SEAL candidate dies after harsh Hell Week test
A Navy SEAL candidate died and a second was hospitalized after falling ill just hours after they successfully completed the grueling Hell Week test that ends the first phase of assessment and selection for Navy commandos, the Navy said.
Both were rushed to the hospital in Southern California. The Navy said neither one had experienced an accident or unusual incident during the 5½-day Hell Week.
The test is part of the SEALs BUD/S class, which involves underwater demolition, survival and other combat tactics. It comes in the fourth week as SEAL candidates are being assessed and hoping to be selected for training within the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command.
One of the candidates — Kyle Mullen, 24, of Manalapan, N.J. — died at a hospital in Coronado (San Diego County) on Friday. The other, who was not identified, was in stable condition.
The Navy said the cause of death was not immediately known and is under investigation.
The SEAL program tests physical and psychological strength along with water competency and leadership skills. The program is so grueling that at least 50% to 60% don’t make it through Hell Week, when candidates are pushed to the limit.
The last SEAL candidate to die during the assessment phase was Seaman James Derek Lovelace, 21, in 2016. He was struggling to tread water in full gear in a giant pool when his instructor pushed him underwater at least twice. He lost consciousness and died.
His death was initially ruled a homicide by the San Diego County Medical Examiner. A year later, after a probe, the Navy said it would not pursue criminal charges in Lovelace’s drowning. An autopsy revealed he had an enlarged heart that contributed to his death, and that he also had an abnormal coronary artery, which has been associated with sudden cardiac death.
COLORADO Kidnapping from Bloomberg ranch
A man who allegedly kidnapped an employee at the Colorado ranch owned by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg at first asked her where the billionaire’s daughters were and later went on rants about Bloomberg, saying he wanted to “make an international scene” with him or his daughters, according to court documents.
The Bloomberg family was not at the ranch near rural Meeker, in the western part of the state, when Joseph Beecher allegedly rammed his pickup through its gates and kidnapped the female worker at gunpoint Wednesday.
Beecher, 48, then forced the woman to drive him in her truck to the Denver area and north to Wyoming, authorities said.
Beecher was arrested Thursday with an AR-15 and a handgun in Cheyenne, Wyo., after investigators were able to trace the woman’s iPad to a motel there, an arrest affidavit said. It said the woman was not harmed but also said Beecher kissed her on the forehead and told her she would be dead if she were a man.
Beecher is being held in jail in Cheyenne and has been charged with kidnapping in federal court.
The sheriff ’s office in Rio Blanco County, where the ranch is located, said in a statement that Beecher had no connection to the Bloombergs or the alleged victim. It said his motive for going to the ranch, which was purchased in April 2020 for $44.8 million, was being investigated.
AVIATION FAA reports rise in laser strikes
Pilots reported a record 9,723 incidents of lasers aimed at their aircraft last year, a 41% jump over the year before.
The Federal Aviation Administration released the figures a week after four flights were hit by a laser near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. All four landed safely.
The FAA said it imposed $120,000 in fines for laser strikes in 2021. Fines can range up to $11,000 for one incident and up to $30,800 for multiple violations, and violators can face federal criminal charges.
Lasers aimed at planes and helicopters have been a safety concern for more than a decade despite jail sentences for people who get caught. The FAA said pilots have reported 244 injuries from laser strikes since the agency began keeping figures in 2010. The number of laser incidents topped 1,000 in 2009 and has been rising most years ever since.
GREECE Marchers protest migrant pushbacks
Hundreds of people marched through central Athens on Sunday to protest what they say are pushbacks by Greece of migrants and refugees at the border with Turkey.
The marchers carried an inflatable dinghy, like those migrants use to cross the sea from Turkey, and a banner saying “Stop pushbacks, stop border violence.”
The protest followed a similar one Saturday in Istanbul organized by Turkish humanitarian groups who marched to the Greek consulate to protest the recent deaths of 19 migrants near Turkey’s border with Greece. Greek officials say the migrants who died never reached the border.
Turkey has frequently alleged that Greece carries out pushbacks of migrants seeking to cross the northwestern land border or trying to reach Greece’s Aegean Sea islands. Greece denies the allegation, although the government has taken credit for better patrolling land and sea borders, significantly cutting the influx of migrants.