Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalOceanside Harbor Dredging Begins
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District began its annual dredging of the Oceanside Harbor inlet starting April 19.
Manson Construction Company of Seattle is dredging the channel to its authorized federal depth of 20 feet. Dredging is expected to be completed prior to Memorial Day weekend.
About 250,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand will be removed from the harbor’s entrance channel and placed along Oceanside’s beaches. The project’s local sponsor is the City of Oceanside.
The annual dredging project is conducted to maintain the federal channel within the harbor at its authorized federal depth and to provide safe navigation for recreational, commercial and military vessels that use it. Oceanside Harbor is one of four annual dredging projects conducted by the LA District.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/oceanside-harbor-dredging-begins-496048
Houthis Release Crew of Seized Emirati Cargo Vessel
The Houthi movement that controls most of northern Yemen has released the crew of the United Arab Emirates cargo ship Rwabee that was seized on January 3, the group's spokesman said on Monday.
The release of the crew - 11 in all according to sources familiar with the matter - was agreed with the assistance of Oman, spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said in a tweet.
He said a detained British man was also released. He did not provide more details. Oman's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday a British man and his wife and child were also released by the Houthis.
The British government earlier identified the man as Luke Symons and said he had been held without charge or trial since 2017.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/houthis-release-crew-seized-emirati-cargo-496049
Israel announces retaliatory strike on southern Lebanon after rocket fire
The Israeli military said it struck Lebanon with artillery fire early Monday after a rocket was fired into Israel. The army said the rocket landed in an open area in northern Israel, causing no damage or injuries.
But shortly after, it said it struck “the sources of the projectile launched and an infrastructure target in southern Lebanon.” It said “routine activity” in northern Israel was continuing.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Israel and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group are bitter enemies that fought an inconclusive month long war in 2006. The border area has remained tense but mostly quiet since then.
Small Palestinian groups are also active in Lebanon and have been suspected in several rocket attacks in recent years.
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20220425-israel-announces-retaliatory-strike-on-southern-lebanon-after-rocket-fire
Mali jihadist group claims capture of Russian Wagner group fighter
A jihadist group in Mali on Monday claimed to have captured a fighter from the Kremlin-linked Wagner mercenary group report.
"In the first week of April, (we) captured a soldier of the Russian Wagner forces in the Segou region in central Mali," the GSIM (the Group to Support Islam and Muslims) said in a statement sent to AFP overnight.
It is the first time the GSIM, an Al-Qaeda-linked alliance and the biggest jihadist network in the Sahel, has announced the capture of a fighter with the Wagner group.
The United States, France and others say Russian paramilitaries in Mali are operatives from the private-security firm Wagner, which has also been accused of abuses in the Central African Republic.
Mali's military-dominated government has denied the accusations and said the Russians in the country are military instructors.
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20220425-mali-jihadist-group-claims-capture-of-russian-wagner-group-fighter
Coronavirus vaccine mandates banned in Mississippi
Governor Tate Reeves has signed House Bill 1509, which bans discrimination based on vaccination status, prevents schools from mandating COVID vaccines for children, and requires employers to honor religious objections. Mississippi has historically ranked number one in the nation for kindergarten vaccination rates due to state laws requiring immunizations. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says he is hopeful that this law does not undermine that success.
“The group of folks who are pushing against childhood immunizations are going to use this as a wedge, that’s inevitable,” says Dr. Dobbs. “But the vast majority of folks see a very clear distinction between childhood vaccinations, which we’ve had for a long time, and COVID vaccine. And COVID vaccine has gotten tangled up in a whole bunch of controversial areas that other vaccines haven’t.”
A coronavirus vaccine mandate was enacted earlier this year for federal employees and those who work at large corporations. Mississippi is currently involved in a lawsuit to overturn these requirements. Dr. Dobbs says the new law does have some exceptions in the healthcare industry.
Dr. Dobbs says “Hospitals under the CMS requirement are exempted from this law. But I think a lot of the law was not really necessary because we were not going to add it as a childhood vaccine and we were not going to mandate it for anybody. We haven’t really done mandates from our office except regulatory oversight for folks who are under our licensing authority.”
https://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/coronavirus-vaccine-mandates-banned-in-mississippi/
Coast Guard, SDF expand search area for Shiretoko boat accident
The Coast Guard and the Self-Defense Forces have expanded the search area for people who went missing in a boat accident off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
The 19-ton tour boat, Kazu One, with 26 people on board, went missing on Saturday after making a distress call.
Seven men and three women have been pronounced dead. Coast Guard officials say one child pulled from the waters late Sunday night has also been confirmed dead at a hospital.
The Coast Guard is working to identify the 11 people.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220425_18/
COVID claims record lives in Shanghai, partial restrictions begins in Beijing
Shanghai authorities have reported a record number of coronavirus deaths amid a strict lockdown.
Officials say they confirmed on Sunday 19,455 new cases and the most-ever deaths, at 51.
The virus has also begun spreading in the capital Beijing. Authorities confirmed 47 infections between Friday and Sunday.
The largest number of new cases has been confirmed in the Chaoyang District of the capital. District authorities restricted outings in some areas, and asked residents to work from home in principle, starting Monday.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220425_26/
VA Unveils New Plan to House LA's Homeless Veterans, Falls Flat with Advocacy Groups
Last Nov. 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department teamed up to move roughly 40 homeless veterans living along a sidewalk to the property of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus, right next to their former encampment known as Veterans Row.
At the time, VA Secretary Denis McDonough vowed to house another 500 homeless vets in the city by Dec. 31. The department succeeded, finding shelter for 667 veterans in a city with more than 3,600 homeless vets -- roughly 10% of the country's entire population of homeless former service members.
"Every once in a while, you run across these phrases in the English language that shouldn't really exist. I think one of those phrases is 'homeless veteran,'" McDonough said in a November news conference. "As long as I'm here, I'm going to do everything I possibly can to get them into houses."
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/04/23/va-unveils-new-plan-house-las-homeless-veterans-falls-flat-advocacy-groups.html
Search Continues for Missing Texas National Guard Soldier
EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — The name of a Texas National Guard member who remains missing after going into the river along the U.S.-Mexico border to help two migrants who appeared to be drowning was released on Sunday by officials.
The Texas Military Department identified the missing Guard member as Specialist Bishop E. Evans, 22, from Arlington.
Evans went missing on Friday as he jumped into the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass along the U.S.-Mexico border in a section of the river known to have strong currents.
Evans is assigned to A Battery, 4-133 Field Artillery Regiment in New Braunfels, the Texas Military Department said in a statement. He joined the Texas Army National Guard in May 2019. Evans left Texas but returned in 2020 after taking part in Operation Spartan Shield in Kuwait.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/04/25/search-continues-missing-texas-national-guard-soldier.html
Man arrested after armed robbery in Co Cork
A man has been arrested following an armed robbery in Co Cork.
Gardaí say a man, armed with a weapon, threatened staff at a business premises on Main Street, Ballincollig, at around 7.15pm yesterday.
He took a number of items and left the scene in a taxi.
A man in his 30s was arrested during a follow-up operation and the items were recovered.
https://www.rte.ie/news/munster/2022/0424/1294008-cork-arrest/
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