Good Morning Humboldt County!
Nice to see you could stop by today. C’mon in and grab a cup of hot coffee and check out the following stories I’ve gathered for your entertainment and education. Enjoy:
BP accuses Halliburton of destroying evidence following Gulf spill
BP has accused Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence about the quality of its cement slurry that went into drilling the oil well that blew out last year and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
In a court filing, the oil company alleged that Halliburton did inadequate cement work. BP also asked a federal judge to punish the oilfield services company. The accusation raises the stakes ahead of a trial, expected in late February, to assign blame and damages for the April 2010 blowout of the Macondo well, which triggered the spill. Citing recent depositions and Halliburton's own documents, BP said Halliburton "intentionally" destroyed the results of slurry testing for the well, in part to "eliminate any risk that this evidence would be used against it at trial."
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A 'major milestone' in search for Earth's twin
NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has confirmed the discovery of its first alien world in its host star's habitable zone — that just-right range of distances that could allow liquid water to exist — and found more than 1,000 new exoplanet candidates, researchers announced Monday.
The new finds bring the Kepler space telescope's total haul to 2,326 potential planets in its first 16 months of operation. These discoveries, if confirmed, would quadruple the current tally of worlds known to exist beyond our solar system, which recently topped 700.
Mugger left bloodied after attempt on MMA fighter
A convicted felon decided to mug an MMA fighter on the Southwest Side of Chicago, police say, and ended up paying a steep price. Police did not release the victim's name but said he was able to ward off Anthony Miranda, 24, who ended up with two black eyes and a gunshot wound to the ankle after a tussle.
The victim was sitting in his parked car near 55th St. and Kenneth when Anthony Miranda, 24, walked up to the car asking for a lighter, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.When the victim did not have one, Miranda pulled out a handgun and demanded money, police officials said. He then demanded the victim get out of the car. At some point, the victim was able to grab control of the gun while Miranda's attention was diverted. The two men wrestled on the ground and during the fight, Miranda accidentally discharged his gun, shooting himself in the ankle, police said. The victim was able to pin down Miranda until police arrived and later told officials he was a martial arts expert and ultimate fighting champion.
Time to walk on down the road…