961 – May 22, 2011.” Mell had attended a performance at the theater on May 22, 2011, and was inside, holding the door to the basement for everyone in the building, when the tornado leveled it. As the walkers crested the hill on West 26th Street in front of the remaining shell of St. John’s Regional Medical Center, volunteers with Convoy of Hope handed out water bottles just as they did in the weeks after the storm. and at the top of the hill, medical staff members applauded walkers and shouted words of encouragement as the walk neared its end. “we came out to cheer this group, because people cheered us on, too,” said surgery nurse Kathy Wrensch, dressed in scrubs, as she wiped away a tear. “It’s amazing how far we’ve come,” she said. “We’re in for the long haul. It’s not easy, but we’re getting there.” GLOBE INTERN KEVIN GILMAN contributed to this report.
By MATT SEDENSKYAssociated Press
CHICAGO (FOX Chicago News) –
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