Last Days

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4 This week of sickened teens, marijuana shoot-outs, and hopeful signs for humanity kicks off in Hungary, where today brought a flash flood of toxic sludge. Details come from the New York Times, which reports the Hungarian sludge flood commenced when a reservoir holding 25 years of toxic waste burst its banks, unleashing a caustic red goo that flooded villages and killed at least seven people. “The mud… sent more than 100 to hospitals with burns, caused by a highly alkaline caustic substance,” reports the NYT, which identifies the substance as a byproduct of the refining of bauxite into alumina. “Sixteen square miles are covered in the muck, hundreds of residents suffered mild burns or lung irritations, and many animals were killed.” And oh yeah: “It has already killed all the river life in the local rivers and streams but now threatens a broad international environmental disaster if high concentrations of the sludge get downstream.” Stay tuned.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 In much better news, the week continues with a glorious collision of good luck, good timing, and Good Samaritanship in Fresno, California, where today a regular guy became a celebrated hero after helping an abducted child escape her kidnapper. Details come from CNN, which identifies our hero as 29-year-old Victor Perez, an out-of-work carpenter and father of two, who this morning watched a news report on Elisa Cardenaz, the 8-year-old girl abducted yesterday from a Fresno street by a stranger in a truck. Specifically, an older-model, reddish-brown Chevrolet pickup with a white stripe on the side, which is exactly the type of truck Perez saw a short while later outside his house. “I thought, ‘That could be the truck,'” said Perez to CNN, which describes what came next: “He jumped into his [car] and followed the vehicle. Perez tried to cut off the vehicle several times to question the driver. One time, the driver told him, ‘I don’t have no time [to talk]. My battery is dying.’ The second time Perez pulled up to the Chevy, he saw the little girl, her head popping up from below view, and knew something was wrong. ‘I kept telling him, “That’s not your little girl,”‘ said Perez. ‘We argued. We exchanged words.'” Ultimately, Perez succeeded in blocking the truck’s path, which allowed young Elisa Cardenaz to flee to safety before the truck sped away. Forty minutes later, police found the truck and arrested its driver, 24-year-old Gregorio Gonzalez, who’ll be charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and sexual assault. Meanwhile, Perez will spend the rest of week being feted as a hero, with special commendations from Fresno mayor Ashley Swearengin, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and everyone at Saturday’s football game at California State University, where Perez will be honored during halftime.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6 Speaking of good news, the week continues with a legitimately surprising announcement from Exodus International, the notorious “ex-gay” organization devoted to “freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ,” which today told CNN of its decision to stop sponsoring an annual anti-gay protest held on the National Day of Silence, the annual event highlighting anti-LGBT bullying in high schools. “All the recent attention to bullying helped us realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they’d like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not,” said Exodus president Alan Chambers to CNN. He stipulated that Exodus International hasn’t changed its view of homosexuality, but “has reevaluated how best to communicate its message,” as CNN reports. “This is a very significant move, a very real break,” said a man identified as “an expert in evangelical responses to homosexuality” to CNN. Congratulations and thanks to Exodus International for proving themselves capable of postformal thought and following it up with action. (Nevertheless, the group remains extravagantly delusional and should be considered benign by no one.)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7 In worse news, the week continues in nearby Pierce County, where this evening an alleged marijuana heist gone wrong led to a gunfight that left one person dead and at least two others wounded. According to Pierce County deputies, six or seven camouflaged intruders armed with shotguns, handguns, and knives targeted a “significant marijuana grow operation” in Lakebay on Key Peninsula. “Attackers arrived with the intention of robbing the grow operation,” reports KIRO. “But the property owner fought back.” What followed was a gunfight in which at least “40 to 50” rounds were fired, at the end of which, one intruder was dead and at least two other people—including the home owner who fought back—were wounded. Three of the alleged intruder/attackers have been booked into Pierce County Jail while investigators search for the others.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8 The week continues in Central Washington, where tonight a teenage house party in Roslyn went so wrong it required every ambulance in the region. As investigators told the Seattle Times, as many as 50 young people were at the party, with the majority of partygoers underage. What brought police to the scene: the young woman found unconscious in the parking lot of a nearby Safeway, who officers learned had come from the party, where police soon found 11 other people sick enough to require immediate hospitalization. “Some type of drug was slipped into drinks,” said Cle Elum police chief Scott Ferguson to KING 5. “We were talking to people who were highly intoxicated, yet admitted to having only consumed a couple of beverages. After consuming a beer or two, they began to feel dizzy, nauseous… and many people indicated that it hit them immediately. However, not one person chose to call 911.” Of the dozen stricken people taken to the hospital (11 young women, one young man), all but one were treated and released, with the last person still hospitalized in serious condition.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9 Nothing happened today, unless you count news of the arrest of Fox 5 news reporter Charles Leaf, previously best known for spearheading opposition to the so-called ground zero mosque, now best known for his arrest on charges of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly abusing a 4-year-old acquaintance. “Leaf is being held in the Bergen County Jail on $250,000 bail and will be arraigned on November 4,” reports NorthJersey.com

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10 The week ends as it began, with toxic sludge in Hungary, where today thousands of residents were evacuated after the discovery of a developing crack in the wall of the aluminum plant reservoir. “The cracked wall is expected to collapse, Gyorgi Tottos, spokeswoman for Hungary’s Catastrophe Protection Directorate, told CNN. If the wall collapses, 500,000 cubic meters of toxic red sludge could spill out.” (FYI: That’s about half the amount that flooded out on Monday, which on Thursday reached the Danube River, “raising fears of wider contamination in Hungary and countries downstream, including Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Ukraine,” reports CNN.)

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