Tracking Hurricane Milton: Storm becomes world's strongest of 2024
After reaching peak intensity with wind speeds of 180 m.p.h. (285 km/h) on Monday night, Milton became the strongest storm on our planet for 2024.
A U.S. navy chief who wanted the internet so she and other enlisted officers could scroll social media, check sports scores and watch movies while deployed had an unauthorized Starlink satellite dish installed on a warship and lied to her commanding officer to keep it secret, according to investigators.
Internet access is restricted while a ship is underway to maintain bandwidth for military operations and to protect against cybersecurity threats.
The navy quietly relieved Grisel Marrero, a command senior chief of the littoral combat ship USS Manchester, in August or September 2023, and released information on parts of the investigation this week.
The navy Times was first to report on the details.
Marrero, a former information systems technician, and senior leaders paid US$2,800 for the Starlink High Performance Kit and had it installed in April 2023 prior to deployment of the San Diego-based Manchester, according to the investigation.
She and more than a dozen other chief petty officers used it to send messages home and keep up with the news and bought signal amplifiers during a stop in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after they realized the wireless signal did not cover all areas of the ship, according to the investigation.
Those involved also used the Chief Petty Officer Association's debit card to pay off the $1,000 monthly Starlink bill.
The network was not shared with rank-and-file sailors.
Marrero tried to hide the network, which she called "Stinky," by renaming it as a printer, denying its existence and even intercepting a comment about the network left in the commanding officer's suggestion box, according to the investigation.
Marrero did not respond to an AP email Friday seeking comment.
In March she was convicted at a court-martial where she pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and providing false official statements to commanders, the Navy Times reported. She was demoted to a chief petty officer after trial.
Marrero was relieved "due to a loss of confidence in her leadership abilities," said spokesperson Cmdr. Cindy Fields said via email.
"Navy senior enlisted leaders ... are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards," Fields said.
Last week a commander of the destroyer USS John McCain was relieved of duty after he was seen in a photo firing a rifle with a scope mounted backward. The image brought the navy considerable ridicule on social media.
After reaching peak intensity with wind speeds of 180 m.p.h. (285 km/h) on Monday night, Milton became the strongest storm on our planet for 2024.
Hurricane Milton is expected to leave a path of devastation across central Florida, from Tampa in the west to Daytona Beach in the east.
A seasoned American meteorologist became emotional on air as he gave an update on a major hurricane, later suggesting the reason behind his strong reaction.
An organization that ranks the best universities across the globe says its latest report shows a concerning trend that several of Canada’s institutions are slipping down its list.
A British Columbia provincial court judge says a Boston Bar man who shot a teacup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal.
The minority Liberal government is not considering proroguing Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday, despite persisting uncertainty over who is willing to keep propping them up and procedural wrangling over a Conservative led-privilege debate.
A man who showed up at a rental car company only to be told his online reservation would not be honoured is entitled to compensation, B.C.'s small claims tribunal has ruled.
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
On September 11, Madeleine Gervais was the victim of a theft in Ottawa's west end. It happened in the Loblaws parking lot in College Square, when she was approached by a man and a woman who insisted to help her load her groceries into her car.
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.