I watched footage of the race crime that split America. What I saw shocked me - and his how it could flip the case
Students were warming up and stretching, patiently waiting for the competition to resume after a paused due to heavy rain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
UFC icon Dustin Poirier retires after defeat by Max Holloway in thrilling trilogy bout
UFC icon Dustin Poirier called time on his mixed martial arts career on Saturday, retiring after a thrilling fight with Max Holloway, who finally beat the lightweight legend at the third time of asking. Poirier had announced months ago that his next fight would be his last, and the end came in his home state of Louisiana, where he challenged Holloway for the 'Baddest Motherf*****' title in the main event of UFC 318. After five thrilling rounds, in which Poirier was dropped twice and Holloway was floored once, the latter retained his belt with scorecards of 48-47, 49-46, 49-46. The victory will have been bittersweet for the Hawaiian, who lost his first two fights against Poirier: his own UFC debut in 2012, and an interim-title fight in 2019. Holloway, 33, paid respect to the 36-year-old after the bout, before Poirier said at the post-fight press conference: 'I wanted to go show I can compete and make it close, to where I can say, 'Look, I'm still at the top of my game. I'm going out because I want to.' 'I wanted it to be a war and a drag-em-out fight.' And it was that. Holloway, a former featherweight champion who has moved up to lightweight, dropped Poirier in round one, before both fighters were floored in the second round. Holloway landed with more volume and consistency down the stretch, securing victory and moving closer to a shot at the lightweight title. That belt is held by Ilia Topuria, who knocked out Holloway in October to retain the featherweight title. Topuria vacated the featherweight gold in February to move up to lightweight, where he won the vacant belt by knocking out Charles Oliveira in June. Holloway's fight with Poirier on Saturday (19 July) was his third at lightweight; his first outing at 155lb was his points loss to Poirier in 2019, as the latter claimed the interim title, before Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje last April to win the 'BMF' belt. That knockout, which came in the very last second of a 25-minute contest, is considered by some as the greatest KO in UFC history. Poirier, meanwhile, is deemed by many as the best UFC fighter never to win an undisputed title. After beating Holloway to win the interim lightweight title, he was submitted by regular champion Khabib Nurmagomedov while trying to unify the belts. Poirier holds eight wins over six former MMA world champions, four of whom held UFC titles. Those fighters are Holloway, Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Michael Chandler and Gaethje. Poirier submitted Holloway in their first fight and also beat Pettis and Chandler via submission, while he knocked out McGregor in one of their three clashes and also stopped Alvarez and Gaethje. Poirier lost his first fight with McGregor at featherweight in 2014, before avenging that result with a knockout of the Irishman in 2021, six months before McGregor suffered a broken leg in their trilogy bout. The 'Diamond', who was accompanied by Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne during his ring walk on Saturday, retires with a professional record of 30-10 (1 No Contest). Often named as one of the UFC's best boxers, Poirier secured 15 of his wins via KO/TKO, while he earned eight by submission.
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Manny Pacquiao's shock result in comeback fight brings more questions than answers
Manny Pacquiao 's controversial return to boxing did not bring the clarity that boxing fans desired. On Saturday night (19 July), in a strange title challenge against Mario Barrios, a 46-year-old Pacquiao fought the WBC champion to a majority draw, leaving questions over what comes next. Many within boxing had spoken out against Pacquiao's return, as boxing's only eight-weight world champion fought professionally for the first time since 2021. Yet the Filipino legend impressed in Las Vegas, against an admittedly underwhelming Barrios, 30. Those factors combined for a 114-114 draw on two of the three judges' scorecards, while the other read 115-113 in Barrios's favour. While Pacquiao had been coy before the fight about what might come next, he naturally would not have planned for a draw. A rematch against American Barrios looks likely, however. 'It wasn't necessarily about respect,' Barrios said about his inability to see off Pacquiao. 'It was just, you know... He still has a lot of crack. For his age, he was very explosive, tricky, and I just wasn't trying to make a mistake by overcommitting on a shot that I wasn't sure of. 'I prepared for the best Pacquiao, but he's still tricky in there, still has so much experience and showed that tonight. You know, it was a really good learning experience for me. I'm still proud of everything I was able to do.' Pacquiao was trying to break his own record as the oldest-ever welterweight champion, but he was unable to leave the MGM Grand with victory secured. In his previous pro bout, in 2021, he was outpointed by Yordenis Ugas in Vegas. A shock move by Pacquiao could be a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, 48, who beat the Filipino in one of the most lucrative boxing matches of all time in 2015. 'Manny is always ready,' Sean Gibbons, from Pacquiao's promotional company, told Sky Sports. 'After that performance last night, you better check with Floyd!'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
An explosive Grand Canyon wildfire brings terror, loss and tough questions: ‘It came like a freight train'
When lightning struck on 4 July along the remote North Rim of Grand Canyon national park, sparking a small wildfire in a patch of dry forest, few predicted the terror and loss that lay ahead. Fire managers decided that conditions seemed ideal to let the blaze burn at a low intensity – a practice known as 'control and contain' that helps clear out excess fuels and decreases the chance of a more catastrophic wildfire in the future. Rains from previous weeks had left the forest floor moist and weather forecasts indicated the summer monsoon season would arrive soon. But a week later, the park's strategy fell apart. On 11 July, the fire burst through its containment lines and began to rapidly pick up speed – exploding tenfold in a day. 'The fire sounded like a freight train coming towards us,' says a firefighter, who was part of the National Parks Service crew battling the blaze. By 12 July, it seemed the destruction was unstoppable. Over the next 24 hours some 70 buildings would be destroyed, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, dozens of visitor cabins as well as park administrative offices and residences. Images of the smoldering lodge and the smoke-filled canyon filled news stories and social media feeds. Suddenly, it felt like the whole world was questioning the decision to not put the blaze out immediately. Almost two weeks after it began, the so-called Dragon Bravo fire is still only 2% contained and encompasses nearly 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares), as more than 750 firefighters have battled the blaze. The park's North Rim has long been the sleepy cousin of the more bustling South Rim, bringing in just 10% of the park's annual visitors, and inspiring loyal fans. News of the tragedy has hit Grand Canyon lovers hard. The area has been shut down for the remainder of the season, and hundreds of national park and concession employees have suddenly found themselves without homes and jobs. An untold number of summer vacations to the park have been cancelled. But there is also a more existential loss. A place beloved by visitors and employees for its beauty and solitude has suddenly been ripped away. And the heart of that sanctuary, the Grand Canyon Lodge – the park's Notre Dame – is in ruins. 'It's hard to put into words how devastating the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge is,' wrote one longtime Grand Canyon North Rim park employee on social media. 'The Lodge and North Rim weren't just buildings and trails – they were a home to us … and now it's gone. It feels like a piece of who we are has burned with it.' As the initial shock subsides and the reality of the loss sets in, questions are swirling about how the tragedy occurred – and how to move forward. In hindsight, the decision not to tamp out the fire swiftly has drawn the most scrutiny. But the Grand Canyon fire crew member who was on scene in early July, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing his job, said it seemed like a reasonable call based on assessment at the time. For the first few days after it broke out, the blaze behaved exactly as expected. But then on 11 July the humidity level suddenly plummeted. Embers began jumping containment lines in the dry air as strong winds changed direction and the fire escaped down a drainage, picking up momentum as if gasoline had been dumped on it. By the next day it had exploded from 120 acres to 1,500 acres. Some 500 visitors at the North Rim had already been evacuated due to another fire burning outside the park, dubbed the White Sage fire. The remaining residents were evacuated, and the park's fire crew began hosing down structures. But the team was lacking adequate equipment and manpower, the firefighter said. According to the firefighter, some of the department's already limited resources had been sent to fight the White Sage fire. They were missing two fire engines and a bulldozer, and they needed more boots on the ground. Plus, aerial suppression support would not arrive until the next day. By nightfall on 11 July, the fast-growing fire had surrounded the crew and they were instructed by managers to take cover in the North Rim's fire station. Soon, he said, the fire was everywhere. Nearby, another group of firefighters were trapped on a helipad, flanked by flames 100ft (30.5 metres) tall. 'We were trapped,' recalled the firefighter. 'We thought we were going to die. Propane tanks from surrounding buildings were exploding all around us. Our homes and our friend's homes were burning and there was nothing we could do.' Located at a cool elevation of 8,000ft on the Kaibab plateau in northern Arizona, Grand Canyon national park's North Rim is a four-hour drive from the more famous South Rim. The isolation is what makes it special for park employees and visitors, but the largely undeveloped region is also especially vulnerable to wildfire. A single paved road connects the park to Jacob Lake, a small village some 50 miles away. The ponderosa pine forest ecosystem of the Kaibab plateau relies on regular low-intensity fires to stay healthy, but those fires were supressed by federal policies throughout most of the 20th century. National park managers have attempted to restore the Grand Canyon's natural forest ecosystem over the last two decades through prescribed fires, or by allowing lightning-sparked wildfires to burn. The strategy went off without a hitch as recently as July 2022, when a lightning strike started a fire on the North Rim that grew to only 1,300 acres as fire crews tightly managed the boundaries of the blaze. However, other examples have been less successful. In June 2006, a lightning-sparked fire trapped several hundred visitors after strong winds pushed the flames beyond its containment lines. The only paved road out of the park was blocked by flames, but law enforcement officers led visitors to safety on a web of winding dirt roads. Ken Phillips, who worked at Grand Canyon for 27 years and served as chief of emergency services, believes the decision to let the Dragon Bravo fire burn was a mistake. He also points out that lives could have been lost if visitors had not already been evacuated due to the White Sage fire. 'The North Rim did not need to burn the way it did and put firefighters in harm's way,' he said. 'There is a history of escaped managed wildfires at Grand Canyon. It is very tragic that the lessons learned from those fires weren't heeded in this situation.' In response to a request for comment about the handling of the fire, a spokesperson directed the Guardian to a public statement from Ed Keable, the Grand Canyon superintendent, that described the wildfire as a 'devastating event'. In a previous statement to the Arizona Republic, Rachel Pawlitz, a park spokesperson, defended the initial handling of the fire and also contradicted what firefighters said they experienced on 11 and 12 July. 'We've lost buildings but hundreds of lives were saved due to the fact that this fire was expertly handled,' she said. 'The firefighters did not put themselves or others at risk when they managed the initial firefight, pushing historic wind gusts that caused the fire to jump multiple containment features and move toward facilities instead.' Built in 1936, the Grand Canyon Lodge sits at the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the canyon allowing unmatched views of the natural wonder. Visitor cabins, perched on the rim nearby, are shaded by towering old growth pine and spruce trees. Kathryn Leonard, the state historic preservation officer for the state of Arizona, calls the style of the historic buildings 'national park rustic'. The lodge and cabins echo the surrounding environment with rock walls made from Kaibab limestone and roofs supported by exposed ponderosa pine trusses. The Grand Canyon Lodge was uniquely 'idyllic' and 'open' according to Leonard. Once visitors entered the building, they could walk down a stairway where a sun room with leather couches featured a giant south-facing picture window looking out onto the Grand Canyon, some 5,000ft deep and 20 miles across. The best view in the house was on the lodge patio where visitors leaned back in Adirondack chairs and watched the sunset while sipping a beer. Pictures of the lodge that circulated on social media after the fire showed that all but two Adirondack chairs had been destroyed. Everything else was ash except for the limestone walls. 'I couldn't believe that the lodge was gone until I saw the photo,' said Phillips, the former emergency services manager. 'The loss of the entire North Rim developed area is like the death of a close friend.' 'The scale of this loss is breathtaking,' agreed Leonard. 'Historic resources are non-renewable and the workmanship in the cabin and lodge interiors can't be replaced.' Yet Leonard is also cautiously optimistic that some elements of the building can be salvaged. 'There could be a way to rebuild that does not attempt to replicate what was there but honors it.' Beyond the charred facilities, the more lasting damage could be to the Grand Canyon's environment itself. The forested area on the Kaibab plateau where the Dragon Bravo fire is burning encompasses the recharge zone feeding Roaring Springs, the park's sole drinking water source. Rain and snowmelt percolate down through the ground to feed the springs located several thousand feet below the canyon rim. Surface water in the area also flows off the plateau and into Bright Angel Creek. 'From a hydrology perspective, the fire is a disaster,' said Mark Nebel, who until recently retiring, oversaw water monitoring at Grand Canyon. Nebel worries that ash, sediment and chemical fire retardant may seep through the ground and into the aquifer that feeds the springs. These pollutants will also likely be swept into the Bright Angel watershed this summer as flash flooding is expected to occur as a result of the fire. 'The drinking water quality in the park could be impacted for many years,' added Nebel. As Arizona governor Katie Hobbs has called for an investigation into park service decisions and firefighters continue to battle the blaze, North Rim employees find themselves reminiscing about happier times. John McFarland, a former maintenance mechanic who lived and worked on the North Rim for 30 years, recalls how he organized a Fourth of July parade at the park every summer that was followed by an 'epic' water gun fight in front of the lodge. Many of the buildings he cared for are gone, but he is taking the loss in stride. 'The Grand Canyon is still there,' he said. 'Some of the old growth trees are still there. The place will come back.'
