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Kadie's JournalHero driver from 1976 Chowchilla, CA school bus kidnapping dies - story w/pics
AP PHOTOS: Hero driver in Calif bus kidnap dies
By The Associated Press
Friday, May 18, 2012
(05-18) 17:49 PDT , (AP) --
In 1976, three kidnappers hijacked a school bus full of children in the farm town of Chowchilla, Calif. The kidnappers forced the 26 students and the bus driver, Frank Edward "Ed" Ray, into a truck that was buried underground and demanded a $5 million ransom. As the kidnappers slept, Ray and two older students dug their way out, and helped everyone escape without injury.
The incident made Ray a hero. He died Thursday at age 91.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/18/national/a135636D13.DTL#ixzz1vHD7nIsj
FILE - In this July 17, 1976 file photo. members of the Alameda County Crime Lab and FBI are pictured working around the opening to the van where 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver were held captive at a rock quarry near Livermore, Calif. Ed Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three men kidnapped the group and buried the entire bus underground in 1976 died on Thursday, May 17, 2012. He was 91.
Photo: Anonymous / AP
FILE - In this July 20, 1976 file photo, officials remove a truck buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver, Ed Ray were held captive. Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three men kidnapped the group and buried the entire bus underground in 1976 died on Thursday, May 17, 2012. He was 91.
Photo: James Palmer / AP
FILE - In this Friday, July 23, 1976 file photo, the inside of the van in which 26 Chowchilla, Calif., school children and their bus driver were held captive is seen in a Livermore, Calif., quarry . Photographers were not allowed inside the van, but were allowed to shoot pictures after the van doors were opened. Ed Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three men kidnapped the group and buried the entire bus underground in 1976 died on Thursday, May 17, 2012. He was 91.
Photo: James Palmer / AP
FILE - In this July 17, 1976 file photo, school bus driver Ed Ray Jr. steps from the bus that returned him and 26 school children home to Chowchilla, Calif., after the were kidnapped by three men. Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three men kidnapped the group and buried the entire bus underground in 1976 died on Thursday, May 17, 2012. He was 91.
Photo: Jim Palmer / AP
Ed Ray, bus driver in Chowchilla kidnapping, dies a hero
Ray helped free 26 students from infamous 1976 incident.
By Joshua Emerson Smith - Merced Sun-star
Thursday, May. 17, 2012 | 11:46 PM
In his final days, Frank Edward Ray was visited by many of the schoolchildren he helped save in the Chowchilla school bus kidnapping 35 years before.
Mr. Ray, who died Thursday morning at the age of 91 from complications of cirrhosis of the liver, helped free 26 students in the infamous 1976 incident in which brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, and Frederick Woods kidnapped the group and buried them alive in a rock quarry in Livermore.
"I believe he will be remembered as a hero, someone who was concerned about the children of our community and the children of the buses that he drove," said Jacki Flanagan, Mr. Ray's friend and manager of the Chowchilla Chamber of Commerce. "I think he'll be remembered for a long, long time."
The kidnappers drove the victims around for roughly 11 hours before stopping at the Livermore quarry, where the 27 hostages were forced into a buried moving van.
more...
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/17/2841396/bus-driver-in-chowchilla-kidnapping.html
Romney Economics: State by State
Mitt Romney spent nearly 20 years as a corporate buyout specialist, an experience he cites as a key qualification for his candidacy. Take a look at just some of the states where Romney's management decisions left companies bankrupt and Americans without jobs.
http://www.romneyeconomics.com/states/
End of the week LOL's (May 18th) - pics
found on facebook
Assaulting Austerity
Mark Fiore
Have a great week-end.
SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket is being prepared for launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - pics
The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket is being prepared for launch from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida May 18, 2012. An Obama administration plan to cut the cost of spaceflight services faces a key test on Saturday when a privately owned rocket lifts off for a practice run to the International Space Station. If successful, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, would become the first private company to reach the $100 billion outpost, which flies about 240 miles (390 km) above Earth. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are scheduled for launch on Saturday.
Mark Patterson (L) and Matthew Rece, both with CTNewsJunkie. Com, prepare a remote camera for the launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida May 18, 2012. An Obama administration plan to cut the cost of spaceflight services faces a key test on Saturday when a privately owned rocket lifts off for a practice run to the International Space Station. If successful, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, would become the first private company to reach the $100 billion outpost, which flies about 240 miles (390 km) above Earth. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are scheduled for launch on Saturday.
pics from news.daylife.com
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The Dawn of the Commercial Space Age is (Probably) Happening This Weekend
SpaceX's Dragon heads for the ISS in a historic first flight for the commercial space industry
By Clay DillowPosted 05.18.2012 at 12:25 pm
Tomorrow morning, whether they realize it or not, Americans will likely wake up to a new era. Though nothing will be outwardly different, a fundamental shift in the nature spaceflight will commence during the wee morning hours. Call it a defining moment, or a milestone, or simply call it what it is: the dawn of the private spaceflight industry’s real presence in outer space.
more...
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-05/dawn-commercial-space-age-probably-happening-weekend
Disneyland Tokyo backs gay marriage
Disneyland Tokyo backs gay marriage
Tokyo resort emerges as unlikely champion of lesbian and gay rights after it allows same-sex ceremonies
By Justin McCurry / The Guardian, Tokyo
Days after US President Barack Obama gave his public backing to gay marriages in the US, Mickey Mouse has emerged as the unlikely champion of same-sex unions in Japan.
Tokyo Disneyland said this week it would allow gay couples to hold ceremonies on its grounds, although same-sex weddings have no legal status in Japan.
Disneyland’s decision came to light after Koyuki Higashi, a 27-year-old woman, inquired about marrying her female partner, identified only as Hiroko, at the resort.
Higashi was initially told she would be able to marry her partner provided they were dressed “like a man and a woman,” she wrote on her blog. Staff at Disneyland, which attracts about 14 million visitors a year, were apparently concerned about how other visitors would react to the sight of couples both dressed in wedding dresses or tuxedos.
A spokeswoman for Milial Resort Hotels, a subsidiary of Tokyo Disney Resort, later said there had been a misunderstanding, telling Higashi and her partner they could dress how they pleased, although they would not be able to exchange vows in the chapel because of “Christian teachings.”
The park said it would accept all applications for same-sex wedding ceremonies. The only obstacle now appears to be financial: a full wedding ceremony in Cinderella’s castle, with Disney characters included on the guest list, costs about US $95,000.
more...
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2012/05/19/2003533178
President Obama speaks at the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security - pics
US President Barack Obama arrives to speak on Global Agriculture and Food Security at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, on May 18, 2012 on the sideline of the G8 summit.
U2 lead singer, Bono, center, sits in the front row as he listens to President Barack Obama speak at the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Friday, May 18, 2012, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.
US President Barack Obama greets attendees after speaking on Global Agriculture and Food Security at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, on May 18, 2012 on the sideline of the G8 summit.
pics from news.daylife.com
Remarks by the President at Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/18/remarks-president-symposium-global-agriculture-and-food-security
Obama 2012 - Week in the field—May 18th, 2012 - pics
Week in the field—May 18th, 2012
A packed house for the latest Colorado office opening.
Registering first-time voters in Colorado.
Iowa Women for Obama are writing postcards to other women about why they support President Obama.
A local volunteer lends his artistic ability to a field office in Michigan.
Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter took questions at a Women for Obama event in North Carolina.
You can never be too prepared for a day of voter registration.
There’s always time for a quick phone bank.
A young supporter signs up to volunteer at an office opening in Michigan.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/
VP Joe Biden stops at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ in Washington, PA - pics
Vice President Joe Biden, seated right, visits at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ, Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Washington, Pa.
Vice President Joe Biden, center left, visits with at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ, Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Washington, Pa.
Vice President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Bob Sabot, of North Franklin, Pa. , at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ, Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Washington, Pa.
Vice President Joe Biden, left, talks with Washington, Pa. , Mayor Brenda Davis (D) at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ, Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Washington, Pa.
Vice President Joe Biden, left, talks with Washington, Pa. , Mayor Brenda Davis (D) at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ, Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Washington, Pa.
pics from news.daylife.com
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Biden stumps at Washington County barbecue joint
May 17, 2012 6:48 pm
Julia Rendleman/Post-Gazette
Vice President Joe Biden visits with diners at Hog father's Old Fashioned BBQ.
snip...
"I hear the food's pretty good here," the vice president proclaimed as he entered to the applause of about 20 patrons -- a mix of surprised diners and a few Democratic Party partisans who had apparently been tipped off to the meticulously planned spontaneous stop.
snip...
Mr. Biden squeezed into an already full booth by the door and exchanged introductions with the diners.
At another booth, Gil Maher, of Pittsburgh, who just finished his freshman year at Syracuse University, asked him whether "a current Syracuse student can get a picture with a Syracuse alumni."
The vice president obliged. Sitting beneath a sign that read, "Free Beer Tomorrow," they chatted about Syracuse basketball. Mr. Maher said that Mr. Biden predicted that the Orange would win the national championship next year, confidence that Mr. Maher did not share.
snip...
The owner, Frank Puskarich, of McMurray, said Mr. Biden took "a big piece of carrot cake." He also took away "a couple of racks of ribs."
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-national/biden-stumps-at-washington-county-barbecue-joint-636410/
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