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Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| Kate Middleton is the latest beauty to grace the cover of British Vogue, and she looks absolutely stunning doing so. In her first-ever magazine shoot, the Duchess of Cambridge is fittingly fronting “Vogue’s 100 Years,” which celebrates a century of covering all things fashion and celebrity. View photos WATCH: Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary to Kate Middleton and Prince William: A Look Back At Their Royal Marriage The royal beauty was photographed by Josh Olins in Norfolk, England, where she and her husband, Prince William, have a 10-bedroom country home, Anmer Hall. Her cover look is perfectly country chic, from the beautiful brown suede jacket paired and white button-down to her forest green wide-brimmed hat. View photos WATCH: Princess Charlotte and Prince George Are as Cute as Ever In New Royal Family Photo In a second photo revealed by the magazine, the 34-year-old mom-of-two is all smiles as she leans over a wooden fence in a simple red-and-back striped long-sleeve sweater, her hair falling naturally around her shoulders. View photos Vogue also revealed that two of the eight photographs from the upcoming June issue will be featured in the National Portrait Gallery’s #Vogue100: A Century of Style portrait series in London. The centenary issue hits stands May 5. Middleton will visit the National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday. NEWS: Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry Team Up in Mental Health PSA Middleton is well-known for having an incredible sense of fashion, so it’s only fitting that she’s helping honor Vogue’s major milestone. In fact, she showed off a series of gorgeous looks during her and Prince William’s royal trip to India and Bhutan earlier this month, including a beautiful orange gown on their last night in Bhutan. Get a good look at the dress in the video below. Related Articles \|\|\|\|\| Princess Kate Covers Vogue! See the Radiant Photos Josh Olins In what they describe as a "landmark" photoshoot, British Vogue has unveiled portraits of Princess Kate , for the magazine's centenary issue, and several of the photos will be displayed in the National Portrait Gallery starting this weekend.The shoot, by photographer Josh Olins and set in Norfolk's English countryside, features Kate in "casual clothes rather than adopting a more formal approach," the magazine said in a statement.Two of Olins' portraits will be on display at the gallery, in the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibit, beginning Sunday. Kate, 34, has been the patron of the gallery since 2012, soon after her wedding to Prince William "Josh has captured the Duchess exactly as she is – full of life, with a great sense of humor, thoughtful and intelligent, and in fact, very beautiful," Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said in a press release.British Vogue's editor-in-chief, Alexandra Shulman, said this project had been one of her "greatest ambitions for the magazine.""I'm delighted the Duchess agreed to work with us and the National Portrait Gallery, and as a result of this unique collaboration we have a true celebration of our centenary as well as a fitting tribute to a young woman whose interest in both photography and the countryside is well known," Shulman said in the release.Kate shared that delight, a spokesperson said in the release: "The Duchess was delighted to play a part in celebrating the centenary of an institution that has given a platform to some of the most renowned photographers in this country's history. "She is incredibly grateful to the team at Vogue and at the National Portrait Gallery for asking her to take part. She would like to thank Josh Olins for being such a pleasure to work with. The Duchess had never taken part in a photography shoot like this before." Josh Olins Kate will get a chance to see the portraits first-hand when she visits the National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday.The full shoot will also be available in June's centenary issue of British Vogue, on sale Thursday, May 5. \|\|\|\|\| The British edition of Vogue celebrated its centenary issue with something of a royal coup Saturday, revealing it had landed the Duchess of Cambridge’s first-ever magazine cover shoot. The magazine’s June issues features seven new photographs of the 34-year-old royal taken by British photographer Josh Olins in January in the Norfolk countryside where the Cambridges live. The striking pictures are the result of a unique collaboration between the magazine and Britain’s National Portrait Gallery, which will display two of the portraits in its exhibition Vogue 100: A Century of Style. A keen photographer herself, the duchess is patron of the National Portrait Gallery and will view the exhibition on Wednesday. By choosing British Vogue for her first-ever cover Kate is following in famous footsteps. Princess Diana famously graced the cover of the magazine four times. Her final cover, taken by photographer Patrick Demarchelier, was in 1997, the year of her death. Another Vogue cover shot of the late princess in black and white and wearing a tiara, also taken by Demarchelier, features in the National Portrait Gallery exhibition as well. Kate’s cover shoot is set to be equally memorable. Styled by one of the magazine’s senior style directors Lucinda Chambers, Olins’s shoot captured the duchess at her most natural. Smiling radiantly and with minimal makeup, she looks entirely at ease in the Norfolk countryside. “This was the duchess’s first sitting for a magazine and she was a joy to work with, a natural,” said Olins, who was chosen by the magazine, the National Portrait Gallery, and Kensington Palace. The British-born, New York-based photographer works regularly for Vogue and has shot campaigns for leading fashion houses including Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton. A source at the magazine said that Kate worked closely with the editor and style director on the shoot eschewing glamour for country chic when it came to the wardrobe. On the cover she is seen wearing a Burberry trench coat and a £293 white jacquard shirt by the same fashion house. The fetching green hat, provided by the fashion team, is by vintage store Beyond Retro. In another of the series of pictures Kate is photographed resting against a wooden gate in front of a stone farm building in a pair of Burberry £695 stretch boot cut trousers and a £35 striped black and red jersey top by Petit Bateau. The picture was the last to be taken during the day. According to Alexandra Shulman, the magazine’s editor in chief, who was on the shoot: “The Duchess watched how Josh worked with the light and asked a lot of questions. It was her choice to shoot that picture where she is leaning over the gate because the late afternoon sun was particularly beautiful.” In the picture the couple’s Landrover Defender can just be seen. While William’s security team drives a fleet of luxury Discovery Landrovers the Duchess prefers to drive around in the less-conspicuous Defender. Shulman said that the shoot took place all day, “in a field somewhere down several tracks. There were some farm buildings available for the crew and to use as a dressing room. We were very lucky with the weather and had bright sun for most of the time.” According to a spokesman at Kensington Palace, Wednesday will be “the first time” Kate has seen the images suggesting she did not have final approval over the portfolio of images which do not appear to have been heavily airbrushed. \|\|\|\|\| And for the first time the Duchess, 34, allowed a professional make-up artist to prepare her for the photographer, giving her a fresher, more youthful look. Vogue hired make-up artist Sally Branka, who persuaded the Duchess to do without her usual black eyeliner and heavy blusher, with striking results. The pictures were taken by Josh Olins, one of the world’s leading fashion photographers, in a collaboration between British Vogue and the National Portrait Gallery. Two of Mr Olins’ pictures will hang in the Gallery from today as part of the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition, and seven images, including the cover, will appear in the June issue of the magazine. The Duchess, who is Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, will see the exhibition for herself on Wednesday on an official visit to the Gallery. She is the most senior member of the Royal family to appear on the cover of the magazine since Princess Diana, who featured on four covers, including a posthumous appearance in October 1997. \|\|\|\|\| Those chubby little cheeks! Princess Charlotte is set to celebrate her first birthday on Monday, May 2, and the tiny royal will have a premiere photographer on hand to capture the monumental day: her mom, the Duchess of Cambridge. In a series of newly released photographs of Charlotte, taken by Kate, 34, Kensington Palace’s youngest resident proves that she’s grown up a lot over the last year. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge "The duke and duchess are very happy to be able to share these important family moments and hope that everyone enjoys these lovely photos as much as they do," the palace tells Us in a statement. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge The fashionable tot wears two different tiny knit cardigans in the photos — one cream and one pink — over matching baby blue and baby pink dresses and tights by Amaia, a Spanish clothing line for kids. She even wears a little bow in her carefully brushed hair. In one image, she shows off her large doe eyes as she scrambles over a wicker chair; two others show the tot standing upright and smiling excitedly while doing it. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge One photo, taken in the garden, has the family dog, Lupo, playing on the grass in the background as she pushes along a handmade baby walker full of colorful blocks, retailing at £49 from the Toy Centre in Oxfordshire. The images were all taken by the duchess at the royal couple's Anmer home in Norfolk. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Last month, it was Charlotte’s older brother, Prince George, who was getting all the attention after he greeted President Barack and Michelle Obama in a monogrammed bathrobe during their visit to the palace. His $39 personalized bathrobe, from online retailer My 1st Years, sold out within minutes of the photos being released. Can't get enough of Us? Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter packed with the latest celeb news, hot pics and more!	– Vanity Fair calls it "something of a royal coup": The 100th anniversary edition of the British version of Vogue is graced by none other than Kate Middleton on its cover, in what is the royal's fashion editorial debut. (Princess Diana covered the magazine four times.) British photographer Josh Olins took the seven photographs included in the issue in the Norfolk countryside in January; at Kate's request, the images are what Vanity Fair calls "country chic" rather than high glamour. Indeed, Yahoo describes the cover shot as "perfectly country chic, from the beautiful brown suede jacket paired and white button-down to her forest green wide-brimmed hat." In another image, she's clad in a $1,015 pair of Burberry trousers and a $50 red- and black-striped top. The Telegraph notes the shoot marked the first time that a professional make-up artist did Kate's makeup before she was photographed, and says Sally Branka "persuaded the Duchess to do without her usual black eyeliner and heavy blusher, with striking results." People reports British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman called the images "a fitting tribute to a young woman whose interest in both photography and the countryside is well known." Indeed, four new photos of Princess Charlotte have been released in advance of her first birthday on Monday; the photographer: Kate, reports Us Weekly.
The EU has got its priorities wrong, billionaire investor George Soros said, as he called on Europe to provide financial assistance to Ukraine. It was a “terrible, terrible mistake” not to, he claimed, and urged Europe to “wake up”. The veteran financier, who has warned against allowing Russia to divide and dominate, said: “What Europe needs to do is to support Ukraine. For that it needs to do two things. “The first is to make a political decision that it’s important to help Ukraine and Europe will do whatever it takes to help Ukraine, subject to not violating the ceasefire and not getting involved in a direct military confirmation. “Secondly, Europe has to establish a source of funds. It doesn’t mean a blank cheque.” Asked on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme if the EU had got its priorities wrong, he replied: “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. “This is a terrible, terrible mistake on the part of Europe. That is why Europe needs to wake up. “It is, in fact, much more serious than people are aware of, there is much at stake in the survival of the EU itself.” Asked what the original authors of the EU would have made of the current situation in Europe, he said: “They would be as sad as I am. “I’m a firm believer in the EU as it was originally meant to be. I considered it an embodiment of the open society idea to which my foundations are devoted.” PA \|\|\|\|\| George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management, speaks during the session 'Recharging Europe' in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 23, 2015. VIENNA George Soros is ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if Western countries help private investment there, and sees a 1 in 3 chance Greece will leave the euro, the billionaire financier told Austrian newspaper Der Standard. Soros has previously urged the West to step up aid to Ukraine, outlining steps toward a $50 billion financing package that he said should be viewed as a bulwark against an increasingly aggressive Russia. "The West can help Ukraine by increasing attractiveness for investors. A political risk insurance is necessary. This could take the form of mezzanine financing at EU interest rates - very close to zero," he said in an interview published on Monday. "I stand ready. There are concrete investment ideas, for example in agriculture and infrastructure projects. I would put in $1 billion. This must generate a profit. My foundation would benefit from this ... Private engagement needs strong political leadership." The Hungarian-born hedge fund magnate, who made his name betting against the pound in 1992, also put the chance of Greece leaving the euro zone at a third. Last week he put it at 50:50. Michael Vachon, spokesman for Soros, said on Monday in a statement: "Soros said he would consider investments in Ukraine if Western leaders demonstrated that they were prepared to 'do whatever it takes' to save Ukraine, including providing adequate budgetary support and political risk insurance. "Under those conditions, Soros said he would review investments in the energy, agriculture and information technology sectors." (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Catherine Evans) \|\|\|\|\| said Monday he was ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if the West promised to help the embattled country. "Ukraine is defending the EU from Russian aggression" and helping its development will weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Hungarian-born philanthropist said in remarks published in German by the Austrian business daily Der Standard. He said Ukraine needed 50 billion euros to get itself back on its feet, and said he was prepared to pump $1 billion (922 million euros) into agriculture and infrastructural projects. Ukraine is at the edge of bankruptcy hit by the triple whammy of the war in its industrial east, a deep economic recession and the record devaluation of its currency. Its public debt likely to reach 94 percent of its GDP in 2015. Soros said his investments "should make a profit ", which would go to his foundation rather than him personally. "The West can help Ukraine by making it more attractive to investors by giving them insurance against political risk," he said. "That could take the form of financing very close to the European interest rates, which are very close to zero." Ukrainian investment analysts ICU only predict a return to growth in 2017, and a sharp drop in GDP of 7.6 percent this year. VIENNA:	– It's time for the West to push for more private investment in the Ukraine, says billionaire George Soros, and he's ready to put his money where his mouth is. "The West can help Ukraine by increasing attractiveness for investors. A political risk insurance is necessary," Soros told Austria's Der Standard, as per Reuters. "Concrete investment ideas," he says, include those in "agriculture and infrastructure projects. I would put in $1 billion. This must generate a profit. My foundation would benefit from this. ... Private engagement needs strong political leadership." Ukraine, he says, needs about $54 billion, the Economic Times reports; Soros says the financing could be conducted at interest rates near zero, and it would help weaken Vladimir Putin. The Economic Times notes that between war, a currency devaluation, and a powerful recession, Ukraine could be approaching bankruptcy. The EU's lack of support for Ukraine, Soros recently told BBC radio, has been a "terrible, terrible mistake," the Irish Times reports. "I'm a firm believer in the EU as it was originally meant to be. I considered it an embodiment of the open society idea to which my foundations are devoted."
PLAINFIELD (WTHR) - A deadly bite may be to blame for a Central Indiana toddler going from perfectly healthy to dangerously sick, in just one week. That two-year-old girl from Plainfield died Sunday. Her family suspects she was infected with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever after getting bitten by a tick. "She was the light of their life,” said family friend Monica Kirby. Kenley Ratliff spent most of her young life wearing a huge smile and sharing a bright presence. But she spent her final days covered in tubes, in and out of the hospital. She went from healthy to dangerously sick in a week. "Yes, within less than like five days,” Kirby said. "Her little body couldn't handle it." Family members suspect the two-year-old died from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It's a rare, tick-borne illness that's on the rise in Indiana. The Indiana Department of Health reports 30 cases in 2015 and 40 in 2016. If not treated right away with antibiotics, there is a high death rate associated with the disease. Testing will confirm if that's what killed Kenley early Sunday morning at Riley Hospital. Family says that will take two weeks. "it's unimaginable. Words can't express what they're going through right now,” Kirby said. Grieving family asked Kirby to speak on their behalf, to warn about the illness that seemingly, suddenly took their daughter. They say she'd gone camping recently and then the sickness started. "Strep throat is what she initially tested positive for. Then she goes home and gets a nearly 104 degree fever. And they just couldn't break it,” Kirby said. "They're wanting to raise awareness for others, so this doesn't happen to them." "I've gotten more phone calls this year about ticks than I have the last two or three years,” said Jim Erwin, biologist with the Marion County Health Department. “Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever could start with a fever. It could be a rash. There are other flu-like symptoms associated with it. It can be very dangerous, for sure.” Experts say this could be an especially dangerous year for ticks in Indiana and across the Midwest. A warmer winter likely impacted the tick population, which can carry Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. They say families, especially children, need to take precautions when outdoors. "You'd use a product with DEET in it. It would be a repellent. You'd want to make sure you spray your pant leg, down low, because that's where the ticks are. They're going to be in the grasses, especially higher grasses, maybe knee-high,” Erwin explained. He says the spray should contain 20 to 30 percent DEET for proper protection. He also says you should treat your yard, to act as a barrier between your home and wooded or high-grass areas. It’s all to protect against a deadly bite that may have taken the life of this Indiana toddler. "They loved her more than life itself...and just...it's like she was an angel here on earth,” Kirby said. A fund has been set up to help the family pay for medical expenses. Click here for tips to protect yourself and your kids from tick bites. \|\|\|\|\| A virus carried by ticks is spreading, and could become a major public health concern. A virus carried by ticks is spreading, and could become a major public health concern. New tick-borne virus worse than Lyme may be spreading New tick-borne virus worse than Lyme may be spreading The family wants to get the message out to other families that they should always check for ticks. (Source: Kayla Conn/WISH/CNN) INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/CNN) – Friends and family of a 2-year-old in Indiana who died of what doctors believe was a tick-borne disease want to make sure other families always check for ticks. Kenley Ratliff, 2, died Saturday after she had been at the hospital for several days following a high fever that wouldn’t go down. Doctors had been treating the little girl for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a tick-borne disease which causes a bacterial infection. The 2-year-old had a brain infection, swollen hands and rashes all over her body. "She had purple rashes, splotches all over her body in an ununiform pattern, just all over, little tiny purple spots, big purple patches,” family friend Nichol Kirby said. Kenley was admitted to the hospital Tuesday after her high fever didn’t break. She was given an antibiotic and placed on a breathing tube while doctors tried to diagnose her, Kirby says. "Just the condition of this poor baby laying there the way she was, it's a mother's nightmare, a father's nightmare,” Kirby said. Before being admitted to the hospital, the 2-year-old was taken to the emergency room twice for strep throat then released. Kirby says the doctors were treating what they finally diagnosed as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever as best they could. "Her mother and father cannot believe that she is gone, that their baby girl is gone now,” Kirby said. Kenley loved spending time outdoors with her family, Kirby says. If she was bitten by a tick, the family is not sure where it may have happened. Kirby says Kenley’s mother just wants to get the message out there to other families to always check for ticks. "She would be devastated to see this happen to anyone else, and I think she would just want everyone to know how much she loved her baby girl. That was her angel,” Kirby said. The family is currently waiting for autopsy results to confirm if it was a tick bite that caused the 2-year-old’s death. Copyright 2017 WISH, Kayla Conn via CNN. All rights reserved. \|\|\|\|\| Early signs and symptoms are not specific to RMSF (including fever and headache). However, the disease can rapidly progress to a serious and life-threatening illness. See your health care provider if you become ill after having been bitten by a tick or having been in the woods or in areas with high brush where ticks commonly live. Signs and symptoms can include: Fever Headache Rash Nausea Vomiting Stomach pain Muscle pain Lack of appetite Rash Figure 1. Late stage rash in a patient with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Rash is a common sign in people who are sick with RMSF. Rash usually develops 2-4 days after fever begins. The look of the rash can vary widely over the course of illness. Some rashes can look like red splotches and some look like pinpoint dots. While almost all patients with RMSF will develop a rash, it often does not appear early in illness, which can make RMSF difficult to diagnose. Long-term Health Problems RMSF does not result in chronic or persistent infections. Some patients who recover from severe RMSF may be left with permanent damage, including amputation of arms, legs, fingers, or toes (from damage to blood vessels in these areas); hearing loss; paralysis; or mental disability. Any permanent damage is caused by the acute illness and does not result from a chronic infection.	– A grieving family in Indiana wants a little girl's death to raise awareness of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which, despite the name, has been found in almost every state and has killed people a long way from the Rocky Mountains. Doctors believe the tick-borne illness caused the death of 2-year-old Kenley Ratliff, who died in Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis on Saturday, just days after becoming ill, WTOL reports. She had a brain infection, swollen hands, and, in what the CDC says is one of the most common early symptoms of the illness in children, rashes all over her body. Kenley went from healthy to dangerously ill in less than a week, family friend Monica Kirby tells WTHR. "Her little body couldn't handle it." Kirby says the toddler became ill after a family camping trip. "Strep throat is what she initially tested positive for," she says. "Then she goes home and gets a nearly 104-degree fever. And they just couldn't break it." Tests are expected to confirm within two weeks whether Kenley died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Experts warn there could be more cases than usual this year because of a surge in the tick population caused by the warmer winter. Biologists say people should use a repellent containing DEET, taking care to spray their lower legs because ticks live in long grasses. (In Oregon, a toddler was temporarily paralyzed after a tick bite.)
President Trump took to Twitter Tuesday with a cryptic missive about authors who write about him even though they “know nothing” about their subject, but he may not have been simply referring to his old campaign rival. “Fascinating to watch people writing books and major articles about me and yet they know nothing about me & have zero access," Trump tweeted. "FAKE NEWS!” Hillary Clinton’s widely publicized “What Happened” was released on Tuesday, but closer analysis shows Trump probably wasn’t only referring to her when he sent his book-bashing tweet. NBC News reporter Katy Tur, who also released a book on Tuesday, titled, “Unbelievable: My front-row seat to the craziest campaign in American history,” is just as likely a target of the commander-in-chief's latest 140-word broadside. Tur was embedded with the Trump campaign throughout 2016 and it’s safe to assume the president wasn’t her biggest fan. He specifically called her out during numerous rallies, referring to her as “little Katy” and a “third-rate reporter.” Trump appeared to enjoy targeting Tur as an example of what he considered biased media and "fake news." “At first he was very charming and when he realized that his charm wasn’t going to change my reporting, he would go on the attack, but he switched back and forth like that throughout the entire campaign." - Katy Tur Tur’s new book details her time on the campaign trail, including being reprimanded by then-campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks and then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski for a perceived lack of respect during an interview with Trump. Tur also claims that a Trump aide told her, off the record, that ‘Mr. Trump wants you to go f--- yourself.’” Clinton’s book is also packed with disparaging stories about the president, but Tur’s is more likely to be what Trump was talking about when he wrote “FAKE NEWS” in the early morning tweet. In an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show to promote her book, Tur took more shots at Trump. She reminded viewers that most political watchdogs considered a reality TV star running for president “hilarious” and said that he has “mood swings,” characterizations sure to rankle Trump. “At first he was very charming and when he realized that his charm wasn’t going to change my reporting, he would go on the attack, but he switched back and forth like that throughout the entire campaign,” Tur told Matt Lauer. At campaign rallies, Tur said, Trump would fire up crowds by mocking the media in ways she feared could inspire a supporter to act on. She also told Lauer that it was “jarring” and “scary” when Trump singled her out at campaign rallies. “It was one of those feelings that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake,” said Tur said, who was long linked romantically to GQ web host Keith Olbermann, one of Trump's most vocal critics in the media. Tur also appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday, although the president has proclaimed he doesn’t watch his former allies anymore. Axios recently reported that he “hate” watches the program on occasion – so perhaps he was tuned in when the NBC News correspondent implied Trump tried to intimidate her with his campaign rhetoric. Or when she basically called him a liar. “He did not tell the truth on the campaign,” Tur told the MSNBC morning show. \|\|\|\|\| PROLOGUE __________________________________________________________________________ Trump Victory Party New York Hilton Midtown 10:59 p.m., Election Day I’m about to throw up. I’m standing on the press riser at Donald Trump’s New York City Election Night headquarters. Fox News is playing on two big-screen televisions, framing a stage covered with American flags and punctuated by two glass cases, each containing a make america great again hat. At the center, there’s an empty podium gathering historical significance by the second. “We have a big call to make right now,” says Megyn Kelly, on the screen alongside Bret Baier. As the clock strikes 11 p.m., the Fox camera pans across the studio to a jumbotron to reveal an oversized yellow check mark next to Donald Trump’s grinning portrait and a picture of the state of Florida. Trump has just won it, along with all twenty-nine of its electoral votes. The ballroom crowd of staffers, super supporters, and volunteers goes absolutely wild. The journalists in the room fall silent. If the future is a blank sheet of paper, this news rips it in two. My phone vibrates. And vibrates again. It doesn’t stop. “Holy shit, you called it!” flashes a text from a friend who had been insisting, like nearly all the polls on Planet Earth, that Hillary was a lock. I pick up my phone and check the New York Timeselection forecast. After predicting a Clinton victory for months, it has flipped. Trump has a 95[i] percent chance of winning the election, it says. Only two hours ago, Hillary Clinton had an 85 percent chance. Holy shit. I did call it. In the seventeen months before now, I visited more than forty states, filing more than thirty-eight hundred live TV reports. I did all that as the Trump correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, and I did it with one audience in mind: the American voter. My goal was to explain what Trump believed in and how he would govern if elected. The job came with all the usual hardships of the campaign trail plus a few new ones, such as death threats and a gazillion loops of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” a staple of Trump’s campaign rallies. I am proud of the work I’ve done but also quite ready for it to be over, thank you very much. Ali Vitali weaves her way over to me on the crowded riser. She’s been NBC’s Trump embed since early on, a job that means not only attending virtually every campaign event, but also recording it for posterity. “Katy!” she says, with desperation in her voice. I am not prepared for the news she’s about to deliver. “Katy!” she says again. “He’s going to keep doing rallies.” At first I don’t understand her. He’s going to be president—why would he keep doing campaign rallies? “Trump,” Ali says. “He’s already planning victory rallies.” My head is a helium balloon. Breathe. The panic mounts. More rallies? I am nearly falling over. More taunting crowds, more around-the-clock live shots, more airports, more earsplitting Pavarotti . . . I can’t. I just can’t. The room goes wavy. My stomach churns. Lights flash in my eyes. I’m never going on vacation. I’m never seeing my friends. I’m never getting my bed back. My brutal, crazy, exasperating year with Trump is going to end—by not ending at all. Trump will be president. The most powerful person in the world. And I will be locked in a press pen for the rest of my life. Does anyone really believe he’ll respect term limits? I have a vision of myself at sixty, Trump at a hundred, in some midwestern convention hall. The children of his 2016 supporters are spitting on me, and he is calling my name: “She’s back there, Little Katy! She’s back there.” Anthony Terrell, my producer, taps me on the shoulder. “They want you,” he says. I put in my earpiece and hear Brian Williams and Rachel Maddow digesting the news. In seconds, I’ll be live in millions of homes. I can feel the bile in the back of my throat, but before I can swallow, I hear Brian building to a toss. “Katy Tur is just up the block from us after a 510-day Trump campaign,” he says. “What are you learning from there?” Well, I’ve learned that Trump insists that he has “the world’s greatest memory,” but his vision of the future got him this far. I’ve learned that Trump has his own version of reality, which is a polite way of saying he can’t always be trusted. He also brings his own sense of political decorum. I’ve heard him insult a war hero, brag about grabbing women by the pussy, denigrate the judicial system, demonize immigrants, fight with the pope, doubt the democratic process, advocate torture and war crimes, tout the size of his junk in a presidential debate, trash the media, and endanger my life. I’ve learned that none of this matters to an Electoral College majority of American voters. They’ve decided that this menacing, indecent, post-truth landscape is where they want to live for the next four years. Look, I get it. You can’t tell a joke without worrying you’ll lose your job. Your twenty-something can’t find work. Your town is boarded up. Patriotism gets called racism. Your food is full of chemicals. Your body is full of pills. You call tech support and reach someone in India. Bills are spiking but your paycheck is not. And you can’t send your kid to school with peanut butter. On top of it all, no one seems to care. You feel like you’re screaming at the top of your lungs in a room full of people wearing earplugs. I get it. What I don’t get are the little old ladies in powder-pink Trump hats calling me a liar. I don’t get the men in hillary sucks—but not like monica T-shirts. I don’t get why protesting a broken political system also means you need to protest the very notion of objective truth. Because of Trump’s war on the media, networks have required a traveling security detail except for Fox News (which hasn’t been as demonized) and CBS (whose main correspondent is a guy who looks like he might be named Major—and is). A couple of weeks ago an advance staffer at a rally told me not to worry. “Save for Trump,” he said, “you’re the most watched person in the room. The Secret Service always has eyes on you.” I worry. I also know enough not to mention it. “The Trump campaign is feeling really good,” I tell Brian, detailing what my sources are describing as the crazy, jubilant behavior inside Trump Tower at the moment. Trump himself has supposedly left. “He is upstairs spending some time with his family as the prospect of him becoming”—smallest of pauses—”president of the United States is suddenly a little more real than it was even earlier today.” I make it through the hit and the nausea passes. I have work to do, and nobody cares how tired I am. But that wave of whoa lingers. It is unbelievable, I think. All of it. Utterly. Inescapably. Completely. Unbelievable. *** I’m writing these words on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, seventy-seven days and at least seventy-seven thousand think pieces after Election Night. I’ve read countless articles about the 2016 election. Some have been insightful. Some have been absurd. As the very first national TV news reporter to cover the Trump juggernaut, I was there from the beginning—covering it every day for nearly two years, until the shocking end—and I’ve reached just one conclusion. Actually, two conclusions. First, no one can make perfect sense of it. Second, I’m smart enough not to try. The Trump campaign was the most unlikely, exciting, ugly, trying, and all-around bizarre campaign in American history. It roiled America and with it, my little life. I won’t pretend to explain it. I will tell you what I saw. From UNBELIEVABLE: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History, by Katy Tur, published by Dey Street. Copyright © 2017 by Katy Tur. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollinsPublishers https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062684929/unbelievable \|\|\|\|\| Fascinating to watch people writing books and major articles about me and yet they know nothing about me & have zero access. # FAKE NEWS! \|\|\|\|\| “Fascinating to watch people writing books and major articles about me and yet they know nothing about me & have zero access. #FAKE NEWS!” the president wrote on Twitter. \| Chris Kleponis/Getty Images Trump: Some people who write about me 'know nothing about me & have zero access' President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday morning at authors who write about him, posting on Twitter that their books and articles amount to “fake news” because “they know nothing about me.” “Fascinating to watch people writing books and major articles about me and yet they know nothing about me & have zero access. #FAKE NEWS!” the president wrote on Twitter. Story Continued Below Trump did not make clear which authors, books or articles he was referring to, although he has been a regular critic of the news media, which he has often complained cover him unfairly. The president’s tweet coincided with the release of two prominent books related to the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton’s campaign memoir, titled “What Happened,” and NBC political reporter Katy Tur’s “Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History.” Trump has sparred in the past with Tur, whom he has characterized as a “third-rate journalist” and singled out by name at rallies, sparking the ire of attendees. The president has referred diminutively to Tur as “little Katy,” and at a July 2016 news conference, he told her to “be quiet” as she sought to ask a follow-up question about his invitation to the Russian government to find emails deleted from the personal email server Clinton maintained as secretary of state. The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.	– "Fascinating to watch people writing books and major articles about me and yet they know nothing about me & have zero access. #FAKE NEWS!" President Trump tweeted Tuesday. But who was the target of the president's online ire? Politico notes Hillary Clinton is a possibility, having released her new book, What Happened, on Tuesday. But Fox News believes there's a likelier candidate: NBC political reporter Katy Tur, who also released a new book, Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History, on Tuesday. To mark the occasion, Tur gave interviews on NBC's Today and MSNBC's Morning Joe, where it's entirely possible the morning-show-loving Trump saw her. Tur spent 2016 traveling with the Trump campaign, and the president "wasn't her biggest fan," in the words of Fox News. He called her "little Katy" and a "third-rate reporter." And Tur claims a Trump aide told her off the record that "Mr. Trump wants you to go f--- yourself." So what in Tur's new book could have set off the president? MSNBC has an excerpt: "I've learned that Trump has his own version of reality, which is a polite way of saying he can't always be trusted. He also brings his own sense of political decorum. I've heard him insult a war hero, brag about grabbing women by the pussy, denigrate the judicial system, demonize immigrants, fight with the pope, doubt the democratic process, advocate torture and war crimes, tout the size of his junk in a presidential debate, trash the media, and endanger my life."
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Surprise! U2 just put out a new album, and the renowned rock band is giving it away for free to iTunes users. This CD cover image released by Interscope Records shows "Songs of Innocence," by U2. U2 is putting out a new album in 2014, and the renowned rock band is giving it away for free to iTunes users. U2 made... (Associated Press) Apple CEO Tim Cook, left, greets Bono from the band U2 after they preformed at the end of the Apple event on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, in Cupertino, Calif. Apple unveiled a new Apple Watch, the iPhone 6... (Associated Press) U2 made the unexpected announcement Tuesday at Apple's unveiling event in Cupertino, California. All customers with iTunes accounts could download the 11-song "Songs of Innocence" for free Tuesday afternoon. There was much speculation over whether the band would release an album earlier this year when news leaked about the band potentially postponing the highly anticipated new LP's release to 2015. The Irish band played at Apple's event and CEO Tim Cook announced the new album would be given to the company's 500 million iTunes users. A news release says the album will be released to everyone else Oct. 14. Surprise albums are unusual and free albums even more so, but there are recent examples of both. Beyonce dropped her self-titled LP as a surprise on iTunes in December and it became one of the top-selling albums of 2014. Others, like Kid Cudi and Wolfmother, released surprise albums this year to little notice. Tom Petty gave away his new album with the Heartbreakers for free with purchase of a concert ticket. A news release says "Songs of Innocence" is an exploration of U2's influences from the 1970s and '80s with themes of "home and family, relationships and discovery." The album is produced by Danger Mouse with Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood. \|\|\|\|\| U2 — from left, Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and The Edge — gave half a billion iTunes users the band's 13th studio album, 'Songs of Innocence,' on Tuesday. (Photo: Interscope Records) The Apple Watch may be the game-changer that emerged Tuesday from the company's product reveal, but U2's new album made for a nice surprise, like the prize in the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. This year has seen pop music's royalty clamber to outdo each other when introducing new music — surprise albums from David Bowie and Beyoncé, a new digital-music service from Garth Brooks — but U2 may have topped them all by gifting Songs of Innocence (*** out of four) to a half-billion iTunes users. RELATED: U2 drops new album for free – now – on iTunes With this deal, U2 achieved instant near-total market penetration for Songs of Innocence. There's no going to YouTube to check out the lyric video, no waiting to hear it on the radio. Anybody with an iTunes account should have it by now, or will the next time they sign in. (Those who aren't on iTunes can buy it in stores Oct. 14.) The method of distribution will dominate the initial chatter about the album, but once people have had a chance to listen to Songs of Innocence a few times and digest it, they'll discover a substantive album that harks back to the band's earliest days, musically and lyrically. On the album's lead track, The Miracle (of Joey Ramone), Bono sings, against a backdrop of impossibly distorted guitar, of hearing The Ramones for the first time: "I woke up at the moment when the miracle occurred/ Heard a song that made some sense out of the world/ Everything I ever lost now has been returned/ In the most beautiful sound I ever heard." Songs of Innocence may not provide that miracle moment for many. It lacks a transcendent Beautiful Day or an instant ear-grabber like Vertigo. But fans who cherish early albums such as Boy, October and War may hear traces of a band they thought had been long taken over by the stadium act of the past 20 years. The cover of U2's 'Songs of Innocence,' gifted to iTunes users Tuesday. (Photo: Interscope Records) "You can't return to where you've never left," Bono sings in the hometown ode Cedarwood Road. Likewise, those first albums have stayed with the band, shaping the sound of Songs of Innocence, even with the involvement of Danger Mouse, Ryan Tedder, Paul Epworth and others. Bono internalizes a mother's wisdom in Iris (Hold Me Close). "I've got your life inside of me," he sings to the woman who died when he was 14. He taps into his mystical side in Song for Someone and California (There Is No End to Love), in which he sings, "All I know, and all I need to know, is there is no end to love." Lyrics like that — or Cedarwood Road's "A heart that is broken is a heart that is open" — make Songs of Innocence an apt title for U2's 13th studio album. Some might argue that those lines are simply naive, but they're not. They come from a place that has seen too much, that is too hard won. Returning to that place of innocence is a conscious choice, and it's the place where this album finds its strength. Key tracks: The Miracle (of Joey Ramone), California (There Is No End to Love), Song for Someone Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1opBcLu \|\|\|\|\| Memories are a blast on “Songs of Innocence,” the album that U2 released on Tuesday afternoon as a worldwide giveaway. With a title that echoes William Blake, the album is a blast of discoveries, hopes, losses, fears and newfound resolve in lyrics that are openly autobiographical. It’s also a blast of unapologetic arena rock and cathedral-scale production, equally gigantic and detailed, in the music that carries them. The immediate news was that “Songs of Innocence” (Interscope) can be downloaded free until Oct. 13 by everyone with an iTunes Store account: That’s half a billion people in 119 countries. (Physical and digital versions of the album go on sale Oct. 14.) The giveaway is a dream scenario for U2, a band that has always wanted everyone to feel its choruses and sing along. Apple has made distribution the easy part; the bigger challenge for U2 is to make people care about a new statement from a familiar band. During its five years between albums, U2, which released its first recording in 1979, publicly pondered how to stay relevant. Its solution, on “Songs of Innocence,” is to reimagine young, retrospectively innocent selves and recall what fired them up: family, neighbors, lovers, street action and, of course, music. Liner notes by Bono, the band’s lead singer and main lyricist, fill in many of the back stories, describing the songs as “first journeys.”	– Bigger iPhones and a high-tech watch were ostensibly the stars of yesterday's much-hyped Apple event, but a few other luminaries showed up to grace the stage in Cupertino, Calif. U2 made a surprise appearance and unexpectedly announced that a) it has a new album out, and b) all 500 million iTunes users can download Songs of Innocence for free, the AP reports. The band made the announcement about the 11-song album along with Apple CEO Tim Cook, noting that non-iTunes users will have to wait until Oct. 14. According to Forbes, Bono and gang first played a new song called "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)." Then Cook started bantering with the group's frontman, exclaiming, "Wasn't that the most incredible single you ever heard? We would love a whole album of that." Bono replied, "I do believe you have over half a billion subscribers to iTunes, so—could you get this to them?" Cook's response: "If we gave it away for free." Some say U2 allowed itself to get upstaged by the Apple extravaganza—Vulture notes that the combo gadget/album release was "not so cool." The band's 13th studio album (and the first in five years) is getting mixed reviews: Jon Pareles of the New York Times calls the album a "blast of unapologetic arena rock and cathedral-scale production," while Brian Mansfield writes for USA Today that it "may not provide that miracle moment for many."
Prince toyed with the idea of releasing an entire album under his alter ego, Camille, which was the identity he attributed to the “pitch-shifted vocals” that, for lack of a better description, made his voice sound girly. So, it’s kind of odd that he outright rejected Jean Paul Gaultier’s costume designs for the Ruby Rhod character in The Fifth Element — in which he was originally cast — on the basis that they were “too effeminate.” Via io9: I showed him my drawings, but he didn’t say a word. I had had an idea for a really funny costume with netting which quite long body hair would pass through, and I had done front and back versions of it. So then I explained to Prince: “Eet eel fake ‘air, you know, and eet eel beaucoup, beaucoup, airy, vraiment fun, and ze back is made of sat, and on ze back were eez ze faux cul, you know, a very big faux cul.” and I slapped my buttocks to show him how the back of the costume would be designed. Still not saying anything, Prince gave me this Charlie Chaplin kind of look. I could see that something had just happened, but I didn’t know what, only that he had indicated to his body guard that he wanted to leave right then and there. I thought he was going to go and see Luc. Later, Luc told me that Prince had been very surprised and amused — by my presentation, but that he found the costumes a bit too effeminate. And, most importantly, he had thought he head “Fuck you, fuck you!” when I was saying in my terrible English accent “faux cul, faux cul” [fake ass]! Those are Jean Paul Gaultier’s own words, including what his ears think English sounds like, so it’s entirely possible that when he thought Prince said “No thanks, too effeminate,” what he really said was “Why the fuck would I dress like a pube monster caught in a tuna net?” Because here are those costume designs: And here’s the Lovesexy album cover that has absolutely zero purple-flowered, shaved-leg fucks about femininity, masculinity or anything other than being a certified bad motherfucker at all times. THE SUPERFICIAL \| About • Facebook • Twitter Photo: Getty, Jean Paul Gaultier \|\|\|\|\| Prince Cash-Strapped During Life Prince: Cash-Strapped During Life EXCLUSIVE Prince had chronic money problems for years preceding his death ... this according to multiple sources who advised the singer. Our sources -- all of whom had regular contact with Prince and were intimately familiar with his finances -- tell us, the singer refused to leverage or sell his main asset -- his vast music catalog. The most common way singers like Prince make a steady flow of income is to sell or license their art. We're told Prince consistently shut down business opportunities that could have fueled his finances. Prince had numerous opportunities to use his music in movies, TV shows and commercials, but with few exceptions, he turned thumbs down. The primary way Prince made money was concerts, but our sources say the singer was so impulsive he would do shows on the spur of the moment with poor planning and little promotion. Although many were successful, enough of them weren't ... causing him to lose a fortune. The biggest problem ... Prince spent way more than he made, and our sources say money was always an issue. As we reported, the estimated net worth of $300 million was grossly inflated. We're told it's less than half that. It's still a lot of money, but it could've been so much more if he'd cashed in on his greatest asset ... that catalog.	– There are reports estimating Prince's net worth was $300 million when he died, but sources tell TMZ it was actually less than half that amount. Anonymous advisers to the singer say he wouldn't sell his music catalog, and he rarely licensed his music for use in commercials and the like. While he made money through concerts, sources say he often did the shows somewhat spontaneously, meaning they weren't promoted as well as they could be. Last but not least, the sources say he overspent. They also tell the gossip site that his affairs are in a bit of disarray because he often changed his team and didn't have attorneys with experience handling business affairs at his level, and that he died without a will, meaning his siblings could end up splitting his estate. (Check out some costume designs Prince thought were too effeminate.)
PONTIAC, MI -- The mystery of what happened to Pia Farrenkopf may never be entirely solved, but one piece of the puzzle fell into place this week. The Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office says it's received confirmation that the remains are the woman, who, estranged from family and friends, appears to have died in the back seat of her Jeep inside the garage of the Pontiac home she owned in early-2009. Due to the body's state of decomposition, which authorities described as "mummified," a cause and manner of death has not been established. She was discovered on March 5 when a contractor for the bank holding the mortgage on her foreclosed home visited to patch a hole in the roof after neighbors complained squirrels were gaining access. Farrenkopf would have been 49 on the day her body was discovered. Oakland County sheriff's officials said the house seemed undisturbed and was covered floor to ceiling in black mold. Farrenkopf had many of her bills set to be paid automatically from her bank account. Police say a balance of nearly $54,000 slowly dwindled to nothing by March of 2013. Relatives of the woman, who had nine sisters and was raised in South Boston, said they tried to reach her over the years by phone but were unable. Farrenkopf lived alone, but at some point had a white toy poodle named "Baby" and a cat named "Bungee." Oakland County sheriff's officials said there was no sign of the animals when the body was discovered. Until September of 2008 she worked in IT for Alltel, a financial software company that contracted with now-defunct Chrysler financial, according to friend and co-worker Brian Hicks, 38, of Utah. She also operated a fitness center called Slender Lady of Waterford, which closed in 2005 after Farrenkopf was sued and her income garnished for not making rent payments that accrued to $101,441. The Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office says the remains have been released to Farrenkopf's relatives. "We have spent the day making arrangements and getting all paperwork filled out so that we may finally bring Pia home," Farrenkopf's niece wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. "This has brought some closure for our family, knowing we may finally lay Pia to rest. "We may never know what happened to Pia and of course that is something no family ever wants to hear or accept but, we will never stop fighting to find answers and get justice for my aunt." \|\|\|\|\| (Reuters) - A woman whose mummified remains were found in her garage in a Detroit suburb up to five years after her death has been identified through DNA tests, an official said on Friday. Pia Farrenkopf had set up her bills to be paid automatically through a bank account, a neighbor cut her grass and her mail was sent to a nearby post office while her body sat for years in the back seat of a vehicle in her Pontiac, Michigan, garage. Her body was finally found in March when someone was sent to check on the house, which had fallen into foreclosure after the account ran down and mortgage payments stopped. Robert Gerds, administrator for the Oakland County medical examiner’s office, said Farrenkopf’s family was notified Tuesday of the positive identification and her body has been released. A cause of death has not been determined, nor when she died, though investigators were able to confirm that she was seen alive as recently as early 2009, Gerds said. “This has brought some closure for our family, knowing we may finally lay Pia to rest,” a posting on a Facebook page dedicated to her by a niece said Tuesday. Farrenkopf stopped working in 2008 and the last withdrawal from the account was in March 2013, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in March. He said her mail went to a post office, a neighbor cut her lawn, and she had no nearby family. \|\|\|\|\| LATEST HEADLINES U-M LBs breakdown: Veteran group leads heart of defense If this group can become one of the best linebacker units in the conference, that will allow... MSU LBs breakdown: Harris, Davis, Jones return but uncertainty remains MSU's linebackers in 2014 are what its quarterbacks and running backs were in 2013 — the biggest... Ex-Piston Villanueva, now a free agent, looking for right situation 'The past two years in Detroit, it just seems that they went in a different direction, but I just...	– Pia Farrenkopf had a poodle named Baby and a cat named Bungee, had traveled the world, and—though estranged from family and friends—was described as kind and private. And now, DNA has positively identified Farrenkopf as the mummified body found in the backseat of her Jeep in March. “This has brought some closure for our family, knowing we may finally lay Pia to rest,” says a message posted to Facebook on July 15. However, officials still don’t know how Farrenkopf died, MLive.com reports—her badly decomposed body was missing the heart, liver, and lungs, which are usually used to determine cause of death, and mummified muscle didn’t yield any results in a toxicology test, the Oakland County Deputy Medical Examiner explains to the Detroit Free Press. “The possibility of hypothermia or any drug or chemical intoxication cannot be ruled out,” he says. Though the death was treated initially as a homicide, investigators have found no evidence that the Pontiac, Michigan, woman—who would have turned 50 this year—was murdered, the Times Herald adds. Her assumed time of death has been pinned down, however, by subpoenaing bank, health, and phone records, which indicate she died in early 2009. Reuters reports that investigators also found out Farrenkopf was seen alive in early 2009. She’d stopped working in 2008 and, following her death, her bills were paid automatically; the money ran out last year, eventually leading to her discovery.
Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated By Maggie Fox A little-known virus new to the Americas is spreading and may be causing deadly birth defects, health officials say. It’s called Zika virus, and it’s moving across much of Brazil and north into Central America, carried by the same mosquitoes that carry other viruses such as dengue and yellow fever. Health officials thought Zika was pretty harmless, causing a pesky fever and muscle aches, but Brazilian health officials say it may be causing a birth defect called microcephaly, too. The Pan American Health Organization, an arm of the World Health Organization, has issued an alert about it. Microcephaly can be caused by a number of syndromes and its main symptom is a smaller-than-usual brain and head. Viruses such as German measles, chickenpox or cytomegalovirus can cause it if the mother’s infected during pregnancy, and there is no cure. The rate of cases has doubled in Brazil this year over previous years, PAHO says. “As of 30 November 2015, 1,248 cases of microcephaly, including seven deaths, have been reported in 14 states of Brazil, which are under investigation,” the organization said. "The number is increasing day by day," virologists Silvia Sardi and Gubio Soares Campos of Brazil's Federal University of Bahia, who have been tracking the virus, said in an email to NBC News. "It is becoming a serious problem, principally in poor areas, where the control of mosquitoes is a hard task," they added. “We know that there has been a huge increase in the number of cases of microcephaly. We know that Brazil has had Zika as well." “From what I understand there very definitely is something significant going on with microcephaly,” Dr. Ann Powers, a viral specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is helping with the investigation. But just because two things are going on at the same time does not necessarily mean they are connected. “We want to be sure that there is very sound scientific information to show whether there is a link or not because we don’t want people worrying unnecessarily,” Powers told NBC News. “We know that there has been a huge increase in the number of cases of microcephaly. We know that Brazil has had Zika as well. We are not certain of the overlap.” There is a little evidence, PAHO says. Tests of two pregnant women suggested the virus was in their amniotic fluid – the warm bath that cushions unborn babies inside the mother. Ultrasound had suggested the babies had microcephaly. Over the past year or so Zika’s been circulating in French Polynesia, as well, and health authorities there found an unusual increase in defects in the brains and spines of unborn and newborn babies. ”The French Polynesia health authorities hypothesize that Zika virus infection may be associated with these abnormalities if mothers are infected with the virus during the first or second trimester of pregnancy,” PAHO said. Zika had not normally been thought to cause serious illness. While it’s commonly seen in Africa, the south Pacific and parts of Asia, it has only recently come to South America, via Chile’s Easter Island. Now it’s been seen in El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Suriname, and Venezuela. And it’s killed at least three people, Brazil’s Ministry of Health says: a man who was healthy except for having had lupus, a healthy 16-year-old-girl, and a newborn with microcephaly. If these deaths are confirmed, they’d be the first ever attributed to Zika. CDC says only about one in five people infected with Zika virus become ill and the most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes. “Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, and vomiting,” CDC says. However, the virus is difficult to test for, Powers said, and can be mixed up with dengue, a similar virus, which can be fatal. “There is a lot we don’t know about this virus." “There is a lot we don’t know about this virus. It hasn’t until the last few years been a significant human pathogen,” she said. The good news is that people don’t infect one another – the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which lives in tropical regions, carries it. The Zika virus doesn’t appear to infect animals, which means it’s less likely to spread than, say, West Nile virus, which infects birds and which spread across all of the Americas in just a few years after it was first introduced in 1999. So now Zika has joined chikungunya and dengue as viruses to avoid in areas where Aedes aegypti live – which includes much of central and south America, with the occasional cases also in south Florida and south Texas, as well as Hawaii. “If you are traveling to an area where there known transmission, take precautions to avoid mosquito bites,” Powers advised. Those precautions include using insect repellants such as DEET – which CDC says is safe for pregnant women to use – wearing long pants and sleeves and staying indoors behinds screens. \|\|\|\|\| A rare tropical disease called Zika has made its way to the Americas recently, causing a big outbreak in Brazil and spreading to at least eight other countries. Scientists are still learning about this disease, which has long been thought to be pretty mild. But it's getting attention because Zika has also been linked to several deaths and terrible birth defects like microcephaly, which causes babies' brains and heads to stop growing to full size. Though it's still not known whether the virus caused any of this, the World Health Organization and its regional outfit the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are warning doctors and patients to be on the lookout for Zika. Here's what we know and don't know so far. What do we know about Zika? The Zika virus is transmitted to humans by the same type of mosquito (Aedes) that transmits the dengue and chikungunya viruses. Zika produces very mild symptoms — rash, headaches, pain in the bones, and fever — that usually show up between three and 12 days after a mosquito bite. These symptoms usually go away within a week, and one in four people don’t even develop any symptoms after being infected with the virus. This means people don’t usually go to the doctor for Zika, and many cases go unnoticed. There’s also no vaccine or treatment for the virus, so doctors just work on controlling and alleviating its symptoms. Part of the reason the virus hasn't gotten a lot of attention is that the mortality rate for Zika is also extremely low, and researchers don't think of it as a very deadly virus. Though Zika was first discovered in 1947 (in the Zika forest in Uganda), it hasn't bothered humans much in all these years. "There have only been about 14 or 15 cases documented until 2007," said Dr. Marcos Espinal, the director of communicable diseases at PAHO. That's when there was the first big Zika outbreak, reported in the Yap Island in Micronesia. Other Pacific Islands — Fiji, Vanuatu — and Australia have had periodic outbreaks since. In 2014, the virus made an appearance in the Americas, arriving in the Easter Islands, and since then it’s shown up in nine countries, including Mexico and Brazil. On December 1, PAHO issued an alert about the threat to the Americas, asking public health officials and doctors to be on the lookout for cases. There's a risk that people or mosquitoes carrying the disease will come into the US, so you might be hearing more about Zika in the news very soon. What don’t we know? Because it's so rare and hard to detect, there's still a lot to learn about Zika. The most pressing question about the virus is whether it causes serious developmental disorders like microcephaly, the congenital condition that's associated with a small head and incomplete brain development. There's a bit of panic about this link in Brazil right now because some of the regions with the most Zika cases have also seen an uptick in microcephaly births. Espinal said that researchers from the CDC and the Brazilian health authorities are investigating the link, but right now it's unclear whether the two are related. He explained that microcephaly can be caused by many different factors — including other viruses or Down syndrome — and researchers still don't know whether Zika can even cross the placental barrier in mothers. "There’s an ecological link there, but causality is very difficult to determine and we need more research," he added. There’s a chance that Zika causes Guillain-Barré syndrome, a very rare neurological syndrome that's been showing up in some Zika patients. But again, all researchers have now is a potential link — and more research needs to be done. Finally, there may be more to learn about how deadly Zika can be. Researchers have long believed Zika is a mild virus. (As one microbiologist put it, it's "a lamb, not a lion.") But the virus has been linked to at least seven deaths in Brazil as of November 30. Again, correlation is not causation. As Espinal said, "Zika has a very, very low mortality rate." But it's possible this virus is deadlier than scientists previously thought. Why are people talking about Zika now? Because of the current outbreak in Latin America. In February 2014, Zika was detected in Chile on Easter Island. In May 2015, Brazil confirmed its own cases. As of this October, there have been more than 1,200 cases in 14 states in Brazil. Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Suriname, and Venezuela have recently reported cases, too. So that’s why the PAHO just issued an alert about the threat, telling countries to be on the watch for the disease and any unusual birth patterns with babies. Only about 1,000 of the 60,000 cases so far have been confirmed, said Espinal, "so it's important to strengthen surveillance for Zika — to do surveillance and look for congenital abnormalities." Countries are also being advised to take measures to destroy mosquito breeding sites and raise public awareness about the virus. Is it true moms in Brazil should avoid having babies? There's a lot of panic in the news right now, especially in Brazil. Some local health officials have reportedly suggested that women there avoid getting pregnant until more is known about Zika. Espinal said there's just not enough evidence right now to justify avoiding pregnancy. PAHO is recommending pregnant women follow up with their doctors but nothing more drastic. "There’s no need to panic. We need to evaluate the data because we don't know the answers to many questions about Zika. We don't even know if the virus crosses the placental barrier." How can you protect yourself? There are no travel restrictions for countries experiencing Zika outbreaks, but public health officials are suggesting the following for those in affected regions: \|\|\|\|\| What is Microcephaly? Microcephaly is a medical condition in which the circumference of the head is smaller than normal because the brain has not developed properly or has stopped growing. Microcephaly can be present at birth or it may develop in the first few years of life. It is most often caused by genetic abnormalities that interfere with the growth of the cerebral cortex during the early months of fetal development. Babies may also be born with microcephaly if, during pregnancy, their mother abused drugs or alcohol; became infected with a cytomegalovirus, rubella (German measles), varicella (chicken pox) virus, or possibly Zika virus; was exposed to certain toxic chemicals; or had untreated phenylketonuria (PKU, a harmful buildup of the amino acid phenylalanine in the blood). Microcephaly is associated with Down’s syndrome, chromosomal syndromes, and neurometabolic syndromes. With viral-induced brain injury, such as with the Zika virus, there is often widespread tissue and cell death leading to brain shrinkage rather than simply impaired growth. The Zika virus is also associated with retinal lesions in about a third of cases, often leading to blindness. Depending on the severity of the accompanying syndrome, children with microcephaly may have impaired cognitive development, delayed motor functions and speech, facial distortions, dwarfism or short stature, hyperactivity, seizures, difficulties with coordination and balance, and other brain or neurological abnormalities. Is there any treatment? There is no treatment for microcephaly that can return a child’s head to a normal size or shape. Treatment focuses on ways to decrease the impact of the associated deformities and neurological disabilities. Children with microcephaly and developmental delays are usually evaluated by a pediatric neurologist and followed by a medical management team. Early childhood intervention programs that involve physical, speech, and occupational therapists help to maximize abilities and minimize dysfunction. Medications are often used to control seizures, hyperactivity, and neuromuscular symptoms. Genetic counseling may help families understand the risk for microcephaly in subsequent pregnancies. What is the prognosis? Some children with microcephaly will have normal intelligence and a head that will grow bigger, but they may track below the normal growth curves for head circumference. Some children may have only mild disability, while those with more severe cases may face significant learning disabilities, cognitive delays, or develop other neurological disorders. Many, if not most, cases of Zika microcephaly will be very severe, possibly requiring lifelong intensive care. What research is being done? The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), one of several institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducts and funds research aimed at understanding normal brain development, as well as disease-related disorders of the brain and nervous system. Other NIH institutes and centers also support research on disorders that may affect development. Among several projects, scientists are studying genetic mechanisms and identifying novel genes involved with brain development. Animal models are helping scientists to better understand the pathology of human disease, and to discover how the sizes of tissues and organs are impacted by developmental variability. Other researchers hope to gain a better understanding of normal brain development and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of microcephaly.	– It’s no secret: Mosquitoes are out to get you. More than a million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne maladies annually, according to the American Mosquito Control Association. And now those bloodsuckers have a new weapon in their arsenal: the heretofore rare Zika virus that is sweeping north in South America, NBC News reports. Typically more or less harmless—causing, at worst, mild symptoms in one out of five people infected—health officials in Brazil now say the virus may be linked to a serious birth defect. In that country, Vox reports, regions with the most cases of Zika also have had an increase in microcephaly, which prevents babies’ heads and brains from growing to full size. "There very definitely is something significant going on with microcephaly," CDC viral specialist Ann Powers tells NBC. However, she adds, it is not clear if the increase in cases of the birth defect is connected to Zika. According to the Pan American Health Organization, tests suggest the virus was in the amniotic fluid of two pregnant women. Ultrasounds in the same women show their babies may have microcephaly. And the virus has been linked to at least seven deaths in Brazil as of Nov. 30, Vox reports. Discovered in 1947 in Uganda's Zika forest, the first notable outbreak of the virus didn’t occur until 2007 in Micronesia. It arrived in the Americas last year, and has since been seen as far north as Mexico, according to Vox. Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries Zika, NBC reports, lives in much of central and south America, as well as south Florida and Texas, and Hawaii. (At least scientists have developed malaria-proof mosquitoes.)
Photo An offer to take BlackBerry private does not end the uncertainty surrounding the ailing smartphone maker. BlackBerry said on Monday that it had signed a letter of intent from a group led by Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Canadian insurance and investment company, to pay shareholders $9 a share in cash, pending a variety of conditions, taking the company private. Related Links Document: BlackBerry press release The $4.7 billion offer from Fairfax, which already owns about 10 percent of BlackBerry, is a powerful symbol of the phone maker’s decline. In June 2008 — a time when BlackBerrys defined smartphones — the company had a stock market value of $83 billion. Any deal is far from done. Fairfax did not identify the other investors in its consortium, which is seeking financing. And while the offer could flush out potential rival suitors, it is unclear who might be tempted to come forward, given the company’s uncertain prospects. Investors gave a muted endorsement on Monday, with BlackBerry shares rising 1 percent, to $8.82, but failing to reach the $9 bid price. The offer came after the company announced on Friday that it expected to report a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion, stemming largely from the failure of the BlackBerry 10 line of phones that were supposed to revive the company. BlackBerry also outlined plans to lay off about 40 percent of its already reduced work force, or around 4,500 people. Photo Sensing the opportunity to halt the fall in company’s stock prompted by that announcement, and the potential to kick off an auction, BlackBerry’s board seized on the offer, quickly signing a letter of intent. The particulars of the deal’s announcement came together in a matter of hours Monday morning. V. Prem Watsa, Fairfax’s chairman and chief executive, told shareholders in March that the company paid an average price of $17 for its BlackBerry shares, giving him an obvious interest in at least stalling the slide in BlackBerry’s shares. Yet not only are there questions about the offer, several analysts say it is not clear how the Fairfax group could stem BlackBerry’s rapid decline or stabilize the company. “Last week was essentially an announcement that they are leaving the handset business,” said Jan Dawson, a telecommunications analyst with Ovum. “But pick any market they’re trying to go into and there are strong, entrenched competitors.” Given the high risk involved in investing in BlackBerry, one of the most pressing questions surrounding the deal is the identity of anyone prepared to invest in the company alongside Fairfax. One possible clue came from the fact that Byron D. Trott, the banker used by Warren E. Buffett, was advising Fairfax. Mr. Trott and his firm, BDT & Company, often work with wealthy private investors. Mike Lazaridis, the co-founder of BlackBerry who stepped down as co-chief executive in 2012, has been interested in making an offer with private equity investors, people familiar with the situation said. That led to speculation on Monday that he might join the Fairfax group. Through a spokesman, Mr. Lazaridis declined to comment. Neither Fairfax nor Mr. Watsa responded to requests for comment. Just as unclear is how a buyout would be financed. Fairfax did not say how much cash it was prepared to put toward the deal, or how much debt it might expect BlackBerry to take on in a buyout. BlackBerry is largely debt-free and had about $2.6 billion in cash at the end of the last quarter, leaving just a couple of billion dollars needed to conceivably strike an acquisition. But any bank that provides financing could be taking a risk. The company consumed about $500 million of its cash during the last quarter, while the coming layoffs and sluggish sales raise the possibility that even more than that may vanish in the current quarter. By signing the letter of intent, BlackBerry effectively opened the door to other bidders. It now has six weeks to shop itself around as Fairfax conducts due diligence, or scrutinizes its books. If BlackBerry accepts another deal or walks away from Fairfax’s offer before a definitive agreement is signed, it will owe Fairfax about $157 million. If it walks away after a formal deal is signed, it will owe Fairfax about $262 million. Neither does the agreement appear to bind Fairfax to its $9 a share bid; after due diligence, Fairfax may decide to lower its offer. The offer establishes a timeline and a price floor for other potential bidders. But with the company in free fall, there is little certainty of another bid emerging in the coming weeks. Brian Colello, an analyst with Morningstar, said that other buyers, if there are any, were unlikely to be interested in BlackBerry’s phone business. “There is no value for the BlackBerry 10 ecosystem,” he said. “The value of this company is cash and patents.” Analysts’ estimates put the value of the patents at about $2 billion. But not only has the market for patents cooled, BlackBerry does not directly control many of its most important patents, which it owns in common with other technology companies like Apple and Microsoft. Still, BlackBerry continues to have a strong booster in Mr. Watsa. He resigned from BlackBerry’s board in August to avoid any conflicts of interest after the company announced that it was engaged in a strategic review that might include a sale. Mr. Watsa’s involvement in a buyout would ensure Canadian control of the company, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, removing a major hurdle for a deal. While a number of Chinese companies, particularly ones with little market presence in the West, might bid for BlackBerry, the Canadian government would most likely block any such takeover on national security grounds. Historically, Mr. Watsa has favored buying distressed companies and then guiding turnarounds. While the strategy has generally been successful, the company’s recent history includes some prominent failures. CanWest Global Communications, once a large Canadian television broadcaster and newspaper publisher, and AbitibiBowater, a paper maker, both collapsed and ultimately were delisted. Fairfax also began buying heavily in Torstar, the parent company of The Toronto Star and the romance book publisher Harlequin, in 2007. Since then, Torstar’s share price has steadily declined. Fairfax uses hedging and large cash holdings to protect its investors from failed investments. Even without quitting the handset business, BlackBerry’s management has said it plans to expand the company’s software business. BlackBerry has ambitious plans for its relatively new software that allows corporations to control and manage employees’ mobile devices, including iPhones and Android-based phones. It has also made efforts to turn the BlackBerry Messenger instant-messaging service into a social media service. But in those areas, as in the phone business, BlackBerry has come up against large, well-financed competitors like Microsoft and Facebook. If BlackBerry does go private, it would be the second large technology company with outdated products to go that route this year. Dell, the personal computer maker, was bought out by its founder, Michael S. Dell, and Silver Lake Partners this month for $24.9 billion. Yet Dell is a veritable tech powerhouse compared to BlackBerry, whose North American market share has slid to 3.4 percent from 51 percent in just four years. In Dell’s case, revenues are down and demand for its products has weakened because of the growth of tablets, but Dell remains a major provider of commodity PCs and servers, and owns business and government software assets that may provide it with a more certain path forward. \|\|\|\|\| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. \|\|\|\|\| Article Excerpt A guy says he will buy your falling-down house for millions of dollars, but not until he gets it inspected. And, by the way, he might not have the cash to buy it. Nor is it certain he can get a mortgage. That seems to be the essence of a "letter of intent agreement" that Fairfax Financial Holdings has signed to buy ailing ...	– If you're a BlackBerry shareholder, Rolfe Winkler at the Wall Street Journal thinks you should sell while the selling's good. Fairfax Financial Holdings struck a deal yesterday with BlackBerry that, Winkler writes, is a little like a guy saying "he will buy your falling-down house for millions of dollars, but not until he gets it inspected. And, by the way, he might not have the cash to buy it." All yesterday's "letter of intent" said was that Fairfax would buy BlackBerry after looking at its books. What's more, even if BlackBerry used all of its $2.6 billion in cash to finance the sale, Fairfax will have to find another $1.6 billion, and lenders might be leery given BlackBerry's shaky prospects. Analysts tell the New York Times that they're skeptical Fairfax could turn BlackBerry around, and unsure other, competing bidders will emerge. "There is no value for the BlackBerry 10 ecosystems," one analyst said. "The value of this company is cash and patents." Employees are even more gloomy following the company's announcement that it would lay off 40% of them. "It's not low morale. It's no morale," one employee tells the Journal. "It's like working at a hospice center. It's not a matter of if, but when."
On Friday afternoons, about 70 Muslims arrive at a municipal center for weekly prayers. They include an African-American disabled veteran and an Italian octogenarian, but most are men in their 30s and 40s, wearing ID badges from local companies. Blue rugs are laid out, wall to wall, in two meeting rooms. Worshipers face the direction of Mecca. On Sunday mornings, in the same town, Muslim families arrive at a public grammar school, where the cafeteria is used for Islamic religious study. On this day, three dozen children are given treats to celebrate Mawlid al-Nabi, the birthday of the prophet Mohammad. They recite poems about his teachings. This community is not Jersey City or Paterson, both known for large Muslim populations. It's Bernards Township, the community recently sued by the federal Department of Justice for denying a local Islamic society's request to build a mosque in the Liberty Corner section of town. And while the use of town-owned buildings by Muslims demonstrates the need for a local mosque, it also suggests the town might not be as bigoted as outsiders think. MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns What follows is a story filled with such nuances because facts are what people make them. Let's compare two cases that came before the town by religious organizations on the same stretch of road in the Liberty Corner section of the township. Mohammad Ali Chaudry, president of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (ISBR), submitted his first application to build the mosque on April 20, 2012. It was denied last December after 39 hearings. The Presbyterian Church down the street filed an application for a property improvement in 2011. It was denied after two hearings, and church did not appeal. So, was Chaudry the victim of the town "moving the goalposts," as the federal lawsuit, which followed one filed by Chaudry, suggests? Or did the town give him extensive and ample opportunity to file an acceptable plan? That depends, of course, on who is asked. Ask Cody Smith, an opponent of the mosque who lives in the neighborhood. "I thought the board was bending over backwards to approve it," Smith said. "He was a former mayor, an insider. I thought the board was guiding him on how to get it approved. There were a lot of problems the board seemed willing to overlook. I left those first meetings thinking it was a done deal." While the lawsuits by the Chaudry and federal government accused the town of inherent governmental bigotry, Chris Quick, who lives next door to the proposed site and attended many meetings, said any time someone expressed anti-Islamic sentiment at the meetings, "the gavel came down pretty hard and (the board) shut them down." In the examples of alleged town bigotry in the lawsuits, none came from anyone on the planning board who ultimately made the decision. John Carpenter, a 12-year member of the township committee, is named in the lawsuits. He emailed another committee member in 2011 that he wanted a "more moderate" Muslim than Chaudry to participate in the township's 10th anniversary 9-11 program and called him "a fool." Carpenter admitted as much, but added "you should not confuse contempt with bigotry. I'm allowed to not like the guy," he said. "Chaudry and his lawyer need to remember that free speech, as well as freedom of religion, is established by the First Amendment." Though named in the suits, Carpenter was not on the planning board and was not involved in any way in the application. "The truth is, I have no opinion on it at all except to say, as I've said all along, he is absolutely entitled to build his mosque if he meets all the planning board requirements and follows the law," Carpenter said. During an interview in the office of township attorney John Belardo, Carpenter and Township Mayor Carol Bianchi defended the "professionalism" of the board. "None of them are accused in the lawsuits of making any derogatory remarks about Muslims or Mr. Chaudry," Bianchi said. "They are all highly educated, accomplished people who know the law." For example, Jonathan Drill co-wrote the 2015 edition of "Cox and Koenig, New Jersey Zoning and Land Use Adminstration" (Gann) described by the publisher "as New Jersey's premier land use and zoning treatise and serves as a practical guide through the intricacies of New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL)." Jodi Lee Alper is a former U.S. Attorney and Environmental Protection Agency lawyer. Kathleen Piedici is a strategic business planner who holds a Rutgers MBA, as well as degrees and certificates from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago. One board member, who asked not to be identified because of the lawsuits, said the board "wanted approve the mosque. We really did." But, the source added, when Chaudry fired his local land use attorney and hired Robert Raymar, a Newark litigator, there was a feeling that he "no longer wanted the mosque; he wanted a lawsuit." When the zoning board's denial came last December, Chaudry had the option to appeal in Somerset County Superior Court. He chose, instead, to sue the township, hiring the muscular New York law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. In a written response sent through his attorney, Adeel A. Mangi, Chaudry said he filed the suit because, "our application is for a religious house of worship, which raises particular issues ... under the United States Constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which is a federal statute." The town this week hired the law firm of Robinson & Cole of Boston, which specializes in helping towns avoid and defend RLUIPA cases. And off we go ... The escalation of the case and publicity around it has created division and hard feelings in a town that prior to the application, was never portrayed as unwelcoming. "We wish this had been resolved in a much better way," said Asim Akram, 44, a Bernards resident who was dropping his children off at the Cedar Hill Elementary School for Islamic studies last Sunday. "All any of us want is to be part of this community, to blend in and live and be happy." "We're being portrayed as a bunch of bigots who organized this great conspiracy to keep out the mosque," said Smith. "Nothing could be further than the truth." Smith is among 32 residents - most of whom are private citizens - who were subpoenaed by the federal government to provide information about the case. "They are being asked overreaching questions," said Smith's attorney Stuart J. Lieberman, including inquiries about campaign contributions. "These people exercised their right to go to a public meeting and raise concerns about something going on in their neighborhood and now they're being treated like criminals." And being forced to hire lawyers. "That will certainly have a chilling effect on people exercising their right to speak freely in public meetings," Carpenter said. Smith agreed. "I'm not sure I'd do it again," he said. "And that's not right." In a document request from Chaudry's lawsuit, town officials were asked "to show endorsement of, donations to, or associations with the political campaigns of Donald J. Trump or Ted Cruz." There's irony in that. The town voted for Hillary Clinton. The case has caused an extreme turnaround for Chaudry, once seen as an example of the township's changing - and accepted - demographic. Chaudry, who has lived in Bernards since 1977, was elected to township school board and served six years in the 1990s, then was elected to the township governing committee. The mayor's job rotates among committee members and Chaudry's turn was 2001, making him the first Pakistani-American mayor in the nation. The Muslim population is growing. Asians now make up 15.6 percent of the town population. The white population is just a shade more than 75 percent these days. "This is a welcoming community," Bianchi said. "We're an integrated community where people never had to categorize their friendships." Akram agrees. "We have many more American friends here than Muslim friends," he said. "This has people talking about things we never really talked about before." "I have lived here nine years and have never witnessed any discriminatory behavior directed at me or my family," said Muneeb Khan. "It is a very open community." But in the "bigoted town" narrative of the lawsuits and the ensuing publicity, facts such as these don't come to light. That one of the most popular diners in town is owned by a Muslim family. Or that a town interdenominational prayer group is rallying behind a ill Muslim woman. Or that when a fire destroyed the home of an Iranian man, the town donated clothes and gift cards to help his family with immediate expenses. "This town is color blind," said Stacey Mahdavian. "No one looked at my last name when we had our fire. They looked at a family and wanted to make us whole." "Some of the people critical of this town have never set foot in it, nor attended a single planning board meeting (on the mosque)," said Bianchi. "The people in this town are wonderful. We are a warm and inclusive community, for all people." Chaudry said he was "deeply saddened" by the "anti-Islam bias" that surfaced during the application process. "I heard derogatory comments about Islam and Muslims inside and outside the planning board proceedings," he said through his lawyer. "I saw people in my own hometown organizing and circulating flyers to oppose the building of a small mosque, raising baseless issues alluding to 'public safety' and changing the 'character' of the neighborhood." Quick said it wasn't baseless at all -- in his opinion. "I fought the Presbyterian Church application for the same reasons," he said. Mark Di Ionno may be reached at [email protected]. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook. \|\|\|\|\| An Islamic society asked a federal judge Friday to compel a search of personal files belonging to members of a New Jersey township committee and planning board that the group is suing for denying an application to build a mosque. The request comes after attorneys for the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge received documents revealing some Bernards Township officials named in its lawsuit used their personal email accounts to allegedly make statements showing animus or discrimination toward Muslims, according to a letter addressed to U.S. District Judge Lois. H. Goodman. A rendering of the proposed mosque taken from court documents. Those documents are part of evidence from the Justice Department, which filed its own federal lawsuit against Bernards Township last month. Both suits allege the township violated a religious land-use law when, after nearly four years of hearings, it disapproved a plan in January to construct a 4,252-square-foot mosque. RELATED: Justice Department Sues New Jersey Township Over Years-Denied Mosque Bernards Township, which changed a zoning ordinance for houses of worship while the society’s application was pending, has maintained it based its rejection on land-use considerations. The society, however, argues the township capitulated to anti-Muslim feelings in the community. “Defendants have failed, despite repeated requests, to produce adequate information about the methodology used to generate the [Justice Department] production.” “Defendants have failed, despite repeated requests, to produce adequate information about the methodology used to generate the [Justice Department] production.” Bernards Township Mayor Carol M. Bianchi, who is also a defendant in the lawsuit, told NBC News in an email Sunday that attorneys were reviewing the Islamic society’s court filings. She added that township officials had no comment on their substance. In April, attorneys for the Islamic society first asked township officials named in its complaint for emails, social media postings, texts, and instant messages relevant to the lawsuit, according to the letter. The request was part of the discovery process when attorneys from both sides share evidence with each other. To date, the officials have refused to comply, saying they didn’t use personal accounts or devices to conduct business, the letter said. \|\|\|\|\| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. \|\|\|\|\| As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Mr. Sessions might be less sympathetic to pursuing investigations involving the rights of Muslims. There are now 13 open land-use investigations under the law, though a spokesman for the department declined to say how many of those involved mosques. Image A rendering of the proposed mosque. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times Ross K. Baker, a distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers who has studied the federal law, said it was “entirely possible” Mr. Sessions could choose to dial back on the investigations. “It is within the province of the attorney general-designate to decide whether to proceed with a lawsuit,” he said. Another recent case brought by the department involved a proposed mosque in Virginia. The lawsuit argued that Culpeper County violated the religious land-use law in denying a sewage permit application. The complaint noted that since 1992, the county had considered 26 applications and never before denied such a permit to either a commercial or religious group. In a speech this month at a Virginia mosque, Loretta E. Lynch, United States the attorney general, talked about the department’s response to a surge in hate crimes, highlighting enforcement of the land-use law. “Members of the Civil Rights Division have heard repeatedly about more overt discrimination in both the tone and framing of objections to planned religious institutions, especially mosques and Islamic centers,” said Ms. Lynch, who sent a letter to state and local officials on Thursday reminding them of the law and their obligation to respect religious freedom. In the case of Bernards Township, the Islamic Society bought land that was in a zone that permitted a house of worship. Raising money from various sources, Mr. Chaudry oversaw the purchase of four acres, aware that the zoning code required at least three acres for a house of worship. The society hired an architect who took pains to design a mosque that would blend in with the neighborhood, where a fire station stands across the street from the site. The 4,400-square-foot mosque, the size of a large house, would forgo the traditional dome and would include minarets that mimic the chimneys on neighboring houses. “The mosque proposal met with vociferous public opposition,” the Justice Department wrote in its recent complaint. “Fliers, social media and websites denounced the mosque and were filled with anti-Muslim bigotry and references to terrorism and the 9/11 attacks.”	– The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge had its mailbox trampled and its name on the box replaced with "ISIS" while seeking permission to build a 4,400-square-foot mosque in Bernards Township, NJ. Then its 70 members feared it was all for naught when, after 39 public hearings, the township's planning board rejected the group's proposal over issues like parking spaces and storm water management, reports the New York Times. But now both the ISBC and the Justice Department have filed suit, accusing Bernards Township of violating a 2000 religious freedom law. According to the Justice Department, township committee officials belittled Islam in emails, per the Bernardsville News. One said it "owes its size and in(fl)uence to a tradition from Day One of forced conversion through violent means." NBC News notes the township also changed a zoning rule for houses of worship after the ISBC's application had been submitted in 2012, while "fliers, social media and websites denounced the mosque," per the Justice Department. "What should have been a simple board approval for a permitted use devolved into a Kafkaesque process that spanned an unprecedented four years," the ISBC says. Bernards Township, however, says it rejected the proposal based on "legitimate land-use and safety concerns which plaintiffs refused, and to this day, refuse to address." A neighbor who opposed the mosque tells NJ.com he objected to a Presbyterian Church's application for a property improvement in 2011 for those same, non-religious reasons. That application was later rejected.
Drivers stuck on Route 66 in Viginia (Photo: WUSA9) About an inch of snow Wednesday night caused nightmare traffic conditions across the D.C. area, leaving countless drivers stuck behind the wheel for hours. LIST: Closings and Delays More than 150 traffic accidents were reported in Virginia during this snowfall, which will seem small ahead of this weekend's potentially historic storm. As of 9:30 p.m., Virginia State Police troopers were investigating 125 traffic crashes statewide. At 8 p.m., there were 163 traffic crashes being investigated. Most of the crashes only involved damage to vehicles, however there was one fatality. Fairfax County police say they've responded to more than 50 accidents, plus various hazard or stuck vehicle calls. Officials urged drivers to stay off the road. Meanwhile, Uber surged as high as four times its normal pricing in the area. Wednesday night's snow caused dangerous driving conditions. PHOTOS: Snow causes traffic mess Numerous people tweeted at WUSA9 that their commutes were significantly longer than normal, in many cases by more than an hour, because of the snow. @wusa9 one hour and 15 to travel from 11th & Rhode Island NW to North Capitol Street. Crazy. — Kim K. (@KayKay1011) January 21, 2016 @NikkiBurdine@wusa9 took an hour and a half to drive 4 miles tonight, cars everywhere crashed...looked like a scene from Mad Max in Siberia — Steve-O (@0stevenrobb0) January 21, 2016 @wusa9 One hour from Wisconsin & Bradley in Bethesda to Franklin & Flower in Silver Spring. — Madonn's Rebel Heart (@GAGA_and_MDNA) January 21, 2016 In a statement Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told District residents to avoid the roads. The District Department of Transportation says pre-treatment started at 4 p.m. and 150 trucks are expected to be out on the roads by midnight. Forecasts had called for about an inch to fall in the D.C. area on Wednesday night. Like this story? Like WUSA9 on Facebook. RELATED STORIES: Va. officials contemplate closing schools as storm nears What you need to know about weather models DC gets ready for snowstorm; asks residents for help Read or Share this story: http://on.wusa9.com/1RAGqXF \|\|\|\|\| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Washington, D.C., was bracing to be in the heart of a monster storm that will clobber the East Coast with snow and ice this weekend, forecasters warned. "The Mid-Atlantic is going to get walloped," said Ari Sarsalari, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "We're talking blizzard condition, whiteout conditions." The nation's capital could get 12 to 24 inches of snow, the National Weather Service said, calling the system "a potentially crippling winter storm." With Washington and nearby Baltimore under a blizzard watch for Friday afternoon through late Saturday, the weather service urged people to avoid any travel if at all possible. D.C. officials said the city has 14 new dump trucks ready to be deployed to salt and plow major streets, along with six new trucks for residential streets, NBC Washington reported. If 2 feet of snow fall there, it will be the city's second-biggest snowstorm ever: The largest one was a 1922 storm that produced 28 inches. The National Weather Service issued a graphic Wednesday afternoon vividly showing what capital-area residents can expect through the weekend: \|\|\|\|\| January 24, 2016 Blizzard to unload 2 feet of snow from DC to Philadelphia, NYC By By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist. January 24, 2016, 11:10:32 PM EST Follow live updates of the storm here. The Blizzard of 2016 will continue to evolve and shut down travel through Saturday from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City, with some areas of the mid-Atlantic receiving 1-3 feet of snow and strong winds. Snowfall totals have reached a foot and a half across Washington, D.C. and Baltimore by midday on Saturday and will continue to pile up from Philadelphia to New York City into Saturday night. According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "This will be a rare event for the region as there are not many storms that bring a foot or more of snow over such a large area and last more than 24 hours." Be prepared for lengthy power outages, immobilization Winds and the rate of snowfall will increase as the storm strengthens through Saturday. Massive drifts will develop, where sleet and rain do not mix in. Gusts along the mid-Atlantic coast will frequent 45-50 mph. An all-out blizzard will unfold from northern Virginia to southwestern Connecticut. Periodic white-out conditions will occur farther west from south-central Pennsylvania to part of northern Virginia. Snowfall rates from Washington, D.C. to New York City and westward into portions of Maryland and Pennsylvania will be 1-3 inches per hour at times. Thunder and lightning could accompany the heavy snow in some locations. In some communities, roads could be blocked and the power could be out for days. Multiple state officials have declared a state of emergency and are urging people to stay off the roads or risk being stranded during the storm. RELATED: Northeast US interactive weather radar LIVE updates on the storm Be a part of the story: Submit your blizzard photos and videos The storm is likely to shut down major highways from Interstate 81 to I-95 and from I-78 to I-85. Multiple airports may close. Multiple airlines have already cancelled flights and announced travel waivers for flights affected by the storm in the eastern United States. Mass transit in multiple cities will be stopped or severely limited. Factoring in strong winds and other conditions, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures at the height of the storm will be in the single digits in many areas. The conditions will raise the risk of hypothermia for those who are stuck outside and not properly dressed. In Atlantic shoreline communities, as well as along the back bays and sounds from New York to Virginia, strong onshore winds will cause tides to run 2-4 feet above normal. The flooding will be made worse by high astronomical tides related to the full moon. Large waves will pound the beaches. The worst conditions will be from New Jersey to eastern Maryland. Snow to bury metro areas from DC to Philadelphia, NYC Areas from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., to near Philadelphia will experience an all-out blizzard into Saturday afternoon with snowfall averaging 12-24 inches. From northern Virginia to eastern West Virginia and northern Maryland, a general 2-3 feet of snow will fall. A distance of less than 50 miles could bring snowfall ranging from an inch or less to more than a foot. As of late Friday night, snow totals across central Pennsylvania have averaged from around an inch across portions of Interstate 80 to a foot along Interstate 76. These interstates are less than 100 miles apart. The New York City metro area into Long Island will receive 1 to 2 feet of snow with blizzard conditions at times into Saturday night. Heavy snow is still likely right along the southern coast of New England with enough snow to shovel and plow from Hartford, Connecticut, to Plymouth, Massachusetts. Up to a few inches of snow may fall in the Boston area. Travel impact to extend beyond the heart of the storm Ripple effects from the storm will reach airports across the nation as flights and crews are displaced in the East. Along with the northern edge of the heavy snow, winds will be significantly less well north and west of the storm center. Travel may be slippery from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh and Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but the impacts will pale in comparison to areas farther south and east. Report a Typo	– A predicted blizzard isn't expected to hit Washington, DC, until Friday, but area roads are already a mess. About an inch of snow fell in the region on Wednesday evening, resulting in traffic delays and at least 163 accidents, reports WUSA. A trooper who was responding to a crash in Northern Virginia was taken to a hospital with minor injuries after he was struck by a vehicle that swerved to avoid one that was merging. Even vehicles in President Obama's motorcade were seen sliding into curbs, per NBC News. Meteorologists now say an approaching and "potentially crippling" winter storm could drop up to 2 feet of snow on DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia starting Friday. Areas from New York City to southeastern Massachusetts could see a foot of snow, while 6 inches is expected to fall on a 1,000-mile swath stretching from near the Mississippi River to southern New England, reports AccuWeather. "The Mid-Atlantic is going to get walloped. We're talking blizzard condition, whiteout conditions," a meteorologist says. "This could be a long-duration snowfall that could last 24 hours or more in some locations," another adds.
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook \| Twitter Hollywood (CBSMiami) – The voicemail messages left on Gov. Rick Scott’s personal cellphone by a Hollywood nursing home where at least 11 people have died following Hurricane Irma, were deleted, according to the governor’s office. There were a total of four voicemails left during the 36 hours before the first patient died, and they would have been a critical piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation into the patient deaths. Natasha Anderson, a vice president with The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, says she called the governor’s cellphone to say the nursing home needed “immediate assistance” in restoring the power to their air conditioning system. Scott said at no time did anyone from the nursing home suggest there was a crisis or that patients were in danger. In response to CBS4’s request for copies of the voicemails, a spokeswoman with the governor’s office, wrote in an email: “The voicemails were not retained because the information from each voicemail was collected by the Governor’s staff and given to the proper agency for handling.” The Governor has cut off Medicaid and Medicare funding for the nursing home and suspended its license. The Governor’s actions, however, have also come under scrutiny. In the week leading up to Irma, Gov. Scott held a series of conference calls with emergency managers as well as hospital and nursing home officials. During those conference calls he gave out his cellphone number and said if any of the healthcare centers experienced trouble they should call him at that number and he would work to resolve their problem. Hurricane Irma hit South Florida Sunday September 10 and the nursing home lost some power around 3 p.m. The 152-bed facility located in Hollywood, Florida, has two transformers supplying power to the nursing home. One transformer handles life and safety systems while the second supports the air conditioning system. The storm only knocked out power to the air conditioning system. On September 10, at 3:49 p.m, administrators contacted Florida Power and Light with an emergency request to restore power. According to nursing home officials, FPL said they would have crews dispatched the next morning. By the evening of September 11, after repeated calls to FPL, Anderson, the nursing home officials, dialed the cellphone number provided by Scott. It went straight to voicemail. Anderson made three additional calls to Scott’s cellphone on September 12. The governor’s office says the calls were returned by someone from the state Department of Health and that the nursing home was told that if they had anyone in distress they should call 911 for help. The nursing home also spoke to the emergency operations center in Tallahassee, which notified the nursing home that their FPL repair order would be “escalated.” Between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Wednesday September 13, patients at the nursing suffered myriad health issues and during that time at least five of the patients died. State officials say temperatures inside the nursing home were high and that some of the dead registered body temperatures as high as 109 degrees. The nursing home was then evacuated and at least a half dozen patients would die in the hours and days that followed. The cause of death is still being determined. The governor’s office said the voicemails were deleted in accordance with the state’s public records law. The existence of the voice mail messages is irrelevant, officials said. “None of this changes the fact that this facility chose not to call 911 or evacuate their patients to the hospital across the street to save lives,” a spokeswoman noted. \|\|\|\|\| “We had no idea the extent of what was going on until we literally sent people room to room to check on people,” said Dr. Randy Katz, the hospital’s chairman of emergency medicine. Many of the families heard something was wrong for the first time that morning when they turned on their televisions. A friend called Ms. Craig. I don’t want to scare you, she told Ms. Craig, but turn on CNN. Ms. Craig was thinking, “What did I do?” she said in an interview, breaking off to sob. She blamed herself for putting her mother in the home. She prayed: “Oh God, please don’t let my mother be dead.” “I just imagined her wanting me there with her,” she said, “looking at the door, wondering when I was going to get her out of the heat.” When she found her mother in the hospital just before noon, she had a fever of 102 degrees, an IV in each arm and a catheter. Her hair was matted; a whitish crust, like dried milk, glazed her hairline, her neck and the skin around her ears. She whimpered, and jumped at Ms. Craig’s touch. “She was not the lady that I left on Thursday,” Ms. Craig said. “I trusted them. I trusted them, and they failed my mother.” That morning — three days after Irma, a few hours after Ms. Hibbard died and soon after everyone else was evacuated — someone from the power company arrived at Hollywood Hills to fix the transformer. It took 15 minutes to get the air-conditioning back on. \|\|\|\|\| More Videos 1:31 'We are working. Not the government; we are.' Puerto Rico cleans up after Hurricane Maria Pause 4:36 Details emerge about officer-involved shooting in Palmetto 0:42 Hurricane Irma floods area near Myakka River State Park 0:21 Southernmost Point monument in Key West is slammed by waves as Hurricane Irma arrives 1:27 New York Gov. Cuomo tours the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico 4:24 Miami Heat players react to President Trump's comments during media day 7:39 Review \| MTV's 'Siesta Key' Episode 7: Back to Siesta ... I mean Sarasota 1:14 Palmetto resident describes hearing officer-involved shooting 3:03 Irma's damage to SRQ minimal other than canceled flights 0:31 Ricky Martin joins adds his voice to those asking for help for Puerto Rico Video Link copy Embed Code copy Facebook Twitter Email The conditions inside the Hollywood nursing home where 11 died Carmen Veroy’s 89-year-old parents, Libia and Gabriel Giraldo, survived the ordeal — but Veroy said she could not fathom the overheated conditions in the rehab center until her sister sent her a video of the hallway scene during a visit Tuesday night. Carmen Veroy’s 89-year-old parents, Libia and Gabriel Giraldo, survived the ordeal — but Veroy said she could not fathom the overheated conditions in the rehab center until her sister sent her a video of the hallway scene during a visit Tuesday night. The Veroy Family Carmen Veroy’s 89-year-old parents, Libia and Gabriel Giraldo, survived the ordeal — but Veroy said she could not fathom the overheated conditions in the rehab center until her sister sent her a video of the hallway scene during a visit Tuesday night. The Veroy Family	– At least 11 people have died since Hurricane Irma knocked out the air conditioning at their Florida nursing home. Florida Gov. Rick Scott ended funding for The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills and suspended its license in the wake of the deaths. Now CBS Miami reports four voicemail messages left on Scott's personal cellphone by nursing home staff in the 36 hours before the first resident died were deleted. The Rehabilitation Center says those messages would have been important evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation. Before Irma made landfall, Scott instructed nursing home officials to call his cellphone if there was trouble. The vice president of The Rehabilitation Center says she did just that four times, asking for "immediate assistance" to get power restored for the air conditioning system. State officials say some of the residents had body temperatures up to 109 degrees when they died. The New York Times reports one 84-year-old appeared to have steam rising from her legs when she arrived at the hospital. A woman whose father went through an AC-less weekend at the nursing home earlier this year tells the Bradenton Herald—which has a deep look at the nursing home before and after Irma—the place was a "hellhole" and "torture chamber." “When the heat gets up to a certain level, the patients are not breathing right because they are boiling up inside," she says. A spokesperson for Scott's office says they were within their rights to delete the voicemail messages, which were immaterial anyway because "this facility chose not to call 911 or evacuate their patients to the hospital across the street to save lives."
Image copyright Akiry Image caption Paris's Landy Tunnel is well known for smash-and-grab raids on cars. French police are searching for three thieves who stole a handbag containing five million euros (£3.6m; $5.4m) worth of jewels in a daring Paris raid. The owner of the handbag, a Taiwanese art collector, was stuck in traffic in a tunnel when the thieves smashed her car window. It was not clear whether it was a targeted attack or if the thieves simply got lucky. The 1.3km (0.8 mile) long Landy Tunnel is notorious for smash-and-grab thefts. Some reports suggested the jewellery collection, which included a ring worth €1.7m, was due to be donated to the Paris Museum of Modern Art but the museum later denied the claim. The unique and numbered items would be very difficult to sell on without a specialised network, a police source told France's AFP news agency. The source said thefts in the Landy tunnel are often the work of petty crooks. "They aren't afraid of anything, know the area and escape through emergency exits," it added. In February 2010, Christina Chernovetska, the daughter of the then-mayor of Kiev, fell victim to a similar robbery when a handbag containing jewels worth €4.5m was stolen from her. The theft in Paris comes two weeks after thieves pulled off a daring heist in London's Hatton Garden, stealing jewels and other valuables from safety deposit boxes worth as much as £200m. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Akiry. \|\|\|\|\| Thieves often hit when cars are stationary in a traffic jam in the tunnel A group of thieves have stolen a handbag containing €5m (£3.6m) worth of Chanel jewels from a woman on the road between Paris and Charles De Gaulle airport. The daring robbery of the Taiwanese art collector happened on Wednesday as the taxi she was travelling in was driving through a long tunnel notorious for robbery attacks on tourists stuck in traffic. The thieves smashed the car window and snatched the bag. It is not known at this stage whether or not the thieves were just lucky or knew in advance that there were valuable objects in the bag, including a ring said to be worth €1.7m (£1.2m). Police say they are keeping an open mind as they investigate the theft of the gems which were to be presented at the Paris Museum of Modern Art, a source said. 1 / 8 Gallery: Jewel Thieves Hide In Hair Salon After Heist Two men have robbed a Cartier jewellery store in Paris' Champs-Elysees shopping district "Either it was an order or they are in the s***," the source said, adding it would be very difficult to sell the items without good contacts because of their exceptional qualities. The 1.3km (1,400-yard) Landy tunnel is used mostly by people travelling between Paris and the airport. Local thieves are most often the culprits. 1 / 8 Gallery: Images Of Hatton Garden Jewel Heist Suspects Police have released pictures of a van and three suspects wanted in connection with the Hatton Garden jewel heist The police source said: "It is often local delinquency. They aren't afraid of anything, know the area and escape through emergency exits." Christina Chernovetska, the daughter of the then mayor of Kiev, was a victim of a similar robbery in February 2010 when a bag which she said held jewels worth €4.5m (£3.2m) was stolen from her. Even royalty is not immune. Play video "Intruder Alarm Not Responded To" Video: Intruder Alarm Not Responded To Saudi prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd, the multi-millionaire son of the late King Fahd, was the victim of a spectacular armed raid on his convoy last August in which €250,000 (£180,000) and diplomatic papers were stolen. The robbery comes two weeks after a raid over the Easter weekend in London's Hatton Garden where thieves stole dozens of safety deposit boxes containing what is believed to be tens of millions of pounds' worth of gems and valuables.	– The Landy Tunnel that runs between Paris and Charles de Gaulle Airport is known for its traffic and, possibly as a result of that, frequent "smash-and-grab" crimes, where thieves bust car windows and snatch whatever they can from inside the car. A Taiwanese art collector stuck in the 0.8-mile tunnel Wednesday found that out firsthand when the taxi she was in was looted, with the thieves nabbing a handbag containing $5.4 million in Chanel jewelry, Sky News notes. Reported among the stolen gems was a $1.8 million ring. Police say they aren't sure if the perps targeted the victim or if they just lucked out in focusing on that car, the BBC notes. Initial reports indicated the jewels were destined for the city's Museum of Modern Art, though the museum has denied that, per the BBC. A police source tells Sky that these types of raids are "often local delinquency. They ... know the area and escape through emergency exits." But dumping the jewels for a big payday could prove difficult for the thieves: The gems were numbered, so only those with a solid contact network would be able to sell them easily, the police source adds. As a source puts it to Sky, "Either it was an order or they are in the s---." (This raid comes just two weeks after a London heist that may have netted thieves $300 million worth of stolen goods.)
WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development, told a House committee on Tuesday that he had “dismissed” himself from the decision to buy a $31,000 dining room set for his office last year, leaving the details to his wife and staff. Mr. Carson offered a rambling, at times contradictory, explanation of the purchase of the table, chairs and hutch, a transaction that turned into a public relations disaster that led President Trump to consider replacing him, according to White House aides. The hearing, before the House Appropriations subcommittee that determines the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s budget, was supposed to center on the administration’s proposed budget cuts to the agency. Instead it was dominated by questions about Mr. Carson’s judgment, the conduct of his wife, Candy Carson, and son Ben Carson Jr., and Mr. Carson’s initial denial that he was aware of the expenditure, a position he has modified. “I was not big into redecorating. If it were up to me, my office would look like a hospital waiting room,” said Mr. Carson, who repeatedly told committee members that he had no knowledge of the $5,000 limit imposed on cabinet secretaries for redecorating their offices — despite the release of emails between top aides discussing how to justify getting around the cap. \|\|\|\|\| It wasn’t me. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson gave an ill-considered explanation for purchasing a $31,000 mahogany dining set on the taxpayer dime: It was all his wife’s fault. Speaking publicly for the first time since details of the lavish, now-canceled purchase were revealed, Carson told a congressional oversight committee on Tuesday that he had asked Candy Carson to help him out with selecting new furniture, then gone back to focusing on his core duties, like helping President Trump try to gut his agency. “I left it with my wife,” he said. “The next thing that I, quite frankly, heard about it was that this $31,000 table had been bought.” Carson has come under fire for giving family members unprecedented sway at HUD, but apparently he’s not above scapegoating them when his reputation is on the line. Carson also said that once he was made aware of the prohibitive dining-set cost, he nixed the purchase immediately. And he emphasized that he and his wife are both very thrifty people, by nature. “If it were up to me I would decorate my office like a hospital waiting room,” he said. Still, he maintained, the furniture needed replacing — if only for safety’s sake. He described a potentially dangerous office environment in which “people were stuck by nails, and a chair had collapsed with someone sitting in it.” (Everyone knows you can’t find a safe dining-room table for anything under $15,000.) A whistleblower at HUD said that she had been demoted after reporting that the furniture exceeded the $5,000 legal cost limit. She was allegedly told that “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair.” A HUD spokesman initially claimed that “career staffers in charge of the building” were to blame for the dining set, but internal emails told a very different story. Scott Pruitt’s habit of sitting in first class to avoid the wrath of apopleptic liberals is looking pretty good by comparison right now. \|\|\|\|\| Pinterest Alex Wong/Getty Images Hopefully his couch at home is comfortable, because he's about to be sleeping on it. Ben Carson, who still serves in Donald Trump's Cabinet despite the fact that he now spends most of his time thumbing through old Restoration Hardware catalogs, continued his spirited public defense of his infamous $31,000 office dining set in a congressional oversight hearing on Tuesday. This time, the culprit was not the Carson family's passion for tasteful interior design, or the government's interest in replacing antique office furniture. No, said Ben Carson. He needed a $31,000 office dining set for safety. I was told that the dining room set needed to be changed. I said, "Why"? Because people were stuck by nails, and a chair had collapsed with someone sitting in it. It's 50 years old. Internal HUD emails indicate that at least one official had expressed concern that a chair could collapse and cause "embarrassment" for the hypothetical victim, but no publicly-released evidence indicates that such a disaster ever occurred. Even if the secretary's guests were having their evenings (and their formalwear) ruined by ill-timed puncture wounds, though, Carson's proffered explanation fails to address why the chosen solution to this problem was a $31,000 one. That detail came later, when Carson, claiming that he had had too much on his agenda to worry about furniture selection, smiled earnestly at the assembled panel and proceeded to throw his wife of more than four decades under the bus. I left it with my wife. I said, "Help choose something." ... The next thing that I, quite frankly, heard about it is that this $31,000 table had been bought. I said, "What the heck is that all about?" I investigated and immediately had it cancelled. Not that we don't need the furniture, but I thought that that was excessive. Set aside, for a moment, the fact that Carson at first opined that the cost of the table was reasonable, and that he cancelled the order only after the public excoriated him for caring more about his office's redecorating budget than he does about poor people. Why is Candy Carson choosing how to spend taxpayer dollars? And why does Ben Carson think that pointing the finger at her will absolve him of responsibility? I'm no auditor, but I am guessing that "ceding unilateral decisionmaking authority to one's spouse" does not appear in any best practices manual for stewardship of government funds. It has been remarkable to watch this man transform over the past few years from a celebrity doctor who did silly cameos in Farrelly brothers movies to a grifting bureaucrat who is coming unglued before our eyes by his baffling inability to not fuck up the acquisition of a dining room table. I hope Ben Carson's taste in luxury furniture extends to the couch he bought for his home, because I am also reasonably confident that he's going to be sleeping on it tonight. Watch:	– Newly uncovered emails suggest Ben Carson and his wife did know about the $31,000 dining room set purchased for his office last year, and on Tuesday, the secretary of housing and urban development gave a meandering explanation of the controversial purchase during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing to determine his department's budget. "I was not big into redecorating. If it were up to me, my office would look like a hospital waiting room," he said, per the New York Times. "I invited my wife to come and help. I left it to my wife, you know, to choose something. I dismissed myself from the issues." She "selected the color and style ... with the caveat that we were both not happy about the price," he said, noting that top aides were also involved in the process. In the past, Carson had said he was unaware of the price entirely. The aforementioned emails, however, tell a slightly different story, with one email from the department's administrative officer saying she "has printouts of the furniture the secretary and Mrs. Carson picked out." During the hearing, Carson also said multiple times that he did not know about the $5,000 limit cabinet secretaries can spend on redecorating, but the emails also show aides talking about how to get around that limit. Carson also said during the hearing that the new furniture was about safety, not redecoration: "People were stuck by nails, and a chair had collapsed with someone sitting in it," he said, though it's not clear any such thing had ever actually happened. Not surprisingly, Carson's mention of his wife during the hearing is getting slammed in the media: GQ says he "[threw] his wife of more than four decades under the bus," while New York calls his justification the "worst excuse ever."
Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| Jeff Sessions, who spent two decades in the Senate, is practically a household name in Alabama. \| Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Elections Sessions might run for old Senate seat in Alabama Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering running for his old Alabama Senate seat in 2020, according to two people familiar with his thinking. Sessions was fired as attorney general Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. President Donald Trump had publicly savaged Sessions throughout his tenure, and his dismissal had long been expected. Story Continued Below After Sessions left the Senate in 2017, his vacated seat was won by Democrat Doug Jones in a special election upset. Jones is up for a full term in 2020, and he is widely viewed as the most vulnerable incumbent senator facing reelection given Alabama’s conservative tilt. Republicans are certain to contest the seat aggressively as they look to protect their majority. Former Republican Sen. Luther Strange, who was temporarily appointed to Sessions’ former seat, took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to encourage a comeback bid. “Jeff Sessions for Senate in 2020!” Strange wrote. Sessions, who spent two decades in the Senate, is practically a household name in his home state, and speculation has been simmering for weeks within Alabama political circles that he might seek a return. Yet, party officials stress that the 71-year-old Sessions wouldn’t necessarily face a clear path should he wage a comeback. Trump’s relentless attacks on the former attorney general, they say, have taken a toll on his popularity in the state. And others are certain to be interested in running. GOP Rep. Bradley Byrne is widely talked about as a potential contender. \|\|\|\|\| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| It didn’t take long after Election Night for Donald Trump to do what he’d clearly been itching to do for more than a year — fire Jeff Sessions. And it didn’t take long after that for Jeff Sessions to start talking about a return to the status quo ante, either: Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering running for his old Alabama Senate seat in 2020, according to two people familiar with his thinking. I wrote about this yesterday morning before the announcement of Sessions’ “resignation” later in the day. The move is so obvious that it hardly needs mentioning; the series of decisions that led from Sessions and Republicans having a secure lifetime seat in the Senate to having a Democrat occupy it are several and foolish. Sessions might be forgiven for reaching out for his dream job when it was offered, but he had a much different idea of the Attorney General position than Trump had. And then, the White House — specifically Steve Bannon — had a much different idea of an Alabama Senator than Alabamans had. Sessions has already picked up an endorsement from the man who should have gotten the nomination against Doug Jones in the special election. In fact, Luther Strange sent this out as soon as Sessions’ resignation was announced: Jeff Sessions for Senate in 2020! #alpolitics — Luther Strange (@lutherstrange) November 7, 2018 Not so fast, warns Politico’s Alex Isenstadt: Sessions, who spent two decades in the Senate, is practically a household name in his home state, and speculation has been simmering for weeks within Alabama political circles that he might seek a return. Yet, party officials stress that the 71-year-old Sessions wouldn’t necessarily face a clear path should he wage a comeback. Trump’s relentless attacks on the former attorney general, they say, have taken a toll on his popularity in the state. And others are certain to be interested in running. GOP Rep. Bradley Byrne is widely talked about as a potential contender. Want to bet which candidate the White House would back? Or have they learned their lesson about interfering in Alabama primaries? For everyone outside of Alabama, the first practical priority is winning the seat back. If Byrne can do that, great, but Doug Jones will have some draw as an incumbent, and the presidential-cycle turnout might shift if Democrats manage to nominate someone charismatic and practical. Having Sessions’ name recognition on the ballot is no small bonus. Plus, Sessions did a very good job during his tenure in the Senate and Republicans can rely on his judgment in that seat. Having him back in the Senate might turn into a headache for President Trump at some point, but first Trump has to win re-election, and it might not be bad for Trump to reconcile with Sessions ahead of that campaign to heal a few wounds.	– Jeff Sessions may be out of a job as attorney general, but this week's resignation means that he could run again for his former Senate seat in Alabama. Politico quotes two sources saying that Sessions is considering a run against incumbent Democrat Doug Jones in 2020, and CNN's Jake Tapper similarly reports that Sessions is "taking a serious look" at the race. Sessions held the seat for two decades before leaving to lead Trump's Justice Department, and his entry into the race would seemingly give Republicans a decent chance of flipping the seat back to the party. Jones is seen as particularly vulnerable in the red state. The man temporarily appointed to fill Sessions' seat until Jones was sworn in, Luther Strange, is all for it. “Jeff Sessions for Senate in 2020!” he tweeted. Politico, however, points out that Sessions isn't a cinch to win the GOP nomination should he choose to run, given President Trump's relentless attacks on him. At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey adds this: "Having him back in the Senate might turn into a headache for President Trump at some point, but first Trump has to win re-election, and it might not be bad for Trump to reconcile with Sessions ahead of that campaign to heal a few wounds." (After the special election to fill Sessions' seat, Trump issued an I-told-you-so tweet.)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl P. Paladino today said he's not accusing Democratic rival Andrew Cuomo of having had an extramarital affair. Paladino, speaking from his Buffalo office, said he has been subjected to so many questions about his personal life that he recently questioned whether the media, in fairness, is also posing personal questions to Cuomo. However, Paladino said, he wasn't accusing Cuomo of having an extramarital affair. "I'm sick and tired of people asking me about if I've had affairs," Paladino said. "I was talking to [a reporter with Politico.com] and said 'Why don't you ask Andrew Cuomo if he has had extramarital affairs. It's not that I was accusing him." In addition, Paladino misspoke Wednesday night when telling a New York Post reporter that he would provide proof of a Cuomo affair "at the appropriate time," Paladino campaign manager Michael Caputo said today. Paladino misunderstood the question he was being asked by New York Post reporter Fred U. Dicker, and the context of the question, Caputo said. Dicker was very "in your face" and poking Paladino, Caputo said. Dicker, he said, was asking Paladino questions about an interview that appeared in Politico.com that Paladino had not seen. In addition, Caputo noted, Dicker is the Post staffer that Paladino has accused of sending a reporter to the home of his 10-year-old daughter, trying to take pictures of the child through a window. In an interview with Politico.com posted Wednesday, Paladino is quoted as saying: "Has anybody asked Andrew Cuomo about his paramours?" And Caputo is quoted as chiming in with: "When he was married." Paladino continued, "When he was married -- or asked him why his wife left him or threw him out of the house? Has anybody ever done that? What are they doing intruding on my life?" Paladino had made similar comments in the past to Newsday, the Long Island newspaper. "Do we know what caused Cuomo to break up with his wife? Do we know?Why isn't somebody asking that?" Paladino had said to Newsday. "These arethe questions the public wants to know. Let's vet him, vet him veryvery carefully." Wednesday evening, at a campaign event in Lake George, Dicker, from the Post, asked Paladino if he had evidence supporting his allegation that Cuomo had an affair when he was married to Kerry Kennedy. "Of course, I do," Paladino snapped. "You'll get it at the appropriate time." The confrontation between Paladino and Dicker then continued, featuring shouting, pushing and campaign aides hustling Paladino into a bathroom to escape the scene. "I want to know why you sent goons after my daughter," Paladino shouted at Dicker, referring to photographers at the home of his young daughter. At another point, Paladino told Dicker he would "take him out." Paladino today said the comment was not a threat, but rather a continuation of a campaign theme. Throughout the campaign, Paladino said, a theme has been: "I'm going to take out the governor. I'm going to take out Sheldon Silver. I'm going to take out the trash." While the Cuomo campaign declined comment, the political world was abuzz as insiders debated whether the confrontation would hurt or help Paladino's campaign. Will it depict Paladino as someone who comes unglued in the heat of the moment or as someone willing to stand up to the press -- an industry that has its public relations issues, especially with Paladino's base of support among conservatives? One supporter said voters will see the incident as involving an unconventional candidate living up to his convictions and take-no-prisoners style. "He's absolutely standing up for what he believes in," said Nick Langworthy, the Erie County GOP chairman. "He believed Fred Dicker and the New York Post put his daughter in harm's way and he didn't back down." But others noted the outburst came at a time when Democrats have been trying to build up a public image of Paladino as "unfit" for the important office of governor. "Of course it will sell with some voters," said Douglas Muzzio, a political scientist at Baruch College. "But who are those voters and what are their numbers?" "I think a larger number of people are saying, 'This guy in an hour smeared a gubernatorial candidate without evidence and then threatened a member of the press," Muzzio said. [email protected] \|\|\|\|\| Carl Paladino now admits he really doesn't have any proof of Andrew Cuomo's 'paramours' Gifter for News; Maisel/News Numerous insiders called it 'hypocritical' for Carl Paladino to tar Andrew Cuomo. ALBANY - Flame-throwing Carl Paladino on Thursday backed down from his unsubstantiated claim that Democratic foe Andrew Cuomo cheated on his wife. Paladino told the Buffalo News he never intended to make the allegation, but was simply frustrated by attention on his own personal life. "I'm sick and tired of people asking me about if I've had affairs," said Paladino, who had an extramarital affair that resulted in a now 10-year-old love child. "I was talking to [Politico.com] and said 'why don't you ask Andrew Cuomo if he has had extramartial affairs," he told the paper. "It's not that I was accusing him." The controversy erupted Wednesday just hours after Tea Party darling Paladino promised the ugly campaign would get even nastier. Paladino quickly sunk the campaign to a new low, complaining to Politico that the media was too focused on his extramarital affair. "Has anybody asked Andrew Cuomo about his paramours?" during his 13-year marriage to Kerry Kennedy, Paladino railed without offering proof. At the time of Cuomo's 2003 divorce, it was reported Kennedy had an affair with socialite Bruce Colley. No reports pegged Cuomo as a cheater. Pressed on the issue Wednesday night, Paladino erupted at a reporter and vowed to provide evidence "at the appropriate time." Thursday, Paladino told Buffalo's WBEN-AM he did not mean to imply he had evidence, saying he misunderstood the question. Hours before his reversal, however, Paladino did an interview with YNN's "Capital Tonight" where he not only didn't backtrack, but promised more dirt. "Andrew Cuomo has to account for ... his past," he said. "I will assure you this is just the beginning of what I will vet on Andrew Cuomo." A Cuomo spokesman had no comment. On Wednesday, the campaign said it would not get in the "gutter" with Paladino. Paladino's accusation had fellow Republicans and Conservatives feeling he went too far. "Do I agree with Carl going after Cuomo's family? No I don't," said Michael Long, head of the state Conservative Party. "Families should be left out of the picture." Numerous insiders called it "hypocritical" for Paladino to tar Cuomo, who has three daughters, with an unsubstantiated infidelity charge while warning Cuomo and the media to keep his family out of the race. Veteran GOP political consultant Ed Rollins called Paladino's attack "outrageous" and said he can't remember when a candidate dipped so low. "I would discourage any candidate that I had from even going there," he said. "It's down and dirty. [Michael Vick] in his days of dogfighting would be proud of this one." [email protected]	– So, remember when Carl Paladino accused his rival, Andrew Cuomo, of having an affair? Yeah, he didn't really mean that. Yesterday, he retracted the claim, saying it was all just a big misunderstanding, reports the Buffalo News. Paladino says he was just so "sick and tired" of the affair questions lobbed his way that he asked a reporter if the press had asked the same questions of Cuomo. "It's not that I was accusing him," he said, though he did tell jostled New York Post reporter Fred Dicker that he would supply proof "at the appropriate time." "Misunderstanding" or not, Paladino's claim about Cuomo seems to be baseless, notes the New York Daily News. Paladino asked reporters if anybody had investigated his rival's "paramours" during his 13-year marriage to Kerry Kennedy (daughter of Robert F. Kennedy). But, the News notes, it was Kennedy, not Cuomo, whose cheating was linked to their 2003 divorce. There is no evidence, so far, of an Andrew Cuomo affair. Click here to follow the Paladino-Cuomo battle.
These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. \|\|\|\|\| Riviera Beach police are not investigating a March dare that started with a YouTube video and ended with the death of an 8-year-old girl, authorities said Friday. In fact, police were not called to the Riviera home where Ki’ari Pope reportedly drank boiling water from a straw on a dare, authorities said. The dare happened in March, but Ki’ari died early Monday after saying she couldn’t breathe. Her exact cause of death has not been released. On Thursday evening, a relative of the girl told reporters what happened that March day. Ki’ari was with cousins, all of whom were her age, watching YouTube videos when the little girl saw a “boiling water challenge,” Diane Johnson, Ki’ari’s mother’s cousin, said from the girl’s Boynton Beach home. According to state records obtained by The Palm Beach Post, Ki’ari burned her mouth and throat after her cousin dared her to drink the water. Johnson said Ki’ari was the kind of kid who, if you dared her, she wouldn’t back down. MORE: Boynton girl, 8, dead after dare to drink boiling water Ki’ari Pope died Monday, months after drinking boiling water out of a staw on a dare. The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the 8-year-old Boynton Beach resident’s death. (Family photo) (Palm Beach Post Staff Writer) Riviera police learned about the dare after the girl was taken to a hospital for her injuries. But authorities who contacted Riviera police referred not to the dare but of suspicions “of another matter,” according to authorities. Police would not specify the nature of that matter, beyond saying the allegations were unfounded. According to a GoFundMe page set up for Ki’ari’s funeral expenses, she received a tracheotomy (an incision in the windpipe) that reportedly left her unable to talk and with chronic respiratory problems. Doctors had told the family they expected the girl to recover from surgery. Ki’ari’s mother, Marquisia Bonner, chronicled her little girl’s time in and out of hospitals on her public Facebook page. A picture posted in March at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami shows someone holding Ki’ari’s hand, which is hooked up to monitors in a hospital bed. “Lords know I haven’t felt this kinda pain since my daddy died,” the post reads. “It hurts so much. Y’all pray from my baby Ki’ari and plz don’t ask what happened!” In May the mother posted a picture of a smiling Ki’ari captioned: “This last month my baby been thru so much. I didn’t realize how strong she was until that was her only option.” Johnson said Ki’ari did have trouble breathing some days, but she was still a happy and fun soon-to-be third-grader who loved basketball. “She was very spontaneous and liked to run and jump and say, ‘No, I’m not playing with a baby doll or painting my nails. No. Give me a basketball and let me go,’ ” Johnson said, giggling at the thought of the little girl. Late Sunday, Ki’ari told her mother’s boyfriend she was having breathing problems. Minutes later she was unresponsive. The boyfriend called 911, and rescue crews rushed her from her Boynton Beach home to a hospital, where she died at 12:15 Monday morning, according to records from the Florida Department of Children and Families. Johnson said they were shocked by her death. Ki’ari’s mother declined to speak with the media Thursday evening. “Our family is very close-knit, we’ve never experienced anything at this magnitude in my family,” Johnson said. “We’ve never buried a child.” The Department of Children and Families is investigating Ki’ari’s death, which is at least the 11th investigation into Ki’ari and her family since 2008, according to DCF records. MORE: Florida’s first responders to child abuse overwhelmed by workload Four of those investigations were within the past seven months, records show, the most recent of which stemmed from a June incident in which a relative was watching the girl. Five other reports looked into alleged violence between the mother and her “paramour,” a term used by DCF to classify the boyfriends or girlfriends of custodial parents. It is unclear whether that paramour is the same as the one who called 911 before Ki’ari died. At least one of those investigations — it is unclear which — yielded verified proof either of abuse or neglect. Family said Ki’ari and her siblings were never removed from the home, even after the boiling water incident. However, after Ki’ari’s death, the three other young children in the home were placed in relatives’ care, DCF authorities said. “The loss of this child is truly devastating and our condolences go out to all those who loved her,” department Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement Wednesday. “We have opened a child death investigation to examine the circumstances surrounding her death and will deploy a Critical Incident Rapid Response Team to review all interactions this family has had with Florida’s child welfare system. “We will also continue to work closely with law enforcement to support their continued efforts.” Records indicate Boynton Beach police were notified about the girl’s death. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an investigation into Ki’ari’s death.	– In March, Ki’ari Pope drank boiling water through a straw after she and her cousin watched a video of someone appearing to do it on YouTube and her cousin dared her to try. Early Monday, the Florida 8-year-old was pronounced dead after months of medical issues related to the tragic stunt. Ki'ari underwent emergency surgery to clear scar tissue on her windpipe so she could breathe; after the tracheotomy, she continued to have difficulty breathing (requiring two trips to the ER) and also talking. She had a doctor's appointment set for Friday to be checked. But on Sunday night, she told her mother's boyfriend she was struggling to breathe; she lost consciousness within minutes and was pronounced dead about an hour later, at 12:15am Monday, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. The Medical Examiner's Office is still determining Ki'ari's cause of death, and Florida's Department of Children and Families is investigating the incident. There have been at least 10 other DCF cases related to the family since 2008, the Palm Beach Post reports, five of them involving alleged domestic violence between Ki'ari's mother and her boyfriend; it's not clear whether the boyfriend who called 911 after Ki'ari lost consciousness is the same one from those reports. At least one of the DCF cases resulted in verified proof of abuse or neglect, but details aren't available. DCF isn't saying whether the girl's mother or other family members are under investigation, but a woman identifying herself as the mother's cousin says DCF officials took Ki'ari's three siblings away Thursday. Ki'ari's family is raising money to go toward funeral costs on GoFundMe.
BRIT sailor, Lewis Bennett, has admitted killing his wife after their boat sunk on their Caribbean honeymoon. The 41-year-old has pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of Isabella Hellman. Facebook 7 Brit Lewis Bennett has admitted killing his wife Isabella Colombian estate agent Isabella, 41, disappeared when the couple’s 37ft catamaran sank off Cuba. Her body was never found despite a search. Bennett, 41, had always denied killing her. But the engineer — who lived in Florida with Isabella and daughter Emelia, two — admitted involuntary manslaughter in a Miami court tonight. 7 Hellmann's text messages have revealed that she felt Bennett did not 'respect her any more' 7 Prosecutors believe the pair had an 'intense argument' before the incident Facebook 7 Within 24 hours of her disappearance, Mr Bennett asked for a 'letter of presumed death' so he could settle her estate It is understood he has agreed a plea deal sparing him a murder trial. Bennett, of Poole, Dorset, faces a maximum eight years in jail when he is sentenced on January 10. The Florida court heard he made no effort to find his wife, instead he loaded items onto a life raft after their vessel sunk. Prosecutors alleged he murdered Isabella for her estate and sank the boat on May 15. He claims she was piloting the boat and he was asleep but woke up to find the vessel damaged and his new wife missing. Bennett made a distress call five hours later and was alone when a helicopter crew pulled him from the sea. Boca Raton Police 7 Lewis Bennett has been filmed in an emotional bust-up with the family of his wife 7 Bennett claimed he was sleeping when their boat hit something and when he went to check on Isabella, she was gone Facebook 7 Isabella Hellmann was described as 'full of happiness and joy' In court documents filed last week police allege Mr Bennett, 41, from Poole, Dorset, killed his wife to end “marital strife” between the couple. And now Hellmann's text messages have revealed that she felt Bennett did not "respect her any more" and that she "found an angry person" when she came home. Hellmann, 41, also said she was "afraid to get home", The Times reports. Court documents detail the text messages, which also read: "Sometimes I can be a pain in the a** and more but you need to change your attitude... you make me crazy shouting, yelling, swearing... YOU ARE PUSHING ME AWAY." Months before Ms Hellmann's disappearance, she wrote: "If you don’t like me or love me anymore let us fix this asap because is very pathetic the way you treated me all the time." MOST READ IN NEWS Latest MYSTERY SOLVED Girl feared abducted is found safe after dad tells cops he's man in CCTV HARROWING ORDEAL Girl, 10, who got pregnant after being 'raped by brother' gives birth ENERGY CRISIS Just ONE energy drink 'increases risk of heart problems - in 90 minutes' VILE VID ARRESTS Five men arrested over 'sick' Grenfell Tower effigy video as PM slams mob Exclusive CREDIT CRUNCHED Dad on Universal Credit gets NOTHING for 2 months after pay cheque glitch Investigators also found he was smuggling rare coins during his rescue, worth £30,000. He is serving a seven-month jail service for possession of the loot. Explosive police Bodycam footage showed him rowing with his late wife's family as they confronted him over he death. Police bodycam footage shows Lewis Bennett clashing with the sister-in-law and mum of tragic Isabella Hellmann We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours. \|\|\|\|\| Image copyright PA/Broward Sheriff's Office Image caption Lewis Bennett was given a seven-month jail sentence for smuggling stolen coins A British man who claimed his American wife had disappeared at sea after their catamaran sank off the coast of Cuba has admitted killing her. Lewis Bennett and Isabella Hellmann had been married three months when she was reported missing by her husband. Detectives later learnt that the boat had been deliberately sunk. Her body has never been found. On Monday Bennett, 41, admitted a charge of involuntary manslaughter at a hearing in Miami, Florida. The British-Australian dual citizen, from Poole, Dorset, had been due to stand trial in December charged with second degree murder. But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of unlawful killing without malice after striking a plea deal. The couple had been sailing the 37ft (11m) catamaran from Cuba to their home in Delray Beach, Florida, when Bennett reported Ms Hellmann missing in an SOS call on 15 May 2017. He claimed their catamaran was sinking and his 41-year-old wife was nowhere to be seen. Image copyright US Coast Guard Image caption Bennett reported his wife missing in an SOS call as their catamaran was sinking However, the authorities soon suspected that Bennett had killed his wife, who was the mother of his child. In the months after her disappearance he asked for her to be declared dead. Prosecutors alleged that he was motivated by money, as he would have inherited Ms Hellmann's apartment in Florida and the contents of her bank account. During his rescue investigators also found that he had been smuggling stolen antique coins, worth nearly £30,000. He had reported the coins as being stolen from a former employer in St Maarten a year earlier. Bennett is currently serving a seven-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to transporting the coins. He faces a maximum eight-year prison term when he is sentenced over his wife's death next year. \|\|\|\|\| Lewis Bennett pleads guilty to manslaughter of newlywed wife while on honeymoon in Bahamas Updated An Australian man whose newlywed wife went missing at sea as the couple sailed off to the Bahamas on a belated honeymoon has pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a US court. Key points: Bennett, a mining engineer, had told the FBI and British journalists that he and Ms Hellmann went for a Caribbean cruise He is an experienced sailor who received a certification from the Royal Yachting Association in the United Kingdom He did not deploy any flares and did not search for Ms Hellmann in the water with either the catamaran or an attached dinghy Lewis Bennett, 41, entered the plea at a hearing on Monday in Miami. He faces a maximum eight-year prison sentence over the May 2017 disappearance of Isabella Hellmann, his wife of just three months. US District Judge Federico Moreno set sentencing for January 10. "Although nothing can ever erase the pain and suffering caused by Lewis Bennett's criminal acts, the US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners hope that the defendant's admission of guilt is a step toward justice for the victim," US Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan said in a statement. The guilty plea means Hallmann's family may never know what happened on the night that she went missing. Bennett, a mining engineer, had told the FBI and British journalists that he and Hellmann, a South Florida real estate agent, took their 11-metre catamaran, Surf Into Summer, for a Caribbean cruise. They left their infant daughter, Emelia, with her family in Florida. As the catamaran passed the Bahamas on the return to Florida, Bennett sent out an emergency radio signal. When the Coast Guard found him on a life raft three hours later, he told rescuers he left Hellmann on deck as he retired for the night to their cabin. He said he was jolted awake when their craft hit something and that Hellmann was gone when he went outside. He said he abandoned the catamaran in a life raft because it was sinking. A sworn document signed by Bennett and filed in court stated he could not recall whether he called out for his wife. He did not deploy any flares and did not search for Hellmann in the water with either the catamaran or an attached dinghy. Nor did Bennet immediately activate any emergency equipment or call for help using his satellite phone. It was not until Bennett boarded the life raft that he called for help and reported his wife missing, about 45 minutes after he was awakened. Prosecutors said Bennett was an experienced sailor who received a certification from the Royal Yachting Association in the United Kingdom as a "Coastal Skipper". The training included instruction on emergency procedures such as man-overboard protocols and night-sailing safety. His wife was not nearly as experienced. The Coast Guard eventually located the boat. The FBI said an inspection of the catamaran showed portholes below the waterline had been opened, and damage to the twin hulls appeared to have been caused from the inside, meaning the boat may have been intentionally scuttled. Also investigators found Bennett on the life raft with $100,000 worth of coins stolen from a yacht he had worked aboard in 2016. Bennett pleaded guilty to the coin-theft charge and received a seven-month prison sentence. While serving that sentence, he was charged in February with Hellmann's death and has remained jailed. AP/ABC Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, united-states, bahamas First posted	– A British-Australian man who claimed his American wife was lost at sea when their sailing catamaran sank off the coast of Cuba has admitted to killing her. Lewis Bennett, facing a second-degree murder charge, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Miami on Monday, reports the BBC. Bennett, 41, had been sailing from Cuba to Delray Beach, Fla., with his wife of three months, Isabella Hellmann, when he sent out an SOS call on May 15, 2017. Bennett said he'd been awoken by a jolt of impact to find the boat taking on water and his wife missing. After he escaped on a life raft, however, authorities noted damage to the boat appeared to have been caused from the inside and portholes below the waterline had been opened. Text messages also revealed Hellmann was "afraid to get home," as her husband was "an angry person" who did not "respect her anymore," per the Sun. Though the guilty plea means family members may never know how Hellmann died—a body wasn't found—"the US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners hope that the defendant's admission of guilt is a step toward justice for the victim," US Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan says, per ABC Australia. In a statement issued through a lawyer, however, Hellmann's family says "there is nothing that Lewis can do to ease the pain he has caused them by taking Isabella from them." Bennett, who would've inherited Hellmann's apartment and bank accounts, was discovered three hours after the SOS call on a life raft with various belongings, including a tea set and $40,000 in antique coins stolen from a yacht where he'd previously worked. Now serving seven months for transporting the coins, Bennett will face up to eight years in prison at his Jan. 10 sentencing.
TIANJIN, China — Officials grappling with the toxic fallout from a series of deadly explosions that rocked this northern port city last week found themselves struggling on Thursday to explain thousands of dead fish that washed up on a riverbank less than four miles away from the blast site. News of the die-off coincided with reports that wastewater runoff near the site of the explosions contained hundreds of times as much cyanide as the maximum level allowed by law. Sodium cyanide, a chemical widely used in gold mining operations, can be toxic to humans even in minuscule quantities. The authorities have acknowledged that at least 700 tons of sodium cyanide were stored at the warehouse that exploded on Aug. 12, killing more than 100 people and injuring hundreds more. \|\|\|\|\| SHANGHAI (AP) — The man unveiled as principal owner of the warehouses at the center of deadly blasts in Tianjin also is on the board of a state-owned company that is ultimately controlled by the same powerful entity investigating the explosions, an Associated Press review of public documents found. In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, Chinese men walk through the site of an explosion at a warehouse in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality. The man unveiled as principal owner of the warehouses... (Associated Press) In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 Chinese men walks through the site of an explosion at a warehouse in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality. The man unveiled as principal owner of the warehouses... (Associated Press) In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, a window shattered by the shockwaves frame the site of an explosion at a warehouse in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality. The man unveiled as principal... (Associated Press) In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, a window shattered by the shockwaves frame the site of an explosion at a warehouse in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality. The man unveiled as principal... (Associated Press) In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, fire fighters work near the site of an explosion at a warehouse in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality. The man unveiled as principal owner of the warehouses... (Associated Press) Corporate filings show that Yu Xuewei, the silent majority shareholder of Ruihai International Logistics, sits on the board of directors of a subsidiary of China Sinochem, one of the country's most influential conglomerates. Like other large state companies, Sinochem is controlled by the State Council, the central authority overseeing the investigation into last week's explosions at Ruihai's chemical warehouses that killed at least 114 people and displaced thousands. Yu's connections hint at the extent of his political network and showcase the complexity of China's political system, in which the entity running an investigation can be linked to the company it is investigating. Major state-owned Chinese companies often are accused of ignoring safety and other regulations, especially Cabinet-level enterprises whose chief executives have a higher status in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy than the regulators who are supposed to oversee them. The subsidiary where Yu serves as a director, Tianjin Port Sinochem Dangerous Goods Logistics Co., also has been accused of violating safety standards at its own hazmat warehouses. The environmental group Greenpeace released an investigation this week saying Tianjin Port Sinochem and its sister company, Sinochem Tianjin Binhai Logistic Corp., operated hazardous chemical warehouses less than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from a major highway, schools and residences, in violation of Chinese safety laws. China Sinochem has tried to distance itself from Ruihai. Two days after the explosions it published a statement acknowledging that former staff members worked at Ruihai, but disavowing any deeper links. Sinochem wrote that Ruihai "has no relationship with Sinochem or its affiliated companies" and that former employees had "all long terminated employment" with Sinochem and its affiliates. Current corporate records, however, show that Yu was a director Tianjin Port Sinochem even after he founded Ruihai. Those records, filed with the Administration for Industry and Commerce in Tianjin, were last updated in February and no subsequent changes to the board have been recorded. The majority owner of Sinochem Logistics is Sinochem Tianjin Co., a subsidiary of China Sinochem, AIC records show. Attempts to reach Sinochem for comment Thursday were unsuccessful. No one at Tianjin Port Sinochem answered the phone. Sinochem Tianjin Binhai Logistic Corp. referred questions to the Sinochem Group. Calls, emails and a text message to Sinochem's spokesman were not returned. Yu admitted to using his political influence to get around safety norms in an interview published Wednesday by the state-run Xinhua News Agency, which was granted exclusive access to him in detention. He said he masked his affiliation with Ruihai by registering his 55 percent stake in the name of his wife's cousin. The now-destroyed Ruihai warehouses violated Chinese law because they were less than 600 meters (2,000 feet) from a large housing complex, highway and light rail station — and for other reasons. Ruihai was licensed to warehouse hazardous chemicals only through Oct. 16, 2014, according to Administration for Industry and Commerce records. Ruihai obtained a port license in June 2015 that again allowed them to work with dangerous chemicals, but in the interim handled hazmat without a license, according to Xinhua. Ruihai also failed to file annual reports in 2013 and 2014, according to its filings. Yu owns Ruihai with Dong Shexuan, whose father used to be chief of police at Tianjin Port and put his shares in the name of a schoolmate, according to Xinhua. Both men have been detained by police. Dong told Xinhua, "My connections cover police and fire, and Yu Xuewei's connections cover work safety, port management, customs, maritime affairs, environmental protection." Despite such stark revelations in China's official media, the full web of interlocking interests and ownership behind Ruihai remains murky. The scope of published investigations has been largely restricted to Ruihai's local power network. Reports in Chinese media exploring Ruihai's connection with Sinochem have been censored. Sinochem, founded one year after the People's Republic of China itself was born, has interests in energy, agriculture, chemicals, real estate and financial services. Sinochem said in its latest annual report that it has 50,000 employees and more than 300 subsidiaries. The State Council, China's cabinet, has set up a panel to investigate the accident, which has sparked public outrage at regulatory and safety lapses and gross chemical contamination in one of China's largest cities. In the aftermath of the disaster, the political response has spiraled to the top levels of power. President Xi Jinping and other top leaders of the ruling Communist Party put out a statement calling the blasts "a profound lesson paid with blood" and vowed to punish those responsible, the People's Daily reported Friday. The government has been struggling to manage signs of deep-seated frustration about the powerful and well-connected using their status to flout rules and endanger the public. Media coverage has been tightly monitored and censorship of social media commentary has surged. Many of those impacted were middle-class homeowners who had bought into Beijing's vision of Tianjin as a rising economic gateway to China's northeast. "If our homes are gone how can we have the faith to support and love the party or the country?" said Niu Guijun, who purchased a home near the blast site in 2013. Ruihai's links to the State Council illustrate the overlapping corporate, political and regulatory interests that are the norm in China's one-party system. "Who tries to monitor how the industry works — regulators — government officers who develop safety policy, and also the commercial business owners, all these interests are mixed," said Fu King-wa, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Center. "I think a lot of people find this a problem, but there's no channel to try and execute reform in a political manner." Yu and the reported frontman for his shares in Ruihai, Li Liang, played roles in at least four other companies, according to Chinese and Hong Kong corporate filings. Though Yu Xuewei's name does not appear in Ruihai's corporate filings in China, Hong Kong records show that he set up a company called Hong Kong Ruihai International Logistics Co. Ltd. in January 2013, less than two months after Ruihai Logistics was registered in Tianjin. Many mainland companies also register in Hong Kong to facilitate trade financing. AIC records also name Yu as a board member of Tianjin Henglu Biopharmaceutical Technology Co. Ltd., which was set up in January 2014 to do development and consulting work and sell chemicals, though not hazardous ones. ___ Associated Press video journalist Paul Traynor contributed to this report from Tianjin. \|\|\|\|\| A posting on the Twitter account of state broadcaster China Central Television showing photos of dead fish washed ashore in Tianjin. Twitter.com More than a week after the Tianjin warehouse explosion that killed at least 114 people, large numbers of dead fish have washed ashore in the northern Chinese city, causing fresh public alarm and inciting fears of greater environmental damage linked to the chemical blast. Photos of thousands of small dead fish on the shore of the Haihe River circulated widely on social media soon after they were published by Chinese state media late Thursday afternoon. One posting was forwarded more than 6,000 times and received 4,300 comments less than three hours after it was published. A posting on Weibo showing dead fish washed ashore in Tianjin. Weibo.com City environmental officials said late Thursday that they didn’t find toxic levels of cyanide from the river during an analysis that afternoon, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Deng Xiaowen, director of Tianjin’s environmental monitoring bureau, said at a press conference Thursday afternoon that experts were investigating the dead fish but that such incidents were “not rare” during the summer, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported. The fish were found six kilometers away from the blast site, the paper said. About 40 different chemicals were stored at the warehouse, including highly toxic sodium cyanide, according to Xinhua. Photos and videos from the blast site have gone viral since the explosion last Wednesday, although China’s censors have been working overtime to keep control of the online discussion. The move to publish the photos, then, is something of an unexpected move by Chinese state media, which typically follows the authorities’ lead in downplaying the extent of natural disasters in the country. Many Web users on Thursday responded with rage to the images. “If the dead fish are related to the explosion, then this is a regional disaster,” one user wrote on Weibo. “The culprits must be sentenced to death.” –Felicia Sonmez. Follow her on Twitter @feliciasonmez. Note: This item has been updated to reflect Xinhua’s report on the Thursday analysis of cyanide levels in the river.	– Thousands of dead fish have been washing ashore a few miles from Tianjin, site of last week's deadly blast, but Chinese authorities say this is "not rare" in summer and probably nothing to worry about. A lot of people however, are very skeptical: They believe the die-off must be connected to the blast at a warehouse that stored 2,500 tons of dangerous chemicals. "I've never seen anything like it," a freight company manager tells the New York Times. "There has to be a link between the dead fish and the blast. What else could explain the death of so many?" The fish washed up on the banks of the Haihe River, which Chinese authorities say has been tested and doesn't contain toxic levels of cyanide. Photos of the dead fish have gone viral on social media in China, though censors have been doing their best to clamp down on discussion of the disaster, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Communist Party has called the disaster a "profound lesson paid with blood," but despite official condemnation, there's plenty of public anger at how the well-connected owners of the hazardous-chemicals warehouse were able to flout regulations, reports the AP, which went through public documents to discover that the majority owner of Ruihai International Logistics sits on the board of directors of a company controlled by the State Council, which is investigating the disaster. (The warehouse was holding 70 times more sodium cyanide than it was allowed to.)
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A witness says a member of the Palestinian Cabinet has died after being hit by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops during a Palestinian protest in the West Bank. Mahmoud Aloul, a leading member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, said the Cabinet member, Ziad Abu Ain, died shortly after the incident Wednesday near the West Bank village of Turmus Aya. Aloul says he and Abu Ain had been among dozens of protesters carrying olive tree saplings during a protest against land confiscations when Israeli troops fired tear gas at them and later beat some of the participants with rifle butts. The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. \|\|\|\|\| TEL AVIV, Israel — A Palestinian Cabinet minister died Wednesday after a confrontation with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian government confirmed. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' announced three days of mourning and halted all contacts and security coordination with Israel after Ziad Abu Ein died in an incident at a protest in the village of Turmus Aya. Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat also condemned what he called an "assassination." "The Israel government bears full responsibility for the killing of Minster Abu Ein and the systematic crimes committed against the Palestinian people," he said in a statement. "This new assassination will have severe consequences." Mahmoud Aloul, a leading member of Abbas' Fatah movement, told The Associated Press that Abu Ein had been among dozens of protesters carrying olive tree saplings during a demonstration against land confiscations when Israeli troops fired tear gas at them. "The minister came to the hospital in a very critical situation, his heart was beating very fast and he had difficulty breathing and bruises on his body," Dr. Rami Abu Khalil told NBC News. "They tried to save his life inside the hospital, but they couldn’t." An autopsy was being conducted, Abu Khalil added. Israel said it was investigating the incident. "Earlier today, approximately 200 rioters gathered in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah. [Israeli] forces halted the progress of the rioters into the civilian community of Adei-Ad using riot dispersal means," the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. "The IDF is reviewing the circumstances of the participation of Ziad Abu Ein, and his later death." Adei Ad is a Jewish settlement near the Palestinian town of Turmus Aya. An Israeli pathologist will join a delegation from Jordan to investigate the circumstances of Abu Ein's death, the IDF added. Abu Ein headed a Palestinian Authority department dealing with Israeli settlements and the Israeli separation barrier, and had the rank of Cabinet member. Previously, he served as deputy minister for prisoner affairs. NBC News' Yara Borgal and Paul Goldman, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. \|\|\|\|\| Abbas announces three days of mourning after Ziad Abu Ain was reportedly shoved by Israeli troops while planting olive trees A senior minister in the government of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas died on Wednesday following a violent confrontation with Israeli troops in a West Bank village near Ramallah. Ziad Abu Ain, who dealt with the issue of Israeli settlements and the separation wall, died as he was being rushed to hospital after becoming involved in clashes with Israeli troops while trying to plant olive trees in the village of Turmusiya near Ramallah. Abbas described the attack as “a barbaric act which we cannot be silent about or accept”. He announced three days of national mourning and said he would take “necessary steps” after an investigation. The death was also condemned by the Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Malki, who said that “Israel will pay” for the “murder” of Abu Ain. Reports said that Abu Ain, a senior figure on Fatah’s revolutionary council, collapsed and died after being struck in the chest at an event where he also inhaled teargas fired by Israeli security forces. Israel’s defence minister, Moshe Yaalon, issued a statement expressing “sorrow”. “The event in which Ziad Abu Ain died is under investigation by the IDF,” said Yaalon. “We have proposed a joint investigation to the Palestinian Authority and that a joint autopsy be carried out on Abu Ain’s body. Security stability is important to both sides and we will continue coordination with the PA.” Mohammed Mohesin, an assistant from Abu Ain’s office who witnessed the incident and travelled in the ambulance to hospital, claimed that over the course of a few minutes one policeman grabbed Abu Ain by the throat, before he was assaulted by two other soldiers a little later. “When we arrived at where we planned to plant, there were a large number of troops waiting for us who fired teargas,” said Mohesin. “He went to talk to them and asking why they were blocking us. One soldier grabbed him by the throat. A few minutes later another one hit him in the throat while a third soldier with a helmet head butted him in the chest. “He was on the ground holding his chest but it appeared he could not recognise the people standing around him.” Mohesin’s description of the headbutt was also described by other eyewitnesses but could not be verified by the Guardian. Video footage of the confrontation – and still photographs – showed Abu Ain being held by the throat by a helmetless officer. A second photograph showed him being held by the shoulders by a border policeman wearing a helmet. An AFP photographer said he had seen Abu Ain struck in the chest. While some witnesses claimed the minister had been struck by a rifle butt, that was denied by an Israeli journalist present, Channel 10 reporter Roy Sharon, in a tweet. Abu Ain was taken to a local clinic then to hospital in Ramallah where he was pronounced dead. An Israeli officer quoted by the Jerusalem Post said there had originally been a minor confrontation over where demonstrators would be allowed to plant. “[Soldiers] then saw a person collapsing. We see on footage from the incident a push [delivered by a border police officer],” the officer said, adding, “I say this with reservation as we are still investigating it.” Another photograph, published by the Palestinian Maan news website, showed Abu Ain lying on the ground after his collapse. Shortly before his death, Abu Ain had spoken to television reporters. “This is the terrorism of the occupation, this is a terrorist army, practising its terrorism on the Palestinian people,” he told the official Palestine TV. “We came to plant trees on Palestinian land, and they launch into an attack on us from the first moment. Nobody threw a single stone.” Confirming the minister’s death, a senior Palestine Liberation Organisation official told the Guardian: “He had gone to plant olive trees in Turmusiya for international human rights day when Israeli soldiers arrived to oppress the demonstration. There are different versions circulating about what happened but he wasn’t shot.” The minister’s death followed violent clashes in the area the night before, prompted by Israeli settlers’ claims that a horse had been stolen. Palestinian villagers claim it was triggered by settlers stoning Palestinian cars. There have been months of violent unrest in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Ten Israelis and a foreign visitor have been killed by Palestinians over the past three months, while more than a dozen Palestinians have also been killed, including most of those who carried out the attacks. Abu Ain, 55, has previously been arrested and imprisoned by Israel. He was extradited from the United States in 1981 over the murder of two Israelis in Tiberias in 1979, and sentenced to life in prison, but released in 1985 in a prisoner exchange. Besides his role in the PA monitoring Israeli settlements and the separation barrier, Abu Ain was a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and previously served as deputy Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs. \|\|\|\|\| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tensions are running high after the death of Ziad Abu Ein, reports Kevin Connolly A Palestinian minister has died after a confrontation with Israeli troops at a protest in the West Bank. Palestinian medics told the BBC Ziad Abu Ein had died from complications related to tear gas exposure. But several witnesses said the minister had been hit and shoved by soldiers. One said he had been hit in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by them. Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon expressed regret for the minister's death in a statement. The Israeli military (IDF) said it was investigating the incidents surrounding Mr Ein's death. Image copyright AFP Image caption One photograph shows Ziad Abu Ein (left) being grabbed by an Israeli soldier at the protest Image copyright AFP Image caption Palestinians gathered outside the hospital in Ramallah where Mr Abu Ein's body was brought Israeli and Jordanian experts would attend a post-mortem examination, the IDF said. It has also proposed setting up a joint team with the Palestinians to investigate Mr Abu Ein's death. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation into the death and urged "all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation". Following the incident dozens of Palestinians reportedly gathered at the scene, near the village of Turmusaya, setting fire to tyres and throwing stones at security forces. Image copyright EPA Image caption Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas led prayers at a PLO meeting called following Ziad abu Ein's death Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) meeting in Ramallah following news of the death of the minister, whom he called a "martyr". Confiscation protest Mr Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, was among dozens of foreign and Palestinian activists taking part in a protest against land confiscations. They had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land near the Jewish settlement of Shiloh, which Palestinians believe has been earmarked for annexation by Israel. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Before he collapsed, Ziad Abu Ein (left) said he and other protesters were assaulted by Israeli soldiers In the course of the protest, they came into confrontation with a group of about 15 Israeli soldiers. Leading Palestinian activist Mahmoud Aloul, who was also at the protest, told the Associated Press news agency the soldiers had fired tear gas and had beaten some of the activists with rifle butts. At one point, Mr Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister, Mr Aloul said. A Reuters photographer said he had seen Mr Abu Ein being struck by a hand on the neck during an altercation with two soldiers. An AFP news agency photographer said the minister had been hit in the chest. Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land they fear will be annexed by Israel Image copyright AFP Image caption But as they approached the land, the protesters were stopped by a group of Israeli soldiers Photos of the incident showed Mr Abu Ein lying unconscious before he was taken away in an ambulance. He died before reaching hospital in the nearby city of Ramallah. There are reports he had a health condition that may have contributed to his death. The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says Palestinians are likely to see the exact cause of death as a secondary issue, and it will serve to sharpen tensions. Condemning "the brutal assault" on Mr Abu Ein, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas promised to take unspecified measures and declared three days of mourning. A Palestinian official told AFP that the session discussed the suspension of security co-operation with Israel, but the decision on whether to take action was deferred until Friday. US Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Italy on Sunday to discuss recent developments and security issues in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, the state department announced. Mr Abu Ein once received the death sentence, commuted to life imprisonment, from a court in Israel for a 1979 bombing that killed two Israeli teenagers. He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange that saw the release of three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon.	– A Palestinian Cabinet member has died amid a West Bank protest, reports say. A leading Fatah figure tells the AP that Ziad Abu Ain was hit by a tear gas canister shot by Israeli troops, while Palestinian health officials say he was suffocated by the tear gas, the BBC reports. Another witness, a Reuters photographer, says Israeli troops hit and pushed Abu Ain, the BBC notes. Mahmoud Aloul, of Fatah, says Abu Ain was involved in a protest against confiscated land that was met with tear gas and troops' rifle butts. "The Israel government bears full responsibility for the killing of Minster Abu Ain and the systematic crimes committed against the Palestinian people," said Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat, as per NBC. "This new assassination will have severe consequences." Israel is reviewing the situation, the Guardian reports, noting that Abu Ain's work involved addressing the matter of Israeli settlements.
Amy Chua, the Yale law professor and best-selling author who endorsed supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has denied allegations that she instructed female law students to exude a “model-like” femininity when interviewing for clerkships with the judge. “Everything that is being said about the advice I give to students applying to Brett Kavanaugh – or any judge – is outrageous, 100% false, and the exact opposite of everything I have stood for and said for the last 15 years,” Chua said in a letter that was sent to the Yale Law School community. The Guardian and the Huffington Post published articles last week that alleged that Chua, the author behind the best-selling book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and her husband, Prof Jed Rubenfeld, told students that Kavanaugh liked his clerks to have a “certain look”. In one case, the advice was so off-putting to one Yale law student that she declined to pursue a clerkship with the judge, according to a source who spoke to the Guardian. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chua with husband and fellow Yale law professor Jed Rubenfeld. Photograph: Mike McGregor for the Guardian Chua has had an outsized influence in helping select clerks for Kavanaugh in her role at Yale Law School. In one case, a former student told the Guardian, a prospective clerk was introduced to Kavanaugh at a party that Chua hosted at her home – and was later told that the judge wanted her to apply for the post. The controversy over Chua’s alleged remarks comes amid allegations Kavanaugh held down a woman and groped her when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh has denied the assault took place. A lawyer for his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, said that Ford was ready to testify about her experience, but wanted to negotiate the terms of her testimony. Chua said in the statement that, contrary to allegations that she told students that it was “no accident” that Kavanaugh hired attractive clerks, she “always” told her students to prep “insanely hard” and that substance was “the most important thing”. But another former law student who was advised by Chua and approached the Guardian after its original story was published on Thursday said his experience was consistent with the allegations presented in the article. The male student, who asked not to be identified, said that when he approached Chua about his interest in clerking for Kavanaugh, the professor said it was “great”, but then added that Kavanaugh “tends to hire women who are generally attractive and then likes to send them to [supreme court Chief Justice John] Roberts”. Kavanaugh sexual assault accusation has both parties 'on a knife's edge' Read more It was a reference to Kavanaugh’s role as a so-called “feeder” judge, whose clerks often go on to win highly coveted clerkships at the US supreme court. The student alleged that Chua then added: “I don’t think it is a sexual thing, but [Kavanaugh] likes to have pretty clerks.” The former student told the Guardian that in the following year, he advised two female classmates who were also interested in clerking for Kavanaugh to talk to Chua. “They got the same advice: ‘He likes girls who are pretty’,” the student said. “Another girl … she got the same advice, and [Chua told her] to wear heels.” The allegations have caused a storm at Yale Law School. In a statement last week, the law school said it would look into the claims promptly. “If true, this advice is clearly unacceptable,” it said. The Brett Kavanaugh case shows we still blame women for the sins of men \| Rebecca Solnit Read more One former student whose account was published last week in the Guardian said that Chua had advised her to dress in an “outgoing” way. She was also advised by Chua to not wear a suit. The former student told the Guardian that she had reported the remarks to a Yale Law School administrator in June 2018 as part of a broader conversation about concerns about Chua and Rubenfeld’s conduct. Rubenfeld, who has courted controversy for his views on rape and consent, is under internal investigation at Yale Law School and not teaching this semester. He told the Guardian in a statement last week that he had been told about the review, but not been informed of the exact nature of the allegations being investigated. He also claimed that he had been advised that the allegations would not jeopardise his position as a tenured member of the faculty. Yale Law School said in a statement that it could not confirm or deny an investigation but that – in cases when a member of the faculty is under review – all options are left on the table. The White House did not respond to the allegations on behalf of Kavanaugh. • If you have a tip related to this story please contact [email protected] \|\|\|\|\| Yale Law School professor Amy Chua denied allegations that she coached female students to dress in an “outgoing” fashion when interviewing for clerkship positions with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, now a nominee for the Supreme Court. “Everything that is being said about the advice I give to students applying to Brett Kavanaugh—or any judge—is outrageous, 100% false, and the exact opposite of everything I have stood for and said for the last fifteen years,” said Ms. Chua, who gained fame beyond the legal world for her 2011 parenting... \|\|\|\|\| Drew Angerer via Getty Images Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month as former clerk Zina Bash hands him a note. A few years ago, as she was prepping to interview for a judicial clerkship, a student at Yale Law School received a troubling combination of warning and advice from her professors about one federal judge in particular: Brett Kavanaugh, she was told, liked his female clerks to have a “certain look.” Right now Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court hangs in the balance as he faces an accusation that he sexually assaulted a girl in high school. The professors proffering the advice are themselves well-known. Both Jed Rubenfeld and his wife, Amy Chua, author of the controversial 2011 book The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, told this woman about Kavanaugh’s preferences. Then, Kavanaugh was simply known as a prestigious judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Though neither said the judge did anything untoward regarding the women he worked with, the student found their counsel off-putting. “I had mixed feelings,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns. “On the one hand, it’s a yellow flag; on the other hand, phew, I hadn’t heard anything else.” Her first inkling that there might be issues with Kavanaugh came from Rubenfeld in a conversation about various judges with whom she might work. Rubenfeld took care to warn her about two judges in particular: First, Alex Kozinski, then a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, was known to sexually harass his clerks, he told her. (Kozinski retired in December amid accusations of harassment.) The other was Kavanaugh. Though the judge was known to hire female clerks who had a “certain look,” Rubenfeld told her, he emphasized that he had heard nothing else untoward. “He did not say what the ‘certain look’ was. I did not ask,” the woman said. “It was very clear to me that he was talking about physical appearance, because it was phrased as a warning ― and because it came after the warning about Judge Kozinski.” On a separate occasion last year, Chua offered more detail, telling a group of students that it’s “not an accident” that Kavanaugh’s law clerks “look like models,” Chua said, according to an account published in The Guardian on Thursday. The comments echoed those told to a group of Yale students over drinks with Chua last year, three of whom spoke with HuffPost. The woman who was warned a few years ago said that she had already heard rumors about Kozinski and had ruled out a clerkship with him. While she saw the warning about Kozinski as a flashing red signal, the advice on Kavanaugh didn’t stop her from deciding to interview with him. That’s when Rubenfeld’s wife stepped in. At Yale, Chua is less known as the “tiger mom” and more sought after for her ability to help students land prestigious clerkships with federal judges ― the sort that can ultimately land a student the ultimate prize, a spot clerking for a Supreme Court justice. Indeed, Kavanaugh was once a clerk for Kozinski before nabbing a spot as Justice Anthony Kennedy’s clerk on the Supreme Court. (Kavanaugh has denied knowing about Kozinski’s reputation with women.) To the female law student, Chua echoed Rubenfeld’s comments. \|\|\|\|\| Guardian learns Amy Chua said she would advise students on their physical looks to help win post in Kavanaugh’s chambers A top professor at Yale Law School who strongly endorsed supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a “mentor to women” privately told a group of law students last year that it was “not an accident” that Kavanaugh’s female law clerks all “looked like models” and would provide advice to students about their physical appearance if they wanted to work for him, the Guardian has learned. Amy Chua, a Yale professor who wrote a bestselling book on parenting called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, was known for instructing female law students who were preparing for interviews with Kavanaugh on ways they could dress to exude a “model-like” femininity to help them win a post in Kavanaugh’s chambers, according to sources. Sign up for the US morning briefing. We’ll email you the first briefing on Monday, 24 September. Kavanaugh is facing intense scrutiny in Washington following an allegation made by Christine Blasey Ford that he forcibly held her down and groped her while they were in high school. He has denied the allegation. The accusation has mired Kavanaugh’s confirmation in controversy, drawing parallels to allegations of sexual harassment against Justice Clarence Thomas by Anita Hill in the 1990s. Yale provided Kavanaugh with many of the judge’s clerks over the years, and Chua played an outsized role in vetting the clerks who worked for him. But the process made some students deeply uncomfortable. One source said that in at least one case, a law student was so put off by Chua’s advice about how she needed to look, and its implications, that she decided not to pursue a clerkship with Kavanaugh, a powerful member of the judiciary who had a formal role in vetting clerks who served in the US supreme court. In one case, Jed Rubenfeld, also an influential professor at Yale and who is married to Chua, told a prospective clerk that Kavanaugh liked a certain “look”. “He told me, ‘You should know that Judge Kavanaugh hires women with a certain look,’” one woman told the Guardian. “He did not say what the look was and I did not ask.” Sources who spoke to the Guardian about their experiences with Chua and Rubenfeld would only speak under the condition of anonymity because they feared retribution and damage to their future careers. Some elements of this story were first published by the Huffington Post. [Rubenfeld] told me, 'Kavanaugh hires women with a certain look'. He did not say what the look was and I did not ask Anonymous source Chua advised the same student Rubenfeld spoke to that she ought to dress in an “outgoing” way for her interview with Kavanaugh, and that the student should send Chua pictures of herself in different outfits before going to interview. The student did not send the photos. There is no allegation that the female students who worked for Kavanaugh were chosen because of their physical appearance or that they were not qualified. However, the remarks from Chua and Rubenfeld raise questions about why the couple believed it was important to emphasize the students’ physical appearance when discussing jobs with Kavanaugh. The couple were not known to do that in connection with other judges, sources said. “It is possible that they were making observations but not following edicts from him,” said one student who received such instructions. “I have no reason to believe he was saying, ‘Send me the pretty ones’, but rather that he was reporting back and saying, ‘I really like so and so,’ and the way he described them led them to form certain conclusions.” Kavanaugh is close to Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement from the supreme court left an opening, and Kavanaugh was one of three judges who vetted clerks to serve in Kennedy’s chambers. His role as a so-called “feeder” judge made his clerkships among the most coveted posts for law students across the country, but especially at his alma mater, Yale. According to one source, Chua invited a group of students that she mentored to a bar last year to catch up and discuss their plans for clerkships. The conversation turned to a high-profile #MeToo case that was emerging in the news at the time involving a well-known public figure. The group began to talk about whether the federal judiciary would ever face similar scrutiny, and, according to a source, Chua said she did not believe it would. She told the students she had known about allegedly abusive and harassing behavior by another judge, Alex Kozinski, who was head of the ninth circuit and was forced to retire from the bench last year after more than a dozen women accused him of harassment. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld pictured in 2014. Photograph: Mike McGregor for the Guardian The conversation then turned to Kozinski’s protege and good friend Kavanaugh, who one source said was a familiar name even though he had not yet been nominated to the high court. Chua allegedly told the students that it was “no accident” that Kavanaugh’s female clerks “looked like models”. Student reacted with surprise, and quickly pointed out that Chua’s own daughter was due to clerk for Kavanaugh. A source said that Chua quickly responded, saying that her own daughter would not put up with any inappropriate behaviour. Chua has cancelled her classes at Yale this semester and, according to her office, has been hospitalised and is not taking calls. Rubenfeld sent an email to the Yale Law School community that said his wife had been ill and in hospital and had a long period of recuperation ahead of her. The Guardian has learned that Rubenfeld is currently the subject of an internal investigation at Yale. The investigation is focused on Rubenfeld’s conduct, particularly with female law students. Students have also raised related concerns to Yale authorities about Chua’s powerful influence in the clerkships process. The investigation was initiated before Kavanaugh was nominated by Donald Trump to serve on the high court. Rubenfeld said in a statement to the Guardian: “In June, Yale University informed me that it would conduct what it terms an ‘informal review’ of certain allegations, but that to preserve anonymity, I was not entitled to know any specifics. As a result, I do not know what I am alleged to have said or done. I was further advised that the allegations were not of the kind that would jeopardize my position as a long-tenured member of the faculty. This is the first we have heard claims that Chua coached students to look ‘like models’. We will look into these claims Yale law school “For some years, I have contended with personal attacks and false allegations in reaction to my writing on difficult and controversial but important topics in the law. I have reason to suspect I am now facing more of the same. While I believe strongly that universities must conduct appropriate reviews of any allegations of misconduct, I am also deeply concerned about the intensifying challenges to the most basic values of due process and free, respectful academic expression and exchange at Yale and around the country. “Nevertheless, I stand ready to engage with this process in the hope that it can be expeditiously concluded.” In a statement, Yale Law School said it could not confirm or deny the existence of an internal investigation. A Yale Law School official said in an emailed statement: “This is the first we have heard claims that Professor Chua coached students to look ‘like models’. We will look into these claims promptly, taking into account the fact that Professor Chua is currently unreachable due to serious illness. If true, this advice is clearly unacceptable.” The official added: “I can assure you that we take allegations of faculty misconduct very seriously.” Is Brett Kavanaugh's nomination going to collapse? All you need to know Read more Chua and her husband are towering figures at Yale and were described by one student as being the centre of gravity at the elite law school, connecting students to jobs and clerkships, and rewarding loyalty. The couple wrote a controversial book together in 2014 called The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America. It said that a mix of feeling superior with some insecurity were two traits that led to success. It also emphasised the need for “impulse control”. The couple have hired a well-known crisis communications expert but he did not respond to specific questions from the Guardian about Chua’s remarks or the internal investigation. In an emailed statement, Chua told the Guardian: “For the more than 10 years I’ve known him, Judge Kavanaugh’s first and only litmus test in hiring has been excellence. He hires only the most qualified clerks, and they have been diverse as well as exceptionally talented and capable. “There is good reason so many of them have gone on to supreme court clerkships; he only hires those who are extraordinarily qualified. As I wrote in the Wall Street Journal, he has also been an exceptional mentor to his female clerks and a champion of their careers. Among my proudest moments as a parent was the day I learned our daughter would join those ranks.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Guardian was assisted in its reporting by Elie Mystal, the executive editor of the Above the Law blog. If you have tips on this story please contact the reporter [email protected]	– Amy Chua denies ever telling would-be clerks to dress a certain way when interviewing for jobs with Brett Kavanaugh, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Everything that is being said about the advice I give to students applying to Brett Kavanaugh—or any judge—is outrageous, 100% false, and the exact opposite of everything I have stood for and said for the last fifteen years," says Chua, a Yale Law School professor who made waves with her 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. According to reports in the Guardian and Huffington Post, Chua advised female students to adopt a "model-like" appearance for Kavanaugh and said it was "no accident" his female clerks "looked like models." In her email to the Yale community Saturday, Chua admits to being "frank and transparent" with aspiring clerks but says she focused on having them review a judge's opinions and dress professionally. The kerfuffle comes amid a high-profile sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh and other problems for Chua, who is suffering from what she calls a "massive, freakish internal infection" while husband Jed Rubenfeld, also a Yale Law prof, is being investigated by the school for alleged remarks to female students. Meanwhile, the Guardian stands by its Chua story: "Kavanaugh tends to hire women who are generally attractive," an unidentified former Yale student tells the paper. "I don't think it is a sexual thing, but [Kavanaugh] likes to have pretty clerks."
CLOSE Nigel Sykes is suing Seasons Pizza and the Newport police department after a failed robbery attempt in 2010 in which employees tackled and subdued Sykes, who came into the store weilding a handgun. (07/23/14) Buy Photo Misael Madariaga, a deliveryman for Seasons Pizza on Maryland Avenue in Newport, heads out the back door with deliveries Monday afternoon. Madariaga was working at Seasons the night Nigel Sykes robbed the restaurant on Nov. 30, 2010. Sykes is now suing six employees that he claims assaulted him with unnecessary force. (Photo: JENNIFER CORBETT/THE NEWS JOURNAL)Buy Photo The first time Nigel Sykes tried to get money from the Seasons Pizza in Newport, he did it with a gun, forcing his way into the business through the back door. This time, Sykes is trying to get money from the pizzeria by suing the employees who tackled him and wrestled his gun away during the robbery. Sykes alleges assault in a federal civil complaint claiming the rough treatment was "unnecessary" and that as a result of the injuries he suffered during his attempted hold-up, he is due over $260,000. Sykes also claims in his suit, filed without an attorney, that after employees subdued him, two Newport police officers improperly used stun guns on him and denied him access to medical attention. Normally lawsuits like this are tossed out after a brief review by the court. And while U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson tossed out several of Sykes' claims, she allowed the case to move forward against the pizza employees, two arresting officers and Seasons. (Photo: Submitted) Newport Police Chief Michael Capriglione said, "It is a joke lawsuit." "It is sad to see this kind of suit being looked at. The court shouldn't waste the taxpayers' money," he said. Seasons Pizza district manager and Capriglione respond further in a video interview. Sykes, 23, of Wilmington, filed his federal civil action in 2013 from prison, where he is serving a 15-year sentence for robbery and attempted robbery. In his self-written complaint, Sykes admits, "I committed a robbery at Seasons Pizza" on Maryland Ave. on Nov. 30, 2010, just before 8 p.m. He admits he "displayed" a handgun and that an employee – a delivery driver and one of the named defendants – "handed me $140." He says he then started to make his way forward in the store when a different employee grabbed him from behind and other employees wrestled the gun from him, with at least one shot being fired during the struggle. STORY: Beretta says gun law forcing move out of Maryland STORY: Police seek knife-wielding thief in Milltown robbery "That is when the assault began," according to Sykes' suit. "All of the Season's Pizza employees participated in punching, kicking and pouring hot soup over my body. I was unarmed and defenseless and had to suffer a brutal beating by all of the employees of Seasons Pizza," he wrote, adding the beating knocked him unconscious. In Sykes first 2011 complaint, which is significantly different than the most recent one, he claimed an unknown person robbed him at gunpoint "and then forced me, after giving me a gun, to [rob] a nearby Seasons Pizza." "I complied with his commands and proceeded to rob the establishment." he wrote in 2011, adding he informed employees that he was being forced into the hold-up by someone outside. In that account, which was tossed out on procedural grounds, Sykes also claimed employees beat him with pots and pans, rendering him unconscious and described the beating as "unnecessary." Sykes claims in both suits, "I was aroused from my state of unconsciousness, only to realize that I was handcuffed and being tasered," by the police. He concludes by alleging the officers denied him needed immediate medical attention for the burns and stun gun wounds and other injuries for 8 hours. And one officer used a racial slur, he wrote. Sykes demands $20,000 each from six Seasons employees, $20,000 from each of the two arresting officers and $100,000 from Seasons. Employees at Seasons remember the robbery and said one employee was shaken up by it for a long time. In the restaurant's kitchen, they still have a trash can that was hit by a bullet from Sykes gun and someone wrote the name of the employee who was narrowly missed by the shot over the bullet hole. Attorneys for the two Newport police officers recently filed a response to the suit, seeking to have it tossed out on statute of limitations grounds. At the time of his 2010 arrest, police said Sykes was linked to at least eight other robberies including a bank, three other pizzerias, two fast food restaurants and two convenience stores. Sykes pleaded guilty in New Castle County Superior Court in July 2011 to five counts, resolving some 51 charges against him including counts related to the attempted robbery at Seasons and the Sept. 2010 robbery of a WSFS Bank. A Superior Court judge then sentenced him in April 2012 to 15 years for robbery, attempted robbery and three weapons counts. Shortly after entering his plea, Sykes attempted to withdraw it claiming in a motion that he had not taken his medication that day. Both the Superior Court and the Delaware Supreme Court denied the request, citing the fact that Sykes attorney said on the day of the plea that Sykes had no mental issues and was not on medication. In his motion, Sykes also wrote that he should be allowed to take back his plea because, "I'm not good at making good choices." Contact Sean O'Sullivan at (302) 324-2777 or [email protected] or on Twitter @ SeanGOSullivan. Read or Share this story: http://delonline.us/1rwFI0I \|\|\|\|\| A man who attempted to rob a pizza store is now suing the same restaurant. NBC10's Tim Furlong has the details. (Published Tuesday, Jul 22, 2014) A man is suing the same Delaware pizza place that he tried to rob several years ago. Nigel Sykes, 23, filed a lawsuit against Seasons Pizza as well as the police officers who arrested him four years ago, claiming he was assaulted and injured at the time. It is the latest in a string of unsuccessful complaints Sykes has filed since his 2010 arrest and subsequent guilty plea. "It's a mockery," said Andy Papanicolas, the Director of Operations at Seasons. "It's a joke for it to even make it to the courts. It's pretty pathetic." On Nov. 30, 2010, Sykes entered the Seasons Pizza restaurant on the 600 block of Maryland Avenue in Wilmington, police said. Sykes was armed with a gun and demanded money but was detained by several employees inside, according to police. During the struggle, the gun was discharged though no one was struck. He was eventually arrested by responding police officers. According to Delaware Online, Sykes was linked to at least eight other robberies at the time of his arrest. While serving time in February of the following year, Sykes filed a lawsuit, without an attorney, against both Seasons Pizza and the Delaware State Police. In the complaint, Sykes claimed he was forced by an unidentified person to rob Seasons Pizza. Sykes stated he was knocked unconscious at least twice by employees at the restaurant and then shot several times with tasers by responding police officers. Sykes claimed he was escorted to a police vehicle and then punched in the stomach and head and then slammed against the trunk. In the complaint, Sykes sought compensatory damages of $100,000 from the Delaware State Police as well as $100,000 from Seasons Pizza, accusing them of “violating his civil rights.” The court dismissed Sykes’ complaint on May 9, 2011. An amended complaint was also dismissed after the court determined that he did not follow the proper processes. In July of 2011, Sykes pleaded guilty to charges against him in relation to the attempted robbery at Seasons as well as a previous robbery. He was sentenced in April of 2012 to 15 years for robbery and attempted robbery. In July of 2013, Sykes once again sued Seasons Pizza and the Delaware State Police, making the same allegations. His complaint was once again dismissed without prejudice. On Feb. 5, 2014, Sykes filed an amended complaint that was more detailed than the initial one and was also against the Newport Police Department and three officers rather than the Delaware State Police, in addition to Seasons Pizza. In the amended complaint, Sykes admitted that he entered the business and displayed a revolver handgun. “The defendant handed me $140,” Sykes wrote. Sykes then claimed he was grabbed by one of the employees as he tried to leave the store. “After a short struggle, the defendants successfully obtained the handgun from me,” he wrote. “That is when the assault began.” In the complaint, Sykes claimed the employees punched and kicked him and poured hot soup over his body. “I was unarmed and defenseless and had to suffer a brutal beating by all the employees of Seasons Pizza,” Sykes wrote. Sykes claimed he was eventually knocked unconscious and then assaulted by three responding Newport Police officers. “They handcuffed me behind my back,” Sykes wrote. “I was aroused from my state of unconsciousness only to realize that I was handcuffed and being tasered. I was tasered a total of three consecutive times while handcuffed.” In the lawsuit, Sykes claimed one of the officers called him a racial slur and that he was denied medical treatment despite paramedics being at the scene. Sykes claims he continues to suffer the effects of the beating, including bruises, headaches, contusions and burns. Sykes sued the Newport Police Department for $100,000, three Newport Police Officers for a total of $60,000, Seasons Pizza for $100,000 and six employees of Seasons Pizza for a total of $120,000. On April 17, the court dismissed the claims made against the Newport Police Department as well as one of the officers. However, the court also allowed Sykes to proceed on the assault claims against Seasons Pizza and its employees as well as the excessive force claims against the two other Newport officers. On July 16, attorneys for the two officers filed a motion to dismiss Sykes’ complaint. Executives at Seasons Pizza's corporate office say that everything that happened to Sykes was caused by his decision to rob the store. Newport Police Chief Michael Capriglione told NBC10 the lawsuit was a frivolous waste of taxpayer time and money.	– Nigel Sykes' attempted robbery of a Delaware pizzeria failed miserably—but he'd still like to get some cash out of the whole to-do. Armed with a gun, Sykes, 23, busted into the back door of Newport's Seasons Pizza in 2010 but eventually got tackled by employees. In a federal civil complaint, filed without an attorney, Sykes admits, "I committed a robbery at Seasons Pizza" but now alleges that the workers "unnecessary" roughed him up during that robbery, the News Journal reports. He wants $260,000 from the pizzeria, its employees, and Delaware State Police for his troubles. Though NBC Philadelphia reports similar complaints from Sykes have been thrown out in the past, a judge has so far allowed this latest suit—which Newport's police chief calls "a joke"—to move forward. Sykes' self-written suit alleges the pizzeria's employees forced his gun from his hand, then "participated in punching, kicking and pouring hot soup over my body" while "I was unarmed and defenseless." Sykes, who's serving a 15-year sentence for robbery and attempted robbery, also argues he was knocked unconscious and awoke to two police officers using stun guns on him.
Well, that was fast. Only three years after the iPhone launched, the smartphone market is already bigger than the PC market. According to IDC, 101 million smartphones were sold in Q4, versus 92 million PCs. Smartphone shipments, meanwhile, grew 87% year over year, while PCs only grew 3%. Android vaulted past all contenders, including Apple and Nokia, to become the No. 1 smartphone platform in the quarter (Nokia still sold the most phones, with 28% of the market). Apple's share doubled to 16% year over year. All of this is good news for smartphone makers and supply chains and horrible news for PC makers and supply chains. The PC market would have grown faster if iPads are counted as PCs. But that's bad news for the traditional PC markers, too, because iPads have already grabbed more than 7% of the global PC market. \|\|\|\|\| Manufacturers shipped more smartphones than personal computers in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to research, crowning mobile devices as the computing platform of choice earlier than many industry-watchers had expected. Makers of mobile devices distributed a total of 101m smartphones in the last three months of the year, up 87 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to International Data Corp, the market researcher. IDC had earlier said that PC shipments reached 92m units in the fourth quarter, up less than 3 per cent. Analysts had expected smartphones to take the lead at some point in 2011, but the transition happened more quickly as a wide range of manufacturers of mobile devices embraced Android, the malleable open-source operating system from Google. “Android continues to gain [market share] by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market” said Ramon Llamas, IDC analyst. “It has become the cornerstone of multiple vendors’ smartphone strategies, and has quickly become a challenger to market leader Symbian.” Android passed Apple’s phone software and Nokia-backed Symbian as the most widely adopted program for smartphones at the end of last year, according to research group Canalys. Because Google’s software is used in devices made by other groups, Nokia, which makes smartphones as well as the Symbian software, is still in the lead in terms of smartphone shipments. The Finnish company’s unit share widened to 28 per cent from 20 per cent in the quarter, IDC said. Apple’s iPhone, meanwhile, nearly doubled its share from the final quarter of 2009 to 16 per cent in the final quarter of 2010, passing Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, to gain the number two spot. In revenue and profit terms, Apple does much better per phone, as many Nokia products are less expensive and offer fewer functions. The market for PCs continues to grow, setting another shipment record in the quarter just ended. But the increases are much smaller than in past years. That is in part due to their higher average price relative to phones and to slower innovation in the segment. The PC market would be higher if IDC included tablet computers in their figures. Apple alone sold about 15m iPad tablets in 2010 and more than 7m in the fourth quarter, which would have brought the PC category close to level with smartphones. Many more companies are introducing tablets this year and their sales are expected to more than double as a whole in 2011. The growth in smartphones will continue to surge, analysts said, as the high-end models improve and the middle tier gets more affordable. “IDC expects vendors to provide more mid-range and low-end smartphones at lower prices to reach the mass market” this year, said Mr Llamas. “Even high-end devices will become available at lower prices.”	– They’ve only been around for a few years, but smartphones have officially demoted personal computers to No. 2. More smartphones than PCs were shipped in Q4 of 2010—a total of 101 million smartphones, to be exact, up 87% from a year earlier, according to the market researcher. Meanwhile, 92 million PCs were shipped, a gain of less than 3%. Analysts always expected smartphones to surpass PCs, but not until sometime this year, the Financial Times reports. Android proved to be the most popular phone software, while Nokia shipped the most phones. The Apple iPhone, which almost doubled its share from a year previously, claimed the No. 2 spot after Nokia. All of this is bad news for the PC market, which would have grown faster if iPads were considered PCs, Business Insider notes. But they’re not—and globally, they’ve snagged more than 7% of the PC market. Click for more on the dwindling era of the PC.
This is one columnist’s stab at what a candidate might sound like if he or she were trying to appeal to the majority of voters in the middle of the electorate who feel both parties are failing us. My fellow alienated Americans: How’s this for something different? I want to raise your taxes, cut spending on programs you like, and force you to rethink how we run our schools, banks, armies, hospitals and elections. And I want you to cheer when I’m done. Because if you embrace the “decade of renewal” I’m calling for, we’ll emerge with a more competitive, sustainable and just America — the kind of America we all want to leave to our children. I’m running for president as an independent because we need to change the debate if we’re going to change the country. Neither of our two major parties has a strategy for solving our biggest problems; they have strategies for winning elections, which isn’t the same thing. Democrats and Republicans will tell you, as I do, that they want to make America competitive again, keep faith with our deepest values of fairness and opportunity, and fix our broken political system. But the Democrats’ timid half-measures and the Republicans’ mindless anti-government creed can’t begin to get us there. Both parties are prisoner to interest groups and ideological litmus tests that prevent them from blending the best of liberal and conservative thinking. And neither party trusts you enough to lay out the facts and explain the steps we need to take to truly fix things — in fact, their pollsters tell them that if they do, you’ll vote them out. Well, I’m happy to take on that job. I won’t give you the usual pabulum about how we’re going to “save the American Dream” or restore our supremacy as the sole superpower. The loss of our economic dominance was at some point inevitable. We’ve had quite a run since World War II, when we were the only economy left standing, and others were bound to start catching up. The spread of capitalism is helping hundreds of millions of people rise out of poverty in India and China. That’s a fantastic thing for humanity. And if we manage it right, that can also be a positive thing for the United States, because the growing wealth of nations means billions of new customers for the kind of goods and services America ingenuity can produce. We can make this an era of opportunities, not threats. But only if we think differently. When the changes reshaping the global economy are dramatic, incremental responses won’t suffice. We need a bold agenda equal to the scale of our challenges. I believe that it will take seven big domestic initiatives to get America back on track. Bear with me if I go a little deep on the details, because that’s the only way for you to see what I mean. 1. Fix the economy. Our economy is working off a massive hangover of debt that makes this recession and recovery different from those we’ve gone through before. That means we need to make major moves to get jobs and growth back to anything like what we think of as normal. It also means that, for a couple years, worries about the budget deficit have to take a backseat to spurring growth. Fix the economy, and it’ll be easier to fix the budget. To boost jobs and growth, we first need major, permanent tax reform. I propose we slash, and over five years eliminate, our sky-high corporate income and payroll taxes, and, once unemployment comes down to 6 percent again, we replace those job-killing, wage-crushing taxes with new taxes on consumption and dirty energy. This is the way to unleash a new era of entrepreneurial innovation while funding the government we need. At the same time, to win back the million jobs now lost because China’s currency manipulation artificially raises the price of our exports to that country, I would impose a proportionate tax on imports from China. Let me be clear: China’s rise as an economic power is a good thing for the world and a great thing for the Chinese people. China is not the source of all our economic woes. But we can no longer allow China’s brazen currency manipulation — nor its routine theft of American intellectual property — to tilt the playing field unfairly against American jobs. Next, until private-sector job growth gets back to where it should be, we should use government funds to create millions of short-term, labor-intensive service jobs in fields like education, elder care, public health and safety, and urban infrastructure maintenance. I would also put Americans to work on the countless roads, bridges, airports, schools and sewer systems across the country that need to be modernized. Finally, over the longer-term, we need to make sure in-person service-sector work is well compensated. Global economic integration is putting downward pressure on the wages of American jobs that can be performed elsewhere. But in-person service work — jobs ranging from home health care to retail sales to teaching to personal grooming and more, accounting for roughly 30 million jobs in the United States — is immune to these pressures, since it can’t be offshored. If we could find ways to guarantee that this kind of work delivers a middle-class living, it would offer an important measure of security and optimism for millions. I’ll also develop new “carrots” and “sticks” to get multinational firms to locate more manufacturing and high-value jobs in America. 2. Fix education. We’ve been tinkering at the edges when it comes to school improvement, because we’ve ignored the most important question: Who should teach? While the world’s highest-performing school systems — those in places like Singapore, Finland and South Korea — recruit their teachers from the top third of their graduating class, we recruit ours from the middle and bottom thirds, especially for schools in poor neighborhoods. This “strategy” isn’t working. Up through the 1970s, the quality of our teacher corps was in effect subsidized by discrimination, because women and minorities didn’t have many other job opportunities. All that’s changed, but as career options have multiplied for those who used to become teachers, salaries haven’t kept pace to attract top talent. I see an America where our most talented young people flock to the classroom, not to Wall Street. They should see teaching as the most exciting profession in the country — with top teachers and principals able to earn $150,000 a year or more. To get there will take federal investment. We’ll need to stop condemning millions of poor children to schools that can never get great teachers and principals because they’ve been shortchanged by a 19th century system of local school finance that’s rigged against them. This investment should also help to fund universal preschool from age 3, and longer school days and years, where we lag our major economic competitors. 3. Fix health care. We need to make sure every person in America has basic health coverage that doesn’t break the bank. To achieve that, Democrats must accept a private insurance industry and Republicans must accept that some people can’t afford decent policies on their own. This “grand bargain” is about liberals agreeing that innovation shouldn’t be regulated out of U.S. health care and conservatives agreeing that justice has to be regulated into it. The 50 million uninsured may seem invisible, but today their ranks are equal to the combined populations of Oklahoma, Connecticut, Iowa, Mississippi, Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming. Would America turn its back on these 25 states if they all lacked basic health coverage? That is what we’ve been doing for decades. Making the system more efficient is the key to access and affordability. But change won’t come easy, because while there’s much to admire in American health care, our Medical-Industrial Complex knows that every dollar of health-care “waste” is somebody’s dollar of income. It’s time to learn from a nation like Singapore, which spends 4 percent of GDP on health care and gets as good or better results than we do spending 17 percent. Singapore’s blend of market forces, public provision and personal responsibility shows it is possible to do more with less. I applaud President Obama for taking on the health-care challenge and for persisting in spite of wrongheaded GOP charges that his extension of Mitt Romney’s reform in Massachusetts is a “socialist takeover.” Repealing President Obama’s legislation would be a terrible step backward. But the law can be dramatically improved before it is fully phased in. We should “mend it, not end it.” I’d tweak President Obama’s reform so that it aims for less costly catastrophic insurance for every American, which would cap health expenses as a percent of income. I’d then give vouchers, or funded health-savings accounts, to folks who need help buying primary and preventive care via the fitness-club model being pioneered around the country (unlimited care for a flat monthly fee). I’d replace today’s malpractice litigation lottery with a system that protects doctors from liability so long as they’ve followed evidence-based best practices. This would put an end to the “defensive medicine” that runs up costs — a common-sense reform that Democrats shamefully reject as a sop to the trial lawyers who fund their campaigns. It’s also time we got corporations out of the business of running our welfare state — they’ve got enough to do to compete with China and India — and ensure that every American has access to group rates through health reform’s insurance exchanges. 4. Rein in Wall Street. The banking system is now more concentrated than it was before the financial crisis. There are two ways to avoid the “too big to fail” threat that still exists. We can limit the risks these big banks take — though regulators don’t have a great track record of getting this right. The most important thing we can do, therefore, is make sure big banks have enough capital to absorb any conceivable losses. Yet bank lobbyists are now swarming Washington to keep capital requirements low – in part because higher levels of capital reduce what top bankers can pay themselves. Their bonuses are often based on such metrics as a firm’s “return on equity,” which can be goosed by continually piling debt atop a tiny equity base. That’s Wall Street’s plan. Heads, I win; tails, taxpayers lose. Again. Fixing this is not complicated, it just takes the will to reject the banks’ demands. I would boost capital requirements for our “too big to fail” banks toward 20 percent, as Switzerland has done — well beyond the inadequate 5-percent to 7-percent levels bank lobbyists are counting on. I’ll also ban “naked credit default swaps” – those fancy securities that let traders buy the financial equivalent of insurance on other people’s lives. These instruments serve no social purpose other than to enrich the bankers who peddle them while turning our financial system into the casino that just cost millions of Americans their jobs. The banks will squeal, but does anyone think we should listen to their pleas after their greed, mismanagement and poor judgment nearly brought down the world economy? It’s time for finance to serve our broader society, not the other way around. And it’s past time to prosecute those whose crimes contributed to the crisis. 5. Fix our broken political system. We’ll never get where we need to go unless we deepen our democracy. I have several proposals that go beyond the usual “small ball” in this terrain, so please keep an open mind. First, let’s enter everyone who votes in a national election into a lottery. Prizes could range from $10 million for a winner to dozens of $1 million runners-up. For a modest cost, this would lift turnout from today’s pathetic 60 percent in presidential years, and one-third in off-years, closer to 100 percent every time. Unorthodox? You bet. But we need to shake things up. Next, on campaign finance, we should stop deluding ourselves that we can ever get private money out of politics. We can’t. It’s like ants in the kitchen. You plug one hole and they come back somewhere else. Instead, let’s offset this private cash by giving each voter 50 publicly funded “patriot dollars” to contribute to the candidate or cause of her choice in national elections. This would introduce $6 billion each election cycle — more than enough to offset private donations. And it would encourage candidates to appeal to average Americans rather than just grovel before wealthy donors. Pair this publicly funded voucher with instant Web-based disclosure of all donations and we’d have a far more level, transparent playing field. Finally, let’s lower the voting age to 15. From debt to schools, and climate to pensions, the distinctive feature of public life today is a shocking disregard for the future. Yes, politicians blather on about “our children and grandchildren” all the time – but when it comes to what they do, the future doesn’t have a vote. We should give our elected leaders a reason not simply to praise children but to pander to them. A crusade to amend the constitution to lower the voting age would inspire a generation that’s being robbed by the adults in power to enter the arena and raise its voice. It’s also time we restored majority rule to America by scrapping the filibuster in the Senate. We can’t govern ourselves if national legislation can be blocked by senators who represent as little as 15 percent of the country. 6. Require national service. The conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. was right: The proper response to the blessings that are every American’s patrimony is gratitude. It’s only right that this be expressed through a period of mandatory service of some kind by every young American, who will not only give back to his country but, in the process, get to know fellow citizens from every race and place and background. 7. Get our fiscal house in order. Finally, I would aim to balance the budget by 2018 and make sure we can sustainably fund the government by enacting measures that would start once the economy has fully recovered and unemployment is back near 6 percent. We’ll need both spending cuts and tax increases borne fairly by every sector of society. On the spending side, let me mention the three big areas we need to tackle. First, national security is job one for any president. To make sure that no power can threaten us, I believe we must spend far more than any conceivable rival. But I also believe, in the Eisenhower tradition, that we need to be smart hawks. If Ike were here, he’d say it was crazy that the defense budget is 50 percent higher in real terms than it was throughout the Cold War. That’s why I’d insist we spend seven times more than China – but not nine times more, as our two political parties want; 13 times more than Russia, but not 17 times more; and 26 times more than Iran, North Korea and Syria combined – but not 33 times more. The result would be an annual military budget of $550 billion, not $700 billion. Second, on Social Security, the path to solvency starts with a fresh look at automatic increases built into the system that few Americans are aware of — increases that no politician dares mention for fear of being attacked for “cutting” Social Security. I’m not talking about the way benefits are hiked each year to keep up with inflation; no problem there. But under today’s formulas, the starting benefits for future retirees are substantially higher than for current retirees. For example, today, medium wage retirees get a starting benefit of about $18,000. Similar retirees in the year 2030 are slated to get roughly $24,000 in today’s dollars; by 2050, the number in today’s dollars rises to $29,000. Doubling the number of retirees on Social Security as the boomers age is a major fiscal challenge. Promising a 60 percent increase in starting benefits on top of this creates a budget hole that is frightening. Advocates for these built-in increases, which didn’t exist before the late 1970s, say Social Security should always replace the same portion of wages as it does today; since real wages will grow as the economy grows, so should benefits. That’s a worthy objective. But in an era when health care and pensions for seniors are poised to crowd out cash for every other public priority, or else require tax increases beyond what anyone thinks would be good for the economy, that shouldn’t be our only objective. Halting these automatic benefit escalators a few years from now would make Social Security solvent in one stroke. It would assure that every retiring senior receives slightly higher benefits than new retirees do today. Yet it would leave America the room to address new needs down the road. This is the kind of action a prudent nation takes. If, years from now, we think seniors need additional protection, 76 million baby boomers will be breathing down our politicians’ necks clamoring for it. Third, it’s the same with Medicare. Given how inefficient our health-care system is, we simply have to establish targets that get growth in health costs in line with the growth rate of our economy, and ideally something well below that. We know this is possible, because every other advanced nation does more with less. And it’s the only way to free up resources to invest in the infrastructure, education, and research and development that fuels long-term growth. For both Social Security and Medicare, we’ll also need to phase in higher eligibility ages to reflect the longer lifespans Americans now enjoy — with eligibility exceptions for those engaged in physical labor. Higher-income Americans will also need to contribute something more to these programs, and receive a bit less, to make the boomers’ golden years affordable for the country. Getting our fiscal house in order will also mean higher taxes. New taxes on dirty energy would push markets toward the clean energy solutions that reduce carbon emissions and our dependence on unstable foreign regimes. And we could offset the impact on folks with lower incomes with lower payroll taxes. I would challenge the oil companies to support this vision, as several did when Ross Perot proposed higher gas taxes in 1992. I would also introduce a tiny tax on Wall Street trading transactions and a 50 percent tax bracket for Americans earning more than $5 million a year. This isn’t an attempt to “punish” anyone’s success — it’s about asking the most fortunate among us to help in ways that won’t affect their lifestyle or incentives. Finally, I’d end the Bush tax cuts for all Americans, not just for those earning more than $250,000. Anyone who looks honestly at the numbers knows this is necessary as our population ages. Some people will say these ideas involve too much tough medicine and too little optimism. But I am optimistic. I believe Americans are ready for the sturdier brand of hope that comes from dealing squarely with the facts. And if we come together for a decade of renewal, we’ll emerge with an America that’s more competitive, sustainable and just. We won’t have to storm the beaches of Normandy or Guadalcanal. We’ll just have to accept slightly higher taxes and some trims in future spending on programs we like, and we’ll have to commit to making our health care and education systems more productive. We’ll need to think creatively about the national interest, not just our own. Isn’t a stronger America worth these modest sacrifices? As you may have noticed, I haven’t said anything about abortion, the death penalty, guns or gay marriage. These are important issues, but they’re not the most important things a president should address in the years ahead. As a result, I won’t discuss them at all in the campaign. If they’re your top priority, I’m not your candidate. Can we win with this message and this agenda? That’s up to you. Republicans and Democrats have a longtime lock on things. They’ve rigged the system when it comes to getting on the ballot and raising money. But two things are clear. First, a third-party movement in 2012 won’t be a “spoiler.” There is little risk of a Ralph Nader-style result that diverts a handful of votes and throws the election to a candidate those voters can’t abide. The terrain this campaign is contesting is very different. Most Americans now tell pollsters they’re open to a third party. The millions of Americans ready to stand behind the banner of pragmatic renewal means we’ll be playing for keeps, not tinkering at the margins. Plus, we don’t have to win the election to change the country. As historian Richard Hofstadter suggested, the role of third parties in American politics is to sting like a bee and then die. I say, let the stinging begin! If we get 30 percent of the vote, we’ll make more than enough noise to transform the debate. And once we start proving there’s a constituency for honest talk and real answers, there’s no telling where it will lead. In the end, in a democracy, we get the government we deserve, and I’m wagering most of us think we deserve better. That iron law of politics still holds: Politicians will scramble to lead any parade that forms. Let’s get busy organizing the right parade, and together we might just save the country. Matt Miller writes a weekly online column for The Post. \|\|\|\|\| So here’s where we are. Our president calls himself “a warrior for the middle class” because he’s campaigning for a plan that might add 2 million new jobs next year at a time when 25 million Americans who want full-time work can’t find it. If that’s war, what would surrender look like? Meanwhile, Republican zealots apparently feel that if they can’t cut 0.04 percent of the budget in the next few days they’d rather shut down the government. The party’s presidential candidates boast that a 10-to-1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases isn’t good enough on a long-term debt deal — even though we’re about to double the number of seniors on Social Security and Medicare. Why should we have to choose between timid half-measures and anti-tax fanaticism? Why doesn’t the president propose measures equal to the scale of our challenges? Why can’t Republicans acknowledge demography or math? Three reasons, mainly. First, both parties’ chief aim is to win elections, not solve problems. Second, both parties are prisoner to interest groups and ideological litmus tests that prevent them from blending the best of liberal and conservative thinking. Finally, neither party trusts us enough to lay out the facts and explain the steps we need to take to truly fix things. This goes well beyond the jobs crisis or the budget. Take education. Democrats can’t say we need to fire bad teachers who are blighting the lives of countless kids, because teachers unions are the party’s most powerful interest group. But Republicans can’t say we need to raise salaries for new teachers substantially if we’re going to lure a new generation of talent to the classroom, because that’s admitting that money is part of the answer. Trouble is, we’ll never solve what ails education without getting bad teachers out and paying up for new talent to come in. That means Democrats and Republicans can’t solve the problem. Or take health care. Republicans say the answer is to repeal President Obama’s reforms — but they won’t offer plans to insure more than 3 million of the 50 million Americans who lack coverage. Yet Democrats want to micromanage providers, protect the trial lawyers who bankroll their campaigns, and fully insulate people from the costs of their own care, assuring that there’s no consumer brake on runaway costs. Again, Democrats and Republicans can’t solve the problem. Multiply this dynamic across every major issue and you’ll see there’s a staggering void in the debate. The parties act this way because their core constituencies have a stake in a failed status quo. But where does that leave the majority of us who are not in the Republican or Democratic base? Where does it leave the country? Daniel Patrick Moynihan wisely observed that if issues can’t be discussed, they can never be advanced. Given the abdication of both parties, and the pinched boundaries of debate we’re thus left with, the only way to learn if a constituency can be built for a bold agenda to renew the country is for independent candidates to try to do just that in 2012. This doesn’t mean both parties are equally to blame for Washington’s dysfunction. But they’re unacceptable and disappointing in their own ways. I’m a former Clinton aide who believes President Obama has done many good things, and that his agenda is much better than the current Republican creed. But with America on the road to slow decline, the stakes are too high for “inadequate” and “retrograde” to be our only choices. As always in a democracy, better leadership starts with better followership. New groups such as Americans Elect and No Labels are showing the way, building the infrastructure and local networks for a new politics of problem-solving. But we’ll never mobilize the “far center” without an agenda around which people can rally. To move this ball forward, I’ve taken a crack at a policy-heavy version of the third-party stump speech we need, to suggest what it would sound like if an independent candidate called seriously for a “decade of renewal.” “If you build it, he will come” worked baseball magic in “Field of Dreams.” Who knows? Maybe “if you write it, they will come” is the mantra for pundits who pray candidates with the vision and nerve to fill today’s void may yet step forward. Read Matt Miller’s sample third-party stump speech.	– Take a gander at the political landscape, and odds are you won’t like your choices. You might, like Matt Miller of the Washington Post, start asking things like, “Why doesn’t the president propose measures equal to the scale of our challenges?” or “Why can’t Republicans acknowledge demography or math?” Most of all you might wonder, “Why should we have to choose between timid half-measures and anti-tax fanaticism?” The answer: Because both parties are more concerned with winning elections than solving problems. On issue after issue “there’s a staggering void in the debate,” with issues and ideas neither party will touch. A third party could cover that ground; Miller’s even written a massive third-party stump speech, advocating tax hikes, cuts to popular programs, and other policies that won’t poll well, but that the “far center” should rally around. “Politicians will scramble to lead any parade that forms,” he writes. “Let’s get busy organizing the right parade, and together we might just save the country."
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who is, let's hope, worried about his job security and hoping to be named the next Secretary of Homeland Security, wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal defending his record. Many of his points came directly from a speech given by Kelly to the black civil rights group the National Action Convention earlier this year. Let's address each of his claims one by one. Since 2002, the New York Police Department has taken tens of thousands of weapons off the street through proactive policing strategies. The effect this has had on the murder rate is staggering. In the 11 years before Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, there were 13,212 murders in New York City. During the 11 years of his administration, there have been 5,849. That's 7,383 lives saved—and if history is a guide, they are largely the lives of young men of color. The 11 years before Michael Bloomberg took office included the peak of a nationwide, generational surge in violent crime that has (mysteriously) declined ever since. In 2000, before Michael Bloomberg took office, the New York Times could write: Statistically, New York, Boston and San Diego have all achieved enormous declines since crime began dropping nationally in 1991. From 1991 to 1998, the murder rate fell 76.4 percent in San Diego, the largest decline of any major city, with New York second at 70.6 percent and Boston third at 69.3 percent, according to Alfred Blumstein, a professor of criminology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Their robbery rates showed a similar pattern. During those same years, the robbery rate dropped 62.6 percent in San Diego, also the steepest decline, and 60.1 percent in New York and 50.2 percent in Boston. As the article -- well worth reading in full -- goes on to explain, those other cities didn't fight crime with "aggressive" policing, but with community-focused "problem-solving policing" among other strategies. In New York, the decline, which began under Mayor David Dinkins, has continued under Bloomberg and Kelly, but there is just as much evidence (which is to say, entirely circumstantial evidence) that those 7,000 lives were saved by the elimination of lead-based paint as by stop-and-frisk. (Meanwhile, under Kelly, 400,000 people -- largely young men of color -- have been added to the criminal justice system after being arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana.) Kelly: So far this year, murders are down 29% from the 50-year low achieved in 2012, and we've seen the fewest shootings in two decades. Kelly does not mention that murders have declined along with stop-and-frisks. In the first quarter of this year, the NYPD carried out 51 percent fewer stop-and-frisks than in the first quarter of 2012. That is more than 100,000 fewer stops. The result has not been more murder. Kelly: To critics, none of this seems to much matter. Sidestepping the fact that these policies work, they continue to allege that massive numbers of minorities are stopped and questioned by police for no reason other than their race. Again, there is no actual evidence that "these policies" -- Kelly notably refuses to ever use the phrase "stop-and-frisk" -- "work." It is inescapably true, though, that massive numbers of minorities are stopped and questioned by the police. Far, far more minorities than whites are stopped. This is not really in question. Kelly's argument is that these stops are justified because minorities are more likely to be the victims of crimes and more likely to be described as suspects. In other words, he defends racial profiling as necessary and prudent while also denying that it happens. Kelly: Never mind that in each of the city's 76 police precincts, the race of those stopped highly correlates to descriptions provided by victims or witnesses to crimes. Or that in a city of 8.5 million people, protected by 19,600 officers on patrol (out of a total uniformed staff of 35,000), the average number of stops we conduct is less than one per officer per week. Then those officers are quite efficient. The city has recorded more than five million stops since Bloomberg took office. Perhaps Commissioner Kelly is referring solely to this year's numbers, which, as mentioned earlier, are down significantly, along with the murder rate. Here is the New York Civil Liberties Union on the question of descriptions provided by victims and demographics: Only 11 percent of stops in 2011 were based on a description of a violent crime suspect. On the other hand, from 2002 to 2011, black and Latino residents made up close to 90 percent of people stopped, and about 88 percent of stops – more than 3.8 million – were of innocent New Yorkers. Even in neighborhoods that are predominantly white, black and Latino New Yorkers face the disproportionate brunt. For example, in 2011, black and Latino New Yorkers made up 24 percent of the population in Park Slope, but 79 percent of stops. This, on its face, is discriminatory. Kelly: Racial profiling is a disingenuous charge at best and an incendiary one at worst, particularly in the wake of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. The effect is to obscure the rock-solid legal and constitutional foundation underpinning the police department's tactics and the painstaking analysis that determines how we employ them. "Rock-solid legal and constitutional foundation" is a phrase that may very soon come back to bite Commissioner Kelly in the ass. The NYPD, for the record, has made tens of thousands of arrests under laws that have been struck down as unconstitutional, dating from from well before Kelly's tenure through last year. Were these arrests part of the department's anti-crime strategy, or merely tens of thousands of isolated incidents? You can decide for yourself: "During a 16-month period ending in 2006 — more than a decade after the last of the provisions had been struck down — [federal Judge Shira Sheindlin] found that the police issued 10 improper summonses a week." Kelly: In 2003, when the NYPD recognized that 96% of the individuals who were shot and 90% of those murdered were black and Hispanic, we concentrated our officers in those minority neighborhoods that had experienced spikes in crime. This program is called Operation Impact. Operation Impact is a program that floods poor, high-crime neighborhoods with rookie police officers. The young, inexperienced officers are then strongly encouraged to write as many summonses as possible. As former NYPD captain and criminal justice professor John Eterno explains: Pushing throngs of cops into high-crime neighborhoods, then demanding they meet targets for policing activity, turned into a recipe for sticking minorities with an overlarge share of summonses, Eterno maintains. “The policy is inherently racist,” he said. “What they are doing is going into some communities and blasting them for summonses for the same activities being done in white areas, for instance smoking marijuana or drinking a beer. Those kids are now getting a record.” Because the NYPD arrests those who fail to pay for summonses or appear in court, a single pink slip for a minor offense can effectively criminalize an otherwise law-abiding citizen by leading to warrants, hefty fines, jail time and police records. “These tickets are not inconsequential. People say they are like traffic tickets, but they are not, said Harry Levine, a professor of sociology at Queens College. “They are much more like misdemeanors-lite.” It is true that many high-crime communities welcome more police officers patrolling their streets. It is also true that those police officers are generally outsiders, always inexperienced, and they are essentially tasked with inducting as many young men as possible into the criminal justice system. (And sometimes they are simply power-drunk young assholes.) Kelly: From the beginning, we've combined this strategy with a proactive policy of engagement. We stop and question individuals about whom we have reasonable suspicion. This is a widely utilized and lawful police tactic, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1968 decision, Terry v. Ohio, and authorized by New York State Criminal Procedure Law and the New York state constitution. Every state in the country has a variant of this statute, as does federal law; it is fundamental to policing. The "worksheet" officers must fill out after carrying out a stop-and-frisk contains boxes in which police officers can explain what led to the frisking -- what the "reasonable suspicion" was, in other words. The single most common reason for a stop in the year 2008 was "furtive movements." The third-most common was "other." "Furtive movements" is cited in more than half of the forms reviewed by criminologist Jeffrey Fagan, a plaintiff's witness in the class-action suit against the NYPD. Fagan, who believes a stop based solely on "furtive movements" is an unconstitutional stop, has calculated that the NYPD has carried out more than 200,000 illegal stop-and-frisks. Kelly: It's understandable that someone who has done nothing wrong will be angry if he is stopped. Last year, the NYPD announced a series of steps to strengthen the oversight and training involved in this tactic. The number of civilian complaints in 2012 was the lowest in the past five years. That's progress—and we always strive to do better. This is perhaps the single most blatantly dishonest statistic in the entire editorial. Fun fact, from the New York Post: Last year, the number of civilian complaints about the NYPD was trending higher than the year before. Until Hurricane Sandy, which forced the Civilian Complaint Review Board to leave its office and get a new phone number, at which point complaints suddenly dropped. Such factors meant that the CCRB took fewer complaints in November and December and all but guarantee that had Sandy not occurred, the complaint tally would have surely tipped upwards in 2012 for the first time since a slight increase was registered in 2009. More CCRB facts: In 2009, the NYPD released incorrect numbers relating to civilian complaints to the NYCLU. Generally, across the city, precincts with the highest number of complaints tend to have the greatest number of stop-and-frisks. Kelly: In a similar vein, our detractors contend that the NYPD engages in widespread, unwarranted spying on Muslim New Yorkers. Again, this is a sensational charge belied by the facts. Please see all of these stories. Kelly: Since 1985, the police department has been subject to a set of rules known as the Handschu Guidelines, which were developed to protect people engaged in political protest. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, we were concerned that elements of the guidelines could interfere with our ability to investigate terrorism. In 2002, we proposed to the federal court that monitors the agreement that it be modified. The court agreed. Guidelines related to protests don't really have anything to do with surveillance of people not involved in protest, but simply living their lives, going to work and church and school. The NYPD's surveillance of American Muslim communities was not limited to their political or activist activities: Muslims engaged in no "protesting" whatsoever were spied on. This is a total non sequitur. But if he's going to bring it up: It is perhaps not wise for the commissioner of a police department that has been proven to have illegally arrested hundreds of protesters -- after extensively spying on them -- to crow about his department's careful adherence to rules governing the treatment of political protesters. Kelly: Handschu entitles police officers to attend any event that is open to the public, to view online activity that is publicly accessible and to prepare reports and assessments to help us understand the nature of the threat. The use of the word "threat" in this context in inappropriate, considering that the NYPD was not engaged in the investigation of specific threats when it went "mosque-crawling" and surveilled Muslim-owned businesses in New Jersey. They were simply gathering as much information as they could about American Muslims accused or suspected of no crimes whatsoever. "In more than six years of spying on Muslim neighborhoods, eavesdropping on conversations and cataloguing mosques," the Associated Press reported last year, "the New York Police Department's secret Demographics Unit never generated a lead or triggered a terrorism investigation, the department acknowledged in court testimony...." Kelly: As a matter of department policy, undercover officers and confidential informants do not enter a mosque unless they are following up on a lead vetted under Handschu. Similarly, when we have attended a private event organized by a student group, we've done so on the basis of a lead or investigation reviewed and authorized in writing at the highest levels of the department, in keeping with Handschu protocol. The AP: But former and current law enforcement officials either involved in or with direct knowledge of these programs say they did not follow leads. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the secret programs. But the documents support their claims. Officials say that David Cohen, the deputy commissioner for intelligence, was at the center of the efforts to spy on the mosques. "Take a big net, throw it out, catch as many fish as you can and see what we get," one investigator recalled Cohen saying. Kelly: Anyone who implies that it is unlawful for the police department to search online, visit public places or map neighborhoods has either not read, misunderstood or intentionally obfuscated the meaning of the Handschu Guidelines. While the NYPD has indeed repeatedly been guilty of violating the law under Kelly's tenure, the suggestion is less that the department's extensive surveillance of American Muslims is illegal than that it is inappropriate and ineffective. The fact that innocent targets of NYPD surveillance have no legal recourse is itself a scandal. Kelly: The NYPD has too urgent a mission and too few officers for us to waste time and resources on broad, unfocused surveillance. We have a responsibility to protect New Yorkers from violent crime or another terrorist attack—and we uphold the law in doing so. If it is true that the NYPD is stretched so thin that that broad, unfocused surveillance is a waste of scarce department resources, the department should perhaps not engage in broad, unfocused surveillance. The detailed cataloging of every Muslim-owned fried chicken joint in Newark did not prevent any terrorist attacks. The department, though, is not quite as strapped as Kelly seems to imply. Kelly does not mention that federal grants helped pay for at least some of the surveillance operation. Kelly: As a city, we have to face the reality that New York's minority communities experience a disproportionate share of violent crime. To ignore that fact, as our critics would have us do, would be a form of discrimination in itself. The department's critics are well aware of the scourge of violent crime in poor, primarily minority neighborhoods. They are also aware that overly aggressive policing causes distrust of the department, hindering its ability to fight crime. And they are aware that the department's focus on harassing and arresting as many minorities as possible does not make minority communities safer. It merely perpetuates the fundamentally unjust double standard at the heart of the modern American criminal justice system, in which young people of color are processed and detained regularly for crimes and behavior that well-off whites engage in with impunity. \|\|\|\|\| Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com	– Ray Kelly has heard all the grumbles about the NYPD's Stop and Frisk policy—which almost exclusively ensnares minorities—and its practice of spying on Muslims, and he wants you to know that those claims are sensationalized, and anyway there's nothing wrong with targeting minorities. In a defiant op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the NYPD chief boasts that there have been 7,383 fewer murders during Mayor Bloomberg's 11-year tenure than in the 11 years prior, citing it as evidence that the NYPD's policies work. "Racial profiling is a disingenuous charge at best and an incendiary one at worst," Kelly writes. But then he goes on to essentially defend racial profiling, writing, "In 2003, when the NYPD recognized that 96% of individuals who were shot ... were black and Hispanic, we concentrated our officers" on troubled minority neighborhoods. He also mentions that "the race of those stopped highly correlates to descriptions provided by victims or witnesses to crimes." Kelly doesn't directly deny targeting Muslims, either, instead writing that monitoring public gatherings is legal under the Handschu Guidelines, which were modified at the department's request after Sept. 11. "Undercover officers and confidential informants do not enter a mosque unless they are following up on a lead vetted under Handschu," he assures us. Click for his full column, or read a point-by-point rebuttal by Alex Pareene here.
WASHINGTON U.S. forces finally found al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden not in a mountain cave on Afghanistan's border, but with his youngest wife in a million-dollar compound in a summer resort just over an hour's drive from Pakistan's capital, U.S. officials said. A small U.S. team conducted a night-time helicopter raid on the compound early on Monday. After 40 minutes of fighting, bin Laden and an adult son, one unidentified woman and two men were dead, the officials said. U.S. forces were led to the fortress-like three-story building after more than four years tracking one of bin Laden's most trusted couriers, whom U.S. officials said was identified by men captured after the September 11, 2001 attacks. "Detainees also identified this man as one of the few al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin Laden. They indicated he might be living with or protected by bin Laden," a senior administration official said in a briefing for reporters. Bin Laden was finally found -- more than 9-1/2 years after the 2001 attacks on the United States -- after authorities discovered in August 2010 that the courier lived with his brother and their families in an unusual and extremely high-security building, officials said. They said the courier and his brother were among those killed in the raid. "When we saw the compound where the brothers lived, we were shocked by what we saw: an extraordinarily unique compound," a senior administration official said. "The bottom line of our collection and our analysis was that we had high confidence that the compound harbored a high-value terrorist target. The experts who worked this issue for years assessed that there was a strong probability that the terrorist who was hiding there was Osama bin Laden," another administration official said. The home is in Abbottabad, a town about 35 miles north of Islamabad, that is relatively affluent and home to many retired members of Pakistan's military. It was a far cry from the popular notion of bin Laden hiding in some mountain cave on the rugged and inaccessible Afghan-Pakistan border -- an image often evoked by officials up to and including former President George W. Bush. The building, about eight times the size of other nearby houses, sat on a large plot of land that was relatively secluded when it was built in 2005. When it was constructed, it was on the outskirts of Abbottabad's center, at the end of a dirt road, but some other homes have been built nearby in the six years since it went up, officials said. WALLS TOPPED WITH BARBED WIRE Intense security measures included 12- to 18-foot outer walls topped with barbed wire and internal walls that sectioned off different parts of the compound, officials said. Two security gates restricted access, and residents burned their trash, rather than leaving it for collection as did their neighbors, officials said. Few windows of the three-story home faced the outside of the compound, and a terrace had a seven-foot (2.1 meter) privacy wall, officials said. "It is also noteworthy that the property is valued at approximately $1 million but has no telephone or Internet service connected to it," an administration official said. "The brothers had no explainable source of wealth." U.S. analysts realized that a third family lived there in addition to the two brothers, and the age and makeup of the third family matched those of the relatives -- including his youngest wife -- they believed would be living with bin Laden. "Everything we saw, the extremely elaborate operational security, the brothers' background and their behavior and the location of the compound itself was perfectly consistent with what our experts expected bin Laden's hide-out to look like," another Obama administration official said. Abbottabad is a popular summer resort, located in a valley surrounded by green hills near Pakistani Kashmir. Islamist militants, particularly those fighting in Indian-controlled Kashmir, used to have training camps near the town. (Editing by Mary Milliken, Will Dunham and Mark Trevelyan) \|\|\|\|\| (CNN) -- In the dark of night, U.S. helicopters approached a high-walled compound in Pakistan on a mission to capture or kill one of the world's most notorious terrorist leaders. Less than 40 minutes later -- early Monday morning in Pakistan -- Osama bin Laden was dead, along with four others inside the complex, and the U.S. forces departed with the slain al Qaeda leader's body to fulfill a vow that originated shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. And as he announced the raid at the White House Sunday night, U.S. President Barack Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda." One senior administration official called the investigation a "team effort" and a "model of really seamless cooperation" across agencies. This official and others briefed reporters on further details about the assault on the compound, which they believe was built five years ago for the specific purpose of hiding bin Laden -- known by the code name "Geronimo," a U.S. official said. A senior administration official said later that "Geronimo" was code for the act of capturing or killing bin Laden, not the man himself. The compound is in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The city sits in a mountainous region that is not heavily populated. Many of the residents are army personnel. While senior administration officials would not offer a breakdown of the U.S. mission's composition, a senior defense official said U.S. Navy SEALs were involved. After years of intelligence work and months of following a specific lead, they traced a courier linked to bin Laden to the compound in Abbottabad, the officials said. When first built, the compound was secluded and reachable by only a dirt road, the officials said. In recent years, more residences built up around it, but it remained by far the largest and most heavily secured property in the area, they said. The mission ordered Friday by Obama found outer walls up to 18 feet tall topped with barbed wire, with two security gates and a series of internal walls that sectioned off different portions of the compound, the senior administration officials said. The main structure was a three-story building with few windows facing the outside of the compound, and a third-floor terrace had a 7-foot privacy wall, they said. Months of intelligence work determined that the compound was custom-built to hide a high-value terrorism suspect, almost certainly bin Laden. The officials noted there was no telephone or Internet service at the dwelling, which was valued at more than $1 million, and its occupants burned their trash rather than leave it out for collection as other area residents did. Calling the U.S. operation a surgical raid, officials said it was conducted by a small team and designed to minimize collateral damage. A firefight was under way for most of the 40 minutes that U.S. Special Operations forces were in the compound, as the team encountered resistance from bin Laden and three other men, a senior defense official said. The official said the forces had to fight their way through the first floor of the three-story building, where two adult males lived. Bin Laden and his family lived on the second and third floors, and they were cleared last, with bin Laden killed in the last five or 10 minutes of the siege, the official said. One of bin Laden's wives identified his body to U.S. forces after the team made visual identification, the official said. In the end, all four of the combatants in the compound were dead, along with a woman whom one of the men used as a human shield, the officials said. Sources said bin Laden was shot in the head. John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, said it is his understanding that the woman who was killed was one of bin Laden's wives. Later, a senior U.S. official said that bin Laden's wife was not the woman killed and that she may not have been used as a human shield after all. This official also said that bin Laden was shot twice, once in the chest and once in the head. At some point, one of the assaulting helicopters crashed due to a mechanical failure, according to the officials. It was destroyed as the U.S. team flew away, they said. Obama and the senior administration officials said no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation, which took place very early Monday morning Pakistani time. Shandana Syed, a resident doctor in Abbottabad, said she woke up to a large thundering sound. "My initial reaction was that maybe we're being attacked ... I saw the last helicopter. It was flying very low. Initially I was too afraid to get out. I was very terrified," she said. U.S. officials said they used a number of methods to identify the body as bin Laden. One official said it was clear to the assault force that the body matched bin Laden's description, but they used "facial recognition work, amongst other things, to confirm the identity." A senior national security official told CNN that they had multiple confirmations that the body was bin Laden, saying they had the "ability to run images of the body and the face." Another U.S. official told CNN that bin Laden has already been buried at sea. His body was handled in the Islamic tradition, said the official, who did not elaborate. A senior administration official also said bin Laden's body would be "handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. This is something that we take very seriously, and so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner." According to the senior administration officials, intelligence work determined at the beginning of 2011 that bin Laden might be located at the compound in Pakistan. By mid-February, the intelligence was considered strong enough to begin considering action pledged by Obama when bin Laden's whereabouts had been determined. To discuss that intelligence and develop a plan, Obama chaired five National Security Council meetings from mid-March until late April, with the last two on April 19 and April 28 -- last Thursday. The next day, on Friday, Obama gave the order for the mission, the officials said. A U.S. official said multiple options were considered before settling on the assault. "A bombing would not have risked American lives but it might have left questions" as to whether Bin Laden was killed, the official said. National security officials widely agreed "the best option is the one that gives proof," the official said. The key break involved one of the few couriers trusted by bin Laden, according to the officials. About two years ago, intelligence work identified where the courier and his brother lived and operated in Pakistan, and it took until August of last year to find the compound in Abbottabad, they said. "When we saw the compound where the brothers lived, we were shocked by what we saw -- an extraordinarily unique compound," one senior administration official said. "The compound sits on a large plot of land in an area that was relatively secluded when it was built. It is roughly eight times larger than the other homes in the area." Noting that the courier and his brother had no discernible source of wealth to live at such a property, intelligence analysts concluded the compound was "custom-built to hide someone of extraordinary significance," the official said, adding: "Everything was consistent with what experts thought Osama bin Laden's compound would look like." U.S. forces also recovered what a senior intelligence official is calling "quite a bit of material." "There's a robust collection of materials we need to sift through, and we hope to find valuable intelligence that will lead us to other players in al Qaeda," the senior intelligence official said. A task force has been set up "because of the sheer volume of material collected. That material is currently being exploited and analyzed," the official added. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Ed Henry, Tom Cohen, Elise Labott, Pam Benson, Dana Bash, Chris Lawrence and Aliza Kassim contributed to this report	– In the dark of night, US helicopters ferrying Navy SEALs and other special forces flew to a secure, high-walled compound in Abbottabad, 30 miles north of Islamabad in Pakistan. Less than 40 minutes later, bin Laden and four others were dead in a raid, reports CNN in a chilling description of the daring assault on the most-wanted terrorist in the world. Years of work led intelligence agents to believe the $1 million compound—which Reuters calls "luxurious" and notes is about eight times bigger than neighboring homes—was built specifically to house and protect Osama bin Laden. Its construction close to the capital raises questions about whether Pakistani officials knew of bin Laden's location. The key break came when US intelligence discovered one of bin Laden's trusted couriers two years ago and tracked him. Finally, last August they discovered the super-fortified compound where the courier and his brother lived. With a series of barbed-wire-topped walls up to 18 feet high, few windows, and no Internet or telephones, the compound was extremely secure. There was a third-floor terrace tucked behind a seven-foot privacy wall, and a series of internal walls as well. The compound's residents burned their trash, rather than allow it to be collected. By February, officials were convinced it housed bin Laden himself. After a series of National Security Council meetings, finally, last Friday, President Barack Obama gave the go-ahead for the raid. Sources tell CNN bin Laden was shot in the head. Click to read about bin Laden's burial.
The death toll from Monday's shooting at a Cleveland-area high school rose to three, making it the deadliest such incident in the U.S. in seven years, as details emerged about the 17-year-old suspect's troubled upbringing. A student wounded in a school shooting in northeast Ohio has been declared brain dead, the second fatality following an attack by a teen gunman, Jack Nicas reports on Lunch Break. Photo: AP. Enlarge Image Close Reuters T.J. Lane, suspected in a school shooting Monday, leaves court Tuesday. Enlarge Image Close Associated Press Parents and children are reunited at Chardon Middle School in Northeast Ohio, following a shooting at Chardon High School. In a hearing Tuesday, a juvenile-court judge ordered suspect T.J. Lane held for 15 days while prosecutors prepare charges. Geauga County prosecutor David Joyce said his office would seek to try Mr. Lane as an adult, and that charges likely would include three counts of aggravated murder. The incident, in which two students also were wounded, took place in Chardon, Ohio, about 30 miles from Cleveland, and authorities said the motive remained unclear. "He chose his victims at random," Mr. Joyce told reporters after the hearing Tuesday. "This is not about bullying. This is not about drugs. This is someone who is not well and I'm sure in our court case we'll prove that." Attempts to reach Mr. Lane's family were unsuccessful. A woman who answered the phone at his maternal grandparents' residence declined to comment. Mr. Lane's attorney, Robert Farinacci, didn't return calls and an email seeking comment. Authorities said Mr. Lane fired 10 shots at a group of students in the Chardon High School cafeteria as school began Monday, then shot an additional student elsewhere in the cafeteria, then proceeded down a hallway, where he shot one more student. View Slideshow Mark Duncan/Associated Press A group of students and parents prayed Tuesday for victims of Monday's school shooting in Chardon, Ohio. He then fled and was arrested nearby, authorities said. Police said Mr. Lane told them he didn't know the victims. Demetrius Hewlin died Tuesday morning at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. His death followed that of Russell King Jr., 17 years old, who died late Monday, and 16-year-old Danny Parmertor, who succumbed to his wounds hours after the attack. Another male victim remains hospitalized, while a female victim has been released to her family, officials said. The Chardon incident is now the deadliest high-school shooting in the U.S. since 2005, when a teenager killed seven people at Red Lake Senior High School in Minnesota, according to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for tougher controls on firearms. The assailant in that case also killed his grandfather, his grandfather's companion and himself. Peers and neighbors described Mr. Lane as a quiet boy with a troubled family. Court records show that in 2002 his father, Thomas Lane Jr., was charged with attempted murder against his ex-wife, pleading guilty to felonious assault. The high school's cafeteria serves as an early-morning gathering spot, where some students wait for buses that take them to other programs. Mr. Lane ordinarily took the early bus to Lake Academy, an alternative school whose website says it serves "at-risk" students "experiencing serious challenges in meeting expectations within traditional school settings." Three of his alleged victims routinely took the same bus, but to a vocational school, the Auburn Career Center, said Auburn superintendent Magaret Lynch. Chardon High senior Garrett Szalay said his girlfriend was close with Mr. Lane in junior high school, when "he was a great kid. He just had a wall up and she had to break it down." Mr. Lane had several friends in junior high and wasn't bullied, "all that much," Mr. Szalay said.When he began attending Lake Academy in ninth grade, Mr. Lane lost touch with Mr. Szalay's girlfriend and "it all started falling apart for him," Mr. Szalay said. Mr. Lane began living off and on with his paternal grandparents in Chardon several years ago, said Carl Henderson, a former Chardon police officer and Geauga County Sheriff, who lived near the family. Mr. Henderson, 74 years old, said he came to know Mr. Lane because he would often jog by his home. "He was a nice young man," he said. Mr. Henderson said he spent Monday evening with the family, and was told that the .22 revolver of Mr. Lane's grandfather, Thomas Lane Sr., was missing from the home on the day of the shooting. "A .22 revolver—the same gun the sheriff's office confiscated. Just a regular little revolver, a target revolver," Mr. Henderson said. Prosecutors said Mr. Lane confessed to taking a .22 revolver and a knife to school. Mr. Henderson said he was a frequent hunting partner of Thomas Lane, Sr., and that he knew T.J. Lane also hunted. "We all have guns. Everybody in the community has guns," he said. "I'm sure (T.J. Lane) knows how to use guns from being around the family." Under federal law, there is no penalty for gun owners storing guns accessible to children, according to Daniel Vice, senior attorney at the Brady center. Although some states have child-access prevention laws that penalize gun owners who don't keep guns away from children, Ohio has no such law. Write to Jack Nicas at [email protected] A version of this article appeared February 29, 2012, on page A2 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Third Teen Dead In School Attack. \|\|\|\|\| Story highlights "She asked if we could pray and I'm like 'Yes, please'," says 10th-grader Suspect T.J. Lane has admitted to school shootings, prosecutor says He is likely to be tried as an adult, Ohio's attorney general says Three students died from the Monday attack in Chardon, Ohio Prosecutor David Joyce said Tuesday that 17-year-old T.J. Lane has admitted taking a .22-caliber gun and a knife into Chardon High School on Monday morning and firing 10 rounds, choosing his victims randomly. Asked by Judge Timothy J. Grendell during a preliminary hearing if he understood his rights, Lane said softly, "Yes, sir, yes, I do." Lane will continue to be held in detention, and charges must be filed by 4:45 p.m. March 1, the judge ordered. Joyce predicted Lane will be tried as an adult. "Absolutely," he said. "It's a matter of law in the state of Ohio. At 17 years old, committing an act like this." He predicted the high school sophomore will be charged with three counts of aggravated murder "as well as other counts." "I guarantee that this was an aberration, this does not represent our community," Joyce told reporters. "He chose his victims at random. This is not about bullying. This is not about drugs. This is someone who is not well and I'm sure, in our court case, we will prove that to all of your desires and we will make sure that justice is done in our county." Grendell said the court had tentatively scheduled a hearing for March 19 "should there be a filing of a motion for transfer to the adult court." JUST WATCHED Shooting suspect went to other school Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Shooting suspect went to other school 02:09 JUST WATCHED Friend: Alleged gunman had sad look Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Friend: Alleged gunman had sad look 02:01 JUST WATCHED Student: Teacher chased out gunman Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Student: Teacher chased out gunman 02:04 JUST WATCHED Chardon student: 'I saw a gun pointing' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Chardon student: 'I saw a gun pointing' 03:25 Earlier Tuesday, a third student died of wounds suffered in the shooting, hospital officials said. Demetrius Hewlin died Tuesday morning, MetroHealth Medical Center said in a statement. Russell King Jr., 17, was declared brain dead early Tuesday, according to the Cuyahoga County medical examiner's office. Student Daniel Parmertor died Monday. "We are very saddened by the loss of our son and others in our Chardon community," Hewlin's family said in a statement released by the hospital. "Demetrius was a happy young man who loved life and his family and friends. We will miss him very much, but we are proud that he will be able to help others through organ donation." Police Chief Tim McKenna said the motive remained unclear. Students have described Lane as a withdrawn boy. Lane told authorities that he stole the gun used in the shootings from his uncle, a source told CNN on Tuesday. A law enforcement source said the weapon had been purchased legally. Police found the gun inside the school, apparently dropped by the suspect as he fled, the source said. One other student wounded in the shooting remained hospitalized Tuesday. A fifth victim was released, officials said. Geauga County Sheriff Daniel McClelland said the community has a long way to go before it can put the shooting behind it. "Now we move to another important phase," he said. "And while the investigation continues and we still look for the why and what and who, we now deal with a community looking to heal." A prayer service at the Church of St. Mary in Chardon sought to speed that healing. Hundreds of people spilled outside the front of the church. Inside, those assembled applauded as school and police officials were introduced. "These are great people and out of a very, very, very terrible tragedy, they'll rise again and they'll make this an even greater town," Gov. John Kasich told reporters outside the church. Heather Weinrich, a 2004 graduate of the school, said she drove an hour with her elementary school-age son to attend the event because she wanted him to know what happened and she wanted to support her school. Zack Barry, an 18-year-old senior at the school, said he was overwhelmed by the turnout of support. "It made me feel very good," he said. Classes in the tightly knit community of 5,100, about 30 miles east of Cleveland near Lake Erie, are to resume Friday. But staff, students and parents will be encouraged to return to district schools for visits and counseling on Wednesday and Thursday, Superintendent Joe Bergant said. JUST WATCHED Author: Schools need 'culture of caring' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Author: Schools need 'culture of caring' 02:03 JUST WATCHED Columbine survivor on Chardon shooting Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Columbine survivor on Chardon shooting 01:54 JUST WATCHED Social media's double edged sword Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Social media's double edged sword 02:35 Some of the victims were students who were in the cafeteria waiting for a bus to take them to Auburn Career Center, a nearby vocational school that they attended, said Maggie Lynch, the school's superintendent. Lane is a student at Lake Academy Alternative School, a school for at-risk children, said the school's interim director, Don Ehas. In a statement Monday, Parmertor's family said they were "torn by the loss." "Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him," the family said. Lawyer Bob Farinacci, speaking for Lane's family, said Monday night that the suspect was "extremely remorseful." "Very, very scared and extremely remorseful," he told CNN affiliate WKYC "He is a very confused young man right now," Farinacci said. "He's very confused. He is very upset. He's very distraught." Like others in Chardon, Lane's family also has been left groping for an explanation. "This is something that could never have been predicted," Farinacci said. "T.J.'s family has asked for some privacy while they try to understand how such a tragedy could have occurred and while they mourn this terrible loss for their community." With little to go on to help make sense of the violence, many turned to cryptic Facebook postings by the alleged shooter for a glimpse into Lane's mindset -- especially a long, dark poetic rant from December 30. The post refers to "a quaint lonely town, (where there) sits a man with a frown (who) longed for only one thing, the world to bow at his feet." "He was better than the rest, all those ones he detests, within their castles, so vain," he wrote. Lane then wrote about going through "the castle ... like an ominous breeze through the trees," past guards -- all leading up to the post's dramatic conclusion. "Feel death, not just mocking you. Not just stalking you but inside of you," it says. "Wriggle and writhe. Feel smaller beneath my might. Seizure in the Pestilence that is my scythe." The post concludes with: "Die, all of you." Farinacci said Lane was a "fairly quiet and good kid" with good grades who was doubling up on classes to graduate in May. "He pretty much sticks to himself but does have some friends and has never been in trouble over anything that we know about," he said. But just before class started Monday, witnesses say, Lane silently walked up to a table of students, holding a gun. As he opened fire, the shooter was expressionless, a student recalled. "He was silent the entire time," said student Nate Mueller, who said his ear was grazed by a bullet. "There was no warning or anything. He just opened fire." Monday's death toll might have been higher had it not been for the actions of assistant football coach and study hall teacher Frank Hall. Students said Hall chased the gunman out of the school, and police arrested the suspect nearby a short time later. "Coach Hall, he always talks about how much he cares about us students, his team and everyone," said student Neil Thomas. "And I think today he really went out and he proved how much he cared about us. He would take a bullet for us." Similar praise was given to math teacher Joseph Ricci, whom 10th-grader Kaylee O'Donnell said made sure his students were safe before donning a bulletproof vest and entering a hallway, where he pulled a wounded student inside. "You're pretty brave in risking your life for students," she said. "I actually was sitting with a girl, and she asked if we could pray and I'm like 'Yes, please.' So me and her quietly did that and a couple of my friends." Asked how she would feel when she returns to school, she said, "It's not going to be the same, but I still feel safe." The shooting has had national repercussions. "Violence like this should not be tolerated in our society," said House Speaker John Boehner. "But let's be honest -- there are about 250 million guns in America. They are out there but people should use them responsibly." \|\|\|\|\| 49 Gallery: Shooting at Chardon High School • 6:43 a.m. update: Second Chardon High School student, Russell King Jr., dies of gunshot wound CHARDON, Ohio -- When the unthinkable happened at Chardon High School, this town was prepared. Faced with a classmate-turned-gunman in the cafeteria, nearby students knew what to do from emergency drills: They fled to the teachers' lounge, barricading the door with a piano. Teachers knew what to do, too, locking down students in safe rooms while an assistant football coach chased the gunman from the school. Police, also trained through repeated drills and summoned by 9-1-1 calls from students, responded immediately. And parents, alerted nearly instantly about the shooting by their cellphone-equipped students, arrived in droves, leaving their cars wherever they could, to walk to the school and collect their shocked, shivering kids. Chaos struck here Monday morning, leaving a 16-year-old boy dead and four classmates seriously wounded, but Chardon responded with calm. "We should be proud of our officials for how they reacted and our children," Geauga County Commissioner Mary E. Samide said. "It could have been a lot worse." Three students were flown by helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center, where one -- Daniel Parmertor -- died and two were in critical condition late Monday, according to police. The other students were in stable and serious conditions at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights. The shooting rocked Chardon, an insular town of 5,000 about 35 miles east of Cleveland, usually notable for maple syrup and lake-effect snow. Police offered no motive. "I was getting out my homework, and then I heard a pop, like someone popping a big bag of chips," said Brad Courtney, a 15-year-old freshman in study hall in the cafeteria. "Mostly I was thinking, 'Is this happening in Chardon?' It's a little place in the middle of nowhere." View Chardon high school shooting in a larger map School was beginning at 7:30 a.m. Monday when T.J. Lane, indentified as a sophmore in last year's high school yearbook, opened fire in the cafeteria, said junior Nate Mueller, who said his right ear was grazed by a bullet. A surveillance video shows Lane, 17, sat down at an empty table, reached into his bag and pulled out a .22-caliber handgun, according to a source who saw the video. He walked up to a group of students and, one by one, shot at least three in the backs of their heads. At least three friends -- Russell King, Demetrius Hewlin and Nick Walczak -- were sitting at the long rectangular table where they regularly wait for their bus to the Auburn Career Center, a vocational school, Nate said. Not clear is where Danny was shot, though Maggie Lynch, the career center's superintendent, said he was also in the cafeteria. As Lane ran out of the cafeteria, Frank Hall, an offensive coordinator for the football team, chased him down a side hallway, according to the source. An 18-year-old girl, whom friends identified as Joy Rickers, was shot in the buttocks in the hall as the gunman fled. Police used tracking dogs to follow the shooter's footprints and found him about 45 minutes later, a mile away, said sheriff's Lt. John Hiscox. Students had flooded police with 9-1-1 calls, including one from Nate, who hid behind a car after running out of the cafeteria. Dozens of study hall students, meanwhile, dove under the tables before moving to the adjacent teachers' lounge. They were following the protocol they'd practiced. "We've done lockdown drills before, so we all knew," Brad said. "It all seemed pretty quick." Chardon schools several years ago began working with law enforcement agencies to train for a possible school shooting, Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland said. On Monday, an announcement over the public-address system instructed students and teachers to turn off the lights and hide, said a student who thought it was another drill until she received text messages from friends. Students texted each other and their parents as they waited in the lounge, where they pushed a piano in front of the door, Brad said. "I think the kids reacted exceptionally well and need to be proud of themselves. If they barricaded the door and were calling for help, that is a great survival response," said Larry Banaszak, the police director at Otterbein College, who developed a training plan after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. Banaszak instructs students to run, hide, barricade and, as a last resort, fight a shooter. "I think that school shootings are another crisis that we need to prepare for," he said. "We know what to do when there's a fire drill. We know what to do when there's a tornado siren goes off. . . . It's all about planning for another crisis." How to cope Here are some ways Chardon High School parents can help their children grieve and understand the shooting incident. • Watch for anxiety. Listen and talk to them. Find out what they are concerned about. • Defuse their fears. School shootings are extremely rare, and school safety improves after such tragedies because administrators re-examine safety procedures. • Watch for troubling behavior. See if their child is angry or aggressive, isolated or detached. Watch to see if the child is disengaged in friendships, activities or academic life. • Encourage them to report alarming behavior of others. Students or friends concerned about a classmate can anonymously call 1-866-773-2587. • School counselors will be available today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Chardon Middle School, 424 North St., and 4 to 9 p.m. at St. Mary's School, which is across the street at 401 North St. -- Pat Galbincea Police officers from Chardon, the Geauga County Sheriff's Office, the State Highway Patrol and other agencies, as well as emergency medical technicians, responded quickly, said Chardon Chief Tim McKenna. School officials shepherded high school students across the campus to Maple Elementary School, where their parents could pick them up. The FBI and police interviewed students who witnessed the shootings before letting them go home. Parents arrived as quickly as they could, leaving their cars on the side of the road and rushing to hug their children. No one honked. There was no chaos. Moms and dads lined up on sidewalks. When they were reunited with their kids, some of whom left school in only their gym shorts, they threw their coats around them to keep them warm. People in Chardon are close, said Darlene Judd, who was relieved to find her two sons unharmed. "Everybody knows everybody; everybody cares for everybody. Even though it's not your kid down, someone else's is." The high school of about 1,100 students from Chardon and surrounding areas is rated excellent by the Ohio Department of Education. Chardon is the kind of place where families stay for generations. "That community will pull together. They are a tight-knit community. It is very, very difficult," Gov. John Kasich said Monday. "I've asked the state to offer any and all resources that can help that community get through this terrible time." They started to pull together Monday night, when more than 100 Chardon students gathered around the bandstand in Chardon Square. Six bouquets of flowers, five for each of the victims and one for the shooter's family, were propped against the bandstand, along with votive candles and a hand-lettered sign on white cardboard: "2/27/12 Never forget." Students sang songs, including "Lean on Me," and hugged each other. Nate said his group of friends had once been friends with Lane, but they had gone separate ways in high school, after Lane went through a Goth phase, usually known for black clothes and nonconformist behavior. Russell had recently started dating Lane's ex-girlfriend, who is home-schooled, Nate said. Court records show Lane had a traffic case in November and a juvenile delinquency case in 2009. Nate said Lane regularly took the bus to Lake Academy, an alternative school in Willoughby for students with emotional problems, academic deficiencies, family discord, drug and alcohol abuse and other problems. Lane's family has a long history of problems, records show. Anna Mullet, the daughter of the pastor of the Chardon Assembly of God on the square, where a vigil was held late Monday, said Lane and his older brother, Adam, sometimes attended a joint youth group operated by six small churches in Chardon. "He seemed like a nice boy," said Mullet. The shooting is the second in five years in Northeast Ohio. At SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland in October 2007, 14-year-old Asa Coon wounded two teachers and two students, then killed himself as police swarmed the building. Even with the drills, Chardon students said they were scared. "This is real. This is real," said Nicole Weaver, 17, who hid in a classroom near the cafeteria. "I thought someone was going to come in here and shoot us." With reporting by Brian Albrecht, Jo Ellen Corrigan, Rachel Dissell, Stan Donaldson, Karen Farkas, Pat Galbincea, John Horton, Peter Krouse, Patrick O'Donnell, Michael O'Malley, Tonya Sams and Michael Scott	– A second student has been declared brain dead after being shot yesterday at Ohio's Chardon High School, the Wall Street Journal reports. Russell King Jr., 17, had recently started dating the suspected shooter's ex-girlfriend. The first victim, 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor, died yesterday, and three others were wounded when 17-year-old TJ Lane allegedly began shooting in the cafeteria—"directly aiming" at a table where four boys sat, from "two feet away," one witness says. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Lane allegedly walked up to the group and shot at least three of the victims in the backs of their heads. Lane is "very distraught" and "extremely remorseful," his lawyer says. "He's very confused. … This is a very scary circumstance that I don't think he could have possibly even foreseen himself in the middle of." Lane was a student at a nearby school for at-risk children; his male victims were students at a nearby vocational school, and were waiting at Chardon to be bused there. School was canceled today as the community mourns, and many are looking for clues in a dark Facebook post Lane made on December 30, CNN reports. It refers to a man who "was better than the rest, all those ones he detests, within their castles, so vain," and ends with the line, "Die, all of you." Lane's father also has a violent past, police say.
The Sea of Galilee boat is the most famous artifact that we can now associate with this newly discovered town. It dates back to either the first century B.C. or A.D. Although the boat was uncovered in 1986 the discovery of the town means we now know it was found on the ancient town's shoreline. A town dating back more than 2,000 years has been discovered on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, in Israel's Ginosar valley. The ancient town may be Dalmanutha (also spelled Dalmanoutha), described in the Gospel of Mark as the place Jesus sailed to after miraculously feeding 4,000 people by multiplying a few fish and loaves of bread, said Ken Dark, of the University of Reading in the U.K., whose team discovered the town during a field survey. The archaeologists also determined that a famous boat, dating to around 2,000 years ago, and uncovered in 1986, was found on the shoreline of the newly discovered town. The boat was reported on two decades ago but the discovery of the town provides new information on what lay close to it. The evidence the team found suggests the town was prosperous in ancient times. "Vessel glass and amphora hint at wealth," Dark wrote in an article published in the most recent edition of the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly, while "weights and stone anchors, along with the access to beaches suitable for landing boats — and, of course, the first-century boat … all imply an involvement with fishing." [Photos: 4,000-Year-Old Structure Hidden Under Sea of Galilee] The architectural remains and pottery suggest that Jews and those following a polytheistic religion lived side by side in the community. In addition, the researchers found that the southern side of the newly discovered town lies only about 500 feet (150 meters) away from another ancient town known as Magdala. View looking southwest showing the mountains bounding the Ginosar Valley in Israel. Archaeologists found pottery remains, cubes known as tesserae and, in the modern town, architectural fragments indicating a town flourished in the area from the second or first century B.C. until after the fifth century A.D. Credit: Photo copyright Dr. Ken Dark Architecture and pottery Fields between the modern-day town of Migdal and the sea coast contained hundreds of pottery pieces dating from as early as the second or first century B.C. to up to some point after the fifth century A.D., the time of the Byzantine Empire, the archaeologists found. The artifacts suggest the town survived for many centuries. Also among their finds were cubes known as tesserae and limestone vessel fragments, which were "associated with Jewish purity practices in the early Roman period," indicating the presence of a Jewish community in the town, Dark told LiveScience in an email. Some of the most impressive finds, however, were not made in the fields but rather in modern-day Migdal itself. The archaeologists found dozens of examples of ancient architectural remains, some of which the modern-day townspeople had turned into seats or garden ornaments, or simply left lying on the ground. In one instance, the researchers found more than 40 basalt ashlar blocks in a single garden. After talking to the local people, and trying to identify the source and date of the findings, the researchers determined that many of the architectural remains came from the local area and likely were part of this newly discovered town. [Photos: Amazing Ruins of the Ancient World] Roman column fragments, along with the top of a rotary quern (for grinding), lying on the side of a road in the modern-day town of Migdal and believed to be part of a newfound ancient town. Credit: Photo copyright Dr. Ken Dark These remains included a number of ancient column fragments, including examples of capitals (the top of columns) carved in a Corinthian style. "This settlement may have contained masonry buildings, some with mosaic floors and architectural stonework," Dark wrote in his paper. The finds also included a pagan altar, made of light-gray limestone and used in religious rituals by those of a polytheistic faith, Dark said. Is it Dalmanutha? In the New Testament, Dalmanutha is mentioned only briefly in the Gospel of Mark. The gospel says that after feeding 4,000 people by miraculously multiplying a few fish and loaves of bread, Jesus "got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, 'Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.'Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side." (Mark 8:10-13, New International Version) Dark isn't certain the newly discovered town is Dalmanutha, but there is evidence to support the idea. From the remains found, researchers can tell the newly discovered town would have been a sizable, thriving location in the first century A.D., and the name Dalmanutha has not been firmly linked to a known archaeological site. It's likely that the newly found town's name is among the few place-names already identified by other researchers relating to the Ginosar valley shore, and one of those places is Dalmanutha, Dark said. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience. \|\|\|\|\| (Helen Bond) A week or so ago we welcomed Dr Ken Dark from the University of Reading to Edinburgh. Ken is an archaeologist with a great deal of experience in all things to do with the Roman Empire, and we were particularly interested to hear of his experiences in mapping the area around Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. The two extended lectures were extremely lively and we all learnt a great deal from them. I was particularly struck by the difference in archaeology between Romanized Sepphoris and Nazareth; it was also news to me that there was no road between Nazareth and Sepphoris – clearly this puts some question marks over reconstructions that have Jesus continually making his way over to the city. By way of contrast, there was a good road between Nazareth (which Ken portrayed as a small Jewish regional town rather than a hamlet) and the larger and more Romanized towns around the the Sea of Galilee. Sumaries of the two lecturesare posted below. Archaeology of Roman-Period Nazareth Recent work by the Nazareth Archaeological Project (established in 2004) is transforming our understanding of first-century Nazareth and its hinterland, by applying modern archaeological methods and theory to its study for this first time. In Nahal Zippori, the broad valley between Nazareth and Sepphoris, survey has revealed a pattern of many small agricultural settlements, probably established at, or just before, the start of the Roman period. Those closer to Nazareth seem to have used only artefacts produced in what are known to have been Jewish contexts, but those closer to Sepphoris used a much wider range of material, including imported goods. This, along with other evidence, strongly suggests that a Roman-period cultural boundary existed between communities nearer Sepphoris and those nearer Nazareth, casting doubt on many recent interpretations of the relationship between the two centres. Turning to Nazareth itself, a reinvestigation of the archaeological site below the present Sisters of Nazareth convent, just across the street from the Church of the Annunciation, has demonstrated a long sequence of activity from the Roman period onward. This begins with an exceptionally well-preserved domestic building, probably a ‘courtyard house’, dating to the first century. The structure was disused within that century, and burials, including an almost-complete kokhim tomb of mid- to late- first-century form, dug in its immediate vicinity. Later, the site was used for the largest Byzantine church yet identified in Nazareth, with the earlier house and tombs contained and venerated in its crypt. The church may well be the ‘lost’ Church of the Nutrition, referred to in the seventh-century Insular Latin text De Locis Sanctis. Bibliography: K.R.Dark ‘The Sisters of Nazareth site and the archaeology of Early Roman period Nazareth’ The Antiquaries Journal 92, 2012, 1-28. K.R.Dark ‘The Byzantine and Crusader Church of the Nutrition in Nazareth rediscovered’ Palestine Exploration Quarterly 144.3, 2012, 164-184. K.R.Dark ‘The Roman-Period and Byzantine Landscape between Sepphoris and Nazareth’ Palestine Exploration Quarterly 140.2, 2008, 87-102. Dalmanutha Discovered? First-Century Fishing, Farming and Urbanization around the Sea of Galilee While there has been much archaeological work on Roman-period and Byzantine settlement around the Sea of Galilee, little synthesis of this has taken place. Both material and written evidence suggest a distinctive economic system, in which local communities developed a specialised fishing ‘industry’ alongside agricultural production, but this has seldom been studied in its own right. Indeed, the valley of Ginosar, which has the best farmland around the ‘sea’, has been largely neglected by archaeologists, except for the urban site to its extreme south-east identified by Franciscan scholars as Magdala, and the famous first-century ship discovered on its shoreline. A new research project is synthesising existing data and using air- and satellite-photography to re-examine the area, combined with the first extensive archaeological survey of the Ginosar valley. The latter has identified a very large, but previously-unrecognised, Late Hellenistic, Roman-period, and later, settlement between the modern town of Migdal (on the western side of the valley) and the coast, just south of Kibbutz Ginosar. It is hard to imagine that a Roman-period coastal community of this size is nowhere mentioned in textual sources, and the site might be identified with one of the unlocated toponyms known from the Bible, perhaps the Dalmanutha of Mark 8:10. Bibliography: K.R.Dark (forthcoming in 2013) ‘Archaeological Evidence for a Previously Unrecognised Town near the Sea of Galilee’ Palestine Exploration Quarterly 141.3	– Sometimes, archaeologists discover a sweater; other times, they uncover entire towns. The latter turns out to be the case in Israel, where a town has been found—and it could be one mentioned in a well-known Bible story. LiveScience reports that it was found along the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee, and British archaeologists suggest that it is Dalmanutha, a place that factors into the Gospel of Mark's recounting of Jesus feeding a great crowd of people with just a few fish and loaves of bread: Dalmanutha is where he briefly sailed after that miracle. The archaeologists made their discovery during a field survey, and team lead Ken Dark theorizes it is indeed Dalmanutha, and one reason he gives is that artifacts collected there indicate it was an active city at the start of the Common Era. In a June lecture Dark gave at the University of Edinburgh, he further explained his thought process, as summarized on the blog of the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins: "It is hard to imagine that a Roman-period coastal community of this size is nowhere mentioned in textual sources, and the site might be identified with one of the unlocated toponyms known from the Bible, perhaps the Dalmanutha of Mark 8:10." (In other news in the region, archaeologists recently found a treasure trove in Jerusalem.)
UPDATE 4 P.M. CHICAGO TIME Braun's campaign issued a second, stronger statement hitting Clinton for "parachuting" into Chicago and slammed Emanuel on several fronts. Her statement at the end of the post. END UPDATE Chicago Mayoral hopeful former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) added her voice to a warning issued by mayoral rival Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.): Don't come to Chicago to campaign for Rahm Emanuel or risk his relationship with African Americans. On Tuesday, Davis got this ball rolling when he issued a statement telling Clinton to stay away from the mayoral election. Emanuel is the front-runner and Davis and Braun--both African American--need a big black vote if they have any chance of coming in second. The Feb. 22 contest is non-partisan and if no one gets 50 percent, a run-off between the top two finishers will be held April 5. Davis told me in an interview he also wanted President Obama--who has been helpful to Emanuel's campaign--to stay out of the mayoral contest. My column on this is here. Here's what is new: Though Clinton appointed Braun as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa after she lost her Senate re-election bid, a statement from her campaign issued Wednesday morning was strongly worded: Said Braun,"Bill Clinton is an outsider parachuting in to support another outsider. Rahm's residency status continues to be challenged in court. It's not yet clear that he will be on the ballot. At the same time former president Clinton risks his legacy and the great respect that he has enjoyed among African Americans by coming to Chicago to endorse Rahm Emanuel who is running for mayor against two black candidates. "Clinton should remember New Hampshire where he called Barack Obama's opposition to the war in Iraq 'a fairy tale.' He was wrong. "Clinton should remember South Carolina where he played the race card painting Obama as "the black candidate". Again he was wrong. Bill Clinton will be wrong again if he gets involved in the Chicago mayoral contest. He should stay home and avoid the cold." \|\|\|\|\| Congressman Danny Davis has a message for former President Bill Clinton: Don't take sides in the Chicago mayor's race _ or else. FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2010 file photo, U.S. Rep Danny Davis, center, along with his wife Vera, announces his candidacy for mayor of Chicago. Davis issued a news release Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010, saying... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2010 file photo, Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel speaks at a press conference in Chicago. Emanuel's rival in the race, Danny Davis issued a news release Tuesday, Dec. 28,... (Associated Press) Davis, a longtime friend of Clinton, warned the ex-president on Tuesday that he could jeopardize his "long and fruitful relationship" with the black community if he campaigns for former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel instead of one of the two leading black candidates running _ Davis or former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. The warning highlights the stakes in what is gearing up to be a contentious race for mayor in the nation's third-largest city. About a dozen people have made it on to the ballot to replace retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley, who is bowing out after more than 20 years in office, giving candidates their first real shot at Chicago's top job for the first time in two decades. In a news release, Davis, a Democrat from Chicago's West Side, said Clinton's relationship with the black community may be "fractured and perhaps even broken" if he comes to town to stump for Emanuel, who moved back to Chicago this fall to run for mayor and is leading in the polls. Davis later told The Associated Press that he intended the news release to be a personal appeal to Clinton, friend to friend. "You just wouldn't want your friends to be campaigning against you," Davis said with a laugh. "I've enjoyed a great friendship and relationship and have a tremendous amount of affinity for both the Clintons ... and I'd like to keep it that way." "I want him to be neutral," Davis said of the former president. Emanuel's campaign recently announced that Clinton was going to head a campaign event in January, but no date or time has been announced. Campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt declined to comment on Davis' statement, and messages left with Clinton's foundation weren't immediately returned on Tuesday. Blacks make up 35 percent of Chicago's population, a key voting bloc that has the potential to doom or elevate a candidate. A recent Chicago Tribune/WGN poll showed Davis leading Emanuel among black voters, but just barely. Davis was backed by 21 percent of black voters, Emanuel was backed by 19 percent, but 30 percent were undecided. The poll showed Emanuel leading with 30 percent among all voters surveyed. Emanuel held various positions in Clinton's administration, including senior policy adviser, director of special projects and political director. Davis also has known Clinton for years, and political consultant Delmarie Cobb said Davis was among the first black leaders to support Clinton's presidential campaign before he had widespread name recognition. "I can see where Danny Davis would be very upset," Cobb said. Braun, the race's other leading black candidate, joined the U.S. Senate the same year Clinton became president, and he was always supportive of her, Cobb said. Clinton appointed Braun as ambassador to New Zealand after she lost her Senate re-election bid. Messages left for Braun's campaign weren't immediately returned. Clinton _ who Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison once dubbed the country's first black president _ still enjoys a great deal of support among black voters, and Davis said part of his concern is about Clinton's impact on the mayor's race. "I think he certainly has some sway and power," Davis said. "He's still a tremendous draw." But Cobb wasn't convinced that Clinton's popularity would translate into votes. She and other black leaders want Clinton to stay on the sidelines because "a president shouldn't inject himself in a local mayoral race. He's an international figure." "This is not something he should be a part of, especially when he has no direct ties to Chicago," Cobb said. "He is bigger than this." While Davis said his message to Clinton was meant to be a friendly appeal, the tone of his statement was more direct, suggesting that the former president would lose black support if he campaigned for Emanuel. "The African-American community has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Clintons, however it appears as though some of that relationship maybe fractured and perhaps even broken should former President Clinton come to town and participate overtly in efforts to thwart the legitimate political aspirations of Chicago's Black community," the statement said. Cobb echoed that sentiment, saying that if Clinton visits Chicago for Emanuel, "it would appear that the president was supporting a white man over Hispanic and African-American and women candidates, and I'm sure that's not . . . the perception the president wants to project."	– Things continue to get nice and contentious in the Chicago mayor's race: Today, mayoral hopeful Carol Moseley Braun added her own stern warning to Bill Clinton not to campaign for his old pal Rahm Emanuel. The former senator says Clinton will risk his relations with the black community if he follows through on plans to help Emanuel ahead of the February vote, reports Lynn Sweet at the Chicago Sun-Times. "Bill Clinton is an outsider parachuting in to support another outsider," said Braun. "He should stay home and avoid the cold." Her statement follows that of fellow black candidate Rep. Danny Davis, who yesterday said Clinton's ties with African Americans will be "fractured and perhaps even broken" if he steps in, notes the AP. The reason for the quick responses: Blacks make up 35% of the city's population, and both candidates need a strong showing against heavily favored Emanuel.
“Organ trafficking is a growth industry,” said Jonathan Ratel, a European Union special prosecutor who is leading a case against seven people accused of luring poor victims from Turkey and former communist countries to Kosovo to sell their kidneys with false promises of payments of up to $20,000. “Organized criminal groups are preying upon the vulnerable on both sides of the supply chain: people suffering from chronic poverty, and desperate and wealthy patients who will do anything to survive.” The main supply countries have traditionally been China, India, Brazil and the Philippines. But experts say Europeans are increasingly vulnerable. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 kidneys are illegally sold globally each year, according to Organs Watch, a human rights group in Berkeley, Calif., that tracks the illegal organ trade. The World Health Organization estimates that only 10 percent of global needs for organ transplantation are being met. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, the director of Organs Watch and a professor of medical anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, said the attempt by poor Europeans to sell their organs was reminiscent of the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when chronic joblessness created a new breed of willing sellers. Photo Trade in organs in Serbia is illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison. But that is not deterring the people of Doljevac, a poor municipality of 19,000 people in southern Serbia, where the government refused an attempt by residents to register a local agency to sell their organs and blood abroad for profit. Violeta Cavac, a homemaker advocating for the network, said that the unemployment rate in Doljevac was 50 percent and that more than 3,000 people had wanted to participate. Deprived of a legal channel to sell their organs, she said, residents are now trying to sell body parts in neighboring Bulgaria or in Kosovo. “I will sell my kidney, my liver, or do anything necessary to survive,” she said. Hunched over his computer in Kovin, about 25 miles from Belgrade, Mr. Mircov showed a reporter his kidney-for-sale advertisement, which included his blood type and phone number. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. “Must sell kidney. Blood group A,” the ad said. “My financial situation is very difficult. I lost my job, and I need money for school for my two children.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story After six months of advertising, Mr. Mircov said, his days are punctuated by hope and disappointment. He said a man from Mannheim, Germany, had offered to fly him to Germany and cover the transplant costs. But when Mr. Mircov tried to follow up, he said, the man disappeared. A woman from Macedonia offered $24,000 for a kidney from his partner, Daniella, but that was $12,000 below her asking price. She noted that she has blood type O, which can bring a $12,000 premium on the organ market because the blood is safe for most recipients. Mr. Mircov said he had no fear about an eventual operation or legal strictures forbidding organ sales. “It’s my body, and I should be able to do what I want with it,” he said. Government officials insisted that Serbia was not so poor as to reduce people to selling their body parts, while police officials said not a single case of organ trafficking in Serbia had been prosecuted in the past 10 years. Experts who study illegal organ sales said prosecutions were rare because transplants usually took place in third countries, making them difficult to track. Dr. Djoko Maksic, a leading nephrologist who runs the transplant program at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, expressed disbelief that illegal organ selling was taking place in Serbia, saying every potential donor was scrutinized and vetted by a hospital committee consisting of doctors, ethicists and lawyers. But Milovan, 52, a former factory worker from a rural village in southern Serbia, said he “gave” his kidney to a wealthy local politician who, in return, put him on his company payroll and offered to buy him medication. The kidney was extracted at a public hospital in Belgrade, he said, with both men using forged donor cards indicating they were brothers. Debt-ridden, Milovan, who declined to give his last name for fear of being ostracized by his neighbors, lamented that the recipient had recently cut him off, and his family said he had spent his money so quickly that he was reduced to selling eggs at a local market. \|\|\|\|\| After six months of advertising, Mr. Mircov said, his days are punctuated by hope and disappointment. He said a man from Mannheim, Germany, had offered to fly him to Germany and cover the transplant costs. But when Mr. Mircov tried to follow up, he said, the man disappeared. A woman from Macedonia offered $24,000 for a kidney from his partner, Daniella, but that was $12,000 below her asking price. She noted that she has blood type O, which can bring a $12,000 premium on the organ market because the blood is safe for most recipients. Mr. Mircov said he had no fear about an eventual operation or legal strictures forbidding organ sales. “It’s my body, and I should be able to do what I want with it,” he said. Government officials insisted that Serbia was not so poor as to reduce people to selling their body parts, while police officials said not a single case of organ trafficking in Serbia had been prosecuted in the past 10 years. Experts who study illegal organ sales said prosecutions were rare because transplants usually took place in third countries, making them difficult to track. Dr. Djoko Maksic, a leading nephrologist who runs the transplant program at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, expressed disbelief that illegal organ selling was taking place in Serbia, saying every potential donor was scrutinized and vetted by a hospital committee consisting of doctors, ethicists and lawyers. But Milovan, 52, a former factory worker from a rural village in southern Serbia, said he “gave” his kidney to a wealthy local politician who, in return, put him on his company payroll and offered to buy him medication. The kidney was extracted at a public hospital in Belgrade, he said, with both men using forged donor cards indicating they were brothers. Debt-ridden, Milovan, who declined to give his last name for fear of being ostracized by his neighbors, lamented that the recipient had recently cut him off, and his family said he had spent his money so quickly that he was reduced to selling eggs at a local market.	– As Europeans grapple with economic misery, illegal organ sales are on the rise, with desperate sellers willing to part with kidneys, corneas, bone marrow, and even lungs. "When you need to put food on the table, selling a kidney doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice," says an unemployed Serbian man who hopes his kidney will bring in $40,000; he's been advertising its sale online for the last six months. Internet ads spotted across Italy, Spain, Greece, and Russia, meanwhile, offer lungs for sale for as much as $250,000, the New York Times reports. "Unscrupulous traffickers" are turning toward Europe as well, the paper adds, ready to profit off of the continent's economic woes. "Organized criminal groups are preying upon the vulnerable on both sides of the supply chain: people suffering from chronic poverty, and desperate and wealthy patients who will do anything to survive," says a European Union prosecutor. Indeed, WHO figures show that just 10% of those in need are getting transplants. Between 15,000 and 20,000 kidneys sell on the black market worldwide yearly, analysts note; until recently, organs had typically come from China, India, the Philippines, and Brazil. The Times shares the harrowing story of one couple trying to sell their kidneys; click to read.
Mr. Delahunt, a six-term congressman, is the least prominent of the four but perhaps the funniest. More to the point, he is the only one willing to sleep in the living room with a close-up view of Mr. Schumer slumbering a few feet away in his boxers. Photo Mr. Miller began taking in weary lawmakers in 1982, but this is the first time in 12 years that four members of a Democratic majority have lived here simultaneously. The four men were once host to a fund-raiser for Senator Barbara Boxer of California at their divey dwelling, raising $80,000. Given the prevailing attire in the place on many nights, guests were given pairs of custom-made “Barbara Boxer shorts.” As a general rule, the abode is hardly fit for entertaining, or even for a health inspector. It is used for convenience: sleeping, ditching stuff, and fast-food consumption — the kinds of functions prized by vagabond politicians whose families are back in their home states and who generally spend only their working weekdays here. “Everybody in the world says they’re going to do a television series based on us,” said Mr. Durbin, who was collapsed on the couch on a recent Monday night. Still in a tie, he sipped ice water from a massive Chicago Cubs cup while waiting for the Chinese food to arrive. “But then they realize that the story of four middle-aged men, with no sex and violence, is not going to last two weeks,” he said. The prevailing topics of their discussions are grandchildren and Metamucil, he added. “Hey, speak for yourself, Durbin,” Mr. Delahunt said, protesting the claim of no sex and violence. “There is a lot of violence in here,” Mr. Schumer said. In fact, the roommates have never resorted to violence, at least with one another. (Crickets are another story.) Their weapons are verbal, and often aimed at Mr. Schumer, who admits to a serious dereliction of roommate duties, like grocery shopping. He is also prone to a blatant disregard for conserving a most precious household resource, cereal. Photo “I love cereal,” Mr. Schumer said, digging into his second bowl of granola, going a long way toward depleting a box that Mr. Miller had just purchased. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The night of the national championship football game between the University of Florida and Ohio State, Jan. 8, was a rare instance of the four roommates being home and awake at the same time. It had not happened since the election in November, and the neighborhood has changed considerably since then. Several Republicans on the block lost their race or left Congress (the latter category includes the disgraced Representative Mark Foley, who lived down the street). “This street was just devastated by the election,” Mr. Miller said. “Who says Republicans are good for property values?” He added that no Republican had ever set foot in the place, at least to their knowledge. “We just have to vote with them, not live with them,” he said. Mr. Miller bought the house in 1977 and started taking in renters a few years later. Early tenants included former Representative Marty Russo of Illinois and former Representative Leon E. Panetta of California, who was forced to move out when President Clinton appointed him head of the Office of Management and Budget. (Ethics laws prohibited a White House official from paying rent to a member of Congress.) Mr. Schumer joined them in 1982, and Mr. Durbin moved in a decade later on condition that he get one of the two bedrooms upstairs. Mr. Miller sleeps in the other, bigger bedroom, asserting his ownership privileges, and Mr. Delahunt began occupying the second living room bed four years ago, after a previous tenant, former Representative Sam Gejdenson, was evicted by voters in Connecticut. Photo Mr. Miller charges rent of $750 a month, which Mr. Durbin pays by direct deposit and Mr. Schumer’s wife pays by sending Mr. Miller six checks twice a year. Mr. Schumer says his wardrobe at the apartment consists of boxers and suits, nothing in between. Women rarely set foot in the place, excluding the Haitian cleaning lady who comes every week and who everyone promises is a legal immigrant. The common bathroom upstairs is stocked with supersize bottles of Listerine, CVS cocoa butter, Suave shampoo (with dandruff control) and a hair dryer. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Little thought is given to entertainment besides the big-screen television that Mr. Durbin recently purchased against the wishes of Mr. Schumer and Mr. Delahunt, who liked the old one. The refrigerator is mostly empty save for apples, grapes and about two dozen bottles of beer. “The icemaker is back on,” boasted Mr. Miller, pointing to the inside of what might be the most unseemly freezer in Washington this side of Representative William Jefferson’s. (F.B.I. agents found $90,000 in the freezer of Mr. Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, who is being investigated on bribery charges.) Once, Mr. Miller’s son shot a deer and presented the house with an abundant supply of venison. It remained in the freezer for 12 years, at which point it was deemed to have reached its term limit and was discarded. “Whatever happened to that venison?” Mr. Schumer wondered. “I think it just got up and walked away,” Mr. Delahunt said. The roommates then repaired to couches to watch Florida-Ohio State and to stuff their faces with Sichuan beef and kung pao chicken. Mr. Durbin began talking about meetings he had last month with the presidents of Bolivia and Ecuador on a Congressional delegation to Latin America. Then he and Mr. Schumer started arguing about Mr. Schumer’s refusal to make his bed. \|\|\|\|\| Okay, it’s been four months, no excuses — you should have finished “House of Cards” by now. If not, the clock’s ticking, because another online-only TV show set in Washington is officially on the way. “Alpha House,” a political satire about four Republican senators who live together in a rowhouse on Capitol Hill, has been ordered to series by Amazon Studios, the company announced Wednesday morning; 13 episodes will air this year and early next year. The studio, a production arm of Amazon.com, performed a nifty experiment about a month ago, posting more than a dozen television pilots — eight comedies and six children’s shows — to its consumer site. It called on customers to give feedback about which pilots they would like to see turned into full-fledged shows that would stream online. Apparently, viewers are fans of middle-aged men living like frat brothers and running the country in their spare time. “Alpha House,” created and written by “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau, was one of just two comedy pilots picked up for a full season. But does the popularity of Netflix’s “House of Cards” — which attempted to defy TV conventions in releasing all its episodes to its streaming site on the same day — hurt another Washington series on the Internet? Not at all, says executive producer Jonathan Alter. In fact, the Kevin Spacey drama was a huge benefit to the fledgling “Alpha House.” “It helped introduce people to the idea of watching online television, and especially online television about politics,” said Alter, a Washington-based writer for Bloomberg News who spent nearly three decades at Newsweek. The show, based on a real property in the District that has housed a rotation of various Democratic senators for years, has been the brainchild of Trudeau since about 2008. Inspired by a New York Times story about the house, Trudeau originally wrote the pilot for network television, but things didn’t pan out. Last January, Alter, a close friend of Trudeau’s, brought up the idea of resurrecting the abandoned pilot. Trudeau’s response, Alter said, was something along the lines of, “Well, be my guest.” Although Trudeau was unsure about pitching the script to Amazon Studios, Alter said, Alter convinced him that an online series was the way to go. Having Trudeau’s name attached to the project certainly helped it stand out, Alter said, especially above the thousands of scripts Amazon received when it announced an open call for ideas. But Roy Price, Amazon Studios director, insists that “once you’re on the development slate, it’s all about the material.” Even though certain projects come into the studio in different ways, he said, “I think we apply the same criteria to all the ideas that we look at.” Either way, Price added, studio execs were thrilled when they heard Trudeau, a known political satirist, wanted to do a show about the District. “When it comes to Washington and its foibles and what makes it unique, few people have been more insightful and more knowledgeable than Garry Trudeau,” Price said. Alter agrees that Trudeau’s voice was key to the show’s success, along with connections that helped land Bill Murray and Stephen Colbert in small roles in the pilot. “I do think it helped we got those cameos,” Alter said, then paused. “And then it really helped when we got John Goodman.” Goodman plays Gil John Biggs, a brash, unfiltered senator from North Carolina who seems to be the leader of the alpha house. When he’s not making fun of his roommate-colleagues, he’s on the phone with his wife, back in his home district, who’s telling him to step up his game, because the beloved Duke basketball coach is planning to run against him in the next election. Goodman is joined by Clark Johnson, Matt Malloy and Mark Consuelos, who also play Republican senators. (Trudeau went against the political affiliations of the actual house because, he said in a Washington Post interview, Democrats are currently pretty boring, while Republicans “are tearing themselves apart and will be for the foreseeable future.”) The pilot skewers various aspects of Washington, cracking jokes at the expense of both conservatives and liberals. In one exciting coincidence, Trudeau penned a scene about an epic filibuster years before the 13-hour speech in March by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). At first, the writers of the show were worried that an all-night filibuster might seem unrealistic; after Paul’s performance, truth proved stranger than fiction, and the scene stayed. Once the crew learned that filming on the Capitol grounds would be next to impossible, they wound up shooting most of the pilot in New York, with exterior shots of the District, including a rowhouse on Maryland Avenue that will stand in for the alpha house. While taking creative license for the comedy, Alter said, they try to keep everything as realistic as possible for eagle-eyed viewers. This means the little details: the bowl of tiny American flag pins the senators keep on hand, low-level staff members sitting against the walls — instead of at the table — in meetings. (It doesn’t stop there: Alter said they’ll be making adjustments in the future on set after he noticed on C-SPAN that the real Senate floor chairs differed slightly from theirs.) In the original article that inspired “Alpha House,” housemate Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) was quoted, saying that, in theory, everyone wanted to do a TV show about the unusual living situation, but “then they realize that the story of four middle-aged men, with no sex and violence, is not going to last two weeks.” Hearing that quote, Alter laughed. “We’ve addressed the question of sex,” he said, referring to a scene in the pilot in which the newest senator, played by Consuelos, is shown enthusiastically keeping busy during the all-night filibuster at the Capitol. “And,” Alter added, in case any viewers need more enticement about another political show, “there may actually be some violence that’s coming, too.”	– Amazon is ramping up its competition with Netflix: The latter has House of Cards, and now Amazon has its own original series set in DC ... with "House" in the title. Alpha House was created by Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who also writes the series about four Republican senators living together. The pilot (which features cameos by Bill Murray and Stephen Colbert) went online a month ago, along with 13 others, and Amazon looked at customer feedback to determine which to pick up for a full season. Alpha House was one of just two comedy pilots to make the cut. The Washington Post describes Alpha House as "political satire" in which the senators, played by John Goodman, Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson, and Matt Malloy "live like frat brothers." It was inspired by a real Capitol Hill property in which Democratic senators have lived over the years, and it's been kicking around in Trudeau's brain since 2008. Notes the director of Amazon Studios, "When it comes to Washington and its foibles and what makes it unique, few people have been more insightful and more knowledgeable than Garry Trudeau."
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mechanic working on a rental car near the Albuquerque International Sunport early Sunday called police when he discovered an unusual device attached to the vehicle’s undercarriage, according to Albuquerque police. Officer Simon Drobik said that the mechanic called police around 8:30 a.m., and the department dispatched its bomb squad, which sent in a robot for a closer look. The discovery sparked the evacuation of the rental car hub, home to several rental car companies and located on University, about a mile and a half from the Sunport. Drobik said he was not sure which company had rented the vehicle, nor what type of vehicle it was. ADVERTISEMENTSkip Though it was near the Sunport, flights were not disrupted and the airport was not affected, though some nearby roads were shut down for short time. People attempting to rent or return cars were directed to a nearby parking lot. A line of customers formed along the sidewalk while people checked their cellphones to understand why they weren’t allowed to the car rental center. A rental company employee said Sunday evening that they were still trying to track down cars that had been returned during the incident. He said the event left him and his colleagues on edge. “We’ve had threats from hostile customers, but I’ve never heard of a bomb threat,” he said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is handling the investigation into the device, while the FBI will manage the investigation into who had the vehicle last and where it came from, Drobik said. It was not clear Sunday if the device could have exploded. \|\|\|\|\| Story highlights Police: There was no explosives associated with the device Employees found the device when rental car was being inspected No flights were affected (CNN) New Mexico authorities said Monday that what appeared to be a "credible explosive device" -- found on a rental car at Albuquerque International Sunport airport on Sunday -- is a hoax. There were "no explosives associated with the device," said Thomas Mangan, spokesman for the Arizona Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms. It posed "no danger whatsoever to the public." Employees at a rental facility discovered the device after the car was put on a lift to be inspected. They immediately notified police. "We are conducting an investigation to determine who constructed this hoax device," Mangan said. "We're moving forward and trying to make a determination. We take that matter very seriously." No flights were affected by the investigation, according to police, while rental car drop-offs and pick-ups resumed after the scene was cleared, the airport tweeted on Sunday. Read More \|\|\|\|\| The FBI is now trying to figure out who put a bomb on a rental car returned to Avis Budget Rental on 3400 University Sunday. The discovery of the bomb, by an Avis employee, brought operations to a halt and now investigators are trying to figure out how it got there. Judie Miranda got to the Sunport early Sunday morning to pick up a friend, only to be greeted by police and road blocks. Law enforcement swarmed the airport’ rental car complex “For an airport it's very scary,” Miranda said. “Oh my god the streets…were police everywhere.” Albuquerque police confirm a rental car mechanic made the terrifying discovery of an explosive device fixed to the bottom of a rental car return Sunday morning. Avis Budget employee Susan Russell says the car was one of theirs -- a recently returned Ford Edge. “We knew right around 8:30 that they found something suspicious under one of our Avis Budget returns,” Russell said. APD's Bomb Squad is tasked with neutralizing the explosive as FBI and ATF agents take the lead on investigating how it got here. Miranda says she spent hours consoling rental car workers who were told to stay at their posts. “I can see the fear that they were having,” she said. “Here you get a bomb threat and they keep them in there. Its sad America has to have this fear. “	– The FBI and the ATF are on the case in New Mexico for a Breaking Bad-like scenario: a "credible explosive device" found underneath a rental car that was returned Sunday to the Albuquerque International Sunport, CNN reports. Police say the vehicle had been rented elsewhere (cops aren't saying where) and then dropped off at the Albuquerque Avis center, per NBC News. The device was found by employees who had the car up on a lift to inspect it; they immediately called authorities upon their discovery. The device was eventually disarmed and the center's operations went back to normal—but even though the situation ended with no one hurt, there were related issues to the investigation. The airport itself wasn't shut down (the main terminal isn't attached to the car rental center), but travelers who needed to rent from or return cars to Avis were forced to wait in a long line in a nearby parking lot while the situation was resolved, per the Albuquerque Journal. A woman who went to pick up a friend at the airport says she "spent hours consoling" Avis workers, who were reportedly told they had to stay put during the incident, KOB-TV reports. "I can see the fear that they were having," she tells the station. "Here you get a bomb threat and they keep them in there. [It's] sad America has to have this fear." One of the center's employees tells the Journal that "we've had threats from hostile customers, but I've never heard of a bomb threat." (An alleged car bomber was injured because he likely didn't set the timer correctly.)
The pizza parlor owners who received death threats and were subjected to an online hate campaign will reopen for business tomorrow with the backing of $842,000 from well wishers and a defiant message that they stand by their opposition to gay weddings. They were going to open today but were advised to hold off for security reasons. In an exclusive first interview inside Memories Pizza restaurant since it closed down last week, owner Kevin O’Connor and daughter Crystal emerged from hiding and told Daily Mail Online they had been heartened by the support of 29,000 people who donated and many more who wrote to them. They revealed they are set to share their new fortune with disabled children, a women’s help group, fire fighters, police trusts, Christian churches and Washington florist Barronelle Stutzman, 70, who was fined after declaring she would not serve a gay wedding. The tiny pizza joint in the unremarkable town of Walkerton, which has a population of just over 2000, became the focal point of a raging national debate over Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was passed last month. Scroll down for video Back in business: Kevin O’Connor and daughter Crystal emerged from hiding and told Daily Mail Online they had been heartened by the support of 29,000 people who donated and many more who wrote to them Controversy: The tiny pizza joint in the unremarkable town of Walkerton, which has a population of just over 2000, became the focal point of a raging national debate over Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was passed last month Critics said it would allow individuals and businesses to use religion as a defense against any accusation of discrimination from gay people. The bill was severely tested over the last week after Crystal, 22, a devout Christian, told a local radio station that the restaurant she runs with her father would never cater a wedding of two people of the same sex. Mr. O’Connor and his daughter were still adamant today, despite the furor that has engulfed them, that they would refuse to serve gay marriages with their pizzas. He added: ‘ If any child of mine came out as gay and entered into a gay marriage, I would still love them, but Daddy wouldn’t be going to the wedding.’ The O’Connors, who serve around 100 pizzas a week to locals, admitted they had never actually been commissioned to provide their 16 inch $12.99 cheese pizzas or pulled pork $5.75 sandwiches to a same sex wedding. Crystal said:’ I was asked a hypothetical question and that was the answer I gave. But I didn’t hope to gain anything by saying what I said. ‘I wasn’t trying to score points. It is something I believe in from my heart and my faith about gay weddings. But I don’t regret what I said. ‘I have been scared, but God is giving me strength. I think it is nothing compared to what Christ had to suffer.’ Speaking to ABC57 a week ago, Crystal said: 'If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no.’ The remark was quickly picked up by opponents of the new law and sparked an intense and angry debate, with threats being made against the O’Conners, forcing them to close down and go into hiding until today. Crystal said: ‘I don’t like attention, period. Before all this I was the “Pizza Girl” and I didn’t like that and now I got even more attention. People were looking at me and all that brought my spirits down. But the support we got also lifted me and made me stronger and humbled. But it has been difficult. Crystal O'Connor ‘I don’t know how to take it.' She said the abuse in telephone calls and in online remarks had frightened her of being attacked when walking along the sidewalk in tiny Walkerton which is primarily set around a small stretch of a busy highway. ‘I didn’t want to leave my apartment. I was scared. ‘People were looking at me and all that brought my spirits down. But the support we got also lifted me and made me stronger and humbled. But it has been difficult.’ Her father, who has owned the business for around nine years, said: ‘I am overwhelmed and not just because of the money, but the positive feedback that we have met with. ‘There are just a lot of good people out there. It seems like all we hear about is the bad ones and when something like this happens, it seems like the bad ones are the first to come out and get after you. ‘I don’t hate these people. They are just angry. I am not really sure what they are so angry about. So many things today are topsy turvey. What used to be wrong is now right and what used to be right is now wrong. I don’t hold anything against them. ‘When this country was founded it was a Christian nation and those were the rights given to us by the founders and before that by God. People just don’t want you to have those rights any more. ‘I just don’t understand it all. But it is kind of like fighting the fire. The fire burns big until thefire trucks get there. The fire rages and the more supportive people are like the fire trucks as they come in and start displacing the flames, putting itdown and building your spirits back up.’ Postman Kevin Kollar delivers the mail to Memories Pizza and More in Walkerton yesterday. Kollar said the restaurant went from receiving about four letters a day to 40 or more He recalled how the fury began over a few words Crystal chose to reveal her deep rooted opposition to same sex marriages. ‘This all happened last Tuesday. Crystal was by herself and I was by myself in a different spot.’ He said his daughter telephoned him to discuss a reporter’s request for an interview on the ramifications of the new law and whether she should agree to talk. Mr O’Conner said he considered the situation after he recalled a verse from the Bible ‘ when Christ said ‘If you deny me before a man, I will deny you before the father’. He said he felt it would be denying his and his daughters Christian beliefs if they did not admit to their opposition against gay marriage. After the interview had been broadcast and the negative remarks began, he said he saw his daughter’s despair. ‘She was feeling more and more helpless about it and I was telling her ‘Its going to be ok...its not going to be that big. ‘And then it just blew up and the ugliness arrived. But it was not a throwaway remark that she made. We do not believe in gay marriages, so we will not support them.’ A local teacher sent a message out on Twitter, which was quickly deleted, calling for Memories Pizza to be firebombed. The message is now the subject of a police investigation and charges are being considered against her. The sports school coach has been suspended. Creating memories: The O’Connors, who serve around 100 pizzas a week to locals, admitted they had never actually been commissioned to provide their 16 inch $12.99 cheese pizzas or pulled pork $5.75 sandwiches to a same sex wedding Mr O’Connor said he had read some of the remarks against him and his daughter and he found them ‘vile and disgraceful’. ‘I have seen some of the stuff and it disgusts me and I don’t know how one human being can think about doing something like that to another. I had never really thought about being hated before. ‘But on the day after which was a Wednesday, stuff started rolling in and it really started lifting ourspirits. ‘There were a whole lot of people out there who began voicing our support and just building our confidence. ‘It is very encouraging to know there are other people out there who think the way you do and feel thesame way you feel. ‘They support our right to be able to have that belief and I compare this case like that of conscientiousobjectors. ‘There were people who kind of beat them up because they wouldn’t go to war for their country, but they understood. And some of them did fight. They shouldn’t suffer in the way they have and my only problem with them is that I don’t like their pizzas very much. A friend ordered one once and I didn’t really care for it. Whitney Doody ‘But some were allowed the right not to have to fight for their country because that was there religious belief… that is how I see it. ‘ He denied being homophobic and wanting to raise opposition to gay weddings. Pointing to the front of the restaurant, which is decorated with pictures of Jesus and Christian verse and pictures of Elvis, he said: ‘I don’t care who comes through that door. ‘They are people. I don’t care if they are gay. I don’t care if they walk in on their hands. I don’t care if their heads are attached to their knee. ‘They are more than welcome to come in and eat. ‘That is not what is about. We believe that it is not right for a man to marry a man and for a woman to marry a woman. People could end up marrying trees…come on!’ Whitney Doody, 26, a lesbian who lives in Walkerton, said she had no ill feelings against the owners of Memories Pizza. “They are entitled to feel how they feel. They have their religious rights just the same as I have my gay rights. ‘They shouldn’t suffer in the way they have and my only problem with them is that I don’t like their pizzas very much. A friend ordered one once and I didn’t really care for it.’ Bar owner Larry Stoner has installed a sign outside his business Club 23 which says ‘ We don’t discriminate.’ He said: ‘I don’t have any problems with gays in Walkerton. They are as welcome in my bar the same as anybody else. ‘But I do have a problem with people who have no money because my business cannot operate with those kind of people coming in.’ Mr O’Connor, whose cell phone rings to the tune of ‘When You Wish Upon A star’ from Disney's Pinocchio, said he was re-opening his restaurant after receiving police assurances about his safety. But his decision to lift the shutters for the first time in a week was also for commercial reasons as business had been slack and the till hasn’t rung in a week. Whitney Doody, a Walkerton, Ind. resident and openly gay woman, said she has not been discriminated against in the small community. despite the recent controversy involving a restaurant in the town ‘Business was slow. But it starts picking up. We do a little over 100 pizzas a week. We are not a big city and can’t charge much more than we do.’ He said he would not describe himself as a rich man or a near-millionaire because much of the donated money will be given away to what he deems are worthy causes and he will also make up the deficit caused by the enforced shut down. The news and entertainment network Blaze began a fundraising campaign on the website GoFundMe to help the O'Connors and the fund stood at $842,592 from 29,166 people when it closed. The O’Connors are being advised by financial guru Ed Butowsky, an expert in the investment wealth management industry. He said: ‘Mr O’Connor and Crystal are genuine people. He is devastated that he has given Walkerton a bad name and people around the US might view it as a gay hating town. ‘It is not that. But the O'Connors believe what they believe and that is their right. They want to share the money they have received and we are discussing how best that should happen. ‘Nothing has been decided 100 per cent, but some charities will receive money as will Barronelle Stutzman who they wish to support. Christian Ms Stutzman refused to sell flowers for the 2013 wedding of longtime customers Robert Ingersoll and his partner Curt Freed, on religious grounds. A judge declared last month that her refusal to sell flowers to the gay wedding couple violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which makes bias based on sexual orientation illegal. She was fined $1,000, but a separate fund-raising campaign on her behalf has brought in $94,000 and is rising. \|\|\|\|\| Help Barronelle! (Arlene's Flowers) 12 HOURS AGO UPDATE #7 Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian florist, referred her friend and long-time customer to other florists because she could not in good conscience provide full wedding support for a same-sex wedding. Although the couple received flowers, the Washington State Attorney General, and later, the same-sex couple, sued Barronelle. The court found her liable for violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination and ruled that both the state and the couple may collect damages and attorneys' fees from Barronelle's business and personal assets. The 70-year-old grandmother may lose her business, her home, and her savings - because she stood for her faith, she could lose everything she owns! But you can help! Give today to protect Barronelle against the financial risk she faces. ____________________________________________________________ I am a friend of Barronnlle Stutzman and work for the legal organization helping Barronelle defend her constitutional rights. I am doing this campaign with her knowledge and cooperation. The funds will be held until the legal challenge has been resolved and the full extent of the need is assessed. Funds may be used to help cover any outstanding legal fees and costs imposed from the opposition. Funds may also be used to help replace the assets taken as a result of the legal challenges brought against Barronelle. The total cost to Barronelle is unknown because the legal challenges are ongoing. In the event the funds provided by donors exceed Barronelle’s needs, the funds will be used to cover those same expenses for others who defend their constitutional right to live consistently with their faith. The highest priority is to protect Barronelle and her livelihood. The funds will either be paid directly to Barronelle, a trust established to assist Barronelle, or a non-profit organization that will hold the funds to assist Barronelle and those in similar circumstances. 21K TOTAL SHARES COPY, PASTE & SHARE: http://www.gofundme.com/Arlenesflowers What is GoFundMe? \|\|\|\|\| Many customers wait for service as Memories Pizza reopened for business Thursday, April, 9, 2015, in Walkerton, Ind. The restaurant was closed, and its operators said they'd gone into hiding after their... (Associated Press) Many customers wait for service as Memories Pizza reopened for business Thursday, April, 9, 2015, in Walkerton, Ind. The restaurant was closed, and its operators said they'd gone into hiding after their... (Associated Press) WALKERTON, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana pizzeria that closed after its owner said his religious beliefs wouldn't allow him to cater a gay wedding opened Thursday to a full house of friends, regulars and people wanting to show their support. "It's a relief to get going again and try to get back to normal," said Kevin O'Connor, owner of Memories Pizza. O'Connor closed the shop for eight days after comments by him and his daughter, Crystal, to a local television station supporting a new religious objections law. The law, which has since been revised, sparked a boycott of Indiana. O'Connor said the criticism hasn't changed his beliefs. He said gays are welcome in his restaurant in the small, one-traffic-light town of Walkerton, 20 miles southwest of South Bend, but that he would decline to cater a same-sex wedding because it would conflict with his Christian beliefs. "I'd do the same thing again. It's my belief. It's our belief. It's what we grew up on," he said. "I'm just sorry it comes to this because neither one of us dislike any of those people. I don't hold any grudges." A crowdfunding campaign started by supporters raised more than $842,000 with donations from 29,160 contributors in 48 hours. O'Connor said he hasn't received the money yet, but said he plans to give some to charity and use some money to make improvements to the restaurant. The 61-year-old father of eight who has owned the restaurant for nine years said he never thought about taking the money and retiring. "I enjoy it. I don't want to leave here," he said. "I want this to be something that my daughter can enjoy." Crystal O'Connor said the amount of money was overwhelming. "We were like, 'Stop! Stop! Stop!'" she said. "It was really making us uncomfortable," her father said. The restaurant reopened about 4 p.m. Thursday. He says that within an hour, all eight tables were filled and six people were waiting for carryout orders. There were no protests as of 7 p.m. Jeanne and Ken Gumm from outside LaPorte, about 20 miles northwest of Walkerton, said they had been waiting for the pizzeria to reopen so they could show their support. "We couldn't wait to get down here," said Ken Gumm, 66, a tank truck driver. "To us this whole thing isn't about gay marriage. It's mostly about freedom of religion."	– Memories Pizza is open and ready to serve once again, assuming you're not a gay couple looking for a wedding caterer. The Indiana pizzeria gained either fame or infamy, depending on your views, after the owner backed the state's controversial religious freedom law and said he would happily serve gay customers but would not cater a gay wedding. Kevin O'Connor was hit with threats and closed the eatery for eight days, but it reopened yesterday to what the AP terms "a full house of friends, regulars, and people wanting to show their support"—and, at least as of last night, no protests. As for the brouhaha, it didn't change O'Connor's mind; he still says gay customers are welcome but gay weddings are off the table. "I'd do the same thing again. It's my belief. It's our belief. It's what we grew up on," he says. "I'm just sorry it comes to this because neither one of us [his daughter echoed his original comments] dislike any of those people. I don't hold any grudges." In addition to the threats and criticism, the pizzeria will also receive $842,387 donated by about 29,000 people in a now-finished crowdfunding campaign. O'Connor says he'll use some of the money to improve the restaurant, but will also donate to charity ... and to Barronelle Stutzman, a Washington state florist who was fined when she refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding, O'Connor tells the Daily Mail.
An eccentric millionaire is giving Manhattan back to the American Indians — at least his small part of it. Jean-Louis Goldwater Bourgeois, 76, an architectural historian and activist for Native American causes, is in the process of transferring the deed of his $4 million, landmarked West Village house to a nonprofit controlled by the Lenape tribe, the original Manhattanites. “I have a romance with the history of the city, and I have been generally appalled that the land that the city is on has been taken by whites,” he told The Post. “This building is the trophy from major theft. It disgusts me.” He said he feels “rage against what whites have done and some guilt, no, a lot of guilt, that I have profited from this major theft. The right thing to do is to return it.” Bourgeois, the son of the late sculptor Louise Bourgeois, has owned the three-floor clapboard house at 6 Weehawken St. since his family’s LLC bought it in 2006 for $2.2 million. The house dates to 1834, when it was part of a larger city-owned market building. It is believed to be all that is left of the complex. Part of the Weehawken Street Historic District, the building faces West Street and the Hudson River. Bourgeois had lived there for three years when he met Joseph Scabby Robe, a Cree Indian from Manitoba, Canada, during the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protest downtown. “I told Joseph that I’d like to return the land to the Lenapes,” Bourgeois recalled. “The house isn’t important. It’s the land that the house sits on that’s important.” Robe introduced Bourgeois to Anthony Jay Van Dunk, 54, a chief of the 5,000-member Ramapough Indians, part of the Lenape Nation. Van Dunk, a Brooklyn woodworker, spoke in his native Munsee language at a 2011 UN forum titled The State of Native Americans Today. ‘I have been generally appalled that the land that the city is on has been taken by whites.’ Van Dunk “represents the tribe, and I represent the whites,” Bourgeois said of the meeting that led to the land deal. Both men gave The Post a tour of the house last week. Van Dunk wore a tribal headdress. Bourgeois wore a fuzzy hat that looked like a penguin. “I told Jean-Louis about the idea of a patahmaniikan, or a prayer house,” Van Dunk said. “He liked it, and we went forward from there.” Besides the ongoing legal work to establish the nonprofit project under Lenape oversight, the men had to conduct a ritual ceremony. “The purpose of that was to let the spirits know what was about to happen and what our vision was for the space,” Van Dunk said. “We had a pipe. We had a smudging. We had prayers being said. It was a healing. We wanted the spirits to know we were coming in with a good heart. “Our doors are always east and west,” Van Dunk added. “In most native traditions you always have your entry door in the east and then, spiritually, the west is how you leave after your journey here on earth is done.” The prayer house is “going to be a place of safety,” he said. “The purpose is to get indigenous people in touch with their language, their tradition.” Bourgeois, who just returned to New York after spending eight weeks in North Dakota protesting the proposed pipeline near the Sioux Standing Rock Indian Reservation, said, “I’m extremely interested in the Lenapes.” He said he was a “benefactor” at Standing Rock. “I’ve given over $600,000 to the Oceti Sakowin camp site,” home to Dakota Access Pipeline protesters, he said. “Money goes to buying food, firewood, protective hay bales and transportation. I spent time at the Sacred Fire. Standing Rock is a turning point in American history.” The Lenapes were the original inhabitants of Mannahatta — land of many hills. They were widely represented as the tribe that sold the island to the Dutch for $24 worth of trinkets in 1626 — a story debunked by many modern historians. “The native people actively engaged with the Dutch, who were part of the fur trade in this area, so there were constant exchanges,” said Johanna Gorelick, of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. “They did not believe at that time that land could be privately owned. It was something that wasn’t part of their world view. The sale of Manhattan was a misunderstanding.” \|\|\|\|\| It is being maintained as closely as possible to the way it looked during its owner’s lifetime. “The house has a vibe,” said Jerry Gorovoy, who was Bourgeois’s assistant and friend for 30 years and is president of the foundation. (Bourgeois’s two surviving sons, Jean-Louis and Alain, also serve on the foundation’s board.) “It has a heart and a soul. People are very moved when they come here.” The utilitarian décor is in keeping with Bourgeois’s pragmatic nature. “If the floor was good and she could stand on it and it would hold the sculpture, that’s all she cared about,” Mr. Gorovoy explained. “She was not interested in decoration or embellishment or pretty things.” Bourgeois purchased the townhouse in 1962 for less than $30,000 with her husband, the art historian Robert Goldwater, whom she met in her native Paris in August 1938, and married a month later. She moved with him to New York, where they raised three sons. Upon Goldwater’s death in 1973, Bourgeois drastically reconfigured the house. She moved out of their rear second-floor bedroom, leaving it and Goldwater’s third-floor library mostly untouched as a kind of memorial. She installed a single bed in the front room of the second floor. (Many years later, after arthritis had made climbing the staircase difficult, she relocated her bedroom to the front parlor on the first floor.) In her years as a wife and mother, Bourgeois had used the basement for her work. Now, she turned the whole building into an art studio. “I think from a psychological point of view, she was transforming it so radically that it was her way of dealing with extreme loss,” Mr. Gorovoy said. A psychological explanation is appropriate for an artist who demarcated her career by sharp lines of mourning. Upon the death of her mother in 1932, she turned from her studies in mathematics and philosophy to become an artist. Her mother, who restored antique tapestries in the family business in Paris, represented an ideal of care and protectiveness to Louise. Bourgeois’s iconic spider sculptures, the artist said, were an allusion to her thread-weaving mother. A seven-and-a-half-foot-high pair of bronze arachnids from 2003, “Spider Couple,” has been installed in the townhouse garden. Her father’s death in 1951 led Bourgeois to begin a decades-long Freudian psychoanalysis, and Goldwater’s death freed — or forced — her to devote herself entirely to her art. Although her husband encouraged her to pursue her sculpture, she would hold back, wanting to be a good wife. “She was very guilt-ridden,” Mr. Gorovoy said. In her late years, Bourgeois received widespread acclaim, which did not surprise her. “The art world loves young men and old women,” she told Mr. Gorovoy. Death, perhaps, trumps even old age. This fall, her sculptures were featured in the opening show of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, the talked-about public gallery in Gorky Park that was founded by Dasha Zhukova and renovated by Rem Koolhaas. (The exhibition, still on view, originated at the Haus der Kunst in Munich.) A small Bourgeois show centered on a 1947 series of engravings is currently at the National Gallery in Washington. One of the spider sculptures sold at auction at Christie’s New York in November for $28.2 million, a record for a postwar female artist. And when the annex of the Tate Modern opens in June in London, Bourgeois’s work will inaugurate a series of Artist Rooms, dedicated to exploring the sensibility of a significant modern or contemporary artist.	– "One day, as I was walking toward the Hudson, I turned north off Christopher St. onto one-block Weehawken St., the shortest street in Manhattan. I saw that No. 6 was for sale. Like a long-lost wanderer in the desert, I had discovered my oasis." So wrote Jean-Louis Goldwater Bourgeois for the Villager in October 2006 of 6 Weehawken St., which he bought with the help of his famed mother, sculptor Louise Bourgeois, that year for $2.2 million. It's now worth $4 million, and the New York Post reports he's giving the 3-floor West Village home away. Or, more specifically, giving it back—to the Lenape tribe, the Native Americans who originally occupied Manhattan—by transferring the deed to a nonprofit under the tribe's control. "I have been generally appalled that the land that the city is on has been taken by whites," he tells the Post. "This building is the trophy from major theft. It disgusts me ... The right thing to do is to return it." In the Villager article, Bourgeois indicated his plan was to morph the structure into both a home and a museum honoring water. But the Post explains a 2011 meeting with a Cree Indian from Manitoba during the Occupy Wall Street protests led to an intro to Anthony Jay Van Dunk, a chief of the Ramapough Indians who make up part of the Lenape Nation. Van Dunk had the idea of turning 6 Weehawken into a "patahmaniikan, or a prayer house," and Bourgeois was on board. What will still remain: Mother Louise's Chelsea townhouse, which eases NYC's relative dearth of artist's house museums, as the New York Times reported in January. (A dam's removal helps Mohawks reclaim their fishing grounds.)
This bride-to-be said yes to the dress, but she should have said no to the show. Now Alexandra Godino is suing cable network TLC’s reality show “Say Yes to the Dress,” accusing producers of reneging on a promise to delay airing the episode until after her May wedding. “If I for one second, for one second, thought they would air this before my wedding I would never have done it — ever, ever, ever,” Godino fumed to The Post on Thursday. “Not showing the world my gown before the wedding is very important, and in particular, I do not want my fiancée to see the gown before the wedding,” she says in her Manhattan Supreme Court suit. Godino, of Las Vegas, is set to marry pro hockey player Jeff May before 300 guests at a lavish event in Palm Springs, Calif., on May 14 — where her dress will be “one of the most important aspects of [her] entire wedding,” according to court papers. The gown, by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, “has an element of surprise to it,” Godino confided, that will be ruined if the episode airs Friday night. Godino, 27, was shopping in New York bridal emporium Kleinfeld’s with her mom when a show producer approached her. The featured bride had bailed and the producer begged Godino to step in. “Of course, I said no,” she recalled, “then my mom puppy dog-eyed me into doing it.” Godino agreed to do it on the condition that her episode wouldn’t air until after the wedding. The producer agreed, the suit says, so Godino was shocked to find her piece would run on March 25. “I hired a lawyer because, how many times have they done this to brides? This is a show about weddings, how they’re completely unsympathetic is mind blowing,” Godino seethed. An attorney for the show’s production company admitted in court Thursday, “This is not he first time this issue has come up.” But Jon Hollis, Half Yard Production’s lawyer, said Godino was told “point blank it’s going to air in the spring and we … don’t control the broadcast company.” TLC attorney Theodore Tsekerides said it couldn’t be pulled because, “we have no full episode in the can.” Godino’s lawyer Frank Taddeo, said his client spent $20,000 for her dream dress — and wasn’t compensated by the show. She lost the emergency hearing to block the episode from airing but still plans to sue Discovery Communications and Half Yard for money damages. Manhattan Judge Nancy Bannon ruled that while she understands the tradition of a bride not being seen in her gown, Godino signed away her rights in a contract. “Things could be worse than being on a television show with a beautiful dress on,” Bannon said. \|\|\|\|\| Jon Hollis, the attorney for Half Yard Productions, which makes the show, said the show's managing producer, Nikki Taub, films 70 brides a season, and "this is not the first time the issue has come up" where brides don't want their gowns disclosed before their weddings. If they insist on a delay, they are not filmed, he said. \|\|\|\|\| 'Say Yes to the Dress' Bride Judge Says 'No' to Blocking Episode 'Say Yes to the Dress' Bride: Judge Says 'No' To Lawsuit	– If you were invited to Alexandra Godino's May wedding, tune into TLC at 9pm Friday night and you can get a sneak peek of the bridal gown she'll be wearing. That's the issue at the heart of a lawsuit Godino filed against the network, in which she attempted to force TLC to delay airing the episode of Say Yes to the Dress in which she appears. ("Not showing the world my gown before the wedding is very important," her suit says, per Page Six.) But a Manhattan judge refused Thursday, meaning Godino's dress will be unveiled publicly before she walks down the aisle. It all started back in September, when Godino, who is from Las Vegas and getting married in California, was approached at New York's Kleinfeld Bridal by producers who told her the bride they were supposed to be filming never showed up, and asked her if she was interested in filling in, the New York Daily News reports. Godino, 26, says she first made the producers promise they wouldn't air the episode until after her wedding, a promise that her lawyer says was witnessed by her mom and her fiance, professional hockey player Jeff May. But Godino signed a waiver that included no restrictions about when the show could air, so the judge ruled against her despite acknowledging that airing the episode Friday "could take away from the pageantry of the wedding." Pageantry indeed: The dress to which Godino said yes reportedly cost $40,000 and is "one of the most important aspects of [her] entire wedding," per the suit. As for her not wanting her fiance to see dress in advance, TMZ reports that the judge asked her lawyer if Godino could just ask him not to watch the episode. The bride-to-be plans to sue the show for damages.
Patrick Tourneboeuf / tendance floue A sofa in a psychoanalyst's office, Paris, France. On Saturday, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) finalized a 13-year process of revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, commonly known as the DSM, the most important book in the field of mental illness. The DSM attempts to designate and code all the ways our minds can go awry. It defines depression, anxiety, schizophrenia — as well as more than 300 other problems from obsessive-compulsive disorder to stuttering to fetishism. Insurance companies require DSM codes for reimbursement, and the National Institutes of Health require them for research grants. It’s no exaggeration to say that the new DSM — the fifth full edition, one that more than 1,500 mental-health experts help write — will change the world of mental health. Here are some of the biggest changes: 1. Autistic disorder will become autism-spectrum disorder. That spectrum will incorporate Asperger’s syndrome, which generally involves milder forms of autism’s social impairments and previously had its own code number (299.80). To guide clinicians, the DSM will include specific examples of patients meeting criteria for the different disorders making up the spectrum, from autistic disorder to Asperger’s, childhood-disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder (not otherwise specified). Combining autism and Asperger’s is especially controversial partly because autism can be so much more serious than Asperger’s. Although some autistic people function extremely well (the livestock expert Temple Grandin has helped change her field), others affected by the disorder need lifelong care for basic needs. The change will likely cause considerable debate, however, since the diagnosis is a requirement for access to some of the educational and social services that make up this care, and it’s not clear yet how the change in definition will affect such eligibility in the future. (MORE: DSM-5 Debate: Committee Backs Off Some Changes, Reopens Comments) 2. Binge-eating disorder will be moved from DSM‘s Appendix B — a category of proposed conditions that require “further study” — to a full-blown illness in the main part of the book. The shift will create a significant new market for mental-health professionals who will now be able to apply for insurance reimbursement for patients who binge eat. A major criticism of considering binge eating a distinct disorder is the difficulty in distinguishing whether consuming an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s could be a sign of depression or anxiety rather than an illness of its own. But in recognizing recent research that suggests that there are unique features to binge eating involving distorted-body-image issues, the APA in its press release on the DSM changes says that “the [binge-eating-disorder] change is intended to better represent the symptoms and behaviors of people with this condition.” 3. The new DSM will remove the exception for bereavement from the definition of depression, which means psychiatrists will be able to diagnose depressive disorder even among those who have just lost a loved one. For years, skeptics have criticized the APA for its expansive meaning of depression; now that definition is even broader. 4. Continuing the expansion of diagnostic criteria, the new DSM will also include a controversial new diagnosis called “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD),” a label that can be attached to “children who exhibit persistent irritability and frequent episodes of behavior outbursts three or more times a week for more than a year.” Earlier this year, the Huffington Post called DMDD the “tantrum diagnosis,” and a blogger for Wired warned that the new disorder “could be anything, like the meltdown when the shoes can’t be found, the homework got lost, or the braids aren’t quite right.” But the APA says the new diagnosis “is intended to address concerns about potential over-diagnosis and over-treatment of bipolar disorder in children.” (MORE: The Trouble with Talk Therapy) 5. DSM-5 will also incorporate the extremely rare disorders of excoriation (skin picking) and hoarding. The current DSM does list trichotillomania (obsessive hair pulling), but adding reality-show problems such as skin picking and hoarding has bolstered criticisms of diagnosis creep. Hoarding was previously considered a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. What will not be added to the DSM is hypersexual disorder — sex addiction — even though many APA members argued for its inclusion. According to one member of the APA’s board of trustees: “The evidence just wasn’t there.” Other mental-health professionals note that the DSM is subject to political influence. “This is a huge moneymaker for the American Psychiatric Association,” says Marsha Linehan, a University of Washington professor and a leading expert on personality disorders. The decisions reflect the votes of the APA’s board of trustees; the entire membership will vote on the revisions later in the spring, but experts don’t expect additional alterations. Which means that the approval this weekend of DSM-5 ends years of editing but begins years of debate. MORE: What Counts as Crazy? \|\|\|\|\| A copy of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR) is seen. The APA announced it would drop Asperger's syndrome from its upcoming fifth edition of the psychiatrists' handbook, among the first changes to the manual in about 20 years. / Amazon.com Asperger's syndrome will be dropped from the latest edition of the psychiatrist's "bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced on Saturday the changes to its flagship manual that doctors use to diagnose patients with mental disorders. It's the first major rewriter to the DSM in nearly 20 years. The familiar "Asperger's," along with some similar disorders, will be lumped together under autism spectrum disorder, "to help more accurately and consistently diagnose children with autism," the APA said in a statement. Other changes include entries for new disorders such as "hoarding disorder" or "disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)," the latter characterized by abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums. "Dyslexia" and other learning disorders that some feared would be removed from the manual, remained. "We developed DSM-5 by utilizing the best experts in the field and extensive reviews of the scientific literature and original research, and we have produced a manual that best represents the current science and will be useful to clinicians and the patients they serve," APA president Dr. Dilip Jeste, said in a written statement. Full details of all the revisions will come in May 2013 when the APA's new manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education. It "shapes who will receive what treatment," said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor who was not involved in the revision process. More important, he said, "Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care." The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer, who chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual, and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Autism: Can it be outgrown? Study links flu with autism risk Autism-spectrum disorders: 24 warning signs One of the most hotly argued topics ahead of the revisions was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger's. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label. And some Asperger's families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services. Lori Sherry, president of the Asperger Syndrome Education Network, told the New York Times in March, "Our fear is that we are going to take a big step backward. If clinicians say, 'These kids don't fit the criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis,' they are not going to get the supports and services they need, and they're going to experience failure." But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say. The new manual adds the term "autism spectrum disorder," which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger's will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis, which will also include kids with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms. Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger's. "To give it separate names never made sense to me," Gibson said. "To me, my children all had autism." Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won't affect those services, said Gibson, who also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism. People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors' guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped -- and it won't be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words. The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses. The revised guidebook "represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders," Dr. David Fassler, the group's treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote. Group leaders said specifics won't be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994. Olfson said the manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders." Dr. Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis. One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don't provide services for children and adults with Asperger's, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said. Autism researcher Dr. Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, expressed "cautious optimism" at the revisions. She said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don't lose services, a major concern of the organization that it has discussed with the committee during the revision process. "We are reassured that the DSM-5 committee has stated that all individuals who currently have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, including those with Asperger syndrome, will be able to retain an ASD diagnosis," Dawson wrote on Autism Speaks' website. "This means that no one with a current diagnosis on the autism spectrum should "lose" their diagnosis because of the changes in diagnostic criteria." Other changes to the manual include: Hoarding disorder will be added to the DSM-5 to help characterize people who can't part with possessions, regardless of their actual value. The APA says the disorder usually has emotional, physical, social, financial and even legal effects for a hoarder and family members. A new diagnosis called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or DMDD, for children with recurrent temper tantrums. Critics say it will medicalize kids' who have normal tantrums while supporters argue it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums. A new obsessive-compulsive and related disorder called excoriation, or skin-picking, disorder. Removing a bereavement exclusion from depression criteria that previously applied to people who experienced symptoms lasting less than two months following the death of a loved one. The APA now says bereavement is a severe psychosocial stressor that can trigger major depression soon after the death of a loved one. *Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder," which has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.	– The American Psychiatric Association wrapped up a 13-year edit of its highly influential book of mental disorders this weekend. Full details of the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—known as DSM—will emerge in May, but Time reports on the biggest changes: Asperger's syndrome will lose its independent status and become part of the autistic spectrum. The controversy: Asperger's is less severe than autism, and parents fear the loss of diagnosis will mean children with Asperger's won't qualify for special services, reports CBS. Binge-Eating Disorder will be labeled a full-blown illness. This will create a new market for professionals to treat the ailment and receive insurance reimbursement. It also raises the question of whether downing a pint of Haagen-Dazs is a sign of depression or a distinct disorder. Bereavement can be considered depression. Skeptics have long complained that the APA's definition of depression is too expansive; now psychiatrists will be allowed to consider grief over a lost loved one as a form of depression. Children who frequently flip out may have DMDD—disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it's only normal for kids to have outbursts, but the APA contends that DMDD will help avoid over-diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children. Not in the new DSM: sex addiction. Many APA members wanted it, but "there evidence just wasn't there," says an APA board member. Click for two more DSM additions: skin-picking disorder and hoarding.
President Trump is expected to announce that Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci will be White House communications director, according to two sources familiar with the planning. Trump has left the role open since Mike Dubke resigned in May, and the President has vented frequently to his friends about the performance of his press operation. Trump's plans to appoint Scaramucci came as a surprise to Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who found out after the plans had already been made. \|\|\|\|\| We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter? Yes \|\|\|\|\| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. SUBSCRIBE The Trump administration is expected to name former Trump transition team official Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, four sources in and close to the White House told NBC News Thursday. The news of the expected appointment was first reported by Axios. A White House official said the move is expected to be announced Friday. Scaramucci did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A different White House official described Scaramucci to NBC News as a "total professional" with the respect of President Donald Trump. Scaramucci was a supporter of Trump's during the campaign, dealing with fundraising and appearing on cable TV as a frequent defender of the president. Anthony Scaramucci, Assistant to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Director of Public Liaison, attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting on January 17, 2017 in Davos, Switzerland. File Ruben Sprich / Reuters file Prior to throwing his support behind Trump, Scaramucci was a Scott Walker and then a Jeb Bush booster. Scaramucci met with Trump and his daughter Ivanka in the Oval Office on Thursday where Trump offered him the job, a source with knowledge of the situation said. The source said Trump has known Scaramucci for years and likes him. "Comms is what Anthony does,” the source said. “It's how he built his business. The guy knows media. He's been a good advocate for the president." White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has technically been doing double duty as press secretary and communications director since the departure of communications director Mike Dubke, who resigned in May after just three months on the job. Spicer has not responded to a request for comment. Another source said Spicer is definitely staying on. The position was open so this is being seen as a bolstering of the staff, not a demotion for Spicer. \|\|\|\|\| Anthony Scaramucci is finally heading to Washington. The Long Island-born financier and loyalist to President Donald Trump was appointed chief strategy officer of the Export-Import Bank last week — roughly five months after his first promised White House gig failed to materialize. “Mr. Scaramucci’s main role is to assess how the Export-Import Bank can better capitalize upon opportunities to support American jobs by financing American exports,” a spokesperson for the bank said Tuesday. It is Scaramucci’s third attempt to land a gig with the Trump administration. In January, Scaramucci, known in the hedge-fund crowd as “The Mooch,” was said to have landed a role with the White House Office of Public Engagement, but the role disappeared after he sold his company, SkyBridge Capital, to foreign buyers. Earlier this month, it was reported that Scaramucci was up for the role of ambassador to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The job, which needs Senate approval and a move to Paris, may still be in play. Scaramucci’s new role with the Ex-Im Bank, which was first reported by Politico, is not without irony. While campaigning, Trump called the bank “excess baggage.” But the president changed his tune in April, telling the Wall Street Journal that the bank is “a very good thing. And it actually makes money, it could make a lot of money.” The bank, which has been called “corporate welfare” by other Republican critics, provides financing for US exports when other, more traditional lenders may be unwilling to assume the risk.	– It's been nearly two months since Mike Dubke left the Trump administration, and his communications director role has remained empty since. That's apparently about to change. Four sources said to be "in and close to the White House" confirm to NBC News an earlier report by Axios that Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci—"Mooch" to those close to him—is set to be named as Dubke's replacement. The announcement could come Friday. A source tells NBC Scaramucci was at the White House Thursday, where he met with Trump and Ivanka Trump and was offered the job. That source adds Trump has long known Scaramucci, 53, who stumped for Trump during the campaign and has been "a good advocate for the president." He also defended Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter regarding the latter's June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer. Still, NBC notes Scaramucci wasn't initially Team Trump: He first lent his support to Scott Walker, then Jeb Bush in the primaries portion of the presidential campaign. Scaramucci was appointed by Trump last month to a position with the Export-Import Bank, a position he'll vacate if the comm director one becomes official. One White House insider who was apparently thrown by the news of Scaramucci's impending appointment: chief of staff Reince Priebus, who Axios says found out about his potential new colleague only after the decision had been made. Meanwhile, press secretary Sean Spicer, who's been taking care of Dubke's responsibilities since he left, is expected to remain on staff, but it's "unclear" exactly what he'll be doing, Axios notes.
A scientist and her young son have been left critically injured after they were attacked by a giraffe at a wildlife reserve in South Africa. Dr Katy Williams, a 35-year-old American, and her three-year-old son, Finn, are in a critical but stable condition. An operation was performed on Finn during the early hours of Tuesday to release pressure on his brain caused by injuries sustained in the incident. The family were attacked at about 6pm on Monday by a female giraffe 150 metres from their home in Blyde Wildlife Estate, in the country’s north-east. Williams’ British husband, Sam, 36, was returning from a trail run on the estate when he found his wife and son being trampled by the giraffe. He was able to intervene and chase the giraffe away, according to a statement given by Marina Botha, the family’s lawyer. Riaan Cilliers, the manager of the estate, said: “We are all in shock about this very sad incident and we ensure the family that they are in our prayers.” Cilliers said the giraffe in question had a two-month-old calf, which could have had an influence on her behaviour. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sam Williams described the attack as ‘an unfortunate act of nature’. Photograph: Handout The Williamses are both scientists with post-PhD experience in animal related fields. Sam Williams described the incident as “an unfortunate act of nature” in which the giraffe saw his wife and son as a threat to her calf. The injured pair were initially treated at the scene by medics from the nearby town of Hoedspruit. They were then airlifted by the emergency medical service ER24 to Busamed Modderfontein hospital in Johannesburg. Botha’s statement said they were transferred to a local airfield and the medical team “worked relentlessly to stabilise mother and son while waiting for two helicopters to arrive from ER24”. The helicopters arrived later in the evening and Finn was the first to be airlifted, followed shortly by his mother in a second helicopter. “Dr Sam Williams has conveyed his gratitude to all emergency personal, ER24, the medical team of Busamed Modderfontein hospital, the management team and residents of Blyde Wildlife Estate as well as the community of Hoedspruit for their assistance and support in this difficult time for him and his family,” the statement added. • This article was amended on 10 September 2018 to make clear that Katy Williams is a scientist in her own right. \|\|\|\|\| A THREE-year-old boy may have permanent brain damage after he and his mum were attacked by a giraffe. Finn Williams and his mother Katy, 35, are fighting for their lives after being trampled near their home at a South African nature reserve. 6 Katy Williams and her son Finn are fighting for their lives following the giraffe attack, pictured with her husband Sam Finn's dad, Brit scientist Dr Sam Williams, tried desperately to chase off the animal. They pair were airlifted to hospital with docs working to release pressure on Finn's brain. Sam’s aunt, Anne Oliver, said: "We understand that Finn had an operation to remove a blood clot on the brain. "We’ve been told that he will have brain damage." She added: "The last we heard was that Katy was having surgery and she is in an induced coma. She’s got multiple injuries." 6 The horror attack happened at Blyde Wildlife Estate in South Africa 6 It's thought Katy and Finn were waiting for Sam when they were attacked close to their home Both patients are in a critical but stable condition at hospital in Johannesburg yesterday. Blyde Wildlife Estate is a gated reserve with 154 homes protected by electric fencing and security guards. The devastated dad, 36, said it was a "difficult time" and called the attack "an unfortunate act of nature where the giraffe saw his wife and son as a threat to her young one". The attack comes just months after a cameraman died after being headbutted by a giraffe while working on TV drama Wild At Heart. Husband Sam was returning home from work around 6pm on Monday evening and saw his US born wife and son under being viciously attacked. Sam, a scientist who works alongside his wife on the reserve, then called for emergency services and the Hoedspruit Medical Rescue team raced to the scene. 6 The family have decided to stay positive following the attack, a representative has said The giraffe, which had a two month old calf with it, is believed to have attacked the young mum and her son because it felt under threat when they surprised her. A source at the Blyde Wildlife Reserve said: "Sam often goes for a run after work and I was told Katy and Finn were waiting for him to come back when they surprised a giraffe. "The giraffe was with a calf and attacked them very seriously. They were very badly injured and Katy was doing all she could to protect Finn but the giraffe just towered over them." They continued: "Sam was finishing his run and saw what was happening and managed to chase the giraffe off. His wife and child were covered in blood - you can imagine the trauma he felt." 6 Husband Sam was returning home from work and saw Katy and Finn under attack and was able to chase off the giraffe and save their lives. He managed to get medical attention for them both and they were driven to an airfield where they medical experts did they best they could until they were airlifted to Johannesburg. The source continued: "Everyone is crossing everything for the family - they are very well loved and everyone is shocked". Dr Sam Williams confirmed in an update through his lawyer on Thursday that several doctors had operated on his wife at Busamed Modderfontein Private Hospital in Johannesburg. Lawyer Marina Botha said: “The operation to attend to multiple injuries sustained during the attack from the giraffe was completed during the early hours of this morning. “Dr Sam Williams would like to thank all doctors and medical personal from the hospital for their efforts to give his wife and son the best chance to heal. “Both mother and son are still in a critical but stable condition. The family said that they have decided to take one day at a time and to remain positive” said the statement. 6 Local media appeared to claim the giraffe was being moved to a new reserve following the attack Ms Botha said Dr Williams regards the attack as an "unfortunate act of nature". She said: "He understands the giraffe saw his wife as a threat to her young one," the lawyer said. On Facebook, Katy's father Jack Standish said he felt "helpless" as his daughter and grandson are in hospital. He said: "Please send all your prayers and love to Katy, Finn and Sam... Thank the hundreds if not thousands of loving people who have send greetings of hope and prayers to me or my family. "Thank you from a father who feels useless in not helping is wonderful daughter and loving Grandson." The attack was just 150 yards from the home where the two scientists - with post PhD experience in animal-related fields - live and work on the reserve. A spokesman for ER24 who sent out two air ambulance helicopters confirmed both Katy and Finn had suffered "numerous serious injuries" and were taken to hospital in Johannesburg in a critical condition. 6 The attack happened at the Bylde Wildlife Estate near Hoedspruit Finn was the first to be airlifted by the ER24 helicopter to Busamed Modderfontein Hospital in Johannesburg and his mother then followed shortly in the second helicopter. An operation was performed on Finn during the early hours of Tuesday morning to release pressure on his brain due to injuries sustained in the near deadly attack. The manager of Blyde Wildlife Estate Riaan Cilliers confirmed the incident and said: “We are all in shock about this very sad incident and we ensure the family that they are in our prayers”. Mr Cilliers confirmed that the giraffe in question has a two-month-old calf, which may have had an influence on her behaviour and may have been surprised by the mother and son. According to local media, the giraffe could be moved to a new reserve following the attack. The family has asked the public and media to kindly respect their privacy during “this very difficult time” that they are going through. Earlier this year at cameraman on British TV show Wild at Heart was killed by a giraffe as he filmed at the Glen Africa game reserve in Broederstroom in North West Province. South African film maker Carlos Carvalho, 47, was knocked 16 feet through the air when the giraffe slammed into him with his neck and died of his injuries later in hospital. The TV series featuring a British family running an animal hospital in the African bush was filmed at Glen Africa for many years and Mr Carvalho had worked on most episodes. MOST READ IN NEWS grievous bodily farm OAP claims he was BITTEN three times by Emmerdale star after a pub row FEELING LUCKY? Winning Lotto numbers for Saturday September 15 2018 £16.4million jackpot EU KHAN'T BE SERIOUS London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for ANOTHER Brexit referendum DIRTY CLEANING Naked cleaner tells how she earns £57k-a-year working just 16 hours a week DOUBLE TROUBLE Britain to be battered by TWO storms next week bringing 80mph and downpours FAMILY WARNING Family want all drivers to watch footage of driver who killed four in crash The giraffe that killed him was said to have attacked others in the past. Giraffes grow up to 19 feet tall, can weigh over a ton and are the world’s tallest mammal. Males can become aggressive in mating season and females can be aggressive when protecting their young. Gerald the killer giraffe has a history of violence and tried to kill before We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.	– An American scientist and her 3-year-old son are in critical condition after they were attacked by a giraffe near their home in South Africa. Katy Williams, 35, and her 3-year-old son Finn were 450 feet from their home in Blyde Wildlife Estate near the town of Hoedspruit when they surprised a female giraffe with a two-month-old calf around 6pm Monday. Returning from a trail run, 36-year-old British scientist Sam Williams found his wife and son being trampled and was able to chase the giraffe away, the family's lawyer tells the Guardian. A source at the Blyde Wildlife Estate describes the pair as "very badly injured" and "covered in blood," per the Sun. "You can imagine the trauma [Sam] felt." Airlifted to a Johannesburg hospital, Finn underwent surgery to remove a blood clot on the brain and may have brain damage, a relative tells the Sun. His mother underwent an "operation to attend to multiple injuries" early Thursday, the lawyer says in a statement. "Both mother and son are still in a critical but stable condition. The family said that they have decided to take one day at a time and to remain positive." Sam Williams—who, like his wife, has post-PhD experience in an animal-related field—"understands the giraffe saw his wife as a threat to her young one" and regards the attack as an "unfortunate act of nature," the statement adds. (A giraffe killed a South African film director this year.)
Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| UMass guard Derrick Gordon sits down with Kate Fagan to announce that he is gay, becoming the first openly gay athlete in Division I men's basketball. (8:31) This story has been corrected. Read below. Derrick Gordon, a sophomore starter for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team, stepped forward Wednesday as the first openly gay player in Division I men's college basketball, sharing his story with ESPN and Outsports. Editor's Picks Fagan: Massachusetts' Derrick Gordon openly smiling A network of mentors helped UMass starter Derrick Gordon in his journey to becoming the first openly gay male player in Division I basketball. The 22-year-old shooting guard came out to his family, coaches and teammates in just a few days at the beginning of April. That's when he also decided to publicly acknowledge his sexuality. "I just didn't want to hide anymore, in any way," Gordon told ESPN. "I didn't want to have to lie or sneak. I've been waiting and watching for the last few months, wondering when a Division I player would come out, and finally I just said, 'Why not me?'" Gordon took to Twitter on Wednesday after the news broke. This is the happiest I have ever been in my 22 Years of living...No more HIDING!!!...Just want to live... http://t.co/rR9KO8nGCu - Derrick Gordon (@flash2gordon) April 9, 2014 Gordon, a native of Plainfield, N.J., said that a key moment for him came when the Brooklyn Nets signed veteran center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract in February. Collins, who publicly acknowledged his sexuality in April 2013, became the first openly gay player in NBA history when he took the court against the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 23. "That was so important to me, knowing that sexuality didn't matter, that the NBA was OK with it," Gordon said. Collins tweeted his support for Gordon on Wednesday. I'm so proud of @flash2gordon. Another brave young man who is going to make it easier for so many others to live an authentic life. #courage - Jason Collins (@jasoncollins34) April 9, 2014 A number of people in the UMass athletic administration worked closely with Gordon behind the scenes as he prepared to come out to his teammates. "UMass is proud to have Derrick Gordon as a member of our athletic family and to honor his courage and openness as a gay student-athlete," athletic director John McCutcheon said in a written statement. "UMass is committed to creating a welcoming climate where every student-athlete, coach and staff member can be true to themselves as they pursue their athletic, academic and professional goals." Gordon said he reached his decision to come out publicly in the days after the team's first-round loss to Tennessee in the NCAA tournament on March 21. "I just had a lot of time to myself, thinking, and I didn't know what I was waiting for," said Gordon, who transferred to UMass after one season at Western Kentucky. In his first season with UMass, the 6-foot-3 Gordon averaged 9.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He started all 33 of the Minutemen's games and had a season-high 22 points on Nov. 21 against Nebraska. He played his high school basketball at St. Patrick High in Elizabeth, N.J., one of the best prep programs in the country, then went on to lead Western Kentucky in scoring as a freshman with 11.8 points per game. The team made the NCAA tournament, and Gordon was a third-team All-Sun Belt Conference player as a true freshman, but he decided to transfer so he could be closer to his family. Gordon came out to his teammates on April 2, after telling UMass coach Derek Kellogg in a phone conversation three days earlier. Kellogg stood by Gordon's side in the team meeting. "From speaking with Derrick, I realized the pressure he had, the weight that was on his shoulders," Kellogg said. "You can already see in his demeanor that he is so much happier. I actually think this is something that brings our team closer together and helps Derrick play more freely." Sophomore forward Tyler Bergantino said that even before Gordon addressed his teammates, there was something different in his demeanor. "He looked happier, stress-free, like that was the real him," Bergantino said. "Before, when he would walk into the locker room, there was this cloud around him, like you couldn't quite get to him." About a year ago, Gordon reached out to Wade Davis, executive director of the You Can Play Project, a group that works to ensure respect and safety for all athletes without regard for sexual orientation. Davis connected Gordon to a network of allies behind the scenes, and Gordon told ESPN these connections have been instrumental for him. "Over the past year, I've gotten to know Derrick Gordon," Davis said. "He's like a little brother to me. I've watched him grow into a confident young man who is ready to be a leader on and off the court. His fearless desire to be his authentic self and his personal story of triumph will inspire others and continue to expand consciousness." According to Gordon, after he made his announcement, one of his teammates immediately spoke up and said, "We got you; you're one of us." Afterward, Gordon and four other members of the team ate dinner together. "Before, I usually just kept to myself because I didn't want to lie or be fake," Gordon said. "But not anymore. I feel so good right now. It's like this huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders." Michael Sam, an All-American defensive end at Missouri, came out in interviews with ESPN, The New York Times and Outsports in February after his college career ended. He is projected as a middle-round prospect in next month's NFL draft. Sam tweeted congratulations to Gordon after the announcement. Many congratulations to you Derrick Gordon @flash2gordon - you have so many in your corner and we're all proud and rooting for you #courage - Michael Sam (@MikeSamFootball) April 9, 2014 The Associated Press contributed to this report. An April 9 story on ESPN.com included an incorrect Twitter account for Derrick Gordon. The post from his official account is included in the story.	– Less than two months after the NBA got its first openly gay active player, NCAA Division I men's college basketball now has its first openly gay player. Derrick Gordon, a sophomore starter for the University of Massachusetts, came out to his family, coaches, and teammates earlier this month, and now he's come out publicly in an interview with ESPN. "I just didn't want to hide anymore," he explains. "I've been waiting and watching for the last few months, wondering when a Division I player would come out, and finally I just said, 'Why not me?'" UMass says it's "proud" of Gordon. On Twitter, Gordon promised today, "I am the first Division 1 male basketball player to come out and not the last. I AM gay. I'm not afraid. I'm not alone."
Junior Seau, playing for the New England Patriots, "had an unremarkable medical history,” the medical examiner said. (Elaine Thompson, Associated Press / ) SAN DIEGO — Football star Junior Seau had no alcohol or illicit drugs in his system when he committed suicide, and an initial examination of his brain showed no apparent damage from his years of football, according to the autopsy and toxicology reports released Monday by the San Diego County medical examiner. Also, his girlfriend, Megan P. Noderer, told police that Seau, 43, had given no indication he planned to kill himself, according to the investigative narrative attached to the autopsy report. When Noderer returned to the home in Oceanside on May 2 after a morning workout at a gymnasium, she found Seau in bed, dead of a gunshot to the chest from a .357 magnum revolver. No note or "documents that were suicidal in nature" were found. The San Diego County medical examiner declared Seau's death a suicide the next day. The 6-foot, 3-inch, 275-pound Seau, a star at Oceanside High, USC and the NFL, was taking prescription medicines for orthopedic problems and insomnia, and was under the care of Chargers physician Dr. David Chao, according to the documents. The football star drank only "socially [and] did not smoke, and there was no history of illicit drug use," according to the report. Seau "had an unremarkable medical history" and had shown no "suicidal ideation or confirmed suicide attempt," Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Craig Nelson wrote. At the request of the Seau family, brain tissue was sent to the National Institutes of Health for more advanced investigation. Brain damage among football players due to concussions has become a controversial issue in the National Football League, where Seau was a star for the San Diego Chargers and other teams. Nothing in the autopsy report lists concussions or brain damage as related or contributory to the manner or cause of death. Nor is there anything that suggests the mood changes and irritability often associated with concussions and brain damage. In its description of the central nervous system, Nelson wrote that features of the brain were symmetrical, showed no signs of injury or lesions, and that the arteries at the base of the brain "have no atherosclerotic changes or aneurysms." The autopsy and toxicology results were released after San Diego news agencies requested them as public documents. Officials at the county medical examiner's office, citing respect for the Seau family, declined to discuss the findings. Seau's suicide stunned the public and left many seeking desperately for an explanation. He was widely praised as a local hero, known for his upbeat spirit, charismatic personality and community involvement. In the news stories that followed, it was learned that Seau's restaurant in Mission Valley had financial problems; the restaurant has since closed. Also, suspicion turned to an incident in October 2010, when Seau drove his sport-utility vehicle off the road and down a steep cliff to the beach. He was hospitalized with minor injuries but denied any suggestion that it was a suicide attempt, asserting instead that he had fallen asleep in the wheel. At the autopsy, Dr. Bennet Omalu, an expert in the preservation of brain tissue, was present to ensure that specimens were kept for future study by the National Institutes of Health. [email protected] \|\|\|\|\| Junior Seau Autopsy No Drugs, No Alcohol in System EXCLUSIVE was completely sober when he shot himself in the chest back in May ... and his cause of death has been ruled as a suicide ... this according to the San Diego medical examiner.TMZ obtained the autopsy report, filed by Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Nelson ... which shows Seau died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest from a .357 caliber revolver on May 2, 2012.The report also shows "No alcohol, common drugs of abuse, or other medications were detected."However, a small amount of Zolpidem (aka ambien) and Naproxen (an anti-inflammatory) were detected ... but the M.E. says test results were "consistent with therapeutic use."The report notes that Seau's brain tissue was sent to the National Institutes of Health at the request of his family.According to the report, Junior did not leave a suicide note.	– NFL star Junior Seau had no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system when he committed suicide earlier this year, according to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ. Medical examiners found traces of the sleeping aid Ambien, but only in amounts "consistent with therapeutic use," the report states. The 43-year-old former San Diego Charger star shot himself in the chest with a revolver. The initial examination of his brain found no trace of damage from his years of playing football, but his family has sent brain tissue to the National Institutes of Health for a more detailed examination, reports the Los Angeles Times.
It was a night of milestones on “Saturday Night Live,” which in the final episode of its 42nd season, said goodbye to the longtime cast members Bobby Moynihan (who is joining the CBS sitcom “Me, Myself & I”) and Vanessa Bayer (who confirmed her departure in a bittersweet Instagram post). Was it also a retirement party for Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of President Trump, a role that Mr. Baldwin has played all season and occasionally suggested he did not expect to have for quite so long? (“Look, I’d love to keep doing this per my availability,” Mr. Baldwin told The Hollywood Reporter this week, “but I have other things I’m going to do, so I guess we’ll figure it out.”) Rather than answer that question, the cold open of this weekend’s “S.N.L.,” hosted by Dwayne Johnson, seemed to wonder what would be left of a Trump administration for Mr. Baldwin to come back to in the fall. \|\|\|\|\| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites.	– Saturday Night Live sent off its 42nd season—and departing cast members Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer—with an Hallelujah, revisiting Kate McKinnon’s post-election performance of Leonard Cohen’s poignant ballad with Alec Baldwin this time seated at the piano as President Trump. The New York Times speculates that it might have also been a retirement party of sorts for Baldwin’s character, noting that he said in an interview this week that while "I’d love to keep doing this, I have other things I’m going to do, so I guess we’ll figure it out." Instead of Hillary Clinton, McKinnon this time appeared as Kellyanne Conway, while Scarlett Johansson returned as Ivanka Trump. Also present at the piano, per ABC News: Beck Bennett as Mike Pence, Aidy Bryant returning as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Cecily Strong as Melania Trump, Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr., Alex Moffatt as Eric Trump, and the Grim Reaper as Steve Bannon. Said Baldwin at the end of the sketch: "I'm not giving up because I didn't do anything wrong, but I can't speak for these people." Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson guest hosted, and Moynihan's Drunk Uncle bid farewell.
Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. \|\|\|\|\| You may have guessed from Melissa Gilbert’s red wedding dress (and her desire to one day wear it again) that the Little House on the Prairie star doesn’t often follow the crowd. And one more way she’s setting herself apart from Hollywood trends: She’s made the decision to remove her breast implants. Charles Sykes/Getty In a Dec. 31 blog post entitled “A Tale of Two Titties,” the star writes that she scheduled surgery this week to reverse surgery she got in her 20s. “I am concerned for my health and I don’t like the way they look or feel,” she writes. “Frankly, I’d like to be able to take a Zumba class without the fear that I’ll end up with two black eyes.” Gilbert says she got the implants after divorcing her first husband, who made her self-conscious about her post-breastfeeding chest. “Dating posed the terrifying prospect of the guy I chose to make love with next, undoing my bra and running away in abject terror,” she writes. She loved the results until she had a second child, and then went for another lift, which she proudly showed off in a low-cut gown at the 2011 SAG Awards. “The irony of the fact that I was president of SAG when my breasts were doing the opposite of sagging is not lost on me,” she jokes. RELATED PHOTOS: See your fave stars on the red carpet, then vote on their looks! “I had spent most of my life pressured to look a certain way and I believed the hype,” she goes on, adding that her Dancing With the Stars appearance fed her insecurity. But she says that now, she’s feeling good about herself and is looking forward to embracing her new, old chest. “Most of the time, I’m really happy with the way I look. I’m enjoying aging. It’s not going badly either. My sweet husband [Timothy Busfield] … is perfectly supportive of my decision to do this. He only wants me to be healthy.” And the result? Gilbert seems happy with her decision (which was confirmed by her personal rep) — check out her Tweet from Tuesday: In recovery. Surgery went great. No the recovery begins. #boobies! — Melissa Gilbert (@MelissaEGilbert) January 6, 2015 What do you think of her blog? Is she brave for sharing? –Alex Apatoff	– Melissa Gilbert has had her breast implants removed, and in an extremely long blog post written on New Year's Eve but getting picked up now, she explains why. But most of the blog post is taken up with an explanation of why she got them in the first place: She had "perfect A cup" boobs, and she was happy with them. They grew to C cups during her first pregnancy, but after she stopped breastfeeding, when they deflated to their original size, they did not return to "their original place," she writes. "They were lower....much, much lower." Her then-husband once referred to her breasts as looking like "socks full of marbles with knots at the top," and though they ended up getting divorced, she remained insecure about her breasts and decided to get them augmented. She got saline implants, and during her second pregnancy, the cycle repeated itself. This time, while her boobs drooped a little post-breastfeeding, they remained "perky-ish" thanks to the implants. But after 12 years, they needed to be replaced, so she got a breast lift and silicone implants. That was when she realized she would need to keep replacing them: "It was possible that at 80 years old I might have to get new implants!" She was also worried about the silicone and ultimately decided it was time to get the implants removed. "The bottom line...or top line.. is that; A. I am concerned for my health and 2. I don't like the way they look or feel. Frankly, I'd like to be able to take a Zumba class without the fear that I'll end up with two black eyes." Click for her full piece, which also includes a lot of commentary about society's expectations when it comes to a woman's appearance.
Texas Right to Life distributed “hundreds” of “Former Fetus” name plates to anti-abortion legislators ahead of Planned Parenthood’s lobby day at the Capitol Wednesday. The signs displayed outside of offices were removed for violating Capitol rules. Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, posted a picture of his sign, displayed outside of his office door, on Facebook with a caption reading “organizations that murder children are not welcome in my office.” Shortly after he tweeted that the sign had been removed. Texas Right to Life spokeswoman Melissa Conway said the group and legislators hoped the signs would “send a very clear message about the humanity of the ‘preborn’ child and that they themselves were a former fetus.” “We’re very saddened by the thought that there would be anyone that would want to take down the signage, which each legislator feels the need to display,” Conway said. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, chair of House Administration Committee tweeted that the signs were removed and returned to the legislators. Chris Currens, spokesman for the State Preservation Board, said their administrative code states that signs and banners are prohibited from being attached to the Capitol structure and displays are not allowed in the hallways. “We’ve long held that we need to do that as a building maintenance standard,” Currens said. Planned Parenthood and supporters rallied at the Capitol and met with legislators Wednesday to speak out against a budgetary recommendation that could cut funding to their clinics for breast and cervical cancer screening. The Senate included a revised funding mechanism for the state Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening program in their proposed 2016-2017 budget. The new system would prioritize public and government run health centers that provide screenings over private or non-profit clinics that offer “comprehensive primary and preventative care.” Private or non-profit clinics that provide specialized family planning services, like Planned Parenthood, would receive the lowest priority for funding. Anti-abortion organizations applaud the the change. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who heads up the Senate Finance Committee, told The News in January that “public funds should not support abortion providers and their affiliates.” The combined federal and state-funded program provides free cancer screening and diagnostic tests for women aged 21 to 64 who are uninsured or underinsured and meet low-income requirements. Planned Parenthood saw about 3,300 of the nearly 33,600 women screened through the program in 2014. \|\|\|\|\| See more of Jonathan Stickland on Facebook	– Texas state Rep. Jonathan Stickland used to be a fetus, and a fellow Republican he clashed with over a sign advertising that fact accuses him of acting like a child. Stickland was one of what an anti-abortion group says is hundreds of lawmakers who received "Former Fetus" nameplates ahead of a Planned Parenthood rally outside the Capitol yesterday, the Texas Tribune reports. "Organizations that murder children are not welcome in my office," Stickland said in a Facebook post with a photo of the sign, but he soon complained that it was "ripped down and thrown in my staffer's face" by Rep. Charlie Geren, chair of the House Administration Committee. Geren says the signs from Texas Right to Life were removed and returned to lawmakers because they violate State Preservation Board rules on signs inside the Capitol, the Tribune reports. "If Stickland wants to act like a child, that's fair, but I did not rip it down," he says. A Right to Life spokeswoman tells the Dallas Morning News that the group is "saddened by the thought that there would be anyone that would want to take down the signage." The sign clash and Planned Parenthood rally came amid a debate on a budget bill that could result in clinics losing state funding for breast cancer screening, the Huffington Post reports.
No Cookies To use this website, cookies must be enabled in your browser. To enable cookies, follow the instructions for your browser below. Facebook App: Open links in External Browser There is a specific issue with the Facebook in-app browser intermittently making requests to websites without cookies that had previously been set. This appears to be a defect in the browser which should be addressed soon. The simplest approach to avoid this problem is to continue to use the Facebook app but not use the in-app browser. This can be done through the following steps: Open the settings menu by clicking the hamburger menu in the top right Choose “App Settings” from the menu Turn on the option “Links Open Externally” (This will use the device’s default browser) Enabling Cookies in Internet Explorer 7, 8 & 9 Open the Internet Browser Click Tools> Internet Options>Privacy>Advanced Check Override automatic cookie handling For First-party Cookies and Third-party Cookies click Accept Click OK and OK Enabling Cookies in Firefox Open the Firefox browser Click Tools>Options>Privacy<Use custom settings for history Check Accept cookies from sites Check Accept third party cookies Select Keep until: they expire Click OK Enabling Cookies in Google Chrome Open the Google Chrome browser Click Tools icon>Options>Under the Hood>Content Settings Check Allow local data to be set Uncheck Block third-party cookies from being set Uncheck Clear cookies Close all Enabling Cookies in Mobile Safari (iPhone, iPad) \|\|\|\|\| WITH $150 in his pocket and some basic camping equipment, teenager Matthew Allen left home after hatching a plan to run away. He told his driving instructor not to pick him up the next day because he was going to a party. Instead the 18-year-old headed into thick bushland near his home in Westleigh, in Sydney's northwest, leaving his mobile phone and most of his clothing at home. For the next nine weeks Matthew lived in the bush and drank from a muddy creek. He is thought to have packed only minimal food supplies. An extensive police search at the time of his disappearance on November 27 failed to find any trace. However his life in the bush, during which Sydney sweltered in record 45C-plus heat, came to an end when two hikers spotted a "disorientated-looking" figure near a creek on Saturday. After alerting police, emergency crews went into the Berowra Valley Bushland Park and found him near a tree. He was severely dehydrated, having lost about 40kg - half of his body weight - and his limbs were covered in leeches. One of his legs had been injured and become gangrenous, as had some of his fingers. "He was in a pretty shocking state. He was lying down, disoriented and exhausted. He was also partially blind," Detective Inspector Glyn Baker said. The paramedic who helped winch him to a waiting ambulance yesterday told of the delicate rescue operation. Special casualty access team paramedic David Zids said the teenager was located 200m behind homes but his location shielded him from view. "It was a 400m walk in difficult terrain to reach the patient and he was found sitting near the creek," Mr Zids said. "The patient was assessed. He had lost a lot of weight and was covered in bites from leeches and mosquitoes. Because he was able to walk with assistance, we helped him walk up out of the creek line - where we couldn't winch - to a position on the ridge line where he could be winched. "He was fairly weak from malnourishment. He'd only been drinking out of the creek, which runs off an urban area." Exactly how Matthew, an accounting student at Castle Hill TAFE, survived in the extreme weather will remain a mystery until he is well enough to talk, police said. The Daily Telegraph has been told he has mental health issues and wanted to "run away from his life". He is being cared for in a psychiatric hospital, as well as receiving treatment for exposure and dehydration. Matthew's mother Deborah said, while the family was "relieved" he had been found safe, her main concern was his recovery. "We just want to get him well," Mrs Allen said. "He didn't want to be found. He wanted to run away from his life," a family friend said. It is understood Matthew's family never gave up hope of finding him alive, believing he had run away to get some "time out".	– An Australian teenager who wanted to "run away from his life" survived nearly 9 weeks in the bush near Sydney before being discovered by hikers, Perth Now reports. Matthew Allen, 18, was highly disoriented, partly blinded, covered in leeches, and suffering from gangrene when first responders winched him to an ambulance. Amazingly, Matthew was just 220 yards away from homes that were blocked from his view. How he survived during record 113-degree heat is unclear, but he drank from a muddy creek as he lost nearly 90 pounds—about half his body weight. The accountancy student had simply left home with basic camping equipment and food supplies, leaving his cell phone behind. He reportedly suffers from mental health problems: "He didn't want to be found," says a family friend. "He wanted to run away from his life." He is being treated in a hospital for exposure-related injuries, reports the Daily Telegraph.
A rescue helicopter and other emergency vehicles are seen at the scene of the shark attack in Gracetown, Australia, Monday, April 16, 2018. A surfer mauled by a shark Monday off southwest Australia managed... (Associated Press) A rescue helicopter and other emergency vehicles are seen at the scene of the shark attack in Gracetown, Australia, Monday, April 16, 2018. A surfer mauled by a shark Monday off southwest Australia managed to swim to shore despite serious injuries to both of his legs, an official and a witness said.... (Associated Press) A rescue helicopter and other emergency vehicles are seen at the scene of the shark attack in Gracetown, Australia, Monday, April 16, 2018. A surfer mauled by a shark Monday off southwest Australia managed to swim to shore despite serious injuries to both of his legs, an official and a witness said.... (Associated Press) A rescue helicopter and other emergency vehicles are seen at the scene of the shark attack in Gracetown, Australia, Monday, April 16, 2018. A surfer mauled by a shark Monday off southwest Australia managed... (Associated Press) PERTH, Australia (AP) — A surfer mauled by a shark Monday off southwestern Australia managed to swim to shore despite serious injuries to both of his legs, an official and a witness said. Alejandro Travaglini was surfing at Gracetown around 8 a.m. when he was attacked, St. John Ambulance spokesman Dennis Bertoldo said. The Argentinian-born 37-year-old was treated on the beach by paramedics before he was flown by helicopter 250 kilometers (160 miles) to a hospital in the city of Perth, Bertoldo said. The hospital described the victim's condition as stable. The attack prompted the World Surf League to postpone the nearby Margaret River Pro international surfing contest for about an hour. Organizers had deployed additional shark-spotting drones and jet skis when the competition resumed to ensure competitors' safety, league deputy commissioner Jessi Miley-Dyer said. "We wanted to reconvene and make sure we had everything possible in the water to look after those surfers," Miley-Dyer said in a statement on the league's website. Surf photographer Peter Jovic watched the attack from the beach and likened it to the live broadcast of a shark attack in South Africa in 2015. Former champion surfer Mick Fanning escaped unscathed when a great white attacked his board as he waited to catch a wave. "If anyone is familiar with the Mick Fanning moment ... it was very similar to that, where a shark pretty much popped up and ended up knocking a surfer off his board," Jovic told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "The surfer who was being attacked ended up miraculously body surfing into a little wave and getting pushed in by a local at the same time, who was out there with him, and making it to shore before everyone came to his aid," Jovic said. Lifeguards said a 4-meter (13-foot) shark was spotted off a nearby beach two hours after the attack. Nine Network television news reported a 41-year-old surfer sustained a large gash to his right thigh from a shark later Monday at a beach near where the attack occurred. "Happy to be alive," the unnamed man told bystanders who asked if he was OK. The man insisted he could drive himself to a hospital. A surfer was killed by a shark at Gracetown in 2013. \|\|\|\|\| More details have emerged about a terrifying shark attack in WA’s South West this morning. Margaret River local Alejandro Travaglini was attacked about 8.20am at Cobblestones surf break near Gracetown. Witness says the 37-year-old father-of-two fought off the shark before it returned and dragged him underwater. Mr Travaglini punched the shark before body surfing his way back to shore. Camera Icon Alejandro Travaglini arrives at Royal Perth Hospital. Picture: Seven News. Fellow surfer Adam Kennedy was in the water when the attack happened. "This thing was a big shark and it wanted to eat him," he said. "He was literally fighting for his life. He was yelling and punching and he was on the back of this thing. It went for him, three or four times." Friends used the rope from the victim’s board as a tourniquet and gave him first aid until emergency crews arrived from Margaret River within six minutes, according to a St John Ambulance spokesman. Camera Icon Surfer Adam Kennedy says the shark which attack Mr Travaglini was “a big one and it wanted to eat him”. Picture: Seven News. Mr Travaglini, originally from Argentina, thanked “all the legends who helped” him up the beach. He was flown to Royal Perth Hospital where he remains in a stable condition this afternoon after undergoing surgery. A second surfer was attacked this afternoon at Lefthanders surf break, about 2km south of where Mr Travaglini was bitten. Large teeth marks in the second surfer’s board show how lucky he was to escape with only minor injuries. Earlier in the day, Surf photographer Peter Jovic told the ABC there were about five people in the water at the time of the first attack, which he said echoed pro surfer Mick Fanning’s lucky escape at South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay. Camera Icon Mr Travaglini was airlifted to Perth his morning. Fanning survived after a shark lunged at him during a final at the Open World Surf League event in 2015. “If anyone is familiar with the Mick Fanning moment at Jeffreys Bay it was quite similar to that, where a shark pretty much popped up and knocked a surfer off his board. “There was a lot more thrashing around after that, it was pretty hard to see what was going on. A witness to the Gracetown shark attack spoke to ABC Breakfast about the incident. Credit: ABC Breakfast radio. The West Australian Video A witness to the Gracetown shark attack spoke to ABC Breakfast about the incident. Credit: ABC Breakfast radio. “Everyone's walking round like stunned mullets,” Mr Jovic told the ABC. “The surfer who was being attacked ended up miraculously body-surfing into a little wave and making it into shore before everyone came to his aid. I can't say how he is.” Another radio caller said other surfers had been spooked by the shark and had started leaving the water just before the attack happened. It is understood the man has lived in Gracetown for some time, with one friend describing him as “an awesome guy”. Surf Life Saving WA had noted several sightings of sharks in the area, including a four-metre shark off Lefthanders, near where the attack happened, this morning. The Westpac helicopter also spotted a whale carcass on the beach, south of Lefthanders surf break about 9.30am. The Shark Smart website says the carcass could make nearby waters dangerous until it’s removed. “It is possible the decomposing carcass will continue to act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming close in to shore along this stretch of coast,” a statement said. The Margaret River Pro was initially put on hold by the World Surf League but organisers decided to allow the competition to resume at 10.40am. Surfers had been in action this morning in the competition before the attack. Surfing WA Event Director Justin Majeks this afternoon released a statement about this morning’s attack. “We are all devastated to hear the news this morning of the attack and even more so when we heard that the surfer is one of our valued work crew members here at the Margaret River Pro,” he said. “We’re sending our thoughts and prayers to him and his family during this difficult time and we’re working together to do everything we can to support him and his family moving forward.” Gracetown beaches, including North Point, Big Rock and Lefthanders, have been closed. Opposition Leader Mike Nahan said the attack would make international news because of the Pro event. He said the incident emphasised the need to do more, including using SMART drumlines, rather than the Labor government’s subsidised shark deterrent devices. “Sharks are still a threat to surfers and people in the ocean here,” he told reporters. “The current policies are simply not adequate.” Hawaiian surfing pro John John Florence had a close encounter with two sharks while surfing off Margaret River in the lead-up to the Margaret River pro this month. Drone footage captured by the 25-year-old shows he and his brother Nathan had been surfing within two metres of the sharks.	– A surfer mauled by a shark Monday off southwestern Australia managed to swim to shore despite serious injuries to both of his legs, an official and a witness say. Alejandro Travaglini was surfing at Gracetown around 8am when he was attacked, St. John Ambulance spokesman Dennis Bertoldo says. The Argentinian-born 37-year-old was treated on the beach by paramedics before he was flown 160 miles by helicopter to a hospital in the city of Perth. Friends say Travaglini fought off the shark before it returned and dragged him underwater, the West Australian reports. He punched it before making his way to shore, where his friends used the rope from his board as a tourniquet until help arrived. The hospital described the victim's condition as stable. The attack prompted the World Surf League to postpone the nearby Margaret River Pro international surfing contest, where Traviglini is a member of a work crew, for about an hour while shark-spotting drones were deployed, the AP reports. Surf photographer Peter Jovic watched the attack from the beach and likened it to the live broadcast of a shark attack in South Africa in 2015. "If anyone is familiar with the Mick Fanning moment ... it was very similar to that, where a shark pretty much popped up and ended up knocking a surfer off his board," he said. Nine News reports a 41-year-old surfer sustained a large gash to his right thigh from a shark later Monday at a nearby beach. (A shark in Hawaii bumped a man off his paddleboard before attacking.)
SAN DIEGO - A federal judge in San Diego issued an order from the bench Thursday declaring that the government's display of a 43-foot cross atop Mount Soledad in La Jolla violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The federal display was challenged in a 2006 lawsuit by the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America and several local residents, all of whom were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties. "We support the government paying tribute to those who served bravely in our country's armed forces," said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "But we should honor all of our heroes under one flag, not just one particular religious symbol." The cross was erected in 1954 and was dedicated at an Easter Sunday ceremony describing the monument as a "gleaming white symbol of Christianity." In 2006, the federal government, through an act of Congress, obtained the title to the cross and its surrounding property by eminent domain, and declared the cross to be a national war memorial. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2011 that the cross violated the First Amendment. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, it was remanded back to federal court in San Diego, where today's order was issued. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered the cross to be removed within 90 days, but stayed the order until all possible appeals have been exhausted. Proponents of the cross said they might again petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. \|\|\|\|\| A San Diego federal judge made a reluctant ruling Thursday that the cross atop Mount Soledad is unconstitutional, although the chances of the La Jolla monument coming down anytime soon are unlikely. The latest ruling by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns will likely send the case back to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court declined to hear the case last year, but said it could reconsider once a lower court enters a final judgment. Burns ordered the cross to be removed within 90 days, and then stayed that order until all appeals have been exhausted. Both sides on Thursday called the latest ruling a victory, for different reasons. “After 23 years, if you can’t come to a reasonable resolution, you’ve got a constitutional violation and you have to remedy it,” said attorney James McElroy, who has fought to remove the cross for several years. On the other hand, cross supporters say this ruling moves them closer to getting the case reviewed once and for all by the Supreme Court. Do you think the Mount Soledad cross should come down? Yes 40% (5620) No 60% (8532) 14152 total votes. “I’m somewhat upbeat about this. Believe me, we’ve had darker days,” said one of the opposing lawyers, Charles LiMandri, president and chief counsel of Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund. The legal battle over the large cross, erected in 1954, has ping-ponged across numerous jurisdictions for years. The land the cross sits on was transferred from city of San Diego ownership to the federal government in 2005 in response to the threat of it being taken down under a court order. The monument, which includes 3,000 plaques honoring military veterans, is operated by the Mount Soledad Memorial Association. In 2006, the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, as well as local residents, filed a lawsuit objecting to the display of the cross on federal property. The American Civil Liberties Union is helping represent the organization. “We support the government paying tribute to those who served bravely in our country’s armed forces,” Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, said in a statement. “But we should honor all of our heroes under one flag, not just one particular religious symbol.” Burns ruled initially in 2008 that the cross could stay, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision three years later, saying the cross sent a message that the government endorsed Christianity and therefore violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. The court did leave open the possibility for other legal alternatives to keep the cross in place. When cross supporters petitioned to have the case heard by the Supreme Court, the justices declined to take the case, returning it to the lower courts but adding that if the government was unhappy with the results they would consider taking another look at it. Justice Samuel Alito did point out in his concurrence to the denial for review that the issue surrounding the cross is “a question of substantial importance.”	– A giant cross that's stood on a San Diego mountain for decades may not dot Mount Soledad for many more. A judge has ruled the 43-foot national war memorial cross violates the separation of church and state and needs to be removed within 90 days—once all appeals are exhausted, that is. But since the cross's supporters plan to petition the Supreme Court, it won't be going away too quickly, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Justices already refused to hear the case once, sending it to the lower courts, but did leave open the option of a later review of the decades-long legal battle. The cross sits on federal land, after being transferred out of the city's ownership in 2005 to avoid the cross being removed under court order. Alternatives to taking it down, like putting up signs that the cross—erected in 1954 as a "gleaming white symbol of Christianity," KGTV reports—is not an endorsement of Christianity, were bounced around before a ruling was made, but surprisingly, both sides seem happy with the result. "I'm somewhat upbeat about this," says a lawyer who fought for the cross to remain standing, noting the decision moves the case closer to a final decision from the Supreme Court. "Believe me, we've had darker days."
Finally: JAY-Z and Beyoncé have released their collaborative album, Everything Is Love. Stream it here and below via Tidal. The streaming service credits the two artists as “the Carters.” Bey and Jay also released a new music video for their track “APESHIT” and an additional single “SALUD!” that doesn’t appear on the project. Find those below. Ricky Saiz directed the visual, which is set in the Louvre and features the couple posing among the art. Jay disses the Grammys on “APESHIT,” rapping, “Tell the Grammys fuck that 0 for 8 shit.” (Jay was the most nominated artist at the 2018 ceremony, but was completely shut out.) He also confirms the rumor that he turned down a Super Bowl Halftime Show offer: “I said no to the Super Bowl/You need me, I don’t need you/Every night we in the end zone/Tell the NFL we in stadiums too.” Beyoncé calls out Spotify on the track “NICE.” She raps, “If I gave...two fucks about streaming numbers woulda put Lemonade up on Spotify. Fuck you,” referencing the fact that her 2016 album has never been available on the streaming platform. Jay refers to Meek Mill’s recent release from prison on “FRIENDS,” and on “HEARD ABOUT US,” Beyoncé sings the iconic line from Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”: “If you don’t know, now you know, nigga.” The couple sample Phoenix Express’ song “You Make My Life a Sunny Day” on “LOVEHAPPY.” “APESHIT” features Migos and Pharrell, while “BOSS” features Ty Dolla $ign and the couple’s daughter Blue Ivy. She also makes a brief cameo at the end of “SALUD!,” shouting out her twin siblings. Pharrell also helped produce “NICE,” while Cool & Dre contributed additional production to “SUMMER” “713,” “BLACK EFFECT,” and “SALUD!” (with Dre adding vocals to the latter). Nav is listed as a composer and co-producer on “FRIENDS,” while TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek is a producer on “LOVEHAPPY.” Rumors have long swirled about the creation of a collaborative Bey and Jay album. Last November, JAY also told The New York Times that a project with Bey started coming together as they worked on 4:44 and Lemonade. “We were using our art almost like a therapy session,” he said at the time. “And we started making music together.” He explained that, because Bey’s music was progressing more quickly, Lemonade ended up coming out “as opposed to the joint album that [they] were working on.” The couple are on the road for OTR II through the fall. Their most recent collaboration was on DJ Khaled’s “Top Off.” JAY also enlisted Bey for the Grammy-nominated “Family Feud” from 4:44. They last toured together in 2014. This article was originally published on June 16 at 5:43 p.m. EST. It was updated on June 17 9:19 p.m. EST. \|\|\|\|\| FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2017 file photo, Jay-Z performs on the 4:44 Tour at Barclays Center in New York. Jay-Z and Beyonce have released a joint album that touches on the rapper's disgust at this year's... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2017 file photo, Jay-Z performs on the 4:44 Tour at Barclays Center in New York. Jay-Z and Beyonce have released a joint album that touches on the rapper's disgust at this year's Grammy Awards and features a shout out from their daughter Blue Ivy to her siblings. The pair released... (Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jay-Z and Beyonce are keeping up a family tradition, dropping a surprise album before anyone knew it was coming. The couple released a joint album that touches on the rapper's disgust at this year's Grammy Awards and features a shout out from their daughter Blue Ivy to her siblings. The nine-track album "Everything Is Love" dropped Saturday on the Tidal music streaming service that Jay-Z partially owns. The album features Beyonce rapping on songs more than she has done on previous releases. One song that has a profanity in its title includes Jay-Z lashing out at the Grammys. He was the top nominee at February's awards show, but left empty-handed. The rapper also says he turned down the NFL Super Bowl halftime show, rapping that the league needs him more than he needs them. Blue Ivy ends the song "BOSS" with a shout-out to her 1-year-old brother and sister, Rumi and Sir. In 2013, Beyonce released the self-titled album "Beyonce" without any notice.	– Out of the blue, Beyonce and Jay-Z dropped a joint album that's being described as both unexpected and long-rumored, reports Pitchfork. But Everything Is Love is not all sunshine and rainbows from the duo now going by The Carters, particularly for the Grammys (where Jay-Z went 0-8 at the 2018 awards) and Spotify, which gets a couple of F-bombs from Bey. Jay-Z also confirms that he turned down the Super Bowl halftime show, rapping, well, "I said no to the Super Bowl / You need me, I don’t need you/ Every night we in the end zone / Tell the NFL we need stadiums too." The couple's daughter, Blue Ivy, also gives a shout-out to her 1-year-old twin siblings, notes the AP, and a music video released with the nine-track album features the couple hobnobbing in Paris' Louvre museum. Everything Is Love is available on Tidal.
Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. \|\|\|\|\| A Florida man in his 20s is in custody after he allegedly stole $18,000 from two different banks while disguised as an elderly man, according to a criminal complaint. Abraham Maghen, who is in his mid-20s, allegedly went to a Pembroke Pines, Fla., bank on May 2, "wearing a mask resembling an elderly individual," according to the complaint against him. He then allegedly gave a demand note to a teller and brandished what appeared to be handgun before taking $10,000, the complaint said. No one was injured, according the FBI in Miami, which released photos hoping to identify the suspect. Courtesty FBI Miami Courtesty FBI Miami Courtesty FBI Miami Maghen also allegedly stole $1,800 during a second bank robbery in Boca Raton, Florida, on May 9, the complaint said. While again wearing a mask resembling an elderly man, he allegedly gave a demand note to the teller that read something like, "My grandson is sick. I need $40,000 now," the complaint said. After giving the teller the note, Maghen allegedly yelled, "Hurry up. He's going to die," the complaint continued. Maghen, of Hollywood, Florida, was arrested May 9 in connection with both bank robberies, the FBI in Miami said. His arraignment is scheduled for May 24. Maghen's public defender did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.	– Perhaps hoping to blend into Florida's geriatric population, a 24-year-old man allegedly robbed two banks in the Sunshine State this week while disguised as an old man. Authorities say Abraham Maghen brandished a gun while wearing an old-person mask at a bank in Pembroke Pines on May 2 and made off with $10,000, ABC News reports. A week later, he allegedly stole $1,800 from a Boca Raton bank using a note that stated: "My grandson is sick. I need $40,000 now." According to the Miami Herald, police arrested Maghen after the second robbery. He allegedly said he was fired as a financial adviser and is "not very good at finances." No kidding; police say after the first robbery, Maghen spent $2,755 at a casino in less than an hour then deposited $2,500 into his overdrawn bank account.
Online activists angered over antipiracy legislation in Congress as well as today's indictment of operators of popular file-hosting site MegaUpload attacked the sites of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, Universal Music, and the Motion Picture Association of America, shutting them down at least temporarily, and were targeting many others. "The Largest Attack Ever by Anonymous - 5,635 People Confirmed Using #LOIC Bring Down Sites!" the AnonDaily Twitter account read, referring to the Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) tool Anonymous supporters use to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks on sites. Apparently Anonymous tried a new tactic in its attack campaign -- disseminating a Pastebin link that when clicked automatically launched a Web-based version of LOIC. People clicking on the link, thinking they were going to be getting new information from Anonymous about the attack, instead were having their computers take part in the attack. The page appeared to be aimed at the MPAA when this reporter saw it before quickly closing it. The attacks were affecting Internet traffic patterns overall, according to a real-time Web monitoring site operated by content delivery company Akamai. The site had registered 218 attacks in the last 24 hours and reported that attack-related traffic was up 24 percent over normal, while general network traffic was up 13 percent. IRC chats show supporters of the Anonymous online activist collective claiming victory over shutting down the Justice Department site and talking about other U.S. government sites to target, including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the White House, the FBI, BMI.com, Copyright.com, Viacom, Anti-piracy.be/nl, Vivendi.fr, Hadopi.fr, and ChrisDodd.com, the site for the former U.S. senator who now heads up the MPAA. Some of the targeted sites were intermittently down, like the FBI, while others were accessible but opening very slowly. (A list of known targets is here.) The activists are angry about two proposed antipiracy bills backed by the music and movie industries, SOPA and PIPA, that critics say would give authorities broad power to shut down Web sites for the mere accusation that they had pirated content on them. Screenshot by CNET "Seems like some friendly ships are launching torpedos justice.gov as we speak. The site seems down to us! (via @AnonOpsSweden)," Twitter accounts associated with the Anonymous online activist group posted today. "RIAA.ORG DOWN! The Largest On Scale Attack EVER by #Anonymous 10 sites in 20 minutes," the Anon Daily Twitter account read. "#OPMegaUpload is in Full Effect. Justice.gov DOWN - MPAA.org DOWN - UniversalMusic.com DOWN - MASS DDOS ATTACK!" Shortly before the outages, seven people were named in an indictment and four were taken into custody on online piracy charges. One of those arrested was Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz, the founder of Megaupload, an Internet locker service. A Justice Department spokesperson provided this comment: "The Department of Justice Web server hosting Justice.gov is currently experiencing a significant increase in activity, resulting in a degradation in service. The department is working to ensure the Web site is available while we investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause of the disruption. Universal Music had no comment. The attacks were designed to forcibly shut down sites in protest, but a number of big Web sites and tech companies, including Google and Wikipedia, expressed their anti-SOPA sentiments yesterday by blacking out or otherwise changing their sites. The widespread opposition to the the controversial antipiracy measures appeared to be having an effect on lawmakers, including senators who are scheduled to vote on their version--dubbed Protect IP Act or PIPA--next Tuesday. Several senators said they were withdrawing their names as co-sponsors or voting against the measure and some representatives also expressed wavering support yesterday. Akamai Updated January 20 at 7:35 a.m. PT with Anonymous using automatic LOIC tool for attacks and January 19 at 5:07 p.m. PT with Akamai reporting Web attack statistics and 4:51 p.m. PT with FBI site downed and DOJ comment, 3:53 p.m. PT with more details and background, 3:19 p.m. PT with more targets and details, and 2:45 p.m. PT with Universal Music and MPAA down and more background and details. \|\|\|\|\| The FBI closed down Megaupload, one of the world's most popular file-sharing websites. Geoffrey Fowler reports on digits. Photo: AP. The Federal Bureau of Investigation shut down one of the world's most popular file-sharing websites as a debate rages in Washington over whether to give the government new powers to crack down on Internet pirates. Authorities claim Megaupload Ltd., based in Hong Kong, and its collection of websites generated more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and caused more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners. Police on Thursday arrested four employees of the company in Auckland, New Zealand, charging them with conspiracy to commit racketeering and criminal copyright infringement. The raid heats up a growing political debate that has pit Internet liberties against copyright enforcement. In response, the Anonymous hacker group said Thursday that it had brought down the U.S. Justice Department's website and several others. Thursday evening, the department said its Web server was experiencing "a significant increase in activity, resulting in a degradation of service." Officials said they were treating it as a malicious act and were investigating. New Zealand authorities arrested MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom at his own birthday party, Geoffrey Fowler reports on digits. Photo: AP. The FBI's indictment named Kim Dotcom, 37 years old, as the founder and until last year chief executive of Megaupload. He was among the four people arrested Thursday. It wasn't immediately clear if the suspects had retained criminal defense lawyers, and none could be reached Thursday. Ira P. Rothken, a lawyer for Megaupload in Novato, Calif., said "the allegations do not appear to have support in the law, and the company is going to vigorously defend against them." In a post on Megaupload's website before it was taken down, the company wrote that "the vast majority of mega's Internet traffic is legitimate." Megaupload is already engaged in a legal fight with Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group over a promotional video featuring UMG artists Kanye West, Mary J. Blige and others, in which they appear to endorse Megaupload as a way to send large files to specific recipients—not for pirating content. Megaupload sued Vivendi, claiming a "takedown notice" Vivendi served to YouTube demanding that the video be removed constituted "misrepresentation of copyright claims." The case is pending. Representatives for Mr. West and Ms. Blige didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Sites such as Megaupload, known as cyberlockers, have grown in popularity and shifted the technology and business of stealing content. Cyberlockers—so called because they offer virtual storage homes for files that can be accessed from any device with a Web browser—are often foreign sites that offer a smorgasbord of pirated movies, TV shows, music and e-books that people can download with a few clicks, say media companies, and now account for about half of all online pirate activity. FBI officials said the timing of the arrests was unrelated to the debate over antipiracy legislation known as the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and Protect IP [Intellectual Property] Act in the Senate. The arrests were done Thursday in large part at the recommendation of the authorities in New Zealand, one official said. The proposed legislation, known as SOPA and PIPA, would stop U.S. companies from providing funding, advertising, links or other assistance to foreign sites involved in piracy, and would give the Justice Department controversial new powers to prevent pirate sites from getting U.S. visitors and funding. Enlarge Image Close European Pressphoto Agency Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom rented this home near Auckland, New Zealand. SOPA and PIPA have riled Internet companies and some users. Much of that controversy came to a head this week, when some of America's most popular websites, such as Wikipedia, protested against the proposed legislation on Wednesday by turning their homepages into virtual protest banners. Following that, the bills lost some support in Congress, where some lawmakers in both parties began backing away from them. Cyberlockers emerged as a big new source of piracy as an older technology, called peer-to-peer file sharing, has slowed down. Peer-to-peer programs split up big media files into many small parts, which people download from multiple locations using special software. But with cyberlockers, pirates upload and share files from a single website, often based outside of the U.S. Enlarge Image Close European Pressphoto Agency Megaupload founder Kim Schmitz, also known as Kim Dotcom, was in custody Friday. With many of the companies behind cyberlockers often based in foreign countries, they "are beyond the reach of what we can do legally unless we want to send our lawyers to Russia," said Maja Thomas, a senior vice president of Hachette Digital, a unit of Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group. Megaupload bills itself on its website as a place where people can store large quantities of data, but prosecutors said internal emails and other evidence gathered during the probe show company officials deliberately designed the system around uploading the most popular types of files, which tended to be copyrighted material. The indictment claims Megaupload took in more than $110 million over five years in membership fees and other payments via a PayPal account. It also leased capacity on more than 1,000 servers in North America and another 630 in the Netherlands. The U.S. is moving to seize a great deal of property, including $175 million, or as much of that as they can find, and the funds in dozens of bank accounts. They are also looking to seize some of the perks of the charged executives' lavish lifestyle, including a 2010 Maserati, a 2008 Rolls Royce, and a number of Mercedes Benzes." Officials declined to say if they were eyeing other large cyberlocker sites for similar practices, but one said the Megaupload case should be viewed as a deterrent to anyone who might engage in large-scale illegal file-sharing. Some media companies point the finger at search engines for making it easy for consumers to find the pirated content on the cyberlockers, including Google Inc. A Google spokeswoman said, "When infringing uses of cyberlockers appear in our search results and copyright owners let us know, we promptly remove those links." In 2010, it removed three million links to infringing websites; in 2011, it took down five million. —Erica Orden, Ethan Smith and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg contributed to this article. Write to Geoffrey A. Fowler at [email protected], Devlin Barrett at [email protected] and Sam Schechner at [email protected]	– After yesterday's SOPA protest comes more online piracy fun: The FBI today shut down the file-sharing site Megaupload.com and charged seven people with copyright infringement, reports the Wall Street Journal. Soon after, the hackers of Anonymous sought revenge by taking down the websites of the Justice Department, Universal Music, and the Motion Picture Association of America, reports CNET. Megaupload is a so-called "digital locker" that is "widely used for free downloads of movies and television shows," according to the Los Angeles Times. The site boasted of having 50 million daily visitors and insisted that nearly all of its traffic was legit. The indictment, however, says it has cost copyright holders about $500 million, adding that today's action is "among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought in the United States."
A security officer stands at the entrance to the Athens' stock exchange , Greece July 27, 2015. ATHENS Greece's stock market closed with heavy losses on Monday after a five-week shutdown brought on by fears that the country was about to be dumped from the euro zone. Bank shares plummeted 30 percent before loss limits kicked in to stop investors selling any more. The main Athens stock index .ATG ended down 16.2 percent, recovering slightly after plunging nearly 23 percent at the open. It was the worst daily performance since at least 1985 when modern records began, including a 15 percent fall when Wall Street crashed in 1987. By contrast, the broad European FTSEurofirst 300 index was in positive territory for the day.FTEU3 [.EU] "The market tanked, as expected," said Takis Zamanis, chief trader at Athens-based Beta Securities. Banking shares, which make up about 20 percent of the Greece index, were particularly hard hit. The overall banking index .FTATBNK was down to its 30 percent daily limit. All five shares comprising the index .FTATBNK - National Bank of Greece (NBGr.AT), Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT), Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT), Attica Bank (BOAr.AT) and Eurobank (EURBr.AT) - were locked down for much of the session at the limit with no buyers. Greece's banks have seen deposits severely depleted as Greeks pulled out their euros for fear they would be forcibly converted into a new drachma outside the euro zone. The banks have been propped up by emergency money from the European Central Bank. Traders said they expected more bank-share losses in the next session. "Bank shares look like they have more room to slide on Tuesday before bids emerge," said one fund manager who declined to be named. "It will take a few days for the market to balance out." Some companies outperformed, mainly those with exposure abroad, although they still fell. "Buyers emerged for non-bank stocks, blue chips like OTE Telecom and (gaming group) OPAP, which shows that there is buying interest out there," Zamanis said. OTE, which accounted for around 30 percent of the day's turnover, lost 11.5 percent. There were only nine gainers, mainly small caps and with very small volume, exaggerating the moves. One, furniture maker Dromeas SA (DROr.AT), gained almost 29 percent after clinching a 30 million-euro deal to supply European Commission offices. FEARS FOR FUTURE Trading on the Athens bourse was suspended in late June as part of capital controls imposed to stem a debilitating outflow of euros that threatened to collapse Greece's banks and hurl the indebted country out of the euro zone. Since then, Athens has agreed a framework bailout plan with its European Union partners in exchange for stringent reforms and budget austerity. But implementation of the deal is some way off, keeping alive the threat of political and economic instability. There is also concern that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may need to call a snap election. Monday's losses stemmed from a number of reasons. Negotiations on the new bailout might bog down, for example, leaving the government and banks perilously short of cash. A report on Sunday in the newspaper Avgi, which is close to Syriza, said the government was seeking 24 billion euros ($26.37 billion) in a first tranche of bailout aid from international lenders in August. Of this, the newspaper said, 10 billion euros was earmarked for an initial recapitalization of Greek banks, 7.16 billion euros to repay an emergency bridge loan and 3.2 billion euros to repay Greek bonds held by the European Central Bank and others. In an interview with Ethnos newspaper on Monday, European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici described an August deal as possible, but added it would be "ambitious", suggesting that it would take hard work to achieve it. Meanwhile, Greeks themselves are being severely restricted on the bourse. To limit the possibility of using shares as part of euro-flight, the government and ECB have said no extra money can be withdrawn by Greeks from deposit accounts to buy shares. Greece's dismal economic prospects may also weigh on the market. The European Commission says the Greek economy will shrink by 2 to 4 percent this year, a return to the recession that plagued the country for six years until 2014. On Monday, a survey showed Greek manufacturing activity plunged to a record low as new orders plummeted and the three-week bank shutdown caused serious supply problems. Greece's economic sentiment also hit its lowest level in almost three years in July, a monthly report by the IOBE think tank showed. (Writing by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Tom Heneghan) \|\|\|\|\| • US economist denies being part of Plan B 'criminal gang' • Greek factories decimated by capital controls • Shares plunge 22.8pc at opening; banks down 30pc • Short selling ban to be extended despite markets re-opening • Manufacturing output falls to lowest level since May 1999 That's a wrap for our live coverage today. You can read our take on events in the markets and the economy at the link above. 17.45 Broader European stocks have shrugged off that collapse in the Greek stock market today. Here's the best of the rest: • Pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.7pc • Eurozone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 gained 1pc • Germany's DAX advanced 1.2pc • France's CAC up 0.8pc • FTSE 100 rose 0.41pc 17.45 US economist denies being part of Varoufakis' "criminal gang" James K Galbraith, a pre-eminent American economist and friend of former Greek finance minister has told The Telegraph he was not part of a "criminal" set up intent on bringing the drachma back to the country. Mr Galbraith is the only identified member of a five-man team devised by Yanis Varoufakis to make contingency plans for the government if they were forced out of the eurozone. However, the academic has resisted charges of criminal intent labelled at his operations and says he does not expect to face trial in Greece. “If questions come my way I'll be happy to answer them” said Mr Galbraith. “We will see what happens, but I would be surprised if there is anything more than a fact finding mission [from Greek authorities] at this stage.” He also defended his work studying parallel scrip currency issuance for the Greek government and said Mr Varoufakis had worked "tirelessly" to keep Greece in the euro during his six months in office. You can ready the full story here. 17.40 Economic collapse means Grexit threat is not over The scale of Greece's economic woes, as revealed by new industrial output data today, puts severe pressure bail-out negotiations, says Jonathan Loyes of Capital Economics today. Mr Loynes said GDP is likely to fall by at least -4pc this year, putting ambitious surplus targets out of the reach of Athens and undermining the basis for a new bail-out agreement. "The requirement in the current bailout plan for Greece to build up sizeable primary budget surpluses over the next few years looks extremely demanding, if not utterly fantastical. And that, in turn, casts serious doubts over whether the plan, if it is even implemented, will last for very long. In short, the acute weakness of the Greek economy continues to point to the country’s exit from the eurozone in the not too distant future." And just in case you missed it earlier, here's what happened to Greece's manufacturing output in July: 17.30 Pension cuts to apply to retirees after June Amid that mass equities sell-off, negotiations between lenders and the Greek government have continued in Athens today. The two sides have agreed that pension reforms will affect only those who retired after the end of June, according to labour ministry officials. Lenders want measurs including an increase in the retirement age to 67 from the nominal 62 that falls significantly depending on the number of years worked and family status. Representatives from Greece's creditors -- the ECB, the EU, IMF, and the European Stability Mechanism -- met labour minister George Katrougalos at his office on Monday. "It has been accepted and is not being questioned that all pension rights established by June 30 will not be hurt," a labour ministry official told reporters today. 17.00 Bloodbath on the Athens Stock Exchange Greek markets suffered their worst trading in history on Monday, falling by a record 23pc within minutes of trading as investors rushed to sell-off stocks during the first full day of trading in over a month. Shares in the country's five biggest banks saw the largest declines, dropping by a daily maximum limit of 30pc, as markets resumed trading for the first time since June 28. Athens benchmark stock exchange made up some losses to close down 16.23pc at 668, its lowest level since September 2012. The falls mark the worst daily performance for the index since modern records began in 1985, surpassing the 15pc market tank during the Wall Street crash of 1987. 15.50 Greeks stocks finish day down at record 16.2pc The bloodbath of the morning has receded, with Greek markets closing down for the day at 668, down 16.23pc on the day. That's its lowest level since September 2012. The banking index was the biggest faller, down 29.9pc. #BREAKING: Greek stocks close down 16.23%, set new record low — Agence France-Presse (@AFP) August 3, 2015 15.10 Decision to resume Greek bank stocks draws criticism Greece's banking system will need recapitalising to the tune of between €10bn-25bn according to government estimates reported in the Greek media. Lenders are due to undergo stress tests from the ECB later this month to gauge the precise extent of their capital needs. In the mean time, their market capitalisation is set to suffer brutally as investors dump shares for the first time in over a month. One of the big five banks in the country - Piraeus - said today that while it had suffered a 28pc decline in deposits from December up until the end of June, "deposits have not recorded any additional outflows" under the six weeks of capital controls. 1/2 I'm very sceptical about Athens Stock Exchange & Capital Market Commission decision to allow Greek bank stock to trade today. #ASE — Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) August 3, 2015 2/2 It would be wiser to suspend trading of bank stock until stress tests conclude. #ASE — Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) August 3, 2015 14.47 Puerto Rico: not as bad as Greece Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman has been opining on Greece today. The government of the territory is set to default on its debt later today, when it owes a $58m to bondholders. The Commonwealth has said it can't pay back its obligations and needs a massive write-down on $72bn of outstanding liabilities. But for all its woes Mr Krugman still thinks Puerto Rico is in better financial shape than Greece as its fortunes are heavily tied to the US. This brings about positive and negatives for the economy, says the economist but crucially means it is the recipient of fiscal transers from Washington. His argument is in full here: Puerto Rico, then, is in the wrong place at the wrong time. But here’s the thing: while the island’s economy has declined sharply, its population, while hurting, hasn’t suffered anything like the catastrophes we see in Europe. Look, for example, at consumption per capita, which has fallen 30 percent in Greece but has actually continued to rise in Puerto Rico. Why have the human consequences of economic troubles been muted? The main answer is that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. fiscal union. When its economy faltered, its payments to Washington fell, but its receipts from Washington — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and more — actually rose. So Puerto Rico automatically received aid on a scale beyond anything conceivable in Europe. 14.04 European stocks shurg off Greek collapse It's a sea of green elsewhere in Europe, with equities edging higher at the start of August. Asian markets however closed down for the day on the back some disappointing manufacturing data from China. 13.55 National Bank of Greece now worth less than subsidiary Bloomberg note that that today's 30pc stock fall in the National Bank of Greece mean its market capitalisation is smaller than one of its subsidiaries in Turkey. Finansbank AS, which is owned by NBG, has a market capitalisation of around €3bn. NBG is worth around €2.97bn as of today's trading. There are more accurate ways to measure a bank's health, but as Bloomberg note, the Greek sell-off is put into perspective by the fact Turkey is mired in domestic and geopolitical turmoil, and has been without a formal government for nearly two months. 13.30 Athens Stock Exchange edging back up but still down 16.3% http://t.co/YWytqUYFb7 pic.twitter.com/JlVgJ7K7jV — Raoul Ruparel (@RaoulRuparel) August 3, 2015 12.00 A quick recap of events at lunchtime Greek bank stocks have collapsed in the first day of stock trading in over a month. Shares in the country's four biggest banks have fallen by 30pc this morning, while the Athens Stock Index fell by 23pc this morning. That was the biggest ever one day fall in history. Shares have recovered a little to around 17.2pc this afternoon. Greek bank stocks In other news, the latest set of factory data for July shows the worst decline in output in Greece for over 16 years, as capital controls hammer business activity. Greece's PMI reading fell to an all time low of 30.2 while the rest of the eurozone expanded at a moderate pace. France however was the only country outside of Greece which saw manufacturing contract. 11.24 France's Sapin: Schaeuble was wrong about Greece France's finance minister has hit back at his German colleague today, telling Handelsblatt newspaper that Wolfgang Schaeuble was "wrong" to propose a temporary Grexit and that there was "clear dissent" between the two founder members of the EU over Greece. Mr Sapin also said a debt write-off was "unnecessary" but Greece will need a debate about debt restructuring to allow the country "air to breathe". He also described his friend Yanis Varoufakis as a man whose "fantasy is truly unlimited" in reference to a secret parallel payment system devised by the former finance minister. On the question of further European integration, a topic on which Franco-German visions clash, Mr Sapin said he wants to "nail down" proposals to strengthen the banking union and eurozone governance within the existing scope of Europe's treaty structure (that's bad news for David Cameron's attempts for treaty change). Mr Sapin also had some interesting thoughts on the reluctance of Europe's citizenry to push ahead with "more Europe": "Our peoples are still traumatized by the crisis and tend to take a more negative view of Europe. That’s why it isn’t Europe’s fault, but rather the fault of various countries." Here are some snippets from the interview: You once even referred to Mr. Schäuble as your “friend.” Are you disappointed? I believe that Wolfgang Schäuble is wrong, and that he even contradicted his own, deep European desire. This desire – and it’s also mine – is to strengthen the eurozone. Two things are needed for this: First, to obey the rules, even though it is sometimes difficult and we must take advantage of the flexibility in the rules. Second, part of the credibility of the euro is that it is irreversible. Accession to the eurozone cannot be undone. So no Grexit. No Grexit and no other exit, either. If you allow countries to pull out temporarily, it means that any other country that’s in trouble will try to fix things by adjusting its currency. But it is precisely the foundation of a monetary union that countries do not overcome their own difficulties by manipulating the exchange rate, but through structural reforms that strengthen competitiveness – and through efforts to achieve a balanced budget. Are the French frustrated over the way Mr. Schaeuble acted? No, I wouldn’t say that. Some of us thought it was headstrong to make certain proposals during the debate. But perhaps each of us was headstrong in his own way in an effort to advance the debate. For example, we spoke with the Greeks a lot, but not to come up with proposals for them. But our most effective way to contribute was they became aware of their responsibility. Everyone played his part, but the important thing is that we ultimately produced the same play. Are the Greek debts sustainable without debt forgiveness, or a “haircut?” Most economists, including your predecessor Christine Lagarde and her International Monetary Fund, don’t believe that they are. That isn’t correct. Ms. Lagarde and the IMF believe that the Greek debts can be reduced without nominally eliminating them, that is, without a haircut. Greece needs restructuring. The amount of latitude we have to agree on longer repayment periods and lower interest rates is sufficient. It isn’t necessary to eliminate debts, which is what neither France nor the majority of European countries want. When will the discussion turn to Athens’ debts? It will start in the coming weeks and is part of the calculation of Greece’s financial needs. There is no point in just throwing out numbers. We need precise and credible calculations. It is extremely shocking that Greece will have to repay large amounts in the coming years. But it is precisely in that time period that the country needs more air to breathe. 11.10 "No comment on any market developments" says Mina Andreeva, European Commission spokeswoman today. 10.32 A cash economy What happens when you pull all your money of the banking system? Notes in circulation in Greece have now doubled since December as ordinary people now prefer to use cash in hand rather than trust the banks. 10.20 Greece's ravaged economy suffered a torrid month in July, as the imposition of capital controls saw manufacturers suffer their worst ever month in the single currency. An influential survey of manufacturers (PMI) fell to a 16-year low, far surpassing the depths of the country's previous crisis in 2012. New business orders fell off a cliff, buying levels fell by their largest single amount in the survey's history, and Greek companies cited difficulties locating basic goods. The government was forced to close down the banking system and limit cash withdrawals from June 28. Overall, the PMI index fell to 30.2 in July, from 46.9 in June before the controls were introduced. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction. Greece is now set to fall into a deep recession this year, with analysts expecting a fall in output of around 7pc of GDP. The severely restricted liquidity has led to reports of some businesses resorting to the issuance of scrip currencies as firms retreat to semi-barter outside the banking system. Despite banks formally re-opening two weeks ago, limits on cash withdrawals remain in place. 09.55 Those diastrous PMI numbers don't seem to have hit Greece's shaky markets any further. Athens stock index is now down by only 19.8pc having recovered a little of its early losses. 09.20 Markit manufacturing PMI in July. Spot #Greece pic.twitter.com/ZJuWuNjQrK — Szu Ping Chan (@szupingc) August 3, 2015 09.05 Greek factories collapse under capital controls A survey of Greek manufacturers has fallen to its lowest level in history as the country has lumbered under capital controls in July. The PMI reading for last month has dropped to 30.2 from 46.9 (anything above 50 indicates expansion). Phil Smith at Markit said: "Factories faced a record drop in new orders and were often unable to acquire the inputs they needed, particularly from abroad, as bank closures and capital restrictions badly hampered normal business activity. “Although manufacturing represents only a small proportion of Greece’s total productive output, the sheer magnitude of the downturn sends a worrying signal for the health of the economy as a whole.” 08.55 Athens stock hit three year low We are back down to 2012 levels for Greek stocks after this morning's plunge 08.40 It's a bloodbath for the banks 08.35 Stocks fall 22.8pc In line with most expectations, the Athens Stock Exchange has fallen 22.8pc this morning. The bank stocks, the most vulnerable part of the index, have also seen a similar 20pc decline this morning. The biggest faller is Greece's National Bank, down 30pc already. 08.30 08.24 A good indicator of where Greek stocks are heading. Athens blue chip futures index has opened around 15pc lower this morning already. Greek Blue Chip stock index Futures open down 15.2% before Greek stock markets open after 5week suspension. — Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) August 3, 2015 08.15 A buying opportunity? Analysts expect this morning's market opening to be a bloodbath with falls of around 20pc expected when the bell rings in about 15 minutes time. Those lossess won't be bad news for buyers looking for some value in the market. Athens market reopens today & many predict a carnage. That may be the case for financials but I expect some buyers in other sectors. #Greece — Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) August 3, 2015 08.10 Short-selling ban to remain in place Some measure of controls on trading will remain in place today. An official from Greece's capital markets association has told Reuters the ban on short-selling wiill continue to remain in place, with a formal decision likely to be announced later today. A reminder that markets will open at 8.30 BST. 08.00 A rocky road ahead Michael Hewson from CMC suggests that this morning's trading resumption is unlikely to provide much of a palliative to Greece's woes While it would be easy to suggest that today’s reopening of the Greek stock market is a key step on the road to some form of normalisation, it is likely to be anything but. Aside from the fact that we could well see some big losses, there is the small matter that not only are the internal politics in Greece likely to remain difficult it is also likely to be extremely problematic to reconcile the positions the divergent positions of the IMF and Germany on debt relief, particularly given the proximity of the next debt deadline on the 20th August. 07.30 A big day for Greek banks Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of events in Greece. This morning will see the resumption of trading in Greek stocks for the first time since the markets were shut under capital controls on June 28. Banks are set to bear the brunt of the sell-off with lenders expected to see as much as 20pc wiped off their value this morning, according to analysts. The country's four main banks make up around a fifth of the Athens Stock Exchange and although trading of Greek shares has been suspended, National Bank of Greece's US-listed shares have lost around 20pc over the last five weeks. Banks are particularly vulnerable as they are set to require a huge recapitalisation effort to regain some financial stability. Reports in the Greek media at the weekend said the government has valued the effort at around €10bn - a sum which will likely come from European rescue funds. Lenders are set to undergo stress-testing later this month amid fears over their creaking capital levels. Banks have been reliant on a drip feed of emergency cash from the European Central Bank to keep them afloat since February. Capital flight has stemmed since the government imposed cash withdrawal limits in late June, but the banking system has lost an estimated €40bn since November.	– The main Greek stock market reopened today after being closed for more than a month and shares in major banks performed as expected: as badly as possible. The country's four main banks dived 30% in early trading, which is the maximum single-day fall allowed, the BBC reports. The Athens Stock Exchange fell more than 22% soon after the bells rang to begin trading for the first time since June 26, reports the Telegraph, which notes that analysts had warned of a "bloodbath." The slide, the worst in the exchange's history, happened within minutes and experts tell Reuters that despite the bailout deal, the slide appears set to continue unless buyers emerge.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Sunday he'd “do away with earmarks” as part of plan to cut federal spending to 18 percent of gross domestic product. Both parties and President Barack Obama have already agreed to this, though, and they account for a relatively small percentage of the federal budget. In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," host Chris Wallace pressed Perry on the feasibility of his insistence that he can cut what would amount to between $700 billion and $1 trillion a year, or roughly a quarter of the federal budget. “Do away with earmarks,” Perry said. “Clearly stand up and … pull out the veto pen, and if you have earmarks coming my way, they’ll never make it into law.” When Wallace pressed him on programs he would cut that would really impact people, the governor said he could cut $25 billion from the Education Department budget by returning some authority to state and local governments. “There is one of the examples," he said. Perry also promoted Republican Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn’s plan, called Back in Black, which he said includes $9 trillion worth of reductions over time. \|\|\|\|\| "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace needled Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday for pledging in his first paid campaign ad to create at least 2.5 million jobs as president. “Two-and-a-half million jobs is terrible,” the host told the Republican presidential candidate. “We would roughly need 6 million jobs in the first four years just to stay even with population growth. So two-and-a-half-million jobs, the unemployment rate would increase! Jimmy Carter created 10.5 million jobs in his first four years.” Perry said he would get criticized for not being realistic if he said he was going to create 10.5 million jobs. “Let me tell you, any job at this particular point in time helps,” he said. Wallace said the national unemployment rate would increase if Perry merely met the goal he set. “You give this plan a chance,” Perry told him, live in Austin. “The idea that I’m going to let people talk this plan down for the sake of just having an intellectual discussion is not correct.” \|\|\|\|\| Perry: Good enough debater to beat Obama Rick Perry reiterated his frustration Sunday with a presidential nominating process that puts too much emphasis on debate performance, the morning after his campaign confirmed that he will attend at least five more in his bid for the Republican nomination. The Texas governor said 18 debates is “way too many” because they take an “incredible amount of time and preparation.” “When you take a look at the debates, I readily admit I’m not the best debater,” he said on "Fox News Sunday." “With as many debates as we’ve got coming up, I may be a pretty good debater before it’s all said and done.” “We’ve got a great debater, a smooth politician, in the White House right now. That’s not what we want right now,” Perry said. The governor said he's confident he can draw “a clear bright line” if he is debating President Barack Obama during the general election. “I think I am going to be able to stand on that stage and draw a clear contrast with Barack Obama,” he said.	– It ain't over 'til the Texas governor says it is: Rick Perry today hit the talk shows, saying that despite his fifth-place showing in today's Des Moines Register poll, "obviously, this race isn't settled at all. I feel pretty comfortable where we’ll be on Election Day." Perry cited time and money on his side, calling the race a "marathon" and adding, “Obviously, we’ve got a war chest that allows us to get that message out there." The Texas governor appeared on Fox News Sunday this morning for the first time as a presidential candidate, reports Politico, but like Herman Cain, he took some heat from his interviewer. More: On debating: While freely admitting "I'm not the greatest debater" in the GOP field, Rick Perry said today that he can go mano a mano with the debater-in-chief and come out ahead: “We’ve got a great debater, a smooth politician, in the White House right now. That’s not what we want right now. I think I am going to be able to stand on that stage and draw a clear contrast with Barack Obama." On jobs: Host Chris Wallace lit into Perry for his pledge to create 2.5 million jobs, calling the plan "terrible. We would roughly need 6 million jobs in the first four years just to stay even with population growth. Jimmy Carter created 10.5 million jobs in his first four years.” Responded Perry, any job at this particular point in time helps," adding that "the idea that I’m going to let people talk this plan down for the sake of just having an intellectual discussion is not correct." On cutting 18% of federal spending: Perry said he'd "do away with earmarks" toward this end, though Politico notes bipartisan agreement exists on this point—and it's a small percentage of the overall budget. When pressed by Wallace, Perry said he could cut $25 billion from the Education Department and kick it back to states. “There is one of the examples."
Is This the Earhart Electra? It’s exciting. It’s frustrating. It’s maddening. There is a sonar image in the data collected during last summer’s Niku VII expedition that could be the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra. It looks unlike anything else in the sonar data, it’s the right size, it’s the right shape, and it’s in the right place. So How Did We Miss It? The purpose of the expedition was to test the hypothesis that the Earhart aircraft, after landing on the reef at Gardner Island (now Nikumaroro), was subsequently washed over the reef edge, broke up in the surf, and sank near the point where the Bevington Object appears in a 1937 photograph. (For a full discussion of the Bevington Object see The Object Formerly Known as Nessie.) If the hypothesis is correct there should be aircraft wreckage somewhere on the reef slope. The search contractor, using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), acquired side-scan sonar data along roughly 1.3 nautical miles of shoreline off the west end of Nikumaroro. The reef slope was surveyed from depths of about 100 meters (328 feet) down to 1200 meters (3,937 feet). We considered the primary search area to be the reef slope between the Bevington Object and the wreck of SS Norwich City. After analyzing the sonar returns, the contractor gave us targets to investigate using video cameras mounted on the Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). When we weren’t trying to find and video selected targets, or rescue the AUV from underwater hang-ups, we “mowed the lawn” running up and down the reef slope. We also explored along the bases of underwater cliffs – known as “catchment” areas – where sinking objects might logically come to rest. Click on the images to open larger versions in new windows. All the targets we checked turned out to be coral rocks or Norwich City wreckage and, because we lost more than half of our budgeted search time to equipment problems, we didn’t get to finish mowing the lawn and exploring all of the catchment areas before we had to leave. The sonar anomaly that now has our attention was never given to us as a target to explore and it’s in a catchment area that we didn’t quite get to. The side-scan data that include the image are among the “deliverables” the contractor gave us but that information was not turned over to us until after the search was concluded and we were at sea on the way back to Hawai‘i. After the expedition, trusting that all suspicious sonar targets had been brought to our attention, we concentrated on reviewing the high-definition (HD) video to see if there might be something we missed (the high definition video system provided by the contractor did not allow us to see HD video in real time). After reviewing all of the underwater HD video, the only site of interest identified by forensic imaging specialist Jeff Glickman is a small debris field of objects in relatively shallow water – 61 meters (200 feet). As reported in Debris Field Analysis, Glickman feels 100% certain that the objects in the debris field are man-made. He is 80% sure the objects are related to the Bevington Object seen at the reef edge in the 1937 photos taken by British Colonial Service Officer Eric Bevington. Jeff cautions, however, that these assessments “are subjective and are based upon my knowledge and experience as opposed to being objective, calculated probabilities.” There just isn’t enough resolution in the video to see the degree of detail needed to say more. The debris field in the video is, however, in a catchment area at the base of a cliff and just downstream (the current flows southward in that area) of the spot where the Bevington Object appears in the 1937 photo. When Jeff was reviewing the video, so as not to bias his assessment, he purposely was not aware of where on the reef slope the video was taken. Only after he spotted the debris field did we calculate where it was. It wasn’t until March 7, 2013 that Richard Conroy, a member of TIGHAR’s on-line Amelia Earhart Search Forum, spotted the anomaly in a sonar map that was included in the Niku VII report in TIGHAR Tracks. Richie has no training in interpreting sonar images but that was probably his biggest advantage. Once you know what to look for, the anomaly is painfully obvious. It gives the impression of being an object that struck the slope at the base of the second cliff at a depth of 187 meters (613 feet), then skidded in a southerly direction for about 40 meters (131 feet) before coming to rest. > This is the map of ROV Dive 3 published in TIGHAR Tracks in which Richie Conroy spotted the anomaly. TIGHAR Amelia Earhart Search Forum, March 7, 2013: “Ric, the image I have attached shows an anomaly below second cliff which arrow points to. Do you have a sonar image with better detail?” Looking at the map of all the ROV tracks it was apparent that we had never been to the place where the anomaly appears. The anomaly is in the catchment area at the base of the second cliff. How Good Is It? The interpretation of sonar imagery is an art, not a science. To get a feel for whether this sonar target is as promising as it looks to us, we asked for the opinions of experts who work with sonar images for a living and, as is usually the case, interpretations differ. Opinions range from “almost certainly a man-made object” to “probably geology” but everyone who has reviewed the data agrees that the target is worthy of further investigation. The most colorful feedback was from Wolfgang Burnside, president of Submersible Systems, Inc. and the inventor and pilot of the TRV-M Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) we used during last summer’s expedition. Wolfgang spent over 32 hours searching the reef slope at Nikumaroro and knows its terrain better than anyone. His reaction to the sonar image is best read aloud in a thick Fifeshire Scots brogue: “Bloody Hell…….. well, we did look across the first “Catchment” ledge, but, for some reason we cut our excursion / survey short when we tried to follow the next “Catchment” ledge……if only we had continued just that little bit further!! This Target looks VERY promising, definitely NOT a Rock, it’s in the correct location on the Reef and also shows what I interpret as ‘drag’ markings on the Reef above and to the North behind the target as it obviously hasn’t quite settled into its final resting place yet, this movement is probably due to the occasional Storms or exceptional Tides that’ll move the target a few inches every time one blows through. Question is, how long will the Target remain in that location before it gets the final nudge that will send it over the edge of the “Catchment” area and disappear down the 70 degree incline into the depths? Thank you so much for sharing Ric, I have also been looking through the raw Video footage, from time to time, but, sadly, have not really come up with anything as close to promising as you have……..smarty pants!” So did the Niku VII expedition actually succeed in locating the wreckage of the world’s most famous missing airplane? Or is this sonar target just a coral rock or ridge? Of course we’re not going to know until we can get back out there, but until then the anomaly is worth close study. One of These Things is Not Like the Others… The first thing we can say about the object is that there is nothing else like it in the entire mosaic of side-scan sonar data. Whatever it is, it is truly an anomaly in the context of the reef slope at Nikumaroro and when you’re searching for man-made objects against a natural background, anomalies are good. Size Counts The next question is scale. How big is it? It can’t be wreckage from the airplane if it’s bigger than the airplane. By scaling it to known distances and the reported dimensions of identified targets, the most prominent part of the anomaly appears to be less than 10 meters (32 feet) long. The Electra fuselage was 11.76 meters (38 feet 7 inches) long. The height of the anomaly is harder to estimate. The only clue we have is the shadow – remember that it’s a sound shadow, not a light shadow – which suggests that the object is higher on the downhill end. Breaking Up is Hard To Do TIGHAR teams have visited and studied three Electra crash sites. c/n 1103 flew smack into Mt. Richmond in New Zealand in 1942 killing all five on board; c/n 1024 crashed near Kellogg, Idaho in 1936 with only mail on board. The pilot and copilot died on impact. (The crash site is the subject of this year’s TIGHAR Aviation Archaeology Field School.) c/n 1021 made a crash landing in trees in the Misty Fjords Wilderness Area east of Ketchikan, Alaska in 1943. All five passengers and the pilot survived the crash but one passenger succumbed of injuries two days later and the pilot died trying to hike out to bring help. Each wreck has given us valuable information about what happens to a Lockheed Model 10 in different crash scenarios. Of the three, the Alaska wreck is the most analogous to the forces and damage to be expected in the case of an Electra going into the surf on a coral reef. In the Alaska crash the aircraft shed its engines, right wing, and tail surfaces as it came down through the trees. The center section, with its massive main beam, reinforced inner wing sections and thick belly skins, held together but the thinner cockpit and cabin skins were torn open. The empennage (tail section) separated just behind the wing. The wreckage of c/n 1021 faces uphill behind the TIGHAR / U.S. Forest Service team that surveyed the site in 2003. One possibility is that we’re seeing the center section lying at an angle, much as we see in the Alaska crash, with the port-side wing stub causing the elongated shadow in the sonar image. The Tale of the Tail A unique feature of the anomaly is the sonar “tail” that extends uphill and northward behind the more prominent portion of the target that is casting a large shadow. Our initial impression was that the tail is, in aircraft crash investigation parlance, a “ground scar.” Such scarring is common when aircraft come to earth in ways other than we would normally prefer. However, after examining the nature of the underwater terrain in video (see Base of the 2nd Cliff) taken at about the same depth 50 meters away (the closest we have) it’s difficult to imagine a skidding fuselage plowing a furrow that would persist for 75 years. A higher-resolution copy of the image captured from the raw sonar data reveals details that suggest another explanation for the sonar tail. There appears to be a break in the prominent part of the anomaly, corroborated by a break in the shadow. Also, some of the tail is casting a low shadow so it must have some elevation. Something that always strikes us about Electra wrecks or repair shops where Electras are being restored or rebuilt is the incredible amount of “junk” that came out of the airplane. Rather than a ground scar, a more likely hypothesis is that the tail is a debris field of fuselage wreckage, internal components, cables, crushed fuel tanks, etc. strewn behind the eviscerated center section. Location, Location, Location Finally, it’s worth noting that the anomaly lines up nicely with the Bevington Object and Jeff Glickman’s debris field. You can draw a straight line between any two points, but a line that connects three points, each point deeper than the next and consistent with the southerly flowing current, suggests that the three points are related. Next Steps The better a piece of evidence looks, the harder you have to try to disqualify it. So far, the harder we’ve looked at this anomaly, the better it looks. Maybe the anomaly is a coral feature that just happens to give a sonar return unlike any other coral feature on the entire reef slope. Maybe it’s a sunken fishing boat that isn’t mentioned in any of the historical literature. Maybe it’s the boat nobody knows about that that brought the castaway nobody missed who died at the Seven Site. Maybe it’s pure coincidence that it‘s the right size and shape to be the Electra wreckage – the Electra that so much other evidence suggests should be in that location. We’re not going to know until we can get back out there and we’re not going to get back out there until we settle the debts from the last trip and raise the money for the next one. Meanwhile, we can’t help but wonder what else was missed in the sonar data. The next step, therefore, is a complete review of all the sonar data by independent experts. It will cost money – money that we don’t have right now – but we’re hopeful that contributors will step forward with donations large and small to make it possible. Please do what you can today. \|\|\|\|\| Is this the Electra? A grainy sonar image captured off an uninhabited tropical island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati might represent the remains of Amelia Earhart's plane. A grainy sonar image captured off an uninhabited tropical island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati might represent the remains of the Electra, the two-engine aircraft legendary aviator Amelia Earhart was piloting when she vanished on July 2, 1937 in a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator. Play Video WATCH THE SEARCH FOR AMELIA EARHART: Follow the investigative team as they search the depths for Earhart's plane. DCI Released by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), which has long been investigating Earhart's last, fateful flight, the images show an "anomaly" resting at the depth of about 600 feet in the waters off Nikumaroro island, some 350 miles southeast of Earhart's target destination, Howland Island. According to TIGHAR researchers, the sonar image shows a strong return from a narrow object roughly 22 feet long oriented southwest/northeast on the slope near the base of an underwater cliff. Shadows indicate that the object is higher on the southwest (downhill side). A lesser return extends northeastward for about 131 feet. "What initially got our attention is that there is no other sonar return like it in the entire body of data collected," Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, told Discovery News. "It is truly an anomaly, and when you're looking for man-made objects against a natural background, anomalies are good," he added. A number of artifacts recovered by TIGHAR during 10 expeditions have suggested that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, made a forced landing on the island's smooth, flat coral reef. Gillespie and his team believe the two became castaways and eventually died there. In July 2012, Gillespie and his crew returned to Nikumaroro to carry out an underwater search for the plane with a torpedo-shaped Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). Multi-beam sonar mounted on the ship mapped the underwater terrain and the AUV collected a volume of side-scan data along roughly 1.3 nautical miles of shoreline off the west end of Nikumaroro, while the ROV, capable of reaching depths of 3,000 feet, produced hours upon hours of high-definition video. Plagued by a number of technical issues and a difficult environment, the hunt did not result in the immediate identification of pieces from Earhart's Lockheed Electra aircraft. As they returned from the data collection trip, TIGHAR researchers began reviewing and analyzing all of new material recovered from the underwater search. They identified a small debris field of objects at the depth of 200 feet, which TIGHAR forensic imaging specialist Jeff Glickman described as consisting of man-made objects. Located distinctly apart from the debris field of the SS Norwich City, a British steamer which went aground on the island's reef in 1929, the site features objects which appear consistent with the interpretation made by Glickmann of a grainy photograph of Nikumaroro's western shoreline. The grainy photo was shot by British Colonial Service officer Eric R. Bevington in October 1937, just three months after Amelia's disappearance on July 2, 1937. It revealed an apparent man-made protruding object on the left side of the frame. Forensic imaging analyses of the picture found the mysterious object consistent with the shape and dimensions of the wreckage of landing gear from Earhart's plane. "The Bevington photo shows what appears to be four components of the plane: a strut, a wheel, a worm gear and a fender. In the debris field there appears to be the fender, possibly the wheel and possibly some portions of the strut," Glickman told Discovery News. A new twist in the search occurred last March when Richard Conroy, a member of TIGHAR’s on-line Amelia Earhart Search Forum, spotted an anomaly in a sonar map posted online. \|\|\|\|\| For a quarter of a century, Ric Gillespie and the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) have been chasing the same elusive lady. A grainy three-color image captured some 200 meters below the surface off the island of Nikumaroro is the strongest evidence to date that the group's theory on her fate is correct and might finally answer the question of what happened to the world's most famous female aviator 76 years ago as she attempted to become the first person to circumnavigate the planet close to the Equator. TIGHAR first set foot on the uninhabited island, a former British colony that is today part of the Republic of Kiribati, back in 2000 to test a hypothesis that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, put down on the coral flats at the western end of the island. Tantalizing clues Subsequent visits have turned up tantalizing clues that support the theory - shards of plexiglass from a windscreen and aluminum from an aircraft body, stories of the discovery of a human body that was subsequently lost in the confusion of World War II and indications that a castaway survived on the island for some time before succumbing to the elements - but Gillespie hopes that the sonar image might finally be the "smoking gun" that they have been searching for. Amelia Earhart Putnam disappeared in 1937 In July 2012, TIGHAR researchers returned to the island equipped with a multi-beam sonar array to construct a map of the underwater topography off the western end of the atoll. According to the theory, Earhart was able to put her Lockheed Model 10E Special "Electra" down safely on the reef, but it was washed off the edge before aircraft searching for her were able to spot it. And while much of the aircraft is likely to have been lost in the intervening years, TIGHAR believed that some key components - such as the heavy Pratt & Whitney engines - could still be where they sank 75 years ago. Technical problems The 2012 expedition was beset by technical problems and overwhelmed by vast amounts of visual and technical data. It did, however, identify a number of interesting targets that experts believe might have been components of the aircraft. Researchers think they have found the remains of the 'Electra' Most of the images are only now being examined more closely, and have led to the discovery of what TIGHAR is describing as an "anomaly." Most promisingly, it is the right size to be the remains of Earhart's aircraft, it is the right shape and it ties up with other evidence that suggests it is in exactly the right place to be the Electra. "If our theory about what happened is correct, this is exactly what we would expect to see in just the place we would expect to see it," Gillespie told Deutsche Welle. For many years, the accepted wisdom was that Earhart's aircraft had simply run out of fuel and crashed into the ocean on July 2, 1937, as the aviator searched for Howland, the final refuelling stop before flying on to Honolulu and completing her journey by touching down in Oakland, California. TIGHAR believes that the aircraft had sufficient fuel to reach Nikumaroro, which was at the time the uninhabited British possession known as Gardner Island, where it landed on reef flats before being washed over the edge. Earhart and Noonan could have survived on the island for a time, but eventually died of injury or infection, food poisoning or thirst. Search for aircraft parts Human remains are unlikely to have lasted long on the island, which is why it is so important to conclusively identify a part of the Electra. The anomaly that can be spotted on the visual data appears to be an object that struck the slope at the base of the cliff as it drops away from the atoll at a depth of 187 meters and then skidded away in a southerly direction for around 40 meters before coming to rest. Amelia Earhart's story has been made into a film Shown the images, Wolfgang Burnside, president of Submersible Systems Inc and the inventor and pilot of the submersible vehicle used to conduct the 2012 search, was convinced. "This target looks very promising," he said in a message to TIGHAR. "Definitely not a rock, it's in the correct location on the reef and also shows what I interpret as 'drag' markings on the reef above and to the north behind the target, as it obviously hasn't quite settled into its final resting place yet." Further interpretation suggests that instead of the "scar" that extends behind the target being a mark in the reef where the heavy object tore through it, the "tail" may instead be a debris field of wreckage, internal components and crushed aircraft parts. New expedition to the island The only way to be absolutely sure of what they have found, Gillespie agrees, is to closely examine the images they have at present and then to mount another expedition to the island. The next step, he said, is to raise "the money to hire an independent comprehensive analysis of all the sonar data from last summer's expedition and to determine what else was missed." And if the "anomaly" turns out to be worthy of further examination? "We already know that it's worthy of further examination," Gillespie said. "How soon we can mount another expedition depends entirely upon how soon we can raise the money to put together another trip. The better the evidence, the easier it is to raise the money."	– A team of experts that has been chasing Amelia Earhart's elusive trail for years may be closer than ever to solving the mystery of her 1937 disappearance. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) had more than a decade ago pinpointed the Pacific island of Nikumaroro as the location where her plane likely went down; now, they say newly analyzed underwater sonar images taken during a 2012 island visit support their theory. What's described by Deutsche Welle as a "grainy" photo reveals something about 600 feet below the water's surface, says TIGHAR: an "anomaly." "The most prominent part of the anomaly appears to be less than 32 feet long," explains TIGHAR on its website; it notes the plane was 38 feet 7 inches long. Discovery reports that the anomaly "lines up nicely" with another possible debris field. "If our theory about what happened is correct"—that theory being that Earhart's plane landed on reef flats but soon washed into the sea—"this is exactly what we would expect to see in just the place we would expect to see it," the group's executive director tells Deutsche Welle. Now TIGHAR is hoping to secure funding for an "independent comprehensive analysis of all the sonar data" obtained last year and a trip back to the island. In the meantime, a quasi-independent assessment from the inventor of the submersible vehicle used in last year's search lends credence: "This target looks very promising. Definitely not a rock, it's in the correct location on the reef."
This combination of images made on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, from propaganda video released by North Korea state-run media shows a simulation of a B-1B bomber being hit by a missile. Military analysts... (Associated Press) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Military analysts say North Korea doesn't have either the capability or the intent to attack U.S. bombers and fighter jets, despite the country's top diplomat saying it has every right do so. They view the remark by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and a recent propaganda video simulating such an attack as tit-for-tat responses to fiery rhetoric by U.S. President Donald Trump and his hardening stance against the North's nuclear weapons program. By highlighting the possibility of a potential military clash on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea may be trying to create a distraction as it works behind the scenes to advance its nuclear weapons development, said Du Hyeogn Cha, a visiting scholar at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Another possibility is that North Korea is trying to win space to save face as it contemplates whether to de-escalate its standoff with Washington, he said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters before leaving a U.N. meeting in New York, Ri said Trump had "declared war" on his country by tweeting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer." Ri said North Korea has "every right" to take countermeasures, including shooting down U.S. strategic bombers, even when they're not in North Korean airspace. The U.S. frequently sends advanced warplanes to the Korean Peninsula for patrols or drills during times of animosity. Last weekend, U.S. bombers and fighter escorts flew in international airspace east of North Korea to the farthest point north of the border between North and South Korea that they have in this century, according to the Pentagon. Hours after the flights Sunday, a North Korean government propaganda website posted a video portraying U.S. warplanes and an aircraft carrier being destroyed by attacks. The video on DPRK Today, which was patched together from photos and crude computer-generated animation, also included footage of North Korean solid-fuel missiles being fired from land mobile launchers and a submarine. The North was clearly trying to claim it has the ability to conduct retaliatory strikes against U.S. attacks, said Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification. Moon Seong Mook, a former South Korean military official and current senior analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said it's highly unlikely North Korea has the real-world capability to match Ri's words. North Korea's aging MiG fighters won't stance a chance against much more powerful U.S. fighters escorting long-range bombers. And while North Korea touted in May that it's ready to deploy new surface-to-air missiles that analysts say could potentially hit targets as far as 150 kilometers (93 miles) away, it's questionable how much of a threat the unproven system could pose to U.S. aircraft operating far off the country's coast, Moon said. It's also unclear whether North Korea would be able to even see the advanced U.S. warplanes when they come. South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday that the North's inadequate radar systems failed to detect the B-1B bombers as they flew east of North Korea. The last time North Korea fired on a U.S. aircraft was in 1994 when it shot down a U.S. Army helicopter around the heavily armed inter-Korean border, killing one of the pilots and capturing the other. The surviving pilot said after his release he was pressured by North Korean officials to confess that the helicopter had crossed into North Korea. In 1969, a North Korean fighter jet shot down an unarmed U.S. reconnaissance plane and killed all 31 crewmembers on board. It's highly unlikely North Korea would attempt a similar attack now, experts say. Amid tension created by the North's nuclear weapons tests and threat to detonate a thermonuclear missile over the Pacific Ocean, such an attack would pretty much guarantee retaliation from the United States that could lead to war, Cha said. "The most obvious reason Ri made those comments was because North Korea simply can't tolerate such high-profile insults to its supreme leadership," Cha said. It's also possible that the North is trying to fan concerns about a potential military clash in the region now so that it can win room to save face later when it tries to de-escalate, he said. "If Kim Jong Un ever offers a moratorium on his missile tests or makes whatever other compromise, he could say made a big-picture decision to reduce military tension in the Korean Peninsula," Cha said. He said Ri's comments also allow China and Russian to restate their calls for a "dual suspension" of North Korean weapons tests and displays of military capability by the U.S. and South Korea. The Trump administration's stance on North Korea has been hardening in recent months as the North has been stepping up the aggressiveness of its nuclear and missile tests. It conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, which it said was a thermonuclear weapon built for intercontinental ballistic missiles. It tested two ICBMs in July, displaying their potential ability to reach deep into the continental United States. North Korea has also fired two powerful midrange missiles over Japan in recent weeks. Trump in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week said the United States would "totally destroy" North Korea if provoked, which prompted Kim to pledge to take the "highest-level" action against the United States. Ri then said North Korea might conduct the "most powerful" atmospheric hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean, but added that no one knew what Kim would decide. \|\|\|\|\| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday that any U.S. military option would be “devastating” for Pyongyang, but said the use of force was not Washington’s first option to deal with the country’s ballistic and nuclear weapons program. “We are totally prepared for the second option, not a preferred option,” Trump said at a White House news conference, referring to military force. “But if we take that option, it will be devastating, I can tell you that, devastating for North Korea. That’s called the military option. If we have to take it, we will.” Bellicose statements by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in recent weeks have created fears that a miscalculation could lead to action with untold ramifications, particularly since Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3. Despite the increased tension, the United States has not detected any change in North Korea’s military posture reflecting an increased threat, the top U.S. military officer said on Tuesday. The assessment by Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, about Pyongyang’s military stance was in contrast to a South Korean lawmaker who said Pyongyang had boosted defenses on its east coast. “While the political space is clearly very charged right now, we haven’t seen a change in the posture of North Korean forces, and we watch that very closely,” Dunford told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his reappointment to his post. In terms of a sense of urgency, “North Korea certainly poses the greatest threat today,” Dunford testified. A U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity said satellite imagery had detected a small number of North Korean military aircraft moving to the North’s east coast. However the official said the activity did not change their assessment of Pyongyang’s military posture. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Monday accused Trump of declaring war on the North and threatened that Pyongyang would shoot down U.S. warplanes flying near the Korean Peninsula after American bombers flew close to it last Saturday. Ri was reacting to Trump’s Twitter comments that Kim and Ri “won’t be around much longer” if they acted on their threats toward the United States. North Korea has been working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, which Trump has said he will never allow. Dunford said Pyongyang will have a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile “soon,” and it was only a matter of a “very short time”. “We clearly have postured our forces to respond in the event of a provocation or a conflict,” the general said, adding that the United States has taken “all proper measures to protect our allies” including South Korean and Japan. “It would be an incredibly provocative thing for them to conduct a nuclear test in the Pacific as they have suggested, and I think the North Korean people would have to realize how serious that would be, not only for the United States but for the international community,” Dunford said. South Korean lawmaker Lee Cheol-uoo, briefed by the country’s spy agency, said North Korea was bolstering its defenses by moving aircraft to its east coast and taking other measures after the flight by U.S. bombers. Lee said the United States appeared to have disclosed the flight route intentionally because North Korea seemed to be unaware. U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers, escorted by fighter jets, flew east of North Korea in a show of force after the heated exchange of rhetoric between Trump and Kim. The United States has imposed sanctions on 26 people as part of its non-proliferation designations for North Korea and nine banks, including some with ties to China, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office Of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions said on Tuesday. The U.S. sanctions target people in North Korea and some North Korean nationals in China, Russia, Libya and Dubai, according to a list posted on the agency’s website. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts ‘CAPABILITY TO DETER’ U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit China from Thursday to Saturday for talks with senior officials that will include the crisis over North Korea and trade, the State Department said on Tuesday. Evans Revere, a former senior diplomat who met with a North Korean delegation in Switzerland this month, said that Pyongyang had been reaching out to “organizations and individuals” to encourage talks with former U.S. officials to get a sense of the Trump administration’s thinking. “They’ve also been accepting invitations to attend dialogues hosted by others, including the Swiss and the Russians,” he said. Revere said his best guess for why the North Koreans were doing this was because they were “puzzled by the unconventional way that President Trump has been handling the North Korea issue” and were eager to use “informal and unofficial meetings to gain a better understanding of what is motivating Trump and his administration”. During a visit to India, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said diplomatic efforts continued. Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said war on the Korean Peninsula would have no winner. “We hope the U.S. and North Korean politicians have sufficient political judgment to realize that resorting to military force will never be a viable way to resolve the peninsula issue and their own concerns,” Lu said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged Kim Jong Un to resume military talks and reunions of families split by the 1950-53 Korean War to ease tension. Slideshow (8 Images) “Like I’ve said multiple times before, if North Korea stops its reckless choices, the table for talks and negotiations always remains open,” Moon said. In Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was working behind the scenes to find a political solution and that it plans to hold talks with a representative of North Korea’s foreign ministry who is due to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday, the RIA news agency cited the North’s embassy to Russia as saying. The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce and not a peace treaty.	– The promised countermeasures to President Trump's supposed "declaration of war" on North Korea may already be in the works. A South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country's spy agency says North Korea is moving aircraft to its east coast in an effort to bolster its defenses, per Reuters. The revelation comes days after US bombers flew in international airspace east of North Korea, prompting Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho to warn the North would shoot down US planes "even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country." Adding to the tension: a recent propaganda video released by the North Korean regime—using photos and simple animation—shows US warplanes and an aircraft carrier under attack, reports the AP. Despite that, military analysts don't believe there's any real risk to US planes. For one thing, South Korean intelligence suggests North Korean radar missed Sunday's flights by US planes. For another, it isn't clear if North Korea has the technological capabilities to bring down planes outside its airspace. According to some analysts, North Korea might simply be blowing smoke in an effort to divert attention away from its nuclear weapons program. The country might also be trying to save face. "The most obvious reason Ri made those comments was because North Korea simply can't tolerate such high-profile insults to its supreme leadership," Du Hyeogn Cha of Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies tells the AP.
Ben Carson (C) speaks to reporters in the spin room following his participation in the Republican presidential candidates debate at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 06 August 2015. The debate is the first of several debates that will be held. (EPA/TANNEN MAURY) Editor's Note: This piece originally ran Sept. 2. It is being re-posted in light of news that the subject of this Q&A, Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett, has stepped down, along with communications director Doug Watts (h/t Jose DelReal). Bennett told The Post's Robert Costa on Thursday that more resignations are on the way. Bennett to WashPost: "Lots of other people are resigning." — Robert Costa (@costareports) December 31, 2015 [Ben Carson on the brink: ‘A process like this is pretty brutal’] For all the attention paid to Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race, the candidate with the most momentum at the moment is Ben Carson. Carson, a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, is making major gains in Iowa -- with two new polls showing him tied with or running a close second to Trump. I reached out to Barry Bennett, Carson's campaign manager, for more insight into the candidate's appeal in Iowa, and more broadly. Our conversation, conducted via e-mail, is below -- edited only for grammar and clarity. FIX: Explain Ben Carson’s appeal. Is it his resume? His lack of political background? Something else? Why do people — especially in Iowa — respond to him? Bennett: We think his appeal is multi-layered. You start with a doctor with a pediatric specialty. That makes him caring. Add that he is a renowned brain scientist with 67 doctorates. That makes him caring and smart. Now add his life story which makes him caring, smart and inspirational. Package that in likability and you have his appeal. He doesn’t look, sound or speak like a politician. His common-sense, level-headed approach is what many are thirsty for in an era of screaming and disappointment. FIX: How has Dr. Carson avoided getting caught in the Trump tornado that seems to have sucked everything other candidate in? Can he continue to exist in a place where Donald Trump doesn’t impact his candidacy? Bennett: The truth is they are quite similar in defining the problems, but worlds apart in style. DBC [Dr. Ben Carson] is never going to say something mean about Trump. He told me the day I met him that he wasn’t running against anyone; he was running to change our country. I think DBC won the last debate simply because he showed some of his personality. He is smart, funny and immensely likable. That was a very strong contrast to all of the bickering about who loves the Fourth Amendment the most. The style contrast between the two couldn’t be more vivid. In a field of candidates, success depends on being different. FIX: How can Dr. Carson, who has never held office before, be ready to be president? What is he doing to get more beefed up when it comes to say, foreign policy? Bennett: I should point out that the current Congress has a combined 8,700 years of political experience. It seems to me that great leaders must have something more than experience. DBC is the smartest man I have ever met. But more importantly he has an internal compass that is solid. DBC has lectured and practiced medicine in 57 countries. He lived abroad for a year and a half. We have spent the summer sitting him down with experts and hiring our own. Every morning he is briefed by experts in what is going on in the world. He is an avid reader. Our policy team may not be household names, but they are experts from the Department of Defense, State, the National Security Council and the CIA. Doctors have this great system of calling in specialists to help them solve problems. He will be more than able handle his own. Take a great man like Lincoln. What made him great? It wasn’t his one term in Congress. It was his core. FIX: What does Dr. Carson’s kitchen cabinet look like? Who does he rely on for strategic advice? Bennett: His cabinet looks like his life. He spent 18 years on some of America’s biggest corporate boards. He accumulated many friends along the way. His medical career brought him in contact with some of the great minds in health care. His foundation’s focus on reading and education has had him working with thought leaders on education. His economic team his headed by Professor Tom Rustici and his national security team is headed by General Bob Dees. Their work is supplemented by dozens of others. FIX: Finish this sentence: The biggest hurdle Dr. Carson has to winning the GOP nomination is _______________. Now, explain. Bennett: "Getting some time at the microphone." The DBC life story is the most compelling political story in a long, long time. To know it is to become an admirer. Every other candidate in the field has to drive over the back of other candidates to get the nomination. DBC just has to be himself and spread the word of who he is, how he got here, and what we need to do together to save this country. \|\|\|\|\| Emboldened by support that has propelled retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson Benjamin (Ben) Solomon CarsonTrump HUD official: 'I don't care if I'm not supposed to be tweeting during the shutdown' Top Trump official resigned over White House plan to withhold disaster-relief funds from Puerto Rico: report Trump taps Commerce watchdog to be new Interior inspector general MORE to No. 2 in the polls, the political newcomer’s campaign is pushing back against the narrative that he isn’t a true threat to win the GOP presidential nomination. The campaign and its supporting super-PACs, which have seen increased fundraising since Carson’s well-received performance in the Aug. 6 Fox News debate, are poised to go after major donors, roll out policy positions and employ a ground game to keep up the momentum. ADVERTISEMENT “The press has never taken him seriously,” said Terry Giles, who briefly managed Carson’s campaign but left to coordinate fundraising with pro-Carson super-PACs. “Even up until three days ago, they’d talk about everyone but him. Now they have no choice but to talk about him.” In national polls, Carson has rocketed into second place, trailing only businessman Donald Trump. While Trump still holds a substantial lead, Carson is the only other candidate with nationwide poll numbers in the double digits, according to the RealClearPolitics average. But the poll that seems to have announced Carson’s arrival was a Des Moines Register-Bloomberg survey released over the weekend showing Carson catching Trump in Iowa, where both men captured 23 percent support. No other candidate is even in the same ballpark. In addition, a Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday showed that Carson is the most popular candidate in the field by far, with 68 percent of Republicans viewing him favorably and only 14 percent having a negative view of him. The new polling comes on the heels of a steady but understated showing at the first Republican debate. Carson’s showing didn’t earn him much media buzz at the time, but polls released shortly after found that many conservatives viewed Carson’s performance as one of the strongest on stage. Still, many Republicans and political observers remain skeptical that Carson, who has never before run for public office, can compete in fundraising and campaign infrastructure with the more experienced candidates or survive the scrutiny that will come with his rise in the polls. Carson’s campaign said it raised $6 million in August, more than twice what it collected in July. “August was a record-breaking month,” said Mike Murray, president and CEO of the firm handling Carson’s small-dollar donations. “The initial boom came right after the debate in the early part of the month and it has held throughout.” Small-dollar donations have been Carson’s bread and butter: He raised more than $10 million in the second quarter with the average gift amount around $50. But Murray said he’s now seeing the “top end” grow as well, as more donors are willing to give the legal maximum. Still, Carson ended the second quarter in the middle of the pack in terms of cash raised directly by his campaign, and he trails several candidates badly in the money raised by the outside groups that now dominate the campaign finance landscape. There are two super-PACs competing for money to support Carson’s efforts, and neither has yet been able to attract the kind of big-dollar donors who are boosting the efforts of former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and others. One super-PAC, the 2016 Committee, is focused on building out Carson’s ground game. The group raised about $6 million in the first half of the year. “The first debate removed the argument that he’s not a serious candidate,” said Bill Saracino, the national director of the PAC. “Now with that argument off the table, we’re actively in pursuit of big donors, and the presumption is that the six- and seven-figure checks will be more accessible.” That hasn’t happened yet. One Vote, a pro-Carson super-PAC that says it’s more focused on TV and digital media buys, only raised about $100,000 in the second quarter. But Andy Yates, executive director for the group, says interest in Carson is soaring and that the group is on the verge of reeling in a big-money donor. “We’ve been in discussions with high-wealth individuals who are ready to contribute very significant resources,” Yates said. “I think we’ll see it come through in a big way. We feel like we’re headed where we need to be, and everything we planned in terms of paid advertising will be on par with these other candidates.” Giles, the former campaign manager who left with the intention of starting his own pro-Carson super-PAC, says he’s instead now focused on working with the existing groups to make sure that they’re on the same page and that their interests align with Carson’s. On the ground, too, Carson’s political team members are talking a big a game. They point to his crowd sizes, which are second only to Trump on the Republican side. At one stop in Phoenix last month, 12,000 supporters turned out for a Carson campaign rally. He drew 3,000 people at an event in Arkansas and 2,000 at a stop in the rural southwest corner of Colorado. Carson’s team also touted its four regional directors and paid staffers in all four of the early-voting states, as well as in New York and Pennsylvania. They say Carson has volunteers in every state, as well as in every county in Iowa. A policy rollout, including a fiscal proposal with details on how Carson would balance the budget and reduce the federal deficit, is coming shortly. “In one week, Dr. Carson started in Harlem, then campaigned in New Hampshire, Las Vegas and Reno. From there, he went to the state fair in Des Moines, was off to Jackson Hole for a fundraiser and visited the mine spill in Durango where 2,000 people showed up,” said Ed Brookover, a senior strategist for the Carson campaign. “That night was when 12,000 people showed up in Phoenix, and the next day he visited the southern border. Tell that to anyone who doesn’t think we have the ability to pull this off.” Republicans on the ground in Iowa say Carson is well-positioned to build on his early success. “He’s had people on the ground here and organizing for nine months going door to door and getting the word out through social media,” said Doug Gross, who served as Iowa finance chairman for the campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. “The key for him is to convert interest into caucusgoers. They’re going about it the right way, and certainly doing a heckuva lot better job than Trump is.” Now, Carson will have to endure the scrutiny that comes with a move to the top in the polls. He has in the past struggled with the spotlight, stoking controversy by making outlandish statements or struggling in some policy areas. But Carson’s supporters maintain that he’s improved dramatically as a candidate, and that his quiet disposition and extreme calm will make him the perfect foil to Trump’s bombast. Conservative pundit Charles Krauthammer has dubbed Carson the “anti-Trump,” a “sleeper” candidate and described him as a “gentle, soft-spoken family doctor.” Said Brookover: “As nice as he is, Dr. Carson is very competitive and believes he can win. Ask anyone he’s played with pool with.” \|\|\|\|\| Washington (CNN) Here's how topsy-turvy the Republican presidential race is becoming: The two candidates on top of the field are former Democrats. The front-runner, Donald Trump, has already had to explain his past support for abortion and to deny he wants to raise taxes on the rich. Ben Carson, meanwhile, admitted on CNN's "State of the Union" last week he was once a "pretty left-wing Democrat." Despite that liberal past, which would almost certainly doom any other Republican presidential hopeful, Trump and Carson are leading polls nationally and in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa. Their success is raising the question of whether the anti-establishment storm rocking the party means that ideological litmus tests set for candidates by conservatives on social and religious issues are less important than in the past. Steve Scheffler, a Republican activist in Iowa, said the most important current factor driving the race is bitter resentment toward the Republican leadership in Washington. "Activists are sick and tired of the go-along, buddy-buddy system, in particular John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and that whole political elite class that seems not to understand why they got elected," he said. "They are looking for areas to vent that frustration." Such popular fury explains why Trump and Carson, who are not professional politicians but have passionately incited and exploited anger in the heartland, are doing well in the polls. In the latest Monmouth University poll of GOP voters in Iowa released Monday, Trump and Carson were tied at 23%. Another outsider, former busineswoman Carly Fiorina, was third at 10%. They were leading the professional politicians, several of whom have strong conservative credentials, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist preacher who won Iowa in 2008. Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Ben Carson attends the National Action Network (NAN) national convention at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel on April 8, 2015, in New York City. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson speaks during the 41st annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord International Hotel and Conference Center on March 8, 2014, in National Harbor, Maryland. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on January 24, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson is surrounded by supporters as he waits to be interviewed at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, outside Washington on February 26, 2015. Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson speaks at the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition convention on January 18, 2015, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A variety of conservative presidential hopefuls spoke at the gathering on the second day of a three-day event. Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson delivers the keynote address at the Wake Up America gala event on September 5, 2014, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson speaks during the 41st annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord International Hotel and Conference Center on March 8, 2014, in National Harbor, Maryland. Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton on February 7, 2013, in Washington. Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Honoree and director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, Carson poses with actor James Pickens Jr. at the Jackie Robinson Foundation Annual Awards Dinner on March 16, 2009, in New York City. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Before his jump into conservative politics, Carson was known for his work as a neurosurgeon. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President George W. Bush on June 19, 2008. At that time, he was the director of pediatric surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics In a story that garnered international attention, Carson was ready to separate a pair of 10-year-old Indian girls, Saba and Farah Shakeel, who are joined at the head in New Delhi, India. Here, he addresses a press conference at the Indraprashtra Apollo Hospital on October 4, 2005. Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson and a team of 20 specialists approved the procedure after studying the girls' brains; however, their parents were worried about their daughters' lives and did not give doctors permission to operate. The surgery did not happen. Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: Ben Carson's career in politics Carson observes the start of neurosurgery proceedings at the Raffles Hospital in Singapore on July 6, 2003. Carson and Dr. Keith Goh, left, performed a complex operation that was unsuccessful to separate 29-year-old twins Ladan And Laleh Bijani, who were joined at the head. Hide Caption 13 of 13 Trump and Carson also lead the latest two national polls of the GOP nominating race, in a sign that past flirtations with the Democratic Party are yet to hurt them. But five months before the first votes in the nominating race are cast in the Iowa caucuses, it is too early to write off more traditional political figures, especially those with solid conservative credentials. If the anti-establishment fury were to ease, vulnerabilities and flip-flops by candidates with questionable conservative records could become more important and a candidate's positions on abortion, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, religious freedom, same-sex marriage and gay rights will come under scrutiny. "Those issues are important to a bloc of voters that are essential to a Republican candidate's victory," said Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and a former Ohio secretary of state. "The real question is not whether evangelicals are interested in Trump. Is he interested in them? He can't be if he is not interested in their core issues." Blackwell warned that until Trump's true position on social issues becomes clear, "It's way too early for any social conservatives or Christian conservatives to endorse or summarily dismiss Mr. Trump or any other candidate." Trump's ideological vulnerabilities exploded into the GOP primary race on Tuesday when Jeb Bush rebutted a barrage of attacks from the billionaire. The former Florida governor released a hard-hitting attack ad slamming the front-runner's conservative credentials, using damning footage of past statements. "I probably identify more as a Democrat," Trump said, in archive film that also showed him backing Canadian-style state-run health care and praising Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton as a "terrific woman." Trump defended himself in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday, saying that in New York -- a liberal bastion reviled by conservatives -- "everybody was a Democrat." He also predicted his background would prompt many voters who don't traditionally vote Republican to cross over and support the party in a general election. "I think I will have a lot of Democrats voting for me -- far more than any Republican for the last long period of time," he said. Carson said his current position on the major social issues of the day like abortion is clear. "It is up to us, the people, to stand up for what we believe in, and what I believe in is life, and using the talent that God has provided to give life," said Carson at the annual National Right to Life Convention in July. Trump has an even more explicit vulnerability on abortion. He said on NBC's "Meet the Press" in 1999 that he opposed a ban on partial birth abortion, though he hated the idea of the procedure, reasoning "I just believe in choice." Trump now says he turned against abortion after seeing a friend decide not to terminate a pregnancy and have a child. He has long said he opposes same-sex marriage, even though he has gay friends. Trump is also alarming some fiscal conservatives by raising the possibility of import tariffs on U.S. firms that manufacture abroad. But in the CNN interview he dismissed the idea he would raise taxes on anyone other than on hedge fund managers, whose income is often taxed at lower rates than traditional wages. "I'm not proposing to raise taxes," he said. I'm lowering taxes on the middle class and the upper middle class and the moderately wealthy. I said these hedge fund guys are making hundreds of millions of dollars and they are not paying tax." Trump's attempt to close the deal with conservatives may ultimately depend on whether activists continue to overlook his past in a desire to embrace his wider anti-Democratic message. That equation will play out especially in early voting states like Iowa, where evangelicals are crucial and ideological purity on social and religious issues is traditionally an important measure of Republican presidential contenders. It may be a more problematic challenge for Trump than Carson. The former pediatric neurosurgeon has worked hard to build credibility on conservative issues on the talk radio circuit and elsewhere; he swept to national prominence by complaining about political correctness and the national debt to President Barack Obama's face at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington in 2013. Trump, meanwhile, may be thrown on the defensive for the first time in the campaign by Bush's ad, which implicitly argues that the former Florida governor and not the real estate magnate is the true conservative in the race. "This is a pretty clean hit on Trump all wrapped up in an easy way for people to watch and share," said Craig Robinson, editor-in-chief of the "Iowa Republican" news website. "While it might not help Jeb Bush much, I do think it starts a narrative where people will start to look back and say, 'Who is this guy who is leading the field?'" Of course, there's precedent for candidates to move to the right -- and succeed. As Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Iowa-based social conservative group The Family Leader pointed out, the patron saint of the conservative movement was once a devotee of liberal President Franklin Roosevelt. "One of our very best presidents, Ronald Reagan, used to be a Democrat," he said.	– The perhaps somewhat surprising current Republican darling is neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who's polling second nationally and is tied with Donald Trump at 23% in all-important Iowa, the Hill reports. No other Republican candidates are even close to those numbers, and Carson supporters believe it's not surprising at all and high time the country starts seeing him like an actual threat to get the nomination. "The press has never taken him seriously," a former campaign manager says. "Now they have no choice but to talk about him." Donations to Carson's campaign have doubled since the first debate, and the crowds he's drawn recently are second to only Trump. When asked to explain Carson's appeal, campaign manager Barry Bennett tells the Washington Post the candidate is "the smartest man I have ever met." He says Carson's intelligence and leadership qualities will make up for his lack of experience, and the biggest hurdle to him winning the nomination is simply "getting some time at the microphone." But, CNN reports Carson's personal political history—he told the network he was once a "pretty left-wing Democrat"—could hurt him closer to the nomination. Regardless, the surging campaign remains confident. "As nice as he is, Dr. Carson is very competitive and believes he can win," a Carson campaign strategist tells the Hill. "Ask anyone he's played pool with."
A student locked outside a classroom during the Parkland shooting has taken to Twitter, calling his teacher a coward for not opening the door. But the teacher, stunned by the public flogging on social media, says he was following protocol and did nothing wrong. He was surprised to learn weeks later that the student and his father were upset. Their story provides a window into the confusion and chaos that enveloped Marjory Stoneman Douglas High that day, and the lingering anger some students have toward people they expected to protect them at all costs. Josh Gallagher says he and more than a dozen classmates were stuck in a hallway when Nikolas Cruz went on a shooting rampage at the Parkland school on Feb. 14, killing 14 students and three faculty. Josh, a junior from Coral Springs, was so mad that he transferred out of his teacher’s classroom and unleashed his fury on Twitter. In a post on Feb. 28, Josh accused his teacher of leaving “75% of his students out in the hallway to be slaughtered.” Teacher Jim Gard, of Pompano Beach, says 13 students had lagged behind during a fire drill and wound up locked outside his classroom, but all found refuge elsewhere and survived the shooting. “I looked back down the hall and no one was around — no one,” said Gard. “You have to close the door. That’s protocol. We have no choice.” It’s established policy for teachers to keep the door locked during shootings, according to teachers well-versed on procedure. Josh told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he and his parents did not want to be interviewed. His father, a high-ranking officer at the Coral Springs Police Department, responded to the shooting that day. “I’m not going to sensationalize this even like my teacher did,” Josh said in a Twitter message to the newspaper, referring to interviews Gard granted reporters after the shooting. “I want change to happen when it comes to protocol and the way this situation is handled. No child can feel the way I did.” In his Twitter post, Josh said he and his fellow students found safe haven in another classroom “when a teacher I never seen before” let them in. Gard says he was following protocol, which requires teachers to keep their doors locked during an active shooter drill or a true emergency. The veteran math teacher says his classroom is next to the freshmen building where Cruz roamed three floors, taking aim at his former classmates. Gard said only six students followed him back into the room that day when a fire drill turned into a Code Red emergency that many assumed was just a drill. “I looked back down the hall and no one was around — no one,” he said. “You have to close the door. That’s protocol. We have no choice.” He and his students were huddled in the dark by his desk when they heard a loud bang, bang on the door. “I told the kids we can’t let anyone in,” he said. “We had no idea if it was a drill or not. By the time I walked over to the door, the banging had stopped. I didn’t hear any yelling. If there were 13 kids outside the door screaming and banging I would have heard them.” Ten minutes later, Gard says he knew it was no drill. “We hear the choppers overhead,” Gard said. “We get online and see all the news reports.” That’s when they started texting the missing students to make sure they were safe, Gard said. And they were. “Fast forward to Sunday, when the parents came back for an open house,” Gard said. “All of a sudden this kid comes over and starts screaming at me. Then his father started screaming at me. This is insane.” [email protected], 954-356-4554 or visit our ‘Sun Sentinel: Hollywood’ page at SunSentinel.com/facebookhollywood ALSO Florida school shooting: How was killer able to get around school security? Florida school shooting: Teacher's calm demeanor — and barricade — kept kids safe Florida school shooting leaves 17 dead as gunman stalked halls Accused Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz appears in court, tied to white nationalist group Florida school shooting victims mourned, remembered \|\|\|\|\| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| An American nightmare unfolded Wednesday afternoon at a South Florida high school after an expelled teenager returned to campus and opened fire with an assault rifle, police say, killing 17 and wounding 15 more in the worst school shooting in Florida history. Just before dismissal at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, thousands of students puzzled at the sound of an unexpected fire alarm were launched into a panic when gunfire punctuated the din. As teachers and students fled through hallways and hid under desks, a gunman fired a volley of bullets, leaving a trail of bodies and chaos in his wake. The Broward Sheriff’s Office says Nikolas Cruz, 19, walked the halls of the high school wielding an AR-15 and multiple magazines. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson told reporters that Cruz pulled a fire alarm and then, wearing a gas mask, began tossing smoke bombs and shooting people as they ran through the haze. Police say Cruz, known to other students as a loner obsessed with weapons, shot his way onto campus. He gunned down a dozen people inside buildings on the school’s sprawling campus, two more on the grounds, and one more on Pine Island Road as he fled. Two more died at the hospital. Many underwent surgery at Broward Health hospitals. Premium content for only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. SUBSCRIBE NOW The shooter managed to slip in with his former classmates and make it off campus before he was taken into custody by police near the community entrance to Pelican Pointe at Wyndham Lakes in Coral Springs. He was transported to Broward Health North, and was then sped away from the hospital by a police escort. The Broward Sheriff’s Office says the school, home to about 3,200 students, had been cleared by early evening and would remain closed Thursday and Friday. They did not release any victims’ names, and were still working to identify five of the slain after 9 p.m. SHARE COPY LINK The video obtained by the Miami Herald shows police officers evacuating students from a high school in Broward where at least 17 were killed and several more were injured. “It’s a day that you pray, every day when you get up, that you will never have to see. It is in front of us. I ask the community for prayers and their support for the children and their families,” said Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, appearing at a media staging area near the school. “Potentially there could have been signs out there. But we didn’t have any warning or phone calls or threats that were made.” Here’s a look at some of the police on the scene. @CBSMiami pic.twitter.com/IHhVWYXtRn — Jorge K Gonzalez (@jorgekgonzalez) February 14, 2018 The shooting began just before dismissal, around 3 p.m. Police say Cruz walked onto campus and shot his way into a school building. Then he pulled a fire alarm. Students and teachers were puzzled because the school had already held a fire drill that day. Still, some left their bags by their desk and walked out of their classrooms. “Six kids ran back into my room, and I locked the door, turned out the lights and had the kids go to the back of the room,” math teacher Jim Gard said. “I told the kids to hang in there, it may still be a drill.” It wasn’t. SHARE COPY LINK Benny Menendez M.D, updates the media on the status of victims transported to Broward Health Medical Center after the mass school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On the first floor, Rebecca Bogart was in Holocaust class when bullets shattered a window into the room and struck at least one classmate. Rebecca, 17, said she hid under her teacher’s desk. “Four kids in my class were hurt. There was blood everywhere. I’m so glad to be living right now,” she said. “I knew what gunshots sounded like, but not that loud or extreme. It smelled smoky.” Police say Cruz was all over the campus during the assault. One student told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 that at one point he ascended to the third floor. In a theater class bathroom, Sarah Crescitelli typed a text to her parents: “If I don’t make it I love you and I appreciated everything you did for me.” A video posted to social media showed students hiding under desks, screaming as at least 20 gunshots rang out. Some students believed there was a second shooter at the school. Some at the school said a football coach and security guard, Aaron Feis, was shot when he jumped in front of several students. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said Wednesday night that “we lost a football coach.” Geovanni Vilsant, 15, said he was in a Spanish classroom in the three-story 1200 building when the fire alarm went off. Two minutes later, he heard gunfire. SHARE COPY LINK Video allegedly shows the scene from the shooting inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Geovanni, a freshman, said he saw three bloody bodies on the floor as he was fleeing the school. “There was blood everywhere,” he said. “They weren’t moving.” Israel, whose triplets once attended the high school, called the shooting a “detestable act” and “catastrophic.” The son of a sheriff’s deputy was also shot in the arm. Israel did not name a motive for the shooting, which he said doesn’t immediately appear to have been prompted by any confrontation; federal authorities don’t believe it was related to terrorism. Nor did Israel explain why Cruz was expelled from school beyond saying that it was for disciplinary reasons. “If a person is committed to committing great carnage, there’s not a lot law enforcement can do about it,” Israel said. But Gard, the math teacher, told the Miami Herald that Cruz had been identified as a potential threat to fellow students in the past. He believes the school administration had sent out an email warning teachers that Cruz had made threats against other teenagers. Another student interviewed by the Miami Herald said Cruz was punished once for having bullet casings at school. “We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” said Gard, who said Cruz had been in his class last year. “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.” SHARE COPY LINK Suspect arrives at Broward Health North through back entrance on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. Still locked in. I checked the local news and there is 20 victims. Long live Majory Stoneman Douglas High. pic.twitter.com/4kQMAlCBWt — Aj22000 (@TheCaptainAidan) February 14, 2018 But he returned Wednesday, re-upping America’s troubled history with guns and exposing Broward County to its second mass shooting in just over a year. A gunman killed five at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport early last year. As students hid and escaped, SWAT teams swarmed the sprawling campus. The FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force, consisting of local, state and federal agents, sent a squad to the school to assist the Broward Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement. Initially, they urged teachers and students to remain barricaded inside until police reached them. Eventually, they began clearing buildings one at a time. Students streamed out in a line with their hands up. Others ran like mad, bookbags strapped to their backs. The exodus was chaos. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High is immediately to the north of the Sawgrass Expressway, and bordered to the south and west by canals. Nicholas Coke, who was sitting in English class when the fire alarm went off, described people jumping fences, running behind the middle school and staying in classrooms to cower and pray after gunshots went off. “I wasn’t going to stick around and find out what was going on,” he said. Outside the school, worried parents trying to find their children stood by helpless. Authorities designated the pickup for students at the North Heron Bay Marriott South at Betty Stradling Park, where some families remained late into the night with police and chaplains waiting to hear news about their family members, dreading the worst. Parents are standing about a mile from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High as they try to calm their children by phone. CARLI TEPROFF [email protected] Earlier in the day, parents stood about a mile away from the school as police blocked them from getting closer to their children. Many spoke on their cellphones trying to calm their children down. Denise Perez paced as she spoke to her daughter, who told her that she was sitting between Publix and Walmart with a bunch of other students. They were surrounded by armed marshals. “Just stay calm, baby,” Perez said, crying. “This is really hard.” SHARE COPY LINK Video provided by a resident shows the Douglas school shooter being arrested by police at Pelican Point in Parkland, Florida. As the evening wore on, and students had been safely evacuated from the school, attention turned to those who were wounded in the gunfire. Dr. Evan Boyar, medical director for the department of emergency medicine at Broward Health North, said of the eight patients at Broward Health North, three remained in critical condition and three were stable. Boyar said the hospital routinely runs drills to be prepared for situations like this. Doctors would not disclose details regarding injuries to any of the patients or the suspect. However, Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, the medical director for trauma at Broward Health North, did say that all of the victims suffered from gunshot wounds. Three patients were still in the operating room, Nichiporenko said. “They’re going to have successful surgeries. They’re going to recover,” Nichiporenko said. “They’re going to go home.” Miami Herald reporters Douglas Hanks, Alex Harris, Chabeli Herrera, Tarpley Hitt, Jordan McPherson, Nicholas Nehamas, Connie Ogle, Charles Rabin, Carli Teproff, Martin Vassolo, Jay Weaver and Washington correspondent Alex Daugherty contributed to this story. \|\|\|\|\| Students return to classes at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Photo: MICHELE EVE SANDBERG, MICHELE EVE SANDBERG/AFP/Getty I) At least two students who survived the chaos and bloodshed of the Florida school shooting last month are challenging the narrative surrounding a teacher hailed as a hero after the rampage. Math teacher Jim Gard was credited with protecting students in his classroom in the horrifying moments of Feb. 14 after a teen gunman unleashed a fusillade of bullets at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. In recent days, however, students Josh Gallagher and Connor Dietrich have expressed contempt at Gard on Twitter. Josh said Gard "called himself a hero, and ... the media portrayed him as a hero when in reality he is the opposite." Josh said he was in Gard's class when the fire alarm went off and the students filed out. When they heard gunshots, about 15 of them froze before racing back to the classroom. Gard, however, had locked the door and refused to let them in. "We were stuck in the hall for four total minutes, ducking and in fear for our lives" until a teacher Josh didn't know let them in another classroom, Josh said. He said Gard "left 75% of his students out in the hallway to be slaughtered." Gard gave a phone interview to CBS Miami while still holed up in his classroom with some of his students, less than two hours after the shooting spree. The group had been awaiting the all-clear from police officers conducting a classroom-by-classroom search. Josh noted that Gard was interviewed by media multiple times and has been acclaimed a hero. "He is nothing but a coward," Josh said. "He has revictimized the students he left out of his class by calling himself a hero." More: Florida senators vote not to stop sales of AR-15s More: 'Gun-free school zones' take weapons from kids, not cops More: Messages reveal boy planned a school shooting worse than Parkland Another student, Connor Dietrich, expressed similar emotions on Twitter. "As one of the kids left in the hallway I want people to understand how terrifying and defenseless I personally felt," Connor tweeted. "The person I had to rely on left us to die and that’s not okay." Gard expressed shock at the accusations, telling the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he followed protocol that requires to keep doors locked during an active shooter drill or real emergency. He said six students followed him back into the room. “I looked back down the hall and no one was around — no one,” he said. “You have to close the door. That’s protocol. We have no choice." He said he and the six students were huddled in the dark when they heard banging on the door. He said he is prohibited from opening the door but did walk over to it. The banging, however, had stopped. “Fast forward to Sunday, when the parents came back for an open house,” Gard told the Sun-Sentinel. “All of a sudden this kid comes over and starts screaming at me. Then his father started screaming at me. This is insane.” Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2I2wLaX \|\|\|\|\| 'I Didn't Want Them to Panic': Amid Chaos, Teacher Sheltered Students in Fla. School —Gerald Herbert/AP Parkland, Fla. By the time Jim Gard realized he needed to lock down his classroom Wednesday, many of his students were out of reach. A fire alarm had gone off inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School just as the school day was about to end, sending Gard and his math students into the hallway. It was strange, the teacher said, because they’d had a fire drill earlier in the day, but Gard followed the school’s safety protocols and ushered his students out, taking up the rear to make sure his classroom was empty. Then the noise started. “We heard all of these popping sounds,” he said. “I can’t count how many. There were a lot.” Then the announcement: Code Red. A shooter was on campus. The popping was gunfire from a semi-automatic rifle that would eventually claim the lives of 17 students and adults and wound at least 14 others at the high school of more than 3,000 students. It would become the third-deadliest school shooting in the nation’s history. Before Gard could rush to pull his students back into his second-floor room, many had already made their way down the stairs, too far away to comply. He scrambled to take the six students who were standing in the hallway into the back corner of the classroom. He shut off the lights, locked the door, and quickly taped a piece of thick paper over the little window so no one could see in. Unaware that one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history was unfolding in their building, Gard and his students would spend more than an hour in the dark, quietly reassuring each other and trying to account for the classmates who weren’t there with them. —Wilfredo Lee/AP Students at the Broward County high school are well-practiced in shooting drills, officials said. “The kids knew exactly what to do and where to go and how to get there,” Gard said, recalling a recent training session with local police. But they weren’t prepared for a set of circumstances that would scramble every safety protocol they had practiced in their drills. Officials said Nikolas Cruz, 19, who had been expelled from the school the previous year, had entered the building and started firing on students congregating in the hallways after a fire alarm had driven them from their classrooms. He was reportedly equipped with a gas mask and smoke grenades. After apparently discarding his weapon—an AR-15, a similar weapon used in other mass shootings—Cruz walked out of the building, blending in with the students to make an easy escape. —Wilfredo Lee/AP He was later arrested in a nearby town and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. A Broward County Sheriff's Office report says Cruz has confessed to being the shooter. On Thursday, residents of Parkland—once listed as one of the safest cities in America—started a conversation that communities around the country have had after their own school shootings: What, if anything, could have been done differently? How do you prepare for such a perfect storm of complicated circumstances? “Nothing—nothing in the world—is going to stop somebody who wants to create mass tragedies like this,” Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie told Education Week. “All we can do is minimize it, and that’s what the training does.” Runcie said the school officials had done exactly what they were trained to do under the circumstances. “The school went to the most severe state of lock down status,” he said. “Our first responders on the campus basically sacrificed their lives to help save our kids.” Some students said they couldn’t make sense right away of what was unfolding. There’d already been a fire drill that day. And they’d never experienced a safety drill at dismissal time. ‘I Didn’t Want Them to Panic’ Amid the confusion and fear, Gard said his students behaved according to plan when he called them in for a lockdown, but he was concerned about the ones who were missing. He quieted his mind and sought to reassure his students. Why were they in a Code Red? “They’d been planning for another lock down drill, so maybe that was it,” he told them. What was all of that noise? “Maybe someone is shooting blanks,” he said. “I didn’t want them to panic,” Gard said. But after a few more pops and the sounds of sirens outside, he asked his students to call their parents. One girl was so emotional and overwhelmed that she handed her phone to her teacher, who reassured her mother: “They’re well taken care of. We’re secure. No one is going to come in here. I will make sure that these children will be fine.” Huddled with his students and not sure what was happening, Gard checked his email. Teachers throughout the building were emailing one another with lists of students they’d pulled into their classrooms before the lockdown started. He ran down his roster, marking off students who’d been absent that day and everyone he could account for in another classroom. He enlisted his students to text their classmates, checking to be sure they were ok. All but three were accounted for. Then the class started to hear banging on the floor below them. The banging continued until there was pounding on Gard’s classroom door. “Police!” a person announced. “Prove it!” Gard yelled back, pulling back the paper over his classroom window so he could see the officer’s badge as he held it up to the glass. Officers entered the classroom and walked Gard and the students out single-file. Each person’s hands rested on the shoulders of the person in front of them. The students didn’t see any signs of the shooting as they left the building. Occasionally officers would say “look left! Keep looking left!” to divert their attention as they evacuated, Gard said. Walking out into a holding area where other teachers and students were gathering, Gard spotted the last three students he couldn’t account for. “I felt like I found all of my children,” he said. But that moment of relief gave way to the unspeakable losses. As Superintendent Runcie walked by the building Wednesday, he saw lifeless bodies through a window. “It’s horrific, horrific,” he said. Into the night Wednesday, families whose children were missing started sharing photos on social media, hoping to learn, however improbably, that they weren’t among the victims. By Thursday morning, officers had identified all of the victims, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said, but a few bodies remained in the school as investigators worked to process a large and complicated crime scene. —Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP Freshman Isaac Briones, 15, brought 17 white balloons to his school Thursday morning, one for each classmate and adult who died. They included an assistant football coach who worked as a security guard, hailed as a hero after some said he stepped in front of bullets to protect students; an athletic director, and a friend Briones had been joking around with in first period earlier that day. “I couldn’t really sleep last night,” Briones said, clasping the balloons in one hand and speaking in calm tones. “I still can’t believe this is happening.” Nearby, senior David Hogg, 17, walked up to cable news satellite trucks, offering to share video files with them from his cellphone. He wanted the world to see what he had experienced, he said. During the shooting, Hogg interviewed his classmates about how they were feeling. He hoped the clips would give people a glimpse of what the students experienced, he said. “If you look around this closet and saw everyone just hiding together, you would see that this shouldn’t be happening to anyone, and that it doesn’t deserve to happen to anyone,” a girl says in one of his clips. Hogg said the students in his AP environmental science class had assumed the lockdown was a drill at first. “That actually helped keep a lot of us calm,” he said. Warning Signs on Alleged Shooter While the public, and the throng of national media outlets that descended on this south Florida city, had many questions about the school’s safety procedures, they had many more questions about Cruz. While Runcie wouldn’t share much about Cruz, citing federal privacy laws, he said the 19-year-old had been sent to another Broward County school after his expulsion from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Students shared stories about warning signs they’d seen with Cruz: like social media posts about guns and dead animals and a “loner” mentality. A YouTube user told CNN that he’d reported a commenter named “Nikolas Cruz” to the FBI last year after he commented: “Im [sic] going to be a professional school shooter.” But FBI special agent Robert Lasky said Thursday the agency was unable to confirm that the poster was Cruz. “No other information was included with that comment which would indicate a time, location or the true identity of the person who made the comment,” he said during a news conference. “The FBI conducted database reviews, checks but was unable to further identify the person who actually made the comment.” Superintendent Runcie said that district and school officials had not received any reports of Cruz’s social media posts featuring guns and other disturbing images that were apparently well known among students. “We didn’t get any reports,” he said in an interview. The district, he said, has a tip line for people to report concerns and that it frequently gets reports about students’ social media posts. “I know of at least a couple cases that I am familiar with where we were able to go…into a young person’s home, search their room, and we confiscated firearms and so on.” But with Cruz, he said, “there were no signs that we received from anyone. I think part of it was related to the fact that this student was really disengaged from school.” —Broward County Jail via AP The superintendent said any tips that come in are investigated and taken seriously. “Because we don’t want to be wrong once,” he said. “We go through lots of bomb threats drills and other threats … they all usually turn out to be false, but unfortunately in this case, nothing showed [that a threat] was potentially coming.” Richard Cantlupe, a social studies teacher at Westglades Middle School, remembers Cruz very well. As the school’s union steward, Cantlupe said he knew about Cruz’s behavior problems even though he wasn’t one of his students. Cantlupe said as an 8th grader, Cruz had well over 20 disciplinary referrals. Cantlupe said the referrals would have had to be for “serious” acts because the school district has a policy that tries to keep in check the overuse of student discipline. “He should have never been allowed to be a student at Douglas High School,” Cantlupe said. “That’s how bad his behavior was in middle school.” School safety researchers say school shooters often “leak” their intentions before they act. They’ve urged anonymous reporting systems, like state-run tip lines, to give students a place to report complaints. Israel, the Broward County sheriff, urged the public to report any concerns they have to teachers, counselors, and law enforcement. He said laws should be eased so that law enforcement officers can more easily involuntarily admit people to mental-health treatment if they are concerned they may pose a harm to others. “It’s the way we have to live our lives in circa 2018,” Israel said. “If we see something, we need to say something.” Dewey Cornell, an education professor at the University of Virginia who is an expert in school threat assessment, said that one of the main lessons from this mass shooting will be that most schools do not have the resources they need to deal with deeply troubled students like Cruz. “Typically, when we have a shooting like this, we have a young person who has been troubled for a long time,” said Cornell, who provides training in threat assessment to schools, both independently and in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise. “People don’t just snap overnight, and there is a long period of time when they are signaling their need for assistance,” Cornell said, “and very often schools simply don’t have the time and resources or the orientation to reach out to them and assist them.” Gard, the math teacher, said he’d had Cruz in his class for one quarter of the 2016-17 school year, but he doesn’t remember anything remarkable or troubling about him. He said he would have noticed if Cruz were exhibiting some of the troubling behaviors that have surfaced in media reports. He also said he’s not shy about talking to school counselors if he’s worried about a student. “If a kid goes from As to Fs, yeah you write that up,” Gard said. “You don’t know. It could be an aunt dying. It could be a hamster. Or it could be something like this.” Web Only Related Opinion "A Teacher's Response to Parkland: 'I Don't Know How to Protect You Anymore'," (The Intersection: Culture and Race in Schools) February 14, 2018. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Back to Top	– After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., one of the teachers who came forward to tell his story was Jim Gard. He was painted as a bit of a hero in the media for protecting students in his classroom, but now two students have come forward to accuse him of cowardice. Joshua Gallagher, a junior at the school who was in Gard's math class when an apparent fire drill sent everyone outside, says that after shots were fired and students tried to return to the classroom, they found the door locked and 16 of them were stuck in the hallway for four minutes after Gard wouldn't let them back in. "He left 75% of his students out in the hallway to be slaughtered," Gallagher says, calling Gard "selfish" and a "coward." Eventually another teacher let them inside; all of the students from Gard's class survived. The teacher has now responded defending himself. Gard tells the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that not all his students got back to the classroom in time. "I looked back down the hall and no one was around—no one," he says. "You have to close the door. That’s protocol. We have no choice." He adds that he only heard banging on the door once and "by the time I walked over to the door, the banging had stopped. I didn’t hear any yelling. If there were 13 kids outside the door screaming and banging I would have heard them." He calls Gallagher's accusations "insane," but another classmate has since chimed in to agree with Gallagher. "As one of the kids left in the hallway I want people to understand how terrifying and defenseless I personally felt. The person I had to rely on left us to die and that’s not okay," Connor Dietrich tweeted. USA Today notes Gard gave an interview within two hours of the shooting, while still sheltering in his classroom with students.
Prince Harry gave a speech earlier today, where he praised his South Pole challengers [PA] West, who suffered frost bite to one cheek during the expedition in often atrocious conditions of heavier than expected snow, 50mph winds and -50C temperatures, added: "Harry also massively helped me out when I was struggling with my skis at first. He was a great guy." He also told how the Prince joined in some exuberant celebrations when they reached the South Pole on December 13. Two Australians stripped naked, while Harry and the others sipped Champagne from bottles wedged in one of the artificial limbs of Duncan Slater, a Sergeant in the RAF regiment injured in Afghanistan in 2009. "Two of the Aussie guys stripped naked and ran round the pole but most of us, Harry included, just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them," West said. The young prince emphasised the importance of supporting injured personnel [PA] "There was a lot of liqueur drunk.We all drank champagne out of Duncan's favourite prosthetic legs." Asked what was Harry's greatest talent, he replied: "Well he told some eye-wateringly rude jokes which for a non-soldier like me was pretty shocking." Sgt Slater, 34, from Diss, Norfolk, said Harry was brilliant at keeping up the morale of the 12 wounded service personnel and the support workers by arranging cricket games in the snow or competitions to build the most elaborate latrines. "It was always him who was instigating it. There were so many wind-ups," he said. "He would kind of spread himself quite thinly to be honest. He would spend time with each team member. He would make sure he mixed with everyone." Sgt Slater, who insisted his injuries paled into insignificance compared to the difficulties of blind American team member Ivan Castro, will join the British team of three men and one woman, Major Kate Philp, in running the London Marathon on April 13. He spoke highly of the challengers and said they were an inspiration to others [PA] "For some the journey may be more of a challenge and it falls to all of us to help them where we can, be that in training, employment, sport or even adventure." Prince Harry Harry, who is patron of the marathon as well as Walking With The Wounded, will not compete but is expected to present the medals. The young prince spoke out about the brave challengers, who spent almost two weeks pulling sleds across the frozen wastes of Antarctica to reach the South Pole, and used his speech to both praise the wounded and to emphasise the importance of supporting all personnel returning home from war. "These injured men and women are not seeking pity," he said. "They just simply want to be treated in the same way that they were before they were injured." Harry, who last week announced he is leaving his role as an Apache helicopter pilot to begin a new job with the army based in London, added: "For some the journey may be more of a challenge and it falls to all of us to help them where we can, be that in training, employment, sport or even adventure. The royal reunited with his team members in London today [SPLASH] "So if anybody out there has the ability or resources to give these guys and girls a stepping stone back into employment then please do, you certainly won't regret it." During the trek, which saw them face extreme weather conditions every day, Harry said: "Every single person who takes part in this challenge is extraordinary. "The fact these guys have made it to this point is extraordinary and I count myself incredibly lucky to be part of it." Before the speech the fourth-in-line to the throne was reunited with his British team-mates including Duncan Slater, Ibrar Ali, Kate Philp, Guy Disney, guide Conrad Dickinson and mentor Richard Eyre. Meanwhile, Harry has praised fellow South Pole adventurers Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere, who are currently on their way back home from the same challenge that Captain Scott took on back in 1912. The pair received their royal message on January 17, the day Captain Scott and his party reached the South Pole in 1912 - an anniversary they commemorated while on the ice. \|\|\|\|\| Prince Harry kept up morale on his trek to the South Pole by telling “filthy” jokes and building elaborate castle-style latrines, one of his fellow adventurers has revealed. The Prince also celebrated reaching the bottom of the world by drinking champagne out of a prosthetic leg belonging to one of the wounded servicemen on his team - while others danced naked around the Pole. Harry’s antics were disclosed by the actor Dominic West, who was the celebrity patron of one of three teams competing to reach the Pole first on the trek to raise money for the charity Walking With the Wounded. He said: “It was cool having Harry there because he was very much part of the team. He seemed to specialise in building the latrines and he built these incredibly elaborate ones. “He did one with castellated sides and a flag pole, a loo roll holder, and you’re sitting there thinking ‘this is a real royal flush’. He must have spent about 40 minutes making it. “I remember thinking that he did art A-level and you can tell he is artistic.” A clean shaven Prince Harry attends press conference for the Walking With The Wounded charity (REX FEATURES/PA) The three teams, representing Britain, the US and the Commonwealth, had to dig latrine pits at each overnight stop during their journey, with a wall of snow around it to keep out the wind while people used it. They reached the pole on Dec 13 after pulling sleds all the way to the pole with their supplies on them. West, who was part of Team Commonwealth, said the Prince also told “eye-wateringly rude jokes, which for a non-soldier like me was quite shocking”. He added: “He was very kind to me - when I was having trouble with the skis he helped me out and I thought what a nice guy.” The three teams were initially competing to get to the Pole first, but when the Antarctic weather made conditions worse than expected they joined forces to make sure they all got to their goal safely. West said: “When we got to the Pole a couple of the guys stripped naked and ran round the Pole. It was a sunny day with no wind so it was safe to do that. “The Icelandic truck drivers who were driving the support vehicles had saved some booze for us to celebrate, so we had a bit of a binge, we were drinking champagne out of one of the team’s prosthetic leg.” West said he had suffered mild frostbite on one cheek and other team members had been frostbitten on their fingers and ears, though none had needed surgery when they got home. Prince Harry, 29, who has now shaved off the beard he grew during the trek, returned home in time for Christmas. Harry said: “The conditions were a lot tougher than we necessarily could have expected. The wind and the storms proved horrendous. However, video doesn’t lie and Team UK did win. We did. Those are the facts. “To the Australian contingent if you’re watching - sorry. “On a serious note, inspiring others is one of the of the cornerstones of this charity, to demonstrate to those who have experienced life-changing injuries that everything is still possible. I hope this truly unbelievable achievement will remind everybody that they can achieve anything they want to. “Our wounded, injured and sick do not want pity, they simply want to be treated in the same way that they were before they were injured, with respect and admiration. “For some the journey may be more of a challenge and it falls to all of us to help them in any way we can.” The Prince trekked to the Pole with four injured service veterans, including amputees. One of his team, Sgt Duncan Slater, who lost both legs in Afghanistan in 2009, described using one of his legs as an ice bucket for the champagne the team drank to celebrate. He said: "We pulled back from the Pole about 20km to wait for our flight and someone produced some champagne. I used my legs as a primitive ice bucket and wedged the champagne bottle in there and passed them around." He said the Prince had been "absolutely brilliant", adding: "If we had a bit of spare time it would always be, right, we're going to have a game of cricket, or we're going to make a latrine but it's going to be like a castle, and it would always be him that was instigating it. He just fitted right in." \|\|\|\|\| Plus, He Shaved Dominic West lifts lid on South Pole celebrations Prince Harry celebrated reaching the South Pole with a "two-day bender" and the teams took turns drinking champagne out of one of his fellow trekkers prosthetic leg as part of their celebrations, the actor Dominic West said today at a high-spirited press conference to mark the success of the mission. Mr. West was appearing with Prince Harry at a press conference about the Walking With The Wounded expedition which saw a group of wounded veterans trek through freezing temperatures and hostile conditions to the South Pole. The only bad news? Prince Harry had shaved. Yup, the beard is officially no more. Prince Harry joked that the British team had won, but decided to 'hand the trophy back' although in fact the race element of the walk was abandoned due to the terrible conditions which risked injury. Mr West told reporters that Harry developed a reputation for building complex latrines. AP; Rex He said: "He would often reach the meeting point before the rest of his men and would build these incredibly lavish, castellated latrines, with battlements and loo roll holders. It must have taken him 40 minutes at least to build, they were just fabulous. I would often sit on the latrine thinking, 'This is a royal flush in every way!'" Mr. West also revealed that two members of the Australian team stripped naked and ran around the point that marks the South Pole when they arrived, but said the rest of them just "went on a two-day bender." Mr. West added, "We all drank champagne out of Duncan Slater's favourite prosthetic legs." Sgt Duncan Slater, who lost both legs in Afghanistan in 2009, confirmed the unlikely story and described using one of his legs as an ice bucket for the champagne the team drank to celebrate. He said: "We pulled back from the Pole about 20km to wait for our flight and someone produced some champagne. I used my legs as a primitive ice bucket and wedged the champagne bottle in there and passed them around." He said the Prince had been "absolutely brilliant", adding: "If we had a bit of spare time it would always be, right, we're going to have a game of cricket, or we're going to make a latrine but it's going to be like a castle, and it would always be him that was instigating it. He just fitted right in."	– Prince Harry trekked to the South Pole last month, and he celebrated exactly as you'd expect: by going on "a two-day bender" with some Icelandic truck drivers and drinking champagne out of a prosthetic limb. That according to actor Dominic West, who was on the expedition with the prince and spoke about the experience today, the Express reports. There were wounded veterans along, and upon reaching the destination, "there was a lot of liquor drunk" including the champagne out of one of those veterans' artificial legs, West said. The veteran in question confirms the story and says it was his idea to use the prosthetic "as a primitive ice bucket," the Daily Beast reports, citing the Telegraph. Upon reaching the pole, "two of the Aussie guys stripped naked and ran round the pole but most of us, Harry included, just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them," West says. Harry also "told some eye-wateringly rude jokes." One of the veterans adds that, for some reason, Harry liked to build complicated latrines; West calls him "the king of the royal flush."
This is disgraceful for a cover . And I saying when I am not fan of Kim or Trump... \|\|\|\|\| The New York Post called out President Donald Trump and reality TV star Kim Kardashian over their meeting at the White House on Wednesday. But the newspaper ended up getting called out by critics on Twitter instead. Trump and Kardashian met to discuss criminal justice reform, an issue Kardashian has become passionate about over the past year. However, the Post mocked her as “Kim Thong Un” and referred to the meeting as “The Other Big Ass Summit” on its front page: Tomorrow's cover: Kim Kardashian visits the White House to discuss prison reform with President Trump https://t.co/1N3bNkVmK7 pic.twitter.com/yPaL93Tyhe — New York Post (@nypost) May 30, 2018 Some loved the Post’s tabloid take on the meeting: Might have to get a keep sake copy of tomorrow’s paper https://t.co/czMz56H13u — Conor Duffy (@conorduffynews) May 30, 2018 Kim Thong Un 😅😅😅 — mallory (@malzygirl) May 30, 2018 Best everrrrrrrr, in the history of the world! Best thing I’ve ever seen on the internets! — Wall of Worry! (@wallOfWorryFL) May 30, 2018 But many others weren’t happy about the coverage at all. Even readers who admit they’re fans of neither the reality TV star nor the president are calling out the newspaper: Y’all really gonna make me go to bat for Kim K, eh? “The Other Big Ass Summit” Just in case readers interpret this double entendre to be referring to their common personality traits, you reference Kim’s butt 3 more times. This is too trite, even for you all. https://t.co/lRRhqweZgs — Rashona (@Rashona) May 30, 2018 You know, I’m not a fan of @KimKardashian, not even a tiny bit, but she’s trying to do what she thinks is right and will help people in the long run. I can respect that. — Moe (@ViciousHeathen) May 30, 2018 This cover is sexist and pathetic. Do better @nypost. https://t.co/RxJcm8K34s — Brian Kosciesza (@BrianKosh) May 31, 2018 I don't care for the Kardashians but this is over the top. She is still a person. — Andrew Donaldson (@four4thefire) May 31, 2018 This seems very mean spirited against someone who was just trying to advocate for criminal justice reform https://t.co/Cr7hG5iOAX — Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) May 30, 2018 That’s a bit rude isn’t it? — Geoff Quattromani (@GQuattromani) May 31, 2018 Disgusting headline, @nypost. @KimKardashian was meeting with President Trump about a critical issue and you lead with her ass? This is unacceptable sexism. No woman deserves this. Thank you for using your platform to raise awareness for the issue of prison reform, Kim. https://t.co/P43Vq2mPLR — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 31, 2018 This is disgraceful for a cover . And I saying when I am not fan of Kim or Trump... — betterminded (@betterminded1) May 31, 2018 woman uses her considerable celebrity influence to talk directly to the president about important and vital prison reform@nypost: yeah but did you see her bum???https://t.co/RpzjFHEnLl — Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) May 30, 2018 Ya know, kardshian is trying to accomplish something if substance. I'm not a fan of either Trump nor Kardashian. While this is funny, it's also keeps you as a sub-par news rag, suited to line catboxes — Jeremy DuBrul (@DuBrulJ) May 31, 2018 i hate this Administration, but even this newspaper cover is fucking dumber than hell — Andrew Michael Flynn (@OHPFstory) May 31, 2018 I’m not the biggest Kim K fan, but this is in poor taste and sexist. — Amineh (@ZanesMyBae) May 31, 2018 I'm not a fan or either of them, but the personal remarks about her are on the line if not over it. — Tom Gladstone (@TomGladstone) May 31, 2018 The hypocrisy here is palpable. Y’all are garbage for making fun of her for doing something so good — Kelly Smith (@kellysmithmeow) May 31, 2018 So, are your editors going to blame Ambien for this cover? — Hubert Vigilla (@HubertVigilla) May 31, 2018 And at least one person saw both sides of the issue: \|\|\|\|\| I think, therefore you probably annoy me. If you don’t want the truth, don’t ask me for it, cause I’ll tell you, and you probably won’t like it. Western MA \|\|\|\|\| President Trump has granted clemency to Alice Marie Johnson a week after Kim Kardashian visited the White House to discuss prison reform and petition for her pardoning. Johnson is expected to be released from prison soon, CNN reports. This marks Trump's sixth act of clemency since taking office. Kardashian tweeted her excitement over the news this afternoon. "BEST NEWS EVER!!!" she posted. BEST NEWS EVER!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 https://t.co/JUbpbE1Bk0 — Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018 Here's what you need to know Johnson's case: Johnson was serving a life sentence. The 63-year-old great-grandmother was given a life sentence in prison for a nonviolent drug-related crime and was not eligible for parole. Johnson was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts stemming from a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation involving more than a dozen people. She was sentenced to life in prison in 1997. Today, she's spent more than two decades behind bars. As one of Johnson's lawyers, Brittany Barnett, told The Daily Mail, "The message to the president is that Alice Johnson, the 21 years she has been in prison, represents a punishment that more than pays her debt to society and that to keep her prison the rest of her life is morally and economically unjustifiable." I am honored to accompany @KimKardashian to The White House today to advocate on behalf of Alice Marie Johnson. Kim has spent her time, money & energy for this incredibly worthy cause. Please give credit where credit is due. — Shawn Holley (@theshawnholley) May 30, 2018 Johnson became "involved in drug trafficking" during a difficult period in her life. Johnson became "involved in drug trafficking as a way to make ends meet following a particularly rough period in her life: She lost her job at FedEx, where she had worked for 10 years, due to a gambling addiction; she got divorced; and then her youngest son died in a motorcycle accident," Mic reports. According to Johnson, this series of events led her become involved with drugs. As she told Mic: "I felt like a failure... I went into a complete panic and out of desperation, I made one of the worst decisions of my life to make some quick money. I became involved in a drug conspiracy." Memphis attorney Michael Scholl, who filed the latest court documents appealing for Johnson's sentence reduction, said she wasn't the leader of the cocaine operation. Instead, Bustle reports, "Johnson gradually became involved in a drug trafficking operation in Memphis, Tennessee. She says that she never brokered any deals or handled drugs, but was responsible for relaying coded messages over the phone." The meeting with Trump, which was initially reported by @VanityFair, marks the culmination of months of @KimKardashian West's behind-the-scenes efforts to free #AliceMarieJohnson. pic.twitter.com/EyGwQ2vct1https://t.co/We2L0m6bFV — Mic (@mic) May 30, 2018 This was Johnson's first offense, but she was given a life sentence without the chance of parole. Even though her arrest in 1993 was her first offense, Johnson received a life sentence, which she began serving in 1996. During the trial ten of her co-defendants testified against her in exchange for a reduced or dropped charges, Mic reports. Johnson, however, did not receive the same mercy, despite having not previous drug charges. Johnson's children have long petitioned for her release. Speaking in a video for Mic, Johnson's daughter, Tretessa, said of her mother, "She’s made some serious mistakes in her life, but she is not this monster. I mean, she’s really turned a very negative situation to as positive of a situation as she can." Of Kardashian's involvement in the situation, Tretessa told BBC News, "We are praying for mercy in my mom's case… that this nightmare is finally coming to an end." Johnson's family and supporters say she's a "model inmate" who's active in "many programmes including working at the prison hospice," BBC News reports. Amy Povah, who founded the organization CAN-DO Clemency, started advocating for Johnson in 2014, and even collected a "letter of support from the retired warden of Johnson's prison" on her character, which will be given to Trump. Povah told BBC News that Johnson has "always stood out to me as being exceptional. She's not bitter or angry, she's this ray of sunshine." Johnson submitted an application for clemency to the Obama Administration on three occasions. President Obama pardoned 231 individuals in December 2016, "many of whom had similar drug-related charges," Mic reports, but Johnson was not one of them. According to BBC News, Johnson "fit all of the criteria" for the former president's clemency project, but was rejected just days before Obama's term ended. The reason why is unclear. Johnson told Mic, "When the criteria came out for clemency, I thought for sure—in fact, I was certain that I’d met and exceeded all of the criteria." Kardashian has hired a new team of lawyers on behalf of Johnson. Back in November, Kardashian's Los Angeles-based attorney, Shawn Holley, told New York Daily News, "Kim asked me several weeks ago how she could help Alice Johnson in her fight for justice. We then began corresponding with Alice and her team of lawyers." Holley is a renowned celebrity attorney whose past clients include O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and Lindsay Lohan, according to TMZ. Kardashian visited the White House on Johnson's birthday. The reality star made the announcement on Twitter just hours before meeting with President Trump in Washington. Happy Birthday Alice Marie Johnson. Today is for you 🙏🏼✨ — Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) May 30, 2018 One of Johnson's lawyers, Brittany Barnett, told The Daily Mail, "Today's her birthday, so no greater gift than freedom on her birthday." Kardashian met with Donald Trump regarding prison reform. Kim had been speaking with Jared Kushner, the president's senior advisor and son-in-law, regarding Johnson's case for months. Kushner has been working on The Prison Reform and Redemption Act which aims to reduce the rate of recidivism, and prepare prisoners to reintegrate into society. Hours after the reality star being spotted walking into the White House, POTUS tweeted a photo with her in the Oval Office. "Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing," he wrote. The president didn't clarify if he will grant clemency to Johnson as a result of his meeting with Kim. Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing. pic.twitter.com/uOy4UJ41JF — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018 Johnson is grateful that Kardashian is attempting to help her case. Johnson publicly thanked Kardashian in a letter obtained by TMZ. She said: "There are no words strong enough to express my deep and heartfelt gratitude. Ms. Kardashian, you are quite literally helping to save my life and restore me to my family. I was drowning and you have thrown me a life jacket, and given me hope that this life jacket I'm serving may one day be taken off." Kardashian and her legal team hope that Johnson's case will start a wider conversation about prison reform. Johnson's lawyer, Barnett, told CBS News, "We are grateful that Kim is using her platform to raise awareness and hope that everyone looks beyond Kim and sees that there is a woman about to die in prison." Barnett added that Kardashian "was not only moved to tears, but moved to action" after she watched a Mic interview about Johnson. The KKW Beauty founder first tweeted about Johnson's case back in October 2017. This is so unfair... https://t.co/W3lPINbQuy — Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 26, 2017 Associated Press contributed reporting. \|\|\|\|\| Alyssa Milano ಮರುಟ್ವೀಟಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ New York Post Disgusting headline, @ nypost. @ KimKardashian was meeting with President Trump about a critical issue and you lead with her ass? This is unacceptable sexism. No woman deserves this. Thank you for using your platform to raise awareness for the issue of prison reform, Kim.https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1001968236966137857 … \|\|\|\|\| Eight years ago, Kim Kardashian stepped into Trump Tower for an assessment meeting with Donald Trump. The subject of their evaluation? Rhinestone and sequin-embellished marketing displays for her perfume line—branded “The Voluptuous New Fragrance”—which was being promoted on a Season 10 episode of The Apprentice. On Wednesday, Kim paid a visit to Trump’s new quarters for a wholly different type of tete-a-tete: this time to request a pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, a 62-year-old woman serving a life sentence for a first time drug offense. While it’s unclear how receptive Trump was to Kardashian’s plea, there’s no shortage of precedent when it comes to his profoundly discerning take on her appearance. “Does she have a good body? No. Does she have a fat ass? Absolutely,” he said in a 2013 interview with radio personality Howard Stern. Trump added, “At the word ‘Kim’ they’d say, ‘Wow, I don’t wanna go out with her.’” During Kardashian’s pregnancy that same year, Trump, unprompted to speak about her looks, told a reporter, “She’s gotten a little bit large. I would say this, I don’t think you should dress like you weigh 120 pounds.” In another interview with Stern a year later, Trump maintained his stance on Kardashian’s lower body. “It’s record setting,” he said. “In the old days, they’d say she’s got a bad body.” All of this comes after Trump’s harsh 2009 firing of Kim’s sister Khloe Kardashian from Celebrity Apprentice. “She is a fat piglet. Why did we get the ugly Kardashian?” sources from the show have recalled Trump complaining at the time. In apparent reference to Kim, he reportedly added, “We can’t even get the hot one?” Aesthetic preferences aside, two former reality television stars assembling at the White House to confer about criminal justice reform might seem like a bizarre scenario all on its own. But the summit takes on an added level of irony when considering what connected Trump and the Kardashians in the first place: Trump’s close friendship with O.J. Simpson, whom Kim’s father Robert Kardashian helped defend in court. Lest we forget, it was Simpson’s murder trial that thrust the Kardashian patriarch into the limelight to begin with, with the rest of his now-notorious family keeping up not far behind. More than 10 years after O.J., who is also Kim’s godfather, was miraculously acquitted of murder, Kim Kardashian is advocating for a very different exoneration. Although Alice Johnson went to prison more than 21 years ago, Kardashian took up Johnson’s cause after coming across her story on Twitter earlier this year. In an interview this month, Kardashian expounded upon the discovery and her decision to support Johnson in requesting an official pardon. “Where I’m at in my life right now, just like, to go and spend my money buying material things just doesn’t satisfy me the way that it used to,” Kardashian said. “To save someone’s life and do that once a year, then that would make my heart fuller.” On Wednesday, that once-yearly day apparently came. “Happy Birthday Alice Marie Johnson,” Kardashian tweeted. “Today is for you.”	– The jokes of a "Trump-Kim" summit came flying fast after Kim Kardashian met with the president Wednesday at the White House, but one snarky headline isn't going over so well. Per HuffPost, Kardashian was there to talk to Trump about criminal justice reform and to press for a pardon for 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, who's serving a life sentence for a non-violent drug offense. The New York Post tweeted out an advance look at its Thursday morning cover about the meeting: a photo of Kim K and Trump posing in the Oval Office along with a headline that read: "The Other Big Ass Summit: Trump Meets Rump." Kardashian is also referred to as "Kim Thong Un" on the cover. It's a riff on both the canceled summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as on a part of Kardashian's body, which doesn't have anything to do with prison reform—and many aren't happy about it. CNN calls the cover "appalling," while Mashable's own headline reads "Wildly sexist New York Post front page refers to Kim Kardashian's butt 3 times." Even those who aren't fans of either Kim K or Trump say the cover is out of line. One big name in particular was miffed. "Disgusting headline, @nypost," Alyssa Milano tweeted. "@KimKardashian was meeting with President Trump about a critical issue and you lead with her ass? This is unacceptable sexism. No woman deserves this." The Daily Beast dives into a related take: Trump's own "ugly history of misogynistic comments" on Kardashian's appearance.
In this Wednesday, June 22, 2016 photo "Skyslide" juts out from the side of the U.S. Bank Tower building in downtown Los Angeles. Starting this weekend, thrill-seekers can begin taking the ride that is... (Associated Press) In this Wednesday, June 22, 2016 photo "Skyslide" juts out from the side of the U.S. Bank Tower building in downtown Los Angeles. Starting this weekend, thrill-seekers can begin taking the ride that is about 1,000 feet high and perched on the outside of the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi,... (Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) — I've jumped out of a plane from 13,000 feet. I've ridden 400-foot-tall roller coasters that top speeds of 100 mph, and I once found myself using my fingernails to clutch the side of a rock face way too steep to climb without gear. Heights have never fazed me. Until the Skyslide, a terrifying glass tube on the outside of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. It's open to the public Saturday, and journalists were given an early chance to try it out. Perched 1,000 feet above the ground on the side of the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi, the 360-degree glass slide is utterly terrifying. It's is nearly a straight shot down, except for a small turn at the beginning that causes riders to bump against the side of the glass, much to their horror. I tried not to pay attention to the screams from other people riding the slide as I waited in what seemed like an interminable line. I tried not to think about the fact that just 1¼ inches separated me from a 1,000-foot drop. My heart thumped as I approached the top of the slide. I could see the streets below me and the infinite city straight ahead. As I hooked each foot into a little mat that helps riders pick up speed and avoid skidding on the glass, I felt my hands trembling. And when I scooched slowly toward the point of no return, I thought strongly about turning around. I forged on, unable to contain a terrified squeal as I flew down. "Oh my God, Richard!" I yelled to my friend, an AP photographer at the bottom of the slide. All I wanted was to see him again. I shot out of the bottom and am proud to say I stuck the landing. Others have tumbled nearly head over heels. Was it one of the scariest things I've ever done? Absolutely. Would I do it again? I just did. ___ The Skyslide opens to the public for the first time on Saturday. It spans 45 feet from the 70th to the 69th floor of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. The slide is part of a $50 million renovation that includes an open-air observation desk and a bar. Tickets to reach the deck are $25. It costs $8 more to ride the slide. \|\|\|\|\| The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.	– Think China's glass bridge is a bit freaky? Check out this video of AP reporter Amanda Lee Myers sliding down a glass slide. Did we mention it's 1,000 feet above the ground? The 45-foot Skyslide, as it's known, connects the 69th and 70th floors of the US Bank Tower in Los Angeles and will be open to the public Saturday (for a $33 fee) after a $50 million renovation. But a warning from Myers in her first-person account: It's "utterly terrifying" and "nearly a straight shot down."
Electromagnetic radiation has been around since the birth of the universe; light is its most familiar form. Electric and magnetic fields are part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation which extends from static electric and magnetic fields, through radiofrequency and infrared radiation, to X-rays. Comprehensive information is provided hereafter on what electromagnetic fields are, their impact on health, as well as the current exposure standards and recommended precautions. See also \|\|\|\|\| A lawsuit filed by a Massachusetts couple claiming that a school's Wi-Fi network is harming their son is drawing attention to a condition that is so controversial that many in the medical community even question its existence. The parents filed a lawsuit claiming that the Fay School in Southborough has "high-intensity Wi-Fi emissions" that have harmed their son, identified in the lawsuit only as "G" because he is a minor. The parents are also not identified in the lawsuit to protect the identity of their son. "G" he has a condition called Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS), according to the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 12 in state court. The syndrome has been controversial and its existence has been the subject of debate in the medical community. The World Health Organization recognizes the condition but clarifies that it is not a medical diagnosis since there is no symptom criteria and since it has not been proven to be caused by electromagnetic field sources. However, "G" reportedly had multiple symptoms after the school switched wireless Internet systems. "The high-density Wi-Fi used in the Fay classrooms is causing G to suffer headaches, chest pains, nosebleeds, nausea, dizziness, and rashes, all recognized symptoms of EHS," the family claimed in court papers on Aug. 19 seeking an injunction to force the school to take action. The family is asking that Ethernet cables be used in classes when the boy is present or that the school revert to an old Wi-Fi network that they claimed did not cause their son to have symptoms. The boy's physician wrote to the court saying his symptoms may get worse if the exposure continues. "The complete extent of these effects on people is still unknown," wrote Dr. Jeanne Hubbuch in the lawsuit. "But it is clear that children and pregnant women are at the highest risk. This is due to the brain tissue being more absorbent, their skulls are thinner and their relative size is small. There are no studies that show that exposure to these two vulnerable groups is safe." The family is seeking damages in the amount of $250,000, according to court papers. In a statement sent to ABC News, school officials said they had hired a company, Isotrope LLC, to analyze the radio communication signals and emissions in 2014. "Isotrope’s assessment was completed in January 2015 and found that the combined levels of access point emissions, broadcast radio and television signals, and other [radio frequency emissions] on campus 'were substantially less than 1/10,000th of the applicable safety limits (federal and state)," the school said in a statement. Questions about the safety of electromagnetic radiation have gained steam as wireless technology has become more pervasive. However, research into EHS and health effects of Wi-Fi exposure has yet to indicate how these technologies could be causing symptoms as long as radiation is kept within acceptable levels. "It has been suggested that symptoms experienced by some EHS individuals might arise from environmental factors unrelated to EMF [electromagnetic fields]," the WHO explained. "Examples may include 'flicker' from fluorescent lights, glare and other visual problems with [visual display units], and poor ergonomic design of computer workstations. Other factors that may play a role include poor indoor air quality or stress in the workplace or living environment." While the syndrome is not fully understood, WHO recommends that patients seek medical attention from a health professional to evaluate their symptoms. Studies on the health effects of Wi-Fi remain limited, but appear to show no conclusive signs of ill effects related to Wi-Fi exposure. One study with 120 subjects exposed some people to Wi-Fi radiation and others to "sham" Wi-Fi radiation and found no significant differences in the subjects' reactions or symptom severity. In another small study, people watched news reports linking Wi-Fi exposure to negative health effects. When those subjects were exposed to "sham" Wi-Fi, some reported feeling the same ill effects that had been reported in the news program. \|\|\|\|\| The woman claims to suffer an allergy to electromagnetic radiation from gadgets such as cellphones. Photo: gail/Flickr A French court has awarded a disability grant to a woman claiming to suffer from a debilitating allergy to electromagnetic radiation from everyday gadgets such as cellphones. The applicant, Marine Richard, 39, hailed the ruling as a "breakthrough" for people afflicted by Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS). The condition is not recognised as a medical disorder in most countries, including France, but sufferers insist that exposure to mobile phones, wifi routers, televisions and other gadgets cause them anything from mild discomfort to life-ruining disability. Scientific studies have found no evidence linking electromagnetic exposure to the symptoms -- tingling, headaches, fatigue, nausea, or palpitations. Richard, a former radio documentary producer, has opted for a reclusive life in the mountains of southwest France, in a renovated barn without electricity, and drinking water from the well. In a ruling last month, a court in the southern city of Toulouse decided she can claim a disability allowance -- about €800 ($912) per month for an adult -- for a period of three years. The ruling accepted that her symptoms prevented Richard from working, but stopped short of recognising EHS as an illness. Her lawyer Alice Terrasse said the ruling could set a legal precedent for "thousands of people" concerned. "It's a breakthrough," added Richard. The World Health Organisation lists EHS as a condition, but says there is "no scientific basis" for linking the symptoms to electromagnetic exposure. Sweden and Germany have classified it as an occupational disease. Double-blind scientific trials, where neither the patient or researcher was aware whether they had been exposed to electromagnetic waves, have refuted any link to the symptoms, and many experts ascribe the condition to a phobia. Some believe it might be triggered by the so-called "nocebo" effect -- the placebo effect in reverse -- when people feel unwell because they believe they have been exposed to something harmful. \|\|\|\|\| What are electromagnetic fields? Summary of health effects What happens when you are exposed to electromagnetic fields? Exposure to electromagnetic fields is not a new phenomenon. However, during the 20th century, environmental exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields has been steadily increasing as growing electricity demand, ever-advancing technologies and changes in social behaviour have created more and more artificial sources. Everyone is exposed to a complex mix of weak electric and magnetic fields, both at home and at work, from the generation and transmission of electricity, domestic appliances and industrial equipment, to telecommunications and broadcasting. Tiny electrical currents exist in the human body due to the chemical reactions that occur as part of the normal bodily functions, even in the absence of external electric fields. For example, nerves relay signals by transmitting electric impulses. Most biochemical reactions from digestion to brain activities go along with the rearrangement of charged particles. Even the heart is electrically active - an activity that your doctor can trace with the help of an electrocardiogram. Low-frequency electric fields influence the human body just as they influence any other material made up of charged particles. When electric fields act on conductive materials, they influence the distribution of electric charges at their surface. They cause current to flow through the body to the ground. Low-frequency magnetic fields induce circulating currents within the human body. The strength of these currents depends on the intensity of the outside magnetic field. If sufficiently large, these currents could cause stimulation of nerves and muscles or affect other biological processes. Both electric and magnetic fields induce voltages and currents in the body but even directly beneath a high voltage transmission line, the induced currents are very small compared to thresholds for producing shock and other electrical effects. Heating is the main biological effect of the electromagnetic fields of radiofrequency fields. In microwave ovens this fact is employed to warm up food. The levels of radiofrequency fields to which people are normally exposed are very much lower than those needed to produce significant heating. The heating effect of radiowaves forms the underlying basis for current guidelines. Scientists are also investigating the possibility that effects below the threshold level for body heating occur as a result of long-term exposure. To date, no adverse health effects from low level, long-term exposure to radiofrequency or power frequency fields have been confirmed, but scientists are actively continuing to research this area. Biological effects or health effects? What is a health hazard? Biological effects are measurable responses to a stimulus or to a change in the environment. These changes are not necessarily harmful to your health. For example, listening to music, reading a book, eating an apple or playing tennis will produce a range of biological effects. Nevertheless, none of these activities is expected to cause health effects. The body has sophisticated mechanisms to adjust to the many and varied influences we encounter in our environment. Ongoing change forms a normal part of our lives. But, of course, the body does not possess adequate compensation mechanisms for all biological effects. Changes that are irreversible and stress the system for long periods of time may constitute a health hazard. An adverse health effect causes detectable impairment of the health of the exposed individual or of his or her offspring; a biological effect, on the other hand, may or may not result in an adverse health effect. It is not disputed that electromagnetic fields above certain levels can trigger biological effects. Experiments with healthy volunteers indicate that short-term exposure at the levels present in the environment or in the home do not cause any apparent detrimental effects. Exposures to higher levels that might be harmful are restricted by national and international guidelines. The current debate is centred on whether long-term low level exposure can evoke biological responses and influence people's well being. Widespread concerns for health A look at the news headlines of recent years allows some insight into the various areas of public concern. Over the course of the past decade, numerous electromagnetic field sources have become the focus of health concerns, including power lines, microwave ovens, computer and TV screens, security devices, radars and most recently mobile phones and their base stations. The International EMF Project In response to growing public health concerns over possible health effects from exposure to an ever increasing number and diversity of electromagnetic field sources, in 1996 the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a large, multidisciplinary research effort. The International EMF Project brings together current knowledge and available resources of key international and national agencies and scientific institutions. Conclusions from scientific research In the area of biological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation approximately 25,000 articles have been published over the past 30 years. Despite the feeling of some people that more research needs to be done, scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. Based on a recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the WHO concluded that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. However, some gaps in knowledge about biological effects exist and need further research. Effects on general health Some members of the public have attributed a diffuse collection of symptoms to low levels of exposure to electromagnetic fields at home. Reported symptoms include headaches, anxiety, suicide and depression, nausea, fatigue and loss of libido. To date, scientific evidence does not support a link between these symptoms and exposure to electromagnetic fields. At least some of these health problems may be caused by noise or other factors in the environment, or by anxiety related to the presence of new technologies. Effects on pregnancy outcome Many different sources and exposures to electromagnetic fields in the living and working environment, including computer screens, water beds and electric blankets, radiofrequency welding machines, diathermy equipment and radar, have been evaluated by the WHO and other organizations. The overall weight of evidence shows that exposure to fields at typical environmental levels does not increase the risk of any adverse outcome such as spontaneous abortions, malformations, low birth weight, and congenital diseases. There have been occasional reports of associations between health problems and presumed exposure to electromagnetic fields, such as reports of prematurity and low birth weight in children of workers in the electronics industry, but these have not been regarded by the scientific community as being necessarily caused by the field exposures (as opposed to factors such as exposure to solvents). Cataracts General eye irritation and cataracts have sometimes been reported in workers exposed to high levels of radiofrequency and microwave radiation, but animal studies do not support the idea that such forms of eye damage can be produced at levels that are not thermally hazardous. There is no evidence that these effects occur at levels experienced by the general public. Electromagnetic fields and cancer Despite many studies, the evidence for any effect remains highly controversial. However, it is clear that if electromagnetic fields do have an effect on cancer, then any increase in risk will be extremely small. The results to date contain many inconsistencies, but no large increases in risk have been found for any cancer in children or adults. A number of epidemiological studies suggest small increases in risk of childhood leukemia with exposure to low frequency magnetic fields in the home. However, scientists have not generally concluded that these results indicate a cause-effect relation between exposure to the fields and disease (as opposed to artifacts in the study or effects unrelated to field exposure). In part, this conclusion has been reached because animal and laboratory studies fail to demonstrate any reproducible effects that are consistent with the hypothesis that fields cause or promote cancer. Large-scale studies are currently underway in several countries and may help resolve these issues. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity and depression Some individuals report "hypersensitivity" to electric or magnetic fields. They ask whether aches and pains, headaches, depression, lethargy, sleeping disorders, and even convulsions and epileptic seizures could be associated with electromagnetic field exposure. There is little scientific evidence to support the idea of electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Recent Scandinavian studies found that individuals do not show consistent reactions under properly controlled conditions of electromagnetic field exposure. Nor is there any accepted biological mechanism to explain hypersensitivity. Research on this subject is difficult because many other subjective responses may be involved, apart from direct effects of fields themselves. More studies are continuing on the subject. The focus of current and future research Much effort is currently being directed towards the study of electromagnetic fields in relation to cancer. Studies in search for possible carcinogenic (cancer-producing) effects of power frequency fields is continuing, although at a reduced level compared to that of the late 1990's. The long-term health effects of mobile telephone use is another topic of much current research. No obvious adverse effect of exposure to low level radiofrequency fields has been discovered. However, given public concerns regarding the safety of cellular telephones, further research aims to determine whether any less obvious effects might occur at very low exposure levels. Key points \|\|\|\|\| Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) sufferers say radiowaves affect their health A French woman has won a disability grant after telling a court she suffers from an allergy to electromagnetic radiation from gadgets. Marine Richard, 39, was told she may claim €800 (£580) per month for three years as a result. She said it was a "breakthrough" for people affected by electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). The condition is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), though it says the causes are unclear. Ms Richard had resorted to living in a remote area in the mountains of south-west France - in a barn that has no electricity. She said she had been affected by everyday gadgets such as phones. Typical symptoms reported by those who say they suffer from EHS include headaches, fatigue, nausea and palpitations. The disability allowance was granted by a court in Toulouse, though the ruling did not formally recognise EHS as an illness. School sued In a case in the US, the parents of a 12-year-old boy who they say is hypersensitive to his boarding school's WiFi have decided to file a lawsuit against the establishment. The parents say their son, a day pupil, has been diagnosed with EHS. They say he began suffering from headaches, nosebleeds and nausea after the Fay School installed new WiFi in 2013. The school asked the communications technology firm Isotrope to assess the electromagnetic emissions on campus. "Isotrope found that the combined levels of access point emissions, broadcast radio and television signals, and other RFE emissions on campus comply with federal and state safety limits by a wide margin," the school said in a statement. The statement also quoted from the Isotrope report, which said that levels of emissions both in the school and on the grounds "were substantially less than one ten-thousandth (1/10,000th) of the applicable safety limits (federal and state)". Understanding electromagnetic fields By Philippa Roxby, BBC News Health Reporter Electromagnetic fields are all around us but most cannot be seen. In recent years a lot of research has been carried out into man-made sources of these fields, such as electrical power supplies and appliances in the home. X-ray machines, TV and radio transmitters, mobile phones, WiFi and microwave ovens are all everyday sources of electromagnetic waves. Those who are sensitive to them talk of experiencing headaches, sleeplessness, ear pain when using a mobile phone, skin tingling and problems with concentration and memory. For them, the only solution at present is to avoid objects that emit radiation in the home - not easy in the modern world. In the UK, electromagnetic hypersensitivity is not a recognised condition. That's because Public Health England says there is no scientific evidence that electromagnetic fields damage people's health. The WHO agrees and believes more research on long-term health effects needs to be done. Difficult case Although some countries, notably Sweden and the US, have officially recognised EHS as a condition, there is still much debate over whether a legal case on the condition would be worthwhile in certain other states. In the UK, for example, members of the public who are worried about exposure to mobile phone masts tend to challenge their construction on a planning basis, according to research group Powerwatch. "The health issue is close to a no-win in this country at the moment," Graham Lamburn, its technical manager, told the BBC. "You really need to win on things like 'it's devalued my property because it's outside my window' or 'there's an irregularity in the way it's been put through with planning'." Electrosensitivty UK (ES-UK), a charity that campaigns for wider recognition of EHS, said it welcomed the French court's decision. "Several people in the UK have been diagnosed with electrosensitivity and received help for the disability but any financial allowance usually refers to a different name for the condition or a related condition," it said in a statement. \|\|\|\|\| A French woman is set to get disability payouts - because she is allergic to gadgets and the waves they emit. Marine Richard claimed she suffered a “serious handicap” due to her electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). Mobile phone and wi-fi waves made her ill and left her unable to work, the 39-year-old alleged. And a Toulouse court ruled in her favour this week - meaning she is now entitled to £587 a month for at least three years. A judge accepted that her symptoms had stopped her from working, but did not recognise EHS as an illness. The condition, which sufferers say brings on tingling, headaches, fatigue and nausea after being exposed to electromagnetic waves, is not actually recognised as a medical condition in France. Lawyers said that it could now lead to a tide of new claimants coming forward. Former radio documentary producer Richard, who has moved off-grid to a renovated barn without electricity in the south of France, hailed the ruling as a “breakthrough,” according to The Local. (Stock image by Novastock/REX)	– Electromagnetic radiation has been around since the universe first formed; it is, in its "most familiar form," light, reports the World Health Organization. But as cellphone towers and gadgets proliferate, electromagnetic radiation has increased, and some claim a sensitivity to it. One woman in France is now getting roughly $900 a month from the government in disability pay, reports the BBC. Marine Richard, 39, who says she's had to move to a barn without electricity in a remote region of France to escape electromagnetic waves, calls the decision a "breakthrough" for those who experience electromagnetic hypersensitivity. But the court in Toulouse—which ruled last month that her symptoms stopped her from working—did not go so far as to call EHS an illness, reports Yahoo News UK. Though people like Richard have claimed a range of adverse health symptoms, from headaches and nausea to loss of libido and depression, the WHO reports that "scientific evidence does not support a link" between the electromagnetic fields and the symptoms; that "scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals"; and that anxiety about exposure could be causing these health problems. In the US, the parents of a 12-year-old boy at a Massachusetts school filed a lawsuit on Aug. 12 claiming that their son has been dealing with headaches, chest pains, nosebleeds, nausea, dizziness, and rashes since the school installed a new wireless network in 2013, reports ABC News. The family is asking for $250,000 in damages. (West Virginia is home to a town for those who say they've been sickened by WiFi.)
The Neil Lane designed sparkler is a hand-cut vintage diamond from the 1890’s and is a stunning 3.5 carats. The Hunger Games star, “wants Miley to keep the ring. He wouldn’t ask for it back. Liam told Miley to keep it and do with it what she wanted. He told her to keep it as a memento of their love affair,” a source close to the situation told Radar. PHOTOS: From Sweet To Sordid — Miley Cyrus’ Transformation From Innocent Disney Starlet To Sex Vixen “When Liam bought that ring, he truly believed he would be spending the rest of his life with her. Now he realizes they are both just too young to be ready for such a big commitment.” The couple was last seen publicly together at the Los Angeles premiere of his movie Paranoia on August 8. Confirmation of the split comes after Radar’s exclusive report that Hemsworth, 23, and Cyrus, 20, were on a break, prompting their reps to confirm the news. PHOTOS: Liam Hemsworth Cozies Up To Singer/Actress Eiza Gonzalez In Vegas After Split With Miley Cyrus However, speculation of a split ran high when Hemsworth was spotted canoodling with another woman at the Toronto Film Festival and was linked to ex January Jones in recent weeks. \|\|\|\|\| Quite often in fact, what happens in Las Vegas does not just stay there. Liam Hemsworth was spotted kissing singer-actress Eiza González at her apartment complex in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, just a few days after going clubbing with her in Vegas—and barely a day after it was confirmed that he and Miley Cyrus had called off their 15-month engagement. While a source said yesterday that Eiza and Liam had "just met," most likely in Vegas, it appears that they really hit it off. We're told that Liam stopped by her place just after 3:30 p.m. to give her a piece of luggage. Judging by her shorts and sports bra combo, Eiza may have been working out when her visitor arrived. \|\|\|\|\| Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Univision We haven't polled Miley Cyrus fans yet, but those who actually know Eiza González seem to think the world of her. "Eiza is a real family girl and a good friend," a source exclusively tells E! News about the 23-year-old singer and actress from Mexico who partied in Las Vegas with Liam Hemsworth over the weekend and was spotted with him in Los Angeles yesterday as news of his split from Miley Cyrus made the rounds. The source says that González "just met" Hemsworth and may not have even known him before Vegas, adding, "They were there separately. She was there with some friends." READ: 5 things to know about Eiza González EBLV / Splash News Besides, we're told that she had only been living in L.A. for about two weeks! The insider says that González, who is a telenovela and recording star in Mexico, is hoping to further her career in American films and is signed to do a movie in February. Her mom, former Mexico's Next Top Model host Glenda Reyna, is also her manager and goes with her most everywhere (but was not with her in Vegas). And González moved to the U.S. unattached, having tweeted in August that she had "been single for a while." PHOTOS: Celebrity breakups "She had a very good boyfriend," our source tells us, referring to the singer's ex, businessman Pepe Díaz. "They dated for about two years. Like any other girl, she was upset." González was planning to fly back to Mexico in time for a press conference Thursday about the release of the Spanish-language version of Disney's The Croods, for which she did a voice. She and Hemsworth sipped drinks and chatted with a handful of other friends in a VIP bungalow at XS in the Encore Resort on Saturday night following the Mayweather-Alvarez fight, which Hemsworth was in town to watch. Cyrus' rep confirmed Monday that she and the Australian actor had ended their 15-month-engagement and split up after nearly four years together. PHOTOS: Vegas party pics \|\|\|\|\| Is Eiza González the new Miley Cyrus? Um, no, of course not—there's only one Queen of Twerk. But Eiza has been spotted with Liam Hemsworth—at a Las Vegas nightclub over the weekend and just hours after the Hunger Games hunk and Miley went public with the news of their split yesterday. So who is Ms. González? Here are five things you need to know about the 23-year-old Mexican singer-actress. \|\|\|\|\| Moving on already? Just a few short hours after Miley Cyrus announced that she was splitting with her fiancé, Liam Hemsworth, the Hunger Games actor was spotted out in Los Angeles with Eiza González. Hemsworth was seen exiting his home with the stunning Mexican singer and getting into an SUV in his driveway. She initially got into the passenger seat of the car, but later hopped in the back while laughing. Hemsworth opened the door for his rumored new love interest, but once he noticed the photographers, he quickly entered the driver's seat of the vehicle and drove off.	– Well, that was fast: Liam Hemsworth was spotted kissing Eiza González yesterday, just one day after he and Miley Cyrus confirmed their breakup. González is the 23-year-old Mexican singer-actress Hemsworth had been spotted with at a Las Vegas nightclub Sunday; yesterday, he stopped by her place in Beverly Hills to drop off some luggage, and E! has a picture of them making out. (The two were also seen together in LA Monday, at Liam's place that time.) Sources tell E! Hemsworth and González just met, maybe even in Vegas. "They were there separately," says one. "She was there with some friends." She just broke up with her boyfriend of two years earlier this summer, and has only been living in LA a couple weeks. Oddly, she played a very Hannah Montana-esque character in a 2010 telenovela produced by Nickelodeon Latin America, playing a rock star who has to keep her fame a secret, E! notes. In related news: Hemsworth told Cyrus she can keep her $100,000 engagement ring, Radar reports; click to see a picture.
Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. Outpost shows you the world like you’ve never seen it. The series lives at the intersection of investigative journalism and adventure travel, bringing you a local perspective on faraway places and inviting you to explore. The series premieres March 26 @ 8 and 11 PM on Fusion TV. In the first episode, transgender model Carmen Carrera travels to Brazil, a place where rates of violence against LGBT people are some of the highest in the world, to find out what’s happening, what life is like for young transgendered people in Brazil, and what the future might hold. Gabriel Leigh takes us to El Alto, Bolivia, where some of the craziest architecture on earth is taking shape as part of a surge in indigenous purchasing power. \|\|\|\|\| FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series “Outpost” and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series “Outpost” and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Mike Tyson attends a World Team Tennis exhibition to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Las Vegas. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new... (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — Over his career, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson recorded 50 wins and six losses. But he recently notched another big loss in Latin America — this time as a coach of a bird. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series "Outpost " and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird contest, a cherished local tradition. Cameras captured Iron Mike as he learned about the contest, located a bird to enter — he dubbed the tiny guy "Little Mike" — but then suffered a TKO when a competing champion cheeped and peeped more than his bird did in the same 15-minute period. "Little Mike let us down, man. I was in his corner, though," said Tyson by phone from Las Vegas. "It was just amazing meeting the people, meeting the culture — I had a great time." The series, kicking off on Sunday with Tyson's episode, mixes travel adventure, history and journalism to shine a light on global stories. The first season focuses on Latin America and includes as hosts "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" bandleader Jon Batiste, "Brain Games" star Jason Silva, and transgender model Carmen Carrera. Spanish versions air on UniMas. Tyson was lured onto the show by the chance to visit a country he'd never heard of and his love of birds. The former boxer has loved pigeons and raced them since he was a kid in Brooklyn. (Sunday's show recorded the moment Tyson lovingly released the bird in Suriname he competed with.) "My wife always says, 'The reason I keep my pigeons is they connect me to my childhood,'" Tyson said. "Once it's in your blood, it never leaves. It's just who you are." Back home, Tyson is watching his former profession lose out to professional mixed martial arts but thinks he may have the answer to put the "sweet science" back on top: A compelling boxer somehow unifies the heavyweight title. "We haven't had a really good, exciting heavyweight champion in a long time," he said. ___ Online: http://fusion.net/series/outpost	– Over his career, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson recorded 50 wins and six losses. But he recently notched another big loss in Latin America—this time as a coach of a bird, reports the AP. Tyson traveled to Suriname as part of the new Fusion TV documentary series Outpost, and was soundly beaten when he entered a bird in a songbird contest, a cherished local tradition. Cameras captured Iron Mike as he learned about the contest, located a bird to enter—he dubbed the tiny guy "Little Mike"—but then suffered a TKO when a competing champion cheeped and peeped more than his bird did in the same 15-minute period. "Little Mike let us down, man. I was in his corner, though," said Tyson. "It was just amazing meeting the people, meeting the culture—I had a great time." The series, kicking off on Sunday with Tyson's episode, mixes travel adventure, history, and journalism to shine a light on global stories. The first season focuses on Latin America and includes as hosts The Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste, Brain Games star Jason Silva, and transgender model Carmen Carrera. Spanish versions air on UniMas. Tyson was lured onto the show by the chance to visit a country he'd never heard of and his love of birds. The former boxer has loved pigeons and kept them since he was a kid in Brooklyn. (Sunday's show recorded the moment Tyson lovingly released his bird in Suriname.) "My wife always says the reason I keep my pigeons is they connect me to my childhood," Tyson said. "Once it's in your blood, it never leaves. It's just who you are."
Make room on the couch! Frequent View guest cohost Jenny McCarthy may be joining the ABC morning talk show full-time. PHOTOS: Stars' big breaks "She is in serious talks right now," an insider tells Us Weekly of the star, 40, who is currently hosting her own low-rated chatfest on VH1. "Her show isn't quite working out, so she's definitely open to it." PHOTOS: Best-dressed TV show hosts The sassy single mom would replace Joy Behar, 70, when the comedian moves on in August, reveals another source. "The cast and crew get a kick out of Jenny," adds a set source. "She's a good fit. She may not be able to carry a show, but she works well with a group ensemble." PHOTOS: Stars who were fired from jobs A third insider adds Brooke Shields, 48, is also in talks to replace Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 36, come fall. Us exclusively revealed in March that Hasselbeck will not be returning as a cohost, but she has yet to confirm the news. In addition to Behar announcing her departure from the show, Barbara Walters revealed in May that she plans to retire in summer 2014. \|\|\|\|\| UPDATED: The longtime panelist will officially depart the ABC daytime series on Wednesday, filling the chair of Gretchen Carlson on cable network's daily "Fox & Friends" this fall -- while the veteran moves to her own signature program. Elisabeth Hasselbeck is heading to Fox News Channel. Network executive vp programming Bill Shine announced Tuesday that The View panelist will depart her ABC series and make the move to cable this fall as a part of Fox & Friends. As The Hollywood Reporter previously reported, Hasselbeck's departure from The View was expected as part of a revamping that will also involve the exit of Joy Behar and the upcoming retirement of Barbara Walters. An ABC spokesperson confirmed that Hasselbeck's last day with The View will be Wednesday, July 10. PHOTOS: THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media Walters chimed in on Hasselbeck's departure in the announcement. "We have had 10 wonderful years with Elisabeth, and she will now be swimming in new waters," said the TV news veteran. "We will miss her and wish her everything good." Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes also weighed in. "Elisabeth's warm and engaging personality made her a star on The View," said Ailes. "She has proven to be an excellent conversationalist, and I am certain she will make a great addition to our already successful morning franchise." Hasselbeck's move to Fox & Friends has her joining current co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade come September. Current co-host Gretchen Carlson has received her own one-hour signature daytime series in the shake-up. That will also begin in early fall. PHOTOS: Jenny McCarthy in Talks to Join 'The View' as Part of On-Camera Facelift “I am excited to further advance my career and am thrilled to have the opportunity to host my own show in daytime and look forward to showcasing my skills as an interviewer and journalist in a more in-depth manner," added Carlson, who's been with Fox & Friends since 2006. News of Hasselbeck's new job comes on the heels of Jenny McCarthy starting talks to replace Behar on The View. The loss of three panelists within the year means that the veteran daytime talker will be undergoing a substantial on-camera facelift -- something that might help curb its ratings decline. Walters had previously denied reports of Hasselbeck's exit, particularly one story that claimed polled viewers found her "too extreme and right-wing." And Hasselbeck is not the only View alum to get a new job on Tuesday. Hours before word of her move broke, NBCUniversal made official its plans to have founding View panelist Meredith Vieira helm her own syndicated talk show. "I have been a longtime fan of Fox & Friends and am excited to be joining their team in September," saidHasselbeck. "It is an honor to call the Fox News Channel my new television home."	– Another empty seat is coming up at The View: Elisabeth Hasselbeck is leaving the ABC talk show for a new gig on Fox and Friends, the network has confirmed. The departure comes as part of a shake-up that includes the exit of Joy Behar and the retirement of Barbara Walters, notes the Hollywood Reporter. Today will be Hasselbeck's last day on The View and there's no word yet on her replacement: Brooke Shields is rumored to be in the running, but former Playboy playmate and frequent guest co-host Jenny McCarthy is now in "serious talks" about joining the show, according to Us Weekly.
Wall Street Bonuses and Profits Decline in 2015 The average bonus paid in New York City’s security industry declined by 9 percent to $146,200 in 2015 as industry-wide profits declined by 10.5 percent, according to an estimate released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “Wall Street bonuses and profits fell in 2015, reflecting a challenging year in the financial markets,” DiNapoli said. “While the cost of legal settlements appears to be easing, ongoing weaknesses in the global economy and market volatility may dampen profits in 2016. Both the state and city budgets depend heavily on the securities industry and lower profits could mean fewer industry jobs and less tax revenue.” The securities industry reported that pre-tax profits for the broker/dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) member firms—the traditional measure of industry profitability—declined by nearly $1.7 billion to $14.3 billion in 2015. After a strong first half and a solid third quarter, the industry reported a small loss of $177 million in the fourth quarter, the first quarterly loss since 2011. Even though expenses were lower in 2015, profits declined because revenues were weak, particularly from trading and underwriting. Profits declined for the third consecutive year, reaching the lowest reported level since 2011. Although industry-wide profits were down, employment in the securities industry in New York City grew by 2.7 percent in 2015, averaging 172,400 jobs for the year. The industry added 4,500 jobs, compared with 2,400 jobs added in 2014. This marks the first time since the financial crisis that the industry in New York City has added jobs for two years in a row. Despite the job gains, the industry is still 8 percent smaller than before the financial crisis. It remains to be seen, however, whether the recent job gains can be sustained in 2016 given the weakness in the global economy and financial markets, and increased provisions for bad loans related to the energy sector. A number of large financial firms have already announced plans to reduce costs to improve profitability, which could lead to fewer employees in New York City and smaller bonuses next year. DiNapoli’s office releases an annual estimate of bonuses paid to securities industry employees who work in New York City during the traditional bonus season. Bonuses paid by firms to their employees located outside of New York City (whether in domestic or international locations) are not included. The Comptroller’s estimate is based on personal income tax trends, which do not distinguish between cash bonuses for the current year and compensation deferred from prior years. The estimate does not include stock options or other forms of deferred compensation for which taxes have not been withheld. DiNapoli also reported that: The 2015 bonus pool for securities industry employees who work in New York City declined by 6 percent to $25 billion during the traditional December-March bonus season. The Comptroller’s estimate includes cash bonuses for the current year and bonuses deferred from prior years that have been cashed in; The average bonus declined by 9 percent in New York City to $146,200 in 2015. The decline in the average bonus was larger than the decline in the total bonus pool because the pool was shared among a larger number of employees than last year. Despite the decline, the average bonus in 2015 was slightly larger than the average of the seven prior years (adjusted for inflation); The securities industry does not separately disaggregate legal settlement costs from other noncompensation expenses, but noncompensation expenses (excluding rent, communication costs and other major operational expenses) declined by 6 percent in 2015, the first decline in five years. This suggests the cost of legal settlements is beginning to ease. The decline comes after costs climbed by 83 percent between 2008 and 2014. The average salary (including bonuses) for securities industry employees in New York City rose 14 percent in 2014 to $404,800, setting a new record (data are not yet available for 2015). This was nearly six times higher than salaries in the rest of the City’s private sector ($72,300); Although the securities industry is smaller, it is still one of New York City’s most powerful economic engines. The industry accounted for 22 percent of all private sector wages paid in New York City in 2014 even though it accounted for less than 5 percent of the City’s private sector jobs. An estimated 1 in 9 jobs in the city are either directly or indirectly associated with the securities industry; Unlike in prior economic recoveries, the securities industry has not been a driving force in the current jobs recovery in New York City. So far, the industry has accounted for less than 1 percent of the private sector jobs added, compared with 10 percent during the two prior recoveries; Securities-related activities are a large contributor to state and city tax revenues. DiNapoli estimates that securities-related activities accounted for 7.5 percent ($3.8 billion) of all city tax revenue in city fiscal year 2015 and 17.5 percent ($12.5 billion) of state tax collections in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2014-15. The state also expects to receive more than $8.5 billion in settlement payments from financial firms during SFY 2014-15 and SFY 2015-16; and The state recently lowered its forecast of the statewide bonus pool for the broader finance and insurance sector and now assumes a decline of 2.5 percent. Since the securities industry in New York City accounts for about three quarters of that bonus pool, state personal income tax collections from the city’s securities industry could be lower in the current state fiscal year. New York City’s budget also assumes a smaller decline in the bonus pool than forecast by DiNapoli. Click here for a chart showing the Comptroller’s estimates of the bonus pool from 1986-2015. Click here for charts showing Wall Street’s average bonus, estimated profits and employment. \|\|\|\|\| Wall Street’s average bonus fell 9 percent to $146,200 in 2015, the biggest drop since 2011, according to estimates by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. QuickTake Banker Bonuses The bonus pool was $25 billion, down 6 percent from a year earlier, even as the industry added 4,500 jobs in New York City, DiNapoli said Monday in a statement. The payouts shrank as profits from the broker-dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange member firms declined $1.7 billion to $14.3 billion. Profit at the six largest U.S. banks rose to $93 billion in 2015, more than double the 2009 level and a 36 percent increase from a year earlier. Still, the industry has been slow to recover from the 2008 global financial crisis. A years-long slump in fixed-income trading revenue and rising litigation costs have forced many banks to cut jobs and reduce pay. The 24-company KBW Bank Index declined 10 percent this year through Friday. “Wall Street bonuses and profits fell in 2015, reflecting a challenging year in the financial markets,” DiNapoli said in the statement. “While the cost of legal settlements appears to be easing, ongoing weaknesses in the global economy and market volatility may dampen profits in 2016.” Job Cuts Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to eliminate more than 5 percent of traders and salespeople in its fixed-income business, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg last week. Bank of America Corp., which cut more than 10,000 jobs last year, will dismiss about 150 trading and investment-banking employees this week as part of the firm’s periodic cull of low performers, people familiar with the matter said last week. Smaller bonuses mean New York City will be forced to contend with lower tax revenue this year and next, Kathryn Wylde, chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City, said in an e-mailed statement. Politicians calling for stricter regulations for Wall Street should recognize that the industry is responsible for about 40 percent of the local economy and directly contributes almost 20 percent of tax revenue. “New York cannot continue to thrive if Wall Street withers,” Wylde said in the statement. Investment banks are also still dealing with the consequences of misconduct in the years leading up to the financial crisis. A group of 15 global investment banks will probably see higher legal expenses over the next two years after already setting aside a total of $219 billion in costs between 2008 and 2014, according to a survey by Moody’s Investors Service. Goldman Settlement Wells Fargo & Co. agreed last month to pay $1.2 billion to resolve claims related to its Federal Housing Administration mortgage practices. Goldman Sachs in January agreed to settle a U.S. probe into its handling of mortgage-backed securities for about $5.1 billion, cutting fourth-quarter profit by roughly $1.5 billion and closing out a year of record legal and litigation costs. The average salary in the securities industry in New York City rose 14 percent to a record $404,800 in 2014, the latest year data were available. The industry accounts for 22 percent of all private sector wages paid in New York City and roughly one in nine jobs are directly or indirectly associated with it, according to the statement from DiNapoli’s office. The state got more pessimistic about prospects for 2016, saying the statewide bonus pool will probably drop 2.5 percent in the current fiscal year, down from a previous estimate for a 0.7 percent increase.	– For Wall Street bankers, 2015 didn't turn out as well as it usually does in terms of bonuses. Per Bloomberg, the average bonus fell 9% last year to $146,200, which is the largest decrease since 2011, according to estimates by NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. As the Washington Post notes, 2015's bonuses were larger than those during the Great Recession, but smaller than those in 2006, which saw a record-high average of $191,360. The Post also speculates that 2016 isn't going to improve much on that, with state officials anticipating a decline in the overall bonus pool—last year's was $25 billion—of about 2.5% this fiscal year. "Wall Street bonuses and profits fell in 2015, reflecting a challenging year in the financial markets," DiNapoli says in a press release. "While the cost of legal settlements appears to be easing, ongoing weaknesses in the global economy and market volatility may dampen profits in 2016." (Too bad we don't all work for Facebook in the UK.)
News Corporation chief seemingly tries to break with 2011's annus horribilis by tweeting 'with his own voice, in his own way' A new year, a new you: even if you're an 80-year-old media magnate, it appears the transformative allure of 1 January can prove irresistible. Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of News Corporation – who may have more reason than usual to want to make a break with 2011 – has apparently joined Twitter. Users of the microblogging site have reacted with a mixture of incredulity and unabashed horror to a declaration by its executive chairman Jack Dorsey that Murdoch had set up a verified account and would be gracing the site with his unique observations. "With his own voice, in his own way, @RupertMurdoch is now on Twitter," wrote Dorsey. Within hours, the media tycoon had amassed more than 14,000 followers and was giving them his views on everything from the US presidential election to his family holiday in the Caribbean. A cursory glance at his output reveals that he considers Steve Jobs's biography to be "interesting but unfair", that thoughts are best kept private in St Barths ("like London!"), and that George Clooney deserves an Oscar for his performance in The Descendants (whose distributor is News Corp-owned Fox Searchlight Pictures). Murdoch's latest tweet, posted late on New Year's Eve and betraying a certain technological unease with punctuation, reads: "Huge NY eve do. Oligarchs and silicon valley biggies(like Jack) . May. Learn something". The arrival on Twitter of one of society's most divisive figures was welcomed by some, but pilloried by many others. Piers Morgan, former editor of the News of the World, wrote: "Now this is going to be fascinating … welcome to Twitter my old boss @RupertMurdoch." But the former deputy prime minister John Prescott captured the reaction of many when he made indirect reference to the phone-hacking scandal which saw Murdoch come under huge pressure in 2011. "Welcome to Twitter … @rupertmurdoch," he wrote. "I've left you a Happy New Year message on my voicemail!" Another tweet suggested Murdoch follow Tom Watson, the Labour MP whose dogged pursuit of the scandal has won him many fans. Despite a blue and white tick appearing next to the Murdoch account – the sign Twitter uses to show that an account has been "verified" as belonging to the right person – many remained dubious as to its authenticity. Michael Wolff, a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and biographer of Murdoch, declared the account to be "fake, fake". Another user, @factor50, commented: "It can't be him, because all he should be tweeting is SORRY in every single breath." But Dorsey's tweet seems to prove the doubters wrong. \|\|\|\|\| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more	– Rupert Murdoch on Twitter? It seems unlikely, and many, including Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff, insist the account that popped up yesterday is fake. But none other than Twitter's own executive chairman, Jack Dorsey, tweeted last night: "With his own voice, in his own way, @RupertMurdoch is now on Twitter." The first tweet was posted 19 hours ago, and the account already has nearly 20,000 followers. It also has the blue and white "Verified Account" checkmark next to Murdoch's name. What has he written about so far? The Steve Jobs biography ("interesting but unfair. Family must hate."), Ron Paul ("Huge appeal of libertarian message."), St. Barth's ("too many people."), Alexander Hamilton ("Best man never elected president."), The Descendants ("Star Geo Clooney deserves Oscar, maybe film too."), and family outings ("Great time in sea with young daughters, uboating."). But, the Guardian notes, not everyone is enjoying Murdoch's 140-character insights: In reference to the News Corp. phone hacking scandal, former deputy prime minister John Prescott tweeted, "Welcome to Twitter ... @rupertmurdoch. I've left you a Happy New Year message on my voicemail!"
Updated at 2:20 p.m.: Revised to include sentencing. A Houston man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for choking his prom date in 2014 shortly before she died. A jury deliberated for two hours before convicting 20-year-old Eddie Herrera of assault, the Houston Chronicle reports. The jury sentenced him to 25 years behind bars later in the day; he had faced up to life. Jacqueline Gomez, 17, died on May 16, 2014, after attending Aldine’s MacArthur High School prom with Herrera. The two went to a hotel room after the dance, where they drank heavily and took prescription painkillers. Jacqueline died in the hotel room bed next to Herrera. Her blood alcohol content was 0.26 percent, and there was hydrocodone in her system. Her neck was also bruised. Herrera admitted to police that he choked Jacqueline during consensual rough sex but that she was alive afterward. Medical examiners could not determine whether she died from an overdose or from being choked. Herrera was not charged with murder but instead with the first-degree felony of domestic violence. Herrera’s mother, Melissa Martinez, was arrested last year on charges of providing the teens with alcohol and pills and is awaiting trial, according to KPRC-TV. She is also accused of dressing Jacqueline’s body after her son called and said she was unresponsive. \|\|\|\|\| According to the Houston Police Department, Eddie M. Herrera, 18, admitted to choking his date 17-year-old Jacqueline “Jackie” Gomez in their hotel room last May. She was found in that room the next morning dead. (Photo: KHOU) HOUSTON - The man accused of choking his date after their 2014 prom has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of aggravated assault. Eddie Herrera admitted he choked 17-year-old Jackie Gomez, a MacArthur High School student, in a hotel room after the 2014 prom. He said it happened during rough sex. An autopsy also found hydrocodone and alcohol in Gomez’s system. “With a combination of the alcohol and the hydrocodone, the body was already so depressed that it could not recover from those choking injuries,” Wood said Tuesday. “This is just extremely sad because it could've all been prevented.” Eddie Herrera and Jackie Gomez (Courtesy photo) During the sentencing phase of Herrera's trial, the prosecutor reminded jurors that Herrera called his mother first when he woke up to find Gomez dead. Herrera and his mother then waited two hours before calling 911, according to the prosecutor. Gomez's cousin Alex took the stand for an impact statement. She asked Herrera to look at her as she told him that she would never forgive him – and that 25-years was not enough. "That moment is always pretty powerful because it is a chance for the victim's family or the victims to address their perpetrator directly," Wood said. "And so for Alex, who was Jackie's cousin who she was very close to, to be able to know that he has to sit there and listen to and hear some of what they've had to experience of the last two years is pretty powerful." Gomez's mother told us off camera that she feels Jackie is with her all the time and is her guardian angel. She says she hasn't changed a thing in her daughter's bedroom. Herrera's attorney has already filed a notice to appeal. Herrera’s mother, Melissa Martinez, is also charged in the case. Police say she gave the teens drugs and alcohol, booked the teens’ hotel room and lied to Gomez’s mother because she wanted them to “have a good time.” She will face a judge next week. \|\|\|\|\| Opening statements in assault trial of Eddie Herrera, accused of choking his prom date to death during rough sex last year, Monday, May 2, 2016, in Houston. She was found with elevated amounts of hydrocodone, so it is unclear if she was strangled or died of an overdose. He faces life in prison if convicted. Steve Gonzales / Houston Chronicle ) less	– A 20-year-old Houston man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday after he woke up to find his prom date dead back in 2014, KHOU reports. Eddie Herrera admitted to choking 17-year-old Jackie Gomez during rough—but consensual—sex in a hotel room after the prom. According to the Houston Chronicle, Herrera says Gomez was alive afterward and they talked before both passing out. They had both been drinking heavily and had taken the prescription painkiller hydrocodone, the Dallas Morning News reports. Because of the substances in her system, it's still unclear whether Gomez died from an overdose or from strangulation. Gomez was found with bruises on her neck, and, the prosecutor said, "with a combination of the alcohol and the hydrocodone," it's possible "the body was already so depressed that it could not recover from those choking injuries." Herrera was charged with first-degree felony domestic violence and faced a potential life sentence. He called his mom after finding Gomez dead and the two waited two hours before calling 911. In that time, his mom allegedly dressed Gomez. Herrera was found guilty of aggravated assault, but his attorney plans to appeal the 25-year sentence. Gomez's cousin told the court the sentence wasn't long enough. Herrera's mother, Melissa Martinez, is facing charges of her own. She allegedly booked the hotel room, lied to Gomez's mother, and gave her son and Gomez alcohol and drugs so they would "have a good time."
One of the reasons to be skeptical that Rick Santorum could win the Republican nomination is that we now have a pretty good idea of how the vote will play out from state to state — and the coalition that he is building seems short of a majority. It is not that Mr. Santorum’s delegate deficit is mathematically insurmountable. But he’s behind, and he is very unlikely to win states like New Jersey and California that either have a lot of delegates or use winner-take-all rules to award them. That might not leave enough fertile opportunities for him to gain delegates. If you go through the states one by one and make some reasonably optimistic assumptions about how Mr. Santorum might perform in each one based on their demographics, and then apply the delegate rules in each state, you’ll find it very challenging to come up with a plan in which he wins a plurality of delegates, let alone a majority of them. So what Mr. Santorum needs instead is some kind of change in the underlying conditions of the race. Not just one where he starts to win marginal states (say, Illinois and Wisconsin) by a point or two instead of lose them (as he did in Michigan and Ohio). That doesn’t actually make all that much difference in the delegate math. He needs something more fundamental than that. There is one obvious candidate: what if Newt Gingrich were to drop out of the race? This is hardly so far-fetched. Mr. Gingrich had a poor Super Tuesday, and his advisers have said that Mississippi and Alabama, which vote next Tuesday, are “must-wins” for him. Indeed, the main competition in these states might be between Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich, with Mr. Romney likely to finish in third place especially if he makes little effort there. If Mr. Gingrich dropped out, how many of his supporters would go to Mr. Santorum? It is hard to know for sure and it might depend in part on whether Mr. Gingrich endorsed Mr. Santorum. The firm Public Policy Polling, however, has recently started to ask its respondents who they would support in a three-way race of Mr. Romney, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Paul, with Mr. Gingrich no longer on the ballot. By comparing the support levels in this question with those from the four-candidate ballot, it is possible to back into an estimate of where Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would go. Performing this calculation and averaging out the results from the five states where Public Policy Polling recently asked this question (Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin and North Carolina), I came up with the following answer. Slightly more than half (57 percent) of Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would go to Mr. Santorum. About a quarter (27 percent) would go to Mr. Romney. The remainder (16 percent) would go to Ron Paul. Those numbers seem a pinch optimistic for Mr. Santorum — surveys conducted at earlier points in the race sometimes showed a more even distribution of second-choice support. The calculation also ignores the fact that some of Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would probably not vote at all if he weren’t on the ballot, rather than turn out for their second choice. However, if you look at the actual ways in which voters behaved when the number of alternatives was limited, the results are a little troubling for Mr. Romney. One example is Missouri, a state where Mr. Gingrich was not on the ballot because he did not file on time. (Missouri’s primary did not count for delegate selection — the state holds a caucus for that purpose instead — but it is an interesting data point.) Mr. Santorum got 55 percent of the vote there, far more than he has in any other state, and Mr. Romney just 25 percent. It was similar in Virginia, where both Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich were off the ballot. (That contest, unfortunately for Mr. Santorum, did count for delegate selection). In that state, Mr. Paul got 40 percent of the vote — twice as much as he’s attracted in any other primary and much better than polls projected. Although turnout in Virginia was low and Mr. Romney won all but three delegates there (he actually lost one Congressional district to Mr. Paul), this result was in some ways the most negative sign for Mr. Romney on Super Tuesday, since it suggested the presence of an “anybody but Romney” vote. So suppose that you took those estimates from the Public Policy Polling surveys — Mr. Santorum gets 57 percent of Mr. Gingrich’s voters, Mr. Romney 27 percent, and Mr. Paul 16 percent — and redistributed Mr. Gingrich’s votes accordingly in the states that have already voted. Then you recalculated the delegate distribution based on the revised vote totals. It took some work, but here is the calculation I came up with: Mr. Santorum would have carried four states that he actually lost. The first two are the ones Mr. Gingrich won originally, South Carolina and Georgia, although his margin would have been very small in South Carolina. His share of the Gingrich vote would also have been enough to push him past Mr. Romney in Ohio and Alaska. He would not have won Michigan — Mr. Gingrich received very few votes there so there was little marginal benefit to Mr. Santorum — although it would have flipped one Congressional district and therefore given him the majority of delegates in the state. Calculating the delegate totals is more challenging. One issue is states like Iowa, in which the results reported by the news media are from a presidential-preference straw poll that is not directly tied to delegate selection. In these cases, I assumed that delegates were proportional to the straw poll results, even though they are picked though a separate process. Another is states that allocate some of their delegates by Congressional district. I was able to find district-by-district results for Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina and Ohio and make exact calculations for those states, but had to make some best guesses in Oklahoma and Tennessee. With those qualifications in mind, this general result should hold: Mr. Romney would still be significantly ahead in the delegate count. I have him with 404 delegates versus 264 for Mr. Santorum and 71 for Mr. Paul. Mr. Romney’s delegate total, in fact, is very slightly higher than it would have been before the redistribution of the vote. There are cases when the shift in votes costs him delegates, such as in winner-take-all districts, or when one of his opponents gains more votes and crosses a threshold that enables him to receive proportional delegates. But Mr. Romney is being given some votes under these assumptions — if not as many as Mr. Santorum — and that helps him in cases where the delegate allocation is more proportional. These factors came close to balancing out, but Mr. Romney gained about 10 delegates on net. Mr. Santorum, however, made the larger gains, winning about 110 more delegates than he has taken in the real world with Mr. Gingrich on the ballot. He made up a net of about 100 delegates with Mr. Romney, although he still trailed him. Some of Mr. Romney’s advantage, just as in the real delegate count, is because the delegate rules have tended to work in his favor. Much of Mr. Romney’s delegate advantage comes from three states — Arizona, Florida and Idaho — that apply winner-take-all rules or something close to it, plus Virginia, where the other candidates were too disorganized to get on the ballot. Still, that doesn’t explain all of Mr. Romney’s edge, nor does the split in the conservative vote. Even after receiving his share of Gingrich vote, Mr. Santorum would still have trailed Mr. Romney in the overall popular vote — about 45 percent to 38 percent. Of course, an exercise like this cannot account for the dynamics of the race. If he had received some of Mr. Gingrich’s votes, for instance, Mr. Santorum would have won Iowa by about four points and been declared the winner there on election night, possibly giving him more momentum heading into future states. But there are also occasions when this would have worked in Mr. Romney’s favor — he would have narrowly lost South Carolina to Mr. Santorum, for example, rather than been overwhelmed there by Mr. Gingrich. It would undoubtedly still help Mr. Santorum if Mr. Gingrich dropped out — especially if Mr. Gingrich endorsed Mr. Santorum and asked his delegates to vote for him. In fact, the combined total of Santorum and Gingrich delegates right now is quite similar to the number that we calculate Mr. Santorum would have won without Mr. Gingrich in the race. But that would be just the first step for Mr. Santorum — at best, a necessary but not sufficient condition for a comeback. He’ll need to find some further means by which he can eat into Mr. Romney’s coalition, and he’ll need to do so in a hurry since 21 states have already voted. \|\|\|\|\| One of the reasons to be skeptical that Rick Santorum could win the Republican nomination is that we now have a pretty good idea of how the vote will play out from state to state — and the coalition that he is building seems short of a majority. It is not that Mr. Santorum’s delegate deficit is mathematically insurmountable. But he’s behind, and he is very unlikely to win states like New Jersey and California that either have a lot of delegates or use winner-take-all rules to award them. That might not leave enough fertile opportunities for him to gain delegates. If you go through the states one by one and make some reasonably optimistic assumptions about how Mr. Santorum might perform in each one based on their demographics, and then apply the delegate rules in each state, you’ll find it very challenging to come up with a plan in which he wins a plurality of delegates, let alone a majority of them. So what Mr. Santorum needs instead is some kind of change in the underlying conditions of the race. Not just one where he starts to win marginal states (say, Illinois and Wisconsin) by a point or two instead of lose them (as he did in Michigan and Ohio). That doesn’t actually make all that much difference in the delegate math. He needs something more fundamental than that. There is one obvious candidate: what if Newt Gingrich were to drop out of the race? This is hardly so far-fetched. Mr. Gingrich had a poor Super Tuesday, and his advisers have said that Mississippi and Alabama, which vote next Tuesday, are “must-wins” for him. Indeed, the main competition in these states might be between Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich, with Mr. Romney likely to finish in third place especially if he makes little effort there. If Mr. Gingrich dropped out, how many of his supporters would go to Mr. Santorum? It is hard to know for sure and it might depend in part on whether Mr. Gingrich endorsed Mr. Santorum. The firm Public Policy Polling, however, has recently started to ask its respondents who they would support in a three-way race of Mr. Romney, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Paul, with Mr. Gingrich no longer on the ballot. By comparing the support levels in this question with those from the four-candidate ballot, it is possible to back into an estimate of where Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would go. Performing this calculation and averaging out the results from the five states where Public Policy Polling recently asked this question (Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin and North Carolina), I came up with the following answer. Slightly more than half (57 percent) of Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would go to Mr. Santorum. About a quarter (27 percent) would go to Mr. Romney. The remainder (16 percent) would go to Ron Paul. Those numbers seem a pinch optimistic for Mr. Santorum — surveys conducted at earlier points in the race sometimes showed a more even distribution of second-choice support. The calculation also ignores the fact that some of Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would probably not vote at all if he weren’t on the ballot, rather than turn out for their second choice. However, if you look at the actual ways in which voters behaved when the number of alternatives was limited, the results are a little troubling for Mr. Romney. One example is Missouri, a state where Mr. Gingrich was not on the ballot because he did not file on time. (Missouri’s primary did not count for delegate selection — the state holds a caucus for that purpose instead — but it is an interesting data point.) Mr. Santorum got 55 percent of the vote there, far more than he has in any other state, and Mr. Romney just 25 percent. It was similar in Virginia, where both Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich were off the ballot. (That contest, unfortunately for Mr. Santorum, did count for delegate selection). In that state, Mr. Paul got 40 percent of the vote — twice as much as he’s attracted in any other primary and much better than polls projected. Although turnout in Virginia was low and Mr. Romney won all but three delegates there (he actually lost one Congressional district to Mr. Paul), this result was in some ways the most negative sign for Mr. Romney on Super Tuesday, since it suggested the presence of an “anybody but Romney” vote. So suppose that you took those estimates from the Public Policy Polling surveys — Mr. Santorum gets 57 percent of Mr. Gingrich’s voters, Mr. Romney 27 percent, and Mr. Paul 16 percent — and redistributed Mr. Gingrich’s votes accordingly in the states that have already voted. Then you recalculated the delegate distribution based on the revised vote totals. It took some work, but here is the calculation I came up with: Mr. Santorum would have carried four states that he actually lost. The first two are the ones Mr. Gingrich won originally, South Carolina and Georgia, although his margin would have been very small in South Carolina. His share of the Gingrich vote would also have been enough to push him past Mr. Romney in Ohio and Alaska. He would not have won Michigan — Mr. Gingrich received very few votes there so there was little marginal benefit to Mr. Santorum — although it would have flipped one Congressional district and therefore given him the majority of delegates in the state. Calculating the delegate totals is more challenging. One issue is states like Iowa, in which the results reported by the news media are from a presidential-preference straw poll that is not directly tied to delegate selection. In these cases, I assumed that delegates were proportional to the straw poll results, even though they are picked though a separate process. Another is states that allocate some of their delegates by Congressional district. I was able to find district-by-district results for Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina and Ohio and make exact calculations for those states, but had to make some best guesses in Oklahoma and Tennessee. With those qualifications in mind, this general result should hold: Mr. Romney would still be significantly ahead in the delegate count. I have him with 404 delegates versus 264 for Mr. Santorum and 71 for Mr. Paul. Mr. Romney’s delegate total, in fact, is very slightly higher than it would have been before the redistribution of the vote. There are cases when the shift in votes costs him delegates, such as in winner-take-all districts, or when one of his opponents gains more votes and crosses a threshold that enables him to receive proportional delegates. But Mr. Romney is being given some votes under these assumptions — if not as many as Mr. Santorum — and that helps him in cases where the delegate allocation is more proportional. These factors came close to balancing out, but Mr. Romney gained about 10 delegates on net. Mr. Santorum, however, made the larger gains, winning about 110 more delegates than he has taken in the real world with Mr. Gingrich on the ballot. He made up a net of about 100 delegates with Mr. Romney, although he still trailed him. Some of Mr. Romney’s advantage, just as in the real delegate count, is because the delegate rules have tended to work in his favor. Much of Mr. Romney’s delegate advantage comes from three states — Arizona, Florida and Idaho — that apply winner-take-all rules or something close to it, plus Virginia, where the other candidates were too disorganized to get on the ballot. Still, that doesn’t explain all of Mr. Romney’s edge, nor does the split in the conservative vote. Even after receiving his share of Gingrich vote, Mr. Santorum would still have trailed Mr. Romney in the overall popular vote — about 45 percent to 38 percent. Of course, an exercise like this cannot account for the dynamics of the race. If he had received some of Mr. Gingrich’s votes, for instance, Mr. Santorum would have won Iowa by about four points and been declared the winner there on election night, possibly giving him more momentum heading into future states. But there are also occasions when this would have worked in Mr. Romney’s favor — he would have narrowly lost South Carolina to Mr. Santorum, for example, rather than been overwhelmed there by Mr. Gingrich. It would undoubtedly still help Mr. Santorum if Mr. Gingrich dropped out — especially if Mr. Gingrich endorsed Mr. Santorum and asked his delegates to vote for him. In fact, the combined total of Santorum and Gingrich delegates right now is quite similar to the number that we calculate Mr. Santorum would have won without Mr. Gingrich in the race. But that would be just the first step for Mr. Santorum — at best, a necessary but not sufficient condition for a comeback. He’ll need to find some further means by which he can eat into Mr. Romney’s coalition, and he’ll need to do so in a hurry since 21 states have already voted.	– The math is not looking good for Rick Santorum, and his supporters are pressing Newt Gingrich to drop out of the race so as to change that. So Nate Silver of the New York Times decided to do the math and see just how much that would help Santorum's cause. Based on Public Policy Polling data, he estimates that 57% of Gingrich's supporters would back Santorum, with 27% backing Romney. The number seems plausible but realistic, given that Romney's opponents surged in the essentially one-on-one contests in Missouri and Virginia. But using that math, Silver calculates that even if Gingrich hadn't been in the race at all, Santorum would still trail Romney 264 delegates to 404. Gingrich dropping out and throwing his delegates to Santorum would result in a similar total, and it would certainly help. "But that would be just the first step," Silver says. The demographics Santorum is winning simply don't add up; he needs to find another way to cut into Romney's coalition, "and he'll need to do so in a hurry." Click for Silver's full column.
Concerned about controversial sexual topics being brought up in your child’s school? You’ve come to the right place. TrueTolerance.org helps you respond in a loving and fact-based way. Get tips on communicating with your school officials! \|\|\|\|\| As kids head back to school, conservative Christian media ministry Focus on the Family perceives a bully on the playground: national gay-advocacy groups. School officials allow these outside groups to introduce policies, curriculum and library books under the guise of diversity, safety or bullying-prevention initiatives, said Focus on the Family education expert Candi Cushman. "We feel more and more that activists are being deceptive in using anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled," Cushman said. Public schools increasingly convey that homosexuality is normal and should be accepted, Cushman said, while opposing viewpoints by conservative Christians are portrayed as bigotry. Eliza Byard, executive director of the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, agrees with a big part of that statement. "Yes, we want LGBT students afforded full respect," she said. GLSEN says its agenda is to ensure safe schools and acceptance for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, national origin or ability. "Bullying is a serious public health crisis in this country, according to no less an authority than the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services," Byard said. How prevalent is bullying? About 30 percent of American sixth-to- 10th-graders report being involved in bullying — either as a victim or bully, according to a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advertisement It's three times more common if you're gay, Byard said. GLSEN's 2007 National School Climate Survey found that almost nine out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students experienced harassment. Almost 61 percent felt unsafe in school. And 22 percent reported being physically assaulted in schools. "The word 'faggot' is not part of any religious creed," Byard said. Focus supports bullying prevention, Cushman said. "But this issue is being hijacked by activists. They shouldn't be politicizing or sexualizing the issue of bully prevention." Cushman founded TrueTolerance.org, which says it helps Christian parents "confront the gay agenda," which she said includes homosexual-themed curricula, books with sexually graphic content and anti-religion stereotypes, assemblies and celebrations. Cushman said there have been several incidents in which religious freedom has lost out to the right of gay activists to promote their views. She wasn't aware of any specific problems in Colorado schools, she said, but events in Alameda, Calif., last year illustrate what's at stake. An Alameda school board adopted a curriculum in 2009 that Focus says promotes homosexuality and gay marriage to elementary school kids. Parents who objected could not opt out of the lessons even if it conflicted with deeply held religious beliefs. The board said, and a judge agreed, that the curriculum was mandatory because of state and local policies regarding student safety and nondiscrimination. Focus on the Family reports that all 16,000 U.S. public school superintendents will receive a copy of a 24-page GLSEN booklet, "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth." "The theme: Schools are only allowed to provide one message about homosexuality — that it's normal and should be embraced," Focus literature states. "The publication ends with a warning: 'Schools should be careful to avoid discussions of transformational ministry in their curriculum.' " A coalition suggests guidelines Bayard said GLSEN initiated the idea, but the booklet was written by a coalition of 18 medical, mental-health and education organizations. Byard said GLSEN also works with Christian educators to formulate policies that include protection based on religious preferences. GLSEN worked with Christian Educators Association International and the First Amendment Center to write common-ground guidelines on dealing with sexual orientation in schools. "The good news," Byard said, "is we have been working in partnership with the education community for a long time to make sure schools undertake to protect the health, well-being and potential of every student in the community." Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or [email protected] A clarification has been added to this online archive. This story, about the conflicting views and approaches to school bullying advocated by conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, reported that GLSEN had worked with the Christian Educators Association International in formulating policies and guidelines on bullying. GLSEN clarifies that it has worked on the issue with Christian Educators and has been influenced by the group, but GLSEN's model policy and legislative proposal have not been endorsed by the Christian Educators Association.	– It’s tough to come up with anything bad to say about anti-bullying programs … unless you’re a Focus on the Family rep. Candi Cushman, education expert for the Christian organization, says that all too often anti-bullying initiatives are used to push “the gay agenda,” as she calls it on her website. Gay advocacy groups use “anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled,” she tells the Denver Post. In Cushman’s view, these groups use the guise of safety to introduce curriculum, books, and policies that push the idea that homosexuality is normal, but Christians’ opposing viewpoints are not allowed in schools. While Focus on the Family agrees with bullying prevention, “this issue is being hijacked by activists,” she says. “They shouldn't be politicizing or sexualizing the issue.” On the other hand, one advocate points out that gay students are three times more likely to be victims of bullying.
This article is over 1 month old Venezuelan president also claimed ‘ultra-right locos’ within Brazil’s incoming government were plotting to invade his country Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, has accused the White House of playing a direct role in an attempt to assassinate him and claimed “ultra-right locos” within Brazil’s incoming government were plotting to invade his country. Venezuela: is a US-backed 'military option' to oust Maduro gaining favour? Read more At a press conference in the presidential Miraflores palace in Caracas, Maduro said he had “no doubt” that the US government had ordered and authorized the botched strike against him last August with explosive-laden drones and continued to plot against him. He offered no evidence to support the allegations. Maduro claimed the US hoped to install a rightwing dictatorship in Venezuela and accused the US media of waging an “incessant” media campaign against his government in order to justify a foreign military intervention in Venezuela. The US national security adviser, John Bolton, had personally hatched a plan “to fill Venezuela with violence”, Maduro alleged, urging Donald Trump to abandon the supposed conspiracy and turn away from “conflict and confrontation”. In November Bolton described Venezuela as part of a Latin American “troika of tyranny” that had “finally met its match”. Last year Trump told reporters there were “many options” to resolve the Venezuelan crisis including a military one. In December the US defense secretary, James Mattis, called Maduro “an irresponsible despot” who would ultimately “have to go”. Maduro vowed to resist what he called the “neo-fascist madness” of his foreign foes and called on the international community to denounce the alleged plot against him. “Our message to the world is: it’s time to defend Venezuela!” he said. “Venezuela will not be a victim of a neo-fascist aggression.” “We will not retreat, we will not be brought to our knees, we will not give up. We will fight and we will guarantee Venezuela peace … whatever the price,” Maduro added. “We don’t want violence, or international conflicts, or war, or coups. No, no, no, no. The people want progress, prosperity and coexistence.” Bolton praises Bolsonaro while declaring ‘troika of tyranny’ in Latin America Read more Venezuela’s president also lashed out at Brazil’s incoming president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, who he claimed was obsessed with the idea of invading Venezuela. “[This guy] has the face of a madman,” Maduro said of Mourão. “Saying a Brazilian military force is going to enter Venezuela is crazy talk.” “Nobody in Brazil wants the incoming government of Jair Bolsonaro to get involved in a military adventure against the Venezuelan people,” he said. Bolsonaro, who takes power on 1 January, has made no secret of his loathing of Maduro and last year vowed to “do whatever is possible to see that government be deposed”. But in a recent interview with the Brazilian magazine Piauí, Mourão struck a more moderate tone: “It’s the Venezuelans who have to solve the Venezuelans’ problems,” he said. \|\|\|\|\| An announcement that Iran may deploy new-generation warships to Venezuelan waters could alter the region’s geopolitical balance and almost certainly disturb the U.S. government.	– The Trump administration was directly involved in an attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—at least, that’s what Maduro claims (and not for the first time), the Guardian reports. "I have no doubt that the White House authorized the drone against Nicolás Maduro," he said, speaking in the third person during a Wednesday press conference, according to the Miami Herald, which notes that officials in the US often speak of the need for peaceful regime change in the South American country, "even as the threat of military intervention hangs in the air." The embattled Maduro says US National Security Adviser John Bolton is behind a range of plots to destabilize Venezuela. These include the aforementioned botched drone attack against Maduro in August and conspiring with "ultra-right locos" in Brazil to invade Venezuela.
‘You may want to marry my husband’ Chicago essayist dead at 51 Chicago author Amy Krouse Rosenthal died Monday of the ovarian cancer she wrote about in a powerful New York Times essay seeking a future partner for her husband Jason. “You may want to marry my husband” was published online March 3 and in the newspaper March 5. It quickly went viral. It’s already one of the Times’ most popular “Modern Love” columns ever, said Dan Jones, who edits the column. On Valentine’s Day — the day Ms. Krouse Rosenthal finished writing the essay — her husband of 26 years celebrated their romance by decorating their Lakeview home. “All over the house, downstairs, upstairs and in the kitchen, Jason had hung music sheets with words to different love songs for Amy, with notes on each one,” said her literary agent Amy Rennert, who confirmed Ms. Krouse Rosenthal died Monday at her Lakeview home. RELATED STORY: Author John Green: Amy Krouse Rosenthal was a huge influence Ms. Krouse Rosenthal, 51, who grew up in Northbrook and Lake Forest, was the best-selling author of more than 30 childrens’ books, including “Chopsticks,” “Duck! Rabbit!” “Spoon” and “Little Pig,” “Little Pea” and “Little Hoot.” She also wrote 2005’s “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” and last year’s “Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal.” She contributed to NPR, made short films and gave TED talks. Her writing featured wordplay, lists, visual puns, charts and serendipitous coincidences. She fell in love with Jason B. Rosenthal the day she met him on a blind date in 1989, when they were both 24. “By the end of our merlot and rigatoni, I knew he was the one,” she said in “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life.” In her New York Times essay, she wrote: “Here is the kind of man Jason is: He showed up at our first pregnancy ultrasound with flowers. This is a man who, because he is always up early, surprises me every Sunday morning by making some kind of oddball smiley face out of items near the coffeepot: a spoon, a mug, a banana. “This is a man who emerges from the minimart or gas station and says, ‘Give me your palm.’ And, voilà, a colorful gumball appears. (He knows I love all the flavors but white.) “My guess is you know enough about him now. So let’s swipe right.” Her husband, a Chicago attorney, said he was staggered by the beauty and honesty of her column. “It is Amy’s gift with words that has drawn the universe in,” Jason Rosenthal said in a written statement last week. “I am not surprised that her ‘Modern Love’ essay in the New York Times has garnered the attention it so deserves. I didn’t know exactly what she was composing but I was with her as she labored through this process and I can tell you that writing the story was no easy task. When I read her words for the first time, I was shocked at the beauty, slightly surprised at the incredible prose given her condition and, of course, emotionally ripped apart. “Unfortunately, I do not have the same aptitude for the written word,” he said, “but if I did, I can assure you that my tale would be about the most epic love story…ours.” Ms. Krouse Rosenthal said the first word she ever uttered was “more.” She grew up in Northbrook and Lake Forest in a family of four children. She graduated from Lake Forest High School and Tufts University outside Boston. She started out as an advertising copywriter. But one day, at a McDonald’s with her kids, “All of a sudden it felt like I wasn’t going about this living thing the right way,” she once told the Chicago Reader. “I knew I had to keep writing.” She began doing creative writing in coffeehouses. One of her favorites was Wicker Park’s Urbus Orbis. Her projects were rich in quirky charm. In the “Lost and Found” video she made with Steve Delahoyde, she left copies of “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” in taxis, the Music Box theater and a restroom. She buried a plastic-wrapped book inside a snowman. And she left notes encouraging readers to let her know about finding them. A Booklist review called the book “immensely readable and frequently hilarious.” Who else but the author, writer Leon Wagner asked, “would challenge a Chicago parking ticket on grounds of karma (and succeed)? Or have a professional police artist draw sketches of her based on descriptions from her father and husband?” In a TED talk, she discussed finding unexpected charm in the everyday, like looking at an ATM but seeing an acronym for “Always Trust Magic.” Another video, “17 Things I Made,” invited viewers to meet her at The Bean in Millennium Park at 8:08 p.m. on 8/08/08 to make an “18th thing.” She said she’d be known by the yellow umbrella she’d be carrying. When Ms. Krouse Rosenthal arrived, hundreds had gathered. Under her direction, they connected, blew bubbles and skipped through the Millennium Park fountains. One of the participants in the gathering was her friend John Green, who wrote “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Paper Towns.” He credits her with helping to start his career by asking him to write and record an essay for WBEZ. Green said her work shows that “If you pay the right kind of attention, the mundane becomes beautiful.” On Tuesday night, he read her book “Uni the Unicorn” to his young daughter, and thought: “Only Amy could have imagined a unicorn that believes in little girls.” Other fans of her kids’ books include Reese Witherspoon. And author Sherman Alexie said in 2013 that “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” was his holiday gift. “Amy Krouse Rosenthal was more than a talented and prolific writer and filmmaker whose work brought warmth and joy to readers young and old,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “She was a personal friend, a proud Chicagoan, and a devoted mother, wife and daughter. Amy and my thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and all those she left behind.” Ms. Krouse Rosenthal’s North Side home is decorated in what she called “Book Lover Modern,” with books under glass, a sculpture made of books, a book clock and a vintage library card catalog. Her favorite purse featured the cover of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” In a video tour of her house, she showed viewers a jacket made out of her book covers, which she called her “book-jacket jacket.” She is also survived by her children, Justin, Miles and Paris; her parents Ann and Paul Krouse; sisters Katie Froelich and Beth Kaufmann, and brother Joe Krouse. In an essay for Oprah magazine after her 40th birthday, she wrote: “How many more times do I get to cut an apple? How many more times will I put on my coat? Put a quarter in the meter? Kiss my mother?. . . . How many more times will I hold my purse up to my ear to see if it’s my cell phone that’s ringing….How many times do I get to wake up?” READ MORE: • You may want to marry my husband • ‘Live for the Moment’: Readers Share Stories of Love and Loss • Husband featured in wife’s viral essay ‘shocked at the beauty’ \|\|\|\|\| He is an easy man to fall in love with. I did it in one day. Let me explain: My father’s best friend since summer camp, “Uncle” John, had known Jason and me separately our whole lives, but Jason and I had never met. I went to college out east and took my first job in California. When I moved back home to Chicago, John — who thought Jason and I were perfect for each other — set us up on a blind date. It was 1989. We were only 24. I had precisely zero expectations about this going anywhere. But when he knocked on the door of my little frame house, I thought, “Uh-oh, there is something highly likable about this person.” By the end of dinner, I knew I wanted to marry him. Jason? He knew a year later. I have never been on Tinder, Bumble or eHarmony, but I’m going to create a general profile for Jason right here, based on my experience of coexisting in the same house with him for, like, 9,490 days. First, the basics: He is 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, with salt-and-pepper hair and hazel eyes. The following list of attributes is in no particular order because everything feels important to me in some way. He is a sharp dresser. Our young adult sons, Justin and Miles, often borrow his clothes. Those who know him — or just happen to glance down at the gap between his dress slacks and dress shoes — know that he has a flair for fabulous socks. He is fit and enjoys keeping in shape. If our home could speak, it would add that Jason is uncannily handy. On the subject of food — man, can he cook. After a long day, there is no sweeter joy than seeing him walk in the door, plop a grocery bag down on the counter, and woo me with olives and some yummy cheese he has procured before he gets to work on the evening’s meal. \|\|\|\|\| Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal poses for a photo Aug. 1, 2016, in Chicago. Rosenthal, a popular author, filmmaker and speaker who brightened lives with her wide-eyed spirit and broke hearts when she wrote... (Associated Press) Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal poses for a photo Aug. 1, 2016, in Chicago. Rosenthal, a popular author, filmmaker and speaker who brightened lives with her wide-eyed spirit and broke hearts when she wrote... (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a popular author, filmmaker and speaker who brightened lives with her wide-eyed and generous spirit — and broke hearts when she wrote of being terminally ill and leaving behind her husband Jason — died Monday at age 51. Rosenthal had been diagnosed in 2015 with ovarian cancer. Her death was confirmed to The Associated Press by her longtime literary agent, Amy Rennert, who said Rosenthal "was the most life-affirming person, and love-affirming person." Fellow author John Green tweeted: "She was a brilliant writer, and an even better friend." A Chicago native and longtime resident, Rosenthal completed than more 30 books, including journals, memoirs and the best-selling picture stories "Uni the Unicorn" and "Duck! Rabbit!" She made short films and YouTube videos, gave TED talks and provided radio commentary for NPR, among others. She also raised three children and had a flair for random acts of kindness, whether hanging dollar bills from a tree or leaving notes on ATM machines. "I do what feels right to me. If it resonates or plants some seeds, great," she told Chicago magazine in 2010. While her books were noted for their exuberant tone, she started a very different conversation early this month with a widely read "Modern Love" column she wrote for The New York Times. Rosenthal told of learning about her fatal diagnosis, and, in the form of a dating profile, offered tribute to Jason Brian Rosenthal. The essay was titled, "You May Want to Marry My Husband." "If you're looking for a dreamy, let's-go-for-it travel companion, Jason is your man. He also has an affinity for tiny things: taster spoons, little jars, a mini-sculpture of a couple sitting on a bench, which he presented to me as a reminder of how our family began," she wrote. "Here is the kind of man Jason is: He showed up at our first pregnancy ultrasound with flowers. This is a man who, because he is always up early, surprises me every Sunday morning by making some kind of oddball smiley face out of items near the coffeepot: a spoon, a mug, a banana." "I am wrapping this up on Valentine's Day, and the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins," she added. Rosenthal was a Tufts University graduate who worked in advertising for several years before she had what she called a "McEpiphany": She was with her kids at McDonald's when she promised herself that she would leave advertising and become a writer. Rosenthal more than kept her word; starting in the late 1990s, she regularly published at least a book a year, and sometimes three or four. Rennert said Monday that she had completed seven more picture books before her death, including a collaboration with her daughter, Paris, called "Dear Girl." Rosenthal loved experimenting with different media, and blending the virtual and physical worlds. One of her favorite projects began with a YouTube video, "17 Things I Made," featuring everything from books she had written to her three children to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. At the end of the video, she welcomed fans to join her at Chicago's Millennium Park, on August 8, 2008, at 8:08 p.m. The goal was to make a "cool" 18th thing. Hundreds turned out to "make" things — a grand entrance, a new friend, a splash, something pretty. "I tend to believe whatever you decide to look for you will find, whatever you beckon will eventually beckon you," she said during a 2012 TED talk. Her books were equally untraditional. "Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal," published in 2016, is divided into chapters named for school subjects, from "Geography" to "Language Arts." Subtitled "Not Exactly a Memoir," the book features lists, illustrations, charts, emails and text messages. In a section called "Midterm Essay," Rosenthal reflected on middle age and her youthful passion for life. "If it is wonderful, splendid, remarkable — a view outside a window, a lit-up fountain at night, that fig-chorizo appetizer — I am compelled to seek some sort of saturation point, to listen/stare/savor on a loop, to greedily keep at it until I've absorbed, absconded with, and drained it of all its magic," she wrote "Invariably, I will have to move on before I have had enough. My first word was 'more.' It may very well be my last."	– Amy Krouse Rosenthal, the children's author who took the heartbreak of her own looming death and turned it into a love letter for the ages, has died of ovarian cancer at the age of 51. Krouse Rosenthal penned "You May Want to Marry My Husband," a New York Times Modern Love column that quickly went viral, on her final Valentine's Day with her husband of 26 years. While she was describing Jason Rosenthal on that day as "an easy man to fall in love with," for the woman she hoped would take her place, Rosenthal was, well, being an easy man to fall in love with, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. "All over the house, downstairs, upstairs and in the kitchen, Jason had hung music sheets with words to different love songs for Amy, with notes on each one," Krouse Rosenthal's agent says in confirming the Monday morning death of "the most life-affirming person, and love-affirming person." Krouse Rosenthal claimed the first word she spoke was "more," and the Sun-Times notes a career littered in "projects rich in quirky charm." She sought that charm in the mundane, looking at an ATM as an acronym for "Always Trust Magic" and leaving dollar bills hanging in trees in what the AP calls her "flair for random acts of kindness." John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars who credits Krouse Rosenthal with helping start his career, recalls reading her book Uni the Unicorn to his daughter and says, "only Amy could have imagined a unicorn who believes in little girls." She concluded her Modern Love essay thusly: "I am wrapping this up on Valentine's Day, and the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins." Krouse Rosenthal is survived by an easy man to fall in love with, two sons, and a daughter.
Why Collins Wore Number 98 It's in remembrance of the year Matthew Shepard died and the Trevor Project was founded, he says. While Jason Collins just came out as gay today, he was making a subtle statement of solidarity with LGBT people through the uniform number he wore with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards. Collins wore number 98 in tribute to Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student who was murdered in an infamous hate crime in 1998. “The number has great significance to the gay community,” Collins writes in his coming-out piece for Sports Illustrated. He further notes that the Trevor Project, which aims to prevent suicide among LGBT young people, was founded that year. “This amazing organization provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to kids struggling with their sexual identity,” he writes. “Trust me, I know that struggle. I’ve struggled with some insane logic. When I put on my jersey I was making a statement to myself, my family and my friends.” Collins was once cagey about why he wore number 98 with the Celtics and Wizards, having worn 34 and 35 with other teams. He joked to reporters he chose the high number to make life more difficult for referees, who have to count off a player’s number on their fingers when they call a foul. \|\|\|\|\| Washington Wizards center Jason Collins’ jerseys got a boost in online sales after he became the first openly gay athlete on a major U.S. team sport. Team spokesman Scott Hall told ABC News that 100 percent of custom jerseys ordered from the team’s online store bore Collins’ name and number, 98, on the back, after Collins revealed his homosexuality in an article published on Sports Illustrated’s website on Monday. Collins began the first-person article, “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” READ: Jason Collins Says ‘It’s Mind-Boggling’ To Be First Openly Gay Athlete While Hall could not reveal how many custom Collins jerseys were sold, he said that the team’s general merchandise sales and online traffic spiked following Collins’ announcement. In a statement, the Wizards said they were proud of Collins and “his decision to live his life proudly and openly.” “He has been a leader on and off the court and an outstanding teammate throughout his NBA career. Those qualities will continue to serve him both as a player and as a positive role model for others of all sexual orientation,” the statement said. “I know that I, right now, am the happiest that I’ve ever been in my life,” Collins told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview Monday night. “A huge weight has been lifted. I’ve already been out to my family and my friends, but just to, you know, sort of rip the Band-Aid off and come out on my own terms. “I hope that every player makes a decision that leads to their own happiness,” Collins said. READ: Gay ESPN Host Reacts \|\|\|\|\| In his historic coming-out essay Monday, NBA veteran Jason Collins revealed to Sports Illustrated that he wore the number 98 in 38 games this season while playing for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards as an unspoken “sign of solidarity” with the gay community. He said he did so as a nod to the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention foundation founded in August 1998, and also in memory of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who was killed in October 1998 in one of the most infamous antigay hate crimes in history. Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy, had never spoken to or met Collins before receiving an email from David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign with a link to the SI piece Monday morning, but it doesn’t make Collins’ expression of unity any less meaningful. “It made me cry,” Judy Shepard told FOXSports.com during an interview Monday afternoon. “It was really quite a tribute, and I was very honored. And I know Matt would be thrilled.” And the Shepards hope, someday, to be able to thank Collins personally for his bravery in opening himself up to the world and honoring their son’s name in the process. “I would really love to speak to him, because I know Judy and I would just like to thank him,” Dennis Shepard said. “Because, No. 1, he had the courage to come out, period, and No. 2 that he wore 98 in honor of Matt, the year that he died. “(Collins) couldn’t have been that old (when it happened), so it must have had a tremendous impact on him, the story behind Matt, for him to want to do that. And then to wear it all this time without telling people why until today, that’s incredible.” For the Shepard family, who started the Matthew Shepard Foundation on Dec. 1, 1998 -- what would have been Matthew’s 22nd birthday -- as a way to promote awareness and positive change with respect to the gay community, progress is vital regardless of where it comes. In 2009, it came in the form of the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which effectively classified anti-gay crimes as hate crimes. “It’s a whole different world now from when we first started doing this,” Judy Shepard said. “It’s remarkable in the big picture how fast things have changed, especially since Obama became president. It’s just moved right along at light speed, and it’s really been quite remarkable.” But to see that motion toward change come in the world of sports, an arena that’s somewhat lacking when it comes to gay rights, was particularly meaningful. “Hopefully this will start the conversation saying there’s no difference, as long as my team wins, who cares if they’re straight or gay?” Dennis Shepard said. “There have been a lot of athletes that played and were gay, and I have a feeling their teammates knew it and they just didn’t care.” Added Judy Shepard: “It’s always more challenging in team sports to have the courage to (come out), and I think that once the doors open, the floodgates will literally open. And not just in pro sports, but college and all down the line. It’s just a remarkable step forward.” That’s a feeling shared by Abbe Land, the executive director and CEO of the Trevor Project, which has fielded more than 200,000 lifeline calls since its inception nearly 15 years ago, including more than 35,000 last year alone. “(Collins’ coming out) shows young people that they can be basketball players or hockey players or football players, and that he was willing to do that and say he’s going to be who he is when he plays ball is very important,” Land said. “I think it really helps a young person kind of know that they are perfect just the way they are and they can achieve all of their goals and dreams.” In addition to the 24-hour phone hotline, the Trevor Project also has its own social network, TrevorSpace, which has more than 50,000 active members. So to have a backer like Collins making LGBT youth more aware of their service is immensely important. “If (Collins) hasn’t reached out to us, we will reach out to him,” Land said. “It’s great when we have folks who have high visibility who support the Trevor Project, because for a lot of young people, these are role models. So for him to say, ‘Here’s a place you can call if you need help,’ is great. … We still have a lot of work to do, but letting young people know that it’s OK to ask for help, that it’s OK to reach out, is very important.” The goal, of course, for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the Trevor Project and other organizations like them, is to get to a point where being gay is no longer viewed as controversial and to have the LGBT community be universally accepted. And though it won’t solve the problem altogether, having someone as visible as Jason Collins join that crusade is vitally important. “You’re starting to see the general flow, that everybody’s realizing that there’s no difference between the straight community and the gay community,” Dennis Shepard said. “It’s just who they love, and for the rest of it, they’re out there, they have a mortgage to pay, they have kids in school, they want to have an ordinary life, retire and then die of old age with a smile on their face, just like everybody else. “I just hope (Collins’ essay) furthers the cause, not so much for our foundation, but for the population in general, so we can get off this ride of having to worry about being the first, and these stories about who’s going to come out first. Who cares? The only first I want to know is Abbott and Costello.” For more information on the Matthew Shepard Foundation, click here. For more on the Trevor Project, click here. You can follow Sam Gardner on Twitter or e-mail him at [email protected].	– As part of his big reveal yesterday, gay NBA player Jason Collins explained that he chose the jersey number 98 to honor Matthew Shepard, the gay college student murdered in 1998. Shepard's parents learned of it the way the rest of the world did, through Sports Illustrated, and they tell FoxSports they were moved by the gesture. “It made me cry,” says Judy Shepard, who set up a foundation in her son's name the year he was killed. “It was really quite a tribute, and I was very honored. And I know Matt would be thrilled.” Dad Dennis Shepard says he hopes to thank Collins in person someday. “Because, No. 1, he had the courage to come out, period, and No. 2 that he wore 98 in honor of Matt." (Collins also mentioned in SI that the Trevor Project, founded to prevent gay suicides, formed in 1998.) The Advocate notes that Collins was previously "cagey" about the jersey, joking that he picked it to make it harder on refs when they had to count off his number with their fingers after a foul. The Washington Wizards, meanwhile, say that all of the custom jerseys sold after Collins' announcement were his 98 jerseys, though the team didn't specify how many that was, reports ABC News.
Image caption Test drilling confirmed there was water underneath the arid ground A huge water source has been discovered in the arid Turkana region of northern Kenya which could supply the country for 70 years, the government says. The discovery of two aquifers brings hope to the drought-hit region, tweeted Environment Minister Judi Wakhungu. They were found in the Turkana Basin and Lotikipi Basin using satellites and radar. Last year, scientists released a map detailing the vast reservoirs which lie under much of Africa. This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole Judi Wakhungu, Environment Minister Another aquifer was found in Namibia - sub-Saharan Africa's driest country. Turkana is one of the hottest, driest and poorest parts of Kenya and was hit by a devastating drought last year. Many of the region's inhabitants are nomadic herders, who are especially vulnerable to a lack of rain. Test drilling confirmed there was water under the ground. The discovery was announced by Ms Wakhungu at a meeting of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Unesco. "This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole. We must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations," she said. 'Irrigation and industry benefits' The aquifers are said to hold some 250bn cubic metres of water. Ms Wakhungu said Kenya currently uses about 3bn cubic metres a year. "We're hoping with the two test boreholes, the water should be available within a month. The first priority is to supply water to the people of the area, who have always been water insecure." Image caption The huge water source has been discovered in the arid Turkana region of northern Kenya. Image caption The government estimates the two aquifers found in the the Turkana Basin and Lotikipi Basin, using satellites and radar, could supply the country for 70 years. Image caption Turkana is one of the hottest, driest and poorest parts of Kenya and was hit by a devastating drought last year. According to the UN, about 17 million of Kenya's 41 million people lack access to safe water. Image caption Many of Turkana's inhabitants are nomadic herders, who are especially vulnerable to a lack of rain. Fighting over resources like water has been the main source of conflict in many arid areas of country. Image caption The discovery was announced at a meeting organised by Unesco. It spearheaded the project in partnership with the government and with the financial support of Japan. Image caption Environment Minister Judi Wakhungu said the aquifers hold some 250bn cubic metres of water; the country currently uses about 3bn cubic metres a year. Image caption The minister said the first priority was to supply water to the people of the area. "We're hoping with the two test boreholes, the water should be available within a month," she said. Image caption Using the water for irrigation and industry would also be considered, Ms Wakhungu said. Massive oil deposits have also recently been discovered in Turkana. Image caption The BBC's Angela Ng'endo says despite Turkana's burgeoning wealth, the region's inhabitants have always felt marginalised. Image caption The non-governmental organisation Friends of Lake Turkana is urging the government to engage more with local communities about how the water will be used in future. previous slide next slide Using the water for irrigation and industry would also be considered, she said. Massive oil deposits have also recently been discovered in Turkana. What is ground water? When water falls as rain or snow, much of it either flows into rivers or is used to provide moisture to plants and crops. What is left over trickles down to the layers of rock that sit beneath the soil. And just like a giant sponge, this ground water is held in the spaces between the rocks and in the tiny inter-connected spaces between individual grains in a rock like sandstone. These bodies of wet rock are referred to as aquifers. Ground water does not sit still in the aquifer but is pushed and pulled by gravity and the weight of water above it. The movement of the water through the aquifer removes many impurities and it is often cleaner than water on the surface. The BBC's Angela Ng'endo in the capital, Nairobi, says despite its burgeoning wealth, the region's inhabitants have always felt marginalised. Abou Amani, Unesco's Africa hydrologist, urged caution and said it was important not to "overexploit" the aquifers. "We need to put in place a sound management system," he said. The head of the non-governmental organisation Friends of Lake Turkana, Ikal Anglei, said the government also needed to engage more with local communities. "Unfortunately they're not creating forums for us to engage with them," she said. "It is critical for governments to realise they don't… come up with programmes without community ownership… and linking it to economic development." According to Unesco, about 17 million of Kenya's 41 million people lack access to safe water. \|\|\|\|\| International Discovery Of Massive Aquifers Could Be Game Changer For Kenya i itoggle caption Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images Satellite imagery and seismic data have identified two huge underground aquifers in Kenya's drought-prone north, a discovery that could be "a game changer" for the country, NPR's Gregory Warner reports. The aquifers, located hundreds of feet underground in the Turkana region that borders Ethiopia and South Sudan, contain billions of gallons of water, according to UNESCO, which confirmed the existence of the subterranean lakes discovered with the help of a French company using technology originally designed to reveal oil deposits. The Lotikipi Basin Aquifer is located west of Lake Turkana, the world's largest permanent desert lake, which nonetheless contains alkaline and unpalatable water. The second discovery is the smaller Lodwar Basin Aquifer. "This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole," said Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. "We must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations," she said. "If we use the water sustainably, when it comes to water resources we become very secure," Wakhungu said. UNESCO says 40 percent of Kenya's 41 million people lack access to safe water, and 28 million do not have adequate sanitation. NPR's Warner says the subterranean lakes, shaped as scientists describe like a short stack of "interconnected pancakes," are naturally replenished by mountain rain. "But getting the water to the people could be a challenge," he says. "Turkana is the least developed region of Kenya, just south of a disputed border region and scene of frequent deadly tribal clashes." \|\|\|\|\| Scientists say the aquifer may have enough water to fill the parched area's needs indefinitely. Is the English language becoming less significant in Europe after Brexit? Why migrants, en route to the United States, are pausing in Mexico Why the new health-care bill may keep affordable care out of reach for some An aerial view photographed through an aircraft window, shows the Ngamia drilling site in Turkana region, northwestern Kenya, February 13, 2013. Scientists using technology for discovering oil have found a vast underground water reservoir in one of Kenya’s driest regions that could supply the country's needs for nearly 70 years, potentially turning arid zones into lush farmlands. The new reserves are located in a basin in the extreme northwest that has a surface area the size of Delaware, and is estimated to hold billions of gallons, nearly nine times Kenya’s current reserves. Almost half of Kenya’s 41 million people have no access to clean water, and farmers in arid areas struggle to raise crops without adequate irrigation. Scientists say it is possible that, along with water run-off from surrounding hills and plains that replenish the aquifer, the newly discovered resources could fulfill the country's water demands indefinitely. Tapping the new reserves in the basin, located in Kenya's northern Turkana region, may allow for vast new zones of farmland in landscapes where today even the hardiest plants struggle to survive. “The news about these water reserves comes at a time when reliable water supplies are highly needed,” Judi Wakhungu, cabinet secretary at the Kenyan environment, water, and natural resources ministry, said in a statement. “This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole," Ms. Wakhungu added. “We must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations." The hitch If there is one hitch, the basin is in a remote area in the extreme northwest. It lies close to Kenya's borders with South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda in an area sparsely populated and prone to conflict over existing scarce resources. The land that lies above the reservoir is among the most hostile in Kenya. There are few roads or electricity supplies, and the Turkana, Samburu, and Pokot tribes that live there are regularly at war with each other. The border area between Kenya, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, known as the Ilemi Triangle, has never been officially delineated. Constructing, fueling, and maintaining boreholes, and building pipelines to bring the water supplies to remote communities, can pose significant difficulties. Who found it? The discovery was made by researchers from a Texas-based company, Radar Technologies, with assistance from the Kenyan government and Unesco. The team layered satellite, radar and geological maps on top of each other and then used seismic techniques developed to find oil, to identify the reservoir. “It is important to say that these are early estimates, and these resources must be managed well in order that they benefit the people of Kenya,” says Mohamed Djelid, Unesco’s East Africa director. “But if all goes well, we can say that this really is a game changer.” Kenya’s government will now carry out further drilling in areas surrounding the sites where the new water supplies were first drawn to the surface, to gather more data on their full extent. In the past there have been similar announcements of massive new water finds beneath Africa’s driest areas. In 2007, scientists said that they had identified an underground “megalake” in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region that was 10 times the size of the Kenyan discovery, but its bounty has yet to be tapped. “Knowing there’s water there, and then getting it to the surface, are two different things,” says Brian McSorley, a water expert at Oxfam in Nairobi. He added that, "There will need to be decent follow up studies and then proper investment to ensure that these newly-discovered resources benefit the poorest people.” The aquifers lie as deep as 1,000 feet, which poses significant technological and cost challenges compared to shallower reserves, Mr. McSorley says but notes that, “Having said all that, the figures are encouraging and I think this needs to be cautiously welcomed.”	– It's another kind of liquid gold: Technology typically used to find oil has instead led scientists to massive lakes, or aquifers, hundreds of feet beneath some of Kenya's driest land. UNESCO yesterday announced that five aquifers were identified and two have thus far been verified in the Turkana region. The New York Times reports one is roughly the size of Rhode Island, and NPR reports that scientists described the aquifers' orientation as like a small stack of "interconnected pancakes." The two hold enough water to turn the dusty region into farmland and sate Kenya's water needs for 70 years—or more. It's possible that run-off from the adjacent hills feeds the underground reservoir, which would expand that timeline, the Christian Science Monitor reports. It's big news for a country that struggles mightily with access to safe drinking water, but there are also some big hurdles. The basins sit in the far northwest, which happens to be one of the country's most conflict-prone areas, and maintaining boreholes and piping the water would be no simple task. Still, Kenya seems optimistic. "We're hoping with the two test boreholes, the water should be available within a month," an official tells the BBC. (Another massive aquifer was identified last year in Namibia.)
Sorry, this zipcode is not in our deliverable area for this subscription service. Re-enter zip code or sign up for digital access. Get digital access \|\|\|\|\| A congressional committee investigating the opioid crisis has discovered out-of-state drug companies shipped 20.8 million prescription painkillers over a decade to two pharmacies in a Southern West Virginia town with 2,900 people. Between 2006 and 2016, two drug wholesalers shipped 10.2 million hydrocodone pills and 10.6 million oxycodone pills to Tug Valley Pharmacy and Hurley Drug in the town of Williamson, in Mingo County, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. “These numbers are outrageous, and we will get to the bottom of how this destruction was able to be unleashed across West Virginia,” the House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. and ranking member Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. said in a joint statement. The panel investigating the opioid epidemic in the U.S. sent out letters to drug wholesalers Miami-Luken and H.D. Smith, questioning why the companies did not see the increased shipments as suspicious all while the deaths from overdose skyrocketed in West Virginia. The letters also asked why the companies complied with the requests for more prescription painkillers. TRUMP DECLARES OPIOID CRISIS A 'PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY' Both companies have until February 9 to respond to questions and provide relevant documents detailing what measures, if any, they took to end the flood of pain pills into the state. “We will continue to investigate these distributors’ shipments of large quantities of powerful opioids across West Virginia, including what seems to be a shocking lack of oversight over their distribution practices,” the lawmakers’ statement added. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland study, the nationwide rate of deaths from opioid overdoses was about 10 per 100,000 people, but West Virginia is leading the way with 35 deaths per 100,000 people. At least 880 people have died in West Virginia in 2016 as a result of overdoses. Ohio-based Miami-Luken drug wholesaler reportedly sold 6.4 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to Tug Valley Pharmacy between 2008 and 2015, the company told the panel, according to the outlet. In 2008, the company’s shipments to the town tripled compared to the previous year. Miami-Luken also provided 5.7 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to the Mingo County town of Kermit with 400 people, the report said. In 2008 alone, the company was responsible for over five thousand pain pills for every person in town. Another regional drug wholesaler, H.D. Smith, was subject to questions of why it distributed 3,000 pain pills a day in 2008 to Family Discount Pharmacy in another West Virginia town, population 1,800. The committee said it was a 10-fold increase compared to 2007, the newspaper reported. “The committee’s bipartisan investigation continues to identify systemic issues with the inordinate number of opioids distributed to small town pharmacies,” the lawmakers said in the statement. “The volume appears to be far in excess of the number of opioids that a pharmacy in that local area would be expected to receive.” H.D. Smith said Monday in a statement that it is reviewing the panel’s letter. “H.D. Smith works with its upstream manufacturing and downstream pharmacy partners to guard the integrity of the supply chain, and to improve patient outcomes,” the company said. Both companies have recently settled with West Virginia over allegations of flooding the state with painkillers. Miami-Luken agreed to pay $2.5 million in 2016 while H.D. Smith paid the state $3.5 million, the Gazette-Mail reported.	– Williamson, W.Va., is home to 2,900 people. That's one reason congressional investigators are flabbergasted by documents showing two local pharmacies received 20.8 million prescription painkillers from out-of-state drug companies over a decade, reports the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Ohio-based wholesaler Miami-Luken says it supplied 6.4 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to one Williamson pharmacy from 2008 to 2015. It also says it shipped 5.7 million pills to two pharmacies in nearby Kermit, home to 400 people, between 2005 and 2011. In 2008 alone, Miami-Luken provided the equivalent of 14 pills a day for every Kermit resident, including children, while Illinois-based drug wholesaler HD Smith supplied 3,000 hydrocodone tablets a day to a pharmacy in a town with 1,800 people, records show. "These numbers are outrageous, and we will get to the bottom of how this destruction was able to be unleashed," members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee say. They add that their inquiry into the role of drug distributors in the opioid crisis has already revealed "what seems to be a shocking lack of oversight." For example, 40% of oxycodone prescriptions filled in 2015 by an Oceana pharmacy supplied by Miami-Luken went to patients of a doctor whose clinic was located two hours away, the panel says. Miami-Luken and HD Smith have separately paid millions to settle lawsuits accusing the companies of flooding West Virginia with opioids. They have until Feb. 9 to respond to investigators' questions, including why shipments weren't deemed suspicious in a state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the country, per Fox News.
In this Nov. 12, 2015 photo provided by Kevin Dumont, he is seen chained to the top of a water park in Candia, N.H. Dumont had been chained to the top of the waterslide, sleeping in a tent and staving... (Associated Press) In this Nov. 12, 2015 photo provided by Kevin Dumont, he is seen chained to the top of a water park in Candia, N.H. Dumont had been chained to the top of the waterslide, sleeping in a tent and staving... (Associated Press) CANDIA, N.H. (AP) — The owner of a New Hampshire waterpark who chained himself to a slide tower 17 days ago to try to prevent the park's auction has ended his quest because of failing health and the lack of a financial savior. Kevin Dumont climbed the slide at Liquid Planet on Nov. 9 in a bid to attract investors interested in saving the business. He said Wednesday on Facebook there were no takers and that a doctor believes he is developing pneumonia. "Dear friends and supporters, it is with profound sadness that I must tell you that my attempts to find a partner in time to save the waterpark from auction has failed," he wrote. "I had a number of interested parties but there just wasn't enough time to get the details worked out before the December 2nd auction. I tried my best to have the auction delayed but unfortunately I could not make it happen." Dumont, a genial 46-year-old Army veteran with nine years of service, opened the park in 2008. Two wet summers kept crowds away and a series of financial problems immediately followed. Late this season, the state temporarily shut down two of his new waterslides when they were found to have high levels of bacteria. The state also said he put up the slides without a required review. "We've done things, taken short term loans, worked for free to try to keep it going," Dumont told The Associated Press the day before he ended his effort. "But unfortunately, our loan just wasn't performing. The bank had to call our loan." A GoFundMe page raised just $1,945 toward a $1 million goal, and interest from four potential investors didn't lead to a rescue. A total of $1.6 million was needed to keep the property — including his home — off the auction block. Matthew Coggins, a spokesman for Lowell, Massachusetts-based Enterprise Bank, said the bank could not comment on its customers. Up on his perch, Dumont stayed warm with an electric heater, had food of his own and enjoyed the occasional pizza and beer from friends. He used a portable toilet, the kind used by campers. He stayed mostly chained to the tower though he threw off the shackles to sleep. He passed the time by reading, answering text messages, feeding his Facebook page and, most importantly, trying to find a way to save his business. "I experienced a few moments of loneliness and sadness but mostly overwhelming love and gratitude for the support you all have shown to me," he said on Facebook. "I know I have lost this battle but I also know I tried my best. I think my parents would be proud of me." ___ This story has been corrected to show the amount raised on GoFundMe was $1,945, not $1,665. \|\|\|\|\| To help personalize content, tailor and measure ads, and provide a safer experience, we use cookies. By clicking or navigating the site, you agree to allow our collection of information on and off Facebook through cookies. Learn more, including about available controls: Cookies Policy \|\|\|\|\| Hello friends. I am writing to all of today to say two things. 1. I am not crazy but I have chained myself to the top of the waterpark slide tower here at Liquid Planet waterpark in Candia, NH. I am doing this in an attempt to save all that I have created. The bank has foreclosed on me and is auctioning the property on December 2nd so I am staying up here to try and save it. 2. You all can help immensely by helping to spread the word. Through social media, word of mouth, the press or anything else you can think of. I am looking for a person, a group of people or a company that would partner with me, pay off the bank debt and save yet another small business from failing. I will be up here 24 hours a day so I will post Info throughout the day. It's very beautiful up here but also pretty lonely, please feel free to call or text or even visit. 603 682 5865 All my love and thanks, Kevin Dumont Help spread the word! Share Tweet 967 total shares total shares	– The owner of a New Hampshire water park who chained himself to a slide tower 17 days ago to try to prevent the park's auction has ended his quest because of failing health and the lack of a financial savior. Kevin Dumont climbed the slide at Liquid Planet on Nov. 9 in a bid to attract investors interested in saving the business. He said Wednesday on Facebook there were no takers and that a doctor believes he is developing pneumonia. "Dear friends and supporters, it is with profound sadness that I must tell you that my attempts to find a partner in time to save the waterpark from auction has failed," he wrote. "I had a number of interested parties but there just wasn't enough time to get the details worked out before the December 2nd auction. I tried my best to have the auction delayed but unfortunately I could not make it happen." Dumont, a genial 46-year-old Army veteran with nine years of service, opened the park in 2008. Two wet summers kept crowds away and a series of financial problems immediately followed. Late this season, the state temporarily shut down two of his new waterslides when they were found to have high levels of bacteria. The state also said he put up the slides without a required review. "We've done things, taken short term loans, worked for free to try to keep it going," Dumont told the AP the day before he ended his effort. "But unfortunately, our loan just wasn't performing. The bank had to call our loan." A GoFundMe page raised just $1,945 toward a $1 million goal, and interest from four potential investors didn't lead to a rescue. A total of $1.6 million was needed to keep the property—including his home—off the auction block. Click for more on how Dumont spent the 17 days (including how he went to the bathroom).
An injured woman is carried to an ambulance in Clovis, N.M., Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, as authorities respond to reports of a shooting inside a public library. A city official says police have taken a person... (Associated Press) An injured woman is carried to an ambulance in Clovis, N.M., Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, as authorities respond to reports of a shooting inside a public library. A city official says police have taken a person... (Associated Press) CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A shooting inside a public library that killed two people and wounded four has deeply shaken an eastern New Mexico community. The gunman surrendered after the shooting Monday and was taken into custody without incident after police entered the downtown building, authorities and elected officials with the city of Clovis said during a news conference. Warrants for his arrest were being prepared, but it's wasn't immediately clear what charges he would face. Clovis Mayor David Lansford said things could have been much worse had it not been for the quick response, training and courage of police. He called the shooting tragic and senseless. "This is a big blow to our community," he said. "Our community is a community that places a high value on life and the sanctity of life. And each life that lives in this community is precious. So we're all hurting right now as a result of what took place this afternoon." Clovis, a city of about 40,000, is about 200 miles east of Albuquerque, near the Texas state line. The area is home to Cannon Air Force Base. The nearby community of Portales is home to Eastern New Mexico University. The injured included two men and two women, authorities said. Some were taken to a hospital across the state line in Lubbock, Texas. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known. One woman was seen being helped into an ambulance while a call for air ambulances could be heard over police radio traffic. The names of the victims and the gunman were not released. Police said they were still working to process the crime scene and piece together what happened. Police Chief Douglas Ford could not immediately say what kind of gun was used in the attack. Top elected officials from across New Mexico issued their condolences for the victims and their support for the community. Gov. Susana Martinez called it a "horrific attack." "In the coming hours and days we will learn more information about this despicable act, but for now I ask all New Mexicans to pray for the victims and their families, and for the entire Clovis community," said Martinez, a former prosecutor. Attorney General Hector Balderas said his office has reached out to the local district attorney to offer its help. Sojung Her, a 26-year-old cashier at the Shogun Japanese Steakhouse within view of the library lawn, said the shooting left behind a sense of fear and vulnerability. "It's kind of a freak thing," she said. "What if he just walked into our restaurant and started shooting?" Police cars and tactical officers crowded the streets outside as she arrived to work at the restaurant late Monday afternoon. "This kind of thing never happens here," she said. Vanessa Aguirre told The Eastern New Mexico News that she was in the library with her son when a man came in and started to shoot into the air. "It all happened so fast," she said. "We took off fast." \|\|\|\|\| CLOVIS, N.M. (KRQE) – Two people are dead and four others are injured after a gunman opened fire after 4 p.m. at the Clovis-Carver Public Library Monday. Police say the young man they have in custody surrendered without a fight. “Immediately went into the building, made contact with the suspect who immediately gave up, was taken into custody as we continued to clear the building,” Clovis Police Chief Douglas Ford said. Police are not releasing the suspect’s name or his age, and they have not indicated a motive, saying they still need to talk to the suspect. Witnesses say they saw a young man walk into the library with what appeared to be a handgun and say he started firing rounds. Police say six people in total were hit. Two women were killed. The four injured — two males and two females — were immediately rushed to area hospitals. At least three were airlifted. Clovis Police and Fire Department emergency responders were on scene quickly after the active shooter call came in. Once police confronted the shooter though, they say he gave up without a fight. Investigators are not releasing the victims’ ages or identities until they notify family members. “This is a big blow to our community. Our community places a high value on life and the sanctity of life, and each life that lives in this community is precious,” Clovis Mayor David Lansford said. Investigators are combing through the scene and gathering evidence. They have not said how many people were inside the library when the shooting happened. The closest trauma center to Clovis is located in Lubbock, Texas. Officials there say they have a total of four patients from the shooting in Clovis, with two being in critical condition. KRQE News 13 is also hearing from people who were inside the library when the shooting happened. Witnesses describe a terrifying scene when the young man opened fire in what everyone thought was a safe, quiet place. “He just started unloading, pretty much the whole clip. I just kept my head down. I threw the table against the door to barricade myself in there. I thought he was coming my way but by then the cops got there,” witness Sam Nathavong said. Nathavong said he’s not sure how long the gunman was inside the library, but it felt like forever. Throughout the evening, the tight-knit Clovis community has flocked to social media. People are sending well wishes to the victims and sharing information about the suspect. The picture of the suspect got out and people on Facebook immediately started sharing information, describing the teen they believe is the shooter. Police have not confirmed his identity, but people in the community describe him as a 16-year-old Clovis High School sophomore. KRQE News 13 also heard from a family who says their aunt was one of the two women killed, but police have not confirmed those details. The Clovis-Carver Library is closed until further notice. Witness Video Courtesy: Liza Southard \|\|\|\|\| SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - A teenager who killed two people and wounded four others in a shooting at a small-town New Mexico library had a troubled past but appeared to have turned his life around after joining a local church, his pastor said Tuesday. Sixteen-year-old Nathaniel Jouett had been baptized this summer and was helping the church raise money to send teen members to youth camp just days before he opened fire Monday afternoon at the Clovis-Carver Public Library, Pastor David Stevens said in a telephone interview. “Before Christ came into his heart, he was just crying, broken,” said Stevens of the Living Word Church of God in Clovis. “He said, ‘Now I got something to smile about.’ We had no indication of anything wrong with him.” Two library employees, Krissie Carter, 48, and Wanda Walters, 61, were killed in the shooting, in which Jouett used two handguns, Clovis police Chief Douglas Ford said Tuesday. Among the wounded was at least one child, a 10-year-old boy, Noah Molina, who was airlifted along with three other people to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas and was in satisfactory condition on Tuesday, said Eric Finley, spokesman for University Medical Center in Lubbock. Also wounded were Noah’s sister, Alexis Molina, 21, and Howard Jones, 53. Alexis Molina and Jones were in serious condition Tuesday, Finley said. The fourth surviving victim was identified by Ford as Jessica Thron, 30. All are expected to recover, Ford said in a news release. Authorities plan to initially charge Jouett as a juvenile with two counts of first degree murder, four counts of assault, four counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of child abuse, the news release said. Prosecutors would then seek to try Jouett as an adult, Ford said. Stevens said Jouett was being held in seclusion since his arrest at the library on Monday. He said his daughter, who had been dating the teen for the past three-and-a-half months, received a text message from friends Monday saying there had been a shooting and that Nathan, as he was called by friends, was there. Jouett was on suspension from Clovis high school for fighting at the time of the shooting, Stevens said. “My daughter thought Nathan had been shot,” Stevens said. “So my wife and daughter went downtown to the library, and he had been arrested. He was the shooter.” Clovis, with a population of about 40,000, is around 190 miles (300 km) east of Albuquerque.	– A shooting inside a public library in New Mexico Monday afternoon left two people dead and four injured—and local police with more questions than answers. Reuters reports that a male opened fire inside the library at around 4pm local time, killing two women and injuring two women and two men. The alleged shooter was arrested after police surrounded the building and he surrendered. Authorities have not released the suspect's name, age, or motive, and while they say they are preparing warrants, there is no word yet as to what he will be charged with, the AP reports. Clovis, a city of 40,000 located about 200 miles from Albuquerque, is home to Cannon Air Force Base. The city is situated near the state border with Texas, and the injured victims were taken to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas. Two were said to be in critical condition Monday night. Per KRQE, some in the local community have identified the alleged shooter as a 16-year-old high school sophomore.
GOP poll analysis: The race is on This latest edition of the POLITICO - George Washington University Battleground Poll, once again reinforces our long held belief that the 2012 Presidential Election will likely be a very close election right until the end. From a head-to-head ballot in which the candidates are in a dead heat, to numerous other indicators, it seems clear that the days leading up to Election Day will be drama-filled, and as likely to be decided by the ground war as the battle waged over the airwaves. Setting the closeness of the election aside for a second, this data does indicate that Mitt Romney has transitioned well from the Republican primary, moving into the general election campaign in a much stronger position than many pundits would have assumed a few short months ago. Most important, Mitt Romney now seems well positioned to make a compelling case to the broader electorate. At the outset, it should be noted that this should have been a time when President Obama was at his strongest. A time period when the President has been able to take his case to voters, while Mitt Romney was wrapped up in a competitive primary fending off attacks from his rivals for the Republican nomination. That is not the case, however. Mitt Romney not only leads President Obama by one-point (48% to 47%), but holds a six-point lead (51% to 45%) with those voters that are “extremely likely” to vote. Story Continued Below One reason for the tightness of the race is Republicans have already united behind Romney. In fact, two factors come into play here, both of which are currently benefiting Mitt Romney – the vote intensity gap and party loyalty. With the vote intensity gap, Republicans (78% stating they are extremely likely to vote) have a nine-point vote intensity advantage over both Democratic voters (at 69%) and Independents (at 69%). On the actual ballot, Romney is also benefitting from a five-point advantage in “party loyalty,” winning with Republicans by an eighty-eight percent margin at the same time that President Obama is winning with Democratic voters by an eighty-three percent margin. The vote intensity gap is not a surprise (although higher than in recent months), but the party loyalty shown by Republicans at this point in the campaign certainly is a surprise. The bottom line, illustrated in this data, is the primary is over, and Republicans are clearly ready to support their nominee in making Obama a one term President. The second reason for the closeness of the Presidential election at this point in time is that Mitt Romney has built up a ten-point lead with Independent voters – Romney 48% and Obama 38%. As is often the case in close Presidential elections, Independents may very well be the deciding factor in the 2012 election. What is not often discussed is that about two-thirds of the Independent voters who will cast their vote this November vote in every Presidential election (and often split their vote fairly evenly between the two parties), but that last third of the Independent voters are a wild card and float in and out of the Presidential elections. We believe these less active Independent voters are driven by “angry” Independents from year to year. The one thing you can safely say is that the angry Independents of the 2012 election will not be the same angry Independents of the 2008 election. \|\|\|\|\| A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll finds a dead heat in the presidential race six months before the election. Mitt Romney edged out President Barack Obama 48 percent to 47 percent among likely voters, a number well within the margin of error, as Republicans rapidly consolidate behind the likely GOP nominee. Text Size - + reset Pollsters break down results Inside the data The former Massachusetts governor has opened up a 10-point lead, 48 percent to 38 percent, among independents in a poll conducted Sunday, April 29 through Thursday, May 3 and a 6-point lead among those who describe themselves as “extremely likely” to vote in November. Obama led Romney by 9 points overall in POLITICO’s February’s poll. But there are suggestions that these numbers are extremely fluid: Obama holds double-digit leads over the presumptive Republican nominee on issues such as who will better handle foreign policy and who will stand up for the middle class and on “sharing your values.” But enduring concern about the economy — by far the most important issue to voters — keeps the president in a tenuous position despite employment numbers that show slight but steady improvement. (See full poll results here.) While approval of Congress remains in the basement at 13 percent, the poll shows that voters aren’t inclined to throw all the bums out in another major push for change. The GOP has taken a narrow 45 percent to 43 percent lead on the generic congressional ballot, according to the poll, and 65 percent believe Republicans will continue to control the House majority after the election. Forty-one percent believe Democrats will keep the Senate majority. Despite the buzz about who will be Romney’s vice presidential pick, nearly two-thirds of respondents said the vice presidential nominee will not affect their vote. Of the 35 percent who said it will have an impact, just 7 percent described the veep choice as extremely important to their decision. The president’s job approval rating stands at 48 percent, down 5 points from February and a number now equal to the percentage of voters who disapprove of Obama’s performance. The results signal that as the general election phase of the campaign gets under way, who will win the presidency is a jump ball. A full 91 percent of Republicans support Romney, slightly exceeding the percentage of Democrats who support Obama. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who helped conduct the bipartisan poll, called it “a predictable tightening of the race.” “You have both sides very consolidated,” she said. “There are no signs of fissures on either side, but you have the Democrats less enthusiastic than the Republicans.” Americans are split evenly about Obama’s economic policies: Forty percent said he’s made the economy better; 39 percent said he’s made it worse; and 19 percent said he’s had no impact on it. Republican pollster Ed Goeas of The Tarrance Group said the 19 percent who don’t think Obama has affected the economy — which split 46 percent for Romney and 44 percent for Obama — will decide the election. “Do they break to believing the economy is better? Do they break to believing the economy is not better?” he said Sunday. “Watch that. It’s key.”	– Americans really like Barack Obama—they're just not sure they'll vote for him. In a new Politico/George Washington University poll, a whopping 70% say they approve of Obama personally, and 56% approve strongly. That's compared to only 29% who strongly approve of Romney. But when it came to who they'd vote for, Romney edged out Obama 48% to 47%, opened a 10-point lead among independents, and had a 6-point lead among "extremely likely" voters—all at a time, GOP analysts note, when the Republican should be weakened from the primary. There are signs that both candidates have been successful in getting their messages across. Some 58% said that Obama would be better at standing up for the middle class, compared to 35% for Romney. But Republicans have successfully painted Obama as a free-spender. Asked how new tax revenues should be spent, huge majorities said the government should pay down the deficit, rather than increase spending. But asked what they thought Obama would do, those same majorities said he'd increase spending. Click for more from the poll.
How old are you? If you ask Microsoft, chances are you're probably 36 or something. Microsoft has introduced a new website called How-Old.net that guesses your age. Besides being an innovative piece of technology, it's also just a fun way for people to waste time trying to outsmart a computer. The way it works is you upload of photo of yourself, or your friend, or maybe Taylor Swift or some other celebrity you like, and the site uses facial recognition and other data to make an intelligent guess of your age and gender. Sometimes the site gets it right, but most of the time it errs on either the extremely flattering or ridiculously overshoots the user's age — and people on Twitter are having endless amounts of fun posting their results. Remember that age is just a number, Internet. \|\|\|\|\| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more \|\|\|\|\| Head over to Microsoft’s how-old.net, upload a photo of yourself, and the site will spit out a prediction for how old you are—as well as your gender. Did it guess right? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. The website is powered by Microsoft’s new Face API, launched this week at the company’s annual Build Developer Conference. The Face API gives developers the ability to analyze an image, detect faces, and then to complete more complex tasks, like identifying whether two faces are the same, or finding other similar faces from a database. Advertisement How Old Do I Look is meant mostly as an illustration of some of the possibilities of the tool—obviously, there is additional coding involved here. It’s using a database of faces with known gender and ages to try to determine how old people are. We tried out the website with lots of different images of ourselves and others, and while sometimes its prediction is close, the How Old Do I Look app isn’t what anyone could reasonably consider remotely accurate. In fairness, they developed the whole thing in just a day, so we should maybe cut them a little slack. Real age: 116 real age: 21 It’s fun! Check it out and post your results below! Oh, and if this kind of technology creeps you out, remember—companies only ever show us a fraction of what they’ve developed. [How Old Do I Look? and TechNet via @alyssabereznak] \|\|\|\|\| We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter? Yes \|\|\|\|\| We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter? Yes \|\|\|\|\| If there’s one thing Microsoft’s new web toy “How Old Do I Look?” is good for, it’s exploiting our collective narcissism to build a robust facial recognition database. But if it’s good for a second thing, it’d have to be answering the open question of how old alleged celebrity teenager Lorde really is. The Lorde Age Truther movement first emerged more than a year ago, pointing to evidence like the time Lorde accidentally said “when I was a teenager” and then corrected herself, a lyric about being “kinda older,” and photographs of Lorde’s face. It’s since been joked about on South Park and by Lorde herself. The Hairpin even obtained a printout of Lorde’s New Zealand birth certificate, showing she was 17, but such things can be easily forged. But amateur Lorde researchers have always lacked a smoking gun, some kind of scientific proof that Lorde is a middle-aged woman claiming to be a teenager. We ran a variety of Lorde photos, with and without makeup, through “How Old Do I Look?” to see if Microsoft would give it to them: Conclusion: Sorry, truthers. Lorde could be in her 30s at the oldest, but is mostly likely a teen in adult makeup. [Photos: Getty Images, Lorde/Instagram] \|\|\|\|\| If Microsoft is to be believed, I am a 23-year-old man, married to a 66-year-old man with a two-year-old daughter and a 42-year-old mother-in-law. Aside from the fact that this is a biological impossibility, it is also entirely wrong on almost every aspect. The suggestion above is based on results from a new experiment launched by Microsoft at its Build conference in San Francisco on Thursday, 30 April. The truth is that I am a 35-year-old man married to a 33-year-old woman with a 7-month-old son and a [redacted]-year-old mother-in-law. Microsoft's How-old.net uses the company's face detection technology in collaboration with machine learning through its Azure cloud infrastructure to try and accurately guess the gender and age of people in photographs uploaded to the website. I tested the system with a number of pictures of myself and while some were right on the money (above), others had be rolling back the years to my early 20s. Constantly learning The system was built in just a couple of days and when the developers at Microsoft sent out a few emails to ask people to test it, they hoped for at best 50 responses. In fact the test grabbed people's attention in a big way and within a few hours over 35,000 people had tested the system with over half of those using it uploading their photos of themselves - something which the developers didn't think would happen at all. The robot - as Microsoft calls the project - is constantly looking online for more photos to analyse in order to improve its recognition algorithms which would suggest that with time, the service will improve. Looking at the what people have shared on Twitter, the results have varied wildly from entirely accurate to completely wrong. It has recognised a plastic doll as a four year old girl, said that a zombie is 87-years-old and said that Alf doesn't have a face. My favourite outcome however comes from Scottish comedian Brian "Limmy" Limond:	– Because Microsoft doesn't want us to get any work done, the company has launched a new website that uses facial recognition technology to scan a photo and guess a person's age and gender, Mashable reports. How-Old.net makes use of Microsoft's new Face API, which debuted at this week's Build Developer Conference. Gizmodo reports the site was built in one day, and people are frittering away nearly that much time on it, age-exposing (or age-shaming, in some cases) their own photos or those of famous entities such as Vladimir Putin, Yoda, and Ronald McDonald. Its accuracy (or lack thereof) is being poked fun of all over the Internet (one International Business Times writer says the site identified his 33-year-old wife as a 66-year-old man), but it's an entertaining way to kick off the weekend, at any rate. If you can't bear to watch Microsoft age you half a century, head over to the #HowOldRobot hashtag on Twitter to see what fun others are having assigning ridiculous age designations to celebrities, politicians, and inanimate objects with faces. Or check out Gawker's valiant attempt to appease Lorde Truthers by trying to figure out how old the singer really is.
Elsewhere, Dan Fogelman's 'Life Itself' and 'Assassination Nation' get killed; 'Colette' and 'The Sisters Brothers' shine at the specialty box office. A trio of high-profile fall festival films opening nationwide got iced at the weekend box office — Michael Moore's new documentary Fahrenheit 11/9, the edgy teen black comedy Assassination Nation and Dan Fogelman's Life Itself. The only new movie to do impressive business was a more commercial, Hollywood studio title: Eli Roth's big-screen adaptation of the beloved kids book The House With a Clock in Its Walls. The family-friendly pic, starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett, debuted to a better-than-expected $26.9 million from 3,592 theaters, easily topping the chart. From Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal, the pre-Halloween offering follows a young orphan (Owen Vacarro) who goes to live in his uncle's spooky house, which has a mind of its own. Blanchett plays a witch who lives next door. Overseas, House With a Clock launched to $8.7 million from a smattering of offshore markets for a global start of $35.6 million. "Our late September date was engineered for the kids and family audience as back-to-school activities start to wind down and moviegoing picks up — if you can deliver the goods," says Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution, adding that Roth, Blanchett and Black made for a potent combination. Adds Amblin president and co-CEO Jeff Small, "We fell under the spell of this movie from the moment it was pitched to us and it's clear audiences this weekend have been enchanted as well." Fahrenheit 11/9 limped to an eighth-place finish in North America with $3.1 million from 1,719 theaters. Prerelease tracking had suggested at least $5 million to $6 million. Moore's satirical anti-Trump film marks the first release from Tom Ortenberg's new company, Briarcliff. (Ortenberg worked with Moore on Fahrenheit 9/11 while stationed at Lionsgate.) "We're optimistic," says Briarcliff distribution head Steve Bunnell, noting the film's A CinemaScore and strong PostTrak exit scores. "The idea was to have the movie play everywhere before the midterm elections." In 2004, Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 debuted to a record-breaking $23.9 million from 868 locations. Otherwise, his films, similar to other political or specialized docs, have launched first in select theaters before expanding their footprint in order to capitalize on word of mouth. While it's true Fahrenheit 11/9 posted one of the biggest bows ever for a political doc, it is only the fourth political doc to launch nationwide, making comparisons tough. One of those four is Death of a Nation, from conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza. The film debuted this summer to $2.4 million from 1,005 locations before topping out at $5.9 million domestically, the worst showing of D'Souza's directorial career despite an overall doc boom at the box office, including such summer hits as Won't You Be My Neighbor? ($22.6 million), RBG ($14 million) and Three Identical Strangers ($12.1 million). The latter three all rolled out slowly. Life Itself, directed by This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, came in at just $2.1 million from 2,578 cinemas after getting ravaged by critics (its current Rotten Tomatoes score is 13 percent). Late last year, Amazon Studios doled out north of $10 million for rights to the film. The multigenerational relationship film stars Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Mandy Patinkin, Olivia Cooke, Laia Costa, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas. Life Itself, earning an estimated $800,000 on Friday, is set to come in at No. 10. Sam Levinson's satirical thriller Assassination Nation fared even worse, earning an estimated $1 million from 1,403 theaters. Specialty distributor Neon partnered with the Russo brothers in ponying up a reported $10 million for rights to the no-holds-barred black comedy after it premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival. A modern-day take on the Salem witch trials, the violent, R-rated revenge pic follows a group of gun-toting teenage girls who must save their small town after a data hack exposes everyone's dirty little secrets. Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Bella Thorne, Abra, Anika Noni Rose, Colman Domingo, Maude Apatow and Joel McHale star. "Sam Levinson has created a bold, visionary and ultimately cathartic response to the dumpster fire that is 2018. We're admittedly disappointed more people didn't come out this weekend, but those that did were loud and overwhelmingly positive. It's going to take more time for Assassination Nation to find its audience," says Neon chief Tom Quinn. The pic screened earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Fahrenheit 11/9 and Life Itself also played as awards season got underway. Heading into the weekend, none of the three films were expected to post big opening numbers, since they are adult-skewing titles that rely on a long, sustained run. Still, all three are coming in on the low end of expectations, if not behind. And the risks of opening nationwide, versus a platform run, include quickly losing theaters. Fahrenheit 11/9 currently sports a 79 percent Rotten Tomatoes score; Assassination Nation, 68 percent; and House With a Clock, 65 percent. Among holdovers, Lionsgate's A Simple Favor held nicely in its sophomore outing, grossing $10.4 million to place No. 2 and finish Sunday with a domestic total of $32.6 million. Offshore, the Paul Feig black comedy took in $5.2 million from 36 markets for a foreign total of $10 million and $42.6 million globally. Warner Bros.' The Nun crossed the $100 million mark domestically in its third weekend after earning another $10.3 million. To boot, the horror pic topped the foreign chart with $35.4 million from 80 markets for a worldwide total of $292.6 million. In North America, The Nun landed at No. 3, followed by Fox's The Predator, which fell 65 percent in its sophomore session for a domestic total of $40.4 million. The Shane Black-directed reboot grossed another $15.3 million from 80 foreign markets for a tepid international total of $54.5 million and $94.5 million globally. Box-office sensation Crazy Rich Asians, also from Warners, rounded out the top five domestically with $6.5 million in its sixth weekend for a heady cume of $159 million. Globally, Jon M. Chu's rom-com zoomed past the $200 million mark, thanks to an early foreign total of $47 million. At the U.S. specialty box office, fall festival offerings Colette, starring Keira Knightley, and The Sisters Brothers, starring John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix, both impressed in their bows. From Bleecker Street, Colette posted a screen average of $39,197 from four theaters, followed by $30,507 for Annapurna's Sisters Brothers. Among specialty holdovers, Sony Pictures Classics' The Wife, starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, finished the weekend with a pleasing domestic total of $5 million from 468 theaters in its sixth outing. Sept. 22, 7:52 a.m. Updated with Friday grosses and revised weekend estimates. Sept. 23, 7:30 a.m. Updated with weekend estimates. \|\|\|\|\| “The House With a Clock in Its Walls” easily topped the domestic box office in an otherwise quiet weekend at multiplexes. Eli Roth’s adaptation of the popular children’s book picked up a better-than-expected $26.8 million when it opened in 3,592 locations. The fantasy film, starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett, didn’t face much competition. A number of holdovers filled out the top five as a trio of new releases came in way under expectations. “The House With a Clock in Its Walls” topped “Hostel” as Roth’s biggest opening to date. The family-friendly film bowed with $8.7 million overseas for a global start of $35.6 million. Imax screens accounted for $2.5 million of its box office total. Universal’s head of domestic distribution Jim Orr said the release date in a wide open market, along with the team of Roth, Black, and Blanchett, helped bolster the film above earlier projections. “Obviously, we couldn’t be more pleased,” Orr said. “It’s always great to kick off your fall slate at No. 1.” Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 11/9,” a satirical look at President Donald Trump, fared the best among newcomers. The Briarcliff Entertainment political documentary landed in eighth place, coming in way under estimates with $3.1 million from 1,719 venues. Launching the film in over a thousand theaters might have hurt its box office potential. Most specialized films start small in a select amount of theaters before slowly expanding nationwide as word of mouth builds. Related The Worst Films of 2018 ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ Tops Studios’ TV Ad Spending It was a good summer for docs — “RBG,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” and “Three Identical Strangers” all hit double digits, but they all had modest expansions. Dinesh D’Souza took a similar route to Moore just a few months ago, opening “Death of a Nation” on over 1,000 screens. The pro-Trump doc was the worst showing for the right-wing conservative filmmaker, bowing with $2.3 million and picking up just $5.8 million. It’s a tough time to be serving up even more Trump. Moore’s 2004 film “Fahrenheit 9/11” is still the highest grossing documentary ever. It debuted with $23 million in North America and went on to earn $22 million globally. “Life Itself,” a tear-jerker from “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman, didn’t even crack the top 10, pocketing just $2.1 million from 2,609 screens. That’s cause for concern, especially considering Amazon Studios paid $10 million for the star-studded drama with Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, and Annette Bening. It didn’t help that the movie was savaged by bad reviews ahead of its release. It currently holds a 13% average on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a B+ CinemaScore. Meanwhile, Neon’s “Assassination Nation” scraped together a disappointing $1 million in 1,403 locations. Sam Levinson wrote and directed the edgy teen thriller. Lionsgate’s “A Simple Favor,” the neo-noir mystery drama starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and Henry Golding, landed in second place with $10.4 million in 3,102 locations in its second frame. To date, it has earned $32 million. In third is Warner Bros.’ “The Nun” with $10.2 million, taking its domestic tally to $100 million. Fox’s “The Predator” dropped to No. 4 after leading the domestic box office last weekend. The sci-fi thriller earned $8.6 million for a domestic total of $40.3 million. Rounding out the top five is Warner Bros.’ “Crazy Rich Asians.” The acclaimed romantic comedy earned another $6.5 million, bringing its North American earnings to $159 million. In limited release, Bleecker Street’s “Colette” earned $156,788 when it showed in four theaters. That translates to a solid $39,197 per theater. Keira Knightley and Dominic West star in the biographical drama about the life of the French novelist who was forced to publish her novels under her husband’s name. Annapurna’s “The Sister Brothers,” Jacques Audiard’s western dark comedy stars John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix, picked up $122,028 from four locations for a per-theater average of $30,507. Even with the sleepy weekend, the domestic box office remains up 8.5%, according to comScore. However, the frame is down 21.8% compared to the same weekend last year when “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” launched with $39 million. RELATED CONTENT:	– Film-festival fare got killed at the weekend box office as The House With a Clock in Its Walls—a family picture starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black—easily scored top spot with a surprising $26.8 million debut, per the Hollywood Reporter. Filling out the top five domestically were A Simple Favor ($10.4 million), The Nun ($10.2 million), The Predator ($8.6 million), and Crazy Rich Asians ($6.5 million), Variety reports. Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 11/9, a satirical film about President Trump, barely cracked the top ten with $3.1 million while festival-style flicks Life Itself ($2.1 million) and Assassination Nation ($1 million) did even worse.
Republican candidate for the United States Senate Scott Brown (L) is joined by U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) at a campaign stop at the American Legion Post #3 in Nashua, New Hampshire October 27, 2014. WASHINGTON Senator John McCain's voice just got a whole lot louder. One of President Barack Obama’s noisiest detractors, McCain is expected to take the helm of the powerful Armed Services Committee in the new Republican-controlled U.S. Senate when the U.S. Congress convenes in January. The Arizona senator, a critic of the $399 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet program, is likely to push for tougher congressional scrutiny of costly U.S. weapons programs, defense analysts say. He has in the past launched investigations into waste in the U.S. defense industry and shaped legislation to end cost overruns on major arms programs as a senior member of the Senate committee. McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam War prisoner who lost to Obama in the 2008 election, has also criticized the administration on everything from fighting Islamic State militants to arming moderate Syrian rebels, while seeking a tougher U.S. response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. As committee chairman he could summon Pentagon officials to public hearings to explain their strategy on Syria. He has challenged the U.S. Air Force to end a monopoly rocket launch program with Lockheed and Boeing Co, the Pentagon's top two suppliers, and is pushing for development of a new U.S. rocket engine to end reliance on Russian-built engines that power one of the firm's rockets. In his new position, McCain would oversee policy legislation that underpins the Pentagon's budget, although the House and Senate appropriations committees oversee the Pentagon's actual finances. He would play a major role in writing the annual defense authorization bill. It sets policies on everything from defense spending and new weapons to military base closures and the elimination of specific weapons programs. The committee does not control how much money the Pentagon gets, but because it sets policies, it can control how the money is spent. "I wouldn't forecast any huge shifts right away," said one defense industry executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, noting that McCain had worked closely for years on acquisition reform and weapons oversight with Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who now heads the committee. The executive said companies and defense officials were bracing for more requests for information, briefings and hearings from a McCain-led panel. U.S. weapons makers are wary of what they see as McCain's propensity to exaggerate problems when they occur, and worry that he does not understand their need as publicly traded companies to generate profits for shareholders. But, McCain also offers them a ray of hope. He wants to ease automatic across-the-board cuts in military spending that are squeezing defense industry revenues. McCain's office did not respond to requests for comment. "LIGHTNING ROD PROGRAMS" If McCain becomes chairman, he is expected to focus oversight on weapons programs that failed to meet their targets for cost and delivery schedules, said Brett Lambert, a former senior Pentagon official and industry consultant. In recent hearings, McCain has singled out the Navy's $34 billion Littoral Combat Ship program. On April 9, he said poor planning had led to a new class of ships that could not survive in combat, cost far more than expected and provide less capability than earlier warships. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has defended the program. Congressional aides and industry executives said the F-35, the Pentagon's biggest arms program, had made progress after years of cost overruns and technical setbacks, but McCain has vowed to keep close tabs on it given its importance. Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, who runs the F-35 program, told reporters last week that McCain was "very, very discerning and critical" in his oversight of taxpayer dollars and acknowledged the program could face increased scrutiny. "I would imagine that I'm going to see Senator McCain more than I have been," he said, when asked how a Republican-controlled Senate might affect the program. McCain is also likely to scrutinize a new presidential helicopter program under way by Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, and the Navy's stalled plan to develop an unmanned carrier-based drone, a program that is expected to draw bids from Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman Corp and privately held General Atomics, said Jim McAleese, a Virginia-based defense consultant. McCain's dogged questioning of a 2001 Air Force deal to lease, not buy, 100 Boeing 767 aircraft as refueling tankers triggered a federal investigation and uncovered serious ethics violations by senior Air Force and Boeing officials, two of whom served prison terms. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle. Editing by Jason Szep and Ross Colvin) \|\|\|\|\| One of the president's chief critics could soon lead the Senate's main military committee. With Republicans gaining the majority in the upper chamber in Tuesday's midterm elections, Sen. John McCain is widely expected to become the next Armed Services Committee chairman in January. McCain, the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2008, has decades of experience in foreign policy and defense issues in the Senate, where he was first elected in 1986. He also served in the Navy, and he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War. As committee chairman, McCain would have an influential role in spearheading defense policy from Capitol Hill. That includes the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that outlines defense policy and tells the Pentagon what it can and can't spend money on. He'll also gain a megaphone to voice his frequent opposition to the Obama administration on military and national security issues. On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby downplayed any concerns over McCain gaining the top spot, but, at least publicly, the senator's relationship with the Pentagon has been rocky. ADVERTISEMENT For example, during the past year, McCain put a hold on Bob Work's nomination to be deputy Defense secretary, called the administration "cowardly" for not providing arms to Ukraine's military, and frequently criticized the strategy to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. And his blunt style isn't likely to change once he becomes chairman. "With Senator McCain, what you see is what you get. It's part of his charm and persona, that he is a maverick—he is an outspoken maverick—that tells it like it is to anyone of any party," said Mackenzie Eaglen, a fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute think tank. "He wasn't best friends with the Defense Department when the last president was in office either." Despite McCain's penchant for straight talk, he's also known for a willingness to work with his opponents and find a solution—for example, on immigration-reform legislation with the "Gang of Eight." And there are at least two areas where he and top Pentagon officials agree that something has to change: budget cuts under sequestration and how the Defense Department buys what it needs. Without action from Congress, the budget caps would return in October 2015, the start of the 2016 fiscal year. Under Obama's five-year budget, the Pentagon projects that it will need more than $535 billion in fiscal 2016. But under the budget caps, the Pentagon is expected to receive less than $500 billion, leaving a roughly $35 billion budget gap. McCain has been pressing for years to reverse or replace the cuts. And Eaglen called a budget deal—similar to the Ryan-Murphy agreement that eased budget cuts for fiscal 2014 and 2015—"a no brainer." But Eaglen also acknowledged that completely undoing the sequester for the Pentagon is "much easier said than done." McCain is also expected to be outspoken on reforming the Pentagon's acquisitions process—or how the department buys the programs and technology it needs. He released a report that outlined potential improvements to the system last month with current chairman Sen. Carl Levin. McCain will likely have an ally in Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry, the front-runner to replace Rep. Buck McKeon, as chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's under secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Kendall has been working on a reform effort, with the final draft expected to be released early next year. "That's a really powerful trifecta of people that care about acquisition reform," Eaglen said. But that also likely means McCain will be giving some tough talks to industry officials. He's been particularly critical of Lockheed Martin's F-35 aircraft, which has faced a series of delays and budget problems, as well the Navy's littoral combat ship. He called the small vessel, which was supposed to help add flexibility to the Navy's fleet, "over budget, behind schedule, [and] deficient" during a Senate hearing earlier this year. But one industry official dismissed speculation that McCain will have a combative relationship with industry or the Pentagon. "He expects industry to give him straight answers, and holds us accountable. I would hope that he would hold the Pentagon accountable," the official said, requesting anonymity so they could speak candidly. "One of the things I think needs to happen in the Congress in general is a greater amount of oversight versus just reviewing line-item details in the budget." Technically, McCain hasn't been named to the committee's top spot yet. Chairmanships likely won't be announced until next month, but McCain has made no secret of the fact that he's long coveted the position. He told a Phoenix radio station earlier this year, "I would be so happy to be chairman of the Armed Services Committee." And in the Senate, where chairmanships largely follow seniority, McCain has a lock on the job. He outranks Sen. Jim Inhofe, the committee's current ranking member. The Oklahoma Republican will reportedly head up the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee next year. McCain, whose staff didn't respond to request for comment, previously served as the ranking member for six years. His party was in the minority during that period, and according to Senate Republican rules that govern committee selection, he can serve up to six years as chairman before being term limited.	– With Senate leadership changing, John McCain appears poised to be the new head of the Armed Services Committee—and that could have big implications for US defense, Reuters reports. McCain has a history of criticizing what he sees as excessive spending on some weapons programs; as chair of the committee, he'll have more control over how the Pentagon spends its cash. Defense contractors are expecting to spend more time responding to questions from Capitol Hill. Among McCain's concerns have been a $399 billion F-35 fighter jet program, as well as the continued use of Russian-made rocket engines. Another favorite target of McCain's has been President Obama's foreign policy; now he'll have a "megaphone" with which to address the subject, the National Journal reports. He's called, for instance, for greater US support for Ukraine's military and boots on the ground against ISIS. But though he holds strong views, he's also known as a negotiator on issues like immigration, the National Journal notes. "With Senator McCain, what you see is what you get. It's part of his charm and persona, that he is a maverick—he is an outspoken maverick—that tells it like it is to anyone of any party," says an analyst.
Notice You must log in to continue. \|\|\|\|\| Well, the day has come. I'm in tears at work right now, but it's here. I just received an email from Brad Johansson at Gray's Harbour SO. There will be a press release later today, but it's true: Lyle has been positively identified. More details to come as soon as the press release has been issued. \|\|\|\|\| TAKE ME UP \|\|\|\|\| PRESS RELEASE: VICTIM OF SUICIDE IDENTIFIED AFTER 16 ½ YEARS In September of 2001, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office started an investigation into the identity of a man who committed suicide in Amanda Park, Washington. The man had checked into a motel using the fictitious name of Lyle Stevik. Investigators spent countless hours over the years attempting to identify the deceased man. ... Earlier this year, the Sheriff’s Office and the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office were contacted by Margaret Press and Colleen Fitzpatrick, co-founders of the non-profit DNA Doe Project. This group offered to fund the analysis of “Lyle’s” DNA with the hopes of identifying possible family members. The coroner’s office provide a DNA sample to this group. Through their organization, about 20 volunteers worked hundreds of hours on “Lyle’s” identification since obtaining his DNA results on March 22. Aside from the hard-working volunteers, the group’s organizers wanted to express their heartfelt appreciation to all the many donors who contributed to the cost of the tests. This was the group’s first Doe Fund Me case and was funded in less than 24 hours with contributions from around the world. The group also wanted to thank all 900,000 plus people who have contributed their DNA results to the GEDmatch database. Without them this identification could never have been made. In speaking with Margaret Press, she stated that “cases like these are heart-breaking. During those hundreds of hours there wasn’t one where we didn’t all think of the family he left behind. They are what kept us going”. Through the work of the DNA Doe Project, the group was able to come up with a possible match of a man from California. Associated with this possible match were names of relatives. Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office were able to contact these possible family members and eventually able to positively identify “Lyle” through fingerprints provided by the family. The family believed that “Lyle” was still alive, just did not want to associate with family. Our victim was 25 years of age at the time of his death. As a matter of practice, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office does not provide the names of individuals who have committed suicide. And the family of “Lyle” has also requested that his name not be released. We are thankful for all involved who helped finally solve this 16 ½ year mystery. -Steve Shumate Gray’s Harbour Sheriff’s Office	– On Sept. 14, 2001, a 20something man calling himself Lyle Stevik got a room at the Lake Quinault Inn, a rundown motel on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Three days later, the inn's maid discovered the man dead in his room. He had used a leather belt to hang himself from a metal coat rack attached to the wall in an alcove in the room. And so began the mystery of Lyle Stevik—a man who, as far as the system goes, did not exist. In a lengthy account in online magazine Mel, Kirk Pepi walks us through the "strange case" of Stevik, who "in death … became a 9/11 terrorist, a ghostly apparition, and an Internet superstar." When law enforcement arrived at room 5 at the Lake Quinault Inn, they discovered a folded comment card with "for the room" written on it. Inside there was $160. They also found a crumpled piece of paper on which "suicide" was written in all caps. A Gideon Bible was bookmarked to John 12:33: This he said, signifying what death he should die. But what police didn't find is where the mystery lies. Stevik left no ID. Running his DNA, dental information, and fingerprints through law enforcement databases yielded nothing. Stevik appeared in no phone directory, search engine, electoral roll, or census. All roads led to dead ends. Eventually, the Stevik case went cold. But, years later, would-be detectives have again begun to attempt to unravel the mystery. Theories include: The name Lyle Stevik was a pseudonym based on a character from a Joyce Carol Oates novel. Stevik became suicidal after losing a loved one on 9/11 (which occurred three days before he checked in at the motel). Stevik feared WWIII was about to break out and decided to end it all. Or, Stevik was actually a 9/11 terrorist. Stevik was driven to suicide by bulimia. Whoever he was, at least two people have reported seeing his ghost at the Quinault Inn. Read the whole fascinating story here.
CLOSE Carrie DeKlyen sacrificed her life in hopes of saving her baby. Wochit This a photo of Life Lynn DeKlyen, who was born yesterday. (Photo: Family Photo) Eight days after the funeral for a Grand Rapids-area mother who refused cancer treatment to save her expected daughter, the infant died Wednesday, family has confirmed. Carrie DeKlyen, 37, a mother of six from Wyoming, was unconscious and gravely ill with an aggressive brain tumor when she delivered Life Lynn on Sept. 6. The baby weighed just 1 pound, 4 ounces at birth and was in the neonatal intensive care unit at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. DeKlyen declined to participate in a clinical trial or undergo chemotherapy, options that would have likely extended her life but also would have meant terminating her pregnancy. The day after Life's birth, doctors removed DeKlyen's feeding and breathing tubes, and she died Sept. 9. Life died Sept. 20. This is a photo of Carrie DeKlyen and her husband, Nick. DeKlyen, a woman from Wyoming, Michigan, opted not to have cancer treatment to save her unborn child. The baby was delivered by C-section yesterday. (Photo: Family Photo) "She had a rough day yesterday," Sonya Nelson, DeKlyen's sister-in-law of Wyoming said Thursday. "She was kind of up and down all day... They weren't able to get her blood gas levels where they needed to be." Nelson, who's taking care of two of Life's five siblings, said she explained the death to her sister, Lelia. "I told Lelia -- who is 4 -- Life was really sick, and she had to go live with Jesus and with mommy. And she said, 'She had to go, too? Why?'" Nelson said. She said the father, Nick Deklyen, is not doing well as he faces the family's second tragedy in two weeks. "This is tough -- this is just tough stuff." More than 3,000 Facebook users reacted and posted sorrowful comments in response to a post that shared the news on a page used by love ones to share the DeKlyens' updates. "It is with great sadness and a absolutely broken heart that I tell you Life Lynn passed away last night. Carrie is now rocking her baby girl," according to the Facebook post on the Cure for Carrie page. Life was Carrie and Nick DeKlyen's sixth child. Their others range in age from 2 to 18. A GoFundMe page called "Cure 4 Carrie," which was set up to help the family, had raised more than $155,000 by Thursday morning. Read more: Contact Robert Allen on Twitter @rallenMI or [email protected]. Ann Zaniewski contributed. Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2xjJjpF \|\|\|\|\| This October 2013 family photo shows Carrie DeKlyen and husband Nick DeKlyen in Grand Rapids, Mich. Carrie DeKlyen sacrificed the chance to prolong her life to give birth to her sixth child. (Photo: Michelle Werkema / AP) When Carrie DeKlyen found out she was pregnant with her sixth child, she told her husband she had a dream that she was rocking a baby girl. But Carrie DeKlyen never got to hold her daughter — the west Michigan woman died this month, three days after giving birth. She chose to succumb to brain cancer at age 37 instead of undergoing experimental treatments that may have prolonged her life but would have meant the death of the unborn child. The baby girl, who the couple named Life Lynn, was born at a University of Michigan hospital on Sept. 6 at 24 weeks — the earliest a baby can be born and be expected to survive. She weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, and garnered worldwide attention as her mother chose her daughter’s life over her own. But Nick DeKlyen was remembering his wife’s dream after Life Lynn died around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, at 2 weeks old. “Now the dream she told me is now making sense,” said DeKlyen, 39. “I never thought it would be heaven, but I know that is what she is doing. She is rocking her daughter in heaven.” Life Lynn’s death was revealed Thursday morning on the couple’s Facebook page, Cure 4 Carrie. “It is with great sadness and a absolutely broken heart that I tell you Life Lynn passed away last night,” according to the post. “Carrie is now rocking her baby girl. I have no explanation of why this happened, but I do know Jesus loves us and someday we will know why. The grief we feel is almost unbearable, please be praying for our family.” Hundreds of people responded to the post, expressing sadness and offering condolences.“My heart aches for your family,” wrote Sue Fountain-Canales. “Lifting you all up in prayer and that you will find strength and comfort through this very difficult journey.” Added Penny Blackburn: “Oh, my. My heart just breaks for all of you. We just can’t let it shake our faith though. We are not God, we just do not know everything. The end of the story for the Deklyen family is NOT over. There are still living members who can still be strong and courageous through this time of sadness. There is a time to laugh, and a time to cry. A time to mourn and a time to dance. Joy will come again.” Nick DeKlyen is planning a private graveside ceremony for Life Lynn and hoping to bury her at the feet of his wife, who is resting in Georgetown Cemetery in Jenison, Michigan. Later Thursday, this was confirmed in a post on the Facebook page. "We will not be having a normal funeral for Life Lynn. We will be burying her with Carrie tomorrow. Please continue to pray for our family," the post said. Soon after Carrie DeKlyen found out she had brain cancer earlier this year, she learned that she was pregnant. She qualified to be in a UM clinical trial that doctors told her might have extended her life another 10, possibly 20 years. She and her husband declined the treatment because they are Christians and would have had to terminate the pregnancy for her to get chemotherapy. Doctors told the couple she would die without treatment, but Carrie DeKlyen prayed about it and accepted that she would die soon, her husband said. Carrie DeKlyen's baby 'Life' struggles for life in the hospital's intensive care unit. (Photo: facebook) One of her last wishes was to give birth to her daughter, which she did via cesarean section after weeks of suffering excruciating pain and being on life support. She died Sept. 9. Many were rooting for Life Lynn, who was in a neonatal unit at UM, and her trials and triumphs were chronicled on Facebook. “Praying everyday for baby Life,” wrote Elizabeth Lamse on one of the posts. “Time in the NICU can be scary. It’s such a roller coaster. We claim healing and strength in the name of Jesus! Keep touching her Nick! Keep fighting baby girl.” During a stop on his drive from Ann Arbor to his home in Wyoming, on the west side of Michigan, Nick DeKlyen said that his mother went to bed 20 minutes before his daughter died because the baby’s vital signs were good. Then, things changed quickly. Life Lynn developed a leak in one of her lungs, which collapsed before she slipped away, DeKlyen said. “I told her Daddy loves her and to hang and keep fighting but that didn’t work,” said DeKlyen. “She’s in heaven with Mommy now.” He said he was still trying to make sense of why God didn’t intervene and save his wife and infant daughter, who died within two weeks of each other. “The Bible says that it rains on the just and the unjust,” DeKlyen said. “There are just things you can’t explain. I wish I had the answer as to why my wife died and my daughter died. Regardless of what happened, I still chose to follow God and do it his way. When I get to heaven one day, I will ask why. I know he has a reason for everything.” DeKlyen said earlier this week that Life Lynn had almost passed away on Sept. 12, the same day that Carrie DeKlyen was buried. When he rushed to the University of Michigan hospital after her funeral, the doctors asked if he wanted to hold her one last time. But he declined the doctors’ offer, telling them that would be like throwing in the towel. Then, he told the doctors to do all they could – and she pulled through. After months spent in Ann Arbor, DeKlyen was traveling back to the west side of the state Thursday with a heavy heart to pick up his five children from his sister’s house and comfort them. “I am just going to get my kids and love on them and be there for them,” DeKlyen said. “It’s over. I am going to try and move on,” said DeKlyen, his voice cracking. “I am just going to go home and start living.” The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with costs accrued with caring for Carrie DeKlyen in her last days, and had raised more than $163,000 as of Thursday. [email protected] Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2wIWP4j \|\|\|\|\| It is with great sadness and a absolutely broken heart that I tell you Life Lynn passed away last night. Carrie is now rocking her baby girl. I have no explanation of why this happened, but I do know Jesus loves us and someday we will know why. The grief we feel is almost unbearable, please be praying for our family. Psalms 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever \|\|\|\|\| See more of Cure 4 Carrie on Facebook \|\|\|\|\| See more of Cure 4 Carrie on Facebook	– A doubly tragic end to the story of the Michigan mom who declined cancer treatment in an attempt to save her baby's life: That baby, Life Lynn DeKlyen, died Wednesday night. Her mother, Carrie DeKlyen, died within days of giving birth to Life Lynn at 24 weeks gestation on Sept. 6. Carrie DeKlyen, 37, found out she was pregnant soon after finding out she had an aggressive form of brain cancer, but she declined to take part in a clinical trial that could have extended her life because it would have required her to terminate the pregnancy. She delivered via cesarean section at the earliest time a baby is considered viable for life; Carrie DeKlyen was unconscious at the time and was taken off life support a day later, the Detroit Free Press reports; she died on Sept. 9. Life Lynn's dad, Nick DeKlyen, told followers of the couple's Facebook page Thursday of the baby's death, the Detroit News reports. "It is with great sadness and [an] absolutely broken heart that I tell you Life Lynn passed away last night," he posted on the Cure 4 Carrie page. "Carrie is now rocking her baby girl. I have no explanation of why this happened, but I do know Jesus loves us and someday we will know why. The grief we feel is almost unbearable, please be praying for our family." Nick DeKlyen told the Detroit News Wednesday that Life Lynn almost died on the day of Carrie's funeral, Sept. 12, and that on that day doctors asked if he wanted to hold her one last time and he said no because he refused to give up. In recent days, updates posted on the Facebook page indicated Life Lynn was having a "rough time" with low oxygen levels and blood pressure problems, but they then noted her oxygen levels "shot up" after Nick held her Wednesday, possibly as a result of his touch. She leaves behind five siblings ages 2 to 18.
CLOSE British counter-terrorism detectives believe they may have finally found the source of the nerve agent Novichok, which left a woman dead and a man critically ill. Veuer's Nathan Rousseau Smith reports. Buzz60 A handout photo made available by the London Metropolitan Police Service shows Dawn Sturgess, 44, from Durrington, Wiltshire. (Photo: LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE / HANDOUT, EPA-EFE) LONDON — The Soviet-made nerve agent that killed a woman and left three other people critically ill was contained in a perfume bottle, the brother of one of the victims said. Charlie Rowley, 45, and his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, were found unconscious on June 30 in the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, southern England. Sturgess died on July 7 and Rowley remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition. British authorities said they were poisoned with Novichok nerve agent. Matthew Rowley told the BBC in an interview published Sunday that his brother, who regained consciousness last week, said he picked up a perfume bottle that contained the chemical. Last week, the London Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the incident, said they found the source of the nerve agent — a small bottle in Rowley’s house. They would not confirm any further details about the bottle. More: British police identify source of Russian nerve agent that killed woman More: Russia denies involvement in new UK nerve agent poisoning Related: Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal discharged from hospital after poisoning Police are trying to determine how the bottle got to the house and whether the poison was from the same batch that sickened Sergei Skripal, 66, a former Russian spy, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in the city of Salisbury — about 10 miles from Amesbury — on March 4. Britain blames Russia for the Skripals’ poisoning and that of Sturgess and Rowley. Russia denies any involvement in either incident. Ewan Hope, Sturgess’ son, asked President Donald Trump to raise his mother’s case with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at their summit in Helsinki on Monday. “We need to get justice for my mum. I’m so angry with her killers,” Hope, 19, told British newspaper The Sunday Mirror. He said it could be months before her funeral is held. “I hope the (British) government can find out exactly who did this — I really want them to get what they deserve,” he added. British authorities believe Sturgess and Rowley were not directly targeted. Sergei Skirpal was jailed in Russia for passing state secrets to Britain before he was released in a spy swap and moved to Salisbury. The United Kingdom has invited independent chemical-weapons experts to visit this week and independently confirm the nerve agent suspected in the case. Police and public health officials are warning people in the Salisbury and Amesbury areas not to pick up any unknown items. Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2JpmMw0 \|\|\|\|\| Image caption Matthew Rowley, whose brother Charlie was poisoned, says he found the Novichok in a perfume bottle The nerve agent that poisoned two people in Amesbury was contained in a perfume bottle, the brother of one of the victims has said. Matthew Rowley said his brother Charlie, who is seriously ill in hospital, told him he had picked up the perfume bottle. The Metropolitan Police, which is leading the investigation, refused to confirm the claim. Previously the force has said only that it was found in a "small bottle". Image copyright AFP Image caption Charlie Rowley is "absolutely not the brother I know" after the poisoning, Matthew said Charlie Rowley and his partner, Dawn Sturgess, were exposed to the nerve agent on 30 June. A murder investigation was launched after Ms Sturgess died on 8 July. Investigators believe the incident is linked to the Novichok poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on 4 March. On Friday, police reiterated advice from Public Health England for people in the area not to pick up strange items - including cosmetics. Matthew Rowley told BBC News he was still upset about his brother's condition after speaking to him on the telephone. He said Charlie Rowley was "absolutely not the brother I know" though he said he was now eating solid food. BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the information about the bottle could be a significant clue for investigators trying to isolate the source of the nerve agent and identify who administered it. "Where did it come from, where was it bought, is it something that is very rare, is it something that's unusual, is it something that was bought in a particular shop at a particular time?" he said. "That could be absolutely vital for the investigation to find out who was responsible for the attack on the Skripals and also for the latest attack."	– The British woman who died last month after being exposed to a nerve agent may have poisoned herself with a spritz from a perfume bottle. Dawn Sturgess' boyfriend also was exposed, and his brother tells the BBC that authorities have identified the source of the toxin Novichok that killed Sturgess as being a small perfume bottle. Authorities had previously spoken of a "small bottle" being the source, but the perfume angle is new. It could help investigators track down just how the bottle got into the home of Charlie Rowley, Sturgess' boyfriend. Rowley remains hospitalized. Authorities don't think Sturgess, 44, and Rowley, 45, were deliberately targeted, but they blame Russia for an earlier attack involving Novichok that nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, reports USA Today. (The Skripals were exposed to the toxin in liquid form.) Rowley and Sturgess were poisoned in Amesbury, only about 10 miles from where the Skripals were poisoned in Salisbury. Sturgess' son had publicly asked President Trump to raise the issue with Vladimir Putin at their summit in Finland Monday, but it was unclear whether he did so.
Published on May 8, 2018 An experimental technology called Duplex may change the way you talk to your Google Assistant. It sounds pretty ordinary, but it's anything but. Read more about Duplex on CNET: https://cnet.co/2roXyH4 Subscribe to CNET: www.youtube.com/user/cnettv Check out our playlists: www.youtube.com/user/CNETTV/playlists Download the new CNET app: https://cnet.app.link/GWuXq8ExzG Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cnet Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cnet Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2icCYYm \|\|\|\|\| At this year’s Google I/O developer’s conference in Mountain View, Google demoed a very natural-sounding Google Assistant making an appointment over the phone — a feature it calls Google Duplex . This wasn’t just auto-filling an online form — according to various recordings tweeted from the conference, this was a phone call between Google’s AI Assistant and a human working at a salon. But more immediately, it might be able to make calls and book your appointments in a very-natural-sounding human voice, if a recent demo is to be believed. Google’s Assistant AI is getting better every year. It can tell you the weather, or perhaps crack a terrible joke if that’s more your speed. Give it another year or two, and it’ll be able to pre-order your lunch before you even had your morning coffee. A machine playing the part of a human? Well someone nudge forward the Doomsday Clock, the singularity is almost here. This is bananas. Google Assistant just called to book a haircut for someone. #io18 pic.twitter.com/gr2V0NjfiH — Daniel Bader (@journeydan) May 8, 2018 With practically no delay, Google’s AI seemed to navigate the conversation effortlessly. Granted, it didn’t take too much back-and-forth to settle on a time. But it’s eerie to listen to. The lines between human and AI have been tremendously blurred; it’s nearly impossible to tell the cheerful salon worker from Google’s Assistant. The intonation was spot on, and far from monotonous, or robotic. The AI even threw in a couple of “uh’s” and “hmm’s,” before it answered, the way a real human would. Whether or not it lives up to its demo, Google’s Duplex feature shows how far AI has come. But we might have to wait a bit until we can find out for ourselves. “We are still developing this technology,” CEO Sundar Pichai announced after the demo at Google I/O. Duplex will be rolled out to a limited number of testers as part of an “experiment in the coming weeks.” Duplex wasn’t the only impressive AI feature announced at the conference. Google also announced a Smart Compose feature that can write emails for you, expanding on its “canned response”-style Smart Reply feature. Google’s AI can even colorize black-and-white photos now using machine learning and advanced object recognition. Oh, and John Legend’s silky-smooth voice could be the one to book those hair appointments for you, instead of the boring default Assistant’s. But Duplex definitely seems to be the most impressive — and, perhaps, the most useful. I, for one, can’t wait to outsource all of my phone calls to a robotic assistant. \|\|\|\|\| Google CEO Sundar Pichai detailed a number of new Google Assistant features during his annual I/O keynote, the creepiest of which was an announcement that the voice assistant will be able to call up businesses on your behalf in the very near future. The reasoning behind the new feature is pretty sound. 60% of small businesses in the US don’t offer any form of online booking, so you have to call if you want to book a haircut at a hairdresser, or a table at a restaurant. But that’s where it gets a little bit creepy. So that you don’t have to call up the business yourself, Google has trained Assistant to be able to make the call for you. Google’s first example was using the voice assistant to book a haircut. The user typed in what kind of haircut they’d like between what times and the assistant was able to call up and have a convincing conversation with the salon’s secretary. And by convincing we really do mean convincing. “Powered by a new technology we call Google Duplex, the Assistant can understand complex sentences, fast speech, and long remarks, so it can respond naturally in a phone conversation,” says Google. “Even though the calls will sound very natural, the Assistant will be clear about the intent of the call so businesses understand the context.” Once the appointment was booked, Assistant knew to place a calendar event in the user’s Google Calendar. A true digital assistant The second interaction was even more impressive. Despite the fact that the restaurant didn’t accept reservations for the amount of people Google Assistant was trying to book for, the voice assistant was still able to navigate the conversation to establish that waiting times wouldn’t be too long if the party turned up that evening. For its final trick, Pichai detailed how the Assistant could make a phone call to establish a business’s opening times, before automatically updating its listing on the search engine. It was a pretty stunning moment from I/O, but we couldn’t help but be a little taken aback at how effective it was. The new functionality is going to be tested over the coming weeks and months, but no full release has yet been announced. Would you trust Google Assistant to book a haircut on your behalf? Let us know @TrustedReviews. \|\|\|\|\| Onstage at I/O 2018, Google showed off a jaw-dropping new capability of Google Assistant: in the not too distant future, it’s going to make phone calls on your behalf. CEO Sundar Pichai played back a phone call recording that he said was placed by the Assistant to a hair salon. The voice sounded incredibly natural; the person on the other end had no idea they were talking to a digital AI helper. Google Assistant even dropped in a super casual “mmhmmm” early in the conversation. Pichai reiterated that this was a real call using Assistant and not some staged demo. “The amazing thing is that Assistant can actually understand the nuances of conversation,” he said. “We’ve been working on this technology for many years. It’s called Google Duplex.” Duplex really feels like next-level AI stuff, but Google’s chief executive said it’s still very much under development. Google plans to conduct early testing of Duplex inside Assistant this summer “to help users make restaurant reservations, schedule hair salon appointments, and get holiday hours over the phone.” Pichai says the Assistant can react intelligently even when a conversation “doesn’t go as expected” and veers off course a bit from the given objective. “We’re still developing this technology, and we want to work hard to get this right,” he said. “We really want it to work in cases, say, if you’re a busy parent in the morning and your kid is sick and you want to call for a doctor’s appointment.” Google has published a blog post with more details and soundbites of Duplex in action. “The technology is directed towards completing specific tasks, such as scheduling certain types of appointments. For such tasks, the system makes the conversational experience as natural as possible, allowing people to speak normally, like they would to another person, without having to adapt to a machine.” Google envisions other use cases like having Assistant call businesses and inquire about their hours to help keep Maps listings up to date. The company says it wants to be transparent about where and when Duplex is being used, as a voice that sounds this realistic and convincing is certain to raise some questions. In current testing, Google notes that Duplex successfully completes most conversations and tasks on its own without any intervention from a person on Google’s end. But there are cases where it gets overwhelmed and hands off to a human operator. This section on the ins and outs of Duplex is very interesting: \|\|\|\|\| MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google showcased its plans for the next several months as it kicked off its annual developers' conference Tuesday. Many of the new features center on the use of artificial intelligence to help save time. Here are the highlights: ___ MAPS: Google will use augmented reality to help guide you to your destination. When you pull up direction on Google Maps, you can look through the camera and get turn-by-turn directions while viewing the actual street. The app will also orient you and verify your position using local landmarks such as buildings and shops viewed through the camera. Google calls the technology VPS, or visual positioning system. The feature is expected this summer. ___ GOOGLE DUPLEX: Google's digital assistant will take on the task of making appointments and other tedious calls with actual people at businesses. In two demonstrations — one setting up a hair appointment, the other a restaurant reservation — a realistic-sounding automated voice used pauses and "ums" and "mmm-hmms" to sound more human during interactions with people. Google says the technology is rolling out as "an experiment" in coming weeks. ___ GMAIL: An autocomplete feature called "smart compose" uses artificial intelligence to suggest ways to finish sentences you start typing. For example, "I haven't seen you" might be autocompleted to "I haven't seen you in a while and I hope you're doing well." The feature will start rolling out this month. ___ PHOTOS: When Google recognizes a photo of someone who is one of your contacts, it can suggest sending the photo to that person. It can also convert photos to PDFs and automatically add color to black-and-white photos or make part of a color photo black and white. The changes are coming in the next few months. ___ GOOGLE ASSISTANT: Google's digital assistant will get six new voices, including one based on that of singer John Legend, later this year. The voices aim to sound more natural and will include pauses that convey meaning. Google is also unveiling ways to let you issue multiple commands without having to say "Hey Google" each time. And it will reward kids who say "please," similar to a feature Amazon is bringing to its Alexa voice assistant. ___ LENS: Google's visual assistant will be built into the camera. Just point the camera at a building or sign to get more information. Or copy text from images of menus, documents and other sources into another app on your phone. Samsung phones aren't on the list of phones getting the feature starting next week. Samsung has its own version, Bixby Vision. ___ NEWS: Google is redesigning the News feature to present five stories you need to know, plus others that it thinks will be most relevant to you. For outlets with subscriptions, Google will allow you to subscribe directly through your Google account, without needing new passwords or credit card information. The feature should be available to everyone by next week. ___ ANDROID P: The version of Google's Android phone software will infuse basic functions with AI smarts. The battery will adapt to how you use apps in order to conserve energy. "Adaptive brightness" will learn how bright you like your screen based on manual adjustments, instead of automatically adjusting based on the how bright it is. Apple's latest system, iOS 11, has a similar feature. Owners of some Android phones — none from Samsung — can get an early test version now. ___ WELL-BEING: Android P also includes features to combat overuse. A "shush" mode automatically turns on the "Do Not Disturb" mode when you turn your phone face down on a table. And "Wind Down Mode" will fade the screen to greyscale at a designated bed time to help you disconnect before bed.	– Google showcased its plans for the next several months as it kicked off its annual developers' conference Tuesday, the AP reports. Many of the new features center on the use of artificial intelligence to help save time. Highlights: Google Duplex: This service will use Google's digital assistant to take on the task of making appointments and other tedious calls with actual people at businesses. In two demonstrations—one setting up a hair appointment, the other a restaurant reservation—a realistic-sounding automated voice used pauses and "ums" and "mmm-hmms" to sound more human during interactions with people. Google says the technology is rolling out as "an experiment" in coming weeks. (This piece was getting some of the biggest attention online, with commenters calling the demo "stunning" and "mindblowing" and saying it "really feels like next-level AI stuff.")
Johnny Depp: Inside His Single Life He just announced his split from longtime love Vanessa Paradis , but Johnny Depp has been maintaining a bachelor's lifestyle for a while.Since the actor, 49, and Paradis, 39, began leading separate lives more than a year ago – both reside primarily in L.A. but haven't necessarily stayed under the same roof for some time – Depp has been regularly partying with rocker Marilyn Manson , spending late nights at the singer's Hollywood-area home and even jamming on guitar at an April Manson concert.Depp has also been busy with work, shooting Disney's mega-budget The Lone Ranger in Albuquerque, N.M., and Creede, Colo. But he's shown little interest in socializing off-set: When he's not filming, Depp routinely commutes back to L.A. by private plane, sometimes several times a week. The couple's children, Lily-Rose, 13, and Jack, 9, are enrolled in school in Los Angeles.As the 14-year relationship between Depp and Paradis began to crumble publicly – the embattled couple had not appeared together on a red carpet for two years – rumors swirled linking the actor to various other women. Among them: model-actress Amber Heard, who appeared with Depp in 2011's The Rum Diary and was was spotted boarding a private plane with Depp to Las Vegas earlier this year. But Heard, who has said she's bisexual, also brought along her longtime girlfriend, artist Tasya van Ree.Tabloid reports also linked Depp to his Dark Shadows costar Eva Green, as well as to his longtime publicist Robin Baum, who was a fixture during his globetrotting promotional duties for Dark Shadows.Depp's reps have not commented.The actor is expected to continue shooting The Lone Ranger through August.A glum-looking Paradis, who promoted her film Je Me Suis Fait Tout Petit at the Cabourg Festival of Romantic Cinema, touched down in her native Paris on June 14."She looked tired," says an observer. "She just didn't look well or happy." \|\|\|\|\| By Alexis Tereszcuk – Radar Entertainment Editor Johnny Depp’s breakup with his long term partner Vanessa Paradis was brewing for a long time, and RadarOnline.com has exclusive details about the real reason why they split. “Johnny didn’t want to be with Vanessa anymore. They had grown so far apart, and he wanted to be free and try new things,” a source close to the former couple tells RadarOnline.com. “He was bored senseless with her, being with Vanessa was making him miserable. “The spark had gone, and there was nothing left. Johnny just wants more from life and believes Vanessa deserves to be happier too. He’s not embroiled in some hot and heavy new romance and he has no plans to jump straight into something straight away, but he is keen to have some fun again. PHOTOS: Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the Chanel Party “Johnny was not handling keeping their split secret too well, it was difficult for him to carry on a farce, so now that it is out in the public he is feeling a lot happier about the situation.” As RadarOnline.com previously reported, has been planning the split for a while. “Johnny has wanted this relationship to end since last year,” the source says. “He has tried to get out of this for a long time.” PHOTOS: Vanessa Paradis Steps Out With Plunging Neckline However, one thing is for sure — even though Johnny no longer wants to be romantically involved with Vanessa, he is determined to continue to be a hands-on dad when it comes to their two children, Lilly Rose and Jack. “Make no mistake, Johnny is not walking away from his kids, at all,” the source says. “He loves his children, more than life itself, and he is determined to remain a constant everyday presence in their lives.” RELATED STORIES: Johnny Depp Denies Breakup Reports, But Where Is Vanessa Paradis? Johnny Depp Imagined George Bush ‘Incredibly Stoned’ As Inspiration For His Movie Character First Look At Johnny Depp As Tonto In The Lone Ranger Johnny Depp Getting Close To Costar Eva Green \|\|\|\|\| 'He's even bought her a horse!' Things are 'heating up' for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard following Paradis split By Amelia Proud \| Rumours about the nature of their relationship have been swirling for some time, but it's being reported that things 'seem to be heating up' between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The Rum Diary co-stars are said to be so close that bisexual actress Heard, 26, has been a 'regular visitor' to the New Mexico set of The Lone Ranger where 49-year-old Depp is currently filming. And Johnny, who made an official announcement that he had split from partner of 14 years Vanessa Paradis on Tuesday, is even said to have bought Heard a horse so they can ride together, according to a report in Globe magazine. Scroll down for video More than friends? Amber Heard has been visiting Johnny Depp on the New Mexico set of The Lone Ranger, it has been reported A source claims Depp is smitten by the Hitchcock blonde, and reportedly said:' When I first saw Amber, it was like seeing an old-time movie star like Lauren Bacall.' The American actress who was born in Austin, Texas, previously worked as a model and before starring in The Rum Diary alongside Depp had had small roles in a number of films. She attended a Catholic school in Austin until her junior year, then the ambitious teen left to pursue a career in Hollywood. Heard was active in her school's drama department and appeared in local commercials and campaigns. On screen romance: Depp and Heard seen in a scene from movie The Rum Diary While she was raised a Catholic, after the death of her best friend died in a car crash Heard declared herself an atheist. Heard has described her role as Johnny Depp's love interest in the film, The Rum Diary, as 'the best experience of my life.' She gushed to magazine Dazed about Depp: 'He’s such a wonderful presence; he is enigmatic and compelling and a true artist, seriously intelligent and incredibly sensitive. 'Everybody on set respects and likes him, which says a lot about an actor. It’s a grueling job at times and the stress level that everybody feels in the industry is intense – but it doesn’t affect Johnny. 'It seems like he has time to look everybody in the eye and I like that, it was wonderful to see.' Johnny's partner Vanessa was noticeable absent from the star's side as he hit the promotional trail, seen here with Amber at the premiere of Rum Diary in London last year The 26-year-old actress's profile is set to rise as she recently joined the case of thriller Paranoia as the female lead alongside Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford, and Liam Hemsworth. She also recently landed a role as an assassin in the sequel Machete Kills. Vanessa and Johnny had not been pictured together in public for months, but the Dark Shadows star insisted last month that there was no truth to talk of a split. 'The rumours are not true,' he told The Sun newspaper. 'They are absolutely not true.' 'No matter what I say about this, people believe the opposite. I can’t say enough about it not being over,' he said. It's over: Depp's spokesperson finally ended months of speculation by revealing that Depp and Paradis, seen here in 2010, had split Despite Johnny's denials, a number of publications carried pictures and reports that he and Heard enjoyed a trip together to Las Vegas on a private plane. Depp was in town promoting Dark Shadows, and Vanessa was nowhere to be seen. It's unclear why Amber was in the gambling town. Amber was alleged to have joined Johnny in Vegas, and was pictured boarding his private plane the next day. Johnny and Vanessa have declined to appear at their respective premieres and public events together recently, with the French actress attending her premiere, of Café de Flore in Paris alone, and not accompanying the actor on promotional duties for Dark Shadows. They are parents to Lily Rose,12, and ten-year-old Jack. Romance? Depp, seen here earlier this month, and Amber, at a red carpet event on June 1st	– Johnny Depp never married Vanessa Paradis, but his break-up could still cost him up to a whopping $157 million, or half his fortune, one lawyer estimates. It won't be a breeze for Paradis to claim the money—she'll need to go to court—but Depp will probably "make a lump sum payment as a settlement" to avoid costly litigation, the lawyer explains to the Sun. Apparently Depp isn't concerned, because he's spending money on rumored new flame Amber Heard: In perhaps the most amusing headline so far, the Daily Mail declares, "Johnny Depp 'buys Amber Heard a HORSE' following Vanessa Paradis split." What the what now? Yes, a horse, a source apparently told the Globe. Heard is said to visit Depp on the Lone Ranger set often, and he wants them to be able to ride together. Maybe that's the sort of thing he couldn't do with Paradis, because Radar's source claims Depp had grown "bored senseless" with Paradis, and the relationship was "making him miserable. … Johnny just wants more from life," the source says, adding that the actor "is keen to have some fun again." But take all this with a grain of salt: People reports that Heard, who is bisexual, brought her longtime girlfriend along on at least one visit with Depp.
He spoke of his service to his country, his remorse for breaking the law, and the humiliation he has suffered because of it. Then the former congressman, Michael G. Grimm, asked for mercy from the court. Leniency, it turned out, did not come easily. “Your moral compass, Mr. Grimm, needs some reorientation,” Judge Pamela K. Chen said on Friday, before sentencing him to eight months in prison for tax fraud. A federal investigation that initially focused on Mr. Grimm’s campaign fund-raising turned into a 20-count indictment related to his running of a restaurant in Manhattan called Healthalicious. Prosecutors said he underreported wages and revenue to the government and filed false tax documents as a result. Mr. Grimm pleaded guilty in December to one count of tax fraud, a felony. On Friday, Mr. Grimm told Judge Chen that he was afraid of failure, and that led him to commit the crime. “All my life I have scraped and I have clawed and I have killed myself to better myself,” he said in the proceeding in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. Referring to his military service, he said, “A Marine is taught not to fail.” \|\|\|\|\| Former Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) was sentenced Friday to 8 months in prison for federal tax fraud by a federal judge in New York. Grimm apologized to the judge and said that his decision to pay workers off the books, avoiding tax payments, was "absolutely wrong," according to The New York Times. ADVERTISEMENT “All my life I have scraped and I have clawed and I have killed myself to better myself,” he said. “A Marine is taught not to fail... give me the opportunity to redeem myself.” But Judge Pamela Chen ignored his pleas to avoid jail time. "That this type of crime is common does not lessen its significance,” she said, according to the Times. “Your moral compass, Mr. Grimm, needs some reorientation.” Federal prosecutors hit Grimm with a 20-count indictment earlier this year on a slew of fraud allegations related to a restaurant he managed. He pleaded guilty on one count in a deal to keep the rest of the case from going to trial. Grimm initially panned the indictment as a “political witch hunt” and vowed to fight to clear his name. Even after he pleaded guilty, he bucked calls to resign but eventually reversed course and stepped down from office. Federal prosecutors had sought a jail sentence of between 2 and 2 1/2 years, slightly less than the maximum of 3 years that Grimm faced. Grimm’s lawyers pushed back against the “caricature of the typical politician who gets in trouble with the law” in a sentencing memo filed with the court earlier this year. “Michael Grimm’s offense is an aberration in an otherwise remarkable life lived in selfless service of his country and dedicated towards helping his family, friends, and community,” the memo says. Grimm is apparently a primary caretaker of former Rep. Guy Molinari (R-N.Y.), who served in Congress until 2001. Molinari wrote to the court to ask it to be lenient on Grimm since he is helping him. Noting Grimm’s service as a Marine, FBI special agent, lawmaker and a “caretaker and caring friend,” his lawyers called on the court to spare him jail time and give him only probation. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Chief Richard Weber lauded the sentencing in a statement and blasted Grimm for making the "conscious decision" to break the law. “Tax crimes are not victimless crimes and Grimm’s actions harmed the very citizens he was elected to serve," he said. "We expect all taxpayers to follow the law—whether you are a business owner, individual, or elected official—we all must play by the same rules.” This story was updated at 2:10 p.m. \|\|\|\|\| Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, former United States Congressman Michael Grimm was sentenced to a term of incarceration of eight months of incarceration in connection with his conviction for aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return. Grimm served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing New York’s 11th Congressional District, which includes the borough of Staten Island and parts of the borough of Brooklyn, from January 2011 to January 2015. Grimm was sentenced by the Honorable Pamela K. Chen, United States District Judge, Eastern District of New York. The Court also sentenced the defendant to 200 hours of community service. [1] The sentence was announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office, and Richard Weber, Chief, IRS- Criminal Investigation. “This prosecution and sentence should be a reminder to those in positions of trust that we and our partners in the FBI and IRS will vigorously pursue whomever commits fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Currie. Mr. Currie expressed his grateful appreciation to the Public Integrity Section of Department of Justice, the Northern Criminal Enforcement Section of the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, the New York State Insurance Fund, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and the New York State Department of Labor for their assistance in the investigation. FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez stated, “Grimm didn’t serve his community with honor; he instead engaged in criminal activity to the detriment of the public trust. Today’s sentence should send a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated, especially when public officials break the law. The FBI and our partners at the IRS will continue our efforts to identify fraudulent practices carried out by elected representatives and free the system from the consequences of their actions.” “Former Congressman Grimm made a conscious decision to break the law and benefit personally by underreporting $900,000 in restaurant gross receipts and lowering payroll taxes through 'off-the-book' payments, then lying under oath to conceal his criminal activity,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Chief Weber. “Tax crimes are not victimless crimes and Grimm’s actions harmed the very citizens he was elected to serve. We expect all taxpayers to follow the law—whether you are a business owner, individual, or elected official—we all must play by the same rules.” In connection with his guilty plea on December 23, 2014, Grimm entered into a stipulation of facts acknowledging the scope of his criminal conduct. As part of that stipulation of facts, Grimm admitted that: From 2007 through 2009, Grimm was a member in Healthalicious, a Manhattan restaurant. During that time period, Grimm oversaw the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, which included the reporting and distribution of the restaurant’s payroll. Grimm under-reported the true amount that Healthalicious earned, using a portion of those unreported receipts to pay the restaurant’s workers “off the books” in cash. With Grimm’s knowledge, the restaurant employed those who were not lawfully admitted to the United States and who were not authorized to work in this country. In total, Grimm concealed over $900,000 in Healthalicious’ gross receipts from the accountant who prepared and filed the restaurant’s tax returns. That accountant used the false information provided by Grimm to prepare and file false federal and state tax returns for Healthalicious. Grimm also failed to report the “off the books” cash wages he was paying to Healthalicious workers, which resulted in the restaurant paying lower federal and state payroll taxes. Some Healthalicious employees received at least half of their wages in cash, while other workers were paid entirely in cash. Grimm tracked these payments in electronic spreadsheets, but failed to provide accurate information about the restaurant’s payroll to the payroll processing companies employed by the restaurant. As a result, Grimm caused the payroll processing companies to report to the IRS and the NYS Tax Department less than half of the wages Healthalicious actually paid its employees. Additionally, Grimm under-reported Healthalicious’ payroll to the New York State Insurance Fund (“NYSIF”), lowering the monthly workers’ compensation premium the restaurant paid to NYSIF. As part of his scheme, Grimm caused numerous false documents to be filed with federal and state tax authorities between 2007 and 2010. In total, Grimm’s conduct caused federal and New York State tax and NYSIF premium losses between $80,000 and $200,000. While a Member of Congress in January 2013, Grimm was deposed under oath by the attorney of a former employee in connection with a civil lawsuit relating to the labor practices at Healthalicious in which Grimm was a defendant. The lawsuit was pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Grimm admitted to testifying during the deposition to things that, at the time, he knew to be false. Specifically, Grimm testified during the deposition that Healthalicious employees had not been paid in cash, when he knew that restaurant employees had in fact been paid “off the books” in cash. Similarly, Grimm testified that, to the extent he used email in operating Healthalicious, he used a Yahoo account to which he no longer had access. Grimm also admitted that, at the time of the deposition, he in fact had access to an AOL account which he had used for Healthalicious related business and which contained many emails related to the restaurant. The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys James Gatta and Nathan Reilly are in charge of the prosecution. The Defendant : MICHAEL GRIMM Age: 45 Staten Island, New York E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-248 (PKC)	– Michael Grimm, the former Republican New York congressman who once threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony, was sentenced today to eight months in prison for federal tax fraud, the Hill reports; prosecutors had sought between two and two-and-a-half years—slightly less than the three-year maximum. While Grimm asked Judge Pamela Chen to "give me the opportunity to redeem myself," per the New York Times, Chen laid into him for charges that he paid restaurant workers off the books, saying, "That this type of crime is common does not lessen its significance. Your moral compass, Mr. Grimm, needs some reorientation." New York Rep. Guy Molinari, a friend of Grimm's, and Grimm's lawyers had pleaded he lived "an otherwise remarkable life lived in selfless service of his country," per a sentencing memo filed earlier this year, the Hill notes. But the IRS criminal investigation chief disagreed, praising the sentence in a DOJ statement today in which he noted, "Tax crimes are not victimless crimes and Grimm's actions harmed the very citizens he was elected to serve. … We all must play by the same rules." (Grimm has quite the "fiery" reputation.)
A Chicago Police officer works at the scene of a shooting on South Kedzie Avenue in August. Police arrested or identified a suspect in 15.4 percent of the 254 homicides committed in the city in the first half of 2018. (Photo: EPA-EFE) CHICAGO – Chicago police solved fewer than one in six homicides committed in the city in the first half of 2018, continuing a troubling decline in the number of perpetrators being brought to justice in one of the nation’s most violent cities, data obtained by USA TODAY shows. Chicago's homicide clearance rate – the percentage of cases in which police arrest or identify a suspect – fell from 17.1 in 2017 to 15.4 during the first six months of 2018, the data shows. If that rate holds through the end of the year, it would be the sixth consecutive annual decline. Police in the nation's third-largest city are having even less success solving nonfatal shootings, according to the data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Police cleared 50 of 900 nonfatal shooting incidents in the first half of 2018, a rate of 5.6 percent. That puts them on pace to solve fewer than 9 percent of nonfatal shooting incidents for the fourth year in a row. Top officials in the department of 13,500 sworn officers say the clearance rate reflects an alarming dynamic in the violent neighborhoods of Chicago's West and South sides: Shooting victims often forego cooperation with authorities to seek retaliation on their own. That fuels more violence, police say, and further erodes trust in law enforcement. Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan heads the Chicago Police Department’s detective division. He says the victims and offenders are often “interchangeable.” “These are guys who are shooting back and forth at each other on a consistent basis,” Deenihan told USA TODAY. “They're not afraid to go to court and testify. They just want to get even with the people who shot at them.” Falling clearance rates are not just a Chicago problem. The national clearance rate for homicides fell to 59.4 percent in 2016, the lowest since the FBI began tracking them in 1965. In Indianapolis, where the murder rate has surged, the Metropolitan Police command staff have called on outside experts to help with the growing number of unsolved homicides. The Midwest city has seen its clearance rate tumble from 66 percent in 2014 to 40 percent last year, according to an analysis by the Indianapolis Star, a member of the USA TODAY Network. Phoenix saw its homicide clearance rate tumble from 90 percent in 2013 to 57 percent last year. The Phoenix Police Department saw its clearance rate improve several years ago after winning a federal National Institute of Justice grant, but then decline after the grant ran out. The department is hoping to add more detectives soon to bolster its cold case unit. The clearance rate has climbed to 62.3 percent in the first half of 2018. “There hasn't been a significant change in working with witnesses and the community over the years to solve these cases,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said. “We understand the importance of our community partnerships and continue to foster that relationship.” Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan, who heads the Chicago Police Department's detectives division, says the city's low homicide clearance rate is the result of witnesses of shootings infrequently cooperating with police. (Photo: AP) Clearance rates have been in the spotlight in Chicago, which suffered 650 homicides last year and 762 homicides in 2016, more than any other city in the nation. President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out against city leaders over their handling of the violence. The rates have become an issue in the crowded race to replace Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who announced this month he would not run for a third term in the city’s February election. One contender, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, has called for increasing the department’s detective pool from 1,000 to 1,200. Homicides are down about 19 percent so far in 2018 compared to the same point last year. The city remains on pace for more than 500 killings for the fourth consecutive year. After a particularly violent weekend last month in which more than 70 people were shot, Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson decried the lack of cooperation from residents in the predominantly low-income, black neighborhoods that suffer most of the city's violence. “You all know who these individuals are. They come into your homes every day, sleep with you every night,” Johnson said. “Grandparents, parents, siblings, significant others – you know who they are.” Seventy-two people were shot during the early August weekend, 12 of them fatally. Police have made only two arrests. More: Unsolved murders: Chicago, other big cities struggle; murder rate a 'national disaster' More: Why Chicago PD can't get more residents to identify gun violence suspects More: At least 72 shot, 13 killed in Chicago over violent summer weekend, police department says Deenihan described a shooting last month allegedly by a repeat gun offender. A 26-year-old man was shot in the foot on the city's West Side. The department’s gunfire-sensing ShotSpotter system helped narrow down the location of the shooter. Police used surveillance cameras to spot a car leaving the area and tracked the vehicle until patrol officers were able to catch up to it. Police say two men in the car pulled into a gas station. They say workers saw 27-year-old Rick Franklin drop what turned out to be a stolen gun near a doughnut display inside the gas station store. But the victim of the shooting refused to cooperate, Deenihan said, so police were able to charge Franklin only with unlawful use of a weapon. Franklin was prohibited from possessing a weapon due to his criminal history. Illinois sentencing guidelines for assault with a deadly weapon call for up to 10 years in prison. The lesser weapons charge carries a maximum of three years. “We had technology and good police work,” Deenihan said. “But you have a victim who was shot that doesn’t want to cooperate, and you have the individual who did the shooting – a repeat gun offender – who is eventually going to be out on the street again.” Deenihan said detectives are used to victims refusing to cooperate. Romell Young, 23, says he knows who shot him in April near his home on the West Side. He told USA TODAY that he didn't cooperate with the police investigation because it would have escalated the spat, made him vulnerable to retaliation and sullied his reputation. “It could have been bad for me because it would (ruin) my name,” Young said. The falling clearance rates coincide with the declining trust in the police department. Long-strained relations between police and the city's African-American community have deteriorated further since the 2015 release of a video that shows the police shooting of a black teen. Police say 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was wielding a retractable knife with a 3-inch blade. The video appears to show that McDonald had turned away from police when Officer Jason Van Dyke opened fire. Van Dyke is now on trial for first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct. “For our detectives, it’s a grind out there," Deenihan said. "They go out to the scenes. They do their best. “We do live in a society today where people don’t cooperate with the police.” Even before the McDonald shooting, the police department’s relationship in the African-American community had been strained by a long history of police brutality and allegations of heavy-handed tactics in some of the same neighborhoods most impacted by violence. The Rev. Ira Acree, a pastor and activist on the West Side, said blaming residents in violence-plagued neighborhoods for low clearance is “ludicrous” and “offensive.” Acree notes that Chicago police’s relationship with the African-American community has been strained for decades. During the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1990s, conflicts between gangs drove homicide rates higher than those of today. Still, Chicago detectives annually cleared more than 60 percent of killings, according to the FBI. “At some point, the police department has to take some responsibility,” Acree said. Contributing: Jason Pohl of the Arizona Republic Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2Nwvfo4 \|\|\|\|\| Deangelo Norwood was severely injured when he was shot in late July in Chicago. (Whitten Sabbatini/For The Washington Post) Deangelo Norwood had been in the hospital for three days when the detectives appeared, asking questions about the man who had shot him in the stomach, chest and wrist. “Is this the guy?” they asked, holding up a grainy photo. Could be, Norwood said, but he didn’t know the guy and, to be honest, he hadn’t gotten a good look. Nearly a month later, no one has been arrested for the July 30 shooting outside a Chicago liquor store that severely injured Norwood, 30, and killed his brother Omar, 35. “That’s the norm in this city. We live amongst a lot of killers,” Norwood said, adding that the detectives have stopped calling. “Ain’t nobody been locked up. And they ain’t trying to solve nothing.” The Norwood brothers have joined the grim ledger of Chicago violence, part of a wave of summer shootings that has propelled the city, again, to the forefront of the national debate over guns and violence. As of Tuesday, 365 people had been killed in Chicago this year, more than in any other U.S. city. Yet the growing death toll obscures a far larger group of victims — more than 1,600 people who, like Deangelo Norwood, have been shot this year and survived. While homicides routinely go unsolved here, the perpetrators of nonfatal shootings are even less likely to be brought to justice. Since 2010, Chicago police have made arrests in only about 27 percent of homicides, according to a Washington Post analysis of homicide data in more than 50 major U.S. cities — the lowest rate of any city The Post examined. For nonfatal shootings, the arrest rate plummets into the single digits, according to data maintained by the University of Chicago Crime Lab. The latest report shows Chicago police made an arrest in 10 percent of nonfatal shootings in 2014, 7 percent in 2015 and just 5 percent — 1 in 20 — in 2016. Homicide Database: The Washington Post has mapped and analyzed nearly 55,000 homicides since 2007 Omar Norwood was fatally shot in Chicago on July 30. (Family photo) While the numbers in Chicago are particularly abysmal, the pattern appears to hold in other cities. Because no comprehensive national data is available on arrest rates for nonfatal shootings, The Post requested the information from 50 major U.S. cities. Only six provided it and only for select years. In those places, The Post found that nonfatal shootings were less than half as likely as homicides to result in arrests. In Charlotte, for example, police have made arrests in 71 percent of homicides but in just 30 percent of nonfatal shootings since 2013. In Miami, police made arrests in 1 in 3 homicides but in just 1 in 5 nonfatal shootings between 2014 and 2016. And in Omaha, police made arrests in 67 percent of homicides but in just 18 percent of nonfatal shootings in 2016 and 2017. Chicago police officials say they have significantly improved their ability to solve homicides as well as nonfatal shootings by strengthening their relationships with the community. Homicides and nonfatal shootings are both down compared with this time last year. And, police noted, the department had made arrests in 44 percent of homicides committed through mid-August, up from 33 percent during the same period last year. “We have been making considerable investments,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, noting that the department plans to hire 300 additional homicide detectives by the end of this year, bringing the total to more than 1,200. But in Chicago and throughout the nation, police say the same factors that make it difficult to solve homicides make it difficult to solve nonfatal shootings. Minority communities, which tend to produce the most victims, also tend to distrust police. Witnesses are likely to fear retaliation for “snitching.” And victims may be unwilling to cooperate, because telling the truth about the shooting could implicate them in a crime. “The other night, we had three people shot. They all take themselves to the hospital. They don’t wait for the cops or the ambulance. Then . . . they tell us to go ‘F’ ourselves,” said William Evans, the former police commissioner in Boston, where Boston Magazine last year found that police made arrests in just 4 percent of nonfatal shootings between January 2014 and September 2016. While police say they cannot solve crimes without the cooperation of the public, leaders in the black community say the failure to solve crimes is fueling the distrust — along with a deadly cycle of impunity and retaliation that begets more violence. “These communities have degenerated into a lawless vigilante justice, where people have to get justice on their own terms because the police won’t get it for them,” said the Rev. Marshall Hatch Sr., pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago’s troubled West Side. “People feel like they’ve got to take the law into their own hands,” he said. * * * Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx (D) agrees with that assessment. Foxx is the first African American woman elected to head the prosecutor’s office that handles Chicago crime, one of the biggest and busiest in the nation. The lack of arrests, she said, leaves thousands of families waiting for a justice that never comes. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “Each day that passes, the likelihood of us being able to put together a winning case diminishes.” While witnesses might feel an obligation to cooperate with police after someone has been killed, Foxx said, nonfatal shootings can leave people feeling that it is “more pragmatic to deal with this in the street justice system.” That was how Deshon Hannah saw things four years ago when he was hit with 30 buckshot pellets from a shotgun blast fired by a rival gang member in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. Police investigate a scene where multiple people were shot early this month in Chicago. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times/AP) “I didn’t want him to go to jail, to be honest,” Hannah, 20, said of his shooter. “I wanted my retaliation. I wanted to shoot the person who shot me.” Hannah, who has since become an anti-violence activist, said he had no interest in cooperating with Chicago police, who he said routinely harassed and mistreated his family, friends and neighbors. The police eventually arrested someone without his help. Scores settled in the street often produce “collateral damage,” further raising the victim count as innocent people are caught in the crossfire, said Eric Russell, a Chicago police-accountability activist. “They’re shooting into crowds. Some of them are high off of drugs and narcotics. They’re reckless,” Russell said this month after 72 people were shot — 12 fatally — in a single Chicago weekend. “If there is a silver lining, thank God these shooters can’t aim,” he said. “These kids are just terrible shots.” Whether a shooting is fatal or nonfatal often comes down to luck: Where the bullet strikes. How quickly someone dials 911. When the ambulance arrives. The distance to the nearest trauma center. Still, policing experts acknowledge that the public — and in some cases the police — tends to focus almost exclusively on fatal shootings. Many cities do not even track how many nonfatal shootings their police handle, much less how many result in arrests. “The homicides get all of the attention and all of the resources,” said Natalie Kroovand Hipple, an Indiana University criminal-justice professor who studies gun violence. Tio Hardiman, a longtime community activist in Chicago, tries to stop violence “on the front end,” before it happens. But in a city with thousands of shootings and hundreds of homicides each year, Hardiman spends most of his time with people who are already victims. “If I’m being straight up, there is a lot of hopelessness,” he said, “and no faith in the police department.” As Hardiman spoke, he stood sweating in a baggy gray suit in a field on the Far South Side where the bodies of two boys had been discovered four days earlier: Darnelle Flowers, 17, and Raysuan Turner, 16. Through a steady stream of anonymous tips, Turner’s family had pieced together their best guess at what happened: They believe that the boys were lured to the neighborhood by two girls, one of whom was angry over a schoolyard dispute, and that after meeting the girls and two unidentified males in a park, the boys were led to the overgrown field, shot and left for dead. Police investigate an Aug. 18 shooting at a Subway in Chicago. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times/AP) But making the leap to an arrest has proved frustrating. The tipsters don’t want to be identified. Two witnesses tracked down by a local activist disappeared when it came time to speak with prosecutors. Two people who had been held as persons of interest have been released. “I just hope that somebody has the balls to come forward,” said Turner’s mother, Rayniecia Morris, sliding on sunglasses to hide the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. “There are people out there who know what happened to my son, and they need to come forward.” * * * On the day they were shot, the Norwood brothers had stopped to buy water and a pack of gum from Ziad Certified Liquor, a market in the Bronzeville area where a hand-painted mural of a black trumpeter gazes down at customers from above the Budweiser cooler. Born to a drug-addicted mother and raised — along with six siblings — by a devoted, diligent grandmother on Chicago’s rough South Side, both were dream chasers who longed to get out. Instead, they got caught up in the chaos. Both went to prison: Deangelo for a stickup and Omar for the unlawful use of a weapon. But things had been going well since they got out. Deangelo had finished his GED and found a job with Divvy, the city’s bike-share program. Omar worked in food service and began taking classes to become an electrician. The brothers talked about pooling their money and opening a juice bar in Chicago’s booming downtown. Then Omar started dating a woman with an ex-boyfriend who also had just gotten out of prison. As the woman waffled between them, Omar and the other man began taunting each other on social media, Deangelo said. He said the shooting occurred when three of the man’s friends spotted the Norwood brothers in the candy aisle of the liquor store. A heated argument led to a fistfight on the sidewalk outside. The Norwoods were winning, Deangelo said — until one of the men pulled out a gun. Police investigate an Aug. 19 shooting in Chicago. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times/AP) Omar died instantly, shot in the back of the head. Deangelo crumpled to the ground next to his brother, bleeding from a hole in his chest. During 17 hours of surgery, doctors removed his spleen and part of his liver, leaving his abdomen a patchwork of staples, stitches and scars. He spent weeks in the hospital, then decamped to a small apartment in Indiana to heal. These days, just pulling on socks is a painful, complicated task. Aside from the physical pain, the emotional trauma has left him by turns hopeful and despondent. One minute, he’s making plans to go back to work, save $15,000 and open that juice bar. The next, he’s saying he feels lost without his big brother. “It’s like I’m half dead and half alive,” he said softly. “I’ll never be the same again.” Meanwhile, the shooting plays on a loop in his head. He sees the gun, the muzzle flash, the blood. His brother’s pained expression as he falls. Norwood has relived that moment hundreds of times. But he still can’t come up with anything that would help police find the guy who shot him. Read more: Where killings go unsolved: The areas where killings are common but arrests are rare An unequal justice: Black victims least likely to have killers arrested As killings surge, Chicago police solve fewer homicides	– A "troubling decline" in the number of homicides solved by Chicago police is continuing, USA Today reports. According to data obtained by the paper, the city's homicide clearance rate was 15.4% during the first half of the year, meaning that a suspect was identified or arrested in fewer than one in six cases. The rate for 2017 was 17.1%. As of late August, there had been 365 killings in the nation's third-largest city, per the Washington Post. The clearance rate for nonfatal shootings is far lower at 5.6%, according to USA Today, with just 50 of 900 cases in the first six months of 2018 being cleared (the Post puts the number of nonfatal shootings so far this year at 1,600). "That's the norm in this city. We live amongst a lot of killers," Deangelo Norwood told the Post last month. Norwood was seriously injured and his brother was killed in a July 30 shooting. "Ain't nobody been locked up. And they ain't trying to solve nothing." Officials tell USA Today that part of the problem is the "interchangeable" nature of shooters and victims. "These are guys who are shooting back and forth at each other on a consistent basis," says Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan. "They just want to get even with the people who shot at them." Homicide clearance rates are falling nationwide, USA Today notes, with the national rate dropping to an all-time low of 59.4% in 2016. As for Chicago, Deenihan says, "We live in a society today where people don't cooperate with the police."
CLOSE U.S. Coast Guard video shows widespread flooding on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where heavy storms brought more than two feet of rain over the weekend. Rescue operations continued Monday. (April 16) AP This April 15, 2018 image taken from video provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows flooding along Kauai's Hanalei Bay, Hawaii. Hawaii Gov. David Ige issued an emergency proclamation for the island where heavy rainfall damaged or flooded dozens of homes in Hanalei, Wainiha, Haena and Anahola. (Photo: Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Verdura, U.S. Coast Guard, via AP) With over four feet of rain, the small town of Hanalei on the Hawaiian island of Kauai may have broken the all-time U.S. record for rainfall in 24 hours earlier this month. A rain gauge about a mile west of Hanalei recorded a whopping 49.69 inches of rain during a 24-hour period from April 15-16, the National Weather Service in Honolulu said. "This total, if certified, will break the current U.S. 24-hour record of 43 inches at Alvin, Texas, on July 25-26, 1979, and the state of Hawaii record of 38 inches at Kilauea, (Kauai) on Jan. 24-25, 1956," the weather service said. The U.S. record in Texas was set during Tropical Storm Claudette. In order to become a national or state record, it must be certified by the National Climatic Extremes Committee, which is part of NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI). That could take some time: "We would be very deliberate. I don't think we will have definitive findings until several weeks and perhaps a small number of months," said Deke Arndt, chief of the climate monitoring branch at NCEI. The gauge is operated by the Waipa Foundation, a non-profit organization on Kauai, not the weather service, so there's a chance the record might not pass muster. "Data from the gauge are not telemetered for real-time display and are used for watershed modeling and monitoring studies," the weather service said. The National Climatic Extremes Committee will be reviewing the data and gauge site to determine the validity and potentially certify the report from Waipa, Kauai on April 14-15, 2018 as a new national 24-hour rainfall record. #hiwxpic.twitter.com/FWzI6IcCbI — NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) April 26, 2018 Hawaii is no stranger to record rains, Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters said, "due to the warm tropical waters surrounding the islands, which can feed large quantities of moisture into thunderstorms that form over the steep topography." What is perhaps most interesting about the potential record, weather historian Christopher Burt told the Washington Post, is that it was not associated with a tropical cyclone or hurricane. Regardless of the record, the recent rainfall in Hawaii caused floods that destroyed homes and forced hundreds to evacuate, the Weather Channel reported. Those who were evacuated were warned they'd be away from their homes indefinitely because landslides continue to block Kuhio Highway on Kauai's north shore, according to the Associated Press. Though the 49-inch rainfall is a tremendous amount of rain, it's still a long way from a world record for a 24-hour rainfall. The world record is 71.8 inches (almost 6 feet) at Foc-Foc, Réunion Island, in the South Indian Ocean, on Jan. 7-8, 1966. That rain fell during Tropical Cyclone Denise. The French territory of Réunion Island is a notoriously soggy spot, as it also holds the world records for 12-hour, 72-hour, and 96-hour rainfalls. World weather records are maintained by the World Meteorological Organization. Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2vRwS7l \|\|\|\|\| Kelii Kinney checks on his flood-damaged property on April 15 in Anahola, Hawaii, after the Anahola River broke its banks and flooded the community downstream. (Dennis Fujimoto/Garden Island/AP) An incredible amount of rain fell in Hawaii last week, and it was just over the course of one day. Preliminary data shows that from April 14 to 15, 49.69 inches of rain accumulated at a rain gauge in Waipa on the island of Kauai. Kauai is one of the rainiest places on Earth, but the 24-hour inundation was far too much for the island to handle. “From all of what I’ve seen this has been the worst flood event I’ve ever seen my 49 years here on Hanalei,” Alex Diego told the Garden Island newspaper. “The house got water in it for the first time ever.” If the amount is verified, it would smash the current national record for most rain in 24 hours — 43 inches in Alvin, Tex., in 1979 during Tropical Storm Claudette. The National Climatic Extremes Committee will be reviewing the data and gauge site to determine the validity and potentially certify the report from Waipa, Kauai on April 14-15, 2018 as a new national 24-hour rainfall record. #hiwx pic.twitter.com/FWzI6IcCbI — NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) April 26, 2018 To verify the accuracy of the measurement, the National Climate Extremes Committee will review the gauge site specifics and data, which is owned and operated by the Waipa Foundation and is used for watershed modeling. According to Christopher C. Burt, a weather historian at Weather Underground, the record is “plausible given the weather at the time and the region in question’s climatology” as one of the rainiest places on Earth. The rain was caused by an upper-level low situated to the west of Kauai. The setup tapped into enhanced moisture in the lower levels of the atmosphere and created “intense anchored thunderstorms over the mountains of interior Kauai,” according to Robert Ballard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hawaii. Ikaika Okuno rinses mud off his belongings in his garage on April 16 in Kauai. Heavy rain and flooding damaged north and south parts of the island. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser/AP) And what is perhaps most interesting about the potential record, said Burt, is that it was not associated with a tropical cyclone or hurricane. The current world record for 24-hour rainfall came from Tropical Storm Denise in the Indian Ocean and lashed the island of La Reunion with an almost unbelievable 71.85 inches in 1966. Here is a list of other top 24-hour-rainfall records, all of which were related to a tropical storm or hurricane except for Waipa: 71.85 inches — Foc-Foc, La Reunion (Jan. 7-8, 1966) 66.49 inches — Belouve, La Reunion (Feb. 27-28, 1964) 64.33 inches — Isla Mujeres, Mexico (Oct. 21-22, 2005) 62.33 inches — Aurere, La Reunion (April 7-8, 1958) 55.20 inches — Weiliaoshan, Taiwan (Aug. 8, 2009) 55.04 inches — Commerson, La Reunion (Feb. 25, 2007) 51.85 inches — Kaikawa, Tokushima, Japan (Aug. 1, 2004) 49.69 inches — Waipa, Hawaii (April 14-15, 2018)* * if certified (Data provided by Christopher C. Burt) This is the same storm that we reported on several weeks ago that dumped a record 27.52 inches of rain in 24 hours on the town of Hanalei, one mile to the east of Waipa. The flash flooding and mudslides that resulted destroyed roads and bridges, cutting off locals and stranding thousands of tourists. Numerous homes across the island were destroyed or damaged, and Hawaii lawmakers have set aside $100 million for cleanup costs.	– One of the most beautiful places on earth was not exactly a paradise earlier this month. Nature pummeled the Hawaiian island of Kauai with nearly 50 inches of rain April 14 to 15, unofficially blowing out the current US record of 43 inches in Alvin, Texas, in 1979, reports the National Weather Service. The amount still has to be verified and certified by the National Climatic Extremes Committee, which will review the gauge and other data for accuracy. Though the rainfall is extreme, it’s a mere sprinkle compared with the world record of 71.8 inches in 24 hours at Réunion Island, in the South Indian Ocean, on Jan. 7 to 8, 1966. That rain fell during Tropical Cyclone Denise, per USA Today. Christopher C. Burt, a weather historian at Weather Underground, told the Washington Post that the record is “plausible given the weather at the time and the region in question’s climatology.” Kauai is one of the rainiest places on Earth.
U.S. CA U.K. AU Asia DE FR E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our US edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Canadian edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our UK edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Australian edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Asia edition? E! ist überall Dieser Inhalt ist für internationale Besucher verfügbar. Möchtest du ihn in der deutschen Version anschauen? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our German edition? E! est partout Une version adaptée de ce contenu est disponible pour notre public international. Souhaitez-vous voir ça dans notre édition française ? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our French edition? E! está em toda parte Este conteúdo está customizado e disponível para nossa audiência internacional. Você gostaria de vê-lo em nossa edição do Brasil? E! está en todos lados Nuestro contenido está disponible y personalizado para nuestra audiencia internacional. ¿Te gustaría verlo en la edición en español? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Spanish edition? E! está en todos lados Nuestro contenido está disponible y personalizado para nuestra audiencia internacional. ¿Te gustaría verlo en la edición en español? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Spanish edition? E! está en todos lados Nuestro contenido está disponible y personalizado para nuestra audiencia internacional. ¿Te gustaría verlo en la edición en español? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Spanish edition? E! está en todos lados Nuestro contenido está disponible y personalizado para nuestra audiencia internacional. ¿Te gustaría verlo en la edición en español? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Spanish edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Brazilian edition? Bienvenido a E! Online - Tu destino #1 para todo lo relacionado a la cultura pop. Hemos especializado nuestro sitio para tu región. ¿Quieres ir a E! Online Latino? \|\|\|\|\| Paris Hilton -- What, Me Worry? The average person might be nervous after being arrested for possession of a cocaine -- Paris Hilton , however, is not your average person.Sources in contact with the heiress tell TMZ she isn't fazed by the arrest at all, telling people she's "not worried about it" and doesn’t think it’s a big deal at all.Considering her history of getting out of drug-related arrests, she's probably right.	– For someone who just got busted on a cocaine charge, Paris Hilton doesn't seem too concerned. Sources tell TMZ she's "not worried about it" and has been telling people, "It could be a setup. Everyone knows how against cocaine I am." She claims the cocaine "probably" belongs to a friend who recently borrowed her purse. As for the cop who pulled her boyfriend over? He was "star-struck and blew the whole thing way out of proportion." The Sun has an even more believable reason the cocaine couldn't have been hers: She's reportedly claiming the purse it was found in is too cheap to be one carried by Paris Hilton. It was "by no means up to her high fashion standards," says a source. Paris took a moment last night to issue her first post-arrest statement, via Twitter of course, thanking her fans "for all the love and support you are giving me." Meanwhile, her boyfriend and fellow arrestee probably isn't in so great of a mood: Cy Waits was fired from his Las Vegas nightclub gig, E! reports. Click here to read about how Paris got caught.
Russia denounced those sanctions in a blunt rejoinder on Friday evening, posted on the Foreign Ministry website. The statement said that Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, had spoken by telephone with Secretary of State John Kerry and warned that “hasty and ill-considered steps” to impose sanctions on Russian officials “would inevitably backfire on the United States itself.” Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Kerry would soon meet again. A senior State Department official traveling with Mr. Kerry, who was flying back to Washington after a trip to Europe and the Middle East, confirmed that Mr. Kerry had spoken with Mr. Lavrov, but that it was unclear when they would meet again. The Russians also sent menacing economic signals to the financially ailing interim central government in Kiev, which Russia has refused to recognize. Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly, which supplies Ukraine with most of its gas, warned that it might shut off supplies unless Ukraine paid $1.89 billion owed to the company. “We cannot deliver gas for free,” Russian news agencies quoted Gazprom’s chief executive, Alexei Miller, as saying. Video Gazprom cut off gas to Ukraine for nearly two weeks in January 2009, causing severe economic problems for Ukraine and for other European customers who were dependent on supplies delivered through Ukraine. Valentina I. Matviyenko, the chairwoman of the upper house of the Russian Parliament, the Federation Council, compared the planned referendum in Crimea to Scotland’s scheduled vote on whether to become independent from Britain. She did not mention that the national government in Britain had agreed to hold a referendum, while the Ukrainian government has not. The speaker of the Russian lower house, Sergei Y. Naryshkin, echoed Ms. Matviyenko’s remarks. “We will respect the historic choice of the people of Crimea,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Their assertions came a day after Crimea’s regional assembly voted in a closed session to secede from Ukraine and apply to join the Russian Federation, and to hold a referendum for voters in the region to ratify the decision. On Friday, a delegation of lawmakers from Crimea arrived in Moscow to lay the groundwork for joining Russia, strongly supported by senior lawmakers. In another telling sign of Russian government support, the Crimean delegates were cheered at an officially sanctioned rally in central Moscow that was shown at length on Russian state television, with songs and chants of “Russia, Moscow, Crimea.” News agencies quoted the police as saying 60,000 people attended. Even if the referendum proceeds, it was unclear what would happen next, given the wide gap between the positions of Russia and the West — most notably between Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama, who spoke for an hour by phone on Thursday night. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. According to the White House, Mr. Obama urged Mr. Putin to authorize direct talks with Ukraine’s new government, permit the entry of international monitors and return his forces to the bases that Russia leases in Crimea. In a statement, the Kremlin offered a starkly different account of the phone call, emphasizing Russia’s view that the new government in Kiev had no authority because it was the result of what Mr. Putin called an anticonstitutional coup last month that had ousted Viktor F. Yanukovych, the pro-Kremlin president. The official Russian account of the phone call went on to say that the current Ukrainian leadership had imposed “absolutely illegitimate decisions” on the eastern and southeastern regions of the country, where pro-Russian sentiment is widespread. “Russia cannot ignore appeals connected to this, calls for help, and acts appropriately, in accordance with international law,” the statement said. In the United States, Mr. Obama was taking a wait-and-see attitude. He spoke by phone to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has been reluctant to pursue muscular sanctions against Russia because of the deep and interwoven economic relationship between the two countries. He headed to Florida for a speech on education and then a weekend off with his family, but aides promised he would be monitoring the crisis. Video “We’re hopeful that in the next few days, we’ll get greater clarity about whether or not the Russians are willing to take some concrete steps toward this offramp here,” said Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman. In Kiev, anti-Russian sentiment was hardening. The Right Sector movement, a nationalist group that was important in the deadly protests last month that drove Mr. Yanukovych from power, announced that its leader, Dmytro Yarosh, would run for president. Andriy Tarasenko, chairman of its local branch, also said the group was prepared to fight, in Crimea and elsewhere, “if the Kremlin tramples on us further.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story With Washington and Moscow trading heated accusations of hypocrisy on the issue of respecting state sovereignty, validating Crimea’s secession would carry pointed political risks for Mr. Putin, given longstanding demands for independence from Russia by its own similarly autonomous republics in the Caucasus, including Dagestan and Chechnya. Michael A. McFaul, a former American ambassador to Russia, noted the parallel in a sharp post on Twitter. “If Russian government endorses Crimean referendum,” Mr. McFaul wrote, using abbreviations needed for a 140-character limit, “will they also allow/endorse similar votes in republics in the Russian Federation?” The West, which has insisted that the Ukrainian people are entitled to decide their future without interference from Russia, faces similar challenges as it seeks to explain why the people of Crimea should not necessarily decide their own fate. The United States and its European allies typically support self-determination, but have opposed independence for regions within their own borders, like Scotland in Britain or Catalonia in Spain. There was no sign on Friday that Russian armed forces were relaxing their tight clench on the Crimean Peninsula, with military bases surrounded and border crossings under strict control. There were news reports late Friday that pro-Russian militants had smashed through the gates of a Ukrainian Air Force base in the port of Sevastopol housing 100 Ukrainian troops, but that no shots had been fired. There were also reports that a number of Ukrainian journalists had been beaten by masked attackers and were missing. For the second consecutive day, an observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the 57-member organization that includes both Ukraine and Russia, was prevented from entering Crimea at a checkpoint blocked by armed men. Astrid Thors, an envoy from the group who had gone to Crimea earlier in the week, said in a telephone interview from Amsterdam that she had faced noisy, threatening crowds chanting pro-Russian slogans during her visit and had been forced to leave. Ms. Thors, the group’s high commissioner for national minorities, said she could have experienced the sort of predicament faced by a senior United Nations diplomat, Robert H. Serry, who was chased out of Crimea by gunmen earlier this week. “There was a risk the same could happen, that our movement could be hindered by the crowds,” Ms. Thors said. “We took precautionary principles. We shortened our stay.” \|\|\|\|\| U.S. Knew Of 'Imminent' Move In Crimea, Top Official Says Enlarge this image toggle caption Lauren Victoria Burke/AP Lauren Victoria Burke/AP Senior U.S. officials were warned of imminent Russian military action in Crimea about a week before the troop movements that have sparked a major international crisis over Ukraine, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency tells NPR. "I think for easily seven to 10 days leading up to the Russian troops as we see them now in the Crimea, we were providing very solid reporting ... where we move from one level of a condition of warning, which I would just describe ... as sort of moderate to one where we believe things are imminent," Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn tells Morning Edition in an interview airing Friday. Related NPR Stories Barely a week after the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine accused Russia of sending troops into Crimea, a predominately Russian-speaking autonomous enclave that is home to the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet. The action, which Moscow has yet to officially acknowledge, has pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest level in years. Flynn, responding to criticism that the U.S. intelligence community was caught off guard by the Kremlin move, tells NPR's David Greene that U.S. intelligence is watching "some of the naval activities up around the key bases." "We saw what has been referred to as an exercise inside of Russia, and we're paying very close attention to any additional activities of some of their key military forces," Flynn says. Flynn also discusses Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked classified information and is now living in Moscow to avoid treason charges in the U.S. He says there's an ongoing debate in the intelligence community that asks: "What kinds of information did he touch, did he take — what do we know?" The U.S. Army lieutenant general says he's most concerned that Snowden might have stolen sensitive information about intelligence and operational capabilities, technology, weapons systems and war plans. "Does that knowledge get into the hands of our adversaries — in this case, of course, Russia?" Flynn says. "We have to assume the worst case and then begin to make recommendations to our leadership about how do we mitigate some of the risks for what has been compromised," he says. "We are going to be dealing with this for many, many years, everything from changing how we operate, changing some of the procedures, techniques and tactics that we use." \|\|\|\|\| Sevastopol, Ukraine (CNN) -- Pro-Russian troops reportedly smash open the gates of a Ukrainian base. Russia's navy traps Ukrainian ships. Armed men refuse to allow military observers to enter Ukraine's Crimea region. The crisis in Ukraine took on a decidedly military flavor Friday as tensions flared between Moscow and Kiev over control of Crimea, even as the world's diplomats said conflict could be avoided. Crimea, a self-governing peninsula in southern Ukraine with an ethnic Russian majority and strong cultural ties to Russia, has become the epicenter of a battle for influence between Moscow, Kiev and the West since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed out of office by protesters who were angered over his rebuff of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of one with Russia. In the days since Yanukovych was ousted, thousands of Russian troops have surrounded military bases and key infrastructure sites, and they have taken control of border crossings. At the same time, a political battle has been playing out between the two countries, with Russia's Parliament on Friday giving its defiant support to Crimean lawmakers who want to see their region split from Ukraine and join Russia. Complete coverage on the Ukraine crisis Political moves The lawmakers' unanimous call for a vote on separation prompted howls of outrage Thursday in the United States and Europe and the threat of sanctions, including asset freezes, visa bans and travel bans. The delegation from the Crimean Parliament, which said it would put the decision to a public vote on March 16, headed to Moscow on Friday and got a very different reaction. Valentina Matvienko, speaker of Russia's upper house of Parliament, told the Crimean delegation it would "support and welcome" any decision made by the Crimean people to become a part of Russia. Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk condemned talk of a split. "I want to warn separatists and other traitors of the Ukrainian state who are trying to work against Ukraine, any of your decisions taken is unlawful, unconstitutional, and nobody in the civilized world is going to recognize the results of the so-called referendum of the so-called Crimean authorities," he said Friday. Russia has denounced Yanukovych's ouster as an illegitimate coup, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities. Putin has insisted he has the right to use military force in Ukraine if necessary to protect ethnic Russians in Crimea. But Ukrainian officials say no threat exists, and Putin is using it as a pretext to control the region. Map: How Ukraine is divided U.S. President Barack Obama set out a potential solution to the crisis when he spoke to Putin on Thursday, the White House said. The proposal includes direct talks between Kiev and Moscow, the withdrawal of Russian forces, international support for elections on May 25, and the presence of international monitors to "ensure that the rights of all Ukrainians are protected, including ethnic Russians," Obama said. Crimean threat? What has mostly been a peaceful standoff in Crimea, with virtually no sign of Ukrainian military movement, appeared to take a turn on Friday when pro-Russian forces smashed open the gates of a Ukrainian base near Sevastopol that controls airspace in southern Ukraine, Vitaly Onishenko, a deputy commander at the base, told CNN. Ukraine's military spokesman initially said the forces were Cossacks, akin to Russian paramilitary troops, but Onishenko later dismissed that claim and said the forces were Russian and wore military uniforms with no insignia. Ukrainian troops refused to surrender and barricaded themselves inside a control room, Onishenko said. Outside the base, self-styled Crimean defense forces, similar to local militias, attacked journalists, he said. At least one person, believed to be a journalist, was injured and taken to a hospital, he said. The standoff at the base eventually ended with the Russian-speaking forces pulling back to the outside of the base, Onishenko said. Ukrainian authorities also reported that the Russian Black Sea Fleet sank a second of its own, old ships at the entrance to Lake Donuzlav, an inlet on the western coast of Crimea that is home to a Ukrainian naval base. Viktor Shmihanovsky, vice commander of the base, told CNN that several Ukrainian naval ships are now trapped inside. Unidentified armed troops also have blocked unarmed European military observers from entering the country for the second straight day. Masked men carrying rifles and wearing camouflage uniforms stopped the 43 observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a regional security organization, at a checkpoint separating the mainland from the Crimean peninsula, CNN's Matthew Chance said. One man, speaking in Russian, said: "I've been ordered by the government of Crimea not to let anyone in." Live: Ukraine crisis updates And in signs that the pro-Russian Crimean authorities are clamping down on dissent within the peninsula, at least two Ukrainian channels, 1+1 and Channel 5, have been blocked from broadcasting. The head of 1+1 told CNN that Russian state TV outlet Channel One is now broadcasting on its frequency. A Bulgarian freelance journalist and his colleague also were assaulted while filming in Simferopol, the regional capital. The journalist told CNN he was wrestled to the ground, and a gun was put to his head. The incident was captured on surveillance footage and aired on a Ukrainian TV channel, Hromadske TV. The standoff has also prompted neighboring countries and their allies to boost military defenses, with the United States beefing up its number of fighter jets in Lithuania and Poland. The USS Truxton, a guided-missile destroyer, was also heading to the Black Sea to join in pre-planned military exercises with Romanian and Bulgarian forces. Asset freezes, visa bans Meanwhile, as the West seeks to put the diplomatic squeeze on Russia, European Union nations said they'll suspend some talks with Russia and have threatened travel bans, asset freezes and the cancellation of a planned EU-Russia summit. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told French public radio Friday that tougher measures are planned if Moscow doesn't act to de-escalate the situation. "And if another attempt is made, then we would enter into something completely different -- that is to say serious consequences for the relations between Europe and Russia," he said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against sanctions, saying in a statement that they would "inevitably boomerang" on the United States. But there's help on hand for the fledgling government in Kiev. Ukraine's new government and the EU have agreed to revive a trade deal and an aid package that could bring $15 billion to Ukraine. The International Monetary Fund is also ready to help, the head of the agency's European section said. NATO is willing to help Ukraine's military "modernize and strengthen," Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN's Becky Anderson on Friday. Such aid is desperately needed. The Russian gas company, Gazprom, has not received any payment from Ukraine in February, according to the company's CEO, the Russian state news agency Itar-Tass, reported Friday. CEO Alexey Miller said Gazprom cannot give Ukraine gas for free, Itar-Tass reported. In Crimea: 'We will protect our land from Western extremists' Paralympic protest Ukraine's Paralympic team sent just one member to participate in the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in the Russian city of Sochi, said Dmitry Bulatov, Ukrainian minister of sports and youth. The decision to boycott the ceremonies, with the exception of a single flag bearer, was made unanimously by the team, he said. "This is how our team expresses protest against aggressors and occupants entering our land," Bulatov said. Official delegations from the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Canada and Poland earlier announced plans not to attend the Games. Athletes from those countries will still compete. Muslim minority fears for safety Russian speakers make up about 60% of Crimea's population of more than 2 million, but around a quarter are Ukrainian and 12% are Crimean Tatar, a predominately Muslim minority. Neither of the latter two groups would welcome a switch to Russian control. A CNN crew met with Crimean Tatars in the town of Bakhchisaray amid fears for their safety that have reminded some of past oppression under the Soviet Union. Many spent years in exile -- in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or other Soviet republics -- after the Soviet Union deported them for supposedly collaborating with Adolf Hitler. "It is not legal," one elderly man said. "We are the original nation of Crimea. Our Khan state was here. Russia left us with no rights. "We don't want to be with Russia, we want to be with Ukraine," he said. Ukraine PM: Crimea 'was, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine' CNN's Diana Magnay reported from Sevastopol, and Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Tim Schwarz in Kiev, Alla Eshchenko in Moscow, Bharati Naik, Jason Hanna and Ursin Caderas also contributed to this report. \|\|\|\|\| Russia is already paying a heavy price for intervening in Ukraine, Western officials said Thursday. Tumbling stock markets and a big currency devaluation are delivering a blow to its faltering economy. "So far we've seen a major impact on the Russian economy and the Ukrainian economy, and some financial impact on countries that border that area," said European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. "The impact on the Russian economy is severe." Russia's central bank was forced to jack up interest rates to 7% from 5.5% on Monday in a bid to stabilize markets and counter the impact of a near 10% decline in the value of the ruble this year. Russia earns more from exports than it pays for imports, thanks to its role as a leading world energy supplier. But it does buy food, clothing, medicines, machinery and transportation equipment from major trading partners such as Europe and China, and a weaker currency will make those imports more expensive. The ruble has stabilized this week, but it still is one of the world's weakest currencies so far this year. Shares in Russia's leading companies have fallen 7% since the start of this week, and are now down 11% in 2014. That compares with a 3% decline across emerging markets. A senior U.S. government official said on Thursday that Russia's "fragile economy" was suffering each day as a consequence of the country's actions on the international stage. Related: EU offers $15 billion in aid to Ukraine "We believe Russia has already paid a cost in seeing its stock market contract and its currency fall," he said, speaking shortly after the U.S. imposed a visa ban on some Russians and Ukrainians. President Obama also signed an executive order laying the groundwork for further sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the crisis in Ukraine. "We intend to impose costs on Russia for this intervention," the U.S. official added. Russian gross domestic product grew by about 1.3% last year compared to 3.4% in 2012 -- one of the sharpest slowdowns in emerging markets. Many forecasters were expecting a slight upturn in 2014 but the standoff over Ukraine could make for a much weaker outcome. Rating agency Fitch said rising inflation, higher interest rates and a draining away of foreign capital were increasing the risk of a slowdown. "Capital flight could accelerate, particularly if the threat of economic and financial sanctions increased. While not our base case, were such sanctions to materialize, the potential impact on growth and investment could lead us to review our sovereign rating on Russia," it added. Related: Who would suffer from Russian sanctions European Union leaders said Thursday that Russia should begin talks with Ukraine in the next few days, and make progress quickly. If that doesn't happen, they stand to face limited sanctions. Leaders also threatened tougher measures if the crisis deepens, but they are hoping to avoid a trade war with Russia and the damage that would cause to the slow eurozone recovery. Draghi said the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the eurozone had so far been muted, and may have helped reduce the borrowing costs for some countries on the periphery. "If anything, there have been (money) flows into the eurozone which narrowed the (bond) spreads of some of the stressed countries," he said. But the crisis had the potential to cause serious damage, Draghi added. "The geopolitical risks in the area could quickly become substantial and generate developments that are unforeseeable and potentially of great consequence." -- CNNMoney's Alanna Petroff contributed to this article.	– A delegation from Crimea's parliament visited Moscow today, where they got a warm reception and assurances that Russia would back their secession play. "If the people of Crimea decide to join Russia in the referendum, we ...will certainly support this decision," Valentina Matvienko, the chair of Russia's upper house said, according to the Wall Street Journal. The speaker of the Duma agreed, saying Russia would "respect the historic choice of the people of Crimea." Both leaders are close allies of Vladimir Putin, the New York Times points out. EU leaders warned yesterday that any further Russian Federation moves "would lead to additional and far-reaching consequences," CNN reports, and President Obama has already imposed some punitive measures. But Matvienko brushed such considerations aside, saying, "We have no rights to leave our people when there's a threat to them. None of the sanctions will be able to change our attitude." In other news: Sanctions aren't the only pain Russia is suffering. Russia's stock market has fallen 7% this week, CNN points out, and the ruble is in free-fall, which will force Russia to pay more for the food, clothes, and medicine it imports from Europe and China. The US knew Russia's military would make a move in Crimea about a week before it happened, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency tells NPR, saying it was tipped off by naval movements and "what has been referred to as an exercise inside of Russia." The Kremlin has released its own account of the Putin-Obama phone call. In addition to disagreeing about the cause of the conflict, Putin told Obama that the US-Russian relationship was too important to "be sacrificed for individual—albeit rather important—international problems."
“The larger questions are: What is the strategy for making the conference itself successful? And how do the meetings in Switzerland serve an overall strategy for Syria?” said Frederic C. Hof, a former State Department official who has worked on political transition in Syria. “Just getting people to sit down and talk is too low a bar for success,” said Mr. Hof, who is now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “It’s almost subterranean.” Other experts said it would be harder for the administration to ensure that none of its aid wound up in the hands of extremists, given how murky the Syrian battlefield has become. “The administration has to determine whether the benefits exceed the risks,” said Daniel Serwer, a professor of conflict management at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “It makes sense if it will tip the scales away from Al Qaeda-type extremists. The Islamic Front is likely to be the best antidote to them.” But there is also a political risk for the administration. Critics on Capitol Hill would most likely protest any decision to supply aid to the Islamic Front. They could cite historical examples, like the American support for the Afghan Mujahedeen fighters in their war against the Soviets in the 1980s, which planted the seeds for later terrorism against the United States. The risk, some analysts said, is not that the American aid would end up in the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, but with the Nusra Front, another powerful rebel group that the United States believes has links to Al Qaeda but which many rebels view as an effective combatant against Mr. Assad. The Nusra Front is not a part of the Islamic Front, but it has close ties to some groups that are under the front’s umbrella. Still, as other experts noted, the aid in question includes food rations and pickup trucks, not tanks and bullets. None of it is likely to change the trajectory of the conflict, which some experts said had fallen into a kind of “territorial equilibrium,” in which neither the rebels nor Mr. Assad’s forces have much to gain from further fighting. “Given where we are, given the state of the war, given that it’s nonlethal in nature, there’s less downside risk,” said Andrew J. Tabler, an expert on Syria and senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “It could lead to bigger and better things.” \|\|\|\|\| WASHINGTON — Islamic extremist groups in Syria with ties to Al Qaeda are trying to identify, recruit and train Americans and other Westerners who have traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home, according to senior American intelligence and counterterrorism officials. These efforts, which the officials say are in the early stages, are the latest challenge that the conflict in Syria has created, not just for Europe but for the United States, as the civil war has become a magnet for Westerners seeking to fight with the rebels against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. At least 70 Americans have either traveled to Syria, or tried to, since the civil war started three years ago, according to the intelligence and counterterrorism officials — a figure that has not previously been disclosed. The director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, said Thursday that tracking Americans who have returned from Syria had become one of the bureau’s highest counterterrorism priorities. “We are focused on trying to figure out what our people are up to, who should be spoken to, who should be followed, who should be charged,” Mr. Comey said in a meeting with reporters, without referring to specific numbers. “I mean, it’s hard for me to characterize beyond that. It’s something we are intensely focused on.” \|\|\|\|\| An Army veteran accused of fighting alongside an al-Qaida-affiliated group of Syrian rebels is out of jail following a secret plea deal. Thirty-one-year-old Eric Harroun of Phoenix had been charged with providing material to support a terrorist group and faced life in prison. “I feel betrayed by my government, by my country. I didn’t do anything and that's why I’m out right now,” said Harroun. But under a deal entered in federal court in Alexandria, Harroun pleaded guilty to an obscure law regulating munition exports. He was sentenced to time served. He was released on September 19th. Harroun is on probation for three years. He states that although he has a federal conviction, his voting rights and right to bear arms were not revoked as part of the plea deal. The FBI took interest in Harroun when he started fighting with Syrian rebels and posted his victories on his Facebook and YouTube pages. The FBI claimed Harroun was fighting alongside the Jabhat al-Nusrah group which is linked to al Qaida in Iraq. “I fought with many different battalions, but I was with the Free Syrian Army," he said. Harroun had been jailed since March. “I never thought I would be set free. Every time my cell door would pop I thought this could be the day I walk. I’m just thankful to be out,” said Harroun. Harroun says he is not a threat to the U.S and loves his country. “I would die for my country in a New York Minute,” he said. While Harroun is on probation, he plans to enroll in school. He also plans on requesting a Presidential Pardon.	– The FBI is keeping a close watch on Americans who have traveled to and returned from the war in Syria. The US believes that al-Qaeda affiliates in the war-torn country are actively attempting to recruit Americans there and train them to carry out attacks back home, senior intelligence and counterterror officials tell the New York Times. At least 70 Americans have traveled to Syria or attempted to since the war began three years ago, the officials revealed. Most haven't returned, but the FBI is monitoring those who have. "We are focused on trying to figure out what our people are up to," FBI Director James Comey told reporters yesterday. A handful of those who've returned are under direct around-the-clock surveillance. One man, former US Army soldier Eric Harroun of Phoenix, was charged last year with fighting alongside the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front; he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was released. But despite all the worry about Islamist groups, the Obama administration is considering resuming shipments of non-lethal aid to the rebels, notes another Times report—even if some of it ends up in militants' hands.
The White House has issued a clarification. When the president said if you like your insurance plan you can keep it, what he meant was you can keep it if he likes it. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who are getting policy cancellation notices this month can't be as surprised as they pretend to be. President Obama made it clear at his 2010... \|\|\|\|\| Senator Ted Cruz (Reuters/Jim Bourg) Foes of Obamacare are excitedly citing a rash of new stories claiming untold Americans are “losing” their insurance, as CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell puts it. One of them is this NBC News story, which reports that “millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.” Critics of the law are right to ask whether it is having an adverse impact on these millions of Americans. And the White House could have been clearer in laying the groundwork for this political argument: It wasn’t sufficient to say people who like their plans will be able to keep it, which is narrowly untrue. But the GOP outrage about Americans supposedly “losing” coverage is largely just more of the same old misdirection. It’s a subset of a larger Republican refusal to have an actual debate about the law’s tradeoffs — one in which the law’s benefits for millions of Americans are also reckoned with in a serious way. On the substance of this argument, Igor Volsky has a good response, noting that these Americans aren’t “losing” coverage at all: Individuals receiving cancellation notices will have a choice of enrolling in subsidized insurance in the exchanges and will probably end up paying less for more coverage. Those who don’t qualify for the tax credits will be paying more for comprehensive insurance that will be there for them when they become sick (and could actually end up spending less for health care since more services will now be covered). They will also no longer be part of a system in which the young and healthy are offered cheap insurance premiums because their sick neighbors are priced out or denied coverage. That, after all, is the whole point of reform. But many foes of Obamacare refuse to grapple seriously with the basic tradeoff at the core of the law. For a fair look at whether this tradeoff is “worth it,” see Jonathan Cohn. While it is too soon to assess the true dimensions of this tradeoff, the debate over it is entirely legitimate. It is the policy debate we should be having. But some Obamacare foes don’t even acknowledge that the law involves a tradeoff at all. Only the law’s downsides, and not the millions who stand to gain — many old, poor or sick — must be acknowledged. As the Post’s Glenn Kessler argued in debunking some of Ted Cruz’s rhetoric about “millions” losing from Obamacare: “The full impact of the health-care law will not be known for years, and there are bound to be winners and losers in any major change in social policy…he does not allow at all for the possibility that millions of people are benefiting from the law — and that quite likely the number of winners from the law is larger than the losers.” All of this flows from a basic difference between the two parties. Most Dems believe the Federal government has a legitimate role in expanding health coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans — through more government oversight over the health system, and, yes, government spending that is to some degree (though the extent is not yet clear) redistributive. Most Republicans don’t believe this. Conservatives such as Charles Cooke forthrightly defend that position. But Congressional Republicans are trying to obscure the true nature of this difference, by pushing GOP reform ideas that are advertised as a federal solution for the “vulnerable,” even though they almost certainly would cover a very small fraction of those who will benefit from Obamacare. The core difference here can’t be papered over, and indeed it’s revealed anew in the refusal of many to acknowledge the law’s benefits for millions. Meanwhile, because the only acceptable position on the law for Republicans is to demand full repeal, they spend too little time prioritizing which parts of the law they’d want to change and won’t engage in bipartisan fixes to it that GOP-aligned constituencies want. It’s puzzling. If public opinion is on the side of Republicans on Obamacare, why can’t we have a normal debate about the actual tradeoffs at the core of the law and about fundamental questions as to the proper federal role in solving health care problems afflicting tens of millions of Americans? ************************************************************************* * WHAT TO WATCH ON OBAMACARE TODAY: Marilyn Tavenner, who oversaw the creation of the problem-plagued Obamacare website rollout, is set to face a grilling from House Republicans, who will press her on what the administration knew about the problems and when. You can be certain they will demand to know how many people have enrolled on the federally-run exchanges. There is still time, however, for enough people to sign on if the website gets fixed by the end of November. As for today’s hearings, there is no question that real Congressional oversight would be welcome in this situation, but the question remains whether House Republicans are capable of supplying it. * OBAMACARE’S WORST CASE SCENARIO: Jonathan Cohn games it out, concluding that even if the website isn’t fixed by the end of November, the law will likely survive. I think Cohn is right to note that one of the main threats here is that bad press “will make the law’s defenders too skittish.” * THE NSA IS OUT OF CONTROL: Eugene Robinson nails it: The National Security Agency snooped on the cellphone conversations of German Chancellor Angela Merkel? Perhaps for as long as a decade? And President Obama didn’t know a thing about it? Either somebody’s lying or Obama needs to acknowledge that the NSA, in its quest for omniscience beyond anything Orwell could have imagined, is simply out of control. Of course, it’s possible both are true, but either way, the latter point seems inarguable. * DEMS TO PUSH DEBT CEILING REFORM: The Hill reports: A group of Senate Democrats is slated Tuesday to introduce a plan allowing the president to raise the debt ceiling without the approval of Congress — a tactic dubbed the “McConnell Rule.” This would disable debt limit extortion permanently, and if Republicans oppose it, Dems will cite it as evidence that Republicans want to reserve the ability for more of this extortion later. * JOHN KASICH DECRIES “WAR ON THE POOR”: This is interesting: Ohio GOP Governor John Kasich is implicitly criticizing his own party with a robust defense of the social safety net: “I’m concerned about the fact there seems to be a war on the poor,” he said, sitting at the head of a burnished table as members of his cabinet lingered after a meeting. “That if you’re poor, somehow you’re shiftless and lazy.” “You know what?” he said. “The very people who complain ought to ask their grandparents if they worked at the W.P.A.” Kasich recently pushed through a version of a Medicaid expansion that extended coverage to 275,000 Ohioans, angering conservatives, a sign that over time, GOP governors will probably end up bucking the Tea Party demand that they do everything possible to prevent Obamacare’s benefits from helping their own constituents. * WHY BUSINESS LEADERS SHOULD DECRY THE SEQUESTER: The Wall Street Journal’s Gerald Seib makes a smart point: Business leaders in particularly should be troubled by the sequester, because it is slashing funding for the kind of basic government-funded research that has historically given the U.S. a competitive edge. In theory, this would be another area — like the debt ceiling — where a wedge has opened up between Tea Party Republicans and the pragmatic GOP-aligned business community. It would be interesting if business leaders (who tend to support GOP fiscal priorities) to got involved in the push for a sequester replacement. * AND DEMS HEAD FOR VICTORY IN VIRGINIA: A new Post poll finds that Dem Terry McAuliffe has opened up a double digit lead over Ken Cuccinelli, 51-39. McAuliffe leads among women by 24 points in a race that’s been partly about the Republican’s stand on women’s health issues. Only 32 percent of likely Virginia voters view the national GOP favorably, while 65 percent view it unfavorably. Among independents: 25-69. Among moderates: 23-74. Those are striking numbers in a purple state that is pivotal in presidential elections. Also: McAuliffe is winning with a liberal agenda on social issues, a sign of shifting demographics that are expanding core Dem constituencies. What else? \|\|\|\|\| (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images “That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” — President Obama, speech to the American Medical Association, June 15, 2009 (as the health-care law was being written.) “And if you like your insurance plan, you will keep it. No one will be able to take that away from you. It hasn’t happened yet. It won’t happen in the future.” — Obama, remarks in Portland, April 1, 2010, after the health-care law was signed into law. “FACT: Nothing in #Obamacare forces people out of their health plans. No change is required unless insurance companies change existing plans.” — tweet by Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, Oct. 28, 2013, after NBC News airs a report that the Obama administration knew “millions” could not keep their health insurance. Many readers have asked us to step back into time and review these statements by the president now that it appears that as many as 2 million people may need to get a new insurance plan as the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, goes into effect in 2014. As we were considering those requests, one of the president’s most senior advisers then tweeted a statement on the same issue that cried out for fact checking. The Facts The president’s pledge that “if you like your insurance, you will keep it” is one of the most memorable of his presidency. It was also an extraordinarily bold — and possibly foolish — pledge, unless he thought he simply could dictate exactly how the insurance industry must work. At the time, some observers noted the problems with Obama’s promise. After Obama made his speech before the AMA, the Associated Press ran a smart analysis — “Promises, Promises: Obama’s Health Plan Guarantee” — that demonstrated how it would be all but impossible for the president to keep that pledge. The article noted that the Congressional Budget Office assumed that 10 million Americans would need to seek new insurance under the Senate version of the bill. Meanwhile, in the Republican weekly address on Aug. 24, 2009, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), a doctor, made this point: “On the stump, the president regularly tells Americans that ‘if you like your plan, you can keep your plan.’ But if you read the bill, that just isn’t so. For starters, within five years, every health-care plan will have to meet a new federal definition for coverage — one that your current plan might not match, even if you like it.” One might excuse the president for making an aspirational pledge as the health-care bill was being drafted, but it turns out he kept saying it after the bill was signed into law. By that point, there should have been no question about the potential impact of the law on insurance plans, especially in the individual market. As we have noted, a key part of the law is forcing insurers to offer an “essential health benefits” package, providing coverage in 10 categories. The list includes: ambulatory patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care. For some plans, this would be a big change. In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services noted: “62 percent of enrollees do not have coverage for maternity services; 34 percent of enrollees do not have coverage for substance abuse services; 18 percent of enrollees do not have coverage for mental health services; 9 percent of enrollees do not have coverage for prescription drugs.” The law did allow “grandfathered” plans — for people who had obtained their insurance before the law was signed on March 23, 2010 — to escape this requirement and some other aspects of the law. But the regulations written by HHS while implementing the law set some tough guidelines, so that if an insurance company makes changes to a plan’s benefits or how much members pay through premiums, co-pays or deductibles, then a person’s plan likely loses that status. If you dig into the regulations (go to page 34560), you will see that HHS wrote them extremely tight. One provision says that if co-payment increases by more than $5, plus medical cost of inflation, then the plan can no longer be grandfathered. (With last year’s inflation rate of 4 percent, that means the co-pay could not increase by more than $5.20. Update: Oops, this figure is not correct. See note below.) Another provision says the co-insurance rate could not be increased at all above the level it was on March 23, 2010. While one might applaud an effort to rid the country of inadequate insurance, the net effect is that over time, the plans would no longer meet the many tests for staying grandfathered. Already, the percentage of people who get coverage from their job via a grandfathered plan has dropped from 56 percent in 2011 to 36 percent in 2013. In the individual insurance market, few plans were expected to meet the “grandfathered” requirements, which is why many people are now receiving notices that their old plan is terminated and they need to sign up for different coverage. Again, this should be no surprise. As HHS noted in a footnote of a report earlier this year: “We note that, as the Affordable Care Act is implemented, we expect grandfathered coverage to diminish, particularly in the individual market.” Indeed, at least six states — Virginia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wyoming and Kansas — require insurance companies to cancel existing policies, rather than amend them, if the grandfathered coverage lapses. Now, it’s important to note that many people — perhaps a large majority — are receiving notices that they have lost their insurance plan because they were never grandfathered in the first place. In other words, they got a plan after the bill was signed into law back in 2010. If that’s the case, they have no option but to accept the more comprehensive insurance mandated by the law. Still, it’s worth remembering that insurance companies pressed throughout the health-care debate to allow people to keep the policy they had effective at the end of 2013. The consequences of the unusual March 23, 2010, cut-off date are now being felt. HHS, when it drafted the interim rules, estimated that between 40 and 67 percent of policies in the individual market are in effect for less than one year. “These estimates assume that the policies that terminate are replaced by new individual policies, and that these new policies are not, by definition, grandfathered,” the rules noted. (See page 34553.) Moreover, it’s certainly incorrect to claim, as some Republicans have, that people are losing insurance coverage. Instead, in virtually all cases, it’s being replaced with probably better (and possibly more expensive) insurance. In recent days, administration officials have argued that the plans that are going away are “substandard” and lacked essential protections — and that many people may qualify for tax credits to mitigate the higher premiums that may result from the new requirements. “Now folks are transitioning to the new standards of the Affordable Care Act which guarantee you can’t be denied, you won’t be kicked off of a policy because you developed a problem, you may be eligible for tax credits, depending on your income,” said Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “So these are important protections that are now available through the Affordable Care Act.” Or, as White House spokesman Jay Carney put it: “It’s correct that substandard plans that don’t provide minimum services that have a lot of fine print that leaves consumers in the lurch, often because of annual caps or lifetime caps or carve-outs for some preexisting conditions, those are no longer allowed — because the Affordable Care Act is built on the premise that health care is not a privilege, it’s a right, and there should be minimum standards for the plans available to Americans across the country.” But such assertions do not really explain the president’s promise — or Jarrett’s tweet. There may be a certain percentage of people who were happy with their “substandard” plan, presumably because it cost relatively little. And while Jarrett claimed that “nothing” in the law is forcing people out of their plans “unless insurance companies change plans,” she is describing rules written by the president’s aides that were designed to make it difficult for plans to remain grandfathered for very long. As the HHS footnote mentioned above stated: “We note that, as the Affordable Care Act is implemented, we expect grandfathered coverage to diminish, particularly in the individual market.” The Pinocchio Test The administration is defending this pledge with a rather slim reed — that there is nothing in the law that makes insurance companies force people out of plans they were enrolled in before the law passed. That explanation conveniently ignores the regulations written by the administration to implement the law. Moreover, it also ignores the fact that the purpose of the law was to bolster coverage and mandate a robust set of benefits, whether someone wanted to pay for it or not. The president’s statements were sweeping and unequivocal — and made both before and after the bill became law. The White House now cites technicalities to avoid admitting that he went too far in his repeated pledge, which, after all, is one of the most famous statements of his presidency. The president’s promise apparently came with a very large caveat: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan — if we deem it to be adequate.” Four Pinocchios (About our rating scale) Check out our candidate Pinocchio Tracker Follow The Fact Checker on Twitter and friend us on Facebook Update: A reader, in a post on the Daily Kos, pointed out that we had incorrectly described the effect of this regulation concerning copays. The medical inflation rate that should be used is not the annual rate, but rather the total since the enactment of the law. Moreover, there is an alternative calculation that allows for even bigger increases for plans that had copays at $18 and above when the law was enacted. So, rather than $5.20, as originally stated in the column, it would be $5.90 for copays below $18, and then progressively higher after that. Here’s the math on those calculations. The regulations set the base for calculating medical inflation as the overall medical care component of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI–U) (unadjusted) published by the Department of Labor. The number for March 2010 is 387.142 and the figure for September 2013 is 457.458. The difference is 70.316. Dividing that by 387.142 yields an inflation rate of 18 percent. (One of the examples in the rule suggests an inflation rate of 22 percent, but that was only illustrative.) So $5 plus $5 x .18 equals $5.90. But as the reader pointed out, the rule allows for an alternative method, in which the copay is multiplied by the inflation rate plus an additional 15 percentage points. That gets you to 33 percent. The insurer can use whichever number is higher. So here is how it works for various levels of copays: $0: increase capped at $5.90 $5: increase capped at $5.90 $10: increase capped at $5.90 $15: increase capped at $5.90 $20: increase capped at $6.60 $25: increase capped at $8.25 $30: increase capped at $9.90 We always welcome input from readers, especially if they point out a potential error in fact or logic. \|\|\|\|\| Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images During the public debate over health care in 2009 and 2010, no matter how tightly you may have shut your door, there was one piece of information it was impossible to avoid: the president's promise that if you liked your doctor and your health care plan you would be able to keep it. So it was a surprise to many people to get a letter like the one Independence Blue Cross sent its customers weeks ago. It said that as a result of the Affordable Care Act, "your current plan will be discontinued effective January 1, 2014, and you will need to select a new plan by the end of December to avoid any interruption in coverage." John Dickerson John Dickerson is a Slate political columnist, the moderator of CBS’s Face the Nation, and author of Whistlestop and On Her Trail. That wasn't what the president promised. But wait, the president can explain. It's not what we think. People won’t have the same insurance—they will have better insurance, administration officials assure. That's not the way some of the people receiving these letters see it. The president's original promise was so ironclad and repeated so often that any explanation now sounds like dissembling. When healthcare.gov launched with the fanfare and success of a North Korean missile, the president insisted that Obamacare was more than a website. The website might be a mess, but the underlying product was sound. Now, it's Republicans who are using this exact phrase. Like the president, GOP leaders want people to focus on the larger law. You can fix a website, they say, but you can't improve the law. Advertisement What started as a website debacle is growing into a relitigation of the underlying operation. The Affordable Care Act passed with cracks and inconsistencies that are now re-emerging in the context of the website's bad launch. In some cases that simply gives Republicans new lines of attack. In others, like this argument over keeping your old health care, the failure of the site is weakening the administration's ability to engage in those old debates. The matter at issue here only affects the 5 percent of the population that buys health care in the individual market, compared to the 80 percent who get health care through their companies. The president's press secretary, Jay Carney, pointed this out several times in his daily briefing Tuesday to put the controversy in perspective. “You would think in some of the coverage over the last several days we were talking about 75 percent,” he said. Fair enough, but the president's claim about keeping coverage was always about more than a sliver of people signing up for Obamacare which is why it has the ability to resonate beyond the audience directly affected by it. The president's original promise was so ironclad and repeated so often that any explanation now sounds like dissembling. Let's go back in time. During the debate over the law, the president had a difficult balancing act. He had to argue that the status quo in health care was a disaster while at the same time not threatening the status quo for those people who were happy with their health care or who feared it would get worse under his changes. A CBS poll at the time showed that people were quite afraid that whatever the president did, it would hurt their plans. Sixty-nine percent worried that the ACA would affect the quality of their care. Almost three-quarters thought it would limit their access. There was a lot of pressure on the president to send the message that nothing would change. In the summer of 2009, the president began to tailor his message to assuage the fears of these very people. If you liked what you had, it wasn’t going to change. That was a broad and simplified claim and the press called him on it. The president could never make that promise. He didn't have the power to keep insurance companies from changing their policies in response to the law. Nevertheless, the president continued to make the claim in the desperate attempt to sell his unpopular plan. Advertisement This was a time bomb embedded in the legislation. It might have been mitigated if the website had worked. If it had been humming as administration officials so fervently hoped, there would be no broader context for debates about whether the president is living up to his promises. And in this specific instance, the flourishing of the site might have offered loads of examples of people in that individual market whose plans had only changed for the better. Of course, that’s not what happened. The president's message about his signature law has always been: It gets better, I promise. That was always an uphill battle. The benefits of the law were strung out over time, making it harder for people to recognize a payoff. "Trust me" claims clash with people's mistrust of politicians and government programs. When the website doesn't work and the promises of 2009 and 2010 are revised, questions of credibility infect everything the administration says. This can lead to a death spiral as administration officials make bold assertions to distract from the current challenges. White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett tweeted Monday night: "FACT: Nothing in #Obamacare forces people out of their health plans. No change is required unless insurance companies change existing plans." Of course the insurance companies wouldn't have had to change plans if it hadn’t been for Obamacare. This is spinning—which is to be expected from a president's defender—but its legalistic dissembling seems particularly weak in light of the president's initial promises. (It isn’t the only time the administration has claimed a FACT recently about health care that isn't one). \|\|\|\|\| Jonah Goldberg October 30, 2013 12:00 AM @JonahNRO by The president was deceiving either himself or the rest of us about Obamacare. ‘All we’ve been hearing the last three years is if you like your policy you can keep it. . . . I’m infuriated because I was lied to,” one woman told the Los Angeles Times, as part of a story on how some middle-class Californians have been stunned to learn the real costs of Obamacare. And that lie looks like the biggest lie about domestic policy ever uttered by a U.S. president. The most famous presidential lies have to do with misconduct (Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook” or Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations”) or war. Woodrow Wilson campaigned on the slogan “He kept us out of war” and then plunged us into a calamitous war. Franklin D. Roosevelt made a similar vow: “I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.” Roosevelt knew he was making false promises. He explained to an aide: “If someone attacks us, it isn’t a foreign war, is it?” When his own son questioned his honesty, FDR replied: “If I don’t say I hate war, then people are going to think I don’t hate war. . . . If I don’t say I won’t send our sons to fight on foreign battlefields, then people will think I want to send them. . . . So you play the game the way it has been played over the years, and you play to win.” The burning question about Barack Obama is whether he was simply “playing to win” and therefore lying on purpose, or whether his statements about Obamacare were just another example of, as Obama once put it, “I actually believe my own” spin, though he used another word. “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people,” he told the American Medical Association in 2009. “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” No matter how you slice it, that was a lie. As many as 16 million Americans on the individual health-insurance market may lose their insurance policies. Just in the last month, hundreds of thousands have been notified by their insurers that their policies will be canceled. In fact, it appears that more Americans may have lost coverage than gotten it since Healthcare.gov went “live” (a term one must use advisedly). And when the business mandate finally kicks in, tens of millions more probably will lose their plans. Ah, but they’ll get better ones! That appears to be the new rationalization for Obama’s bait-and-switch. “Right now all that insurance companies are saying is, ‘We don’t meet the requirements under Obamacare, but we’re going to offer you a better deal!’” explained Juan Williams on Fox News Sunday. A better deal according to whom? Say I like my current car. The government says under some new policy I will be able to keep it and maybe even lower my car payments. But once the policy is imposed, I’m told my car now isn’t street-legal. Worse, I will have to buy a much more expensive car or be fined by the IRS. But, hey, it’ll be a much better car! Why, even though you live in Death Valley, your new car will have great snow tires and heated seats. This is what the government is saying to millions of Americans who don’t want or need certain coverage, including, for instance, older women — and men — who are being forced to pay for maternity care. Such overcharging is necessary to pay for the poor and the sick signing up for Obamacare or for the newly expanded Medicaid. At least Darth Vader was honest about his bait-and-switch: “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.” Obama won’t even admit he lied. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Obama talked at great length about the middle class and not once about the poor. His critics on the right said he was lying, that he was really more interested in income distribution. Such charges were dismissed as paranoid and even racist. But the critics were right. Obama was lying either to himself or to the rest of us — because he was playing the game to win. — Jonah Goldberg is the author of The Tyranny of Clichés, now on sale in paperback. You can write to him by e-mail at [email protected], or via Twitter @JonahNRO. © 2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.	– The Washington Post's Fact Checker blog does its thing with President Obama's much-criticized claim that "if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period." The verdict? Four Pinocchios, which happens to be the max. Though he might have been forgiven for such a grand proclamation while the bill was still being drafted, the president continued to make the claim even once the law had been signed and its potential impact on insurance plans was clear, writes Glenn Kessler. Further, the law's design purposefully quashes "substandard" plans that the Americans on them certainly might like, in no small part because they can be cheap. So Kessler amends the president's infamous line: "If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan—if we deem it to be adequate." Other pundits are also weighing in: What Obama "meant was you can keep it if he likes it," echoes Holman Jenkins in the Wall Street Journal. The bottom line, for Jenkins: "He wants you to pay for coverage you'll never use (mental-health services, cancer wigs, fertility treatments, Viagra) so the money can be spent on somebody else." "The GOP outrage about Americans supposedly 'losing' coverage is largely just more of the same old misdirection," writes Greg Sargent in the Washington Post. "It’s a subset of a larger Republican refusal to have an actual debate about the law’s tradeoffs—one in which the law’s benefits for millions of Americans are also reckoned with in a serious way." Jonah Goldberg says Obama's statement "looks like the biggest lie about domestic policy ever uttered by a US president." The question, writes Goldberg at National Review Online, is whether "he was simply 'playing to win' and therefore lying on purpose" or whether he actually believed his own spin. "The president's message about his signature law has always been: It gets better, I promise," writes John Dickerson at Slate. "That was always an uphill battle. The benefits of the law were strung out over time, making it harder for people to recognize a payoff. 'Trust me' claims clash with people's mistrust of politicians and government programs."
AP Lawmakers blasted the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday for ineffective security at the expense of taxpayer dollars, after the Department of Homeland Security released documents showing there have been 25,000 security breaches since 2001. Although the breaches represent a tiny fraction of the 5.5 billion passengers since 2001, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, reminded the committee that terrorists only need to slip through security once to cause serious damage, while reprimanding the TSA for doing more to appear secure than actually be secure. "A lot of what we have been participating in here, in my opinion, has been security theater," Chaffetz said, "and has not truly done the job to secure the airports to the degree we need to." Another report from the Government Accountability Office said that only 17 percent of the nation's airports have received joint vulnerability assessments, which Chaffetz said was "not acceptable." The TSA has come under heavy criticism in recent months for using pat downs and body scanning machines which some passengers say makes them feel uncomfortable and violates their privacy. "It's inadequate," Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., said. "Because I can point to you that we can take a grandmother and strip her down, because it must be grimacing that she's going through terminal cancer, and yet we also have another foreign national that gets trough with an invalid visa. The Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT, program also came under scrutiny, as Stephen Lord of the Government Accountability Office said the program hasn't been proven to be an effective means of identifying terrorist subjects. "It's still an open question whether behavior detection principles can be successfully applied on a large scale for counterterrorism purposes in an airport environment," Lord said. William Parker, an Inspector for the Amtrak Police, suggested bomb-sniffing dogs would be an easy way to increase security without further invading the passengers' privacy. "A dog on a jet way, at boarding would improve security at no inconvenience to travelers," Parker said, "and would provide an elevated sense of security." He added, "People are happy to see him, and it's not intrusive, and the dog is working. And who doesn't like dogs?" TSA Press Secretary Nicholas Kimball said that the agency intends to deploy canine teams at airports soon, but they are not effective enough to replace body scanners. "Dog teams are excellent detection assets in our layered approach," Kimball said, "however they have certain limitations compared to machines and are not used as a primary passenger screening method. Working time, passenger interaction and other basic animal needs are challenges to canines being the primary screening method." The original version of this story mistakenly identified Rep. Gosar as Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio. Turner was not present at this hearing. \|\|\|\|\| Washington (CNN) -- The nation's airports have suffered more than 25,000 security breaches since November 2001, according to a House committee, citing information it says it received from the Transportation Security Administration. The breaches -- amounting to about seven a day, or about five per year at every airport -- include everything from people who accidentally leave a bag on a checkpoint conveyor belt to those who purposefully evade security and get onto airplanes without proper screening. A TSA spokesman did not contest the figure, but questioned its significance, saying all breaches are investigated and resolved. The agency said it did not have a breakdown of breaches by severity. With about 25,000 of these incidents over a decade at more than 450 TSA-regulated airports, this amounts to just over five such incidents per airport per year, according to the TSA. The 25,000 breaches include: -- 14,322 breaches into secure entries, passages or other means of access to the secure side of the airport. -- Approximately 6,000 breaches involving a TSA screener failing to screen a passenger or a passenger's carry-on property, or doing either improperly. -- 2,616 instances involving an individual getting past the checkpoint or exit lane without submitting to all screening and inspections. Some 1,388 of these have occurred at the perimeter areas of airports. The information was released by the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security, homeland defense and foreign operations in advance of a hearing Wednesday on airport perimeter security. TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball said the figures represent a "tiny fraction of 1% percent of the more than 5.5 billion travelers at the more than 450 airports nationwide that we have screened effectively since 9/11." "We take every security incident seriously and take appropriate action accordingly which is why TSA keeps close track of all 'breaches' -- a very broadly defined set of accidental or purposeful security violations, including those where an individual is 'caught in the act' and immediately apprehended," Kimball said in a statement.	– There have been more than 25,000 known security breaches at American airports since the Transportation Security Administration was created in 2001, agency officials told a House committee probing security shortcomings. The breaches include 14,000 people who have found their way into sensitive areas and 6,000 travelers who made it past screeners without proper scrutiny, CNN reports. The TSA stresses that the breaches represent a tiny fraction of the 5.5 billion passengers it has processed over the last decade, but the Republican overseeing the security hearing called 25,000 a "stunningly high number," CBS News reports. Rep. Jason Chaffetz accused the agency of focusing on creating the appearance of security while not actually making airports more secure. "A lot of what we have been participating in here, in my opinion, has been security theater and has not truly done the job to secure the airports to the degree we need to," he said.
There are far too many achievements that Navi has accomplished to date. The list of a few below will leave you assured that Navi is certainly recognised as the World’s no.1 MJ impersonator. Many tributes around the world make this claim but none have ever come close to reaching the standard that Navi has set. He has been performing as an MJ impersonator for the past 24 years and still continues to captivate audiences. With a following of 16,000+ on Facebook and having post views over 150,000 a month, no other impersonator can compete. Even on Navi's YouTube channel, one of his videos has had more than 3,000,000 (3 million) views! Navi has become such a force that recently his name had to be ‘trademarked’ as many have attempted to pass themselves off as ‘Navi’. Other tributes are using Navi’s name in their profile or tagging to get some sort of publicity but this compliment is not fair to the general public. WARNING: Some impersonators claim to be the best or the UK/World’s no.1 yet have no evidence to support this prestigious placing. With Navi this isn’t a claim but a fact. The title of World’s no.1 is not just based on Navi’s continued association with Michael Jackson’s world (MJJ Estate, Sony BMG, fellow entertainers, MJ’s family, MJ fans/fanclubs) but shown by MICHAEL JACKSON himself! Unlike other MJ tributes, with Navi, the evidence is seen below. Don’t believe the hype – read the facts! Navi is the ONLY Michael Jackson tribute that Michael has applauded on several occasions, given a standing ovation to, invited to his home Neverland, and personally chosen to work as a decoy over a period of many years. Navi also has several personal items signed by Michael that he received as gifts over the years. Time and time again Navi was chosen by Michael. Below are a few previously unreleased photos, videos and documents that cement Navi’s place at the top. With a career span of 24 years to date, we have chosen a variety of photos underlining Navi's achievements. \|\|\|\|\| As Joseph Fiennes and Sky Arts recently found out, playing—and casting—Michael Jackson is no easy gig. But it looks like another network is set to give it a shot: at a T.C.A. panel on Friday, Lifetime announced to reporters—including Vanity Fair’s Joanna Robinson—that it will soon air a tribute film to the late King of Pop. Rest easy, though: the network has already cast its star, and seems to have gotten right what Sky Arts got wrong. Navi, whose site touts him as the globe’s No. 1 Michael Jackson impersonator, will bring his performance to the small screen, Lifetime announced. The story will unfold from the perspective of Jackson’s bodyguards. The film, which will drop this year, will be titled Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland. It’s based on Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days, the best-selling book published by two of Jackson’s bodyguards in 2014. Former Motown chief Suzanne de Passe will executive produce, alongside Madison Jones and Robert Teitel (Barbershop franchise, Notorious). Fans of the King of Pop—as well as his daughter, Paris Jackson—were less than thrilled by the casting of Fiennes, a white actor, in Urban Myths, which debuted a trailer this week with a tone that some fans deemed disrespectful. On Twitter, Paris Jackson called the snippets she saw “insulting, not just towards my father, but my godmother liz [Taylor] as well.” She added, “where is the respect? they worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. shameful portrayal.” Perhaps, then, Lifetime is already on track to produce something more in line with fans’ expectations. \|\|\|\|\| I originally decided to read this book after watching the inspired movie adaptation, "Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland." I was a little hesitant, even though I really liked the movie. I just wasn't sure if it was just another novel trying to profit off of his death. However, l'm so glad that I took a chance with this one! I was hooked from the very first page. This book was so amazing, so admirable, so heartfelt, and so honest. This book made me smile. This book made me laugh. This book made me cry. This book even made me angry at certain points. But more than anything, this book gave me HOPE. It gave me hope that there are still good people on this Earth with the purest intentions. Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard are the narrator's of this story. While reading this book, you really grew to respect these gentlemen immensely. They had so much integrity, and it showed throughout all their actions. They were so loyal to Michael Jackson. I know it had to be frustrating at times, but I truly believe they wanted the best for him and his family. They wanted him as well as his children to have normalcy in their lives. They never took advantage or abused their power. They never tried to influence his decisions for personal gain. They allowed him his privacy. They went above and beyond the standard protocol for bodyguards. Michael Jackson was a complicated human being. He was far from perfect, but he had an angelic heart. His kindness and compassion are hard to find, but he found those same qualities in his two bodyguards. Throughout this book, you get a better grasp and understanding of the man behind the music. You read about all his insecurities, his worries, his hopes and dreams. You get to know more about his character. He was so compassionate, so loving, so nurturing, and so in touch with humanity. You also get a glimpse into his life as a devoted father. You learn that everything wasn't sunshine and rainbows, at least when it came to his financial matters. He surrounded himself with a lot of calculated people. They were greedy, self-serving, and downright "evil". This book really opens your eyes to just how cutthroat, how backstabbing, and how fake people can really be. I strongly recommend this book to all of his fans as well as the people who are misinformed. I feel like Michael Jackson was misunderstood, and I also feel that this book will clear up any confusion or doubt that others may have about his character. I know there are many books on Michael Jackson that are looking to cash in on his death by writing fictional garbage, but this is NOT one of them. I wouldn't read it if it was. Do yourself a favor and please read this book. Reserve any judgement until you've finished the entire book. It may potentially change your perspective on everything you thought you knew about Michael Jackson. His heart was so pure and his love for others shined bright even during the most darkest moments of his life. He always had such a kind smile with the saddest eyes. I just hope he found his "Neverland" up in heaven. #RIPMichaelJackson "I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood." -Nina Symone	– Just as Sky Arts pulled a controversial Michael Jackson TV special starring white actor Joseph Fiennes as the King of Pop, Lifetime announced that it is working on its own Jackson tribute film. In casting its Jackson, the network "[got] right what Sky Arts got wrong," Vanity Fair reports. Lifetime has cast Navi, a well-known MJ impersonator, to star as the iconic musician. Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland, which will premiere sometime this year, is based on Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days, a book written by two of his bodyguards that was published in 2014.
Lost natural wonder in New Zealand may be found, say researchers The eighth natural wonder of the world may have been rediscovered, 131 years after it was buried by a volcanic eruption, New Zealand researchers believe. In the mid-1800s, the pink and white terraces of Lake Rotomahana in the North Island attracted tourists from around the globe. The terraces – dramatic cascading pools descending into the lake’s temperate waters – were lost in an eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. Two researchers think they have pinpointed the location where the terraces may lie preserved 10-15 metres (32-49ft) below the surface, under layers of mud and ash, and said a full archaeological survey was needed to excavate the site. “They [the terraces] became the greatest tourist attraction in the southern hemisphere and the British empire, and shiploads of tourists made the dangerous visit down from the UK, Europe and America to see them,” said Rex Bunn, one of the researchers. “But they were never surveyed by the government of the time, so there was no record of their latitude or longitude.” Bunn and Dr Sascha Nolden believe the terraces were not destroyed or pushed to the bottom of the lake, as earlier research suggested, but were buried on the foreshore of the lake. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lake Rotomahana in the North Island of New Zealand. Photograph: Jon Lovette/Getty Images They used the field diaries of the German-Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter, which contain a detailed description of the terraces’ location before the 1886 eruption, to establish their likely resting place. “Our research relied on the only survey ever made of that part of New Zealand and therefore we are confident the cartography is sound,” Bunn said. “Hochstetter was a very competent cartographer.” Since the pair’s research paper was published this month in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Bunn said he had received daily offers of help to conduct a survey and was in the process of assembling a “team of the willing” to begin exploring the site, once the first funding goal of NZ$70,000 (£40,000) was met. “We want to undertake this work in the public interest. And I have been closely liaising with the ancestral owners of the land, the Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, and they are supportive and delighted with the work,” he said. Bunn said he believed the terraces may be in reasonable condition, potentially with minimal damage, and could be restored to their former glory once excavated. This is not the first time researchers have claimed to have discovered the lost terraces. In 2011, scientists using an unmanned submarine said they had found remnants of them on the floor of the lake, buried by silt and debris. Last year, GNS Science New Zealand said that after five years of research, a team of New Zealand and international scientists had come to the “inescapable conclusion” that most of the terraces had been destroyed by the eruption. Bunn said he was in discussions with GNS and believed its conclusions were based on 130 years of inaccurate cartographical information. \|\|\|\|\| This story is part of BBC Earth's "Best of 2016" list, our greatest hits of the year. Browse the full list. In the early hours of 10 June 1886, Mount Tarawera, a volcano on the North Island of New Zealand, erupted with astonishing force. The explosions may have been heard as far afield as Christchurch, more than 400 miles (640km) to the south-west. The eruption killed 120 people, most of them Maoris – native New Zealanders – living in small villages in the surrounding countryside. But it is not just because of its high death toll that the Tarawera eruption is firmly lodged in the collective memory of New Zealanders. Most people also remember the eruption because it robbed the island nation of a treasured natural wonder: the Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana. The terraces were the two largest formations of silica sinter – a fine-grained version of quartz – ever known to have existed on Earth. They were located on opposite shores of Lake Rotomahana, situated six miles (10km) to the south-west of Mount Tarawera. And they were extraordinarily beautiful. The terraces are sometimes even described as the eighth wonder of the world. One was a brilliant white colour, while the other, due to an unknown chemical impurity, was tinged a light shade of pink. Either would easily have constituted a geological marvel on its own merits. But to have two such wonders within sight of each other, and in complementary colours, made the Pink and White Terraces greater than the sum of their parts. Watercolour paintings from the 19th Century – particularly those of Charles Blomfield – offer a sense of their magnificence. By the time the eruption died down, sometime around dawn, Lake Rotomahana had vanished "It's hard to describe to non-New Zealanders what the terraces mean to us," says Cornel de Ronde, a geologist at GNS Science, a state research institute in New Zealand. Which explains why the events on that cool June morning have become so infamous. Shortly after 3am, about an hour after Mount Tarawera rumbled to life, the eruption spread to Lake Rotomahana, and a cluster of volcanic craters opened up on the lake floor. In 1886 Lake Rotomahana was not visible from any of the surrounding villages, meaning most of the locals could only hear the eruption. But by chance, one person, who happened to be spending the night in the countryside seven miles (11km) to the east, had an unobstructed view of Lake Rotomahana. The Pink and White Terraces had been destroyed, or at best permanently entombed Two days later the man, Henry Burt, told a journalist that during the eruption the lake had resembled "a huge boiling cauldron, bubbling [over] in all directions". By the time the eruption died down, sometime around dawn, Lake Rotomahana had vanished. The water had literally been blasted into the air, combining with the erupted volcanic ash to form a muddy sludge that buried the surrounding countryside up to 46ft (14m) deep. The newly-formed volcanic craters that had blown apart the floor of Lake Rotomahana were still belching out mud and rocks two days later, when the first expedition party arrived to survey the damage. Not only was the lake gone, but so too it seemed were the Pink and White Terraces. They were nowhere to be seen; the area where they had once stood was caked in volcanic mud. And the white chunks of sinter which some people found mixed in with the volcanic debris did not inspire hope. The shocking state of Lake Rotomahana and its surroundings after the 1886 eruption led New Zealanders to believe that the Pink and White Terraces had been destroyed, or at best permanently entombed. Secretly, some of the researchers were hoping to resolve the mystery that had surrounded the terraces In the months after the eruption, Lake Rotomahana grew back. Water from surrounding streams began to flow into in the volcanic craters which had blown apart the old lake, gradually forming a new lake four times deeper and covering an area approximately five times the size of the original. By the end of 1886, the area where the Pink and White Terraces had once stood was under tens of metres of lake water. It seemed like they had been lost for good. It would be 128 years before the world learned their true fate. Between 2011 and 2014, scientists from GNS Science led a series of expeditions to map and study the floor of Lake Rotomahana. The expedition was not related to the Pink and White Terraces directly. The team's goal was to discover how the 1886 eruption had affected the geothermal system that had formed the terraces. But secretly, some of the researchers were hoping to resolve the mystery that had surrounded the terraces since that dark day in 1886. In their more optimistic moments, some of the scientists may even have hoped to find physical remains. "I did quietly wonder what we might find in the areas where the terraces had once sat," says de Ronde, who led some of the lake expeditions. But that was dreaming. In the meantime there was important science to be done. The team was able to build up the sharpest image of the floor of Lake Rotomahana ever made One of the researchers' many aims whilst at Lake Rotomahana was to construct high-resolution images of the lake floor, a task which was carried out by de Ronde and his colleagues from New Zealand and the United States. They hoped that by mapping the lake floor in unprecedented detail, they would somehow be able to discover the fate of the lake's geothermal system. The team obtained the images using, amongst other gadgets, two high-resolution ‘side-scan' sonar instruments. They strapped these onto a pair of torpedo-shaped AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles), which they then remotely manoeuvred through the lake, travelling 31ft (10m) above its floor, mapping the lake floor as they went. The team performed the sonar survey in February 2011. In order to cover the almost 3.5 square miles (9 sq km) of lake floor, the researchers directed the AUVs along a series of parallel, linear paths – each of which imaged a long but narrow strip of the lake floor, almost as if mowing a lawn. By combining many such scans – which totalled approximately 186 miles (300km) of scan lines – the team was able to build up the sharpest image of the floor of Lake Rotomahana ever made. The sonar images are not what you would see with your eyes down there (which, thanks to the gloom and sediment, would not be much anyway). Instead, the images were in black and white – the dark areas represented sediment, while the brighter parts generally represented rocky material or gases. The picture of the lake floor that emerged on the sonar scans was dominated by sediment, as the team had expected. But there were plenty of interesting features on the sonar images too. The team saw what appeared to be a long, thin rocky outcrop Some showed what looked like cracks – geological faults – crossing sections of the lake floor. de Ronde thinks these were probably formed during the 1886 eruption. Elsewhere on the sonar map of the lake floor, the team saw ghostly-looking clouds of bubbles rising from small craters on the lake floor, proof that volcanic gases are still emanating from the floor of Lake Rotomahana today. De Ronde was used to seeing features like these on sonar scans. He had carried out similar analyses of volcanoes on the seafloor. But on one of the sonar images, taken in the north-western corner of Lake Rotomahana, de Ronde and his team saw something they had never seen before, on a sonar image or on any kind of image. Jutting above the lake floor, the team saw what appeared to be a long, thin rocky outcrop, stretching for a horizontal distance of around 197ft (60m). The scientists did not know what they had found. The feature clearly was not a fault: faults are sharply delineated, whereas the mystery outcrop had a misshapen, lumpy appearance. But it was the location of this strange feature that really grabbed the team's attention. They were in the area of the lake floor where the Pink Terraces had once stood. With the eye of faith they even looked a little pinkish The researchers knew that the lumpy outcrop they had discovered could not possibly be the whole of the Pink Terraces; it was only a fraction of their size. But could it be a fragment? This thought alone was enough to get the scientists' pulses racing. The team wanted a photograph right away. Sonar was one thing, but to determine whether the feature might actually be a section of the Pink Terraces, they needed to examine it visually. They had to wait three years. When the researchers first spotted the possible terrace remains in 2011, they had been too caught up with completing the rest of their surveys to deploy their deep-water camera. But when the team returned to Lake Rotomahana for their next round of surveys, in February 2014, they positioned their boat above the possible terrace remains and dropped down the camera. Most of the photographs the team took showed sediment and not much else. But to be safe, they took thousands. And on two of those photographs, de Ronde and his colleagues found something that definitely was not sediment. It also made them smile. The photos showed a rounded, rocky-looking outcrop, sloping gently to one side. And the parts that were not draped in sediment had a bright, pale appearance. With the eye of faith they even looked a little pinkish. This photographic evidence, coupled with the fitting location of the rocks on the lake floor, was enough to confirm it: de Ronde and his colleagues were looking at a section of the Pink Terraces. They had suddenly resurrected a natural wonder. But the best was still to come. Buoyed by their re-discovery of the Pink Terraces, the team re-deployed the aquatic camera approximately 0.6 miles (1km) to the north-east: the relative location, in the pre-1886 landscape, of the White Terraces. Amazingly, these photographs showed much the same thing. In the location where the White Terraces had stood before the 1886 eruption, the camera showed a large lump of pale rock. If anything, this second outcrop looked even more terrace-like than the first. The whitish rock seemed to have the same vertical, columnar texture that is apparent in pre-eruption photographs of the White Terraces. De Ronde likens its texture to candle wax. The team had chalked up another discovery, and Lake Rotomahana had suddenly regained pieces of both of its famous terraces. They had been amputated, drowned and buried by over a century of sediment, but somehow, incredibly, they had partially survived the eruption of 1886. The photographs and sonar images showing the terrace remnants are published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. They certainly were just fragments of the terraces – only 10% of the Pink Terraces seem to have survived, and even less of the White Terraces – but that fact almost added to the rarity of the discovery for the researchers. Technically speaking, the terraces had always been a sidebar to the group's mission – a romantic distraction, but nothing of scientific substance. But in other ways, the terraces meant a great deal to the scientists – and to New Zealanders more generally. Burt would probably have been amazed that anything at all could have survived "I suppose it's a bit like Americans finding evidence for a long-lost Grand Canyon," says de Ronde. At the end of their 2014 expedition, the researchers left Lake Rotomahana for the last time. The group had achieved their scientific goals: they had established that the geothermal system at the lake was still active, and they had produced a bathymetric map of the lake floor that was 400 times sharper than any other. But they had also helped shed new light on the events of 10 June 1886. From his viewpoint seven miles away, Henry Burt – the only eyewitness – probably saw relatively little. The volumes of ash already coming from Mount Tarawera, and the volcanic mud that was about to issue from Lake Rotomahana itself, would soon have blocked his view. But the new discoveries made at Lake Rotomahana provide a second witness to what happened that night. The fact that only fragments of the Pink and White terraces remain today strongly suggests that the majority of these old wonders were indeed destroyed by the eruption, probably soon after it began. But Burt would probably have been amazed that anything at all could have survived the catastrophe he witnessed. Follow BBC Earth on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter.	– They were considered the eighth natural wonder of the world and the greatest tourist attraction in the Southern Hemisphere in the mid-1800s—and then they were gone: The Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana in New Zealand's North Island spellbound visitors until June 1886 when Mount Tarawera erupted, wiping the silica sinter (a kind of quartz) formations off the map. Now researchers say they have located the fabled wonder, claiming the formations may well have survived the disaster but are now buried under mud and ash. Rex Bunn and Dr. Sascha Nolden say they've corrected past attempts to identify the location of the terraces thanks to the 19th-century field diaries of a German-Austrian geologist. Bunn tells the Guardian the terraces were never surveyed by the government, meaning their exact latitude and longitude weren't determined. But someone did record their compass bearings: Ferdinand von Hochstetter, whose diary data the researchers used to reverse engineer the terrace locations. The researchers believe they're buried no more than 50 feet under the surface skirting the shoreline and not beneath the lake, as previously believed, or totally destroyed, as government scientists recently have claimed, NewsNow reports. The pair are raising funds to conduct a full archaeological study and prove their claim—and say that if they're right, it's possible the terraces could be brought back to life. In 2016, the BBC explained just why they were so stunning: Not only were they the largest silica sinter formations on the planet, they sat at opposite ends of the lake, one white, one slightly pink, their positioning making them "greater than the sum of their parts." (Petra's secret was found hiding in plain sight.)
Hours before the Congressional Democrats met with Mr. Obama, they had expressed alarm publicly to reporters that the emerging proposal seemed too reliant on deep spending cuts compared to new revenue. In private, some vented their criticism at Mr. Obama’s budget director, Jacob J. Lew , during a heated party lunch of Senate Democrats on Thursday. “The president always talked about balance: there had to be some fairness in this, this can’t be all cuts,” said Senator Harry Reid , the Senate majority leader, as he left the meeting with Mr. Lew. “The caucus agrees with that. I hope the president agrees with that, and I’m confident he will.” But the president and Mr. Boehner were moving ahead with their plan, aides said, trying to agree on matters like how much new revenue would be raised, how much would go to deficit reduction, how much to lower tax rates and, perhaps most critical, how to enforce the requirement for new tax revenue through painful consequences for both parties should they be unable to overhaul the tax code in 2012. The White House wants a trigger that would raise taxes on the wealthy; Mr. Boehner wants the potential penalty for inaction to include repeal of the Obama health care law’s mandate that all individuals purchase health insurance after 2014. Officials on all sides of the tense negotiations warned that no firm deal to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion borrowing ceiling was in hand, and tried to play down progress — if only to stave off attempts to change the deal’s shape or to kill it by hard-liners on both sides of the debate. Video “While we are keeping the lines of communication open, there is no ‘deal’ and no progress to report,” said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner. The White House also denied that any agreement was imminent. Jay Carney , the White House press secretary, said: “There is no deal. We are not close to a deal.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The same issues that foiled earlier negotiations between Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner remain. Many Republicans oppose abandoning the party’s no-compromise stand against any new taxes, while many Democrats fear a “grand bargain” will undercut their party’s ability in the 2012 campaigns to use Republicans’ support of deep cuts in Medicare , Medicaid and Social Security against them. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Congressional Democrats already are suggesting the potential Obama-Boehner deal is more tilted toward Republican priorities than a bipartisan plan suggested this week by the so-called Gang of Six senators, three Republicans and three Democrats. House Republicans, too, expressed wariness. While initial reports suggested the emerging plan would appear to meet Republican demands for less reliance on new revenue than Democrats had insisted on, Republicans could be uneasy about accepting a deal tied to higher revenue through tax changes. “The trick on this has always been the tax issue,” one Republican said. Alternative solutions in Congress appeared to be faltering as the Senate on Thursday took up and prepared to reject on Friday a conservative House Republican plan to slash spending by $5.5 trillion, deeper cuts than anything proposed before. A backup plan being prepared in the Senate by Mr. Reid and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell , the minority leader, was meeting stiff resistance from the House. That plan would allow a debt ceiling increase without the approval of Congress, in effect, but also without the guarantees of deep spending cuts that Republicans wanted in tandem. Mr. Reid and Mr. McConnell summoned the Gang of Six — rather, the Gang of Eight with the addition of Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado , a Democrat, and Senator Mike Johanns , Republican of Nebraska — to a meeting on Thursday. Both party leaders were unhappy with the group’s re-emergence this week, and with Mr. Obama’s immediate warm words for the group, because it complicated their own efforts to reach a solution to the debt-limit impasse. As Mr. Boehner called for some action to avert a default, he said Thursday that he was confident that many in the conservative House majority would ultimately be willing to accept some compromise. “At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act,” Mr. Boehner told reporters. But he also made clear that he was not inclined to take any steps that could be considered a tax increase. “I’ve never voted to raise taxes,” he said, “and I don’t intend to.” \|\|\|\|\| The White House and GOP leaders are discussing a deal worth more than $3 trillion. \| AP Photo Dems huddle at White House Furious over a last-ditch attempt by President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to strike a grand bargain on the debt and deficit, Democratic congressional leaders headed back to the White House Thursday to meet with Obama. The meeting comes as White House and GOP leaders intensified negotiations to reach agreement a package worth more than $3 trillion with changes to entitlements and a promise to do tax reform, according to people familiar with the talks. Story Continued Below No final agreement has been reached, but the two sides are close enough that it has begun to raise alarms among Democrats fearful that White House chief of staff Bill Daley is too willing to give ground to Boehner (R-Ohio) and cut them out of the process. Emerging from a contentious Democratic Caucus meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Obama and Boehner were working toward a “potential agreement” on taxes and spending, a move that has unsettled Democrats on the eve of a crucial August deadline. Underscoring Democratic discontent about the direction of the talks, Reid issued a subtle warning to the president. “What I have to say is this: The president always talked about balance — that there had to be some fairness in this — that this can’t be all cuts, that there has to be a balance,” he said. “That there has to be some revenue in the cuts, my caucus agrees with that — and hope the president sticks with that, and I’m confident he will.” One source said the leaders were told late Wednesday that the administration was “close” to a deal with Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), but other officials familiar with the talks said that assessment was overstating it. Vice President Joe Biden called congressional Democrats to say there was movement toward a large deal but that no agreements had been struck, sources said. Top administration officials were also fanned out across the Hill, meeting with congressional leaders. Boehner took to Twitter to deny a New York Times news alert stating that the GOP was closing in on a deal with the White House. “False,” the speaker wrote. And a source close to Cantor said the majority leader “is not close to or signed off on any deal.” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, said he wasn’t aware of an imminent deal, but that the discussions about a grand bargain “are real.”	– President Obama and John Boehner are reportedly back at the bargaining table, and they could be near a deal to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling. The rumored $3 trillion agreement between the administration and top Republicans could include entitlement changes and set plans for tax reform, reports Politico. Stories are conflicting, however. John Boehner has labeled “false” a New York Times piece suggesting a “major budget deal” is approaching—but other insiders say the administration told them as much late yesterday. Meanwhile, the White House press secretary has said the leaders “are not close to a deal.” Still, the reports already have some Democrats concerned that Obama’s chief of staff, Bill Daley, is offering too many concessions. According to the Times piece, the agreement would include new revenue in 2012 through a tax-code overhaul closing loopholes, ditching tax breaks, and lowering taxes for individuals and corporations. Insiders also say the deal would likely contain cuts to Medicare. "I do think there has been a meeting of the minds at least for now … to try and get a grand bargain," said Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen.
Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated By Daniella Silva A distraught New York mother says airliner JetBlue sent her 5-year-old son on the wrong flight last month as the airline company said it was investigating the incident that ended with two children in the wrong cities. Maribel Martinez was presented with the wrong child after waiting for her son Andy to return from a family vacation in the Dominican Republic on August 17, she told the New York Daily News on Thursday. “I thought he was kidnapped,” Martinez told the paper. “I thought I would never see him again.” Martinez said she was greeted at John F. Kennedy airport by a child she did not recognize — but who was carrying her son’s passport. JetBlue placed Andy Martinez on the wrong flight, his mother says. Courtesy Maribel Martinez Jet Blue said in a statement Thursday that “two unaccompanied children of the same age traveling separately from Santiago, Dominican Republic — one to New York JFK and one to Boston — each boarded a flight to the incorrect destination.” The company said “our teams in JFK and Boston immediately took steps to assist the children in reaching their correct destinations” after learning of the mix-up. “While the children were always under the care and supervision of JetBlue crewmembers, we realize this situation was distressing for the families,” the company added in the statement. Martinez told the Daily News that she and her son had flown together from New York City on July 28 for a vacation in the Dominican Republic. She said she returned after a week and left her son with relatives, purchasing a ticket for him to return on August 17 and paying the $100 fee for unaccompanied minors. The boy was dropped off at the airport by relatives, Martinez said, who recorded video at the Cibao International Airport of Andy passing through the airport gate with other children. An airport worker fuels a JetBlue plane on the tarmac of the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Lucas Jackson / REUTERS file Martinez said to the newspaper that it took the airline more than three hours to locate her son and that he had ended up on the wrong plane despite wearing a wristband with his name on it. "Any parent can understand the terrifying feeling of fear a mother goes through knowing her young child is missing,” her lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said in a press release. "This should never have happened. Jet Blue’s employees should be ashamed of themselves." Rubenstein added in the release that Martinez will be seeking "appropriate legal action." At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Rubenstein said he and his client were requesting an individual investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration "so it doesn't happen again to another family." "Right now the issue is not a lawsuit, the issue is an investigation by the FAA about what actually happened here, and then we'll explore the lawsuit," he said. JetBlue said in their statement that they refunded the flights and offered future flight credit to the families of both children involved and were reviewing the incident. When asked at the press conference what the company could do to right the incident, Martinez said through in Spanish through an interpreter, "I don't want to see a mother go through that bad moment that they've caused me." \|\|\|\|\| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites.	– A 5-year-old bound for Boston ended up in New York, and another bound for New York ended up in Boston last month when JetBlue mixed them up. Maribel Martinez says she was supposed to meet her son, Andy, at New York's JFK Airport after his flight from the Dominican Republic—where he'd been staying with relatives—on Aug. 17, but was instead presented with another boy carrying Andy's passport. "I was freaking out," Martinez, who says she paid a $100 fee to have a JetBlue representative take Andy to his plane, tells the New York Daily News. "I thought he was kidnapped. I thought I would never see him again." Three hours later, Martinez learned there had been a switcheroo. Both boys were flying out of the Dominican Republic when the mixup occurred. JetBlue says it's investigating what happened, per NBC News, adding that it "immediately took steps to assist the children in reaching their correct destinations." The statement notes that "while the children were always under the care and supervision of JetBlue crew members, we realize this situation was distressing for their families." Distressing is an understatement, says Martinez, who's suing JetBlue for negligence. "I still haven't stopped crying," she says. JetBlue says it apologized to both families, refunded their flights, and gave them about $2,000 in credit.
Donald Trump faces an exodus of support from top Utah Republicans after the disclosure of a damning video showing him bragging about groping and kissing women in a way some believe would constitute sexual assault. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz said they can no longer vote for Trump, while former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chris Stewart said the Republican presidential nominee should drop out of the race. The video, first reported by The Washington Post, is a bombshell in this highly unusual contest and it comes just two days before the second presidential debate. Among the offensive things Trump says in the three-minute video is that he tries to sleep with married women and that he is forceful with a woman he finds attractive. "I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait," he says. "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." "Grab them by the p---sy," he says. "You can do anything." \|\|\|\|\| WASHINGTON ― Republican lawmakers are pulling their endorsements for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump after the Washington Post released a bombshell video Friday in which Trump makes lewd comments about women. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah) was the first GOP member of Congress to peel off Friday night, declaring on a local TV station, “I’m out.” He said he didn’t know who he was going to vote for now, but it wouldn’t be Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. That was right after his home state governor, Gary Herbert (R), said he, too, was dropping his support for Trump after seeing the tape of him claiming he tried to have sex with a married woman and boasting of groping women because of his celebrity. The floodgates were open by Saturday morning. Here’s a running list of the GOP members of Congress, senators and governors rescinding their endorsements for Trump or calling on him to step down, one month before the election, after seeing the video. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah)* Rep. Martha Roby (Ala.) Rep. Chris Stewart (Utah) Rep. Bradley Byrne (Ala.)* Rep. Joe Heck (Nev.) Rep. Cresent Hardy (Nev.) Rep. Scott Garrett (N.J.)* Rep. Ann Wagner (Mo.) Rep. Rodney Davis (Ill.) Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (Neb.) Rep. Tom Rooney (Fla.) Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) Sen. Mike Crapo (Idaho) Sen. John Thune (S.D.)* Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) Sen. Deb Fischer (Neb.)* Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska) Sen. Cory Gardner (Colo.) Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) Gov. Gary Herbert (Utah) Gov. Dennis Dauggard (S.D.) Gov. Robert Bentley (Ala.) There’s also some GOP lawmakers who didn’t support Trump before but are now taking it a step further and saying he needs to drop out. They include Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Mike Lee (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Reps. Mike Coffman (Colo.), Barbara Comstock (Va.), Fred Upton (Mich.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), Will Hurd (Texas), John Katko (N.Y.), Erik Paulsen (Minn.), Pat Tiberi (Ohio) and Kay Granger (Texas). UPDATE: Oct. 27 ― Some of the lawmakers in the list above now have asterisks next to their names. That means they changed their minds! Again. They’re back to endorsing Trump. Even Chaffetz went back. CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Rodney Davis as a congressman from Missouri. He is from Illinois.	– The Republican backlash to the crude Donald Trump comments that surfaced Friday has been strongest in Utah, where leading politicians were slow to endorse him and have been quick to abandon him. "I'm out. I'm pulling my endorsement," Rep. Jason Chaffetz tells the Salt Lake Tribune. "I cannot support in any way, shape, or form the comments or approach Donald Trump has taken. This is so over the top, it is not even acceptable in locker rooms. It shouldn't be acceptable anywhere. We are talking about the president of the United States. I want someone of high moral values." Gov. Gary Herbert has also withdrawn his endorsement, saying he can't vote for Clinton but won't vote for Trump, while other top Utah Republicans, including Sen. Mike Lee and former Gov. Jon Huntsman, are calling for Trump to drop out of the race. The Huffington Post notes that Chaffetz and Herbert are the first elected Republicans to withdraw their support for Trump since the remarks surfaced—and Chaffetz's position as chair of the House Oversight Committee, which investigated Hillary Clinton's emails, makes his defection especially damaging. (Trump issued an apology late Friday night.)
My fiancé Cameron was in a motorcycle accident on Friday and was declared brain dead today at 12:30. We wanted children very much and my family and his family and I have all decided we'd love to still make this happen. This baby would be truly loved and surrounded by an amazing family. Unfortunately the cost to extract the sperm is $6,000 that must be paid upfront by tomorrow evening...an amount that we won't be able to come up with on our own. Especially with all the expense of Cameron's hospital stay and funeral and everything else associated with his devastating passing. In leu of flowers or gifts to honor Cameron, we're asking you to make a donation to actually bring a part of Cameron, the amazing, handsome, silly, guy that I loved with my whole heart back to life! Help spread the word! Share Tweet 2.3k total shares total shares \|\|\|\|\| Cameron and Stephanie had planned to have children together before his life was tragically cut short (Picture: PA Real Life) A woman whose fiance was killed in a motorbike crash has had his sperm extracted after the procedure was paid for by strangers. Cameron Robinett, 25, was desperate to be a father, but he died on Monday in Tucson Arizona. His partner, Stephanie Lucas, 22, had a limited amount of time to extract his sperm but could not afford the procedure. So she went online and managed to raise £7,000 ($11,000) in just one day. Heartbroken Stephanie said: ‘We were so excited about having a family. Cameron was particularly excited. He said “We don’t need to be married to have a family. Let’s start one now.” He really wanted to be a daddy, so I’m just fulfilling his dream.’ MORE: National sperm bank ‘opens its doors for single women and same-sex couples’ Cameron had been viewing houses in California, where the couple planned to move to, when he crashed on Friday. He was badly injured and passed away in Eden Hospital on Monday. ‘He loved his motorcycle,’ Stephanie recalled. ‘I didn’t mind him riding it. I knew he loved it, although I always told him to be careful. He was an adventurer. He was eccentric with a huge, open heart. He would give you the shirt off his back. I want to pass that onto our baby. We are so thankful to God we had time with him.’ She said the procedure to extract the sperm cost around £5,600 ($9,000) and it will be kept in cold storage for up to a year. ‘When I found out Cameron died, I was heartbroken,’ she said. ‘But I realised immediately I wanted to have his baby and I knew that I didn’t have long. Within hours I went online and pleaded for help on Go Fund Me. It was quick but the only way to do it.” Stephanie says she doesn’t yet know when she’ll implant it. MORE: Time for men to ditch the soy as study reveals a vegetarian diet lowers sperm count ‘The grief is very raw at the moment but I want his baby, our baby,’ she said. She told how she met Cameron, who ran Sweet Garlic Company, in 2011 through work, becoming engaged in December 2012. Now she has the support of her family including mum Debbie and Cameron’s mum Loretta, to have their baby. ‘I wasn’t sure how our mums would feel but they were really supportive,’ she said. ‘I am beyond grateful for people’s help. I was feeling so defeated when I found out the procedure would be so expensive and the money had to be paid upfront. ‘I had lost not just my fiancé and my future, but my future family too. ‘I’ve now been given the gift of a future. I think Cameron will be looking down on us.’ A Fremont Police spokeswoman said: ‘The motorcyclist collided with the garage of a residence. The motorcyclist was transported to a trauma centre with life threatening injuries.’	– Cameron Robinett badly wanted to be a father. The 25-year-old and his fiancee, 22-year-old Stephanie Lucas, excitedly planned for a baby together and had even purchased a tiny football jersey for their future child; Robinett was checking out houses in California for the couple to move to when he was in a motorcycle crash on Friday, the Metro reports. Tragically, he succumbed to his injuries on Monday, devastating Lucas and seemingly destroying their plans for a family. But Lucas wasn't prepared to let their dreams die: She decided to extract his sperm after he was declared brain-dead. "When I found out Cameron died, I was heartbroken," she tells the Metro. "But I realized immediately I wanted to have his baby and I knew that I didn't have long." Unfortunately, the procedure to extract the sperm required thousands of dollars upfront—money Lucas didn't have. She quickly set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising at least a portion of it, and strangers came through for her, donating $11,000 in one day (the total has reached nearly $15,600 as of today). She wasn't sure how their families would feel about her decision, but both her mom and Robinett's mom are on board and "really supportive," she says. Robinett's sperm will be kept on ice for a year, though Lucas isn't sure when she'll have it implanted. "The grief is very raw at the moment, but I want his baby, our baby," she tells the Metro. "I've now been given the gift of a future. I think Cameron will be looking down on us." On Facebook, she adds that Cameron's donated organs "will go on to save 7 lives." (A pregnant woman who was hit by a truck recently came out of her coma and gave birth.)
President Trump has instructed military leaders to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria as soon as possible and told them he wants Arab allies to take over and pay for stabilizing and reconstructing areas liberated from the Islamic State, according to senior U.S. officials. In a meeting with top national security aides Tuesday, Trump backtracked on his public insistence that the troop exit was imminent, now that the militants were “close to 100 percent” defeated. Pressed by the president to tell him how much more time they needed to finish the job, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph F. Dunford Jr. said it would probably be months, not years, officials said. Trump agreed that the military, as fighting continued against remaining militant pockets, could train local security forces. But officials said he stressed that U.S. strategic goals in Syria do not include longer-term stability or reconstruction efforts. He said he did not want to be having the same conversation about withdrawal six months or more from now. In the meantime, the administration is pressuring allies in the region to put what White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called “more skin in the game.” Sanders, speaking at a White House briefing, said there was no firm departure date for the approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. Trump, she said, was “not going to put an arbitrary timeline. He is measuring it in actually winning the battle, not just putting some random number out there.” “The goal, again, is to defeat ISIS,” she said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. “And when there’s no longer a need for troops to be there and we can transition to that local enforcement,” withdrawal “certainly would be the objective.” [Iran, Russia and Turkey plan Syria’s future as Trump seeks an exit] Despite Trump’s recent public statements saying it was time for the United States to “get out” of Syria, military commanders were caught off guard by his sharp narrowing of the task before them and push for an early withdrawal, according to officials who would discuss the planning only on the condition of anonymity. One official familiar with the conversations said that some participants had interpreted Trump’s remarks to mean he expected a withdrawal within six months. But another said that Trump — who has frequently criticized President Barack Obama’s setting of a public deadline for the 2011 U.S. withdrawal from Iraq — “expressed frustration and impatience” while not setting a specific time limit. The senior commanders told the president they had options prepared for a quick withdrawal if that was what he wanted. In the past, commanders have repeatedly stressed that a troop presence would be needed to prevent an Islamic State resurgence and increased territorial gains by Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian forces, as well as to give the United States leverage in political efforts to resolve Syria’s civil war. [Pentagon identifies U.S. soldier killed in Syria during operation against ISIS] Asked in late November how long U.S. troops would stay, Mattis said that “we’re not just going to walk away” before a political settlement is reached between the Syrian government and opposition forces that have been fighting for the past seven years. That conflict, the military and regional experts have said, created the Syrian chaos that allowed the Islamic State to take over about a third of the country, beginning in 2014. “We’re going to make sure we set the conditions for a diplomatic solution” to the civil conflict, Mattis said in November. “. . . Not just, you know, fight the military part of it and then say good luck on the rest of it.” Gen. Joseph L. Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, echoed Mattis on Tuesday, telling an audience of regional experts and scholars that the military mission included “stabilizing, consolidating gains,” and “addressing long-term issues of reconstruction,” in tandem with U.S. diplomatic and nonmilitary aid efforts. Even the beginning of a U.S. military withdrawal by the fall would allow Trump to claim fulfillment of a campaign pledge to stay out of foreign wars. That pledge has proved hard to keep, and since becoming president he has increased the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Syria. In August, as he announced a troop surge in Afghanistan, Trump said that “conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on.” The “consequences of a rapid exit,” he said, “are both predictable and unacceptable. . . . A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists — including ISIS and al-Qaeda — would instantly fill.” As he has formulated his decision on Syria, Trump has approached regional leaders, particularly in the Persian Gulf, about contributing more to the effort in Syria. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were once among the most active participants in the U.S.-led coalition there, but their efforts have decreased since they began a separate war against rebels in Yemen. In December, Trump came away from a phone conversation with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman believing that he had an agreement for a $4 billion Saudi contribution to Syria stabilization, although the Saudis were said to have been privately taken aback by Trump’s version of a solid offer. Late last month, the Saudi and Emirati national security advisers traveled here to discuss Syria with H.R. McMaster, Trump’s outgoing national security adviser, and Trump has spoken by telephone in recent days with gulf leaders. In a Tuesday call with Salman, the White House said, “the President and the King discussed joint efforts to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and counter Iranian efforts to exploit the Syrian conflict to pursue its destabilizing regional ambitions.” Arab allies, as well as Israel, have expressed concern that a U.S. military withdrawal from Syria would allow increased Iranian influence there. Trump has responded to their worries, officials said, by telling them they ought to be willing to help prevent that by paying for Syrian stabilization. Much of Trump’s concern about an ongoing military presence appears to revolve around money. The United States, he said Tuesday, had gotten “nothing out of $7 trillion [spent] in the Middle East over the last 17 years,” a calculation that apparently included the Afghanistan war against the Taliban in South Asia. Most experts estimate the costs of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East, including the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, at significantly less. According to Brett McGurk, the State Department’s special envoy to the counter-Islamic State coalition in Iraq and Syria, the United States has spent about $100 million on stabilization of areas liberated from the militants, half of it on mine removal. Other members of the coalition, he said, have spent about the same amount. Last week, Trump froze an additional $200 million for the effort, which had been announced in January by Rex Tillerson, his since-ousted secretary of state. McGurk, speaking with Votel on Tuesday at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said that the funding is under review, with officials “looking at where it can be spent most effectively.” He said the freezing of the money “has not hampered what we’re doing in the field” in places such as the Syrian city of Raqqa and other liberated areas, where the goal is to de-mine, remove rubble and provide basic services such as water and electricity to allow residents who fled the fighting to return home. “As we undertake this important review,” he said, “it has required us to go to our coalition partners and remind them that the coalition has a very big role to play in this.” Votel and McGurk appeared alongside U.S. Agency for International Development Director Mark Green as the three sought to emphasize how their separate roles are interrelated. “Most importantly, our success, USAID’s success, depends upon the success of the State Department, in mobilizing international resources and their role,” Green said, “but also, of course, DoD [the Defense Department], helping us to have access and security.” “Without their success, we can’t possibly do what it is that we seek to do,” he said. Paul Sonne, Missy Ryan and Josh Dawsey contributed to this report. Read more: As Trump talks of leaving Syria, his top commander in the Middle East emphasizes the need to stay The world sits by as another massacre unfolds in Syria \|\|\|\|\| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated By Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Adam Edelman WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump reluctantly agreed in a meeting with his national security team Tuesday to keep U.S. troops in Syria for an undetermined period of time to defeat ISIS, but pressured them to end U.S. involvement in the conflict as soon as possible, a senior administration official said Wednesday. The official described Trump as frustrated and exasperated with the situation and the answers he was getting from his team. "He wasn’t thrilled about it, to say the least," the official said. Defense Secretary James Mattis and other top officials made the case to Trump that the fight against ISIS was almost finished but a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at this time would risk losing gains the U.S. has made in the fight, the official said. Mattis told the president the Pentagon was already reducing the number of U.S. forces and would continue to do so. When his advisers told him they needed more time to complete the mission and secure the gains they’ve made, Trump demanded to know how much longer, the senior administration official said. "If you need more time, how much more time do you need? Six months? A year?" he asked, according to the official. His team said they couldn't put a time frame to how long it will take to defeat remaining ISIS forces and train local forces to maintain their gains after the U.S. leaves. The official said Trump "wasn’t thrilled about that either," but agreed to give the effort more time when advisers reminded him that he has criticized setting arbitrary deadlines in military operations, particularly withdrawal, in the past. "The president made his displeasure clear about any kind of long-term presence in Syria," the official said, adding that Trump was trying "light a fire" under his team to get the military mission wrapped up. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and John Sullivan, the acting U.S. secretary of state, were in the meeting, which took place Tuesday after Trump's comments on Syria at a joint press conference with the Baltic heads of state, along with Mattis. John Bolton, Trump's nominee to replace H.R. McMaster, as national security adviser, was not in attendance, nor was Mike Pompeo, Trump's CIA director and pick to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, according to the official. The official said Trump told his aides that he expects partner governments in the region to make good on verbal pledges to help pay for reconstruction. In the meeting, according to two U.S. officials, Trump said the Saudis would provide as much as $4 billion in stabilization efforts for Syria. The U.S. has around 2,000 forces on the ground in Syria fighting ISIS. Tuesday’s meeting followed a scramble by Trump’s national security aides to address his recent threat to pull out all U.S. forces from Syria. Earlier Tuesday, Trump said he wanted to get out of Syria and bring U.S. troops back home — only moments after his top advisers said publicly that the fight against ISIS was not finished. A convoy of U.S. troops drive on a road leading to the tense front line with Turkish-backed fighters in Manbij, north Syria, on Saturday. Hussein Malla / AP "I want to get back, I want to rebuild our nation," Trump said, reiterating comments about withdrawal that he made last week. "It's time. We were very successful against ISIS; we'll be successful against anybody militarily, but sometimes it's time to come back home. And we're thinking about that very seriously." The president, speaking at a joint news conference at the White House with the leaders of the Baltic states, did not give a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops but said a decision would be made soon. Just minutes earlier, however, the president's envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Brett McGurk, had stressed that the job was not finished. "We are in Syria to fight ISIS. That is our mission," McGurk said, standing alongside Army Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. Central Command, at the U.S. Institute of Peace. "Our mission is not over. And we are going to complete that mission." U.S. and coalition partners on the ground have taken control of almost 95 percent of the territory in Syria once held by ISIS, but U.S. officials have said their remaining presence will prove difficult to eliminate quickly and could take months. Votel, for his part, stressed on Tuesday the importance of stabilization in Syria, and said the U.S. military can help. "The hard part, I think, is in front of us, and that is stabilizing these areas, consolidating our gains, getting people back into their homes," Votel said. In a statement Wednesday, the White House said the U.S. mission in Syria was "coming to a rapid end." "The military mission to eradicate ISIS in Syria is coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed. The United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have not already eradicated," Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. "We will continue to consult with our allies and friends regarding future plans. We expect countries in the region and beyond, plus the United Nations, to work toward peace and ensure that ISIS never re-emerges." But Nick Rasmussen, former director of the National Counterterrrorism Center and an MSNBC and NBC News national security and intelligence analyst, said Wednesday that the U.S. should exercise caution in declaring victory over the terrorist group. "There is still a significant ISIS problem we’re dealing with. When you use words like defeat and destroy, that’s a pretty high bar to get to in terms of eliminating a terrorist organization," Rasmussen said. Carol E. Lee and Courtney Kube reported from Washington, and Adam Edelman from New York. \|\|\|\|\| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting this week to keep U.S. troops in Syria a little longer to defeat Islamic State but wants them out relatively soon, a senior administration official said on Wednesday. Trump did not approve a specific withdrawal timetable at Tuesday’s meeting, the official said. He wants to ensure Islamic State militants are defeated but wants other countries in the region and the United Nations to step up and help provide stability in Syria, the official said. “We’re not going to immediately withdraw but neither is the president willing to back a long-term commitment,” the official said. Trump had signaled his desire to get U.S. forces out of Syria in a speech last Thursday in Ohio, and officials said he had privately been pressing for an early withdrawal in talks with his national security aides. Trump told a news conference on Tuesday with Baltic leaders that the United States was very successful against Islamic State but that “sometimes it’s time to come back home.” His advisers have been urging him to maintain at least a small force in Syria to ensure the militants are defeated and to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Iran from gaining an important foothold. The United States is conducting air strikes in Syria and has deployed about 2,000 troops on the ground, including special operations forces whose advice has helped Kurdish militia and other U.S.-backed fighters capture territory from Islamic State, also known as ISIS. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders rejected concerns that a U.S. withdrawal from Syria might encourage deeper Iranian involvement in the country, saying U.S. allies and partners in the region could help with security. “The purpose would be to ... train local enforcement as well as have our allies and partners in the region who have a lot more at risk to put more skin into the game,” Sanders told a briefing. “Certainly that’s something that the president wants to see happen, for them to step up and for them to do more.” Sanders did not say which regional partners might play a role in Syria, but Trump has said Saudi Arabia should pay more if it wants the United States to remain. The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that the United States remained committed to eliminating ISIS in Syria, but it added that the U.S. military mission was “coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed.” U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, who oversees U.S. troops in the Middle East as the head of Central Command, estimated on Tuesday that more than 90 percent of the group’s territory in Syria had been taken back since 2014. In the National Security Council meeting, Trump made clear that he did not want to stay in Syria for a lengthy period. The senior official said the impression Trump left was that he would like to withdraw in a year or less. “He’s not going to tolerate several years to a half decade,” the official said. Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy for the global coalition against Islamic State, on Tuesday said: “We are in Syria to fight ISIS. That is our mission and our mission isn’t over and we are going to complete that mission.” A U.S. fighter stands near a military vehicle, north of Raqqa city, Syria November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said	– "I want to get out—I want to bring our troops back home," President Trump said, referring to Syria, during a press conference Tuesday. But on Wednesday, the White House announced that US troops will remain in the country, the New York Times reports. Trump had said Tuesday that since "we were very successful against ISIS," it was "time to come back home." But in Wednesday's statement, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that while "the military mission to eradicate ISIS in Syria is coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed," the US and its partners "remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have not already eradicated." A senior administration official tells Reuters that in a National Security Council meeting Tuesday, Trump agreed to keep troops in Syria longer, but not much longer. The Washington Post, also citing a senior administration official, reports that on Tuesday Trump instructed military leaders to get ready to pull troops from Syria, though a timetable was not set; NBC News also cites a senior official who said Trump only "reluctantly" agreed to let troops remain for now. Reuters' unnamed official predicted troops would only stay for a year or less. In the Times' view, it seems that Trump's top military advisers have convinced him that keeping the 2,000 American forces still in Syria is integral to ensuring ISIS doesn't regain its foothold there. But the Post takes a slightly different tack, reporting that it appears Trump is still determined not to leave the ongoing military presence in Syria that top military advisers think is necessary. Trump surprised his advisers last week with a public statement that US troops would leave Syria "like, very soon," and during the Tuesday news conference, he said that he recently told King Salman of Saudi Arabia that if the king wanted US troops "to stay, maybe you’re going to have to pay."
John Schnatter—the founder and public face of pizza chain Papa John’s—used the N-word on a conference call in May. Schnatter confirmed the incident in an emailed statement to Forbes on Wednesday. He resigned as chairman of Papa John's on Wednesday evening. The call was arranged between Papa John’s executives and marketing agency Laundry Service. It was designed as a role-playing exercise for Schnatter in an effort to prevent future public-relations snafus. Schnatter caused an uproar in November 2017 when he waded into the debate over national anthem protests in the NFL and partly blamed the league for slowing sales at Papa John’s. On the May call, Schnatter was asked how he would distance himself from racist groups online. He responded by downplaying the significance of his NFL statement. “Colonel Sanders called blacks n-----s,” Schnatter said, before complaining that Sanders never faced public backlash. Schnatter also reflected on his early life in Indiana, where, he said, people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died. He apparently intended for the remarks to convey his antipathy to racism, but multiple individuals on the call found them to be offensive, a source familiar with the matter said. After learning about the incident, Laundry Service owner Casey Wasserman moved to terminate the company’s contract with Papa John’s. In an emailed statement on Wednesday afternoon, Schnatter confirmed the allegations. "News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true," he said. "Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society." Both Wasserman and Laundry Service declined to comment. Schnatter, 56, founded Papa John’s in Jeffersonville, Indiana, after he installed a pizza oven at his father’s tavern. The business exploded into an international giant with more than 5,000 locations and annual revenue north of $1.7 billion. He stepped down as CEO in January following the November flare-up. “The NFL has hurt us by not resolving the current debacle,” Schnatter said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call, in reference to national anthem protests. Papa John’s stock subsequently fell 11% in hours, knocking $70 million off Schnatter's net worth; he is now worth an estimated $700 million. In all, company shares have fallen 25% since the remarks. The NFL incident forced Schnatter to lie low, and Papa John’s diminished his prominence in advertisements. That change did not sit well with Schnatter. He personally hired a marketing agency (not Laundry Service) to create ads featuring him that would air in key markets, a source close to the company told Forbes. Then, in May, he pushed out Papa John’s CMO Brandon Rhoten, who lobbied to keep Schnatter off the airwaves, multiple insiders say. With Rhoten gone, Papa John’s tasked Laundry Service with helping to manage Schnatter’s comeback. Since 2015, Laundry Service has been owned by Wasserman, a sports and marketing agency owned by Casey Wasserman, who is also the grandson of famed studio executive Lew Wasserman. This week, Laundry Service laid off 10% of its workforce in response to financial pressure, attributable in part to its revocation of the Papa John’s contract. This post has been updated to reflect Schnatter's resignation. \|\|\|\|\| Papa John's founder John Schnatter admitted to using the N-word during a May conference call and apologized for the comments after Forbes magazine detailed the incident in an article Wednesday. “News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true," Schnatter said in a statement released by Papa John's. "Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.” Schnatter was on a call with marketing agency Laundry Service when he tried to downplay comments he made about the National Football League and allegedly said, “Colonel Sanders called blacks n-----s," and complained that the KFC founder never faced public backlash. The call was a role-playing exercise for Schnatter to prevent future public relations fumbles. “The past six months we’ve had to take a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge that we’ve lost a bit of focus on the core values that this brand was built on and that delivered success for so many years,” CEO Steve Ritchie said in an internal memo obtained by CNBC that was sent Wednesday to team members, franchisees and operators. "We’ve got to own up and take the hit for our missteps and refocus on the constant pursuit of better that is the DNA of our brand.” Shares of Papa John's fell by as much as 5.9 percent to a new 12-month low of $47.80 a share in intraday trading Wednesday — erasing $96.2 million in market value. The stock recovered somewhat, closing down 4.8 percent at $48.33 a share. Papa John's is down 13 percent so far this year while Domino's shares are up 48.5 percent. "Papa John’s condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting," a company spokesman told CNBC. "Our company was built on a foundation of mutual respect and acceptance." Laundry Service, which is owned by sports agency owner Casey Wasserman, reportedly cut ties with an unnamed client in late May due to "the regrettable recent events that several employees of Laundry Service witnessed during interactions with a client’s executive,” according a letter obtained by Bloomberg. Shelley Lewis, a spokeswoman for Laundry Service, declined to comment. Public relations consultant Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants in Irvine, California, told CNBC that it was a "colossal boneheaded move of which they will now have to rethink if they want to use him as a spokesperson." The incident underscores the risks of using an individual to represent a brand, said crisis communications consultant Dan Hill, CEO of Hill Impact. “This is the danger when organizations are too tied to a personality,” Hill told CNBC. “We saw it with Subway and Jared ... when things are going well and those people are popular, and they are doing smart things, it works. But then you have a single point of failure and it’s that person’s actions that reflect on the entire organization.” The Forbes report comes just seven months after Schnatter abruptly exited the C-suite. Schnatter faced backlash in November for critical statements he made about the NFL that ultimately caused the league to remove Papa John's as an official sponsor. He blamed NFL leadership for hurting the company's performance because it hadn't resolved the ongoing controversy over players kneeling in protest during the national anthem. While Schnatter is no longer the CEO of Papa John's, he is still chairman and is tied with the brand's image and is featured prominently on the company's pizza boxes. “I think the big thing for them going forward is how do they distance themselves entirely from John?" Hill said.	– Papa John's shares fell by as much as 5.9% Wednesday after the pizza chain's founder confirmed a report that he had used the n-word back in May, CNBC reports. John Schnatter was on a conference call with a marketing agency at the time, according to the Forbes' report published Wednesday; the call was meant as a role-playing exercise to help Schnatter avoid future public relations messes like the one last year when he blamed the NFL's national anthem kneeling controversy for declining pizza sales. During the call, sources say, Schnatter attempted to downplay his NFL comments by noting that "Colonel Sanders [of KFC] called blacks n-----s" and never faced backlash for it. Schnatter, who recently stepped down as CEO of Papa John's but is still closely tied to the brand's image, also reportedly talked about growing up in Indiana, where black people were sometimes dragged from trucks until they died, in an apparent attempt to convey his dislike for racism. Instead, many on the call were offended, and the agency's owner moved to terminate its contact with Papa John's. "News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true," Schnatter told Forbes. "Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society." A Papa John's rep told CNBC the company "condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting."
Romney also lags among Latinos, voters under 35, and women. Poll: 0 percent of blacks for Romney President Barack Obama continues to beat Mitt Romney among African American voters with a staggering 94 percent to 0 percent lead, according to a poll released Tuesday. The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll — which gives Obama and Vice President Joe Biden a small lead over Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan — shows Obama has a massive lead over his Republican rival in the key political base of African-American voters, NBCNews.com reported. Story Continued Below Obama also beats Romney among Latinos, voters under 35 and women, while Romney does better than Obama with whites, rural voters and seniors. The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters Aug. 16-20. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. \|\|\|\|\| Matt Sullivan / Getty Images President Barack Obama speaks at Capital University on August 21, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. After Mitt Romney selected his vice presidential running mate, and just days before the political conventions kick off next week, President Barack Obama maintains his advantage in the race for the White House, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. A Democratic ticket featuring Obama and Vice President Joe Biden gets support from 48 percent of registered voters, and a Republican ticket of Romney and new running mate Paul Ryan gets 44 percent. These numbers are only slightly changed from July, when Obama led Romney by six points in the survey, 49 percent to 43 percent, suggesting a minimal bounce for Romney (if at all) after this month’s Ryan pick. Read full poll here (.pdf) While the state of the U.S. economy and the nation’s direction continue to pose significant obstacles for the president, the poll points to even steeper challenges for Romney, including concerns about his tax returns and a lack of support for his plans to overhaul Medicare. “The election has moved from a referendum to a choice,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “Mitt Romney is starting to accumulate a number of negatives on the personal front and issues front.” Looking ahead to next week’s Republican convention, which begins on Monday in Tampa, Fla., Hart adds: “Mitt Romney has a lot of repair work to do with his image.” NBC's Chuck Todd and the National Journal's Major Garrett discuss the latest NBC News/WSJ poll. But McInturff argues that there’s still a path to victory for Romney, especially with Obama’s numbers below that all-important 50 percent threshold for an incumbent. “When a guy gets stuck at 48 percent, it doesn’t mean they are out of the clear,” he says. “It means they are in an incredibly competitive campaign.” The swing states, the demographics and the Ryan pick In a smaller sample of voters living in 12 key battleground states – Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin – Obama leads Romney by three points, 49 percent to 46 percent. That’s a narrower edge in these battlegrounds than the eight-point lead the president enjoyed in the June and July NBC/WSJ polls. Looking inside the numbers, Obama continues to lead Romney among key parts of his political base, including African Americans (94 percent to 0 percent), Latinos (by a 2-to-1 margin), voters under 35-years-old (52 percent to 41 percent) and women (51 percent to 41 percent). Romney is ahead with whites (53 percent to 40 percent), rural voters (47 percent to 38 percent) and seniors (49 percent to 41 percent). And the two presidential candidates are essentially even when it comes to the swing groups of suburban voters, Midwest residents and political independents. As for Romney’s selection of Ryan as his running mate, which was made on Aug. 11, the poll suggests that – so far – the pick has had less of an impact on voters than previous running mates have had. President Obama touts his education policy, contrasting his budget proposal to GOP vice presidential pick Paul Ryan. Watch his entire speech. Twenty-two percent say Ryan makes them more likely to vote for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, while 23 percent say he makes them less likely to vote for Romney; 54 percent say the pick doesn’t affect their vote either way. That margin (-1) is compared with Joe Biden’s in 2008 (+8), Sarah Palin’s in 2008 (+9 percent), John Edwards’ in 2004 (+21), and Joe Lieberman’s in 2000 (+13). Ryan’s numbers come closest to Dick Cheney’s in 2000 (+2). Moreover, in the poll’s feeling thermometer, Ryan’s favorable/unfavorable score stands at 33 percent/32 percent. Hart, the Democratic pollster, attributes Ryan’s mixed numbers to today’s increasingly partisan divide, with Republicans backing him, Democrats opposing him and independents fairly divided. Romney’s two challenges According to the poll, Mitt Romney has two challenges heading into next week’s Republican convention in Florida: repairing his image and selling his proposal to overhaul Medicare. NBC/WSJ poll: Voters split on Ryan For starters, Romney continues to have a net-negative favorable/unfavorable score (38percent/44 percent) – which no other modern Republican presumptive presidential nominee has had. What’s more, Obama bests Romney by 35 points (58 percent to 23 percent) on the question of which candidate is more likeable, and by 22 points (52 percent to 30 percent) on caring about average people. In addition, a majority of voters (51 percent) view the former Massachusetts governor’s approach to issues as being “out of step” with most Americans’ thinking. By comparison, 54 percent say Obama’s positions are “in the mainstream.” And by a 36 percent to 6 percent difference, voters say what they have seen, heard and read about Romney’s tax returns – he has refused to release returns prior to 2010 – has given them a more negative impression of the Republican candidate. Forty-one percent say it doesn’t make much of a difference. Problematically for Romney, similar negative margins exist with swing voters like independents, suburban voters and Midwest residents. “That is as much negative as anything that comes out in this poll,” Hart says of Romney’s tax returns. Testing the Medicare debate Another negative for Romney in the poll is his plan to make substantial changes to Medicare, the government health-insurance program for seniors. When voters are given a description of the Romney-Ryan plan – that future seniors would receive a guaranteed payment that some call a voucher, and that these seniors could use it to purchase either private insurance or to have access in the traditional Medicare program – twice as many call it a bad idea (30 percent) versus good idea (15 percent). However, 51 percent of voters said they have no opinion. In a separate question, 34 percent of voters say they agree with the statement that Romney believes this Medicare proposal “is a good idea because it would strengthen Medicare and reduce government costs … by giving future seniors more control over their own health-care dollars.” NBC/WSJ poll: Approval of Congress hits bottom In contrast, 50 percent say they agree with the statement that Obama believes this proposal “is a bad idea because it would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system giving seniors a set amount of money to pay for their health-care costs and leaving them to personally cover costs above this amount.” What’s more, a plurality (39 percent) say that Medicare needs only minor modifications, versus 15 percent who believe it needs a complete overhaul, another 15 percent who think it’s OK the way it is and 27 percent who say it needs major changes. And when asked which candidate is better on issues affecting seniors, 46 percent pick Obama and 34 percent choose Romney. Obama’s own challenge: the economy Yet Obama has challenges, too, and they’re the same ones that have dogged his campaign over the past year. More than six in 10 believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, which is essentially unchanged from last month. And just 36 percent believe the economy will improve in the next 12 months, though that’s up nine points since July’s poll. Not surprisingly, Romney holds a six-point advantage over Obama (44 percent to 38 percent) on which candidate has better ideas on how to improve the economy. Read full poll here (.pdf) That said, 50 percent of voters in the poll believe the economy is recovering, and they’re split (46 percent to 46 percent) on whether the recent news about the economy has made them more optimistic or less optimistic. The president’s overall job approval rating stands at 48 percent, and approval of his handling of the economy is at 44 percent. The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted of 1,000 registered voters (300 reached by cell phone) from Aug. 16-20, and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.	– Ever wonder how many black voters support Mitt Romney? The simple answer is: 0%. A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has found that 94% of blacks back President Obama, compared to zilch for Romney. The poll also found that Obama is doing better among Latinos, voters under 35, and women. Romney fares better with whites, rural voters, and seniors. Overall, the news isn't good for Romney as he's about to head to the GOP convention. A Romney-Paul Ryan ticket rates 4 points behind an Obama-Joe Biden ticket, the poll finds. Fears about the economy continue to create problems for the president, but voter concerns about Romney's tax returns and Medicare plans present even bigger obstacles for Mitt, notes NBC. Observers point out, however, that Obama isn't out of the woods until he passes the 50% mark in polling. “When a guy gets stuck at 48%, it doesn’t mean they are out in the clear,” says GOP pollster Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “It means they are in an incredibly competitive campaign.”