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“New evidence” proves shipwreck off Rhode Island is Captain Cook’s Endeavour, museum says
The Australian National Maritime Museum released new details to support their 2022 claim that a shipwreck in Rhode Island’s Newport Harbor is that of the Endeavour, the iconic ship sailed by James Cook on his historic voyage around the world in the 1700s before being renamed the Lord Sandwich.
The initial claim, announced in Feb. 2022, said that evidence including structural details and the shape of the wreck led them to believe the shipwreck was that of the Lord Sandwich, which was deliberately sunk by British forces in 1778, during the Revolutionary War. At the time, there was some doubt about the identification, according to a news release from the Australian National Maritime Museum.
The museum said in the news release that it “has received no further dissenting responses to its decision,” and outlined ongoing research that has made its experts even more positive about the wreck’s identification. That “new evidence” includes the discovery of the shipwreck’s pump well and the discovery of a specific joint in the bow section of the wreck.
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Finding the pump well was a “significant turning point in the identification of the site,” according to the news release, because it was a “recognizable structural feature” that allowed maritime archaeologists at the museum to positively identify the midships section of the wreck. The archaeologists were able to look at archival plans from when the ship was built and confirm that the pump well’s location on those plans was “aligned perfectly” with where it was drawn on the plans.
The joint, known as a “keel-stem scarph,” was a “highly diagnostic feature” that was “critical to the identification of the wreck,” the museum said. First, it confirmed that the ship was of the correct dimensions, and it also provided “critical details” about the design and construction of the ship. The keel-stem scarph found on the wreck also was an “exact match” to the one detailed on the ship’s plans. Only one other wreck with a keel-stem scarph like this one has been found, the museum said, and that shipwreck is in Bermuda.
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“We consider this evidence further supports the museum’s announcement in February 2022 that the wreck site … is that of Lord Sandwich/HMB Endeavour,” said Daryl Karp, the director and CEO of the museum, in the news release.
From 1768 to 1771, the Endeavour sailed the South Pacific. Cook then continued sailing the region searching for the “Great Southern Land.” Local tribesmen killed Captain Cook in Hawaii on February 14, 1779.
A final archaeological report on the wreck’s identification will be released in 2024, the museum said.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.