Originally posted by Wikinews. Wikinews content appears under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license except where specified. As these articles are static snapshots of news items that may be later updated, they may not represent the latest or final revision of that article, and posted information may be only preliminary. Wikinews Shorts: August 15, 2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 15, 2016 Original URL: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_Shorts:_August_15,_2016 ==Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in ''Star Wars'', dies, 81== English actor Kenny Baker, aged 81, died on Saturday after a lengthy illness, at his home, according to relatives. He was known for playing R2-D2 in many of the ''Star Wars'' films, as well as his role as Fidgit in Terry Gilliam's ''Time Bandits''. '''Sources''' * http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37072736 * http://www.dailynews.com/obituaries/20160813/star-wars-actor-kenny-baker-know-for-r2-d2-role-dies-at-81 |pub=Los Angeles Daily News |date=August 13, 2016 }} ==Massive flooding in Louisiana== Record floods have broken out in parts of the US state of Louisiana. Officials said yesterday at least four have died in the event. Some motorists were stranded on Interstate 12 for more than a day. Ochsner's Baton Rouge medical center said they transferred around 40 patients elsewhere to "ensure ongoing continuity of care", many of the patients in critical condition. * http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/08/14/three-dead-7000-rescued-louisiana-flooding/88717370/ * http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/13/us/louisiana-flooding/ ==Four Olympic swimmers robbed in Brazil== Yesterday, in Rio de Janeiro, Olympic swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen, and Ryan Lochte were robbed at gunpoint by thieves posing as police officers, according to reports from the US Olympic Committee and the swimmers. By Lochte's account to NBC, after he initially refused to cooperate, one of the bandits put a gun to his head. The four men were reported safe, and authorities said they were investigating. * http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/sports/olympics/ryan-lochte-and-three-teammates-robbed-at-gunpoint.html?_r=0 * http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/14/sport/us-swimmers-ryan-lochte-robbed-rio-olympics/index.html .