International

FIFA disbands racism task force

FIFA announced Sunday, Sept. 25, that it is removing its anti-racism task force after three years. The decision has received backlash from groups who believe there is more work to be done.

“The fight against racism is far from over and the notion that the current FIFA leadership believes that the ‘task force’s recommendations have been implemented’ is shameful,” said Prince Ali, FIFA vice president, to the Associated Press.

The task force was formed in 2013 by then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter. It was then directed by the vice president at the time, Jeffrey Webb, until he was arrested with other FIFA officials in 2015 on racketeering charges.

“The reality, as with many programs within FIFA, is that the task force was never given real support since its conception and its role was more about FIFA’s image than actually tackling the issues,” Prince Ali said to AP.

Many people are concerned with the disbandment of the task force as the 2018 World Cup in Russia approaches.

National

Sailor rescued week after boat sinks

Nathan Carman was rescued Sunday, Sept. 25, after spending a week on a life raft off the coast of Massachusetts.

Carman, 22, was sailing with his mom, Linda, last week when their boat began to swiftly sink. She is presumed dead, though a body has not been found.

Carman told the Coast Guard he did not see his mother when the boat began to take on water. He jumped on the life raft after gathering the food and water he could find. The Coast Guard did not receive a distress call, and it is unclear whether there was a radio on board.

Carman was found by a freighter boat that spotted his raft about 100 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. They are expected to dock Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts. He will be questioned by Coast Guard officials when he arrives so they have a better understanding of what happened.

“I was ecstatic, and then I found out Linda wasn’t with him, and I was terrified,” said Sharon Hartstein, a family friend of the Carmans.

Nathan has Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. He has been a subject of a missing persons case before, when he ran away from home at the age of 17.

Fire destroys local funeral home

Sparks and Reno firefighters responded Friday, Sept. 23, to a fire at Walton’s Funeral Home and Cremation Center located at the intersection of Oddie Boulevard and El Rancho Drive.

When firefighters arrived at the funeral home, they learned that everyone had made it safely out of the building, despite the rapidly spreading fire.

There were no injuries and only one civilian was checked by paramedics.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The building is now unusable due to the damage and the owners have not decided whether or not to rebuild their business, according to News 4.

There were two bodies inside the funeral home, but neither were harmed by the fire.

Madeline Purdue can be reached at mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @madelinepurdue.