Rotary Freedom Festival expands events for second year of … – Topeka Capital Journal

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After a damp start in 2016, the Rotary Freedom Festival is expanding its signature fundraising event for the second year, and organizer Joan Wagnon is checking her Farmers Almanac regularly to track the weather.

Using all of downtown Topeka, from the Kansas River to the state capitol; vendors, entertainment, food trucks and live music will fill the city for a family friendly day of fun celebrating Topekas history.

The festival will take place Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. with a 5K race. Runners will start at 9th and Jackson Street and run down around the capitol building. One lane of Kansas Avenue will be shut down during the 5K. The run is organized by YWCA of Northeast Kansas Girls on the Run program.

Wagnon has worked closely with the YWCA in the past, serving as the interim CEO in 2015.

Im well acquainted with them and their capacity of what they can do, and I needed somebody I could depend on, Wagnon said.

Wagnon has coordinated with more than a dozen groups to bring this festival to life.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. a kids area will be set up on the east side of the statehouse. Activities include face-painting, chalk drawing, games and various crafts. The Skys the Limit mobile gaming unit will be available for a small fee.

At the corner of 8th and Kansas, in the former Ray Beers building, artistic guests are welcome to join the students of Highland Park High School as they complete their window mural project. The collaboration began in the spring semester with high school students creating poetry about what freedom means to them. On July 1, they will use window paint to transform their words into designs on the window panes.

Carol Bradbury of Bloomerang Art Studios will also be organizing a community art project for anyone wishing to participate.

Similar to last year, re-enactors will be strolling through the grounds and giving demonstrations. Performances are scheduled every two hours, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Constitution Hall, 429 S. Kansas Ave., will again showcase historical re-enactments depicting the dispersal of the legislature on July 4, 1856 by Col. Edwin Sumner.

Tours of the State Capitol are also available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Capitol will be accessible through the visitors center on 8th Street.

Chris Meinhardt, a Rotary member and one of the organizers of the event, said an antique cannon will be available again this year to shoot every half hour.

The group, the Lecompton Reenactors, theyre kind of a big deal, Wagnon said. They have done several re-enactions for many years, and they often congregate around Constitution Hall.

Various churches will be selling food downtown during the festival. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church will be in the Rotary Pocket Park, and Assumption Church will host a food stand in front of their facility at 204 S.W. 8th Ave.

A free tour bus will operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., giving tours of some of Topekas most famous landmarks: the Kansas River, the Capitol, Constitution Hall and the post office courtroom where the Brown v Board of Education case was first tried. Guests can step off at any of these stops to explore.

Along the Kansas River, the Rotary Club has organized a pop-up park on the north side, near the location of a proposed Oregon Trail Park. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks will provide an air-boat to give rides and discuss river development; boating and canoeing will be available.

A cookout, guitar music, levee walks and stories about the river are also scheduled. Wagnon suggests parking at 4th and Kansas and riding the tour bus to the river if interested.

Pocket parks along Kansas Avenue will feature musicians and entertainment. Native American drummers and flute players will start at 10 a.m. in the Fidelity Bank pocket park, a magician will perform every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Mars pocket park in front of Wolfes Camera, and The Capitol-Federal pocket park will showcase a variety of musicians. However, something is scheduled for every pocket park along Kansas Avenue.

At 4 p.m. the focus will shift to a free concert at 9th and Kansas Ave. The street, from 8th to 10th, will close and be filled with food trucks, Rotary beer garden tents and other vendors.

The concert will showcase the talents of Kelley Hunt, a blues singer from Lawrence; The Skirts, a womens bluegrass band from Chase County; and Maria the Mexican, two young women who play roots rock with a Mexican flair. Opening are the Smooth Tones, featuring Kelvin Ross.

Tickets are required for the evening concert but are free and may be printed at home or downloaded to a smartphone. A limited number of reserved seats for the musical entertainment are available for $10.

Wagnon explained the event is asking people to register for tickets to better understand the attendance numbers and as a way to notify people should the festival be moved indoors. By registering, guests will sign up for text alerts from the festival organizers alerting them to any changes in the schedule.

The Rotary Freedom Festival is funded by local businesses and individuals. Food and beer sales will go toward festival expenses, with remaining funds going to the Rotarys anti-bullying program.

The Freedom Festival began in 2016 as a way for rotary to raise community awareness for Topekas history, Wagnon explained. The event was dampened on two occasions by rainy weather, and if bad weather threatens this Saturday, Wagnon said the festivities will be moved inside to the Topeka Performing Arts Center at 214 S.E. 8th Ave.

To register for a concert ticket and find the schedule as well as other information, visit cityspin.com/northeastkansas/e/rotary-freedom-festival-2017.

Contact reporter Savanna Maue at (785) 295-5621 or @CJFoodFun or @SavannaMaue on Twitter.

Concert Schedule

4 - 5:15 p.m. - Smooth Tones featuring Kelvin Ross

5:15 - 6:30 p.m. - The Skirts

6:45 - 8 p.m. - Maria the Mexican

8 - 8:30 p.m. - Rotary members to host Freedom Festival program

8:30 - 10:15 p.m. - Kelley Hunt

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Rotary Freedom Festival expands events for second year of ... - Topeka Capital Journal

Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal? – American Libraries (blog)

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(L_R) Marguerite Avery, April Hathcock, and Jamie LaRue (speaking) at the American Library Associations 2017 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 24, 2017.Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

How do the principles of intellectual freedom and open access intersect? That was the topic of the Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal? panel discussion, sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table, which addressed the relationship from several different perspectives.

Marguerite Avery, senior acquisitions editor at Trinity University Press in San Antonio, Texas, spoke from a publishers point of view. Avery eagerly joined this conversation because, framing intellectual freedom and open access is seldom discussed over intellectual property and open access, she explains. Avery defines intellectual freedom as being able to seek and receive all points of view without restriction. Historically, this discussion refers to published sources, but now user-generated content is an area that needs to be addressed.

April Hathcock, scholarly communications librarian at NYU and a former lawyer, approaches open access as a way to bridge intellectual freedom, stating, [Open Access] allows users to gain access to the materials that they need to engage in true intellectual freedom. However, not everyone has intellectual freedom, Hathcock argues. We must look at the systemic reasons for why people dont have access to information and why people arent enjoying intellectual freedom, she says. In doing so, those who are underrepresented are then invited to this conversation and a better bridge can be built between OA and IF.

Jamie LaRue, director of the ALAs Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read Foundation, spoke from his experience as former director of Colorados Douglas County Libraries in battling costly library materials. LaRue offered a set of steps to take towards developing librarian-managed platforms for content as a counter. He says, first, have a vision by stating the problem and developing an alternative. Then, identify resources that can help with investing in the development of new platforms. Instead of asking what it will cost, LaRue argues, The right question is what does it cost if we dont do anything. Lastly, disseminate knowledge and contribute to the conversation.

Throughout the session, the three panelists answered a variety of questions on the topics of the socioeconomic dimensions and diversifying the homogeneous world of scholarly publishing, as well as making authoritative research publicly accessible to all. This conversation works in both directions, they summarize. Its important to make research available to the public, but equally essential to learn from what the public has to teach us as well.

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Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal? - American Libraries (blog)

U-turn on freedom camping – Otago Daily Times

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The Dunedin City Council has made a U-turn over its proposal to develop three new freedom camping sites in Dunedin.

After an outcry from those potentially affected, a proposal for camps at Rotary Park in Highcliff, Brighton Surf Life Saving Club and at Puddle Alley near Invermay has been dumped.

A report late last month said the sites were needed in response to an overflow of campers at Ocean View and Warrington.

But the plans were bitterly opposed by nearby residents of Rotary Park, and by the Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board and Saddle Hill Community Board.

The explosion of freedom-camping tourism in New Zealand has caused tension as locals deal with overrun campsites, litter and human waste.

At a council meeting on May 30 it was decided discussion on the report would be delayed pending information from a national freedom camping forum.

In the agenda for tomorrow's full council meeting the report appears, but all mention of the three sites is gone.

The report instead recommends a special consultative procedure to determine the community's views on the issue.

Options suggested were to limit freedom camping to self-contained vehicles, those with toilets, the status quo with increased enforcement of bylaws, or providing additional areas for non-certified self-contained vehicles.

Mayor Dave Cull said in a statement he acknowledged the issue drew ''impassioned debates''.

It was appropriate the council revisited its approach to freedom camping by way of public consultation because of a ''wide range of views expressed both formally and informally by the community and community board members in relation to the report, and on wider issues related to freedom camping over the last season''.

The original report proposing the new sites said there had been a 37% increase in vehicles using the Warrington freedom camping site in February and March this year, compared with the year before.

Dunedin City Council recreation planning and facilities manager Jendi Paterson said tomorrow's report was not site-specific, and consultation would focus on criteria rather than location.

Rotary Park freedom camping site opponent Sharon Weir, of Waverley, said she was pleased the council had ''seen sense''.

''The park is used very well by locals so we just didn't want trash everywhere and that would have been the risk if it had been opened up to freedom campers.''

Waverley and Andersons Bay residents were so opposed to the initial proposal to allow camping at the park they started a petition, she said.

Saddle Hill Community Board chairman Scott Weatherall, who was criticised online for supporting the proposal to allow freedom camping outside the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club, supported the U-turn.

''I think they have probably listened to what the community have had to say in the brief, unofficial consultative stage we have had.''

The board would continue to support freedom camping in the area, Mr Weatherall said.

Mosgiel Taieri Community board chairwoman Sarah Nitis said the board was most opposed to the community having to pay for the infrastructure.

''I believe non-self-contained freedom campers would be welcome in Mosgiel if central Government paid for it.''

Public consultation hearings were likely in August, Ms Paterson said.

margot.taylor@odt.co.nz

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U-turn on freedom camping - Otago Daily Times

Joshua Wong reflects on Hong Kong’s 1997 handover: We desire and thirst for freedom, democracy – Quartz

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This extract has been excerpted with permission from PEN Hong Kong from the essay My Journey as a Student Activist, by Joshua Wong, part of the anthology Hong Kong 20/20: Reflections on a Borrowed Place, out this month from Blacksmith Books.

Im a twenty-year-old university student, born a year before the handover.

Having grown up under Chinese rule, I dont have any memory of colonial Hong Kong or feel any attachment to it. Instead, I was spoon-fed daily a hearty serving of self-evident truths: that Hong Kong is and always will be an inalienable part of China; and that the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, always has our best interests in mind under the one country, two systems framework.

But twenty years after the transfer of sovereignty, I now know an altogether different set of facts: that Beijing continues to deny us the right to a free vote in breach of the Joint Declaration, an international treaty it signed with Britain in 1984; that, as a result, Hong Kong is stuck in a rut on its never-ending path to democracy; and that the CCP has launched an all-out attack on our civil liberties

Six years ago, under Beijings directives, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government announced a citywide plan to introduce a national education curriculum in all primary and secondary schools. It was a thinly-veiled attempt to inculcate in our youth a sense of unquestioning patriotism and blind loyalty to the CCP. Perhaps because veteran politicians had been so far removed from the classroom, the news drew little interest from the opposition parties.

I was fourteen years old at the time, just starting secondary two. I knew I couldnt stand quietly by while a brainwashing curriculum poisoned our education. It was then that I founded a student organisation called Scholarism with a small group of secondary school students to defend free and independent thinking in the classroom through demonstrations and other means of grassroots resistance.

Our campaigns had little traction at firstour street rallies drew only a few dozen participants and our soapbox speeches didnt get much press coverage. Our efforts were met with a general sense of resignation, as many people thought it futile to try to push back against Beijings agenda.

More critically, Hong Kong society had yet to fully embrace the idea of student activism. Our rote-based education system wasand still isso focused on grades and public exams that anything else was considered a distraction. This was understandable. For generations of Hong Kongers, the only means of upward mobility and the only way to meaningfully contribute to society have been to obtain a respectable university degree (preferably in business administration) and a professional accreditation (in finance, accounting, law or medicine). Politics was so far off the beaten path for a teenager that it must be discouraged at any cost.

But the Bible has taught me well. St Paul told us not to let anyone look down on you because you are young and I took that lesson to heart. The night before the national education curriculum was rolled out, not long after literature sponsored by the Department of Education described the CCP as a progressive, selfless and unifying ruling body, we finally succeeded in galvanizing the public to stand up against the governments propaganda. More than 120,000 citizens showed up at Civic Square outside the government headquarters in support of our movement, forcing the SAR government to withdraw the plan the following day

I believe elitism in politics is over, and a new path to achieving democracy should be charted by young people who have the most at stake in the future of our city. I also believe that real changes are brought about not by playing by the old rules but by civil disobedience and mass uprisings, and that young people, free from financial burdens and family demands, have the least to lose should they be arrested or convicted and therefore should take a more prominent role.

Those beliefs enabled us to embrace the Occupy Movement of 2014 by organising, in the lead-up to the actual street occupation, a citywide class boycott, various mass protests and a referendum on electoral reform in which over 800,000 citizens participated. In fact, it was our impromptu decision to retake the Civic Square on September 26th, two days before Occupy erupted, that led to the start of the 79-day struggle

Twenty years ago, the idea of a large-scale political uprising that would paralyse the city for months was simply unthinkable. Equally implausible was the notion that a university student could enter LegCo [Legislative Council of Hong Kong] as an advocate for the citys self-determination. Twenty years after the handover, what was once unthinkable and implausible is part of a political reality, proving that Hong Kongers are not just economic beings and are much more than what meets the eye. We desire and thirst for freedom, democracy and the rule of law just like anyone else. And we are prepared to fight tooth and nail for all of those things.

Translated from the Chinese by Jason Y. Ng.

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Joshua Wong reflects on Hong Kong's 1997 handover: We desire and thirst for freedom, democracy - Quartz

LETTER: Consider Planned Parenthood’s origin – Galesburg Register-Mail

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Editor, Register-Mail: Many conservative Republicans believe that the lives of viable babies in the womb are precious and have a right to life. Planned Parenthood, as some may not know, was founded by Margaret Sanger, an advocate of the eugenics movement. The eugenics movement promoted the reduction of sexual reproduction and sterilization of people with undesireable traits such as the very poor and non-whites. Sanger was deemed a white supremacist by many. She opened the first birth control clinic in New York in 1916, which eventually became Planned Parenthood. Margaret Sanger began the Negro Project, allegedly to reduce that population in the guise of a concern for womens health issues. This was reportedly her cover and solution to reduce the unfit in society.

Her legacy continues through Planned Parenthood resulting in large numbers of black abortions disproportionate to their population. About 40 percent of all Planned Parenthood abortions are performed on black women. Planned Parenthood is an ally of a culture of death in America. Those who claim that the effort to defund Planned Parenthood is a part of the war on women disregard that the original intent was to decimate poor communities. The horrors of abortion are apparent to those who care to understand how the procedures are performed. The goal of abortion is not womens health, but the snuffing out of the lives of the innocent unwanted unborn.

All life is the handiwork of our creator and should fill us with awe. Preserving innocent life should be a major concern of those who participated in The March for Truth. Under recent pro-abortion amendments to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, pro-life medical personnel who exercise their conscience and refuse to participate in abortions must refer patients seeking abortions to doctors who will perform them. What is next on the liberals agenda? Will medical personnel who refuse be charged with discrimination for impeding a womans right to choose? Conservative Republicans are facing a growing criticism from leftist ideologues who are openly hostile to sensible Christian moral values. Deuteronomy 30:19 (Choose life!) Thomas E. Mosher, Victoria

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Our view: Compensation time – Winston-Salem Journal

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For almost two years now, victims of North Carolinas forced sterilization program who qualified for compensation have been waiting for their third and final payment. With almost all appeals exhausted, that time may rightly be here.

From the Great Depression through the fall of Nixon, the Eugenics Board of North Carolina, in one of the most aggressive programs in the country, rendered barren more than 7,600 men, women and children. The board, often acting on flimsy evidence, determined these people were mentally or physically deficient.

The 2002 Journal investigative series Against Their Will lifted the curtain on the brutal inner workings of the program. Former state Rep. Larry Womble of Winston-Salem long fought for compensation, as did the Journal editorial board. Victims who have suffered from mental and physical pain from their sterilizations told their stories on our opinion pages.

The state legislative approved compensation in 2013, the first in the nation to do so. Virginia followed suit, and other states are likely to compensate as well.

The North Carolina delay has been caused by appeals from heirs of victims who did not qualify for compensation. But Thursday, a key lawyer for those survivors, Elizabeth Haddix, told the Journal in an email that Our clients have decided not to seek further review by the N.C. Supreme Court. Although the forced sterilization of their loved ones hurt them personally and impacted their lives forever, their goal has always been to honor their loved ones, whose most fundamental rights were violated by the states eugenics program. They have honored them with these appeals.

The legislature should consider whether these heirs should be compensated. Heirs whose cases met a legal timeframe set up by the legislature are being compensated, as are living victims.

Now, the most important thing is for the state to get the qualified victims their final payment, which should bring their total compensation to more than $40,000 each. No amount of money can ever replace what the state, playing God, took. But money is one big way we admit wrongdoing and settle scores in this country. The final payment should go out soon.

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Our view: Compensation time - Winston-Salem Journal

Megan Anderson on fighting Cyborg at UFC 214: ‘I will show her how human she is’ – International Business Times AU

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AustralianMegan Anderson is determined to bring Cristiane Justinoaka 'Cyborg' down to earth during their highly-anticipated fight atUFC 214 on July 29. In recent years,Cyborg has been viewed as nearly invincible butAnderson campaigned for the opportunity to face the Brazilian and believes she has a shot.

Earlier this week, the UFC announced that it would restart thewomens featherweight division with the Cyborg vs. Megan Anderson fight serving as the co-main event to UFC 2014 which will be headlined byDaniel Cormier vs.Jon Jones. On paper,Cyborg is the overwhelming favorite to capture the vacatedUFC Women's Featherweight Championship. ButAnderson is no pushover.

Anderson earned the title shot by clinching theInvicta FC featherweight championship earlier this year, after which she aggressively campaigned for the Cyborg showdown through social media.

Megan Anderson on Cyborg: 'She is just human'

Shes (Cyborg) human like everybody else. I think a lot of people go into that fight fighting Cyborg the name and theyve already lost before theyve got into the cage. I dont give a [expletive] about how many followers she has. I dont give a [expletive] about how much reach she has. Shes a human being and I have no doubt come July 29 everyone whos doubting me will find out how human Cris Cyborg can really be,"Anderson told the Fight Society podcast, via Fox Sports.

A few weeks ago, UFC president Dana White nixed the fight, which led to Anderson being booked for a title defense inInvicta FC on July 15. A few days later, UFC came calling and pulled the trigger.

Not even six hours after I handed in my bout agreement for that fight (in Invicta FC], the UFC called. Im very excited when I finally got the call. Its what weve been wanting for a really long time and I think this is a really great step forward in the direction for the division," revealed the 27-year-old Aussie from the Gold Coast.

In March, Cyborg challenged Germaine de Randamie for the Invicta Featherweight championship at UFC 214. The match fell apart since de Randamie refused to fight Cyborg, stating that Justino was proven drug cheater and she was willing to get stripped of the belt.

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Megan Anderson on fighting Cyborg at UFC 214: 'I will show her how human she is' - International Business Times AU

These Are the Best Beaches in The World – GQ Magazine

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Want to go somewhere insanely gorgeous, where you can lay in the sun and not feel overwhelmed by throngs of tourists? These are the beaches for you.

The beach is where you can brazenly exhibit the most Vitamin-D-deficient parts of your body, drink something strong and slushy at any hour of the day, or squat down to look at tiny sea creatures in warm tide pools and tilt your head up to look at towering cliffs behind. The beach is, undeniably, where you get to live your best life.

That is, except when the pristine sand is littered with abandoned trash bags or the natural beauty factor is low or youre surrounded by swarms of underage college freshman who think Icing is a fun drinking game. While coasts have come to be synonymous with paradise, the beach can also be a place where you immediately come to hate every surrounding strangerpast, present, and future.

These 12 beaches, from a hippie nudist haven in the south of Mexico to a secluded cove in Greece, are the former: places that may not make every Top Beach list or draw the largest hordes of tourists in the region, but could, if thats what these beaches were all about. You should add at least one of them to your summer bucket list, stat. (Just remember to pack some sunscreen.)

Praia da Dona Ana in Lagos, Portugal The southernmost region of continental Portugal, Algarve has no shortage of picturesque beachesand Dona Ana is the most. Clear blue water washes up on golden sand, which is surrounded by steep, ochre-colored strata cliffs. Plus, its not a long walk from Central Lagos, where youll want to head after the beach to grab a frothy beer and a bifana, a sauteed pork sandwich on a crusty roll that is the Portuguese equivalent of a hamburger.

Zipolite Beach in Oaxaca, Mexico This beach has a bit of a reputation as a hangout spot for nudists and yogis and aging hippies; its that, but also more. Located in the south of Mexicos southern state, Oaxaca, Zipolite is where the iconic beach scenes in Y Tu Mama Tambien were filmed and is perfect for lounging on while feasting on just-caught fish and sucking down coconut water out of the hacked-open fruit. While you can swim here, exercise cautionthe beach has gained the nickname Beach of the Dead because of its dangerously strong undercurrents.

Navagio Beach in Greece Known as both Shipwreck Beach and Smugglers Cove, small Navagio Beach is home to the remains of the Panagiotis, a shipping vessel that crashed on the coast of Zakynthos in 1983. Surrounded by rocky coves, the the secluded beach is only accessible by, ironically, boat. (From Porto Vromi, taxi boats leave every hour, and the ride takes approximately half an hour.)

Bathsheba Beach in Barbados On Barbadoss rugged East Coast lies Bathsheba, a village thats home to a community of fishermen and their families. Head to the coast for the beach, which features dramatic, ancient rock formations that were once part of coral reefs and white sand. This area is also called the Soup Bowl and attracts international surfers for competitions. Non-surfers, dont miss the rum shacks.

New Chums Beach in New Zealand Hidden in Wainuiototo Bay on the northeast coast of New Zealands Coromandel Peninsula, New Chums Beach is a nearly-kilometer-long stretch of golden-white sand, native forest, and no buildings or infrastructure. As one of New Zealands last undeveloped beaches, this spot is perfect for those looking to escape any trace of mankind.

Mancora Beach in Peru Perus neighbor to the east may be known for its beaches and tiny bathing suits, but the Land of the Incas has Mancora, a small fishing village with a long strip of sunny beaches on the northern Pacific coast. While Mancora is the most popular beach on Perus North Shore, this area is no Rio de Janeiro. After a long day of sunning, stop in the center of the village for a plate of ceviche and a strong maracuya (passionfruit) daiquiri.

Railay Beach in Thailand Like other beaches on this list, Railay is only accessible by boat due to the steep limestone cliffs that prohibit access from the mainland; like the other beaches, the short trip is worth it. This small peninsula on in the south of Thailand is actually composed of four beaches, none of which are the wrong choice. Because its frequently ranked as one of the worlds most beautiful beaches, the beach can sometimes get crowded. But, because of its beauty, you probably wont really care.

El Matador Beach in Malibu, California North of Zuma Beach and South of La Piedra Beach lies El Matador, just six miles north of Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway. With massive rocks and sea caves, the romantic beach is only accessible by winding down a steep gravel path and is not staffed by lifeguards, so its not the best place to bring kids (pro or con, you decide!). Youll probably see some extremely-in-love couples tenderly holding each other while a photographer captures the candid moment here.

Poipu Beach in Kauai While Oahu and Maui draw the most tourists of all the Hawaiian islands, Kauai, nicknamed the Garden Isle, has some of the states most picturesque beaches. Poipu Beach, on the islands sunnier south shore, is one of the most popular and safest for swimming, snorkeling, and even surfing. Made up of two small bays, the beaches are separated by a jutting sandbar thats often home to the islands endangered monk seal. They are cute as hell, but leave them alone.

Sand Beach in Maine This beautiful, tiny beach is located in Maines Acadia National Park, which spreads over Mount Desert Island, Isle au Haut, and the Schoodic Peninsula. The water never gets especially warm (it rarely exceeds 55 degrees even in the summer), but youre here to admire the surrounding granite mountains and the eponymous sand. With sand and pink-hued minerals, the beach is primarily composed of tiny shell fragments that the tide has broken down over thousands of years.

Shi Shi Beach in Washington This beach can get busy with campers on warm summer weekends, and understandably: Its one of the Olympic Coasts most comically beautiful spots, with its tide pools and sea stacks and coastal forest. Hike through the forest, walk along the the tide, or pitch a tent for an overnight stay here. If you happen to choose an especially busy weekend to camp here, intimidate others and prove that youre worthy of your spot by saying the name the name correctly, which is pronounced shy shy.

Dry Tortugas in Florida We knowFlorida beaches, how unoriginal. Dry Tortugas Beach, however, is not a Ft. Lauderdale or a Siesta Key or even a Miami. Located at the end of the Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico, this powdery-sand beach in Dry Tortugas National Park is only accessible by ferry or seaplane, and is therefore much less crowded than the states other coasts. Bring snorkel gear and swim among the sea turtles in the peaceful, aquamarine water.

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These Are the Best Beaches in The World - GQ Magazine

4 swimmers rescued on Singer Island, family says teen passed away – WPEC

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Image sent to CBS12 by viewer, Kayla.

A perfect day at the beach turns tragic as lifeguards jumped into rescue swimmers caught in rough currents, Sunday afternoon.

A CBS12 viewer sent us cell phone video after one person was pulled from the surf along Ocean Reef Park.

Beachgoers nervously looked on as first responders performed CPR on the distressed swimmer.

Three other swimmers were pulled from the water less than a mile away at City Beach Municipal Park.

Family members shared a photo of a teenage boy from Pahokee to CBS12, one of the four rescued.

Were learned late Sunday night the 14-year-old passed away.

Dwayne Watson with Riviera Beach Fire Rescue said strong rip currents may be to blame.

When youre dealing with open water incidents, you have the potential to have catastrophic consequences and use a safety conscious whenever youre out in the water, if you cant swim use common sense to stay near a life guard, said Watson.

Watson wants to remind beachgoers to pay attention to the warning flags posted along the beach.

It serves as a cautionary sign; it could save your life.

Always check to see if there are rip currents before you go out swimming. And just try to stay close to the shore as possible if you cant swim, said Watson.

The other near drowning victims on Singer Island were taken to area hospitals.

Investigators have not yet released their conditions or identities.

In addition to the four rescued in Riviera Beach, there were seven rescues in Palm Beach County. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue says two patients were rescued in Lake Worth Beach, four in Jupiter Beach, and one person at Burt Reynolds Park. The total ocean rescue efforts for Palm Beach County is 11 for Sunday.

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4 swimmers rescued on Singer Island, family says teen passed away - WPEC

EPA says Indiana Dunes beaches safe after toxic spill | WSBT – WSBT-TV

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by Caroline Torie, WSBT 22 Reporter

Officials say Indiana Dunes are safe after toxic spill // WSBT 22 PHOTO

The EPA says the lake water is safe, even after a company admitted they leaked a toxic chemical into a Lake Michigan tributary this spring.

U.S. Steel accidentally released hexavalent chromium into the Burns Waterway in Portage this April.

The EPA along with the National Park Service needed to determine if that chemical leak would affect visitors and wildlife at the dunes.

Hexavalent chromium is a toxic byproduct of industrial processes. If ingested, it might be carcinogenic.

Scientists have tested hundreds of water and soil samples every week since that spill happened -- and they say there have been no environmental impacts from the release. They've found no significant trace of the industrial chemical within five miles of the leak.

To ensure public safety, the EPA and the park service will continue to test the area through the summer.

Those tests are just one of the things the National Park Service at the Indiana Dunes is doing to ensure their beaches, trails and waterways are safe and ready for millions of visitors this summer.

They have also cleared parking lots covered with tons of sand, rebuilt sand paths and boardwalks down to the beaches, and put buoys out in the water.

A lot of Indiana Dunes visitors say they come to the beach often.

"We only live about 10 minutes away from the beach which is pretty great," says Bradley Hatfield, a Portage Beach visitor.

But the April chemical spill in the Burns Waterway put his summer plans -- and millions of others -- in jeopardy.

"We had a bit of a scare in early April," says Bruce Rowe, Spokesman for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Beaches were closed for a weekend to determine if the release of the the toxic hexavalent chromium would affect visitors or the environment.

"Fortunately we found absolutely no traces of it on any of our nearby beaches," says Rowe.

Every week since then, and now for the rest of the summer, the EPA and the National Park Service will test the water and soil for that chemical. They also test all beaches for E. coli.

"And if we find that, we close the lifeguarded beaches," Rowe says.

The Park Service is also focused on Mt. Baldy. The sand dune has been closed since 2013 after a young boy was swallowed by the sand but miraculously survived.

"We do offer some ranger led hikes on one little trail up there that is safe," says Rowe. "And we are working towards opening up the beach in front of it that's probably going to be later this summer or even into the fall before we can add that."

More than 15 miles of beach line the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It's a lot of work for those who maintain it, but plenty for visitors to enjoy.

"If you could come out there during the week, you may find a lot of miles of beach that you can enjoy yourself," says Rowe. "If you come out on those weekends get here early so you can get a parking spot and enjoy your visit."

US Steel is working with the EPA to make sure there are no long-term effects from that spill.

The Indiana Dunes offers over 200 programs throughout the summer, including guided hikes up Mt. Baldy, campfires on the beach, and kayaking and paddle boarding. And for the first time in decades, more lifeguards will allow swimming seven days per week on both the eastern and western portions of the beach. For more information, visit their website.

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EPA says Indiana Dunes beaches safe after toxic spill | WSBT - WSBT-TV

Panama City native on quest to rid beaches of plastic – The News Herald

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As plastic erodes, it releases chemicals into the environment, and because mass use of plastics is relatively new, scientists dont quite know the implications of all these chemicals on the human body or the ecosystem.

PANAMA CITY The worlds most beautiful beaches are experiencing an apocalypse an apocalypse of plastic.

Kurt Cox, a geologist, writer and Panama City native, has spent the last three years combing the shores of the Panhandle all 70 miles from Destin to Port St. Joe collecting all the plastic debris he can find. Hes done the loop three times, including the shores along the Bay and marshes, and has collected a total of almost 6,000 pounds of trash.

Ive spent a lot of time by myself out there, and sometimes I get a little disgusted with humanity when Im out doing a beach cleanup, he said.

Cox didnt set out to become a one-man cleanup operation, he said during a recent Citizen Scientist talk at Gulf Coast State College. Hes always liked walking the beaches, and one day, when out on Redfish Point, he came across an unsightly pile of plastic.

I thought, 'Ill pick up this trash today so I dont need need to look at it next week,' Cox recalled.

Sure enough, when he returned, that section of beach was still clean. Unfortunately, once he walked a little farther down, he found more trash. He cleaned up that spot, too. And then the next spot, and the next, until hed covered the whole stretch of beach on his own.

I got into my mind that I was going to clean up every bit of beach on our local beaches, he said.

But being a scientist, Cox doesnt just pick up the plastic and throw it away; he documents it. Every piece he has collected going back to 2012 is detailed in a spreadsheet, outlining what it was, where he found it and a photo. Its so detailed that other scientists have contacted him, asking to see his research.

I can pretty much go back and re-create how many pounds of plastic marine debris came from how many yards of beach, he said.

But theres plenty of other trash on the beach glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc. Why focus on only plastic?

A few reasons, Cox answered. First, glass and aluminum are natural materials. Glass erodes down to sand, and aluminum is an element and wont necessarily harm the environment the way plastic does.

Plastic is different, he said. Plastic is a man-made thing. Its oil and natural gas, so its not really natural for it to be out in our oceans.

As plastic erodes, it releases chemicals into the environment, and because mass use of plastics is relatively new, scientists dont quite know the implications of all these chemicals on the human body or the ecosystem. Plastic, inevitably, is entering the food chain, either through curious fish nibbling away at cups or balloons floating in the ocean, or through larger plastics eroding down into microplastic, which is then invariably eaten by plankton-consuming fish.

If its getting into the food chain, its getting into us, he said.

Everyone who goes out on the beaches or out on the water contributes to the amount of plastic that washes up on shore, but not all of it is local. Cox regularly finds items from Venezuela, the Caribbean andHaiti, among others. His farthest traveler is a table salt container from Morocco. That being said, there are some groups who contribute more than others, like recreational and commercial fishermen losing lures, nets, lobster tags, knives, fish scrapers and snuff packaging. He finds lots of dust masks and earplugs near the paper mill. Children, with their plastic toys and forgetful nature, are another big culprit.

Cox has gotten so good at identifying plastic debris, he can tell how long its been floating, based on sun exposure, barnacles and the distinct diamond-shaped bite marks from sea turtles. Different items also tend to accumulate in different places, like cigarette butts at Deep Water Point and rubber bands near Pier Park.

If I look at a pile of trash, I can most likely tell what beach it was picked up at, he said.

To share his finds and raise awareness of the sheer amount of plastic hes finding, Cox runs the Beach Plastic Apocalypse Facebook page. As for what people can do to reduce the amount of plastic getting into the oceans, he has a few simple tips use less plastic, especially single-use plastic; keep control of the plastics you do use; and next time youre at the beach, pick up any plastic you see around you.

Originally posted here:

Panama City native on quest to rid beaches of plastic - The News Herald

Biotoxin rise leads to closure of beaches to shellfish harvest … – Peninsula Daily News

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The window for recreational harvesting of shellfish was short on several beaches in Clallam and Jefferson counties.

A week ago, the state Department of Health announced that the area from the Lyre River east to Dungeness Bay was open to recreational shellfish harvesting, an area that had been closed to harvesting since April 28 because of high levels of the marine biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) found in samples of shellfish.

The only closures then in effect on the North Olympic Peninsula were for butter clams and varnish clams in Discovery Bay, Sequim Bay and Kilisut Harbor including Mystery Bay, as well as the seasonal closures of Pacific coast beaches to all species.

That changed with recent tests that found high levels of PSP in samples of shellfish, Audrey Coyne, marine biotoxin coordinator for the state Department of Health, said Friday.

The areas between the Lyre River to the Jefferson County line, Discovery Bay and McCurdy Point west to the Clallam County line are now closed to recreational shellfish harvesting, the state said Friday.

The latest test from samples taken Wednesday showed 94 micrograms of PSP per 100 grams of shellfish tissue, Coyne said.

The action level for closure is 80 micrograms per 100 grams of tissue.

The June 13 test had shown levels to be well below that limit.

The levels did drop, Coyne said.

Rain and sunny weather can change the situation quickly, she said.

The state will continue routine testing.

Sequim Bay and Kilisut Harbor including Mystery Bay are open to all but the harvest of butter clams and varnish clams, which can hold toxins for a year.

Ocean beaches are in a seasonal closure now.

Symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) can appear within minutes or hours and usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet, followed by difficulty breathing and potentially death.

Toxins cannot be detected by sight or smell. Neither cooking nor freezing destroys biotoxins.

All species means clams, oysters, mussels and other invertebrates including the moon snail. The closures do not apply to shrimp.

Crab meat has not been known to contain biotoxins, but the guts can contain unsafe levels. To be safe, clean crab thoroughly and discard the guts (butter).

Recreational shellfish harvesters can get the latest information before they leave for the beach by visiting http://www.doh.wa.gov or phoning 800-562-5632.

The emergency regulation hotline is 866-880-5431.

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Biotoxin rise leads to closure of beaches to shellfish harvest ... - Peninsula Daily News

Area beaches without lifeguards raising concerns after 4 drownings in NC – WWAY NewsChannel 3

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BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) With summer now in full swing, people from all over are visiting area beaches for some fun in the sun. However,mother nature can be deadly and so far this month four people have died in rip currents.

It is a dangerous reality that has many people heading to Brunswick County beaches concerned, especially with no lifeguards on site.

I had no idea that there wasnt any lifeguards on this beach, visitor, Savannah Hughes said.

There are no lifeguards on any beaches in Brunswick or Pender counties, including Holden Beach where many visitors and residents are worried for their childrens safety.

I have pros and cons on it really. Sometimes I think we need them and sometimes maybe not. But most of the time I really think that there should be some kind of security, resident, James McGrane said.

With deadly rip currents north of us, killing two people in Atlantic Beach and two in Emerald Isle, Hughes says there needs to be a lifeguard present.

The town should definitely have lifeguards on every beach, Hughes said. Because I dont know what to do, I dont have a clue. It makes me very nervous.

Holden Beach Town Manager David Hewett says the topic of lifeguards have been discussed before, but there is just not enough of a demand.

Circumstances at Holden Beach are very safe. And, you know, were known as a family beach and the service for lifeguards isnt needed, Hewett said.

Hewett adds rip currents are not as common in the area compared to Wrightsville Beach.

Although there are some that happen from time to time, and as always those are you know, present their own set of challenges and dangers. But for the most part the beaches in South Brunswick anyway are very safe, Hewett said.

However, McGrane can testify otherwise. Five years ago McGrane saved his grandchildren before being pulled out to sea by a rip current at Holden Beach.

We were out wading and it just happened, McGrane said. It wasnt rough that day. You know, seemingly rough or we wouldnt have been out there with the grandchildren.

It was a situation that could have taken a turn for the worse, especially with no one out there to help.

In the position I was in I would have definitely needed a lifeguard at that time. Cause it could have came out a different away, we dont know. We were just, like I said fortunate, McGrane said.

McGrane says the town should have lifeguards on duty at all times, but at the very least for holidays when the beaches are packed.

Experts say if you are caught in a rip current always try to remain calm, swim parallel to the shore and let the wave push you in. If you see someone who needs help call 911 first, but if you are on an unguarded beach and have to help, be sure to bring a flotation device with you.

Another suggestion, always check the water conditions for the beach plan on visiting. To find out that information, click here.

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Area beaches without lifeguards raising concerns after 4 drownings in NC - WWAY NewsChannel 3

Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program: Santiago …

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The night sky over the Cerro Mayu Observatory, Chile. // All images: Astronomy: Alison Klesman

Its been a busy week so far in Chile!

But first, a little more background: Why am I here in the Southern Hemisphere? Im participating in ACEAP: the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program, supported by the National Science Foundation and run via a collaboration of Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), and Gemini Observatory.

This unique program has several interlocking goals. Not only does it highlight the value of investing U.S. dollars in world-class facilities in the country of Chile, it also allows the ambassadors who embark upon this trip and the Chilean communities they visit to build and foster lasting relationships. Through these relationships, people in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres can work together to promote astronomy as a hobby, as a career, and as a fundamental way to answer questions both big and small. The night sky is shared by people across the world, and instilling a sense of wonder and of custodianship over this resource is the goal and the passion of each ambassador who arrived in Santiago earlier this week.

This year, the programs third year, Im very lucky to serve as a media liaison for the program on behalf of Astronomy magazine. Its my very first trip to Chile, though I grew familiar with many of the astronomical facilities during my years in graduate school. Now, Im getting the chance to see firsthand the outstanding astronomy efforts being made in Chile today, from the 8-meter Gemini South Telescope to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

Weve been on the go since day one with a packed schedule, but each experience has been more memorable than the last. Honestly, the only thing theres little time for is sleep which is why I havent had the chance to sit down and blog before this, as Ive jumped on every chance to catch a few spare zs that popped up!

This morning, weve finally got a bit of spare time before we leave the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) after two nights on Cerro Tololo.

Ive already mentioned the busy schedule, but Id like to highlight just a few of my favorite parts of the trip so far:

Astronomers can control the Gemini South telescope from the convenience and comfort of this control room in La Serena if they like.

- Visiting the Observatorio Astronomico Andinoand the Cerro Mayu Observatory, where we spent time discussing astrotourism and astronomy education, as well as imaging the night sky. I saw my very first Southern Hemisphere sky from OAA, and took some amazing shots of it from Cerro Mayu, with some help from the experienced astrophotographers in our group!

- Spending the afternoon at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) headquarters in Chile, where we had the chance to speak with the staff about their education and outreach projects, as well as tour the electronics shop. We were able to see and, in some cases, hold detectors used to image the sky.

- Seeing the 4.1-meter Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) and the 8-meter Gemini South telescopes on Cerro Pachn; we even got to climb up the scope to see Geminis single-piece mirror and check out the amazing view from near the top of the dome.

- Touring CTIO, including getting an up-close look at the 4-meter Blanco telescope, the 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) telescope, and the SMARTS Consortium telescopes.

The view from inside the Gemini South dome.

Aside from the opportunity to crawl around the domes of these famous telescopes, Ive also had a spectacular time getting to know my fellow ACEAP ambassadors. The group this year includes educators, photographers, planetarium directors, and outreach volunteers and coordinators, all extremely excited and passionate about bringing astronomy into the lives of people in the U.S., Chile, and throughout the world. As we travel, often in close quarters, weve engaged in talk, laughter, and song on our way from one location to the next. While I cant pretend Im not extremely excited about the remaining days of our trip were going to San Pedro next to visit a few schools, then on to tour ALMA on Friday and Saturday! I also have to admit that Im really looking forward to getting home and taking advantage of all the connections Ive made here to promote the projects and work of each and every ambassador Ive met. I will also be turning my experience here into a full feature story for the magazine, which Im ready to get home and write (well, following a couple full nights of sleep, probably).

The view this morning from Cerro Tololo - the clouds look like an ocean!

Since I cant write everything down here, nor should I, Id like to point you to some great resources as we continue our journey. You can find out more about our experiences so far and follow the remainder of our trip on Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress.

Link:

Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program: Santiago ...

Astronomy: Chinese telescope illustrates that country’s science investment – The Columbus Dispatch

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Kenneth Hicks, For The Columbus Dispatch

While Congress stumbles its way through another budget battle that has the potential to cut drastically NASAs funding, China continues to invest in the pursuit of new knowledge.

China recently launched the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope, or HXMT. A hard X-ray has higher energy than a soft X-ray, presumably because it makes a harder collision when it hits an atom. Also, the telescope can detect a multitude of X-ray energies in objects.

The purpose of the HMXT is to search for new compact stellar objects, such as neutron stars or black holes.

Because of the immense gravity surrounding these objects, in-falling gas gets heated to high temperatures, causing the gas to emit X-rays. By studying the X-ray spectrum, astronomers can compare observations to theoretical predictions from a physical model, thus deducing what kind of compact object it is.

There are all-sky surveys in the optical and radio wavelengths, but there has not yet been such a survey at X-ray wavelengths. This is partly because X-rays from space do not penetrate our atmosphere and partly because previous X-ray space telescopes had small angular coverage so that it would take forever to do the whole sky.

The HXMT has a different design than previous X-ray space telescopes, using a different technique to filter out X-rays that are not parallel to the viewing direction. This allows the X-ray detector to increase its angular coverage. An all-sky survey has the potential to find many new neutron stars and black holes, as well as the potential for finding new objects.

This new telescope is yet another indication that China is catching up to, and in some ways, exceeding the science programs in the United States and Europe. This is good for science in general, which today is a global effort, but I do find myself wondering why China has invested so heavily in science when the U.S. government seems to be cutting back?

I can only speculate the reasons, but my guess is that China understands the connection between basic research and a robust economy. Advances in science lead to advances in technology, which in turn provides the basis of electronic gadgets (and other things) to sell.

Another reason to invest in science, including astronomy, is that the search for new knowledge stimulates the imagination of young students. These students can see themselves making new discoveries. This both motivates and gets them thinking in creative ways.

Some of these students will go on to academic careers, but most go to work for companies that develop new products. In the process, their innovative skills have been honed, which is good for industry.

There might be another reason why China is so interested in developing a space program. China sent a few other smaller satellites up with the HXMT.

One was an Earth-observing (optical and infrared) satellite from Argentina, which can provide high-resolutions images of the ground for public viewing.

Two other satellites are operated by Zhuhai Orbita Control Engineering, which is based in China. They also are high-resolutions optical Earth-pointing devices with good enough resolution to see any object on the ground larger than 6 feet.

So dont look now, but a Chinese satellite might be watching you as you drive around in your car.

Meanwhile, the American company SpaceX, which has a spotty record, just delayed its planned launch of a Bulgarian satellite. Maybe the Bulgarians will go to China for their next launch.

Kenneth Hicks is a professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio University in Athens.

hicks@ohio.edu

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 454: Things We’re Looking Forward To – Universe Today

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Universe Today
Astronomy Cast Ep. 454: Things We're Looking Forward To
Universe Today
As we wrap up season 10 of Astronomy Cast, we look forward to all the instruments, missions and science results on the distant horizon. Think astronomy is exciting already? Just you wait. We're taking our summer hiatus during July and August, but we'll ...

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 454: Things We're Looking Forward To - Universe Today

NASA is reviewing the WFIRST mission | Astronomy.com – Astronomy Magazine

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After establishing an independent review committee earlier this year, NASA announced on June 22 that the committee is looking into costs and scheduling issues with the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission.

WFIRST was designed with two main instruments, the Wide Field instrument and the Coronagraph Instrument, to study dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. The Wide Field Instrument is to study light from galaxies and perform a microlensing survey of the Milky Way while the Coronagraph Instrument will take high contrast images.

The telescope is still being developed and was supposed to go into Phase B in October, but was delayed until an independent review could be done and see any recommendations from the report. Moving forward with the mission will depend on the amount of funding it will receive.

Due to budget cuts, the astrophysics program received a lot less than they had originally asked for about $31 million less, to be exact. The team said NASA sent Congress an operating plan to address the cuts.

Source: SpaceNews

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NASA is reviewing the WFIRST mission | Astronomy.com - Astronomy Magazine

Sky’s the limit for astronomy festival – Echonetdaily

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Stars in their eyes L-R: Dr David Malin, Dr Fred Watson, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki , Dylan ODonnell, Dr Duane Hamacher, Mark Gee, Jamie Anderson, Dr Katie Mack & Dr Alan Duffy at the weekends Byron Bay event. Photo: Kirrily Pendergast

More than 400 people attended an astronomy festival in Byron Bay on the weekend, despite a stuff-up by a funding body that refused its application, thinking it was a gathering of astrologers.

The Star Stuff Festival line-up included household names such as Fred Watson and Karl Kruszelnicki. Despite that, Destination NSW rejected its request for funding, assuming it was about the stars of the zodiac.

Event organiser Dylan ODonell is perplexed as to how his application could have been so completely misinterpreted by the body authorised to judge it.

Did we just lose an events grant because of an incorrect assumption about Byrons science literacy?, he wrote to Echonetdaily in May, when the news first landed.

It sounds like the assessors didnt even read the event description properly. Astrology isnt mentioned once. Its about space and science.

Bearing in mind this is an ASTRONOMY festival with names like Dr Karl and Dr Alan Duffy and The European Space Agency all over the application and marketing material, one of their notes read I cant see how this event would encourage overnight visitors. Good lord, what?

They also noted that the event was unlikely to draw in visitors from outside Byron Bay, Mr ODonnell said, adding that 95 per cent of the 250 ticket sales at the time had come from outside the region.

As a spin-off from the main event, the Byron Community School held an internet science/space competition withthe winners work exhibited at Star Stuff. The winning kids also got to attend Dr Karls open Q&A live session free of charge.

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Sky's the limit for astronomy festival - Echonetdaily

Artificial intelligence positioned to be a game-changer – CBS News

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The search to improve and eventually perfect artificial intelligence is driving the research labs of some of the most advanced and best-known American corporations. They are investing billions of dollars and many of their best scientific minds in pursuit of that goal. All that money and manpower has begun to pay off.In the past few years, artificial intelligence -- or A.I. -- has taken a big leap -- making important strides in areas like medicine and military technology. What was once in the realm of science fiction has become day-to-day reality. You'll find A.I. routinely in your smart phone, in your car, in your household appliances and it is on the verge of changing everything.

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On 60 Minutes Overtime, Charlie Rose explores the labs at Carnegie Mellon on the cutting edge of A.I. See robots learning to go where humans can'...

It was, for decades, primitive technology. But it now has abilities we never expected. It can learn through experience -- much the way humans do -- and it won't be long before machines, like their human creators, begin thinking for themselves, creatively. Independently with judgment -- sometimes better judgment than humans have.

As we first reported last fall, the technology is so promising that IBM has staked its 106-year-old reputation on its version of artificial intelligence called Watson -- one of the most sophisticated computing systems ever built.

John Kelly, is the head of research at IBM and the godfather of Watson. He took us inside Watson's brain.

Charlie Rose: Oh, here we are.

John Kelly: Here we are.

Charlie Rose: You can feel the heat already.

John Kelly: You can feel the heat -- the 85,000 watts you can hear the blowers cooling it, but this is the hardware that the brains of Watson sat in.

Five years ago, IBM built this system made up of 90 servers and 15 terabytes of memory enough capacity to process all the books in the American Library of Congress. That was necessary because Watson is an avid reader -- able to consume the equivalent of a million books per second. Today, Watson's hardware is much smaller, but it is just as smart.

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What happens when Charlie Rose attempts to interview a robot named "Sophia" for his 60 Minutes report on artificial intelligence

Charlie Rose: Tell me about Watson's intelligence.

John Kelly: So it has no inherent intelligence as it starts. It's essentially a child. But as it's given data and given outcomes, it learns, which is dramatically different than all computing systems in the past, which really learned nothing. And as it interacts with humans, it gets even smarter. And it never forgets.

[Announcer: This is Jeopardy!]

That helped Watson land a spot on one of the most challenging editions of the game show "Jeopardy!" in 2011.

[Announcer: An IBM computer system able to understand and analyze natural language Watson]

It took five years to teach Watson human language so it would be ready to compete against two of the show's best champions.

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Five years after beating humans on "Jeopardy!" an IBM technology known as Watson is becoming a tool for doctors treating cancer, the head of IBM ...

Because Watson's A.I. is only as intelligent as the data it ingests, Kelly's team trained it on all of Wikipedia and thousands of newspapers and books. It worked by using machine-learning algorithms to find patterns in that massive amount of data and formed its own observations. When asked a question, Watson considered all the information and came up with an educated guess.

[Alex Trebek: Watson, what are you gonna wager?]

IBM gambled its reputation on Watson that night. It wasn't a sure bet.

[Watson: I will take a guess: What is Baghdad?]

[Alex Trebek: Even though you were only 32 percent sure of your response, you are correct.]

The wager paid off. For the first time, a computer system proved it could actually master human language and win a game show, but that wasn't IBM's endgame.

Charlie Rose: Man, that's a big day, isn't it?

John Kelly: That's a big day

Charlie Rose: The day that you realize that, "If we can do this"

John Kelly: That's right.

Charlie Rose: --"the future is ours."

John Kelly: That's right.

Charlie Rose: This is almost like you're watching something grow up. I mean, you've seen

John Kelly: It is.

Charlie Rose: --the birth, you've seen it pass the test. You're watching adolescence.

John Kelly: That's a great analogy. Actually, on that "Jeopardy!" game five years ago, I-- when we put that computer system on television, we let go of it. And I often feel as though I was putting my child on a school bus and I would no longer have control over it.

Charlie Rose: 'Cause it was reacting to something that it did not know what would it be?

John Kelly: It had no idea what questions it was going to get. It was totally self-contained. I couldn't touch it any longer. And it's learned ever since. So fast-forward from that game show, five years later, we're in cancer now.

Charlie Rose: You're in cancer? You've gone

John Kelly: We're-- yeah. To cancer

Charlie Rose: --from game show to cancer in five years?

John Kelly: --in five years. In five years.

Five years ago, Watson had just learned how to read and answer questions.

Now, it's gone through medical school. IBM has enlisted 20 top-cancer institutes to tutor Watson in genomics and oncology. One of the places Watson is currently doing its residency is at the university of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Ned Sharpless runs the cancer center here.

Charlie Rose: What did you know about artificial intelligence and Watson before IBM suggested it might make a contribution in medical care?

Ned Sharpless: I-- not much, actually. I had watched it play "Jeopardy!"

Charlie Rose: Yes.

Ned Sharpless: So I knew about that. And I was very skeptical. I was, like, oh, this what we need, the Jeopardy-playing computer. That's gonna solve everything.

Charlie Rose: So what fed your skepticism?

Ned Sharpless: Cancer's tough business. There's a lot of false prophets and false promises. So I'm skeptical of, sort of, almost any new idea in cancer. I just didn't really understand what it would do.

What Watson's A.I. technology could do is essentially what Dr. Sharpless and his team of experts do every week at this molecular tumor board meeting.

They come up with possible treatment options for cancer patients who already failed standard therapies. They try to do that by sorting through all of the latest medical journals and trial data, but it is nearly impossible to keep up.

Charlie Rose: To be on top of everything that's out there, all the trials that have taken place around the world, it seems like an incredible task

Ned Sharpless: Well, yeah, it's r

Charlie Rose: --for any one university, only one facility to do.

Ned Sharpless: Yeah, it's essentially undoable. And understand we have, sort of, 8,000 new research papers published every day. You know, no one has time to read 8,000 papers a day. So we found that we were deciding on therapy based on information that was always, in some cases, 12, 24 months out-of-date.

However, it's a task that's elementary for Watson.

Ned Sharpless: They taught Watson to read medical literature essentially in about a week.

Charlie Rose: Yeah.

Ned Sharpless: It was not very hard and then Watson read 25 million papers in about another week. And then, it also scanned the web for clinical trials open at other centers. And all of the sudden, we had this complete list that was, sort of, everything one needed to know.

Charlie Rose: Did this blow your mind?

Ned Sharpless: Oh, totally blew my mind.

Watson was proving itself to be a quick study. But, Dr. Sharpless needed further validation. He wanted to see if Watson could find the same genetic mutations that his team identified when they make treatment recommendations for cancer patients.

Ned Sharpless: We did an analysis of 1,000 patients, where the humans meeting in the Molecular Tumor Board-- doing the best that they could do, had made recommendations. So not at all a hypothetical exercise. These are real-world patients where we really conveyed information that could guide care. In 99 percent of those cases, Watson found the same the humans recommended. That was encouraging.

Charlie Rose: Did it encourage your confidence in Watson?

Ned Sharpless: Yeah, it was-- it was nice to see that-- well, it was also-- it encouraged my confidence in the humans, you know. Yeah. You know--

Charlie Rose: Yeah.

Ned Sharpless: But, the probably more exciting part about it is in 30 percent of patients Watson found something new. And so that's 300-plus people where Watson identified a treatment that a well-meaning, hard-working group of physicians hadn't found.

Charlie Rose: Because?

Ned Sharpless: The trial had opened two weeks earlier, a paper had come out in some journal no one had seen -- you know, a new therapy had become approved

Charlie Rose: 30 percent though?

Ned Sharpless: We were very-- that part was disconcerting. Because I thought it was gonna be 5 perc

Charlie Rose: Disconcerting that the Watson found

Ned Sharpless: Yeah.

Charlie Rose: --30 percent?

Ned Sharpless: Yeah. These were real, you know, things that, by our own definition, we would've considered actionable had we known about it at the time of the diagnosis.

Some cases -- like the case of Pam Sharpe -- got a second look to see if something had been missed.

Charlie Rose: When did they tell you about the Watson trial?

Pam Sharpe: He called me in January. He said that they had sent off my sequencing to be studied by-- at IBM by Watson. I said, like the

Charlie Rose: Your genomic sequencing?

Pam Sharpe: Right. I said, "Like the computer on 'Jeopardy!'?" And he said, "Yeah--"

Charlie Rose: Yes. And what'd you think of that?

Pam Sharpe: Oh I thought, "Wow, that's pretty cool."

Pam has metastatic bladder cancer and for eight years has tried and failed several therapies. At 66 years old, she was running out of options.

Charlie Rose: And at this time for you, Watson was the best thing out there 'cause you'd tried everything else?

Pam Sharpe: I've been on standard chemo. I've been on a clinical trial. And the prescription chemo I'm on isn't working either.

One of the ways doctors can tell whether a drug is working is to analyze scans of cancer tumors. Watson had to learn to do that too so IBM's John Kelly and his team taught the system how to see.

It can help diagnose diseases and catch things the doctors might miss.

John Kelly: And what Watson has done here, it has looked over tens of thousands of images, and it knows what normal looks like. And it knows what normal isn't. And it has identified where in this image are there anomalies that could be significant problems.

[Billy Kim: You know, you had CT scan yesterday. There does appear to be progression of the cancer.]

Pam Sharpe's doctor, Billy Kim, arms himself with Watson's input to figure out her next steps.

[Billy Kim: I can show you the interface for Watson.]

Watson flagged a genetic mutation in Pam's tumor that her doctors initially overlooked. It enabled them to put a new treatment option on the table.

Charlie Rose: What would you say Watson has done for you?

Pam Sharpe: It may have extended my life. And I don't know how much time I've got. So by using this Watson, it's maybe saved me some time that I won't-- wouldn't have had otherwise.

But, Pam sadly ran out of time. She died a few months after we met her from an infection never getting the opportunity to see what a Watson adjusted treatment could have done for her. Dr. Sharpless has now used Watson on more than 2,000 patients and is convinced doctors couldn't do the job alone. He has started using Watson as part of UNC's standard of care so it can help patients earlier than it reached Pam.

Charlie Rose: So what do you call Watson? A physician's assistant, a physician's tool, a physician's diagnostic mastermind?

Ned Sharpless: Yeah, it feels like to me like a very comprehensive tool. But, you know, imagine doing clinical oncology up in the mountains of western North Carolina by yourself, you know, in a single or one-physician-- two-physician practice and 8,000 papers get written a day. And, you know-- and you want to try and provide the best, most cutting-edge, modern care for your patients possible. And I think Watson will seem to that person like a lifesaver.

Charlie Rose: If you look at the potential of Watson today, is it at 10 percent of its potential? Twenty-five percent of its potential? Fifty percent of its potential?

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Peter Wallqvist: "It's a good trend that governments are brave enough to pull the trigger on things like this"

Phil Fisk. Set Design: Vicky Lees

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had a problem. Its investigation into corruption at Rolls-Royce was inching towards a conclusion, but four years of digging had produced 30 million documents. These needed to be sorted into "privileged" and "non-privileged", a legal requirement that involves paying junior barristers to do months of repetitive paperwork. "We needed a way that was faster," says Ben Denison, chief technology officer at the SFO. So, in January 2016, he started working with RAVN.

Pronounced "Raven", the London startup builds robots that sift and sort data, not only neatly presented material, but also unstructured documents. "Where someone has scanned 300 pages, it's not uncommon to put one page in upside down," says co-founder Peter Wallqvist. "We need to deal with that real world of messy datasets."

The two teams started to feed material from the Rolls-Royce case into the AI. By July they had a viable system, and with the agreement of lawyers on both sides, they set the robot to work. The barristers were wading through 3,000 documents a day. RAVN processed 600,000 daily, at a cost of 50,000 - with fewer errors than the lawyers. "It cut out 80 per cent of the work," says Denison. "It also saved us a lot of money." For Rolls-Royce, it had the opposite effect. In January 2017, the engineering company admitted to "vast, endemic" bribery and paid a 671 million fine. "It's hard to imagine a better outcome," says Wallqvist.

RAVN's co-founders - Jan Van Hoecke, Simon Pecovnik, Sjoerd Smeets and Wallqvist - met at Autonomy, the UK's first unicorn, where they worked on early versions of AI-powered database management. In 2010, the four left to launch RAVN. The self-funded firm now has 51 employees, revenues of 3 million and around 70 clients, mainly city law firms. BT, which signed a "very significant" deal, credits RAVN with annual savings of 100 million, due to automated checks that ensure contracts' accuracy.

Plus, of course, there's the SFO, which is using RAVN in increasingly clever ways. That means allowing it to make subjective judgements, including pointing investigators to data it thinks is relevant to a case. "This is potentially very valuable," says Denison.

Wallqvist believes the system can go even further and make not just assessments, but predictions. For example, by suggesting likely outcomes of mergers and acquisitions. "We've gone to the level of figuring out and structuring data," says Wallqvist. "Now we have the ability to surface that record of the past to predict the future." Today, Watson. Tomorrow, Holmes.

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