West
Colorado gold mine tour guide identified as victim killed in elevator mishap: 'A good man,' sheriff says
A tour guide was the lone death after an elevator malfunction inside a former Colorado gold mine turned popular tourist attraction trapped 23 people as far as 1,000 feet underground, authorities said Friday.
Patrick Weier, 46, was killed during the incident at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office said.
Weier, a mine tour guide, left behind a seven-year-old child.
“He was a good man,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told reporters during a news conference Friday. “My feelings are that he was attempting to make everybody safe. I don’t know what occurred though. . . . But I do know that, for us and what it looks like, he may have been a hero from the beginning.
“Anytime you’re dealing with heavy machinery and 1,000-foot level, up to [the] 500[-foot] level in a mine, there could be accidents. And this was a tragic accident.”
AURORA POLICE DENY TREN DE ARAGUA GANG HAS ‘TAKEN OVER’ THE CITY IN PRESSER: ‘NOT AN IMMIGRATION ISSUE’
Several people were rescued after becoming trapped in a former Colorado gold mine on Thursday. (KMGH)
According to officials, the elevator inside the mine experienced a mechanical failure at about 500 feet around noon Thursday.
Details about the deadly incident remain under investigation by several agencies, including OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“We are immensely grateful for the quick response of all the agencies involved and are holding everyone in our prayers,” said Cripple Creek Mayor Annie Durham.
Eleven people, including two children, who had been riding in the elevator were initially rescued. Four people sustained minor injuries including back pain, neck pain and arm pain, the sheriff said.
IDAHO HUNTER BITTEN BY GRIZZLY DESCRIBES ‘SURPRISE’ ATTACK
The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour in Cripple Creek, Colo., is located in a historic mining town just south of Colorado Springs. Guided tours inside the former gold mine are a popular tourist destination in the area. (Getty Images)
Twelve other adults were trapped 1,000 feet below and were rescued roughly six hours later. They had access to water, blankets and used radios to communicate with authorities, who told them there was an elevator issue, Mikesell said. They were also fed pizza, which they requested, Mikesell said.
The family-owned mine will remain closed.
“We would like to send our prayers and condolences to everyone involved. We would also like to thank all of the first responders and emergency personnel who helped us through such a difficult time. The Mollie Kathleen will be closed until further notice,” its website states.
On Thursday, Colorado Gov., Jared Polis said he was “saddened to learn of the loss of a life in this tragic accident and my heart goes out to the family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Tarps cover the entrance to a mine, where several people were rescued Thursday after getting trapped inside the former Colorado gold mine. (KMGH)
The mine opened in the 1800s and closed in 1961, before re-opening to conduct educational tours for the last several decades.
Its website describes a one-hour tour in which visitors descend 1,000 feet underground into a “safe, clean and dry” environment.
The mine was scheduled to host its last day of the season on Sunday.
Mollie Kathleen Gortner discovered the site of the mine in 1891, when she saw quartz laced with gold, according to the company’s website.
Thursday’s mishap wasn’t the first for the mine. Officials on Friday referred to an unspecified incident in 1986.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Alaska
‘Minimal fire activity observed’, Firefighters work to put out fire in area burned in 2014 Funny River Fire
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Firefighters are battling a human caused fire on the Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection (DOF) said.
The Killey River Fire was discovered Friday evening, DOF said. A pilot and a boat operator reported it.
“It is burning along the edge of the waterway in the burned area of the 2014 Funny River Fire,” DOF said. The fire “is about 2.25-miles up the Killey River from its confluence with the Kenai River.”
As of Saturday morning, the fire was about 8.2 acres.
“[Precipitation], helicopter bucket drops, and the air tanker slowed the fire and allowed firefighters to cut saw line and build hose lays around the fire,” DOF said Saturday.
In a note from Saturday on the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Situation Dashboard, it said minimal fire activity was observed after firefighters worked “around snags in the old fire scar. The crew engaged to secure the west side of the fire with anticipation of strong gusts from the east.”
Burn permits have been suspended in the Kenai-Kodiak area, as well as the Fairbanks and Delta prevention areas, DOF said.
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Arizona
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed at Arizona commencement over AI, sex harassment claims from much-younger girlfriend
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was roundly booed by students at the University of Arizona’s graduation Saturday — following backlash over his selection as commencement speaker over sex abuse allegations from his much-younger ex girlfriend.
Tech billionaire Schmidt, 71, was discussing artificial intelligence and automation when students began jeering him, Business Insider reported.
However, he had been expecting a hostile reception regardless of what he said following allegations of rape and sexual harassment made in a lawsuit by ex Michelle Ritter.
Multiple left-wing and feminist student groups handed out flyers at Friday night’s commencement detailing the allegations made against Schmidt by 31-year-old tech entrepreneur Ritter, who was Schmidt’s lover and business partner.
Students were urged to “turn their backs to the stage” when Schmidt came on, “and/or boo to make it clear that the University of Arizona and greater community that we represent, whether from Tucson or beyond, do not support abusers being platformed,” reported the Arizona Daily Star.
Schmidt, who has long been public about having an open marriage, denies the allegations from Ritter.
The boos started for Schmidt when he appeared to admit some of the mistakes he made during his time at Google.
“We thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge that humanity had been constructing for centuries, but the world we built turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated,” said Schmidt, who left Google in 2011.
“The same tools that connect us also isolate us. The same platforms that gave everyone a voice — like you’re using now — degraded the public square,” he added.
The boos for Schmidt grew louder as he discussed AI, which critics warn risks obliterating the jobs market for new graduates.
“I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear,” Schmidt said, as he was briefly drowned out by boos.
“There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create,” he said, describing the fears as “rational” before insisting young people should adapt or else.
“The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will. The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence,” he said.
California
3 people killed, several others injured after driver crashes into crowd in Oakland, California
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed and several others were injured after a driver crashed into multiple cars and pedestrians late Saturday night in Oakland, California, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly after 11 p.m., according to officials.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene and five others were injured, the Oakland Fire Department said. Two of those injured were in critical condition. The driver involved in the crash was also injured, though officials described those injuries as minor.
Authorities did not immediately release additional details about what led to the crash, and the driver’s identity was not made public.
The crash remains under investigation, officials said.
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