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An annual winter festival in Japan is fighting off controversy for displaying a work of art featuring dead, frozen fish fish suspenses in ice.

The Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, now in its 68 th year, has featuring some type of showcase with frozen fish for nearly half-- 33-- of those festivals. Event organizers stand behind the decision to use frozen marine life as works of art.

"The displays are art, and we would like to continue producing them in the future," Seiichi Shinoda, the chairman of the Susukino Tourist Association, told Japan's Rocket News 24.

来月雪まつりだけど、某ワールドの影響で中止になるって一度言われてたススキノに展示される魚氷、なんとか継続されるんだよね。
ただ規模は縮小されるとのことで。
去年でスポンサー付き魚氷見納めだったんだなぁ。 pic.twitter.com/OyIZ2iipVJ
- イサナ (@isana23210) January 30, 2017

Most of the displays at the festival feature larger than life carvings from snow. Some of the most famous figures this year include snow sculptures of President Donald Trump, Star Wars characters and even a giant Cup of Noodles.

Enjoy #SapporoSnowFestival ! What's the likelihood that we'll see #DonaldTrump #sculpture this year? pic.twitter.com/8mpsFHDzzC
- Tefen (@TefenConsulting) February 6, 2017

But one of the largest displays with fish was created by members of the tourist association. It features nine blocks of ice measuring more than three feet long and almost two feet wide. It incorporates nine different types of sea life typical to Hokkaido, including salmon and snow crabs.

Despite the fact that this isn't the first time that the Sapporo organizers have used frozen fish in art displays, many online are speaking out against the attraction.

There was talking of stopping it but the ice block fish gallery is on display again at the Sapporo Snow Festival. https://t.co/b6Ut3I1Hyd pic.twitter.com/hr5lXVMx3o
- Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) February 6, 2017

But some don't seem bothered by the display at all.

Frozen fish at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

Yes, they're real.

Get over it. pic.twitter.com/W7Plrtqw6l
- ジェフえもん　Ver 2 (@jefuemon_ver2) February 7, 2017

If the controversy over the displays sounds familiar, that's because a similar incident caused a social media outcry last December with a Japanese skating rink. Japan's Space World theme park, which used thousands of dead fish frozen under the ice, was forced to close amid backlash.

More than two dozen different species of fish were inserted into the attraction - termed an "ice aquariaum" by the owners - at the park in Kitakyushu, Japan. After the rink opened, the backlash on social media ensued with many labeling the attraction "sinful" and a "desecration of life."

Some concern dissipated after it was discovered that the fish used were sourced from seafood markets where they were deemed unfit to sell for consumption. But the initial alarms were still powerful enough to have the rink closed down. "We wanted customers to experience the feeling of skating on the sea, but after receiving criticism, we decided that we could not operate it anymore," a manager said at the time.

Regardless of that controversy, there are no plans to ditch the exhibit at the snow festival. It will be shown in the Susukino display area, near Sapporo Station, for the festival's closing on Feb. 12.

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Annual Japanese snow art festival uses real frozen fish in controversial display

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An annual winter festival in Japan is fighting off controversy for displaying a work of art featuring dead, frozen fish fish suspenses in ice. The Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, now in its 68 th year, has featuring some type of showcase with frozen fish for nearly half-- 33-- of those festivals.

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Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura dies in Dominican Republic wreck

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Another Dominican player, former major leaguer Andy Marte, 33, died Sunday in a separate wreck in the Caribbean nation, MLB.com reported.

Ventura pitched in the 2014 and 2015 World Series and helped the Royals win a world championship in 2015, the statement said. He was drafted by the club in 2013, had a 38-31 career pitching record and started in nine postseason games.

Reports from the Dominican Republic said the crash happened on a highway in Rancho Arriba, a town in the province of San Jose de Ocoa, according to an article by mlb.com on the Royals official website.

Ventura's hometown is Las Terrenas, where the funeral services are expected to take place, the article said.

"Our prayers right now are with Yordano's family as we mourn this young man's passing," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in the statement. "He was so young and so talented, full of youthful exuberance and always brought a smile to everyone he interacted with. We will get through this as an organization, but right now is a time to mourn and celebrate the life of Yordano."

Other players and wrecks

The deaths of Marte and Ventura come about four months after the death of another young baseball player.

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, 24, and two friends were killed September 25 when their boat crashed off Miami Beach. A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Fernandez was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and a two-time all-star.

The Dominican Republic produces many major league baseball players. One of them, retired Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz tweeted: "I have not words to describe this....R.I.O my boy"

Marte, also a native of the Dominican Republic, was an infielder and had played with the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for several minor league teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.He played the last two seasons with KT Wiz in South Korea, MLB.com reported.

ESPN, citing authorities in the Dominican Republic, reported he was driving a car that struck a house between San Francisco de Macoris and Pimentel, about 95 miles north of Santo Domingo.

Other Dominican players died recently in auto accidents in that nation.

Jose Rosario, 20, a minor league player for the Houston Astros, died January 1 in a motorcycle wreck, Beacher report said.

Ramon Ramirez, 23, a minor league infielder for the Baltimore Orioles organization, died January 7 when his motorcycle wrecked, according to Bleacher Report.

Oscar Taveras, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, died October 26, 2014, when the car he was driving ran into a tree on a highway in Puerto Plata, north of Santa Domingo, Bleacher report said. His 18-year-old girlfriend also died in the crash.

Ventura, a friend to Taveras, was pitching in the World Series when he heard the news, Bleacher report said. He dedicated his next game to his friend and wrote "RIP O.T." on his hat.

Social media was filled with condolences for Marte and Ventura.

Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates tweeted: "To the families of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte. I send my deepest condolences. RIP."

ESPN reporter Enrique Rojas: "Black sunday for Dominican Republic baseball: Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte died in In different car accidents #RIP"

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Kansas City Royals pitcher dies in Dominican Republic

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Another Dominican player, former major leaguer Andy Marte, 33, died Sunday in a separate wreck in the Caribbean nation, MLB.com reported. Ventura pitched in the 2014 and 2015 World Series and helped the Royals win a world championship in 2015, the statement said.

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South Carolina high school student faces jail time over paper airplane incident

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A South Carolina high school student was arrested earlier this month after a paper plane he allegedly threw in class struck a teacher in the eye.

The South Strand News reported that the 17-year-old Andrews High School student could face up to 30 days in jail after being charged with third-degree assault and battery. The paper airplane struck Edward McIver.

According to an incident report, McIver contacted a resource officer after he was struck in the eye. Deputy Paul Glover wrote in the report that McIver's eye appeared to be "very red" and that the science teacher and Florence Public School District trustee was upset because he recently had eye surgery.

The report added that McIver and the student have had other confrontations prior to the paper airplane incident. McIver wanted to press charges if the particular student was involved.

The student reportedly admitted to throwing the paper airplane in a meeting with McIver and a vice principal, but said he intended to hit him in the eye.

The teen was then cited for third-degree assault and battery. He was taken to the Georgetown County Detention Center and was released on bond.

The paper reported the teen's first court appearing is scheduled for Feb. 14.
Click for more from the South Strand News.

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South Carolina high school student faces jail time over paper airplane incident

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A South Carolina high school student was arrested earlier this month after a paper plane he allegedly threw in class struck a teacher in the eye. The South Strand News reported that the 17-year-old Andrews High School student could face up to 30 days in jail after being charged with third-degree assault and battery.

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national recruiting selected me, on twitter.

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Yordano Ventura died in a car accident in the Domican Republic

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Backlash over philedelphia teachers, plan for black lives matter week in classrooms.

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Miguel Diaz-Canel was officially named as Cuba's new president Thursday, a day after a vote in the National Assembly cleared the way for a leader who's not a Castro for the first time in nearly six decades.

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An actor was shot in the chest during a music videohttp://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/asia/australia-actor-fatally-shot-during-filming/index.html

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not many poeple went to trumps

inauguration because trump has offended many people with things he said . obama had so many people because obama wanted to stand for everyone

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It's hard to gauge crowd sizes and the National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, doesn't offer estimates of any sort.

But the side-by-side images of Friday's ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama. There is empty ground exposed in the Trump photos. The same spots were almost entirely covered eight years ago, when estimates at the time suggested 1.8 million people attended the inauguration. The images above do not capture people who might have viewed from the west side of the Washington monument. And there are some differences. The grass on the mall is covered in white plastic for Trump's inauguration, but not for Obama's.

The photo of Trump's inauguration was taken from television during his speech - peak time for the crowd.

The photo of Obama's inauguration was taken by Getty and doesn't indicate the time, but Trump's should represent his largest audience.

When President Obama took the oath of office in 2009, conditions were clear with temperatures were in the 20s. Eight years later, temperatures hovered in the high 40s with intermittent rain.

Another sign attendance for Trump's inauguration could be lower: Metro ridership. Per WMATA, the Washington area transit authority, as of 11 am, 193,000 trips had been taken on the city's subway system. At the same hour in 2009, that number was 513,000, according to WMATA. The same time for the second Obama inauguration saw 317,000 riders, and President George W. Bush's second inauguration saw 197,000 riders by 11 am.

The Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies distributed about 250,000 tickets for Trump's inauguration, per spokeswoman Laura Condeluci, including 1,600 on the platform and another 1,000 on the bleachers above. That number is on par with the distributed tickets for previous ceremonies. Most onlookers are beyond the ticketed point and watch the proceedings from the National Mall.

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comparing donald trump and barack obama's inaugural crowd sizes - cnnpolitics

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Comparing Donald Trump and Barack Obama's inaugural crowd sizes

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It's hard to gauge crowd sizes and the National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, doesn't offer estimates of any sort. But the side-by-side images of Friday's ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama.

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Iraqi forces take complete control of eastern Mosul from ISIS.

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Live coverage-President Trump´s first week:Donald Trump's first week as President begins with confirmation votes, executive actions and the first official White House briefing.

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live coverage: president trump's first week - cnnpolitics

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Live coverage: President Trump's first week

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Donald Trump's first week as President began with confirmation votes, executive actions and the first official White House briefing.

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RIP Yordano Ventura

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The grieving will last for some time. But the early stages of healing likely began on Friday morning as the Royals' organization held a private "Celebration of Life" for pitcher Yordano Ventura.

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The government will no longer fund abortion procedures.

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Surrounded by a crowd of men, for which he was widely derided on social media once pictures began circulating, Trump signed the policy, initially put in place by the Reagan administration, but was rescinded by the Obama administration in 2009.

"The President, it's no secret, has made it very clear that he's a pro-life president," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his first daily briefing. "He wants to stand up for all Americans, including the unborn, and I think the reinstatement of this policy is not just something that echoes that value, but respects taxpayer funding as well."

Even during the Obama years, US law banned direct funding for abortion services. But NGOs that performed the procedure were allowed to receive US funding for other programs, including those related to contraception access and post-abortion care.

Now, NGOs that offer or promote abortions as part of their family planning services will be prevented from receiving any assistance from the US Agency for International Development, one of the largest contributors to international development assistance.

'Catastrophic'

Trump's decision was labeled as "catastrophic," leading to women in developing countries "paying the price," according to Marie Stopes International's vice-president and director of the organization's international operations Marjorie Newman-Williams.

According to the charity, the loss of its services during Trump's first term could cause 6.5 million unintended pregnancies, 2.2 million abortions, 2.1 million unsafe abortions, and 21,700 maternal deaths.

The organization also said it will also be prevented from reaching 1.5 million women with contraception every year.

"All the medical evidence, as well as everything we know from our daily interactions with women, is unequivocal: If you take safe abortion services out of the reproductive healthcare package, it exposes women to risk," Newman-Williams said.

"Attempts to stop abortion through restrictive laws -- or by withholding family planning aid -- will never work, because they do not eliminate women's need for abortion," added Newman-Williams. "This policy only exacerbates the already significant challenge of ensuring that people in the developing world who want to time and space their children can obtain the contraception they need to do so."

Marie Stopes International also said that it gave 2,843 general and gynecological checkups and performed 586 contraceptive implant insertions in the wake of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal -- all supported by US funding.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement: "Trump's Global Gag Rule will only lead to increases in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, maternal and newborn deaths."

Repeals, reinstatements

The policy has been enforced off and on since it first took effect in 1985. Democratic administrations have traditionally rescinded the policy, while Republican administrations have reinstated it.

Reaction from Democrats and abortion rights activists was swift.

In a statement issued shortly after the action was signed, NARAL Pro-Choice America slammed the move.

"Donald Trump has turned his anti-women rhetoric into policy, and made it more difficult for women and families all over the world to access vital reproductive care. He really is living up to the lowest of expectations," NARAL's president, Ilyse Hogue, wrote.

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen took to Twitter to announce that she would put forward a bill repealing the policy permanently. Such a bill would end the cycle of repeals and reinstatements the policy has seen over the years, but would be unlikely to pass a majority-Republican Congress.

Meanwhile, conservatives in Congress and anti-abortion activists are applauding Trump for signing the executive action.

"For yrs, U.S. has debated abortion," Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, tweeted Monday. "At least we can agree no taxpayer should be forced to pay for it."

"President Trump is continuing Ronald Reagan's legacy by taking immediate action on day one to stop the promotion of abortion through our tax dollars overseas." Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion advocacy group Susan B. Anthony List.

"President Trump's immediate action to promote respect for all human life, including vulnerable unborn children abroad, as well as conscience rights, sends a strong signal about his administration's pro-life priorities."

CNN's Juliet Perry in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

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trump reverses abortion policy for aid to ngos - cnnpolitics

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Trump reverses abortion policy for aid to NGOs

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Surrounded by a crowd of men, for which he was widely derided on social media once pictures began circulating, Trump signed the policy, initially put in place by the Reagan administration, but was rescinded by the Obama administration in 2009.

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Many more black women are dying from cervical cancer much more than anyone would have ever thought

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Black women are dying from cervical cancer at a rate 77% higher than previously thought, and white women are dying at a rate 47% higher, according to a study published in the journal Cancer on Monday.

The study found that previous estimates of cervical cancer death rates didn't account for women who had their cervixes removed in hysterectomy procedures, which eliminates the risk of developing the cancer.

"Prior calculations did not account for hysterectomy because the same general method is used across all cancer statistics," said Anne Rositch, assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and lead author of the study.

That method is to measure cancer's impact across a total population without accounting for factors outside of gender, she said.

There were about 12,990 new cases of cervical cancer in the United States last year and 4,120 cervical cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute.

'A better understanding of the magnitude'

For the study, researchers analyzed data on cervical cancer deaths in the United States, from 2000 to 2012, from the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results databases.

The data were limited to only 12 states in the country, but the researchers noted that the data still provided a nationally representative sample of women.

Then, the researchers collected data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on how many women in 2000 to 2012, 20 and older, reported ever having a hysterectomy. They used that data to adjust the cervical cancer deaths rates.

Before the adjustment, the data showed that the cervical cancer killed about 5.7 out of 100,000 black women and 3.2 per 100,000 white women. After adjusting for hysterectomies, the rate was 10.1 per 100,000 black women and 4.7 per 100,000 white women.

The data showed that the racial disparity seen in cervical cancer death rates for black and white women was underestimated by 44% when hysterectomies were not taken into account.

"We can't tell from our study what might be contributing to the differences in cervical cancer mortality by age and race," Rositch said. "Now that we have a better understanding of the magnitude of the problem, we have to understand the reasons underlying the problem."

Cervical cancer is highly preventable in the United States because of the availability of screening tests and a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Racial disparity may be explained by lack of access or limited access to cervical cancer screening programs among black women when compared to whites," said Dr. Marcela del Carmen, a gynecologic oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, who was not involved in the new study.

"This gap and disparity need to be addressed with initiatives focusing on better access to prevention or screening programs, better access to HPV vaccination programs and improved access and adherence to standard of care treatment for cervical cancer," she said.

The new findings add to the current understanding of cervical cancer's impact on different communities, said Dr. John Farley, a practicing gynecologic oncologist and professor at Creighton University School of Medicine at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Arizona.

"It lets us know that there is substantial work to do to investigate and alleviate the racial minority disparity in cervical cancer in the US," said Farley, who was not involved in the study but co-authored an editorial about the new findings in the journal Cancer on Monday.

"Those who get cancer, many times, do not have access to screening," he said.

Even though cervical cancer mortality rates are higher than previously thought, Farley said that he thinks the current screening recommendations for cervical cancer are still adequate. However, he added, more women should have access to screenings and other preventive measures.

Rositch said, "It may be that some women are not obtaining screening according to our current guidelines, not necessarily that guideline-based care is insufficient."

How to prevent and screen for cervical cancer

The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin cervical cancer screenings at age 21 by having a Pap test every three years. Then, beginning at 30, women should have a Pap test combined with a HPV test every five years. However, the recommendations are not universal among all expert groups.

Symptoms of cervical cancer tend to not appear until the cancer has advanced, which is why screening and HPV vaccinations are urged.

"We have a vaccine which can eliminate cervical cancer, like polio, that is currently available, and only 40% of girls age 13 to 17 have been vaccinated," said Farley, co-author of the editorial. "This is an epic failure of our health care system in taking care of women in general and minorities specifically."

Women over 65 might not need to continue screening if they don't have a history of cervical cancer or negative Pap test results, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Each year, about 38,793 new cases of cancer are found in parts of the body where HPV is often found. The virus has been linked not only to cervical cancer but to cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus or throat.

A study published in the journal JAMA Oncology last week found that among a group of 1,868 men in the United States, about 45% had genital HPV infections and only about 10% had been vaccinated.

"Male HPV vaccination may have a greater effect on HPV transmission and cancer prevention in men and women than previously estimated," the researchers wrote in that study.

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cervical cancer death rates are much higher than thought - cnn

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Cervical cancer death rates are much higher than thought, study says

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Black women are dying from cervical cancer at a rate 77% higher than previously thought, and white women are dying at a rate 47% higher, according to a study published in the journal Cancer on Monday.

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It's hard to gauge crowd sizes and the National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, doesn't offer estimates of any sort.

But the side-by-side images of Friday's ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama. There is empty ground exposed in the Trump photos. The same spots were almost entirely covered eight years ago, when estimates at the time suggested 1.8 million people attended the inauguration. The images above do not capture people who might have viewed from the west side of the Washington monument. And there are some differences. The grass on the mall is covered in white plastic for Trump's inauguration, but not for Obama's.

The photo of Trump's inauguration was taken from television during his speech - peak time for the crowd.

The photo of Obama's inauguration was taken by Getty and doesn't indicate the time, but Trump's should represent his largest audience.

When President Obama took the oath of office in 2009, conditions were clear with temperatures were in the 20s. Eight years later, temperatures hovered in the high 40s with intermittent rain.

Another sign attendance for Trump's inauguration could be lower: Metro ridership. Per WMATA, the Washington area transit authority, as of 11 am, 193,000 trips had been taken on the city's subway system. At the same hour in 2009, that number was 513,000, according to WMATA. The same time for the second Obama inauguration saw 317,000 riders, and President George W. Bush's second inauguration saw 197,000 riders by 11 am.

The Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies distributed about 250,000 tickets for Trump's inauguration, per spokeswoman Laura Condeluci, including 1,600 on the platform and another 1,000 on the bleachers above. That number is on par with the distributed tickets for previous ceremonies. Most onlookers are beyond the ticketed point and watch the proceedings from the National Mall.

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comparing donald trump and barack obama's inaugural crowd sizes - cnnpolitics

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Comparing Donald Trump and Barack Obama's inaugural crowd sizes

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It's hard to gauge crowd sizes and the National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, doesn't offer estimates of any sort. But the side-by-side images of Friday's ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama.

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RIP  Yorando Ventura, the royals pitcher died in Dominican Republican car accident

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Another Dominican player, former major leaguer Andy Marte, 33, died Sunday in a separate wreck in the Caribbean nation, MLB.com reported.

Ventura pitched in the 2014 and 2015 World Series and helped the Royals win a world championship in 2015, the statement said. He was drafted by the club in 2013, had a 38-31 career pitching record and started in nine postseason games.

Reports from the Dominican Republic said the crash happened on a highway in Rancho Arriba, a town in the province of San Jose de Ocoa, according to an article by mlb.com on the Royals official website.

Ventura's hometown is Las Terrenas, where the funeral services are expected to take place, the article said.

"Our prayers right now are with Yordano's family as we mourn this young man's passing," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in the statement. "He was so young and so talented, full of youthful exuberance and always brought a smile to everyone he interacted with. We will get through this as an organization, but right now is a time to mourn and celebrate the life of Yordano."

Other players and wrecks

The deaths of Marte and Ventura come about four months after the death of another young baseball player.

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, 24, and two friends were killed September 25 when their boat crashed off Miami Beach. A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Fernandez was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and a two-time all-star.

The Dominican Republic produces many major league baseball players. One of them, retired Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz tweeted: "I have not words to describe this....R.I.O my boy"

Marte, also a native of the Dominican Republic, was an infielder and had played with the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for several minor league teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.He played the last two seasons with KT Wiz in South Korea, MLB.com reported.

ESPN, citing authorities in the Dominican Republic, reported he was driving a car that struck a house between San Francisco de Macoris and Pimentel, about 95 miles north of Santo Domingo.

Other Dominican players died recently in auto accidents in that nation.

Jose Rosario, 20, a minor league player for the Houston Astros, died January 1 in a motorcycle wreck, Beacher report said.

Ramon Ramirez, 23, a minor league infielder for the Baltimore Orioles organization, died January 7 when his motorcycle wrecked, according to Bleacher Report.

Oscar Taveras, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, died October 26, 2014, when the car he was driving ran into a tree on a highway in Puerto Plata, north of Santa Domingo, Bleacher report said. His 18-year-old girlfriend also died in the crash.

Ventura, a friend to Taveras, was pitching in the World Series when he heard the news, Bleacher report said. He dedicated his next game to his friend and wrote "RIP O.T." on his hat.

Social media was filled with condolences for Marte and Ventura.

Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates tweeted: "To the families of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte. I send my deepest condolences. RIP."

ESPN reporter Enrique Rojas: "Black sunday for Dominican Republic baseball: Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte died in In different car accidents #RIP"

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Kansas City Royals pitcher dies in Dominican Republic

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Another Dominican player, former major leaguer Andy Marte, 33, died Sunday in a separate wreck in the Caribbean nation, MLB.com reported. Ventura pitched in the 2014 and 2015 World Series and helped the Royals win a world championship in 2015, the statement said.

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Ventura dies in car wreck. :(( RIP Ventura.

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Another Dominican player, former major leaguer Andy Marte, 33, died Sunday in a separate wreck in the Caribbean nation, MLB.com reported.

Ventura pitched in the 2014 and 2015 World Series and helped the Royals win a world championship in 2015, the statement said. He was drafted by the club in 2013, had a 38-31 career pitching record and started in nine postseason games.

Reports from the Dominican Republic said the crash happened on a highway in Rancho Arriba, a town in the province of San Jose de Ocoa, according to an article by mlb.com on the Royals official website.

Ventura's hometown is Las Terrenas, where the funeral services are expected to take place, the article said.

"Our prayers right now are with Yordano's family as we mourn this young man's passing," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in the statement. "He was so young and so talented, full of youthful exuberance and always brought a smile to everyone he interacted with. We will get through this as an organization, but right now is a time to mourn and celebrate the life of Yordano."

Other players and wrecks

The deaths of Marte and Ventura come about four months after the death of another young baseball player.

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, 24, and two friends were killed September 25 when their boat crashed off Miami Beach. A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Fernandez was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and a two-time all-star.

The Dominican Republic produces many major league baseball players. One of them, retired Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz tweeted: "I have not words to describe this....R.I.O my boy"

Marte, also a native of the Dominican Republic, was an infielder and had played with the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for several minor league teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.He played the last two seasons with KT Wiz in South Korea, MLB.com reported.

ESPN, citing authorities in the Dominican Republic, reported he was driving a car that struck a house between San Francisco de Macoris and Pimentel, about 95 miles north of Santo Domingo.

Other Dominican players died recently in auto accidents in that nation.

Jose Rosario, 20, a minor league player for the Houston Astros, died January 1 in a motorcycle wreck, Beacher report said.

Ramon Ramirez, 23, a minor league infielder for the Baltimore Orioles organization, died January 7 when his motorcycle wrecked, according to Bleacher Report.

Oscar Taveras, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, died October 26, 2014, when the car he was driving ran into a tree on a highway in Puerto Plata, north of Santa Domingo, Bleacher report said. His 18-year-old girlfriend also died in the crash.

Ventura, a friend to Taveras, was pitching in the World Series when he heard the news, Bleacher report said. He dedicated his next game to his friend and wrote "RIP O.T." on his hat.

Social media was filled with condolences for Marte and Ventura.

Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates tweeted: "To the families of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte. I send my deepest condolences. RIP."

ESPN reporter Enrique Rojas: "Black sunday for Dominican Republic baseball: Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte died in In different car accidents #RIP"

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Kansas City Royals pitcher dies in Dominican Republic

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Another Dominican player, former major leaguer Andy Marte, 33, died Sunday in a separate wreck in the Caribbean nation, MLB.com reported. Ventura pitched in the 2014 and 2015 World Series and helped the Royals win a world championship in 2015, the statement said.

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Yordano Ventura died in a car accident.,

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Picking up where The Force Awakens left off, the next installment in the Skywalker saga will be titled The Last Jedi. And yes, fans are already trying to glean every hint from it that they can.

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Star Wars Episode VIII has a title: The Last Jedi

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Picking up where The Force Awakens left off, the next installment in the Skywalker saga will be titled The Last Jedi. And yes, fans are already trying to glean every hint from it that they can.

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Obama's inauguration had about 1.8 million people watching and Trump's had a lot less.

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It's hard to gauge crowd sizes and the National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, doesn't offer estimates of any sort.

But the side-by-side images of Friday's ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama. There is empty ground exposed in the Trump photos. The same spots were almost entirely covered eight years ago, when estimates at the time suggested 1.8 million people attended the inauguration. The images above do not capture people who might have viewed from the west side of the Washington monument. And there are some differences. The grass on the mall is covered in white plastic for Trump's inauguration, but not for Obama's.

The photo of Trump's inauguration was taken from television during his speech - peak time for the crowd.

The photo of Obama's inauguration was taken by Getty and doesn't indicate the time, but Trump's should represent his largest audience.

When President Obama took the oath of office in 2009, conditions were clear with temperatures were in the 20s. Eight years later, temperatures hovered in the high 40s with intermittent rain.

Another sign attendance for Trump's inauguration could be lower: Metro ridership. Per WMATA, the Washington area transit authority, as of 11 am, 193,000 trips had been taken on the city's subway system. At the same hour in 2009, that number was 513,000, according to WMATA. The same time for the second Obama inauguration saw 317,000 riders, and President George W. Bush's second inauguration saw 197,000 riders by 11 am.

The Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies distributed about 250,000 tickets for Trump's inauguration, per spokeswoman Laura Condeluci, including 1,600 on the platform and another 1,000 on the bleachers above. That number is on par with the distributed tickets for previous ceremonies. Most onlookers are beyond the ticketed point and watch the proceedings from the National Mall.

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comparing donald trump and barack obama's inaugural crowd sizes - cnnpolitics

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Comparing Donald Trump and Barack Obama's inaugural crowd sizes

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It's hard to gauge crowd sizes and the National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, doesn't offer estimates of any sort. But the side-by-side images of Friday's ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama.

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It was about 4 a.m. Sunday when the tornado warning blared from Yesenia Mondragon's mobile phone. Her husband told her to grab their daughter, 1-year-old Layla, and get into the bathtub.

"He got right in, too, with us," she told CNN. "You could hear the wind, the whistles, the noise."

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"He got right in, too, with us," she told CNN. "You could hear the wind, the whistles, the noise."

The 24-year-old mother lived in Sunshine Acres, a rural mobile home park about 3 miles southeast of Adel, Georgia, a short drive from Valdosta and the Florida state line. The locally owned mobile home park is one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by a path of dangerous thunderstorms and tornadoes that struck this weekend across south Georgia and north Florida.

Already, the death toll there, seven, accounts for almost half the state's total of 15, authorities say. Of the 100 or so mobile homes in Sunshine Acres and the surrounding area, 15 were leveled in the storms, Adel Mayor Buddy Duke said.

Officials on Monday released the names of those who died at the mobile home park: Alexis Livingston, 18; Adrian Mays, 38; Lawansa Perry, 41; Mary Cantrell, 62; Jamie Walters, 33; Amanda Rowe, 41; and Joe Deskins, 36.

Livingston played soccer at Johnson University in Kissimmee, Florida, said a former high school classmate, Rose Valdez, 18. Livingston earned a scholarship to play at Johnson, Valdez said. She was the team's goalie and majored in sport and fitness, according to the university's soccer site.

Livingston also worked at a Cook County winery, said Valdez, a former Adel resident who now lives in Valdosta, Georgia.

"Everyone who knew her fell in love with her," Valdez said. "I know people sometimes say that because a person has passed but it's true. She made people laugh."

Bits of wood and other debris are scattered across the park, Duke said, explaining that it appears as if someone placed bombs in some of the mobile homes.

"There were several small children that were found under debris," he said.

He'd heard that one family with four small children lost the family's father and an aunt.

Delores Bright, 66, a lifelong resident of Adel and pastor at a nearby church in Lakeland, knows many of the children in Sunshine Acres. Two of her nephews live there. They're safe, she said.

She estimates that she knows about 20 children through a babysitting service she established in the park in 2003.

"I could've lost my children. My heart goes out to the families," she said.

She said Sunshine Acres was home to so many people, and it doesn't feel the same anymore. She's telling residents, "Hold your heads up. Keep looking to God."

Residents describe a terrifying scene as the twister ripped through Sunshine Acres. AJ Miley told CNN affiliate WSB she heard people screaming, "Help me. Help me."

Devocheo Williams recalled seeing a neighbor and a mobile home tossed through the air, he told the station.

"All I saw was a little girl flown up and thrown in a ditch. Three seconds later, the trailer got picked up off the ground and landed on top of the mother and son," Williams said.

As authorities prepared to continue a search-and-rescue operation in the mobile home park Monday, Mondragon wondered what she and her family would do.

Both her home and her sister-in-law's home were too unstable to provide safe shelter, so they fled to the home of Patricia McGee, the mother of the sister-in-law's boyfriend.

"People were screaming," McGee said. "I will never forget."

Mondragon doesn't know many of her neighbors, but her husband, Earnest Williams, does. Neighbors were concerned about each other and trying to help, even visiting their displaced neighbors at a local Days Inn to keep each other company, she said.

A waitress at a Mexican restaurant, Mondragon and Williams "pretty much live paycheck to paycheck," Mondragon said.

They had been saving money to move into a new home, but now they will have to spend a lot of that money on recovery. The only items they had time to grab before fleeing their mobile home were Layla's diapers and baby wipes, she said. They had to buy the 1-year-old new clothes once it was safe to head into town, she said.

Soon, they'll have to leave the hotel and find a new place to live. Mondragon doesn't know where that will be but suspects she and her extended family will "have to find a way to make it, and just room all together."

If there is one takeaway from the horrific experience, it's that she's learned never to take a tornado warning lightly.

"I'll never take for granted an alarm saying that there's a tornado warning," she said. "You know they tell you to evacuate. ... Now I know you can't take it for granted."

CNN's Faith Robinson reported from Adel; Chris Boyette reported and Eliott C. McLaughlin wrote and reported from Atlanta.

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georgia storm deaths: 7 killed in trailer park - cnn

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Eliott C. McLaughlin and Faith Haleh Robinson, CNN

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"He got right in, too, with us," she told CNN. "You could hear the wind, the whistles, the noise." The 24-year-old mother lived in Sunshine Acres, a rural mobile home park about 3 miles southeast of Adel, Georgia, a short drive from Valdosta and the Florida state line.

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A child is believed to be missing after a devastating tornado in the south.

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A 2-year-old is believed to be among the missing after a series of deadly tornadoes wreaked havoc in parts of the South this weekend, according to authorities.

Interested in Tornadoes?

Add Tornadoes as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Tornadoes news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

Chris Cohilas, a commissioner in Dougherty County in south Georgia, said authorities began searching for the child after the mother reported that her 2-year-old "had been swept away during the tornado."

Tornadoes raged from early Saturday through Sunday in areas from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, parts of Alabama and south Georgia. At least 20 people died from severe weather in the South, and many more lost homes in the destruction.

The last tornado in Georgia was on the ground for over an hour and covered four counties, a Georgia Emergency Management Agency spokesperson said this afternoon.

"It is total devastation and destruction," said Ron Rowe, emergency medical services director in the Georgia city of Albany. "We have multiple neighborhoods that have totally been 'removed,' if I can use that word."

Cohilas said, "We have people who have no home, no food, no warmth, and no hope."

Search and rescue operations are underway in affected areas and shelters are being quickly set up to help families, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said this afternoon that 16 counties will be under a state of emergency; he said there were 15 confirmed dead in those counties.

Deal said he spoke with President Donald Trump and will ask for a federal emergency declaration and assistance.

Branden Camp/AP Photo

Earlier today, Cohilas appealed for quicker relief.

"We've been begging for FEMA's help," Cohilas said. "To get caught up in bureaucratic red tape during this time of human suffering is disgraceful."

The president expressed condolences to the people affected by the tornadoes yesterday.

"I want to start off by telling you I just spoke with Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia, great state, great people," Trump said yesterday from the White House. "Florida affected, Alabama affected by the tornadoes, and just expressed our sincere condolences for the lives taken."

"We'll be helping out the state of Georgia," Trump added.

ABC News' Emily Shapiro and Jason Volack contributed to this report.

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2-Year-Old Believed Missing After Devastating Tornadoes in South

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A 2-year-old is believed to be among the missing after a series of deadly tornadoes wreaked havoc in parts of the South this weekend, according to authorities. Chris Cohilas, a commissioner in Dougherty County in south Georgia, said authorities began searching for the child after the mother...

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Altanta falcons Vs the New England patriots Lets go Patriot

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Watch New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons [02/05/2017] - NFL.com

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New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons on Feb 5, 2017. Watch video of the game, buy tickets, get stats & depth charts, game highlights, analysis, recap, and discuss with other NFL fans!

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Mr. Kohl - Superbowl LI(51) is set!  The Atlanta Falcons will play the New England Patriots. Halftime performance: Lady Gaga, it will cost $5mil to run a 30 sec commercial during the Superbowl.

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Mr. Kohl - Superbowl LI(51) is set!  The Atlanta Falcons will play the New England Patriots. Halftime performance: Lady Gaga, it will cost $5mil to run a 30 sec commercial during the Superbowl.

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Super Bowl LVII: When, Where, & More | NFL.com

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Skip to main content The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari.