PAUL WALKER'S GREAT HOLLY WOOD HERO

Paul Walker’s Cause Of Death Revealed

Since the tragic death of Paul Walker many have speculated the initial cause of his death. Now it’s being reported that the L.A. County Coroner’s Office has completed their examination via dental records for both Walker, and his friend, Roger Rodas, who was driving the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.The L.A. County Coroner’s Office has released a statement in regards to the tragic crash that took the lives of actor Paul Walker, and his friend, Roger Rodas. Walker, 40, passed away due to a “combination of traumatic and thermal injuries.”
According to the statement, Walker did not die by the impact of the crash, and is believed to have been alive for a few seconds. It’s said that ultimately the fire caused by the impact was the cause of death. In the case of Roger Rodas, 38, the driver died on impact from severe injuries, and fire was not listed as a factor in his death.
It’s said that toxicology results will not be in for the two men until six to eight weeks, although the Medical Examiner has ruled that the deaths of Walker and his friend were accidental.
As for the event surrounding the accident, the two men were winding down after a charity event for Walker’s ROWW organization when they decided to take the red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT out for a test drive. According to Walker and Rodas’ mutual friend, Jim Torp, the two were not drag racing and were testing out a problem with the car that the two were trying to diagnose.
Shortly they left the garage, tragedy struck. According to Torp, smoke was visible from Always Evolving Performance Motors, which was the shop Rodas owned, and is around the corner from the crash site. Although many of their friends tried to get them out of the car, there was nothing that could be done. In addition, initial reports that said Walker’s 15-year-old daughter Meadow was on site at the time are false.

THE CELEBRATION

Lunar New Year

February 11, 2013

The celebration of the Lunar New Year is a phenomenon as global as various diaspora allows. Perhaps most well-known in the West as a Chinese celebration, the lunisolar calendar is observed in many more places than just that nation. That said, the Chinese observation is unique in that the holiday transforms the nation into a river of humanity, with a 40-day travel season that sees hundreds of millions of people board trains for home. Gathered here are images of preparations and celebrations in many parts of the world. 

FOR OVER 55 YEARS

2013 World Press Photo Contest Winners

February 15, 2013

For over 55 years, the World Press Photo contest has encouraged the highest standards in photojournalism. The contest is judged by leading experts in visual journalism who represent various aspects of the profession and the composition of the jury is changed from year to year. The prize-winning images are assembled into an exhibition that travels to 45 countries over the course of a year and over two million people go to a hundred different venues to see the images. The winners themselves uphold the foundation's simple mission statement: We exist to inspire understanding of the world through quality photojournalism.

GANDOLFO SOUTH OF ROME

Pope Benedict XVI's last general audience

February 27, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI appeared at his final weekly general audience today at St. Peter’s Square in front of an estimated 150,000 people recalling moments of "joy and light’’ as well as difficulty during his eight years as pontiff. Benedict, 85, said he decided to retire after realizing he didn’t have the "strength of mind or body" to carry on. Benedict meets tomorrow with cardinals for a final time before traveling to his retirement residence at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome. 

A WOMAN CELEBRATES

PAST 2013: Marking the New Year

A woman celebrates the new year as she watches fireworks exploding above Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 1. More than two million people gathered along Rio's most famous beach to witness the 20-minute display and celebrate the beginning of a new year.

HARBIN INTERNATIONAL

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2013

January 9, 2013

The opening ceremonies for this year's Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China were held earlier this week. The event, held since 1963, can last more than a month, depending on the weather, and attracts visitors from around the world who come to see the elaborate ice and snow sculptures.

OUR NATIONS PRESENCE

Afghanistan: January 2013

January 23, 2013

Our nation's presence in Afghanistan made its way back to the collective conscience last week when Afghan President Hamid Karzai appeared in a joint press conference with President Barack Obama. This post features a few images of daily life from late December and the first few weeks of January. Simple things - shelter, food - remain challenges for many of the Afghan people - displaced by years and years of conflict and war. 

NO COUNTRY IN HISTORY

China's Skies: Toxic levels of pollution

January 25, 2013

No country in history has become a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage. China is clearly not an exception. The speed and scale of China's rise has brought an unprecedented pollution problem. Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China's leading cause of death according to the Ministry of Health. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The factories and spewing automobile engines recently caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled in and around Beijing. Stores are selling out of face masks and the government struggles to figure out this political challenge and provide relief of the long-term burden on its people. 

A MAN DISPLAYS A MALIAN AND A FRENCH FLAG

Mali endures in conflict

Since The Big Picture last visited Mali, the country has slipped further toward chaos, with Islamist rebels taking large swaths of the north of the country. Attempts by rebels to move south toward the capital Bamako prompted the intervention of France, which has supplied troops and carried out airstrikes. Charges of summary killings and other atrocities by the Malian military have clouded perceptions of the conflict. West African nations are seeking aid from the United Nations for a regional force to help France and the Malian government push back against the rebels. The military force appears to be working, although it is uncertain if rebels have been defeated, have fled, or have simply blended in with civilian populations. Gathered here are images (mostly in the south, where photographers are able to work) of the daily lives of Malians, portraits of civilians, and pictures of the increasing military presence.

30 JANUARY 2013

Brazil nightclub fire

January 30, 2013

Families started burying their dead and protesters marched through the streets in the wake of the devastating Kiss nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, last weekend. A band's pyrotechnics show, which police said used flares meant for outdoors, has been blamed for setting the windowless building ablaze trapping many clubgoers inside as they fled through a single, overcrowded exit.