State officials and the US military's Pacific Command confirmed that there was no actual threat to the state. But for more than a half hour, while the
agency struggled to retract the warning, panicked Hawaiians scrambled to find
shelter.
The mistaken alert stated: "EMERGENCY ALERT BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." The alert, sent to
mobile phones and aired on television and radio shortly after 8 a.m., was issued
amid high international tensions over North Korea's development of ballistic
nuclear weapons.
Governor David Ige told a news conference he was "angry and disappointed" over the incident Authentic Malik Hooker Jersey , apologized for it and said the state would take steps to ensure it never happens again.
"What happened today was totally unacceptable," the Democratic governor said.
Ige said the alert was sent during a employee shift change at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and that the state had no automated process to get
out the word that it was a false alarm. Vern Miyagi, the agency's administrator,
called it "human error."
"An employee pushed the wrong button Pierre Desir Jersey ," Ige said.
Stacey Bow, 56, of Honolulu, said she received the emergency alert on her smart phone. She awakened her 16-year-old daughter with the news. "She became
hysterical, crying Nate Hairston Jersey , you know, just lost it," she said.
Ige said the emergency management agency after the incident ordered a change in its procedures requiring two employees, not just one, to send out such an
alert in the future. He said such shift changes occur three times a day every
day of the year.
Miyagi Jeremiah George Jersey , who said Hawaii would have only 12 to 13 minutes of warning in an actual attack, declined to say what action would be taken against
the employee. Miyagi said the agency routinely tests its emergency alert system
and that employee thought he was conducting a test, not realizing he had
transmitted the warning with a two-step process on a computer screen until
receiving it on his own cellphone minutes later.
The US Federal Communications Commission, which has jurisdiction over the emergency alert system, announced it was initiating a full investigation.
Earlier this week Rashaan Melvin Jersey , FCC chairman Ajit Pai said the agency would vote at its January meeting to enhance the effectiveness of wireless emergency alerts,
which have been in place since 2012.
Hawaii, a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, has a population of about 1.4 million people and is home to Pacific Command, the Navy's Pacific Fleet and
other elements of the American military.
(Agencies)
Facebook Inc. is considering changing how it prioritizes news stories in users' feeds to give better placement to media outlets deemed more
trustworthy Antonio Morrison Jersey , as the company continues efforts to limit the exposure of false news, people familiar with the matter said.
Under its new approach, Facebook would evaluate parameters such as public polling about news outlets, and whether readers are willing to pay for news from
particular publishers. Such variables would inform its algorithm that determines
which publishers' posts are pushed higher in the feed, one of the people said.
Such a move would thrust Facebook into an even more active role in deciding what content is acceptable on its site. The company hasn't decided whether to
proceed with the shift Matthias Farley Jersey , and it may choose not to do so.
It is also considering other changes to the news feed, some of which it could announce as early as Thursday. The company plans to change how it handles video,
by giving priority to those that users engage with and playing down those that
generate views by automatically playing when seen in a person's feed.
Facebook is also looking to double down on a strategy of promoting content shared by friends and family over posts published by news outlets, other people
familiar with the situation said. One of the goals would be to encourage more
conversation among Facebook users. There is some consternation among publishers
that this strategy could lead to a significant reduction in traffic referred
from Facebook over time.(Agencies)
Gong Lijiao
CHINA’S Gong Lijiao ended her long wait for a global outdoor title when she won the shot put gold at the world championships on Wednesday, utterly
dominating the competition in the absence of reigning champion Christina
Schwanitz and four-time champion Valerie Adams.
The 28-old-year had won five silver and bronze medals at the world championships and Olympics but a gold had always eluded her until a
chilly Jeremy Vujnovich Jersey , wet night at the London Olympic stadium.
Gong made of light of the conditions as she broke 19 meters with five of her six attempts and won with a fifth throw of 19.94 meters, in the process winning
China’s first gold in London.
There were only two other throws over 19 — Anita Marton’s final effort of 19.49 which won silver for the Hungarian and American Michelle Carter’s third
throw of 19.14 which took bronze.
Gong was left delighted with China’s first shot put title since Huang Zhihong won her second gold in Stuttgart in 1993, saying: “I competed more this year to
be ready for these championships.
“It is 24 years since China won a shot put medal, so it’s a very special moment for me. Of course, the rain affected the competition and that is the
reason we didn’t go past 20 meters tonight.”
Gong added: “My next goal is Deyshawn Bond Jersey , of course, the Tokyo Olympics. My memories of London 2012 are mixed because I was third originally, then I was moved to second later.
I didn’t like the way that happened. So I am glad to show all the hard work I’ve
done in the past with.
