Jet crashes into Virginia apartment complex

A Navy jet made quite an impact on a set of apartments in Virginia Beach, Va. on Friday, April 6. The jet, which was traveling at 170 mph and carrying thousands of pounds of volatile fuel, experienced catastrophic engine system failure almost immediately after takeoff.

The crash destroyed some sections of an apartment building and sent others into flames.

The jet came from Naval Air Station Oceana, located less than 10 miles from the crash site.

According to USA Today’s J.F. Joseph, an aviation safety expert and decorated pilot, “Catastrophic engine system failure…leaves very, very few options. You literally run out of altitude, air speed, and ideas all at the same time.”

Investigations are ongoing, but the exact cause of the engine system failure is not yet known. The jet released loads of fuel before it crashed, although it is unknown as to whether or not it was an accident or a purposeful act by the pilots.

Onboard the aircraft was a student and an instructor, who luckily survived by ejecting themselves from the F/A-18D jet just before it crashed into the apartment’s courtyard.

Although both pilots and five people on the ground were injured, no one was killed. However, after 95 percent of the apartments were checked by crews early on Saturday, three individuals were unaccounted for.

Joseph indicated that both the student and instructor were experienced pilots. The student needed an additional year and a half of intensive training to be able to fly from Oceana, but the instructor was well-trained, experienced, and qualified to fly.

Obama hosts egg roll at White House

This past Monday, April 9, President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle began the 134th annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Tens of thousands of children attended the event, which included racing, reading, sports, and crafts, all on the White House’s south lawn.

The event began with the President’s Marine band’s rendition of “Easter Parade” by Irving Berlin. Obama then made his way to the egg-rolling race, where he announced the winner. Obama read “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak, after his two children, Malia and Sasha, took turns reading “A Sick Day for Amos McGee” by Philip C. Stead. Mrs. Obama also took part in the reading, with Don and Audrey Wood’s “The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.”

Other readers included film stars Forest Whitaker and Julianne Moore. Musical guests included Janelle Monae, Cody Simpson, Rachel Crow, and characters from “Sesame Street.”

Athletes Michael Chang, Mitch Richmond and Daryll Dakins, Michelle Kwan and Dominique Dawes could be found at the Easter egg roll as well.

According to the Associated Press, the theme and activities were chosen with Michelle Obama’s initiative to combat childhood obesity in mind.

“60 Minutes” reporter dies

Mike Wallace, the CBS reporter who became a broadcast journalist on “60 Minutes,” passed away April 7 at the age of 93. Wallace died at a care facility in New Cannon, Conn. Wallace had a pacemaker for over 20 years and had a history of cardiac care. In January 2008, he had triple bypass heart surgery.

Wallace was known as a feisty reporter who, according to the New York Times, “walked a fine line between sadism and intellectual curiosity.” He frequently battled on television with chiefs of state, celebrities, and con artists for over 50 years. He was known for the phrase “Forgive me.”

“As soon as you heard that, you realize the nasty question’s about to come,” said Wallace in a previous interview with the New York Times.

Wallace’s career was thrown for a loop in 1958 when ABC canceled “The Mike Wallace Interview.” After Wallace’s son was killed in a mountain climbing accident in Greece in 1962, he decided to do something that his son would be proud of. “The CBS Morning News with Mike Wallace,” aired not long afterwards.

In 1968, the first episode of “60 Minutes” was aired. It was slow to catch attention at first, but eventually became more popular than anyone could have imagined. Wallace was the leader of the show until 2006, when he retired at age 88.

Facebook acquires Instagram

On Monday, April 9, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, announced the purchase of Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stocks. Instagram is a cell phone-focused photo-sharing device that allows users to add filters and effects to the pictures they take with their phones. The photos can then be shared with friends who can “like” them and comment on them, in a way that is similar to Facebook.

The company is only two years old, but it has almost 30 million users and is available on both iPhones and Android devices.

The purchase of Instagram will be Facebook’s largest acquisition to date. Reports have indicated that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, had been interested in Instagram for quite some time. He reached out to the company in early 2011 to discuss purchasing it, but Instagram’s CEO, Kevin Systrom, wanted to stay independent and work on expanding until recently.

With news of the purchase spreading, many Instagram users were concerned that Facebook would buy Instagram and shut it down as it did with other small companies such as FriendFeed, Hot Potato, and Gowalla. However, according to the New York Times, Zuckerberg said that Facebook was planning to keep Instagram as a separate service for the time being.

“We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience,” Zuckerberg said. “We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.”