Major Quake in Nepal, Jenner a Woman

Earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal near Katmandu today, collapsing buildings in the city’s historic city center and killing what is already estimated to be nearly 1,000 people. As buildings fell, cracks opened up in the streets.

Sightseers were trapped in the collapse of the 200-foot Dharahara Tower built in 1832. Severe damage is reported in Vasanthapura Square, the site of palaces and temples that date to the 11th century.

At least half those reported to have been killed died in the Katmandu Valley.

The quake is also reported to have triggered an avalanche on Mt. Everest, killing at least two people, and deaths have been reported in India and Bangladesh.

Man and Woman: Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in a two-hour program last night that he has felt all his life that he is really a woman and, “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman.” The 65-year-old Jenner’s changing physical appearance has caused tabloid gossip for years, but this was his first public admission that he is transitioning from male to female.

Jenner said he used to dress up in girls clothes way back in the 1950s. “Very lonely little boy,” he said. “I’m still a lonely big boy. I don’t socialize a lot. … When you deal with this issue, you don’t fit in.”

He may not socialize, but he’s going public in a big way. The E! network announced last night that its rumored documentary series about Jenner’s transition will premiere July 26.

Black Lives: The Baltimore police admitted yesterday that 25-year-old Freddie Gray should have received medical treatment before he was put into a police van April 12th. It’s the first official word that the cops did anything even slightly wrong. Gray died of injuries a week later, but how or when he was fatally hurt has yet to be explained.

Gray was transported without being strapped in with a seat belt. Commissioner Anthony Batts said it was possible Gray was injured during what the cops call a “rough ride” in which the driver hits the brakes and takes violent turns to bang up the suspect.

Anchorman: The NY Times reports that NBC News has expanded its investigation of the reporting and stories told by their suspended anchor Brian Williams. The Times reports that NBC sources say the inquiry now includes things Williams said about events from Tahrir Square in Cairo during the Arab Spring, and his account of a missile passing the Israeli military helicopter he was riding in back in 2006.

Parks and Recreation: Scientists have found a previously unknown reservoir of semi-molten rock beneath Yellowstone Park that dwarfs the shallower pool just below the earth’s surface. It’s long been known that Yellowstone sits on top of a “super” volcano, but this is the first time scientists have developed a full image of what’s down there. The chamber of hot, spongy rock is estimated to be large enough to fill the Grand Canyon 11 times. We wondered how much that is measured in football fields.

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