Exxon Valdez (above) was a oil tanker that ran aground on the Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska, that
resulted in the second largest oil spill in U.S. history. The vessel,owned by the
former Exxon Shipping Company and captained by Joseph Hazelwood, was bound
for Long Beach, California. The spill is considered one of the most devastating
human-caused environmental disasters ever to occur at sea .Exxon Shipping Co.
was renamed Sea River Shipping Company and the Exxon Valdez was repaired and
renamed the Sea River Mediterranean and is used to haul oil across the Atlantic.The
ship is prohibited by law from returning to Prince William Sound. No human lives were
lost as a direct result of the disaster, though four deaths were associated with the
cleanup effort.

Ariel view of the Exxon Valdez and a portion of the oil spill  

  
A cleanup crew at work

Portland radio journalist Heidi Tauber died Wednesday
evening after a head-on crash with a semi-truck on the Hwy
30 exit from I-405. Heidi, who most recently worked for Oregon
Public Broadcasting, was 52. The driver of the semi was not hurt.

Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a
Hungarian-born magician and escape artist, stunt performer, and actor/film
producer. He was noted for his sensational escape acts. In his later years,
Harry took his talent to the film arena where he both acted and started his
own film laboratory called The Film Development Corporation. Years later,
Harry would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1926 Houdini
died as a result of a ruptured appendix, after suffering a blow to the abdomen.