- Harris County deputies demolish house during tense standoff Chron
- Terran Green charged with attempted capital murder, shot 4 officers FOX 26 Houston
- 2 officers shot; suspect believed to be gunman in deputy’s shooting possibly barricaded in NE Ha… KPRC 2 Click2Houston
- Humble standoff: Terran Green, accused of shooting Joseph Anderson, 3 others, charged with 4 counts of attempted capital murder KTRK-TV
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Tag Archives: demolish
Watch NASA demolish a piece of space history in 10 seconds
NASA is normally concerned with blasting rockets to space, but on Saturday it focused on blasting a former administrative headquarters to smithereens.
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The space agency demolished Building 4200 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, about 130 miles northwest of Atlanta.
The YouTube channel for the Marshall Space Flight Center livestreamed the demolition in which multiple controlled explosions razed the structure in a matter of seconds.
Building 4200 acted as the Marshall Space Flight Center’s administrative headquarters from 1963 until 2020.
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Clearing the old building out of the way creates space for a series of new, state-of-the-art facilities from where NASA will plan missions well into the future.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center was founded in 1960 and covers around 1,800 hectares. The site has a workforce of around 6,000 people is one of the agency’s largest field centers.
“NASA and its government and commercial partners have solved spaceflight’s most complex, technical problems here for nearly six decades, dating back to the groundbreaking Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and ’70s,” the agency says of Marshall on its website.
“Marshall’s expertise and capabilities are crucial to the development, power and operation of the engines, vehicles and space systems America uses to conduct unprecedented missions of science and exploration throughout our solar system, enabling or enriching nearly every facet of the nation’s ongoing mission of discovery.”
Marshall engineers, scientists, and researchers work on a wide range of projects, creating and refining technologies in the areas of space transportation and propulsion, space habitats, and planetary landers, as well as working on important developments in complex space systems and scientific research.
Propulsion technology is a particular focus of teams at Marshall, with personnel exhibiting strong expertise in traditional solid and liquid propulsion systems, along with advanced propulsion technology such as solar sails and nuclear propulsion. The ongoing work paves the way for the design of different kinds of spacecraft able to handle a range of missions.
“From the earliest test flights of Mercury and Redstone rockets, through the Saturn V missions and Space Shuttle Program, to the country’s next-generation flagship space vehicle, the Space Launch System, and the new Artemis Program to return human explorers to the moon and send them on to Mars and beyond, Marshall has provided the development of every major propulsion system in NASA’s history,” the agency said.
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Indian officials demolish several houses after protests over anti-Islam remarks
In Indian Kashmir, police arrested a youth for posting a video threatening to behead the ruling party’s former spokeswoman who had made some of the remarks, officials said. The video, circulated on YouTube, has been withdrawn by authorities.
Muslims have taken to the streets across India in recent weeks to protest against the anti-Islamic comments by two members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Clashes have broken out between Muslims and Hindus and in some cases between protesters and police in several areas. Police in Uttar Pradesh arrested more than 300 people in connection with the unrest.
Some in India’s minority Muslim community see the comments as the latest instance of pressure and humiliation under BJP rule on issues ranging from freedom of worship to the wearing of hijab head scarves.
The BJP has suspended its spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and expelled another leader, Naveen Kumar Jindal, for the comments, which have also caused a diplomatic row with several Muslim countries.
Police have filed cases against the two and the government has said the comments do not reflect its views.
Muslim groups have demanded their arrest, while some hardline Hindu groups label them as brave and nationalist politicians.
Over the weekend the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, Yogi Adityanath, ordered officials to demolish any illegal establishments and homes of people accused of involvement in riots there last week, the BJP’s state spokesperson said.
The house of an alleged mastermind of the riots, whose daughter is a female Muslim rights activist, was demolished amid a heavy police presence on Sunday. Properties of two more people accused of throwing stones after Friday prayers were also demolished in the state.
Mrityunjay Kumar, Adityanath’s media adviser, tweeted a photo of a bulldozer demolishing a building and said, “Unruly elements remember, every Friday is followed by a Saturday.”
Opposition leaders said Adityanath’s government was pursuing an unconstitutional method to silence protesters.
On Sunday, Jindal said his family faced continuous threats and some of his followers said a crude bomb was defused near his residence in capital New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far not commented on the communal unrest.
In the eastern state of West Bengal, authorities enforced an emergency law prohibiting public gatherings in the industrial district of Howrah until June 16.
BJP’s West Bengal president on Sunday staged a sit-in protest and accused neighboring Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim nation, of inciting violence in the state.
On Friday, two teenagers were killed in clashes between Hindus and Muslims in eastern India, police said on Saturday. Police opened fire to break up the violence in the city of Ranchi in Jharkhand state but it was not clear if the two victims were killed by the police or by rioters.
Senior police official Surendra Kumar Jha said at least 14 police officials were injured in the incident in Ranchi and other areas. A curfew was imposed and Internet services suspended to stop the unrest escalating.
Last week countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Iran — which are key trade partners of India — lodged diplomatic protests to demand an apology from Modi’s government for the comments.
7 takeaways as Celtics demolish Heat in Game 2 following Marcus Smart’s return
Celtics
The Celtics got hot early and never looked back.
What did Marcus Smart change in a 127-102 Game 2 blowout between the Celtics and Heat?
For one thing, the Defensive Player of the Year makes a defense (surprise) much better. Smart — who returned after missing Game 1 with a mid-foot sprain — made switches more palatable. He forced turnovers. He mucked up a Heat offense that ran through the Celtics like a sharp knife through a tender steak in the second half on Tuesday. He helped keep Heat star Jimmy Butler in check.
Smart also played defense with his offense — the Celtics’ primary ball-handler committed just one turnover, which prevented the Heat from getting out in transition. He also dished out 12 assists and scored 24 points (8-for-22, 5-for-12 from 3-point range).
Smart has long pined for an opportunity to be the Celtics’ starting point guard, which is his preferred role on the court. In that role, he thrived this season — the Celtics are just under six points per 100 possessions better with Smart on the floor, which is comfortably his career-high.
“That’s what I got drafted here to do,” Smart said. “I just waited my turn. I’m blessed to be in the situation I am to have the opportunity to go out and show what I can do, and I think everybody in the organization — in the world — is seeing what I can do at that point guard position.”
The Celtics were better with Al Horford back in the game too, unquestionably (more on his odd situation in a minute). Horford makes the Celtics a big, switchable unit that can overpower opponents while sticking 3-pointer after 3-pointer in their eye.
But on Thursday, the impact of Marcus Smart on a basketball game was on full display. The Celtics have a long way to go against an intelligent, well-coached opponent that knows how to win — an opponent that might get its star point guard back at some point — but Thursday was a reminder that the team that folded so easily on Tuesday was short-handed and exhausted.
With a little rest and a little continuity, the Celtics looked like themselves again.
More takeaways
2. After a slow start the Celtics hit the Heat with a barrage of 3-pointers that sparked a 21-point first-quarter turn around. The Heat ran out to a 10-point lead, but the Celtics reversed that and claimed an 11-point advantage after one quarter by going 9-for-11 from behind the arc in the period. They finished the game a sizzling 20-for-40 from 3-point range.
Expect the Heat to figure out ways to cover the Celtics better from deep, but if they don’t, this series won’t be particularly long.
3. Another important adjustment: The Celtics stopped playing so deep in drop pick-and-roll coverage against Tyler Herro, who is entirely too good at pull-up jumpers and floaters to allow bigs to sag too far off. Even Robert Williams can’t cover the requisite ground to slow Herro in those looks. After several easy buckets by Herro early in the game, the Celtics played significantly higher in the second half and were much better.
“We didn’t want them that far back,” Udoka noted before the game, which presumably was true in the first quarter as well.
Herro finished with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
4. Not enough will be made of Jaylen Brown’s performance, but he hit several big shots. In the first quarter, he started the Celtics’ scoring with a three, then crossed Max Strus into a smooth jumper that snapped a run by the Heat that had pushed the lead to 10. He then canned two more triples before the quarter ended, the second of which was very deep and pushed the Celtics’ lead to 11. That stretch was critical — Jayson Tatum sat for much of the first quarter after picking up his second foul.
By the time he returned, the Celtics were polishing a double-digit lead.
“J.B. can do it all,” Tatum said. “So when he has the ball more often than not great things are going to happen. He was just real decisive, getting to his spots and just making the right play, obviously drawing a lot of attention out there.”
5. After the game, Horford said he “felt a little off,” which led to his test.
“Tuesday we got the news, and then subsequently got tested again and again and was able to get cleared,” he said. “Just definitely a lot of emotions, and through all of it, I just tried to stay locked in, do my part as best I could. I’m happy that I was able to be out there with the guys tonight.”
That seems to be the best public explanation we are going to get for Horford’s brief absence, and you could be excused for still feeling a little unclear as to what just happened. Steve Bulpett reported for Heavy.com that Horford was considered a close contact after speaking to someone who later tested positive after a game, but we don’t know whether Horford tested positive (it sure seems like he must have) and if he did, why he suddenly tested negative the requisite number of times on Thursday.
The Celtics have remained steadfast in their policy of not talking about players who go into health and safety protocols.
“We don’t get into specifics with our guys as always,” Udoka said. “But he passed the amount of tests he needed to and always was feeling fine.”
6. Congratulations to Derrick White and his wife, who welcomed their son on Thursday. Hendrix James White became the second baby Hendrix on the Celtics team (Rob Williams’ son is also named Hendrix).
White was spotted flying back to Boston prior to Game 2.
7. Thursday’s loss was Miami’s first home loss of the postseason. The Celtics stole home-court advantage from the top-seeded Heat and now have a chance to take a 2-1 lead in Boston on Saturday.
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Evergrande has been ordered to demolish 39 buildings in Chinese resort
Chinese media reported over the weekend that authorities in Hainan province — a tropical resort island off the coast of southern China — ordered Evergrande to demolish 39 buildings, saying that the building permits had been illegally obtained.
The company acknowledged the order in a post on WeChat on Monday night, noting that it did not affect other buildings in the same property project, which involve some 61,000 property owners.
The 39 buildings are part of Evergrande’s gigantic Ocean Flower Island project in Hainan, in which the company has invested nearly $13 billion over the last six years.
The company suspended trading in Hong Kong on Monday, without elaborating. In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the company said it would resume trading in the afternoon, and confirmed that it would “actively communicate” with authorities about the Ocean Flower Island project and “resolve the issue properly.”
Shares surged as much as 10% after trading started in early afternoon, before paring gains. They were last up 1.3%.
In Tuesday’s filing, Evergrande also said it has achieved contracted sales of 443.02 billion yuan ($70 billion) for 2021. That was down 39% from 2020’s sales figure. And regarding liquidity, the company said it would continue to “actively maintain communication with creditors, strive to resolve risks and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all parties.”
Evergrande — which was China’s second largest property developers by sales in 2020 — is reeling under more than $300 billion of total liabilities.
It has been scrambling for months to raise cash to repay lenders, and the company’s chairman Xu Jiayin has been reportedly selling off personal assets to prop up its finances. But that doesn’t seem enough to avoid default.
In December, Fitch Ratings declared that the company had defaulted on its debt, a downgrade the credit ratings agency said reflected Evergrande’s inability to pay interest due that month on two dollar-denominated bonds.
Analysts have been long concerned that a collapse by Evergrande could trigger wider risks for China’s property market, hurting homeowners and the broader financial system. Real estate and related industries account for as much as 30% of the country’s GDP. The US Federal Reserve warned in November that trouble in Chinese real estate could damage the global economy.
There’s already plenty of evidence that Beijing is taking a leading role in guiding Evergrande through a restructuring of its debt and sprawling business operations.
But analysts warned, though, that the real estate crisis remains a looming threat for China.
Suns Demolish Discombobulated Blazers in Preseason Blowout
The Portland Trail Blazers entered preseason Game 3 against the Phoenix Suns this afternoon ready to get their regular rotation players some time together on the floor. They managed that. Four of five starters played 20 minutes or more, getting great exposure on both ends. That exposure did not yield good things. The starters averaged a -23.2 plus-minus between them as the Blazers got housed by the Suns, 119-74. Portland committed 21 turnovers, shot 16% from the three-point arc, and generally died a slow death as Phoenix rained in threes and jammed home dunks. It was not a promising outing for a team looking to start the season hot in exactly one week.
Let’s talk about the defense, since that’s the primary improvement expected this season. There’s a definite change in defensive philosophy, especially against screens. We’ve talked about this before. Sending two defenders out against screens allows the Blazers to use mobility among their bigs (which they have) instead of relying on size and shot blocking (which they don’t).
Increased turnovers are the main product so far. They’re able to pinch the ball-handler, either poking it away or creating trickier passing situations. Now Portland can scope out the angles, get long arms/hands into the lane, and force the miscue.
Unfortunately, turnovers aren’t even beginning to make up for an utter lack of effectiveness otherwise. The Blazers are pretty good at the point of attack. They’re adequate after the initial pass following, as their first rotation is usually crisp. After that, they’re hopeless. They seem to have no idea how to adjust as a team after that initial defensive move. One more pass yields an open three for the opponent. If the Blazers close, one pass after that yields a dunk. And all that happens when the Blazers were trying on defense. Phoenix got a disturbing number of dunks and alley-oops out of their halfcourt offense in this game…literally the easiest shots imaginable. This should never happen against a team with defensive backbone, particularly when the same team is giving up open threes. If the Blazers are not guarding the arc and not guarding the rim, what exactly ARE they guarding?
Any advantage in turnovers generated is being offset by turnovers committed, which is a recurring theme so far this preseason. It isn’t just the dregs of the rotation, either. I never thought I’d say that Portland’s starting lineup looks lost out there on the floor, but…they kind of did. We’re talking about this on the Dave and Dia podcast this week (coming out tomorrow). When you go away from an isolation-based offense which keeps the ball in the hands of your most experienced, talented players, you’re going to lose efficiency. Every pass is another opportunity for a miscue. You hope to generate enough superior looks to overcome the risk/difference. That’s not happening for the Blazers right now. In essence, they’re incurring the penalty for their new style without reaping the benefits. One would presume that this will improve over time, but the Blazers have only one game remaining before contests start counting.
Speaking of offense, Portland’s baffling inability to hit three-point shots continued today. There’s not much to say except that they’re bricking shots they usually hit. Some of it might be rhythm; their starting guards are concentrating on more things and/or getting shots later in possessions than they used to. But their outlet shooters just aren’t hitting either. Once the Blazers got behind in the game, they tried to take it over with offense, as is their habit. Without the threes, they were firing blanks.
Jusuf Nurkic continues to be a pivotal player in Portland’s schemes. He did not get as many touches on offense as he did in the first preseason game. The Blazers weren’t forcing it to, or through, him. When he did catch in the middle, he turned decisively and tried to score quickly. That was a big improvement over the bobble-and-delay performance we saw earlier. Nurkic’s screens came hard and stuck opponents on multiple occasions. That was great. Even playing better, he still committed 5 turnovers.
On defense, the story was also mixed. Portland had NO interior defense when Nurkic sat. That recommends him highly. He looked slightly more spry getting out to screens and back to the rim when necessary. But he also picked up 5 fouls in 20 minutes. Like most things with the Blazers this fall, it’s two steps forward, four-and-a-half steps back.
Larry Nance, Jr. struggled with continuity today, committing turnovers and fouls while not shutting down the inside subbing for Nurk. He did play a little bit of point forward. It’ll be interesting to see if that experiment continues.
Dennis Smith, Jr. got a lot of run and may be on the inside track to grab a final roster spot.
Other than that, no startling developments came out of the game. It wasn’t supposed to be a startle-heavy day for them. This game was designed for the starting lineup and high-rotation players got run together, shifting into gear. The opportunity came. The gear shifting? Not so much. It was disturbing to see how poorly the main players meshed together compared to the Suns.
The Blazers get one more chance to tune up on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors. Let’s hope they take better advantage than they did today.
Boxscore
Portland and Golden State tip it off at 7:00 PM on Friday night.
Miami condo collapse: explosives demolish remaining portion of building | Miami condo collapse
Demolition crews set off explosives late on Sunday to bring down the damaged remaining portion of a collapsed South Florida condo building, a key step to resuming the search for victims as rescuers possibly gain access to new areas of the rubble. No one has been found alive since the first hours after the disaster. So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing.
A number of explosions could be heard on Sunday night and then the building started to fall, sending up massive plumes of dust into the air in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Crews were to begin clearing some of the new debris so rescuers could start making their way into parts of the underground garage. Once there, rescuers are hoping that they will gain access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Miami-Dade assistant fire chief Raide Jadallah has said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors.
The precarious, still-standing portion of a collapsed South Florida condo building was rigged with explosive charges and set for demolition overnight, Miami-Dade County officials said late Sunday. The work has suspended the search-and-rescue mission, but officials said it will open up new areas for rescue teams to explore.
Rescuers will await the “all-clear” after the demolition and then immediately dive back into the task of trying to locate any survivors buried under the rubble, County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. Officials had previously said that the search could resume from 15 minutes to an hour after the detonation.
“We are standing by. We are ready to go in, no matter the time of night,” Levine Cava told a news conference Sunday night.
Search efforts have been suspended since Saturday afternoon to allow workers to drill holes for explosives. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said earlier that up to 210 rescuers will be poised to restart the search as soon as the site is declared safe after the blast.
Levine Cava said Sunday that demolishing the building was a top priority. “Bringing down this building in a controlled manner is critical to expanding the scope of our search-and-rescue effort,” she said at a news conference.”
Officials had evacuated residents around the site ahead of the demolition and warned others to stay indoors and close windows, doors and any other openings that could allow dust in.
“There’s nobody in charge really talking about stopping this rescue effort,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told CBS’ Face the Nation. “This rescue effort as far as I’m concerned will go on until everybody is pulled out of that debris.”
Concerns had mounted that the damaged Champlain Towers South building in Surfside was at risk of falling on its own, endangering the crews below and preventing them from operating in some areas. The approach of Tropical Storm Elsa added urgency to the demolition project. The latest forecasts have moved the storm westward, mostly sparing South Florida, but meteorologists have said the area could still feel effects starting Monday.
Florida officials accelerate plans to demolish unstable remains of condo tower ahead of potential tropical storm – The Washington Post
- Florida officials accelerate plans to demolish unstable remains of condo tower ahead of potential tropical storm The Washington Post
- Tropical Storm Elsa Nearing Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba; Florida Threat Begins Monday | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com The Weather Channel
- Hurricane Elsa: What impacts could Tampa Bay see? WFLA
- First Alert Forecast: Sunny for your holiday weekend; moisture from Elsa could impact South Carolina next week WIS10
- 5 PM UPDATE: Elsa picks up speed, now 85 mph Florida Keys Weekly
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Officials race to demolish rest of collapsed Miami building ahead of tropical storm
With the threat of Tropical Storm Elsa looming, the rest of the partially collapsed Miami Beach-area condo building could be brought down as early as Sunday, officials said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state will pay all costs associated with the demolition of Champlain Towers South in Surfside.
That process could start “as early as tomorrow,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said during the press conference.
The announcement comes a day after Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the standing portion of the complex was subject to an emergency order “to demolish the building as soon as engineers sign off on next steps.”
“Our top priority remains search and rescue,” Cava said at a news conference Friday. But “the building poses a threat to public health and safety.”
Part of the threat comes as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches Florida. The storm could hit the state as early as Monday, impacting search and rescue efforts. Emergency experts worry that the storm’s strong winds could compromise the remaining structure and threaten the safety of rescue workers.
“We have a building here in Surfside that is tottering, it is structurally unsound and although the eye of the storm is not not likely to pass over this direction, you could feel gusts in this area. We don’t know. It’s definitely a possibility,” DeSantis said, adding that both mayors, Cava and Burkett, support demolishing the building.
A contract to authorize the demolition has already been signed, Cava said Saturday. Survivors and families of the 124 people who remain unaccounted for have been briefed about the plans to demolish the building.
“I personally spoke to survivors,” Cava said. “They recognize where we are and understand.”
Meanwhile, two more bodies were found in the rubble, increasing the confirmed death toll to 24, according to the mayor. At least 188 people have been accounted for, Cava said.
She had previously announced that demolition could take weeks. Things changed after officials spoke to another company with experience doing controlled demolitions Friday evening.
“Instead of waiting weeks and allowing bureaucracy to crawl,” Burkett said, Cava “made a very dramatic decision and signed the order to get this building taken down immediately.”
DeSantis said the building can be brought down within 36 hours, adding that the interruption to search and rescue efforts would be minimal.
Crews “would have to stop a little bit before, and a little bit after just to make sure that there were no fires, but it’s probably the most minimal interruption in terms of the course of action they’re pursuing,” he said.
Experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which investigated in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, had already started to survey the site of the collapse Friday as they investigate what caused it to crumble.
Following the collapse, officials have reviewed the structural integrity of all city condo high-rises above five stories. As part of that audit, one North Miami condominium complex was deemed unsafe, prompting an overnight evacuation effort.
North Miami Beach Building and Zoning Department ordered the “immediate closure and evacuation of Crestview Towers Condominium” after the agency was informed of a Jan. 11 recertification report in which an engineer said the 156-unit complex “was structurally and electrically unsafe.” More than 300 people who were living in the building have been evacuated, NBC Miami reported.
Out-of-town rescue crews who have been assisting on search and rescue efforts are now being forced to return home to engage in emergency preparation efforts due to the looming storm.
Charlotte County Public Safety Director Jason Fair, who is from a coastal town about three hours away from Surfside, told NBC’s TODAY he spent 12 hours sifting through the rubble but is now returning to his hometown which is on Elsa’s path.
“It’s time to switch hats and start taking on another public safety role,” Fair said.
Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Comisky also said that six firefighters who were part of a rescue task force have left the scene after testing positive for Covid-19. So far, no other rescue crew members have been infected, officials said Saturday.
Other local rescue crews will remain on Surfside as they embark on their tenth day of search efforts.