New York-Incheon Route Special Promotion

Asiana Airlines (CEO Jeong Seong-kwon) will carry out the ‘2022 City to City’ city advertising campaign with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the New York Tourism Administration. <Refer to the poster> Asiana Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the New York Tourism Organization to promote joint marketing, and until December 11 for New York-Incheon routes

‘CITY TO CITY’ is a global marketing campaign between New York City and major cities around the world, and Asiana Airlines is participating with Seoul City for the second time after 2017.

Asiana Airlines plans to help attract tourists by promoting various promotions, including special ticket promotions for passengers traveling between New York and Seoul. Asiana Airlines plans to publicize Seoul by posting information on Seoul destinations and contents on its official website, and details can be found on the Asiana Airlines official website.

Seoul and New York City plan to maximize publicity effects by conducting outdoor advertisements in each other’s cities in major tourist attractions, including densely populated areas. The city of Seoul posts New York City tourism advertisements on 300 bus and taxi stands, including Gangnam-daero, Express Bus Terminal, and Yeouido, while New York City posts advertisements on 125 bus stops.

An Asiana Airlines official said, “We hope to attract tourists and expand exchanges between cities through joint marketing at the time overseas travel resumes in earnest.” I will do it,” he said.

Asiana Airlines operates the New York-Incheon route every day, and the A350, a state-of-the-art aircraft that provides in-flight Wi-Fi service, is helping passengers to travel comfortably and comfortably. The flight schedule for the New York-Incheon route is daily 11:40 am New York departure (OZ221) ~ 17:30 pm + 1 arrival in Incheon, daily 9:40 am Incheon departure (OZ222) ~ 9:40 am New York arrival.

Six Dead in Mid-Air Crash at Dallas Air Show

Reuters and the Associated Press reported on the 13th that several deaths were confirmed due to a mid-air collision between two obsolete aircraft at the Dallas Air Show.

According to local law enforcement authorities, six people have been counted so far in connection with an accident in which a Boeing B-17 bomber and a Bell P-63 King Cobra fighter collided in flight at the ‘Wings Over Dallas Air Show’ held at Dallas Airport, Texas the day before. The injured were not identified.

It was reported that 4,000 spectators who were watching the event at the time were unharmed.

No official identities have yet been released, but Keller County Mayor Amin Mizzani said that “Terry Barker, an Army veteran and retired pilot, was in the B-17” and that he passed away in the crash.

The Air Force Memorial Association (CAF), which hosted the air show, explained that the B-17, which has a large body, usually has four to five people on board, and the P-63 is generally operated by a single pilot.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, plans to first find out whether the flight route was properly controlled at the air show.

NTSB commissioner Michael Graham said at a press conference, “We need to find out why these planes stayed at the same altitude at the time of the accident.”

International Air Show Association (ICAS) president John Cooderhey pointed out that the air show plan would have been thoroughly reviewed through a rehearsal flight the day before the accident, and said, “I watched the video (at the time of the accident), but even as I have been doing this for 25 years, I can’t understand what happened. couldn’t,” he said.

The aircraft participating in this air show were active during World War II. The B-17 was the main bomber for the US Army, called the ‘fortress in the sky’, and the P-63 was also used in several battlefields.

After the two planes crashed at 1:20 pm the previous day, a video was posted on Twitter showing large flames and black smoke billowing from the ground.

This is not the first time an aircraft has been involved in an air show accident in the United States.

In Hartford, Connecticut, in 2019, a B-17 bomber crashed due to pilot negligence, killing seven people. At the 2011 Reno Air Show in Nevada, a P-51 Mustang fell in front of a crowd due to a fuselage defect, killing 11 people and injuring 74 others.

U.S. Intelligence Agency – UAE Intervenes in U.S. Politics

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 12th that the United Arab Emirates (WP) reported on the 12th that a report by the US intelligence agency revealed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had engaged in various activities to intervene in US politics to induce US foreign policy favorable to the country.

The WP briefed senior government officials in recent weeks on a report by the National Intelligence Commission (NIC) under the National Intelligence Service (DNI) on the legal and illegal activities of the UAE, a Middle Eastern oil-rich country, and US ally, to interfere in US politics. said it did.

The report is noteworthy for its focus on friendly countries rather than adversaries, such as Russia, China, and Iran.

Three sources with access to the report said the UAE activities included in the report included both legal and illegal attempts to steer US foreign policy in their favor.

They said the UAE had exploited vulnerabilities in the US government system, such as its reliance on donations, its vulnerability to powerful lobbying firms, and its lax enforcement of freedom of information laws to prevent foreign government interference, in various political engagements.

The UAE, with a population of 9 million, is an Islamic union kingdom that includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai and is one of the United States’ representative allies. There is a US Air Force base in the country, where 5,000 US troops are stationed, and since 2012, it has established itself as the third largest arms importer to the US and has built a strong military power of its own.

The U.S. has decided to sell high-tech military equipment to the UAE, such as MQ-9 drones and advanced F-35 fighter jets, which the U.S. has been reluctant to export for fear of undermining Israel’s military superiority in recent years making ties between to the two countries stronger.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the UAE has spent more than $150 million on lobbyists since 2016 and has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to American universities and think tanks to produce policy documents favorable to the country.

A member of Congress who read the report said, “This report shows how American democracy is being distorted by foreign money, and this should serve as a wake-up call.”

“I am proud of the UAE’s influence and good reputation in the United States,” said Yusuf Al-Otayba, the UAE’s ambassador to the United States, when asked about the report.

“The friendly relationship between the two countries is the product of decades of close cooperation and effective diplomacy,” he added.

Large-Scale Flood Risk in Southern California

A study has found that there is a high possibility that the largest flood risk in 100 years is likely to occur in Los Angeles and Southern California because of climate change. Most Southern California residents think of a large earthquake as the most dangerous natural disaster to come, but it is pointed out that flood risk must also be prepared.

A recent study conducted by UC Irvine University predicted that flooding caused by a storm that occurs once every 100 years will cost the lives and property of people living in the low-lying coastal areas of Los Angeles.

Researchers at UC Irvine analyzed the data and found that about 874,000 people and up to $108 billion in homes and real estate from the southern Santa Monica Mountains to Long Beach would be directly affected by flooding.

The federal disaster agency designated the 17-mile stretch of lowland from Pico Rivera to Long Beach a few decades ago as a ‘special flood hazard area’ with a high risk of flooding during El Niño storms unless the aging waterway system is improved. did.

A study published earlier by UCLA also predicted that megaton-scale flooding is likely to ravage Southern California in the future. The flood was named ‘ArkStorm’, and like a great earthquake, the timing is unknown, so it is also called ‘the other Big One’. The report warned that the damage from the ark storm would be unimaginable compared to the relatively localized damage of the Big One.

The report points out that the impact of climate change will result in more rain than snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, causing a two to fourfold increase in runoff in most rivers in California. As a result, most of Southern California’s major highways will collapse or be destroyed, and low-lying coastal megacities including Los Angeles and San Diego will be flooded, the report added.

The last such deluge in California was in 1862. At the time, a 30-inch water bomb fell on Northern California for a month, flooding San Francisco and Sacramento.

Experts urged the city to establish a city red-gull management system in preparation for the coming huge flood, and to comprehensively manage storage facilities such as dams, rivers, and sewage pipes and drainage facilities in the city. He also explained that residents should be informed of the dangers of flooding and educated to use limited water resources efficiently.

Seattle House Sales Plunge 38% From a Year Ago

Home sales in Seattle have plummeted due to mortgage interest rates that have more than doubled this year alone, making it more difficult to sell.

From the point of view of homeowners, as prices continue to fall, they are focusing on holding on to their homes, while those wishing to buy a home have greatly reduced their purchasing power due to high mortgage interest rates and are waiting for house prices to fall further.

According to NWMLS, a Northwest American comprehensive real estate listing company on the 8th, pending sales, which refers to the stage in which inspections and loans are being pursued after a housing transaction agreement between a seller and a buyer in King County for the month of October, has plummeted by a whopping 38% compared to a year ago.

As a result, it was found that the period for which houses are put on the market and sold is significantly increasing.

According to Redfin, the period for median-priced homes in Seattle to be on the market until September is 17 days, according to Redfin.

In the case of Bellevue, where house prices are relatively high, the deadline for a listed house to go to a pending sale was 6 days in September last year, but this year it increased by 18 days to 24. In Tacoma, it took 7 days last year but 16 days this year. It was analyzed that it would take 23 days.

According to NWMLS, when looking at the situation of housing sales that were finalized in October after going through pending sales, the number of sales in Seattle fell by 44.8% compared to a year ago, and in the East Side area such as Bellevue, 33.6% compared to a year ago. decreased.

North King County experienced a sharp decline of 45.3%, Southwest King County 47.3% and Southeast King County 40%. In other words, housing sales fell to half the level of last year.

Amid extremely sluggish trading, the King County median price in October rose by surprise.

The median transaction price in King County in October was $903,000, which is slightly higher than $877,000 in September, but experts say that it is meaningless because there are so few transactions.

Home prices in King County have fallen by an average of 10% since May.

The median sale price of a home in King County in October is 10% higher than it was a year ago. However, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap counties are 1-5% more expensive than in the same period last year, so they are expected to drop to similar levels soon.

Last month, the median selling price in Snohomish County was $730,000, Pierce County $535,000 and Kitsap County $513,250.

US White House says Fed Rate Hike ‘Benefits Workers’

The White House responded to the Fed’s rate hike on the 2nd as “an economy that benefits workers’ families with stable and steady growth and low inflation.”

“The Fed is an independent institution, and we respect that independence,” White House press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing.

“The Fed action has helped reduce inflation,” he said. “As mortgage rates rise, demand in the housing market will continue to subside and inventories will rise, which will have the effect of lowering home price inflation.”

“This is a transition to the more stable and steady growth that the White House economics team and I and the President (Joe Biden) have been talking about,” he added.

The White House’s position seems to be to give the impression that inflation, the biggest issue in the midterm elections scheduled for the 8th, is being caught.

As voters, tired of high inflation, criticize the Biden administration’s economic situation, there are speculations that the Democrats could vote for the House as well as the Senate.

From the United States to Brazil, Democracy Undermined

In Brazil and Washington, and perhaps soon in Paris, the same mechanisms that shake democracy are at work. Barely time to rejoice in the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday in Brazil that we must worry, if we look to the north, of these midterms which are fast approaching in the United States and which are announced high risk for Joe Biden. These mid-term elections in the House of Representatives and the Senate (for a third of the seats) are rarely favourable to the tenant of the White House.

But this time, Democratic strongholds long considered impregnable (in New York, Washington, or Oregon, for example) are within earshot of Republicans. Faced with this risk, Joe Biden has raised his voice in recent days, Barack Obama has rolled up his sleeves. In vain. However, the American president does not have to be ashamed of his record. But whatever. It also matters that the threats, extreme in the aftermath of the presidential election with the invasion of the Capitol, continue to undermine American democracy.

To the point of threatening her. The attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband at her home by a far-right activist has brutally exposed the violence of the political climate for all to see. This democratic cancer, too rooted in the United States for Biden to have been able to reconcile the two camps in two years, is also plaguing Brazil. Lula’s narrow victory should not hide this reality. A very natural relief greeted his victory.

But the country, like the United States, is deeply fractured. The same mechanisms – fake news, conspiracy… – are at work there. And Jair Bolsonaro’s refusal to quickly concede defeat is a further sign of concern. Should he belatedly admit it, it wouldn’t change much. The survival of democracy presupposes a minimum of consensus on the truth of the facts. This minimum is breached in the two largest democracies on the American continent.

It is in Europe (England, Hungary, etc.). It begins to be in France. We would be wrong to believe ourselves stronger or smarter than others.

US School Shooter Describes Himself as a ‘Loner’ in Left Note

A 19-year-old graduate of St. Louis High School was shot and killed by police after the shooter left a post describing himself as a loner, it has been found.

Louis, Missouri police said on the 25th that they had found a note left by shooter Orlando Harris prior to the attack.

“I don’t have any friends or family, I’ve never had a girlfriend, I’ve never had a social life,” Harris wrote in the memo.

Police Chief Michael Sack said at a briefing, “It is possible that Harris may have had significant feelings of anger towards others living in healthy relationships.”

After graduating from an art high school in St. Louis last year, Harris went to his alma mater the day before and opened fire and was shot and killed in a confrontation with police.

Two people, a teacher in their 60s and a girl in their teens, were killed in the shooting, and seven students were injured.

Police said Harris was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and more than 600 rounds of bullets at the time of the shooting.

The AR-15 series rifle is a weapon that appears frequently in mass shootings in the United States.

In May 2022, 18-year-old Salverdore Ramos used the rifle in the shooting at Uvaldie Elementary School in Texas, which claimed the lives of 21 people.

US Police Officers Involved in Floyd’s Death Face Trial

Attention has once again been drawn to the severity of the penalties for four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd, a black man that sparked mass racism protests and riots in the United States in 2020.

According to the Associated Press and USA Today on the 25th, the trial of former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander King (29) and Tu Tao (36), who were indicted by state prosecutors in connection with the death of Floyd, was selected by a jury at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis the day before. It was supposed to start with the work, but the schedule was abruptly canceled when Kung pleaded guilty, and Tao abandoned the jury trial.

King pleaded guilty to negotiating with the prosecution through his defense counsel and admitted to the charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter on condition that he was released from the charge of aiding and aiding in second-degree murder. did.

Before King, former police officer Thomas Lane, 39, also pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter last month and was sentenced to three years in prison.

However, former police officer Tao refused to negotiate with the prosecution and decided to go to trial, saying, “To admit guilt is to make a false confession and it is a sin.”

However, he agreed to give up the trial by the jury and receive a single trial by the judge, in which the judge decides whether he is guilty or not based on the testimony of the accused and the evidence agreed by both the prosecution and the accused.

Tao submits the relevant materials before the 17th of the next month, and the judge in charge decides within 90 days.

The Associated Press reported that Tao could face up to 12 years and 6 months in prison if found guilty of aiding and aiding in second-degree murder.

National Public Radio (NPR) predicted that if Tao was found guilty only on the charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, he would face a four-year prison sentence. did.

Derek Chauvin, 46, a senior police officer who suffocated by kneeling for more than nine minutes in the process of arresting Floyd, was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder by a Hennepin County jury in April last year. Both were convicted and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison two months later. However, he has appealed the ruling.

Separately, all four officers have also been charged by federal prosecutors for violating federal civil rights laws.

Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison in a federal court in Minnesota in July and sent to a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona.

He was subsequently found guilty of violating the constitutional rights of King, Tao and Raindo Floyd, and was sentenced to three years, three years and six months, and two and a half years in prison in a federal court in July, respectively.

Tao began serving his life in Lexington Penitentiary in Kentucky earlier this month, NPR added.

The court allowed all four officers to serve sentences in both state and federal courts simultaneously.

U.S. University Enrollments Have been Down for Past 3 Years

U.S. universities have not fully overcome the shock of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), a study shows.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 20th that, citing the non-profit National Center for Student Information Processing Research (NSCRC), the number of enrolled students at all U.S. universities this year decreased by 1.1% compared to a year ago.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, the total number of students decreased by 4%, including a 16.1% drop in the number of new students.

The fact that classes were not held normally due to quarantine and the fear of infection on campus were analyzed as the reasons for the decrease in the number of students.

Another reason was cited as the reason for the increase in the number of households whose college tuition was burdensome due to the economic blow caused by COVID-19.

The decline in enrollment is more pronounced at lower-middle-ranking universities in the Midwest or Northeast of the United States.

Universities classified as prestigious universities did not suffer much damage.

Online colleges and black colleges have increased the number of enrolled students.

The number of enrolled students at online universities increased by 3.2% compared to a year ago. It was found that 18–20-year-olds actively enroll in online universities.

At Western Governors University, where 200,000 students take online courses, 18–24-year-olds accounted for only 6% of students five years ago, but this year it has risen to 11%.

Scott Persifer, president of Western Governors University, said that the practicality of getting a lot out of cheap tuition has increased young people’s interest in online colleges.