CLAIMS HE IS DEAD ARE MUCH ADO...

Manhattan doctor vanishes a week before court date for involvement in $100m health fraud scheme

Emma James and David Averre For Dailymail.Com - 


Friends of a Manhattan doctor who vanished in a midnight boating accident a week before he was due in court in connection with a $100m health insurance fraud are hoping that he is still alive.

Marvin Moy, 51, is one of several doctors arrested in January for his suspected involvement in the schemes, in which they pressured car accident victims to seek medical treatment at their facilities.

The father-of-one was reported missing in the early hours of October 13 after heading out with a friend for a fishing trip on his boat the Sure Shot - a week before he was due in court.

Friends have admitted that there is a ‘small chance’ that he might be ‘shipwrecked on some small rock’, while others believe he is dead and describe the incident as a ‘complete tragedy’.

One told DailyMail.com that it wasn’t unusual for the doctor to stay overnight on the boat after being out fishing all day, and that ‘tragedies like this happen from time-to-time.’

Moy, a physician and rehabilitation doctor who practices out of Hempstead, New York, was on the boat with a passenger who was recovered by the Coast Guard.

Rescuers reported coming across an oil slick and debris at the scene of the accident roughly 25 miles off the coast of Fire Island.

However, Moy was nowhere to be found, with searches taking place for more than 30 hours and covering 4,830 miles to try to find the missing man.



Marvin Moy, a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor practicing out of Hempstead, NY, was reported missing in the early hours of October 13 just hours after he set off on a late night fishing trip aboard his boat, the Sure Shot© Provided by Daily Mail


Moy disappeared on October 13, just hours after he set off on a late night fishing trip aboard his boat, the Sure Shot (pictured)© Provided by Daily Mail


Manhattan doctor vanishes a week before court date for involvement in $100m health fraud scheme© Provided by Daily Mail

Moy was one of several doctors arrested in January for his suspected involvement in two fraudulent schemes operated by gangsters Alexander 'Little Alex' Gulkarov and Bradley Pierre.

The criminal enterprises connected car accident victims with doctors such as Moy who would perform unneeded medical procedures.

This would then allow the gangs to overbill insurance companies and make off with $100million in profits over 13 years.

Moy's role in the scam saw him 'conduct unnecessary and painful electrodiagnostic testing' on a slew of car accident patients who did not need to undergo the procedure, the indictment alleged.

The doctor was supposed to attend a court hearing on October 19 - less than a week after he disappeared without a trace on the water.

At the hearing, Moy's attorney told the judge that a legal representative from the Coast Guard said the doctor cannot be considered dead until the investigation into his disappearance ends, according to the New York Post.

They said: 'The representative indicated that he would keep us apprised of any developments and that, ultimately, a report would be issued and that we would be provided such a report.'

Moy, who divorced from his wife two years ago, had battled pancreatic cancer and was diabetic according to friends.


Marvin Moy, a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor practicing out of Hempstead, NY, was reported missing in the early hours of October 13© Provided by Daily Mail

Several friends of the doctor believe that he perished in the accident, while others say they hope he is 'shipwrecked' somewhere© Provided by Daily Mail

Jess Waters, who attended Fork Union Military Academy with Moy, told DailyMail.com that he had an incredible mind.

He said: 'He was an avid fisherman and a sailor, he loved his boats and it was a big part of his recreational life.

'I’m pretty sure he went whenever he could, I don’t necessarily believe that he went out at midnight.

'He had been out during the day and was spending the night on the boat. He was out where there is potential for these commercial vehicles to be in their lanes, and from time-to-time tragedies like this happen.

'The boat was struck and then officially capsized 15 minutes later, and his friend was picked up by a passing vessel.

'The ocean being what it was they were separated, their jettison life raft wasn’t up and they weren’t able to put on warm suits. His death is a complete tragedy.'

Other friends told the New York Post that they're left with 'unresolved questions' after his disappearance and said the circumstances surrounding the incident were 'troubling'.

'We've got unresolved questions. We do not know what happened. I would obviously like for my friend to be found. There's still a chance he's shipwrecked on some small rock,' the friend said.

A Coast Guard spokesman said: ‘The incident was reported just after midnight on the morning of Oct. 13 of an alleged collision involving Mr. Moy and one other person with a large vessel.

‘The other person was recovered while Marvin remained missing. We conducted boat and helicopter searches for over 30 hours covering 4,830 nautical miles, finding only the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon that he was allegedly holding when he was last seen.



Colleagues of the doctor shared memories of him online, with one paying tribute to his 'brilliant mind'© Provided by Daily Mail


Moy poses with a mako shark after one of his fishing trips along the New York coastline© Provided by Daily Mail

‘The search was then suspended on Oct. 14 pending any further info and Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound is currently conducting an investigation into the incident.

‘The incident took place roughly 25 nautical miles South of Fire Island, NY. Although the active search has been suspended, Coast Guard units will continue to monitor the area for significant sightings and additional information.’

Moy was charged with healthcare fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and was facing a maximum potential prison sentence of 30 years for his role in Pierre's scheme.

In January, US Attorney Damian Williams described the operation as 'one of the largest insurance frauds in history' and outlined the methods used by the conspirators to make their fortune.

'The defendants charged are alleged to have collectively perpetrated one of the largest no-fault insurance frauds in history.

'In carrying out their massive scheme, among other methods, they allegedly bribed 911 operators, hospital employees, and others for confidential motor vehicle accident victim information.

'With this information, they then endangered victims by subjecting them to unnecessary and often painful medical procedures, in order to fraudulently overbill insurance companies,' Williams declared.

Moy practices medicine in Hempstead, NY, and specialises in rehabilitating patients who are disabled or who have been involved in an accident to regain function.

He received his medical degree from University at Buffalo School of Medicine and is licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York and New Jersey.

'BRUCE' Caitlyn Jenner misgenders trans woman and then rages against “LGBT community”

Queerty - 

Caitlyn Jenner is trending on Twitter for all the worst reasons (no change there!).


Caitlyn Jenner’s at it again.© Provided by Queerty

Joe Biden recently sat down for a Presidential Forum. As part of it, he talked with trans rights activist and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney is documenting her ongoing transition via social media. Mulvaney uses she/they pronouns.

The discussion was fairly innocuous, with Biden acknowledging the persecution so many trans people face. He said his administration is committed to defending trans rights.

In the wake of the discussion, some right-wingers seized upon old videos Mulvaney posted about the early days of her transition. In one, she discussed people staring at her when she wore tight clothing as they could sometimes see a bulge in her crotch area.

“Oh, I forgot that my crotch doesn’t look like other women’s crotches sometimes because mine doesn’t look like a little Barbie pocket,” Mulvaney said, before suggesting people should accept that some women have bulges.

Caitlyn Jenner responded to a news story about this, saying, “There is a difference between acceptance and tolerance, and normalizing exposing your genitals in a public way and a public place. I do not support that at all, in the slightest. Dylan…congrats your trans with a penis.”

Mulvaney said nothing about “exposing” her genitals but only about having a bulge in her crotch area.

Others came to Mulvaney’s defence, including cis women.

Jenner shot one defense down, saying last Wednesday, “He’s talking about his penis.”

Related: Caitlyn Jenner, a.k.a. Trans Judas, says we must not “normalize” the “absurdity” of trans people

Jenner faces backlash for tweets

One would think that Jenner, probably the most famous trans woman in the world, would know better about using someone’s correct pronouns.

Backlash against Jenner’s tweet was swift and fierce. This prompted Jenner to post several tweets yesterday slamming the concept of the LGBTQ “community.”


“I have never received more death threats, death threats to my team, nasty hate mail than this week,” Jenner said. “It is all from the so-called ‘inclusive’ lgbt community. I am so disgusted by the hateful individuals threatening my life for giving my opinions on news topics of the day.”

She continued, “The lgbt community is NOT a community – it is a demographic. I love so many in it – but being an outspoken common sense conservative in it is dangerous. The left has reached new levels of violence and intolerance. So sad to see.”

Jenner’s correct about one thing. Death threats are never appropriate. However, misgendering Mulvaney, and saying those on the left are to blame for escalating violence, did not go down well with many.

Drag Race UK queen River Medway was among those to respond.

Related: Caitlyn Jenner was a transphobic trainwreck on Fox News last night

Dylan Mulvaney responds to Caitlyn Jenner

Mulvaney also posted a TikTok video specifically addressing Jenner. You can watch it below.

Mulvaney said that up until a few days ago, she would have been willing to sit down with Jenner and have a discussion because despite their differences in political opinion, “I have a lot of respect for you as a fellow trans woman … but then you decided to ridicule me very publicly.”

She said it was Jenner’s tweet calling her a “he” that proved beyond the pale. Mulvaney called it “so terrible.”

In reference to her bulges, Mulvaney went on to say, “Girl, you’re making me sound like a creepy flasher exposing myself!”

Mulvaney says that in the early days of her transition, she was still learning how to dress comfortably, and still wearing men’s underwear beneath her clothing.

“But after that video, two amazing trans women gifted me tucking panties and taught me how because they could tell I was struggling. And I’m just curious if you can think back to your early days of transitioning and remember being embarrassed about your body, or having strangers give you dirty looks.

“That’s why I made that video. Because I was embarrassed and I wanted to reclaim my body in a positive way.”




You can watch President Biden’s discussion with Mulvaney below.

Powerful pastor Robert Jeffress says conservative Christians should "impose their values on society"

Opinion by LGBTQNation - 

Powerful anti-LGBTQ Texas pastor Robert Jeffress said that the U.S. was “founded as a Christian Nation” and that conservative Christians should “impose their values on society.”


Robert Jeffress has advised Mike Pence and Donald Trump. He also once advised a suicidal lesbian teen to go to conversion therapy.© Provided by LGBTQNation

Jeffress, who is the senior pastor at the 14,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, was on Real America’s Voice talking about rising Christian nationalist sentiment in the U.S.

Christian nationalism is the idea that the U.S. should be an explicitly Christian nation and that there should not be a separation of church and state.

“We always put our love for God above everything, even allegiance to our country,” he said about conservative Christians. “But that’s not what they’re really talking about. Listen carefully. They say they are opposed to people who say America was founded as a Christian nation, Americans who believe not only in the spiritual heritage of our nation, but believe that we ought to use elections to help return our country to its Christian foundation.”

“If that’s Christian nationalism, count me in,” the pastor laughed. “Because that’s what we have to do. And what’s so hypocritical about this, Tim, is the left don’t mind at all imposing their values on our country through the election process. They don’t mind forcing their pro-abortion, pro-transgender, pro-open borders policy upon our nation.”

“But they object when conservative Christians try to impose their values on society at large. It’s complete hypocrisy.”

Jeffress has had access to some of the most powerful Republicans in the country. He was a member of Donald Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board and had Mike Pence speaking in his church back when he was vice president. In 2017, he spoke at a private inaugural service for the Trump and Pence families.

He also has a long history of anti-LGBTQ sentiment. In his 2004 book Hell? Yes! (which was re-published in 2008 under the title Outrageous Truth… Seven Absolutes You Can Still Believe) contained the “truth” that “homosexuality is a perversion.”

In that chapter, Jeffress wrote about a high school senior called “Susan” who had just come out.

Jeffress said he asked her how “God feels about your homosexual activity?”

“I understand now that God created me with these desires, desires that I have had since I was a little girl,” she responded, according to Jeffress. “For years I have been miserable trying to deny those feelings and have seriously contemplated suicide. But now that I have accepted who I am, I am happier than I have ever been in my life!”

Most people would probably be glad that a teenager who was considering suicide was feeling better, but not Jeffress. He wrote that “homosexual relationships are neither ‘normal’ nor ‘healthy’” and that gay activists are really working “to cover over the darkest secret associated with this perversion: child molestation.”

“None of us gets a ‘pass’ from God for rebellious behavior just because it arises from our innate desires, regardless of the cause of those desires,” he wrote. “But here is the good news: Through the power of Jesus Christ, all of us can be freed from acting on those desires.”

He added that it’s a “myth” that “homosexuality is a fixed desire and cannot be changed.”

As for Susan, he concluded: “I wish I could report that after hearing the above information, she renounced her homosexual tendencies, confessed her sin to God, and left my office with a newfound attraction to the opposite sex. She didn’t.”

Jeffress has supported conversion therapy as late as 2014 when he told a local TV station that he supports conversion therapy.

“I have talked to people who have undergone therapy like this and they have said as Christians it has helped them manage their temptations,” Jeffress said. “No therapy can remove those desires that we all have in different areas of life, but as a Christian, we have the power to overcome those desires and I think that’s the true reparative therapy that only comes to those who know Jesus Christ his savior.”

In 2008, he delivered a sermon entitled “Gay is not OK” in which he called gay people “filthy.”

“It is so degrading that it is beyond description,” he said in the sermon. “And it is their filthy behavior that explains why they are so much more prone to disease.”

He has also said that marriage equality is a sign of the “last days” and in 2011 he said that he learned about the “brilliant plan of gay activists to normalize the abnormal practice of homosexuality using the same brainwashing techniques that had been used by the Chinese for hundreds of years.”

In 2015, he insisted that Christians are being “martyred” by LGBTQ people for being asked to follow the law.

“What is happening is that we are becoming desensitized to the persecution of Christians just not globally, but also in our Country,” he said. “The fact is that we are being told that Christians who refuse to serve a wedding cake to a gay couple, that they are extremists, its OK to take their livelihood and shut down their business. I believe that we are getting desensitized to that, which will pave the way for that future world dictator, the Antichrist, to persecute and martyr Christians without any repercussions whatsoever.”

Jeffress has denied that he is a Christian nationalist in the past, but he has also said that the separation of church and state was only meant to keep the government from favoring one form of Christianity over others, not to keep the government from forcing people to follow Christianity at all.

THE VOLK, SMITH WANTS TO PARDON Intelligence briefing note warned of 'anti-authority' elements at protests against COVID measures

Matthew Black - 

Demonstrations against COVID-19 health measures in early 2021 drew those with “anti-government and anti-authority” ideologies, according to a Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta (CISA) briefing note.


Police line up between counter-protesters and anti-mask protesters during a rally at the Alberta legislature on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021.© Provided by Edmonton Journal

CISA acts as a central hub for strategic analysis and intelligence and operates as one of 10 independent bureaus under Criminal Intelligence Service Canada that provides information to the national law enforcement community.

The note – dated March 1, 2021, and marked as “confidential” and for “law enforcement purposes only” – indicates CISA was asked to report on “any observed increase in activity from radical, extremist, or sovereign citizens groups within Alberta due to resistance to COVID public health orders.”

It was acquired after a wait of more than 18 months through an access to information request to the RCMP, and following a formal complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada.

CISA expected COVID-19 rallies to continue

“COVID-19 related protests are expected to continue and it is expected that individuals holding anti-government and anti-authority ideologies will continue to attend,” it reads.

The information comes from CISA’s partner agencies in Alberta that include five local police forces, the RCMP and the Provincial Security and Intelligence Office.

At the time the note was crafted, the province was about to enter the pandemic’s third wave that would later claim the lives of nearly 400 Albertans and frustrate the provincial government’s efforts to roll back public health restrictions.

The note references media reports from a February 2021 rally at the Alberta legislature that saw multiple Edmonton police officers assaulted.

It also indicates the same event was attended by members of the Soldiers of Odin, a Finnish-founded far-right, anti-immigrant group as well as its Alberta offshoot, the Urban Infidels.

None of the officers were seriously injured.

More antagonism toward police

The note also cites anecdotal reports from police that opponents of COVID-19 restrictions were becoming increasingly antagonistic towards law enforcement, citing a “divided” response to crackdowns against churches that repeatedly flouted public health rules .

“Some law enforcement officers have reported a change in tone from groups that previously expressed support for police, such as becoming upset and lashing out at police when one of their members are arrested,” it reads.

“RCMP situation reports have described divided reactions from the public with some citizens expressing anger over a perceived lack of enforcement and others expressing anger over too much enforcement and a perceived disruption of lawful protests.”

Generally, the note’s authors found that notwithstanding those incidents, “the protest activity has been largely lawful and peaceful.”

Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll since the start of the ongoing pandemic surpassed 5,000 last week.

mblack@postmedia.com

Twitter @ByMatthewBlack

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Alberta reports more than 5,000 people dead from COVID-19

9 arrested over deadly collapse of "jam-packed" bridge in India

CBSNews - 10h ago


Indian rescue personnel conduct search operations after a bridge across the river Machchhu collapsed in Morbi, some 120 miles from Ahmedabad, early on October 31, 2022. / Credit: SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty© Provided by CBS News

Dozens killed in India bridge collapse | Watch (msn.com)

Morbi, India — Nine people were arrested Monday in connection with the collapse of a pedestrian bridge in western India that killed almost 140 people, police said. The nine people arrested — all associated with a company that maintained the bridge in Morbi — were being investigated for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, senior police officer Ashok Kumar Yadav said in a statement.

The bridge, which had reopened only days earlier after months of renovation, collapsed on Sunday evening, sending hundreds tumbling into the river in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. Authorities said nearly 500 people were celebrating the last day of the Diwali festival on and around the nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge when supporting cables snapped.

CCTV footage showed the structure swaying — with a few people apparently deliberately rocking it — before it suddenly gave way.

The walkway and one fence crashed into the Machchhu river, leaving the other side dangling in mid-air as people fell into the water in the dark.

"I saw the bridge collapse before my eyes," said one witness who worked all night on rescue efforts, without giving his name. "It was traumatic when a woman showed me a photo of her daughter and asked if I had rescued her. I could not tell her that her daughter had died."


Bodies are seen on the floor of the government civil hospital after a bridge across the river Machchhu collapsed in Morbi, some 120 miles from Ahmedabad, early on October 31, 2022. / Credit: SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty© Provided by CBS News

Supran, another witness, said the bridge, which was a popular tourist attraction, was "jam-packed."

"The cables snapped and the bridge came down in a split second. People fell on each other and into the river," he told local media.

After the collapse, people clung to the twisted remains of the bridge or tried to swim to safety in the dark.

Many Indians cannot swim and another Morbi resident, Ranjanbhai Patel, said he helped pull out those who had been able to reach the banks.

"As most of the people had fallen into the river, we were not able to save them," he said.

Local police chief P. Dekavadiya said that by Monday afternoon 137 people were confirmed dead. They included around 50 children, the youngest being a two-year-old boy. Ashok Yadav, a regional police inspector general, had earlier said 141 deaths were confirmed, but he later revised the toll down.

One local MP, Kalyanji Kundariya, told media he had lost 12 family members in the accident, including five children.

Authorities launched a rescue operation immediately following the collapse, with boats and divers searching the river all night and throughout Monday.



Rescue personnel conduct search operations after a bridge across the river Machchhu collapsed at Morbi in India's Gujarat state on October 31, 2022. / Credit: SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty© Provided by CBS News

The bridge, 764 feet long and about five feet wide, was inaugurated in 1880 by British colonial authorities and made with materials shipped from England, reports said.

The Gujarat tourist department describes the "grand suspension bridge" about 120 miles west of the state's main city, Ahmedabad, as an "artistic and technological marvel."

Sandeepsinh Jhala, Morbi municipality's chief officer, said the bridge had not been issued a safety certificate after the recent repair work.

Reports named the firm that carried out the repairs as a unit of the Gujarat-based Oreva group, which describes itself as the world's largest clock manufacturer, and also makes lighting products and e-bikes. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.

Modi, who was due to visit the site on Tuesday, said that he "may rarely have experienced so much pain in my life."

President Biden offered he and first lady Jill Biden's "deepest condolences" in a tweet on Monday. The American leader said he and his wife "join the people of Gujarat in mourning the loss of too many lives cut short," and pledged to "continue to stand with and support the Indian people."

Moscow and New Delhi have enjoyed close relations for decades and the Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he was "deeply saddened" while Nepal, Bhutan, Britain and France also sent messages of support.

Accidents from old and poorly maintained infrastructure, including bridges, are common in India.

In 2016, the collapse of a flyover onto a busy street in Kolkata killed at least 26 people.

Five years earlier, at least 32 people perished when a packed bridge collapsed in the hill resort of Darjeeling.

South Korea's deadly Halloween crush was avoidable, experts say
By Joyce Lee 

FILE PHOTO: Crush during Halloween festivities in Seoul© Reuters/KIM HONG-JI

SEOUL (Reuters) - Proper crowd and traffic control by South Korean authorities could have prevented or at least reduced the surge of Halloween party-goers in alleys that led to a crush and the deaths of 154 people, safety experts said on Monday.

The annual festivities in the popular nightlife area of Itaewon in Seoul also did not have a central organising entity, which meant government authorities were not required to establish or enforce safety protocols.

District authorities for Yongsan, where Itaewon is located, discussed measures to prevent illegal drug use and the spread of COVID-19 during the Halloween weekend, according to a district press release. There was, however, no mention of crowd control.

On Saturday when the tragedy occurred, roughly 100,000 people were estimated to be in Itaewon, an area known for its hills and narrow alleys. According to Seoul Metro, some 81,573 people disembarked at Itaewon subway station on the day, up from around 23,800 a week earlier and about 35,950 on Friday.

But there were only 137 police officers in Itaewon at the time, the city of Seoul said.

In contrast, at rallies by labour unions and by supporters of President Yoon Suk-yeol that drew tens of thousands in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on the same Saturday, up to 4,000 police were deployed, a 

"Police are now working on a thorough analysis of the incident's cause," Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said on Monday.

"It's not appropriate to make hasty conclusions before the exact cause is determined - whether it was caused by a lack of police or whether there is something that we should fundamentally change for rallies and gatherings."

President Yoon has called for a thorough investigation into the cause of the crush as well as improvements in safety measures that can be used for large gatherings where there is no set organiser.

While South Korea has a safety manual for festivals expected to attract more than 1,000 people, the manual presupposes an organising body in charge of safety planning and requesting government resources.

Just two weeks earlier, the Itaewon Global Village Festival organised by a tourism association and sponsored by the city of Seoul and Yongsan district, had people wearing yellow vests directing the flow of movement and the main road was closed to car traffic.

But on Saturday, there were just thousands of shops open for business, normal car traffic rules and tens of thousands of young people eager to celebrate Halloween without major COVID restrictions for the first time since the pandemic.

"Just because it's not named a 'festival' doesn't mean there should be any difference in terms of disaster management," said Paek Seung-joo, a professor of fire & disaster protection at Open Cyber University of Korea.

"As there was no central authority, each government arm just did what they usually do - the fire department prepared for fires and the police prepared for crime. There needs to be a system where a local government takes the reins and cooperates with other authorities to prepare for the worst," he said.

Moon Hyeon-cheol, a professor at the Graduate School of Disaster Safety Management at Soongsil University, said this type of crush had the potential to happen in any populous city.

"We need to take this tragedy and learn to prepare for the risk of disaster," he said.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

A rule of physics dictates when a crowd crush turns deadly, like in Seoul, South Korea, where 154 died

mguenot@businessinsider.com (Marianne Guenot) 

The belongings of victims are seen at the scene of a deadly stampede during a Halloween festival on October 30, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea.

 Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

A Halloween party in Seoul ended in at least 154 deaths after the streets became badly crowded.
The phenomenon, called crowd surging, comes down to basic physics, an expert told Insider.
If a limit of around seven people per square yard is breached, things can quickly turn deadly.

Crowd surging — the deadly phenomenon that claimed more than 150 lives in South Korea — is explained by simple physics, an expert told Insider.

At least 154 people died in Seoul on Saturday when a Halloween street party caused a crowd so dense it crushed people to death.

The crush took place in the busy Itaewon neighbourhood of Seoul, a popular nightlife spot that attracted tens of thousands of people on Saturday, The Guardian reported.

There was no single event planned, per Reuters. But crowds from bustling bars and nightclubs poured into a narrow, sloped alley connecting a subway station to a main street.


A map of the Itaewon neighbourhood of Seoul shows the location of the alleyway. Google Maps/Insider© Google Maps/Insider

Sometime after 10 p.m., the street became full beyond capacity. Social-media accounts of the night, compiled by Reuters, said that people near the top of the alley lost their footing and fell into crowds below, starting a fatal crush.

The tragedy prompted national mourning in South Korea and questions of whether more could have been done to prevent it.

Medhi Moussaïd, a research scientist at the Max Plank Institute in Berlin who studies crowd dynamics, spoke to Insider about when crowding turns deadly

"Most people don't realize the danger," he said, arguing that people should be better informed as cities become denser and big crowds more common.



Emergency services are seen in the alleyway where the crowd crush took place, pictured here on October 30, 2022. ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP/Getty Images

Crowds acting like waves

Crowd surging is driven by a simple principle. If a group of people becomes dense enough — more than six or seven people per square yard — a crowd starts acting like a fluid.

At this point, the people inside largely lose the power to control their own movement.

Related video: Eyewitnesses describe horror of Seoul crowd crush

Duration 3:01

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If someone is shoved, they will push their neighbor, who will fall on their neighbor, and so on and so forth.

"Then this movement is transmitted," Moussaïd said. It is a little like a ripple through water, as these movements spread, they grow bigger

The pressure from the wave can be too intense to bear for people in the crowd, especially if they are pushed into an obstacle. As seen in Seoul, it can be fatal.

"Those waves are pretty dangerous because people can be compressed against the walls and also against one another. And whenever two waves cross, people can feel the pressure from both sides," said Moussaïd.

What to do if you get caught in a crush

In the overwhelming majority of cases, crowded events will be safe. But Moussaïd listed some things that could help if things ever turn dangerous.

The main thing is awareness: if you feel too crowded, you're probably right. Move away quickly to a less dense spot. This can protect you and also relieve the pressure on others.

"If just a small part of people start doing that, it reduces the density and solves the problem," he said.

Once the crowd reaches that critical threshold, however, the pushing wave can build very quickly. Then it is a case of survival, said Moussaïd.

"If you feel the pushing wave, don't try to resist. Go with it and keep your balance."

Do your best to stay standing. If one person falls over, it will create a wave of people toppling. Those at the bottom of the pile are then likely to be crushed by the weight of the bodies above them.

Hold your arms up against your ribcage like a boxer to make it easier to breathe. The pressure from the wave can cause people to faint and fall.

Don't struggle against the flow of the crowd. If you push back, the pressure in the system will grow, which will make the situation worse for the next couple of seconds to minutes, Moussaïd said.



Drone footage of the empty stage that hosted the 2021 Astroworld Festival where people died from crowd surging. 

Nathan Frandino/Reuters

Information is key

This is not the first time crowd surging has killed. Previous examples include the Love Parade in Germany in 2010 where 18 people died and Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston last year where eight people died.

With events like these, proper planning can reduce the risk by ensuring that too many people don't gather at once.

But Moussaïd said the event in Seoul was different because it was a spontaneous gathering in the streets. It would have been very difficult to prepare for.

According to Reuters, authorities had expected a crowd of about 100,000 but did not think the area required more planning than a normal Halloween weekend.

"Many people gather for Halloween every year," said an unnamed woman who identified herself to Reuters as living nearby.

"But there were just so many last night, incomparably more than before COVID," she said.

As the world population grows and more and more people are packed into urban areas, this could happen more often, said Moussaïd.

"An easy fix would be letting people know that crowds can be dangerous."

Police admit to errors as South Korea probes deadly Halloween crowd crush

Stella Kim and Thomas Maresca and Jennifer Jett - 

SEOUL, South Korea — Police admitted to errors Monday as South Korea searched for answers about how Halloween festivities in the country’s capital turned into a deadly crush.


Police admit to errors as South Korea probes deadly Halloween crowd crush© Provided by NBC News

President Yoon Suk Yeol led mourners in paying respects at sites in Seoul dedicated to the more than 150 people who were killed. His government vowed to conduct a thorough investigation of the disaster, the country's deadliest in years.

Tens of thousands of people had gathered on Saturday in Itaewon — a nightlife district of the capital that is popular with foreigners — when a crowd surge began in a sloped and narrow alleyway, setting off a deadly panic.

Many of the revelers were in their teens and 20s and dressed in costume for the country’s first Halloween celebration without Covid restrictions in three years.

The death toll in the disaster increased by one to 154 as of Monday morning, including two Americans and 24 other foreign nationals. All but one of the victims have been identified, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said. The number of injured also rose to 149, including 33 in serious condition.

At memorials in the city, mourners left traditional white chrysanthemums as well as snack foods, soft drinks and bottles of beer and the Korean liquor soju. In Itaewon, two Buddhist monks chanted and performed rites throughout the afternoon.

The country's president, who has ordered a weeklong national mourning period, paid his respects to victims at a memorial near City Hall. A second memorial has been set up at a site in Itaewon.

“I am engulfed with sorrow and responsibility as the president in charge of the lives and safety of our people as I think about the bereaving families suffering from the loss of their loved ones,” Yoon said at a meeting before visiting the memorial on Monday. “My heart breaks so much at the tragic loss especially of the young people, whose dreams now cannot see the light.”

At the meeting, Yoon ordered the government to cover the victims’ funeral and medical costs. Officials urged the public not to spread false information, hate speech or graphic video from the scene as they conducted the probe of exactly what happened.

Police said they had launched a 475-member task force to investigate the crush. The force had obtained videos taken by about 50 security cameras in the area and were also analyzing video clips posted on social media, senior police officer Nam Gu-Jun told reporters. They had interviewed more than 40 witnesses and survivors so far, Nam said Monday.

Witnesses suggested there was insufficient police presence to control the crowds, which may have been larger than anticipated.

A top police official countered that suggestion but said authorities had failed to foresee the possibility of a deadly crush.

“It was foreseen that a large number of people would gather there. But we didn’t expect that large-scale casualties would occur due to the gathering of many people,” Hong Ki-hyun, chief of the National Police Agency’s Public Order Management Bureau, told reporters Monday.

“I was told that police officers on the scene didn’t detect a sudden surge in the crowd,” he said, adding: “I regret the error in judgment call of these officers.”

According to Hong, there were 137 police officers deployed in Itaewon on Saturday, compared with 37 to 90 officers in the three years before the start of the pandemic.

“The focus was on traffic control, crime prevention and illegal activities and not on the safety of the crowd flow on the streets and narrow alleyways,” he said. Hong added that police had no manual for situations like the Halloween festivities, which had no central organizer, and that they would learn from the disaster.

As a team of police officers and government forensic experts searched the area for answers about where the crowd surge started and how it developed., experts said a failure to control the number of people allowed in the area was the ultimate issue.

“There’s a finite number of people that can fit in any space,” Keith Still, professor of crowd science at University of Suffolk told NBC News.

“Anybody moving or trying to get out, once it’s past that safety threshold, there’s very little they can do. It’s up to the people that are managing and planning the spaces,” he said.

While Halloween is not a traditional holiday in South Korea, Itaewon is known for its costume parties at bars and clubs, which have soared in popularity in recent years.

Soccer coach Kerem Kerimoglu was one of the thousands who gathered there on Saturday.

With every passing hour, he said he gets even more worried that he hasn’t heard back from the two friends he was separated from during the surge. “I’m worried if they died. The government has not showed people the ID yet,” he said.

Kerimoglu, 27, lives about a mile away from Itaewon's main street. He said he returned to the scene Sunday evening and saw dozens of mourners, clad in black clothes, gathering around a makeshift memorial site and offering white flowers.

“They were giving free flowers to everyone. I took one too and put flowers and remembered that day,” Kerimoglu said via Instagram, adding that the air smelt like “death.”

“I got goosebumps when I put the flowers on the ground,” he said.

The crowd surge is the country’s deadliest peacetime accident since the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry. That accident, in which 304 people were killed, also affected mainly young people.

Stella Kim and Thomas Maresca reported from Seoul, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

South Korean authorities say they had no guidelines for Halloween crowds, as families grieve 155 victims

Jessie Yeung - CNN

South Korean authorities said Monday they had no guidelines to handle the huge crowds that gathered for Halloween festivities in Seoul, as families in the country and around the world mourn the 155 victims of Saturday night’s crowd crush.

CNN reporter returns to Itaewon's narrow alley one day after the Halloween disaster. See what's it like

The crush took place in the narrow neon-lit alleyways of the popular nightlife district Itaewon, where witnesses described being unable to move or breathe as thousands of revelers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a street no more than 4 meters (13 feet) wide.

Frantic families spent much of Sunday gathering at information centers where authorities compiled details of the dead and wounded, and contacting morgues and hospitals in a desperate attempt to locate missing relatives.

With all of the victims now identified, the panic has transformed to national grief as the country grapples with one of its worst-ever disasters – while parents overseas make arrangements for their deceased children in a foreign land.



A woman pays tribute at a memorial altar on October 31 in Seoul, South Korea. - Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Official memorial altars were set up in central Seoul Monday, with photos showing crowds visiting to pay their respects. Many were in tears and holding white flowers; others knelt and bowed deeply to the altar.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, his wife, Kim Keon-hee, and top officials including the prime minister and Seoul mayor joined the mourners.

Many shops and businesses were closed to observe a week-long national period of mourning. Parts of central Seoul were nearly deserted – a highly unusual sight in the usually bustling capital that’s home to about 10 million people.

People also paid respects at a makeshift memorial in Itaewon, outside a subway station near the alley where the crush occurred. The station entrance is adorned with rows of flowers, and offerings such as handwritten notes, bottles of the Korean liquor soju and paper cups filled with drinks.

Among the mourners was a civic group of the bereaved families of the Sewol Ferry disaster, which killed 304 people – mostly teens on a school trip – when the vessel sank in 2014.

“As one who had suffered the same pain, my heart is torn and I’m rendered speechless,” one of the group’s members told reporters at the memorial, saying the families were saddened to see “a major disaster like this repeated.”

Questions about police numbers

Just down the street, the entrance to the alley had been cordoned off, with security personnel standing guard as forensic teams clad in white protective suits scoured the area, still littered with trash and debris.

Amid the grief, questions have emerged about the government’s handling of the incident and an apparent lack of crowd control before the tragedy.

One survivor, 22-year-old French exchange student Anne-Lou Chevalier, told CNN she passed out in the crowd after being “crushed” by fellow revelers. “At some point I had no air, and we were so crushed to other people that I couldn’t breathe at all. So, I just passed out,” Chevalier said.

Several eyewitnesses and survivors said they had seen few or no police officers in the area before the situation deteriorated.

Earlier on Sunday, the minister of the interior and safety said only a “normal” level of security personnel had been deployed to Itaewon because the crowd there did not seem unusually large – whereas a “considerable number” of police had been sent to another part of Seoul in response to expected protests.



Mourners pay tribute for victims of the deadly Halloween crowd surge in Seoul on October 31, 2022. - Rebecca Wright/CNN

But – facing a backlash from Korean politicians and on social media – authorities seemed to change tack on Monday, saying they had deployed about 137 personnel to Itaewon that night, compared to about 30 to 70 personnel in previous years before the pandemic.

“For this time’s Halloween festival, because it was expected that many people would gather in Itaewon, I understand that it was prepared by putting in more police force than other years,” said Oh Seung-jin, director of the violent crime investigation division at the National Police Agency.

However, he admitted, “currently there is no separate preparation manual for such a situation where there is no organizer and a gathering of a crowd is expected.” Moreover, the police had been deployed not for crowd control – but for crime prevention and to prevent “various illegal activities.”

Kim Seong-ho, director of the disaster and safety management division at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, echoed these comments, saying they did not have “guidelines or a manual” for such an “unprecedented situation.”

Victims emerge

The victims were mostly young people who had gone to Itaewon Saturday night, eager for South Korea’s first Halloween celebrations in years without Covid restrictions.

Of the 155 dead, 12 were teenagers and 103 were in their 20s, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said in its situation report Monday, with 55 men and 99 women killed.

Among their number were 26 foreign nationals from countries including the United States, China, Iran, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, Norway, France, Russia, Austria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

A further 149 people were injured, 33 seriously, including 15 foreign nationals.

Six students who attended schools in Seoul – one middle schooler and five high schoolers – were among the dead, as well as three teachers, said the Korean Ministry of Education.

Three South Korean military personnel were also among those killed, said a Korean Defense Ministry official.


Steven Blesi, 20, a college student from Marietta, Georgia. - Courtesy family of Steven Blesi

Two American college students were identified – Steven Blesi from Georgia, and Anne Gieske from Kentucky – both in their junior year.

Blesi’s father, Steve Blesi, said his son had “always been an adventurer.” He was an Eagle Scout, liked basketball and wanted to learn multiple languages, he said.

“Maybe in a half hour before this tragedy event took place, I texted him in WhatsApp … ‘I know you’re out and about. Stay safe. I love you.’ And I never got a response back,” Steve said. “He had an incredibly bright future that is now gone.”

Dan Gieske, Anne’s father, said in a statement Sunday evening that the family was “completely devastated and heartbroken,” calling Anne “a bright light loved by all.”

Anne had been a nursing student studying abroad in Seoul this semester, said the president of the University of Kentucky.



Anne Gieske, a student at the University of Kentucky who died in the crowd crush in Seoul. - Courtesy Beechwood Schools

The father of Mei Tomikawa, a 26-year-old Japanese exchange student who was killed in the crush, told Japanese public broadcaster NHK he was “prepared for the worst” when he couldn’t reach her.

She was studying Korean before starting school in Seoul, he said, speaking before traveling from Japan to South Korea on Monday.

“I tried calling her to warn her to be careful, but she never answered her phone,” he said, according to NHK. “She was a great daughter … I want to see my daughter as soon as possible.”



Grace Rached, an Australian woman killed in the crowd crush in Seoul, South Korea. - Australia DFAT

The family of an Australian victim, Grace Rached, also released a statement on Monday describing her as “a talented film producer who was passionate about making a difference.”

“We are missing our gorgeous angel Grace who lit up a room with her infectious smile. Grace always made others feel important and her kindness left an impression on everyone she ever met. Grace always cared about others and she was loved by all,” the family wrote.

Authorities are now working with foreign embassies and families overseas, offering support with funeral arrangements. As the week goes on, more names and faces of those who died are likely to emerge, as the nation searches for answers as to how such a disaster – in an area known to be crowded on Halloween, with festivities weeks in the planning – could have unfolded.

CNN’s Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.

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'Smiling' Sun Photo May Be Ominous Sign for Communications Systems on Earth

Anna Lazarus Caplan -


The sun is shining — but is it smiling?

NASA© Provided by People

NASA shared an image in which the star at the center of our solar system appeared to be grinning back at the planets, with three dark spots making up what resembled a happy face.

"Today, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the Sun 'smiling,'" the agency tweeted. "Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space."

The coronal holes are somewhat cooler sections of the sun's outer layer, reports The Washington Post.

"We're talking about a few hundred degrees, so it's not like some ski resort," Brian Keating, a physics professor at the University of California at San Diego, told the paper. "But because they're so dark and because we're looking at it in ultraviolet radiation, which the naked eye can't see, the [NASA satellite] sees them as dark holes."

RELATED: Spooky Sight! Sun Looks Like a Massive Jack-O'-Lantern in Photo from NASA

And while the sun may look happy, its "smile" could upset some systems here at home, Keating added.

"More so than a smiley face, its eyes are like gleaming laser beams sending particles that can cause severe disruptions to the atmosphere on Earth," he said.

Problems could arise if these small particles — protons, electrons and others — arrive at Earth in huge quantities, the scientist said, which might cause mayhem with communication systems. A severe solar storm can even damage electrical grids.

The smiling sun is not a new phenomenon.

NASA/GSFC/SDO© Provided by People

In October 2014, NASA released an image of the grinning star, dubbing the Halloween-pegged picture "Pumpkin Sun."

In 2019, NASA re-shared the photo of the sun looking eerily like a freshly carved jack-o'-lantern.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"Even our star celebrates the spooky season — in 2014, active regions on the Sun created this jack-o'-lantern face, as seen in ultraviolet light by our Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite," the agency wrote on Facebook.

As NASA explained at the time, the active regions appeared brighter in the photo — which was snapped on Oct. 8, 2014 — because they were emitting more light and energy.

Read the original article on People

Record support during Covid and declining funding from China: what new data on Pacific aid reveals

Jon Letman - Yesterday - The Guardian

China is funnelling aid to Kiribati and Solomon Islands, while its overall spending in the Pacific region is in decline, the latest Pacific Aid Map reveals.


Photograph: Atmotu Images/Alamy

The Lowy Institute on Monday released its 2022 updated version of the map, an interactive analytical tool that enables users to track aid flow and development funding in the Pacific.

With newly compiled data from 2020, the map includes tens of thousands of projects and activities of 67 donor entities representing over US$36bn in spending, including all Pacific aid projects between 2008 and 2020. Preliminary data for 2021-2022 is not included.

Related: Albanese government to give $900m budget boost to Pacific countries

The data shows 2020 was the largest year on record for Pacific aid and development, with US$3.3bn disbursed, a 33% increase over 2019, and double that of 2008.

Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic led to greater direct budget support for trade and tourism-dependent Pacific economies. Fiji, for example, lost 15.2% of GDP in 2020 and development financing for Palau and Fiji more than doubled for the year.

Alexandre Dayant, research fellow at the Lowy Institute and project director of Pacific Aid Map, said that while early in the pandemic Pacific islands used their isolated location to their advantage, it came at an economic cost.

Direct budget support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, Australia, and others came in the form of increased liquidity and a significant increase in new loans even as grant funding remained stagnant.

According to Dayant, in 2008 loans made up about 18% of finance packaging to Pacific islands. In 2020 that had grown to nearly half (46%) of overall financing.

Related video: Zero-Covid: China needs to balance the need for disease prevention and attracting FDI, says analyst

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Since 2008, Australia had provided 40% of all Pacific aid, followed by New Zealand (8.6%), Japan and China (both 8.5%), and the United States 7.8%. In 2020, however, the Asian Development Bank ranked first as a development partner after tripling its aid spending to A$4.77bn on all loans and grants.

Although not included in the newly updated map, in 2021, Australia provided the largest ever transaction recorded on the Pacific Aid Map, a A$650m loan to Papua New Guinea. Dayant expects Australia will regain its role as “first partner of choice” when 2021 data is complete.

In 2020, the region’s top aid recipients were Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

Dayant noted the continued decline in China’s aggregate development financing after a peak in 2016. Although China has targeted aid to Kiribati and Solomon Islands, in 2020, China’s total development financing dropped to US$187m, its lowest point since 2008. Lowy analysts said preliminary data indicates the decline continued in 2021.

At the same time, Dayant said, Pacific island nations may be more cautious about increasing loan debt from China that can be more expensive than borrowing from other development partners.

Dayant said that in 2022, China faces a more crowded Pacific development aid landscape with actors such as Australia which, in 2019, launched Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, offering grants and loans for large regional projects.

“This doesn’t actually mean that China is going anywhere,” Dayant said, pointing to new diplomatic alliances with Kiribati and Solomon Islands.

At a US-Pacific summit in September, the United States announced it would provide US$810m in aid to Pacific island nations.

Related: First Solomon Islands police head to China for training amid deepening security ties

The US president, Joe Biden, said the US was committed to supporting climate resilience, public health, and “sustainable blue economies” among Pacific islands. He also said the US would recognise Niue and the Cook Islands as sovereign states.

Dr Terence Wood, a research fellow at the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre, said the aid map was useful for monitoring the flow of aid from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development non-member economies such as China for which gathering quality aid data is difficult.

Cheng-Cheng Li, a political science PhD candidate at the University of Hawaii, is conducting qualitative research in Palau where he regularly uses the map to study academic scholarships and relationships between Palau and his homeland, Taiwan. The two countries have maintained diplomatic relations since 1999.

According to the map, China has invested US$220 per capita in 10 Pacific countries while Taiwan has invested US$1,783 per capita in its four Pacific allies— Tuvalu, Palau, Nauru, and the Marshall Islands.