MON 30 APR 1945 Europe
Grossadmiral Karl Doenitz proclaims himself head of the German state by Hitler's appointment.
Sometime during April 1945 (exact dates indeterminate), USAAF and British aircraft sink German submarines U-3525 in the Baltic; U-1131 and U-1227 at Kiel, Germany; and U-677, U-982, and U-2516 at Hamburg, Germany.
Atlantic
Destroyer escorts Thomas (DE-102), Bostwick (DE-103), Coffman (DE-191), and frigate Natchez (PF-2) sink German submarine U-548 off Virginia, 36°34'N, 74°00'W.
PBY (VP 63) sinks German submarine U-1055 west of France, 48°00'N, 06°30'W.
Pacific
Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Bennion (DD-662), 27°26'N, 127°51'E, and minelayer Terror (CM-5), 26°10'N, 127°18'E. One suicide plane damages U.S. freighter S. Hall Young in Nago Bay; there are no fatalities among the crew, passengers, and 12-man Armed Guard.
Destroyer Jenkins (DD-447) is damaged by mine off Tarakan, Borneo, 03°12'N, 117°37'E.
Submarine Trepang (SS-412), despite proximity of three escorting coast defense ships, attacks Japanese convoy MOSI-05, sinking transport Miho Maru in Yellow Sea, 34°27'N, 123°48'E.
Japanese army tanker Yuno Maru is sunk by mine [laid by submarine Guitarro (SS-363) on 20 April 1945 or Dutch submarine O-19 on 13 April 1945] off east coast of Sumatra, 01°00'S, 104°30'E.
Japanese auxiliary minelayer Nuwashima is damaged by aircraft southeast of Dainyu-Jima, Saeki.
Japanese merchant cargo ship No.18 Yamabishi Maru is damaged by mine, off Wakamatsu light.
USAAF B-24s (13th Air Force) sink Japanese transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kunikawa Maru (previously damaged by Australian mine) in Balikpapan Bay, 01°15'S, 116°50'E.
Caity Weaver / New York Times: Time to Check Your Pandemic-Abandoned Car for Rats — There might be a nest in the engine. — You might want to make sure there's not a rat living (or recently dead) in your car's engine. — Why are you still reading? Check your car for a rat, I said. That's the tip.
SUN 29 APR 1945 Pacific
Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyers Hazelwood (DD-531), 27°02'N, 129°59'E, and Haggard (DD-555), 27°01'N, 129°40'E; and light minelayers Shannon (DM-25), 26°00'N, 127°00'E, and Harry F. Bauer (DM-26), 26°47'N, 128°42'E.
Motor minesweeper YMS-51 is damaged by mine off Tarakan, Borneo, 03°18'N, 117°33'E.
Japanese carrier attack planes (KATEs) flying from Truk attack Naval Base, Manus, Admiralty Islands, torpedoing the advance base section docks ABSD-2 and ABSD-4 in the belief that the shapes they perceive in the nocturnal strike are aircraft carriers.
TBM (VC 92) from escort carrier Tulagi (CVE-72) sinks Japanese submarine I 44, 220 miles southeast of Okinawa, 24°15'N, 131°16'E.
Submarine Besugo (SS-321) sinks Japanese guardboat Otome Maru southeast of Borneo, 05°45'S, 107°30'E.
Submarine Bream (SS-243) sinks German minesweeper depot ship Quito off Tanjong Puting, Borneo, N.E.I., 04°11'S, 111°17'E.*
Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Taishu Maru off Kamaishi, Japan, 39°15'N, 141°58'E.
USAAF B-24s on anti-shipping sweep of Makassar Strait sink Japanese cargo vessel No.5 Hirata Maru in Pamukan Bay, 02°30'S, 116°25'E.
Japanese passenger ferry No.2 Kuroshio (ex-landing ship T.149) is damaged by mine during passage from Singapore to Batavia; transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kumikawa Maru is damaged by mine laid by RAAF Catalina off Balikpapan, Borneo. Merchant cargo ship No.1 Aioi Maru is sunk by mine three miles off Tsunemi.*Some sources list Bream's victim as Teishu Maru; ULTRA material, however, uses the German name, and refers to communications between Tokyo and Berlin concerning her loss.
SAT 28 APR 1945 Atlantic
Frigate Huron (PF-19) accidentally rams and damages French submarine Argo off Key West, Florida.
Pacific
Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyers Wadsworth (DD-516), 26°47'N, 126°38'E; Daly (DD-519), 27°12'N, 128°16'E; Twiggs (DD-591), 27°12'N, 128°16'E; and Bennion (DD-662), 27°26'N, 127°51'E; high speed minesweeper Butler (DMS-29), 26°00'N, 127°00'E; hospital ship Comfort (AH-6), 25°30'N, 127°40'E; and transport fitted for the evacuation of wounded Pinkney (APH-2), 26°00'N, 127°00'E. Destroyer Lang (DD-399) is damaged in collision with oiler Brazos (AO-4), 26°11'N, 127°20'E. Japanese assault demolition boat causes extensive damage to U.S. freighter Bozeman Victory; six men among the 59-man merchant crew, 13 stevedores and the 27-man Armed Guard suffer injuries.
Motor minesweeper YMS-329 is damaged by mine off Tarakan, Borneo, 03°14'N, 117°42'E.
Submarine Sennet (SS-408) sinks Japanese cable layer Hatsushima off Kii Suido, south-southeast of Mikizaki, 33°55'N, 136°18'E.
Submarine Springer (SS-414) sinks Japanese submarine chaser Ch 17 west of Kyushu, 32°25'N, 128°46'E, as the latter is escorting landing ship T.146; later that day, submarine Trepang (SS-412) sinks T.146 off Osezaki, Japan, 32°24'N, 128°40'E.
British submarine HMS Tradewind attacks Japanese convoy off coast of Malaya, sinking merchant tanker Takasago Maru 53 miles from Kota Bharu, 06°48'N, 101°36'E.
USAAF B-25s and P-38s (Far East Air Force) bomb Japanese shipping at Saigon, sinking tanker No.8 Takasago Maru, 10°49'N, 106°41'E, and motor sailships No.10 Shingi Maru and 9 Nittai Maru and 1 Kashima Maru, Shuttle Boat No.51, Shuttle Boat No.57, and Shuttle Boat No. 74.
Japanese escort vessel Uku and Patrol Vessel No.102 [ex-U.S. destroyer Stewart (DD-224)] are damaged by aircraft, 34°52'N, 124°23'E.
USAAF mine sinks Japanese cargo vessel Gakujo Maru at western entrance of Shimonoseki Strait, 34°00'N, 130°50'E.
Margaret Hunter Sentencing for Campaign Fund Misuse Delayed Another Month
Sentencing has been delayed another month for the wife of former Rep. Duncan Hunter, who pleaded guilty along with her husband to federal conspiracy charges for misusing campaign funds to support years of personal expenditures.
Margaret Hunter was slated to be sentenced next Monday, but the hearing was postponed to June 8, which will be nearly one year since she pleaded guilty to using campaign credit cards on family vacations, restaurant and bar tabs, clothes and other frivolous expenses over the course of several years.
Prosecutors say the couple spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the former congressman falsely reporting the expenses as campaign related.
Duncan Hunter pleaded guilty about six months after his wife and was sentenced earlier this year to 11 months in federal prison. He’s slated to surrender to authorities on May 29.
In a joint motion filed last week by prosecutors and Margaret Hunter’s attorneys, both parties cited COVID-19 considerations in requesting a delay. The public health crisis has pared down federal court proceedings, with many hearings suspended in the interest of slowing the spread of the virus.
U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan approved the joint continuance request on Monday.
The Hunters were charged in 2018 in a 60-count indictment.
At Duncan Hunter’s sentencing hearing, he asked Whelan for leniency and sympathy when he sentences “the mother of my children,” asking the judge not to give her time in custody “if it’s possible.”
In the prosecution’s sentencing memorandum, it states the Hunters were “virtually penniless” and amid dire financial straits, resorted to using campaign credit cards to support “a profligate lifestyle leading to continual debt and an ever-increasing need to find cash to pay bills.”
Despite the family bank account not carrying a positive balance throughout any single month between 2009 and 2017, prosecutors say the family lived extravagantly, racking up thousands of dollars on expensive family trips and scores of other improper personal purchases, according to the memorandum.
Prosecutors also say in court filings that Duncan Hunter gave his wife a campaign credit card despite her having no official role in the campaign, and later hired her as campaign manager amid protests from members of his staff.
Justice delayed is justice denied. Lock her up & throw away the key so she can get the bug & die in prison, as she should.
FRI 27 APR 1945 Pacific
Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Ralph Talbot (DD-390), 26°00'N, 128°00'E; destroyer escort England (DE-635), 26°40'N, 127°40'E; and high speed transport Rathburne (APD-25), 26°26'N, 127°36'E; heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45) is damaged by shore battery, 26°14'N, 127°50'E; destroyer William D. Porter (DD-579) is damaged by friendly fire, 26°21'N, 127°43'E. A kamikaze also crashes U.S. freighter Canada Victory, killing one merchant officer and two of the 27-man Armed Guard; Canada Victory sinks, the survivors swimming to nearby attack transport Lauderdale (APA-179).
Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.31 Yusen Maru is sunk by aircraft off Amami-Oshima.
USAAF mine (laid on 27 March) sinks Japanese cargo vessel Kaiho Maru at western entrance of Shimonoseki Strait, 34°00'N, 130°50'E.
The challenge is not confined to the developing world. In England and Wales, the number of fatalities in the week ending April 10 was the highest this century. The figure was 76 per cent higher than the average for the same week in the past 5 years, and the number of excess deaths was 58 per cent higher than the total number of reported Covid-deaths for the same period. “If we want to . . . [understand] the ways different countries have responded to the surging pandemic and how [it] has affected the health of the population, the best way is to count excess deaths,” said David Leon, professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Experts have warned of serious under-reporting of Covid-19 cases in residential facilities for the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus. “Very few countries appear to be testing people in care homes, staff and residents, systematically,” said Adelina Comas-Herrera, Research Fellow at the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre of the London School of Economics.
Even the much higher numbers of deaths in the pandemic suggested by excess mortality statistics are likely to be conservative, as lockdowns mean that “mortality from numerous conditions such as traffic accidents and occupational injuries possibly went down,” said Markéta Pechholdová, assistant professor of demography at the University of Economics, Prague.
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"Latest reports of plummeting death rates from all causes"? (No citations given; lies, damned lies & statistics.)
It's all a socialist/bat-eating Chinese Commie conspiracy, so back to wage-slaving. What do you have to lose?
Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli faced
at least two dozen claims in the last two years,
records show. Her last day will be May 15.
(City of Beverly Hills)
By JAMES QUEALLY | STAFF WRITER
APRIL 25, 2020 | 3:24 PM
Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli announced her retirement Saturday, marking the end of a rocky tenure that saw the city pay out millions to settle lawsuits alleging that she had made racist remarks to subordinate officers and engaged in acts of harassment.
Spagnoli’s last day will be May 15, though she will be taking vacation time between now and that date, according to an internal department e-mail reviewed by The Times.
“During the Chief’s tenure, crime was reduced while the department increased diversity, public outreach, best practices and advancements in technology,” Beverly Hills City Manager George Chavez said in a statement. “We thank Chief Spagnoli for her service to our community and her three decades of public service in law enforcement.”
Spagnoli became the first female police chief in Beverly Hills history in 2016. A board member for the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police who previously led the San Leandro and Benicia police departments in Northern California, she received praise upon her hiring and even drew a glowing write-up in Vogue. The positive press was much needed and came on the heels of the controversial retirement of the city’s former chief, David Snowden, who stepped aside amid questions that he was drawing a second salary from a private-sector job.
But starting in 2018, a torrent of litigation surfaced, accusing Spagnoli of making racist comments, retaliating against officers and showing favoritism toward subordinates she had sexual liaisons with. All told, there were at least two dozen claims lobbed at Spagnoli in the past two years alone, records show. As the lawsuits piled up, the city hired Michael Sitrick, the crisis public relations specialist whose previous clients included Harvey Weinstein.
In late 2018, the city spent $2.3 million to settle a claim from Mark Rosen, a former police captain who was the highest ranking Jewish member of the department, who had accused the chief of denying him promotional opportunities based on his religion and making anti-Semitic remarks.
Other claims against Spagnoli previously reviewed by The Times included allegations she had referred to the yarmulkes worn by observant Jews as “funny little hats,” asked if she had to “dress Mexican” when invited to dinner at a Latino employee’s home and reacted with revulsion when informed that an employee was gay. Some court documents contain allegations that Spagnoli had sex with subordinate officers who were later rewarded with promotions.
Last summer, a jury awarded more than $1 million in damages to a group of lieutenants who had accused Spagnoli of workplace harassment and retaliation for giving depositions that were favorable to Rosen’s lawsuit.
Asked if there was any connection between the mounting litigation — records show another civil claim was filed against Spagnoli on March 30 — and Spagnoli’s decision to step down, city spokesman Keith Sterling said the “Chief notified [the] City Manager of her intention to retire.”
In a 2018 interview with The Times, Spagnoli denied the allegations of improper sexual relationships, but stopped short of denying the allegations about racist remarks. Less than 24 hours after the interview, the city settled Rosen’s lawsuit.
TUE 24 APR 1945 Atlantic
Destroyer escort Frederick C. Davis (DE-136) is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-546, 570 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland 43°52'N, 40°15'W; but destroyer escorts Pillsbury (DE-133), Flaherty (DE-135), Chatelain (DE-149), Neunzer (DE-150), Hubbard (DE-211), Keith (DE-241), Janssen (DE-396), and Varian (DE-798) sink U-546, 43°53'N, 40°07'W.
Europe
German submarine U-1223 is sunk by USAAF and British aircraft at Wessermunde, Germany.
Pacific
USAAF B-24s sink Japanese motor sailship Shinyo Maru off coast of French Indochina.
Japanese tanker San Diego Maru is damaged by mine in swept channel of Hiroshima Bay, 34°06'N, 132°25'E.
MON 23 APR 1945 Atlantic
Eagle boat Eagle 56 (PE-56) is sunk by explosion off Portland Maine.*
Pacific
Submarine Besugo (SS-321) sinks German submarine U-183 in Java Sea, 04°57'S, 112°52'E.
PB4Ys (VPB 109) employ "Bat" missiles against Japanese shipping off Balikpapan, Borneo, in the first combat use of the only automatic homing missile to be used in World War II.
Japanese merchant cargo ship Tamae Maru is sunk by accidental ammunition explosion in Sakai harbor.*German submarine U-853 was known to have been in the vicinity at the time; whether or not she conducted an attack that sank Eagle 56, however, may never be known, since U-853 is sunk with all hands on board soon thereafter (see 6 May 1945).
Coronavirus damages kidneys and hearts as well as lungs, US doctors find
Clinicians around world have seen evidence Covid-19 is also causing heart inflammation, acute kidney disease, neurological malfunction, blood clots, intestinal damage and liver problems
Just wait until the Fall 2020 Corona Tour.[Independent]
SUN 22 APR 1945 Atlantic
Destroyer escorts Carter (DE-112) and Neal A. Scott (DE-769) sink German submarine U-518, North Atlantic, 43°26'N, 38°23'W.
Caribbean
Submarine chaser SC-1019 sinks after running aground in Yucatan Channel, 22°28'N, 84°30'W.
Europe
U.S. freighter Benjamin H. Bristow, en route to Southend, England with convoy ATM 123, is mined off Flushing, Holland 51°24'30"N, 03°22'E. There are no fatalities among the ship's complement (42 merchant sailors, the 26-man Armed Guard and a pilot), and the ship is towed to Terneuzen, Holland for repairs.
Pacific
Off Okinawa, support landing craft LCS-15 is sunk by aircraft, 27°20'N, 127°10'E; kamikazes sink minesweeper Swallow (AM-65), 26°10'N, 127°12'E, and damage destroyers Hudson (DD-475), 27°00'N, 127°00'E, and Wadsworth (DD-516), 26°10'N, 126°24'E; destroyer Isherwood (DD-520) and minesweeper Ransom (AM-283), 26°14'N, 127°28'E; and light minelayer Shea (DM-30), 26°00'N, 127°00'E; minesweeper Gladiator (AM-319) is damaged by strafing and near-miss of kamikaze, 26°21'N, 127°45'E.
Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese guardboat Aji Maru west of Tori Jima, 31°38'N, 139°00'E, and damages guardboat No.9 Takamiya Maru 30°04'N, 136°43'E.
Submarine Hardhead (SS-365) sinks Japanese cargo vessel Mankei Maru off Chimpon, 10°25'N, 99°06'E.
Dutch submarine O 19 torpedoes Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara as the latter proceeds in company with destroyer Kamikaze toward Batavia, 05°37'S, 106°55'E.
Japanese guardboat Ariake Maru is sunk by U.S. aircraft in Ise Bay, 34°43'N, 136°43'E.
USAAF P-51s sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Chikuyu Maru south of Toshi Jima.
Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.81 is damaged by aircraft, 31°26'N, 123°30'E.
Will she put her money where her mouth is & greet the suckers returning to the re-opened dens of iniquity, Joe Louis-style?
We will note that Mayor Goodman is 81 yrs. old, has been Mayor of Las Vegas since 2011, & succeeded her husband Oscar, mayor from 1999-2011. (Term & nepotism limits, anyone? Mandatory retirement?) You think all the make-up & hair dye have had a detrimental effect on her mental processes, such as they are/were?
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake that struck underneath South Los Angeles just after midnight Wednesday sent light shaking across the Los Angeles Basin.
The earthquake occurred at 12:03 a.m. Light shaking — felt indoors by many, and enough to rattle dishes and windows and rock parked cars — was calculated as occurring in South L.A., Inglewood, Culver City, Playa Vista and the Los Angeles International Airport.
Weak shaking was likely felt across the L.A. Basin and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and northern Orange County.
The earthquake’s epicenter was about half a mile southeast of Slauson and La Brea avenues.
The earthquake occurred in the vicinity of the Newport-Inglewood fault zone. The Newport-Inglewood fault has long been considered one of Southern California’s top seismic danger zones because it runs under some of the region’s most densely populated areas, from the Westside of Los Angeles to the Orange County coast.
The Newport-Inglewood fault was responsible for the deadliest earthquake in the modern history of Southern California — the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake of 1933, which killed about 120 people.
The fault is now known to connect with the Rose Canyon fault system that runs into San Diego. Scientists believe earthquakes as large as magnitudes 6.8 to 7.5 have struck the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon fault system, which stretches from the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles through Long Beach and the Orange County coast to downtown San Diego.
In the past 10 days, there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample.
[...]
The first version of this story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. It was subsequently revised by a Times journalist. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.
Why would anyone say such shit? Two words: Blood money.
Their death worship was implicit in the gun fetishism (& the "I want to die so I can be w/ Jesus in heaven" dead god Xianity) but now it's clear for all to see: Guns & money over life, 24/7/52.
FRI 20 APR 1945 Pacific
Army troops supported by naval vessels and USAAF aircraft land on Catanduanes Island, P.I.
Battleship Colorado (BB-45) is damaged by on-board explosion off Okinawa, 26°10'N, 127°20'E.
Escort carrier Corregidor (CVE-58), while operating east of the Marianas on antisubmarine patrol in TG 12.3, is damaged in typhoon.
Submarine Guitarro (SS-363) lays mines in Berhala Strait off northeast coast of Sumatra, N.E.I.
Submarine chaser SC-737 is damaged by grounding, Sulu Sea, 09°45'N, 118°44'E.
Mines laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) sink Japanese cargo vessels Yamamitsu Maru off Nojima, 34°32'N, 128°44'E, and Sanko Maru at 33°48'N, 131°00'E, and damage cargo ship Kitsurin Maru at western entrance of Shimonoseki Strait.
USAAF P-38s and P-51s attack Japanese shipping off Rangoon, Burma, sinking motor torpedo boat Gyoraitei No.412.
In Berlin, Adolf Hitler celebrated his 56th (& final) birthday.
Rather than pay through the proverbial nose, why not toss a cobblestone through the window of the Whole Foods nearest you? If you haven't the time for arson, that is.