Great White Shark Jumps Into Research Boat

Great White Shark Jumps Into Research Boat in South Africa

Marine scientists studying sharks in South Africa got closer to their subject than they expected -- when a great white jumped out of the sea and into their boat,hair weave according to reports Tuesday.

Six members of Oceans Research organization were collecting data on sharks in Mossel Bay, 241 miles west of Cape Town, when the nine-foot-eight shark leaped out of the water and landed on the boat's fuel and bait storage containers, the Cape Times reported.

"Activity around the boat ceased and all was pretty quiet at the stern," team leader Dorien Schroder said.5816 Style Women Boots

"Next thing, I hear a splash and see a great white breach out of the water from one side of the boat hovering, literally, over a crew member chumming on the port side."

The crew backed off, hoping the shark would find its way back to the water -- but the 1,102lbs animal panicked,Mocler Boots cutting fuel lines as it thrashed about.

After radioing for help, the scientists poured water over the shark's gills to keep it alive,Video capture cards and tied a rope around its tail in an attempt to pull in back onto the ocean

When that didn't work, the boat was eventually towed back to harbor and the shark was lifted back into the water with a crane. But, unable to navigate out of the harbor, it beached itself half an hour later.

A team led by Oceans Research's co-director, Enrico Gennari then tied ropes to the shark's tail and pectoral fins, and slowly towed it out to sea, where the fish recovered and swam away, according to The Guardian.

Gennari said Monday's incident was the first time he'd heard of a great white jumping onto a boat, but said the fish could have mistaken the boat's shadow for prey or been disturbed by another shark.

"It's all speculation," he said. "But sometimes a shark breaches the surface when it feels another shark underneath it.GHD Precious They [move] like a flying fish and end up several meters [yards] away."

Matwick said the railing in the area where Stone fell is 34 inches

Matwick said the railing in the area where Stone fell is 34 inches.

The day after Stone's fatal fall, the Rangers were already in contact with city officials, as well as ballpark contractors and architects, about how to ensure safety for fans attending games played in the American League champion's stadium.

Because it will take time for the rails to be changed, the club is taking some immediate steps to remind fans to be careful.

The most prominent is adding yellow signs on the rails that read, in all capital letters, "DO NOT LEAN, SIT ON, OR STAND AGAINST RAIL." The same warning will be made before each game over the public-address system and on the scoreboards. Plus, stadium workers will more closely monitor the rails.

Security personnel were placed at the base of each aisle in left field the next game after Stone fell. Matwick said the plan is to keep those personnel in place in the immediate future, meaning there will be an extra six of seven workers in that area each game.

House GOP leaders were muted in their criticism

It also requires a major influx of new tax revenues as Congress overhauls the loophole-choked U.S. tax code. It calls for getting rid of myriad tax loopholes, preferences and deductions and using the savings to sharply lower income tax rates. But $1 trillion to $2 trillion would be skimmed off the top and used to reduce the deficit, depending on who does the calculations.

House GOP leaders were muted in their criticism and pointed to promised reductions in income tax rates rather than the net increase in overall tax collections.

"On the positive side, the tax rates identified in the Gang's plan -- with a top rate of no more than 29 percent -- and the president's endorsement of them are a positive development and an improvement over previous discussions," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said. "That said, I am concerned with the Gang of Six's revenue target."

The tax reform outline would set up three income tax rates -- a bottom rate of 8-12 percent, a middle rate of 14-22 percent and top rate of 23-29 percent -- to replace the current system, which has a bottom rate of 10 percent with five additional rates, topping out at 35 percent. It would reduce but not eliminate tax breaks on mortgage interest, higher-cost health plans, charitable

This is the compromise

"Let me be clear. This is the compromise. This is the best plan out there," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, head of a conservative House group known as the Republican Study Committee.

The GOP measure would impose an estimated $111 billion in immediate spending cuts next year and would cap overall spending at levels called for in the House's April budget plan, backed up by the threat of automatic spending cuts. But what conservatives like most about it is its requirement that Congress approve a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution -- a step that requires a two-thirds vote in both House and Senate -- before any increase in the current $14.3 trillion debt limit can be shipped to Obama.

Now that the House has blown off steam, Obama said Tuesday that he wants to "start talking turkey" with top congressional leaders like House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. A White House meeting had yet to be scheduled, though Obama seemed to hint one could take place Wednesday.

Reid has lined up behind a controversial McConnell plan to allow Obama to order up as much as $2.5 trillion in new debt without approval by Congress, which could only block the administration from issuing new debt if Congress disapproves by a veto-proof two-thirds margin in both House and Senate.

In exchange, Reid wants to attach to the McConnell plan a requirement for a bipartisan panel of 12 lawmakers to negotiate on a compromise that could come up for a vote later this year.

The Gang of Six plan promises almost $4 trillion in deficit cuts, including an immediate 10-year, $500 billion down payment that would come as Congress sets caps on the agency budgets it passes each year. It also requires an additional $500 billion in cost curbs on federal health care programs, cuts to federal employee pensions, curbs in the growth of military health care and retirement costs, and modest cuts to farm subsidies.

"This a concrete way to reduce the deficit and assure that we are on a long-term plan that will bring down the debt to a reasonable level," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said.

Senate Republicans Show Flexibility in Debt Debate

Senate Republicans Show Flexibility in Debt Debate

Senate Republicans are showing far more flexibility than their tea party-backed House colleagues as Washington policymakers seek to steer the government away from a first-ever default on its financial obligations.

As the House doubled down on a symbolic vote to condition any increase in the government's borrowing authority on congressional passage of a balanced budget constitutional amendment and a fresh wave of spending cuts, the warm reception by many Senate Republicans to a new bipartisan budget plan revealed a thawing in GOP attitudes on new tax revenues.

President Barack Obama also lauded the deficit-reduction plan put forward by a bipartisan "Gang of Six" Senate lawmakers, which calls for $1 trillion in what sponsors delicately called "additional revenue" and some critics swiftly labeled as higher taxes.

The plan by the Gang of Six is far too complicated and contentious to advance before an Aug. 2 deadline to avoid a default that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other experts warn would rattle markets, drive up interest rates and threaten to take the country back into a recession. But its authors clearly hope it could serve as a template for a "grand bargain" later in the year that could erase perhaps $4 trillion from the deficit over the coming decade.

In the House, the 234-190 vote Tuesday to pass the House GOP "cut, cap and balance" plan reflected the strength of tea party forces elected in last year's midterm election. GOP conservatives reveled in their victory, however temporary it may be, since the plan faces a White House veto threat and is a dead letter in the Senate anyway.

Vietnamese chefs cook up a storm

A South Korean who grew up in China, Lee opened the first Phodaiz in July 2007 at The Place in Beijing with his Chinese friends Feng Chunlei, Ding Peng, and Zhang Wei. Feng and Ding both serve as deputy managers, while Zhang Wei is the senior chef.

Feng, the 26-year-old deputy manager of the Wudaokou Phodaiz, said that business at Wudaokou is better because many university students frequent the restaurant. The Place, in contrast, hosts mostly white collar workers.

"Our food is healthy and chic," Feng said. "We import all of our seasonings. The aromatic and fresh pho (a rice noodle dish) requires the highest level of technique and effort. Every restaurant has its own secret recipe for beef pho soup, which needs at least eight hours on the stew." The Phodaiz version of the tasty pho is called "all in one beef".

Hanoi spring roll is another Vietnamese speciality. "Many Vietnamese restaurants in America serve just rolls and pho," Zou said. Phodaiz's rolls have at least 10 ingredients and include do-it-yourself versions and pizza rolls.

Zhang Wei learned how to make Southeast Asian food before refining his Vietnamese cooking skills. "We learned the whole combination of Southeast Asian cuisine. There isn't a place in Beijing for chefs to learn Vietnamese food yet."

Similarly, Ding Peng worked as a chef since 1993 for many different types of cuisine before learning how to make Vietnamese food.

Phodaiz chefs have chances to exhibit their talents and creativity every three to six months, when managers decide to update its menu. "They invent new dishes for the managers to taste and judge," Feng said. "We just filled several long tables with new dishes on June 24."

According to Ding, the process was successful and Phodaiz will update the menu again in mid-July. "We will not only work on improving the quality of our dishes, but also our service and dining environment," he said.