On This Day, July 23: China launches Tianwen-1 mission to Mars
In 1962, Jackie Robinson became the first Black player inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947.
In 1967, rioting erupted on 12th Street in the heart of Detroit's predominantly Black inner city. By the time it was quelled four days later by 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops, 43 people were dead, 342 injured.
In 1973, Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox served subpoenas on the White House after U.S. President Richard Nixon refused to turn over requested tapes and documents.
In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed when a helicopter crashed on the movie set of The Twilight Zone.
In 1984, Vanessa Williams gave up her crown as Miss America, bowing to demands by pageant officials that she quit because she appeared nude in sexually explicit pictures in Penthouse magazine.
Former Miss America Vanessa Williams (R) poses with the 2015 Miss America, Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell on September 13, 2016. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
In 1999, U.S. Air Force Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a space shuttle flight, with the launch of Columbia on a four-day mission.
In 2002, a laser-guided bomb fired from an Israeli warplane hit the Gaza home of Sheik Salah Shehada, founder of the military wing of Hamas, killing him and 14 others and wounding more than 140 people.
In 2003, the Massachusetts attorney general said an investigation indicated nearly 1,000 cases of abuse by Roman Catholic priests and other church personnel in the Boston diocese over 60 years.
In 2005, three synchronized terrorist bombings struck Sharm el-Sheik, an Egyptian resort, killing at least 90 people and injuring 240.
U.S. President George W. Bush (C) and first lady Laura visit the Egyptian Embassy and greet ambassador Nabil Fahmy (L) to sign a book of condolence for the weekend bombing in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheik in Washington on July 25, 2005. File Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/UPI
In 2012, the NCAA imposed severe penalties, including a $60 million fine, on Penn State University. One official accused the university of a "conspiracy of silence" about child abuse involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a scientific review that said mint flavoring makes it easier to start smoking cigarettes and then harder to quit.
In 2014, a TransAsia Airways twin turboprop plane crashed in stormy weather during an emergency landing on a Taiwanese island, killing 48 people and injuring 10.
In 2019, Conservative Party members voted Boris Johnson as Britain's new prime minister, succeeding Theresa May.
In 2020, China launched the Tianwen-1 orbiter in its first attempt to reach the surface of Mars. The rover Zhurong set down on the red planet on May 15, 2021. The mission's Zhurong orbiter collected data indicating water may have existed on the planet more recently than previously thought.
In 2023, Elon Musk announced that the social media platform Twitter would now be known as X.
In 2024, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after it was announced a bipartisan House task force would investigate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential run.
File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI
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2 hours ago
As Dubai cracks down on crowded apartments, migrant workers have nowhere else to go
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Lights flicker, doors hang off their hinges and holes in the walls expose pipes in the apartment building where Hesham, an Egyptian migrant worker, lives in Dubai, an emirate better known for its flashy skyscrapers and penthouses. His two-bedroom rental unit is carved up to house nine other men, and what he calls home is a modified closet just big enough for a mattress. But now the government has ordered the 44-year-old salesman out of even that cramped space, which costs him $270 a month. He's one of the many low-paid foreign laborers caught up in a widespread crackdown by authorities in Dubai over illegal subletting. That includes rooms lined with bunk beds that offer no privacy but are as cheap as a few dollars a night, as well as partitioned apartments like Hesham's, where plywood boards, drywall and plastic shower curtains can turn a flat into a makeshift dormitory for 10 or 20 people. After a blaze at a high-rise in June, Dubai officials launched the campaign over concerns that partitioned apartments represent a major fire risk. Some of those evicted have been left scrambling to stay off the streets, where begging is illegal. Others fear they could be next, uncertain when or where inspectors might show up. 'Now we don't know what we'll do,' said Hesham, who's staying put until his landlord evicts him. Like others living in Dubai's cheapest and most crowded spaces, he spoke to The Associated Press on condition only his first name be used for fear of coming into the crosshairs of authorities enforcing the ban on illegal housing. 'We don't have any other choice," he said. Dubai Municipality, which oversees the city-state, declined an AP request for an interview. In a statement, it said authorities have conducted inspections across the emirate to curb fire and safety hazards — an effort it said would 'ensure the highest standards of public safety' and lead to 'enhanced quality of life' for tenants. It didn't address where those unable to afford legal housing would live in a city-state that's synonymous with luxury yet outlaws labor unions and guarantees no minimum wage. Dubai has seen a boom since the pandemic that shows no signs of stopping. Its population of 3.9 million is projected to grow to 5.8 million by 2040 as more people move into the commercial hub from abroad. Much of Dubai's real estate market caters to wealthy foreign professionals living there long-term. That leaves few affordable options for the majority of workers — migrants on temporary, low-wage contracts, often earning just several hundred dollars a month. Nearly a fifth of homes in Dubai were worth more than $1 million as of last year, property firm Knight Frank said. Developers are racing to build more high-end housing. That continued growth has meant rising rents across the board. Short-term rentals are expected to cost 18% more by the end of this year compared to 2024, according to online rental company Colife. Most migrant workers the AP spoke to said they make just $300 to $550 a month. In lower-income areas, they said, a partitioned apartment space generally rents for $220 to $270 a month, while a single bunk in an undivided room costs half as much. Both can cost less if shared, or more depending on size and location. At any rate, they are far cheaper than the average one-bedroom rental, which real estate firm Engel & Völkers said runs about $1,400 a month. The United Arab Emirates, like other Gulf Arab nations, relies on low-paid workers from Africa and Asia to build, clean, babysit and drive taxi cabs. Only Emirati nationals, who are outnumbered nearly 9 to 1 by residents from foreign countries, are eligible for an array of government benefits, including financial assistance for housing. Large employers, from construction firms and factories to hotels and resorts, are required by law to house workers if they are paid less than $400 a month, much of which they send home to families overseas. However, many migrants are employed informally, making their living arrangements hard to regulate, said Steffen Hertog, an expert on Gulf labor markets at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The crackdown will push up their housing costs, creating 'a lot of stress for people whose life situation is already precarious,' he said. Hassan, a 24-year-old security guard from Uganda, shares a bed in a partitioned apartment with a friend. So far, the government hasn't discovered it, but he has reason to be nervous, he said. 'They can tell you to leave without an option, without anywhere to go.' Dubai has targeted overcrowded apartments in the past amid a spate of high-rise fires fueled by flammable siding material. The latest round of inspections came after a blaze in June at a 67-story tower in the Dubai Marina neighborhood, where some apartments had been partitioned. More than 3,800 residents were forced to evacuate from the building, which had 532 occupied apartments, according to a police report. That means seven people on average lived in each of these units in the tower of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats. Dozens of homes were left uninhabitable. There were no major injuries in that fire. However, another in 2023 in Dubai's historic Deira neighborhood killed at least 16 people and injured another nine in a unit believed to have been partitioned. Ebony, a 28-year-old odd-job worker from Ghana, was recently forced to leave a partitioned apartment after the authorities found out about it. She lived in a narrow space with a roommate who slept above her on a jerry-built plywood loft bed. 'Sometimes to even stand up,' she said, 'your head is going to hit the plywood.' She's in a new apartment now, a single room that holds 14 others — and sometimes more than 20 as people come and go, sharing beds. With her income of about $400 a month, she said she didn't have another option, and she's afraid of being forced out again.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
As Dubai cracks down on crowded jerry-rigged apartments, migrant workers have nowhere else to go
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Lights flicker, doors hang off their hinges and holes in the walls expose pipes in the apartment building where Hesham, an Egyptian migrant worker, lives in Dubai, an emirate better known for its flashy skyscrapers and penthouses. His two-bedroom rental unit is carved up to house nine other men, and what he calls home is a modified closet just big enough for a mattress. But now the government has ordered the 44-year-old salesman out of even that cramped space, which costs him $270 a month. He's one of the many low-paid foreign laborers caught up in a widespread crackdown by authorities in Dubai over illegal subletting. That includes rooms lined with bunk beds that offer no privacy but are as cheap as a few dollars a night, as well as partitioned apartments like Hesham's, where plywood boards, drywall and plastic shower curtains can turn a flat into a makeshift dormitory for 10 or 20 people. After a blaze at a high-rise in June, Dubai officials launched the campaign over concerns that partitioned apartments represent a major fire risk. Some of those evicted have been left scrambling to stay off the streets, where begging is illegal. Others fear they could be next, uncertain when or where inspectors might show up. 'Now we don't know what we'll do,' said Hesham, who's staying put until his landlord evicts him. Like others living in Dubai's cheapest and most crowded spaces, he spoke to The Associated Press on condition only his first name be used for fear of coming into the crosshairs of authorities enforcing the ban on illegal housing. 'We don't have any other choice,' he said. Dubai Municipality, which oversees the city-state, declined an AP request for an interview. In a statement, it said authorities have conducted inspections across the emirate to curb fire and safety hazards — an effort it said would 'ensure the highest standards of public safety' and lead to 'enhanced quality of life' for tenants. It didn't address where those unable to afford legal housing would live in a city-state that's synonymous with luxury yet outlaws labor unions and guarantees no minimum wage. Dubai boom boosts rents Dubai has seen a boom since the pandemic that shows no signs of stopping. Its population of 3.9 million is projected to grow to 5.8 million by 2040 as more people move into the commercial hub from abroad. Much of Dubai's real estate market caters to wealthy foreign professionals living there long-term. That leaves few affordable options for the majority of workers — migrants on temporary, low-wage contracts, often earning just several hundred dollars a month. Nearly a fifth of homes in Dubai were worth more than $1 million as of last year, property firm Knight Frank said. Developers are racing to build more high-end housing. That continued growth has meant rising rents across the board. Short-term rentals are expected to cost 18% more by the end of this year compared to 2024, according to online rental company Colife. Most migrant workers the AP spoke to said they make just $300 to $550 a month. In lower-income areas, they said, a partitioned apartment space generally rents for $220 to $270 a month, while a single bunk in an undivided room costs half as much. Both can cost less if shared, or more depending on size and location. At any rate, they are far cheaper than the average one-bedroom rental, which real estate firm Engel & Völkers said runs about $1,400 a month. The United Arab Emirates, like other Gulf Arab nations, relies on low-paid workers from Africa and Asia to build, clean, babysit and drive taxi cabs. Only Emirati nationals, who are outnumbered nearly 9 to 1 by residents from foreign countries, are eligible for an array of government benefits, including financial assistance for housing. Large employers, from construction firms and factories to hotels and resorts, are required by law to house workers if they are paid less than $400 a month, much of which they send home to families overseas. However, many migrants are employed informally, making their living arrangements hard to regulate, said Steffen Hertog, an expert on Gulf labor markets at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The crackdown will push up their housing costs, creating 'a lot of stress for people whose life situation is already precarious,' he said. Hassan, a 24-year-old security guard from Uganda, shares a bed in a partitioned apartment with a friend. So far, the government hasn't discovered it, but he has reason to be nervous, he said. 'They can tell you to leave without an option, without anywhere to go.' Fires remain a threat in Dubai Dubai has targeted overcrowded apartments in the past amid a spate of high-rise fires fueled by flammable siding material. The latest round of inspections came after a blaze in June at a 67-story tower in the Dubai Marina neighborhood, where some apartments had been partitioned. More than 3,800 residents were forced to evacuate from the building, which had 532 occupied apartments, according to a police report. That means seven people on average lived in each of these units in the tower of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats. Dozens of homes were left uninhabitable. There were no major injuries in that fire. However, another in 2023 in Dubai's historic Deira neighborhood killed at least 16 people and injured another nine in a unit believed to have been partitioned. Ebony, a 28-year-old odd-job worker from Ghana, was recently forced to leave a partitioned apartment after the authorities found out about it. She lived in a narrow space with a roommate who slept above her on a jerry-built plywood loft bed. 'Sometimes to even stand up,' she said, 'your head is going to hit the plywood.' She's in a new apartment now, a single room that holds 14 others — and sometimes more than 20 as people come and go, sharing beds. With her income of about $400 a month, she said she didn't have another option, and she's afraid of being forced out again.
UPI
9 hours ago
- UPI
Suspect sought in deaths of couple hiking in Arkansas State Park
Devil's Den State Park in Washington County, Ark., was part of the Ozarks. Photo Arkansas State Parks/X July 27 (UPI) -- "All available resources are being used" to find the suspect in the deaths of a couple hiking on a trail at a northwest Arkansas state park, Col. Mike Hagar of the Arkansas State Police said Sunday. Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristenb Amanda Brinks, 41, were killed at Devil's Den State Park near Fayetteville in Washington County on Saturday afternoon, state police said. The couple, who recently moved to Prairie Grove from another state, were hiking with their daughters, 7 and 9, who were not injured. They are safe and in the custody of relatives, police said. "I want to thank the public and our media partners for their support as we pursue the man responsible for this heinous crime," Hagar said in a statement. "We are using all available resources to apprehend this suspect and bring him to justice." Assisting are local, state and federal law enforcement. The 2,500-acre park is in a remote and rural area, including rugged terrain with thick vegetation and no cellphone service. The park includes several trails and 20 miles for horseback riding. Devil's Den State Park was named one of the most beautiful state parks in America by @thetravlens. This park is an Arkansas icon, nestled in Lee Creek Valley. This stunning view is on the Yellow Rock trail at the park ! #ARStateParks #VisitArkansas Arkansas State Parks (@ArkStateParks) January 28, 2023 The park is in Lee Creek Valley of the Boston Mountains, which are part of the Ozarks. It was selected as a state park in the 1930s, and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program established during the Great Depression. Devil's Den also includes caves, an 8-acre man-made lake for fishing and boating, as well as a swimming pool. Campsites and cabins are also available. Police were dispatched at 2:40 p.m. local time Saturday. Investigators have not released the circumstances of the situation but have launched a double homicide investigation. They are asking for the public' help in identifying the suspect. "Investigators are asking those who visited the park on Saturday to check cellphone photos and videos or GoPro camera footage for images of the suspect," according to the police statement. Also, people nearby are asked to check their home security camera footage. The state police believe he is a White man with a medium build who was carrying a backpack. Police said he was driving toward a park exit in a black, four-door sedan, possibly a Mazda. The vehicle may have been going on State Highway 170 to State Highway 220 near the park. There is increased law enforcement in all of the state parks. "We are praying for the family and friends of the victims, and know that law enforcement will not rest until the perpetrator is brought to justice," Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on X.
