Daily Archives: June 17, 2017

Fifty-eight people who were in Grenfell Tower are still missing and are presumed to be dead, London police announced Saturday, raising the death toll in the horrific inferno that turned the public housing block into a charred hulk.

Public anger is mounting as residents and neighbors demand answers for how the blaze early Wednesday spread so quickly and trapped so many of the tower's 600-odd residents. British media have reported that contractors installed a cheaper, less flame-resistant type of exterior paneling on the 24-story tower in a renovation that was completed just last year.

Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the number of 58, which was based on reports from the public, may rise and includes the 30 deaths that have already been confirmed. He says it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead at the charred building.

"Sadly, at this time there are 58 people who we have been told were in the Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing, and therefore sadly, I have to assume that they are dead," he said.

Cundy said there may have been other people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the final death toll. He asked anyone who was in the tower and survived to contact police immediately.

Police say the harrowing search for remains had been paused Friday because of safety concerns at the blacked tower but has resumed. Cundy said emergency workers have now reached the top of the tower.

Cundy said police will investigate the tower's refurbishment project, which experts believe may have left the building more vulnerable to a catastrophic blaze.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, facing criticism for the government's handling of the disaster, met Saturday with a small group of fire survivors invited to her official residence at 10 Downing Street. The meeting is unlikely to quell complaints that May has been slow to reach out to victims, despite her announcement of a $6.4 million emergency fund to help the displaced families.

The identification of the victims is proving very difficult which experts attribute to the extreme heat of the fire. British health authorities say that 19 fire survivors are still being treated at London hospitals, and 10 of them remain in critical condition.

A solemn Queen Elizabeth II marked a minute of silence for victims of the London high-rise inferno at the start of a procession Saturday to mark her official birthday. She said Britain remains "resolute in the face of adversity" after the horrendous fire and recent extremist attacks in London and Manchester.

The 91-year-old monarch said it is "difficult to escape a very somber mood" on what is normally a day of celebration.

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, stood silently on the steps of Buckingham Palace before the start of the Trooping the Color ceremony that each year marks the queen's official birthday, which is traditionally celebrated in June when the weather is warm.

There is simmering anger in the multi-ethnic north Kensington area hit by the blaze, and public fury has been directed at senior government figures, including May, who was jeered Friday after she visited the fire community. Hundreds have been left homeless by the blaze, putting more pressure on officials in a city plagued by a chronic housing shortage.

Scuffles broke out near the Kensington and Chelsea town hall offices Friday as demonstrators chanting "We want justice!" surged toward the doors.

The government has promised a full public inquiry, but that has done little to a sense of frustration at the lack of information about how the fire moved so quickly to engulf the building.

Engineering experts and fire safety specialists believe the building's exterior cladding may have quickly fueled the blaze, overwhelming fire protection devices. British officials have ordered a review of other buildings that have had similar renovations.

The tragedy has provoked a huge response from nearby communities. More than 3 million pounds ($3.8 million) have been raised for the victims. Many of the displaced are living in churches and community centers. There is ample food and water, but very little privacy or proper bedding, and with the tower destroyed, no one knows where they will be relocated or for how long.

Two nearby Underground lines were partially shut down Saturday in the fire area to make sure that debris did not land on the tracks.

Some Grenfell residents had warned months ago fire safety issues at the tower meant that it was at risk of a "catastrophic" event. They say their complaints were ignored and fear it was because the tower was full of poor people in a hugely wealthy neighborhood.

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London tower inferno may have destroyed DNA needed to ID 70 missing victims - Chicago Tribune

NEW YORK (AP) New York is becoming the latest U.S. state to let police hunt for suspects by identifying their relatives through DNA, after officials voted Friday to allow a practice that authorities call a crime-solver but civil libertarians consider a DNA dragnet.

The technique, known as familial DNA searching, is now expected to be available this fall in New York. The state Commission on Forensic Science voted 9-2 to allow it in murder, rape and some other cases, including times when it could help exonerate someone already convicted.

Spokeswoman Janine Kava says the new policy will provide law enforcement with a proven scientific tool to help investigate and solve serious crimes.

Authorities have for decades found suspects by matching crime scene evidence to convicted offenders DNA. Familial DNA testing comes into play when theres no match. It looks instead for people similar enough to be closely related to whoever left the crime scene DNA. From there, investigators can look for family members who fit as suspects and, if they find one, pursue enough other evidence to bring charges.

At least 10 other states and some other countries use familial searching. It has borne fruit in such high-profile cases as Los Angeles Grim Sleeper serial killings and the 1976 killing of the ex-wife of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley, also in Los Angeles.

Proponents see familial searching as a potent source of leads that can be done precisely and fairly.

The process also helps exclude the innocent, and safeguards are in place so that the searching is done prudently and the information is used discreetly, said state district attorneys association president Thomas Zugibe, whos the DA in suburban Rockland County. Under New Yorks new policy, the state criminal justice services commissioner would review every familial DNA searching request, and investigators couldnt see the results without training on how to evaluate them.

While authorities praise the technique, defense lawyers and civil liberties advocates decry it for entangling law-abiding people in investigations because of their family ties. At least two jurisdictions, Maryland and Washington, D.C., have prohibited the practice, and the Legal Aid Society said Friday it was considering legal action or a legislative campaign to stop it in New York.

Civil rights and privacy lost with todays vote, said Tina Luongo, an attorney with the society.

The commission began considering the issue last fall, when prosecutors wanted to use familial DNA searching in the case of Karina Vetrano, a 30-year-old killed while out running in New York City last August. Ultimately, police zeroed in on suspect Chanel Lewis through other means and then got a DNA sample from him that matched material under Vetranos nails and at the crime scene, they said. Lewis has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder.

Although familial searching didnt factor in Vetranos case, her father applauded Fridays vote.

Many families will benefit, and many criminals will suffer, Phil Vetrano wrote on an online reward-fund page. We will always be grateful to Karina for this.

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New York OK's family-DNA searches for suspects, amid debate - The Seattle Times

For generations, cross-referencing tombstones at the cemetery and vital records was required to unlock your lineage.

But now, you can easily uncover some of the mystery of your family tree with DNA.

Consumers like Larry Guernsey are giving the service as gifts.

"I thought it would be a good Christmas present," Guernsey said.

The $99 DNA test uses a saliva sample to trace family history.

Here's how one company that provides the service, Ancestry, says it works:

"A simple test can reveal an estimate of your ethnic mix like if you're Irish or Scandinavian, or both."

For Guernsey his curiosity twisted to suspicion once he read the fine print. To proceed, he'd have to give ancestry a "perpetual, royalty-free worldwide transferable license" to use his DNA.

"That entire phrase: 'perpetual royalty-free worldwide transferable,' it sounds like they have left it open to do anything they want with it," Guernsey said.

He was concerned the "transferable license" could put his family's DNA in the hands of an insurance company that could later deny coverage.

"That's not a crazy worry," said Stanford University law professor Hank Greely.

Greely teaches and writes books about the intersection of bio-tech and the law. Greely says medical researchers and pharmaceutical companies routinely need DNA data to develop new products, and companies that have big DNA databases, like Ancestry, sell it to them.

"Some of them get a fair amount of their revenue by selling the analysis of your DNA," Greely said.

NBC 5 Responds asked Ancestry for an interview, but it declined.

In a statement the company said:

"The decisions we make are guided by the basic belief that our customers' data belongs to them."

They went on to say, "We provide every customer options to choose how we may use their DNA data when they sign up .. .We will not share DNA data with third party marketers, employers or insurance companies."

Ancestry's website currently tells users they have a choice to later "delete your DNA test results" or "destroy your physical DNA saliva sample."

Ancestry also says it stores your "DNA sample without your name."

Those statements are posted to its privacy page.

However, they're not in the contract you sign.

"If it bothers you, if it offends, if you're worried about what might be in there, then you shouldn't sign this contract," Greeley said.

Guernsey didn't, and he canceled his order.

So now, the steps to tracing the Guernsey family tree might include an old-fashioned graveyard walk.

Greely noted that DNA tests for genealogy are fairly cheap, perhaps, for a reason the fact that the data is really being sold again down the line.

Published at 10:02 PM CDT on Jun 16, 2017 | Updated at 10:59 PM CDT on Jun 16, 2017

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Privacy Concerns Over DNA Tests That Help Discover Your Roots ... - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

FLORENCE A Tennessee man has been arrested on burglary charges after his DNA was found at a business that was broken into last year.

James Bullock, an investigator with the Lauderdale County Sheriffs Office, said Marcus Orlandus Brown, 31, Covington, Tennessee, is charged with third-degree burglary, first-degree theft of property, first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree receiving stolen property.

Bullock said Brown is charged in connection with the Jan. 25, 2016, burglary of Haddocks Quick Start on Alabama 20 in the Central Heights community.

Bullock said Brown was arrested in Memphis and transported back to Florence.

He said DNA, left at the scene, was recovered along with other evidence during the course of the investigation.

The DNA sample was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensics to be analyzed and it got a positive hit.

And they determined the DNA at the business belonged to Marcus Brown, Bullock said.

Brown is out of jail on bail of $11,000.

Bullock said the case remains under investigation as authorities search for two other suspects.

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DNA leads to burglary arrest - Times Daily