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A Chicago-area man who goes around the country in his pickup leaving handmade wooden crosses at murder scenes was inspired by a personal tragedy 20 years ago.

The retired carpenter said the cross helped him cope with his father-in-law's death and that he wanted to provide that closure for the Las Vegas community after the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival Sunday.

He drove to Las Vegas Tuesday evening and on Thursday installed 58 crosses, each displaying the name and photo of a victim, at the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. By Friday, visitors had contributed flowers, collages and handwritten messages to the growing impromptu memorial. He also left about 100 markers for people to write messages on the crosses.

On Friday, people lined up to view the crosses and sign a "Vegas Strong" sign. Backed-up traffic forced visitors to park a couple of blocks away.

Heather Melton of western Tennessee visited the memorial with her three children and mother-in-law in honor of her husband, James "Sonny" Melton, 29, who was fatally shot in the back while shielding her from bullets.

"I think the (memorial) is really nice. It's comforting, but also it's just really heartbreaking," she said as she wiped away a tear.

Tina Lund and her son David of Summerlin visited as representatives for the family of Brian Fraser. His family lives in Pomona, California, and asked David Lund to leave photos at the cross.  read more »

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Last Pacific Coast Coal Terminal Nixed - Industry’s dream to export U.S. coal to Asia is dead
The state of Washington's Department of Ecology has rejected a necessary water-quality permit sought by Millennium Bulk Logistics for its proposed coal-export terminal at Longview, Washington. Barring a successful appeal of the decision, this means the end of the line not only for Millennium's dream of building the largest coal-export facility in North America, but also for the coal industry's larger scheme to ship vast amounts of U.S. coal to Asian markets.

"This is the end," says Bruce Nilles, senior campaign director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign. "Almost exactly seven years ago, Peabody Coal proposed its first project to move huge amounts of coal around the globe. This is a testament to the tens of thousands of people who raised their voices and said, 'Hell no.'"

Shipping coal abroad was supposed to be a lifeline for the U.S. coal industry, given plummeting domestic demand as renewables became cost-competitive with fossil fuels. With vast coal reserves readily available in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming, coal companies pinned their hopes on exporting it to Asia via seven proposed terminals on the West Coast. With Longview blocked, coal opponents are now seven for seven in stopping those terminals. (The others were to be at Cherry Point and Grays Harbor in Washington; Port Westward, Coos Bay, and Port of Morrow in Oregon; and Oakland, California.)

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Domino Loft system, designed by Charles Irby of ICOSA and Peter Suen

Zoku Hybrid Live-Work Hotel

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8 clever modern micro-apartments that live big
Micro-apartments are becoming more popular in cities where the demand for housing is growing, and the supply of affordable real estate is shrinking. From New York, to San Francisco and London, micro-living spaces that measure 500 square feet or less are becoming a trend, offering renters and buyers something smaller but less expensive. Nevertheless, these tiny spaces often packed with built-in amenities like transformer furniture, or if they are part of a multi-unit development, generous communal spaces to compensate for the tinier private quarters.

Domino Loft System
Our first look is at the Domino Loft system, designed by Charles Irby of ICOSA and Peter Suen for a young couple. The system consists of prefabricated concrete panels, wood slats and custom-made cabinetry, and is configured as an all-in-one unit that can transform into a dining room, workspace and guest room on the bottom level. On top, one can find the sleeping loft, which also doubles as a perch to watch films projected onto a wall on the other side of the space. Multifunctional designs such as this help to give more privacy to each occupant and augment what would be an other tiny space.

Zoku Hybrid Live-Work Hotel  read more »

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Medical Error: This Lung Cancer Tumor Was Actually a Tiny Toy Cone Inhaled 40 Years Ago
In what may be among the strangest medical diagnoses of the year, a British man was told that he did not have lung cancer tumor, but instead had swallowed a plastic toy cone 40 years earlier. Experts say this case isn’t as isolated as we may think; inhaling toys is actually a pretty big problem for small children.

Kids inhaling and swallowing foreign objects is a serious problem. According to Medline Plus, children aged one to three are at greatest risk for this. An object can become trapped in the throat and cause choking, and once inhaled, it can lead to infection or inflammation. The objects most commonly swallowed or inhaled are coins, buttons and beads, but as shown in this case study really anything is fair game.

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Photo courtesy @HotpageNews

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12 September, 2017
Equifax CEO Richard Smith Apologizes for the 'Most Humbling Moment in Our 118-Year History'
Equifax CEO Richard Smith has apologized for the massive cybersecurity breach at the company, which he described as "the most humbling moment in our 118-year history" and resolved to "make changes" to ensure nothing similar happens again.

28 September, 2017
Equifax Promises A New Lifetime Service, As New Leader Offers An Apology
Equifax is promising consumers new control over access to their personal credit data — for free, and for life — as interim CEO Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. apologized to people affected by the company's recent data breach. He said the company had failed to live up to expectations.

"On behalf of Equifax, I want to express my sincere and total apology," Barros wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.

In the piece published behind the Journal's online paywall, but that doesn't seem to have been reproduced on Equifax's own site, Barros also unveiled plans for a new credit-monitoring tool:

"By Jan. 31, Equifax will offer a new service allowing all consumers the option of controlling access to their personal credit data. The service we are developing will let consumers easily lock and unlock access to their Equifax credit files. You will be able to do this at will. It will be reliable, safe and simple. Most significantly, the service will be offered free, for life."  read more »

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Conservationists are expressing outrage after an official in Germany ordered hunters to shoot the first wild bison seen in the country in more than two centuries. Calling the killing a criminal offense, the World Wildlife Fund says it will file charges against the official who gave the order, the Local reports.

“After more than 250 years a wild bison had been spotted again in Germany and all the authorities could think to do is shoot it," says Chris Heinrich, a WWF board member. The bison was seen by the river Oder near the eastern town of Lebus on Wednesday. Thinking the beast was a threat to public safety, a local official sent a pair of hunters to take care of it. It was unclear if any of them knew the European bison is classed as a "vulnerable" species and on Germany’s list of "strongly protected animals." The victim was likely a bull that had wandered across the border from Poland from its home in a national park. While they may be the continent's largest land mammals, weighing up to 2,200 pounds, the bison are not considered dangerous. If they were, says the local environmental minister, then "half of Poland, where the animal is a national symbol, would have to be declared a danger zone." Hunted to near extinction in Europe in the early 20th century, the bison are making a comeback thanks to conservationists, with more than 1,200 now roaming around Poland, per the Telegraph, which published a video showing bison fleeing, then standing up to, a pack of wolves. (The US bison is the country's first national mammal.)  read more »

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