Waterspout comes ashore in Galveston

By Chris Paschenko & Rhiannon Meyers / The Daily News & Kevin Reece / 11 News
GALVESTON, Texas — The National Weather Service confirmed a waterspout came ashore in Galveston on Sunday damaging buildings, knocking out power and injuring at least three people.

It happened soon after a strong line of storms moved into the county, and the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. A waterspout is a tornado that forms over water.

Dolphin World, a souvenir shop in the 2900 block of Seawall Boulevard, was damaged about 9:45 p.m. Debris covered the streets.

Ironically, Dolphin World survived Hurricane Ike with very little damage. But after this storm, things were different.

“It’s very, very bad. Very difficult. Basically everything inside is gone. Brings back memory of Ike,” Schlomo Hamo of Dolphin World said.

Witnesses told The Daily News that a piece of the roof from Dolphin World struck a man who was pushing his bicycle down the seawall. They said he was taken away by ambulance.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

CNN) -- Three boaters who were stranded at sea for more than a week were being reunited with their families Sunday.

Three missing boaters were returned safely to Port Aransas, Texas, after their rescue on Saturday.

A day after the U.S. Coast Guard said it was suspending its weeklong search for the boaters, the men were found alive Saturday night.

The crew of a Good Samaritan vessel found Curtis Hall, 28, James Phillips, 30, and Tressel Hawkins, 43, sitting on top of their capsized 23-foot fishing vessel about 180 miles from Port Aransas, Texas, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The men had been missing at sea since they failed to return from a fishing trip on August 22.

The Coast Guard had called off their search Friday after it said it had looked over more than 86,000 square miles.

Hall went to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, but left after he waited too long in the emergency room, his mother told CNN. He returned to his home in Palacio, Texas, to rest and will see a doctor later on Sunday for what he thinks are second-degree burns on his legs from sun exposure, she said.

After the rescue, Phillips was on his way home to reunite with his family, his wife, Shane, told CNN. He did not seek medical attention, she said.

Hawkins suffered open sores on his legs after floating in the water for eight days, he told CNN from the emergency room of a Corpus Christi hospital. He plans to leave the hospital soon and head to Fort Worth, Texas, to reunite with his family, he said. E-mail to a friend | Mixx it | Share

Discovery in Orbit, Chasing Space Station
Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:18:13 PM CDT

With seven astronauts and a host of experiments and equipment on board, space shuttle Discovery completed a flawless ascent into orbit Friday night to begin a two-day chase of the International Space Station. With Commander Rick "C.J. " Sturckow at the controls, the shuttle lifted off on-time at 11:59 p.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will rendezvous and dock with the station Sunday and the crew will begin transferring equipment to the outpost during the 13-day mission.

After flying up on Discovery, Nicole Stott will trade places with station resident Tim Kopra, who went into space last month aboard Endeavour. Equipment and science racks for the orbiting laboratory are riding inside the Leonardo cargo module, which is secured tightly inside Discovery's payload bay. The module will be lifted out of Discovery and locked onto the station so the crew can transfer the gear efficiently. The treadmill named for comedian Stephen Colbert also is aboard Discovery and destined for the station.

So far - Friday is a go!

Tanking Under Way For 11:59 p.m. Launch
Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:23:08 PM CDT

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are flowing into the gigantic orange external tank of space shuttle Discovery this afternoon at NAA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tanking operations began at 2:45 p.m. EDT and it will take three hours to load the 500,000 gallons of propellants into the structure. The fuel will be consumed in 8 1/2 minutes as Discovery’s three main engines power the shuttle into orbit.



Launch is scheduled for 11:59 p.m. EDT tonight. Forecasters call for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.



The mission management team reported that all the testing and analysis of Discovery's fill-and-drain valve during the last two days gives them a high degree of confidence the valve is working. Procedures have been approved in case there is a similar issue with the position sensor on the hydrogen fill-and-drain valve.



The plan includes being able to open and close the valve, or cycle it, two times during the tanking process if the valve position indicator sensor doesn't work. Teams would use alternate means, including monitoring pressure in the system, to provide confidence the valve is closed for launch.

Maybe Friday?

Friday Morning Forecast: 70 Percent "Go"
Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:47:12 AM CDT

The weather outlook for Friday morning's targeted launch of Discovery calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff would be at 12:22 a.m. Meteorologists will watch the conditions carefully throughout the countdown, with the greatest expected concern being for anvil clouds and thunderstorms within 20 nautical miles of the Shuttle Landing Facility. The mission management team will evaluate analysis of a fill-and-drain valve problem before Discovery's massive external tank is loaded with propellant. The valve issue developed during Tuesday's countdown and forced a postponement of the launch of the STS-128 mission.

Shuttle postponed until early Wednesday morning.

The "Go" was given to load space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank. Discovery’s launch was postponed early Tuesday morning due to lingering thunderstorms in the vicinity of the launch pad.

The current weather forecast is 70 percent favorable conditions for launch. The primary concern is cumulus clouds and showers within 20 nautical miles of the shuttle landing facility at the time of launch.

Tanking commentary on NASA TV will begin at 3:30 p.m. and fueling operations will start at approximately 3:45 p.m. EDT. Launch commentary will begin tonight at 8 p.m.

Weather permitting, launch is scheduled for 1:10 a.m.

Shuttle Set For Night Launch

Tank Fueled; Countdown in Planned Hold
Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:16:40 PM CDT

Discovery’s external tank has been loaded with about 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen during a flawless fueling process. The launch of shuttle is on schedule for 1:36 a.m. EDT Tuesday morning. Forecasters predict an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. Discovery is headed to the International Space Station on this mission to add new hardware and experiment racks for the inside of the orbiting laboratory complex.

LINK: NASA

Jurors in son's genitalia mutilation case sentence mom to 99 years

By BRIAN ROGERS Copyright 2009 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 18, 2009, 12:16AM

A Houston mother was sentenced to 99 years in prison on Monday for severing her infant son's genitals in a 2007 attack she blamed on the family dog.

Harris County jurors deliberated about two hours on Monday before sentencing Katherine “Katie” Nadal, a former Anahuac cheerleader, the maximum allowed for the charge of serious bodily injury to a child. Nadal, 28, was also fined $10,000. She will have to serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

In an emotional outburst during impact statements from five of the boy's family members, Nadal shouted at Patches DeShazo, the child's aunt, who is also his legal guardian.

As DeShazo chastised Nadal for hurting the boy, Nadal shouted back, “No I didn't. I didn't hurt him, I failed him.” Camden Gothia, the boy's father, them jumped from his seat and shouted, “You abused him while he was still in the womb!”
As deputies seated Nadal, Gothia stormed out of the courtroom and could be heard shouting in the hallway.
Defense attorneys said they were disappointed with the length of the sentence and said Nadal continues to assert her innocence.
“She has always maintained that she did not do anything wrong, except not remain alert enough as a caretaker,” Allen Isbell said.

Nadal testified during the trial that a small dachshund chewed her 5-week-old son's penis and testicles while she slept in the family's Clear Lake-area apartment.
Upbringing described

Earlier Monday, jurors in state District Judge Denise Collins' court listened to testimony describing her suburban childhood through her adult descent into drug addiction, to March 13, 2007, when she mutilated her son.
Prosecutors had asked jurors to sentence Nadal to life in prison. Her lawyers asked for probation.
Prosecutors asked for “the maximum with a message,” noting the child's injuries.

“That can't be fixed,” said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Denise Oncken. “She has given him a horrible life to deal with.”

Isbell asked for mercy for a “promising young lady” who wasn't strong enough to deal with the death of a close friend in high school.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Freak shooting claims boy

HOUSTON – KHOU A tragic accident has claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy in Southwest Houston.

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It happened on Wednesday evening.

Police say a telephone was ringing inside of his family’s home on Blanchard Hill Lane and the boy was trying to find it.

He tossed his mom's backpack to the floor and a pistol that was inside the backpack went off.

The boy was shot in the head and died.

Police say at this time it does not appear any laws were broken. The gun was in the home legally.

Pearland man helps passengers on Continental flight 128

By Kevin Reece and Jeremy Desel / 11 News
HOUSTON – Passengers aboard Continental flight 128 arrived in Houston Monday with a terrifying tale to share.

As emergency vehicles rushed to the plane on the Miami tarmac, catering truck elevators were used to rescue injured passengers.

Diego Saavedra was on the plane. He said passengers and flight attendants were flying inside the cabin.

“All of a sudden, the plane like takes a dip and rises up and you see people going off their seats, people screaming,” said Saavedra. “One lady, she just came out of her seat and flew over the middle row, hit her head on the wall and landed on her back.”

Passengers took pictures inside the plane that show items falling out of the ceiling and cracked plastic.

The damage was caused by flight attendants and passengers hitting the ceiling, said John Norwood who was also on the flight.

“People who weren’t belted in flew up and hit the ceiling, so their faces and heads hit the plastics and broke the plastics all at the top,” said Norwood.

Celi Defaria hit the roof too. She has a scar that runs the length of the right side of her face.

“All of a sudden it came down. Everybody bumped heads twice because it came down again," she said. "It was terrifying. It happened in one faction of a second."

The incident occurred at 3:30 a.m. while most passengers were sleeping.

“I’ve never seen turbulence like that. I really thought we wouldn’t make it,” said Giovani Loss.


READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Aircraft bound for Houston hits turbulence/28 injured.

CNN) -- Severe turbulence shook a Continental Airlines flight Monday, injuring dozens of passengers and forcing the aircraft to divert to Miami, Florida, according to the airline and a fire official.


The diverted airliner sits on the tarmac at Miami International Airport.

There were 168 passengers and 11 crew members on Flight 128, which was heading from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas, according to a statement from Continental Airlines.

Ambulances and other vehicles were lined up on the runway to treat and transport the injured passengers when the plane landed at Miami International Airport at 5:35 a.m.

Continental said nine passengers were transported to nearby hospitals, and 28 other passengers were treated at the scene. Lt. Elkin Sierra of the Miami-Dade Fire Department said 26 passengers were injured, including four seriously.

The Boeing 767 hit turbulence about 50 miles north of the Dominican Republic at about 38,000 feet, according to an official with the Federal Aviation Administration. It landed in Miami an hour later with its seat belt signs illuminated, the airline said.

Those injured suffered from a variety of injuries, including bumps, bruises, neck pain and back pain, Sierra said.

The flight is scheduled to depart Miami for Houston later in the morning, according to Continental's Web site.