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Can Syria be enlisted in ISIS fight?
9/5/2014 4:23:58 PM
CNN's Jim Clancy talks to Former British Amb. to Iraq William Patey about the task of building a coalition to fight ISIS.
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Motorsport: Hamilton wins Italian GP
9/7/2014 12:27:19 PM
- Lewis Hamilton wins Italy GP
- British driver beat team rival Rosberg into second
- Tensions between the two dominated build up
- Felipe Massa finished third
Monza, Italy (CNN) -- Has Lewis Hamilton's luck finally turned at the 13th race of the season?
The Formula One title contender beat rival Nico Rosberg to the checkered flag at the Italian Grand Prix.
The dueling Mercedes teammates came to Italy bruised and bowed after a bust-up in Belgium.
Lewis Hamilton
Rosberg had apologized to Hamilton for effectively putting him out of the race in Spa and the team made it clear under no circumstances would they tolerate another clash between its two cars.
But on Monza's high-speed circuit, the German championship leader knocked himself out of contention.
On lap 29, and with Hamilton looming large in his mirrors, Rosberg misjudged his braking at the first chicane -- for the second time in the race -- and Hamilton sailed past to inherit the lead.
The passionate crowd roared with delight and Hamilton cruised to his sixth win of the season.
"I had the pace on everyone and on Nico and I felt that way all weekend," Hamilton told reporters.
McLaren's 2008 champion is now 22 points behind Rosberg, who is chasing his first world title, with six races left to run. The final race in Abu Dhabi offers double points for the first time.
Rosberg booed
Despite his misfortune during the race, Rosberg was booed on the podium just as he was in Spa.
"It's obviously not nice but what can I say?" the 29-year-old said. "I hope that with time they forgive and forget. I have apologized, I can't really do anything more than that."
There was a sweet third place for Felipe Massa, who celebrated in front of Ferrari's famous tifosi.
The Brazilian, who raced in Ferrari colors for eight years, claimed his first podium since joining Williams with a controlled race.
"I'm so happy to be on the podium here," said Massa, who was confirmed as a Williams' driver for 2015 on Sunday along with teammate Valtteri Bottas. "There's a lot more to come."
Mental toughness
There was a feeling before race day that the Italian Grand Prix would be a battle of mental strength as well as engine might.
Whether it was brake failure, engine fires or a puncture meted out by his Mercedes teammate, fate has been a fickle friend to Hamilton.
The British racer mastered the mind games in Monza.
Hamilton fought back after a technical problem with his start procedure dropped him back from pole position to fourth on the opening lap.
When the team advised him to maintain a two-second gap to leader Rosberg and save his tyres for a fight at the end of the race, Hamilton had other ideas.
"I knew that wasn't the way forward, so I chose another route," he explained.
Hamilton immediately set about cutting into his teammate's lead and his looming presence was a contributing factor in Rosberg's error.
"Lewis was quick, coming from behind," the German said. "I needed to up my pace and then as a result I just went into the mistake.
"That was very bad and lost me the lead."
When asked by CNN if he had proved he had the mental toughness to win the title, he answered: "I came here to do a job and I did it."
He added: "I came here with a positive attitude. All those experiences I've had have prepared me for it today.
"I'm quite grateful that I didn't lose it, didn't end up crashing in the first corner, I didn't end up touching anyone.
"I managed to keep my composure. [But] I'm still looking for one of those weekends where we don't have any troubles."
Significant victory?
If victory boosted Hamilton's reserves in the mental warfare between the Mercedes rival, then Rosberg's confidence may have been dented by his own mistakes.
Whatever the internal mental machinations, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is still expecting the fight to the title to remain a close battle between his two racers.
"You need extreme mental strength to make it until the end and win the championship," he said.
"I'm impressed with Lewis as he's had some dreadful weekends and he has always come back with a smile to the next race.
"I think mentally Nico is very strong and if you want to be a world champion you have to go through lows and highs.
"Lewis has had many of them and he came back and we've seen Nico after Silverstone came back.
"I think both of them have it in them to bounce back after bad weekends."
Floodings leave over 250 people dead
9/6/2014 7:41:20 PM
- NEW: Ministry: 43 die due to flooding over the past week
- The death toll is climbing in severe flooding across Asia
- More than 100 people have died in Pakistan in recent days, authorities say
- Villages and infrastructure in India damaged or washed away by flooding
(CNN) -- Severe flooding from an intense monsoon season has left more than 250 people dead and hundreds more homeless across parts of South Asia and China. Dozens more have been injured or are missing.
In Pakistan, flash flooding has killed 110 people and injured nearly 150 others in recent days, authorities said Saturday.
India also is coping with severe flooding, which has claimed the lives of at least 97 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, Vinod Koul, state relief and rehabilitation commissioner, told CNN on Saturday.
And in southwestern China, more than 40 people have died and 18 others are missing after heavy rains and flooding over the past week, authorities said.
The hardest-hit areas in Pakistan include Punjab, the country's most populous province, and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
Lahore and Rawalpindi, major cities in Punjab, are experiencing serious flooding.
The flooding has destroyed 650 homes in Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office said.
The Pakistani government reported Friday that up to a foot of rain had fallen in eastern parts of the country within the past day.
Some flood victims died from collapsing roofs or electrocution by downed power lines, officials said.
Sharif will attend a meeting Saturday to review the "situation in the country and damage caused to life and property by incessant rains and resulting floods," a statement said.
In India, more than 2,000 villages have been affected in the Kashmir and Jammu region, Koul said. The severe flooding has also damaged or completely washed away dozens of bridges and hundreds of kilometers of road, he added. Power and water systems have been crippled by the monsoons as well.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday toured the devastated area near the state capital of Srinagar, assuring residents that relief is on the way.
The state government has undertaken a massive rescue and relief operation, but residents have complained of inadequate or delayed responses from authorities in the hardest-hit areas. The Indian army is also taking part in the rescue and relief operation.
Some 5,000 people have been rescued from the flood zone as of Saturday, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The agency also said the army had rescued seven of nine soldiers trapped by floodwaters after their boat capsized south of Srinagar. Efforts to rescue two more personnel were under way Saturday.
CNN-IBN reported the area is experiencing the worst flooding in six decades.
In China, heavy rain has so far claimed the lives of 43 people over the past week, the country's Civil Affairs Ministry reported Sunday morning.
Damage estimates have exceeded 3.3 billion yuan (more than $530 million).
In Thailand, the state-run MCOT news agency reported that authorities urged residents along waterways in the country's central region to move to higher ground. The risk of flooding increased there after a decision to release more water from a dam to reduce water levels in the flood-hit north, MCOT reported.
Heavy rains also caused extensive flooding in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, South Korea and Japan last month.
CNN's Jethro Mullen, Mukhtar Ahmad, Michael Pearson, Kevin Wang and Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Boy, 9, takes city bus on joy ride
9/7/2014 5:21:41 AM
- 9-year-old boy drove away in an idling Saskatoon city bus, police say
- Police say he drove the bus a few blocks and bumped into another bus and a truck
- Nobody was hurt and the boy won't be charged with a crime
(CNN) -- A Saskatoon driver who stole a city bus and bumped into two other vehicles won't lose his license, police in the Canadian city said.
That's because the alleged culprit is only 9 years old.
Police spokesman Sgt. Ryan Smith said the boy took the empty bus Saturday morning from near the Saskatoon Transit maintenance center, where it apparently was left idling on the street.
The boy drove about three blocks through a residential area, making at least two right turns, and had to stand up because his legs weren't long enough to reach the pedals, Smith said.
Steve Pasqualotto, a reporter for CNN partner CBC, said said he was driving down Idywyld Drive, a busy thoroughfare, when "my wife looked out her window and saw a city bus and said, 'There's a boy driving that bus.' "
Pasqualotto started following, as did Saskatoon resident Michael Pritchard.
He told CBC he was picking up his son near the "bus barn" when "I saw this little head in the driver's seat and I said, 'What?' "
The bus bumped into a pickup truck and another city bus and came to a stop, Smith said.
Pasqualotto said he anxiously waited to see the driver. The bus door opened and "out comes this 9-year-old boy in his pajamas," he said.
Police soon arrived. Nobody was injured.
The child won't be charged with any crime because he's too young to be arrested under Saskatoon law, Smith said. He was sent home to his family.
The bus had a cracked windshield and a broken mirror. Smith said the pickup truck was a total loss.
Why did the boy decide to start driving the bus? Smith said he doesn't know.
"He had an opportunity to take it," Smith said, "and he did."
Saskatoon is a large city in the prairie province of Saskatchewan.
Police: Toddler smashes Jeep into house, dashes home to watch cartoons
Ebola victim improving, wife says
9/6/2014 9:11:26 PM
- Dr. Rick Sacra, an American missionary doctor, was infected in Liberia
- He's being treated at Omaha's Nebraska Medical Center
- Sarca is the third American to return home for treatment
(CNN) -- Dr. Rick Sacra, an American missionary doctor infected with the deadly Ebola virus, has improved slightly while being treated in Omaha, Nebraska, his wife said.
"Rick is very sick and weak, but slightly improved from when he arrived yesterday," Debbie Sacra said Saturday in a press release issued by SIM, the Christian mission organization for which Sacra works. "He asked for something to eat and had a little chicken soup."
Debbie Sacra and the couple's 22-year-old son visited him for 25 minutes by a video link at Nebraska Medical Center, according to the press release.
Sacra landed Friday morning in Omaha.
Sacra, the third American with Ebola to return to the United States for treatment, was stationed in Liberia when he was exposed to the virus.
Debbie Sacra said she and her husband want to keep the focus on the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
"We don't want this story to be about Rick," she said. "The story is the crisis in West Africa. That is what is most important. The world is coming to this fight late."
Ebola is a highly infectious disease that can kill up to 90 percent of the people who catch it. The CDC estimates there have been more than 3,000 cases of Ebola and more than 2,000 deaths since 1976.
Royal baby: Prince George to become big brother
9/8/2014 6:16:53 AM
- The baby will become fourth in line to the British throne
- "The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news," the palace says
- As in her first pregnancy, Catherine is suffering from acute morning sickness
- British Prime Minister David Cameron says he is "delighted by the happy news"
(CNN) -- Another royal baby is on the way.
Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to become parents for a second time, Buckingham Palace announced Monday.
"The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news," the palace said. It didn't say when the due date will be.
Catherine and William's first child, Prince George, was born in July 2013.
The couple's second child will become fourth in line to the British throne.
Prince Charles is first in line, followed by Prince William, Prince George, and then eventually the new baby. The new child will knock future uncle Prince Harry down to fifth.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was among those quick to welcome the royal announcement.
"Many congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge," he tweeted. "I'm delighted by the happy news that they're expecting another baby."
As during her first pregnancy, Catherine is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, the palace said. The condition involves involves nausea and vomiting more severe than the typical morning sickness many women suffer during early pregnancy.
She is being treated by doctors at Kensington Palace and won't accompany William on a planned visit Monday to Oxford.
Read: Prince George turns 1: Five things to know
Read: Royal baby name: The history behind George Alexander Louis
CNN's Carol Jordan contributed to this report.
Obama to reveal 'game plan' for combating ISIS
9/8/2014 3:01:37 AM
- President Obama says he will give a speech Wednesday outlining plan to defeat ISIS
- Plan will not involve U.S. troops on the ground, but supporting Iraqi, Kurdish troops there
- Obama: With resources shifted, Americans protected, U.S. to "start going on some offense"
- He wants Congress to "have buy-in" but says he's already authorized to protect U.S.
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama will address the country Wednesday to explain to the nation "what our game plan is going forward" in the fight against ISIS.
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama expressed confidence that the United States, with help from regional partners, will be able to wipe out the terror organization.
"I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it," the President told interviewer Chuck Todd.
He said action will include military, diplomatic and economic components. He laid out a three-stage plan that starts with actions the U.S. has already taken: gathering increased intelligence on ISIS, and using airstrikes to protect American personnel, critical Iraqi infrastructure like the Mosul Dam, and cities such as Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
U.S. airstrikes target ISIS fighters near 2nd-largest dam in Iraq
"The next phase is now to start going on some offense," he said. "We have to get an Iraqi government in place, and I'm optimistic that next week we should be able to get that done."
He said his speech won't announce the involvement of U.S. ground troops. "We're not looking at sending 100,000 American troops," he vowed.
The President gave his most direct and detailed assessment of ISIS since the terrorist group has brutally decapitated two American journalists and killed thousands of Iraqis. It is a vastly different message than he gave nearly two weeks ago, when he said the U.S. didn't have a strategy "yet" to deal with ISIS in Syria, and in January, when he called it and other groups the JV team.
"Well, they're not a JV team," Obama said in Sunday's "Meet the Press" interview.
The President received praise from recent critics who had said he was too timid as the scope, depth and capabilities of ISIS continue to grow.
"I want to congratulate the President. He is now on offense," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"It's overdue, but the President is now there," the California Democrat added.
Her counterpart in the House, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed Feinstein's sentiment, also on CNN. "This is the toughest talk that we have heard from the President, and I agree with Sen. Feinstein -- that's a good thing because they are a threat."
But not everyone applauded. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and has criticized Obama for not acting quickly or strongly enough, said, "American foreign policy is in the hands of someone who does not know what he's doing."
"I believe this president has committed a presidential malpractice in his foreign policy," Rubio added on CBS News' "Face the Nation."
Congressional 'buy-in'
Congress returns to Washington this week from a five-week break and will immediately face questions about ISIS.
Obama said he will meet with members of Congress on Tuesday to discuss the administration's strategy, let lawmakers "have buy-in" and debate the plan. But asked by Todd if he was seeking congressional authorization of his strategy, Obama appeared to say no.
"I'm confident that I've got the authorization that I need to protect the American people," he said.
But Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is also considering a 2016 presidential run, said on ABC's "This Week" that any additional military action "should absolutely take congressional approval."
His colleagues in the House, however, didn't agree, saying the President has the constitutional authority to act without Congressional authorization.
The top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said, "I believe as commander in chief he has the absolute power to carry out these attacks."
Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington agreed, saying the President doesn't need authorization but that "it would be better if Congress would authorize it."
He added, however, that it would be "extraordinarily difficult" to get through the partisan body, especially less than two months before an election.
Syria
While the U.S. plan to help Iraqi and Kurdish troops take back areas under ISIS control is key to defeating the militants, Obama said the strategy will also have economic and political prongs.
His plan will involve working to "attract back Sunni tribes that may have felt that they had no connection to a Baghdad government that was ignoring their grievances."
As for the military, he insisted U.S. troops will not take the lead.
"We don't have the resources" to "occupy" numerous countries, he said, so a more "sustainable strategy ... means the boots on the ground have to be Iraqi."
But what's unclear still is if he will authorize airstrikes in Syria.
ISIS gained power and strength there trying to defeat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that country's complex civil war, and foreign policy hawks have been pushing for the U.S. to strike ISIS command centers and weapons stockpiles.
Obama didn't indicate in the interview aired Sunday whether he was going to move forward with airstrikes but said the U.S. will "need to put more resources" into vetted groups that oppose both al-Assad and ISIS in Syria.
"We're going to have to develop a moderate Sunni opposition that can control territory and that we can work with," he said, insisting there will be no U.S. troops on the ground. "The notion that the United States should be putting boots on the ground, I think, would be a profound mistake. And I want to be very clear and very explicit about that."
"The boots on the ground have to be Syrian," he added.
The U.S. has no plans to move forward alone. After a NATO summit in Wales last week, the President announced the support of nine countries that are committed to pushing back against ISIS. He said his next effort will be to obtain the support of allies in the region. Secretary of State John Kerry is going to spend the upcoming week attempting to gain support from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the President said.
As strategy firms up, U.S. courts partners to target ISIS
Threat to the U.S.
The President maintains that the terror group, which gained power in war-torn Syria and expanded into Iraq, is not an immediate threat to the U.S. But he noted that "over time" it could become a "serious threat to the homeland" if it is able to continue to expand territory under its control while amassing arms and fighters, especially Western fighters.
Wednesday's speech, which will come a day before the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks, will help the American public better grasp the administration's plan, he said.
"What I want people to understand is that over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of (ISIS), we are going to systematically degrade their capabilities, we're going to shrink the territory that they control and ultimately, we're going to defeat them," Obama said.
State Department releases graphic anti-ISIS video
ISIS facts
CNN's Tom Dunlavey contributed to this report.
Floodings leave over 250 people dead
9/8/2014 12:40:07 AM
- NEW: Ministry: 43 die due to flooding over the past week
- The death toll is climbing in severe flooding across Asia
- More than 100 people have died in Pakistan in recent days, authorities say
- Villages and infrastructure in India damaged or washed away by flooding
(CNN) -- Severe flooding from an intense monsoon season has left more than 250 people dead and hundreds more homeless across parts of South Asia and China. Dozens more have been injured or are missing.
In Pakistan, flash flooding has killed 110 people and injured nearly 150 others in recent days, authorities said Saturday.
India also is coping with severe flooding, which has claimed the lives of at least 97 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, Vinod Koul, state relief and rehabilitation commissioner, told CNN on Saturday.
And in southwestern China, more than 40 people have died and 18 others are missing after heavy rains and flooding over the past week, authorities said.
The hardest-hit areas in Pakistan include Punjab, the country's most populous province, and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
Lahore and Rawalpindi, major cities in Punjab, are experiencing serious flooding.
The flooding has destroyed 650 homes in Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office said.
The Pakistani government reported Friday that up to a foot of rain had fallen in eastern parts of the country within the past day.
Some flood victims died from collapsing roofs or electrocution by downed power lines, officials said.
Sharif will attend a meeting Saturday to review the "situation in the country and damage caused to life and property by incessant rains and resulting floods," a statement said.
In India, more than 2,000 villages have been affected in the Kashmir and Jammu region, Koul said. The severe flooding has also damaged or completely washed away dozens of bridges and hundreds of kilometers of road, he added. Power and water systems have been crippled by the monsoons as well.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday toured the devastated area near the state capital of Srinagar, assuring residents that relief is on the way.
The state government has undertaken a massive rescue and relief operation, but residents have complained of inadequate or delayed responses from authorities in the hardest-hit areas. The Indian army is also taking part in the rescue and relief operation.
Some 5,000 people have been rescued from the flood zone as of Saturday, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The agency also said the army had rescued seven of nine soldiers trapped by floodwaters after their boat capsized south of Srinagar. Efforts to rescue two more personnel were under way Saturday.
CNN-IBN reported the area is experiencing the worst flooding in six decades.
In China, heavy rain has so far claimed the lives of 43 people over the past week, the country's Civil Affairs Ministry reported Sunday morning.
Damage estimates have exceeded 3.3 billion yuan (more than $530 million).
In Thailand, the state-run MCOT news agency reported that authorities urged residents along waterways in the country's central region to move to higher ground. The risk of flooding increased there after a decision to release more water from a dam to reduce water levels in the flood-hit north, MCOT reported.
Heavy rains also caused extensive flooding in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, South Korea and Japan last month.
CNN's Jethro Mullen, Mukhtar Ahmad, Michael Pearson, Kevin Wang and Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Jamaica plane crash: What happened?
9/7/2014 12:09:36 PM
- Early in pilot career, Les Abend faced rapid loss of cabin pressure
- He says captain of doomed flight that crashed in Jamaica waters may have faced that, too
- If so, hypoxia would have kept him from making lifesaving altitude adjustments, he says
Editor's note: Les Abend is a Boeing 777 captain for a major airline with 30 years of flying experience. He is also a CNN aviation analyst and senior contributor to Flying magazine. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- I peered over the shoulder of the flight engineer and studied the pressurization gauge on his panel. The needle indicated that the cabin was climbing, and the slow popping in my ears confirmed it. Not good. The flight engineer swiveled his seat away from the panel and turned in my direction, brow furrowed, eyes wide.
"Should I tell the captain?" he asked.
The question seemed foolish, but I understood. The flight engineer was brand new, having completed his training with the airline a week earlier. I was a seasoned veteran of six months, observing from the jump seat for the purpose of monitoring co-pilot procedures. I had just upgraded from the flight engineer position to a "window seat" on the 727.
"Yes," I replied with raised eyebrows. "I would tell the captain...like right now."
The captain had already begun to swivel in his seat. He squinted at the array of switches and indications on the panel. A conference with the flight engineer ensued. All four of us in the cockpit focused momentarily on the cabin rate needle. It was still indicating a climb. For some mysterious reason, we were slowly losing cabin pressurization. The captain turned toward me in a silent gesture to obtain confirmation. I nodded.
Without hesitation, he instructed the co-pilot to request an immediate descent to 10,000 feet from our altitude of 37,000 feet. I reached for the oxygen mask and strapped it to my face. The rest of the crew followed my lead. Ten minutes later, and after the completion of the appropriate emergency checklist, we reached 10,000 feet. Our 152 passengers had to endure a lack of air conditioning because of the pressurization problem, but other than that, the experience was a non-event.
This should have been the same outcome for the single-engine Socata TBM 900 turboprop that crashed, tragically, in the waters off Jamaica on Friday.
The TBM 900 had departed Rochester, New York, bound for Naples, Florida, with two occupants on board: Larry Glazer, the pilot/owner and his wife, Jane Glazer. But the pilot became unresponsive while the airplane cruised at 25,000 feet over Georgia.
Instead of landing in Naples, the autopilot system allowed the turboprop to continue flying off the eastern U.S. coastline, crossing over Cuba before, with its fuel supply exhausted, it crashed into the sea about 12 miles north of the Jamaican coastline. Two U.S.-launched F-15s confirmed through observation that the pilot appeared unconscious.
The French-made TBM 900 is a sophisticated piece of technology, far superior to the old Boeing 727 airliner I described above. It is a great representative of the new generation in privately-owned cabin class airplanes, competing with traditional twin-engine turboprops and even small, corporate jets.
Composite material, finely tuned aeroengineering design, a reliable and proven Pratt and Whitney engine and advanced cockpit displays and controls all combine to make the $3.7 million airplane a respected machine. More than 1,000 of these airplanes are operating today; the 900 is the most recent version.
According to an Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association (AOPA) report, this was the third TBM owned by Larry Glazer; he had logged 5,000 hours in the model. One would think that such experience would have produced a positive result and not a crash into the ocean. What happened exactly?
Hypoxia, lack of oxygen to the brain, would appear to be the most likely culprit. Depending upon the health condition of an individual, the time of useful consciousness at 25,000 feet isn't much more than about a minute. But that's if a depressurization occurs as a catastrophic event with some type of major hole in the fuselage, allowing air to escape explosively.
But in this instance, judging by 30 minutes of Air Traffic Control audio recording, it was not a catastrophic occurrence, but rather a slow event. News reports say the pilot asked to descend to 18,000 feet because "we have an indication that is not correct in the plane," according to a stream of that transmission posted on LiveATC.net.
After about one minute, the airplane was cleared initially from 28,000 feet to 25,000 feet where it eventually remained until fuel exhaustion. While descending, ATC gave further clearance to 20,000 feet but the pilot responded with an unintelligible transmission. It's possible he was already suffering from hypoxia.
A slow loss of oxygen to the brain is insidious; most people not familiar with the symptoms don't recognize the danger.
A depressurization problem is a traumatic event that it is easily managed -- but only if the problem is recognized. Like the captain of the 727, a pilot facing such a situation would have to don an oxygen mask the minute he suspected the issue. The next objective would be to descend the airplane to a habitable altitude -- 10,000 feet is a typical procedure goal. For this to occur, a sense of urgency has to be stated or an emergency declared.
Apparently, none of this happened.
At the airline level, we train for such a depressurization event from day one. It is an emergency that is etched into our muscle memory. I am certain this emergency was part of the training for this particular TBM pilot. Whether it was part of his muscle memory, we can't know.
The airplane is equipped with an emergency oxygen bottle attached to quick-donning masks for just such circumstances. It is possible that the system may have malfunctioned. Perhaps a closed valve not noticed on the preflight inspection? An undetected leak? Or maybe the system that had been causing the malfunction released the cabin pressurization in one final event.
Regardless, if indeed a pressurization malfunction had been observed, the prudent decision would have been to descend immediately and head off a tragedy.
Sad as this outcome was, we can be thankful for small favors. The airplane's sophisticated automation system steered it away from populated areas and a tragedy of even greater proportions.
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Al-Shabaab names successor
9/6/2014 7:48:45 PM
- NEW: Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah is the Islamic militant group's third leader
- Al-Shabaab militants attack African Union forces, local government official says
- Somalia ministry boosts security around government buildings
- Intelligence reports indicate Al-Shabaab is planning attacks in Somalia
Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- The Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab has named a successor to its leader killed in an American airstrike this week, a spokesman said Saturday.
The announcement came as Somalia braced for possible retaliation after Monday's killing of Ahmed Godane.
Al-Shabaab's new leader is Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah, spokesman Sheikh Ali Dheere said in an audio message posted online.
He is the group's third leader and was characterized as a low-ranking commander. No other information was available.
"The death of Godane will not stop the group from carrying out its terror operations," the spokesman said. "We lost our great leader Ahmed Godane and two other commanders in hands of the enemy on Monday night's U.S. airstrike."
His confirmation came after days of denying his death.
Militants attack African Union troops
Somali Islamist militants ambushed African Union peacekeeping troops in southwestern Somalia, a local official said.
The militants attacked a convoy carrying Ethiopian AU troops in two locations between the towns of Qansahdheere and Burdhubo, said Hassan Mohamud Ali, district commissioner of the latter town.
The AU troops eventually stopped the attack and secured the area, Ali said. No information was available on the casualties.
The troops have a base in Burdhubo, which used to be held by Al-Shabaab before Somali and AU forces captured it in March. It's about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of the capital of Mogadishu.
A Burdhubo resident said he could hear Saturday's clashes from the town.
"We are hearing heavy fighting and shelling," resident Ali Mohamed said.
Shortly before the attack, the nation's security ministry placed government buildings on high alert because of the killing of Godane.
Intelligence reports indicated the group is planning attacks in Somalia, according to Mohamed Yusuf, a spokesman for the security ministry.
'Symbolic and operational loss'
The U.S. military said it killed Godane in a thunderous attack Monday.
"Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to Al-Shabaab," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon press secretary.
Godane had been at the helm since the group started a campaign of terror in East Africa, killing Somali officials, aid workers and others in a spate of suicide bombings.
U.S. officials were tipped off to what Kirby called "actionable intelligence ... strong enough" to suggest his whereabouts.
Commandos flew in Monday and took the leader out with the help of drones and laser-guided missiles, Kirby said.
The man behind Al-Shabaab
Godane, who was also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, became the leader of the militant group in 2008.
The group started off with a goal of waging a war against the Somali government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or sharia.
But it has shifted focus to terrorist attacks beyond Somalia. It has targeted East African states supporting the Somali government, especially Uganda and Kenya.
A year ago, militants raided a mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in an audacious siege that lasted days and left 67 people dead.
The attack wasn't the group's first strike outside Somalia.
In 2010, it carried out suicide bombings in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, killing more than 70 people.
Under Godane, the terror group became a formal ally of al Qaeda.
What to know about Al-Shabaab
Journalist Omar Nor reported from Mogadishu, and CNN's Faith Karimi and Jason Hanna wrote and reported in Atlanta.
Obama to reveal 'game plan' for combating ISIS
9/7/2014 10:46:20 PM
- President Obama says he will give a speech Wednesday outlining plan to defeat ISIS
- Plan will not involve U.S. troops on the ground, but supporting Iraqi, Kurdish troops there
- Obama: With resources shifted, Americans protected, U.S. to "start going on some offense"
- He wants Congress to "have buy-in" but says he's already authorized to protect U.S.
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama will address the country Wednesday to explain to the nation "what our game plan is going forward" in the fight against ISIS.
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama expressed confidence that the United States, with help from regional partners, will be able to wipe out the terror organization.
"I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it," the President told interviewer Chuck Todd.
He said action will include military, diplomatic and economic components. He laid out a three-stage plan that starts with actions the U.S. has already taken: gathering increased intelligence on ISIS, and using airstrikes to protect American personnel, critical Iraqi infrastructure like the Mosul Dam, and cities such as Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
U.S. airstrikes target ISIS fighters near 2nd-largest dam in Iraq
"The next phase is now to start going on some offense," he said. "We have to get an Iraqi government in place, and I'm optimistic that next week we should be able to get that done."
He said his speech won't announce the involvement of U.S. ground troops. "We're not looking at sending 100,000 American troops," he vowed.
The President gave his most direct and detailed assessment of ISIS since the terrorist group has brutally decapitated two American journalists and killed thousands of Iraqis. It is a vastly different message than he gave nearly two weeks ago, when he said the U.S. didn't have a strategy "yet" to deal with ISIS in Syria, and in January, when he called it and other groups the JV team.
"Well, they're not a JV team," Obama said in Sunday's "Meet the Press" interview.
The President received praise from recent critics who had said he was too timid as the scope, depth and capabilities of ISIS continue to grow.
"I want to congratulate the President. He is now on offense," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"It's overdue, but the President is now there," the California Democrat added.
Her counterpart in the House, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed Feinstein's sentiment, also on CNN. "This is the toughest talk that we have heard from the President, and I agree with Sen. Feinstein -- that's a good thing because they are a threat."
But not everyone applauded. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and has criticized Obama for not acting quickly or strongly enough, said, "American foreign policy is in the hands of someone who does not know what he's doing."
"I believe this president has committed a presidential malpractice in his foreign policy," Rubio added on CBS News' "Face the Nation."
Congressional 'buy-in'
Congress returns to Washington this week from a five-week break and will immediately face questions about ISIS.
Obama said he will meet with members of Congress on Tuesday to discuss the administration's strategy, let lawmakers "have buy-in" and debate the plan. But asked by Todd if he was seeking congressional authorization of his strategy, Obama appeared to say no.
"I'm confident that I've got the authorization that I need to protect the American people," he said.
But Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is also considering a 2016 presidential run, said on ABC's "This Week" that any additional military action "should absolutely take congressional approval."
His colleagues in the House, however, didn't agree, saying the President has the constitutional authority to act without Congressional authorization.
The top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said, "I believe as commander in chief he has the absolute power to carry out these attacks."
Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington agreed, saying the President doesn't need authorization but that "it would be better if Congress would authorize it."
He added, however, that it would be "extraordinarily difficult" to get through the partisan body, especially less than two months before an election.
Syria
While the U.S. plan to help Iraqi and Kurdish troops take back areas under ISIS control is key to defeating the militants, Obama said the strategy will also have economic and political prongs.
His plan will involve working to "attract back Sunni tribes that may have felt that they had no connection to a Baghdad government that was ignoring their grievances."
As for the military, he insisted U.S. troops will not take the lead.
"We don't have the resources" to "occupy" numerous countries, he said, so a more "sustainable strategy ... means the boots on the ground have to be Iraqi."
But what's unclear still is if he will authorize airstrikes in Syria.
ISIS gained power and strength there trying to defeat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that country's complex civil war, and foreign policy hawks have been pushing for the U.S. to strike ISIS command centers and weapons stockpiles.
Obama didn't indicate in the interview aired Sunday whether he was going to move forward with airstrikes but said the U.S. will "need to put more resources" into vetted groups that oppose both al-Assad and ISIS in Syria.
"We're going to have to develop a moderate Sunni opposition that can control territory and that we can work with," he said, insisting there will be no U.S. troops on the ground. "The notion that the United States should be putting boots on the ground, I think, would be a profound mistake. And I want to be very clear and very explicit about that."
"The boots on the ground have to be Syrian," he added.
The U.S. has no plans to move forward alone. After a NATO summit in Wales last week, the President announced the support of nine countries that are committed to pushing back against ISIS. He said his next effort will be to obtain the support of allies in the region. Secretary of State John Kerry is going to spend the upcoming week attempting to gain support from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the President said.
As strategy firms up, U.S. courts partners to target ISIS
Threat to the U.S.
The President maintains that the terror group, which gained power in war-torn Syria and expanded into Iraq, is not an immediate threat to the U.S. But he noted that "over time" it could become a "serious threat to the homeland" if it is able to continue to expand territory under its control while amassing arms and fighters, especially Western fighters.
Wednesday's speech, which will come a day before the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks, will help the American public better grasp the administration's plan, he said.
"What I want people to understand is that over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of (ISIS), we are going to systematically degrade their capabilities, we're going to shrink the territory that they control and ultimately, we're going to defeat them," Obama said.
State Department releases graphic anti-ISIS video
ISIS facts
CNN's Tom Dunlavey contributed to this report.
Japan's Nishikori upsets Djokovic
9/7/2014 10:33:13 PM
- Djokovic stunned in US Open
- Lost to Japan's Kei Nishikori in four sets
- First time Djokovic has lost to a young player in a grand slam
- First Japanese player ever in a grand slam final
(CNN) -- World number one Novak Djokovic has sensationally been knocked out of the US Open.
The 2011 champion was beaten in the semi final in four sets by Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in what must go down as one of the biggest shocks of the modern era.
In staggeringly humid conditions Nishikori, who has been coached by former US player Michael Chang, burst out of the blocks and snatched the first set. Djokovic battled back to easily win the second. With the Serb ascendant, few gave Nishikori a chance against a player in his pomp who is considered one of the greatest of all time.
Kei Nishikori
But Djokovic was clearly struggling with the conditions and gave up a succession of unforced errors and a string of uncharacteristic double faults.
Humid conditions
The match changed in the third set when it became clear that Nishikori was coping better with the heat, despite coming through two previous five set matches. The Japanese player won a third set tie break 7-4 before breaking Djokovic's serve in the first game of the fourth.
A tiring Djokovic could do nothing to stop Nishikori, who powered on and became the first Japanese player, as well as the first Asian male player, to ever reach a grand slam final.
"I don't know whats going on, I was a little tired," an ecstatic and emotional Nishikori said on court shortly after his stunning victory.
"It's my first semi final in a grand slam. It is an amazing feeling playing a number one player. So happy. It was really tough conditions today. But I love to play long matches! I hope I can recover well for the final."
Although no one gave Nishikori a hope before the match, there were signs that Japan's number one could spring a surprise after recently beating Roger Federer and narrowly losing to Rafael Nadal.
Equally as significant has been his teaming up with Chang.
"He's been helping me a lot," Nishikori said when asked about Chang's influence on his game. "We have been working super well."
A dejected Djokovic refused to blame the conditions for his defeat.
"It was the same for both players," he said. "I congratulate Nishikori. He was the better player today ... my game today was not even close to what I wanted it to be. A lot of unforced errors. I wasn't myself."
Ghosts of '33
Nishikori was the first Japanese player to reach a major semi final for 81 years. The last player to reach that level was Jiro Satoh, who reached five major semifinals, including Wimbledon in 1933.
But later that year Satoh committed suicide after jumping off the ship that was taking him and his teammates to England for a Davis Cup tie. Nishikori's victory saw him surpass Satoh's long running record.
"I hope it's big news in Japan," he said.
"I feel the support from Japan. It is 4am in the morning but I hope a lot of people are watching."
Nishikori will play Marin Cilic in the final after the Croatian blew Roger Federer away in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
The day's second semi final was delayed by rain, but when it restarted Federer must have wished for the heavens to open once again. Cilic attacked from the opening game, using his booming serve to devastating effect. Federer had no answers.
"It was an amazing day for me, to be able to play like this, it was the best performance ever in my career," Cilic said on court after the game.
It will be a first grand slam final for both Cilic and Nishikori.
"I think it will be a sensational day for both of us," Cilic said when asked about his Japanese opponent. "I'm just going to enjoy it, be happy and try to win."
The 2014 US Open final will the first since the Australian Open in 2005 to not feature one of the big four of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal or Murray.
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