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☆ Catastrophic damage closed swaths of the Appalachian Trail. Now thousands are working to restore it
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The Appalachian Trail extends for almost 2,200 miles across 14 states – from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Portions of the trail in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest suffered the most severe damage and remain closed. Towns and businesses need the trail’s trafficThe Appalachian Trail is more than a footpath for many people. Every year thousands of people attempt to hike the entire trail or “thru-hike” it, and about 3 million people visit portions of the trail, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The total cost of the repairs along the trail remains unclear while officials continue assessing the full extent of the wreckage, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy said.

Persons: Terry Wise, Hurricane Helene, ”, Wise, Helene, –, “, Michelle Mitchell, Franklin Tate, They’ll, Tate, ” Wise, It’s, ’ ” Wise, Johnny’s, We’re, Ed Clark, ” Clark, Roy Cooper’s, Paul Curtin, Curtin, Crews, ” Curtin, Mitchell, Terra Caballero, Caballero, ” Caballero, Billoy, Shutterstock Craig Stivers, Stivers, Erwin, ” Stivers Organizations: CNN, Volunteers, US Forest Service, National Park Service, Forest Service, Forest, Cherokee, North Carolina . North Carolina Forest Service, Appalachian, Conservancy, Forest . United States Forest Service, North Carolina Gov, Carolina Mountain Club, Asheville . United States Forest Service, US Department of Transportation, Officials, conservancy, Unicoi Locations: Erwin , Tennessee, East, Springer, Georgia, Katahdin, Maine, Georgia , North Carolina , Tennessee, Virginia, Southern, North, Pisgah, Tennessee, North Carolina, Hurricane, North Carolina . North, Towns, Appalachian, Erwin, Hot Springs , North Carolina, The, Asheville, Forest, Bent, Asheville ., South Carolina , Tennessee, Florida, Hurricane Milton

☆ 1 monkey recovered after dozens escape in South Carolina. Others are ‘jumping back and forth’ near the research facility
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-09 | by ( Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Monkey mayhem continues as 42 primates remain on the loose from a research facility in South Carolina. On Wednesday, 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee. The loose primates continue to interact with their encaged counterparts inside the facility. Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard told police Saturday recovery efforts will continue “for as long as it takes,” the statement said. The Alpha Genesis test facility specializes in nonhuman primate research for the biomedical research community.

Persons: Greg Westergaard, ”, Matthew Garnes Organizations: CNN, Alpha Genesis Primate Research, Yemassee Police Department, Alpha, Police, Alpha Genesis, Residents Locations: South Carolina, Yemassee, cooing, Courier, Beaufort County

☆ Diver finds graduation ring lost in the ocean almost 5 decades ago and surprises its owner
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-09 | by ( Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A day before Morgan Perigo’s 83rd birthday last month, an unexpected package showed up on his doorstep. In it was the 1965 McMaster University graduation ring he lost in 1977. Diver Alex Davis shows Morgan Perigo's long-missing graduation ring. The search narrowed down the initials to a Frederick Morgan Perigo, who goes by Morgan, and the school immediately notified him. Perigo explained to McQuigge how he originally lost the ring in 1977 on a trip with his family to Barbados.

Persons: Morgan Perigo’s, Alex Davis, Davis, Hurricane Beryl, ”, We’ve, we’ve, Karen McQuigge, Diver Alex Davis, Morgan Perigo's, McQuigge, Frederick Morgan Perigo, Morgan, Perigo, Perigo –, ” Davis, “, ” McQuigge Organizations: CNN, McMaster University, “ McMaster University, FedEx Locations: Barbados

☆ 43 monkeys escape from South Carolina research facility
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-07 | by ( Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Residents in a small South Carolina town are finding themselves in the middle of a real-life game of Jumanji after 43 monkeys escaped Wednesday from a research facility. The rhesus macaque primates are all still on the loose after escaping from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, town administrator Matthew Garnes said late Thursday morning. In an update shortly before noon, police said Alpha Genesis had eyes on the monkeys and were attempting to entice them with food. The young primates – all female and between 6 to 7 pounds – have never been used for testing and are too young to carry disease, police said. The Alpha Genesis test facility specializes in nonhuman primate research for the biomedical research community.

Persons: Matthew Garnes, Alpha Genesis, “, ” Garnes Organizations: CNN, Residents, Alpha Genesis Primate Research, Yemassee Police, Alpha, Police Locations: South Carolina, Yemassee, “, Beaufort, Courier, Beaufort County

☆ Powerball jackpot: $478.2 million winning lottery ticket sold in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ 100-year-old artifacts kept inside Kansas City time capsule are revealed at World War I museum
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In 1924, historians and museum curators banded together to bury a time capsule inside the Liberty Memorial, to be opened in 100 years. In the 1920s, a group of prominent Kansas City residents formed the Liberty Memorial Association to construct a memorial dedicated to honor those who served in World War I. With the help of the Kansas City Police Department bomb and arson unit, the capsule was successfully opened with no explosions. The first of these artifacts was a tube of seeds representing the Kansas City agricultural community. The final object is a printing plate from the Kansas City Star dated to November 1, 1921.

Persons: ”, Matthew Naylor, Christopher Warren, Naylor, Warren, Calvin Coolidge, ” Warren Organizations: CNN, National WWI Museum and Memorial, Liberty, Kansas City, Liberty Memorial Association, National WWI Museum and Memorial . Workers, Staff, Kansas City Police Department, Kansas City Star Locations: Kansas City , Missouri, Kansas, Kansas City, Warren

☆ Football field that was the site of tearful reunions after Apalachee school shooting becomes symbol of resilience
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Graham Hurley | Dalia Faheid | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

That football field transformed from a scene of tragedy to a symbol of resilience Friday as the community packed the bleachers to watch the survivors play. Still, a beloved fixture of Apalachee football wasn’t there: Assistant football coach Richard Aspinwall, who was killed in the shooting. It strangely looked like what a high school football game is supposed to look like, until there was a reminder that it wasn’t a normal football game. ‘It’s not going to be the same’For sophomore Michael Gordon, being back on the football field will always bring back memories of the day of the shooting. “We have resilient kids, not just on the football team, but we’ve got resilient kids in our school,” Hancock said.

Persons: “ Chee, Elijah Nouvelage, Jessica Rehberg, Richard Aspinwall, Aspinwall, shockwaves, “, ” Rehberg, Apalachee, Cristina Irimie, Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn, that’s, Banner, Dwayne “, ” Johnson, Johnson, CNN Mike Hancock, ”, …, ” Hancock, Hancock, Isaiah Hooks, CNN Isaiah Hooks, Isaiah, Mike Hancock, he’ll, ‘ It’s, Michael Gordon, “ It’s, J, Flowers, we’ve, “ We’ve, We’ve Organizations: Georgia CNN, Apalachee High School, Football, CNN, CNN “, Wildcats, Apalachee, CNN The Apalachee High, Jackson, Panthers, Jackson County Panthers, Star, football, CNN Football, Barrow County Locations: Winder, Georgia, Apalachee, Barrow, Winder , Georgia, Aspinwall

In a statement, the company said it was no longer operating, extended its condolences to relatives of the victims, and noted it has cooperated with the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigations. Neubauer said the testimony gave important insight into the potential motivation in Rush and his company. Peter Girguis, a Harvard University professor and oceanographer who monitored the hearing, told CNN evidence of Rush’s ego-driven approach and heedlessness to repeated safety concerns appears to loom large in the disaster. Specifically, the letter alleged the language on OceanGate’s website was “confusing and misleading” and implied the Titan was “classed,” meaning certified to industry standards. The letter took issue with OceanGate’s decision not to try to get the Titan classified.

Persons: Jason Neubauer, ”, OceanGate, Stockton, Rush, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, Neubauer, …, Peter Girguis, “ Stockton, ” Girguis, ” Neubauer, Karl Stanley, Stanley, ” Stanley, “, ” Donald Kramer, Stockton Rush, He’s, Amber Bay, Phil Brooks, OceanGate’s, Brooks, couldn’t, –, William Kohnen, Kohnen, ” Kohnen, ” Rush, CNN’s Dakin Andone, Eric Levenson Organizations: CNN, Coast Guard, Titan, Marine Board, Stockton Rush, Authorities, Atlantic, Marine Board of Investigation, National Transportation Safety, Harvard University, “ Stockton Rush, US Justice Department, National Transportation Safety Board, Justice Department, Stockton, Marine Technology Society, OceanGate Locations: Everett, Washington, English, Honduras, Stockton, Amber, paychecks, OceanGate, ‘, “ Stockton, North Charleston , South Carolina

☆ OceanGate employees were asked to accept delayed paychecks, witnesses tell investigators probing Titan implosion
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Dakin Andone | Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The company that built and operated the Titan submersible asked employees to forego their pay as it faced economic challenges, according to former employees testifying before the US Coast Guard panel probing the vessel’s deadly implosion last year. OceanGate employees were asked to “defer our paychecks” at the start of 2023, Amber Bay, the company’s former director of administration, said Tuesday as part of a two-week hearing before the Marine Board of Investigation – the highest level of Coast Guard inquiry. The board is reviewing the cause of the June 2023 implosion during the submersible’s dive to the Titanic, which claimed the life of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four others. Members of the Coast Guard's Titan Submersible Marine Board of Investigation listen during the hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers on September 23, 2024, in North Charleston, South Carolina. Lochridge raised safety concerns about the company’s operations, he testified, saying he had “no confidence whatsoever” in how the Titan was built.

Persons: “, Amber Bay, ”, Rush, Phil Brooks, OceanGate’s, Brooks, Laura Bilson, OceanGate, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, David Lochridge, Lochridge, ” Lochridge, CNN’s Ray Sanchez Organizations: CNN, Titan, US Coast Guard, Marine Board, Investigation, Coast Guard, Stockton Rush, Everett, Marine, Chambers, NTSB Locations: Amber, ” Bay, Stockton, Washington, paychecks, OceanGate, Charleston County, North Charleston , South Carolina, Rush

CNN —The surviving co-founder of the company that owned the doomed Titan submersible is scheduled to testify Monday as a US Coast Guard panel continues to investigate what led to the implosion that killed five people last year. The Marine Board of Investigation’s two-week hearing began September 16 and is expected to resume Monday with OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein, who in January 2013 left the company, set to testify, the Coast Guard’s hearing schedule shows. In 2009, Sohnlein and CEO Stockton Rush launched the Washington state-based company that created the experimental 23,000-pound submersible. The submersible lost contact with its support vessel, the Polar Prince, an hour and 45 minutes into its dive on June 18, 2023. Former OceanGate director of marine operations David Lochridge, center, stands during his testimony on September 17, 2024.

Persons: OceanGate, Guillermo Sohnlein, Sohnlein, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, Sohnlein’s, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Rush, ”, ” Sohnlein, David Lochridge, Andrew J, Whitaker, ” Lochridge, Steven Ross, Ross, Antonella Wilby, Wilby, ‘, ’, ” Roy Thomas, Phil Brooks Organizations: CNN, US Coast Guard, Marine Board, Stockton Rush, Marine Board of Investigation, Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping Locations: Washington

Seconds after that brief communication, the Titan was “pinged” for the last time, according to the opening presentation of the two-week hearing. Days later, authorities found its wreckage on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean, several hundred yards from the remains of the Titanic, according to the Marine Board of Investigation, which is the highest level of inquiry by the Coast Guard. Lochridge testified he was supposed to pilot the submersible and objected when Rush decided he wanted to pilot the vessel. Rush made multiple errors during the dive, Lochridge said, including ignoring issues with the current and keeping his distance from the wreck. “It just didn’t seem to me that it had been particularly well-thought-out or executed,” he said of the submersible.

Persons: –, ” Peter Girguis, “, OceanGate, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, ” Chris Roman, it’s, ”, David Lochridge, ” Lochridge, Lochridge, Rush, “ That’s, ” OceanGate, ‘ Don’t, ’ ”, Alfred McLaren, McLaren, Nargeolet, ” Girguis, David Marquet, ’, “ I’m, Renata Rojas, debriefings, Rojas, ” Rojas, Andrea Doria, “ We’re, we’re, you’re, Rojas “, David Lochridge’s, Stockton, CNN Steven Ross, ” Ross, Ross, could’ve, Scott Griffith, Griffith, Patrick Lahey, Fred Hagen, ” Hagen, ” CNN’s Dakin Andone, Alaa Elassar, Cindy Von Quednow Organizations: CNN, Titan, US Coast Guard, Harvard University, Stockton Rush, Marine Board of Investigation, University of Rhode Island’s, School of Oceanography, Coast Guard, Authorities, OceanGate, Guard, National Transportation Safety, US Navy, ”, PlayStation, Rush, Triton, Harvard Locations: Washington, Newfoundland, Canada, Rush, OceanGate, Stockton, Bahamas

☆ Diving in the Titan ‘was never supposed to be safe,’ mission specialist says of the experimental submersible
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Alaa Elassar | Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Four days of hearings on the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible which killed all five people on board concluded this week with more damning testimony recounting multiple safety incidents over the years. Lahey said he saw the Titan in March 2019 while in the Bahamas and was “not impressed,” and told OceanGate staff members how he felt about it. I saw evidence where they were crimping cables to hold on weights, it just looked amateurish in its execution,” he said. “Anyone that felt safe going to depths in the Titan was deluded or delusional, it was an experimental vessel, it was clear that it was dangerous,” said Hagen. David Lochridge, a former director of marine operations for OceanGate who expressed safety concerns about the ill-fated Titan submersible, said during his testimony earlier this week the Titan tragedy could have been prevented if US safety authorities had investigated his complaints.

Persons: Patrick Lahey, Lahey, “, ”, OceanGate, ” OceanGate, Rush, ” Fred Hagan, Corey Connor, ” Lahey, Fred Hagen, Hagen, Antonella Wilby, Wilby, that’s, ” Steven Ross, Ross, OceanGate . Rush, David Lochridge, ” Lochridge Organizations: CNN, Titan, Triton, Triton Submarines, Stockton Rush, imploding, Marine Technology Society, MTS, OSHA Locations: Bahamas, North Charleston , South Carolina

☆ Titan submersible malfunctioned days prior to the fatal dive, former scientific director testifies
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Alaa Elassar | Graham Hurley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A former OceanGate scientific director said the Titan submersible suffered a malfunction six days before imploding in June 2023, killing all five people on board. The dive was aborted because, upon resurfacing, a platform malfunction caused by an issue with the variable ballast tank, which controlled the submersible’s buoyancy, caused the platform to invert to 45 degrees with the back bow facing upward. Because the platform malfunction took considerable time to correct, the dive was aborted and they returned to the surface to fix the issue. He said he knew the Titan submersible had not been inspected by the United States Coast Guard in 2021, 2022 or 2023. Ross also mentioned two incidents during the 2022 Titanic expedition dives, including a loud bang heard while surfacing in Dive 80.

Persons: CNN —, Steven Ross, ” Ross, Rush, Ross, could’ve, Scott Griffith, Griffith Organizations: CNN, Titan, imploding, Stockton Rush, United States Coast Guard

“It was all smoke and mirrors,” he said of the way the company operated. Former employees painted a picture of a company that cut corners in its haste to embark on missions with a poorly designed submersible. “They wanted to be able to qualify a pilot in a day, someone who had never sat in a submersible. The submersible lost contact with its mother ship during its dive to the Titanic on June 18, 2023. When the investigation is complete, the US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board will each conduct an independent analysis and complete reports, said Jason Neubauer, the chair of the Marine Board of Investigation.

Persons: David Lochridge, OceanGate, ”, Lochridge, – that’s, “, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, Jason Neubauer, CNN’s Dakin Andone, Cindy Von Quednow Organizations: CNN, US Coast Guard, Marine Board of, OceanGate, Marine Board of Investigation, Coast Guard, Stockton Rush, National Transportation Locations: Everett , Washington, Newfoundland, Canada

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