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Summarize this article:
A Turkish police officer stands in front of the door at the Saudi Arabian consulate on Oct. 11 in Istanbul. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Washington Post contributor, vanished Oct. 2 after entering the consulate to obtain official documents ahead of his marriage to his Turkish fiancee. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)
The Turkish government has told U.S. officials that it has audio and video recordings that prove Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul this month, according to U.S. and Turkish officials.
The recordings show that a Saudi security team detained Khashoggi in the consulate after he walked in Oct. 2 to obtain an official document before his upcoming wedding, then killed him and dismembered his body, the officials said.
The audio recording in particular provides some of the most persuasive and gruesome evidence that the Saudi team is responsible for Khashoggi’s death, the officials said.
“The voice recording from inside the embassy lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered,” said one person with knowledge of the recording who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss highly sensitive intelligence.
“You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic,” this person said. “You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered.”
A second person briefed on the recording said men could be heard beating Khashoggi.
[Disappearance of journalist could complicate U.S.-Saudi relations]
The journalist has had long-standing ties to the Saudi royal family, but has written critically of the current government and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The existence of such evidence would explain why Turkish officials were quick to accuse Saudi Arabia of killing Khashoggi. But Turkish officials are wary of releasing the recordings, fearing they could divulge how the Turks spy on foreign entities in their country, the officials said.
It’s not clear that U.S. officials have seen the footage or listened to the audio, but Turkish officials have described their contents to their American counterparts.
Saudi officials have denied any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, saying he left the consulate shortly after entering.
Turkey said Thursday it has agreed to a request by Saudi Arabia to form a joint committee to probe what happened to Khashoggi.
Mohammed has billed himself as a reformer and moderating force in Saudi Arabia, and he has become a key strategic partner in particular to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
Kushner has tried to promote Mohammed to skeptical national security officials, who have long viewed him as an impetuous and ruthless leader who has an overly simplistic view of the complex challenges the United States faces in the Middle East.
During a bill signing Thursday in the Oval Office, President Trump called Khashoggi’s suspected killing “a terrible thing,” but stopped short of assigning blame.
“We’re looking at it very strongly,” Trump said. “We’ll be having a report out soon. We’re working with Turkey, we’re working with Saudi Arabia. What happened is a terrible thing, assuming that happened. I mean, maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised, but somehow I tend to doubt it.”
[Fact Checker: Trump’s $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia is still false]
Within the White House, on Capitol Hill and among U.S. intelligence officials there is a growing belief that Khashoggi is dead and that Saudi Arabia is to blame.
That conclusion is driven in part by U.S. intelligence reports before Khashoggi’s disappearance that show Mohammed ordered an operation to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia, where he was to be detained. U.S. officials familiar with the reports described them to The Washington Post.
One U.S. official said there was no intelligence that showed the Saudis wanted to lure Khashoggi to the consulate in Istanbul. Intelligence officials and experts have speculated in recent days that the 15-man Saudi security team that Turkish officials say was sent to Istanbul may have intended to capture Khashoggi and take him back to Saudi Arabia, and not to kill him.
The person who was briefed on the audio recording said it shows that after killing Khashoggi, the security team went to the home of the Saudi consul general, where staff were told to go home early. There is evidence of at least one phone call, as well, from inside the consulate, this person said.
Despite a growing demand for information about Khashoggi’s whereabouts, U.S. officials had few public answers Thursday, more than a week after he disappeared. The State Department said that it expects the Saudi ambassador to the United States to return from a trip home and provide information about Khashoggi’s status without delay.
“We have said to him that we expect information upon his return to the United States,”
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a briefing with reporters.
She added that the United States has offered to provide law enforcement resources to Turkey, but declined to say whether investigators were on the ground there.
On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers were frustrated that the White House hadn’t disclosed more information about Khashoggi before and after he disappeared. Some lawmakers said the administration should consider curtailing sales of weapons to the kingdom.
“Arms sales are certainly going to be, I think, a huge concern if there is responsibility that is irrefutable,” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said of any potential evidence showing a Saudi role in Khashoggi’s suspected killing.
Gardner said that the Trump administration had left senators in the dark about intelligence pointing to Saudi Arabia and demanded that officials give lawmakers a fuller account of what they knew of possible threats to Khashoggi’s safety before he disappeared.
“There’s a lot of information that we don’t know that we need to get. There’s an information gap that needs to be filled promptly by the administration, by the intelligence community,” Gardner said. “The immediate question has to be what exists. The answer to that needs to be, acting on the information that we had, what did we do with it.”
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he had seen no definitive proof of who might have killed Khashoggi, but “everything that I’ve seen points to the Saudis. . . . We have no evidence that points anywhere but to them.”
On Wednesday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle wrote to Trump and asked him to impose sanctions against anyone found responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance, including Saudi leaders. The lawmakers invoked the Global Magnitsky Act, giving the president 120 days to make a decision.
On Tuesday, Kushner and national security adviser John Bolton called Mohammed and encouraged him to be transparent about what Riyadh knows about Khashoggi, said officials familiar with the call.
U.S. officials, however, pushed back on calls to halt arms sales to Riyadh, calling such demands premature.
“I think they’re jumping to conclusions,” said Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman. “This is entirely a hypothetical situation at this point. We don’t know what happened. We don’t have the facts of the case.”
Trump also dismissed the possibility.
“They’re spending $110 billion purchasing military equipment and other things,” he said of the Saudis. “If we don’t sell it to them, they’ll say, ‘Well, thank you very much. We’ll buy it from Russia.’ Or ‘Thank you very much. We’ll buy it from China.’ That doesn’t help us — not when it comes to jobs and not when it comes to our companies losing out on that work.”
Mekhennet reported from Istanbul. Kareem Fahim in Istanbul and Carol D. Leonnig, Karoun Demirjian, Ellen Nakashima and Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| Donald Trump has said US investigators are looking into how Jamal Khashoggi vanished at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but made clear that whatever the outcome, the US would not forgo lucrative arms deals with Riyadh.
The president’s announcement raised concerns of a cover-up of evidence implicating Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in plans to silence the dissident journalist. Those fears were also heightened by an announcement that the Turkish and Saudi governments would conduct a joint investigation into the case.
The Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV network described the 15 suspects as “tourists” who had traveled to Istanbul by commercial plane.
Yemen: End airstrikes and give child victims justice, says UN body Read more
Senior Republicans in Congress, briefed on US intelligence, have meanwhile signaled they were prepared to force the US to take punitive action if Khashoggi was found to have been murdered by the Saudi regime.
“We’re being very tough. And we have investigators over there and we’re working with Turkey, and frankly we’re working with Saudi Arabia. We want to find out what happened,” Trump told Fox News on Thursday morning.
US officials could not confirm that US investigators were in Turkey, which has hitherto resisted US help. The state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said: “The US government has offered its support to the Turkish government to provide law enforcement assistance to the Turkish government.”
Nauert said she could not comment on whether there were US investigators “on the ground”. The state department had referred earlier questions about the case to the FBI.
Nauert revealed that the Saudi ambassador to Washington, the Crown Prince’s younger brother, Khalid bin Salman, had flown back to Riyadh on Thursday.
“We have said to him that we expect information upon his return to the United States,” she said.
Any sense that the administration might seek to impose serious consequences on Saudi Arabia was dispelled by the president. Asked at an impromptu press conference in the Oval Office whether the US would cut arms sales if the Saudi government was found to be responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance, the president demurred, saying the US could lose its share of the huge Saudi arms market to Russia or China.
In the Oval Office Trump pointed out that the disappearance took place in Turkey and that Khashoggi was not a US citizen. On being told that the journalist was a US permanent resident, Trump said: “We don’t like it even a little bit. But whether or not we should stop $110bn [£83bn] from being spent in this country – knowing they have … two very good alternatives. That would not be acceptable to me.”
He continued: “I don’t like stopping massive amounts of money that’s being poured into our country – they are spending $110bn on military equipment and on things that create jobs for this country.”
The president’s desire to protect weapons sales and his family’s close relationship with the Saudi monarchy could lead to a clash with congressional Republicans, some of whom are already uneasy about the high civilian death toll from the Saudi aerial bombardment of Yemen, using US-made bombs.
The Republican chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, Bob Corker, one of a handful of senators briefed on US intelligence on the case, said he believed Khashoggi was murdered and that the “intel points directly” at the Saudi government. “I think they did it and unfortunately I think he is deceased. But they certainly could produce him and change the narrative,” Corker told CNN.
The senator told MSNBC he had seen intelligence in a secure room at the Senate and concluded: “It does appear that he’s been murdered, and I think over the next several days, things are going to become much clearer.”
Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance fits in to a growing trend we must fight | Simon Tisdall Read more
Corker and 21 other senators sent a formal letter to the president triggering a mandatory US investigation into Khashoggi’s fate. Under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the administration would have to report on the conclusions of the investigation and a decision on sanctions against the perpetrators.
On Thursday, a Turkish presidential aide, İbrahim Kalın, said there would be a joint Turkish-Saudi investigation into the Khashoggi case.
Turkish officials have released a relentless drip-feed of information about an alleged crime that has shattered diplomatic norms and rocked Ankara and Riyadh. A report in the Washington Post, citing US intelligence sources, said Bin Salman had earlier authorised an operation to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and detain him.
On Thursday, the Post reported that Turkey had told the US that it has audio and video recordings that prove Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.
“You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic,” one person with knowledge of the recordings told the paper. “You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered.” A second person said men could be heard beating the journalist.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has challenged Saudi Arabia to provide CCTV images to back up its claims that Khashoggi had left the consulate safely, indicating he did not find the current Saudi explanations sufficient.
Play Video 1:00 Jamal Khashoggi: CCTV shows alleged Saudi hit squad's movements – video
Turkish officials have told reporters that Khashoggi was killed soon after he entered the consulate last Tuesday by a hit squad of 15 assassins who had flown in from Riyadh that day. Accounts of his apparent death have been widely circulated by officials, who have released the names of the Saudi citizens who arrived on two private jets; all were connected to state security agencies.
The Middle East Eye website cited Turkish officials as saying that Khashoggi was ushered to the consul general’s office when he entered the consulate, then quickly seized by two men. “We know when Jamal was killed, in which room he was killed and where the body was taken to be dismembered,” the official said. “If the forensic team are allowed in, they know exactly where to go.”
Riyadh had previously pledged to allow Turkish officials into the consulate, which is considered sovereign Saudi territory under international convention. However, access was rescinded after the names of the alleged assassins were revealed. Among the group, according to a passenger manifest supplied by Turkish authorities, was the head of forensics for the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency.
While investigators believe Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, suspicion about where his body may have been disposed of continues to focus on the Saudi consul general’s home, about 500 metres away. The building has an underground garage, and cars that were seen leaving the nearby building are believed to have spent several hours in the garage before leaving for Atatürk airport in Istanbul.
Officials also told Reuters they were examining data from an Apple Watch that Khashoggi was wearing when he entered the building. Central to the investigation is whether data from the smartwatch could have been transmitted to a cloud, or his personal phone, which was with his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside.
Jamal Khashoggi case: sponsors urged to pull out of key Saudi event Read more
Saudi officials had refused to engage with their Turkish counterparts until Tuesday, a source told the Guardian. Riyadh had used Washington as a conduit. “They have been behaving very strangely,” said an official. “It’s like they don’t care about the consequences. Is this incompetence, or arrogance? We really don’t know.”
On his first international trip as president, Trump visited Saudi Arabia and announced $110bn in proposed arms sales.
The US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, is due to represent the administration at a trade and investment conference in Saudi Arabia next week, known as “Davos in the Desert”. His attendance would be a powerful gesture of support for Riyadh in the face of allegations of the premeditated murder of a US resident and journalist.
The US has no ambassador in either Turkey or Saudi Arabia. ||||| Turkish officials say a team of alleged Saudi assassins apprehended and likely killed a Saudi journalist in Istanbul. The Saudis have denied any involvement but Jamal Khashoggi has not been seen since he entered the Saudi Consulate on Oct.2. Photo: Getty Images
The Turkish government has what it describes as audio and video recordings purporting to show that Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and has shared the evidence with U.S. officials, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Turkish officials may release the evidence in coming days, these people said, adding the recordings have been described by those who have reviewed them as evidence of a killing. The audio evidence is particularly graphic, according to these... |||||
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– Turkish officials say they have audio and video evidence proving that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was tortured and murdered inside Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate. The officials, speaking under condition of anonymity, tell the Washington Post that the audio evidence is extremely graphic. "The voice recording from inside the embassy lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered," one source says. "You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured, and then murdered." Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Turkish officials have shared the evidence with their American counterparts and are discussing how and when it should be publicly released. The Post's sources say officials are worried that releasing the recording will reveal that they spy on foreign consulates. President Trump confirmed Thursday that investigators are looking into the disappearance of Khashoggi, who was a US resident, but he rejected suggestions US arms sales to Saudi Arabia should be cut off, the Guardian reports. "I don't like stopping massive amounts of money that’s being poured into our country," he said. "They are spending $110 billion on military equipment and on things that create jobs for this country." State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Saudi ambassador to the US, Khalid bin Salman, returned to his homeland Thursday and the US will expect information from him when he returns. The ambassador is the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who allegedly ordered a plot to lure Khashoggi from Virginia back to Saudi Arabia.
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WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S., British and French forces struck Syria with more than 100 missiles on Saturday in the first coordinated Western strikes against the Damascus government, targeting what they called chemical weapons sites in retaliation for a poison gas attack.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the military action from the White House, saying the three allies had “marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality”.
As he spoke, explosions rocked Damascus. In the morning he tweeted: “Mission accomplished”.
The bombing represents a major escalation in the West’s confrontation with Assad’s superpower ally Russia, but is unlikely to alter the course of a multi-sided war which has killed at least half a million people in the past seven years.
That in turn raises the question of where Western countries go from here, after a volley of strikes denounced by Damascus and Moscow as at once both reckless and pointless.
By morning, the Western countries said their bombing was over for now. Syria released video of the wreckage of a bombed-out research lab, but also of President Bashar al-Assad arriving at work as usual, with the caption “morning of resilience”.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, with Damascus allies saying the buildings hit had been evacuated in advance.
British Prime Minister Theresa May described the strike as “limited and targeted”, with no intention of toppling Assad or intervening more widely in the war. She said she had authorized British action after intelligence showed Assad’s government was to blame for gassing the Damascus suburb of Douma a week ago.
In a speech she gave a vivid description of the victims of the chemical strike that killed scores, huddling in basements as gas rained down. She said Russia had thwarted diplomatic efforts to halt Assad’s use of poison gas, leaving no option but force.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes had been limited so far to Syria’s chemical weapons facilities. Paris released a dossier which it said showed Damascus was to blame for the poison gas attack on Douma, the last town holding out in a rebel-held swathe of territory near Damascus which government forces have recaptured in this year’s biggest offensive.
Washington described its targets as a center near Damascus for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weapons, a chemical weapons storage site near the city of Homs and another site near Homs that stored chemical weapons equipment and housed a command post.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called the strikes a “one time shot”, although Trump raised the prospect of further strikes if Assad’s government again used chemical weapons.
“We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents,” the U.S. president said in a televised address.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss what Moscow decried as an unjustified attack on a sovereign state. Diplomats said the meeting would take place in New York at 11:00 am (1500 GMT).
Syrian state media called the attack a “flagrant violation of international law.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called it a crime and the Western leaders criminals.
Inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW were due to try to visit Douma later on Saturday to inspect the site of the April 7 suspected gas attack. Moscow condemned the Western states for refusing to wait for their findings.
Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated to levels of Cold War-era hostility, has denied any gas attack took place in Douma and even accused Britain of staging it to whip up anti-Russian hysteria.
But despite responding outwardly with fury to Saturday’s attack, Damascus and its allies also made clear that they considered it a one-off, unlikely to meaningfully harm Assad.
“ABSORBED” THE ATTACKS
A senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus told Reuters the Syrian government and its allies had “absorbed” the attack. The sites that were targeted had been evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia, the official said.
“If it is finished, and there is no second round, it will be considered limited,” the official said.
Dmitry Belik, a Russian member of parliament who was in Damascus and witnessed the strikes, told Reuters by email: “The attack was more of a psychological nature rather than practical. Luckily there are no substantial losses or damages.”
At least six loud explosions were heard in Damascus and smoke rose over the city, a Reuters witness said. A second witness said the Barzah district of Damascus was hit.
A scientific research lab in Barzah appeared to have been completely destroyed, according to footage broadcast by Syrian state TV station al-Ikhbariya. Smoke rose from piles of rubble and a heavily damaged bus was parked outside.
But the Western intervention has virtually no chance of altering the military balance of power at a time when Assad is in his strongest position since the war’s early months.
ASSAD STRONG
In Douma, site of last week’s suspected gas attack, the final buses were due on Saturday to transport out rebels and their families who agreed to surrender the town, Syrian state TV reported. That effectively ends all resistance in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta, marking one of the biggest victories for Assad’s government of the entire war.
Russian and Iranian military help over the past three years has let Assad crush the rebel threat to topple him.
A missile is seen crossing over Damascus, Syria April 14, 2018. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
The United States, Britain and France have all participated in the Syrian conflict for years, arming rebels, bombing Islamic State fighters and deploying troops on the ground to fight that group. But they have refrained from targeting Assad’s government apart from a volley of U.S. missiles last year.
Although the Western countries have all said for seven years that Assad must leave power, they held back in the past from striking his government, lacking a wider strategy to defeat him.
The Western powers were at pains on Saturday to avert any further escalation, including any unexpected conflict with their superpower rival Russia. French Defense Minister Florence Parly said the Russians “were warned beforehand” to avert conflict.
The combined U.S., British and French assault involved more missiles, but appears to have struck more limited targets, than a similar strike Trump ordered a year ago in retaliation for an earlier suspected chemical weapons attack. Last year’s U.S. strike, which Washington said at the time would cripple Assad’s air forces and defenses, had effectively no impact on the war.
Mattis said the United States conducted the strikes with conclusive evidence that chlorine gas had been used in the April 7 attack in Syria. Evidence that the nerve agent sarin also was used was inconclusive, he said.
Syria agreed in 2013 to give up its chemical weapons after a nerve gas attack killed hundreds of people in Douma. Damascus is still permitted to have chlorine for civilian use, although its use as a weapon is banned. Allegations of Assad’s chlorine use have been frequent during the war, although unlike nerve agents chlorine did not produce mass casualties as seen last week.
Mattis, who U.S. officials said had earlier warned in internal debates that too large an attack would risk confrontation with Russia, described the strikes as a one-off to dissuade Assad from “doing this again”.
But a U.S. official familiar with the military planning said there could be more air strikes if the intelligence indicates Assad has not stopped making, importing, storing or using chemical weapons, including chlorine. The official said this could require a more sustained U.S. air and naval presence.
EXIT SYRIA?
The U.S., British and French leaders all face domestic political issues surrounding the decision to use force in Syria.
Trump has been leery of U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, and is eager to withdraw roughly 2,000 troops in Syria taking part in the campaign against Islamic State.
“America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria, under no circumstances,” Trump said in his address.
Trump has tried to build good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A prosecutor is investigating whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow in illegal efforts to help him get elected, an investigation Trump calls a witch hunt.
In Britain, May’s decision to strike without consulting parliament overturns an arrangement in place since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Her predecessor David Cameron was politically hurt when he lost a parliamentary vote on whether to bomb Syria.
Britain has led international condemnation of Russia, persuading more than 20 countries to expel Russian diplomats, over the poisoning with a nerve agent of a former Russian spy in England last month. May made clear that case was part of her calculus in ordering retaliation for chemical weapons in Syria.
Slideshow (11 Images)
She argued on Saturday it was necessary to act quickly without waiting for parliament’s approval. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn accused her of following Trump, hugely unpopular in Britain, into battle without waiting for the evidence.
In France, Macron has long threatened to use force against Assad if he uses chemical weapons, and had faced criticism over what opponents described as an empty threat.
To view a graphic on an overview of chemical warfare, click: tmsnrt.rs/2pKDWOY ||||| Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a press conference at 10 Downing Street in London on the air strikes against Syria, Saturday April 14, 2018. (Simon Dawson/Pool photo via AP) (Associated Press)
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a press conference at 10 Downing Street in London on the air strikes against Syria, Saturday April 14, 2018. (Simon Dawson/Pool photo via AP) (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on U.S.-led missile strikes on Syria (all times local):
5:50 a.m.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency says Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (hah-meh-neh-EE') has called the U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria a "military crime."
He spoke at a meeting with Iranian officials and ambassadors from some Islamic countries.
The report quotes Khamenei as calling the leaders of the United States, Britain and France — the countries that launched the attack — "criminals."
The allies' operation was intended to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again.
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5:45 a.m.
NATO representatives are planning a special session to hear from U.S., British and French officials about their military strike against Syria.
The alliance briefing is expected later Saturday, and NATO's secretary-general has expressed strong support for the coordinated military action aimed at the Syrian governor's chemical weapons program.
Jens Stoltenberg says the missile strikes will erode the Syrian government's "ability to further attack the people of Syria with chemical weapons."
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5:40 a.m.
The leader of Britain's largest opposition party is suggesting Prime Minister Theresa May could face a backlash in Parliament for her decision to join the United States and France in launching airstrikes against Syria.
The Labour Party's Jeremy Corbyn says the allies' bombing is "legally questionable" and risks further escalating "an already devastating conflict."
Corbyn says "May should have sought parliamentary approval, not trailed after Donald Trump."
The prime minister will appear before the House of Commons on Monday to explain her decision on joining the airstrikes
Corbyn says the strikes will make assigning blame for the use of chemical weapons in Syria "less, not more likely." He says Britain should be leading the response and "not taking instructions from Washington and putting British military personnel in harm's way."
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5:30 a.m.
Syrian state TV has broadcast images of the destruction at a scientific research center near the capital of Damascus that was targeted in airstrikes by the United States, France and Britain.
Pentagon officials say the attacks targeted the heart of Syrian President Bashar Assad's (bah-SHAR' AH'-sahds) programs to develop and produce chemical weapons.
The Syrian military says more than one 100 missiles were fired against a military base in Syria's central Homs province and the research center in Barzeh, near Damascus.
The images shown on Al-Ikhbariya TV are the first of one of the targets. Seen in the footage are piles of rubble outside a destroyed building and a burned vehicle.
The Syrian military says the attack on the center destroyed an educational center and labs.
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5:20 a.m.
France's foreign minister is threatening further missile strikes against Syria if the Syrian government uses chemical weapons again.
France joined the United States and Britain in a joint operation that has destroyed what Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says is a "good part" of the Syrian government's chemical weapons arsenal.
He says France has "no doubt" that the Syrian government was behind a suspected chemical attacks last weekend. Syria denies responsibility.
Le Drian tells BFM television that the goal for the allied mission "was attained" but that if France's "red line is crossed again" there could be another attack.
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4:55 a.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May says the need to act quickly and protect what she calls "operational security" led her to decide to join the allied strikes in Syria without a prior vote in Parliament.
She says she'll make a statement in Parliament on Monday explaining her actions. A spirited debate is expected.
The United States, France and Britain have launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad (bah-SHAR' AH'-sahd) for an apparent chemical attack against civilians last week and to deter him from doing it again.
May has come under criticism from some British lawmakers for not bringing back Parliament into session before taking action against Syria,
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4:45 a.m.
The European Union Commission's president says those who rely on chemical warfare must be held to account by the world.
Jean-Claude Juncker says the suspected use of poison gas last week in the Syrian city of Douma was — as he puts it — a "heinous chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime."
Juncker says the world "has the responsibility to identify and hold accountable those responsible" for that kind of attack.
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4:40 a.m.
Germany's chancellor says the allied strikes in Syria were — in her words — a "necessary and appropriate" response to what the U.S. and its allies say was a recent chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma.
Angela Merkel (AHN'-geh-lah MEHR'-kuhl) says Berlin says the U.S., Britain and France "took responsibility in this way as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council."
Merkel says the strikes were needed "to maintain the effectiveness of the international rejection of chemical weapons use and to warn the Syrian regime against further violations."
Merkel had said earlier this week that Germany wouldn't join allied military action against Syrian government forces.
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4:35 a.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is citing reports she says indicate the Syrian government used a barrel bomb to deliver the chemicals used in an attack on Douma.
Barrel bombs are large containers that are packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal.
May says the accounts about the use of a barrel bomb suggest that a Syrian government helicopter was seen flying above Douma just before last weekend's attack.
She says "no other group" could have carried out that attack.
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4:30 a.m.
France's government says it has no samples of the chemical weapons it believes were used in Syria, but launched a military response based on open-source information and intelligence gathering.
France has released its assessment of what happened in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7. It was the basis for France's involvement in a joint military operation with the U.S. and Britain to target Syrian chemical weapons facilities.
The assessment cites "the absence to date of chemical samples analyzed by our own laboratories." It says the government evaluated publicly available information from nongovernmental organizations and other sources as well as unspecified French intelligence.
It concludes that there is "no plausible scenario other than that of an attack by Syrian armed forces." Syria denies responsibility and says it gave up its chemical arsenal.
The assessment notes eight chlorine attacks ahead of the "major attack" on Douma and 44 allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria over the past year.
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4:20 a.m.
The Russian military says Syria's Soviet-made air defense systems have downed 71 out of 103 cruise missiles launched by the United States and its allies.
Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff says Saturday's strike hasn't caused any casualties and Syrian military facilities targeted by the U.S., Britain and France have suffered only minor damage.
He says the Russian air defense assets in Syria monitored the strike but didn't engage any of the missiles.
Rudskoi says the Syrian military used Soviet-made air defense missile systems with high efficiency, shooting down all of the missiles aimed at four key Syrian air bases.
He notes that Russia in the past refrained from providing Syria with its state-of-the-art S-300 air defense missile systems on Western prodding but could reconsider it now.
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4 a.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced a strike on Syria launched by the United States and its allies as an "act of aggression" that will exacerbate humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.
In a statement issued by the Kremlin, the Russian leader says Moscow is calling an emergency meeting of the United Nations' Security Council over the strike launched by the U.S., Britain and France.
Putin added that the strike had a "destructive influence on the entire system of international relations."
He reaffirmed Russia's view that a purported chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma that prompted the strike was a fake. Putin added that Russian military experts who inspected Douma found no trace of the attack. He criticized the U.S. and its allies for launching the strike without waiting for inspectors from the international chemical weapons watchdog to visit the area.
___
3:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump says the United States, France and Britain have launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again.
Syrians crowded onto the streets in noisy demonstrations of defiance afterward and their ally Russia denounced the attack.
Pentagon officials say the attacks targeted the heart of Assad's programs to develop and produce chemical weapons.
Syrian television reports that Syria's air defenses responded to the attack.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis says there are no reports of U.S. losses in what he describes as a heavy but carefully limited assault. ||||| CLOSE Listen to President Trump's full address to the nation after ordering airstrikes on the Syrian regime. He also included a message for Syria's allies Russia and Iran. USA TODAY
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting with Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova and Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, in Moscow on March 28, 2018. Russia has warned of consequences from a U.S. missile strike on Syria. (Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev, AFP/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations' Security Council following the coordinated missile strikes by the U.S., France and the U.K. against Syria.
Calling the airstrikes an “act of aggression," the Russian leader said Saturday that strikes had a “destructive for the entire system of international relations" and will exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria, according to a statement posted to the Kremlin's web site. Putin also reaffirmed Russia’s view that the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma that prompted the strike was a fake.
Syria's President Bashar Assad announced after a U.S. military strike that his country would respond, while Russia's ambassador to Washington warned of unspecified "consequences."
"Good souls will not be humiliated," Assad said on his official Twitter account.
President Trump on Friday announced that a series of strikes were launched by the U.S., France and Britain on Assad's chemical weapons facilities in Syria. Trump said the attack would be sustained to ensure that Syria does not use chemical weapons to attack civilians.
After the Pentagon said the strikes were over, Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov issued a statement on Twitter accusing the allies of "a pre-designed scenario" against Russia and Syria.
"Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences," Antonov said. "All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris."
He added: "Insulting the president of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible. The U.S. — the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons — has no moral right to blame other countries."
The Russian military said Saturday that Syria’s Soviet-made air defense systems downed 71 out of 103 cruise missiles launched by the United States and its allies, according to Tass, Russia's government news site.
Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military’s General Staff said the strikes have not caused any casualties and Syrian military facilities targeted by the U.S., Britain and France have suffered only minor damage.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the allied missiles struck outside of Russia's area of responsibility in Syria, so Russian air defense systems did not respond, Russia's RIA Novosti reorted.
Russian military and diplomatic officials warned before Trump ordered the military strike on Syria that they would counter any attack on Syrian forces in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack on April 7.
Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon on Tuesday had told Lebanon's Al Manar TV that any U.S. missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted, Reuters reported.
Russian Ambassador to Beirut Alexander Zasypkin cited orders by Putin.
"If there is a U.S. missile attack, we — in line with both Putin and Russia's chief of staff's remarks — will shoot down U.S. rockets and even the sources that launched the missiles," Zasypkin told al Manar.
Russian submarines
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Hmeimim (also Khmeimim) Air Base, south-east of the city of Latakia in Syria, with transport planes seen in the background on Dec. 11, 2017. (Photo: Michael Klimentyev, EPA)
On Friday, before Trump’s announcement, Tass reported that the Russian Navy was monitoring U.S. and NATO ships in the eastern Mediterranean.
Warships and submarines of the Russian naval task force were keeping track at a close distance of U.S. and NATO assault ships and submarines in the area, Tass said, citing military and diplomatic sources.
The Russian navy ships were ordered to monitor the underwater, surface and air situation in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, including approaches and maneuvering of foreign ships in the area near Syria’s Tartus, a port city where Russia has its only foreign base outside of Europe.
Russia in the past week also sought to counter U.S. diplomatic efforts to marshal international support for its condemnation of the Syrian government led by Assad.
Russia's diplomats and military officers issued numerous contradictory statements about the chemical attack, saying it didn't happen, that it launched by Syrian rebels on themselves, and that British intelligence ordered it as a provocation.
Iran's Fars News Agency reported Friday that Russian fighter jets were patrolling Syrian air space to defend against any attackers.
The Russian aircraft were scrambled in response to reports of seven U.S. spy planes near the coastal regions of Tartus and Lattakia.
The U.S. aircraft were reported flying along the coast near Russia's Humeimim Military Airport in the southwestern Lattakia province, Fars reported.
More: Russia just blamed Britain for Syria chemical attack. Here’s who else Moscow blames
More: U.S. attack on Syria creates Cold-War style tension with Russia
More: Analysis: Trump's strike on Syria has fire and fury — but not the element of surprise
Contributing: The Associated Press
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2qv8bYt |||||
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– Russia, Iran, and Syria reacted angrily Saturday to the US-led airstrikes that hit Syria overnight, though so far the move hasn't led to the worst-case scenario: direct conflict between US and Russian forces, reports the Washington Post. Vladimir Putin called the airstrikes by the US, France, and Britain an "act of aggression" and was expected to call an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, reports USA Today. Russia's ambassador to the US warned of "consequences," while Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the strikes a "military crime," reports the AP. Syria's Bashar al-Assad's regime similarly called the military action a "barbaric aggression" and promised that his nation would respond. As President Trump said in a brief address late Friday, the airstrikes were delivered to punish Syria for a chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians. Trump faulted "Russia's failure" for allowing that attack to take place, though Moscow and Damascus deny that Syria is to blame, or even that chemical weapons were used. "Insulting the president of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible," said Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov. "The US—the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons—has no moral right to blame other countries." Reuters reports that more than 100 missiles struck sites in Syria, including in Damascus, affiliated with the nation's chemical weapons research. “We were scared of a bigger assault," a Damascus resident tells the Post. “I think this strike is only a flexing of muscles by Trump to show his power.”
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– Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves are doing publicity for their fourth movie together, Destination Wedding, and Ryder suggests they might accidentally be more than co-actors. “We actually got married in Dracula," she tells Entertainment Weekly, referring to the 1992 movie. "No, I swear to god I think we’re married in real life." When she reminds Reeves that director Francis Ford Coppola used a real priest in the filmed ceremony, he concludes, "Oh my gosh, we're married." So what does Coppola think? He's seemingly on the board with the wedding theory. He recalls being dissatisfied with the original scene and re-shooting it in a Greek Orthodox Church with an authentic priest. "We actually did the ceremony and had the priest do the ceremony," Coppola says, per the Guardian. "So in a sense, when we were all done, we realized that Keanu and Winona really are married as a result of this scene and this ceremony."
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Francis Ford Coppola has backed a theory by Winona Ryder that she and Keanu Reeves might be married.
The director of the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which starred Ryder and Reeves, corroborated Ryder’s story that a wedding scene involving the pair could be legally binding.
After filming concluded, Coppola said he was unhappy with a stylised version of the scene and decided that “having the real wedding ceremony as it might be in that religion [Greek Orthodox Christianity] would be beautiful�?.
He then filmed a ceremony in a Greek Orthodox church in Los Angeles with a real priest. “This is pretty authentic and I think very beautiful, because we actually did the ceremony and had the priest do the ceremony.,�? Coppola said. “So in a sense, when we were all done, we realised that Keanu and Winona really are married as a result of this scene and this ceremony.�?
Ryder first suggested the idea at the weekend to Entertainment Weekly, saying: “We actually got married in Dracula. No, I swear to God, I think we’re married in real life. In that scene, Francis [Ford Coppola] used a real Romanian priest. We shot the master and he did the whole thing. So I think we’re married.�?
Footage of the ceremony is spliced in the film with the death of a friend, who has been turned into a vampire. Ryder and Reeves drink from a goblet and are blessed with a wreath of white roses before kissing energetically. Neither is seen speaking, and it is unknown whether the priest is using the pair’s real names or their characters’.
Ryder’s latest collaboration with Reeves is a romcom called Destination Wedding. It is their fourth film together, after Dracula, A Scanner Darkly and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. ||||| Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves might be married…in Romania.
While promoting their upcoming rom-com Destination Wedding, Ryder revealed to EW that their movie love might extend off screen because she’s not entirely sure the pair didn’t have a real wedding back in 1992 while filming Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Musing about her feelings on weddings alongside Reeves, Ryder told EW, “We actually got married in Dracula. No, I swear to god I think we’re married in real life.”
“In that scene, Francis [Ford Coppola] used a real Romanian priest,” she added. “We shot the master and he did the whole thing. So I think we’re married.”
Reeves took the news in stride and joked, “It’s lovely to see you again.” But Ryder reminded him that they went through the entire ceremony and said their “I dos.”
When Reeves asked, “We said yes?” Ryder responded, “Don’t you remember that? It was on Valentine’s Day.” This left Reeves no choice but to conclude, “Oh my gosh, we’re married.” It seems America’s favorite ’90s onscreen Goth couple might have made a commitment they never knew about. Sounds like the makings of a perfect rom-com.
If you want more unexpected romance from the pair (this time in San Luis Obispo, Calif., rather than Romania), they can be seen as misanthropic wedding guests who find a reluctant connection in Destination Wedding, hitting theaters Aug. 31. |||||
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– Vladimir Putin spent four hours responding to queries from the Russian people today as part of his annual "direct line" Q&A session in Moscow, which can be viewed in its entirety here. While he spoke on lighter matters, like the sale of milk in schools, he also touched on Ukraine and the economy, the Guardian reports. He maintains that "there are no Russian troops in Ukraine," and that Kiev is "cutting off" regions controlled by pro-Russian rebels with an economic blockade, the BBC reports. Putin said Western sanctions on Russia aren't just about Crimea or Ukraine, but "the need to constrain our development," CNN reports. He also appeared optimistic about Russia's economic crisis, noting a full recovery is about two years away. Touching on his decision to allow the sale of an air defense system to Iran, Putin said Iran showed "a desire to reach compromise." Though Israel and other countries fear the system could pose a danger, "It is a defense weapon," Putin said. "Iran is not a threat to Israel at all." Putin also described the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov as "tragic and shameful," noting the mastermind of the killing may never be found. Critics say that the broadcast is more about giving Putin a platform to speak than having Russians grill him about policy. Putin's team sifted through 3 million questions received via email, video, and text, and none too critical or personal were heard. The broadcast was scheduled to last three hours, but Putin usually goes over his time. He spoke for a record-breaking four hours and 47 minutes in 2013.
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Live coverage from the Russian president’s marathon conversation with the public – and the best reaction from around the web
Vladimir Putin embarked on his annual discussion with the nation through his “direct line” press conference. The now well-established tradition on Thursday saw the Russian president take questions on topics from Ukraine and the Iran nuclear deal to rural transport and the sale of milk to primary schools.
A record 3 million questions were logged, with the first hour dominated by the economy as Putin fielded questions on the impact of western sanctions, later moving on to Russia’s relations with its neighbours and the wider world.
Key lines
Iran : Putin insisted lifting a five-year embargo on the delivery of air defence missiles to Iran did not undermine international sanctions since the Russian ban was voluntary. The US and Israel have objected to the move announced this week. Putin said he made the decision since Iran had shown “a desire to reach compromise”.
: Putin insisted lifting a five-year embargo on the delivery of air defence missiles to Iran did not undermine international sanctions since the Russian ban was voluntary. The US and Israel have objected to the move announced this week. Putin said he made the decision since Iran had shown “a desire to reach compromise”. WW2 commemorations : European nations not visiting Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end had been put under pressure by Washington, Putin claimed.
: European nations not visiting Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end had been put under pressure by Washington, Putin claimed. Ukraine : The Russian president denied Russian military forces were in Ukraine and said Kiev was violating a peace accord by maintaining an economic blockade on eastern regions under the control of pro-Russian rebels.
: The Russian president denied Russian military forces were in Ukraine and said Kiev was violating a peace accord by maintaining an economic blockade on eastern regions under the control of pro-Russian rebels. Economy : Putin was optimistic in his answers, highlighting gains in agriculture and a low unemployment rate. He added that the rouble was getting back on its feet following a sharp devaluation last year, and estimated a full recovery to be “somewhere in the region of two years”.
: Putin was optimistic in his answers, highlighting gains in agriculture and a low unemployment rate. He added that the rouble was getting back on its feet following a sharp devaluation last year, and estimated a full recovery to be “somewhere in the region of two years”. Relations with west : Putin said the west must respect Russia’s interests if it wants to normalise diplomatic relations. He said the US “doesn’t need allies, they only need vassals” and that Russia would never accept that role.
: Putin said the west must respect Russia’s interests if it wants to normalise diplomatic relations. He said the US “doesn’t need allies, they only need vassals” and that Russia would never accept that role. Nemtsov murder: The killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was “tragic and shameful”, Putin said in response to one question. Nemtsov was shot dead on 27 February just outside the Kremlin. Five Chechens are in custody but Putin said he does not know if it will be possible to track down the mastermind.
One of two questions on milk came from a British man, John Kopiski, who moved to Russia in 1992 and became a dairy farmer. He asked about regulated milk prices.
Alexey Venedikto from Ekho Moskvy also quizzed Putin about Nemtsov’s murder from the studio. But there we no high profile guests to top Edward Snowden who appeared last year to ask a question on Russia’s mass surveillance policy.
In tweets
Shaun Walker live-tweeted the event in English:
And we rounded up the best of the online reaction as the discussion developed:
And you can watch the whole event dubbed in English here:
The social media build-up to the event focused around the perceived power of Putin as a president, as a Vine clip re-surfaced showing him see off US president Barack Obama in a stare down – the two have previously been compared on the basis of their animal preferences.
And to keep people entertained through the proceedings Meduza created a game of Putin bingo, with key words that include “sanctions”, “Crimea” and “Nemtsov”.
||||| Streamed live on Apr 16, 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds 13th annual ‘Direct Line’ Q&A session in Moscow April 16.
During the session, Putin will take questions from Russian residents from across the country.
Those wanting to ask Putin a question will have an opportunity to contact the president via Facebook and local social networks, as well as by SMS, MMS and telephone.
Putin's ‘direct lines’ have become a well-established tradition throughout the years of his presidency since 2001.
The event generally focuses on domestic affairs, with Putin reporting on government’s achievements whilst recognizing existing issues. Putin’s answers also touch upon Russia’s international position.
The last hotline in 2014 lasted 3 hours 55 minutes and was focused on the Ukrainian crisis.
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Video on Demand: http://www.ruptly.tv ||||| (CNN) Russian President Vladimir Putin shrugged off repeated questions about the impact of Western sanctions on his nation during a nationally broadcast annual Q&A session.
"Sanctions are sanctions," he said. "As far as sanctions are concerned .... (they're) about the need to constrain our development," not just about Ukraine and Crimea.
Western sanctions were implemented after Moscow annexed Crimea and pro-Russian separatists battled Ukrainian government forces in the nation's east.
Putin predicted the sanctions would not end soon.
On the Middle East, the Russian leader defended lifting a ban on the sale of a sophisticated air defense system to Iran
"We need to encourage our Iranian partners," Putin said, referring to a preliminary deal to limit Iran's nuclear program
Sanctions against Iran have had a dramatic impact on the nation's economy.
On Israeli and Western fears that such a system would embolden Iran, Putin scoffed.
"Iran is not a threat to Israel at all," he said. "It is a defense weapon."
The spectacle
Putin's annual exercise is fascinating for ordinary Russians, who normally get him in closely managed doses on state-run television. These sessions are live and can go on and on.
Last year, he spoke for three hours and 55 minutes. In 2013, it was a record-setting four hours and 47 minutes.
Organizers said public interest was especially strong this year, with 2.4 million questions submitted.
Of course, critics of the Kremlin slam the entire event as Russia's imitation of democracy in action. It's hard to imagine a truly critical question, they say, getting aired on national television there. In fact, it's best not to look at this event as an opportunity for Russians to question their leader at all.
Instead, it is more like a highly produced, highly choreographed chance for their leader to speak to them, and to the world.
Last year, there was a "surprise" appearance by NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden , who was granted asylum in Russia. He addressed Putin by video link , quizzing Putin about Moscow's own surveillance practices. |||||
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– Sarah Palin says President Obama should boycott Copenhagen because the Climategate emails cast doubt on climate change—and Marc Ambinder in the Atlantic shoots back at Palin's Washington Post editorial line by line. His translations of her key points: Palin: "radical environmental movement." Ambinder: "overwhelming scientific consensus." Palin: Climategate exposes a "highly politicized scientific circle." Ambinder: politicized, yes—in response to "an extremely well-funded political campaign by those whose bottom lines would be most harmed by carbon taxes." Palin: Copenhagen policies "won't change the weather." Ambinder: a "classic conflation" of weather and climate, two very different things. Palin: "Policy should be based on sound science, not politics." Ambinder: The evidence of human-induced climate change "has been regularly, repeatedly, and independently verified.
Expand this summary.
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« Reid Defends The Slavery Remark | Main | The Grand Senate Compromise: First Draft »
Once again, the Washington Post has given Sarah Palin the chance to harness herself to the political story of the hour. The former Alaska governor has written an op-ed, published Wednesday, about the "Climate-gate" controversy at East Anglia University. Palin calls on President Obama to boycott the Copenhagen climate summit because the leaked e-mails allegedly cast significant doubt on the scientific consensus about global warming.
With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point.
By "radical," Palin means the overwhelming scientific consensus; virtually every major science academy in the country; "tipping point" is a curious construction. It implies that there is momentum behind their cause. I gather Palin means to suggest the opposite.
The revelation of appalling actions by so-called climate change experts allows the American public to finally understand the concerns so many of us have articulated on this issue.
Remember, the "revelation" was born from an potentially illegal e-mail hack. "So-called" -- untrue. These are experts. Their science has been validated, independently. Their "actions" here consist of insulting climate change skeptics, immature name-calling, and, at worst, devising a strategy to keep the climate change deniers out of debates and peer-reviewed journals. The "concerns" that Palin speaks of are the result of years of accumulated science denialism that now, conveniently, has been seemingly "validated" by the fog of a grand conspiracy, suddenly revealed.
"Climate-gate," as the e-mails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia have become known, exposes a highly politicized scientific circle -- the same circle whose work underlies efforts at the Copenhagen climate change conference.
True -- although the politicization came about as a response to an extremely well-funded political campaign by those whose bottom lines would be most harmed by carbon taxes, cap and trade schemes and the like.
The agenda-driven policies being pushed in Copenhagen won't change the weather, but they would change our economy for the worse.
A classic conflation here of "weather" and climate; it's ridiculous to try and change the weather, of course -- weather is so variable and unpredictable. What the Copenhagen negotiators want to change is humanity's contribution to global climate change. Two different things.
The e-mails reveal that leading climate "experts" deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to "hide the decline" in global temperatures, and tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals. What's more, the documents show that there was no real consensus even within the CRU crowd. Some scientists had strong doubts about the accuracy of estimates of temperatures from centuries ago, estimates used to back claims that more recent temperatures are rising at an alarming rate.
For a sensible take on what the e-mails actually show, see here. A few quick points: some of the e-mails discuss deleting data; there are investigations underway to determine whether data was deleted; there is no evidence that data was manipulated, aside from words deliberately taken out of context, like "trick" and "contain."
Now -- the scientists may be guilty of misconduct for manipulating the UK's freedom of information act procedures. There is no excuse for that; that is not how normal science works. Let's assume, for the moment, that their actions do cast doubt on their data, because, perhaps, their motivations are suspect. The global warming consensus minus the East Anglia contributions is still a strong consensus, one that has been regularly, repeatedly and independently verified.
This scandal obviously calls into question the proposals being pushed in Copenhagen. I've always believed that policy should be based on sound science, not politics. As governor of Alaska, I took a stand against politicized science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population had more than doubled. I got clobbered for my actions by radical environmentalists nationwide, but I stood by my view that adding a healthy species to the endangered list under the guise of "climate change impacts" was an abuse of the Endangered Species Act. This would have irreversibly hurt both Alaska's economy and the nation's, while also reducing opportunities for responsible development.
Except that politics is motivating the critics as much as it is the "radical environmental" crowd. And the "science" against AGW -- anthropogenic global warning -- is based on fitting into a grand theory the bits of data noise and occasionally unconventional results that scientists do get. In other words, AGW is supported by the research -- it is a theory of probability (not certainty) that is large enough to account for discrepancies, too. The case against AGW is supported by a theory that seizes on the discrepancies, magnifies them, and disregards the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
Our representatives in Copenhagen should remember that good environmental policymaking is about weighing real-world costs and benefits -- not pursuing a political agenda. That's not to say I deny the reality of some changes in climate -- far from it. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. I was one of the first governors to create a subcabinet to deal specifically with the issue and to recommend common-sense policies to respond to the coastal erosion, thawing permafrost and retreating sea ice that affect Alaska's communities and infrastructure.
Of course, that's what politics is -- figuring out who gets what and who pays for it. The language Palin is using -- cost and benefits -- is generally associated with opponents of environmental legislation. But while it's fair enough to call for a more rigorous debate about what our response to global warming should be, it's difficult to get beyond Palin's general dismissal of the science.
But while we recognize the occurrence of these natural, cyclical environmental trends, we can't say with assurance that man's activities cause weather changes.
The "natural variation" canard; the fact is that the trends we're seeing now aren't natural and don't seem cyclical, and AGW, as noted above, is a theory of probability; based on the evidence, it is virtually certain that humans are causing a significant amount of climate (not weather!) change over time. As Grist's experts put it,
We can say, however, that any potential benefits of proposed emissions reduction policies are far outweighed by their economic costs.
One can say that; the economic evidence is equivocal and politicized. It is by no means certain, however, that the economic costs will be far worse than the benefits, in part because the statement demands a definition of "economic costs." Some policies could be ineffective, inefficient and expensive. Others might not be.
And those costs are real. Unlike the proposals China and India offered prior to Copenhagen -- which actually allow them to increase their emissions -- President Obama has proposed serious cuts in our own long-term carbon emissions. Meeting such targets would require Congress to pass its cap-and-tax proposals, which will result in job losses and higher energy costs (as Obama admitted during the campaign). That's not exactly what most Americans are hoping for these days. And as public opposition continues to stall Congress's cap-and-tax plans, Environmental Protection Agency bureaucrats plan to regulate carbon emissions themselves, doing an end run around the American people.
Thank the Supreme Court for that end run!
In fact, we're not the only nation whose people are questioning climate change schemes. In the European Union, energy prices skyrocketed after it began a cap-and-tax program. Meanwhile, Australia's Parliament recently defeated a cap-and-tax bill. Surely other nations will follow suit, particularly as the climate e-mail scandal continues to unfold.
The jury is out on the case of Europe. It seems to have reduced carbon emissions, but energy costs did rise. However, it is by no means clear whether the cap and trade system in Europe was optimally designed, and whether the energy cost increase wasn't the result of exogenous factors, like, say, war in the Middle East.
In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to "restore science to its rightful place." But instead of staying home from Copenhagen and sending a message that the United States will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices, the president has upped the ante. He plans to fly in at the climax of the conference in hopes of sealing a "deal." Whatever deal he gets, it will be no deal for the American people. What Obama really hopes to bring home from Copenhagen is more pressure to pass the Democrats' cap-and-tax proposal. This is a political move. The last thing America needs is misguided legislation that will raise taxes and cost jobs -- particularly when the push for such legislation rests on agenda-driven science.
This is boilerplate. Accept or reject.
Without trustworthy science and with so much at stake, Americans should be wary about what comes out of this politicized conference. The president should boycott Copenhagen.
He won't. ||||| With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point. The revelation of appalling actions by so-called climate change experts allows the American public to finally understand the concerns so many of us have articulated on this issue.
"Climate-gate," as the e-mails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia have become known, exposes a highly politicized scientific circle -- the same circle whose work underlies efforts at the Copenhagen climate change conference. The agenda-driven policies being pushed in Copenhagen won't change the weather, but they would change our economy for the worse.
The e-mails reveal that leading climate "experts" deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to "hide the decline" in global temperatures, and tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals. What's more, the documents show that there was no real consensus even within the CRU crowd. Some scientists had strong doubts about the accuracy of estimates of temperatures from centuries ago, estimates used to back claims that more recent temperatures are rising at an alarming rate.
This scandal obviously calls into question the proposals being pushed in Copenhagen. I've always believed that policy should be based on sound science, not politics. As governor of Alaska, I took a stand against politicized science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population had more than doubled. I got clobbered for my actions by radical environmentalists nationwide, but I stood by my view that adding a healthy species to the endangered list under the guise of "climate change impacts" was an abuse of the Endangered Species Act. This would have irreversibly hurt both Alaska's economy and the nation's, while also reducing opportunities for responsible development.
Our representatives in Copenhagen should remember that good environmental policymaking is about weighing real-world costs and benefits -- not pursuing a political agenda. That's not to say I deny the reality of some changes in climate -- far from it. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. I was one of the first governors to create a subcabinet to deal specifically with the issue and to recommend common-sense policies to respond to the coastal erosion, thawing permafrost and retreating sea ice that affect Alaska's communities and infrastructure.
But while we recognize the occurrence of these natural, cyclical environmental trends, we can't say with assurance that man's activities cause weather changes. We can say, however, that any potential benefits of proposed emissions reduction policies are far outweighed by their economic costs. And those costs are real. Unlike the proposals China and India offered prior to Copenhagen -- which actually allow them to increase their emissions -- President Obama's proposal calls for serious cuts in our own long-term carbon emissions. Meeting such targets would require Congress to pass its cap-and-tax plans, which will result in job losses and higher energy costs (as Obama admitted during the campaign). That's not exactly what most Americans are hoping for these days. And as public opposition continues to stall Congress's cap-and-tax legislation, Environmental Protection Agency bureaucrats plan to regulate carbon emissions themselves, doing an end run around the American people.
In fact, we're not the only nation whose people are questioning climate change schemes. In the European Union, energy prices skyrocketed after it began a cap-and-tax program. Meanwhile, Australia's Parliament recently defeated a cap-and-tax bill. Surely other nations will follow suit, particularly as the climate e-mail scandal continues to unfold.
In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to "restore science to its rightful place." But instead of staying home from Copenhagen and sending a message that the United States will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices, the president has upped the ante. He plans to fly in at the climax of the conference in hopes of sealing a "deal." Whatever deal he gets, it will be no deal for the American people. What Obama really hopes to bring home from Copenhagen is more pressure to pass the Democrats' cap-and-tax proposal. This is a political move. The last thing America needs is misguided legislation that will raise taxes and cost jobs -- particularly when the push for such legislation rests on agenda-driven science.
Without trustworthy science and with so much at stake, Americans should be wary about what comes out of this politicized conference. The president should boycott Copenhagen.
The writer was the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president and governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. |||||
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Here is a news article: The commissioner of the New York City police department views the controversial practice of stop, question and frisk as a means to instil fear in young African American and Latino men, a New York state senator testified in a federal court on Monday.
State senator Eric Adams, who retired from the NYPD after rising to the rank of captain during a 22-year career, said commissioner Ray Kelly described his views on stop and frisk during a July 2010 meeting in the office of then-governor David Patterson.
Adams had traveled to Albany for a meeting on 10 July 2010 with the governor to give his support for a bill that would prohibit the NYPD from maintaining a database that would include the personal information of individuals stopped by the police but released without a charge or summons. In discussing the bill, which ultimately passed, Adams said he raised the issue of police stops disproportionately targeting young African American and Latino men.
"[Kelly] stated that he targeted and focused on that group because he wanted to instil fear in them that every time that they left their homes they could be targeted by police," Adams testified.
"How else would we get rid of guns," Adams said Kelly asked him.
Adams told the court he was stunned by the commissioner's claim and immediately expressed his concerns. "I was amazed," Adams testified. "I told him that was illegal."
According to Adams, also at the meeting were a former New York City council member, Hakeem Jeffries, who is now a US congressman, and another New York state senator, Martin J Golden. Adams said he was "shocked" the commissioner would describe an effort to instill fear among African American and Latino youth in the company of three elected African American politicians – referring to himself, Jeffries and Golden.
Adams's testimony marked the latest in a series of explosive allegations leveled against the NYPD in an ongoing trial targeting the department's stop-and-frisk practices. In earlier hearings, two serving NYPD officers testified that the department maintains a rigid quota system to ensure officers make a certain number of stops, arrests and summons. Both men secretly recorded roll-call meetings and conversations with supervisors which purport to show the existence of such a system.
Under the joint tenure of Kelly and mayor Michael Bloomberg, the NYPD has stopped and, in some cases searched, approximately 4.4 million people, most of them Latino or African American.
By law, police officers are empowered to stop individuals on the street if they have reasonable suspicion that an individual is preparing to, is in the process of, or has just committed a crime.
According to Adams, under these conditions, stop and frisk is a "great tool" for suppressing and responding to crime. He added, however, that "nowhere" in the law is an officer empowered to "use the tool to instil fear. Nowhere".
Heidi Grossman, an attorney for the city, challenged Adams on the facts of his meeting with Kelly, noting the state senator had not provided notes on the conversation, despite a subpoena. Adams said his email inbox contained some 10,000 messages and that his search for notes concerning the meeting was ongoing.
"I don't think anyone in their right mind would believe the police commissioner would say the police department is targeting, just for targeting, blacks and Hispanics," Grossman said.
She added that commissioner Kelly has denied telling Adams that stop and frisk is intended to instil fear in minority populations.
In October 2011, Adams signed an affidavit in support of class action certification for the Floyd suit. Grossman confirmed that Adams met with attorneys filing the suit before he signed the affidavit and suggested it was drafted by the the plaintiffs' attorneys. Adams said he was unaware of how the affidavit came into being and said it may have been drafted by one of his staffers. Grossman pointed out that the document uses the phrase "instil the belief", with respect to Kelly's comments to Adams, rather than "instil fear".
The same month, Adams also described the meeting with Kelly to the Guardian. At the time, Adams said the commissioner told him the aim of the practice was to "instil in every young man from those communities [black and Hispanic] that any time they leave their house they can be searched by the police."
Asked whether Adams' October 2011 comments had given an accurate account of Kelly's remarks NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the Guardian at the time: "commissioner Kelly said he wants gunmen to be deterred from carrying weapons on them in the streets, particularly in those communities most victimised by gun violence."
In court on Monday, Grossman attempted to read from an affidavit signed by Kelly in 2011 in which Kelly apparently rejected Adams' claims, but judge Scheindlin shut the effort down, stating that the commissioner would not be able to provide testimony through "backdoor" means. "If he'd like to come here, he's welcome in this courtroom," Scheindlin said. "If he's not going to be here we're not going to have his statement."
Kelly said in a statement later that he "categorically and totally" denied making the remarks attributed to him by Adams. "It's interesting that apparently only Mr Adams heard this statement though other people were present. And, it just defies logic ... it's ludicrous."
Adams's Brooklyn district contains some of the most heavily policed areas in New York City, including Brownsville, which in 2011 reported the second highest number of stops in the city. The neighborhood also has some of the highest crime rates in the city. Adams told reporters outside court that young people simply trying to survive in his district frequently find themselves trying to avoid both crime and police harassment.
"They feel trapped," Adams said. He described a meeting in his office approximately a year and a half ago when seven high school football players came in to describe police stops they had experienced.
"Two of them began to cry," Adams said, adding that the boys told him about "police touching their privates."
"Cops don't want to do this," he said. "Cops are so frustrated they are wearing wires to roll call."
Adams said he is at times frustrated with his own ability to convey the seriousness of conditions in his district to residents in New York's more affluent neighborhoods. "It pains me," he said. "New Yorkers don't really know how bad it is for young people." ||||| NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly admitted that police target blacks and Hispanics for the controversial stop-and-frisk program in an effort to keep guns off the streets, a cop-turned-lawmaker testified yesterday.
State Sen. Eric Adams said he twice heard Kelly make the admission, the first time during a 2010 meeting with officials, including then-Gov. David Paterson and then-Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries.
Kelly called Adams’ allegations “ludicrous” and “absolutely, categorically untrue” after the Brooklyn Democrat made them while under oath in Manhattan federal court on behalf of plaintiffs challenging stop-and frisk.
“It’s interesting. Apparently, only Mr. Adams heard the statement, although other people were present,” Kelly told reporters.
“It just defies logic. Anybody knowing Mr. Adams’ history with this department and how often he’s criticized it, that I would make that type of statement in front of three elected African-American officials.”
Adams, a former NYPD captain and co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, testified that the July 2010 meeting came days before Paterson signed a law that bans the NYPD from keeping a database of everyone who has been stopped and frisked.
Adams, who co-sponsored the bill with Jeffries, said he complained that a “disproportionate” number of blacks and Hispanics were being subjected to stop-and-frisk.
According to Adams, Kelly “stated that he targeted or focused on that group because he wanted to instill fear in them that any time they leave their homes they could be targeted by police.”
Adams said he was “amazed” and “shocked” by Kelly’s alleged remarks, adding, “I told him that was illegal.”
He said Kelly responded by asking, “How else are we going to get rid of guns?”
Adams also said Kelly made similar comments during an August 2010 meeting of black elected officials in Brooklyn.
Another participant in the July 2010 meeting, state Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn), backed up the city’s top cop, saying of Adams’ testimony, “That’s not my recollection of that at all.”
Jeffries, now a Democratic congressman representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, said Kelly, “in my view, articulated a deterrence theory to support the NYPD’s aggressive stop-and-frisk activity in black and Latino neighborhoods.”
“Did he use the word ‘target’? I can’t say one way or the other. But the whole conversation was taking place in the context of disproportionate stop-and-frisk in black and Latino neighborhoods,” Jeffries said.
Paterson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
During cross-examination of Adams, city lawyer Heidi Grossman tried to read aloud from a written declaration in which Kelly denied Adam’s allegations, but was blocked by the judge, who called it a “back-door” attempt to introduce testimony from Kelly.
Manhattan federal Judge Shira Scheindlin then publicly invited Kelly to take the stand, saying: “If he’d like to come here, he’s welcome in this courtroom.” |||||
A summary of this is?
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– As controversy continues over New York City's stop-and-frisk law, a state senator—and former cop—has testified in federal court that the police commissioner aimed to "instill fear" in the black and Hispanic communities. State Sen. Eric Adams, a police officer for 22 years, said that during a 2010 meeting, police commissioner Raymond Kelly "stated that he targeted ... that group because he wanted to instill fear in them that every time that they left their homes they could be targeted by police," the Guardian reports. The court case has been brought by plaintiffs trying to end the stop-and-frisk practice. Adams said he "told (Kelly) that was illegal," prompting the commissioner to ask, "How else are we going to get rid of guns?" Adams said, per the New York Post. He was particularly surprised given that the meeting included three black elected officials, he said. An attorney for the city denied the claims, saying no one "in their right mind" would believe police were "targeting, just for targeting, blacks and Hispanics." She also said that a 2011 affidavit cited the phrase "instill the belief," not "instill fear." For his part, Kelly has "categorically and totally" denied the "ludicrous" claim.
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Today, optical physicist Donna Strickland received the Nobel Prize for her work on ultrashort lasers.
When her name was announced, a search for Strickland’s name on Wikipedia would have turned up nothing. As recently as May, Wikipedia editors weren’t convinced that Strickland’s work was significantly covered enough to merit an article on the site.
Strickland is an associate professor of physics at the University of Waterloo in Canada—a title that, as many observers have noticed, does not seem to reflect the significance of her work.
Strickland and colleague Gérard Mourou shared half of the 2018 prize, which was also awarded to scientist Arthur Ashkin. Strickland is now currently the only living female Nobel laureate in physics, joining Marie Curie and the theoretical physicist Maria Goeppert-Mayer as the only women of the award’s 209 recipients.
Prior to winning the Nobel Prize, Strickland’s only previous mention on Wikipedia was in an article about Mourou, her male co-inventor. On May 23, a Wikipedia editor rejected a draft of an article about Strickland, claiming that it failed to “show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject.” The rejected draft noted that she was at that time the associate chair of the physics department at Waterloo, and a past president of the Optical Society.
A revised draft including her Nobel win went live about 90 minutes after the prize was announced. Only 17% of the current biographical entries on Wikipedia are about women, and the site is particularly thin on women in science. ||||| This undated photo made available by Trinity College shows Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England. Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology, George Smith... (Associated Press)
This undated photo made available by Trinity College shows Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England. Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology, George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England... (Associated Press)
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Latest on the awarding of the Nobel Prizes (all times local):
6:45 p.m.
Nobel chemistry winner Frances Arnold says she expects to see an increasing number of female Nobel chemistry laureates in the coming years.
"There are a lot of beautiful, elegant women in chemistry, and I predict we will see many more Nobel chemistry prizes for women," said Arnold, 62, who is only the fifth woman ever to win the Nobel chemistry prize.
Arnold learned she'd won when was "unceremoniously woken up" at 4 a.m. Wednesday in her hotel room in Dallas. "I was certain it was one of my kids or some emergency, but it wasn't. First I was stunned, like somebody hit me over the head with something, and then I started to wake up."
"I managed to pull a couple of neurons together, and now I'm processing it," she told The Associated Press.
Arnold had planned to deliver a lecture Wednesday at the University of Texas Southwestern, but says she will now return to Pasadena, California, "to celebrate with my students" at the California Institute of Technology.
___
5:55 p.m.
Cambridge University scientist Greg Winter says he was staring at his computer wondering how he would ever finish multiple projects when the phone rang.
He was "a bit rocky" early Wednesday after a feast the night before at Trinity College and was having coffee and aspirin when a caller from Sweden told him to expect a "very important announcement." Winter says the line went dead and he thought it was the bank "ringing up and telling me I had some dodgy transaction."
In fact, he shared the 2018 Nobel Prize for chemistry for his work on the directed evolution of antibodies along with Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology and George Smith of the University of Missouri.
There will be another party shortly in Cambridge. Lab colleagues told Winter that 2,793 pounds ($3,636) worth of Champagne have been ordered before asking "can we have your credit card please?"
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4:55 p.m.
Dr. Wayne Marasco of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said the lab technique developed by the new Nobel laureates George Smith and Gregory Winter was "revolutionary ... and it's used today, every day."
Marasco said he uses it daily in his own research on developing therapies that use antibodies, which are disease-fighting proteins in the blood.
The two prizewinners harnessed viruses called phages that infect bacteria.
Smith, of the University of Missouri in Columbia, showed that inserting DNA into these viruses would make them display proteins linked to that DNA on their surfaces. Winter, of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, adapted the approach to create antibodies that target disease-related targets. In a process mimicking evolution, Winter introduced mutations to make antibodies progressively better at binding to their targets.
Marasco said the technique lets scientists screen millions or even billions of antibodies for their ability to grab onto a target like a protein on the surface of a cancer cell. It makes such screening far faster and more efficient.
Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday along with Smith and Winter.
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4:15 p.m.
Greg Winter, a British scientist who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize for chemistry, says an encounter with a cancer patient made him realize the importance of his work.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, the 67-year-old Winter recalled a moment early in his career when he visited a woman who was receiving his then-experimental antibody treatment. Even though Winter didn't know whether the treatment would work, the patient was grateful for whatever more time it would allow her to spend with her husband, who was also sick.
Winter, who shared the prize with two other scientists for his work on the directed evolution of antibodies, says he realized afterward there was a "moral imperative" to ensure "what was produced could be used for public benefit."
The patient responded to the therapy but died when there wasn't enough to continue her treatment.
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3:15 p.m.
Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology is only the fifth woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry since the prizes were first handed out in 1901.
The first winner was Marie Curie, who was honored in 1911 for the discovery of radium and polonium. Twenty-four years later, Curie's daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie, was recognized, alongside her husband Frederic Joliot, for the synthesis of radioactive elements.
British scientist Dorothy Hodgkin was the next winner, in 1964.
After a 45-year gap, Israel's Ada Yonath was one of three winners in 2009.
On Tuesday, Canadian Donna Strickland became the third female physics laureate and the first in 55 years.
There have been several female winners in the areas of medicine, literature and peace, but only one woman —the American Elinor Ostrom in 2009— has been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics.
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2:45 p.m.
One chemical expert says the research of new Nobel laureate Frances Arnold "has really enabled lots of different chemists to think about how we can make proteins and design proteins to do some fascinating chemistry."
Matt Hartings, an associate professor of chemistry at American University in Washington, D.C., says "her work is incredible."
Arnold of the California Institute of Technology was awarded half of the 9-million-kronor ($1.01 million) prize Wednesday, while the other half will be shared by George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England.
Hartings says the proteins that Arnold designed "do these really off-the-wall chemical things in record time." He says her directed evolution approach has greatly helped chemists make enzymes do jobs that nature never intended, such as for industrial purposes.
Hartings said her recent development of an enzyme that can promote chemical reactions involving silicon was a startling accomplishment, "completely bonkers."
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1:10 p.m.
Scientists have been applauding the winners of the Nobel chemistry prize, saying that it highlights the practical role chemistry plays in our daily lives.
Carol Robinson, president of Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry, says the prize shows how chemistry contributes "to many areas of our lives including pharmaceuticals, detergents, green catalysis and biofuels."
Robinson said Wednesday that directed evolution of enzymes and antibody technology "are now transforming medicine."
Douglas Kell, a professor of bioanalytical science at the University of Manchester, says the prize is "fantastic news. Really well deserved. Nobels commonly go to folk who develop methods that revolutionize practice or understanding. These methods are entirely general and have done both."
___
12:30 p.m.
Nobel chemistry laureate George Smith, reached at his home in Columbia, Missouri, was quick to credit the work of others in his prize.
"Pretty much every Nobel laureate understands that what he's getting the prize for is built on many precedents, a great number of ideas and research that he is exploiting because he is at the right place at the right time," he told The Associated Press.
"Very few research breakthroughs are novel. Virtually all of them build on what went on before. It's happenstance. That was certainly the case with my work. Mine was an idea in a line of research that built very naturally on the lines of research that went before."
Smith said he learned of the prize in a pre-dawn phone call from Stockholm. "It's a standard joke that someone with a Swedish accent calls and says you won! But there was so much static on the line, I knew it wasn't any of my friends," he said.
He said he has "no idea" what he'll do with the prize money. "We're going to give it away, I think. But we'll think hard how we'll do it. It's not just the money, it has a meaning well beyond the money."
Smith, 77, was a professor for 40 years at the University of Missouri at the Division of Biological Sciences.
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12:20 p.m.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says the three researchers who were awarded this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry "harnessed the power of evolution" to develop enzymes and antibodies that have led to new pharmaceuticals and biofuels.
Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology was awarded half the prize for conducting the first directed evolution of enzymes, leading to more environmentally friendly manufacturing of chemicals, including drugs, and in the production of renewable fuels.
George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, share the other half of the prize. Smith developed a new way to evolve proteins and Winter used the method for evolving antibodies with the aim of producing new drugs.
The first drug based on this work is used against rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease, the academy said.
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11:45 a.m.
The Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to two researchers in the United States and one in Britain.
Half of the 9-million-kronor ($1.01 million) prize was designated for Frances Arnold of Caltech in Pasadena for work that has led to the development of new biofuels and pharmaceuticals.
The other half of the prize will be shared by George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC Laboratory in Cambridge. They were honored for "phage display of peptides and antibodies."
___
6 a.m.
The Nobel Prize in chemistry, which honors researchers for advances in studying how molecules combine and interact, is being announced Wednesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
The 9-million-kronor ($1.01 million) chemistry prize is the last of this year's scientific Nobel Prizes.
Last year's prize went to researchers in the United States, Switzerland and Britain who developed a microscope technique that lets scientists see details of the molecules that drive life.
The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced Friday. No literature prize will be awarded this year. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, honoring the man who endowed the five Nobel Prizes, will be revealed Monday.
The medicine prize was awarded Monday to American and Japanese researchers. Scientists from the United States, Canada and France shared the physics prize Tuesday.
___
Follow the AP's coverage as the 2018 Nobel Prizes are awarded at https://apnews.com/tag/NobelPrizes ||||| On Tuesday at 6:14 am, Wikipedia contributors created the very first entry for Donna Strickland, the University of Waterloo laser physicist who, just minutes earlier, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. With that announcement, she became just the third woman in history to have won the physics award. It honors work that appeared in her very first published scientific paper, from 1985 — the academic version of a hole-in-one.
Strickland and Gérard Mourou were awarded half the $1 million prize for their discovery of a novel way to amplify the power of laser beams in short bursts. This technology, for instance, is used in laser eye surgery. It’s a major contribution to science that helped move laser technology from its infancy to its myriad applications (cutting, drilling, manufacturing, data storage, surgical work, you name it) today. Mourou and Strickland were co-authors on the work. Though Mourou was Strickland’s PhD advisor at the time, they are co-credited with the discovery.
Mourou has had a Wikipedia page since at least 2005. But there was no entry on Strickland’s accomplishments until today.
A Twitter user pointed out to me that articles on Strickland had been drafted on the online encyclopedia before in May 2018 — but the draft was rejected by moderators. “This submission’s references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article,” the moderators wrote, despite the fact that the original author linked to a page that showed Strickland was once president of the Optical Society, a major physics professional organization and publisher of some of the field’s top journals.
You may think: what’s the big deal?
Why does it matter that an obscure laser physicist didn’t have a Wikipedia entry until she won science’s greatest prize?
It matters because women’s visibility in science matters. It matters because far too many women aren’t encouraged to, or don’t feel welcome to, pursue careers in science.
One thing that would help is a better understanding that women have made important, inspiring contributions to science. “When you think about what a scientist means, you probably think of an Einstein figure — a man in a lab or at a chalkboard with fuzzy, unkempt hair,” my colleague Julia Belluz has written. “When you think of a scientist’s voice, you might conjure Neil deGrasse Tyson or Carl Sagan. With these voices and images so pervasive in our culture, it’s easier to associate �?scientist’ with �?man’ — and in particular, �?white man.’”
Women scientists like Vera Rubin, Nettie Stevens, Henrietta Leavitt, Rosalind Franklin, and so many others ought to be just as famous.
And Wikipedia, for all its faults, is the most prominent place where current human history is being told, searched for, and shared. That’s why the new Strickland Wikipedia entry is still important — if belated. A Nobel Prize winner ought to be visible to the young girls and aspiring scientists who may be Googling her name today.
Women still face a lot of discrimination in science
Historically, science and engineering has been a white men’s club. And it shows in the workforce to this day.
In January, the Pew Research Center published a report that found 50 percent of women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) have experienced gender discrimination on the job, and 36 percent say sexual harassment is a problem in their workplace.
Women represent only 30 percent of the STEM workforce, and see a significant pay gap compared with men’s salaries. Women are often underrepresented at the top levels of academic hierarchies. And problems with discrimination appear to be worse when women work in male-dominated offices, according to Pew.
There are so many ways women scientists — and minority scientists — have been erased from history or not written into it. It’s often hard to find photographs of historic female scientists (particularly nonwhite female scientists), and many more Wikipedia pages of women scientists still need to be written.
“It’s pretty easy to find inspiring stories and role models who look like you, whose lives mirror parts of your own, if you’re a white man,” Hilda Bastian, a scientist who has worked to raise the visibility of women scientists online, told Belluz. “But it’s hard to find people you identify with if you’re not.”
Of course, there’s also a long history of men taking credit for women’s accomplishments. And the Nobel Committee has skipped plenty of opportunities to award important discoveries made by women scientists.
Sexism lingers in science. Just this week, a CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) scientist made headlines when he declared that “physics was invented and built by men, it’s not by invitation” at a scientific conference.
Strickland expressed surprise this morning when a journalist reminded her that she is just the third woman to win the Nobel Prize in physics. “Is that all, really?” she said.
More women need to be recognized for their contributions to science, both by the Nobel Committee and in the pages of Wikipedia. |||||
What is a summary?
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– The Canadian scientist who became the first female Nobel Laureate for Physics since 1963 didn't have a Wikipedia page until after winning the prize Tuesday. Per Quartz, University of Waterloo professor Donna Strickland's groundbreaking work in the field of laser technology, which won her the prize, wasn't deemed significant enough to merit her own page. That all changed with the announcement of her win, 90 minutes after which her new page emerged as one among the just 17% of biographical Wikipedia entries that are about women. Meanwhile, Vox notes that one of Strickland's co-winners, French scientist Gérard Mourou, has had an entry since as far back as 2005. Further fueling speculation that Strickland's gender had a little or a lot to do with her lack of prior recognition, Fortune notes another point of contention that grabbed the attention of the social media commentariat: her academic title. Though the work she co-authored with Mourou helped revolutionize laser technology, Strickland currently holds the relatively lowly title of associate professor. Unwilling to enter the fray, however, was Strickland herself. She told the BBC she's always been treated as an equal to her male counterparts and that she has just never applied to become a full professor. (One of this year's winners of the prize in chemistry told the AP he's confident more women will receive the honor in his field in years to come.)
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Here is a news article: WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is eager to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin with full diplomatic bells and whistles when the two are in Germany for a multinational summit next month. But the idea is exposing deep divisions within the administration on the best way to approach Moscow in the midst of an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. elections.
Many administration officials believe the U.S. needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time - and interact only with great caution.
But Trump and some others within his administration have been pressing for a full bilateral meeting. He's calling for media access and all the typical protocol associated with such sessions, even as officials within the State Department and National Security Council urge more restraint, according to a current and a former administration official.
Some advisers have recommended that the president instead do either a quick, informal "pull-aside" on the sidelines of the summit, or that the U.S. and Russian delegations hold "strategic stability talks," which typically don't involve the presidents. The officials spoke anonymously to discuss private policy discussions.
The contrasting views underscore differing views within the administration on overall Russia policy, and Trump's eagerness to develop a working relationship with Russia despite the ongoing investigations.
Asked about the AP report that Trump is eager for a full bilateral meeting, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Monday that "the protocol side of it is secondary." The two leaders will be attending the same event in the same place at the same time, Peskov said, so "in any case there will be a chance to meet." Peskov added, however, that no progress in hammering out the details of the meeting has been made yet.
There are potential benefits to a meeting with Putin. A face-to-face meeting can humanize the two sides and often removes some of the intrigue involved in impersonal, telephone communication. Trump - the ultimate dealmaker - has repeatedly suggested that he can replace the Obama-era damage in the U.S.-Russia relationship with a partnership, particularly on issues like the ongoing Syria conflict.
There are big risks, though. Trump is known to veer off-script, creating the possibility for a high-stakes diplomatic blunder. In a brief Oval Office meeting with top Russian diplomats last month, Trump revealed highly classified information about an Islamic State group threat to airlines that was relayed to him by Israel, according to a senior administration official. The White House defended the disclosures as "wholly appropriate."
In addition, many observers warn that Putin is not to be trusted.
Oleg Kalugin, a former general with Russia's main security agency, known as the KGB, said Putin, a shrewd and experienced politician, has "other priorities" than discussing the accusations that Russia hacked the U.S. election with Trump, such as easing sanctions, raising oil prices, as well as next year's presidential elections in Russia.
"Putin knows how to redirect a conversation in his favor," Kalugin said.
Nina Khrushcheva, a Russian affairs professor at the New School, said Trump is in an "impossible position."
"He can't be too nice to Putin because it's going to be interpreted in a way that suggests he has a special relationship with Russia," she said. "He can't be too mean because Putin has long arms and KGB thinking. So Trump needs to have a good relationship with him but he also needs to fulfill his campaign promises of establishing better relations with Russia."
The White House said no final decision has been made about whether a meeting will take place. It did not respond to questions about the opposing views within the administration.
Bilateral meetings are common during summits like the G20, where many world leaders and their advisers are gathered in one place. The meetings are typically highly choreographed affairs, with everything from the way the two leaders shake hands to the looks that they exchange and the actual words spoken offering glimpses into the state of affairs.
The last U.S.-Russia bilateral meeting was a 2015 encounter between Putin and President Barack Obama that began with an awkward handshake and ended with progress on the brutal civil war in Syria.
That 2015 meeting, the first in two years, involved a 90-minute sit-down at U.N. headquarters. Putin and U.S. officials later said the two leaders had made progress on issues related to Syria, which had strained their already tense relationship. For the Obama administration, cautious engagement was the name of the game, with the U.S. working tirelessly to find middle ground with Moscow on Syria, Ukraine and other issues.
The disconnect between Trump and his advisers in the State Department and National Security Council over Russia runs deeper than the debate over a G20 bilateral.
A former administration official who spoke anonymously to discuss classified information said that frustration is growing among foreign policy advisers over the failure of the White House to embrace a more cautious and critical approach to Russia. All 17 U.S. intelligence agencies have agreed Russia was behind last year's hack of Democratic email systems and tried to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump.
Trump has to directly "say to Putin, 'We're not happy about you interfering in our election,'" said Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. "If you don't say that, you are going to get hammered by the press and Congress and you can guarantee Congress will pass sanctions legislation against Russia."
"They also need to keep their expectations very, very modest," added Pifer. "If they aim for a homerun in Hamburg, my guess is they'll strike out." ||||| (WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump's first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week will be brimming with global intrigue, but the White House says there's "no specific agenda." So in the absence of a set list of topics, what are two of the world's most famously unpredictable leaders to discuss?
Trump, who prefers to have neatly packaged achievements to pair with high-profile meetings, may be looking for some concessions from Russia to show he's delivering progress and helping restore a productive relationship between the two powers. Putin would almost surely want something in return, and there's a long list of "irritants" between the two countries that they could potentially resolve.
Ahead of the meeting, White House National Security Council and State Department officials have been reviewing possible gestures the U.S. could offer Russia as part of the meeting, a current and a former administration official said. They weren't authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.
Yet any outward sign of bonhomie between Trump and Putin would be immediately seized upon by the president's critics and Russia hawks eager to show he's cozying up to the Russian leader. The ongoing investigations into Russia's interference in the U.S. election and potential Trump campaign collusion won't be far from anyone's minds.
The two leaders will sit down in Hamburg, Germany, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit. Ahead of the meeting, Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak met Monday in Washington with the No. 3 U.S. diplomat, Thomas Shannon, to prepare.
A look at what Trump and Putin could address:
ELECTION HACKING
Trump has been reluctant to publicly and directly acknowledge Russia's role in meddling in the U.S. election, out of apparent concern it undermines the legitimacy of his win. He's also insisted there was no collusion with him or his campaign, a conclusion that U.S. investigators have not yet reached.
U.S. officials says Russia tried to hack election systems in 21 states and to sway the election for Trump, a level of interference in the U.S. political system that security experts say represents a top-level threat that should command a forceful response from the U.S. Putin has denied all this.
There are no indications Trump plans to raise Russia's meddling at the meeting. Yet if he doesn't, it will give fuel to Trump's critics who say he's blatantly ignoring a major national security threat. It could also embolden those who say Trump is trying to cover for the Russians after benefiting from their interference.
IRRITANTS
Each side has a long list of complaints about the other that do not rise to the geopolitical level but are nonetheless impeding broader attempts to coordinate or cooperate on larger concerns. After meeting in Moscow earlier this year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to set up a mechanism to deal with these issues the Russians describe as "irritants" and the Americans call "the smalls."
But even that effort has stalled. After the Treasury last month imposed new sanctions on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine, Moscow called off a scheduled second meeting between Thomas Shannon, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, and Sergey Ryabkov, a Russian deputy foreign minister. Shannon and Ryabkov's canceled the June 23 meeting in St. Petersburg has yet to be rescheduled.
It was not clear if either Trump or Putin would seek to reopen the channel when they see each other in Hamburg, although Tillerson and other State Department officials have taken pains to stress that they remain open to a resumption of the talks.
RUSSIA'S WISH LIST
Russia has been especially vocal about its chief demand: the return of two properties it owns in the U.S. that were seized by the Obama administration as punishment for Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The recreational compounds are located in Oyster Bay, New York, on Long Island, and along the Corsica River in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland
On Monday, Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Russia had been remarkably restrained by declining to retaliate but that its patience was running out. If the U.S. doesn't soon give back the compounds, also known as dachas, Moscow will have no choice but to retaliate, Ushakov said.
Another Russian demand is to ease surveillance of its diplomats in the U.S.
U.S. DEMANDS
The U.S. has its own list, topped by a resumption of adoptions of Russian children by American parents which Russia banned in late 2012, an end to what it says is intensifying harassment of U.S. diplomats and other officials in Russia and a resolution to a dispute over a piece of land in St. Petersburg that was meant to be the site of a new U.S. consulate in Russia's second-largest city. The U.S. also wants expanded cultural and exchange programs between the two countries. Such programs were vastly curtailed or ended after Putin's 2012 return to the Kremlin in an election he accused Washington of interfering in.
Tillerson has made the adoption issue a priority, according to aides, although it remains unclear if he has succeeded in convincing the Russians to even consider revisiting the ban. The property dispute in St. Petersburg dates to 2014 when Russia blocked the U.S. from developing the site after the Obama administration hit Russia with sanctions because of it annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Officials say the U.S. won't simply swap the Russian compounds for the St. Petersburg consulate. Action on the other demands is also required, they say.
UKRAINE SANCTIONS
Moscow has long sought an easing of economic sanctions the U.S. slapped on Russia over its actions in eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, which the U.S. does not recognize. Though there were indications that Trump's aides entertained easing the sanctions in the run-up to the inauguration and early days of his presidency, his administration has repeatedly insisted that they will stay in place until Russia pulls out of Crimea and lives up to its commitments under a cease-fire deal for eastern Ukraine that has never been fully implemented.
Given that Russia has taken neither of those steps, easing sanctions would require a major reversal by Trump and would infuriate Russia hawks in both parties in the U.S. In fact, Congress has been pushing to increase sanctions on Russia and make them harder for Trump to lift. The Senate has passed the popular measure, which won't go to a House vote before Trump's meeting with Putin.
SYRIA
Eager to bolster his global legitimacy, Putin has been pressing the U.S. to cooperate militarily with Russia in Syria, where both Moscow and Washington oppose the Islamic State group but disagree about Syrian President Bashar Assad. Though defense laws passed in the wake of the Ukraine crisis bar the U.S. military from cooperating with Russia, the two have maintained a "deconfliction" hotline to ensure their forces don't accidentally collide on the crowded Syrian battlefield.
The Pentagon has steadfastly resisted proposals to work closely with Russia in Syria, out of concern the U.S. can't trust Moscow with sensitive intelligence information. But the problems posed by the lack of coordination in Syria have resurfaced following recent events. The U.S. has recently shot down several pro-Syrian government aircraft, leading Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, to threaten to shoot down any aircraft that flies west of the Euphrates River. ||||| Thousands of Protesters Prepare to Jeer Trump, Putin, and Erdogan at G-20 Summit
Get ready to see a stable of life-sized political leader bobble heads in the next few days: Thousands will take to the streets of Hamburg, Germany this Friday and Saturday to protest the G-20 summit and some of its main actors — Presidents Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
All three leaders are leery of big public protests. Putin faced plenty in Moscow before the latest presidential election — and still blames them on the United States. Erdogan’s security guards beat up protesters the last time he was in Washington; and Trump administration officials fawned over the lack of protests on his first trip abroad to Saudi Arabia. (Concerns about protests in the U.K. were reportedly one reason that his visit to the country never occurred.)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel chose her hometown of Hamburg for the summit, a city built on trade but which is also home to anti-establishment left-wing activists and has a history of counter cultural movements. Reuters reported that she chose the location to show that protests are tolerated in a democracy.
And there promises to be plenty. The 2017 G-20 summit has attracted around 170 organizations and at least 77 international NGO’s, think tanks, trade unions, and left-wing political parties, including the socialist Left party and the Green party, trade unions Verdi and IG Metall, the German Communist Party (DKP) and International Socialist Organization (ISO) as well as the Autonomous Revolutionary Nordic Alliance (ARNA), the Swedish Dockworkers’ Union (SDU), the German branch of the Oxfam, Greenpeace, and the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen’s Action (Attac).
The protesters don’t have anything close to a monolithic agenda. Some demonstrations are against closing Europe’s borders to refugees and “racism and open hatred.” Others will rail against climate change, especially after Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord. Others are going to take aim, as at previous summits, at capitalism and unfair world trade. Others will just pound sand against the entire international cabal that the G-20 summit embodies.
The raucous demonstrations at these kinds of summits have become somewhat of a tradition. The London G-20 summit in April 2009 attracted at least 4,000 demonstrators and led to the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor. A few months later the Philadelphia summit attracted several thousand peaceful protesters following violent demonstrations that led to 66 arrests. In 2010 in Toronto, a peaceful protest turned violent after police reportedly intimidated protesters by boxing them into small areas and one faction of protesters ran through the streets lighting cars on fire and looting stores. This led to the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.
These events have caused some cities to take preemptive action. In 2015, Brisbane avoided 120,000 protesters by enacting “draconian protest laws,” while China declared a week-long holiday and encouraged citizens to leave the city during the week of the 2016 Hangzhou summit.
But this week in Hamburg, Trump, Putin, and Erdogan will have no such luck.
Photo credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images ||||| President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet Friday, July 7th, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg.
Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov announced the meeting on Tuesday to Russian media and would not expand on any details of the leaders' discussion.
A White House official confirmed to CBS News that the date was correct.
The Trump White House has been debating their approach to the eventual meeting between the leaders as Mr. Trump expressed he was "eager" to meet with Putin "with full diplomatic bells and whistles," creating division among many administration officials on how to best approach Moscow.
Many administration officials believe the U.S. needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time and interact only with great caution, according to the Associated Press.
But Mr. Trump and some others within his administration have been pressing for a full bilateral meeting. He's calling for media access and all the typical protocol associated with such sessions, even as officials within the State Department and National Security Council urge more restraint, a current and a former administration official told the AP.
While the two have spoken over the phone since Mr. Trump has taken office, this will be the leaders first face-to-face meeting amid continuing speculation over Trump campaign associates' ties to the Russian government, and ongoing probes into Russian meddling into the 2016 election.
Putin has denied his country ever engaged in hacking and scoffed at allegations that hackers could influence the outcome of elections in the U.S.
But the Russian leader admitted the possibility that some individual "patriotic" hackers could have mounted some attacks amid the current cold spell in Russia's relations with the West.
"I can imagine that some do it deliberately, staging a chain of attacks in such a way as to cast Russia as the origin of such an attack," Putin said during a meeting with journalists in St. Petersburg. "Modern technologies allow that to be done quite easily."
Mr. Trump appeared to acknowledge Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, but was quick to place blame on the Obama administration for their lack of action in a series of tweets.
Since the Obama Administration was told way before the 2016 Election that the Russians were meddling, why no action? Focus on them, not T! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2017 ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin heads a meeting of the Security Council in Moscow's Kremlin, Russia on Monday July 3, 2017. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (Associated Press)
Russian President Vladimir Putin heads a meeting of the Security Council in Moscow's Kremlin, Russia on Monday July 3, 2017. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (Associated Press)
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin says its patience with a U.S. plan to return the Russian Embassy's compounds is running out.
President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Monday that Russia has demonstrated a remarkable restraint by refraining from a tit-for-tat response to President Barack Obama's decision in December to expel 35 Russian diplomats and shutter Russian compounds in Maryland and on Long Island, New York.
Ushakov says while Russia has shown "unusual flexibility," Moscow's patience "has its limits." He urged Washington to take action to "free Russia from the need to take retaliatory moves," emphasizing that Moscow will feel obliged to respond if the matter isn't settled.
Putin and Trump are to have their first meeting at the sidelines of the G-20 summit, being held in Germany on Friday and Saturday. ||||| (CNN) President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will sit down for an official bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg on Friday rather than an informal pull-aside meeting.
The meeting, confirmed by both the White House and the Kremlin on Tuesday, will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders and the first official bilateral meeting between a US and Russian president in nearly two years.
The meeting comes amid ongoing tensions between the two countries stemming from Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, its annexation of Ukrainian territory and its support of the Syrian regime.
"It is planned as a fully-fledged, 'seated' meeting," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton also confirmed that the two leaders will sit down together Friday for a bilateral meeting.
The format remained an open question through this weekend. Homeland security adviser Thomas Bossert said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that the parameters of the meeting had not yet "been set."
The bilateral meeting format -- one that typically includes a handshake and brief public remarks exchanged between the two leaders -- will make the first meeting between the two leaders a more public-facing encounter, sending signals to the world that the US and Russia are eager to get on better diplomatic footing.
An informal pull-aside -- the setting in which President Barack Obama and Putin met at the G20 last September -- would have sent signals to Russia that it must do more to change its behavior to engage on a higher level diplomatically with the US and marked a continuation of the icy relations between the US and Russia under the Obama administration, particularly in its final years.
Anton, the NSC spokesman, told CNN there is still no agenda for the bilateral meeting, echoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster's comments to reporters during a briefing Friday.
"There's no specific agenda. It's really going to be whatever the President wants to talk about," McMaster said then.
Administration officials told CNN that Trump plans to focus heavily on the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. And there is little expectation among Trump's national security team that Trump will confront Russia over its attempts to influence the 2016 election, as many Republican and Democratic lawmakers have hoped Trump would do.
Trump and Putin have spoken three times by phone since Trump took office, but the public-facing in-person meeting between the two leaders will be intensely scrutinized -- from the language they use in their meeting to the body language they project in front of the cameras -- by US and foreign officials eager to gauge the future of US-Russia relations.
The Trump-Putin relationship has been mired in controversy since the days of the 2016 presidential campaign and has been further complicated since Trump took office by the federal investigation into Russia's election actions and contacts between Trump campaign associates and Moscow.
During the campaign, Trump argued for improving US-Russia relations and frequently praised Putin after the Russian leader spoke favorably of Trump.
But US-Russia relations have yet to see a turnaround since Trump took office in January, with ongoing tensions in the relationship stemming from Russia's support for rebels in Ukraine and the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Still, Trump has not struck nearly as stern a tone as the majority of US lawmakers in addressing Russian actions around the world, and in particular Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Despite the US intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump and hurt his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, Trump has repeatedly downplayed and cast doubt on that assessment, suggesting Russia was not solely to blame for hacking activities in the US.
That perspective has alarmed some US officials, who have warned that Russia is likely to continue its efforts to undermine US democracy in the future if its actions are not met with a stern response from the US.
A past relationship?
The extent of Trump's previous relationship with Putin is unclear. Prior to the 2016 election, he said they had a relationship and had spoken "directly."
"I own Miss Universe. I was in Russia, I was in Moscow recently," Trump said in May 2014 after the Miss Universe pageant had been held in Moscow the previous November. "And I spoke, indirectly and directly, with President Putin, who could not have been nicer, and we had a tremendous success."
In November 2015, Trump said he "got to know [Putin] very well" after the two were both featured in the same "60 Minutes" episode.
"I got to know him very well because we were both on '60 Minutes,' we were stablemates, and we did very well that night. But you know that," Trump said during the GOP debate.
He later clarified on Twitter that the two men were not in the same green room.
.@CarlyFiorina I only said I was on @60Minutes four weeks ago with Putin—never said I was in Green Room. Separate pieces—great ratings! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2015
But at the height of the presidential campaign last July, Trump backed off his claim that he had a relationship with Putin.
"I never met Putin," Trump said in July 2016 during his last news conference before the election. "I don't know who Putin is. He said one nice thing about me. He said I'm a genius. I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin."
He reasserted that point during the October presidential debate against Hillary Clinton. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - During his presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “strong leader” with whom he would like to reset tense U.S.-Russian relations.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., upon his return to Washington after a weekend at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
But as Trump heads to his first face-to-face meeting as president with Putin on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany, he is under pressure at home to take a tough line with the Kremlin.
Allegations of Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. election have alarmed both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who are pushing to extend tough sanctions placed on Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula belonging to Ukraine.
Lawmakers including Republican Senator Cory Gardner are also concerned Russia has prolonged the civil war in Syria by backing its President Bashar al-Assad, a strongman whose forces have used chemical weapons against insurgents and civilians. The chaos has fueled instability in the region and a flood of migrants to Europe.
“President (Trump) needs to make it clear that the continued aggression by Russia around the globe ... is unacceptable, and that they will be held accountable,” said Gardner, who was among six lawmakers invited by the White House last month to discuss foreign policy with Trump over dinner.
Meanwhile, the appointment of a special counsel who is investigating potential links between the Russian government and members of the Trump campaign has weakened the president’s ability to maneuver with Russia, foreign policy experts say.
The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Russia sponsored hacking of Democratic Party groups last year to benefit Trump over his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton. Russia has denied those allegations while Trump has repeatedly dismissed the idea of any coordination between his campaign and Russia as a “witch hunt.”
Still, just the optics of Trump meeting with Putin, a former KGB agent, are fraught with risk, foreign policy experts say.
“If (Trump) smiles, if he wraps his arm around Putin, if he says, ‘I’m honored to meet you, we’re going to find a way forward,’ ... I think Congress is going to react extremely negatively to that,” said Julie Smith, a former national security aide in the Obama administration.
EVOLVING U.S. POLICY
Trump has signaled an interest in cooperating with Russia to defeat Islamic State in Syria and to reduce nuclear stockpiles.
The White House has been mum on what Trump would be willing to give Russia in exchange for that help. But there has been speculation he could ratchet down sanctions, or even return two Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and Long Island. President Barack Obama seized those facilities and expelled 35 Russian diplomats just before he left office as punishment for the election hacks.
While some administration officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also support engagement, others, such as Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have taken a hawkish line on Russia.
The lack of a unified strategy has left U.S. allies anxious. And it has lowered expectations for American leadership to help resolve crises in Syria and Ukraine, where Russian cooperation would be critical.
“Trump is like a horse with his front legs tied,” said a German diplomat, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. “He can’t make any big leaps forward on Russia. If he tried people would immediately suspect it was all part of some big conspiracy.”
Trump’s administration is still reviewing its Russia policy, a process that may not be wrapped up for a couple of months, a U.S. official said.
Speaking with reporters last week about Trump’s upcoming meeting with Putin, White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said his boss would like “the United States and the entire West to develop a more constructive relationship with Russia. But he’s also made clear that we will do what is necessary to confront Russia’s destabilizing behavior.”
THIRD TRY AT A RESET
Trump is just the latest president to grapple with the complicated U.S.-Russia dynamic.
George W. Bush and Obama sought to improve the U.S. relationship with Russia early in their administrations only to see relations deteriorate later.
Among the concerns for this president is Trump’s apparent lack of interest in policy details and his tendency to wing it with foreign leaders.
McMaster told reporters that Trump has “no specific agenda” for his meeting with Putin and that topics would consist of “whatever the president wants to talk about.”
Michael McFaul, who was U.S. ambassador to Russia under Obama, said he feared Trump might be headed to the meeting without clear objectives.
“I hope that he would think about first: what is our objective in Ukraine? What is our objective in Syria? And secondarily, how do I go about achieving that in my meeting with Putin?” McFaul said.
Other Washington veterans say Trump won’t be able to make meaningful progress with Russia on anything until he confronts Putin about the suspected election meddling.
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on January 17, 2017 and U.S. President Donald Trump seen at a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 20, 2017, as seen in this combination photo. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
“(Trump) really has to raise the Russian election hacking last year, and has to say something like, ‘Vladimir, don’t do this again. There will be consequences,’” said Steve Pifer, a long-time State Department official focused on U.S.-Russia relations.
So far Trump has shown little inclination to do so, a situation that has heightened speculation about the potential impact from his coming encounter with the Russian leader.
“The shadow of all these investigations hangs over this,” said Angela Stent, a professor at Georgetown University and former National Intelligence Officer for Russia. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– In what is sure to be a closely watched event, President Trump will have his first official meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Announced by a Russian official Tuesday, and later confirmed by the White House, the meeting will take place as the leaders attend the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, reports CBS News. Although CBS has noted that Trump would like the encounter to be accompanied by "full diplomatic bells and whistles," not everyone in his administration agrees. What to expect: "It is planned as a fully fledged, 'seated' meeting," as opposed to an informal one, a Kremlin rep says. Typically, such a meeting "includes a handshake and brief public remarks" in front of the press, reports CNN. The White House says no agenda has been set, but it's not expected that any discussion of Russian meddling in the 2016 election will take place. Administration officials tell CNN that Trump will instead focus on Syria and Ukraine. That could be a wrong move that will "give fuel to Trump's critics who say he's blatantly ignoring a major national security threat," reports Time, which also lists possible demands that could come up. Russia, for example, may demand the return of two compounds in Maryland and New York. Speaking on the topic Monday, per the AP, Putin's foreign affairs adviser noted that Moscow, whose patience "has its limits," will be forced to retaliate if the seized properties aren't handed over soon. At the Washington Post, Michael McFaul, who served on the National Security Council under President Obama, says Trump should aim to appear as "a tough negotiator" who "is not willing to offer concessions simply to win Putin's praise." He offers other advice for Trump, too. It's not just the topics of discussion, but the meeting itself, that's an issue for some. CBS reports State Department and National Security Council officials believe Trump should keep Putin at a distance. Reuters notes the "pressure" on Trump, as well as the complexity of the situation. "Trump is like a horse with his front legs tied," a German diplomat says. "He can't make any big leaps forward on Russia. If he tried, people would immediately suspect it was all part of some big conspiracy." Trump may be keen on the meeting, but he'll likely be less keen on the protesters. Foreign Policy reports both Trump and Putin are expected to draw angry crowds in Hamburg.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Arctic glaciers retreated at record levels in 2012, while summer snow melted in the region much more rapidly than it has in the past, according to a new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
The findings, presented here Wednesday (Dec. 5) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, are part of the annual "Arctic Report Card," which was assembled by more than 140 scientists to assess the state of the North Pole.
The report found that Greenland's Arctic sea ice and glaciers were melting at a record rate and that sea-level rise has accelerated in the region. That has caused a population boom in lower-level organisms such as plankton, but has disrupted the life cycles of animals ranging from lemmings to the Arctic fox.
But the impacts of the warming Arctic may reach beyond the northern latitudes, said Jane Lubchenco, the undersecretary of commerce for oceans and the atmosphere for NOAA, during a press conference.
"What happens in the Arctic doesn't always stay in the Arctic. We're seeing Arctic changes in the ocean and the atmosphere that affect weather patterns elsewhere," she said.
Major melt
In 2012, Greenland saw the warmest summer in 170 years, said Jason E. Box, of the Byrd Polar Research Center.
And September sea-ice extent — the area of water with at least 15 percent sea ice — throughout the Arctic is the lowest on record (which dates to 1979), beating the previous record set in just 2007.
Melting of the Greenland ice sheet also beat previous records set in 2010, with almost the entire sheet melting by mid-July, Box said.
"The 40 largest glaciers lost an area about twice that of the previous decade average," he said. "Extensive surface melting was documented for the first time at the highest elevations of the ice sheet." [Images of Melt: Earth's Vanishing Ice]
That's contributing to fast-rising seas and warmer ocean waters, Box added.
In addition, the higher melting has reduced the reflectivity of the ice surface, causing land areas to absorb more heat, which causes more melt in a self-reinforcing cycle, he said.
Summer snowmelt in the Northern Hemisphere also accelerated further decreasing the reflectivity of the land — as snow reflects more sunlight back to space than exposed land — and causing the land to trap more heat in a positive feedback cycle.
Life changes
All this warming has caused a change in the organisms that live in the North, said Martin Jeffries, a geophysicist at the University of Alaska and an editor of the report card.
"Unexpectedly large phytoplankton blooms have been observed this summertime," Jeffries said. Prior estimates of how much plankton was blooming may have been 10 times too low, he added.
In areas near melting sea ice, the tundra's permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, is also greening, with a longer summer season and warmer summers, he said. Permafrost temperatures 66 feet (20 meters) below the surface were the highest on record at eight of 10 observatories in Alaska, and matched the 2011 records at two sites.
That soil warming is affecting some of the iconic species of the Arctic, such as the lemmings or small rodents, whose life cycles are getting more chaotic and unpredictable, Jeffries said. Warming weather has also increased pressure on the Arctic fox, which relies on the lemming as its main food source.
"The larger red fox has been expanding its range northward, leading to predation on and competition with the Arctic fox for food and resources," he said.
These changes could impact areas other than the Arctic, Lubchenco said.
"We know that melting ice in Greenland can contribute to sea-level rise around the world, and many of the biological changes we are seeing around the world affect systems elsewhere, for instance migratory birds."
For instance, rising sea levels may have contributed to record surge heights along the U.S. coastline during Hurricane Sandy, Lubchenco told LiveScience.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+. ||||| What's new in 2015?
Maximum sea ice extent on 25 February was 15 days earlier than average and the lowest value on record (1979-present). Minimum ice extent in September was the 4th lowest on record. Sea ice continues to be younger and thinner: in February and March 2015 there was twice as much first-year ice as there was 30 years ago.
Changes in sea ice alone are having profound effects on the marine ecosystem (fishes, walruses, primary production) and sea surface temperatures. |||||
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– Despite "unremarkable" temperatures across the Arctic over the past year, melting around the region continues to set records, reports LiveScience. Among the findings of the latest Arctic Report Card released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association yesterday (its largest such report since starting them in 2006): Snow coverage in the northern hemisphere hit an all-time low in June. Sea ice reached an all-time low in September. The Greenland ice sheet set a new melting record, with 97% of it registering as melting on a day in July (the country saw its warmest summer in 170 years). "What happens in the Arctic doesn't always stay in the Arctic. We're seeing Arctic changes in the ocean and the atmosphere that affect weather patterns elsewhere," said a NOAA official. You can read the full NOAA report here, or click for more on polar ice sheet woes.
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MADISON, Wisc. — Wisconsin has all the hallmarks of a Bernie Sanders-friendly state: large numbers of college-age voters, a progressive electorate and one of the whiter populations in the country.
But when the state goes to the polls Tuesday, it will feature another element that’s proved just as vital to the Vermont senator’s success – an open primary format where voters don’t need to be Democrats to participate.
Story Continued Below
It’s one of the main reasons why Sanders is thought to have the edge over Hillary Clinton here. While he’s lost the majority of Democratic primaries that have taken place this year, the three primary wins he’s posted -- New Hampshire, Michigan, and Vermont – have all come in states with open contests where non-Democrats can vote. Aside from caucuses – where Sanders tends to crush Clinton – an open primary usually offers Sanders his best shot at victory.
“He wins independents who say they’re going to vote in a Democratic primary, and it doesn’t matter what their ideology is — whether they’re moderate or liberal, he wins them,” explained Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Diehard Democrats who show up regularly in the Democratic primary are going to Hillary Clinton regardless of whether they’re liberal or moderate, so it has a lot to do with how attached voters are to their party identifications."
Sanders will need to take full advantage of Tuesday’s open primary because there aren’t many of them left. There are just 18 states remaining in his nomination contest against Hillary Clinton and just two – Indiana and Montana – are classified as open primaries with no restrictions on who can vote in the Democratic contest.
For the underdog fighting to chip into Clinton’s lead, that means the pressure is on in 86-delegate Wisconsin — and that he has to soon figure out how to win big in states with closed primaries, which carry a hefty portion of the delegates from here on out.
After Wisconsin, Sanders can expect to perform well in the two remaining caucuses in Wyoming and North Dakota. But some of the most delegate-rich states remaining host closed primaries – including New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey – that have worked in Clinton’s favor. California, the biggest delegate prize of all, is semi-closed — meaning it’s open to registered Democrats and those who decline to state a party, but no one else.
The Sanders campaign has worked to educate voters in individual states about the applicable voting laws, including in states like Connecticut where residents can change their party registration until the day before the April 26 primary. But with other states maintaining strict laws that bar registration switches in the weeks leading up to a primary, Clinton is at an advantage given that both campaigns only recently started shifted focus to the April, May, and June states.
“Part of it is [that] some voters will be caught off guard, not realizing that they can’t vote, once we get to some states that are not used to being in the mix in a competitive primary,” predicted Murray.
The Sanders camp, which has long maintained that it intends to compete at least until July’s Democratic convention, insists its poor performance in closed primaries so far will become a thing of the past given the candidate’s winning streak coming out of March — not to mention his soon-to-come investment of time and money for television ads in places like New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, noted the senator’s chief strategist, Tad Devine.
“We’ll see how we do on Tuesday [in Wisconsin]. If we can find a way to win there on Tuesday, it’s a big deal. It’s a battleground state, it’s a statewide primary. In terms of how it looks in the future, a lot of it depends on momentum: we’ve won six of the last seven contests. If we win Wisconsin and then Wyoming, we go onto New York,” said Devine, pivoting to the general election case that Sanders has been making repeatedly on the campaign trail. “Support for him is growing, and I concede we do better with primaries or contests with independents. [But] that’s why we do better in the general election [polling]."
Sanders has already started competing hard in New York, and his campaign is expecting to follow a similar playbook in other Northeastern states, Devine said. His aides often repeat their belief that Sanders does better in states where he can camp out and advertise heavily — and the presence of two nearly empty weeks before New York’s April 19 primary make it easier for him to vigorously campaign there in person and on television. While the state’s expensive media markets make television spending a greater drain on resources, the torrid pace of his small-donor fundraising means he won’t lack for cash.
But New York loses its saliency if Sanders can’t carry Wisconsin, which is essential if Sanders hopes to keep cutting into Clinton’s lead of over 250 pledged delegates. Recognizing he needs a hefty chunk of Wisconsin’s delegates to keep his narrow hopes alive, Sanders has been making a hard press here, headlining eight events in the state between Saturday and Monday alone — many in large college towns like Madison, the linchpin for his chances on Tuesday.
“There is just a plethora of real progressive activism in that town, and that county and that city play an out-sized role in the primary,” explained Dan Kanninen, Wisconsin state director for Barack Obama in 2008, referring to Madison. “With a big university, with same-day registration, you can expand the electorate."
And Sanders — who often predicts victories around the country contingent on high voter turnout — has also been working to turn his White House campaign into a statewide referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a villain in the eyes of many local Democrats.
It’s an obvious bid to rile up the party’s rank-and-file, said Kanninen, but it’s also an easy way to get independents to pay attention.
“Folks that would think of themselves as independent there are probably pretty progressive,” he explained, noting the attractiveness of Sanders-style ‘movement’ politics to the types of voters who unsuccessfully recalled Walker in 2012. "There was a healthy Green Party candidate a few years back, and the college student angle is so big: in most states they’d have to register with a party, with so many hurdles. And they don’t have that in Wisconsin.” ||||| U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned in Wisconsin Monday before the April 5 primary. Credit: Mike De Sisti, Michael Sears, Associated Press, Getty Images
By of the
Wisconsin's presidential primary dash ended Monday night with a pileup of candidates in the Milwaukee area.
Ted Cruz reveled in the warm embrace of the state's Republican establishment at a rally in Waukesha, while the man they all aim to derail, GOP front-runner Donald Trump, raced from La Crosse to Superior to the Milwaukee Theatre in a last-ditch bid to overcome one of the worst stretches of his political career.
Across the street from Trump, at the Wisconsin Center, Democrat Bernie Sanders tried to stoke supporters for a victory over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, campaigning in New York ahead of the delegate-rich state's April 19 primary, sent former President Bill Clinton to speak at Turner Hall Ballroom.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a thorn in the side of Cruz and Trump, was also in New York. But his presence in Wisconsin was still felt, with the Cruz campaign chastising him in a campaign ad and mailers. Trump and Cruz have called for Kasich to leave the race, a suggestion that Kasich immediately rejected.
An array of polls show Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, leading among Republicans, and Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, leading among Democrats. Republicans are battling for 42 delegates, while 86 elected delegates and 10 superdelegates are at stake for Democrats.
At the Waukesha County Exposition Center, Cruz was introduced by Gov. Scott Walker, who told the crowd the Wisconsin primary would "turn the tide for a Cruz presidency."
Cruz drew standing ovations as he sought to distinguish himself from Trump and Clinton. He took aim at Trump, saying he would compromise on the Constitution, and Clinton, suggesting she was headed for a jail cell for her handling of classified material while U.S. secretary of state.
"A victory here tomorrow will resonate across this country," said Cruz, who warned that nominating Trump would be "a disaster."
If Trump secures the nomination, "Hillary wins by double digits. And it will be like tying up a giant present and giving it to the Democrats," Cruz told the crowd.
Earlier in Madison, Cruz said that the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 abortion decision should be overturned, and that states should be able to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
In a town hall meeting moderated by Fox News host Megyn Kelly, Cruz said the high court's decision in Roe vs. Wade should not be considered settled law. "I think it was a classic example of (judicial) activism," Cruz said.
States should be free to prohibit abortion in all cases, including rape and incest, said Cruz, who noted that he had been involved on such issues while serving as solicitor general under the Texas attorney general.
"Rape is a horrific crime against the humanity of a person...but at the same time as horrible as that crime is, I don't think it's the child's fault," Cruz said.
Trump came to the Milwaukee Theatre trying to steady his campaign after a tough time in Wisconsin.
Over eight days, the billionaire businessman from New York ran into a wall of opposition on local talk radio, criticized Walker at a Janesville rally and sparked a storm of criticism for remarks on abortion during an MSNBC town hall event in Green Bay. Polls showed his favorability ratings tanked, especially among women voters.
Trump's wife, Melania, made a rare campaign appearance Monday. She told the audience that filled the theater's lower orchestra section that her husband is a "hard worker, he's kind, he has a great heart, he's tough, he's smart, he's a great communicator, he's a great negotiator, he's telling the truth, he's a great leader, he's fair."
In her biggest applause line, she said: "As you know by now, when you attack him, he will punch back 10 times harder.
"No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal," she added. "He's a fighter and if you elect him to be your president, he will fight for you and for our country."
Trump said the country is being "decimated by stupidity, bad deals, horrible trades." He lit into Cruz for supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. And he again criticized Kasich for staying in the race, despite winning only one primary, in his home state of Ohio.
"I think we close it out before the convention," Trump said of the nomination. Like a prizefighter who goes into unfriendly territory, Trump said "when you knock 'em out, there's no unfriendly decisions. If we get the delegates, we pull (off) the knockout."
Trump, who has campaigned steadily in Wisconsin, indicated he would be in Milwaukee on Tuesday and said, "We are making so much progress, and it is so inspiring to see the people."
At the Wisconsin Center, Sanders implored his supporters to get to the polls to give him a win over Clinton.
"If we win here tomorrow, it will be a major step forward in this campaign," Sanders said at the conclusion of a 57-minute speech at a rally that was his last in the state.
His voice hoarse and worsening as the night wore on, Sanders delivered his message of economic populism.
Supporters chanted "Bernie, Bernie, Bernie" as Sanders decried a "rigged economy" that he said has produced an ever-growing divide between the middle class and the top 1%.
He fired shots at Wall Street and the oil industry, a "corrupt" campaign system and the Republican Party's efforts to change voting laws, which he said amounted to voter suppression.
As he has in other stops, Sanders capitalized on anti-Walker sentiment among Democrats and lambasted the governor for attacking unions and lowering the taxes of corporations.
"And when you have governors like Governor Walker who are working overtime trying to figure out ways to keep people from voting because those people might vote against them, that is cowardice, that is un-American," Sanders said, drawing a large cheer.
Sanders spent little time taking on Clinton or Trump. But instead he addressed the aspirations of African-Americans, Hispanics, the elderly and especially, young people. He called for a $15 an hour minimum wage, free tuition at public universities and reforming marijuana laws.
"Young people are the future of this nation and they want to help change the future of the nation," Sanders said.
At Turner Hall, Bill Clinton asked supporters to carry Hillary Clinton to the White House as the only candidate with a realistic vision for helping all Americans "rise together."
"She'd be the best president. She's always been a change-maker. And she's always been a leader," he said.
"This is not about new vs. old or establishment vs. reform," he added, ticking off a long list of individuals and organizations that have supported the former New York senator and secretary of state. "They're in the change business, and they know she's always been there."
Former Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Clinton supporter, entered the political fray Monday when he criticized Sanders for voting to ban human cloning, saying that the stance could have endangered vital stem cell research here.
Doyle said that in 2003, Sanders had voted for federal legislation similar to a cloning ban that Doyle vetoed in 2005. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Sanders co-sponsored similar legislation in 2005.
"Had Senator Sanders won the day with his refusal to support and invest in stem cell research, Americans would have lost access to a new frontier of medicine that could one day cure Alzheimer's, ALS, and other fatal diseases," Doyle said in a statement from the Clinton campaign.
Sanders' campaign policy director Warren Gunnels said Sanders backed legislation in 2006 to lift federal funding limits on embryonic stem cell research.
Gunnels said: "This outrageous smear on Sen. Sanders' record shows just how nervous the Clinton campaign is becoming. The fact is Bernie strongly supports stem cell research, including research on embryonic stem cells."
Journal Sentinel staffer Patrick Marley reported from Madison and Lee Bergquist and Karen Herzog reported from Milwaukee. ||||| Donald Trump’s path to the 1,237 delegates necessary to clinch the Republican presidential nomination may be about to hit a major speed bump in Wisconsin. Two polls out in the past week, from Basswood Research and Marquette University, show Ted Cruz with a lead of 5 percentage points and 10 percentage points, respectively. If Cruz wins Wisconsin by that much, Trump could get few of the state’s delegates, setting him further off pace and increasing the chances of a contested convention.
Wisconsin has 42 delegates — 18 go to the statewide winner and three go to the winner of each of the state’s eight congressional districts. So if Cruz wins Wisconsin by even one vote, the most Trump can hope to take home is 24 delegates, which is fewer than the 25 delegates our expert panel predicted. Our panel had Trump falling just short of 1,237 even with 25 delegates in Wisconsin, and chances are — if Cruz wins statewide — Trump won’t win most of those remaining 24. You can see why in the regional breakdown of support from the Marquette poll.
REGION CRUZ KASICH TRUMP Milwaukee City and Milwaukee County 53% 22% 15% Rest of Milwaukee media market 43 21 27 Madison media market 19 37 33 Green Bay media market 41 15 32 Northern and western Wisconsin 40 17 41 Overall 40 21 30 Candidate support among GOP primary voters Source: Marquette University Law School Poll
Trump has generally benefited from running against multiple candidates; it has enabled him to win states with a plurality of support. But in Wisconsin, Cruz and John Kasich are drawing the anti-Trump vote on separate fronts.
Cruz holds comfortable leads in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee suburbs and Green Bay. Those roughly align with the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th congressional districts. If Cruz wins all these districts, he’ll take an additional 15 delegates. If the Marquette poll proves accurate, Trump will be competitive only in the Madison television market and the northern and western parts of the state, roughly the 2nd, 3rd and 7th congressional districts.
As the table indicates, Cruz isn’t competitive in the Madison media market, the 2nd congressional district, but Kasich is. Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin, and Kasich has done well in liberal college areas such as around Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan.
If Trump were to lose the 2nd congressional district to Kasich, in addition to the five districts to Cruz, that would leave only the six delegates up for grabs in the 3rd and 7th districts — and the trends there, in the state’s north and west, aren’t good for Trump. Cruz is clearly consolidating the anti-Trump vote there. Trump was ahead of Cruz 38 percent to 8 percent in those areas in the previous Marquette survey, conducted in February; his lead is now just a single percentage point, 41 percent to 40 percent.
Overall, if the Marquette poll is dead accurate, the delegate count from Wisconsin will likely break down something like Cruz 33 to 39, Trump 0 to 6 and Kasich 3. If the rest of the states after Wisconsin went as our expert panel predicted, Trump would end up with, at best, 1,185 delegates after the last primaries on June 7. He could still get to 1,237 on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention by securing 52 additional delegates among the more than 100 currently unbound or uncommitted delegates, but it would be a steeper hill to climb than we originally thought.
But let’s spin this forward even further: If Trump loses Wisconsin, is that merely a bump in the road or a sign of things to come? It’s easy to make too much of one contest. For instance, Wisconsin is unique in that local talk radio has been united against Trump. National talk show hosts, in contrast, are split on Trump.
Another big difference: Republicans in Wisconsin have a lot to be happy about, while Trump has drawn much of his support from voters disaffected with the GOP. Republicans run state government and have enacted conservative legislation (which led to the unsuccessful attempt to recall Gov. Scott Walker). Walker and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is from Wisconsin, both have favorable ratings above 75 percent among the state’s Republicans. Walker, whom Trump has gone after recently, has an 80 percent job approval rating among likely Republican primary voters.
So maybe Wisconsin just isn’t a good state for Trump (meaning that if Trump were to prevail, it would be a very good omen for his campaign).
But Trump’s problems in Wisconsin might be a sign of more serious issues for his campaign. It’s the first primary in which the vast majority of the votes will have been cast after Marco Rubio’s departure from the race, and Trump has picked up 0 percentage points since the February Marquette poll. Cruz picked up 21 percentage points, and Kasich rose by 13 percentage points. While earning 30 percent to 40 percent of the vote was enough for Trump to win a number of states in a candidate field of more than three, the coalescing of anti-Trump support for Cruz and Kasich means it may not be enough in other states down the line. Even the low-40s performances that won Trump the Missouri and North Carolina primaries likely wouldn’t be enough if those elections were held again today, without Rubio competing.
The other troubling result for Trump is that Kasich really does seem to have an appeal with a certain type of self-described moderate Republican that Cruz doesn’t. Kasich holds a statistically insignificant 35 percent to 34 percent to 23 percent lead over Trump and Cruz with moderates in the Marquette poll. He has a slightly larger 37 percent to 31 percent edge over Trump with that group in the Basswood Research survey. That’s why Kasich is winning in the Madison media market.
This type of well-educated moderate voter can be found by the barrel in the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England states that vote in late April. Cruz will likely be uncompetitive in many congressional districts in states like Connecticut and New York, but the results coming out of Wisconsin suggest that Kasich may do well there. That wouldn’t help Cruz get any closer to 1,237, but it could keep Trump further away.
Listen to the latest episode of the FiveThirtyEight politics podcast. ||||| Wisconsin voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide whether Donald Trump’s latest self-inflicted wounds are deep enough to deny him a win in the state’s Republican primary, and, in turn, to diminish his hopes of winning the presidential nomination.
In the unusual position of underdog, the billionaire faces the referendum after the roughest two-week stretch of his campaign. He saw fallout for mocking his chief rival’s wife, calling for punishment of women who have illegal abortions, and standing by a campaign manager charged with misdemeanor battery.
Senator Ted Cruz talks with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in Milwaukee on April 4, 2016. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has led in Wisconsin polling, has been assisted by a growing Republican establishment effort to block Trump from winning the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination.
If Trump is only able to win a few of Wisconsin’s 42 delegates, it could seriously damage his prospects for surpassing the threshold to win the nomination outright, while also diminishing his pitch as the party’s consensus candidate.
The groups that aligned to stop Trump targeted Wisconsin as a proving ground because it’s the only GOP primary on the calendar before his home state, New York, votes on April 19. Tripping him up now could change the direction of a series of contests in the Northeast, including Pennsylvania and New York, where Trump is favored.
Whether the anti-Trump effort, which included attacks from outside groups and local conservative radio hosts, has found a formula for success remains to be seen.
Arguably the nation’s most politically polarized state, Wisconsin has been a unique hotbed of Republican activism since the 2010 election of Governor Scott Walker and the local and statewide recall elections that followed, divisive events that acted to help organize and unify Republicans.
“The establishment has been lined up against Donald Trump for months, and he’s repeatedly beat them,” said Rick Wiley, a former executive director of the state’s Republican Party who managed Walker’s failed presidential bid. “But the establishment in Wisconsin is different. They’ve fought battles together since 2010 and banded together to get behind Ted Cruz.”
Demographic Opportunity
On the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is hoping strong turnout among college students and union workers might propel him to a win that would change the narrative that it’s only a matter of time before Hillary Clinton secures the nomination.
At his final rally before Tuesday’s vote, Sanders told an enthusiastic crowd of about 2,400 in Milwaukee that he’ll win if there is record-breaking turnout. He’s called Clinton “nervous” and “already under a lot of pressure” to win.
Among likely Democratic primary voters, Sanders held a 49 percent to 45 percent edge over Clinton, with 6 percent undecided, according to a Marquette Law School poll released last week.
Senator Bernie Sanders speaks in Milwaukee on April 4, 2016. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
A Sanders loss in Wisconsin, a state with a deep populist tradition where Clinton was badly beaten in the 2008 primary, would be a major blow to his underdog bid. A win, like his surprise victory in Michigan on March 8, would give him much-needed momentum heading into New York’s primary.
After the polls close at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, the results will say much about how long the nomination fights for both parties may drag on. For Republicans, the outcome will also offer insight into the chances of a rare contested national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in July.
The state’s electorate—heavily white and blue-collar—seems somewhat favorable for Trump, who said the race would be “over” if he did well there. But he acknowledged having a difficult week and boosted his schedule in the state during the closing days.
“I think we're going to have a great day,” Trump said Tuesday on MSNBC during a stop in suburban Milwaukee, brushing off the previous week’s struggles. “I’ve had worse weeks on the campaign.”
Trump’s campaign says its manager, Corey Lewandowski, is innocent of the battery charge, which stemmed from an incident with a female reporter at a press conference. Asked by a Wisconsin woman on Fox News on Tuesday how he would “change and get the support of more women,” Trump said his policies on issues including border security attract female voters who want “protection.”
He’s now proposing funding a border wall by blocking remittances until the Mexican government pays—an idea President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters Tuesday, called “half-baked.”
“The notion that we’re going to track every Western Union bit of money that’s being sent to Mexico, good luck with that,” Obama said.
Trump’s also called Ohio Governor John Kasich a spoiler in the race. “He ought to get the hell out,” Trump said Monday. “He hurts me much more than he hurts Cruz.”
Kasich has conceded he won’t win Wisconsin and campaigned on Monday in New York. He hopes to do well enough in some congressional districts to earn delegates, part of his strategy to have enough momentum entering the convention to win the nomination as the most electable and qualified candidate.
Numbers Game
Heading into Tuesday’s voting, Trump led with 736 delegates, according to Associated Press estimates, followed by Cruz with 463 and Kasich at 143.
In Wisconsin’s Republican primary, the state awards three delegates to the winner of each of its eight congressional districts, while the statewide winner gets an additional 18 delegates.
There are 86 delegates at stake in the Democratic primary, which are awarded proportionally. Going into Tuesday, Clinton had 1,712 of the 2,383 delegates and super-delegates needed to win, while Sanders had 1,011.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in New York on April 4, 2016. Photographer: KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images
Sanders claimed momentum heading into Wisconsin after winning five of the six primaries and caucuses since March 15, when he lost all five contests. He campaigned aggressively in the state, holding 15 events there since March 26, including three on Monday.
Clinton’s aides, while acknowledging trailing Sanders in recent polls, say that delegate math makes it all but impossible for him to win the nomination.
“The Sanders campaign’s path forward relies on overturning the will of the voters,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a Monday statement, while the candidate herself stumped in New York.
Cruz, speaking to reporters Monday in Kenosha, suggested that Trump is “afraid to debate” because he lacks the policy details that voters want.
“The momentum we're seeing is a result of the fact that the people of this state and the people of the country are looking for real, positive solutions, not simply someone to yell and scream and curse at them,” he said.
Walker, who enjoys an 80 percent approval rating among the state’s likely Republican primary voters, endorsed Cruz last week and appeared at his side in recent days. Besides Walker, Cruz benefited in Wisconsin from the support of party leaders including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
But given Cruz’s reputation in Washington for showmanship, inflexibility, and a lack of collegiality, supporting him has been a bitter pill for some Republicans.
“They just swallowed hard and said, ‘We just can't have Trump, and we have to go for Cruz,’” said Brandon Scholz, a veteran Republican strategist in Madison who isn't aligned with any candidate.
Some Wisconsin political observers have billed the primary as the most consequential since 1960, when John F. Kennedy won the state’s Democratic race. Heavy media coverage and high-profile local and state races are expected to boost turnout.
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has projected overall turnout to be around 40 percent, which would be the highest in a state presidential primary since 1980.
“We expect Donald Trump to bring new voters to the polls—for and against,” Kevin J. Kennedy, Wisconsin’s chief elections official, said in a statement.
—With assistance from Jennifer Epstein in New York, Arit John and Kevin Cirilli in Wisconsin, and Ben Brody and Angela Greiling Keane in Washington. |||||Summary:
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– Wisconsin holds its primaries Tuesday, and polls suggest that the Badger State is about to deliver big setbacks for both front-runners. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both insist they can win the state, the Washington Post reports, but if recent polls are correct, Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz will be the ones to emerge with vital momentum from what will be the last primary until New York votes on April 19. In other coverage: Cruz, Trump, Sanders, and Bill Clinton all descended on the Milwaukee area Monday night, while Hillary Clinton and John Kasich campaigned in New York, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. At his event, Cruz was introduced by Gov. Scott Walker, who said the state could "turn the tide for a Cruz presidency." Wisconsin isn't a winner-take-all state, but Trump's path to the necessary 1,237 delegates will become a lot trickier if Cruz wins by even one vote, according to FiveThirtyEight's analysis. With 86 Democratic delegates at stake, Wisconsin could help Sanders whittle away Clinton's commanding lead, reports Politico, which notes that the state is "Bernie-friendly" because of both demographics and the fact that its primary is open to independent voters, who tend to pick Sanders over Clinton. The New York Times reports that in an apparent effort to boost his abysmal ratings among women, Trump's wife, Melania, has joined him on the campaign trail. "No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal," she said at a Monday night event in Milwaukee that the Times describes as "subdued" with "a crowd that was less than capacity." In Wisconsin, Trump has faced a stronger anti-Trump movement and a more cohesive GOP establishment than in most other states, reports Bloomberg, which notes that a loss there could undercut his claim to be the consensus candidate.
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Summarize this article:
When former Major League Baseball pitcher Roy Halladay died in a plane crash in November, he had amphetamines, morphine and the sleep aid zolpidem in his system, according to an autopsy report.
Halladay, 40, died from blunt force trauma with drowning as a contributing factor, according to the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office.
THE CRASH: Former MLB star Roy Halladay dead in plane crash in Pasco County
The retired All-Star was flying his personal plane when authorities said it crashed into the waters off New Port Richey on Nov. 7. The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating.
But it was the drugs found in the pitcher’s system that concerned Dr. Bruce Goldberger, a pathologist and director of the University of Florida Health Forensic Medicine center.
"The drugs are particularly important in the assessment of the impairment of Mr. Halladay while operating the plane," Goldberger said. "The NTSB will take this evidence under consideration during their investigation of this accident."
The presence of those drugs alone does not mean the pilot was impaired, however. That determination has to be made by the federal agency, which has yet to release a final report.
"At this point you can’t assess impairment solely based on the drug concentrations," Goldberger said. "You have to wait for the NTSB to weigh in on their investigation. They’ll likely be able to assess the role of the drugs in the accident."
REMEMBRANCE: Roy Halladay recalled as ‘the real deal’ at public memorial
Amphetamines are a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, morphine is an opiate and zolpidem, a sedative used as a sleep aid that is marketed as Ambien. The report does not say if Halladay had prescriptions for any of those medications.
Bill Pellan, director of investigations for the medical examiner’s office, said the NTSB has already conducted its own test of Halladay’s blood.
"Their results are very similar to ours," Pellan said. "That’s routine on any aircraft accident or fatality."
Federal investigators will consider all factors that contributed to the crash, Pellan said, such as the condition of the aircraft itself.
Halladay was an avid flyer who owned an ICON A5 — an amphibious two-seat plane with foldable wings. The NTSB’s preliminary report on the crash said the pilot flew very close to homes and the surface of the Gulf of Mexico shortly before striking the water. His body was found in about six feet of water.
INVESTIGATION: NTSB report details steep turns and dives preceding Roy Halladay’s fatal crash
Video from around the time of the incident shows the plane flying a couple of hundred feet in the air before dropping toward the water.
Halladay, a father of two, was an All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. He had retired to the Tampa Bay region, lived in Odessa and helped coach the baseball team at Calvary Christian High School, where his oldest son played. He left behind his wife, Brandy, and two sons, Braden and Ryan.
Halladay was among the top baseball players of his generation, twice winning the Cy Young Award given to the MLB’s best pitchers each year. ||||| The report, obtained by the Daily News, states that morphine was found in Halladay's system and while that could indicate heroin use, there's no definite indication that he had used the drug. |||||
Summary:
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– Former baseball star Roy Halladay had evidence of morphine, an amphetamine, Ambien, alcohol, and Prozac in his system when he crashed his plane into the Gulf of Mexico last November, USA Today reports. The two-time Cy Young winner's autopsy report was released Friday. A cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma with drowning as a contributing factor. While Halladay only had a BAC of .01, the New York Daily News reports he had surpassed the level of Ambien in his system that the FDA finds is "capable of impairing driving to a degree that increases the risk of a motor vehicle accident." FAA regulations forbid the use of alcohol eight hours before flying or "any drug that affects the person's faculties in any way contrary to safety." "The drugs are particularly important in the assessment of the impairment of Mr. Halladay while operating the plane," Dr. Bruce Goldberger at University of Florida Health Forensic Medicine tells the Tampa Bay Times. "The [National Transportation Safety Board] will take this evidence under consideration during their investigation of this accident." However, the presence of drugs in Halladay's system is not a confirmation he was flying his personal plane while impaired, Goldberger cautions. Halladay died after crashing his sport plane off the coast of Florida. The 40-year-old was the only person in the aircraft. Halladay spent 16 years as a professional pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. He retired in 2013.
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– A Minnesota mom is getting a lot of attention for her Craigslist post selling her daughter's 1998 Dodge Ram, which starts off, "So, because I'm the World's Meanest Mom..." Amy Adams' 15-year-old daughter has been acting out, Adams tells WFMY, and the final straw was when the teenager, who has a learner's permit and will soon have a driver's license, skipped school Monday. Adams listed the truck (the title is in her name, and she had been fixing it up for her daughter) for $2,750 the following day, but added this note: "If the person driving the truck on a daily basis will be attending North Branch high school next year, you will get a $300 discount. Why? Because I AM the World's Meanest Mom, and would love for her to be reminded every day next year of all the mistakes she made." The listing has twice been flagged for removal, likely by friends of Adams' daughter, but there's a screenshot on Reddit. Adams says she's just trying to teach her kids how to behave before it's too late: "Where's that going to leave them five years from now, 10 years from now, when they're walking around disrespecting the wrong people?" Interestingly, another mom dubbed herself "the meanest mom EVER" this week, and made a similar point: Jaime Primak Sullivan, a former reality TV star who has a following on Facebook, recorded a video Monday telling a story about how she took her kids to get ice cream and they were disrespectful, failing to acknowledge the person serving them or to thank her or their mother, so she threw their ice cream away. "I will die one day," she says, "and I will leave children who believe in the human connection. Who believe and practice social responsibility. And who are kind. Yes, I will. Even if I have to be the meanest mom ever for the rest of my life." The video has been shared more than 23,000 times so far.
Let's expand this into a news article: 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. ||||| "World's Meanest Mom" put her daughter's truck for sale on Craigslist to teach her a lesson. (Photo: Chad Nelson, KARE)
ALMELUND, Minn. - The "World's Meanest Mom" is selling her 15-year-old daughter's truck on Craigslist to teach her a lesson.
Amy Adams writes in the Craigslist ad, which was posted Tuesday, the reason she's selling the truck -- or what she calls "every teenage kid's dream vehicle" is because her daughter has "decided that her grades don't matter, that she can disrespect myself and her siblings on a daily basis, and that she has the right to skip school and run away from home."
Adams writes the title of the vehicle is in her name so she's selling the 1998 Dodge Ram for $2,750.
"She was on her 'one more chance and the truck was getting sold.' And she blew that 'one more chance' on Monday when she decided to skip school," Adams said.
The ad continues to say, she's willing to sell it back to the original owner but with certain conditions.
If the person driving the truck on a daily basis will be attending North Branch high school next year, you will get a $300 discount. Why? Because I AM the World's Meanest Mom, and would love for her to be reminded every day next year of all of the mistakes she made.
The ad drips with sarcasm, but Adams says it's also drenched with truth -- challenging the idea that parents need to act as friends.
"Where's that going to leave them five years from now, ten years from now, when they're walking around disrespecting the wrong people?" Adams said.
Adams says she received over 400 responses to the ad.
"Over half of them were other parents saying, hey, high five," Adams said.
A mom put her daughter's truck up for sale on Craigslist, because she's the "World's Meanest Mom." (Photo: Craigslist)
According to Adams, her daughter's friends apparently flagged her Craigslist ad, forcing it to be removed. So she posted it again. And it was flagged and removed a second time.
To those who think she went too far, Adams says she knows exactly how her daughter feels. Because she says she was once a 15-year-old with attitude.
"To my mom, I was short tempered. I was snippy. And I was obnoxious," Adams said.
To Adams, her own mother once was the "meanest mom in the world."
Adams is just glad she matured enough to thank her for it before her mother died.
"The moment they diagnosed her as terminal. We had that conversation," Adams said. "She’s been gone for, it will be 10 years this July."
Adams hopes one day her daughter will appreciate her tough parenting.
"I hope she realizes that it's okay to discipline your kids. And its ok to have expectations. And it's okay for them to have consequences," Adams said. ||||| Birmingham mother and former 'Jersey Belle' star Jaime Primak Sullivan made waves on Facebook this week after she posted a story explaining why she's the "meanest mom ever."
The post has been shared nearly 38,000 times in the past three days and has 310,000 likes and 26,000 comments.
Alabamians first met Primak Sullivan as the star of a short-lived reality show called "Jersey Belle," which aired for one season on the Bravo network in 2014.
In the post, she said she threw away her kids' ice cream cones after they didn't acknowledge or thank the employee at Dairy Queen who handed them the ice cream.
"I explained that one day, if they were lucky, they would work a job like that young lady," she said in the post. "And I would hope that people would see them. Really see them. Look them in the eye and say thank you."
Many of the commenters are applauding Primak Sullivan for teaching her children about the proper way to address others, including those in the service industry.
What do you think? Did Primak Sullivan do the right thing?
Have you ever had a moment like that when you were the "meanest" parent? What were you hoping to teach your kids? |||||
– Your words could reach out of our solar system—no gigantic megaphone necessary. NASA is hosting a contest that will see a message from one lucky Earthling sent to Voyager 1, which is hurtling through interstellar space. Entrants are invited to submit an "uplifting" message of 60 characters or less on social media using #MessageToVoyager. Scientists will then pick their 10 favorite messages and let the public vote for one to be beamed to Voyager 1 on Sept. 5, the 40th anniversary of the probe's launch, reports Mashable. Messages will be accepted until Tuesday. Voting begins Aug. 23. (Celebrate the anniversary with a copy of the Voyager golden record.)
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Let's expand this into a news article: NASA wants you (yes, you) to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Voyager mission.
In honor of four decades of Voyager 1 — humankind's farthest-flung spacecraft — NASA is inviting people everywhere to share an uplifting message for the spacecraft using the hashtag #MessageToVoyager.
NASA will even beam one lucky person's #MessageToVoyager into space, according to a press release. The messages can be sent through social media, including Twitter and Facebook.
The effort is inspired by "messages of goodwill" from Voyager's Golden Record, a disk which contains sounds and images of life on Earth which was carried aboard Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in 1977 on their tours of the solar system's planets.
In order to submit messages for consideration, people must use the hashtag #MessageToVoyager by 11:59 PM PDT on August 15.
It would be a pretty kind gesture for a spacecraft that's all alone up there.
Submissions will be judged by NASA, the Voyager team, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, before the public has the ability to select a final, winning message through an online poll.
That winning message will be beamed into space on Sept. 5 — the anniversary of of Voyager 1's launch in 1977. But that's just the day the message will be launched. It won't reach the vicinity of Voyager 1 until the next day.
Voyager 1 was the very first spacecraft to go into interstellar space, according to NASA, and Voyager is the longest continual space mission to date. Voyager 2 launched to space on August 20, 1977. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. |||||
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The seed for Wide00014 was:
- Slash pages from every domain on the web:
-- a ranking of all URLs that have more than one incoming inter-domain link (rank was determined by number of incoming links using Wide00012 inter domain links)
-- up to a maximum of 100 most highly ranked URLs per domain
- Top ranked pages (up to a max of 100) from every linked-to domain using the Wide00012 inter-domain navigational link graph ||||| Hate your television or Internet provider? You’re far from alone: Time Warner Cable and Comcast earned bottom-of-the-barrel scores in a consumer satisfaction survey published Tuesday.
Subscription TV-wise, Time Warner Cable scored the lowest of the companies included in the report, with a 56 (a 7% decline from last year’s report). Comcast came in second to last, at 60 (a 5% decline from last year’s report). In terms of Internet service, TWC got a 54 (a 14% decline from last year’s report) while Comcast earned a 57 (an 8% decline from last year’s report).
The numbers come by way of the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)’s 2014 Telecommunications and Information Report, a survey of 70,000 customers about their satisfaction levels with commonly used products and services. The results span 230 companies across 43 industries.
DirecTV, AT&T, Verizon (FiOS) and Dish scored highest for TV providers, with their scores tightly bunched at between 67 and 69. FiOS ran away with the Internet crown: it scored a 71, with AT&T’s U-verse service and CenturyLink both a distant second at 65. If we’re talking grades in a school setting, we’re still in D+/C- range for all of these, so let’s not get too excited just yet.
So why are people so down on Comcast and Time Warner Cable? According to the report:
High prices, poor reliability, and declining customer service are to blame for low customer satisfaction with pay TV services. The cost of subscription TV has been rising 6% per year on average—four times the rate of inflation. But now, dissatisfied pay TV customers have more alternatives than ever before. The rise of streaming video from companies like Netflix and Amazon, combined with pay TV’s deteriorating service quality and higher prices, has led to the first-ever net loss of television service subscribers for a full year in 2013. Among the largest subscription TV providers, the customer satisfaction decline is broad and pronounced—every company experiences a drop between 3% and 7%. Still, customer satisfaction varies greatly depending on the type of service. Fiber optic and satellite providers typically beat the industry average and perform much better than cable companies.
People are also generally pretty happy with TV sets (and accompanying video players), credit unions and soft drinks – which scored 85, 85 and 84 out of 100, respectively.
You can download the full report here, though you’ll need to register first. |||||
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– It turns out that that whole proposed Comcast-Time Warner merger would really just consolidate America's rage at crappy customer service under one behemoth roof: According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a survey of 70,000 of your fine countrymen, two industries ruled the gutters: television providers and Internet service providers. And as Quartz notes, two companies ruled the dregs of those much-reviled industries: You guessed it, Comcast and Time Warner. Technically, Time notes that Time Warner ranked lowest in both categories (it scored a 56 for television, and a 54 for Internet service), while Comcast was second from the bottom (60 and 57, respectively). But that's probably small comfort in a survey of 230 companies in 43 industries. The full survey is here.
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This will NOT appear anywhere on Newser ||||| NEW YORK ( TheStreet ) --shares are surging in pre-market trading, gaining 7.87% to $34.94 on news CEO Steve Ballmer will retire within the next 12 months.
Here is the company press release, announcing the decision:
--
>Contact by Email ||||| 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 |||||
A summary of this is?
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– It's probably a bad sign when investors react to news of your CEO's departure by buying like crazy. Microsoft dropped a bombshell this morning by announcing that Steve Ballmer would retire within 12 months, the AP reports. The company gave no indication of who might succeed the longtime executive, saying only that the board had appointed a special committee to find someone. Word of his departure was enough to send the stock up about 9% in premarket trading. "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time," Ballmer said in a press release. "My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company's transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction." The move comes about a month after Microsoft released a grisly fourth-quarter report that saw it take a $900 million write-down on its Surface RT tablet.
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This story contains a major revelation from Sunday’s Game of Thrones episode “Home.”
Jon Snow has returned to the land of the living.
As fans of HBO’s Emmy-winning hit Game of Thrones have now learned, Kit Harington’s murdered fan-favorite character Jon Snow was revived at the end of Sunday night’s episode. The Lord Commander was resurrected by the sorceress Melisandre, a reveal that caps 10 months of worldwide speculation following Snow’s death at the hands of his Night’s Watch brothers in last year’s finale.
During an in-depth interview exclusively with EW, Harington spoke about his incredible journey shouldering the show’s biggest secret. Actors typically only have to perform while in front of the camera. But to protect the Jon Snow twist, Harington was asked by the show’s producers to deliver an off-camera performance too — the role of an actor who departed a series that’s become a worldwide sensation.
The first thing Harington wants viewers to know after seeing his revival: “Sorry!” the 29-year-old says in the above video excerpt. “I’d like to say sorry for lying to everyone. I’m glad that people were upset that he died. I think my biggest fear was that people were not going to care. Or it would just be, ‘Fine, Jon Snow’s dead.’ But it seems like people had a, similar to the Red Wedding episode, kind of grief about it. Which means something I’m doing — or the show is doing — is right.”
UPDATE: Kit Harington on his secretly huge season 6 role
For months EW has been working on a top-secret cover story on the extraordinary behind-the-scenes tale of Jon Snow’s death and resurrection — including an exclusive conversation with Harington. Subscribe to receive the issue in digital format and exclusive online access the moment the story is posted, or buy the issue right now here. For more updates, follow @jameshibberd on Twitter, check out our recap of “Home” now, and subscribe to our Game of Thrones podcast (where we talk about our Harington interview). Listen below: ||||| This is how big of a secret Jon Snow appearing in Game of Thrones season 6 was: Even though star Kit Harington spent more days working on Thrones last year of than any other actor, the name “Jon Snow” didn’t appear anywhere in the scripts. Snow wasn’t mentioned in the scene breakdowns, call sheets, prop or wardrobe materials either.
Instead, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss gave the character a new name that was always used: “LC,” standing for “Lord Commander.”
The ban even extended to verbal communication. “No one was allowed to say ‘Jon Snow’ on set, ever, everyone had to refer to me as ‘LC,'” Harington confirmed to EW. (The only exception was when the name was said during on-camera dialogue). Even the producers used “LC” among themselves to code their conversation in case outsiders were nearby.
The nickname inspired some ribbing among the cast. While shooting his resurrection scene, Harington had to lay naked on a table while Carice van Houten (Melisandre) washed him repeatedly. So the actress decided to give Harington a new “LC”-based nomenclature (it’s not something we can print, but feel free to guess).
Harington is on the cover of this week’s EW where we chronicle the incredible story of how the actor and the Thrones team killed off his character, then secretly brought him back to life for his most dramatic story yet. Buy the issue here, or subscribe to receive digital access the moment the story is posted online.
For more coverage of Thrones‘ second episode of the season, “Home,” here’s our first interview snippet with Harington (“Sorry!”), our interview with Ramsay Bolton actor Iwan Rheorn on those gruesome murders, our deep-dive recap, and our new Game of Thrones podcast (new episode posted below). |||||
Write a summary.
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– Spoiler alert: If you're not caught up on Game of Thrones, you probably don't want to read on. But as those who watched Sunday's episode are well aware, Jon Snow is alive. Fans had been wondering about his fate since the end of last season, so in order to keep them guessing, actor Kit Harington's presence on the set had to kept secret. The name "Jon Snow" didn't appear on the scripts, scene breakdowns, call sheets, props, or wardrobe materials, Harington tells Entertainment Weekly. Wherever it would have appeared, "LC" was listed instead. That stands for "Lord Commander," and the showrunners were serious about its use: "No one was allowed to say 'Jon Snow' on set, ever," Harington says, except when the name was called for in dialogue. "Everyone had to refer to me as 'LC.'" And when producers discussed the character among themselves, they used "LC" as well. Harington has been talking to EW extensively about his surprise return to Thrones; earlier, he told the magazine, "I’d like to say sorry for lying to everyone" and insisting that Snow was permanently dead.
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– Some 75 years after Amelia Earhart and her navigator disappeared over the South Pacific in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, the State Department is backing another search for her and her plane. The new search, to be launched this summer, will focus on deep waters around the remote atoll of Nikumaroro. A newly discovered photo taken just months after her disappearance in 1937 shows what some believe is part of her plane's landing gear, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hillary Clinton will discuss the search today, and praise Earhart, the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo, as a pioneer for women and a model of American courage, according to State Department officials. The remains of a castaway were found on the island a few years after Earhart disappeared, but DNA testing last year proved inconclusive. The new search is being funded with $500,000 of private money. The search team plans to set off from Hawaii on July 2, exactly 75 years after Earhart's last transmission. "We'll do our best to find Amelia," the search team's leader tells Discovery. "During the painful recovery from the Great Depression, Amelia Earhart inspired America with her courage and determination. America needs Amelia again."
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The search for Amelia Earhart will resume this summer in the waters off Nikumaroro, an uninhabited island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati where the legendary pilot might have died as a castaway.
With support from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the US State Department and Discovery Channel which will be documenting the expedition for a television special later this year, the expedition will be carried out by the The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), which has long been investigating the last, fateful flight taken by Earhart 75 years ago.
The new expedition will use high tech underwater equipment to search for pieces of Earhart's plane.
The tall, slender, blond pilot mysteriously vanished while flying over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937 during a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator.
Secretary Clinton met today with historians and scientists from TIGHAR and spoke about why the search for Earhart is still pertinent to Americans. She pointed out that when Earhart went missing, the nation was in the grips of the Great Depression."
"Now Amelia Earhart may have been an unlikely heroine for a nation down on its luck, but she embodied the spirit of an America coming of age and increasingly confident, ready to lead in a quite uncertain and dangerous world," Clinton said.
The general consensus has been that Earhart's twin-engined Lockheed "Electra" had run out of fuel and crashed in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere near Howland Island.
But according to Ric Gillespie, TIGHAR's executive director, there is an alternative scenario.
PHOTOS: Amelia Earhart
"The navigation line Amelia described in her final in-flight radio transmission passed through not only Howland Island, her intended destination, but also Gardner Island, now called Nikumaroro," Gillespie said.
The possibility that Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan might have made an emergency landing on Nikumaroro's flat coral reef, some 300 miles southeast of their target destination, is not a new theory.
"This was the oldest Earhart theory," Gillespie said. "This was the theory the Navy came up with in the first days following the flight's disappearance. And they did search the atoll, but only from the air," Gillespie said.
In nine archaeological expeditions to Nikumaroro, Gillespie and his team uncovered a number of artifacts which, combined with archival research, provide strong circumstantial evidence for a castaway presence.
PHOTOS: Clues Point to Amelia Earhart as Castaway
"We found archival records describing the discovering in Nikumaroro in 1940 of the partial skeleton and campsite of what appears to have been a female castaway," he said.
"We identified the place on a remote corner of the atoll that fits the description of where the bones and campsite were found. Archaeological digs there have produced artifacts that speak of an American woman of the 1930s," Gillespie said.
He added that evidence on the island would also suggest that Earhart survived as a castaway "for a matter of weeks, possibly more."
In the forthcoming expedition, Gillespie and his team will be concentrating on Earhart's plane. The underwater search will be carried by Phoenix International, the U.S. Navy's primary deep ocean search and recovery contractor.
On July 2, the 75th anniversary of Earhart's disappearance, the TIGHAR team will sail from Honolulu aboard the University of Hawaii oceanographic research ship R/V Ka Imikai-O-Kanaloa.
"When we get there, in about eight days, we'll survey the general area with multi-beam sonar to create an accurate map of the undersea topography and prioritize the search area," Gillespie told Discovery News.
"Targets will be identified using high resolution, side scan sonar mounted on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). Finally, we will investigate suspicious looking targets using a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) with dual manipulators and color video camera system and lights," Gillespie said.
NEWS: Signs of Amelia Earhart's Final Days?
The search relies on what Gillespie called "the most exciting breakthrough" -- a photograph of the island's western shoreline taken three months after Amelia's disappearance.
"It shows an unexplained object protruding from the water on the fringing reef," Gillespie said.
Forensic imaging analyses of the photo suggest that the shape and dimension of the object are consistent with the landing gear of a Lockheed Electra. Gillespie said they have reason to believe that Earhart's airplane went over the reef edge near the spot where the object appears in the photo.
"Amelia Earhart's legacy still lives today, reminding young people to keep their eyes on the stars," Clinton told reporters.
Gillespie said they hope to solve the long-standing mystery about just what happened to one of the nation's most inspiring heroes.
"We'll do our best to find Amelia. During the painful recovery from the Great Depression, Amelia Earhart inspired America with her courage and determination. America needs Amelia again," Gillespie said. ||||| Getty Images Amelia Earhart in 1928 with her biplane 'Friendship.' She disappeared in another plane in 1937.
What became of Amelia Earhart's plane when it disappeared over the Pacific 75 years ago has long intrigued aviation fans. On Tuesday, U.S. government officials and a private historical group announced a new effort to locate the famed aviator's twin-engine Lockheed.
The effort, projected to kick off in July, will be financed with roughly half a million dollars in private funds, according to people familiar with the details. It will focus on a remote Pacific atoll called Nikumaroro, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, near where the plane carrying Ms. Earhart and a companion may have gone down during an attempted around-the-world flight.
A search team will concentrate on the deep waters near Nikumaroro, which was the site of a 2010 search that focused on coral reefs and nearby shallow waters, these people said.
WSJ's Andy Pasztor reports on new efforts to locate Amelia Earhart's airplane, which disappeared in the South Pacific in 1937. AP Photo.
The impetus for the latest expedition is a recently discovered photo, apparently taken near Nikumaroro just months after Ms. Earhart's disappearance. Some experts believe it may show a portion of the plane's landing gear.
State Department officials held a hastily arranged briefing Monday night to describe the photo. After "very intense photo analysis" by government and outside experts, according to one senior official, "the judgment is that it's worth exploring."
The official added that "a very healthy dose of skepticism has to be in play."
The search will be spearheaded again by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, which has championed the theory that the renowned female aviator and Fred Noonan, the other crew member on the July 1937 flight, ended up on or near the west coast of the island, formerly called Gardner Island.
Enlarge Image Close TIGHAR/Associated Press Researchers for the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery found bone fragments on Nikumaroro Island during a 2010 mission.
Aviation experts aren't unanimous in believing that scenario. Some longtime Earhart theorists are convinced that bad weather caused the plane to run out of fuel and forced a ditching in the ocean. Officials from the private recovery team declined to comment about specifically where they intend to look and who is financing the expedition.
At a event Tuesday in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined scientist to unveil details of the new expedition, which will include small robotic submarines. Ric Gillespie, head of the search group, said "there are some very smart people who think we're wrong about this," but other experts who believe the new search may hit pay dirt.
Since the island is now part of the Republic of Kiribati, State Department officials have helped pave the way for an underwater search.
Officials at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum also have been briefed. A museum official on Monday declined to provide details, except to say "we have no formal partnership" with the search but "support any general effort" to unravel the mystery.
Continuing fascination with the crash has spawned numerous Web sites, far-out explanations and various conspiracy theories.
Ms. Earhart's plane was on one leg a record-setting global trip but disappeared before reaching Howland Island, which the U.S. Navy had outfitted with a landing strip, fuel supplies, a radio transmitter and support personnel.
Her final frantic radio transmissions to the crew of a Coast Guard cutter, possibly advising them she and Mr. Noonan were lost, added to the mystery.
Ms. Earhart became world-famous in the early 1930s, when she set numerous aviation records in a bright red Lockheed Vega she called her "little red bus." She became a sensation as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, as well as nonstop across the U.S.
Searching for Amelia's Plane View Slideshow Associated Press A crowd cheered for Amelia Earhart as she boarded her plane in Northern Ireland in 1932.
When her plane disappeared over the Pacific, the U.S. government spent some $4 million searching an area roughly the size of Texas but found nothing.
The abiding interest in the crash has been fueled partly intriguing but inconclusive results from previous searches. The head of the historic airplane group gained some credibility after searches around Nikumaroro turned up an aluminum panel and a piece of curved glass that might have come from Ms. Earhart's plane. Teams also came upon a heel from a woman's shoe, which some believe resembled Ms. Earhart's footwear.
In 1940, three years after her disappearance, the historic aircraft group's website states, a British official "found a partial skeleton of a castaway on a remote part of the island," along with evidence of a "campfire, animal bones, a box that had once contained a sextant" and remnants of a man's and a woman's shoes. U.S. authorities never were notified so they could test the remains, according to the group.
But some scholars and aviation experts challenge the historic group's assertion that the crew managed to land on Nikumaroro and survive on theuninhabited atoll for some time.
On Monday, State Department officials didn't endorse a particular theory. "It's a hotly contested area," a department official said at the briefing. "We're not making any bets."
Nonetheless, participation by Secretary Clinton and other dignitaries suggests the photo has changed the debate. Along with representatives of the search team, renowned undersea explorer Robert Ballard is expected to express his support for the new effort. Mr. Ballard has spent decades recovering relics and finding wrecks, including the passenger liner Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck and President John F. Kennedy's PT-109 patrol boat.
The State Department said it is "working closely" with Mr. Ballard in what will be a sophisticated sonar search.
Write to Andy Pasztor at [email protected] |||||
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According to the World Health Organization, tobacco use is a cause of death for more than 5.4 million people worldwide every year. But a new review published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that by tripling the taxes on tobacco globally, 200 million tobacco deaths could be avoided by 2025.
Authors of the review, including Dr. Prabhat Jha, director of the Center for Global Health Research of St. Michael's Hospital and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, say that the tax increase would double the retail price of tobacco in some countries, as well as reduce the price difference between the cheapest and most expensive cigarettes.
They add that rather than pushing smokers to swap to a cheaper cigarette brand, the strategy would encourage them to quit smoking and discourage young people from taking up the habit.
Dr. Jha says tripling tobacco taxes would be particularly effective in low- and middle-income countries, where smoking rates are on the rise and the price of tobacco is relatively low.
But he adds that high-income countries would also see benefits from the approach. He uses France as an example, noting that the country halved its cigarette consumption between 1990 and 2005 by increasing taxes to well above inflation.
Dr. Jha adds:
"Death and taxes are inevitable, but they don't need to be in that order. A higher tax on tobacco is the single most effective intervention to lower smoking rates and to deter future smokers."
Strategy 'would reduce tobacco use and increase revenue'
Dr. Jha points out that as well as reducing tobacco consumption, the approach would also create revenue that governments worldwide would be able to use for health care.
For example, he notes that there are around 200,000 tobacco-related deaths every year of people under the age of 70 in the US and Canada.
He estimates that even if the price of tobacco was doubled in these countries, around 70,000 deaths would be prevented and the higher taxes would generate an extra $100 billion every year for a total of $400 billion.
A new review suggests that by tripling tobacco taxes worldwide, around 200 million tobacco-related deaths could be avoided by 2025, and the approach could also increase government revenue. A new review suggests that by tripling tobacco taxes worldwide, around 200 million tobacco-related deaths could be avoided by 2025, and the approach could also increase government revenue.
Sir Richard Peto, co-author of the review from the University of Oxford in the UK, says there is an "urgent need" for governments to develop strategies that will help people to give up smoking and stop youngsters from starting in the first place.
The investigators note that at the 2013 United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Organization (WHO) Assembly, countries worldwide came to an agreement that they would aim to reduce smoking prevalence by around one-third by 2025, and reduce premature deaths from cancer and other diseases by 25%.
Sir Richard says that their approach would help countries to achieve these aims.
"This study demonstrates that tobacco taxes are a hugely powerful lever and potentially a triple win - reducing the numbers of people who smoke and who die from their addiction, reducing premature deaths from smoking and yet, at the same time, increasing government income," he says, adding:
"All governments can take action by regularly raising tobacco taxes above inflation, and using occasional steep tax hikes starting with their next budget. Young adult smokers will lose about a decade of life if they continue to smoke - they've so much to gain by stopping."
The authors say that controlling tobacco marketing is another strategy that may help people to stop smoking, noting that Australia introduced plain packaging in 2011 - an action that New Zealand plans to follow this year.
Medical News Today recently reported on a study suggesting that total smoking bans are effective in helping smokers to quit.
Written by Honor Whiteman ||||| Tripling tobacco taxes around the world could cut smoking by a third and prevent 200 million premature deaths by the end of this century, researchers claim.
The tax boost would encourage people to quit smoking rather than switch from more expensive to cheaper brands, and help to stop young people taking up the habit, say the scientists.
They came to the conclusion after conducting a systematic review of 63 studies on the causes and consequences of tobacco use in different countries.
Research has shown that a 50% higher inflation-adjusted price for cigarettes reduces tobacco consumption by about a fifth, with the biggest impact on the young and poor.
In most high-income countries, about 50% to 60% of the price of a pack of cigarettes is tax. But in most low and middle-income countries, tax makes up only 30% to 40% of the cost.
Study co-author Professor Sir Richard Peto, from the charity Cancer Research UK , said: “The two certainties in life are death and taxes. We want higher tobacco taxes and fewer tobacco deaths.
"It would help children not to start, and it would help many adults to stop while there’s still time.
“Globally, about half of all young men and one in 10 of all young women become smokers, and, particularly in developing countries, relatively few quit.
"If they keep smoking, about half will be killed by it, but if they stop before 40, they’ll reduce their risk of dying from tobacco by 90%.”
He added: “The international tobacco industry makes about £30 billion in profits each year - that’s a profit of approximately £6,000 per death from smoking.”
As well as cutting consumption by a third, tripling tobacco taxes would also increase global government revenues from tobacco by a third, from £180 billion a year to £240 billion, said the researchers.
In the European Union, a doubling of cigarette prices would prevent 100,000 deaths a year in the under 70s, they added.
The findings are reported in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Worldwide, around half a billion children and adults under the age of 35 are already - or soon will be - smokers, and many will be hooked on tobacco for life.
"So there’s an urgent need for Governments to find ways to stop people starting and to help smokers give up.
“This immensely important study demonstrates that tobacco taxes are a hugely powerful lever, and potentially a triple win - reducing the numbers of people who smoke and who die from their addiction, reducing the health care burden and costs associated with smoking and yet, at the same time, increasing government income.
“We urge all governments, not least the UK Government, to take action by regularly raising tobacco taxes above inflation, and using occasional steep tax hikes starting with the next budget.” |||||
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– A new study finds that 200 million deaths could be avoided by the year 2025 if we triple the taxes placed on tobacco around the world, Medical News Today reports. In some countries, the increase would double the price; the difference in cost between the cheapest and most expensive brands would also be diminished, meaning smokers wouldn't be likely to simply switch brands, because doing so wouldn't save them much money, says the World Health Organization. In addition, the study notes, the higher cost of cigarettes would likely discourage young people from smoking. Extra revenue generated by the tax hike—the authors estimate $100 billion a year—could be spent on health care, the authors say. Though the strategy would be most effective in low- and middle-income countries, the authors say high-income countries would also see a decrease in consumption. Right now, taxes make up 30% to 40% of tobacco's cost in lower-income countries, the Mirror explains, while in higher-income countries, that number is between 50% and 60%.
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A Wyoming woman who lost her husband of 28 years to brain cancer last year was shocked to receive a special gift from him this Valentine's Day.
Shelly and Jim Golay of Casper, Wyoming, met at church in 1984. They had a "fairy tale romance" and even went to Disneyland in California for their honeymoon, Shelly Golay told ABC News today.
Her husband was "very much a family man," Golay, 52, said, adding that they have two children, now 27 and 25.
The family has owned Rocky Mountain Industrial Supply, an industrial and safety distribution company, since 2007.
Courtesy Shelly Golay
"Jim was just an amazing man. Everybody that ever met him loved him. He was always just my rock. And the whole family's rock. And he just had this unwavering faith that was just inspiring. Always had a positive attitude," Golay added.
Jim was diagnosed with brain cancer on Easter 2012.
"Had a strength that was just contagious. He was tough as nails," Golay said. "When he went through his chemo, he didn't look like a chemo patient, didn't act like a chemo patient."
In February 2014, they learned the cancer was inoperable. Jim was given four months to live and he died in June 2014 at age 53.
"They usually give you 12 months to live and he lived 26 months," Golay said. "That was just a blessing."
Courtesy Shelly Golay
This Valentine's Day, eight months after Jim's death, Golay says she received flowers with a card that read, "Happy Valentine's Day Honey. Stay Strong! Yours Forever Love Jim."
"My first thought was my kids gave it to me," Golay said.
But when she asked her son and daughter, they both denied sending the gift.
Golay spoke with a co-worker, who suggested the flowers may have been from Jim. When Golay looked on the back of the card, she found her husband's cellphone number. "That was very emotional," she said. "I knew it was him."
"I went back to my son and said, 'You have to call the flower shop and confirm Dad sent these. I'm too emotional.' Sure enough, he had come in that last Valentine's Day and had said, 'Just send her flowers for the rest of her life.'"
Their daughter, Ashley Wisroth, was at the grocery store when she found out who the flowers were from, and "just started bawling," she told ABC News today.
"I was so excited to know he had done something so sweet. It was just like my dad to do something like that. At the same time, it was bittersweet, because we knew in order for him to set something like that up, he must have known at one point he wasn't going to make it."
Golay said the flowers "means to me that his love never ends."
"He set up such an amazing gift for me to receive that," Golay said. "That act of love to me is just true love in its purest form." ||||| After being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor almost exactly one year ago today, one husband immediately arranged a plan for his wife to always remember him on Valentine's Day.
One Casper woman, who lost her husband this past July, says his spirit lives on through his Valentine's Day flowers.
Shelly Golay says, "He's such an amazing man and he just can love beyond boundaries. There is no boundaries with him, even in death. He's just amazing."
It's not uncommon for a husband to send his wife flowers on Valentine's Day, but for Shelly Golay, this gesture means more than just flowers.
"Until the day I die, I'll get Valentine's flowers on Valentine's Day and that's just a testament of his love all over again."
Last February, Shelly's husband Jim was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. "It was an uphill climb. The diagnosis wasn't good."
Jim wanted to make Valentine's Day special for his wife Shelly, but he knew his days were limited. So, he came to this flower shop to setup a plan so that Shelly would always remember how much Jim loved her on Valentine's Day.
Jessie Row works at the flower shop Jim went to make this arrangement. She says, "Basically, he had called and set it up before he passed and what it's going to be is just every Valentine's Day, just some of her favorite assorted colored roses will be sent until the day she dies."
The flowers were delivered two days before Valentine's Day and when Shelly first saw the flowers were from Jim, she was speechless.
"I though the kids sent the flowers to begin with."
So she contacted the flowers shop about it, only to find out about Jim's everlasting Valentine's Day plan."
Row says, "She called the other day, we all almost started bawling. So it was really touching to hear the story and know that he had done that for her. It sees like something that only happens in the movies or that you hear about."
This is one Valentine's Day Shelly will always remember.
Shelly says, "It was true love and you just don't find that very often, you know. The fairy tale romance, the knight in shining armor, you just don't find that. And even though we didn't get the fairy tale ending, it was amazing." |||||
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– For you guys who can't remember to get flowers on Valentine's Day, well, Jim Golay is making you look extra terrible: As ABC News reports, the man from Casper, Wyo., learned about a year ago that the brain cancer he'd fought for almost two years was inoperable, and he was given four months to live. With that little time left, Golay did something that's reverberating now, eight months after his death: He went to his local florist and arranged to have flowers sent to his wife of 28 years, Shelly, on Valentine's Day for the rest of her life. Those flowers arrived for Shelly Golay, along with a card that read, "Happy Valentine's Day Honey. Stay Strong! Yours Forever Love Jim." "I thought the kids sent the flowers to begin with," Shelly Golay tells KCWY. But her husband's cell phone number was on the back of the card, and a call to the florist revealed that, indeed, "he had come in that last Valentine's Day and had said, 'Just send her flowers for the rest of her life.'" Says their daughter, "It was just like my dad to do something like that," though she calls the gesture "bittersweet, because we knew in order for him to set something like that up, he must have known at one point he wasn't going to make it." "He can love beyond boundaries," says Shelly Golay. "There is no boundaries with him, even in death. He's just amazing." (This man dying of brain cancer sat down with his wife and penned his own awesome obit.)
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– It's an "unusual arrangement," a judge in Britain acknowledges, but there's no legal problem with it: A man in his 20s is adopting his own biological son, whose surrogate mom was the man's mother, the Telegraph reports. In other words, as the Mirror headline has it: "Woman gives birth to own GRANDSON." "Careful consideration" went into the parenting process, the judge says in a ruling that doesn't name anyone involved. Initially, another one of the man's relatives was going to be the surrogate, but her own medical concerns forced her to change her mind. That's when the man's mother agreed to take over, the Telegraph notes. The baby "has lived with ... his biological father since birth. All the reports describe (the man's) care of (the infant) as being to a high standard," the judge wrote, per the Telegraph. "The arrangement the parties entered into is not one, as far as I am aware, that either this court or the clinic has previously encountered, and although highly unusual, is entirely lawful under the relevant statutory provisions." In the Mirror, a lawyer who supports the decision emphasizes that though the man's mother carried the baby, the egg wasn't hers. Still, legally, she is the child's mother. But an MP calls the situation "worrying," while a parenting expert quoted by the paper raises doubts. "He'll have so much confusion in his background," she says. (Another mother in Britain reportedly wants to become a surrogate for her dead daughter's baby.)
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A woman acted as a surrogate mother for a baby whose biological father is her adult son, in what is believed to be a UK first, it emerged last night.
The “highly unusual” arrangement was “entirely lawful”, a court decided.
The man, who is in his mid-20s and lives alone, had taken advice from specialist lawyers before “embarking” on the “process of becoming a father,” Mrs Justice Theis heard.
He had looked after the little boy - now seven months old - since birth.
And Mrs Justice Theis has ruled that he can adopt.
Detail of the case emerged last night in a written ruling by Mrs Justice Theis following a family court hearing in London.
The judge said she had never encountered such a surrogacy arrangement before.
She said: “The arrangement the parties entered into is not one, as far as I am aware, that either this court or the clinic has previously encountered and although highly unusual, is entirely lawful under the relevant statutory provisions.”
She said her paramount consideration had been the little boy’s “lifelong welfare”.
And she said allowing the man to adopt would provide “legal security” and meet the little boy’s long-term welfare needs.
Mrs Justice Theis said the man’s mother’s husband had been supportive.
She said another family member had initially offered to be the surrogate but had to withdraw for medical reasons.
The man’s mother - whose age was not revealed in the ruling - had then agreed to step in.
Mrs Justice Theis did not identify anyone involved.
“The papers show that for some considerable time he has wanted to be a father,” she added.
“He waited until his circumstances were settled in terms of a job and home to enable him to provide the care a child would need. ||||| Concerns were raised last night over a woman giving birth to her son's IVF baby.
Commons Health Committee MP Grahame Morris described it as a "worrying development".
And a parenting expert feared that the child would face too much confusion growing up with a father who is also his brother.
Details of the birth came through a written High Court judgment. A man in his 20s is the official father of the baby boy - known only as "A" - after being allowed to formally adopt him.
The man's mum acted as a sur- rogate after a clinic fertilised a donor egg with her son's sperm. After giving birth, she handed the child to her son and said she was happy just to be a grandmother.
Mrs Justice Theis said in her judgment allowing the adoption that all parties had individual counselling during the process.
She said: "Although highly unusual it is entirely lawful." She added: "The paramount consid eration is A's lifelong welfare." She added that the father "is committed to explain the circum stances of A's birth to him in an appropriate manner in future, to assist with his identity and enable him to understand the lengths the family went to for A to be born".
But some critics say the law needs to be changed to prevent this kind of arrangement.
Parenting expert Dr Patricia Morgan said: "He'll have so much confusion in his background.
"The evidence suggests that the further we move away from two biological parents the less good that is for the child."
Should grandma be the mother too?
FOR: Marilyn Stowe
I CAN see that many people will be uncomfortable with the idea of a mother acting as a surrogate for her own son.
It's certainly unusual.
But it should be made clear that in this surrogacy the son's mother is what is known as a gestational parent.
That means she carried a donor egg and gave birth - which makes her the child's mother in the eyes of the law - but the egg she carried wasn't hers.
The modern family is changing. The surrogacy and the adoption approval is an example of the courts reflecting the changing nature of our society in a caring and compassionate manner. The court has done its job by ensuring this surrogacy was carefully considered.
There was individual counselling. The family is supportive of the surrogacy.
And the main point is that the welfare of the child is the priority for both the court and the family.
Marilyn Stowe is senior partner at Stowe Family Law.
AGAINST: Grahame Morris
I UNDERSTAND the court had to make a very difficult decision. But this is a very worrying development.
The most important person in all this must be the child.
I am concerned about his emotional wellbeing - and how he will be affected in the future as he grows up.
It could be very difficult for the child to understand that the woman who gave birth to him is his grandmother and not his mummy. This should not become a routine occurrence.
This should be a one-off situation. I am concerned too that this case might set a precedent. Surrogacy has now become much more commonplace.
And it clearly would be best for all concerned that an embryo is carried by someone other than their own grandmother.
Grahame Morris is a member of the Commons Health Committee and is Labour MP for Easington, Co Durham. |||||
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Here is a news article: Know any budding journalists looking for work?
A job notice posted Monday by The Cannabist — a groundbreaking specialist website launched by The Denver Post as Colorado in 2014 legalized the commercial sale of cannabis for recreational use — may have an opportunity.
The Denver Post is seeking a journalist to produce stories its paper and the site, which carries news on legalization battles across the U.S. and Canada, articles on the business of growing and selling pot, as well as "pot-rooted recipes" and "gear reviews." The job is specifically for a data journalist, and requires familiarity with "self-created visuals" — that means maps, charts and graphs, as the ad points out.
However, as some interested candidates will no doubt be disappointed to hear, "As with every Denver Post position, a qualified candidate must successfully pass a drug test," the ad says.
DREAM JOB SIREN
The Cannabist is hiring a **full-time marijuana data journalist**
What a time to be alive. https://t.co/ETqSEpxzdd - Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) April 4, 2016
Despite the legalization of cannabis in Colorado, many companies still test their staff for the narcotic — which remains a controlled substance under federal law — as The Denver Post has itself reported . ||||| 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 |||||
Sorry, that job is no longer listed on JournalismJobs.com. Click
on the Find a Job tab above to search for other jobs.
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– The Denver Post is looking for a journalist to cover the marijuana scene, including legalization battles, in the US and Canada for its website the Cannabist—or as Washington Post reporter Christopher Ingraham puts it, "DREAM JOB SIREN." But don't get too excited, stoner scribes. "As with every Denver Post position, a qualified candidate must successfully pass a drug test," the ad reads, per Time. Data journalists with a clean test and experience creating maps, charts, and graphs are encouraged to apply.
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News article:
Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager on Wednesday excoriated Donald Trump’s latest campaign hires — an unusually aggressive attack aimed at staffers from a team that has been keeping a low profile as its rival has self-immolated.
Hours after Trump announced that Steve Bannon, a top executive at the right-wing news site Breitbart, would take over as the campaign chief executive officer, Clinton campaign Chairman Robby Mook painted Bannon as an extremist fringe character who propagates racist ideas. He also took on Trump's new campaign manager, Republican strategist Kellyanne Conway, saying she is "in very good company with the new Trump team" and would do nothing to help the Republican nominee among female voters.
Story Continued Below
In bringing on Bannon, Trump is turning “his campaign over to someone who's best known for running a so-called news site that peddles divisive, at times racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," Mook said during a hastily convened conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon.
The campaign shakeup, according to Mook, proved that Trump plans to “double down on his most small, nasty and divisive instincts” in the final 82 days of the race. Mook said the new leadership, installed as Trump attempts to regain altitude after weeks of dropping in national and battleground state polls, is not surprising. “It’s clear that his divisive, erratic and dangerous rhetoric simply represents who he really is,” he said.
Trump's unfavorables are close to 62 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
But Trump wasn’t really the point of Wednesday's conference call — discrediting Bannon was. Mook noted that Breitbart has “compared the work of Planned Parenthood to the Holocaust” and “repeatedly used anti-LGBT slurs in their coverage.” Bannon, he said, has personally spread conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama’s citizenship.
“The Breitbart organization has been known to defend white supremacists,” Mook added. “We absolutely expect with this change, for Donald Trump and the campaign as a whole to double down on more hateful, divisive rhetoric.” As for Conway, Mook said she "has a record of the same divisive politics of the rest of the people he has brought in."
The campaign followed up with a fundraising pitch about Trump's new leadership. "Donald Trump just promoted one of the most dangerous right-wing fringe attack artists out there to be chief executive of his campaign," the campaign said, trying to raise money off the shake-up.
The campaign’s decision to go after Bannon and Conway was somewhat out of character for a team that has deliberately stayed silent on the turmoil inside Trump Tower, as when Trump fired his first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, in June, promoting Paul Manafort to run the show. After The New York Times reported earlier this month that Manafort was to receive $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from a pro-Kremlin political party he worked for in Ukraine, Clinton’s campaign tried to keep its narrative about Trump rather than being diverted to a side plot.
“This is a serious matter and there are real concerns about the pro-Kremlin interests engaged with the Trump team,” the campaign said in a statement reacting to the story. “As someone running to lead American policy and national security, Donald Trump owes the American public answers.”
But Bannon is different — the campaign is actively trying to make him part of the Trump story for the next three months.
His hiring, Clinton allies said, signals what they expect to be a scorched-earth strategy for the remainder of the presidential race — Trump now egged on by someone who traffics in personal attacks and conspiracy theories about Clinton. “If Trump is going to lose and he’s thinking about what comes next, it’s best to lose with what helped him gain the passionate following, because you can monetize that passionate following,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Obama. “If authenticity is your brand and you try to change, you undermine that.”
Mook’s comments were intended to ensure that any future conspiracy theory or attack Trump throws at Clinton will be associated with the dark arts of advisers like Bannon and Trump adviser Roger Stone.
Pfeiffer said he no longer thinks Trump is running to win. "If you are losing a presidential campaign," he said, "if you're getting outmaneuvered in every phase, you don't hire two people with no presidential campaign experience."
Instead, he said he expects Trump to double down on the contentious behavior and positions that sucked the air out of the Republican primary and vanquished his rivals in the first place.
Clinton’s campaign, feeling confident that Trump’s time and desire for a pivot is running dry, agrees — and chuckles at the notion that a strategy that worked for some 14 million Republican primary voters can translate to the electorate in a general election. “He has said very clearly he wants to be himself, he wants to say whatever is on his mind,” Mook said. “That’s how we should expect to finish out the campaign.” ||||| UPDATED November 13, 2016
On November 13, President-Elect Donald Trump named Bannon his White House Chief Strategist. He will serve alongside White House Chief of Staff and former RNC Chairman Reince Preibus as co-equals, reportedly.
ORIGINAL: On Wednesday, the Trump campaign shifted top campaign staff: the new CEO of the campaign is, predictably and hilariously, Steven K. Bannon, the current chairman of Breitbart News. I have a bit of experience with Bannon, given that I was the editor-at-large of Breitbart News for four years, and worked closely with Breitbart and Bannon.
Here’s what you need to know about Bannon, as well as new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
1. Steve Bannon Turned Breitbart Into Trump Pravda For His Own Personal Gain. Back in March, I quit Breitbart News when it became clear to me that they had decided that loyalty to Donald Trump outweighed loyalty to their own employees, helping Trump smear one of their own reporters, Michelle Fields, by essentially calling her a liar for saying that she had been grabbed by then-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Here’s what I wrote at the time:
Andrew built his life and his career on one mission: fight the bullies. But Andrew’s life mission has been betrayed. Indeed, Breitbart News, under the chairmanship of Steve Bannon, has put a stake through the heart of Andrew’s legacy. In my opinion, Steve Bannon is a bully, and has sold out Andrew’s mission in order to back another bully, Donald Trump; he has shaped the company into Trump’s personal Pravda…the facts are undeniable: Breitbart News has become precisely the reverse of what Andrew would have wanted. Steve Bannon and those who follow his lead should be ashamed of themselves.
Not to say "I told you so," but I did tell you so.
2. Bannon Uses Celebrity Conservatives To Elevate His Personal Profile. Bannon began receiving conservative media attention for his documentary Generation Zero. And he began elevating his profile by latching onto Michele Bachmann with his documentary Fire From The Heartland. But he truly insinuated himself into the circles of conservative power by making a 2011 documentary about Sarah Palin, The Undefeated. His connection with Palin upped his brand in the movement significantly. He soon began appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity fairly regularly, became personal friends with Hannity, and met Andrew Breitbart. He insinuated himself into Breitbart’s business by lending him office space, then made a documentary starring Breitbart, Occupy Unmasked. When Breitbart died, his business partner Larry Solov offered Bannon chairmanship of the company. Bannon then turned Breitbart into his personal domain, making himself a regularly bylined columnist (certainly rare for a major media company) and installing himself as a radio host on Breitbart Radio on Sirius XM. Finally, he used his role as Breitbart CEO to turn the outlet into Trump Pravda, creating a stepping stone to close connection with Trump. Breitbart publicly burned bridges with everyone to maintain its Trump loyalty. That was Bannon, a scorched-earth personal opportunist.
3. Bannon Took At Least One Major Breitbart Investor For A Serious Ride. One of the main investors in Breitbart News is Robert Mercer. The Mercer family put millions of dollars into a Ted Cruz super PAC during this election cycle, even as Bannon manipulated Breitbart News into a Cruz-bashing Trump propaganda outlet. The spokesperson for the Mercer family was Kellyanne Conway, who has now been installed as Trump’s campaign manager. I have been reliably informed by sources associated with the pro-Cruz super PAC that for months, as Bannon was using Breitbart News to promote Trump, the Mercers were defending Bannon’s neutrality to other Cruz supporters worried about Breitbart’s dishonest coverage about Cruz.
4. Breitbart’s Staff Lusts After Trump Involvement. Long before the billionaire officially entered the presidential race, Bannon was close to him; in April 2014, the Trump offices described Bannon thusly: “MAJOR SUPPORTER OF MR. TRUMP.” The new team at Trump headquarters will undoubtedly include all the Breitbart staffers who openly lusted after power within the Trump campaign: Joel Pollak, the Breitbart lawyer who desperately wanted to be a Trump speechwriter, and wrote a disgusting hit piece about me personally when I left and accurately accused the website of becoming an adjunct to the campaign; Matthew Boyle, the pseudo-journalist who reportedly bragged about becoming Trump’s press secretary; Milo Yiannopoulos, the Trump-worshipping alt-right droog stooge. They’re all in with their Godking, now.
5. Under Bannon’s Leadership, Breitbart Openly Embraced The White Supremacist Alt-Right. Andrew Breitbart despised racism. Truly despised it. He used to brag regularly about helping to integrate his fraternity at Tulane University. He insisted that racial stories be treated with special care to avoid even the whiff of racism. With Bannon embracing Trump, all that changed. Now Breitbart has become the alt-right go-to website, with Yiannopoulos pushing white ethno-nationalism as a legitimate response to political correctness, and the comment section turning into a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.
6. This Is Precisely The Sort of Corrupt Media Relationship Breitbart Used To Abhor. Andrew Breitbart used his memoir, Righteous Indignation, to target one thing above all else: what he called the Democrat-Media Complex. He hated the merger of the Democrats and the media, and particularly despised their lie of objectivity. Breitbart News never claimed to be objective. But until Trump won the nomination, leadership at Breitbart News maintained that they had not become a loudspeaker for Trumpism. That was obviously a lie, and one Breitbart would hate. HATE. Now, it’s clear that Breitbart News is indeed Bannon.com and Trumpbart News. That’s pathetic and disgusting.
7. Trump’s Campaign Strategy Could Be The Launch Of A New Media Outlet. Because Bannon’s ambitions extend to Steve Bannon, he’ll tell Trump he’s doing a fantastic job even if he isn’t. That’s how Bannon Svengalis political figures and investors – by investing them in his personal genius, then hollowing them out from the inside. There’s a reason Sarah Palin went from legitimate political figure to parody artist to Trump endorser, with Steve Bannon standing alongside her every step of the way. There’s a reason Breitbart News went from hard-charging news outlet to drooling Trump mouthpiece. Bannon emerges from all of this unscathed. So what’s next on his agenda? If Trump wins, he’s in a position of high power; if Trump loses, Bannon could head up a new media empire with Trump’s support and the involvement of new Trump supporter and ousted former Fox News head Roger Ailes. Look for Sean Hannity to be a part of any such endeavor.
8. Bannon Is A Legitimately Sinister Figure. Many former employees of Breitbart News are afraid of Steve Bannon. He is a vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies. Bannon is a smarter version of Trump: he’s an aggressive self-promoter who name-drops to heighten his profile and woo bigger names, and then uses those bigger names as stepping stools to his next destination. Trump may be his final destination. Or it may not. He will attempt to ruin anyone who impedes his unending ambition, and he will use anyone bigger than he is – for example, Donald Trump – to get where he wants to go. Bannon knows that in the game of thrones, you win or die. And he certainly doesn’t intend to die. He’ll kill everyone else before he goes.
Bannon’s ascension is the predictable consummation of a romance he ardently pursued. I joked with friends months ago that by the end of the campaign, Steve Bannon would be running Trump’s campaign from a bunker. That’s now reality. Every nightmare for actual conservatives has come true in this campaign. Why not this one, too? ||||| Donald Trump Donald John TrumpSanford at risk in primary shadowed by Trump McConnell cements his standing in GOP history Ready for somebody? Dems lack heir apparent this time MORE’s campaign shake-up is being seen on Capitol Hill as yet another shot across the bow of the GOP establishment.
The changes in effect demote Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman who had been urging the Republican presidential nominee to show more restraint, and promote pollster Kellyanne Conway to the position of campaign manager.
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But the real bombshell came with the recruitment of Steve Bannon, an executive with the conservative news organization Breitbart, as the campaign’s CEO.
Breitbart has been synonymous with attacks on the GOP leadership, especially in recent weeks and months. A particular foe: Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanGOP senators blast White House aide over trade remarks GOP centrists face decision day on Dreamer petition Scalise to publish memoir 'Back in the Game' MORE (R-Wis.).
Back in May, Breitbart drew considerable criticism for a story that suggested Ryan was hypocritical for opposing Trump’s Muslim ban while sending his own children to Catholic school.
“Ryan sends his children to a private school that uses a ‘religious test’ in its admissions process,” the story stated.
More recently, as Ryan faced a primary challenge, Breitbart pounded out a drumbeat of negative stories. Among the headlines: “Paul Ryan plummets to 43 percent in new primary poll”; “Paul Ryan running scared in final days ahead of primary election”; “Desperate Paul Ryan floods Wisconsin with misleading television ads.”
The site has also suggested that Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell cements his standing in GOP history Congress faces rising pressure to fix tax law China is no friend to US — Trump's putting a stop to these unfair trade deals MORE (R-Ky.) is insufficiently rock-ribbed when it comes to standing up to Democrats.
That coverage, together with Breitbart’s broader reputation for inflammatory journalism, is causing consternation on Capitol Hill.
That isn’t likely to bother Bannon much — a Bloomberg Businessweek profile 10 months ago referred to his cooption of the phrase “honey badger don’t give a shit” as the Breitbart motto.
But Capitol Hill Republicans already disheartened by Trump’s scorched-earth campaign were apoplectic over the Wednesday morning shake-up.
“Breitbart has no credibility outside of the most extreme conservative wing of our party. Frankly, the same could be said of Kellyanne Conway,” one House member and close Ryan ally who has publicly endorsed Trump said in a text-message tirade.
“This would seem to signal that Trump is ready to go double-barrel against all of Washington, Republicans and Democrats alike,” the GOP lawmaker continued. “Breitbart takes a flamethrower to Washington and plays very loose with the facts. I would anticipate an even more bellicose, even less-connected-to-the-facts approach from the Trump campaign moving forward.”
Other sources who spoke with The Hill were much more complimentary of Conway — but, for the most part, just as scathing of Bannon and Breitbart.
Long-time Republican strategist John Feehery, who is also a columnist for The Hill, said he thought Conway was “a good hire” who could “bring some much-needed discipline” to Trump’s quest.
But he added, regarding Bannon’s elevation: “I know how it is going to be perceived on the Hill and among the leadership: it’s not gonna be perceived very well. Because Breitbart are nuts! They’re unhinged. They do stories that are not journalistically credible.”
Feehery added that if Trump were going to “run a Breitbart-type campaign, we are going to get 30 percent of the vote.”
Fears about how a take-no-prisoners approach might backfire electorally were also heard from lawmakers.
A second House Republican who has endorsed Trump said: “This doesn't sound to me like someone interested in running a rational, positive message, let alone winning. Breitbart isn't a legitimate news organization. It's a disgraceful propaganda machine that is trying to divide the party.
“I think Trump wants to lose but have media control over 25 percent of the party so he can make money off of them.”
Still, Bannon does have some backers on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), the little-known economic professor who upset then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor Eric Ivan CantorThe Hill's Morning Report — Sponsored by CVS Health — Trump’s love-hate relationship with the Senate Race for Republican Speaker rare chance to unify party for election Scalise allies upset over Ryan blindside on McCarthy endorsement MORE in a 2014 GOP primary race, recently appeared on Bannon’s radio show in New York to promote his new book, “American Underdog.”
“Steve Bannon certainly will be great at reflecting the populist issues that have shaken the political world for the past couple years,” Brat told The Hill on Wednesday.
“He has his finger on the pulse of the American people, and so I am sure he will make these issues ... front and center in this campaign, including the war on [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria], immigration-related issues, crony trade deals and using all the levers of American power to ensure that we put the American people first.”
When asked if the Speaker had any issue with a Breitbart executive leading Trump's campaign, Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck declined to comment.
But Buck raised eyebrows by sending a tweet on Wednesday saying, “Free idea: Election Day on September 8th instead of November 8th.”
Sardonic or otherwise, his words reflected a near-horror among establishment-minded Republicans about the direction of the Trump campaign. In recent weeks, the GOP nominee has created controversies with an attack on a Gold Star family; a suggestion that “Second Amendment people” could act against Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonReady for somebody? Dems lack heir apparent this time Feehery: The Ugly American Trump to hold campaign rally in Minnesota next week MORE; and an insistence that President Obama founded ISIS.
The fear, at least among some, is that Bannon’s hire will lead the campaign into even more such furors.
Stuart Stevens, who served as senior strategist on 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign, tweeted Wednesday, “The RNC shouldn't give a dime or help in anyway a campaign run by Breitbart. It's like funding CDC run by a Witch Doctor.”
Rick Tyler, who served as communications director for the presidential campaign of Trump’s main rival in the Republican primary, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzFacebook gives 500 pages of answers to lawmakers' data privacy questions Cruz defends Trump policy of family separation In Singapore, remember history before signing a deal with Kim MORE, told The Hill, “I just don’t know what [Bannon] adds. I think Mr. Trump has already won over the Breitbart crowd. I don’t know how Steve Bannon helps attract more people to Trump.”
Others took a more philosophical approach. Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the personnel changes showed that Trump was “going to play this hard all the way through.”
Steele added, “There was a lot of wishful thinking, including from me, that he will make a turn, a pivot. Well, there should be no further expectations for him to do anything like that.”
The changes, Steele said, reflected a belief on Trump’s part that “this campaign is going to succeed or fail on what got us here. It’s really kinda looking into the rearview mirror at the establishment, saying: There you are. You’re either going to get into the car with him or you’re not." ||||| As the American financial system collapsed in the fall of 2008, Stephen K. Bannon began to fantasize about destroying something else: the elite economic and political establishment that he believed had created the crisis.
Mr. Bannon, who was named Donald J. Trump’s campaign chief on Wednesday, was at the time a highly improbable revolutionary, a wealthy former Goldman Sachs banker and a budding filmmaker. But his blue-collar Southern roots tugged at him: panicked by the swooning market, his father, a telephone company lineman with no college degree, had sold much of the stock in his retirement account.
“Steve felt it was outrageous,” said Scot Vorse, his former business partner and a longtime friend.
It was the start of a remarkable reinvention that turned a polished corporate dealmaker who once devised $10 billion mergers on Wall Street into a purveyor of scorched-earth right-wing media who dwells in the darker corners of American politics.
The website he runs, Breitbart News, recently accused President Obama of “importing more hating Muslims”; compared Planned Parenthood’s work to the Holocaust; called Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator, a “renegade Jew”; and advised female victims of online harassment to “just log off” and stop “screwing up the internet for men,” illustrating that point with a picture of a crying child. ||||| Donald Trump’s campaign is under new management—and his white nationalist fanboys love it.
The campaign’s new chief executive, Stephen Bannon, joins from Breitbart News—where he helped mainstream the ideas of white nationalists and resuscitate the reputations of anti-immigrant fear-mongers.
White nationalists today invest a lot of energy worrying about growing Hispanic and Muslim populations in the U.S. Turns out, Breitbart News spends a lot of time worrying about those things, too. And in Bannon, they see a media-friendly, ethno-nationalist fellow traveler.
“Latterly, Breitbart emerged as a nationalist site and done great stuff on immigration in particular,” VDARE.com editor Peter Brimelow told The Daily Beast.
VDare is a white supremacist site. It’s named after Virginia Dare, the first white child born to British colonists in North America. Brimelow said he and Bannon met briefly last month and exchanged pleasantries about each other’s work.
“It’s irritating because VDARE.com is not used to competition,” Brimelow added. “I presume that is due to Bannon, so his appointment is great news.”
Brimelow isn’t the only prominent white nationalist to praise the Bannon hire. Richard Spencer, who heads the white supremacist think tank National Policy Institute, said he was also pleased. Under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart has given favorable coverage to the white supremacist Alt Right movement. And Spencer loves it.
“Breitbart has elective affinities with the Alt Right, and the Alt Right has clearly influenced Breitbart,” he said. “In this way, Breitbart has acted as a ‘gateway’ to Alt Right ideas and writers. I don’t think it has done this deliberately; again, it’s a matter of elective affinities.”
Spencer said Breitbart and Bannon have helped Alt Right ideas gain legitimacy—and, more importantly, exponentially expand their audiences. He cited the work of Milo Yiannopoulos as evidence of this.
“As is evident with Milo’s piece on the Alt Right, Breitbart has people on board who take us seriously, even if they are not Alt Right themselves.”
Yiannopoulos wrote a piece on March 29, 2016, about the Alt Right, praising its members as “dangerously bright,” and cheering the VDARE and American Renaissance sites as an “eclectic mix of renegades.” American Renaissance is helmed by Jared Taylor, who advocates for voluntary racial segregation and says African Americans are genetically predisposed to be criminals.
Yiannopoulos defended Brimelow and Taylor by saying they “don’t want to commit any pogroms,” which is… not a very comforting sentiment.
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Reached for comment, Yiannopoulos referred The Daily Beast to Breitbart editor-in-chief Alexander Marlow. He has not returned a request for comment.
The Clinton campaign immediately pounced on the announcement in a conference call on Wednesday afternoon, noting Bannon’s Alt Right ties. “After several failed attempts to pivot into a more serious and presidential mode, Donald Trump has decided to double down on his most small, nasty and divisive instincts by turning his campaign over to someone who’s best known for running a so-called news site that peddles divisive, at times racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters.
The Clinton campaign did not respond to a follow-up email asking if they will continue to provide press credentials to Breitbart reporters.
Bannon didn’t just make Breitbart a safe space for white supremacists; he’s also welcomed a scholar blacklisted from the mainstream conservative movement for arguing there’s a connection between race and IQ. Breitbart frequently highlights the work of Jason Richwine, who resigned from the conservative Heritage Foundation when news broke that his Harvard dissertation argued in part that Hispanics have lower IQs than non-Hispanic whites.
Bannon loves Richwine. On Jan. 6 of this year, when Richwine was a guest on the radio show, Bannon called him “one of the smartest brains out there in demographics, demography, this whole issue of immigration, what it means to this country.”
And, unsurprisingly, Bannon heaps praise on Pamela Geller, an activist in the counter-Jihad movement who warns about “creeping Sharia.” When she appeared on the SiriusXM Breitbart radio show that Bannon hosted, he called her “one of the leading experts in the country if not the world” on Islam.
Geller told The Daily Beast she’s thrilled by the Bannon news.
“Steve Bannon is a warrior,” she told The Daily Beast. “He has long understood that this is a war in the information battle-space (something the right has failed to grasp despite the left’s smear machine against those with whom they disagree). The media is out to destroy Donald Trump. Trump needs a champion, a ‘Patton,’ a Bannon. This is fantastic news.”
Specifically, Geller said Bannon “articulates what millions of Americans are thinking about how we need to tell the truth about jihad and the Muslim migrant invasion of the West.”
One former Breitbart worker puts it a little differently. Kurt Bardella, who had the site as a client until quitting this year, said Bannon regularly made racist comments during internal meetings.
“I woke up and the world came to an end,” he told The Daily Beast. “They have put in place someone who is a dictator-bully—a figure whose form of management is verbal abuse and intimidation.
“He made more off-color comments about minorities and homosexuals than I can recount,” he added.
Bardella, who lives in Virginia and was formerly a Republican Hill staffer, said this November, for the first time in his life, he will vote for a Democrat: Hillary Clinton.
—with additional reporting by Lloyd Grove ||||| Even for a campaign creating regular media tremors, the hiring of Stephen K. Bannon as the new campaign C.E.O. for Donald Trump has to count as a real shock. Trump is a first-time candidate who has talked about professionalizing his campaign, and yet he has hired a media bomb-thrower with no experience on the trail. But on another level, it is no surprise, since for years there has been a political symbiosis between Trump, Bannon, and Breitbart Media, the news organization that Bannon has led for the last four years. In truth, Bannon and Breitbart Media were Trump before Trump, creating the political philosophy and the political army in waiting that has been the engine for the candidate’s astonishing rise in American politics. To understand the relationship between Trump and Bannon, you need to start with Andrew Breitbart himself. Over a short, fireworks-laced career, Breitbart helped re-write the rules of political discourse in the U.S. Starting in 2007, after a stint at the Drudge Report, he launched a series of Web sites—Big Hollywood, Big Government, and Big Journalism, all under the Breitbart.com umbrella—to challenge the narratives set forth by so-called “liberal media” institutions. His sites, really a decentralized blogger network, were threaded together by furious denunciations of government, politicians, journalists, and Democrats, and they were fueled not by traditional norms of journalism, but largely by anger. It was a potent audience that might, in particular hands, serve as a potent electorate. Indeed, Breitbart has given voice to millions of mostly working-class white voters who are anguished over the loss of status, the loss of certainty, and the diminishment of a long-cherished way of life—and who tend to blame Congress, the mainstream media, big business, and the Republican establishment for these misgivings. As The New Yorker graphically described it, Breitbart and his fellow bloggers and aggregators were not content providers, but “malcontent” providers—“giving seething, sneering voice to what he characterizes as a silenced majority.” Breitbart himself would not have disagreed. “I like to call someone a raving cunt every now and then,” he told the magazine, “when it’s appropriate, for effect.” Breitbart unexpectedly died of heart failure, in 2012, at the age of 43, but the movement that set his media company in motion did not end with his death. Perhaps more than any other outlet, Breitbart, which notched 13.8 million unique visitors in June, according to ComScore, has built an audience that has indeed become the foot soldiers, or electorate, for Donald Trump. The connection between Breitbart and Trump is so strong that many refer to the site as “Trumpbart.” In fact, the company, over the strong objections of some of its staff, chose to side with the Trump camp over its own reporter earlier this year when Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, grabbed Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields at an event in Florida. (Fields declined a request to comment for this story. Charges have since been dropped.) Video: Donald Trump and the R.N.C. In the wake of Andrew Breitbart’s death, Bannon quickly grabbed the reins of power and he continued to build the network in the spirit of its founder. He is likely the most potent conservative news executive in a post–Roger Ailes landscape, and his new role as campaign C.E.O. overshadows even Ailes’s reported role as a Trump adviser, which The New York Times revealed this week. (Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks has denied this relationship.) Like both Trump and Ailes, a former adviser to Nixon who subsequently controlled the pulse of a large swath of the conservative polity, Bannon is not fully representative of his own audience. A graduate of Harvard Business School, who enjoyed a successful career launched at Goldman Sachs, he, on paper, resembles the sort of establishment figure that the Breitbart audience so despises. But like Ailes, and Trump, he seems to have a near three-dimensional chess-style mastery of that audience. On his daily radio show, he deftly balances a wide range of callers, sometimes quizzing them, frequently complimenting their insights, occasionally chastising them for gaps in logic, but mostly communing with them on the sad state of affairs of our country and our society. But Bannon does share one strong feature with the audience, a love of controversy and confrontation. Just before one of our two meetings this summer, Breitbart’s technology correspondent, Milo Yiannopoulos, was slapped with a rare lifetime ban from Twitter for an essay that provoked vicious, racist attacks by his followers against the actress Leslie Jones, a gifted performer whose major crime was finding work, in this case as part of the all-female ensemble on the new Ghostbusters movie. Across the Web, Yiannopoulos’s actions were noted as an example of race-baiting. Bannon’s first words to me that day were, “Did you hear about Milo? It’s great.”
Bannon, not surprisingly, has critics, even within the movement he leads. A former employee of Breitbart described him to me as “Donald Trump but more intelligent.” He didn’t mean it as a compliment, and was instead referring to the opportunism, the personal vindictiveness, and the lack of a moral center that have become defining characteristics of Trump. Bannon certainly does appear to share some of Trump’s moral flexibility. On his radio show, he is fairly direct in trying to defuse some of the worst racial instincts of his audience. When one white caller offered the appalling observation that maybe it is time for white people to start shooting back, Bannon quickly backed him down in an effort that could pass for racial harmony in Breitbart land. But Bannon is equally energetic in leveraging what Ian Tuttle of the National Review has called “the racist, moral rot at the heart of the alt-right.” Even as he expressed personal discomfort to me with race-baiting, Bannon has given full rein to Yiannopoulos and others to exploit some very ugly things in this country. Breitbart, indeed, is a brand built on anger. And when I first started following the site, it was impossible for me to see anything beyond that anger. In contrast to the modulated tones of NPR, where I worked for years, the pulsating furor of Breitbart, and of its users, was mesmerizing and terrifying, not unlike a horrible roadside crash. But it would be a mistake to dismiss Breitbart as a mere collection of bomb-throwers. In some sense, the organization is also the first significant American outlet to articulate and represent, in a large-scale way, a new philosophy of nationalism and populism that has found strong purchase in American society, and in many other parts of the globe. The Breitbart philosophy revolves around the core belief that a wildly corrupt ruling class, of both parties, has abandoned American workers in favor of policies that line its own pockets and the pockets of corporate interests. And its white-hot anger stems from how the leading institutions of American life have engineered all sorts of arrangements hostile to American workers: trade deals that favor the interest of large multinational companies over American workers, open-border policies that serve the needs of agro-businesses at the expense of low-wage Americans, and, more generally, a set of globalist policies that support transnational business interests without regard for the deteriorating status and position of middle America. Video: Trump vs. Political Correctness Bannon is a compelling spokesman for this position. It is his classmates from Harvard Business School who have, in his view, turned public-spirited American companies into pure finance plays run by bottom-line or bust management. For Bannon, it is not magnificent Apple making America the model of innovation, but, as he said to me, “fucking Apple, making iPhones with slave labor.” That view of American corporations is in vogue these days, but Bannon and Breitbart were not only ahead of the curve, they helped invent the curve. This view of the world is conveyed through reporting that is rarely sober, occasionally funny, but more often incendiary and race-baiting. Breitbart’s followers are collectively known as “the hobbits”—a reference to a speech on the Senate floor in 2011 by John McCain, where he derided the Tea Party as a bunch of hobbits, meaning that they were living in a fantasy world defined by a struggle between good and evil. But the insult from McCain, who has been mocked by Breitbart (and Trump), has now been adopted as a badge of honor by its audience. For better or worse, Breitbart is as much about its community as it is its own reporting. And it is anger that fuels that community. A trip into virtually any Breitbart comment board needs to be accompanied by a dose of Dramamine and a willingness to endure the racial heat that currently drives so much of the debate in this country. Before my first meeting with Bannon, I selected one top article of the day and pulled up several choice comments to read to him. Here is one exchange that I found, with no effort at all: From “ResistandRebel”: It is hilarious how butthurt the feral negro’s are about a few dead mongrels! It is even more hilarious how butthurt they are all the time, even with affirmative action, all the free shlt, and their own separate everything! LOL! I guess I would be too if my family tree was made up of a bunch of mongrel, spear chucking monkey losers!!! Reply from “DefiantDeity”: Exactly who are the but hurt ones here? They act like the mental midgets they are as soon as one of their own mentally challenged members gets gunned down for being an idiot. I celebrated with some alcohol when Zimmerman was found not guilty and I celebrate every time one of these mongoloids are shot by cops. There are a lot more of us Americans than there are people in BLM. Designate them a terror group and wipe them off the planet over night. Comment from “Paul Kersey”: They know that White people are superior. They wine about it all the time and want to kill us because of it. They know they come from jungle savages and will never be equal to us so they destroy everything we create. When I read Bannon those comments, his response was slightly pained, and he tried to wave the issue away, saying that it is all “the Wild West,” the “top of the first inning”—the logical consequence of Breitbart’s absolute commitment to unregulated and unfettered speech. But it was also clearly a topic of concern, and he returned to it later in the conversation, asking me for advice on how to reduce these types of comments on Breitbart, and whether a ban on anonymity would change the tone. It was unclear to me whether he was bothered by the overt racism, or just its business implications—there simply aren’t enough white working-class people to fuel a winning nationalist movement in this country. Bannon seemed to recognize that until he can ultimately win over a significant slice of working-class blacks and Hispanics, his movement—and now Trump’s campaign—seems likely to remain a significant but secondary operation. On Tuesday evening, hours before Bannon’s role was announced, Trump delivered a prepared speech near Milwaukee that appeared aimed at attracting African-American voters. “Law and order must be restored. It must be restored for the sake of all, but most especially for the sake of those living in the affected communities,” Trump said. “The main victims of these riots are law-abiding African-American citizens living in these neighborhoods. It is their jobs, their homes, their schools and communities which will suffer as a result.” As campaign C.E.O., it is Bannon’s job to use his audience-gathering ability to attract undecided and independent voters beyond the extant white working-class movement. He has not found much success doing that at Breitbart, and it is difficult to see what skill set he brings to doing that for the Trump campaign. Trump currently polls at zero percent with African-American voters in several states. But he has tried to at least articulate the reasons why the philosophy of Trumpbart should have wider appeal. Throughout our conversations, Bannon argued to me that many globalist policies supported by establishment Republicans and Democrats alike are most damaging to the minority communities that he hopes in the long run will rally to the Breitbart banner. But having effectively normalized racial conflict in his audience, this appears almost as a fever dream. What Breitbart shares most with Trump, on some level, is an imperviousness to the notion that words matter, and that hatred only pollutes the discourse it touches. The First Amendment may protect even the most outlandish content that Breitbart hosts, but that spirit is likely to limit its own growth prospects, despite Bannon’s best efforts. BuzzFeed has grown into a well-respected news organization, but many still recall it as a cat-picture site. The Huffington Post is a large digital-media brand, but it is one still identified with blogs operated by its famous founder. For all that Bannon contends that Breitbart is the vox populi for Americans without a national voice, it will be hard to shake the worst aspects of its hobbit roots. And that reality, in fact, may undermine the very people, and the candidate, that Breitbart aims to serve. |||||
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– Donald Trump has doubled down on Trumpism with the appointment of new campaign CEO Stephen Bannon—and many people, including some who worked with him at Breitbart News, sound pretty worried about where he's going to take the campaign. One thing is clear: It's not a move aimed at courting the GOP establishment. A roundup of coverage: In a lengthy profile of Bannon and Breitbart itself, Vanity Fair's Ken Stern describes the conservative organization as "Trump before Trump." He predicts that Bannon's real goal is "cementing an American nationalist movement," not securing victory for Trump—and that if the "outraged and xenophobic tone of Breitbart is any guide, we are in for a final three months of the campaign that will put the rest to shame." "Steve is a fighter. He loves the fight. He loves the scrum," Andrew Marcus, who directed a documentary on Breitbart, says in a New York Times profile of the 62-year-old former Goldman Sachs banker. Bannon's past includes a stint in the Navy, a Sarah Palin documentary—and a Seinfeld deal that made him a fortune. Ben Shapiro, who described Breitbart as "Trump's Pravda" when he quit the organization in March, doesn't mince his words at the Daily Wire. He calls the "legitimately sinister" Bannon a "vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies"—and a "smarter version of Trump." He accuses Bannon of, among other things, openly embracing the white supremacist movement. The Daily Beast reports that the "alt right" movement—better known as white supremacists—is rejoicing at the appointment of Bannon. Clinton spokesman Robby Mook slammed the Trump campaign for handing the reins to somebody who "peddles divisive, at times racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," Politico reports. He said the move signals that Trump is about to "double down on his most small, nasty, and divisive instincts." The Hill spoke to Republicans on Capitol Hill and found that many of them are "apoplectic" at the hire. "Breitbart has no credibility outside of the most extreme conservative wing of our party," one House member says. "This would seem to signal that Trump is ready to go double-barrel against all of Washington, Republicans and Democrats alike." GOP strategist John Feehery, however, says that while Breitbart is "nuts," Bannon is somebody who could bring some "much-needed discipline" to Trump's campaign. Also not a Bannon fan: Glenn Beck. Bannon is "a horrible, despicable human being" and "quite possibly the most dangerous guy in all of American politics," he said Wednesday, per RealClearPolitics.
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– Twitter for the first time is explaining why President Trump's tweets don't get pulled when they seem to at least skirt the site's rules. Short version: It's because he's the president. In a blog post and series of tweets, the company said that it considers "a number of factors" in deciding whether a tweet violates the rules, including "'newsworthiness and whether a Tweet is of public interest." Given that Trump is, in fact, president and that everything he tweets could thus be considered newsworthy, that would seem to provide blanket protection for all his tweets, notes Recode. Co-founder Biz Stone said the company had gotten a lot of questions in particular about Trump's weekend tweet in which he warned that North Korea's leader might not "be around much longer." North Korea considered it a declaration of war and Trump's critics thought it at least violated Twitter's rules prohibiting tweets that include "threats of violence or (that) promote violence." The company did not elaborate on whether the tweet would have been out of bounds had it come from someone who isn't the president, but it promised to clarify its public rules soon. "We need to do better on this, and we will." This is the first time Twitter has mentioned "newsworthiness" and the "public interest" as part of the calculus it uses to judge tweets, notes Mashable. "By doing so, Twitter's admitting it exercises at least some degree of editorial judgment and acts more like a media company, a label most social platforms have long tried to avoid," writes Patrick Kulp. (Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to discuss the NFL, specifically the Cowboys.)
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President Donald Trump appears to have violated Twitter’s user guidelines with a recent tweet about North Korea. The company doesn’t plan to punish him for it, and now it’s trying to explain why.
Over the weekend, Trump tweeted a message about North Korea and dictator Kim Jong-un that included a thinly veiled threat. Threats are against Twitter’s user guidelines, which forbid tweets that include “threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism.”
“Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N.,” Trump tweeted. “If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!”
Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
North Korea took the “won’t be around much longer” part of the tweet as a threat, claiming on Monday that Trump’s post was a “clear declaration of war.”
Some wondered on Monday why Twitter hadn’t removed the tweet — violating the company’s rules usually means the tweet is removed and the account is suspended.
In a somewhat confusing post on Monday, the company shed some light on why the tweet was allowed to stay up.
Twitter’s explanation: Because it was newsworthy.
“We hold all accounts to the same Rules, and consider a number of factors when assessing whether Tweets violate our Rules,” the company wrote in a post. “Among the considerations is ‘newsworthiness’ and whether a Tweet is of public interest. This has long been internal policy and we’ll soon update our public-facing rules to reflect it. We need to do better on this, and will.”
This has long been internal policy and we'll soon update our public-facing rules to reflect it. We need to do better on this, and will 4/6 — Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
A company spokesperson clarified to Recode that Twitter’s post was not confirming that Trump’s tweet violated its rules. Just that “newsworthiness” is one factor that is used internally to determine whether or not to take something down.
This won’t sit well with a lot of people. Trump routinely walks the line when it comes to Twitter’s abuse and safety rules, and given that newsworthiness is a consideration in how to respond, it’s tough to imagine a scenario in which he might cross the line. As the president, everything he tweets is newsworthy.
Twitter has never acknowledged publicly that Trump has violated any of its guidelines — it rarely even acknowledges Trump’s tweets. Back in July, for example, Twitter’s VP of trust and safety, when asked about Trump, told a group of reporters, “The rules are the rules, we enforce them the same way for everybody.”
CEO Jack Dorsey has long defended Trump’s tweeting. “I believe it's really important to have these conversations out in the open, rather than have them behind closed doors,” he said in May. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Twitter finally has an answer for critics who claim that the social network gives President Donald Trump a pass on his inflammatory tweets.
A company spokesman said Monday that it takes into account "newsworthiness" and potential public interest when deciding whether or not a particular tweet violates the company's rules for appropriate conduct.
The statement came in response to calls for Twitter to take action against the president's account for a tweet threatening North Korea this weekend. The North Korean government claimed the tweet was a "clear declaration of war," and a case could easily be made that it broke Twitter's rules prohibiting harassment and content that incites violence.
Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
Twitter's rules about what does and does not constitute an inappropriate tweet are opaque, subjective, and often unevenly applied. CEO Jack Dorsey seemed to ackowledge as much in a tweet Monday in which he promised the company would "do better" with transparency in these types of situations.
We’re putting significant effort into increasing our transparency as a company, and commit to meaningful and fast progress. Will do better. https://t.co/g1Rvkaj2sl — jack (@jack) September 25, 2017
Monday's statements mark the first time the company has mentioned "newsworthiness" and "public interest" as criteria in enforcing its rules. By doing so, Twitter's admitting it exercises at least some degree of editorial judgment and acts more like a media company, a label most social platforms have long tried to avoid.
"This has long been internal policy and we’ll soon update our public-facing rules to reflect it," Twitter cofounder Biz Stone wrote in a blog post. "We need to do better on this, and will."
This is nowhere near the first time Twitter has faced pressure to rein in Trump's often belligerent use. Twitter has mostly stayed mum on the issue, deferring to a company policy not to comment on the individual actions of private accounts.
The statements may mark a newfound willingness to discuss the inner workings behind these decisions—at least when it comes to the world's top public figures. ||||| Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer! ||||| We believe that everyone should have the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. In order to protect the experience and safety of people who use Twitter, there are some limitations on the type of content and behavior that we allow. These limitations are set forth in the Twitter Rules below.
The Twitter Rules (along with all incorporated policies), Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service collectively make up the "Twitter User Agreement" that governs a user's access to and use of Twitter's services.
All individuals accessing or using Twitter’s services must adhere to the policies set forth in the Twitter Rules. Failure to do so may result in Twitter taking one or more of the following enforcement actions:
requiring you to remove prohibited content before you can again create new posts and interact with other Twitter users;
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permanently suspending your account(s).
If you attempt to evade a permanent suspension by creating new accounts, we will suspend your new accounts.
Please note that we may need to change these Rules from time to time and reserve the right to do so. The most current version is always available at: https://twitter.com/rules.
The policies set forth in these Twitter Rules govern organic content on our platform. To learn more about the rules which govern ads and promoted content, please review our Ads policies.
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Trademark: We reserve the right to suspend accounts or take other appropriate action when someone’s brand or trademark, including business name and/or logo, is used in a manner that may mislead or confuse others about your brand affiliation. Read more about our trademark policy and how to report a violation.
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We consider graphic violence to be any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence, or surgical procedures. We consider adult content to be any media that is pornographic and/or may be intended to cause sexual arousal.
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You may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of spamming anyone. Spam is generally defined on Twitter as bulk or aggressive activity that attempts to manipulate or disrupt Twitter or the experience of users on Twitter to drive traffic or attention to unrelated accounts, products, services, or initiatives. Some of the factors that we take into account when determining what conduct is considered to be spamming include:
Please see our support articles on following rules and best practices and automation rules and best practices for more detailed information about how the Rules apply to those particular account behaviors.
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As NPR weathered a storm of criticism Thursday for its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims, Fox News moved aggressively to turn the controversy to its advantage by signing Williams to an expanded role at the cable news network.Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes handed Williams a new three-year contract Thursday morning, in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, a considerable bump up from his previous salary, the Tribune Washington Bureau has learned. The Fox News contributor will now appear exclusively and more frequently on the cable news network and have a regular column on FoxNews.com."Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997," Ailes said in a statement, adding a jab at NPR: “He’s an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.”Meanwhile, conservative leaders lambasted NPR for firing Williams and called for cutting public funding for the media organization. By midafternoon Thursday, more than 4,900 comments had been posted on NPR.org, including many from people who said the media organization was bowing to political correctness and unfairly punishing Williams for expressing his personal opinions."In one arrogant move the NPR exposed itself for the leftist thought police they really are,” read one typical post. “After this November elections I hope one of the first things the new Congress does is to defund this poor excuse for public radio.”The controversy kicked off Monday night when Williams, a Fox News contributor, made an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor.” In a conversation with host Bill O’Reilly about how fear of terrorism affects perceptions of Muslims, Williams noted that he harbored some anxieties, even as an author of books about the civil rights movement."I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot….But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous," Williams said.He also noted that it was not fair to cast all Muslims as extremists.On Wednesday, NPR told Williams it was terminating his contract, saying his remarks “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”The abrupt break came after years in which Williams’ role at Fox News caused internal tension at the public radio organization. Many NPR listeners registered complaints about comments he made on the cable news channel, particularly remarks last year in which he described First Lady Michelle Obama as having “this Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress thing going” and saying she could become “an albatross."In response, NPR executives asked Williams to request Fox News not identify him as an NPR analyst when he appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor.”Dana Davis Rehm, NPR’s senior vice president for communications, said in an interview that Williams’ comments violated internal ethics policies that prohibit NPR journalists from going on other media and expressing “views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist.” The guidelines also prohibit NPR journalists from participating in programs “that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.”Rehm said Williams had been warned several times in the past about making personal comments that violated the policy.“This wasn’t the first time where we felt Juan crossed the line in terms of what’s permitted for NPR analysts and journalists as a whole,” she said. “We felt we really didn’t have an alternative. And it was not without regret, and it was not a decision that was made lightly by any means. We do appreciate the work he has done.”Williams told Fox News on Thursday that he was let go over the phone and taken aback that he wasn’t given a chance to defend himself."It's not a bigoted statement,” he told Fox News in an interview the cable news network ran throughout the day. “In fact, in the course of this conversation with Bill O'Reilly, I said we have an obligation as Americans to be careful to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in our country and to make sure that we don't have any outbreak of bigotry. But that there's a reality. You cannot ignore what happened on 9/11, and you cannot ignore the connection to Islamic radicalism, and you can't ignore the fact of what has even recently been said in court with regard to this is the first drop of blood in a Muslim war in America."Fox News made the most of the incident, rerunning a package about the controversy throughout the day. Williams was scheduled to appear on “The O’Reilly Factor” Thursday night to further address the issue and will guest host the program Friday.In the meantime, NPR was slammed by conservative leaders such as Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, who tweeted, “NPR defends 1st Amendment Right, but will fire u if u exercise it. Juan Williams: u got taste of Left's hypocrisy, they screwed up firing you."Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who hosts a show on Fox News, said he now plans to boycott NPR and decline its interview requests."NPR has discredited itself as a forum for free speech and a protection of the First Amendment rights of all and has solidified itself as the purveyor of politically correct pabulum and protector of views that lean left,” Huckabee wrote on his blog, adding: "It is time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal spending, and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR."NPR receives no direct federal funding for its operations, but between 1% and 3% of its $160-million budget comes from competitive grants awarded by publicly funded entities such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 2009, NPR has received $8 million in competitive grants from the CPB for technology development and journalism initiatives. It also received a one-time grant of $78 million between 2007 and 2009 to upgrade satellite technology.Local NPR stations receive $90 million in annual appropriations from the CPB that amount to about 10% of their revenue, on average.Rehm said it was inappropriate for politicians to interject the issue of federal funding into an editorial decision, adding that she hoped the controversy would not affect financial support for public radio. “Stations are in fund-raising season, so it is unfortunate that this occurred at this time,” she said. ||||| UPDATE: Fox News announced Thursday that it had signed Juan Williams to a new, multi-year contract, which the Los Angeles Times reported was worth $2 million. Among other things, Williams will now write columns for FoxNews.com, the first of which appeared on Thursday afternoon.
In the column, Williams excoriated NPR and its leadership for the decision to fire him. He said he was let go for "telling the truth" about his feelings of nervousness when he sees people he thinks are clearly Muslim on airplanes. He called his debate with Bill O'Reilly -- where he also told the Fox News host to be careful about painting all Muslims as extremists -- an "honest, sensitive" one "in the best American tradition of a fair, full-throated and honest discourse about the issues of the day."
Williams said that NPR's move to fire him was a "a chilling assault on free speech" that came about due to "political correctness and ideological orthodoxy" by the "self-righteous ideological, left-wing leadership at NPR." He also recounted the years of tension between him and his bosses at NPR that resulted from his association with Fox.
Williams concluded by comparing himself to Daniel Schorr, the longtime NPR contributor who found himself on Richard Nixon's enemies list.
"I can only imagine Dan's revulsion to realize that today NPR treats a journalist who has worked for them for ten years with less regard, less respect for the value of independence of thought and embrace of real debate across political lines, than Nixon ever displayed," he wrote.
ORIGINAL POST: Juan Williams appeared on Fox News' "Happening Now" Thursday morning to discuss his firing from NPR over his comments about Muslims on Monday's "O'Reilly Factor." (h/t Johnny Dollar.)
Williams said that he received a message from Ellen Weiss, NPR's senior vice president for news, telling him to call her. When he did, he said, she asked him to clarify his comments that he gets "nervous" when he sees Muslims on an airplane.
"I said, 'I said what I meant to say,'" Williams told Fox News, "which is that it is an honest experience that when I'm in an airport and I see people in Muslim garb who identify themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I do a double take. I have a moment of anxiety or fear given what happened on 9/11. That's just a reality."
Weiss, he said, told him that he had crossed the line. When he asked what line that was, she said that his statement had been bigoted. Williams said he had pointed out that he had gone on to tell O'Reilly that America had "an obligation to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in the country" and to prevent bigotry, but that "you cannot ignore what happened on 9/11 and you cannot ignore the connection to Islamic radicalism."
In response, Williams said, Weiss told him that the decision to fire him had already been taken.
"I said, 'I don't even get the chance to come in and we do this eyeball to eyeball, person to person?'" he continued. "She said, 'there's nothing you can say that will change my mind, this has been decided above me and we're terminating your contract.'"
NPR President Vivian Schiller also spoke out about the firing on Thursday. According to the Associated Press, Schiller appeared at the Atlanta Press Club, where she defended the decision, saying that Williams had violated NPR's guidelines barring its analysts from making personal or controversial statements. She also said that he should keep his feelings about Muslims between himself and "his psychiatrist or his publicist." (UPDATE: Schiller apologized for that comment on Thursday afternoon, saying in a statement that "I spoke hastily and I apologize to Juan and others for my thoughtless remark.")
In addition, Schiller released a statement about the firing to NPR member stations on Thursday. In it, she wrote that "this isn't the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan's public comments. Despite many conversations and warnings over the years, Juan has continued to violate this principle." Schiller also wrote that Williams had violated NPR's code of ethics by expressing views that he would not have expressed on NPR.
"Unfortunately, Juan's comments on Fox violated our standards as well as our values and offended many in doing so," she said.
Williams will appear on "The O'Reilly Factor" Thursday night to discuss the firing as well. |||||
Write a summary.
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– Getting fired from NPR is working out pretty well for Juan Williams. Fox News has offered the analyst a new three-year, $2 million contract, the Los Angeles Times reports. Williams—canned for telling Fox's O'Reilly Factor that people in Muslim garb on planes make him nervous—will have an expanded role at the Fox network and will write a column for FoxNews.com. Williams, who was already a Fox News contributor, stands by his remarks. "Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997," Fox chief executive Roger Ailes said, adding a not-too-subtle dig at NPR: “He’s an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis." Conservatives including Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Huckabee have attacked NPR over the controversy, with Gingrich saying the government should pull its funding of NPR. Williams is furious about the firing. He called it a "chilling assault on free speech" and said that NPR's actions were worse than Richard Nixon's treatment of the press. For more on that, click here.
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Summarize this article:
WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts grocery store employee has surprised shoppers with his operatic renditions of popular Christmas music.
Tony Russo, owner of Russo's Market in Watertown, tells The Boston Globe he had no idea Guilherme Assuncao could sing when the 23-year-old volunteered to sound check equipment Friday night for an upcoming weekend performance.
His voice shocked his co-workers, and Assuncao was invited back to the stage to perform for shoppers. One woman who visited the store Saturday says everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard Assuncao sing.
One video of him performing "O Holy Night" has since garnered more than 56,000 views on Facebook.
Assuncao moved from Brazil to the U.S. in 2015 to attend school. While he hasn't performed in years, Assuncao says "music is my life." ||||| Sometimes talent is hiding in the most unsuspecting places.
That’s what Tony Russo, the owner of Russo’s Market in Watertown, discovered this weekend after one of his employees delivered a series of unanticipated holiday performances inside the store that stopped customers dead in their tracks.
Russo said he was clueless to Guilherme Assuncao’s abilities until late Friday night, when the 23-year-old from Brazil offered to do a sound check on equipment to be used by classically-trained musicians over the weekend, as they entertained shoppers picking up groceries.
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“I expected it to be pretty good,” said Russo. “He turned out to be even better than I thought.”
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On Saturday and Sunday, after blowing away his shocked coworkers, Assuncao — everyone at Russo’s calls him “Gilly” —was invited to step up to the microphone to sing several songs he had memorized, including “Hallelujah” and Andrea Bocelli’s “Con Te Partirò.”
Storeowners posted three videos of him performing to the company’s Facebook page. By Monday morning, a video of Assuncao singing “O Holy Night” while in his white work uniform had been viewed more than 16,000 times.
“Wish I had been there,” one customer wrote beneath the video on Facebook. “Lovely, what a talented young man!”
Janet Porcaro, a realtor who stumbled upon Assuncao singing while shopping Saturday, said the performance took her breath away.
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“I heard the music and I thought, ‘That seems louder than just a record,’” she said. “And then I walked in and I could hear this incredible voice. I left my cart and left my bag, and people were circling around. Everybody just stopped. It was just so beautiful.”
In 2015, Assuncao moved to the United States to attend college in Utah. When the cost of classes got too expensive, he found an opportunity to continue his education in the Boston area, at the Computer Systems Institute.
He started working as a dishwasher at Russo’s six months ago, to help pay his bills. Each day he would slip on his headphones and listen to music and sing to himself as he went about his duties, he said. These days, he works at the hot food bar, and occasionally does food deliveries and catering jobs for the company.
Assuncao said he isn’t formally trained in classical music or opera, but singing has been a passion of his since a very young age. During high school, he was in the choir. And in 2012, he was the “Phantom” during a production of “Phantom of the Opera” — it’s his favorite musical of all time — while still living in Brazil.
Besides some karaoke stints here and there, he hasn’t done an actual performance in years. That made the opportunity at Russo’s this weekend a particularly liberating one for the aspiring musician.
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“Music is my life,” he said. “It’s everything to me.”
Assuncao said he chose to sing “O Holy Night” because he’s been practicing it for a performance at his church on Christmas Eve.
As for Bocelli’s “Con Te Partirò,” the song has long held a special place in his heart.
At the age of 6, Assuncao’s great-grandmother passed away. On the day of her funeral, he stayed home with a baby-sitter as his family attended the services. While grappling with the death of his relative, he played Bocelli’s song on repeat.
“I just didn’t have the strength to go,” he said. “I just felt a connection with [the song], it was just helping me.”
The reaction to his performances both online and in person has somewhat shocked Assuncao.
“[When I was singing], the whole store stopped to watch and a lot of people were filming,” he said. “It was just amazing. I haven’t felt like that in a long time.”
It has also left him feeling optimistic about what the future holds.
“For music, all you need is opportunities,” said Assuncao, who dreams of one day studying at Berklee College of Music. “And I hope this helps to open some.”
Steve Annear can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @steveannear ||||| See more of Russo's on Facebook |||||
Summary:
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– A Massachusetts grocery store employee has surprised shoppers with his operatic renditions of popular Christmas music, per the AP. Tony Russo, owner of Russo's Market in Watertown, tells the Boston Globe he had no idea Guilherme Assuncao could sing when the 23-year-old volunteered to sound check equipment Friday night for an upcoming weekend performance. His voice shocked his co-workers, and Assuncao was invited back to the stage to perform for shoppers. One woman who visited the store Saturday says everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard Assuncao sing. One video of him performing "O Holy Night" has since garnered more than 74,000 views on Facebook. Assuncao moved from Brazil to the US in 2015 to attend school. While he hasn't performed in years, Assuncao says "music is my life."
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It’s the happiest time of the year! Goop’s holiday gift guide time! “This year, we decided to shake things up a little bit...” Gwyneth Paltrow explains alongside her holiday wish(es for you) list. Does that mean there won’t be thousands of dollars worth of linens like last year?!
“...and organize our annual gift guide by category.” Oh. Though she does say they “tried to keep as much as possible at the $100 mark, though there are some splurges on here for your nearest and dearest.” But how much would it cost to buy Gwyneth’s entire gift guide?
NEWS: Take an inside look at all of Oprah’s favorite things for 2014!
If you want to say, “One of each, please!” it will cost you — scroll down for a sampling of the items from each category and scroll all the way to the bottom for the grand total (excluding “Price Upon Request” items).
goop
To Go:
Craig Laptop Case “That Can Double as a Clutch (in a Clutch)”: $90.00
PB 0110 Leather Bucket Bag from SSense: $1,025.00
Site Corot Palais Des Tuileries Plate “for Wanderlust Meals”: $75.00
Travel Backgammon Set from Aspinal of London: $550.00
Valentino Canvas Trolley from Net-a-Porter: $4,545.00 (“Yeah right, but how cool is this?”)
goop
To Make:
CB2 Marble Server (“An Elevated Cheese Plate, Literally”): $16.95
Easy Health Angel Juicer Gold from Super Angel Juicers: $4,739.00
Arthur Umanoff Bar Cart from Max & Moritz: $1,495.00
Maine Farmed Sea Salt (“Mineral-Rich Salt, Packaged in a Pretty Little Bag”): $18.00
Bread Bin (“Significantly Prettier Than a Plastic Bag”): $38.43
goop
Kids:
Nathalie Lete Vilac Teepee from Amazon: $160.00
Tutu from Tutu Du Monde (“The Ultimate Dress-Up Option”): $169.00
Old Time Sling Shot from The General Store: $28.00
Parrot Drone (“Terrifyingly, Every Kind We Polled Desperately Wants a Drone”): $300.00
Jennifer Meyer BFF Necklace from Shopbop (“Out of Every Tween’s Budget”): $550.00
NEWS: Martha Stewart takes a dig at Gwyneth — find out why!
goop
To Do:
Nokona X Shinola Baseball Glove (“A Limited-Edition Spin on a Total Classic”): $435.00
Indoor Foosball Table by A Plus R Store: $3,500.00
Artemare Longboard by Goop (“A Next Level Skateboard”): $495.00
Hermés Myths & Constellations Cards: $125.00
Backyard Croquet Set by Terrain (“Weirdly Addictive”): $248.00
goop
To Be:
Lanvin Gold Plated Brass Double Ring by LUISAVIAROMA: $695.00
Hermes Avalon Blanket (“If Only We Could Buy These in Bulk”): $1,500.00
Score & Solder Terrarium by Mohawk General Store: $320.00
Delfina Delettrez Cartoon Eye and Pearl Ring by StyleBop: $1,960.00
Astier de Villatte Incense by Nickey Kehoe: $50.00
goop
To See:
Garth Roberts Antique Mirror Containers from The Future Perfect: $548.00
Tom Dixon Plum Ice Bucket from Saks: $290.00
Tacey Emin Beach Towerl from MOCA: $95.00
Diamond Thickie by Esque (“We’d Take Anything From Esque, Most Notably This One-of-a-Kind, Insanely Expensive Vase”): $12,000.00
True Detective from Amazon: $30.00
NEWS: Gwyneth Paltrow gushes over Chris Martin at amfAR Gala
goop
To Get:
Juste Un Clou Bracelet from Cartier (“The Fanciest Nail Around”): $7.600.00
Anita Ko Safety Pin Single Earring: $1,995.00
The Row Rina Fringed Cashmere Cape from Saks: $3,190.00
Charlotte Olympia Kinky Clutch from Farfetch: $1,295.00
Balenciaga New Classic Biker Jacket from Matches: $2,614.00
goop
Personalized:
Cheek Frills Monogrammable Underwear Set from Goop: $75.00
Earthquake Kit from Preppi; $345.00
Hoorsenbuhs Gold Monogram Plate Bracelet from Barneys: $6,500.00
3D Silhouette Charm from Neiman Marcus: $1,100.00
Carter Kustera Custom Portrait from Jonathan Adler: $350.00
GRAND TOTAL: $107,309.49! Chump change for Gwyneth Paltrow, baby!
How does Gwen’s list compare to Oprah’s? Watch to find out: ||||| If you thought Oprah's 2014 favorite things list was pricey, well then, LOL.
TodayGwyneth Paltrow released her annual Goop gift guide, and it makes Winfrey's presents look like the stuff of peasants.
Yes, Martha Stewart's mortal enemy has cherry-picked the most obscenely expensive items on the planet for your holiday shopping needs. Just kidding, none of us mere mortals will be buying anything off this list, which totals up to over—wait for it—$109,384. (Not including the "price upon request" items.)
Paltrow writes: "We tried to keep as much as possible at the $100 mark, though there are some splurges for your nearest and dearest. Plus, a girl can always dream."
We repeat: LOL.
So now just for funsies, let's take a look at how the Oscar winner justifies her ‘spensive-ass suggestions, shall we? |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– Gwyneth Paltrow's 2014 holiday gift guide is out, and it's about as ridiculous as you'd expect. E! and ETOnline both added up the total cost of all the items in it (not including those listed as "price upon request"), and E! came up with $109,384, while ET came up with $107,309.49. By Newser's count, there are 212 items in the guide not listed as "price upon request," making the average cost per item about $511. But, Gwyneth assures us on Goop, "We tried to keep as much as possible at the $100 mark, though there are some splurges on here for your nearest and dearest." (For the record, we counted at least 78 of those 212 items that cost significantly more than $100.) Some of the craziest items: A $550 travel backgammon set (because why would you ever settle for a $12.49 version that also includes checkers and chess?) in "Red mock Lizard Italian calf leather." A $4,739 juicer in bright gold, which even Gwyneth admits is "absurd, but awesome." A surprisingly affordable $54 pair of sequin shorts for your child aged 12 to 14, because, as Gwyneth informs us, "Everyone needs a pair of sequin shorts." A $12,000 vase. Yes, this is really on the list. And not even in the "In Our Dreams" section. A fancy candle that, at $80, manages to be priced even more ridiculously than the candles in Oprah's holiday gift guide. Speaking of Oprah's guide, though, it really is worth checking out.
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Chesapeake, Va. - At 8-years-old, David Spisak has been through a lot.
David was diagnosed with cancer when he was two. He's had two transplants, including one from his 10-year-old sister, and still his cancer has returned three times.
When he was diagnosed for a 4th time in March of 2015, David's parents made the decision to stop treatments and let David live as normal and happy a life as he can with all of the experiences an 8-year-old should have.
But one of those experiences isn't one that a typical 8-year-old has.
David found the love of his life.
In September, David started 2nd grade and he went to school for as long as he could before he could no longer attend. His mother says she knew he had a "crush" from his class, but she had no idea how serious their bond was.
"In art class, I told her I liked her and she just had a surprised face so we started dating," David says.
Once David was pulled out of school, all of the kids in his class sent cards home for him. His parents say that as they looked through the cards, they found quite a few from 7-year-old Ayla.
Ayla's cards stressed how much she loved and missed David. Even some of the other classmates' cards said how much Ayla was missing David.
When David's parents asked him about Ayla, he described her the best way he could.
"She kinda looks like Snow White," he said. "Actually, she is kinda like the real Snow White because she is so kind to everybody, especially me because she loves me."
David's mom Amber reached out to Ayla's mom, Angela, and together, they realized how important the connection was between the two of them.
"She`s definitely had an impact on his spirit, and I haven`t seen this side of him in a long time," says Amber Spisak, David's mom. "Certainly at 8-years-old, you don’t think that they’ll have a first love or a first kiss or a first date and it was just something that I accepted wasn’t going to happen. But it did"
Out of that bond came another first for David... and a first for Ayla -- their first date.
David called Ayla up and invited her to go bowling. He gave her a teddy bear and roses and he even got a little kiss on the cheek -- his first kiss.
During their "date," Ayla pushed David around in his wheelchair, helped him bowl and they shared pizza together. David also got out of his wheelchair and walked for the first time in a month that night.
"The best part was watching the way they just needed to be close to each other and their conversation never got shy or quiet. That was all they needed to be happy," Amber says.
"Their story is definitely something everyone can learn from," says Angela Andrews, Ayla's mom. "Just to love. Because that’s what’s important. At the end of every day that’s what’s important. Who loves you and who you love back."
Read more about David and Ayla here ||||| Facing a fourth battle with cancer, 8-year-old David Spisak Jr. of Chesapeake, Virginia, has found more in his past few months on Earth than many do in a lifetime: the love of his life.
First diagnosed with leukemia when he was 2, David beat cancer three times before his more recent diagnosis in March, receiving two transplants and going through extensive chemotherapy treatment.
Six years on, and seven months since his second transplant, a fourth cancer diagnosis meant David would have to spend more time in the hospital, isolated from friends and unable to play with other kids.
Seeing the toll cancer and treatment had taking on David's life, the Spisaks decided to give their son a "slice of life."
"We just decided it was time to give him a childhood,” David's mom, Amber Spisak, told ABC News. “If the outcome was going to be the same, if he was going to continue to get cancer, we decided that if he wasn’t going to win, that we would give him everything right now.”
She also wrote in a fundraising campaign set for David online, "No more isolation from people or places, restrictions, living in hospitals; only swimming pools, going places, fun, playing with other kids, going hard and fast to make it count!"
In March, doctors told the family, without treatment, David would live four to six weeks. When months passed and David looked well, the Spisaks decided to let him go back to school in September, where he started second grade until he couldn't attend anymore because of the disease. There, the child found something his parents were not expecting: love.
The Spisaks knew David had a crush on Ayla, a girl in his class, but it wasn't until classmates sent letters to David after he was pulled out of school that they understood how serious the "crush" was. Not only had 7-year-old Ayla sent multiple letters with her phone number "all over," his classmates also wrote David about how much Ayla missed him.
“That's where we sort of put together that this was something more,” Spisak said, adding David called Ayla his girlfriend. “He's a typical boy, it really took us off guard; he said, ‘Actually, she's kind of like the real Snow White because she's so kind, especially to me because she loves me.”
Spisak then talked to Ayla's mother and planned a date for the kids. David called Ayla and formally asked her out, meeting her at a bowling alley with a teddy bear and flowers. The 7-year-old girl ran to David's wheelchair when they met, later pushing it around and helping him with the bowling balls during their date.
"We were all so taken aback by their bond, their connection there," Spisak told ABC News. "No one else was allowed to touch him. They stayed together the entire time. His dad and I kept trying to stay close behind him to make sure he wouldn't fall, but he kept trying to be with her and taking her help. It was so natural, there was no hesitation from neither one of them. They just wanted to be together."
By the end of the date, David had lived more than many 8-year-olds: he had his first date and his first kiss (on the cheek). At one point, he even stood up from his chair, walked and bowled standing up, his mother said.
"He was just so determined for her, he really pushed himself for her," Spisak said. "Once we realized that this wasn’t the typical elementary school crush, once we saw this heartfelt connection that they have, we were so happy that she came into his life and that he came to her life for some reason.
“We never thought he was going to ever experience this because his time is so limited, but we saw it and it's real,” she said. |||||
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– After their 8-year-old son David was diagnosed with cancer for the fourth time in his short life, his parents decided to stop treatment and let him be a normal kid for the time he had left, WTKR reports. Little did the Spisaks know what a major life event David would be able to fit into his remaining months: true love. According to ABC News, David was briefly well enough to go back to school in September. That's when he found a connection with 7-year-old Ayla. "She kinda looks like Snow White," he tells WTKR. "Actually, she is kinda like the real Snow White because she is so kind to everybody, especially me because she loves me." David didn't waste any time making it official. "In art class, I told her I liked her, and she just had a surprised face so we started dating," he says. After David was pulled out of school again, his class sent him get-well cards, ABC reports. A lot of those cards came from Ayla. The Spisaks arranged a date between David and his new girlfriend, and they met for bowling, with David bringing a teddy bear and flowers for Ayla. According to WTKR, Ayla pushed David around in his wheelchair, helped him bowl, and gave him his first kiss—on the cheek. David even stood up and walked for the first time in a month during the date. "They just wanted to be together," mom Amber Spisak tells ABC. “We never thought he was going to ever experience this because his time is so limited, but we saw it and it's real."
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Summarize this article:
Hillary Clinton edged out Bernie Sanders in Iowa after a long, suspenseful night of vote-counting, The Associated Press declared Tuesday — ending the closest race in the history of the state's Democratic caucuses.
The outcome gave both sides room to claim victory: Clinton in her ever-so-narrow win, and Sanders in the massive comeback the self-described democratic socialist staged against a front-runner who months ago looked unbeatable.
Story Continued Below
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had 49.9 percent of delegates and Sanders had 49.6 percent, according to the AP, which waited hours to call the race until Sanders said he would not seek a recount. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley received less than 1 percent, then suspended his campaign.
Clinton was awarded 699.57 state delegate equivalents, versus 695.49 for Sanders, Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire said in a statement. More than 171,109 Democratic voters turned out to caucus.
Shortly after the AP declared her the winner, Clinton went on TV and challenged Sanders to debate her this week in New Hampshire, where the Vermont senator has held a commanding lead in polls ahead of the Feb. 9 primary.
"We’re in Bernie Sanders’ backyard here in New Hampshire — I sure hope he intends to show up in his neighboring state,” Clinton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday afternoon. “Let the people of New Hampshire see us both on the debate stage.”
Speaking from his campaign plane Tuesday morning en route to New Hampshire, Sanders said he’s in the race for the long haul.
“Tonight is a wonderful start-off to the national campaign,” he said. “As I’ve said many, many times, we’re taking this to the convention, and I think tonight shows the American people that this is a campaign that can win.”
Clinton zoomed to an early lead as early results were posted, but as the evening wore on the gap steadily narrowed to less than half a percentage point — “a virtual tie,” as Sanders put it.
Clinton’s campaign declared victory in a statement at 3:35 a.m. Eastern. Hours earlier, Clinton, flanked by Bill and Chelsea Clinton at campaign headquarters, told supporters she was “breathing a sigh of relief.”
“I am a progressive who gets things done for people," she said.
At Sanders’ campaign headquarters, that line elicited a chorus of boos. “She’s a liar,” supporters chanted. Organizers turned off the TV showing her speech, drawing cheers.
Sanders' liberal backers were quick to cast the virtual draw as a momentum-building victory.
“Tonight’s results are a huge win for Bernie, a major upset for the front-runner, and a tremendously important victory for the millions of struggling working families in the battle against income inequality, structural racism and the moneyed interests who dominate our politics,” said the executive director of the million-member liberal group Democracy for America, which is backing Sanders.
Clinton was looking to avoid the spectacle of twin losses to kick off the nomination battle. Her crushing third-place Iowa showing in 2008, behind Barack Obama and John Edwards, was the first sign she wasn't the inevitable Democratic nominee she’d been campaigning as.
This time, Clinton and her allies acknowledge the Democratic primary could drag on for months. But her victory, slim as it was, at least deprives Sanders of the potent claim that he beat the front-runner in the two highest-profile early voting states.
Clinton supporters, though, were clearly anticipating a better night. On Tuesday, two of her top campaign staffers, John Podesta and Robby Mook, planned to speak with Capitol Hill Democrats to try to soothe any frayed nerves.
Despite the high turnout in Iowa, which was expected to favor Sanders, "and despite Iowa being tailor made for him, Hillary won," read an email from Clinton's campaign to lawmakers sent Tuesday.
Gabriel Debenedetti contributed reporting from Des Moines, Iowa. Lauren French also contributed. ||||| Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., poses for photos during a caucus night rally on Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., poses for photos during a caucus night rally on Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press)
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The latest on developments in the Iowa caucuses and the follow-up New Hampshire primary (all times local):
5:50 a.m.
A large crowd of supporters greeted Bernie Sanders in Bow, New Hampshire, at 5 a.m. after the Democratic presidential candidate arrived from Iowa.
Sanders and Hillary Clinton are in a virtual tie in the Iowa caucuses. He tells the crowd in New Hampshire that his campaign "astounded the world" and is going to "astound the world again" in New Hampshire. The state's primary is next week.
Sanders says he can't believe that people stood outside in the cold for about two hours waiting for him to arrive. He jokes, "Something is wrong with you guys!"
4:30 a.m.
Bernie Sanders says his razor-thin contest against Hillary Clinton in Iowa is giving his campaign a "kick-start."
The Democratic presidential candidate says it shows the American people that "this is a campaign that can win."
Sanders tells reporters traveling aboard his flight to New Hampshire early Tuesday that his message of addressing wealth inequality resonated with voters in Iowa. He predicts it will resonate in the early voting states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Polls show the Vermont senator leading Clinton in New Hampshire. But Sanders isn't saying whether he considers anything less than victory there a successful outcome. He says his campaign is in it "for the long haul" and predicts that "we are going to win some states, we are going to lose some states." |||||
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– After hours of uncertainty, Hillary Clinton appears to have prevailed in Iowa—but the win is about as far from resounding as you can get. Politico reports that according to the Iowa Democratic Party—which tallies "state delegate equivalents" instead of individual votes—Clinton has won the narrowest victory in Democratic caucus history, with 699.57 state delegate equivalents to 695.49 for Bernie Sanders and 7.68 for Martin O'Malley. Results still haven't arrived from a Des Moines precinct "worth 2.28 state delegate equivalents," the party said in a press release, praising a caucus that "featured one of our strongest turnouts ever and passion and energy from Democrats all across our state." Matt Paul, Clinton's Iowa campaign chief, issued an early-morning statement saying she had won, the Des Moines Register reports. "After thorough reporting—and analysis—of results, there is no uncertainty, and Secretary Clinton has clearly won the most national and state delegates," he said. "Statistically, there is no outstanding information that could change the results and no way that Sen. Sanders can overcome Secretary Clinton's advantage." A Sanders spokeswoman, however, says that with uncertainty about results from several counties, they "definitely don't feel comfortable yet." The AP—which still considers the race too close to call—reports that on his flight to New Hampshire early Tuesday, Sanders said the close Iowa result has given his campaign a "kick-start."
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The seed for this crawl was a list of every host in the Wayback Machine
This crawl was run at a level 1 (URLs including their embeds, plus the URLs of all outbound links including their embeds)
The WARC files associated with this crawl are not currently available to the general public. ||||| WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A second-grader’s tales of how he was helping a “farmer” grow “special medicine” plants led to the bust of a large indoor marijuana growing operation in Windsor last week.
Steven Mann, 54, pleaded innocent Monday in White River Junction criminal court to a felony count of cultivating more than 25 marijuana plants. He was released on a $10,000 unsecured appearance bond.
Windsor Police Det. Jennifer Frank wrote in an affidavit that Mann’s girlfriend’s 8-year-old son told school officials and Frank about Mann’s “green thumb” and how he got to help him grow “special medicine that can cure anything at all.”
Frank said the boy described in detail what sounded to her like marijuana plants and then added that Mann was giving the plants to “anyone who needs the medicine.” A steady stream of people were phoning and coming to the house frequently, the boy said.
In his own confession, according to court records, Mann wrote that when officers showed up at his front door on Friday his girlfriend, Leona Hunt, “had just taken a hit when they knocked.”
Frank noted there was a significant odor of burnt marijuana when she entered the apartment and said Mann handed over a warm glass pipe the couple appeared to have been using in the same room the child was in.
Police said they found two “grow rooms” next to the child’s bedroom; one for starter plants and one for more mature specimens. Police also reported seizing nearly $700 in cash and paraphernalia including pipes, rolling papers, bags of marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, bongs, grinders and digital scales.
Mann allegedly admitted selling marijuana for $10 a joint, or $50 for an eighth-of-an-ounce “slice,” telling investigators that he did “90 percent” of his business in New Hampshire and also gave away some marijuana free to at least one elderly Windsor resident.
Police said further charges are also expected to be filed against Hunt in connection with the bust.
Court records said the Department for Children and Families has launched its own investigation because of the proximity of the child to the alleged illegal drug operation and also pissibly to the chemicals that were used.
Mann, who has no prior criminal record, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. |||||Summary:
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– An 8-year-old boy telling stories about helping a "farmer" grow "special medicine that can cure anything at all" inadvertently brought down a large marijuana grow-op last week in Vermont, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports. Police say the second-grader described what sounded like marijuana plants and said the farmer would give them to "anyone who needs the medicine." Having been successfully tipped off by the boy, police arrested Windsor resident Steven Mann and his girlfriend Leona Hunt last Friday, according to WCAX. Hunt is the boy's mother. Police say they found 50 marijuana plants with a street value of around $75,000 growing in two rooms of the couple's home, along with cash and magic mushrooms. Mann allegedly admitted to selling marijuana, mostly in New Hampshire. But Hunt's son told police people were constantly coming to their home and calling Mann, who he said had a "green thumb." The Department for Children and Families took custody of the boy and is investigating the case due to the location of the alleged grow-op in the rooms next to the boy's bedroom. Mann is facing up to 15 years in prison. He has no prior criminal record.
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– A public health emergency was declared in Flint, Michigan, yesterday over the state of the city's drinking water—and a story in the Detroit News illustrates just how bad the situation is. Ashley Holt, 25, tells the paper that the water coming out of her faucet looks "like urine," smells "like the sewer," and doesn't taste "normal"—and it's been that way for nearly a year now. Last week, a group of doctors revealed that children in the city (where 41.5% of the population lives below the poverty line) have elevated levels of lead in their blood, leading to the state of emergency and the county commissioners recommending people only use the water if it first goes through an approved filter; thousands of filters are being given to local families. On Friday, Gov. Rick Snyder said it may reconnect Flint to Detroit's water system to deal with the problem, and that the state will also expedite a pipeline to Lake Huron to get water to Flint, the News reports. Flint stopped paying Detroit for its water service last year, citing the rising cost of the water service, and then complaints about the water quality started. Flint River is now used for the city's drinking water, and it seems the corrosive water is releasing lead from old pipes in homes, the AP reports. Residents have complained not just about the water's taste, smell, and appearance, but about rashes, hair loss, and other health concerns that may be related to its use; a General Motors plant even stopped using the water because it rusted vehicle parts, the company said. Citizens, alongside national groups, petitioned the EPA Thursday to order Michigan and its environmental officials to reconnect Flint to Detroit's water. As for Holt, she says she struggles to afford bottled water for her kids, and other locals echo that. "It’s a complex with a whole lot of people and a whole lot of babies there," says one of her townhouse complex. "These are people who probably can’t afford to go and buy bottled water. So they get forced into drinking the (tap) water that’s unhealthy."
Expand this summary.
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DETROIT (AP) — Officials in Michigan declared a public health emergency Thursday over the city of Flint's water, after months of resident complaints about its smell and taste, in response to tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead.
Mark Valacak, director of the Geneseee County Health Department, issues a public health state of emergency due to the lead in city water during a press conference at the Genesee County Administration... (Associated Press)
Mark Valacak, director of the Geneseee County Health Department, issues a public health state of emergency due to the lead in city water during a press conference at the Genesee County Administration... (Associated Press)
Genesee County Commissioner Jamie Curtis speaks during a press conference at the Genesee County Administration Building in Flint, Mich., on Thursday Oct. 1, 2015. (Christian Randolph/The Flint Journal-MLive.com... (Associated Press)
Senior Minister Nathan Dannison, left, and Deacon Tom Birkhold of the 1st Congregational United Church of Christ help deliver more than 4,000 bottles of water for kids in the Flint School District, Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
A day after Gov. Rick Snyder said the consequences of using the Flint River for the city's drinking water weren't "fully understood," Genesee County Commissioners recommended that people not use the water unless it first goes through an approved filter at taps.
A group of doctors called a news conference last week to report high levels of lead in blood samples from children, as the corrosive water is apparently releasing lead from old pipes in homes. It was among the most significant challenges to the quality of Flint water since the city decided last year to stop paying Detroit for its water service.
Mayor Dayne Walling said Thursday residents should follow the county commission's declaration on using filters certified for lead removal, having water tested and flushing cold water for five minutes before drinking it.
A coalition of local citizens and national groups petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to order Michigan and state environmental officials to reconnect Flint to Detroit water.
"As evidenced by the ongoing poisoning of the children of Flint, it's time for the EPA to take immediate action to provide us with a safe water source," said LeeAnne Walters, a Flint parent and member of the Water You Fighting For group.
Detroit's water system serves about 4 million people in communities across southeastern Michigan.
"This department is always willing to explore possibilities that may be beneficial ... for the residents of Flint and the other communities that we serve," William Wolfson of the Detroit Water Department told The Associated Press.
Flint is among a number of communities that have complained about the rising cost of Detroit's water and sewerage service. City officials estimated the cost of buying water from Detroit at $16 million. They turned off Flint's tap to Detroit water in April 2014 and opted for Flint River water until the city switches to a new pipeline from Lake Huron. The overall annual cost to be part of the Lake Huron system would be $12.5 million.
The decision to break away from the Detroit system was made while a Snyder-appointed emergency manager was running the long-struggling city, which had reached a financial crisis.
"In terms of a mistake, what I would say is we found there are probably things that weren't as fully understood when that switch was made," Snyder said Wednesday.
But residents have been unhappy with the taste and appearance of water from the Flint River. They also have raised health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems. A General Motors plant stopped using the water, saying it was rusting its parts.
Despite the complaints, city officials had said state tests showed the water met federal safety guidelines.
More concerns surfaced after Virginia Tech researchers posted an online report in early September saying Flint's water is "creating a public health threat" in old homes that have lead pipes or pipes fused with lead solder.
Flint officials say they know which homes have risky pipes but the information is on about 45,000 index cards and difficult to retrieve.
The city is now telling residents to use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula, and recommending they use the certified filters. The General Motors Foundation, the local United Way and others have given at least $105,000 to buy filters for 5,000 residents.
But Kary Moss, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan — one of the group's filing the petition with the EPA — says the first step has to be removing the Flint River as the city's source of water. ||||| Flint — The questionable quality of the city’s drinking water made headlines again this week, but not much of it has been news to Ashley Holt.
For almost a year, the water from her faucet has looked “like urine,” smelled “like the sewer” and, if you’re brave enough to sip it, hasn’t tasted “normal,” the 25-year-old Flint resident said. It’s why she’s limited for months how often her children — ages 5, 6 and 12 — come in contact with it.
But following last week’s revelation that Flint children are showing higher amounts of lead in their blood, the situation has escalated for her cash-strapped family.
In a city where 41.5 percent of the population is below the poverty line, a lack of money is the reason Holt was walking instead of driving downtown this week to pick up her children from school. She scrambles to find enough to buy them bottled water.
“The only option I’ve got is just to not drink the water and stick with pop and juice,” Holt said. “(I) go to the store and get a gallon of water a day, if I can afford it at the time.”
The hardships experienced by residents here are having public health and political ripple effects that are being felt from city hall to the governor’s office. Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday he could unveil “more action steps” as early as the end of this week.
Researchers from Virginia Tech and Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint said last week that lead levels in local children have risen since the city, under Snyder’s appointed emergency manager, started getting its water from the Flint River instead of the Detroit Water & Sewerage System. Studies showed that in some areas lead levels doubled and, in two local zip codes, the levels tripled.
Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent. At very high levels, it also can lead to seizures, coma and even death.
Water quality has become the central issue in the mayoral election that is a month away. It also has put Snyder’s administration — particularly the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality — under the microscope. There are questions about how the DEQ tests water quality, as well as the governor’s back-channel efforts this summer to send 1,500 water filters to Flint families when state officials insisted the water was fine.
Sommer Adams said there are doctor’s visits in the future for her three kids because she fears they may have been exposed to lead.
“Even though I don’t see it in my water or haven’t experienced no type of (problems) with drinking it, you never know,” said Adams, 23.
Governor questioned
The idea of switching water systems seemed to make sense. Municipal officials didn’t like the rates residents were forced to pay and wanted to be part of a new supply system being built to draw from Lake Huron, just like Detroit’s system.
Tapping the river for a year or two was supposed to provide water until the Karegondi Water Authority was up and running. Almost immediately after the switch in April 2014, there were complaints about the treated river water’s appearance, smell and taste.
A year later, the state-appointed successor emergency manager, Jerry Ambrose, rejected the city council’s attempts to tie back to the Detroit system as “incomprehensible.”
“(Lake Huron) water from Detroit is no safer than water from Flint,” Ambrose said at the time.
The Snyder administration’s confirmation Tuesday that it helped an anonymous donor send 1,500 water filters to Flint families seemed to undercut the decision. At an unrelated Wednesday press conference, the Capitol press corps grilled the governor about Flint’s woes.
“It appears that lead levels could be higher or have increased... ,” Snyder said. “We’re looking at making sure they’re within safe limits, according to the federal government.”
Mayor election a focus
The water problems have ratcheted up interest in the Nov. 3 mayoral election, which figured to draw more scrutiny anyway since Flint emerged from state control in late April.
Business owner and candidate Karen Weaver has attacked incumbent Mayor Dayne Walling for failing to take back total control of the government from the city administrator left in place by the state’s emergency manager. After the reporting of the lead results, Weaver has claimed that Walling knew about the problem as far back as June, thanks to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report that flagged the situation.
“You didn’t speak up,” she said Wednesday. “Yes, the emergency manager had power to make the final decision, but nobody takes your voice.”
Walling countered that the first time he heard of the elevated lead levels was Sept. 21, a few days before the results were made public.
“I’m asking everyone to carefully consider my record because it has been a complicated four years with four different emergency managers that each involved myself and city council in different ways at different times,” Walling said.
This month, Walling wrote to Snyder requesting the state help with $30 million in new infrastructure improvement aid.
Public Information Officer Jason Lorenz said the city hasn’t received a response.
Old pipes complicate testing
Shervon Goss, 32, paints a disturbing picture of what she experiences in her townhouse complex in Flint’s south end. Her tap water has an odor, Goss said, and showers result in dry skin and rashes.
“It’s a complex with a whole lot of people and a whole lot of babies there,” she said. “These are people who probably can’t afford to go and buy bottled water. So they get forced into drinking the (tap) water that’s unhealthy.”
Like many residents, Goss wonders how this happened.
State officials admitted it is difficult to do consistent lead testing on water being pumped through old lead plumbing and service connection lines. Water tested at intake or upon release from the treatment plant can be exposed to lead when it reaches old lead connections on private property, the officials said.
“The testing protocol that we have tends to offer a systemwide assessment of how water interacts with that line and home plumbing,” said Brad Wurfel, DEQ’s spokesman. “There’s a lot we unfortunately don’t know about those (home lead) levels.”
Some local groups have stepped up to provide free water to residents. The House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church gave away bottled water Wednesday, drawing a line of cars.
On Thursday, the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan will ship packages of diapers combined with gallon jugs of water to area social service organizations.
Local activists are prepared to hold protests and urge residents to stop paying their water bills if state and city officials don’t make the switch back to water from Detroit, said Rev. Alfred Harris, pastor of Saints Church in Flint.
“We’re praying that the governor will say we’ve got to go back to Detroit water,” Harris said.
[email protected]
Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/1KNivPc ||||| The water tower at the Flint water plant. (Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News)
Flint — Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is considering hooking Flint back up to Detroit’s water system temporarily in an effort to get a handle here on troublesome water quality and lead issues.
Officials have identified $1 million in state funding that will be used to buy water filters for residents. The state will also work to expedite construction of a new water line to Lake Huron so a planned water authority that would service Flint could get up and running as soon as possible.
The Snyder administration’s steps are part of the state’s response to rising fears of lead contamination in the water reaching Flint homes, particularly in its low-income neighborhoods. For a year and a half, the city has drawn its drinking water from the Flint River – an arrangement that has led to major problems for residents.
Snyder’s decision on temporarily reconnecting Flint to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department system, its former source of water, is expected within a week.
A Detroit water official said the department is “excited about the possibility” of resupplying water to Flint.
“I think at this point it makes sense we speak directly to the city of Flint,” said William Wolfson, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s general counsel as well as chief administrative and compliance officer. “We want to provide services to any community.”
Only Flint officials would know how long or how difficult it would be to hook back into the Detroit system, but Detroit would not charge a special fee for reconnection, Wolfson said.
In January, Flint officials said a Detroit offer to reconnect to its water system would cost Flint an additional $12 million a year or more.
For some residents, reuniting with the Detroit system can’t happen soon enough.
“I feel like I can’t even breathe anymore with how bad it’s gotten...,” said Carrie Younger-Nelson, a 60-plus-year resident of Flint. “We need to go back (to DWSD).”
State officials appeared at Flint’s Kettering University Friday to announce multiple steps meant to improve water safety and reduce fear after reports that city children are showing higher amounts of lead in their blood. The moves include:
■Immediately testing drinking water at each of the city’s traditional public, charter and private schools.
■Expanding exposure testing in individual homes, free of charge and using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency laboratories to process the samples quickly.
■Making free water testing available to residents.
■Increasing corrosion controls at Flint’s water treatment plant.
■Strengthening the existing Flint area safe drinking water committee by adding Dr. Eden Wells, Michigan’s’ chief medical executive.
Researchers from Virginia Tech and Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint said last week that lead levels in local children have risen since the city, under Snyder’s appointed emergency manager, started getting its water from the Flint River instead of the Detroit system in April 2014. Studies showed that in some areas lead levels doubled and, in two local ZIP codes, the levels tripled.
Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At very high levels, it also can lead to seizures, coma and even death.
A crowd of roughly 30 protesters gathered at Kettering to show their frustration over the city and state’s handling of Flint’s water problems. Some of the signs read “Not Your Labrats,” “Our Health Matters” and “No More Filters – Back to Detroit Water.”
Mona Haydar was among those demonstrating.
“There’s just this feeling of being duped,” Haydar said. “They’ve been telling us it’s safe to drink , and now we hear that it’s not. It’s not fair.”
Sebastian Robins brought his 19-month-old son to the protest.
“We’ve just been getting more and more concerned as more information has come out,” he said. Robins said he would welcome a return to the Detroit system, even with a monthly price tag of up to $2 million per month for the city.
Through December 2014, Flint’s water was testing at 6 parts per billion for lead, Snyder said. But during summer testing it rose to 11 parts per billion, much closer to the federal limit of 15 parts, he said.
“I think it’s prudent given the increase that we take action,” Snyder said. “I think it’s very prudent that we take these action measures going forward.”
The plan’s release came as the Genesee County Health Department said 4,000 water filters, purchased by local agencies, would be handed out Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the University of Michigan – Flint’s Recreation Center at 401 Mill St. The priority is to give the filters to low-income Flint families with children younger than 5.
But U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, said he wants “all parties to adopt a greater sense of urgency than I’ve seen demonstrated thus far” and ensure every Flint resident in need gets a lead-clearing filter.
Kildee worries that corrosion control hasn’t been started yet in the Flint water system.
“Experts acknowledge that corrosion control treatment takes time once introduced – weeks or even months – to move throughout the water distribution system and fully take effect,” he said in a statement. “Thus, delaying corrosion control treatment will only delay improving the water quality.”
Local officials have long complained of high rates the Detroit water system charged its customers and wanted instead to tie in to the planned Karegondi Water Authority, which is expected to begin drawing water from Lake Huron some time next year.
At the heart of the problem are the lead plumbing connections that tie much of Flint’s old housing stock to city water lines. Water that tests clean at withdrawal and after treatment can take on lead once it reaches the lead connections at the home.
State officials repeatedly emphasized Friday the testing has shown the water meets safe levels when sampled at stops before it reaches the home.
“We’re going to commit to working with the city to accelerate the long-term replacement of lead service lines,” DEQ’s Wyant said. The state will also work to ensure permits and work tied to the Karegondi Water Authority project are not held up unnecessarily. he said.
[email protected]
(313) 222-2034
Staff Writer Chad Livengood contributed.
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– Bad news for Honda CR-V owners: Gas may be leaking into your vehicle's oil supply, which can cause engine performance issues and stalling, according to Consumer Reports. The magazine started looking into the issue after nine of its members reported problems—which affects 2017 and 2018 CRVs with the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine—discovering that dozens of more complaints about the SUV had been made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and hundreds more on online forums. A Honda rep says the company is "investigating the situation and developing a remedy," which it "hopes" will be available by mid-November. Once the repair is ready, it will be covered by the warranty. The engine issue is most prevalent in cold-weather areas and during short trips and low-speed driving. Honda, which doesn't consider it to be a safety issue so won't issue a recall, hasn't said how many vehicles may be affected. The company’s spokesman told CR that the "condition is not as widespread as some Internet chatter may imply." Nonetheless, says the magazine's Jake Fisher, "it does happen, and when it happens, it should be addressed." This year, Honda has recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles, including CR-Vs, in China due to a similar issue, Reuters reports. The CR-V is one of the best-selling SUVs, per Forbes, with some 30,000 per month being sold in the US. If you're experiencing engine problems with your CR-V, contact the NHTSA at 888-327-4236 or safecar.gov, and contact Honda at 800-999-1009.
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The Honda CR-V is one of the biggest selling SUVs on the planet. In the U.S. alone, it sells around 30,000 units every month. Just think about that figure for a moment.
That means Honda sells 1,000 CR-V’s every day. At an average sticker price of around $28,000, with a few options added on, that translates to $28 million earned by Honda every day of the year, from just one model. If we do the math, this means the CR-V’s annual sales clear $10 billion! Together with the Accord and Civic, which both sell in similar numbers, the CR-V is one of Honda’s bread and butter models and therefore matters.
So an all-new model is a big thing for Honda. In battling the big-selling Ford Escape, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4, Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester crossovers for segment dominance, the CR-V had to up its game. And that’s exactly what Honda did.
Designers did not opt for incremental tweaks to the crossover’s exterior, cabin and performance. They went all out. For 2018, the fifth-generation CR-V has been completely redesigned from scratch and re-engineered with better handling and ride quality, 3 rows of seats, more advanced technology and for the first time, a turbocharged engine.
The 2018 CR-V employs a revised suspension setup that’s firm enough to reduce body roll in corners but compliant enough to deliver arguably the most comfortable ride quality in the segment. The Honda also offers a sharper steering response that is direct with excellent feel and weight and plenty of information from the road surface.
The wheelbase is longer, the front and rear tracks are wider, and ride height has been elevated by 1.5 inches for venturing off-road. This Honda SUV comes with either front-wheel drive or a 4WD option, but we’d recommend the latter due to its greater all-around stability and safety levels.
Playing the devil’s advocate, the CR-V’s handling is good but not as sporty as, say the Mazda CX-5 but it is definitely well-sorted in straight-line stability. Its also not as aesthetically pleasing as the Mazda or the other rivals for that matter, but this time the Honda does have stronger, defined edges, a bolder grille, and bolder street presence.
Powered by a newly fitted 1.5-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine, the CR-V pumps out a respectable 190hp/5600rpm and 240Nm of torque at 2000-5000rpm and achieves 34mpg. Even with Honda’s standard CVT, this transmission is more fun to drive and is more capable of accessing the engine’s full power band. While it only suffers from minimal turbo lag, it can pay to keep the engine spinning at 3000rpm to maintain instance throttle response. But given that Honda is known as one of Japan’s best engine manufacturer’s, having paraded its exciting original NSX, S2000 and Civic Type R, I would like to have heard a slightly fuller, more rounded exhaust note emanating from the CR-V’s rear end.
Surprisingly, excellent brake response is a highlight of the new model. Pedal rigidity and stopping power are class-topping and pull up in shorter distances than most of the competition.
Inside, the CR-V incorporates material levels comparable with rivals but could have used better plastics around the gear shifter and certain sections of the dashboard. Following the recent Civic's redesigned dash, a digitally enhanced instrument cluster, and a new 7-inch touchscreen boasts features I feel we all appreciate—a physical volume knob as well as the choice of Apple CarPlay or Android Audio.
All-around visibility, seat support, and comfort are all top class and the 3rd row of seating actually puts the CR-V in the same class as the larger Mazda CX-8. The CR-V also employs automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning and intervention, adaptive cruise control, and forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking in addition to multiple USB charging ports.
So does the CR-V deliver on its promise? That’d have to be a resounding yes. It has bold lines, class-topping handling, sufficient power, and smooth transmission, and it’s practical and reliable. Starting at around $26,000, it won’t break the bank. The CR-V was one the biggest selling SUVs when this new model came along, and from what we saw during our drive, we see no reason why Honda will not continue selling around 30,000 units a month. Its rivals may be marginally quicker, but the CR-V does everything else better and stops quicker as well. ||||| The logo of Honda is seen during the 88th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
BEIJING (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co. Ltd (7267.T) will recall 69,090 UR-V sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in China, market regulators said on Thursday, a result of a cold-climate engine problem that has already forced the recall of hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
The UR-V is produced and sold in China, the world’s biggest auto market, by Honda’s joint venture with the Dongfeng Motor Group (0489.HK).
As many as 18,907 vehicle recalls are linked to problems caused by an unusual amount of uncombusted petrol collecting in the engine’s lubricant oil pan, the Defective Product Administration Center of State Administration of Market Regulation said on Thursday.
The issue in some cases caused a strong odor of gasoline inside the car and in other cases the car’s check-engine light came on, Honda has said.
The Japanese automaker says the problem does not affect the engine’s performance and there have been no reports of accidents because of this particular issue.
Honda recalled 96,900 SUV Avancier vehicles on Monday. The cold-climate engine issue also prompted the Tokyo-headquartered automaker to recall 130,000 of its popular CR-V SUV models and 294,500 Civic cars from China earlier this year.
Honda’s China spokesman Zhu Linjie declined to comment on Thursday but he said on Monday the company was now studying to see if the same issue was affecting the Honda Jade car and the UR-V crossover SUV. ||||| 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. |||||
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Emergency shelters will open Thursday while state offices across the Big Island will close as residents brace for a direct hit from Hurricane Iselle.
A Hawaii County official said the 11 shelters will open at noon.
Residents using the shelters should bring water, food and medication with them, he said.
Hawaii County offices, state offices and courthouses will close at noon Thursday and remain closed through Friday. Essential employees related to crucial operations will remain at work, the county said.
County and state parks are closed until further notice.
The state Department of Education closed all Big Island schools for Thursday and Friday, and University of Hawaii and Hawaii Community College campuses will also close through Friday.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said the county contacted residents in low-lying areas to request they evacuate.
Mandatory evacuations were not planned.
Oliveira said residents across the isle should be prepared, and noted that strongest winds may occur toward the northeast side of the storm.
On Wednesday, a Hawaii County Fire Department helicopter made an emergency landing at Pololu Valley due to mechanical problems.
Battalion Chief Warren Sumida said it was making the flight as a “preventable measure” to urge people living or camping in high-risk areas to leave or see if they need to be evacuated. No one was injured, and a backup helicopter is available, he said.
Expecting the storm to have largely moved past the islands by Saturday, election officials were planning to go ahead with the primary.
“Every county, including the state, (is) at this time planning to hold a primary on Saturday,” said Rex Quidilla, state Office of Elections spokesman.
Pat Nakamoto, county elections administrator, said generators are on standby for polling places if power is not restored in time.
She said there are enough generators for each of the 41 polling places and the counting center.
“My understanding is, if all 41 need generators, we will be able to get them there,” Nakamoto said.
Walk-in voting sites will remain open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday is the last day for walk-in voting.
Nakamoto said her office was receiving more phone calls than normal regarding early voting.
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the county received 14,540 mail ballots and 4,209 ballots from early walk-in voting.
The Coast Guard instructed all pleasure craft to seek sheltered waters, and announced that all oceangoing commercial vessels and barges over 200 tons are expected to leave Hilo by 4 a.m. and Kawaihae by 7 a.m.
American Airlines cancelled flights between Kahului, Maui, and Los Angeles for Thursday.
Hawaiian Airlines expects to make a decision Thursday afternoon whether to cancel flights, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park also closed its backcountry areas.
Hele-On buses were scheduled to operate as normal Thursday and Friday, though the mass transit agency was warning riders that cancellations or delays may occur with short notice.
The Democratic Party’s Grand Rally is also cancelled for Friday.
Senior nutrition and recreation programs are cancelled Thursday and Friday.
Assistant Police Chief Marshall Kanehailua said Wednesday there have been discussions at the Emergency Operations Center about notifying homeless people about the storm.
“We’ll be posting, of course, notifications about the shelter openings with officers on the beat,” he said. “When they do come across those individuals, we’ll be notifying them of the impending hurricane and what shelters are open.”
The Salvation Army released a written statement Wednesday that they’re “prepared to respond with community assistance as needed on the major Hawaiian Islands.”
“The public is encouraged to help in advance by supporting emergency disaster services efforts via monetary donations via our website …,” said Major Mark Gilden, Salvation Army’s Hawaiian & Pacific Island Division’s business secretary. “One-hundred percent of the donated funds will be used to support our emergency disaster services in Hawaii.”
Online donations may be made at www.salvationarmyhawaii.org.
Storm preparedness information can be found at http://www.scd.hawaii.gov.
Staff Writer John Burnett contributed to this story.
Email Tom Callis at [email protected].
Storm shelter locations
• Laupahoehoe School, 35-2065 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Laupahoehoe
• Kohala High & Elementary, 54-3611 Akoni Pule Highway, Kapaau
• Kealakehe High (pet friendly), 74-5000 Puohulihuli St., Kailua-Kona
• Konawaena High (pet friendly), 81-1043 Konawaena School Road, Kealakekua
• Hilo High (pet friendly), 556 Waianuenue Ave., Hilo
• Waiakea High (pet friendly), 155 W. Kawili St., Hilo
• Keaau High (pet friendly), 16-725 Keaau-Pahoa Road, Keaau
• Pahoa High & Intermediate (pet friendly), 15-3038 Pahoa Village Road, Pahoa
• Honokaa High & Intermediate (pet friendly), 45-527 Pakalana St., Honokaa
• Kau High (pet friendly), 96-3150 Pikake St., Pahala
• Waikoloa Elementary, 68-1730 Hooko St., Waikoloa Village
Source: Red Cross ||||| Tourists visiting Hawaii are anxious about what could be the first hurricane to hit the state in more than 20 years as weather officials say an approaching storm isn’t weakening as previously predicted. (AP)
Tourists visiting Hawaii are anxious about what could be the first hurricane to hit the state in more than 20 years as weather officials say an approaching storm isn’t weakening as previously predicted. (AP)
HONOLULU — The first hurricane expected to hit Hawaii in 22 years weakened slightly Thursday as its outer edges began to bring rain and wind to the Big Island, while residents and tourists prepared for a possible one-two punch as another major storm lined up behind it in the Pacific.
The eye of Hurricane Iselle was about 250 miles southeast of Hilo, moving at roughly 17 mph and expected to make landfall Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, Hurricane Julio strengthened early Thursday into a Category 2 storm but was forecast to pass just north of the islands sometime Sunday morning.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie said the state is prepared for the back-to-back storms, noting the National Guard is at the ready and state and local governments were closing offices, schools and transit services across Hawaii. Emergency shelters also are being opened across the state.
Meanwhile, state Attorney General David Louie promised that Saturday’s primary elections will go forward as planned.
1 of 26 Full Screen Autoplay Close Aug. 7, 2014 Skip Ad Caption Residents of the islands boarded up windows and stocked up on water as the storm passed through. Aug. 8, 2014 Road crew workers clear a main thoroughfare of downed trees left in the wake of Tropical Storm Iselle in Pahoa, Hawaii. Bruce Omori/EPA Buy Photo
Earlier Thursday, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island but didn’t cause major damage. There were no reports of injuries as residents made last-minute trips to grocery stores and boarded up their homes.
Kelsey Walker said the quake felt like a “little jolt” but didn’t knock things off shelves at the Waimea grocery store where he works. He was trying to keep a sense of humor about it.
“We have a hurricane. Now we have this on top of it. What else?” Walker mused.
Travelers got their first word of disrupted plans Thursday, when commuter airline Island Air said it was canceling some afternoon flights between the islands and shutting down all operations Friday.
Hurricane Iselle was expected to bring heavy rains, winds gusting up to 85 mph and flooding in some areas, but officials said the Big Island’s mountainous region and size should help break apart and weaken the storm as it passed on to Maui and Oahu late Thursday and early Friday.
“Not a major hurricane, but definitely enough to blow things around,” said meteorologist Mike Cantin of the National Weather Service.
Hawaii has been directly hit by hurricanes only three times since 1950, though the region has had 147 tropical storms over that time. The last time Hawaii was hit with a hurricane was in 1992, when Iniki killed six people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in Kauai, meteorologist Eric Lau said.
The twin hurricanes have disrupted tourism, prompted flash flood warnings and led to school closures.
Hawaiian Airlines waived reservation change fees and fare differences for passengers who needed to alter their plans Thursday and Friday, while some travelers remained optimistic.
Boston resident Jonathan Yorke and his wife booked a Hawaii vacation with their two daughters last year. He has been watching the news to see how the storms could affect their two-week trip to Maui and the Big Island.
“We’re all optimists, so we’ll make the best of it,” Yorke said.
Washington state couple Tracy Black and Chris Kreifels made plans to get married in an outdoor ceremony on the Big Island on Saturday. They spent this week getting a marriage license, adjusting plans and communicating with worried guests on the mainland.
“We see the rain as a blessing,” Black said. “It will work out as it’s supposed to.”
Some residents, meanwhile, are voting early in the primary elections that include congressional and gubernatorial races.
“It’s quiet, nobody’s around right now. It’s kind of eerie” said Hilo resident Kimo Makuakane. “Everybody’s heeding the warnings — staying at home and staying indoors.”
Education officials said public schools on the Big Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai will be closed Thursday.
Officials at Mauna Kea Observatories, a collection of 13 telescopes operated by astronomers from 11 countries located around 14,000 feet atop a dormant volcano on the Big Island, said the site was being secured and that visitor stargazing will be canceled Thursday night.
“It’s starting to get gusty on the summit of Mauna Kea,” said the observatory’s Gwen Biggert.
But the telescopes are in no danger, said Roy Gal, astronomer and outreach specialist for the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.
“Winds of 80 to 100 miles per hour are actually not uncommon on the summit,” Gal said. “We get tropical storms all the time which get comparable winds to a Category 1 hurricane.”
The storms are rare but not unexpected in years with a developing El Nino, a change in ocean temperature that affects weather around the world.
Ahead of this year’s hurricane season, weather officials warned that the wide swath of the Pacific Ocean that includes Hawaii could see four to seven tropical cyclones this year.
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Associated Press writers Doug Esser in Seattle, Oskar Garcia in Honolulu, Karin Stanton in Kailua-Kona, and Dan Joling in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Hawaii braced for what could become the first hurricane to slam the state in nearly a quarter-century early Friday after islanders scrambled to stock up on supplies and take shelter. The outer edges of Hurricane Iselle, a Category 1 storm, brought rain and wind to the Big Island as it approached landfall. A second Category 3 storm, Julio, was close on Iselle's tail with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. It was projected to barrel just north of the islands early Sunday morning.
8:30pm HT: Current infrared satellite imagery of #Iselle with #Hawaii sustained wind speeds and wind gusts. pic.twitter.com/6cNGaF7NfZ -Hurricane Central (@twc_hurricane) August 8, 2014
At a news conference Thursday, state officials told islanders to hunker down. Governor Neil Abercrombie said that emergency crews and response teams were “fully prepared” for heavy rains, fierce winds and flash floods. He said the National Guard was at the ready and shelters were open across the state. Transportation officials pleaded with drivers to stay off roads. Power was lost Thursday night in two communities on the Big Island: Waimea, a town of about 9,200 people near the island's north shore, and Puna, a district scattered with residents south of Hilo, Hawaii County Civil Defense officials said. American Airlines and US Airways canceled flights in and out of the Big Island and Maui after 6 p.m. Thursday through noon Friday. Iselle is poised to become the first hurricane to thump Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki made landfall in 1992. The state has been directly hit by hurricanes only three times since 1950.
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IN-DEPTH
— Daniel Arkin
The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| HONOLULU (AP) — Iselle was supposed to weaken as it slowly trudged west across the Pacific. It didn't — and now Hawaii is poised to take its first direct hurricane hit in 22 years.
Shoppers lift cases of bottled water in preparation for a hurricane and tropical storm heading toward Hawaii at the Iwilei Costco in Honolulu on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. Two big storms so close together... (Associated Press)
People lounge on Waikiki's beaches in Honolulu on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014. Hawaii residents prepared for what could be the first hurricane to hit the state in more than 20 years as weather officials said... (Associated Press)
Shonna Snodgrass of Stafford, Va., left and Gwen Johnson of Sacramento, Calif. show the "shaka" or hang-loose sign while enjoying the sun on Waikiki beach in Honolulu on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014. Hawaii... (Associated Press)
This image provided by NOAA taken Wednesday Aug. 6, 2014 shows Hurricane Iselle, center, and tropical storm Julio, right. Though it's not clear how damaging the storms could be, many in Hawaii aren't... (Associated Press)
This image provided by NOAA taken Thursday Aug. 7, 2014 at 2 a.m. EDT shows Hurricane Iselle, left and Hurricane Julio. Iselle was supposed to weaken as it slowly trudged west across the Pacific. It didn't... (Associated Press)
Shoppers stock up on cases of bottled water and other supplies in preparation for a hurricane and tropical storm heading toward Hawaii at the Iwilei Costco in Honolulu on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. Two big... (Associated Press)
Tracking close behind it was Hurricane Julio, which strengthened early Thursday into a Category 2 storm.
State officials are assuring the islands are ready and people should prepare but not panic. Tourists wonder whether their flights and activities would be disrupted and tried to get in some last-minute beach time before the surf's up, but ugly. And residents are making bottled water tougher to find than a cheap fruity cocktail.
"Everybody says this is the last day of good weather, so we came down to the beach," said Shonna Snodgrass, a tourist in Waikiki visiting from Stafford, Virginia.
Hurricane Iselle was expected to arrive on the Big Island on Thursday evening, bringing heavy rains, winds gusting up to 85 mph and flooding in some areas. Weather officials changed their outlook on the system Wednesday after seeing it get a little stronger, giving it enough oomph to stay a hurricane as it reaches landfall.
"What ended up happening is the storm has resurged just enough to keep its hurricane strength," said Mike Cantin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Cantin said that means stronger winds of 60 to 70 mph, though rainfall estimates of 5 inches to 8 inches in a short time frame remained unchanged.
"Not a major hurricane, but definitely enough to blow things around," he said.
Iselle loomed about 350 miles east of Hilo early Thursday, with sustained winds of 85 mph and traveling about 18 mph.
Cantin said the Big Island's size and terrain would help break up the hurricane, weakening it into a tropical storm as it passes Maui and Oahu late Thursday and early Friday.
"The volcanoes on the Big Island will do a number on the system," he said.
Hurricane Julio, meanwhile, swirled closely behind with maximum winds whipping at 100 mph. The National Hurricane Center said it expected the storm to strengthen even more Thursday before gradually weakening by Thursday night. That weakening is expected to continue into the weekend.
Hawaii has been directly hit by hurricanes only three times since 1950, though the region has had 147 tropical cyclones over that time. The last time Hawaii was hit with a tropical storm or hurricane was in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki killed six people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in Kauai, said meteorologist Eric Lau.
The two hurricanes have disrupted tourism, prompted flash flood warnings and led to school closures. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, meanwhile, signed an emergency proclamation allowing officials to tap into a disaster fund set aside by the state Legislature.
"The sole purpose is to see to it the health and safety of the people of Hawaii is first and foremost," Abercrombie said at a news conference surrounded by his cabinet members.
For travelers, Hawaiian Airlines waived reservation change fees and fare differences for passengers who needed to alter travel plans Thursday and Friday because of the storms. Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Ann Botticelli said hundreds of inquires poured in from customers seeking to change their flights.
Some travelers remained hopeful.
Boston resident Jonathan Yorke and his wife booked a Hawaii vacation with their two daughters last year. He has been watching the news to see how the storms could affect the two-week trip to Maui and the Big Island.
"We're all optimists, so we'll make the best of it," Yorke said.
Washington state couple Tracy Black and Chris Kreifels made plans to get married in an outdoor ceremony on the Big Island Saturday. They spent Wednesday getting a marriage license, adjusting plans and communicating with worried guests on the mainland.
"We see the rain as a blessing," Black said. "It will work out as it's supposed to."
In Waikiki, Gwen Johnson wondered if she would make her flight home Thursday.
"We're leaving tomorrow and I'm a little concerned if we'll be able to get out with the turbulence and stuff," she said.
It wasn't immediately clear what financial impact the storms would have on the state's tourism industry, a key economic driver.
Hawaii residents also have had to adjust. Stores have seen long lines this week as people brace themselves.
Some are voting early in primary elections that close Saturday. The elections include several marquee races, including congressional and gubernatorial races. Abercrombie —who is running for re-election in a tight Democratic primary — said the election is expected to move forward as planned as of Wednesday afternoon.
Also, education officials said public schools on the Big Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai will be closed Thursday.
The storms are rare but not unexpected in years with a developing El Nino, a change in ocean temperature that affects weather around the world.
Ahead of this year's hurricane season, weather officials warned that the wide swath of the Pacific Ocean that includes Hawaii could see four to seven tropical cyclones this year.
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Associated Press Writers Doug Esser in Seattle and Oskar Garcia in Honolulu contributed to this report. |||||
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– Tag-team hurricanes Iselle and Julio will thrash Hawaii in a one-two punch that starts tonight—the first time in 22 years the islands have been directly hit. Category 1 Iselle is expected to maintain 85 mph winds when it makes landfall on the Big Island tonight. It’s "not a major hurricane, but definitely enough to blow things around," a meteorologist tells the AP; up to 8 inches of rain is expected. Iselle should weaken as it passes through the island's volcanic terrain into tomorrow morning. Just behind Iselle, Julio is a bit fiercer Category 2, with winds estimated at 100 mph; it'll pick up speed before weakening tonight and hit Sunday as a tropical storm, reports NBC News. The last hurricane to hit Hawaii was Iniki in 1992, which killed six people. Vacations are being disrupted by the storms. Island Air has canceled flights to Maui and Lanai, the Washington Post reports. Hawaiian Airlines will decide today whether to follow suit, adds the Hawaii Tribune-Herald; on the ground, state parks are closed and beachgoers are enjoying the last shreds of nice weather. One Boston resident booked his two-week Maui and Big Island vacation last year and has been eagerly watching weather reports. "We're all optimists, so we'll make the best of it," he tells the AP. Weather officials had warned this season would be an active one in the region, with up to seven tropical storms—probably due in no small part to El Nino.
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Fugitive South Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, wanted for 19 murders, was captured last night in Southern California, the result of a tip from FBI television spots that began airing this week. His capture ended a 16-year manhunt that spanned the globe.
Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, and Steven Martinez, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office, released a statement this morning confirming that FBI agents had arrested the fugitive, who was on the bureau's Ten Most Wanted list, and his companion, Catherine Greig, in California. Neither resisted arrest. Cash and guns found hidden in the apartment were seized, police confirmed.
"Recent publicity produced a tip that led agents to a residence in Santa Monica, California, where they located Bulger and Greig Wednesday evening," the statement said.
The arrests of Bulger, 81, and Greig, 60, were initially announced by FBI headquarters on Twitter.
The arrest is a long-sought victory for the FBI, whose reputation was sullied by its connection to the mobster and whose fruitless efforts to find the fugitive had been regarded by some with suspicion.
Bulger did not appear to be in good health, an official said.
"I don't think he's in a position to be fighting anybody," the official said, adding, "They got a confession from him."
Bulger's brother, former president of the state Senate William M. Bulger, had little to say this morning when a reporter knocked on the door of his South Boston home.
"No comment," said William Bulger, who answered the door in his T-shirt. Informed that his brother had been arrested, Bulger said, "Thank you."
Assistant US Attorney Brian Kelly, part of the prosecution team that brought the federal charges against Whitey Bulger, said this morning, "It's a long time coming and we're glad he's finally in custody."
Bulger fled just before his federal racketeering indictment in January 1995. It was later revealed in federal court in Boston that he was a longtime FBI informant who had been warned by his corrupt handler, former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., that he was about to be arrested.
Betrayed by the revelation that Bulger was an informant, several of his former associates began cooperating against him, leading to the discovery of secret graves of his victims in the Boston area and additional charges that Bulger murdered 19 people.
Authorities had investigated two possible Bulger sightings in Southern California. In 2000, a tipster reported seeing Greig having her hair done at a salon in Fountain Valley, the newspaper reported. In 2005, the FBI investigated whether Bulger may have been the elderly man who robbed three Orange County banks.
But ultimately, the trail appeared to grow cold and no link was made to the mobster.
On Monday, the FBI announced that after years of focusing on Bulger, it was launching a new initiative aimed at daytime TV viewers.
It began airing a 30-second public service announcement in 14 cities across the United States urging people to be on the lookout for Greig, a dental hygienist who was devoted to her appearance, had plastic surgery in the past, and frequently had her hair cut and teeth cleaned. The spots aired during daytime shows, including, "Ellen," "The View," and "Live with Regis & Kelly."
A woman who answered the door at the South Boston home of Greig's sister, Margaret McCusker, was told of the arrest by a Globe reporter this morning. "They found him? Finally," she said. "I want my sister to come home."
Travis Andersen and Andrew Ryan of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company. ||||| FBI officials said the public service announcements were directed at women who might recognize Greig, 60. They also doubled the reward being offered for her capture to $100,000 from $50,000.
The campaign focused on finding Bulger's longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, and included television commercials in 14 major cities where there had been reported sightings of the couple.
"Recent publicity produced a tip which led agents to Santa Monica where they located both Bulger and Greig," said Richard Deslauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Boston, and Steven Martinez, the FBI's assistant director in charge in Los Angeles, in a statement.
FBI officials said Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger was arrested after 17 years on the lam from a tip resulting from a new publicity campaign about the case.
The FBI placed ads seeking the pair last year in a national dentists journal, including the ad above.
ABC News reported Thursday that the FBI also placed ads this year in Plastic Surgery News hoping medical professionals who performed cosmetic surgery on Greig might come forward.
Bulger was believed to have been traveling with Greig for the last several years, according to the FBI. Greig was a dental hygienist by occupation. Authorities say she dyed her hair to disguise her appearance. The media campaign was aimed at women in their 60s, the same demographic as Greig, in hopes of developing leads. FBI officials had noted that Grieg frequented beauty salons.
Officials have not disclosed details about how they got the tip and whether it focused on Bulger or Greig. There have been reporting sightings of the pair for years -- but no lead to solid clues about their whereabouts.
The push marked the latest in numerous efforts by authorities to track Bulger since he went on the run more than a decade ago.
In 2008 the FBI doubled the reward offered for Bulger's capture to $2 million from $1 million. At the time a video announcement of the increased reward called him "a predator in every sense of the word."
The FBI had been seeking Bulger since he fled Boston in 1994 as he was being sought in connection with at least 19 slayings and other charges.
RELATED:
Bulger was target of new FBI campaign [Video]
Famed crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger arrested in Santa Monica
Archives: Is 'Whitey' Bulger O.C.'s elderly bandit?
-- Shelby Grad and Megan Garvey
Photo: James "Whitey" Bulger and Catherine Greig in FBI ad. Credit: FBI ||||| For one of the FBI's most wanted men, legendary Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger appeared to live an open, somewhat routine life a few blocks from the beach in Santa Monica.
John Weiskopf, 63, who lives across the street from where Bulger, 81, was staying, recalled seeing the man, who turned out to be the famed crime boss, and his girlfriend in the neighborhood.
"They've been here a while," said Weiskopf, a screenwriter, film producer and novelist. "I would see them out here walking their dog. They were very unassuming."
Photos: The hunt for James "Whitey" Bulger
The FBI had been seeking Bulger since he fled Boston in 1994 as he was being sought in connection with at least 19 murders and other charges. He and longtime companion Catherine Greig, 60, were taken into custody after authorities received a tip, the FBI said.
Bulger and Greig are scheduled to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday.
Authorities seized weapons and a large amount of cash inside their apartment, sources told the Los Angeles Times.
It's unclear how long they lived on 3rd Street in Santa Monica, but if they were hiding, they were doing so in plain sight of neighbors.
"The seemed normal," said an attorney who lived in the Princess Eugenia complex, where Bulger and Greig had an apartment on the third floor. |||||
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– James “Whitey” Bulger has confessed, one anonymous official tells the Boston Globe. Authorities found plenty of guns and cash in the Santa Monica apartment where they nabbed Bulger and longtime Girl Friday Catherine Greig, but the two went quietly, the official said, noting that Bulger seemed to be in poor health. “I don’t think he’s in a position to be fighting anybody,” he said. “They got a confession out of him.” The couple certainly wasn't making much effort to hide, neighbors tell the LA Times. “They've been here a while,” said one. “I would see them out here walking their dog. They were very unassuming.” The FBI found the couple just a day after it started running daytime TV ads focusing on Greig. Earlier, they’d put ads about her in dentistry journals—Greig was a dental hygienist by trade—and Plastic Surgery News. The publicity blitz produced the fateful tip, though authorities wouldn’t say precisely where it had come from.
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Gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. Credit: Patrick Coin / Wikipedia From frogs to humans, selecting a mate is complicated. Females of many species judge suitors based on many indicators of health or parenting potential. But it can be difficult for males to produce multiple signals that demonstrate these qualities simultaneously.
In a study of gray tree frogs, a team of University of Minnesota researchers discovered that females prefer males whose calls reflect the ability to multitask effectively. In this species (Hyla chrysoscelis) males produce "trilled" mating calls that consist of a string of pulses.
Typical calls can range in duration from 20-40 pulses per call and occur between 5-15 calls per minute. Males face a trade-off between call duration and call rate, but females preferred calls that are longer and more frequent, which is no simple task.
The findings were published in August issue of Animal Behavior.
"It's kind of like singing and dancing at the same time," says Jessica Ward, a postdoctoral researcher who is lead author for the study. Ward works in the laboratory of Mark Bee, a professor in the College of Biological Sciences' Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior.
The study supports the multitasking hypothesis, which suggests that females prefer males who can do two or more hard-to-do things at the same time because these are especially good quality males, Ward says. The hypothesis, which explores how multiple signals produced by males influence female behavior, is a new area of interest in animal behavior research.
By listening to recordings of 1,000 calls, Ward and colleagues learned that males are indeed forced to trade off call duration and call rate. That is, males that produce relatively longer calls only do so at relatively slower rates.
"It's easy to imagine that we humans might also prefer multitasking partners, such as someone who can successfully earn a good income, cook dinner, manage the finances and get the kids to soccer practice on time."
The study was carried out in connection with Bee's research goal, which is understanding how female frogs are able to distinguish individual mating calls from a large chorus of males. By comparison, humans, especially as we age, lose the ability to distinguish individual voices in a crowd. This phenomenon, called the "cocktail party" problem, is often the first sign of a diminishing ability to hear. Understanding how frogs hear could lead to improved hearing aids.
Explore further: Female katydids prefer mates 'cool' in winter and 'hot' in summer ||||| Gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. Location: Durham, North Carolina, United States. (The visually identical Hyla versicolor is not reported from this area. Reference: Bernard S. Martof et al. (1980). Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press (Photo : Patrick Coin / wikimedia commons)
Female frogs choose to mate with males that can multitask, a new study reported.
The study supports the multitasking hypothesis, according to which females prefer males that can manage many tasks at a time.
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The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota who found that male frogs belonging to the species Hyla chrysoscelis, produce a mating call that has a string of pulses. Hyla chrysoscelis or the gray treefrog species is native to North America.
Usually the frogs' mating call duration lasts for about 20 to 40 pulses per call. These frogs can produce calls at an average of 5-15 calls a minute.
For the study, researchers listened to 1,000 mating calls. They found that male frogs that tend to make longer mating calls make fewer calls per minute. Female frogs tend to choose males that can deliver more mating calls per minute.
"It's kind of like singing and dancing at the same time," said Jessica Ward, a postdoctoral researcher and lead author for the study.
According to the scientists, the "multitasking hypothesis" holds true for humans too.
"It's easy to imagine that we humans might also prefer multitasking partners, such as someone who can successfully earn a good income, cook dinner, manage the finances and get the kids to soccer practice on time," Ward said in a news release.
The study is published in the journal Animal Behavior. |||||
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– Researchers listening to the mating calls of frogs over and over think they've stumbled across a lesson that can be applied to humans: Females prefer multitasking males. The University of Minnesota study reached that conclusion by breaking down the calls of a species of gray treefrog, reports Nature World News. Researchers discovered that male frogs who manage the tricky feat of producing lots of complicated calls in a short period—a mix of quantity and quality—fare best in the mating department, reports Phys.org. "It's kind of like singing and dancing at the same time," explains Jessica Ward, lead author of the study for the journal Animal Behavior. And then the media-savvy quote that has managed to generate headlines about a study of frog wooing: "It's easy to imagine that we humans might also prefer multitasking partners, such as someone who can successfully earn a good income, cook dinner, manage the finances and get the kids to soccer practice on time." (In other animal-kingdom news, a study of rats may help explain near-death experiences.)
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The Los Angeles-based web hosting firm Dreamhost is fighting the Department of Justice over the attempted exposure of visitors to the anti-Donald Trump website DisruptJ20.org, the company has revealed.
On Monday, Dreamhost said the DOJ hit it with a search warrant a month ago, requesting all the data that the hosting firm has on the website, which is one of its clients. Crucially, this data includes details that could be used to identify the 1.3 million people who have visited the site.
DisruptJ20.org was used to organize protests in Washington, D.C. on Trump’s inauguration day, 20 January. The protests turned violent in part, and the site is now primarily being used to organize legal support for the hundreds of protestors who were arrested.
Read: Donations Double to the EFF on Eve of Trump Presidency
The Justice Department wants Dreamhost to hand over the IP addresses of all the site’s visitors – this refers to the numerical strings identifying the physical internet connections that people used to access the site. It also wants “contact information, email content, and photos of thousands of people,” Dreamhost said.
“That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment,” the hosting firm wrote in a blog post. “That should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone’s mind.”
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Dreamhost said its general counsel, Chris Ghazarian, had “taken issue” with the demand’s untargeted nature. When the company pushed back, the government asked the Washington, D.C. Superior Court to order Dreamhost to hand over its records. Now the company has filed a response in opposition to the government’s motion.
“Internet users have a reasonable expectation that they will not get swept up in criminal investigations simply by exercising their right to political speech against the government,” Dreamhost said. “We intend to take whatever steps are necessary to support and shield these users from what is, in our view, a very unfocused search and an unlawful request for their personal information.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the world’s biggest digital rights organization with over 30,000 paid-up members, has been giving Dreamhost professional support in the case, though not representing it as such. “The Fourth Amendment was designed to prohibit fishing expeditions like this,” the EFF wrote in a separate blog post. ||||| Web hosting service DreamHost is fighting a Department of Justice demand to scoop up all the IP addresses of visitors to an anti-Trump website. The website in question, disruptj20.org, organized participants of political protests against the current U.S. administration.
Blogging about its objections to the warrant yesterday, DreamHost’s general counsel describes it as “a highly untargeted demand that chills free association and the right of free speech afforded by the Constitution”.
DreamHost says it has not been able to see the affidavit pertaining to the warrant as those records are sealed. The search warrant can be found here.
In the warrant the DoJ demands that DreamHost hand over 1.3 million visitor IP addresses to the disruptj20.org website, along with contact information, email content, and photos of thousands of people.
“That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment. That should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone’s mind,” argues DreamHost.
“This is, in our opinion, a strong example of investigatory overreach and a clear abuse of government authority.”
The latest developments in what has been a months-long disagreement already, are that DreamHost has now filed arguments in opposition of the DoJ demand.
Its counsel will be attending a court hearing on the matter on August 18 in Washington, D.C.
DreamHost initially challenged the government to narrow the scope of the warrant but says instead the DoJ filed a motion in the Washington, D.C. Superior Court asking for an order to compel it to produce the records.
Also blogging about the issue yesterday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation accuses D.C. prosecutors of using “unconstitutional methods” to pursue their investigation into the J20 protests, aka the day President Trump was inaugurated.
“In just one example of the staggering overbreadth of the search warrant, it would require DreamHost to turn over the IP logs of all visitors to the [disruptj20.org] site. Millions of visitors — activists, reporters, or you (if you clicked on the link) — would have records of their visits turned over to the government. The warrant also sought production of all emails associated with the account and unpublished content, like draft blog posts and photos,” the EFF writes.
“No plausible explanation exists for a search warrant of this breadth, other than to cast a digital dragnet as broadly as possible. But the Fourth Amendment was designed to prohibit fishing expeditions like this. Those concerns are especially relevant here, where DOJ is investigating a website that served as a hub for the planning and exercise of First Amendment-protected activities.” ||||| The US government is seeking to unmask every person who visited an anti-Trump website in what privacy advocates say is an unconstitutional “fishing expedition” for political dissidents.
The warrant appears to be an escalation of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) campaign against anti-Trump activities, including the harsh prosecution of inauguration day protesters.
On 17 July, the DoJ served a website-hosting company, DreamHost, with a search warrant for every piece of information it possessed that was related to a website that was used to coordinate protests during Donald Trump’s inauguration. The warrant covers the people who own and operate the site, but also seeks to get the IP addresses of 1.3 million people who visited it, as well as the date and time of their visit and information about what browser or operating system they used.
In America, bias, hate and racism move from the margins to the mainstream | Al Sharpton Read more
The website, www.disruptj20.org, was used to coordinate protests and civil disobedience on 20 January, when Trump was inaugurated.
“This specific case and this specific warrant are pure prosecutorial overreach by a highly politicized department of justice under [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions,” said Chris Ghazarian, general counsel for DreamHost. “You should be concerned that anyone should be targeted simply for visiting a website.”
The warrant was made public Monday, when DreamHost announced its plans to challenge the government in court. The DoJ declined to comment. A hearing is scheduled for Friday.
The government has aggressively prosecuted activists arrested during the 20 January protests in Washington DC. In April, the US attorney’s office in Washington DC filed a single indictment charging more than 217 people with identical crimes, including felony rioting.
Ghazarian said that DreamHost provided the government with “limited customer information about the owner of the website” when it first received a grand jury subpoena a week after the protests occurred. But the government came back in July with the much broader search warrant.
“We’re a gatekeeper between the government and tens of thousands of people who visited the website,” said Ghazarian. “We want to keep them protected.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has been advising DreamHost, characterized the warrant as “unconstitutional” and “a fishing expedition”.
“I can’t conceive of a legitimate justification other than casting your net as broadly as possible to justify millions of user logs,” senior staff attorney Mark Rumold told the Guardian.
Logs of IP addresses don’t uniquely identify users, but they link back to specific physical addresses if no digital tools are used to mask it.
“What they would be getting is a list of everyone who has ever been interested in attending these protests or seeing what was going on at the protests and that’s the troubling aspect. It’s a short step after you have the list to connect the IP address to someone’s identity,” he said.
Wide-reaching warrants for user data are sometimes issued when the content of a site is illegal such as pirated movies or child sexual abuse imagery, but speech is rarely prohibited.
“This [the website] is pure first amendment advocacy – the type of advocacy the first amendment was designed to protect and promote,” Rumold added. “Frankly I’m glad DreamHost is pushing back on it.”
It’s not the first time that the US government has sought to unmask people protesting against Trump or his policies.
President's first Trump Tower homecoming met with mass protest Read more
In March this year, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a division of the homeland security department, ordered Twitter to hand over the phone number, mailing addresses and IP addresses associated with @ALT_USCIS, an account that purported to convey the views of dissenters within the government.
The account, whose username is a reference to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, is one of dozens of alternative Twitter accounts established after Trump was inaugurated. The unverified accounts claimed to provide an uncensored view of civil servants who disagreed with Trump’s policies.
To protect the identity of the person running the account, Twitter launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that it would have “a grave chilling effect on the speech of that account in particular and the many other ‘alternative agency’ accounts that have been created to voice dissent to government policies”.
After public outcry over the administration’s overreach, CBP dropped the request. |||||
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– The Department of Justice is demanding the IP addresses of more than 1.3 million people who visited an anti-Trump website, TechCrunch reports. According to Fortune, that information—along with photos, email content, and more being sought by the DOJ—could be used to identify anyone who visited DisruptJ20.org, which was used to organize protests during President Trump's inauguration. DreamHost, which hosts DisruptJ20.org, was served a warrant by the DOJ in July, but the warrant wasn't made public until Monday when DreamHost filed arguments to fight it, the Guardian reports. DreamHost says the warrant "chills free association and the right of free speech afforded by the Constitution" and "should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone's mind." The Electronic Frontier Foundation calls the DOJ warrant unconstitutional and a "fishing expedition." The digital rights organization, which is advising DreamHost, says “no plausible explanation exists for a search warrant of this breadth, other than to cast a digital dragnet as broadly as possible." Similar warrants have been used to go after websites disseminating illegal content, such as child pornography, but DreamHost says DisruptJ20.org was only used to facilitate legal political speech. The DOJ has been serious about prosecuting anti-Trump protesters; one indictment filed in Washington DC following inauguration protests charged more than 217 people with identical crimes.
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Here is a news article: A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft stands ready for launch from complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. The mission will... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this May 29, 2014 file photo, Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, introduces the SpaceX Dragon V2 spaceship at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. Minutes after a planned launch from... (Associated Press)
The unmanned Falcon rocket was supposed to blast off before sunrise Tuesday. But the countdown was halted with just one minute remaining. The soonest SpaceX can try again is Friday. No reason was immediately given for the launch abort.
The Dragon capsule aboard the rocket contains more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments ordered up by NASA. That's the primary objective for SpaceX. But the California-based company was to attempt an even more extraordinary feat once the Dragon is on its way: flying the booster rocket to a platform in the Atlantic. No one has ever pulled off such a touchdown.
SpaceX's billionaire founder Elon Musk says recovering and reusing rockets could speed up launches and drive down costs. ||||| SpaceX called off its early morning rocket launch to the International Space Station, citing a last minute malfunction.
NASA said the SpaceX team had detected an “actuator drift,” causing the launch to be scrubbed. The next possible launch time is Friday at 2:09 a.m. Pacific time.
The launch by Elon Musk's SpaceX could ultimately be most notable for what happens as it returns to Earth.
Besides delivering 5,000 pounds of food, equipment and experiments to the space station, SpaceX engineers are planning to attempt what has never been done. Instead of letting the rocket's towering first stage disintegrate upon reentry to the atmosphere, they plan to land it on a barge floating in the ocean.
The rocket was originally scheduled for liftoff at 3:20 a.m. Pacific time Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It's the first such mission since Oct. 28, when a supply ship that another company, Orbital Sciences, was operating for NASA exploded just seconds after leaving the launchpad.
Typically, the rocket's first stage, which includes the engines needed to blast it to space, is allowed to fall back to Earth after separating from its payload. After burning up in the atmosphere, it lands in pieces in the ocean or remote places.
But Musk wants to land the 14-story first stage, which includes nine engines, and reuse it on a future flight.
If successful, the feat could transform space travel by sharply lowering the cost.
"To say it would be revolutionary is absolutely true," said Charles Lurio, a Boston-based space analyst who publishes the Lurio Report. "It could be a race toward the bottom in terms of cost."
The space shuttle was reusable, Lurio said, but it was extraordinarily expensive to rebuild and refurbish once it was back on Earth.
Already, SpaceX has shaken up the satellite-launching business by having some of the lowest launch costs in the world.
"Reusability is really, I think, the critical breakthrough needed in rocketry to take things to the next level," Musk explained this fall at a public event at MIT.
But the landing won't be easy. The Hawthorne-based company compares it to "trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm."
To start, engineers must slow the rocket, traveling at nearly 3,600 miles per hour, to zero. They already proved they could do that in two previous launches, when they slowed the first stage so that it briefly hovered over the water, before toppling over.
With this launch, the rocket will be equipped with landing legs as well as deployable steering fins that will help engineers guide it to the barge, which will be floating in the Atlantic some 200 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla.
Musk calls the football field-sized barge the "autonomous spaceport drone ship." It is not anchored, but equipped with thrusters that help it stay in place.
The company said last month its odds of success are "50% at best."
The flight would be the sixth time that SpaceX has reached the space station. It is the fifth trip covered by a $1.6-billion deal that SpaceX has with NASA to shuttle cargo back and forth from the space station.
The launch was first planned for Dec. 19, but SpaceX delayed the flight after an engine was shut down prematurely during a pre-launch test. The engine test was later completed without problem, the company said.
[email protected]
Twitter: @melodypetersen |||||
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– With just one minute to go before SpaceX's 6:20am ET launch of a Falcon 9 rocket in what would be a rather remarkable test of reusing rocket components, the space agency called off the mission at Cape Canaveral. The Los Angeles Times reports that a problem with the "actuator drift" was the culprit; in a more technical tweet, NASA writes, "At 1:21 before launch, a thrust vector control actuator for the Falcon 9's 2nd stage failed to perform as expected. @SpaceX is evaluating." The AP reports that Elon Musk himself had given the likelihood of successfully parking a rocket booster on a barge in the Atlantic a 50-50 chance of success. The launch is now postponed til 5:09am ET Friday at the earliest. The Dragon capsule aboard the rocket is to carry 5,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station, and after the initial separation, the rocket booster's engine is supposed to fire it around to an unmanned barge equipped with GPS sensors some 200 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla. The goal is to vertically land the rocket there. Click for more on the planned feat.
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– An online push to boycott companies affiliated with the NRA in the wake of the Parkland shooting appears to be having its intended effect. As previously reported, First National Bank of Omaha and Enterprise Holdings—which encompasses rental-car outfits Enterprise, Alamo, and National—cut their ties with the NRA on Thursday. Business Insider reports Best Western and Wyndham Hotels are now making it very clear they are no longer offering discounts to NRA members. Both hotel chains have tweeted dozens of times that they are no longer affiliated with the NRA in response to boycott threats. Wyndham Hotels says it stopped offering a 10% discount to NRA members in 2017. Best Western offered a discount to members as recently as 2016; it's unclear when that discount ended. Meanwhile, MetLife says it will stop providing discounts on auto and home insurance to NRA members, USA Today reports. "We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA," the company says. Symantec likewise announced it would end NRA discounts on its identity theft protection service and Norton anti-virus software. "Banks and other companies are sensitive to being on the wrong side of a social media campaign, which can spread pretty quickly these days," a University of Michigan business professor says. However, the Washington Post states losing business partnerships is unlikely to convince the NRA to change its policies, as it remains very well funded. Other businesses affiliated with the NRA include FedEx, Avis, and Hertz.
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Several major companies — Enterprise Holdings, First National Bank of Omaha, Symantec, Hertz and Avis — have ended co-branding partnerships with the National Rifle Association as a #BoycottNRA social media movement picks up steam.
Enterprise — the parent company of car-rental brands Enterprise, Alamo and National — cut ties on Thursday, when it discontinued an arrangement that offered discounts to NRA members. Hertz, Avis Budget Group and TrueCar later followed suit.
First National Bank of Omaha, one of the country’s largest privately held banks, also announced Thursday the end of a credit-card co-branding deal with the NRA. The bank had issued what its ads described as the “Official Credit Card of the NRA,” according to the Omaha World-Herald; the Visa card offered 5 percent back on gas and sporting goods store purchases and a $40 bonus card.
On Friday, Symantec announced in a terse statement on Twitter that it had also ended its discount program with the gun-rights organization. The company, which provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide, had been offering discounts on Norton anti-virus and malware protection, cutting prices on its premium package from $110 to $48 for NRA members.
Separately, insurance company Chubb Limited said Friday that it will stop underwriting “NRA Carry Guard,” a policy marketed to NRA members who face legal or civil lawsuits after they shoot someone. A spokesman for Chubb told Reuters that the company informed the NRA of the decision three months ago; the policy has faced criticism from gun-control groups who called it “murder insurance.”
The decisions came as the names of companies with NRA associations began circulating widely on the Internet and social media under the #BoycottNRA hashtag after the deadly Valentine’s Day attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
A gunman wielding an AR-15 rifle killed 17 people and wounded at least 14 others, drawing anguished calls for a ban on assault weapons from students and families.
The mass killing focused renewed attention on the NRA, which is credited with blocking gun-control measures for years through millions of dollars in political campaign contributions and pressure from its large membership base.
American businesses have become increasingly politically aware and have participated in boycotts over the past few years against states over LGBT rights. But the NRA is a well-funded membership operation devoted to a single cause — guns — and unlikely to be moved by the actions of companies with which it has such loose and peripheral ties.
Like many other organizations, the NRA has benefit deals with companies designed to make membership more appealing. The NRA “member benefits” page offers savings on a credit card, hearing aids, car rentals, travel, car purchases and prescription drugs.
FedEx, for example, gives NRA Business Alliance members up to a 26 percent discount on shipping expenses.
FedEx has not said anything publicly about its NRA association in recent days; when reached around 4:30 ET on Friday afternoon, a company spokesperson said he had no information to provide.
Hashtags urging boycotts of specific companies involved in the deals have sprouted up across social media over the past several days. People then started posting comments on the social media platforms of many of the companies urging them to take action.
The Omaha bank appears to have been the first to respond publicly.
Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA. As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card. — First National Bank (@FNBOmaha) February 22, 2018
“Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA,” the bank said in a statement posted on Twitter. “As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card.”
Enterprise followed a few hours later on Thursday. “All three of our brands have ended the discount for NRA members,” effective March 26 said a tweet on the Enterprise Rent-A-Car account.
By Friday morning, Symantec had made a similar announcement.
Symantec has stopped its discount program with the National Rifle Association. — Symantec (@symantec) February 23, 2018
Then came Hertz. On Friday evening, Alice Pereira, a spokeswoman for Avis Budget Group — the company mark for Avis, Budget and Zipcar brands — confirmed that it will no longer provide the NRA member discount as of March 26. TrueCar tweeted that it would end its car-buying service relationship with the NRA on Feb. 28.
[Activists call for tech companies to drop NRA’s digital TV channel]
Movers North American Van Lines and Allied Van Lines also disassociated their companies from the NRA.
The insurer Metlife said it has terminated discounts offered to NRA members on the gun lobby group’s website, the Associated Press reported.
The hotel chains Best Western and Wyndham Hotels also told social media users that they were no longer affiliated with the NRA, the AP reported.
One activist listed more than a dozen brands who had severed NRA relationships:
Meantime, gun-control organizations Moms Demand Action and Everytown sent a letter Friday asking five companies — Google, Amazon, Apple, AT&T; and Roku — to cease streaming NRATV, saying “it’s time for tech leaders to acknowledge their role in helping the NRA spread this dangerous content.”
The NRA has not commented on the announcements.
However, the World-Herald quoted Rod Moeller, director of government affairs for the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association, saying that the group will “be giving strong consideration to moving their accounts to a bank that hasn’t bowed to political pressure.”
Boycott movements have become increasingly effective political tools over the past few years. Indiana got hit hard by threatened boycotts in 2015 when Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed legislation allowing businesses and individuals to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The Indiana legislature and Pence reversed the measure within two weeks.
In 2016, North Carolina was the target of a business boycott after it enacted a “bathroom bill” requiring transgender people to use bathrooms based on their assigned gender at birth. After the NCAA canceled tournaments in the state and PayPal decided not to build a new facility in the state, the legislation was partially repealed.
The NRA claims 5 million members and corporate allies in the gun industry that provide the organization with tens of millions of dollars per year. The group devotes massive resources to fighting gun regulations in the name of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms.
T.J. Ortenzi, Keith McMillan, Desikan Thirunarayanapuram and Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report, which has been updated.
More from Morning Mix:
Widow says Republican candidate’s immigration ad politicizes her husband’s death
Did law school applications get a ‘Trump bump?’ Maybe.
Texas governor spares inmate from execution after a father’s pleas ||||| CLOSE Companies being urged to cut ties with the gun rights group, advocating a NRA boycott. Veuer's Nick Cardona has that story. Buzz60
At the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Houston in 2013. (Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
Several businesses with ties to the National Rifle Association are breaking up with the group amid mounting pressure from gun-control proponents following the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.
MetLife said it would stop providing discounts for auto and home insurance. "We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA," the company told USA TODAY in a statement.
Cybersecurity firm Symantec, which offered NRA discounts to its LifeLock identity theft protection service and Norton anti-virus software, told USA TODAY on Friday that it had "stopped its discount program with the National Rifle Association."
SimpliSafe, a home security services company, also ended its NRA promotions. "We have discontinued our existing relationship with the NRA," CEO Chad Laurans said in a statement.
CLOSE NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, addressing a conservative political conference, says "many in legacy media love mass shootings, you guys love it." (Feb. 22) AP
Rental car companies Hertz, Enterprise and Avis Budget are also ending their NRA discounts.
First National Bank of Omaha was among the first to ditch the NRA when it announced Thursday that it would end a Visa credit card it had offered with NRA branding, citing a deluge of customer complaints.
First National Bank of Omaha's breakup with the NRA put an end to a card that offered 5% back on gas and sporting goods purchases, according to an NRA blog, which boasted that "every time you pack up and head out on a hunt or to the range…. you’re putting money back in your pocket."
The moves suggest the NRA is losing a degree of support in the corporate world amid a firestorm of criticism over the group's support for gun rights despite recent killing sprees.
"Banks and other companies are sensitive to being on the wrong side of a social media campaign, which can spread pretty quickly these days," said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor who has taught classes on marketing. "They don’t want to risk having people march or boycott."
Still, Gordon said a widespread movement against NRA-affiliated companies was "unlikely" because most consumers don't change their behavior based on political issues.
The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. CEO Wayne LaPierre told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday that “as usual the opportunists wasted not one second to exploit tragedy for gain," adding that gun control advocates and the media “hate the NRA, they hate the Second Amendment, they hate individual freedom.”
ThinkProgress, a liberal website that describes itself as an editorially independent project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, claimed credit for bringing attention to the corporate NRA connections.
Companies that offer discounts to NRA members are "making membership to the group, which opposes nearly all gun safety legislation, more enticing," ThinkProgress wrote.
More: NRA-branded Visa card dropped by First National Bank of Omaha
More: The Parkland survivors started a movement when they took on gun violence. Here's how it happened.
More: NRA's Wayne LaPierre says gun control advocates 'hate individual freedom'
"Much like AARP or AAA, the organization promotes its discounts for members as a selling point for why people should join," ThinkProgress wrote. "The 'valuable 5-star benefits' promised include not just a subscription to an NRA magazine and a gun-owner liability protection policy but also savings on insurance, identity theft protection, hearing aids, car rentals, moving vans, shipping, and even wine."
The NRA Business Alliance lists hundreds of companies that offer discounts to the pro-gun-rights interest group's millions of members. Many are small businesses, including apparel makers, attorneys, accounting services, sporting goods stores, storage companies and gun shops.
But some are major national and international companies. They include:
—FedEx. The NRA Business Alliance says on its website that has "teamed up" with FedEx "to offer BIG savings" on the shipment giant's services.
A FedEx spokesman was not available for comment.
—Symantec. The cybersecurity company's LifeLock identity theft protection service for businesses and its Norton anti-virus software had both offered discounts to NRA members.
—Enterprise Holdings: The parent company of car rental brands Enterprise, Alamo and National announced on Twitter that it's ending discount deals with the NRA.
—Hertz. Like Enterprise, car rental company Hertz also ended discounts to NRA members.
—Avis and Budget: The company that owns the Avis and Budget rental car firms provides discounts to NRA members but said it would end that offer as of March 26.
—TrueCar. The online car-buying service says that NRA members save an average of nearly $3,400 off the retail price of new and used vehicles.
TrueCar representatives did not respond to a request seeking comment.
—MetLife: The insurer had offered discounts to NRA members on auto and home policies before axing the deal.
—SimpliSafe: The home security company had offered a special promotion to NRA members, but that ended Friday.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2orHtz1 ||||| Marylene Dinliana, 18, holds a sign that reads, "Stop Spilling Our Blood" during a protest against guns on the steps of the Broward County Federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Associated Press/Brynn Anderson
As gun control activists organize boycotts against companies with ties to the National Rifle Association, Wyndham Hotels and Best Western want everyone to know they are not affiliated with the gun rights group.
People on social media are calling for boycotts of companies including FedEx, Norton Security, Best Western, and Wyndham Hotels that offer — or have offered — special deals for NRA members. As part of their membership, NRA members receive discounts on things from renting cars to buying prescription drugs.
However, while Wyndham Hotels previously offered a 10% discount to NRA members, the hotel chain no longer does so.
Just a few of dozens of tweets denying ties to the NRA Wyndham
This week, the Twitter accounts for Wyndham and its rewards program tweeted dozens of times that the hotel chain "is no longer affiliated with the NRA" in response to boycott threats.
A Wyndham representative told Business Insider the company ended its relationship with the NRA in late 2017, prior to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida that sparked recent boycott efforts.
Best Western has been similarly targeted by boycott efforts, as the hotel chain offered NRA members discounts as recently as 2016.
In response, Best Western has tweeted dozens of times that the company "does not have an affiliation with and is not a corporate partner of the National Rifle Association."
Best Western
"Best Western ended any association with the NRA in 2014," a representative said in a statement to Business Insider.
Both hotel chains have been targeted in past boycotts organized by gun control activists.
In 2012, activist group Avaaz organized a boycott calling for Wyndham and Best Western to cut ties with the NRA following the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. At the time, both hotel chains were listed on the gun rights group's website as "friends of the NRA" and offered members discounts at hotels.
"It's time for mainstream companies like Wyndham Hotels to get out of bed with the extremist NRA," Avaaz campaigner Joseph Huff-Hannon said in 2012, The Guardian reported.
The February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School seems to be sparking similar calls for boycotts of companies with ties to the NRA — and producing results.
On Thursday, the First National Bank of Omaha and rental-car giant Enterprise Holdings announced that they were cutting ties with the NRA after boycotts were organized on social media. |||||
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Here is a news article: By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
It’s time for a major overhaul of the many laws and policies dealing with confidentiality, laws that dictate how federal, state and local government are run.
A person’s medical records, financial statements and other personal information should be blocked from busybodies who seek it out of curiosity. This type of information should remain protected.
Recently, a friend asked if it would be possible to locate a gentleman he had known for many years and was now terminally ill. He sought to contact the man with the hope of providing him help and comfort in his final days. I called an organization I felt could locate the man.
I was told, correctly, that they could not give out that information. I asked if I left my friend’s name and number, could it be passed along to the person if, in fact, they knew him. I was told, again correctly, this would not be possible.
I bring this to the reader’s attention in an attempt not only to show the foolishness of these laws, but the fear they strike into the average law-abiding citizen.
In Maine there is a website that lists the pension amounts received by everyone who is issued a monthly check by the State of Maine. No privacy here because this is being paid out by the State; accordingly, taxpayers have a right to know.
Yet other recipients of state revenues are shielded. Yes, I am referring to those known as welfare recipients. Why are they treated differently than pensioners? (A rhetorical question).
The answer: our liberal, progressive legislators and their social-service allies have made them a victimized, protected class. It’s none of your business how much of your money they get and spend. Who are you to question it? Just shut up and pay!
Well, the days of being quiet are gone. We will be submitting a bill to the next legislative session asking that a website be created containing the names, addresses, length of time on assistance and the benefits being collected by every individual on the dole. After all, the public has a right to know how its money is being spent.
Along with this bill, we will be resubmitting HR 368, which will bring local General Assistance into compliance with federal laws that limit General Assistance to a 60-month total lifetime benefit.
Additionally, we will be submitting a bill similar to one in Massachusetts, prohibiting the state from paying benefits for any additional child born after the recipient has been accepted into General Assistance.
Following up on last week’s column, these bills will be submitted to the Legislature for consideration and passage:
A bill that would make it a Class E Crime for a tenant to remove or disable a fire or CO2 detector in an apartment under the tenant’s control. This would result in a fine. If a removal results in injury or death, the tenant would be charged with a Class C Crime (a felony).
A city ordinance making the tenant responsible for keeping the hallway outside their apartment free of personal property and trash. We will further seek a state law that would make a tenant criminally liable if their property or trash is blocking an exit preventing passage in the hallway that results in injury or death.
Lastly, we will also be seeking language to be added to the current criminal mischief statue, clearly stating that tenants who intentionally damage an apartment under their control will be held criminally liable for the damage.
Next week, we will talk about our progressive liberal friends’ war on the elderly. ||||| Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald, a longtime critic of public assistance programs, wants to publicize the names and addresses of Mainers on welfare by creating an online registry of recipients.
Writing in his regular column in the Twin City Times, a Lewiston-Auburn weekly newspaper, Macdonald said if the public can get information about people who receive public pensions, they should be able to do the same for welfare recipients.
Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald says if the public can get information about people who receive public pensions, they should be able to do the same for welfare recipients. 2012 Associated Press file photo AP Today's Poll Search photos available for purchase: Photo Store →
“We will be submitting a bill to the next legislative session asking that a website be created containing the names, addresses, length of time on assistance and the benefits being collected by every individual on the dole,” he wrote. “After all, the public has a right to know how its money is being spent.”
Macdonald, a Republican who is running for re-election in November, also wrote that he plans to resubmit a bill that would limit General Assistance, an emergency benefit program administered by cities and towns, to 60 months over a person’s lifetime, and another bill that would prohibit the state from paying benefits for any child born after the recipient has been accepted into General Assistance.
Macdonald is not a lawmaker and would have to find a member of the Legislature to sponsor his proposals. He said he already has appealed to two lawmakers.
Macdonald said in an interview Wednesday that he has no concerns about how the column might be perceived.
“Go into a grocery store. They flaunt it,” he said, referring to people who receive welfare benefits. “I’m not sorry. I hope this makes people think twice about applying for welfare.”
BLAMES ‘LIBERAL LEGISLATORS’
Macdonald also said that putting names and addresses out there might encourage neighbors to “make a call.”
“Then we can go after all these people who are gaming the system,” he said.
Asked if that might hurt other people receiving benefits, Macdonald said, “I don’t care. Some people are going to get harmed, but if it’s for the good of everybody, that’s the way it is.”
The mayor, whose blunt talk has raised eyebrows before, appeared to put blame on Democrats for coddling welfare recipients.
“Our liberal, progressive legislators and their social-service allies have made them a victimized, protected class,” he wrote. “It’s none of your business how much of your money they get and spend. Who are you to question it? Just shut up and pay!”
He wrote that he would still keep medical records, financial statements and other personal information blocked from “busybodies who seek it out of curiosity.”
A former police officer, Macdonald had no political experience when he won the mayor’s seat in 2011. He was re-elected two years later and is now seeking a third term. His challenger is Democrat Ben Chin, a former Maine People’s Alliance organizer.
Chin called Macdonald’s plan a “completely political stunt.”
“Mayor Macdonald has been in office for four years and he’s done nothing to lower our poverty rate and make our city better,” Chin said. “Instead, he likes to scapegoat and publicly embarrass people.”
‘GOOD AT GRABBING HEADLINES’
Chin said he wants to talk about ways to improve Lewiston – creating more affordable housing and an office of immigrant integration.
“He’s good at grabbing headlines, but not at delivering and I think his supporters should look closely at that,” he said.
Macdonald came under fire in 2012 when he made a comment to a documentary filmmaker that immigrants should “leave their culture at the door” when they arrive in this country. Lewiston at the time was experiencing an influx of immigrants from Somalia who were resettling in the city from Portland and other locations.
Macdonald has made similar provocative comments in his weekly column in the Twin City Times. The newspaper is published by Laurie Steele, the wife of Peter Steele, Gov. Paul LePage’s communications director. The couple founded the paper in 1999. Macdonald has been a longtime ally of the governor, especially on welfare issues.
Oamshri Amarasingham, public policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said she’s never heard of a proposal like Macdonald’s online welfare registry before, but said it raises constitutional concerns.
“It’s not clear to me what purpose this would serve other than to shame people,” she said.
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A summary of this is?
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– "The days of being quiet are gone," Robert Macdonald writes in a column in the Twin City Times. And what does the Republican mayor of Lewiston, Maine, want to break the silence on? People on welfare are "gaming the system," he tells the Portland Press Herald, spurring him to call for a bill that would see the launch of a website with the "names, addresses, length of time on assistance, and benefits" for "every individual on the dole. … The public has a right to know how its money is being spent." Macdonald—an ex-cop who had no prior political experience before he took office in 2011, the paper notes—also wants to limit welfare benefits in Maine to 60 months over a person's lifetime and to prohibit extra benefits for kids born after a person is accepted into the welfare program. At fault for this "victimized, protected class" are "liberal, progressive legislators and their social-service allies," Macdonald writes in his column. It appears Macdonald's experience has influenced his perspective. "Go into a grocery store. They flaunt it," he tells the Press Herald. "I'm not sorry. I hope this makes people think twice about applying for welfare." Macdonald also hopes the website might spur neighbors to "make a call" and rat out those taking advantage of the program. An attorney for Maine's ACLU tells the Press Herald, "It's not clear to me what purpose this would serve other than to shame people." But Macdonald doesn't seem fazed by the possibility of hurt feelings. "I don't care," he tells the paper. "Some people are going to get harmed, but if it's for the good of everybody, that's the way it is." The Press Herald notes that Macdonald can't introduce such a bill on his own; he says he's talked to two lawmakers so far about sponsoring it. (A Michigan family lost its benefits because of a daughter's illness.)
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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. ||||| With the final space shuttle scheduled to launch July 8 carrying an iPhone and a mutant strain of salmonella, we're taking a look at some of the strangest things that have ridden along with the shuttle astronauts into space.
Over the last 30 years and 134 missions, the shuttle has helped launch three great observatories -- Hubble, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, missions to study Venus, Jupiter and the sun, and more than 350 astronauts.
But with its promise of easy transport into a low gravity environment, the shuttle has also taken some truly weird stuff into space. When Atlantis takes off for the last time, it will carry an iPhone and a mutant strain of salmonella. The scientific value of forcing bees to build hives or fish to swim in zero-g is still up for debate, but we have to admit it probably wouldn't have happened without the shuttle.
Here are some of our favorite critters that the shuttle gave a shot at space.
Frogs
Female frogs flew aboard Endeavour in September 1992 to see how weightlessness changes the way tadpoles grow. Half the frog eggs laid on the shuttle developed in microgravity, and half in a centrifuge that simulated normal gravity.
All the eggs developed into normal-looking tadpoles. But after returning to Earth, tadpoles raised in microgravity apparently drowned. Raised without a sense of up and down, they couldn't find the surface of the water in order to take their first breaths.
Image: NASA |||||
Write a summary.
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– You can probably name the first American sent into space (Alan Shepard), but the first monkey, frog, and jellyfish made the trip with far less fanfare. Space Shuttle Atlantis took off yesterday with a few odd passengers: an iPhone and a mutant strain of salmonella. But they're not the only unexpected astronauts NASA has sent into space for low-gravity experiments, reports Wired. During the past 30 years and 134 missions, the space shuttle has carried everything from squirrel monkeys and honeybees to sea urchin sperm and gypsy moth eggs. Did you know that transparent fish were the first vertebrates to mate in space or that roundworms were the only survivors of the Columbia disaster? Check out a slideshow of some of the craziest creatures NASA has shot into space.
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Article:
This still from the trailer for the forthcoming film adaptation of the dystopian tech company novel The Circle is intended as an example of the kind of literature Google employees would, according to a new lawsuit, be barred from publishing without company approval.
A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco on Tuesday on behalf of a former Google employee identified as a "John Doe" alleges that the Mountain View-based tech company insists upon internal privacy policies that violate labor laws, constituting a "spying program" that prevents employees from discussing potential regulatory, legal, and workplace conditions violations and encouraging employees to report on their colleagues who might do so.
The Information reported on the suit, filed under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, which allows Doe to sue on behalf of his coworkers and provide, in the event he should win the case, a serious payout that would go to the State of California and the 65,000 employees and former employees affected by the allegedly illegal policies.
Google defines confidential information incredibly broadly, the suit claims, while failing to make plain in its many policies surrounding confidentiality that employees are legally allowed to speak with outsiders, including government agencies and the press, about the company under certain circumstances. One privacy policy at Google allegedly defines confidential information as “without limitation, any information in any form that relates to Google or Google’s business that is not generally known," and per the company's Code of Conduct Policy, confidential information is “everything at Google.”
The extent of the supposedly draconian privacy restrictions at the technology company borders on the absurd: Writing "a novel about someone working at a tech company in Silicon Valley,” without authorization from Google, for instance, would be prohibited, or so the lawsuit alleges. The suit even describes a "Stop Leaks" program that asks of employees that they turn over "suspicious activity reports” relating to “strange things you observe or strange things that happen to you — like someone asking you really detailed questions about your project or job.”
Further, the suit contends that employees are instructed, bluntly, “Don’t send an email that says ‘I think we broke the law’ or ‘I think we violated this contract.’” Google even "instructs Googlers to suppress information about dangerous products,” and "advises Googlers to delete paragraphs from emails that suggest there are serious flaws in Google technology."
The lawsuit comes from the same former employee of the company who filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in June, which the Information reported on at the time, and per the recent lawsuit Google has amended its Data Classification Guidelines as a result of that initial complaint. From that earlier coverage, we learn that the employee in question, Doe, was fired from Nest, a company that sells internet connected smoke alarms and other products which is owned by Google. Nest's products drew scrutiny as news stories detailed their failings, and Recode summarizes what seems to have happened to the employee in the wake of that negative coverage: Basically, he posted internal communication about Nest, perhaps including some nasty memes, and got canned.
"Google’s motto is ‘don’t be evil.’ Google’s illegal confidentiality agreements and policies fail this test,” the lawsuit reportedly claims, which is an incredibly complicated way of alleging that Google is evil. Anyway, if you were hoping for a novel about a tech company written with the inside experience of a Google employee, you'd better just read The Circle, which seems all too apropos given the allegations of the suit.
Related: Watch The Trailer For The Film Adaptation Of Dave Eggers' 'The Circle' Starring Emma Watson ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. |||||Summary:
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– If you plan to write the Great American Novel and you work at Google, you may want to think again if the subject is the office. The tech giant is being sued over confidentiality policies that purportedly ban employees from, among other things, writing novels "about someone working at a tech company in Silicon Valley" without Google approval, the Guardian reports. The lawsuit, spotted by the Information, was filed this week by an unnamed product manager (on behalf of all Googlers) who takes issue with Google's "illegal confidentiality agreements, policies, guidelines, and practices." The upshot of the legal action is that it maintains the company's definition of confidential info is so broad that it violates California and federal free speech laws, and hinders Google employees in very real ways. Follow the policies to the letter, and you can't speak to your spouse about "whether [you] think [your] boss could do a better job," or employ all the skills learned at Google at your next job, the suit claims. More egregiously, it alleges the policies bar employees from telling government regulators, attorneys, or the press about any "wrongdoing." That includes sending an email that says, "I think we violated this contract," notes SFist. The Guardian notes that if the worker prevails, 75% of the penalty would go to the state coffers, with the rest shared by Google employees. That ceiling for the penalty is nearly $4 billion. Google called the suit "baseless" and says in a statement that "transparency is a huge part of our culture. Our employee confidentiality requirements are designed to protect proprietary business information." (Here's what every state was Googling in 2016.)
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Here is a news article: Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Alex Johnson
The extraordinary heat wave gripping the western United States has so far been blamed for at least four deaths, authorities said Wednesday.
The bodies of Robert Stuart Pluta, 57, and his son Bobby, 21, of Corpus Christi, Texas, were discovered Monday and Tuesday respectively, in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, where daily high temperatures have topped 100 degrees for almost a week, New Mexico State Police said Wednesday.
The natural entrance of Carlsbad Caverns. The bodies of Robert Stuart Pluta, 57, and his son Bobby, 21, were found dead this week during a choking heat wave. Peter Jones / National Park Service
The Plutas, both of whom were experienced hikers, had been on a hiking trip since Wednesday of last week but hadn't been heard from since they checked into their hotel, NBC station KRIS of Corpus Christi reported. A parkwide search was launched on Monday.
High temperatures in the park have been above 100 degrees for almost a week since last Thursday, and police said Wednesday that the heat was a likely factor in the mens' deaths. The park confirmed the men's deaths Wednesday.
"It was a father-son bonding trip on Father's Day weekend," the family's pastor, Mark Behrendt of Galilean Lutheran Church in Corpus Christi, told KRIS. "This was something that they had looked forward to, they'd been trying to plan on and off, and finally, it happened."
Photos: Dangerous Heat Wave Scorches Southwestern U.S.
Late Wednesday afternoon, officials confirmed the heat-related deaths of two people in Santa Clara County, California. The victims died Monday in San Jose and were identified only as a 72-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman, said Marina Hinestrosa, a spokeswoman for the county in Northern California.
The National Weather Service warned that the heat smothering the West this week carried "major potential for heat-related illness and even death." High temperatures reached 120 degrees in Bullhead City, Arizona; 118 in Glendale, Arizona; 116 in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale, Arizona; and 111 in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Triple-digit temperatures again also spanned the length of California, where the southeastern town of Blythe hit 119 degrees on Wednesday. Bakersfield hit 109, while Fresno and Stockton reached 106.
The National Weather Service forecast only a "subtle" improvement in the days ahead. "Expect no significant cooling through Sunday," the weather service's Phoenix office said Wednesday afternoon. ||||| CLOSE Tips on what to do when someone you care about goes missing. Video by Jordan Fenster/lohud Wochit
Buy Photo Police and rescue crews used the Rattlesnake Canyon trailhead to search for a father and son reported missing at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The son was found dead Monday night. The father was found dead Tuesday about a mile from his son. (Photo: Adrian Hedden/Current-Argus)Buy Photo
A father and son were found dead Tuesday in Carlsbad Caverns National Park after a weekend of hiking in 100-degree weather.
Robert Stuart Pluta, 57, and his son, Robert "Bobby" Neal Pluta, 21, both of Corpus Christi, were reported missing by wife and mother Lillian Pluta on Monday after they failed to check out of their room at the Fairfield Inn in Carlsbad.
She had attempted to contact both men several times during the weekend, but never heard back, according to a news release from the New Mexico State Police.
More: Breathtaking views of Carlsbad Caverns National Park
At about 4 p.m. Monday, searchers with the U.S. National Park Service found the Plutas’ red Ford F-150 truck at the Rattlesnake Canyon trailhead and state police ordered a rescue mission be initiated.
Another search at the hotel turned up no clues to their whereabouts, the release said.
By early Monday evening, law enforcement and emergency crews had begun searching the area near the trailhead and the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert.
Robert "Bobby" Neal Pluta was found dead at 10:05 p.m. Monday night about two miles northwest of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park Visitor Center.
Search efforts resumed at about 6 a.m. Tuesday and included personnel from New Mexico Search and Rescue, New Mexico Game and Fish, Eddy County Search and Rescue, the U.S. Border Patrol and the New Mexico National Guard.
Searchers used all-terrain vehicles to comb the desert area looking for the two men.
More: 1936: Carlsbad Caverns Discovered in 1901
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Black Hawk helicopter was flown in Tuesday to assist in the efforts. Several other nearby medical and law enforcement agencies also assisted in the search Tuesday.
Robert Stuart Pluta was found dead at 10:42 a.m. Tuesday about a mile away from his son.
Buy Photo Police and rescue crews used the Rattlesnake Canyon trailhead to search for a father and son reported missing at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The son was found dead Monday night. The father was found dead Tuesday about a mile from his son. (Photo: Adrian Hedden/Current-Argus)
New Mexico State Police spokesman Officer Carl Christiansen said the bodies were being transported to the state’s Office of the Medical Investigator to determine the cause of death.
He said the investigation is ongoing and is being carried about by the State Police.
Trails along Rattlesnake Canyon and Upper Rattlesnake Canyon to Guadalupe Ridge Loop have been labeled moderate hiking trails, according to the National Park Service.
Both trailheads are on Desert Loop Road at interpretative marker No. 9.
According to the National Park Service, Rattlesnake Canyon trailhead descends into a side canyon. Upper Rattlesnake Canyon leads to Guadalupe Ridge Loop, which has been labeled as a difficult hiking trail.
More: Carlsbad Caverns voted 8th in USA Today contest
Backcountry camping in that area is only allowed west of Rattlesnake Canyon and south of the Guadalupe Ridge Trail.
Carlsbad Caverns spokeswoman Valerie Golkhe said it is typically advised that anyone hiking the backcountry trails of the park check in with park officials because of the dangerous weather and changing conditions.
Temperatures this past weekend soared above 100 degrees in the area where the two men were found.
"We have pretty extreme temperatures here," Golkhe said. "You need plenty of water. Dehydration happens quickly."
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, [email protected] or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
Read or Share this story: http://www.currentargus.com/story/news/crime/2017/06/21/missing-persons-carlsbad-caverns-national-park-found-dead/414638001/ ||||| The bodies of a Corpus Christi father and son have been found in New Mexico after the two men set out on a hiking trip. They were visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park and hadn't been heard from in nearly a week.
New Mexico State Police say the heat was likely a factor in their deaths. Daytime temperatures in that area have been over 100 degrees since last Thursday. We're told the two men were experienced hikers, but clearly, something went horribly wrong.
57-year-old Robert Pluta and his 21-year-old son Bobby were last heard from when they checked into their hotel last Wednesday night. We're told they left their room the next day, but never came back.
Police say Lill Pluta tried contacting her husband and son over the weekend, finally calling the authorities yesterday, when she learned the two never checked out of their hotel.
A search ensued after park rangers spotted the hikers' vehicle in the caverns area. Police say Robert Pluta's body was found last night and his son's body was found Tuesday morning about a mile from where his father was.
Mark Behrendt is the family's pastor. He says the trip was supposed to be a father-son bonding experience, not a tragedy.
"It was a father-son bonding trip on Father's Day weekend... This was something that they had looked forward to, they'd been trying to plan on and off, and finally, it happened, and these things happen," Behrendt says.
Behrendt says Lill Pluta is relying on her faith, family, and friends to cope with this loss. She has a younger son who's also processing all of this tonight. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– The heat wave scorching the western US likely played a role in the death of a father and son from Texas. Robert Stuart Pluta, 57, and son Bobby, 21, set off on a hiking trip in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico Thursday. The first of the men's bodies was found four days later, around 10pm Monday, hours after Lillian Pluta reported her husband and son missing after failing to reach them over the weekend and learning they hadn't check out of their room, KRIS reports. A second body was found on Tuesday morning about a mile from the first. The Plutas' red Ford truck was found at the Rattlesnake Canyon trailhead about 4pm on Monday and a search commenced, the Current-Argus reports. Temperatures in the park have topped 100 for nearly a week, and heat was likely a factor in their deaths, state police say. The Plutas, experienced hikers, were on a "father-son bonding trip on Father's Day weekend," family pastor Mark Behrendt tells KRIS. "This was something that they had looked forward to." A park spokeswoman tells the Current-Argus, "We have pretty extreme temperatures here. You need plenty of water. Dehydration happens quickly." The extreme heat was blamed for the deaths of a 72-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman in San Jose, California, NBC News reports. The National Weather Service says to "expect no significant cooling through Sunday." (The heat wave is proving to be too much for aircraft in Phoenix.)
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Here is a news article: Google Translate came under attack in Russia on Tuesday after Ukrainians discovered that the language service was translating “Russian Federation” as “Mordor.” Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, was being translated from Russian to Ukrainian as “sad little horse”—a nickname critics use to mock him.
Ukrainian users on Twitter, Facebook and the social networking site Vkontakte cheerfully posted screenshots showing how the popular online language service translated the names, particularly Russia as ‘Mordor’—J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional land controlled by the Dark Lord Sauron in the series The Lord of the Rings. “What an accurate translation,” Mikha Novokovsky, from Odessa, wrote in response to reports about Google Translate. Others suggested that Google should also translate Putin as Sauron.
It is unclear what caused the epic irregularities. In a statement on Tuesday, Google explained that its translation service is automatic and doesn’t involve actual human beings but only uses algorithms. “When Google Translate generates automatic translation, it uses a sample of the hundreds of millions of documents to determine which option may be the most appropriate translation. Therefore, mistakes and mistranslations may happen,” a Google representative said in a statement published by Russian news media.
Reports of the ‘Mordor’ translation came from social media users, and could not be replicated early Tuesday by Vocativ after reports about the translation emerged. “Lavrov,” however, was still being translated as “sad little horse” early on Tuesday, Vocativ discovered.
Russians weren’t happy with the mistranslations, which, along with the backlash, drew attention to ongoing tensions between their country and Ukraine.
Russians angry Google Translate turned Rosіyska Federatsіya from Ukr to Russian as Mordor https://t.co/X5amS4re4Ipic.twitter.com/pWUIA8Ozaf — Jason Corcoran (@jason_corcoran) January 5, 2016
Translation: “The official translation of Google Translate – Russian Federation to Mordor”
Translation: “Google Translate is an asshole” |||||
A cold day in Moscow, with no volcano in sight. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
MOSCOW — Those who tried to use Google Translate to switch Ukrainian into Russian this week may have found an unexpected message in their documents: The “Russian Federation” turned into “Mordor,” and Russia’s top diplomat was translated as a “sad little horse.”
It was unclear whether the cheeky messages were the result of a hack or someone at Google trying to send a message, and the problem was solved by late afternoon Tuesday, Moscow time. But the problem persisted for at least a day, according to Ukrainian media.
A “Russian” was also translated as an “occupant.” No word yet on whether Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lodged an official complaint over his last name being translated as “sad little horse,” or “grustnaya loshadka.”
Google Translate, as captured by Ukrainska Pravda on Monday.
Russian and Ukrainian are linguistically similar, and Google’s automatic translation service between the two languages is usually quite reliable. At least one major Ukrainian news outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, uses Google Translate to switch its entire site into Russian as its articles are published online. That means that every mention of “the Russian Federation” would have been rendered as “Mordor,” a grim, volcanic region in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” that is the lair of evil. Pro-Ukrainian activists sometimes use the term to refer to Russia.
An unnamed Google spokesman was quoted by RBC Russia as saying that the algorithms used to translate languages were “complex” and that they depend on the context in which words are used in documents and websites found online. “Therefore, there are mistakes and mistranslations, and we try to fix them as soon as possible after finding out about them,” the spokesman said.
The error was yet another split between Russia and Ukraine, neighboring nations that were once tightly bound together by economic and cultural ties. But after a pro-E.U. protest movement overthrew Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, then helped fuel a separatist conflict in the east.
The two countries have since cut most of their economic ties, and there are no longer commercial flights between them. Since Jan. 1, Ukraine has entered into a free-trade agreement with the European Union that slashes most tariffs; Russia responded by cutting Ukraine off its own free-trade zone, which includes several former Soviet republics.
Read more:
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Russia is sharing information with the Taliban to fight the Islamic State
What is it about Russia that’s drawing aging international celebrities? ||||| Russia is “Mordor,” Russians are “occupiers,” and the country’s top diplomat is a “sad little horse”.
That’s according to Google Translate’s Ukrainian to Russian function, in a bug that has seen the Internet giant issue an embarrassed apology and sent its engineers scrambling to adjust the programme’s algorithms.
The bug was gleefully pointed out by Ukrainian users of Twitter, Facebook, and the Vkontakte social network, who posted multiple screen shots of insulting translations over the weekend.
Posts showed that the Ukrainian word for “ the Russian Federation ” appeared in Russian as “Mordor.”
The word for “Russians” translated to “okkupanty”, or “occupiers,” in an apparent reference to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for a secessionist armed movement in east Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the surname of Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, showed up as “grustnaya loshadka”, or “sad little horse”.
The terms reflect derogatory terms that have emerged since the crisis between Russia and Ukraine erupted nearly two years ago.
Many Ukrainians consider Russian troops to be illegal “occupiers” of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, as well as large swathes of eastern Ukraine, where a Russia-backed separatist movement has set up two breakaway republics.
Ukrainian soldiers and activists have often referred to the republics and Russia as “Mordor,” the lair of evil and chaos in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and to separatist soldiers as “orcs,” the foot soldiers of Tolkien’s dark lord, Sauron.
Tolkien's works are immensely popular in Russia and Ukraine, where they have inspired a unique medieval re-enactment movement.
It is less clear how Mr Lavrov became associated with depressed equines, although he does have a longish face and is often seen frowning.
Nor is it clear how the irregularities crept in. Ukrainian and Russian are closely related, and Google Translate’s automatic translation between the two is usually relatively reliable.
Although they appear to be the work of mischievous pro-Kiev activists, Google said in a statement released to Russian media that its translation programme is entirely automatic and the mistranslations were the result of "technical error".
“When Google Translate creates an automatic translation, it uses examples from hundreds of millions of documents, in order to distinguish which variant is most appropriate,” the company said.
Automatic translation, the company added, “is a very complex system, since the meaning of words depends on the context in which they are used.”
On Tuesday, the bug appeared to be fixed, with the Ukrainian versions of “Russian Federation,” “Russian,” and “Lavrov” all rendering into their near-identical Russian equivalents. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– Everyone knows Google Translate can be a bit iffy at times. But it's not often that its mistranslations burn an entire country. Vocativ reports the service was recently caught changing "Russian Federation" into "Mordor" when translating from Ukrainian to Russian. As the Telegraph explains, Mordor is "the lair of evil and chaos" from Lord of the Rings. Other insulting mistranslations included translating "Russians" into "occupiers" and "Sergey Lavrov"—Russia's foreign minister—into "sad little horse." Ukrainians gleefully posted screenshots of the mistranslations all over social media. But the glitch appeared to have been fixed by the end of Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. It's unclear if Google Translate was hacked by an outsider or used by a programmer to make a statement, as its translation between Ukrainian and Russian is "usually quite reliable," the Post reports. According to the Telegraph, Google itself is blaming a "technical error." The company claims it doesn't use any humans for its translation service, Vocativ reports. “When Google Translate generates automatic translation, it uses a sample of the hundreds of millions of documents to determine which option may be the most appropriate translation," according to a statement from the company. The Telegraph reports the mistranslations all stem from insults that have become popular since Russia took over Crimea in 2014.
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Image copyright AP Image caption Tariq Aziz (right) was the instantly-recognisable face of Saddam Hussein's regime
As former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's main link with the world, Tariq Aziz became a familiar figure around the globe, most notably during the Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003.
With his cheery, urbane manner and passing resemblance to Groucho Marx, Tariq Aziz was the instantly-recognisable face of Saddam Hussein's regime.
But, behind the scenes, the Iraqi foreign minister and deputy prime minister proved to be a formidable negotiator and diplomat.
A fluent English speaker, Tariq Aziz was the only Christian - a Chaldean Catholic - in Iraq's cabinet.
He was born Michael Yuhanna in 1936 near Mosul in northern Iraq. His family circumstances were humble - his father was a waiter.
The young Yuhanna read English literature at Baghdad University before pursuing a career as a teacher of English, then as a journalist.
Kuwait invasion
He also joined the Baath party, changed his name to Tariq Aziz, and was involved in propaganda work after the 10-month Baathist coup in 1963.
After the Baathists took power in 1968, he became editor of the regime's newspaper and then information minister.
In 1977, he joined the Revolutionary Command Council - the committee of senior Baath Party officials which effectively ruled Iraq. In 1983 Saddam, who shied away from travelling abroad, made Aziz his foreign minister.
Image copyright AP Image caption Tariq Aziz with then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 1998
Within months he had rebuilt diplomatic bridges with the United States, after a hiatus of 17 years. He managed to convince Donald Rumsfeld, then a private emissary from President Ronald Reagan, that Iraq was a crucial buffer against the Islamist state of Iran, which Iraq was then fighting.
Then, after the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, when Iraq was almost totally isolated, Aziz deftly negotiated a pact with Iran.
In a series of drawn-out meetings with the-then UN Secretary-General, Perez de Cuellar, and the US Secretary of State, James Baker, Aziz consistently put forward the view that Kuwait was part of Iraq and that any negotiations must take in the whole Palestinian question.
Afterwards Aziz said: "When it comes to the Arabs, you raise the stick, and we are fed up with this policy of double standards."
Prison plea
But the US-led attack which followed did little to damage Aziz's career.
In the run-up to the 2003 Gulf War, he once more played a leading role in negotiations. While arguing that Iraq posed no military threat, he believed that conflict was inevitable and laid the blame squarely on two factors - "oil and Israel".
He surrendered to US troops on 24 April 2003 despite having previously declared that he would rather die than become a prisoner of war.
Image copyright AP Image caption Tariq Aziz with then Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov at a press conference in Baghdad
In a letter published in the Observer newspaper in May 2005, Aziz wrote: "We have been in prison for a long time and we have been cut off from our families. No contacts, no phones, no letters. Even the parcels sent to us by our families are not given to us. We need a fair treatment, a fair investigation and finally a fair trial. Please help us."
In October 2005, evidence allegedly given by Aziz formed the basis of a claim in a US Senate report that the UK MP, George Galloway, had lied while under oath in a Senate hearing.
Mr Galloway, a friend of Tariq Aziz, has vigorously denied claims that he received 23 million barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein, which should have formed part of Iraq's oil-for-food programme.
In April 2008, Aziz finally went on trial accused of complicity in the execution of 42 Iraqi traders who had been accused of manipulating food prices while Iraq was subject to international trade sanctions.
He was convicted in March 2009 of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Five months later he was convicted of having been involved in the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq and given another seven years behind bars.
Though Saddam Hussein was said to listen to him, Aziz was never a powerful or influential member of the regime.
This was reflected in his lowly ranking as the eight of spades in the US military's famous "deck of cards" that was used to identify the most-wanted members.
Above all, Aziz was loyal to his master, who trusted him to act as his mouthpiece before the world. ||||| Tariq Aziz, Iraq's former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, has died in prison aged 79 years old.
Iraqi officials said Aziz, who was one of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's top deputies, died on Friday afternoon after suffering a heart attack on Thursday.
Al Jazeera has learned that Aziz's son, Ziad, expressed outrage that Iraqi officials had not informed him of his father's death, and he had instead found out through local media reports.
Aziz was Iraq's foreign minister between 1983 and 1991 and deputy prime minister between 1979 and 2003.
Born Mikhail Yuhanna in 1936, Aziz was the highest ranking Christian official under Saddam's presidency and a member of the former ruling Baath Party's inner circle.
He was sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal in 2010 for his role in human rights abuses committed under the former government, which was overthrown in 2003 when Iraq was invaded by a US-led alliance.
Iraq's public face
Aziz surrendered to US forces shortly after the invasion and had been a prisoner since.
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Baghdad, said Aziz was one of the most hated figures from the old regime and Iraqi TV stations had largely ignored his death.
"There will be no eulogies for him, no day of mourning for him. He was hated as a member of the former regime," he said.
One of the best known faces of Saddam's Iraq, Aziz travelled globally where he defended his leader against the many accusations of alleged human rights abuses.
When the US prepared for its campaign to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait prior to the first Gulf War, Aziz hit out at Arab states, calling them "subservient Arab weaklings".
Aziz remained loyal to his boss in the aftermath of defeat during that war, and through the 12 years of sanctions that followed.
In the run-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Aziz was the "eight of spades" on the famous deck of cards of Iraq's most wanted released by US authorities.
"He was always seen as someone who could try and prevent the impending US invasion. He was always seen as a diplomat," Al Jazeera's Khan said. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Tariq Aziz (right) played a prominent role in Saddam Hussein's reign as Iraq's president
Tariq Aziz, known as the face of Saddam Hussein's regime on the world stage for many years, has died in an Iraqi hospital, officials say.
Aziz, 79, served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister and was a close adviser to the former leader.
He was sentenced to death by the Iraqi Supreme Court in 2010 for the persecution of religious parties under Saddam's rule but was never executed.
He surrendered to US troops in 2003 shortly after the fall of Baghdad.
A local health official told reporters that he was taken to hospital from prison after suffering a heart attack. Initial reports said he had died in prison.
He had long been in poor health, suffering from heart and respiratory problems, high blood pressure and diabetes, and his family repeatedly called for his release from custody.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Caroline Hawley: "He surrendered shortly after the regime was toppled"
His wife, Violet, had visited him in prison on Thursday, their daughter Zeinab told the AP news agency.
She said her father had suffered several strokes that left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak during her parents' final meeting.
"He didn't move. He couldn't talk. He didn't say a word to her. He just looked at her," said Zeinab, adding: "It is so sad that he had to go this way."
'Eight of spades'
Aziz, who was known for his black-rimmed glasses and love of cigars, first came to prominence while serving as foreign minister during the first Gulf War in 1991.
As a Christian in a mainly Sunni Muslim government, he was not considered a member of Saddam Hussein's innermost circle.
A fluent English speaker, he played a vocal role before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, meeting Pope John Paul II in the Vatican to call for peace.
But when Baghdad fell, his lack of influence was reflected in his lowly ranking as the eight of spades in the US military's famous "deck of cards" used to identify the most-wanted players in Saddam's regime.
Analysis: Paul Adams, BBC diplomatic correspondent
Image copyright AFP Image caption As a fluent English speaker, Aziz was often deployed to explain Saddam's actions
Tariq Aziz was one of the most visible of Saddam Hussein's lieutenants and, it seems, one of the most loyal.
He frequently represented Iraq on the international stage, speaking fluent English and giving a monstrous regime an urbane, often charming face. And like Saddam, he was often seen puffing on fat Cuban cigars.
When Iraq found itself in dock, as it did after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, it invariably fell to Tariq Aziz to explain Saddam's actions to an exasperated world. He did it doggedly, often infuriatingly, for decades.
As an ethnic Chaldean from northern Iraq, he was also the only Christian member of Saddam's entourage, which made him useful as an envoy for an secular regime. It also made him an outsider in Baghdad.
Western diplomats never doubted his loyalty to Saddam, but wondered how much he really knew about his master's secrets.
Obituary: Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz: Saddam's dangerously loyal courtier
In 2009, Aziz was sentenced to 15 years for the execution of 42 Iraqi traders who had been accused of manipulating food prices while Iraq was subject to international trade sanctions.
Five months later, he was sentenced to another seven years in prison for his role in the forced displacement of Kurds.
Despite being sentenced to death in 2010, there never seemed any huge pressure to carry out the sentence, according to BBC Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher. ||||| Tariq Aziz, the debonair Iraqi diplomat who made his name by staunchly defending Saddam Hussein to the world during three wars and was later sentenced to death as part of the regime that killed hundreds of thousands of its own people, has died in a hospital in southern Iraq, officials said. He was 79.
Aziz, who had been in custody in a prison in the south awaiting execution, died Friday afternoon after he was taken to the al-Hussein hospital in the city of Nasiriyah following a heart attack, according to the provincial governor, Yahya al-Nassiri.
Aziz, the highest-ranking Christian in Saddam's regime, was its international face for years. He was sentenced in 2010 to hang for persecuting members of the Shiite Muslim religious parties that now dominate Iraq.
His wife, Violet, had visited him in prison Thursday, their daughter Zeinab told The Associated Press in the Jordanian capital, Amman, where most of the family lives.
Her father had suffered several strokes that left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak during their parents' final meeting, she said.
"He didn't move. He couldn't talk. He didn't say a word to her. He just looked at her," said Zeinab, 46, fighting back tears.
"It is so sad that he had to go this way," she said, speaking outside the family's Amman home, where friends and relatives gathered. "So sad that he didn't see his grandchildren, so sad that he had to spend his last years alone, sick and alone, and in this very humiliating circumstance."
"But I want people to remember what he did," she added. "He really fought for his country, in his own way."
Al-Nassiri, the governor of Dhi Qar province, said doctors could not save Aziz at the hospital in Nasiriyah, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
"The medical staff did their best to rescue him, but they failed. It is God's will," he said, adding that Aziz had been a chain smoker and suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure for a long time. Local Iraqi authorities later told the family it can take Aziz's body from the hospital morgue.
The only Christian among Saddam's inner circle, Aziz's religion rescued him from the hangman's noose that was the fate of other members of the top regime leadership.
After he was sentenced to death, the Vatican asked for mercy for him as a Christian. Iraq's president at the time, Jalal Talabani, then refused to give the death sentence his required signature, citing Aziz's age and religion.
Even before he was sentenced, the ailing Aziz appeared to know that he would die in custody. He had had several strokes while in custody undergoing trial multiple times for various regime crimes.
"I have no future. I have no future," Aziz told The AP, looking frail and speaking with difficulty because of a recent stroke, in a jailhouse interview in September 2010. At that stage, he had been sentenced to more than two decades in prison.
"I'm sick and tired but I wish Iraq and Iraqis well," he said.
Elegant and eloquent, Aziz spoke fluent English, smoked Cuban cigars and was loyal to Saddam to the last, even naming one of his sons after the dictator. His posts included that of foreign minister and deputy prime minister, and he sat on the Revolutionary Command Council, the highest body in Saddam's regime. ||||| This will appear next to all of your comments
This will NOT appear anywhere on Newser |||||
Write a summary.
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– Tariq Aziz, who during his years as Iraq's foreign minister and deputy prime minister was one of Saddam Hussein's close advisers, has died at the age of 79, the BBC reports. Iraqi officials say Aziz suffered a heart attack yesterday at the Iraqi prison where he had been jailed, and he died earlier today, per al-Jazeera. The AP notes he died in a hospital in southern Iraq. The highest-ranked Christian in Hussein's regime surrendered to US troops in 2003 and was sentenced to death in 2010 by the Iraqi Supreme Court for religious persecution; he had been imprisoned since then. With his large glasses and what the BBC calls a "passing resemblance to Groucho Marx," Aziz was a recognizable face around the world during the Gulf War in the early '90s and the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. His status as a Christian may have played a role in saving his life: After his death sentence was handed down, the Vatican asked for mercy for him, and Iraq's then-president opted not to sign the paperwork to greenlight his hanging, the AP notes. But Aziz appeared to realize he would die behind bars: He had multiple strokes while imprisoned, per the news agency, and spoke with difficulty during a 2010 jailhouse interview with the AP. "I have no future. I have no future," he said at the time. "I'm sick and tired, but I wish Iraq and Iraqis well."
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– The measles outbreak traced to Disneyland visitors is continuing to spread, and steps are being taken to stop it both inside and outside the California park. Five Disney workers—two of them vaccinated—have been diagnosed with measles, and the park says that workers who came in contact with them and can't provide either vaccination records or proof of immunity have been placed on paid leave, reports the Los Angeles Times. It's not clear how many visitors may have encountered the infected workers, whom Disney's chief medical officer refers to as "cast members." She says a few of the cast members have returned to work after being medically cleared, reports the OC Register. In an Orange County high school around 20 miles from Disneyland, at least 24 unvaccinated students have been told to stay home until Jan. 29 because they may have been exposed to the disease by an infected classmate earlier this month, reports CBS. Officials say sending students who were exposed and don't have the necessary vaccination is the only way to prevent more infections, though some accuse the district of being too strict. "I'm not a doctor so I can't say, but that seems extreme to me," one parent tells NBC. There have been 16 cases confirmed in the county—including six not directly linked to Disneyland—and dozens more related cases across California, three other states, and Mexico.
Expand this summary.
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An Orange County school told some students to just stay home after possible measles exposure. Annette Arreola reports for the NBC4 News at Noon on Tuesday Jan. 20, 2015. (Published Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015)
Twenty students who have not been vaccinated against the measles are not be allowed on the campus of Huntington Beach High School for three weeks after a possible exposure to the virus, officials confirmed Monday.
A student with measles was on the Orange County campus in early January, and could have potentially spread the highly contagious disease according to a letter sent to parents.
Students who have been exposed and do not have the necessary vaccination to guard against the disease were sent home for three weeks, according to county health officials. They will not be allowed to attend school until Jan. 29, according to the Orange County Department of Education.
Some parents said the district was going overboard.
Unvaccinated Students Told to Stay Home After Measles Exposure
Two dozen Huntington Beach High School students were asked to self-quarantine after a possible exposure to measles. Gadi Schwartz reports for the NBC4 News at 11 on Jan. 19, 2015. (Published Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015)
"I'm not a doctor so I can't say, but that seems extreme to me," one parent said. "I mean, I had the measles and I think I was out for three days."
However Orange County Department of Education Health and Wellness Coordinator Pamela Kahn told NBC4 Tuesday that keeping the students away from school is the only thing they could do to prevent the disease from spreading further.
As carriers are contagious both four days before and four days after developing a rash, and as students could be at school for as long as 21 days before a rash develops, it is essential to keep unvaccinated pupils away from school for that period to minimize the exposure of other students from the disease.
The county has confirmed 16 cases of the disease, among 46 confirmed cases in California.
OC Students Asked to Stay Home After Possible Measles Exposure
Some Orange County students have been asked to stay home for a few days after possible measles exposure. Kathy Vara reports for the NBC4 News at 5 and 6 on Jan. 19, 2015. (Published Monday, Jan. 19, 2015)
In late December an outbreak was reported among people who had visited Disneyland, but health officials in San Diego and Orange county have now confirmed the outbreak has spread beyond the initial cases.
Measles is spread through the air or contact with an infected person and is highly contagious.
It is characterized by fever, rash, cough and red, watery eyes.
Doctors advise that anyone who thinks they may be infected call their doctor immediately.
Michael Larkin and Annette Arreola contributed to this report ||||| A measles outbreak was traced to people at the theme park who visited between Dec. 17 and 20. Since then, the highly contagious disease has spread across California, three other states and Mexico. The virus has begun infecting people beyond those who visited the theme park and is now in the broader community, officials say. ||||| ANAHEIM -- Five Disneyland employees were diagnosed with measles and some of their co-workers have been sent home, as local public health officials scramble to keep the extremely contagious disease from spreading further.
The cast members had already been counted among the 16 cases previously confirmed by the Orange County Health Care Agency – a number that jumped Tuesday to 18. There are now several dozen measles cases in California, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Colorado and into Mexico – all tied to an outbreak that originated at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Park over the winter holiday.
Three of the Disneyland employees have returned to work after making full recoveries.
"To date, a few cast members have tested positive and some have been medically cleared and returned to work," said Dr. Pamela Hymel, Disney's chief medical officer. "Cast members who may have come in contact with those who were positive are being tested for the virus. While awaiting results, they have been put on paid leave until medically cleared."
For the first time in about a decade, unvaccinated students in Orange County have also been ordered home. On Friday, the Health Care Agency told two dozen Huntington Beach High School students to stay home until Jan. 29 after an infected student spent time on campus Jan. 6 to 8. That order could extend to other local schools if there are confirmed cases of measles.
“I would suspect that this will be the M.O.,” Pamela Kahn, a registered nurse overseeing health and wellness for the Orange County Department of Education, said. “We need to clamp down and circle the wagons.”
Kahn said there had not previously been a confirmed case of measles at an Orange County primary, middle or high school during her eight-year tenure.
Measles causes high fever, a dry cough, pink eye and a red blotchy rash.
“Simply being in the same room with someone who has measles is enough to become infected,” county health officer Dr. Eric Handler wrote in a Jan. 14 letter to parents. “It can spread rapidly once introduced and cause outbreaks, especially in schools or day cares where immunization rates are low.”
There were no other confirmed cases of measles at Orange County schools, but at least one school district, Irvine Unified, has distributed Handler’s letter to parents.
Several preschoolers were sent home during a large statewide outbreak last year that infected 22 Orange County residents – including five children, all of whom were not vaccinated.
The state requires schoolchildren to get two doses of the measles vaccine. It is 99 percent effective, but parents can get an exemption by signing a personal belief waiver. Nearly 10 percent of Orange County kindergartners got the exemption this school year, according to the California Department of Public Health.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
||||| A nurse loads a syringe with a vaccine against hepatitis at a free immunization clinic for students before the start of the school year, in Lynwood, California August, 27, 2013. Nurses are immunizing children in preparation for the first day of public school on September 3. The clinic offers the mandatory vaccinations for school children against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and chickenpox as well as some optional ones. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Dozens of unvaccinated students have been banned from an Orange County high school after being exposed to measles by an infected classmate.
The 24 students cannot return to Huntington Beach High School until Jan. 29, according to district officials.
“There’s been some kids absent from my class,” Jordian McCutch said.
The infected student was on campus from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8.
The move is part of an effort to slow the measles outbreak that began at Disneyland in December.
Orange County has 16 confirmed cases of the viral infection, six of which are not connected to the Disneyland outbreak.
“It doesn’t worry me that much because I’ve had the vaccination,” a female student said.
Measles is highly contagious and can spread easily through the air.
“Simply being in the same room with someone who has measles is sufficient to become infected,” the Orange County Health Care Agency said in a letter to parents in the district.
California state laws require children to be vaccinated with the MMR vaccine before enrolling in school. Some parents believe the shots are linked to autism and other medical conditions and have signed medical-exemption forms.
For vaccination information, click here.
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Our results show that pain tolerance positively predicts social network size. This therefore supports our hypothesis that variation in the μ-opioid system underlies individual differences in sociality. These results are consistent with a recent PET imaging experiment demonstrating a correlation between μ-opioid receptor availability and attachment style, such that individuals showing greater avoidance of social attachment exhibit lower receptor densities15. Our findings are also in agreement with previous pain tolerance studies indirectly implicating the endogenous opioid system in human social bonding activities such as music-making18, dancing19 and laughter20. In addition, laughter has since been shown to correlate with elevated μ-opioid activity, as measured by PET scanning (Manninen et al. in prep). This suggests that tests of pain tolerance like that used in our study may indeed serve as a useful proxy for assessing activation of the μ-opioid system.
Variation in μ-opioid receptor signalling may be due to underlying differences in both endogenous opioid release and receptor density, though their relative contribution is yet to be fully determined. However, studies of oxytocin and vasopressin signalling in rodents have shown that CNS receptor densities strongly modulate the influence of these neuropeptides, irrespective of neuropeptide abundance21. In fact, analyses of post-mortem brain tissue and in vivo PET studies in humans have revealed a broad range of μ-opioid receptor densities within the population, differing by at least 30–50%22. Such variation is likely to considerably affect the potency of β-endorphin11. Genetic studies suggest these differences in receptor density are partly the result of a non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism in the μ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), substituting aspartic acid for asparagine (A118G)23. This functional polymorphism is relatively common in the population, with the minor G allele having a frequency of 10–30%24, and is associated with reduced μ-opioid receptor expression24,25. The G allele has also been linked to increased social withdrawal26 and reactivity to social rejection27, as well as greater pain sensitivity and reduced relief from opiate drugs28. This is therefore in line with our proposition that variation in the μ-opioid system contributes to individual differences in both social behaviour and pain tolerance.
We acknowledge that use of pain tolerance as a proxy for μ-opioid receptor signalling, rather than its direct measurement, represents a limitation of our research. However, the μ-opioid system is critically involved in pain modulation6,29 and numerous PET studies implicate μ-opioidergic activation in both experimental and clinical pain settings30. Most notably, in humans undergoing a sustained muscular pain challenge, individuals exhibiting higher activity of the μ-opioid system report reduced sensory and affective pain31. A possible future direction that would benefit research in this field would be to combine PET scanning with a range of different pain tests to determine how reliably they can predict activity of the μ-opioid system. We also recognise the possible involvement of non-opioid signalling pathways, especially given the complex neurochemistry underlying pain responses32,33. In particular, oxytocin, vasopressin and endocannabinoids are all implicated in social behaviour34,35, as well as having analgesic effects36,37,38. Indeed, it is likely that they act in concert with β-endorphin39,40,41.
Further research is required to understand the causality of this relationship between pain tolerance and network size. It may be that individuals with genetic variants conferring enhanced μ-opioid neurotransmission derive greater reward from social interactions, thereby seeking more company. An alternative, though not mutually exclusive, explanation is that individuals leading lives rich in social interactions may release higher levels of endogenous opioids and/or have elevated receptor expression. However, we currently lack knowledge regarding the neuroplasticity exhibited by the μ-opioid system. This is of particular interest in relation to psychiatric disorders. Indeed, healthy females asked to sustain a sad mood for only 30 minutes show a reduction in μ-opioid receptor activation42. Thus prolonged sadness, as experienced by those suffering from depression, may over time lead to a significant fall in opioidergic signalling. We hypothesise that reduced μ-opioid activity may characterise the onset of conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, resulting in the common symptoms of anhedonia and social withdrawal. Indeed, endogenous opioids mediate hedonic experiences and are integral to our feelings of social connection8,12. In support of this, there is evidence of compromised μ-opioid receptor signalling in patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia43,44 and studies using rodent models of depression also implicate the μ-opioid system45.
With respect to the other notable results of our analysis, fitness was primarily included in the regression model to account for its influence on pain tolerance but revealed an interesting and novel negative relationship with network size. This indicates a trade-off between leading a socially active versus a physically active life. Beyond the obvious constraint of time, this relationship may reflect our underlying neurobiology such that individuals who exercise more may have greater reliance on this method of promoting β-endorphin release, rather than through social interactions. Though exercise is frequently prescribed as a treatment for depression, perhaps focus should also be placed on strengthening and expanding an individual’s social ties.
The relationship reported here between stress and network size may reflect the beneficial effects of social support in dealing with stressful situations46, since measures of social support often correlate with social network size47. Interestingly, one study found that the number of Facebook friends (a known correlate of real-world social network size48) is associated with enhanced perceptions of social support and reduced stress49. Whether online social networks play a role in relieving stress (or even intensifying it) over and above an individual’s actual social interactions remains uncertain. However, an alternative interpretation of our data is that stressed individuals find less time for social engagement and thus their network decreases in size.
Understanding the biological causes of variation in social network size is of particular interest given the robust association between an individual’s social support and their health, ranging from functioning of their immune, endocrine and cardiovascular systems46 to myelin integrity50. Interestingly, it is an individual’s perceived level of social support that may often be a more reliable indicator of their health status46,51. Compared to other lifestyle factors, we have limited understanding of the mechanisms via which sociality influences morbidity and mortality risk52, though reduced activation of the neuroendocrine stress response likely plays a significant role in both humans51,53 and animals54. Since β-endorphin is known to alleviate the stress response55 and protect against inflammation and cancer56, the activity of an individual’s endogenous μ-opioid system may have important consequences for their health. However, such a direct interaction between social and somatic health is yet to be explored.
In summary, there is substantial evidence that μ-opioid neurotransmission influences sensitivity not only to our physical environment but also our social one. This study adds to previous research implicating the μ-opioid system as a key neural substrate upon which human sociality has evolved. A better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning our social lives is imperative, especially since our technology-driven world is rapidly changing the nature of social relationships and certainly outpacing any biological adaptations. Sociality is clearly of adaptive value to our species, yet in this digital era deficiencies in our social interactions may be one of the overlooked factors contributing to the declining health of our modern society. ||||| Link between larger friendship circles and pain tolerance may be down to the way the the brain’s endorphin system has evolved, researchers say
People with a larger circle of friends are better able to tolerate pain, according to research into the pain thresholds and social networks of volunteers.
The link is thought to be down a system in the brain that involves endorphins: potent pain-killing chemicals produced by the body that also trigger a sense of wellbeing.
“At an equivalent dose, endorphins have been shown to be stronger than morphine,” said Katerina Johnson, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford, who co-authored the research.
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, Johnson and Robin Dunbar, professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, sought to probe the theory that the brain’s endorphin system might have evolved to not only handle our response to physical discomfort, but influence our experience of pleasure from social interactions too. “Social behaviour and being attached to other individuals is really important for our survival - whether that is staying close to our parents, or our offspring or cooperating with others to find food or to help defend ourselves,” said Johnson.
Rhythm without the blues: how dance crazes make us feel a step closer Read more
To test the link, the authors examined both the social networks and pain thresholds of 101 adults aged between 18 and 34. Each participant was asked to complete a questionnaire, designed to quiz them on friends they contacted once a week and those they got in touch with once a month. The personality of each participant was probed, looking at traits such as “agreeableness”; they were also asked to rate their fitness and stress levels.
As greater endorphin activity in the brain is linked to higher pain tolerance, each participant was asked to squat with their back against a wall and their knees at right-angles to their body - a simple but uncomfortable exercise. They were asked to stay in the position for as long as they could bear it, providing researchers with an indirect method of gauging endorphin activity in the brain.
The researchers found that for both men and women, larger social networks were linked to a greater pain tolerance. What’s more, it was the number of friends contacted on a monthly - rather than weekly - basis that appeared to be the most important factor. “This relationship with brain endorphin activity may only be important when it comes to the limits of the number of close social bonds that we can maintain, since nearly all of us have some friends and family that we rely on in times of need,” said Johnson.
From the results, she added, when stress, fitness and agreeableness are controlled for, an increase from seven to 12 friends in this second layer of contacts is predicted to boost tolerance in the pain test from one minute to four minutes on average. But, said Johnson, it was not clear whether the link was down to greater social activity boosting the release of endorphins and thereby dampening the experience of pain, or whether people with a more active endorphin system - and hence higher pain tolerance - experience a greater reward from social activity and hence surround themselves with more friends.
Intriguingly, while participants who reported higher levels of fitness were able to endure the pain test for longer, the researchers discovered that these participants generally had smaller friendship groups.
“The obvious answer is that it is a question of time - if you are in the gym all the time you are going to have less time to socialise with your friends,” said Johnson. But, she adds, there is another possible explanation. “Both exercise and socialising trigger the endorphin system,” she said, adding that those who experience an endorphin rush from the gym might not feel the need to seek a similar feeling from mixing with friends.
Those who reported high levels of stress were also found to have fewer friends, although there was little correlation to pain tolerance. But it is not clear whether stress itself hinders people from forming and maintaining relationships, or whether by having more friendships others were better able to cope with life’s pressures. “It is probably a combination of the two,” said Johnson.
Working in a team increases human pain threshold Read more
While the research supports previous evidence that endorphin activity in the brain might be linked to social interactions, Johnson added that it is not yet clear what causes the differences between individuals. One possible explanation is that genetic variations can affect the density of endorphin receptors in the brain. “If you have more endorphin receptors this may predispose you to being more sociable,” she said.
Lauri Nummenmaa, from Aalto University in Finland, believes the study raises new avenues of research, adding that one experiment would be to probe whether the activity of the endorphin system increases when people socialise. “Those kind of experiments are needed to really nail down what is going on,” he said.
Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, and author of Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccuping, and Beyond, believes it is important to further tease apart different ways in which social interactions might be linked to wellbeing.
“If experiencing chronic pain, should we join a choir, march off with an army, or spend more time with friends? All may have a positive effect, but the challenge is in establishing the mechanism through which such social interventions work,” he said. “Is it through release of the brain’s own opioids, as suggested by Johnson and Dunbar, cognitive mechanisms of attention or distraction, a combination of all three, or some other mechanism?” |||||
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– Having a healthy network of friends can do you a lot of good, but can it also save you from a lot of pain? Researchers reporting in the journal Scientific Reports seem to think so. They say that one's ability to tolerate pain can actually predict the size of one's social network, and they came to their conclusion by inflicting, well, pain. Some 101 18- to 34-year-olds participated in the study, first filling out questionnaires that, among other things, asked them about the friends they were in touch with weekly and monthly, reports the Guardian. Then came the pain: The participants had to squat with their backs against a wall and their knees at right angles for as long as they could bear it. The researchers' conclusion: "Pain tolerance is a significant predictor of an individual's social network size." And those with the largest number of friends in the "monthly contact" bucket showed the strongest pain tolerance, even when accounting for fitness, stress, and personality traits like one's agreeableness. Researchers believe pain-blocking endorphins are behind the connection, and that there could be an evolutionary reason. "Being attached to other individuals is so important to our survival ... collaborating to find food," for instance, study author Katerina Johnson says. So, Popular Science explains, it follows that "our bodies would want to reward us for good social interaction (and make us feel bad when we're not getting enough of it)." The researchers note it's possible that those who naturally have a higher pain threshold because of a more active endorphin system get more benefit from friendships and thus seek out more of them. (There's something surprising about how smart people feel about socializing with pals.)
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Summarize this article:
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Two months before the Iowa caucuses, Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton are showing no signs of losing steam.
A new national poll from Quinnipiac University finds the leading candidates solidifying their positions in the races for the Republican and Democratic nominations, fending off challenges from rivals such as Ben Carson and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
On the Republican side, Mr. Trump has benefited from recent stumbles by Mr. Carson, the retired neurosurgeon whose rise has been stymied by questions about his biography and his knowledge of foreign policy.
A month ago, the two were deadlocked, but the survey results released Wednesday show Mr. Trump clearly in first place with 27 percent of Republican voters. Mr. Carson has dropped to third place with 16 percent, having been overtaken by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida at 17 percent. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is tied with Mr. Carson at 16 percent, having risen from 13 percent in a previous poll.
Hoping to strengthen his foreign policy credentials and to educate himself about foreign affairs, Mr. Carson made an impromptu trip to Jordan over the weekend to see the Syrian refugee crisis firsthand. On Wednesday, he heads to South Carolina, and later this week he will go to Iowa, where he will seek to solidify his support among evangelical Christian voters.
Mr. Trump’s endurance comes as he continues to face questions about his honesty and as he stirs controversy with his ideas about aggressive surveillance of Muslims, his proposal to reinstitute waterboarding and his mockery of a New York Times reporter with a physical disability.
Many Republican leaders are actively fretting about Mr. Trump’s continued strength, but they remain wary of attacking him directly out of fear that they will have to endure his vicious counterattacks. This week, Mr. Trump called Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio a “lunatic” and ridiculed Gov. Chris Christie’s record in New Jersey after the two rivals for the nomination were openly critical of him.
“It doesn’t seem to matter what he says or who he offends, whether the facts are contested or the ‘political correctness’ is challenged, Donald Trump seems to be wearing Kevlar,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, said in a statement on Tuesday. “The G.O.P., 11 months from the election, has to be thinking, ‘This could be the guy.’ ”
For Democrats, this appears to be good news. Quinnipiac’s poll shows both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders beating Mr. Trump handily in head-to-head matchups. At the moment, Mrs. Clinton appears to be the clear favorite, having widened her advantage against Mr. Sanders: The poll shows her ahead by a margin of 60 percent to 30 percent among Democratic voters.
Mr. Sanders lost some momentum after the Democratic debates, where Mrs. Clinton performed well. While voters still have doubts about her honesty, questions about Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state have subsided for the time being.
Mrs. Clinton’s momentum has improved her standing in face-offs against all the leading Republican contenders, the poll shows. However, Mr. Rubio, who has been rising steadily, fares the best against her, trailing by just one percentage point.
The Quinnipiac poll had a margin of error of four percentage points for Republicans and Democratic voters, and three percentage points over all. ||||| December 2, 2015 - Bump For Trump As Carson Fades In Republican Race, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Clinton, Sanders Surge In Matchups With GOP Leaders
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Additional Trend Information
Eleven months before the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump is the undisputed leader in the Republican field, as Dr. Ben Carson, in a virtual tie with Trump four weeks ago, drops to third place, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton widens her lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to 60 - 30 percent, compared to 53 - 35 percent in a November 4 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has 2 percent, with 6 percent undecided.
Trump gets 27 percent of Republican voters today, with 17 percent for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, 16 percent each for Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and 5 percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. No other candidate tops 3 percent, with 8 percent undecided.
Last month, Trump had 24 percent, with 23 percent for Carson.
Among Republicans, 26 percent of voters say they "would definitely not support" Trump, with 21 percent who would not back Bush.
"It doesn't seem to matter what he says or who he offends, whether the facts are contested or the 'political correctness' is challenged, Donald Trump seems to be wearing Kevlar," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
"Dr. Ben Carson, moving to center stage just one month ago, now needs some CPR. The Doctor sinks. The Donald soars. The GOP, 11 months from the election, has to be thinking, 'This could be the guy.'
"Secretary Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders have to be hoping Trump is the GOP's guy."
American voters shift to Clinton as the Democrat gains ground against Republicans:
47 - 41 percent over Trump, compared to 46 - 43 percent November 4;
Clinton at 45 percent to Rubio's 44 percent, compared to a 46 - 41 percent Rubio lead last month;
Clinton tops Cruz 47 - 42 percent, compared to Cruz at 46 percent to Clinton's 43 percent last month;
Clinton at 46 percent to Carson's 43 percent compared to Carson's 50 - 40 percent lead last month.
Sanders does just as well, or even better, against top Republicans:
Topping Trump 49 - 41 percent;
Getting 44 percent to Rubio's 43 percent;
Beating Cruz 49 - 39 percent;
Leading Carson 47 - 41 percent.
Clinton has a negative 44 - 51 percent favorability rating. Other favorability ratings are:
Negative 35 - 57 percent for Trump;
40 - 33 percent for Carson;
44 - 31 percent for Sanders;
37 - 28 percent for Rubio;
33 - 33 percent for Cruz.
American voters say 60 - 36 percent that Clinton is not honest and trustworthy. Trump is not honest and trustworthy, voters say 59 - 35 percent. Sanders gets the best honesty grades among top candidates, 59 - 28 percent, with Carson at 53 - 34 percent, Rubio at 49 - 33 percent and Cruz at 43 - 39 percent.
All American voters say 63 - 32 percent, including 69 - 27 percent among independent voters, that Clinton would have a good chance of beating the Republican nominee in a head-to- head matchup.
Voters are divided 46 - 49 percent on whether Trump would have a good chance of beating the Democratic nominee, with independent voters divided 47 - 48 percent.
From November 23 - 30, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,453 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The survey includes 672 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points and 573 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more information, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter @QuinnipiacPoll.
1. (If Republican or Republican Leaner) If the Republican primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump, for whom would you vote?
REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS...................... Wht POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Tea BrnAgn CONSERVATIVE Mod/ Tot Party Evang Very Smwht Lib Men Wom Bush 5% 1% 4% 6% 2% 7% 5% 5% Carson 16 17 19 15 15 16 14 18 Christie 2 1 - - 2 4 2 2 Cruz 16 29 24 29 14 3 16 17 Fiorina 3 3 2 2 3 5 2 4 Gilmore - - - - - - - - Graham - - - - - 1 - - Huckabee 1 1 2 2 - - 1 - Kasich 2 - - - 2 3 2 1 Pataki - - - - - 1 1 - Paul 2 1 2 1 1 3 1 2 Rubio 17 12 13 11 26 15 17 16 Santorum - - - 1 - - - 1 Trump 27 29 24 25 25 31 30 24 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - - - - - - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 1 1 - 1 2 2 - DK/NA 8 5 8 8 8 8 7 10 MOST IMPORTANT FOR REP PRES NOMINEE Q70 Shares Strong Honest/ Values Leader Trustworthy Bush 2% 2% 3% Carson 23 10 17 Christie 1 4 1 Cruz 15 20 18 Fiorina 1 3 4 Gilmore - - - Graham - - - Huckabee 1 2 - Kasich 2 2 1 Pataki - - 1 Paul 3 - - Rubio 16 15 19 Santorum 1 1 - Trump 27 30 21 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - 2 2 DK/NA 8 9 12 REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS...................... MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE Q72........... Economy/ Foreign Jobs Terrorism Policy Bush 8% 5% 3% Carson 12 19 17 Christie 3 1 5 Cruz 13 16 19 Fiorina 2 5 4 Gilmore - - - Graham - - - Huckabee 1 1 1 Kasich 3 1 1 Pataki 1 - - Paul 2 - - Rubio 17 18 22 Santorum - - 1 Trump 23 29 19 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 - 2 DK/NA 13 7 4
1A. (If candidate chosen q1) Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the primary?
REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS............................... CANDIDATE CHOSEN Q1.......................................... CANDIDATE OF CHOICE Q1......................... Tot Carson Cruz Rubio Trump Made up 32% 26% 33% 23% 46% Might change 65 71 65 75 53 DK/NA 2 3 2 2 1
2. (If Republican or Republican Leaner) Are there any of these candidates you would definitely not support for the Republican nomination for president: Bush, Carson, Christie, Cruz, Fiorina, Gilmore, Graham, Huckabee, Kasich, Pataki, Paul, Rubio, Santorum, or Trump? (Totals may add up to more than 100% because multiple responses were allowed)
REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS...................... Wht POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Tea BrnAgn CONSERVATIVE Mod/ Tot Party Evang Very Smwht Lib Men Wom Bush 21% 25% 17% 27% 20% 15% 23% 18% Carson 10 2 3 11 7 13 10 9 Christie 13 13 9 14 14 11 15 10 Cruz 6 1 1 4 5 9 7 4 Fiorina 11 8 9 9 12 13 10 12 Gilmore 9 9 4 13 8 8 9 10 Graham 11 16 7 16 9 6 12 10 Huckabee 9 5 2 11 8 9 10 9 Kasich 13 16 9 21 11 7 14 13 Pataki 11 13 5 16 9 7 11 11 Paul 13 11 9 16 13 9 11 15 Rubio 5 5 3 7 4 5 6 4 Santorum 9 5 1 10 8 8 9 9 Trump 26 16 24 25 20 34 24 30 No/No one 30 32 32 28 34 27 31 28 DK/NA 6 5 5 4 5 10 6 6
3. (If Democrat or Democratic Leaner) If the Democratic primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, and Bernie Sanders, for whom would you vote?
DEMOCRATS/DEMOCRATIC LEANERS.......... POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY LIBERAL..... Mod/ Tot Very Smwht Cons Men Wom Clinton 60% 48% 60% 62% 53% 65% O'Malley 2 - 3 2 3 1 Sanders 30 47 33 24 39 23 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - - 2 - 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 - - 2 1 2 DK/NA 6 5 4 8 4 8 MOST IMPORTANT FOR DEM PRES NOMINEE Q69........................... Shares Strong Honest/ Right Values Leader Trustworthy Cares Experience Clinton 58% 70% 44% 53% 81% O'Malley 1 3 3 1 3 Sanders 31 24 39 39 6 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - 5 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 1 1 - DK/NA 7 2 8 6 9 MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE Q71 Economy/ Foreign Jobs Policy Clinton 59% 64% O'Malley 3 1 Sanders 31 23 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 - DK/NA 5 12
3A. (If candidate chosen q3) Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the primary?
DEMOCRATS/DEMOCRATIC LEANERS........ CANDIDATE CHOSEN Q3................. CANDIDATE OF CHOICE Q3 Tot Clinton Sanders Mind made up 57% 62% 50% Might change 41 37 49 DK/NA 1 2 1
4. (If Democrat or Democratic Leaner) Are there any of these candidates you would definitely not support for the Democratic nomination for president: Clinton, O'Malley, or Sanders? (Totals may add up to more than 100% because multiple responses were allowed)
DEMOCRATS/DEMOCRATIC LEANERS.......... POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY LIBERAL..... Mod/ Tot Very Smwht Cons Men Wom Clinton 8% 2% 7% 11% 12% 6% O'Malley 15 13 11 17 13 16 Sanders 7 - 5 11 5 9 No/No one 60 78 67 51 63 57 DK/NA 13 7 12 14 9 16
5. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Ben Carson the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Clinton 46% 8% 89% 41% 39% 53% 54% 42% Carson 43 84 7 42 49 37 39 45 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 4 1 10 7 5 4 7 DK/NA 4 2 2 6 4 4 1 5 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Clinton 49% 51% 48% 38% 32% 43% 38% 82% 74% Carson 37 42 42 50 57 46 52 12 15 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 8 4 5 5 5 6 6 4 8 DK/NA 5 2 2 7 3 4 4 1 3
6. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Donald Trump the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Clinton 47% 7% 91% 45% 39% 56% 55% 44% Trump 41 82 7 37 49 33 34 45 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 4 2 2 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 6 1 9 6 5 6 5 DK/NA 4 4 1 5 3 4 3 4 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Clinton 52% 50% 49% 39% 31% 45% 38% 87% 76% Trump 32 42 44 46 57 43 50 7 13 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 1 1 2 2 2 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 9 4 4 6 6 6 6 4 5 DK/NA 3 2 3 7 4 3 4 2 5
7. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Marco Rubio the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Clinton 45% 7% 87% 40% 36% 53% 51% 41% Rubio 44 89 8 41 51 37 43 45 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 2 1 10 6 4 3 6 DK/NA 5 1 2 8 5 4 2 6 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Clinton 45% 49% 47% 40% 30% 42% 36% 83% 69% Rubio 38 44 43 52 59 49 54 10 18 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 - 3 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 8 3 5 3 6 4 5 2 5 DK/NA 8 3 3 4 3 5 4 5 5
8. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Ted Cruz the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Clinton 47% 8% 90% 43% 39% 55% 55% 43% Cruz 42 87 5 39 50 34 38 44 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 - 2 2 2 1 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 1 2 9 5 5 4 5 DK/NA 5 3 1 7 4 5 2 6 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Clinton 51% 50% 49% 39% 32% 45% 39% 84% 72% Cruz 33 42 43 52 58 45 51 9 17 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 3 1 1 2 1 2 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 8 2 5 3 4 5 4 3 4 DK/NA 7 3 3 5 4 4 4 3 8
9. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Bernie Sanders the Democrat and Ben Carson the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Sanders 47% 11% 84% 47% 41% 53% 52% 45% Carson 41 81 6 40 48 35 41 42 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 5 5 6 4 7 4 7 DK/NA 5 3 4 6 5 5 2 6 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Sanders 60% 49% 46% 35% 35% 46% 40% 77% 72% Carson 33 41 43 49 57 43 50 16 13 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 9 5 6 4 6 5 3 6 DK/NA 5 1 4 7 3 4 4 3 7
10. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Bernie Sanders the Democrat and Donald Trump the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Sanders 49% 11% 86% 52% 43% 55% 56% 46% Trump 41 80 8 36 47 35 36 43 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 - 3 2 - 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 5 3 4 4 6 4 5 DK/NA 4 3 2 5 4 4 3 5 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Sanders 62% 49% 48% 40% 36% 47% 42% 82% 78% Trump 29 43 45 45 54 43 48 13 11 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 2 2 - 1 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 6 3 7 4 6 5 3 3 DK/NA 5 1 3 7 4 4 4 2 6
11. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Bernie Sanders the Democrat and Marco Rubio the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Sanders 44% 7% 81% 45% 39% 49% 48% 43% Rubio 43 85 8 39 50 35 44 42 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 3 5 5 3 7 3 6 DK/NA 6 4 5 9 6 7 5 7 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Sanders 59% 46% 43% 33% 33% 40% 37% 80% 68% Rubio 33 41 44 53 58 45 51 12 18 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - 8 5 5 3 5 4 3 6 DK/NA 7 3 6 8 4 8 6 4 8
12. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Bernie Sanders the Democrat and Ted Cruz the Republican, for whom would you vote?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Sanders 49% 9% 87% 51% 43% 54% 54% 46% Cruz 39 83 4 34 48 31 38 40 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 3 4 5 3 7 3 6 DK/NA 6 4 4 8 4 7 4 6 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Sanders 62% 50% 49% 34% 37% 45% 41% 86% 71% Cruz 28 36 41 52 55 39 48 8 15 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 9 5 5 3 6 4 3 7 DK/NA 7 3 4 8 3 8 5 3 6 Q13-24. Summary Table - Is your opinion of [Candidate] favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him/her? Table ranked by net favorability (Favorable - Unfavorable). REGISTERED VOTERS................. Hvn't Fav Unfav hrdEn REF NetFav Sanders 44 31 24 1 13 Rubio 37 28 34 1 9 Carson 40 33 25 1 7 Cruz 33 33 32 1 0 Fiorina 28 29 42 - -1 Kasich 19 23 57 1 -4 Clinton 44 51 3 2 -7 Huckabee 29 41 30 1 -12 Paul 23 40 36 1 -17 Christie 28 48 24 1 -20 Bush 32 54 12 2 -22 Trump 35 57 5 3 -22 REPUBLICANS....................... Hvn't Fav Unfav hrdEn REF NetFav Rubio 66 8 25 1 58 Cruz 65 9 26 - 56 Carson 67 13 19 1 54 Huckabee 56 18 27 - 38 Trump 64 27 6 3 37 Fiorina 49 17 33 - 32 Bush 53 34 11 2 19 Christie 43 31 25 1 12 Kasich 27 20 52 1 7 Paul 32 36 31 1 -4 DEMOCRATS......................... Hvn't Fav Unfav hrdEn REF NetFav Clinton 85 11 3 1 74 Sanders 68 7 24 1 61
13. Is your opinion of Hillary Clinton favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 44% 9% 85% 38% 36% 52% 50% 41% Unfavorable 51 89 11 56 59 43 46 54 Hvn't hrd enough 3 2 3 5 4 3 2 4 REFUSED 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable 44% 45% 48% 39% 30% 41% 35% 84% 64% Unfavorable 48 50 48 57 66 54 60 14 27 Hvn't hrd enough 5 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 9 REFUSED 3 2 - 2 1 2 1 - -
14. Is your opinion of Ben Carson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 40% 67% 13% 44% 45% 36% 40% 41% Unfavorable 33 13 54 32 31 36 47 27 Hvn't hrd enough 25 19 33 22 24 26 13 31 REFUSED 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable 31% 37% 42% 49% 49% 41% 45% 22% 20% Unfavorable 32 39 36 26 30 38 34 45 25 Hvn't hrd enough 35 24 21 22 20 19 20 33 55 REFUSED 1 - 1 3 1 2 1 - -
15. Is your opinion of Donald Trump favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 35% 64% 10% 31% 41% 29% 27% 39% Unfavorable 57 27 86 60 52 63 67 53 Hvn't hrd enough 5 6 3 5 5 6 3 6 REFUSED 3 3 - 3 2 3 2 3 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable 23% 36% 39% 39% 47% 36% 42% 9% 9% Unfavorable 69 57 56 49 45 54 50 87 84 Hvn't hrd enough 5 5 4 8 5 6 6 3 7 REFUSED 3 2 1 4 2 3 3 1 -
16. Is your opinion of Bernie Sanders favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 44% 15% 68% 47% 41% 46% 49% 41% Unfavorable 31 58 7 29 36 26 31 31 Hvn't hrd enough 24 27 24 24 22 26 18 27 REFUSED 1 - 1 - - 1 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable 59% 43% 43% 32% 39% 43% 41% 57% 60% Unfavorable 22 30 32 40 41 32 36 11 16 Hvn't hrd enough 19 27 24 26 20 24 22 32 23 REFUSED - - 1 1 1 1 1 - -
17. Is your opinion of Marco Rubio favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 37% 66% 15% 36% 42% 32% 43% 34% Unfavorable 28 8 51 23 28 28 33 25 Hvn't hrd enough 34 25 33 41 29 39 22 40 REFUSED 1 1 1 - 1 2 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable 27% 34% 38% 48% 46% 38% 42% 21% 22% Unfavorable 22 33 32 23 27 26 26 33 42 Hvn't hrd enough 50 33 28 27 27 34 30 46 36 REFUSED 1 - 2 2 1 2 2 - -
18. Is your opinion of Ted Cruz favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 33% 65% 8% 30% 38% 28% 31% 34% Unfavorable 33 9 60 30 32 35 47 27 Hvn't hrd enough 32 26 31 40 30 35 22 38 REFUSED 1 - 1 - 1 1 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable 25% 31% 33% 43% 42% 33% 38% 15% 25% Unfavorable 24 38 40 28 31 34 33 38 33 Hvn't hrd enough 51 30 25 26 26 31 28 47 41 REFUSED - - 1 2 - 2 1 - 1
19. (Split Sample) Is your opinion of Jeb Bush favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 32% 53% 19% 27% 33% 31% 38% 29% Unfavorable 54 34 67 60 56 53 51 56 Hvn't hrd enough 12 11 13 12 10 14 9 13 REFUSED 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 24% 32% 32% 35% Unfavorable 55 54 59 51 Hvn't hrd enough 21 11 8 10 REFUSED - 3 1 3
20. (Split Sample) Is your opinion of Chris Christie favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 28% 43% 15% 28% 30% 26% 36% 24% Unfavorable 48 31 58 50 47 48 48 47 Hvn't hrd enough 24 25 25 21 23 25 15 28 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 23% 21% 30% 36% Unfavorable 42 53 53 40 Hvn't hrd enough 35 26 15 22 REFUSED - - 2 2
21. (Split Sample) Is your opinion of Carly Fiorina favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 28% 49% 11% 25% 31% 25% 31% 27% Unfavorable 29 17 48 24 27 32 37 26 Hvn't hrd enough 42 33 41 50 42 43 31 48 REFUSED - - - 1 - 1 1 - AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 21% 20% 33% 37% Unfavorable 18 34 35 28 Hvn't hrd enough 60 46 32 34 REFUSED 1 - - 1
22. (Split Sample) Is your opinion of Mike Huckabee favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 29% 56% 5% 29% 36% 23% 28% 29% Unfavorable 41 18 60 46 37 44 52 36 Hvn't hrd enough 30 27 34 26 26 33 20 34 REFUSED 1 - 1 - 1 1 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 19% 32% 25% 40% Unfavorable 26 47 51 37 Hvn't hrd enough 55 22 24 22 REFUSED - - 1 1
23. (Split Sample) Is your opinion of John Kasich favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 19% 27% 16% 17% 23% 14% 21% 18% Unfavorable 23 20 26 20 25 21 26 21 Hvn't hrd enough 57 52 57 62 52 63 52 61 REFUSED 1 1 1 - - 1 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 5% 18% 24% 27% Unfavorable 19 18 23 30 Hvn't hrd enough 76 63 52 42 REFUSED - - 1 2
24. (Split Sample) Is your opinion of Rand Paul favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Favorable 23% 32% 10% 26% 29% 17% 27% 20% Unfavorable 40 36 50 36 42 39 49 36 Hvn't hrd enough 36 31 39 37 28 43 23 42 REFUSED 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 24% 25% 23% 19% Unfavorable 25 37 47 51 Hvn't hrd enough 50 38 29 29 REFUSED - - 1 1
33. Would you say that - Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 36% 7% 73% 26% 30% 41% 37% 35% No 60 91 23 68 67 54 60 61 DK/NA 4 1 3 6 3 5 3 4 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 38% 29% 40% 37% 24% 32% 28% 65% 60% No 57 66 58 60 74 63 69 31 35 DK/NA 6 5 2 3 2 6 4 4 5
34. Would you say that - Donald Trump is honest and trustworthy or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 35% 58% 12% 36% 40% 30% 29% 38% No 59 36 84 57 54 63 67 55 DK/NA 6 6 4 7 5 6 4 7 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 28% 33% 37% 41% 44% 38% 41% 10% 22% No 67 62 58 51 51 55 53 84 73 DK/NA 5 6 5 8 5 7 6 6 5
35. Would you say that - Bernie Sanders is honest and trustworthy or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 59% 39% 78% 64% 62% 57% 68% 55% No 28 45 11 25 27 28 22 31 DK/NA 13 17 11 11 11 15 11 14 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 70% 58% 60% 48% 60% 54% 57% 69% 67% No 18 28 29 34 29 29 29 18 20 DK/NA 12 14 10 18 11 16 14 13 13
36. Would you say that - Ben Carson is honest and trustworthy or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 53% 79% 31% 54% 59% 48% 52% 54% No 34 13 55 33 32 36 41 31 DK/NA 12 8 14 13 9 16 7 15 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 45% 49% 56% 63% 64% 52% 58% 39% 43% No 37 40 35 24 29 33 31 49 37 DK/NA 17 11 9 13 7 15 11 13 19
37. Would you say that - Marco Rubio is honest and trustworthy or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 49% 74% 32% 46% 54% 44% 54% 47% No 33 12 47 37 35 31 32 34 DK/NA 18 14 20 17 11 24 14 19 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 42% 43% 51% 59% 59% 50% 55% 31% 38% No 33 37 36 26 31 25 28 48 45 DK/NA 25 20 13 15 10 25 17 21 17
38. Would you say that - Ted Cruz is honest and trustworthy or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 43% 74% 18% 42% 51% 36% 42% 44% No 39 13 63 40 37 42 46 37 DK/NA 17 13 18 18 12 22 13 19 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 35% 42% 43% 52% 56% 41% 49% 26% 28% No 40 44 45 30 34 35 35 57 54 DK/NA 26 14 12 18 10 23 17 16 18
39. Would you say that - Hillary Clinton has strong leadership qualities or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 60% 26% 91% 62% 53% 67% 65% 57% No 38 73 8 35 45 32 34 41 DK/NA 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 68% 59% 62% 52% 47% 58% 52% 87% 77% No 27 40 37 47 52 39 46 12 22 DK/NA 5 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2
40. Would you say that - Donald Trump has strong leadership qualities or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 58% 80% 35% 61% 63% 54% 56% 60% No 39 18 63 36 34 44 43 37 DK/NA 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 3 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 60% 62% 58% 52% 67% 60% 64% 38% 38% No 38 36 40 43 31 37 34 60 60 DK/NA 1 2 2 5 2 3 2 3 2
41. Would you say that - Bernie Sanders has strong leadership qualities or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 46% 22% 68% 47% 44% 48% 49% 44% No 41 60 21 40 46 36 40 41 DK/NA 13 17 11 13 10 17 11 15 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 61% 43% 43% 35% 39% 44% 41% 59% 62% No 25 41 47 48 50 39 45 26 26 DK/NA 14 16 9 16 10 17 14 15 13
42. Would you say that - Ben Carson has strong leadership qualities or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 40% 60% 20% 40% 43% 36% 33% 43% No 49 29 68 48 50 48 58 45 DK/NA 12 11 11 11 7 16 9 13 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 37% 38% 40% 44% 46% 38% 42% 34% 26% No 48 51 52 44 49 46 48 57 52 DK/NA 15 11 8 12 6 16 11 9 22
43. Would you say that - Marco Rubio has strong leadership qualities or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 47% 70% 32% 43% 48% 45% 54% 43% No 36 17 49 40 40 33 34 38 DK/NA 17 13 20 17 12 23 13 19 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 40% 44% 46% 54% 52% 49% 51% 28% 43% No 36 37 41 32 39 27 33 54 38 DK/NA 24 19 13 14 9 24 16 18 19
44. Would you say that - Ted Cruz has strong leadership qualities or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 43% 69% 20% 42% 47% 38% 44% 42% No 43 17 66 43 43 43 45 42 DK/NA 15 14 15 15 11 19 11 17 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 40% 40% 41% 50% 51% 43% 47% 25% 31% No 37 47 48 38 40 39 39 58 53 DK/NA 23 14 11 12 9 18 14 17 17
45. Would you say that - Hillary Clinton cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 46% 14% 84% 40% 37% 55% 50% 44% No 51 84 15 56 60 42 47 53 DK/NA 3 2 1 4 2 3 2 3 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 50% 42% 52% 42% 31% 46% 38% 80% 65% No 47 54 47 54 67 51 59 17 31 DK/NA 3 3 1 4 2 3 2 3 4
46. Would you say that - Donald Trump cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 36% 66% 11% 33% 43% 30% 30% 39% No 59 30 88 60 54 65 66 56 DK/NA 4 4 1 7 3 5 4 4 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 25% 33% 40% 43% 46% 38% 42% 9% 14% No 71 63 57 52 51 56 53 88 83 DK/NA 4 4 3 5 3 6 5 2 3
47. Would you say that - Bernie Sanders cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 53% 26% 75% 59% 55% 51% 61% 49% No 35 59 15 30 37 32 31 37 DK/NA 12 15 10 11 7 16 8 14 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 68% 49% 57% 37% 52% 48% 50% 66% 61% No 21 37 35 46 41 34 38 21 26 DK/NA 11 14 8 17 6 17 12 13 13
48. Would you say that - Ben Carson cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 50% 75% 25% 53% 56% 44% 47% 51% No 38 15 64 34 36 39 45 34 DK/NA 13 10 11 13 8 17 9 14 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 45% 46% 52% 56% 61% 48% 55% 33% 35% No 34 43 40 32 33 35 34 55 49 DK/NA 20 11 8 12 6 17 11 12 16
49. Would you say that - Marco Rubio cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 46% 76% 25% 43% 52% 41% 51% 44% No 39 14 59 42 39 38 36 40 DK/NA 15 10 15 15 8 21 12 16 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 41% 42% 47% 54% 56% 48% 52% 26% 28% No 36 41 43 35 36 32 34 57 57 DK/NA 23 17 10 12 8 20 14 16 15
50. Would you say that - Ted Cruz cares about the needs and problems of people like you or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 42% 75% 17% 39% 49% 36% 39% 44% No 43 15 70 43 43 44 50 40 DK/NA 15 10 13 17 9 20 11 16 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 38% 41% 42% 48% 54% 42% 48% 21% 24% No 39 47 48 40 39 38 39 63 58 DK/NA 23 13 10 13 7 20 13 15 18
51. Would you say that - Hillary Clinton has the right kind of experience to be President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 67% 34% 96% 70% 62% 71% 73% 64% No 32 64 4 30 38 27 27 35 DK/NA 1 2 - 1 1 2 1 1 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 77% 71% 67% 52% 55% 65% 60% 93% 86% No 21 28 32 46 44 33 39 7 14 DK/NA 2 1 1 2 - 2 1 - 1
52. Would you say that - Donald Trump has the right kind of experience to be President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 34% 60% 9% 32% 42% 26% 28% 37% No 63 37 90 64 56 70 71 60 DK/NA 3 3 1 4 2 4 2 3 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 27% 33% 36% 37% 47% 32% 40% 6% 17% No 70 65 61 58 52 64 58 91 81 DK/NA 3 2 2 5 1 4 3 3 2
53. Would you say that - Bernie Sanders has the right kind of experience to be President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 47% 24% 68% 50% 47% 48% 50% 46% No 42 64 21 41 46 37 41 42 DK/NA 11 12 11 9 7 15 9 12 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 68% 46% 46% 30% 44% 44% 44% 62% 59% No 20 40 46 58 49 42 46 22 29 DK/NA 12 13 8 12 7 13 10 16 11
54. Would you say that - Ben Carson has the right kind of experience to be President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 28% 42% 14% 30% 32% 24% 21% 31% No 62 46 76 63 62 62 72 57 DK/NA 10 12 10 7 6 14 6 12 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 31% 23% 26% 34% 34% 25% 30% 23% 21% No 56 67 66 56 60 61 61 72 62 DK/NA 12 10 8 10 5 14 9 6 17
55. Would you say that - Marco Rubio has the right kind of experience to be President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 43% 67% 22% 46% 48% 39% 48% 41% No 41 20 60 39 43 39 40 41 DK/NA 16 12 18 16 9 22 11 18 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 40% 43% 40% 49% 52% 44% 48% 29% 27% No 35 38 51 40 40 37 38 45 54 DK/NA 25 19 9 11 9 19 14 26 19
56. Would you say that - Ted Cruz has the right kind of experience to be President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 44% 70% 21% 44% 51% 38% 44% 45% No 41 19 63 40 40 42 47 38 DK/NA 15 11 15 16 9 20 9 17 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 47% 44% 41% 47% 55% 44% 50% 30% 24% No 32 40 51 40 37 39 38 53 49 DK/NA 21 16 9 13 8 17 13 18 27
57. Would you say that - Hillary Clinton shares your values or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 42% 8% 84% 33% 34% 51% 47% 40% No 55 91 15 60 65 45 50 57 DK/NA 3 1 1 6 2 4 3 3 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 45% 40% 46% 38% 27% 41% 34% 79% 65% No 53 56 50 60 71 55 63 18 35 DK/NA 3 4 3 2 2 4 3 3 -
58. Would you say that - Donald Trump shares your values or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 35% 65% 8% 32% 42% 28% 27% 39% No 61 30 90 62 54 67 70 56 DK/NA 4 4 3 5 3 5 3 5 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 25% 34% 39% 40% 46% 35% 41% 13% 15% No 70 64 56 55 50 59 55 82 83 DK/NA 5 2 5 5 3 6 5 5 2
59. Would you say that - Bernie Sanders shares your values or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 44% 13% 73% 47% 42% 46% 50% 41% No 44 71 17 45 50 38 40 46 DK/NA 12 15 11 9 8 16 10 13 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 59% 43% 45% 30% 39% 44% 42% 56% 59% No 32 45 43 54 54 39 47 29 32 DK/NA 9 12 12 16 7 17 12 15 9
60. Would you say that - Ben Carson shares your values or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 46% 75% 17% 50% 53% 40% 41% 49% No 43 14 71 41 41 45 51 39 DK/NA 11 11 12 9 6 15 7 13 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 44% 39% 49% 53% 57% 44% 51% 32% 32% No 38 53 42 36 37 42 39 55 51 DK/NA 18 8 9 11 6 14 10 12 17
61. Would you say that - Marco Rubio shares your values or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 40% 71% 15% 39% 46% 35% 44% 39% No 43 15 70 43 43 44 43 43 DK/NA 17 14 15 18 12 21 13 18 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 32% 35% 41% 51% 50% 42% 46% 18% 25% No 42 48 45 39 39 37 38 65 61 DK/NA 26 17 14 11 11 21 16 17 14
62. Would you say that - Ted Cruz shares your values or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 35% 68% 8% 34% 44% 27% 33% 37% No 48 15 77 50 45 51 56 44 DK/NA 16 17 15 15 11 22 11 19 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 27% 32% 36% 46% 49% 33% 41% 15% 21% No 51 53 49 40 41 44 43 72 64 DK/NA 22 15 14 14 10 23 16 13 15
63. Would you say that - Hillary Clinton would have a good chance of defeating the Republican nominee in the general election for President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 63% 34% 87% 69% 62% 64% 69% 60% No 32 61 10 27 35 30 26 36 DK/NA 5 5 3 5 4 6 6 4 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 68% 66% 66% 52% 56% 56% 56% 95% 73% No 30 31 29 39 40 37 38 4 22 DK/NA 2 3 5 9 4 7 5 1 5
64. Would you say that - Donald Trump would have a good chance of defeating the Democratic nominee in the general election for President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 46% 73% 20% 47% 50% 43% 36% 51% No 49 22 77 48 47 50 59 44 DK/NA 5 5 3 5 3 7 5 5 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 45% 45% 46% 47% 55% 50% 53% 21% 18% No 52 50 48 46 41 42 42 77 74 DK/NA 2 5 5 7 3 8 6 1 8
65. Would you say that - Bernie Sanders would have a good chance of defeating the Republican nominee in the general election for President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 34% 17% 49% 39% 34% 34% 31% 35% No 55 75 39 51 59 52 59 54 DK/NA 10 8 12 10 7 14 10 11 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 54% 33% 29% 23% 30% 30% 30% 48% 53% No 39 57 61 64 64 56 60 41 32 DK/NA 7 10 10 13 6 15 10 11 15
66. Would you say that - Ben Carson would have a good chance of defeating the Democratic nominee in the general election for President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 31% 55% 11% 30% 35% 28% 31% 32% No 58 34 79 60 57 59 61 57 DK/NA 11 11 9 10 8 13 9 12 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 28% 27% 35% 35% 39% 31% 35% 16% 20% No 59 63 58 53 55 56 55 80 55 DK/NA 13 10 8 12 6 13 10 4 25
67. Would you say that - Marco Rubio would have a good chance of defeating the Democratic nominee in the general election for President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 39% 63% 23% 37% 43% 35% 44% 37% No 47 25 65 47 47 47 43 49 DK/NA 14 12 11 16 10 18 13 14 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 30% 40% 39% 48% 48% 42% 45% 19% 20% No 50 46 49 43 43 40 42 72 55 DK/NA 20 14 12 9 9 17 13 9 25
68. Would you say that - Ted Cruz would have a good chance of defeating the Democratic nominee in the general election for President or not?
COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes 31% 59% 10% 28% 34% 29% 27% 33% No 55 28 78 55 56 54 61 51 DK/NA 14 12 11 16 11 18 11 15 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 21% 33% 31% 41% 38% 34% 36% 11% 19% No 57 54 60 47 53 49 51 80 56 DK/NA 22 13 9 12 9 17 13 9 25
69. (If Democrat or Democratic Leaner) Thinking about the Democratic nominee for president in 2016, which of the following is most important to you: Someone who shares your values, cares about the needs and problems of people like you, has strong leadership qualities, is honest and trustworthy, has the right kind of experience, or has the best chance of winning?
DEMOCRATS/DEMOCRATIC LEANERS.......... POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY LIBERAL..... Mod/ Tot Very Smwht Cons Men Wom Shares values 15% 16% 13% 15% 15% 15% Cares needs/problems 27 33 36 22 27 27 Strong leadership 19 10 11 25 13 23 Honest/trustworthy 17 14 19 17 22 14 Right experience 13 14 12 14 14 12 Best chance/winning 6 13 7 4 7 5 DK/NA 3 - 1 2 2 3
70. (If Republican or Republican Leaner) Thinking about the Republican nominee for president in 2016, which of the following is most important to you: Someone who shares your values, cares about the needs and problems of people like you, has strong leadership qualities, is honest and trustworthy, has the right kind of experience, or has the best chance of winning?
REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS...................... Wht POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Tea BrnAgn CONSERVATIVE Mod/ Tot Party Evang Very Smwht Lib Men Wom Shares values 22% 28% 28% 28% 22% 15% 27% 15% Cares needs/problems 11 6 9 7 9 17 9 13 Strong leadership 26 28 23 24 31 24 23 31 Honest/trustworthy 23 24 27 23 23 23 24 22 Right experience 6 1 3 2 5 10 4 8 Best chance/winning 8 5 7 10 8 6 7 9 DK/NA 4 8 2 6 2 6 5 3
71. (If Democrat or Democratic Leaner) Which of these is the most important issue to you in deciding who to support for the Democratic nomination for President: the economy and jobs, terrorism, immigration, the federal deficit, health care, foreign policy, climate change, race relations, abortion, gun policy or taxes?
DEMOCRATS/DEMOCRATIC LEANERS.......... POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY LIBERAL..... Mod/ Tot Very Smwht Cons Men Wom Economy and jobs 43% 40% 44% 45% 48% 40% Terrorism 8 3 5 11 5 10 Immigration 4 4 3 4 3 4 Federal deficit 3 - - 4 3 2 Health care 11 8 7 13 10 12 Foreign policy 12 14 11 11 13 10 Climate change 8 20 12 3 9 7 Race relations 2 3 2 2 2 2 Abortion 2 2 4 - - 3 Gun policy 3 3 4 2 1 3 Taxes 2 2 1 3 1 3 DK/NA 3 - 7 2 4 3
72. (If Republican or Republican Leaner) Which of these is the most important issue to you in deciding who to support for the Republican nomination for President: the economy and jobs, terrorism, immigration, the federal deficit, health care, foreign policy, climate change, race relations, abortion, gun policy or taxes? ||||| Ben Carson on TODAY Show: Welcoming Syrian refugees 'exposes us to danger'
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GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson tells TODAY's Matt Lauer that allowing the United States to welcome tens of thousands of Syrian refugees would not help resolve the crisis but only put the nation in jeopardy.
"Bringing them into this country does not solve the problem, and it exposes us to danger," Carson said during an interview Tuesday.
Carson last week visited Jordan to tour Syrian refugee camps in an effort to bolster his foreign affairs credentials, something he has been criticized for lacking.
Carson called the camps "really quite nice" and suggested they should serve as a long-term solution. On TODAY, he called the Jordanians "very generous people" who have set up camps and hospitals "that work very well" but just lack to the resources to support the efforts.
"Why don't we take advantage of things that are already in place, before we start trying to come up with other things," he said.
When reminded that refugee camps aren't places where settlers can build their future, Carson said that most of the refugees he met with want to return back home to Syria. But they also suggested ways that foreign nations can help outside of opening their borders.
"What can nations like the United States do? They can support the efforts of places like Jordan and other places that might offer them a safe place to inhabit until such time as they can return home," he said.
Carson also addressed his recent slide down polls in Iowa, which will hold the nation's first presidential caucus on Feb. 1.
RELATED: Watch Donald Trump put a price on his participation in an upcoming debate
"Poll numbers will go up and down. It's a marathon, not a sprint," he told Lauer.
Carson said voters are still evaluating where each candidate stands on issues and how views fit "their impression of what they need."
"I think there is plenty of time to make the appropriate arguments," he said.
Carson has been courting the Christian conservative vote for months in Iowa, where he once led the polls. His standings have taken a hit recently, and the retired neurosurgeon finds himself in third place in numerous polls, behind Donald Trump and either Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio.
Some conservative pundits have noted that Carson's slip has coincided with an increase in world events, including the growth of the Syrian refugee crisis and the deadly attacks in Paris.
Follow TODAY.com writer Eun Kyung Kim on Twitter. ||||| Ben Carson took a tumble in the latest national poll, falling 7 points from last month in the Quinnipiac University survey, after weathering heavy criticism for his lack of foreign policy expertise and scrutiny about his personal tale of redemption.
After pulling a virtual tie with Donald Trump in the previous poll, the retired neurosurgeon dropped to third place with 16 percent support among Republican respondents. Trump moved up 3 percentage points to dominate the field at 27 percent.
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Also enjoying a bump — Sen. Marco Rubio, who moved up 3 percentage points and into second place with 17 percent support, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who also gained 3 percentage points and tied with Carson at 16 percent. The 3-point hikes for Trump, Rubio and Cruz are all within the poll's margin of error.
Behind Trump and the triumvirate vying for position behind the Manhattan businessman, no other candidate finished in the double digits.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush earned 5 percent, followed by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina at 3 percent. No other candidate received more than 2 percent support, and 8 percent of respondents were undecided.
Carson's dip follows a series of unforced errors, including a flap over his assertion that China is involved in the Syrian conflict and his struggle to answer what nations he would call first to form a coalition against the Islamic State. He also has come under increased scrutiny for the stories he has often retold about his violent childhood and his religious redemption that helped him to become a highly successful pediatric neurosurgeon.
After surging in the early fall, nipping at the heels of Trump and even surpassing him in some polls, Carson appears to be settling back down in some surveys.
“Poll numbers will go up and down. It’s a marathon, not a sprint," Carson told NBC's "Today" on Tuesday in addressing his slide among Iowa Republicans specifically.
This most recent poll delivered some good news for Rubio and Cruz, who have both recently upped their profiles on the campaign trail and engaged in some nasty back-and-forths about their respective political records, especially regarding immigration.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton continues to enjoy a sizable advantage over her rival Bernie Sanders, outpolling the Vermont senator 2-to-1 — 60 percent to 30 percent — among registered Democratic voters surveyed nationwide. The only other candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, took just 2 percent, with 6 percent of Democratic respondents undecided.
Matched against potential Republican challengers next November, Clinton performed better than in Quinnipiac's previous survey. Facing Carson, Clinton earned 46 percent to 43 percent, a 6-point jump from the last survey, when Carson held a 50 percent to 40 percent advantage against the former secretary of state. Against Trump this time, Clinton earned 47 percent to 41 percent, an improvement from 46 to 43 percent in the late October/early November survey. Matched against Rubio, Clinton led 45 percent to 44 percent, while Rubio held a 46 percent to 41 percent advantage in the last poll.
More than six in 10 American voters surveyed — 63 percent — said Clinton would have a good chance of beating any potential Republican opponent in the general election, while 32 percent said she would not. About 69 percent of independents gave Clinton a better chance of winning than a GOP challenger, while 27 percent did not. Conversely, just 46 percent of all respondents said that Trump would beat the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, while 49 percent said he would not. Among independents, the split is similar, at 47 percent to 48 percent.
But Sanders fared just as well in some head-to-heads, even better than the current Democratic front-runner, holding wider advantages in matchups over Carson, Trump and Cruz than did Clinton.
As has been the case in recent national polling, Trump and Clinton led the field among voters in their respective parties but failed to register positive image or trustworthiness ratings from the larger sample of all registered voters.
Trump holds a net negative favorability rating of 35 percent favorable to 57 percent unfavorable (-22 points), while Clinton earned a more respectable, if still negative rating of 44 percent to 51 percent. Sanders, on the other hand, earned the highest net favorability rating among all respondents of any candidate in either party (at +13 points), with 44 percent favorable, 31 percent unfavorable and 24 percent who said they still have not heard enough to decide.
Among just Democrats, however, Clinton earned the highest net favorability (85 percent to 11 percent), while Rubio led Republican hopefuls with a net-positive rating of +58 points (66 percent to 8 percent), narrowly edging out Cruz (65 percent to 9 percent) and Carson (67 percent to 13 percent).
Only 35 percent of all respondents said Trump is honest and trustworthy, similar to the 36 percent who said the same of Clinton, while 59 percent and 60 percent, respectively, said they were not.
The poll was conducted Nov. 23-30, surveying 1,453 registered voters nationwide via landlines and cellphones, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. The sample included 672 Republicans with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, and 573 Democrats with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Carson dropped six points from last month. He dropped seven points. ||||| If Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton or any other presidential candidate said the things Donald Trump says, did the things Donald Trump does, or had led the controversial life Donald Trump has, his or her campaign would already have died in a pile of negative headlines and video clips.
But Donald Trump is alive. It is evident that the regular rules do not apply to him. Two months into his rowdy campaign, it is instead the political media that has been leveled by Trump — floored, mystified and stupefied by a candidate who prospers where others would perish. What’s more, the press corps is beginning to realize that nothing it might do — no report it can publish, no question it can ask – has the power to push this candidate an inch off the course that is preordained for him, one which is far more likely to burn out on its own terms than flame out under some great bonfire set by the media.
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That is the consensus, anyway, of the nearly two dozen journalists, pundits, campaign strategists and political advisers who spoke with POLITICO this week about what many described as the “exceptionalism” of Trump’s campaign. Trump’s bombast and bluntness are resonating with voters, they said, and there’s not a damn thing the press, pundits or rival campaigns can do about it.
The list of offenses that would likely cripple other candidates is long: Trump called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. He said that Sen. John McCain, who spent five-and-a-half years in a North Vietnamese prison, is not a war hero. He has referred to women as “fat pigs,” “dogs,” “slobs” and worse, and had those remarks read to him before 24 million Americans by one of the most popular female news anchors in the country — because, Trump later suggested, she was menstruating. Far from dismantling Trump’s campaign, these controversies have only benefited him.
“The only thing that takes him out is either Father Trump or Father Time,” said Matthew Dowd, the former chief strategist for President George W. Bush. “So far, he is immune.”
More recently, Trump sat down for an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Asked who he talks to for military advice, Trump replied: “Well, I watch the shows. I mean, I really see a lot of great — you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals and — and you have certain people that you like.”
If Trump’s remark called to mind Sarah Palin’s inability, in a 2008 interview, to name a single newspaper or magazine that she had read before being tapped as McCain’s vice presidential nominee, it has not had the same effect. For Palin, it was an embarrassment that continues to dog her reputation. For Trump, the ‘shows’ remark barely registered.
“In any other campaign cycle, another campaign would have been making Trump pay for that remark before he even walked out of the studio,” Kevin Madden, the senior adviser and spokesman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, said. “It’s an entirely disqualifying statement, yet we didn’t see other campaigns move with much speed or purpose to expose it.”
Trump’s ability to shrug off controversy and criticism, to out-shame his detractors in the media and on the campaign trail, is almost certainly a reflection of widespread public frustration with career politicians and the mainstream press, and with its way of covering elections.
In fact, Trump is playing according to a different bit of wisdom, one that belongs to show business and is thought to have come from circus-master P.T. Barnum: all publicity is good publicity.
He has done this before. Among the small conclave of family and corporate dynasties that have long dominated New York City’s real estate industry, discretion has forever been a watchword — the preferred method of influence is boardrooms and living rooms and wood-paneled offices not made up for a reality television show like “The Apprentice.”
Trump did not succeed (or at least survive) in the cutthroat world of New York real estate by playing by its rules, but by flouting them. It only worked because it made him an outlier: None of the rules have changed for his equals in the industry.
That Trump can bring those rules with him on the road to the 2016 presidential election makes him a completely different candidate from the rest of the pack. The rules of show business are just as fickle as those of presidential politics. But they are completely different. And they are serving him in politics as they once served him in business.
“The conventional wisdom doesn’t apply to Donald Trump — at least not so far,” Roger Stone, the former top adviser with Trump’s campaign, said.
Part of it is the peculiar environment in which Republican primary contenders are now selling their wares.
“He’s not a career politician, so voters aren’t holding him to the same standards. He’s a larger-than-life figure that comes from outside politics,” said Stone. “When you combine that with voters dislike of politics, political institutions, and the media, it’s very effective.”
“He’s not a candidate,” said Brad Todd, the Republican advertising strategist. “He is a protest vehicle.”
There was a moment where the journalism-theory crowd was gnashing its teeth about Trump. His candidacy, they said, was enabled by the media, which was only looking for cheap page views and Nielsen ratings.
Whether they created the monster that is the perpetually successful Trump candidacy or not, they are certainly not the people who can dismantle it. They don’t even understand it.
In a recent Facebook video, The Atlantic’s Molly Ball acknowledged as much, listing Trump’s offenses and his resulting rise in the polls, and then admitting: “Pundits like me are terribly clueless when it comes to predicting how Donald Trump is going to do. What’s going to happen next to Trump? I don’t know. Nobody knows. We’re all totally clueless.”
“Maybe this is why so many people like Donald Trump,” Ball concluded. “American voters really don’t like pundits. They think we’re all stupid. … So maybe, when Donald Trump can come along, and make us all look like fools, people think that he must be doing something right.”
There is perhaps no clearer illustration of the media’s inability to faze Trump than his exchange with Fox News host Megyn Kelly at the inaugural Republican primary debate in Cleveland. Her first question to him — in which she listed a litany of misogynistic remarks he’d made about women — was the sort of unforeseen torpedo that could have decimated any politician. Trump’s response was a brazen quip, off the cuff: “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
In any other cycle, the win would likely have gone to Kelly, a rising television star with the vast admiration of the Fox News audience. By the time the dust cleared, however, the win had gone to Trump. His poll numbers went up, his quip was the talk of the Twitterverse, and, after threatening to boycott Fox News, he received a call from the network’s chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, assuring him that he would receive fair and balanced coverage.
“It represents the genuine Trump,” Stone said of the candidate’s off-the-cuff remarks. “He’s not practicing his lines in the mirror like Marco Rubio. He’s not checking everything with his pollster. That’s why he’s doing so well. Voters like that.”
To be sure, there are many who think the media colluded in this whole thing. From the beginning, Trump’s campaign has been covered more like theater than politics — in a bit of grandstanding, The Huffington Post has filed all Trump copy under its entertainment section — and as a result, many news organizations have only recently started to hold Trump to account on his personal history and policy positions.
“Everyone is stuck in process stories and not reporting about real Trump,” said Rick Wilson, the Florida-based GOP strategist. “He’s a celebrity, and the media is only reporting on him as such. It’s all process.”
Wilson said the media should instead be reporting “on all the hinky bullshit in his business life and personal life.”
Trump’s history isn’t rosy: It includes multiple marriages, suspect business deals and confirmed ties to organized crime in Atlantic City.
Wayne Barrett, the author of “Trump: The Deals and the Downfall,” an unauthorized biography, told POLITICO that Trump’s personal past and business dealings would almost surely ruin a conventional candidate. “He is the embodiment of crony capitalism,” Barrett said, noting that, as “a very formidable donor in New York politics,” Trump “always hired the right insider to put the fix in for him.”
“He’s the antithesis of conservative wealth, or at least the wealth that conservatives pretend to revere,” he said. “It’s not market wealth, it’s state wealth. It’s crony wealth. Every deal he did was laced with crony connections.”
Barrett also said that Trump “would have been personally bankrupt” if he hadn’t been bailed out by bankers who decided that he was too big to fail. “I would think that if reporters were out there doing some serious digging, they ought to be talking to the bankers who used to deal with him,” he said.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s legal counsel and top spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s marital history might also have proven problematic for a more conventional conservative candidate. Trump is in his third marriage, and some of his remarks about his past partners have been callous. In 1990, he told Vanity Fair: “When a man leaves a woman, especially when it was perceived that he has left for a piece of ass—a good one!—there are 50 percent of the population who will love the woman who was left.”
And the mob ties: Barrett has alleged that Trump organized a land purchase from “a top leader of the murderous Scarfo crime family in Atlantic City so that his name would not appear in the transaction,” and that Roy Cohn, Trump’s former lawyer and close friend, also represented Fat Tony Salerno, the head of the Genovese crime family.
Importantly, Barrett told POLITICO that while a handful of reporters have contacted him about these connections, nothing has materialized. And even if the connections did make headlines today, Barrett’s not convinced it would do much to sway voter sentiment.
“For most of the Americans that are enchanted by Donald, the mob is not a real thing. It’s a Hollywood thing, but it’s not real. If you lived in New York, the power of the mob was enormous,” he said.
“But who can figure out what would affect the people who are for him?” Barrett asked. “It’s almost a mystical connection he has with these people. What would demystify him is very hard to figure. I don’t know if the media can do it, because his supporters are not a fact-based constituency.”
Some pundits have argued that the best way to dismantle Trump’s campaign is to take him seriously and expose his lack of feasible, detailed policy positions. But Trump’s recent 40-minute sitdown with “Meet The Press,” and subsequent interviews with personalities like Bill O’Reilly, have focused almost exclusively on policy and done little to curb support — even if Trump says he watches “the shows” for military advice, or defers to lawyers when asked how he would change the 14th Amendment to implement his immigration policy.
As Trip Gabriel, The New York Times political reporter, has argued, Trump “may be the first post-policy candidate.” His campaign is “built on his unfettered style, rather than on his positions, which have proved highly fungible.”
So if Trump can’t be beat on his past or his policies, and if he can’t be matched for style, what could possibly stop him from securing the nomination?
For most observers, it is, as Dowd said, up to Father Trump or Father Time.
One theory posits that Trump will say something so radically inappropriate that it jettisons his support with conservatives: “Where he says or does something too outrageous, and people have time to reflect more on what the choice means,” Dowd said.
Another theory posits that Trump will bow out before the Iowa caucuses because he doesn’t want to run the risk of losing.
“It would be completely out of character for him to subject himself to voters to be judged,” Stuart Stevens, the top strategist on Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, said. “What’s his greatest put-down? ‘Loser.’ Will Trump be the next president? No. Does Donald Trump want to go through the rest of his life known as a loser? No.”
“When he inevitably drops to second or third in polls … I wonder how he handles adversity,” one prominent political journalist said. “I think he could take his ball and go home.”
The final theory is that Trump’s support — about 25 percent, according to the latest national polls — simply won’t translate into votes.
“What does it matter to someone now if they say they are for Trump? It means nothing. And 75 percent of the Republican voters aren’t for him even though he has the highest name ID and has been in the public eye far more than any other candidate,” Stevens said.
He also noted that Trump had 26 percent support in 2011: “Four years ago, he had about the same vote when he wasn’t even running,” he said. “So despite saying he’s a candidate and debates and campaigning, he has the same vote share he had before. That’s a success?”
Brad Todd, the GOP strategist, said Trump’s campaign would end with “someone passing out actual ballots at elementary schools at a thousand Iowa caucus locations, making this less like “American Idol” and more like a decision with consequences.”
“Summer beach flings rarely morph into lasting love,” Todd said.
Until then, or perhaps beyond then, the political media looks on, “totally clueless.”
“In politics, particularly presidential races, my oft repeated mantra is the UFO rule. At some point, the unforeseen will occur,” Tom Brokaw, the veteran NBC News anchor who has covered presidential elections dating back to Johnson vs. Goldwater, told POLITICO.
“Gary Hart and Monkey Business, Dukakis failing to defend Kitty, Bush 41 and the Perot factor. What the UFO will be this time, I don’t know yet, but there will be one — and not just for Trump,” he said. “All the candidates in both parties are vulnerable.”
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– While nothing seems to be able to topple Donald "Teflon Don" Trump, Ben Carson isn't enjoying the same kind of luck. The former neurosurgeon plummeted 7 percentage points in a newly released Quinnipiac University poll, falling to third place with 16%, Politico reports. Meanwhile, Trump absorbed 3 points, boosting him to a healthy lead of 27%. Ascending to second-place position in the poll: Marco Rubio, who gained 3 percentage points for a total of 17%. Ted Cruz also drew in 3 additional points to tie Carson at 16%, while Jeb Bush languishes in a distant fifth place with 5%. The rest of the GOP comes in at 3% or less. The poll surveyed 1,453 registered voters between Nov. 23-30, with a 2.6-point margin of error. What seemed to precipitate Carson's sudden dip—he was "deadlocked" with Trump just a month ago, the New York Times points out—were flaps over both his origin story and his apparent lack of foreign policy knowledge. Carson isn't letting on, though, that he's fazed by the latest setback. "Poll numbers will go up and down," he told Matt Lauer Tuesday on the Today show. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." The assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll adds his own take. "Dr. Ben Carson, moving to center stage just one month ago, now needs some CPR," Tim Malloy says. "The Doctor sinks. The Donald soars. The GOP, 11 months from the election, has to be thinking, 'This could be the guy.'" Meanwhile, on the Dems' side, Hillary Clinton maintains a large lead over Bernie Sanders (60% to 30%), with Martin O'Malley barely making a blip at 2%. (Carson's unusual theory about the pyramids probably didn't do him any favors.)
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Girls tear down the toy store pink aisle, demand engineering toys
Here's a downright inspirational video from Goldie Blox , who make "engineering toys for girls" and depicts young girls taking over the horrible girl-toy pink-aisle at a big toy-store.
Spectacular Blade Runner fanfilm, made for less than $1,500 Julio writes, “Writer and director Christopher Grant Harvey has shot Tears in the Rain, a stunning fan film set in the Blade Runner universe with just a $1,500 budget.” Goddamn, that’s some badass fanfilm. READ THE REST
Lovecraftian letters: magnetic fridge-poetry from the eldritch realms Paul writes, “Now you too can create miniature tales in the style of “The Gentleman of Providence” with LOVECRAFTIAN LETTERS – magnetic words featuring H.P. Lovecraft’s unique vocabulary. This cyclopean set contains over 500 pieces with which to share your dark wisdom and Lovecraftian tales with friends, family & unnamable things from beyond…” READ THE REST
A Good American: a documentary about Bill Binney, an NSA whistleblower who says 9/11 could have been prevented Bill Binney resigned from the NSA in October 2001, after 30 years with the agency where he was viewed as one of their best analysts: he quit because he believed that Bush-appointed leaders in the Agency had chosen to respond to the challenge of electronic communications by building out illegal, indiscriminate mass-surveillance programs that left […] READ THE REST
Last minute Valentine's gifts that spread some much-needed love Between lingering cold weather, overpriced Valentine’s gifts, and the general state of the country, February is shaping up to be a rough one. That’s why we’re sharing four affordable and last-minute gift ideas that will show someone some love when they need it most.#4 Teleflora Fresh Flower DeliveryTeleflora is a really cool company that works […] READ THE REST
This Raspberry Pi Starter Kit is your passport to the Internet of Things For less than the price of a dinner for two, Raspberry Pi offers a full desktop experience on a board the size of a deck of cards. With just this small device and an online course, I learned to build crazy projects like robots. You can do the same for just $99 with this Complete Raspberry […] READ THE REST
Master full-stack web development and be your own boss These days, websites are much more than collections of HTML pages. Web developers have moved to the forefront of the tech industry, and there has never been a better time to learn to code with this Complete Web Developer Course.In this intensive course, I was able to quickly learn the fundamentals of web development by building 14 […] READ THE REST
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Watch as little girls show off their creativity and make their toys more innovative in this advertisement from toy creators Goldie Blox. The company wants to put more engineering toys in the “pink aisles” of toy stores, and give little girls and boys the same options for toys that encourage creative thinking and problem solving as well as fun. The girls in the ad can be builders, thinkers, princesses, and tomboys in any combination they want, and Goldie Blox is giving them a toy with the adaptability to match. (via GoldieBlox on Youtube) Previously in Toys
Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +? ||||| "More than a princess. We are the champions." Those are the new lyrics -- and the empowering message -- of GoldieBlox's video remake of the famous Queen song. It is a musical manifesto that features little girls with big voices and a big mission.
Engineer Debra Sterling founded GoldieBlox, a toy company aimed at getting girls interested in building, last fall. In the past 10 months, the San Francisco Bay Area-based startup has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. This video is the capstone to a campaign she and her team started to break into Toys 'R' Us.
"The odds are against us. We've been told that GoldieBlox can't survive in mass stores next to Barbie. Convention says that engineering toys for girls are a 'niche' for the affluent, and for the internet. Together, we must prove convention wrong," Sterling wrote on YouTube.
And so, customers are instructed to follow the lead of these little girls in the video -- invade Toys 'R' Us, Tweet or Instagram pictures of GoldieBlox on shelves and pass the message on.
"I want to expose every girl I can to engineering, so my dream was to create a mass market product," Sterling told Forbes.
At least one dad is on board. "I'm sharing this with my daughter as soon as she's old enough to get it. You could too. Totally up to you," Adam Mordecai wrote on Upworthy. And based on the success of GoldieBlox's Kickstarter, we suspect that he won't be the only parent to show support.
According to the San Francisco Business Times, the toy will soon be available in the construction set section at more than 600 Toys 'R' Us locations and online, and will retail for $29.99. ||||| 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. |||||
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– A new ad from a new company called GoldieBlox is drawing rave reviews for its stereotype-busting premise: It shows little girls invading the "pink aisle" of a toy store to demand toys that set them on the path toward becoming engineers and scientists, reports the Mary Sue blog. GoldieBlox got its start last fall on Kickstarter after founder Debbie Sterling, a Stanford engineering grad, got fed up with the stereotypical girls' toys she saw everywhere, reports the Huffington Post. Now the company has notched its first big success: It's got a deal with Toys 'R' Us to start selling its first product, called "GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine," reports Forbes. The toy kit, and others to follow, will center on a girl inventor named Goldie who must build a particular machine to solve a problem. In the first kit, users will build a belt drive to power a spinning machine. As for that ad and the premise behind it: "Downright inspirational," says Boing Boing.
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– Not only did Ivelisse Martinez lose her husband and baby in a car crash in Florida last week, she also lost all memory of them. Authorities say Jose Vargas Rosario, 35, and Martinez, 27, were stopped at a red light in Altamonte Springs on Oct. 16 when a Mercury Grand Marquis driven by a 75-year-old woman slammed into the rear of their Kia. The Mercury cut through the couple's trunk and sent their 1-year-old son Brayden, strapped into a car seat in the back, flying forward, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A witness said Rosario's head was forced "into the dashboard." Both father and son were killed and Martinez was left critically injured. But when a chaplain and police investigator broke the news to Martinez on Wednesday, she couldn't remember them or the crash, per NBC News. "There are no words to express the devastation that our family is going through," Rosario's sister says. A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family. Meanwhile, police are still investigating what led to the "extraordinary, very powerful" impact. Witnesses tell WESH that the 75-year-old driver, Cynthia Guthrie, didn't brake as she neared the intersection. Police haven't said how fast she was traveling in the 45mph zone but suggested she was speeding, per WKMG Orlando. Guthrie, who had a clean driving record, told police she didn't know why she didn't stop at the light; authorities say she will only be charged if lab tests show she was using an illegal substance at the time, per WKMG. (Another tragic crash: A father of seven died bringing his pregnant wife to the hospital in April.)
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Fue un dia normal como cualquier otro, Viernes por la mañana, 16 de Octubre del 2015, recibimos las noticias de que hubo un acidente en la calle 434 y 436 en Altamonte Springs FL, y nos dejan saber de que han sido nuestros familiares Jose Luis (papa), Ivelisse (mama) y Brayden O'Neill (bebe). Desafortunadamente, Jose Luis y Brayden O'Neill no sobrevivieron en este acidente terrible. Ivelisse todavia sigue en el hospital con grandes lesiones en la cabeza. Nosotros, como familia, le pedimos de corazon a que nos ayuden aportar para la funeria que se tomara acabo para nuestros seres queridos. Cualquier donacion nos ayudara imensamente. Les agradecemos por adelantado con todos nuestros corazones, por la ayuda con nuestra perdida inesperada en nuestras vidas. Que Dios los bendiga!
It was just like any regular day, Friday morning on October 16, 2015, we receive news on an accident in streets of 434 and 436 in Altamonte Springs FL, we received the news that it sadly was our beloved family members, Jose Luis (father), Ivelisse (mother) and Brayden (baby). Unfortunately, Jose Luis and Brayden O'Neill did not survive this horrifying accident. Meanwhile, Ivelisse is still in the hospital recovering from very serious injuries in her head/brain. We, their family memebers, are kindly asking your help to raise money for our beloved angels for their funeral expenses and medical expenses. Any donation while help us immensely. In advanced, we thank you from our hearts that you are able to help us with this greatly unexpected loss in our life. God bless you! ||||| Play Facebook
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A Florida woman who was injured in a car crash that killed her husband and their 1-year-old child in Altamonte Springs has no memory of the accident — or of her husband and child, it was reported Thursday.
Ivelisse S. Martinez, 27, doesn't remember her husband, Jose L. Vargas Rosario, or their 1-year-old child who was killed, Brayden, NBC affiliate WESH in Orlando reported.
When an Orlando Regional Medical Center chaplain and police investigator told Martinez her husband and father were killed, she didn't recall them, the station reported.
Aerial shot of last week's fatal crash on State Road 436 and 434 in Altamonte Springs. WESH-TV
"She does not remember the crash, and at that time did not remember the family members either," Altamonte Springs police Lt. Rob Pelton said. An expert told the station that temporary memory loss is not uncommon during head trauma.
The deadly Oct. 16 crash occurred after a 75-year-old woman slammed into the back of the family's Kia, which was stopped at a red light at an intersection, at around 10 a.m., WESH reported.
Witnesses told the station the car didn't try to stop before the impact.
Altamonte Springs police on Thursday identified the other driver as Cynthia Guthrie, but said there are no criminal charges pending, although the crash is still under investigation. ||||| Authorities have identified the victims in last week's fatal crash on State Road 436 and 434 in Altamonte Springs.
A father and his infant son were killed. They were identified as Jose L. Vargas Rosario, 35, and Brayden O. Vargas, 1.
The mother of their child, identified as Ivelisse S. Martinez, 27, survived the crash, but said she does not remember her husband or son. The woman also said she does not remember the crash, according to police.
Altamonte Springs police broke the news to the woman and some of her relatives Wednesday at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Police said the crash was caused by Cynthia Guthrie, 75, of Longwood. Witnesses said Guthrie failed to apply her brakes as she approached the intersection and slammed into the back of the family's gold Kia.
According to police, no criminal charges are pending at this time. The crash remains under investigation, and the report will not be closed for 60 days.
Related: Man, baby killed in Altamonte Springs crash ||||| Anchor: TONIGHT, A MOM WITH NO SHE DOES NOT THIS DEADLY CRASH OR THAT SHE WAS MARRIED WITH AN INFANT SON, THAT CRASH KILLED HER HUSBAND AND BABY. THE MOM HAS BEEN THE HOSPITAL CHAIN REACTION CRASH LAST FRIDAY, IN ALTAMONTE, NEWS 6 SHELLEY MUNIZ LIVE OUTSIDE ALTAMONTE SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT. Reporter: THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL TELL US THE FAMILY NAME BUT TODAY THEY TELL US THE FAMILY IS FROM RIGHT HERE, THEY ALSO SAY THIS MOTHER IS IN STABLE CONDITION IN THE HOSPITAL AND WHEN THEY WENT TO INFORM HER OF HER HUSBAND AND BABY THEY FOUND OUT SHE HAS NO RECOLLECTION OF HER FAMILY OR THAT CRASH. DRIVE-BY STATE ROAD 446 IN ALTAMONTE SPRINGS TRAFFIC, NO REMNANT OF A CRASH OR CRIME SCENE TAPE NOT EVEN A MAKESHIFT MEMORIAL BUT AT THE INTERSECTION APPEARS TO BE BACK TOMORROW A MOTHER CONTINUES TO FIGHT FOR HER LIFE HER HUSBAND AND BABY, GONE. THE FAMILY WAS IN THIS BOLD HERE AND LAST FRIDAY MORNING AND THEY WERE STOPPED AT THIS LATE POLICE A GUTHRIE SLAMMED IN TO THEM WHILE BEHIND THE WHEEL OF HER GREEN CROWN VICTORIA SHE IS A 75-YEAR-OLD RETIRED TEACHER. NO ONE WAS AT HER HOME THIS EVENING BUT POLICE HAVE SPOKEN TO HER AND SHE DOES NOT KNOW WHY SHE DID NOT STOP. GOLD CAR CAME OUT AND HIT ME FROM THE LEFT. Reporter: THAT WAS THERE BLACK CAUSING RECALLING THE CRASH THE MOTHER DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER HER FAMILY. NO MATTER HOW INSIGNIFICANT THIS INTERSECTION APPEARS NOW FOR 1ST RESPONDERS AND WITNESSES SAY HE WILL NEVER FORGET. AS FOR GUTHRIE, POLICE DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU DID THAT STOP IS NOT THE CRASH. THEY SAY UNLESS LAB WORK COMES BACK AND SHOWS SHE WAS IMPAIRED
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -
Authorities on Thursday identified a woman who survived a crash in Altamonte Springs that claimed the lives of her baby and the father of her child.
[PICS: Family involved in crash | MORE: GoFundMe set up for surviving victim ]
Ivelisse S. Martinez, 27, was injured in the crash, which occurred last week at state roads 434 and 436. Officials said Wednesday that she does not remember the crash or her family members who died in the wreck.
Martinez's son was identified by Altamonte Springs police as 1-year-old Brayden O. Vargas. The child's father was identified as Jose L. Vargas, 35.
Police said the crash was caused by Cynthia Guthrie, 75, who failed to brake before slamming into the other car.
Police said Guthrie was driving a green sedan and appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed. Guthrie will not be charged unless lab work comes back showing that she tested positive for an illegal substance, according to officials.
When authorities interviewed Guthrie, she said she didn't know why she hadn't come to a stop. Police don't believe that she was driving distracted.
Guthrie was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after the incident.
"What I can tell you is that impact was extraordinary, very powerful and has caused two people so far this morning to lose their lives," Altamonte Springs police Lt. Robert Pelton said last Friday.
The crash caused the intersection to be shut down for hours.
Stay with ClickOrlando.com for more updates on this story. ||||| A short video of Jose Vargas Rosario and his 1-year-old son, feeding birds at a park the day before a fatal crash claimed their lives, is among many family memories.
It's also a memory Rosario's wife — Ivelisse Martinez, 27 — no longer has.
She survived the Friday crash, but with no recollection of the accident or her family, according to police.
"There are no words to express the devastation that our family is going through," Rosario's sister, Griselle Zeno, said in an email Thursday.
She provided the video and pictures of the couple with their baby, Brayden Vargas, and a photo of Brayden in a bathtub.
"We lost a loving son, brother, husband and father," Zeno said of Jose Rosario.
Father and son the afternoon before fatal crash Jose Vargas Rosario, 35, and his son Brayden Vargas, 1, were killed Friday when a green Mercury Grand Marquis slammed into their car stopped at a red light at the intersection of state roads 434 and 436. Jose Vargas Rosario, 35, and his son Brayden Vargas, 1, were killed Friday when a green Mercury Grand Marquis slammed into their car stopped at a red light at the intersection of state roads 434 and 436. See more videos
Rosario, 35, and Brayden were killed Friday when a green Mercury Grand Marquis slammed into their car, which was stopped at a red light at the intersection of state roads 434 and 436.
He was driving — his wife in the front passenger seat and their baby in a car seat in the back — when the Mercury driven by 75-year-old Cynthia Guthrie slammed into the rear of the family's sedan.
It crushed the small gold car, killing the dad and baby, and then hit several more vehicles, including a tractor-trailer stopped at the light. Martinez was critically injured and taken to a hospital, where she's recovering.
Brayden Griselle Zeno Brayden O Vargas Brayden O Vargas (Griselle Zeno) (Griselle Zeno)
Altamonte Springs police Lt. Robert Pelton said the mother doesn't remember the crash, nor her family. She remains in the hospital in stable condition.
Police said the infant was belted into a car seat that flew from the back to the front seat when the Mercury's front bumper tore through the family's trunk.
In 911 calls, witnesses described the scene as a "terrible, terrible accident."
"His head is into the dashboard," said one caller. "I don't think he's living."
Another caller described the mangled wreckage, saying "There's probably three to five cars involved [but] you can't even tell [because] it's such a mess."
Police haven't said how fast Guthrie was driving at the time of the accident. The speed limit in that area is 45 mph.
Guthrie's Mercury and the family's sedan skidded about 110 feet as they were twisted together, police said.
Pelton said the crash is still being investigated, and few details have been released.
As of Thursday, no criminal charges were pending, he said.
Records show Guthrie has a clean driving history, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Rosario's family created a GoFundMe account to help with funeral and medical expenses.
Kevin P. Connolly and David Harris contributed to this report. |||||
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An enlarged lymph node in the armpit region of a person with cat-scratch disease, and wounds from a cat scratch on the hand.
Cat-scratch disease (CSD) is a bacterial infection spread by cats. The disease spreads when an infected cat licks a person’s open wound, or bites or scratches a person hard enough to break the surface of the skin. About three to 14 days after the skin is broken, a mild infection can occur at the site of the scratch or bite. The infected area may appear swollen and red with round, raised lesions and can have pus. The infection can feel warm or painful. A person with CSD may also have a fever, headache, poor appetite, and exhaustion. Later, the person’s lymph nodes closest to the original scratch or bite can become swollen, tender, or painful.
Wash cat bites and scratches well with soap and running water. Do not allow cats to lick your wounds. Contact your doctor if you develop any symptoms of cat-scratch disease or infection.
CSD is caused by a bacterium called Bartonella henselae. About 40% of cats carry B. henselae at some time in their lives, although most cats with this infection show NO signs of illness. Kittens younger than 1 year are more likely to have B. henselae infection and to spread the germ to people. Kittens are also more likely to scratch and bite while they play and learn how to attack prey.
How cats and people become infected
Kitten playing with a person's fingers.
Cats can get infected with B. henselae from flea bites and flea dirt (droppings) getting into their wounds. By scratching and biting at the fleas, cats pick up the infected flea dirt under their nails and between their teeth. Cats can also become infected by fighting with other cats that are infected. The germ spreads to people when infected cats bite or scratch a person hard enough to break their skin. The germ can also spread when infected cats lick at wounds or scabs that you may have.
Serious but rare complications
People
Although rare, CSD can cause people to have serious complications. CSD can affect the brain, eyes, heart, or other internal organs. These rare complications, which may require intensive treatment, are more likely to occur in children younger than 5 years and people with weakened immune systems.
Cats
Most cats with B. henselae infection show NO signs of illness, but on rare occasions this disease can cause inflammation of the heart—making cats very sick with labored breathing. B. henselae infection may also develop in the mouth, urinary system, or eyes. Your veterinarian may find that some of your cat’s other organs may be inflamed. ||||| As a pet owner, there are certain health dangers you and your family face. WTOL told you about some of the risks in May. One woman says she wishes she had known these dangers before she went blind.“I woke up one day and I couldn't see out of my left eye,” said Janese Walters. “I looked in the mirror and I thought I had pink eye or something.”Without any warning signs, the vision in Walters' left eye went dark.For more than a month, doctors were puzzled. They couldn't figure out what caused the sudden blindness, until Janese told them about her pet."They discovered I had something called cat scratch," she said.As the name suggests, doctors say cat scratch disease is caused by a bacteria passed along by cats and kittens, through their saliva or even fur."Anything that is exposed to the cat's mouth, including if you have a little scratch that the cat licks – that's how you can get it," said Dr. Kris Brickman.Dr. Brickman says only about 40 percent of cats carry the bacteria, which isn't harmful to them, but can be to humans."It can affect the eyes, because what it does is increases blood vessels that creates problems - called antinomies,” Brickman said. “It can also cause some liver problems and can get into the spinal fluids and create meningitis."Those with weak immune systems are at a higher risk, but Dr. Brickman says there is a simple solution."Basically, go play with your cats, but wash your hands afterwards,” Brickman said. “Don't let them lick any open wounds, and try not to get bit by any cat.""It's a big handicap,” Walters said of her eyesight. “There are a lot of things you have to do differently."She says she had no knowledge of cat scratch disease before doctors diagnosed her with it."I'm just lucky it didn't transfer to my other eye," she said.She now wants her experience to be a warning to others – before it's too late.Walters says her experience has not stopped her from loving and owning cats and dogs, but she has become more aware. ||||| WPXI - Pittsburgh
An Ohio woman says she lost sight in one eye after being licked by her cat.
“I woke up one day and I couldn't see out of my left eye,” Janese Walters said. “I looked in the mirror and I thought I had pink eye or something.” (Source: ToledoNewsNow.com)
It took more than a month for doctors to figure out she had cat scratch disease, which is caused by a bacteria passed from cats to humans through the animal’s saliva or fur.
Apparently, Walters caught the disease when her cat licked her, and she said she feels lucky it did not spread to the other eye.
According to the Cat Scratch Disease Fact Sheet, symptoms usually appear within 3 to 14 days after being bitten or scratched by an affected cat and people with compromised immune systems are most vulnerable.
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Eye infection leading to blindness is considered rare. Most people don’t require treatment but some may need antibiotics to speed recovery.
The Fact Sheet says the disease is believed to be passed between cats via infected fleas, and the flea excrement on the cat is what passes it to humans.
“There is no human-to-human transmission of CSD,” according to the Fact Sheet.
If you are a pet owner, the Fact Sheet says you can avoid CSD by taking precautions:
Maintain excellent flea and tick control.
Avoid rough play with cats.
If you have an open wound do not allow a cat to lick it.
Thoroughly wash the site of a bite or scratch with soap and water.
Adopt or buy cats that are in good health and without fleas.
WPXI.com contributed to this report. |||||
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– An Ohio woman who suddenly lost vision in one of her eyes has learned that her own cat is to blame, reports WTOL. Doctors at the University of Toledo diagnosed cat scratch disease as the culprit. "Anything that is exposed to the cat's mouth, including if you have a little scratch that the cat licks—that's how you can get it," says Dr. Kris Brickman. A cat also can pass it along through its fur, or if it bites or scratches hard enough to break the skin. It's extremely rare for the bacterial infection to cause blindness, though people with weak immune systems are more prone to serious complications, explains a CDC fact sheet. More typically, those affected come down with a headache or fever. “I woke up one day and I couldn't see out of my left eye,” Janese Walters tells the Toledo TV station. “I looked in the mirror and I thought I had pink eye or something.” Brickman says the eyes are vulnerable because of the way the infection affects blood vessels. The best safeguard is to wash thoroughly after playing with your cat—especially if it's a kitten—and to immediately clean any bites or scratches. A good flea treatment also helps, because that's how cats become infected in the first place, notes WPXI. Despite the ordeal, Walters is keeping her cats. (A happier cat story: Some abandoned kittens found an unlikely new "mom.")
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– If critics are to be believed, Selma might be the best movie you see this season. The historical drama following Martin Luther King Jr. as he fights for racial equality in Selma, Alabama, circa 1965 has an impressive 99% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Here's what they're saying: Selma "deserves major attention this awards season," particularly due to David Oyelowo's masterful depiction of King as "a man of flesh, blood, and foibles," Peter Howell writes at the Toronto Star. "We see history as it unfolds, not as it has been encased in amber, in a movie that needs to be seen in these anxious days of renewed racial and cultural unrest." Kenneth Turan at the Los Angeles Times calls Selma "a necessary film, even an essential one." Ava DuVernay directs the picture "with passion and conviction" and Oyelowo is "mesmerizing" as he "expertly" captures King's body language and cadences. "The heart of Selma is the three separate 50-mile marches," Turan writes, but the film is "inconsistent and not always as strong as its strongest moments." "Even when it shows King as a scapegoat, adulterer, and martyr, Selma presents him with care that would have made its subject proud," writes Colin Covert at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Oyelowo is "both completely believable and someone we've never encountered before." There are a few missteps, but the film is "a work of art ... brilliantly acted, beautifully shot, emotionally touching." Moira Macdonald agrees Oyelowo "captures King's musical cadence, his quiet magnetism." But more than that, "History becomes breathtaking drama in Selma; there's an urgent realism in the storytelling, as if we're seeing this just in time," she writes at the Seattle Times. Plus, "it stays with you long after the theater lights have been raised."
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Selma, we come to understand, was hardly picked at random. Not only were the statistics especially grim — a 50% African American population who made up only 2% of voters — but the state courthouse was an especially camera-ready target, and the local county Sheriff Jim Clark was racist enough to be a tempting adversary. In fact, one of the themes of "Selma" is how tactical so much was, how geared to getting on the network news and influencing public opinion nationwide. ||||| SELMA is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernays SELMA tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.(C) Paramount
Rating: PG-13 (for disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language)
Genre: Drama
Directed By: Ava DuVernay
Written By: Paul Webb
On Disc/Streaming: May 5, 2015
Runtime: 127 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures ||||| Since films based on fact are controversial, perhaps we should stop making them. “Selma,” an ambitious, deeply moving drama about the 1960s civil rights movement, has triggered a noisy quarrel, just as pseudo-true-story Oscar contenders “Zero Dark Thirty’ and “Argo” did a couple of years ago.
“Selma,” which has already received four Golden Globe nominations, opens with the Rev. Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo, right) and his wife, Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo), dressing formally to receive his Nobel Peace Prize. It shifts quickly to scenes of an ongoing war against black Americans.
We observe a horrific attack on a Birmingham church, then a racist registrar rejecting an application by a woman (Oprah Winfrey) whose right to vote he has repeatedly denied. Director Ava DuVernay makes every spoken scene and visual frame sharply composed. This is a film that will flesh out every facet.
“Selma” is a stunning surface-level exploration of King’s groundbreaking 1965 voting-rights march from Selma, Ala., across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, to the State Capitol in Montgomery. Oyelowo’s piercing eyes empower a lead performance of pure gravitas. What Daniel Day-Lewis did for Lincoln, Oyelowo does for King, mimicking his behavior and speech uncannily. He is both completely believable and someone we’ve never encountered before.
Oyelowo presents King at his highs: a respected minister, a controversial activist pulling political strings, a popular hero galvanizing Southern blacks into battalions seeking reform. And we see him at his lows, leading hundreds of Selma followers into riot-geared police squads that attack them as if they were pushing treason. Even when it shows King as a scapegoat, adulterer and martyr, “Selma” presents him with care that would have made its subject proud. A powerful scene in which he comforts a man who has just lost a grandson to police brutality is touching to the point of tears.
“Selma’s” missteps come only during a few brief, too-deep excursions into the Oval Office. Fans of Lyndon B. Johnson are angry that “Selma” shows the president, absorbed by the unwinnable Vietnam War, less focused than King on creating federal mandates to ban every factor denying the black population’s right to vote. Johnson is shown ordering the ongoing smear campaign by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, who secretly wiretapped King’s every move.
“Selma” plays fast and loose with those facts, which are, at most, 5 percent of its story. The authorization for King’s notorious surveillance came from Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963. Johnson considered the Voting Rights Act of 1965, created in cordial cooperation with King, his greatest legislative achievement. The film does not present itself as a documentary. It is drama inspired by history, with all of a drama’s need for shorthand. Johnson never literally told King, “You’ve got one problem, I’ve got 101,” but the film’s use of it feels outrageous only if you haven’t seen the incendiary performances by Tom Wilkinson and Oyelowo.
What is unquestionably true is that “Selma’s” makers have created a work of art that speaks their conscience. While it embellishes, it also presents insightful honesty. If it’s not perfect, it’s far better than countless spurious films in which Hollywood has rewritten history. If we examine “Selma” as film using artistic license on its own terms, not as propaganda or journalism, it is outstandingly good. Brilliantly acted, beautifully shot, emotionally touching and filled with stunning action set pieces, its achievements are not to be scoffed at. It sees the world in colors richer than black and white.
[email protected] • 612-673-7186 |||||
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– Israel denied entry to Noam Chomsky yesterday, blocking the renowned academic from a speaking engagement at the West Bank's Birzeit University. Chomsky believes he was denied entry because the government "did not like that I was only talking at Birzeit and not at an Israeli university, too," he told the BBC. Israeli officials chalk the incident up to a misunderstanding between the military and civilian government, and say they are trying to reverse the decision. Chomsky, though, isn't buying it: "There was no misunderstanding. I was invited to give a series of lectures," he told the Guardian. "It was straightforward, I do it all the time." And to Haaretz, he added, "I find it hard to think of a similar case, in which entry to a person is denied because he is not lecturing in Tel Aviv. Perhaps only in Stalinist regimes." The linguist added that he would now not have time to visit Birzeit, even if he was immediately cleared for entry.
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Noam Chomsky - refused entry to Palestinian West Bank by Israel during lecture tour Rex Features
Noam Chomsky, whose withering critiques of political establishments have earned him the wrath of regimes of all persuasions around the world, was todayforbidden by Israeli immigration officers from entering the Palestinian West Bank.
Chomsky said he was disappointed and surprised to have been turned back from the Allenby bridge across the Jordan river, which is understood to be the first time he has been refused entry by the Israelis. He had been due to give a series of lectures on domestic and foreign policy at Birzeit University and the Institute for Palestine Studies in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
He told Al-Jazeera television that the immigration official who interviewed him had made it clear that "the government of Israel doesn't like the kinds of things I say, which puts them into the same category as every other government in the world".
The academic, aged 82, had been with his daughter and two Jordanian friends. The friends were allowed through by the Israelis, but Chomsky and his daughter were denied entry.
Chomsky added that the Israeli authorities also seemed to take exception to the fact that he was only giving lectures in the Palestinian territory and would not be speaking in Israeli universities, "which I have done several times in the past".
Chomsky has been a keen critic of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, and of successive US governments that he says have propped up the system in which Palestinians are denied equal rights.
Sabine Hadad, a spokeswoman for the Israeli interior ministry responsible for immigration decisions, said the department was trying to contact the military to clear up the matter, in order to allow Chomsky in. She told Reuters there had been a misunderstanding, as border officials had wrongly assumed he was planning to visit Israel as well.
But Chomsky said: "There was no misunderstanding. I was invited to give a series of lectures. It was straightforward, I do it all the time." He said that even if the Israelis did clear him for entry, he would now have insufficient time in his schedule to visit the West Bank. ||||| The Interior Ministry refused to let linguist Noam Chomsky into Israel and the West Bank on Sunday. Chomsky, who aligns himself with the radical left, had been scheduled to lecture at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah, and visit Bil'in and Hebron, as well as meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and various Palestinian activists.
In a telephone conversation last night from Amman, Chomsky told Haaretz that he concluded from the questions of the Israeli official that the fact that he came to lecture at a Palestinian and not an Israeli university led to the decision to deny him entry.
"I find it hard to think of a similar case, in which entry to a person is denied because he is not lecturing in Tel Aviv. Perhaps only in Stalinist regimes," Chomsky told Haaretz.
Sabine Haddad, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, confirmed to Haaretz that the officials at the border were from the ministry.
"Because he entered the Palestinian Authority territory only, his entry is the responsibility of the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories at the Defense Ministry. There was a misunderstanding on our side, and the matter was not brought to the attention of the COGAT."
Haddad told Haaretz that "the minute the COGAT says that they do not object, Chomsky's entry would have been permitted."
Chomsky, a Jewish professor of linguistics and philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had spent several months at Kibbutz Hazore'a during the 1950s and had considered a longer stay in Israel. He had been invited by the Department of Philosophy at Bir Zeit.
He planned to spend four days in the West Bank and give two lectures.
On Sunday, at about 1:30 P.M. he came to the Israeli side of the border with Jordan. After three hours of questioning, during which the border officer repeatedly called the Interior Ministry for instructions, Chomsky's passport was stamped with "Denied Entry."
With Chomsky, 81, were his daughter Aviva, and a couple of old friends of his and his late wife.
Entry was also denied to his daughter.
Their friends, one of whom is a Palestinian who grew up in Beirut, were allowed in, but they opted to return with Chomsky to Amman.
Chomsky told Haaretz that it was clear that his arrival had been known to the authorities, because the minute he entered the passport control room the official told him that he was honored to see him and that he had read his works.
The professor concluded that the officer was a student, and said he looked embarrassed at the task at hand, especially when he began reading from text the questions that had been dictated to him, and which were also told to him later by telephone.
Chomsky told Haaretz about the questions.
"The official asked me why I was lecturing only at Bir Zeit and not an Israeli university," Chomsky recalled. "I told him that I have lectured a great deal in Israel. The official read the following statement: 'Israel does not like what you say.'"
Chomsky replied: "Find one government in the world which does."
"The young man asked me whether I had ever been denied entry into other countries. I told him that once, to Czechoslovakia, after the Soviet invasion in 1968," he said, adding that he had gone to visit ousted Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubcek, whose reforms the Soviets crushed.
In response to the official's question, Chomsky said that the subjects of his lectures were "America and the world," and "America at home."
The official asked him whether he would speak on Israel and Chomsky said that because he would talk of U.S. policy he would also comment on Israel and its policies.
He was then told by the official: "You have spoken with [Hassan] Nasrallah."
"True," Chomsky told him. "When I was in Lebanon [prior to the war in 2006] I spoke with people from the entire political spectrum there, as in Israel I also spoke with people on the right."
"At the time I read reports of my visit in the Israeli press, and the articles in the Israeli press had no connection with reality," Chomsky told the border official.
The official asked Chomsky why he did not have an Israeli passport.
"I replied I am an American citizen," Chomsky said.
Chomsky said that he asked the man at border control for an official written explanation for the reason his entry was denied and that "it would help the Interior Ministry because this way my version will not be the only one given to the media."
The official called the ministry and then told Chomsky that he would be able to find the official statement at the U.S. Embassy.
The last time Chomsky visited Israel and the West Bank was in 1997, when he lectured on both sides of the Green Line. He had also planned a visit to the Gaza strip, but because the Palestinian Authority insisted that he be escorted by Palestinian guards, he canceled that part of the visit.
To Haaretz, Chomsky said Sunday that preventing him entry is tantamount to boycotting Bir Zeit University. Chomsky is known to oppose a general boycott on Israel. "I was against a boycott of apartheid South Africa as well. If we are going to boycott, why not the United States, whose record is even worse? I'm in favor of boycotting American companies which collaborate with the occupation," he said. "But if we are to boycott Tel Aviv University, why not MIT?"
Chomsky told Haaretz that he supports a two-state solution, but not the solution proposed by Jerusalem, "pieces of land that will be called a state."
He said that Israel's behavior today reminds him of that of South Africa in the 1960s, when it realized that it was already considered a pariah, but thought that it would resolve the problem with better public relations. |||||
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INDIANAPOLIS - One of the co-founders of Lucas Oil has put out an explanatory advertisement after his wife and co-founder created a negative social media post about minorities last week.
Forrest Lucas, husband of Charlotte Lucas, wrote the letter, published as an advertisement this week, after RTV6 broke the story of her Facebook post. The post talked about how minorities should not be running the country.
"I'm sick and tired of minorities running our country!" Lucas wrote in the post. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't think that atheists (minority), muslims [sic] (minority) nor any other minority group has the right to tell the majority of the people in the United States what they can and cannot do here. Is everyone so scared that they can't fight back for what is right or wrong with his country?"
The next day, Charlotte issued an apology for the post.
Thursday morning, Forrest Lucas put out an ad (in the form of a letter), explaining what had happened and how he and Charlotte were trying to move forward.
The advertisement read:
Dear Friends:
Many of you know the story of how Charlotte and I started Lucas Oil from nothing in 1989. Over the last 25 years, Lucas Oil has achieved success with many oil products, developed a strong, supportive presence in motorsports, expanded into ranching and media operations, and became naming rights holder for the stadium that the Indianapolis Colts call home. Lucas Oil remains a family-owned business with manufacturing and distribution facilities in our home state of Indiana. Lucas Oil is proud to have employees, friends, customers and business partners reflecting ethnic and racial diversity.
Charlotte and I have been extremely fortunate, and we have found many ways to give back to the community. Among many other things, we have funded groups that provide opportunities and benefits for veterans, women, minorities and disadvantaged youth. We have supported causes that promote education and seek cures for cancer, diabetes, paralysis and other health problems.
Unfortunately, this week, Lucas Oil has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The media reported a story about a posting Charlotte made on her Facebook page in which she included statements directed to minority special interest groups. Although it was not Charlotte's intent to offend anyone, her comments were harsh and insensitive. Her words were hurtful to many and disappointing to all. Make no mistake, Charlotte feels extremely saddened by her actions and regrets the posting. She has issued an apology with the hope that it will be accepted as sincere.
The reality is that the message posted on Charlotte's Facebook page does not reflect the feelings in her heart. Those who know Charlotte appreciate that she is a caring and loving person who has great respect for everyone. We thank those who have consoled Charlotte in this time of turmoil and have encouraged her to learn from her mistake.
Lucas Oil will continue to focus on all of its positive business activities and events. We will use this opportunity to examine our diversity efforts and to strengthen our relationships with minority leaders and organizations. We appreciate the patience and understanding of the community as we make progress in these areas.
Sincerely,
Forrest Lucas, Lucas Oil Products ||||| Photo: Michael Hickey/WireImage
Forrest Lucas, the co-founder of Lucas Oil, has discovered an innovative new way for newspapers to make money in this challenging media climate: charging people for full-page ads they can use to apologize for their wife's racist Facebook rants.
Lucas's wife, Charlotte Lucas, caused a little bit of a stir when she posted then deleted this message to her Facebook page last week:
"I'm sick and tired of minorities running our country! As far as I'm concerned, I don't think that atheists (minority), muslims (minority)n or any other minority group has the right to tell the majority of the people in the United States what they can and cannot do here. Is everyone so scared that they can't fight back for what is right or wrong with this country?"
Lucas was so embarrassed by his wife's behavior that he paid to have a full-page ad taken out in the Indianapolis Star, where he apologized on her behalf.
"Her words were hurtful to many and disappointing to all," the ad reads. "Make no mistake, Charlotte feels extremely saddened by her actions and regrets the posting. She has issued an apology with the hope that it will be accepted as sincere."
Next up: paying for sponsored tweets to apologize for that time your son got a DUI! |||||
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– Some Facebook posts are costlier than others. After the wife of a co-founder of Lucas Oil posted a diatribe against "minorities," her husband took out a full-page ad in the Indianapolis Star today to apologize, reports WRTV. This is the original post by Charlotte Lucas that prompted Forrest Lucas to shell out: "I'm sick and tired of minorities running our country! As far as I'm concerned, I don't think that atheists (minority), muslims (minority) nor any other minority group has the right to tell the majority of the people in the United States what they can and cannot do here. Is everyone so scared that they can't fight back for what is right or wrong with his country?" Charlotte deleted the post fairly quickly and apologized, saying that she was trying to vent her anger at the sway of special interest groups over elected officials, reports the Star. Today, husband Forrest took out the ad, which said in part: "Although it was not Charlotte's intent to offend anyone, her comments were harsh and insensitive. Her words were hurtful to many and disappointing to all. Make no mistake, Charlotte feels extremely saddened by her actions and regrets the posting." (You can see it in full via this link; go to page A12.) New York's Daily Intelligencer thinks the idea could help the struggling newspaper industry make some money if it catches on. "Next up: paying for sponsored tweets to apologize for that time your son got a DUI!"
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For the third time in a week Mitt Romney's web team has goofed up on the spelling of a simple word, opening the door for a heroic copywriter to save Amer... ica. This one was spotted by the appropriately named @typohunter on Twitter, who discovered this "offical" goof on Romney's Facebook page. Three is a trend, right?
No writer who lives in mortal fear of embarrassing typos can be too gleeful about this — see if you can find a mistake in this post! — but it is a disturbing trend for the supposedly detail-obsessed candidate. Luckily, the campaign is already on the case. They currently have a job posting on LinkedIn for a full-time copyeditor.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at dbennett at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Dashiell Bennett ||||| 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. ||||| If you were running a major presidential campaign that just got slammed for misspelling America as "Amercia," you might ask your staff to go through your campaign literature with a fine-tooth comb.
Especially your online campaign literature, where mistakes could be erased in seconds. At the very least, you might give your much-viewed Facebook presence a once-over.
Not so Mitt Romney. Less than a week after the "Amercia" gaffe, another two major spelling mistakes have emerged in the Romney campaign — one of them front and center on the candidate's Facebook page.
As you can see in the screenshot above, Romney's campaign store — the third link on his Facebook page, which has received more than 1.8 million Likes — lets you know you can buy the candidate's "offical" gear. [UPDATED: Shortly after this story published, the link was removed.]
The typo was first spotted by alert Twitter user @typohunter, the nom de Twitter of San Diego developer and proofreader Kari Embree. And it's becoming part of a pattern.
Also on Facebook this weekend, the Romney campaign offered readers a "sneak-peak" [sic] at the candidate's forthcoming TV ad:
That ad has since been removed. But "offical" remains, front and center on Facebook. (If you click through to the store, meanwhile, "official" is spelled correctly.)
Of course, for most of us — English teachers excluded — none of this exactly rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. At most, Romney is guilty of not hiring a good copy editor. (Then again, how bad a speller does Romney's social media manager have to be to not notice a mistake that prominent on Facebook?)
But image matters in presidential elections, more than it does anywhere else. When similar mistakes happen three times in the same week, it creates an expectation that can be hard to shift. Expect Romney's spelling skills to become the butt of late-night talk show jokes. Dan Quayle can attest, and he only made one such prominent error ("potatoe").
It's also a problem when the candidate has spoken frequently of the urgent need to fix the U.S. education system. Romney also had this to say earlier this year to the American Society of News Editors: "Frankly, in some of the new media, I find myself missing the presence of editors to exercise quality control."
Do you think spelling makes a difference when it comes to your online presence? Let us know in the comments. |||||
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– Amercia: Land of those free to make spelling errors. And no one seems to be illustrating that point better as of late than Team Romney, which is getting fresh flak for yet another typo, this one fairly prominently made on its 1.8 million-likes-strong Facebook page. The oops was picked up by @typohunter, which noticed that fans could pick up "Offical Gear" via the page. (It's since been fixed.) As for the candidate's other typo, Mashable has a screenshot of a Facebook spot promoting a "sneak-peak" of his new ad. The Atlantic Wire notes that the campaign is, perhaps wisely, searching for a full-time copy editor.
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CHICAGO (CBS) Thanks to the power of television and social media, the suburban family found the man who saved their son from choking.
CBS 2’s Mai Martinez has their special reunion in an Original Report.
After days of searching for the man who saved her son’s life, it was hard to Mary Graham to believe she was about to meet him.
And then she did…
Patrick: Hello
Mary: Hi
Patrick: How are you?
Mary: Oh my God, thank you so much.
Patrick: What’s up little man? How are you feeling? You good? Give me a high-five for that. You battled that.
Mary (to Noah): Say nice to meet you.
Patrick: Nice to meet you Noah.
Mary: This is my husband Ben.
Patrick: How are you doing? Nice to meet you man. It was definitely a crazy experience for sure.
The happy reunion a far cry from the last time Patrick Kissane and the Grahams were at the Alsip Subway.
On Tuesday night, surveillance video shows Patrick running to help as Noah sat in his stroller choking on a Dorito.
He grabbed the 2-year old and patted him on the back until Noah threw up and started breathing again.
CBS: Have you ever had any formal training on emergency response or anything?
Patrick: No, I mean my dad he’s a physical therapist and stuff like that, so I know little bit about it.
Graham took Noah to the bathroom to clean him up, and when she returned Patrick Kissane was gone.
“He saved my son’s life and he went on about his day and he wasn’t looking to be named a hero for it, but he is,” Graham said.
Not knowing who he was, Graham wrote a post on Facebook hoping someone knew him. After 3 days with no luck, on Friday she talked to CBS 2 and other media outlets.
Kissane’s parents called him after seeing the story on TV and a friend shared CBS 2’s story on Kissane’s Facebook page.
CBS 2 put Kissane in touch with Graham and they agreed to meet so she could properly thank him.
“A lot of people said this moment may not come and it’s here, so it’s overwhelming,” Graham said.
CBS 2 to Kissane: What’s it like for you walking today and see him running around like that and then reaching for you for a hug?
“It’s amazing just seeing him running around full of life and giving me that hug, he must’ve known I did something to help him,” Kissane said.
The family also has a special gift for Kissane – a picture of Noah.
“I smile on, because you care. Thank you for being my guardian angel,” the picture read.
“I mean it means a lot to me,’ Kissane said. “If I’m ever feeling down, I can take a look at that and it’ll definitely bring me right back up.”
The Grahams said it is the least they could do for their hero.
“For him to be able to look at that and know every day before he starts his day, that he saved that little boy’s life,” Graham said.
“I guess that is a hard thing for me to say to myself, too though, that I saved his life, but I’m allowed to say that?” Kissane said.
CBS 2: What do you think this says to the rest of the world about the difference one person can make?
“One act of kindness can definitely go a long way,” Kissane said.
He said until he started getting calls and messages about the television coverage, he has no idea anyone was looking for him.
After CBS 2’s interview, the Grahams and Kissane ate dinner together at Subway. They also gave Graham a Subway gift card.
The Grahams wanted to thank everyone on social media for helping her find Kissane, because he actually lives in Indiana. ||||| Thanks to social media and TV reports, an Alsip woman on Saturday reunited with the man who saved her 2-year-old son's life earlier in the week.
Mary Graham was having dinner with her children Tuesday night at the Subway restaurant on South Cicero Avenue when her son, Noah, began choking on a Dorito.
Patrick Kissane of St. John, Ind., jumped to the rescue and grabbed the toddler, placed him on his knee and began pressing on his stomach and patting his back.
The Dorito came out along with a little vomit on Kissane's clothes, and that's when Graham grabbed her son back and took him to the bathroom to clean him off.
When she came out, Kissane had already left but Graham felt a need to thank him or at least pay for his dry cleaning.
Graham posted her request on Facebook and it was quickly seen by Kissane's best friend, who then contacted CBS News to help arrange the meeting at the Subway.
"He came in and my son gave him a hug, I gave him a hug," Graham said.
Little Noah gave him a card that read, "Thank you for being my guardian angel."
Kissane also met Graham's 9-year-old daughter, Marilyn, and husband, Benson.
Graham said Kissane wouldn't accept payment for dry cleaning, but she did give him a gift card for Subway.
They talked for about an hour about the ordeal.
Graham said Kissane said he learned a few lifesaving tips from his father, who's a physical trainer, but when Noah was choking he said he wasn't too sure he knew what he was doing and just reacted with natural instinct without hesitation.
"He said the panic in my voice gave him chills," Graham said.
Graham said Kissane left after the incident because he didn't think too much of his efforts at first.
The two are now Facebook friends and Graham hopes Kissane will remain a friend of the family and, perhaps, join them on a summer outing.
"It's heartwarming that I was able to face him and give him a proper 'thank you,'" she said.
Graham said she was amazed that she was able to find Kissane so quickly through social media.
Frank Vaisvilas is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video
ALSIP, Ill. -- A suburban mother is searching for the stranger who saved her son's life.
Mary Graham brought her kids to the Subway in Alsip Tuesday around 7 p.m.
2-year-old Noah was strapped in his stroller, eating pieces of a sandwich and Doritos when he started choking.
“Then he started to turn blue,” she said. “He did one big gasp for air then he stopped breathing and it looked like he was going to pass out.”
Security video from the Subway shows Mary’s 9-year-old daughter Madilyn running to the counter for help.
A customer in a black shirt and grey pants runs back and jumps into action.
“He came over right away and took over took my son straight out of that stroller bent him over his leg started pressure on his belly and patting him on his back,” Mary says.
In the process of helping Noah, the toddler vomited on the Good Samaritan’s pants and himself.
Mary took her son in the restroom to clean him off and by the time she got out, the man was gone.
Mary shared her story on Facebook in an effort to find the man who helped her son. With more than a thousand views, she's hoping someone will recognize him so she can say thank you.
“He didn't find my wallet. He saved my son's life he deserved a hug and a thank you,” Mary says.
The Subway owner and manager say they've seen this customer in here before, but that he's not a regular.
They're hoping he comes back so they can help him get in touch with this mother. |||||
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– It took days of trying, but Chicago mom Mary Graham was able to track down the stranger who saved her son's life in a Subway and took off before she could thank him. Indiana man Patrick Kissane was a customer in the restaurant Tuesday night when Graham's 2-year-old son, Noah, started to choke on a Dorito. "He started to turn blue," Graham tells WGN. "He did one big gasp for air then he stopped breathing and it looked like he was going to pass out." Kissane sprang to the rescue. He took the boy out of his stroller, patting his back and pressing his belly until the rogue piece of Dorito came up. By the time Graham had finished cleaning the little boy up in the bathroom, Kissane was gone. Graham, who wanted to thank Kissane—and pay for cleaning the clothes Noah had vomited on—issued an appeal on social media, reports the Chicago Tribune. Days later, she spoke to CBS 2. Kissane's best friend called the station after seeing the story. They met so that she, Noah, and the rest of the family could thank him in person. He wouldn't take her money, but she gave him a Subway gift card, and a picture of Noah with the message: "I smile on, because you care. Thank you for being my guardian angel." Kissane says: "If I'm ever feeling down, I can take a look at that and it’ll definitely bring me right back up." He says he has no formal emergency training, but he has picked up a few things from his dad, a physical therapist. (Over the weekend, tragedy struck when a man died after choking during an eating contest.)
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The parents of a teen vandal from Jiangsu province have apologized to the public for the graffiti their son scratched on a stone sculpture in an ancient temple in Egypt, which triggered an online uproar as Internet users dubbed it a "loss of face" for all Chinese people.
Graffiti on the defaced Egyptian artifact says "Ding Jinhao was here". provided to china daily
A micro blogger found the Chinese characters carved on a cameo at the Luxor Temple, one of Egypt's most renowned archaeological sites, in early May. The characters say "Ding Jinhao was here".
The micro blog, posted on Friday night, triggered heated discussion online as the act of vandalism was condemned as being disrespectful to cultural relics.
Ding Jinhao's parents, who live in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, apologized for his behavior on Saturday and asked for forgiveness from the public after angry Internet users discovered and revealed the identity of the young man, aged 14, a middle school student in Nanjing.
"We want to apologize to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China," Ding's mother said in Modern Express, a local newspaper.
Ding has realized the seriousness of his misconduct, according to his mother.
His father said they felt regretful after news about the case was spread online.
Shen, the micro blogger who posted the picture of vandalized relics, visited the Egyptian temple on May 6. "I felt embarrassed. It was my most unhappy moment in Egypt."
He said he hopes the case will remind Chinese tourists to behave while abroad and teach them the importance of protecting cultural relics.
The bad manners of some Chinese tourists, which include spitting and littering, have featured prominently in the media in recent years.
In March 2009, a retired man from Changzhou, Jiangsu province, carved his name on a rock in Taiwan's Yehliu Geopark, which triggered intense criticism.
In February, a tourist carved his name on a large cauldron in Beijing's Palace Museum. Failing to find the culprit, one of the museum's staff posted a picture of the vandalized cauldron online.
Chen Xu, a researcher from the China Tourism Academy, said the Tourism Law, which will take effect in October, will force some Chinese tourists to behave properly at tourist sites, but in the long run the key is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural relics and proper manners.
"Travel agencies and guides should also be responsible for preventing tourists from vandalizing cultural relics," he said.
Ye Qianrong, a professor of Chinese studies at Tokai University in Japan, said Chinese tourists' practice of writing their names at tourist sites could date back to the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), when many young students wrote their names in many places.
Ye, who hails from China, said the lack of education for good manners in schools and families is also to blame. ||||| Story highlights An image of the graffiti when viral on weibo
Netizens tracked down the offender in a single day
Parents have told local media they take full responsibility
Parents of a 15-year-old Chinese tourist have apologized after the teenager defaced a stone sculpture in an ancient Egyptian temple with graffiti.
The act drew ire in both Egypt and China -- generating a massive online backlash amongst China's unforgiving netizens.
The vandal carved 'Ding Jinhao was here' in Chinese in the 3,500 year old Luxor Temple.
This was photographed by an embarrassed Chinese traveler and shared on weibo, China's micro-blogging site on May 24.
"The saddest moment in Egypt. I'm so embarrassed that I want to hide myself. I said to the Egyptian tour guide,'I'm really sorry,'" that traveler wrote on the original weibo post.
"We want to wipe off the marking with a towel. But we can't use water since it is a 3,500 relic."
JUST WATCHED Backlash against Chinese tourists Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Backlash against Chinese tourists 03:51
JUST WATCHED When will tourists return to Egypt? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH When will tourists return to Egypt? 04:47
JUST WATCHED Tourism takes a hit in Egypt Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tourism takes a hit in Egypt 02:45
It didn't take long -- actually, just a day -- before outraged netizens tracked down Ding in Nanjing.
Slammed online and exposed further in the mainstream, Ding's parents quickly contacted media outlets.
"We want to apologize to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China," Ding's mother said in a China Daily report.
Ding's parents said they shouldered the responsibility of what their son did, adding he had learned his lesson.
World's unfriendliest nations for tourists
The original weibo post was re-tweeted almost 90,000 times, received over 18,000 comments and was widely distributed across local media.
"Reading this disastrous news this morning is heartbreaking. I despise this behavior, especially in Egypt -- the place I love. Now, I just want to say 'Sorry' to Egypt," commented weibo user "Net bug jing jing."
"It's a disgrace to our entire race!" said another angry micro-blogger.
Tourism in Egypt: Hope amid slow recovery
In a state-run Xinhua media report, one of the agency's photographers said local Egyptian staff had worked to try to clean the sculpture. While there was some improvement, the graffiti could not be totally removed.
Outbound Chinese tourism has expanded rapidly in recent years. In 2012, Chinese overtook Americans and Germans as the world's top international tourism spenders, with 83 million people spending a record US$102 billion on international tourism.
That growth has brought with it a backlash in some industry sectors. (See our report on Chinese tourism: The good, the bad and the backlash)
Earlier this month, Beijing called on its nation's tourists to improve their behavior, with Vice Premier Wang Yang stating it was important to project a good image of Chinese tourists.
Chinese travelers the world's biggest spenders ||||| Image caption Ding Jinhao's parents apologised for the graffiti at a temple in Egypt
The exposure of a Chinese teenager who vandalised an Ancient Egyptian artwork has led to a wave of anger among China's internet users.
On Friday a microblogger posted a photo of graffiti at a Luxor temple complex saying: "Ding Jinhao was here."
A 15-year-old boy from Nanjing was then named and his date of birth and school were posted online, reports say.
His parents have apologised to a local newspaper, saying they are sorry for his actions, Chinese media say.
Luxor, on the bank of the Nile, is home to a large temple complex, built by Amenhotep III, who lived in the 14th Century BC, and later by Rameses II.
The graffiti was found carved on an ancient stone relief by a tourist named Shen, who visited Luxor three weeks ago. After he posted it on his Sina Weibo microblogging account, more than 100,000 net users commented.
'Too much pressure'
"We want to apologise to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China," Mr Ding's mother told local newspaper Modern Express on Saturday.
She added that the teenager, now a middle school student in Nanjing, committed the act when he was younger and had realised the seriousness of his actions.
Ding Jinhao's father also appealed for the public to let his son be, saying: "This is too much pressure for him to take."
The boy's identification led to the hacking of his primary school's website, the Global Times newspaper said.
The incident comes as another example of the growing phenomenon of Chinese internet users exposing private information about those perceived to have done wrong.
In recent months a number of officials have been felled or shamed by information made public via microblogs.
Egypt's ministry of antiquities was quoted as saying the damage to the temple wall was superficial and measures were being taken to restore it.
But this latest controversy comes days after Wang Yang, one of China's four vice-premiers, said on 17 May that the "uncivilised behaviour" of some Chinese tourists was harming the country's image.
Chinese tourists spent $102bn (£67bn) overseas last year, up 40% on the year before, and the UN World Tourism Organisation says China is now the single biggest source of global tourism income. |||||
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– A 15-year-old Chinese boy's scrawled note on an ancient Egyptian sculpture has sparked international ire. Tens of thousands of Chinese micro-bloggers re-posted an image of the graffiti in the Luxor Temple, which read, "Ding Jinhao was here," CNN reports. "I'm so embarrassed that I want to hide myself," wrote the Chinese tourist who took the photo of the graffiti during a May 6 visit; he posted the image online on Friday. Soon, Internet users had figured out Ding's location in Nanjing; they posted his birthdate and school online, the BBC reports, and his school's website was hacked. Now, his parents have apologized "to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China," China Daily reports. The teen's mother says he tagged the 3,500-year-old temple (in the BBC's words) "when he was younger," and the parents added that their son has learned his lesson. His father called on people to stop hounding the boy: "This is too much pressure for him to take." Just days ago, a top Chinese official called for better behavior among Chinese tourists, the BBC notes.
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Here is a news article: Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| A group of nuns in Stone Park are suing a strip club. They say the club is operating illegally close to a place of worship. (Posted June 17, 2014)
A group of nuns is suing to shut down a strip club next to their convent in Stone Park that the sisters say keeps them awake at night.
The Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo Scalabrinians say in the suit that Club Allure has ruined their peace with blinking neon lights and loud thumping music. The nuns say they have witnessed drunken fights and found condoms littering the area.
The suit, filed against the club and the village of Stone Park, states that the club violates a state law against operating adult entertainment within 1,000 feet of a school or place of worship. The club is also near houses, and three neighbors have joined the suit.
“I think most people would find that offensive, to put a strip club next to a home for sisters,” said Peter Breen, attorney for the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm that filed the suit on behalf of the nuns.
The suit was filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court. The club opened last fall, but attorneys said the nuns were not properly notified.
Dean Krone, an attorney for the village of Stone Park, said the state law is unconstitutional because it is overly broad by prohibiting such uses within 1 mile of houses of worship.
That would eliminate any site in the tiny village from hosting a strip club, but under the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of expression, Krone said, the courts have generally ruled that municipalities may not put blanket bans on strip clubs.
The fight over the club has been raging for years. Village Board members initially denied a strip club proposed by the same ownership in 2009, Krone said, but when the owners sued, the village settled the suit by allowing the club.
The suit is more about moral views than lights or noise, according to Robert Itzkow, who said he used to be the club's owner and is now its attorney.
“This is an ideological dispute,” he said.
The club is soundproofed and keeps lighting and deliveries in the front to avoid bothering neighbors, he said. The club is next to a container yard and a recycling dump, in an area zoned for adult entertainment and in a village known for strip clubs.
Itzkow said the business improved the area by replacing vacant warehouses and generating jobs and tax revenue.
Club Allure's website advertises it as “Chicago's Premier Adult Playground.”
Part of the convent is in the neighboring village of Melrose Park, also a plaintiff in the suit. The convent is home to about 20 women, Breen said, and includes three chapels and holds Sunday services open to the public.
[email protected]
Twitter @Robert McCoppin ||||| Melrose Park Joins Nuns and Families in Suing Stone Park over Strip Club Thomas More Society to file suit this week
Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333,
CHICAGO, June 10, 2014 /
"Strip clubs don't belong next to convents and single-family homes," said Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel of the Thomas More Society. "We are dedicated to standing up for the rights of the Sisters, residents, and the people of Melrose Park, all of whom have been suffering disruption and damage from this strip club in their backyards."
The state of Illinois has a 1,000 foot buffer zoning law which forbids strip clubs from being placed within 1,000 feet of a place of worship. However, the Village of Stone Park allowed the $3 million "Club Allure" strip club to open in September, 2013, immediately adjacent to the Sister's convent, which itself houses three places of worship.
The Thomas More Society is preparing to file suit against Stone Park and the "Get It"/"Club Allure" strip club this week. Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, [email protected] CHICAGO, June 10, 2014 / Christian Newswire / -- Last night, the Melrose Park Village Board voted to retain the Thomas More Society as legal counsel and join the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo and other Melrose Park residents in suing the Village of Stone Park and "Get It"/"Club Allure," a strip club that opened in the Sisters' backyard. The suit will allege that the placement of the strip club violates Illinois zoning law."Strip clubs don't belong next to convents and single-family homes," said Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel of the Thomas More Society. "We are dedicated to standing up for the rights of the Sisters, residents, and the people of Melrose Park, all of whom have been suffering disruption and damage from this strip club in their backyards."The state of Illinois has a 1,000 foot buffer zoning law which forbids strip clubs from being placed within 1,000 feet of a place of worship. However, the Village of Stone Park allowed the $3 million "Club Allure" strip club to open in September, 2013, immediately adjacent to the Sister's convent, which itself houses three places of worship.The Thomas More Society is preparing to file suit against Stone Park and the "Get It"/"Club Allure" strip club this week. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– A group of nuns in a tiny Illinois town is suing a $3 million strip club that opened in September behind their backyard garden for being unlawfully close to a place of worship. The Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo—who say in their suit they've suffered through Club Allure's blinking neon lights "every weekday and weekend ... until dawn," boozy fights, discarded condoms and syringes, and the noise pollution that tends to accompany said debauchery—argue that the club violates a state law designed to keep adult entertainment at least 1,000 feet from a school or place of worship; their convent houses three such places of worship. The suit is being filed on the nuns' behalf by the Thomas More Society and takes aim at the strip club and the Village of Stone Park. The village actually denied the club owners' initial strip club proposal in 2009, but was sued and capitulated to avoid exorbitant legal fees. Now, the town finds itself on the other side of the legal battle, and its attorney tells the Chicago Tribune that the state law is unconstitutional because its broadness would actually prohibit any adult entertainment site in the entire village, which would conflict with rulings that municipalities can't initiate wholesale bans on strip clubs and thus deny First Amendment freedom of expression. But senior counsel for the Thomas More Society puts it plainly in a news release: "Strip clubs don't belong next to convents and single-family homes." (Click to read about a chemistry teacher's class field trip to a strip club.)
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Write a summary based on this article:
The number of people using marijuana has more than doubled since 2001, a new study found.
Published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, the report states that nearly 10 percent of adults across the country inhaled or ingested marijuana in 2013. That compares with 4 percent in 2001.
The percentage of people reporting dependence or abuse of marijuana also doubled, from 1.5 percent in 2001 to nearly 3 percent in 2013. Among users, the report found that three out of every 10 people or nearly 7 million Americans have an abuse or addiction problem.
"While many in the United States think prohibition of recreational marijuana should be ended, this study and others suggest caution and the need for public education about the potential harms in marijuana use, including the risk for addiction," the report said.
A total of 23 states now have medical marijuana laws and four states, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Alaska, allow recreational use. Polls show that more Americans favor legalization than in the past and that few see marijuana as risky, the report said.
However, studies have shown that consumption or early use of marijuana is associated with a range of outcomes, including cognitive decline, psychosocial impairments, vehicle crashes, emergency department visits, psychiatric symptoms and poor quality of life, use of other drugs and addiction problems, the report said.
The study compared face-to-face interviews of more than 40,000 adults in 2001 with a similar survey of more than 36,000 adults in 2013.
The biggest increases in abuse and dependence problems was found among people middle aged or older, women, blacks, Hispanics and people living in the South.
The report noted that many people who use marijuana don't become addicted, just like with alcohol. But with a 30 percent chance of abuse or dependence, the number of people suffering from addiction problems with marijuana is likely to keep going up with the number of users, the report said.
-- Lynne Terry
[email protected]
@LynnePDX ||||| The number of adults using marijuana more than doubled in recent years, according to new research culling data from two massive surveys.
In 2001, just 4.1 percent of adults said they used marijuana. That increased to 9.5 percent by 2013. The findings were published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.
Researchers also found that marijuana abuse or dependence increased during that 12-year time frame, likely because the overall number of adults using increased so much.
[Why college students are now smoking more pot than cigarettes]
Increased marijuana use came during roughly the same timeframe that Americans' attitudes about legalizing the drug shifted; less than one-third of Americans were in favor of legalizing marijuana in 2002, while a majority favored legalization in 2013, according to the Pew Research Center.
Starting in 2012, states began legalizing small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use; it's now legal in four states and the District of Columbia. And medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states and the District, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Lead study author Deborah Hasin, a professor of epidemiology in psychiatry at Columbia University, said she's been particularly interested in tracking usage trends "given all the changes in attitudes and changes in laws."
The coverage of marijuana in PSAs, politics and pop culture has evolved quite a bit since the 1960s. See how the messages about pot have changed as much as the faces delivering them, from Sonny Bono to Barack Obama. (Gillian Brockell contributed to this video) (Kate M. Tobey/The Washington Post)
But it's unclear what's behind such a dramatic increase in marijuana use. "We showed that it happened," Hasin said. "Now, the thing that really needs to be researched is the why."
"You can speculate that Americans are increasingly viewing marijuana as a harmless substance... or laws are changing," she added. "But we don't really know until you do good, empirical studies on what factors are really influencing it."
[One surprising downside of marijuana legalization: major energy use]
Researchers analyzed two rounds of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions; in the 2001-2002 round, 43,093 people participated, while 36,309 participated in the 2012-2013 round.
In addition to marijuana use, participants answered other questions that helped determine whether they also experienced use disorder, such as: did they continue using marijuana despite it causing trouble with friends and family, or physical or psychological problems; did they try and fail to cut down despite repeated attempts; and did they repeatedly drive under the influence.
According to the findings, use disorder among users did decrease slightly. About three out of every 10 marijuana users experienced abuse or dependency, representing approximately 6.8 million Americans.
Hasin said it's important to present information "in a balanced way" about the risks associated with marijuana use.
[A majority favors marijuana legalization for first time]
"While many in the United States think prohibition of recreational marijuana should be ended, this study and others suggest caution and the need for public education about the potential harms in marijuana use, including the risk for addiction," the authors write. "As is the case with alcohol, many individuals can use marijuana without becoming addicted. However, the clear risk for marijuana use disorders among users (approximately 30 percent) suggests that as the number of U.S. users grows, so will the numbers of those experiencing problems related to such use."
Read more:
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The latest study about antioxidants is terrifying. Scientists think they may boost cancer cells to spread faster.
White wines may be just as good for you as red (in some ways, at least)
SPECIAL REPORT: Billionaire Paul Allen's quest to build an artificial brain
For more health news, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter here. ||||| Importance Laws and attitudes toward marijuana in the United States are becoming more permissive but little is known about whether the prevalence rates of marijuana use and marijuana use disorders have changed in the 21st century.
Objective To present nationally representative information on the past-year prevalence rates of marijuana use, marijuana use disorder, and marijuana use disorder among marijuana users in the US adult general population and whether this has changed between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013.
Design, Setting, and Participants Face-to-face interviews conducted in surveys of 2 nationally representative samples of US adults: the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (data collected April 2001-April 2002; N = 43 093) and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions–III (data collected April 2012-June 2013; N = 36 309). Data were analyzed March through May 2015.
Main Outcomes and Measures Past-year marijuana use and DSM-IV marijuana use disorder (abuse or dependence).
Results The past-year prevalence of marijuana use was 4.1% (SE, 0.15) in 2001-2002 and 9.5% (SE, 0.27) in 2012-2013, a significant increase (P < .05). Significant increases were also found across demographic subgroups (sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, income, urban/rural, and region). The past-year prevalence of DSM-IV marijuana use disorder was 1.5% (0.08) in 2001-2002 and 2.9% (SE, 0.13) in 2012-2013 (P < .05). With few exceptions, increases in the prevalence of marijuana use disorder between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013 were also statistically significant (P < .05) across demographic subgroups. However, the prevalence of marijuana use disorder among marijuana users decreased significantly from 2001-2002 (35.6%; SE, 1.37) to 2012-2013 (30.6%; SE, 1.04).
Conclusions and Relevance The prevalence of marijuana use more than doubled between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013, and there was a large increase in marijuana use disorders during that time. While not all marijuana users experience problems, nearly 3 of 10 marijuana users manifested a marijuana use disorder in 2012-2013. Because the risk for marijuana use disorder did not increase among users, the increase in prevalence of marijuana use disorder is owing to an increase in prevalence of users in the US adult population. Given changing laws and attitudes toward marijuana, a balanced presentation of the likelihood of adverse consequences of marijuana use to policy makers, professionals, and the public is needed. |||||
Summary:
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– The number of people using marijuana has more than doubled since 2001, according to a report published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, which found the number of people reporting addiction or abuse of pot nearly doubled as well. The study—based on National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions interviews with approximately 40,000 people in 2001 and 2013—found the number of marijuana users went from 4.1% to 9.5%, and the number of people reporting problems with marijuana use went from 1.5% to 2.9%. "While many in the United States think prohibition of recreational marijuana should be ended, this study and others suggest caution and the need for public education about the potential harms in marijuana use, including the risk for addiction," the report states. The Oregonian reports the study found that 30% of marijuana users found themselves abusing or dependent on the drug. According to the Washington Post, that's defined as continuing to use pot despite trouble with family and friends, trying and failing to cut back on pot use, repeatedly driving while high, and more. Psychiatry professor Deborah Hasin, who led the study, says she doesn't know the reason for the increase in use and abuse. "You can speculate that Americans are increasingly viewing marijuana as a harmless substance ... or laws are changing," she says. The report's findings contradict a National Survey on Drug Use and Health study that found marijuana use only increased 12% from 2002 to 2012 and that marijuana abuse and addiction actually decreased over that time.
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"Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver questioned actor Dustin Hoffman at a Tribeca Film panel on Dec. 4 about sexual harassment allegations made against him. (The Washington Post)
NEW YORK — HBO host John Oliver hammered Dustin Hoffman about allegations of sexual harassment and the actor fired back with a ferocious defense, as a seemingly benign screening became an explosive conversation about Hollywood sexual misconduct on Monday night.
“This is something we’re going to have to talk about because … it’s hanging in the air,” Oliver said to Hoffman at the discussion, an anniversary screening of the film “Wag the Dog.” He was alluding to an allegation made by Anna Graham Hunter last month that Hoffman groped her and made inappropriate comments when she was a 17-year-old intern on the set of the 1985 TV movie “Death of a Salesman.”
“It’s hanging in the air?” Hoffman said. “From a few things you’ve read, you’ve made an incredible assumption about me,” he noted, adding sarcastically, “You’ve made the case better than anyone else can. I’m guilty.”
The “Last Week Tonight” personality was moderating a 20th-anniversary screening panel at the 92nd Street Y on behalf of the Tribeca Institute, with stars Hoffman, Robert De Niro, producer Jane Rosenthal and director Barry Levinson on the stage. About halfway through the hour-long talk, Oliver brought up the issue to Hoffman, saying he found the actor’s statements about the matter wanting. Nearly the entire rest of the discussion was then dominated by Oliver, Hoffman and the subject of sexual harassment.
Hoffman had offered a conditional apology at the time of the allegation, and on Monday he underscored an “if” included in that statement, noting several times that he didn’t really believe he had done anything wrong. He said that he had not engaged in groping, that he didn’t recall meeting Graham Hunter and that all his comments on set were simply how members of “a family” talked to one another.
“I still don’t know who this woman is,” Hoffman said. “I never met her; if I met her, it was in concert with other people.”
[Ballet chief Peter Martins under investigation after sexual harassment allegations]
Oliver dismissed that as insufficient, then cited Hoffman’s response at the time of the allegation that the actor’s behavior on set was “not reflective of” who he really is.
“It’s ‘not reflective of who I am’ — it’s that kind of response to this stuff that pisses me off,” Oliver said. “It is reflective of who you were. If you’ve given no evidence to show it didn’t [happen] then there was a period of time for a while when you were a creeper around women. It feels like a cop-out to say ‘It wasn’t me.’ Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?”
Hoffman accused Oliver of “putting me on display” and said he felt blindsided because neither Oliver nor Tribeca organizers had told him that the moderator would raise the subject.
Several times, however, Oliver sought to move on and talk about the film, but Hoffman returned to the subject of harassment, growing testy as he said Oliver was not keeping an “open mind” while unquestionably believing accusers.
“Do you believe this stuff you read?” Hoffman asked.
“Yes,” Oliver replied. “Because there’s no point in [an accuser] lying.”
“Well, there’s a point in her not bringing it up for 40 years,” Hoffman said.
“Oh, Dustin,” Oliver said disapprovingly, putting his head in his hand.
At one point, Rosenthal tried to jump in and defuse the situation.
“You also have the way men and women worked together [in the past]; you are in a situation where ‘that was then, this is now,’” Rosenthal said. “[And] what difference is all this going to make? … This conversation doesn’t do any good. We have a platform here. How are we moving [the issue] forward?”
Oliver, though, said he felt it was imperative to talk about it. “This isn’t fun for me,” the TV personality noted. “[But] there’s an elephant in the room because, this particular incident, a conversation has not been had.” He noted that the film they were gathering to discuss, “Wag The Dog,” dealt with sexual misconduct by a powerful man.
Rosenthal then said of the film, “It wasn’t produced by Weinstein or Miramax…Kevin Spacey wasn’t starring in it. Let’s look at real sexual criminal predators.”
“That’s a low bar,” Oliver retorted.
The back-and-forth mainly centered on the Graham Hunter allegations, and also at times invoked an accusation by Hoffman’s “The Graduate” co-star Katharine Ross that he had groped her on the set of the classic film. It did not manifestly address another claim, by the writer Wendy Riss Gatsiounis, that Hoffman had propositioned her inappropriately in a pitch meeting in 1991.
The showdown happened as sexual harassment issues continue to roil the entertainment world, with a growing number of men falling under suspicion and being held to account, often publicly. The exchange, however, marked a rarity in the post-Harvey Weinstein era, which has seen accused harassers generally offer short statements in response to allegations, if they respond at all. Very few have engaged in long public conversations about it, and almost none have sounded as defiant as Hoffman did Monday night.
After the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, more women and men have come forward against a growing list of well-known male figures with similar stories of harassment and assault. (Erin Patrick O'Connor,Nicki DeMarco/The Washington Post)
The conversation grew increasingly angry as it wore on. When Hoffman began talking about his long career, Oliver interjected with “Oh, Jesus.”
“So now I can’t even finish a sentence?” Hoffman asked.
Hoffman also cited “Tootsie” as evidence of his feminist bona fides.
“I would not have made that movie if I didn’t have an incredible respect for women,” Hoffman said. “The theme of the movie is he became a better man by having been a woman.”
He said he had an awakening of sorts when, dressed as a woman for that film, he was ignored by some men on the set. “I said when I came home to my wife that I never realized men were that were brutal, that men are that obvious,” Hoffman recounted. “They didn’t find me attractive and they just erased me.”
He added, “What makes me sad is that I grew up in an environment in which we were taught to want the girls on the covers of magazines, the models, and I said to my wife ‘Look at how many interesting women I passed up … look at how many women were erased by me because of the generation I was born.’ That was a very strong reason for me wanting to make that movie.
“It’s shocking to me you don’t see me more clearly,” he then said to Oliver. “That you go by a couple of things you read.”
As the panel went on some in the crowd became involved.
“Move on. Let it go,” one woman could be heard shouting to Oliver. She was soon drowned out by other people, one of whom said “Shame on you.” Another yelled to Oliver, “Thank you for believing women,” to loud cheers.
Oliver said that he considered not addressing the subject at what was intended as a genial chat but then decided he bore an obligation.
“I can’t leave certain things unaddressed,” the host said. “The easy way is not to bring anything up. Unfortunately that leaves me at home later at night hating myself. ‘Why the … didn’t I say something? No one stands up to powerful men.’”
“Am I the powerful man?” Hoffman asked.
The actor asked why the questioner wouldn’t hear his side. “Keep a kind of open mind if you can, John.”
“I’m trying,” Oliver said.
“Well I’m trying harder than you are,” Hoffman shot back.
Tensions did not cool throughout the session.
“You weren’t there,” Hoffman said to Oliver about the “Salesman” set.
“I’m glad [I wasn’t],” the host replied.
Read more:
Lobbyist says California lawmaker pursued her into a bathroom and exposed himself
A teen went missing for days — and was found with a soccer coach hundreds of miles from home ||||| In a striking and raw demonstration of the angst that has accumulated over Hollywood’s sexual harassment scandals, HBO host John Oliver sparred with Dustin Hoffman during an awkward 45-minute Q&A intended as a prologue to a 20th-anniversary screening of the film Wag the Dog. (Check out the video of the exchange below, courtesy of the Washington Post.)
Tonight’s event at the 92nd Street Y, a benefit for the Tribeca Film Institute, featured Hoffman, Robert De Niro, producer Jane Rosenthal and director Barry Levinson in an onstage discussion. About half of the talk surfaced somewhat familiar but nonetheless interesting material about the way the film’s sardonic, David Mamet-scripted take on public-image management and politics has gained new relevance during the Trump Era. In other words, typical Q&A material.
Then, about 20 minutes in, Oliver brought up the current climate around sexual harassment in show business, saying he was going to go “around the room” to gauge all panelists’ sentiments. (Later, when Hoffman would complain about having been ambushed, Oliver said it was “on the organizers” for not conveying his stated intention to bring up the ultra-hot-button topic.)
Levinson managed a thoughtful response about the current atmosphere, but it was quickly eclipsed by what followed. Seated next to him was Hoffman, who earlier this fall issued an apology following accusations that he inappropriately touched production assistant Anna Graham Hunter, then 17, during the making of a TV movie version of Death of a Salesman in 1985.
Warning it was “likely to be the tensest part of the evening,” Oliver started in with Hoffman. The tension would linger for 30 agonizing minutes as the two engaged in an anguished back and forth centering on the actor’s deeds and the response to his response to the allegations. “You’ve made one statement in print,” Oliver said. “Does that feel like enough to you?” Hoffman replied, “First of all, it didn’t happen, the way she reported.” He said his apology over the incident, offered, he said, at the insistence of his reps, was widely misconstrued “at the click of a button.” But the Last Week Tonight host seized on the portion of the actor’s public apology, in which Hoffman said the events that happened on set didn’t reflect who he is as a person.
“It’s that part of the response to this stuff that pisses me off,” Oliver said. “It is reflective of who you were. You’ve given no evidence to show that it didn’t happen. There was a period of time when you were a creeper around women. It feels like a cop-out to say, ‘Well, this isn’t me.’ Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?”‘
Hoffman shot back, “You weren’t there.” Oliver responded, “I’m glad,” drawing gasps from the well-heeled audience, many of whom had paid hefty ticket prices. Heightening the spectacle was the fact it was occurring in the Y’s wood-paneled Kaufmann Concert Hall, an august Upper East Side venue that had last seen an uproar like this when John Ashbery dared to read a poem in free verse.
After a two-month exegesis of the industry (and other parts of society) confronting decades of sexual misconduct and abuse, what made this exchange unique was the fact that Hoffman came back energetically at Oliver to both defend his reputation and decry the current climate. Accused perpetrators by the dozens have been issuing statements — or, in extreme cases like Harvey Weinstein’s, engaging in legal maneuvers–but an A-list star revealed in this environment has not responded as vigorously as this.
“You’ve put me on display here,” Hoffman told Oliver, seething but never raising his voice or leaving his seat. “You have indicted me. … That’s not innocent until proven guilty.”
Hoffman tried to put it in historical context, saying sometimes the atmosphere on set decades ago involved sexually charged banter, which he said was not meant in an offensive way. ‘I don’t love that answer either,” Oliver said, cringing. “What response do you want?” Hoffman demanded. “It doesn’t feel self-reflective in the way it seems the incident demands,” Oliver explained, adding, “I get no pleasure from this conversation. But you and I are not the victims here.”
When Oliver quoted from an account Hoffman’s accuser wrote, the actor asked Oliver, incredulous, “Do you believe this stuff you’re reading?” Oliver said he did “because she would have no reason to lie.”
As this went on, the other panelists largely stayed mum. The audience seemed divided — some in the crowd, looking forward to a breezier night re-living a Clintonian satire, took offense at Oliver staying on the issue. “Move on!” one person shouted. “He thinks it’s funny,” sputtered one man as he escorted his wife out of the theatre. Others applauded when Oliver expressed his view. “Thank you for believing women!” one woman called out. The spasms of conflict and accusation were followed by long stretches of silence, during which no one in the theatre knew quite what to do.
Rosenthal at one point decided to enter the conversation, “as the only women here on this panel.” She turned the focus to the larger struggle and issues like pay inequality and the need for more female representation on boards and executive suites. “We’ve got to start moving that conversation forward,” she said, drawing applause. Oliver would not let it go. “We’re about to watch a movie where sexual harassment is an under-plot and there’s an elephant in the room because this conversation is not being had,” he said, explaining his interest in pursuing the topic.
Rosenthal fired back, “It wasn’t produced by Weinstein Co. or Miramax, so you don’t have a really big conversation. Kevin Spacey wasn’t starring in it. Let’s look at real sexual criminal predators.”
After about 15 minutes, Hoffman appeared to have persuaded some in the crowd, but he voluntarily returned to the topic and re-engaged with Oliver. When Levinson and Oliver agreed that social media has distorted politics and culture, Hoffman interjected, “Well, it’s affected you in terms of your feelings about me.” While the audience applauded, the line began a gut-wrenching 15-minute sequence that closed the night.
“The so-called, alleged comments that are made are truth now,” Hoffman fumed. “And if you try to defend it, you’re guilty.” Oliver granted, “I see where you’re coming from,” but insisted, “it’s a little more complicated than that.” Several times, he expressed anxiety over ruining the audience’s night and the experience of watching the film again. And yet, “I can’t leave certain things unaddressed,” Oliver conceded. “That leads to me at home later tonight hating myself, asking, ‘Why the f–k didn’t I say something? No one stands up to powerful men.'” Hoffman asked Levinson, “Am I the powerful man?” Levinson said, “I wasn’t sure what the reference was, which powerful men.”
Hoffman then offered examples of the empathy he had always tried to show for characters and colleagues during his 50-year career. “Have you seen Tootsie?” he asked Oliver at one point. When Oliver insisted that he had and that he enjoyed Hoffman’s performance in it, Hoffman told a detailed story about staying in makeup and costume as Dorothy, the film’s title character, after shooting had ended one night and experiencing misogyny first-hand. “How could I have made that movie if I didn’t have incredible respect for women?” he asked. “It’s shocking to me that you don’t see me more clearly.”
Here’s the exchange: |||||Summary:
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– As far as Dustin Hoffman is concerned, allegations about him sexually harassing a teen assistant on a movie set in the mid-'80s are a whole lot of nothing—but John Oliver made it into something Monday night. Oliver, host of HBO's Last Week Tonight, was moderating a 20th-anniversary screening of Hoffman's movie Wag the Dog in New York City. The panel—which included those two, plus director Barry Levinson, producer Jane Rosenthal, and Robert De Niro—stuck to what Deadline labels "typical Q&A material" and industry talk for the first half of the 45-minute discussion. But then Oliver noted the sexual misconduct claims were "something we're going to have to talk about because ... it's hanging in the air," per the Washington Post. To which a "defiant" Hoffman replied, "It's hanging in the air? From a few things you've read, you've made an incredible assumption about me." "You weren't there," Hoffman continued, to which Oliver replied: "I'm glad." The back-and-forth, which more or less took over the rest of the talk, became "increasingly angry," with Hoffman insisting he didn't recall even meeting his accuser, saying he felt ambushed by both Oliver and event organizers, and pointing to his movie Tootsie as evidence of his "incredible respect for women." "There's no point in [an accuser] lying," Oliver told Hoffman, who answered, "Well, there's a point in her not bringing it up for 40 years." Oliver said that broaching the subject wasn't pleasant for him, but that it was necessary. Audience reaction was mixed, with some chastising Oliver, though one spectator yelled: "Thank you for believing women!" BuzzFeed notes post-panel reaction on the internet leaned mostly Team Oliver, though some say he shouldn't have blindsided Hoffman at this type of event.
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Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney, leaves a restaurant, Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in New York. FBI agents on Monday raided Cohen's home, hotel room and office, seizing records on topics including a $130,000 payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence... (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insisted that all was "very calm and calculated" at the White House, even as he vented Wednesday about the Russia probe, complained about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and served noticed that "nice and new and 'smart'" missiles will be coming down on Syria.
Trump, who was so incensed by the FBI's raid of his personal attorney's office and hotel room that he's privately pondered firing Rosenstein, let loose on Twitter Wednesday against the deputy attorney general and special counsel Robert Mueller. He said the Russia probe was "headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!"
Trump also tweeted: "No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back), so now they do the Unthinkable, and RAID a lawyers office for information! BAD!" And he insisted the White House was "Very calm and calculated."
The raid, in which agents seized attorney Michael Cohen's records on topics including a $130,000 payment to a porn actress who alleges she had sex with Trump, left the president more angry than advisers had seen him in weeks, according to five people familiar with the president's views but not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Nervous White House aides expressed new fears about the president's unpredictability in the face of the Cohen raid, which he viewed as an assault on a longtime defender and a sign that Mueller's probe into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign was "going too far."
House Speaker Paul Ryan, for his part, tried to douse speculation Trump might fire Rosenstein or Mueller, saying: "I have no reason to believe that that's going to happen. I have assurances that it's not." He added that he had been "talking to people in the White House about it."
Trump has canceled plans to attend the Summit of the Americas over the weekend as well as an overnight visit to Colombia, citing the need to monitor the situation in Syria.
But the president had been telling confidants for weeks that he was not eager to make the three-day trip, according to two people who have discussed it with him in recent weeks but were not authorized to disclose the private conversations. And privately, Trump said he didn't want to be away from the White House amid developments in the China trade dispute and in the Mueller investigation.
Trump also expressed confidence in the loyalty displayed by Cohen, his longtime personal and professional fixer, who ascended to one of the most powerful roles at the Trump Organization not filled by a family member. Cohen has steadfastly denied wrongdoing in his $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and has publicly defended Trump, but he has confided in associates that he is fearful of being a fall guy, according to a person familiar with his thinking but not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions.
Cohen has said he took out a personal line of credit on his home to pay Daniels days before the 2016 election and without Trump's knowledge. The raid of his office was overseen by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and based in part on a referral from Mueller.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear that White House officials have explored Trump's authority to fire Mueller.
"He certainly believes that he has the power to do so," she said at Tuesday's press briefing.
Under Justice Department regulations, only Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia investigation, can fire Mueller.
On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of four senators moved to protect Mueller's job.
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey planned to introduce legislation Wednesday that would give any special counsel a 10-day window in which he or she could seek expedited judicial review of a firing, according to two people familiar with the legislation. They were not authorized to discuss the bill ahead of its release and requested anonymity.
Trump spent Monday evening calling associates to vent and gauge their reaction to the news. He bitterly complained that the raids were meant to ruin Cohen's life and expressed frustration that it was another front from which to attack his presidency, according to a person familiar with the conversations but not permitted to discuss them publicly.
Trump also revived his broadsides on Rosenstein as well as Rosenstein's boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom he belittled to confidants for recusing himself from the investigation and, in turn, delivering him to Mueller.
The White House insisted Trump was focused on the response to Syria following the country's apparent use of chemical weapons on civilians over the weekend, killing more than 40 people. A military strike would mark Trump's second retaliatory strike against Syrian President Bashar Assad's government at a time when Trump is seeking to reduce the U.S. footprint in Syria.
The discussions come as Trump's newest national security adviser, John Bolton, stepped into the job this week. He encouraged Trump to skip the trip to South America to manage the Syria strategy.
Bolton, a seasoned bureaucratic operator, has been expected to put his stamp on the National Security Council staff. NSC spokesman Michael Anton resigned over the weekend, with two people familiar with the situation saying Anton resigned after learning he would be fired. Trump's homeland security adviser, Thomas Bossert, exited Tuesday. Bossert had overseen the administration's response to the 2017 hurricane season and was credited by his colleagues for leading the administration's efforts to bolster cybersecurity resiliency across government and private industry.
There is growing concern in Trump's orbit that the turmoil will only continue following the release next week of former FBI director James Comey's book, which promises to reveal new details about his conversations with the president and the Russia probe. An administration official said the White House would largely defer to outside surrogates to push back on Comey, but there was concern as to how the director's interviews could rile up the president.
___
Lemire reported from New York City. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Jill Colvin contributed to this report. ||||| (CNN) President Donald Trump is considering firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , multiple people familiar with the discussions tell CNN, a move that has gained urgency following the raid of the office of the President's personal lawyer .
Such an action could potentially further Trump's goal of trying to put greater limits on special counsel Robert Mueller
This is one of several options -- including going so far as to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- Trump is weighing in the aftermath of the FBI's decision Monday to raid the office of Michael Cohen, the President's personal lawyer and longtime confidant. Officials say if Trump acts, Rosenstein is his most likely target, but it's unclear whether even such a dramatic firing like this would be enough to satisfy the President.
Trump has long been angry at top Justice Department officials, who he feels have not done enough to protect him from Mueller's ongoing probe. But two sources said the raid could mark a tipping point that would prompt the President to take more aggressive action against the special counsel.
But some of Trump's legal advisers are telling him they now have a stronger case against Rosenstein. They believe Rosenstein crossed the line in what he can and cannot pursue. And they consider him conflicted since he is a potential witness in the special counsel's investigation because he wrote the memo that justified firing former FBI Director James Comey. The legal advisers also believe they have successfully argued to the American public that the FBI is tainted and think they can make the same case against Rosenstein.
A senior administration official said the White House has been discussing potential options with key congressional Republican leaders, fearful of "blindsiding them." A person familiar with the conversations says a top congressional Republican advised the White House not to fire Rosenstein.
Democrats preparing
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are preparing for that possibility and huddled Tuesday to talk about what would happen if Trump fired Rosenstein or Sessions. The Democrats discussed immediately calling for document preservation and how to press Republicans to join them.
There's no guarantee that firing Rosenstein would achieve the President's goal of containing Mueller and his probe. Rosenstein's successor overseeing the special counsel's investigation could follow a similar path.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wouldn't say whether Trump has discussed firing Sessions, Mueller or Rosenstein over the last 24 hours.
"I haven't had any conversations with him on that," she said. But she did not close the door, adding: "I can't speak to it beyond that."
She said Trump believes he could fire Mueller if he wanted to.
"He certainly believes he has the power to do so," she said.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
The President's animosity towards Mueller reached its highest point yet on Tuesday, a person familiar with the President's thinking said. One source said Trump views the raid on Cohen, which was executed by US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York and not Mueller, as a ruse and directly related to the special counsel's investigation. According to the source who is familiar with the President's feelings, Trump believes Mueller is "unregulated," with few checks and balances on his conduct.
Other sources who have spoken with the President echoed that sentiment, telling CNN that Trump views the raid on Cohen as Mueller aggressively going after him.
Checking Mueller
Installing a new deputy attorney general could provide the check on Mueller that Trump is seeking. Sessions recused himself last year from all investigations involving the 2016 election, including the special counsel's probe, a decision that continues to infuriate the President. Sessions' decision left Rosenstein in charge of the Mueller probe.
The President, who had already shortened his itinerary for a planned trip to South America and had been grumbling to aides that he had to go at all, is staying behind in Washington in part to decide his next steps on potential changes at the Justice Department, according to a source. Sanders said Trump was staying behind to oversee a response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria over the weekend.
If Trump were to take action against the Justice Department, some associates have advised him that firing Rosenstein could be his most politically palatable move, while others have warned that dismissing Rosenstein could create outrage on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Sessions remains squarely in the President's crosshairs, as he has for much of Trump's presidency. But White House officials continue arguing against firing him out of fear of a backlash from the Senate and a very uncertain confirmation battle for the next attorney general. Trump, ever the unpredictable president, could always fire Sessions, but a host of Republicans and advisers are urging him not to do it, sources tell CNN.
Trump ignored questions about the ongoing legal drama Tuesday. But in a meeting Monday evening with military brass meant to focus on his options for attacking Syria, Trump unleashed on the Cohen raid.
"It's, frankly, a real disgrace," he said without being asked. "It's an attack on our country in a true sense. It's an attack on what we all stand for."
Trump vs. Sessions
JUST WATCHED Trump: Jeff Sessions made a terrible mistake Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump: Jeff Sessions made a terrible mistake 00:59
Trump slammed Sessions for his "terrible mistake" in recusing himself. But it was Rosenstein who Trump faulted by name.
"If you know the person in charge of the investigation, you know about that, Deputy Rosenstein, Rod Rosenstein," Trump said after being asked why he hasn't fired Mueller.
Cohen is deeply connected to Trump and his entanglement in the FBI raid gets as close to the President's inner circle as possible without involving his family.
"Cohen is the closest person to Trump that I have ever met who is not family -- beyond Hope Hicks," a former business associate of Trump's said Monday. "Ever since I have been working with Donald Trump, Michael Cohen has been around."
Trump, according to a source with knowledge of the planning going into the Monday meeting with military brass, was advised not to mention his deliberations over Sessions and Rosenstein beyond expressing general disappointment. But he went off script.
One way Trump is being told he could fire Rosenstein is by blaming his dismissal on the ongoing disagreement between the Justice Department and House Republicans over document production on an array of issues related to how the FBI obtained a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Earlier this year, House Speaker Paul Ryan sided with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes in a meeting with Rosenstein and FBI head Christopher Wray over document production, multiple sources with the knowledge of the situation told CNN at the time.
Top House conservatives have vented their frustration about the process both privately and publicly and Trump responded over the weekend, tweeting that the disagreement is "not looking good" for the Justice Department.
Lawmakers of the House Judiciary Committee are angrily accusing the Department of Justice of missing the Thursday Deadline for turning over UNREDACTED Documents relating to FISA abuse, FBI, Comey, Lynch, McCabe, Clinton Emails and much more. Slow walking - what is going on? BAD! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2018
"Lawmakers of the House Judiciary Committee are angrily accusing the Department of Justice of missing the Thursday Deadline for turning over UNREDACTED Documents relating to FISA abuse, FBI, Comey, Lynch, McCabe, Clinton Emails and much more. Slow walking - what is going on? BAD," he wrote. "What does the Department of Justice and FBI have to hide?"
The Justice Department named Chicago's top federal prosecutor, US attorney John Lausch, to oversee the FBI's production of documents on Monday, hoping that the change would speed up the process and satisfy the Republican lawmakers. But the issue has yet to be fully resolved and the disagreement has played out in conservative media, primarily Fox News, likely drawing the attention of their most powerful viewer: the President. |||||
Write a summary.
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– President Donald Trump insisted that all was "very calm and calculated" at the White House, even as he vented Wednesday about the Russia probe and complained about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the AP reports. Trump, who was so incensed by the FBI's raid of his personal attorney's office and hotel room that he's privately pondered firing Rosenstein, let loose on Twitter Wednesday against the deputy attorney general and special counsel Robert Mueller. He said the Russia probe was "headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!" Trump also tweeted: "No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back), so now they do the Unthinkable, and RAID a lawyers office for information! BAD!" And he insisted the White House was "Very calm and calculated." The raid, in which agents seized attorney Michael Cohen's records on topics including a $130,000 payment to a porn actress who alleges she had sex with Trump, left the president more angry than advisers had seen him in weeks, according to five people familiar with the president's views but not authorized to discuss them publicly. Nervous White House aides expressed new fears about the president's unpredictability in the face of the Cohen raid, which he viewed as an assault on a longtime defender and a sign that Mueller's probe into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign was "going too far." Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear that White House officials have explored Trump's authority to fire Mueller. "He certainly believes that he has the power to do so," she said at Tuesday's press briefing. Under Justice Department regulations, only Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia investigation, can fire Mueller. Multiple sources have also told CNN Trump is considering firing Rosenstein.
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– Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh alarmed human rights activists last week when he vowed to quickly execute all of the nation's prisoners on death row. Amnesty International is now worried that he's started making good on the threat, reports Voice of America. Nine inmates were killed late Thursday, the first executions in the West African country in 27 years, and the rights group says more could come in the next few days. It's not clear how many inmates are on death row, but most wire accounts put the number at least 47 at the time of Jammeh's announcement. Amnesty called on him to "reverse the giant leap backward" and call off any more hangings. Treason is a capital offense in Gambia, and critics fear that Jammeh will use it an excuse to get rid of political opponents, reports AP.
Let's expand this into a news article: Gambia has executed nine convicted criminals, the Civil Society Associations reported Saturday as Amnesty International warned that dozens more on death-row are under imminent threat as the West African nation carries out its first death sentences in 27 years.
President Yaya Jammeh vowed earlier this month to execute all inmates sentenced to death "to ensure that criminals get what they deserve, that is, those who killed are killed and those who deserve to be put away from the society are put away from the society in accordance with the law."
A government statement issued late Friday night said "All persons on death row have been tried by the Gambian courts of competent jurisdiction and thereof convicted and sentenced to death in accordance with the law. They have exhausted all their legal rights of appeal as provided by the law."
It added "the peace and stability of our beloved nation as regards to protection of the lives, liberty and property of individuals must at all cost be preserved and jealously guarded."
Eight men and one woman were removed from their prison cells Friday night and executed, London-based Amnesty reported, quoting "credible sources." It said two of those executed are believed to be foreigners from Senegal.
A barrage of protests met the move, with expressions of shock coming from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the French and Nigerian governments and human rights groups.
It was not clear how the prisoners were executed, but Gambia's constitution says executions should be by hanging. "What is however clear is that inmates were rounded up at 9.30 p.m. Thursday August 23 and that by the morning of August 24, the bodies were actually lying in the Mile Two Prison yard," the Civil Society Associations of Gambia reported.
Amnesty warned "more persons are under threat of imminent executions today and in the coming days."
Amnesty said the executions are the first in Gambia since 1987. Gambia reinstated the death penalty in 1995 but had not executed anyone, former minister Omar Jallow has told The Associated Press.
Amnesty said there were 47 inmates on death row before Friday's executions: government figures put the number at 42 men and two women and another three men reportedly also received the death sentence this year.
Capital punishment can be imposed in Gambia for murder and treason. Three of those reportedly executed had been sentenced for treason, Amnesty said. It's not known how many of those on death row have been sentenced for alleged coup-plotting, a treasonable offense that could indicate Jammeh is using the executions to get rid of political opponents.
Jammeh was reelected in November in elections that were "neither free nor fair," according to the U.S. State Department. Its annual human rights report criticized "the government's harassment and abuse of its critics, which resulted in a muzzled press and the death, torture, arrest and detention, and sometimes enforced disappearance of citizens."
Amnesty called the executions, if confirmed, "a hugely retrograde step" putting Gambia among a minority of African states that still impose the death penalty. Thirty-eight of the 54 members of the African Union have abolished the death penalty or, if it is still in their law books, do not perform executions, Amnesty International said. ||||| There are now conflicting accounts whether authorities in The Gambia have executed nine prisoners, as reported by Amnesty International.Amnesty said Friday that according to "reliable sources," nine death-row inmates were taken from their cells the night before and executed.A group called the Civil Society Associations of Gambia says on its website that it confirmed the executions, and that on Friday morning the bodies were seen lying in the yard of the Mile Two Central Prison.However, the president of a rights group in neighboring Senegal tells says that "so far, nobody was executed."Alioune Tine, president of the African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights, says his information comes from Gambian opposition members and journalists and the foreign ministers of The Gambia and Benin.A Gambian government statement late Friday defended the country's death-penalty laws, but neither confirmed nor denied any executions had taken place.If confirmed, the executions would be first in the tiny West African nation in more than a quarter-century.President Yahya Jammeh said earlier this week that he will ensure that the death penalty is "carried out to the letter" by mid-September for all condemned prisoners.Government officials have confirmed the president's statement, but have not discussed any individual cases. Before Thursday, it was believed that Gambian courts had handed down death sentences for 47 imprisoned men and women - many of whom had been charged with treason.Amnesty International is appealing to Jammeh to reverse the "giant leap backwards" he took by ordering the execution of all prisoners already sentenced to death.News reports say the African Union and Britain also urged Jammeh to call off the executions. Without responding directly, authorities in Banjul have stressed that all condemned prisoners have already exhausted their judicial rights of appeal.One account said two of those executed were Senegalese.The Gambia is a small sliver of land surrounded by Senegal, except where the Gambia River empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Banjul, the capital.President Jammeh has ruled the country since seizing power in military coup in 1994. His administration has been accused of many human-rights abuses.The Gambia outlawed capital punishment decades ago, but Jammeh reinstated the death penalty in 1995. However, there had been no reports of executions until now.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. |||||
– Mel Gibson has been spotted around Hollywood with a young, attractive aspiring musician who's not from around here—no, not Oksana Grigorieva. New galpal Nadia Lanfranconi does resemble Oksana, though, the New York Post notes, but she's from Italy, not Russia. Gibson denies the two are romantically involved, but he was seen giving her a shoulder massage at a restaurant over the weekend. TMZ notes that Lanfranconi, who moved to the US in 2007, did a modeling campaign for "F Me" jeans last year. (The classily-named pants feature an extremely low waistline.) Fox News adds that Lanfranconi also models in magazines, plays small musical gigs, and is releasing an album.
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Let's expand this into a news article: Mel Gibson's Hot New 'Friend' Has 'F' Me Written All Over
EXCLUSIVE
has a brand new female companion -- she's hot ... she's foreign ... and she came thiiis close to showing her vagina in a modeling campaign for a company called "F Me" jeans.The pretty lady -- who accompanied Mel to The Grove in L.A. this past weekend -- is... an aspiring musician who moved to the U.S. from Italy back in 2007.Mel and Nadia have been spending a lot of time together recently ... they even went to a sushi dinner earlier this month.Of course, we all know Mel loves aspiring foreign musicians ... but we're told Mel and Nadia are NOT in a serious dating relationship.Too bad ... 'cause Nadia showed off the goods during a campaign for "F Me" jeans last year ... a company that makes clothing featuring a waistline that plunges dangerously close to the female reproductive organs. ||||| Mel Gibson has a new musical girlfriend.
Fairly fresh off of perhaps one of the most disturbing break-ups in celebrity history with the mther of his youngest daughter, Russian pianist Okasana Grigorieva, Gibson has been spotted squiring aspiring Italian singer-songwriter Nadia Lanfranconi about town.
Gibson, 56, has denied to the two are an item, but The Post reports the "Mad Max" star was spotted over the weekend seriously massaging her shoulders at a West Hollywood restaurant.
In addition to her musical pursuits, the attractive Lafranconi also models for magazines and the denim brand "F Me."
She also appeared on a 2008 cover of the magazine D.A.M. (we never heard of it either), and according to her MySpace page, plays regular gigs at various smaller venues.
Maybe Mel met he while sipping a decaf latte at his local Bohemian coffee house? (Advice to Lafranconi: keep Mel on the decaf.)
One other tidbit: Lanfranconi's website says she has an album coming out soon called "Bad Story."
Let's hope her new life does not imitate her art. |||||
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Here is a news article: Mildred Baena Describes Maria Shriver's Reaction to Love Child News
When Joseph Baena, now 13, first learned from his mother, housekeeper Mildred Baena , that his father was Arnold Schwarzenegger , the boy's reaction was simple. "Cool!" he said.Mildred met with a different – though surprisingly compassionate – response from Schwarzenegger's then-wife , Maria Shriver, the 50-year-old Baena tells Hello! magazine , which just hit newsstands in the U.K., in an exclusive interview.Shriver, says Baena, was among many people who noticed the resemblance between young Joseph and the now-former governor of California. Baena worked for Schwarzenegger and Shriver for 20 years."Last summer, I brought Joseph over to the house. Until then, he hadn't been around very much," says Baena. "After that, people in the house started whispering about how much they looked like each other."That included the lady of the house."Maria would ask if I needed to talk to her, and I kept saying no. Finally, she asked point blank. Maria asked me directly if Joseph was Arnold's son, and I just broke down. I dropped to my knees and I was crying, saying that yes he was and I was so sorry," Baena says in the interview.Hearing the news, "She cried with me and told me to get off my knees," Baena says of Shriver."Since I was retiring soon, I said I would pack and leave right away," says Baena, "but she said to stay until after the holidays."And Schwarzenegger's reaction? Baena, who says she never told Arnold that Joseph was his, can only speculate. Still, she says: "He's a good man and I know he's suffering too. He loves Maria. I hope with time they work things out." ||||| HELLO! exclusive: Mildred Baena, the housekeeper who had a child with Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks out for the first time
14 JUNE 2011
When it was revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger had a 13-year-old child with a trusted member of the family’s domestic staff, the world let out a collective gasp.
The mother, housekeeper Mildred Baena, has since been in hiding.
But with fictitious stories circulating in the media, she has decided to set the record straight, and is giving what will be her first and only interview exclusively to HELLO! magazine.
Photo: © David Schumacher
She is joined by the other protagonist in this distressing drama, son Joseph, who has dealt with the events of the past few weeks with a maturity way beyond his years.
When his grandmother sat him down one year ago to explain that Arnold Schwarzenegger was his father, he exclaimed: “Cool!”.
And his mother said the young boy is looking forward to building a relationship with the former Hollywood star.
Guatemala-born Mildred revealed that she realised the truth once her son started to resemble the former Governor of California.
“It was as Joseph grew and I started to see the resemblance that I wondered – but It became more apparent as time went on,” she said.
“I knew Arnold was the father, and maybe as Joseph got older and began to look like him, he [Arnold] wondered. But he never said anything to me.”
She also revealed that Maria Shriver, now separated from Arnold, had started to put two and two together when she heard whispers in the household about the pair's similarity.
“She would say things like, “I’m here if you need to talk.” I sensed something was up. I have so much love and respect for Maria.
“Finally, she asked point blank.”
But it was Maria’s actions that shocked Mildred.
“She was so strong. She cried with me and told me to get off my knees. We held each other and I told her it wasn’t Arnie’s fault, that it takes two.”
Finally, she expressed her sympathy for Arnold and what he must be going through: “He’s a good man and I know he’s suffering too. He loves Maria. I hope with time they work things out.”
Read the full exclusive interview in this week’s HELLO! magazine, issue 1179 |||||
A summary of this is?
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– Mildred Baena’s first interview is out, and in it, she reveals that she never actually came clean to Arnold Schwarzenegger about the child they had together, People reports. Though she’s not sure of Schwarzenegger’s reaction to the news that he has a 13-year-old son, Baena did reveal to Hello! how someone else reacted: Maria Shriver. Baena admitted the truth after Shriver and others in the household began to notice Joseph’s strong resemblance to Arnold. “She would say things like, ‘I’m here if you need to talk,’” Baena says. “Finally, she asked point blank.” When Baena confessed and fell to her knees crying, Shriver “was so strong. She cried with me and told me to get off my knees. We held each other and I told her it wasn’t Arnie’s fault, that it takes two.” As for Baena’s son, he had a much less emotional reaction to the news: He simply said, “Cool!”
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CLOSE USA TODAY's Shannon Rae Green and Nathan Bomey talk about Oprah Winfrey's purchase of 10% of Weight Watchers. USA TODAY
Oprah Winfrey's cable network has scrapped a reality show about the father of 34 children by 17 women. (Photo: Todd Williamson, WireImage)
Oprah Winfrey has helped to significantly fatten up Weight Watchers International's market value.
The diet company's stock -- which had been slumping for the last few years -- soared after the firm announced on Monday that Winfrey would take a 10% stake. The billionaire media mogul, who will also receive options to acquire an additional 5% stake, is joining the Weight Watchers board as well.
Weight Watchers (WTW) concurrently announced an expansion of its brand beyond a pure focus on weight loss to a general emphasis on healthier, happier living.
Investors sent the stock up 105% to close at $13.92 on Monday. The company's stock had lost nearly 73% of its value in 2015, prior to the news of Winfrey's investment being publicized.
I believe in the @weightwatchers program so much I decided to invest, join the Board, and partner in #wwfamily evolution. — Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) October 19, 2015
"Weight Watchers has given me the tools to begin to make the lasting shift that I and so many of us who are struggling with weight have longed for," Winfrey said in a statement. "I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution."
Winfrey bought her shares at $6.79 apiece for a total investment of $43.2 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Analysts expect Winfrey to use the considerable influence of her brand and media presence — including her well-known knack for promoting health-related initiatives — to drive interest in Weight Watchers meetings and products.
The TV host, actor, producer and publisher "will not just bring attention to the stock, but will accelerate sales and profit recoveries" as Weight Watchers benefits from "free publicity and media savvy," S&P Capital IQ analyst Efraim Levy said in a research note.
In addition to her role as a board member, Winfrey, who has long shown an interest in health issues and dieting programs, will serve as an adviser to the company.
"Through our conversations, it became clear that there is tremendous alignment between Oprah's intention and our mission," Weight Watchers CEO Jim Chambers said in a statement. "We believe that her remarkable ability to connect and inspire people to realize their full potential is uniquely complementary to our powerful community, extraordinary coaches and proven approach."
CLOSE Jefferson Graham looks at how Weight Watchers is competing with calorie counting apps like MyFitnessPal and LoseIt to attract digital audiences, on #TalkingTech. By Jefferson Graham
A spokesperson said Chambers was not available for an interview.
Nicole Nichols, a spokeswoman for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), said in an email: "There are no current plans to promote through OWN or O Magazine, but that could change down the road."
Weight Watchers has struggled to keep up as dieting tools have increasingly gone high tech. Its total revenue fell 19% from $1.84 billion in 2011 to $1.48 billion in 2014. That included declines in meeting revenue, product sales and licensing fees.
About 800,000 members attended Weight Watchers meetings in 2014, down 38% from 1.3 million members in 2011. The number of Weight Watchers meetings has fallen about 20% from 45,000 to 36,000 during that period.
Those meeting declines come as an increasing number of dieters count calories with smartphone apps and monitor their physical activity with high-tech devices. The company, which offers digital tools for users, has also invested in new services such as one-on-one health advice delivered advice through email, text-messaging and phone calls. In addition, it created personalized online accounts that sync with activity-tracking devices such as FitBit.
About 1.5 million people subscribe to the company's online products.
As for Winfrey's deal, it includes the option to buy an additional 5% of the company for $6.97 per share. She can't sell any Weight Watchers stock for the first two years, according to deal terms filed with the SEC. She can sell up to 15% in the third year of her investment, up to 30% in the fourth year and up to 60% in the fifth year.
In five years she would have the right to sell all of her shares.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.
CLOSE Oct. 19 -- Bloomberg's Julie Hyman updates the latest markets news. She reports on "Bloomberg Markets." Bloomberg
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1LFQIC8 ||||| NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Oprah Winfrey and Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) have joined together in a groundbreaking partnership to inspire people around the world to lead a healthier and more fulfilling life. Winfrey was compelled by the proven Weight Watchers program combined with new initiatives to broaden the company's mission to prioritize overall health and wellness. As a part of this long-term partnership, Winfrey is making a substantial equity investment in the company and is joining the Board of Directors, bringing her insight to future products and programs.
"Weight Watchers has given me the tools to begin to make the lasting shift that I and so many of us who are struggling with weight have longed for," said Oprah Winfrey. "I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution."
"We are expanding our purpose from focusing on weight loss alone to more broadly helping people lead a healthier, happier life," said Jim Chambers, President and CEO, Weight Watchers International, Inc. "Through our conversations, it became clear that there is tremendous alignment between Oprah's intention and our mission. We believe that her remarkable ability to connect and inspire people to realize their full potential is uniquely complementary to our powerful community, extraordinary coaches and proven approach."
Winfrey's roles at Weight Watchers will include:
Member – Winfrey has joined the program and will candidly share her experiences and perspective along the way.
– Winfrey has joined the program and will candidly share her experiences and perspective along the way. Board Member and Adviser – Winfrey will bring insight and strategy to program development and execution that reflects not only her own experiences as a member, but also her unique ability to inspire and connect people to live their best lives.
– Winfrey will bring insight and strategy to program development and execution that reflects not only her own experiences as a member, but also her unique ability to inspire and connect people to live their best lives. Owner – Winfrey will purchase newly issued shares representing 10% of the shares outstanding and will receive options to acquire an additional 5% of the fully diluted shares.
"Weight Watchers and Oprah Winfrey make a powerful combination," said Ray Debbane, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Weight Watchers International, Inc. "Oprah is a force of nature in connecting with people on a very personal level to live inspired lives. This partnership will accelerate our transformation and will meaningfully expand our ability to impact many millions of people worldwide."
About Weight Watchers International, Inc. Weight Watchers International, Inc. is the world's leading commercial provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of Company-owned and franchise operations. Weight Watchers holds more than 36,000 meetings each week where members receive group support and learn about healthy eating patterns, behavior modification and physical activity. Weight Watchers provides innovative, digital weight management products through its websites, mobile sites and apps. Weight Watchers is the leading provider of online subscription weight management products in the world. In addition, Weight Watchers offers a wide range of products, publications and programs for those interested in weight loss and weight control.
Media Contacts: Stacie Sherer for Weight Watchers Nicole Nichols for Oprah Winfrey 212.589.2737 323.602.5511 [email protected] [email protected] For Investor Inquiries: Corey Kinger for Weight Watchers 212.986.6667 [email protected]
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151018/278031
SOURCE Weight Watchers International, Inc. ||||| FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, file photo, Oprah Winfrey attends the premiere of the Oprah Winfrey Network's (OWN) documentary series "Belief," at The TimesCenter in New York. Weight Watchers... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, file photo, Oprah Winfrey attends the premiere of the Oprah Winfrey Network's (OWN) documentary series "Belief," at The TimesCenter in New York. Weight Watchers... (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is paying about $43.2 million for a 10 percent stake in Weight Watchers and is joining the weight management company's board.
The company's shares are up almost 75 percent in premarket trading on word of the deal.
Weight Watchers International Inc. said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that as part of a five-year agreement, Winfrey has given the company the right to use her name, image, likeness and endorsement for the company, its programs, products and services, subject to her approval. She will also make personal appearances on the company's behalf.
For her part, Winfrey has the right to use Weight Watchers marks to collaborate with and promote the company, its programs, products and services. Winfrey will consult with Weight Watchers and help in the development, planning and execution of its program and related initiatives.
"We are expanding our purpose from focusing on weight loss alone to more broadly helping people lead a healthier, happier life," said Weight Watchers President and CEO Jim Chambers said in a written statement.
Winfrey is buying approximately 6.4 million shares of Weight Watchers at $6.79 per share. She will also receive options to buy an additional 5 percent of the company's fully diluted shares.
The New York-based company's board expands from nine to 10 members with Winfrey's inclusion.
The agreement has additional successive one-year renewal terms. Winfrey's term on the Weight Watchers' board expires in 2018.
Weight Watcher's shares soared $5.09, or 75 percent, to $11.88 in premarket trading about an hour before the mart open. Its shares had been down 73 percent for the year through Friday. ||||| Many a celebrity have signed on with Weight Watchers, as the de facto Hollywood way to simultaneously lose mega pounds, make mega bucks, and guarantee mega-good placement in tabloids and on the morning-show circuit about the “journey.”
But Weight Watchers announced this morning that it has teamed up with the celebrity holy grail: Oprah Winfrey. And you can bet Lady O is doing it way better than any star before her.
Winfrey purchased a 10 percent stake in the company, with the option to buy another 5 percent, the weight-loss company said in a statement Monday morning. The media queen also joined the program and “will candidly share her experiences and perspective along the way.”
“Weight Watchers has given me the tools to begin to make the lasting shift that I and so many of us who are struggling with weight have longed for,” Winfrey wrote. “I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution.”
Bringing her fans with her through her weight losses and gains is hardly new for Winfrey, who once wheeled a little red wagon filled with 67 pounds of fat in the late 1980s to illustrate how much weight she had lost.
She now joins the club of Hollywood stars who’ve famously shilled and shed for Weight Watchers, including Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Hudson, Sarah Ferguson, and Charles Barkley.
But the company now needs a major boost. Weight Watchers’s stock has tumbled nearly 77 percent this year. (Pre-market trading, buoyed by news of Oprah’s investment, lifted the stock by 37 percent.) Think of all the ways Winfrey can turn the place around: Weight Watchers–branded refrigeratooooooors!, a new book-club read on weight loss, a calorie-torching workout done by maniacally jumping on your couch. The possibilities are endless. |||||
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– "But not only am I the owner of 10% of Weight Watchers, I'm also a client." That's the upshot of Monday's big news from Oprah Winfrey, who has paid $43.2 million for a 10% stake in the company. It's part of a five-year deal that sees Winfrey—who USA Today describes as having had "a positive personal experience with the company's weight-loss program"—giving the company the right to use her name, image, and endorsement for the company and its programs and products and services (subject to her approval), reports the AP. A press release categorizes her involvement as being in three categories: Member, board member and adviser, and owner. In terms of the first, it states "Winfrey has joined the program and will candidly share her experiences and perspective along the way." Vanity Fair notes Winfrey is the latest in a list of impressive Weight Watchers celebrity alum, including Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Hudson, Sarah Ferguson, and Charles Barkley. But with its shares down 73% for the year through Friday, per the AP, the bump she's giving the company is a needed one. Shares were up 71% as of this writing.
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There's something spectacular going on at Augusta this week.
A 14-year-old from China named Tianlang Guan—known as "Langly" to his friends—is going to try to make the cut and compete with the best golfers in the world at the Masters.
Guan is the youngest ever to play in the legendary tournament.
The idea of such a young golfer having a chance in the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club seems like somebody's dream. As happens in sports on occasion, it does not appear to have anything to do with reality.
But that's when the prodigy factor takes over. That's exactly what Guan is.
He may be young, but Guan—who learned the game from his father when he was four years old—has the game of a practiced master, and that's why he is in Augusta, playing the Masters.
How He Got Here
How does a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Guangzhou, China, make his way to the Masters? He won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last fall. He was the youngest competitor in that 120-player field and basically led from start to finish.
His performance surprised everybody but himself, as he told Golf Digest:
I set a target to get the ticket for the Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. I thought I'd have a probability of one-third to win—I knew my opponents. Maybe it's a surprise for you, but for me, it was my expectation.
The winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur earns an invitation to Augusta.
Prior to earning that ticket, the youngest player to compete at the Masters was Italy's 16-year-old Matteo Manassero, who played in 2010.
Guan's Game
The young Asian player is not going to wow the crowd with his distance off the tee. That's probably the least impressive part of his game.
Guan is 5'4" and about 145 pounds. He will hit the ball from 240 to 250 yards off the tee. That means some of his competitors will outdrive him by 50 to 60 yards on a regular basis.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
None of this bothers Guan in the least. That's because he has the touch of superb player on his shorter shots. He excels with his medium and short irons and uses his belly putter with an expert touch.
Tiger on playing with Guan Tianlang: "He asked me a lot about my swing and my game... I asked him what classes he was taking." #Masters — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 9, 2013
He relies on accuracy and touch rather than strength and distance. He knows he can't reach the green on some shots the way his competitors can.
"That's OK," Guan told Golf Digest. "I'm accustomed to that. I play best from 40 to 50 yards."
Off the Course
Guan is the equivalent of a middle school student in Guangzhou, and he frequently visits to the United States. His annual family trips to the West Coast have put him in contact with American students, and he wishes his school day ended at 2 p.m., instead of 5 or 6 p.m.
Guan started his golf career at a very early age, but he was also exposed to drawing, taekwondo and penmanship. He grew tired of all of these activities—except golf.
Guan enjoys his native Cantonese food, but he is not afraid to eat American foods, which he enjoys when he is in the United States. Specifically, a hamburger for lunch is one of his favorites (h/t Golf Digest).
What a great experience yesterday... Playing with Tiger and Tianlang Guan, the young Chinese star!! What a talent he is going to be!! — Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) April 9, 2013
When Guan is not on the golf course, he likes other sports. Basketball is his favorite, and Kobe Bryant is his favorite player. Guan told Golf Digest that he'd love to play a round of golf with Bryant.
He is a thoughtful youngster whom adults in and out of the golf world have described as friendly. Instead of giving one-syllable or one-word answers, Guan will have actual conversations, a ready smile and a courteous personality.
Guan's personality is almost as surprising as his golf game.
Recognition
Guan is now in the golf annals with one of the great figures in the sport's history. He is the second-youngest player to participate in a golf major.
If you go back to 1860—yes, the same year Abraham Lincoln was elected president—young Tom Morris competed in the The Open Championship (British Open). Morris was one month younger than Guan, who is officially listed at 14 years, six months.
David Cannon/Getty Images Ben Crenshaw advised Guan to enjoy his time at the Masters.
Guan's youth means he has the curiosity factor, but that's not all he brings to the course. He has played practice rounds with Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Ben Crenshaw. The latter three all played with him at Augusta.
The best golfers in the world wanted to see what made this youngster tick.
Crenshaw left Guan with the advice to enjoy himself and not to fall victim to the pressure. Guan said he is going to try and follow Crenshaw's advice.
"I think it's going to be a little pressure to me, but I'm not going to push myself too hard," Guan told Golf Digest (via Yahoo! Sports), "and I'm trying to just enjoy my game, play my best, and hopefully play some good scores." ||||| Honorary starter Arnold Palmer punches the air after hitting off the first tee before the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (Associated Press)
David Lynn, of England, hits out of the rough off the 15th fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press)
From left, honorary starters Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus chat after hitting on the first tee during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta,... (Associated Press)
Tiger Woods waits to hit off the first fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (Associated Press)
David Lynn, of England, tees off at the 15th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press)
Marc Leishman, of Australia, hits out of a bunker on the 17th fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press)
Tiger Woods hits off the fourth fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (Associated Press)
Tiger Woods watches his putt on the fourth green during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Associated Press)
Marc Leishman, of Australia, raises his cap before putting on the 17th green during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press) ||||| The 14-year-old Guan not only became the youngest player in Masters history on Thursday, he played pretty well while doing it.
Tianlang Guan made history on Thursday when at 14, he became the youngest player to play in the Masters. That record would have been his regardless of how he played in the first round, but for good measure, he turned in the round of his life.
More: Complete 2013 Masters coverage
Guan shot a 1-over 73 on Thursday, not only making him the low amateur of the first round, but also placing him ahead of several notable names. Tied for 46th, Guan is ahead of defending Masters champion Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and several others. Guan, who qualified for the event by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, started out his round with a bogey, but quickly rebounded.
A birdie on No. 3 got him back to even par before two bogeys left him at 2-over at the turn. It was an eventful back nine for Guan as he traded good and bad holes. He started off well with a birdie at No. 10 before dropping a stroke at No. 11. He followed a birdie at No. 13 with another bogey at No. 14.
He entered 18 at 2-over and after hitting his approach shot to the fringe of the green, he was in position to two-putt and close out his round at an impressive 2-over. Instead, he finished his round with an exclamation point, by sinking the lengthy putt from the fringe. The performance was impressive enough to draw applause from Guan's playing partner and two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw.
More Masters from SB Nation:
• Does Tiger need a green jacket to be "back"?
• Cute kid gifs, holes-in-one highlight Par 3 Contest
• Arnold Palmer is still cooler than you
• Masters picks and predictions
• How all 94 players earned entry into the most exclusive major in golf
• Bubba breaks down at his Masters press conference |||||
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– The first round of the Masters is in the books, with Australia's Marc Leishman and Spain's Sergio Garcia tied for the lead at 6-under, reports AP. But the big story line of Tiger Woods is very much alive—he's just four shots off the lead. Meanwhile, 14-year-old sensation Guan Tianlang of China became the youngest golf ever to compete at the Masters, and he didn't disappoint. He drained a long birdie putt on the 18th to finish 1-over—the best score of any amateur competing, reports SBNation. Guan is known for a superb short game, notes Bleacher Report, which has a profile.
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News article:
The system's interceptors are 60-foot-tall, three-stage rockets, each tipped with a 5-foot, 150-pound "kill vehicle." Once in space, the kill vehicles are designed to separate from their boost rockets and fly independently toward their targets, at speeds up to 4 miles per second. With the help of onboard navigation systems, the kill vehicles, which carry no explosives, are supposed to crash into and destroy enemy warheads using only kinetic energy. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Courtney Kube, Andrew Rafferty and The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon successfully tested a U.S. long-range interceptor missile over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday in an exercise aimed at helping gauge American readiness to counter a potential threat from North Korea.
During the test, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency launched an interceptor rocket from an underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The interceptor hit and destroyed an intercontinental-range missile fired from a test site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, the Pentagon announced.
U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring called the test a "critical milestone" in a statement.
"This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat. I am incredibly proud of the warfighters who executed this test and who operate this system every day," Syring said.
The U.S. military's test comes on the heels of North Korea's reported launch of a military projectile Monday morning that landed in Japan's maritime economic zone. It also comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Pyongyang over North Korea's continued provocations under leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has said it is working on an ICBM, which could potentially hit the West Coast, and American officials are concerned about the possibility the North Koreans could miniaturize a warhead to put on an ICBM.
General John Hyten, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, has said Pyongyang already has ICBM capability, but still lacks a miniaturized warhead.
The $244 million test does not necessarily confirm that the American military is capable of defending itself against an intercontinental-range missile fired by North Korea. Pyongyang also is understood to be moving closer to the capability of putting a nuclear warhead on such a missile and could have developed decoys sophisticated enough to trick an interceptor into missing the real warhead.
President Donald Trump was briefed after a North Korean missile test earlier this month and the White House said in a statement at the time that "North Korea has been a flagrant menace for far too long."
During a recent visit to South Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said "the policy of strategic patience (with North Korea) has ended," and he added that military action could be on the table if North Korea elevates the threat of its weapons programs.
Before Tuesday, the most recent intercept test, in June 2014, also was successful, but the longer track record is spotty. Since the system was declared ready for potential combat use in 2004, only four of nine intercept attempts have been successful.
A Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptor is launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on June 22, 2014. Michael Peterson / MDA
North Korea says its nuclear and missile programs are a defense against perceived U.S. military threats.
Laura Grego, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has criticized the U.S. missile defense program, calls the interceptor an "advanced prototype," meaning it is not fully matured technologically even if it has been deployed and theoretically available for combat since 2004.
The interceptors are, in essence, the last line of U.S. defense against an attack by an intercontinental-range missile.
The Pentagon has other elements of missile defense that have shown to be more reliable, although they are designed to work against medium-range or shorter-range ballistic missiles. These include the Patriot missile, which numerous countries have purchased from the U.S., and the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which the U.S. deployed this year to South Korea to defend against medium-range missiles from North Korea. ||||| WASHINGTON/VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Tuesday cheered a successful, first-ever missile defense test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, in a major milestone for a program meant to defend against a mounting North Korean threat.
The U.S. military fired an ICBM-type missile from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands toward the waters just south of Alaska. It then fired a missile to intercept it from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Experts compare the job to hitting a bullet with another bullet and note the complexity is magnified by the enormous distances involved.
The Missile Defense Agency said it was the first live-fire test against a simulated ICBM for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD), managed by Boeing Co (BA.N), and hailed it as an “incredible accomplishment.”
“This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat,” Vice Admiral Jim Syring, director of the agency, said in a statement.
A successful test was by no means guaranteed and the Pentagon sought to manage expectations earlier in the day, noting that the United States had multiple ways to try to shoot down a missile from North Korea.
“This is one element of a broader missile defense strategy that we can use to employ against potential threats,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
Slideshow (4 Images)
Prior to Tuesday’s launch, the GMD system had successfully hit its target in only nine of 17 tests since 1999. The last test was in 2014.
North Korea has dramatically ramped up missile tests over the past year in its effort to develop an ICBM that can strike the U.S. mainland.
The continental United States is around 9,000 km (5,500 miles) from North Korea. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5,500 km (3,400 miles), but some are designed to travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles) or farther.
Riki Ellison, founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, described the test as “vital” prior to launch.
“We are replicating our ability to defend the United States of America from North Korea, today,” Ellison said.
Failure could have deepened concern about a program that according to one estimate has so far cost more than $40 billion. Its success could translate into calls by Congress to speed development.
In the fiscal year 2018 budget proposal sent to Congress last week, the Pentagon requested $7.9 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, including about $1.5 billion for the GMD program.
A 2016 assessment released by the Pentagon’s weapons testing office in January said that U.S. ground-based interceptors meant to knock out any incoming ICBM still had low reliability, giving the system a limited capability of shielding the United States. |||||
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– US officials are calling Tuesday's successful test of the country's missile-defense system "an incredible accomplishment," the Los Angeles Times reports. A rocket fired from California intercepted and destroyed a target warhead fired toward Alaska from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. It was the first-ever test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system on a fast-moving "ICBM-range target." “This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent,” the director of the Missile Defense Agency says. The $244 million test was the first since 2014, according to NBC News. It was conducted amid increased worry of a potential nuclear attack from North Korea. Despite Tuesday's success, there are many questions surrounding the viability of the GMD system during an actual attack. Only nine of the previous 17 tests since 1999 had been successful, Reuters reports. And that's with tests being scripted for success: daytime launches with personnel informed of the target's launch time, size, speed, and trajectory. It's also possible North Korea could use decoys to trick the system; the GMD's interceptor rockets haven't been tested against decoys. A Pentagon spokesperson says the GMD system is just one way the Pentagon has of shooting down a potential North Korean missile. The GMD system has cost US taxpayers more than $40 billion so far.
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– Tragedy in Washington state today as three firefighters were killed fighting a wildfire in the north-central part of the state, reports KING5. At least three more were injured, one of them critically. It's not clear what happened, but firefighters earlier were battling what KOMO describes as "strong, erratic winds" near the small towns of Twisp and Winthrop. "The bottom line is this is hell in here," said Okanogan Sheriff Frank Rodgers earlier in the day. "It's just obvious. The wind's blowing in every damn direction." Gov. Jay Inslee also confirmed the deaths, saying his heart breaks over the loss of life and that conditions remain extremely dangerous.
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3 firefighters killed, 4 hurt as 'hellstorm' overtakes vehicle
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TWISP, Wash. (AP) - A "hellstorm" of flames apparently enveloped a vehicle that crashed while carrying firefighters battling a blaze in Washington state, killing three of them during an explosive fire season in the arid West.
Four other firefighters were hurt, including one critically, on Wednesday as crews fought raging wildfires advancing on towns in the north-central part of the state, some of the many blazes burning uncontrolled throughout the West.
Drought and heat have combined to make this fire season one of the most active in recent years. Nearly 29,000 firefighters are battling some 100 large blazes in states including Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington and California.
This season, 13 people have died battling wildfires, including the three in Washington, said Jessica Gardetto of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. She said it was a high number but could not immediately compare it to other years.
"Our firefighting personnel have been particularly hard hit this year," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, calling it an "extraordinarily challenging wildfire season."
The deaths happened in the scenic Methow River valley about 115 miles northeast of Seattle, but few details were released as officials notified family members.
"The firefighters were engaged in initial attack operations and were involved in a vehicle accident when it is believed that the fire overtook the vehicle," said a statement from Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, relaying information from Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers.
It wasn't immediately clear if the four injured also were involved in the crash.
"It was a hellstorm up here," Rogers told Spokane news station KXLY-TV. "The fire was racing and the winds were blowing in every direction and then it would shift. ... It was tough on 'em up here."
The U.S. Forest Service statement identified the dead as agency firefighters. Of the injured, two are with the state Department of Natural Resources, one is a DNR contractor and one is a U.S. Forest Service employee.
One firefighter, a 25-year-old man from Puyallup, Washington, remained in critical condition Thursday with burns over 60 percent of his body, said Susan Gregg, spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
"He's got a lot of family by the bedside, and I think that obviously helps and we're hopeful," she said.
The news of the deaths came after officials ordered about 1,300 people in the popular outdoor-recreation communities of Twisp and Wintrop to evacuate.
A stream of cars poured south out of Twisp as dark clouds of smoke loomed. Some people put sprinklers on their roofs to protect their homes, and others joined lines for gasoline that were several cars deep.
Steve Morse, who lives near the Twisp fire, said he watched flames "kind of hopscotching these ridges, working toward our house."
Rick McCauley, a manager at Sun Mountain Lodge, which sits at the end of an 18-mile road winding through forests from the town of Winthrop, said he had about 70 rooms filled when he decided to evacuate hotel.
"We looked at the fire coming over the hill and made the decision to clear everyone out," McCauley said Thursday. "There's only one road in and out, so we don't want to take any chances."
A larger group of fires burning to the east covered about 50 square miles and prompted the evacuation of the town of Conconully, home to about 200 people 20 miles northwest of Omak.
To the south, more than 1,100 firefighters tackled a fire that topped 108 square miles and threatened the resort town of Chelan. Angela Seydel, a spokeswoman for Okanogan Emergency Management, said 4,000 homes in the region had been evacuated.
"The fires have just exploded," she said Wednesday evening.
Authorities warned that more high winds Thursday could make conditions very challenging.
The National Weather Service warned about weather conditions that could fuel fires in eastern Washington through Friday. Temperatures were expected to climb above 90 degrees and relative humidity may drop as low as 14 percent.
___
Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Brian Skoloff in Twisp and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report. ||||| Firefighters continue to battle the Twisp River Fire. Three firefighters died in the fire and four others were injured. (Photo: KING)
Three firefighters were killed Wednesday. Four were injured including one in critical condition
The Chelan Fire jumped the containment line at First Creek overnight. The Level 3 evacuation notice is extended to 25 Mile Creek State Park
TWISP, Wash. -- The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office says three firefighters have died and four more have suffered injuries as raging wildfires advance on the towns of Twisp and Winthrop in north-central Washington.
Department of Natural Resources officials say the three firefighters who died were engaged in the initial firefighting attack near Twisp and were involved in a vehicle accident before the fire overtook their vehicle.
Four additional firefighters were injured, one with the U.S. Forest Service, two from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and one DNR contractor. The incident happened where officials issued an evacuation order Wednesday.
One of the injured firefighters was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Hospital officials say the 25-year-old man was being treated for severe burns. The firefighter's grandparents say he was born and raised in Tacoma and currently lives in Puyallup. His firefighting unit was based out of Leavenworth.
The three other injured firefighters were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were unknown.
Gov. Jay Inslee in a release expressed his condolences, saying his heart breaks over the loss of life and that conditions remain extremely dangerous.
My heart breaks over the loss of life in the Twisp fire. We keep all firefighters in our prayers tonight http://t.co/NilDOy0Xj9#wawildfire — Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) August 20, 2015
Inslee will travel to the Chelan area Thursday to view firefighter efforts. He is expected to arrive at Pangborn Memorial Airport in East Wenatchee at 8 a.m. and head to the Chelan Falls incident command post at Chelan Falls Park.
Twisp, Wenatchee, Riverside evacuated
The advancing fire, named the Twisp River Fire, continued to blaze near homes Wednesday evening, lighting up the night sky.
The fire forced emergency management officials to evacuate Winthrop and Twisp Wednesday afternoon, and later for the town of Riverside. The fire was more than 50 acres and threatening between 20 to 100 nearby buildings.
Fire officials say the Twisp River Fire is new and not part of the Okanogan Complex Fire. It started Wednesday afternoon about five miles west of Twisp in Woods Canyon, where the firefighters are believed to have lost their lives.
Residents were asked to head south immediately and told to be aware of their surroundings and leave carefully.
Winthrop residents were told not to evacuate directly on State Route 20 towards Twisp due to congestion. Instead, they were advised to drive south on Eastside Road past the Smokejumper Base, then proceed southeast on Highway 20/Highway 153 to the Red Cross Shelter at Brewster High School.
CLICK HERE for latest updates on Twitter by emergency management officials
The Red Cross has set up six shelters in Okanogan County: Brewster High School in Brewster, Morgen Owens Elementary in Chelan, Sterling Intermediate School in East Wenatchee, Republic Elementary in Republic, Gess Elementary School in Chewelah and Columbia School. So far, more than 100 evacuees have arrived at Brewster High School. Red Cross volunteers say they've seen coming in all night along, and that there's a good chance dozens more will show up.
KING 5's Josh Green reports.
Phone service has been restored to the Okanogan Emergency Management Office: 509-422-7348.
Okanogan County Emergency Management also has a Disaster Distress Helpline available, providing 24/7 crisis counseling and support for people affecting the wildfires. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text 66746.
Firefighters are bracing for high winds through Friday which threatened to stoke wildfires burning across Eastern Washington. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the eastern portion of the state from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Friday.
Inslee requests federal Emergency Declaration
Following the deaths of the firefighters, Governor Inslee sent out a press release stating he had requested federal Emergency Declaration to secure additional wildfire resources.
I’m requesting a federal Emergency Declaration to secure additional resources for #wawildfirehttp://t.co/flKpVyddZI — Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) August 20, 2015
The governor's request was sent to President Obama through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and pointed out that currently 11 counties and four tribes are affected or threatened by fires. Officials have confirmed that the fires have already destroyed more than 50 homes, 60 other structures and more than 235,000 acres of land.
"Our communities are still healing from last year's fires," Inslee said. "Tonight we heard the heartbreaking news that three firefighters died while battling the Twisp fire and others are injured. Communities in Eastern Washington are strong and coming together, but need help. The current fires will exacerbate the ongoing housing shortages and economic troubles felt throughout the region. We're doing everything we can to assess the damage and work with our partners to obtain additional federal assistance."
Inslee declared a State of Emergency on June 26th in anticipation of a damaging wildfire season. More than 300 Washington National Guardsmen have been mobilized to assist firefighting efforts. Multiple other state agencies are providing support services ranging from air monitoring to shelter for displaced residents.
More than 3,600 homes remain threatened, and the number is expected to rise as increased winds and low humidity are expected over the region.
If approved, the Emergency Declaration would make financial assistance available to the State, eligible local jurisdictions and private non-profit organizations. The assistance could be used to pay for costs of emergency protective measures, emergency response, and debris removal. Federal government would reimburse 75 percent of eligible costs. The declaration would also provide direct federal assistance from federal agencies.
Okanogan Complex fires prompt 'general fire evacuation order'
Earlier Wednesday, a small town in Okanogan County was evacuated Wednesday due to the Okanogan Complex fires and the county itself is described as being under a "general fire evacuation order."
The Blue Lake Fire has forced the evacuation of Conconully, about 20 miles northwest of Omak. About 200 people were ordered to leave their homes. Some residents had to be escorted through the flames by police.
The Buck Lake fire southeast of Conconully is another concern, but is considered a lower priority.
People with livestock can take them to the rodeo grounds in Tonasket, the Omak Stampede grounds or the county fairgrounds. There are several large cattle producers and livestock ranches in the Conconully area who were told to start moving livestock two days ago.
Many of them are still trucking livestock out of the area. Others have just opened the gates so livestock and cattle can escape on their own.
Okanogan County Emergency Management director Maurice Goodall says some homes have been lost in the area of Riverside due to the Tunk Block Fire. That fire jumped over Highway 97 and headed toward Omak Airport. Embers were flying up to four miles, causing concern that new wildfires could be sparked.
Ten aircraft are helping fight the fire in Omak.
A total of 1,404 people are under evacuation due to the Okanogan Complex.
A community meeting is scheduled Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Omak's Eastside Park in the dance pavilion.
Read or Share this story: http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/wildfires/2015/08/19/okanogan-county-town-evacuated-due-wildfire/31987159/ |||||
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– As editor of the New York Times, Dean Baquet surely takes a lot of grief from a lot of people, but this one clearly struck a nerve. As noted by JimRomenesko.com, it began when a journalism professor at USC Annenberg blasted the newspaper's decision not to run cartoons about Islam by the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo. The initial exchange on Facebook: Marc Cooper: "A question for NYTimes editor Dean Baquet. Exactly how many people have to be shot in cold blood before your paper rules that you can show us what provoked the killers? Apparently 23 shot including 11 dead is not enough. What absolute cowardice. These MSM managers act is if they are running insurance companies, not news organizations." Baquet: "'Dear Marc, appreciate the self righteous second guessing without even considering there might be another point of view. Hope your students are more open minded. Asshole" When Politico reached out to him, Baquet was unapologetic: "Mr Cooper's comment was nasty and arrogant. So I told him what I thought." Interviewed by the Times' public editor, Baquet called the cartoon decision a wrenching one that consumed half his day. "I changed my mind twice," he said, but ultimately came down against it. “We have a standard that is long held and that serves us well: that there is a line between gratuitous insult and satire. Most of these are gratuitous insult.” Public editor Margaret Sullivan, who suggests that a "review and consideration" of the decision was in order, also takes notes of a tweet from free-press champion Glenn Greenwald, whose position might surprise some: “When did it become true that to defend someone’s free speech rights, one has to publish & even embrace their ideas?" he tweeted.
Let's expand this into a news article: 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. ||||| New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet called an associate professor at the USC Annenberg School an "asshole" on Facebook today after the professor took a shot at Baquet for not running Charlie Hebdo's Muhammed cartoons.
"Dear Marc," Baquet wrote to USC's Marc Cooper, "appreciate the self righteous second guessing without even considering there might be another point of view. Hope your students are more open minded. Asshole."
Reached via email, Baquet told POLITICO: "Lots of people have disagreed with my decision. Some of them are in The Times. I get that. Mr Cooper's comment was nasty and arrogant. So I told him what I thought."
Baquet's decision to forego running the cartoons that provoked terrorists to raid the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 12, have been heavily scrutinized. On Thursday, Baquet said he made his decision primarily because he did not want to insult the paper's Muslim readers.
"We have a standard that is pretty simple. We don't run things that are designed to gratuitously offend," Baquet told POLITICO at the time. "[O]bviously [I] don't expect all to agree. But let's not forget the Muslim family in Brooklyn who read us and is offended by any depiction of what he sees as his prophet. I don't give a damn about the head of ISIS but I do care about that family and it is arrogant to ignore them."
On Friday, Cooper wrote a Facebook post questioning Baquet: "Exactly how many people have to be shot in cold blood before your paper rules that you can show us what provoked the killers?" he asked. "Apparently 23 shot including 11 dead is not enough. What absolute cowardice. These MSM managers act is if they are running insurance companies, not news organizations." |||||
– What was behind Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's divorce? According to TMZ's sources, Depp's family—his two children, his sisters, and his mom, who died just days before Heard filed for divorce—despised Heard and believed she treated Depp poorly. After Depp moved his mom into his and Heard's LA home earlier this year, there was quite a bit of tension, sources say, and Depp's mom spoke openly about her belief that Heard was just using Depp for his money and to increase her own fame. But a source who spoke to People paints Heard as "just a regular super cool hipster chick living with roommates who dated girls," who was actually overwhelmed upon getting engaged to Depp. "At their engagement party she kind of got cold feet," the source says. "She was just like what is this scene and what am I doing here? She kind of couldn't believe it was her life now." Either way, their romance was rocky: E!, the Daily Beast, and People run down some of the signs they were headed for a split, including the alleged facts that they reportedly fight often and barely communicate when they're off working on their own projects, and that there have been plenty of reports of drama between the couple since they first got together. More recently, Heard was missing from Depp's recent promotional appearances for Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Depp was not at Heard's side for the most recent Met Gala in May or her 30th birthday celebration in April. (The divorce could end up a $400 million battle.)
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Let's expand this into a news article: It's over for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and some of you may have seen this coming.
Although the couple never shied away from gushing about each other from the start of their whirlwind romance, they were also no strangers to dealing with some troubles in paradise. Whether it was defending their relationship from the public or overcoming personal hurdles they were facing behind closed doors, Depp and Heard have definitely had their ups and downs when it came to their romance.
In fact, there have been a number of signs that may have been suggesting that these two were heading for a split.
Like what? We're glad you asked. ||||| BREAKUP
After meeting on ‘The Rum Diary,’ the two stars weathered photo hacks and an Australian witch-hunt, aka ‘terriergate.’ But now, Heard has filed for divorce—and accused him of beating her.
UPDATE 05/27/16: TMZ reports that Amber Heard arrived in court Friday with bruises on her face and photos depicting injuries she says Depp inflicted on her multiple times throughout their marriage. The latest injury, Heard says, happened Saturday night when Depp smashed his iPhone on her face. She claims the actor offered her money to stay quiet but instead she filed for divorce the next morning. Heard is also seeking a temporary restraining order against the actor.
She’d given to affectionately calling him “Tonto,” the character he portrayed in the disasterpiece The Lone Ranger, and they’d weathered a series of tabloid pseudo-scandals, but this week, the striking actress Amber Heard decided to call it quits with her screen icon husband, Johnny Depp.
Heard, 30, reportedly filed for divorce from the 52-year-old Depp on May 22, two days after the passing of his mother, Betty Sue Palmer. She was 81.
According to TMZ, the couple had no prenuptial agreement and Heard is seeking spousal support from her ex, who is worth an estimated $400 million—and is the proud owner of a 6-beach island in the Bahamas that he’s dubbed “Fuck Off Island.” Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, has filed a response requesting that the judge reject the spousal support claim. Heard is, of course, a popular actress in her own right, having recently starred in the films Magic Mike XXL and The Danish Girl. She is also set to star as Mera, the Queen of Atlantis, in the upcoming superhero blockbusters Aquaman and the two-part Justice League film. Depp, meanwhile, has the sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass opening this weekend.
It had been, if the tabloids are to be believed, a relationship fraught with difficulties—the considerably older Depp painted as the pursuer and Heard the hotly pursued.
Depp had handpicked Heard over a bevy of other screen beauties, including Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley, to star opposite him as the glamorous female lead of The Rum Diary. The film was a labor of love for Depp—shot in scenic Puerto Rico, adapted from the Hunter S. Thompson novel of the same name, and with the actor playing a version of his late pal. Filming for the movie began in March 2009 and lasted through the summer, and their chemistry onscreen is palpable. There was, by the stars’ own admission, quite a bit of boozing during production, with rum the drink of choice.
In a prior interview with The Daily Beast, Heard called filming The Rum Diary “the best experience ever,” and shared a story about Depp purchasing her a bicycle for her birthday that she rode all over San Juan. “I drank lots of rum and tried not to fall off my bicycle,” she said.
There were light rumors at the time that the chemistry between Depp and Heard continued when the cameras stopped rolling, though both actors have remained mum about exactly when their romance sparked. Depp was still in a long-term relationship with his partner (and the mother of his two children) Vanessa Paradis, while Heard was dating her partner Tasya van Ree. Heard would confirm the relationship with van Ree, coming out as bisexual at GLAAD’s 25th anniversary party in December 2010.
“I just decided to lift the veil of ambiguity and the shadow it creates on those in the media who choose to ‘keep it a secret’ or just simply don’t talk about it,” Heard told The Daily Beast. “It’s still not [fully accepted] but the necessity for doing that is all the more prevalent, important, and necessary.”
The Rum Diary was released in October 2011 to mixed reviews and mediocre box office receipts, but it reunited Depp and Heard for the film’s lengthy worldwide promotional tour. Shortly thereafter, rumors began circulating that Depp had separated from Paradis, his partner of 14 years—they hadn’t been seen together in public for months—and they released an official statement through their publicist(s) confirming it in June 2012, saying, “Please respect their privacy, and more importantly, the privacy of their children.”
I visited Paradis—the stunning actress, singer, and former model—at her New York pied-à-terre a few months after the separation announcement, and she seemed rather worn out by all the gossip, refusing to expand on why they split.
“I don’t sell my private life, and nobody knows the truth or has done a proper journalist’s work on that situation,” she emphatically told me. “Nowadays, people speculate, but nobody knows! I have my children to protect. There are children involved, so it’s really no one’s business but the family.”
In late 2012, following the split announcement, Depp and Heard went public with their relationship. They briefly broke up in late 2012—Heard reportedly dumped Depp for French model Marie de Villepin (the daughter of former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin)—but had reunited by April the following year. They became engaged on Christmas Eve 2013, and apparently the actress needed some serious convincing.
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“Amber really took her time to make up her mind,” a source told Celebuzz. “She turned him down before, before she said yes. So she waited and was thinking about it for a long time.” Depp even took to wearing an engagement ring on his finger, claiming it was too big for Heard.
And in the July 2013 issue of Rolling Stone, Depp opened up about his breakup with Paradis for the first time.
“The last couple years have been a bit bumpy,” Depp told the mag. “At times, certainly unpleasant, but that’s the nature of breakups, I guess, especially when there are kiddies involved… Relationships are very difficult. Especially in the racket that I’m in because you’re constantly away or they’re away and so it’s hard. It wasn’t easy on her. It wasn’t easy on me. It wasn’t easy on the kids.
“In terms of the breakup, I definitely wasn’t going to rely on the drink to ease things or cushion the blow or cushion the situation,” he added, comparing it to his breakup with Winona Ryder in the early ’90s that left him deeply depressed, and taking his frustrations out on a young Leonardo DiCaprio. “Cause that could have been fatal. I felt it was my duty to be real clear throughout that. I had something pretty serious to focus on, really, which was making sure that my kids were gonna be cool.”
In September 2014, Heard was one of dozens of A-list Hollywood women targeted in what Internet trolls crudely labeled “The Fappening,” where hundreds of naked photos of celebrity women were hacked through phishing scams and posted online. One of Heard’s featured her holding a sign (presumably to Depp) that reportedly read, “Good afternoon my beloved Tonto man. This blonde Texan bitch will eat you alive. I want. I need. Give me what’s mine!!”
Depp and Heard married in February 2015 at their home in Los Angeles, before honeymooning on “Fuck Off Island.” By April, however, the tabloids began reporting of trouble in paradise, and that the two were “on the verge of a split.”
“They’re barely talking,” reported In Touch, adding, “Amber is constantly worried about him. He’ll go days without calling or texting her... He parties and it’s caused huge fights with Amber. It’s been hard for them.” People also reported that they were leading “separately lives,” but then strangely deleted the post.
It’s not easy to, just after after your wedding, have Heard jet off to London to shoot The Danish Girl and Depp be over in Australia shooting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, but alas. Things got even hairier when, in May 2015, Heard was accused of not declaring their two Yorkshire Terriers, Pistol and Boo, when she landed in Queensland, Australia, via private jet to visit Depp while shooting Pirates.
Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce made it his own personal mission to torment the two stars, declaring, “If we start letting movie stars even though they’ve been the ‘sexiest man alive’ twice to come into our nation, then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody? It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.” Joyce and Australian officials continuously remarked that the trumped-up case was “very serious,” threatening Depp with 10 years behind bars and Heard with 11.
After much sniping back-and-forth between the showboating Joyce and beside himself Depp, the two actors were finally cleared of the charges last month after paying a $1,000 fine and—in a head-scratching display—appearing in a conciliatory, hostage-like quarantine video played in the Magistrates Court where they were forced to apologize to the country of Australia profusely for bringing their puppies in without the proper documentation.
Last June, Heard spoke for the first time about her relationship with Depp, telling Elle, “Nothing is a dramatic change. We’ve been together for a long time now, so it’s been a fairly organic process. I have a fiercely independent spirit.”
She later lamented the loss of freedom that comes with fame. “The thing that really scares me is the potential of losing my freedom. I never want for my life to lose the ability to transverse the world, with freedom and ease. The freedom and ease I have worked so hard to acquire for myself.”
||||| Johnny Depp Divorce His Family 'Hated' Amber
Johnny Depp Divorce: His Family 'Hated' Amber Heard
EXCLUSIVE
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's relationship was extremely bitter due to a full-blown feud between his family and Amber ... and this, we're told, is the backdrop for what is already an acrimonious divorce.
Multiple sources connected to the ex-couple tell us, Johnny's 2 teenage kids, his 2 sisters and his mom "hated" Amber, and openly discussed it. We're told they talked about how Amber would rail on Johnny and "treat him like crap."
Earlier this year, Johnny moved his mother, Betty Sue Palmer, into the L.A. compound where he and Amber lived ... and the tension was palpable. We're told mom often told friends she thought Amber was using Johnny for his money and fame, and to boost her own career.
We're also told before Betty Sue moved in, she only saw her son once from the time he married Amber, and both Betty Sue and Johnny blame her for keeping them apart so she'd have full control.
Our sources say Amber had 2 closed door sit-downs with Johnny's mom after she moved in, and after both meetings Betty Sue railed on her daughter-in-law, calling her a "terrible person."
We broke the story ... Amber filed for divorce Monday ... 3 days after Betty Sue died. There was no prenup, and Amber wants spousal support. ||||| 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. ||||| Amber Heard 'Got Cold Feet' Before Marriage to Johnny Depp at Their Engagement Party: Source
WATCH: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Hadn't Been Photographed Together for Months Leading Up to Heard's Divorce Filing
Exes Amber Heard and Johnny Depp had their good days and bad days as a couple.And there was a bit of hesitation on Heard's side about settling down with Depp."Before Amber met Johnny she was just a regular super cool hipster chick living with roommates who dated girls," a source tells PEOPLE. "At their engagement party she kind of got cold feet... she was just like what is this scene and what am I doing here? She kind of couldn't believe it was her life now."The 30-year-old actress and the 52-year-old actor met playing love interests in 2011's The Rum Diary. The couple revealed their engagement in January 2014.However nearly a year after their whirlwind romance, the couple slowed down their wedding plans."There is no rush to marry at the moment," a longtime friend of Depp told PEOPLE in December 2014. "Johnny is crazy in love with Amber, but there is turmoil in the relationship."Though they loved each another, a 22-year age gap was a factor in their relationship challenges. "[Heard] is not really ready to settle down," added Depp's friend.
On Feb. 3, 2015, the couple said their "I do's" in a ceremony at their Los Angeles home, just days before a bigger wedding at Depp's private island in the Bahamas.
"When Johnny Depp wants you, you don't really say no. Why would you?" a separate source shared.
Most recently in April, Heard celebrated her 30th birthday without the Alice Through the Looking Glass star. Surrounded by a small group of girlfriends, the actress had a "great time" at The Parker Hotel in Palm Springs. ||||| Amber Heard Celebrated 30th Birthday Without Johnny Depp Weeks Before Divorce Filing: Inside the Ups and Downs of Their Marriage
Eric Charbonneau / Invision / AP
In late April, Amber Heard celebrated her birthday at the Parker Palm Springs. Surrounded by a small group of girlfriends, the actress had a "great time" ringing in her 30th birthday poolside. "They looked to be enjoying themselves," says a source. But notably missing from the fëte was her husband of more than a year, Johnny Depp Shrouded in secrecy, the couple's whirlwind courtship reached a high note when they surprised the world by privately marrying at the actor's L.A. home. But just as quickly as the couple raced to the altar, so has their marriage ended (PEOPLE confirms Heard filed from divorce from Depp on Monday).It's a sudden and surprising end for the couple, who first met on the set of their 2011 movie The Rum Diary. "She was in my head, so I tracked her down," Depp gushed three months ago at the 31st Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. "We tracked each other down. Actually, incidentally, it was amazing."Revealing their engagement in January 2014, the duo legally wed in February the next year before heading to the actor's private island in the Bahamas for a "casual, romantic and intimate" second wedding celebration a few days later.At the time, a source told PEOPLE Depp was "madly in love" with his new bride. "She is a free-thinker and an independent woman who makes her own decisions," said the source. "Her presence has changed his life."Last June, Heard (slightly) opened up about her marriage to Depp in a cover interview with Elle , saying "nothing is a dramatic change. We've been together for a long time now, so it's been a fairly organic process."In the fall, the newlyweds took their love on the road as they shared kisses on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival . They also headed to Rio de Janerio in late September to help distribute hundreds of hearing aids with the Starkey Hearing Foundation."They were very, very much in love. They're doing great," Alice Cooper – who was also on the trip – told PEOPLE afterwards. In an interview with Marie Claire magazine in November, Heard touched upon rumors she and Depp were going through a rocky period. "I try not to react to the horrible misrepresentation of our lives, but it is strange and hard," she said.The actress also opened up about becoming a stepmother to Depp's two children with his ex Vanessa Paradis, Lily-Rose, 16, and Jack, 14. "[It's] an honor and the greatest, most surprising gift I have ever received in my life," she said.At the same time, the Pirates of the Caribbean star gushed about his wife at the Los Angeles premiere of her film The Danish Girl, saying he couldn't pick what he loves most about Heard because she has "far too many amazing qualities.""She's a voracious reader as I have been so we connected on that level as well," he added. "And she's kind of brilliant. I'm a lucky man."Earlier this year, their marriage continued to appear on track. In January at Stella McCartney's Autumn 2016 presentation party in L.A., Heard rubbed elbows with guests including Katy Perry Kate Hudson and more as Depp rocked out on stage with Marilyn Manson.And at the Grammy Awards three months ago, the actress hung out backstage with Selena Gomez while supporting her husband's band The Hollywood Vampires during their performance.But the relationship may have taken another turn in the spring. Though they made an appearance at a hearing at the Southport Magistrates court in Queensland in April, the duo hasn't been photographed together for months, aside from their video apology resulting from the actress' dog smuggling court case (Heard was given a one-month good behavior bond).Heard also attended the Met Gala in May without Depp, who has also been promoting Alice Through the Looking Glass solo the last few weeks. Taking a breather before the L.A. premiere's after party on Monday (the same day Heard filed for divorce), Depp was spotted sipping on red wine and digging into steak with Sacha Baron Cohen in the lobby of The Roosevelt Hotel. "He seemed down," says an onlooker. |||||
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Write a summary based on this article:
The United States should hold off on punishing Russia until the European community is on board with a specific response to the growing crisis in Ukraine, the Senate’s top Democrat said Monday.
In an interview, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Congress should let the situation play out for “a while” before trying to impose any new sanctions on Russia, which is dispatching military forces into Crimea — forcing the West to scramble for a response.
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reset McCain: Ukraine Putin's ‘crown jewel’ Reid: 'Ukraine's in crisis and it needs some help' Ambassador Power makes U.S. case on Ukraine
“The most important thing is for us – the United States – to make sure that we don’t go off without the European community,” Reid said Monday in the Capitol. “We have to work with them. Their interests are really paramount if we are going to do sanctions of some kind. We have to have them on board with us.”
(Also on POLITICO: Why Russia no longer fears the West)
The comments are Reid’s first since the crisis in Ukraine deepened over the weekend. Congressional leaders from both parties have condemned Russia’s actions in recent days but have said little about how they might proceed.
In Monday afternoon ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reid told reporters that “Ukraine’s in crisis and it needs some help.” The Democratic leader added that President Barack Obama’s request of Congress to pass a Ukraine aid package is “appropriate” but any action must be coordinated with U.S. allies.
Reid said he’s spoken to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough “a couple times” about the situation and was scheduled to get a classified briefing from CIA Director John Brennan on Monday. McDonough also has spoken with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
If the U.S. ultimately takes action, Reid suggested in the interview the government could move to clamp down on the banking sector to hurt Russia, which he accidentally referred to as the Soviet Union.
(PHOTOS: Ukraine turmoil)
“We can pretty much control banking, which is so important to the Soviet Un – to the Russians,” Reid said with a grin. “How soon we forget, huh?”
“The main thing is the European community,” Reid said. “They need to be part of what we do.”
One reason to wait before pushing penalties on Russia: Gridlock that has brought most legislative activity to a halt in Congress.
“We couldn’t do congressional action if we wanted, we can’t get in the damn building,” Reid said. “I think we should just play this out for a while.”
(Also on POLITICO: Obama's options on Ukraine)
The Nevada Democrat’s assessment comes as urgent talks take place in New York, where the United Nations Security Council plans to meet Monday, and in Brussels, where European Union leaders were engaged in emergency meetings over the escalating situation in Eastern Ukraine. The leaders of the 28-member European bloc plan to meet Thursday in Ukraine, just as Secretary of John Kerry travels to Kiev on Tuesday and as Vladimir Putin says he’s moving to protect Russians in the unstable country.
Making the rounds on the Sunday talk shows, Kerry raised the specter of potential punitive actions against Russia, insisting that the United States was united in its response.
“There could even be ultimately asset freezes, visa bans,” Kerry said Sunday on NBC. “There could be certainly a disruption of any of the normal trade routine, and there could be business drawback on investment in the country. The ruble is already going down and feeling the impact of this.”
(Also on POLITICO: Kerry to travel to Ukraine)
But there’s concern that imposing sanctions on Russia will have negative consequences on U.S. allies. Russia supplies massive amounts of natural gas to European countries and might decide to cut those ties in response to sanctions.
It remains to be seen whether Congress will do anything.
Reid’s No. 2, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said on CNN that the Senate should pass a resolution “condemning what Putin has done.” He added that the United States should clearly should state that if Ukraine will “stand up for real reform, then we’re going to back them through” the International Monetary Fund.
(Also on POLITICO: Odds slim for U.S. military action in Ukraine)
Still, a non-binding resolution is more symbolic than anything else, and there’s already pressure from Republicans for Congress to take more substantive action.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said over the weekend that Congress should “consider targeted sanctions against Russian persons and entities that undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “I would fly the NATO flag as strongly as I could around Putin. I would suspend his membership in the G-8, be the G-7. The G-20 would become the G-19 at least for a year. And every day he stays in the Ukraine, I would add to it.” ||||| BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders called a special summit for Thursday, where they are expected to freeze visa liberalization and economic cooperation talks with Russia if Moscow hasn't taken steps to calm the crisis in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard, left, speaks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday,... (Associated Press)
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, center right, puts his hand on the arm of Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo while speaking during an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers... (Associated Press)
From second left, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, speak with each other during an emergency... (Associated Press)
Executive Secretary General of the EU External Action Service Pierre Vimont, right, shows a paper to EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton during an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers at the... (Associated Press)
Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, center, speaks with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo during an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU Council building in... (Associated Press)
EU foreign ministers said they also have stopped preparation for the G8 summit which is set for June in the Russian resort of Sochi.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU would give Russia until the Thursday show clear signs of goodwill, including a willingness to open talks and a withdrawal of Russian troops to their barracks in the Crimea.
"The ambition is to see the situation improve. If it doesn't, then the course is set," Ashton said after the foreign ministers' meeting.
She said she will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday in Madrid.
The ambassadors of NATO's 28 member nations will hold a second emergency meeting on Ukraine Tuesday after Poland invoked an article calling for consultations when a nation sees its "territorial integrity, political independence or security threatened," the alliance said in a statement.
At the EU meeting, many foreign ministers stressed the immediate focus should be on diplomacy and promoting direct dialogue between Russia and the new leadership in Ukraine.
The EU is Russia's biggest trading partner, and Russia is the EU's third-largest partner, mostly thanks to exports of raw materials such as oil and gas.
Economic sanctions would hurt all sides, said Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans.
"Those consequences will be bad for everyone, but for Russia they will be far worse than for the EU. We can target other markets if we have to. (Russia) will have trouble to quickly find other customers," he said.
___
Follow Raf Casert on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rcasert
Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz |||||
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– President Obama says the US is taking a series of economic and diplomatic steps that would "isolate" Russia, declaring today that Moscow "is on the wrong side of history" in Ukraine—not to mention in violation of international law. Vladimir Putin, he warned, as per the AP, faces "a costly proposition" if he continues military operations in Ukraine. Speaking in the Oval Office, the president said Congress' "first order of business" should be an aid package to Ukraine. Amid numerous reports that the State Department is readying sanctions against Russia, Politico notes that Harry Reid urged that America first get Europe on board: "The most important thing is for us—the United States—to make sure that we don’t go off without the European community. Their interests are really paramount if we are going to do sanctions of some kind. We have to have them on board with us." That might not be long in coming, notes the AP, as EU leaders have scheduled an emergency summit for Thursday in which they are expected to leverage sanctions against Russia, failing some last-minute show of goodwill in Ukraine. "The ambition is to see the situation improve," says EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. "If it doesn't, then the course is set."
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A man who tried to catch a woman as she plummeted 50 feet at the Oakland Coliseum saved her from certain death, an Alameda County sheriff's official said.
The woman jumped from a third-floor seating area onto a second-floor concourse about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, said Sgt. J.D. Nelson. She was hospitalized in intensive care Sunday night, and the man who broke her fall was seriously injured, Nelson said.
As fans filed out of the stadium after the Raiders' loss to the Tennessee Titans, the man and a friend looked up and saw the woman preparing to jump. They tried to talk her out of jumping, but she did, Nelson said. The man shielded her fall with his body.
"Without him doing that, there's no question what would have happened," Nelson said.
The man and woman have not been identified.
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Man, 56, found dead in Oceanside Harbor
South Gate police shoot, kill man; Sheriff's Department investigating
Northbound 405 in West L.A. to be closed early Monday and Tuesday
Twitter: @cindychangLA
[email protected] ||||| OAKLAND -- A woman was clinging to life after jumping from the third deck of the Coliseum following Sunday's Raiders game, authorities said.
But her life, as of late Sunday, appears to have been saved by a good Samaritan who pleaded with her not to jump and broke her 45-foot fall when she did, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. That man, who was also injured, tried to catch her, Nelson said.
"He saved her life quite honestly, at his own expense," Nelson said outside the Coliseum on Sunday night. "This guy 100 percent saved her life. She'd be dead now."
The tense, brief standoff began around 4:30 p.m., 15 minutes after the end of the game in which Oakland lost 23-19 to the Tennessee Titans, authorities said.
The 61-year-old Stockton man, a Marine Corps veteran, was on the second deck concourse level when he noticed the woman above, and repeatedly shouted, "don't do it," Nelson said.
But she jumped to the concourse below. The woman, who has not been identified, was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. She had gone to the west upper deck seating area in a section covered by a tarp, police said, and it appeared she was alone before she jumped.
The injured man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but was conscious and talking and is expected to survive, police said.
Nelson visited the man, a lifelong Raiders fan, in the hospital Sunday evening, and described him as a "hero."
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"He just couldn't imagine having people see that," Nelson said. "He said it was a reaction. Even now, at the hospital he's very concerned about her. He's a real compassionate person.
"Raider fans get a bad reputation, yet here's this guy that went way over and above what most people would do to try and save this woman," Nelson said.
There have been two incidents in the last year of fans falling from the Oakland Coliseum and Candlestick Park. In September, a man died from a fall off the Jamestown pedestrian walkway outside Candlestick Park, and last December, a teenager was seriously injured when he fell from the third deck of the Coliseum.
David DeBolt covers breaking news. Contact him in Richmond at 510-262-2728. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt. |||||
– When a woman jumped from the third floor of the Oakland Coliseum to the second-floor concourse, a man was there to break her fall; both ended up hospitalized, but police say the man saved the woman's life. After spotting the woman about to jump following yesterday's Raiders game, the man and a friend had tried to talk her down, the LA Times reports. She jumped anyway, and ultimately, the man broke her 50-foot fall using his own body. "Without him doing that, there's no question what would have happened," a police rep said. "This guy 100% saved her life." The man is a 61-year-old former Marine, the Oakland Tribune reports. As of last night, the critically-injured woman was in intensive care, the Times notes. Though hospitalized, the man was talking and officials expect him to survive, the Tribune notes.
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- - A Palm Beach Gardens man is being called a hero after he jumped into action after a family dog is poisoned by a bufo toad, falls into the ocean while suffering a seizure and nearly drowns.
The frantic moments on a Key Largo boat dock were all captured on a surveillance camera.
"As soon as I saw her in the water, I thought she was dead," said Andrew Burtschin.
Burtschin, who's from Palm Beach Gardens, did not know at the time is pooch Shadow had bitten the toxic skin of a bufo toad. With her lungs full of water, Burtschin attempted CPR.
"I don't remember learning on a dog but, it's kind of the same principles I think," said Burtschin.
Minutes after he started CPR, Burtschin said his beloved family dog started moving again. After he rushed Shadow to the veterinarian, animal doctors confirmed the dog had bitten a bufo toad.
"Believe it or not, the dog falling right into the water right after exposure to the toad may not have been the worse thing because it gave the dog the ability to wash that toxic paste out of the dogs mouth and may have saved the dogs life," said David Hitzig, executive director of the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter.
Hitzig said the toxic skin of the non-native bufo toad can kill, if not treated. He said Shadow is one lucky dog.
"I think she might have eaten a four-leaf clover along with the toad or something," said Burtschin.
Shadow is now on antibiotics and expected to make a full recovery from an ordeal Burtschin will likely never forget.
"I guess I was in the right place and the right time. I'm really happy because she's a great dog and I'm really happy she's alive," said Burtschin.
Wildlife experts urge pet owners to continuously wipe and wash the mouth of any dog who comes into contact with a bufo toad. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. |||||
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– Earlier this month, a Florida dog owner gave his pooch mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—or "mouth to snout," he calls it—in an effort to save the dog's life, the Miami Herald reports. Andrew Burtschin, 29, returned from a boating trip to his Key Largo home on Oct. 1 and saw his dogs, Skunk and Shadow, munching away on something. Burtschin thought little of it until Shadow, breathing heavily, went into contortions and plopped face-down in a canal. Burtschin hurried over in his boat and pulled out Shadow's lifeless body. "As soon as I saw her in the water, I thought she was dead," he tells WPTV. Trained in CPR, Burtschin applied chest compressions and gave the golden retriever/pit bull mix "mouth-to-snout resuscitation." "I don't remember learning [CPR] on a dog but, it's kind of the same principles I think," he says. Sure enough, Shadow spat up foam and Burtschin hurried her to the vet—who gave the dog a steroid that seemed to bring her out of shock. The culprit? According to Florida wildlife expert David Hitzig, Shadow ate a bufo toad that emits a potentially fatal toxin from its head. Shadow may have lucked out by falling in the canal, which flushed toxins from her mouth, Hitzig says. As Burtschin puts it, "I think she might have eaten a four-leaf clover along with the toad or something." And Shadow is still dining on the darn things, with no ill effects so far: "She’s gotten into several of them since then," says Burtschin. "She hasn't learned her lesson." (Read about a teen who lost a leg and rescued a dog who did, too.)
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– A bartending grandmother in North Dakota was floored by a tip left by two strangers last Saturday night, ABC News. According to the Grand Forks Herald, 48-year-old Shiela Weisgerber was talking about her 4-year-old triplet grandsons—who she's raised on her own practically since they were born—with customers at the First and Last Chance Bar in Lisbon when a couple who said they were in town for a funeral paid their $33 tab and left. When Weisgerber flipped over their receipt, she found a $300 tip and the message, "Take care of those boys!" "I went to the bathroom and I cried," Weisgerber tells ABC. "I was blown away because to me that's a lot of money." She plans on putting $100 from the tip into each grandson's savings account. Weisgerber volunteered to raise the triplets when they were 2 months old after their mother realized she couldn't take care of them in addition the toddler she already had. "Words can't describe how grateful I am," Weisgerber tells the Herald. "You know there's good out there. It helps, and it will help the boys later."
Let's expand this into a news article: For a North Dakota bartender who recently took on some major responsibilities, an encounter with sympathetic customers has brought some much-needed relief.
Shiela Weisgerber, 48, said she was clearing a table on a routine work day on April 30 in Lisbon, North Dakota, when she noticed the tip left by an out-of-town couple.
"I was in disbelief at first. I looked at it, and I looked at it again," Weisgerber said. "You read stuff about it, and you hear about it, and you wonder, 'Is that really true? Do people really do that?'"
She would soon find out that they really do.
Weisgerber said she often shares stories on the job about her grandsons -- happy-go-lucky 4-year-old triplets, Bentley, Ashton and Dalton, who she has been raising on her own since they were just 2 months old.
Shiela Weisgerber
"At first it was very overwhelming," Weisgerber told ABC News. "And, at first I thought I bit off more than I could chew."
She said she did what she had to do to keep her family together, and that meant raising her three grandsons when their single mom, who already had a toddler, simply couldn't handle three more, all at once.
"She tried to do it, and when the boys were two months, she said she couldn't do it, so I stepped in and offered to raise the boys," Weisgerber said.
"I do what I gotta do each day, and it works," Weisgerber added. "They’re good little guys."
Weisgerber said she was talking about her grandsons with a few guests when a couple stopped by for some drinks and overheard the conversation.
Shiela Weisgerber
"And they were like, 'Holy cow! Triplets?'" Weisgerber recalled.
When the duo left, the bar-tending grandmother saw that they had left a $300 tip.
"I went to the bathroom and I cried," Weisgerber said, "and I was blown away because to me that's a lot of money."
Weisgerber said she did not know the couple, who told her they were in town for a funeral.
Weisgerber wasn't the only one touched by the kind act.
"The last few months have been really hard with random deaths around here," bar owner Dave Cole Jr. told ABC affiliate WDAY. "We really needed a boost. This was a godsend. Literally, it made everybody brighten up."
"You know that there still is good left," Cole added. ||||| An unknown couple who had drinks at the First and Last Chance Bar in Lisbon, N.D., on Saturday, April 30, left Shiela Weisgerber a $300 tip after talking with her about the triplet grandsons she was raising. Weisgerber said when she realized what they had done, she had to go to the bathroom and cry for a few minutes. Photo by Shiela Weisgerber / Special to The Forum
LISBON, N.D. – A chance meeting at Lisbon's First and Last Chance Bar has Shiela Weisgerber smiling.
Weisgerber, who is raising triplet grandsons Dalton, Bentley and Ashton Peterson, received a $300 tip from a couple who overheard her talking about the boys with some regular customers, and then chatted with her about them.
It was nearly midnight Saturday, April 30, when the couple paid their bill and left it upside down on the bar, Weisgerber said. When she cleared their glasses and took the slip to the till, she was floored.
There, for a $33 bill, was a $300 tip and the message, "Take care of those boys!!" printed beneath.
"You read about it. You hear about it. .... It really shocked me. I went to the bathroom and I cried. I was really surprised," Weisgerber said.
Bar owner Dave Cole Jr. said it was a beautiful gift for Weisgerber, and for the town. too.
"It's fantastic. Anytime we can do some good in the world in general," Cole said. "The last few months have been really hard with random deaths around here. We really needed a boost. This was a godsend. Literally, it made everybody brighten up. ... You know that there still is good left."
Weisgerber, 48, has three grown daughters, Courtnee Marchetti, 30, Stephanie (Peterson) DeWolf, 28, and Emily Scott, 26.
The triplets were born to Stephanie, but she already had a child and felt she couldn't take care of three more, Weisgerber said.
So, Weisgerber took on the role of parent again when the boys were 2 months old.
Getting through the bottle feedings and diaper changings was tough, she said.
But the payoff has been pure joy.
"I love children and it wasn't in my cards to have more," she said. "And now I've been blessed to raise the boys. If I was asked to do it over again, I would. These little guys are a true blessing."
There has recently been sadness, too.
The boys' father, Joshua Ertelt, died in a car crash in late February, Weisgerber said.
Weisgerber has worked full time at the bar since October.
Early Sunday, May 1, she posted a photo of the bar tab, with the big tip and message of encouragement, on Facebook.
"You only read about things like this happening. ... So grateful," Weisgerber wrote.
When the boys' father died, Weisgerber opened a savings account for each of them. Each boy will now get $100 from that tip.
She said if she ever sees the couple again, she'll give them a big hug.
"Words can't describe how grateful I am. You know there's good out there. It helps, and it will help the boys later." |||||
– Bizarre, sad, and true: A Pennsylvania man visiting his mother-in-law's grave site was killed when her headstone toppled on him, reports WNEP. Stephen Woytack, 74, of Scranton, was decorating the headstone with his wife for Easter yesterday when the thawing spring ground apparently caused the base to shift. "It is unimaginable," says the local bishop. "Heartbreaking," a cemetery caretaker tells the Times-Tribune. "It's just a freak thing that happened." Woytack's burial plot will be right in front of the headstone that killed him.
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Let's expand this into a news article: THROOP — A 74-year-old Scranton man died Monday when a headstone fell on him while he and his wife were visiting a relative’s grave at St. Joseph’s Cemetery.
Stephen and Lucy Woytack were attaching a religious ornament to the stone when it toppled, pinning Mr. Woytack underneath, according to Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland. The warmer weather “made the terrain, monument and its base unstable,” Mr. Rowland said in an emailed press release Monday. The coroner listed the manner of death as accidental.
“It happened so quickly,” said Mrs. Woytack, his wife of 46 years.
She described her husband as a kind and loving man who was very involved with the church, she said. He served as a Eucharistic minister at Mary, Mother of God Parish in Scranton, which oversees the cemetery.
“He would never hesitate to help someone else,” Mrs. Woytack said.
For years, cemetery caretaker Ed Kubilus saw the Woytacks when they visited the gravesite, and he said he knew Mr. Woytack well. After the stone fell on her husband, Mrs. Woytack found Mr. Kubilus on the other side of the cemetery. He called police and rushed to the gravesite, where he tried to lift the 300- to 400-pound granite block, but couldn’t. Police arrived a few minutes later, but by then it was too late, he said.
“It’s just a freak thing that happened,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Every year in the spring as the ground thaws and becomes softer, grave stones tip over, he said. Around this time of year, Mr. Kubilus fixes about five toppled or tipping stones, but so far, he said, the ground has been too soft to repair them.
Bishop Joseph C. Bambera was notified of the death, Diocese of Scranton spokesman William Genello said.
“It is unimaginable to think that a visit of a faithful couple to the grave of loved ones in anticipation of the celebration of Easter could have ended in such a tragic manner,” Bishop Bambera said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and his family.”
Contact the writer: [email protected]; [email protected], @lrankerNEWS ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video
THROOP -- A man decorating a gravesite for Easter died Monday morning when a headstone fell on him in Lackawanna County.
Police say Stephen Woytack, 74, of Scranton was the man killed at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Throop.
The cemetery's caretaker spoke with us shortly after the incident. He says Woytack and his wife decorate the family grave for Easter every year.
Ed Kubilus is the caretaker for St. Joseph's Cemetery in Throop. Every Easter he can count on seeing the couple from Scranton.
"They tie a cross to it every year, the both of them. And after they're done tying the cross, they stand there and say prayers and they leave," said Kubilus.
But this visit, Kubilus says, will stay with him forever.
"Usually I come down and talk to them right away but I went up the other end to start picking up the Christmas ornaments and she came running up, 'Help me, the stone fell on Stephen!'"
Throop police say Stephen Woytack was kneeling beside his mother-in-law's headstone as his wife was on the other side, tying a cross on with string. The stone fell on Woytack, killing him.
Kubilus says each spring when the ground begins to thaw, some of the bases tilt and the stones on top can slip.
"I've come over and saw six stones fall from the winter. Winter, and the ground gets soft and the stones fall over and you have somebody come and pick them up."
But it was still difficult for Kubilus and first responders to process how this tragedy unfolded. St. Joseph's is a Catholic cemetery affiliated with the Mary Mother of God parish in Scranton.
Bishop Joseph Bambera of the Diocese of Scranton released this statement:
"It is unimaginable to think that a visit of a faithful couple to the grave of loved ones in anticipation of the celebration of Easter could have ended in such a tragic manner. Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and his family."
Stephen Woytack will be laid to rest in St. Joseph's Cemetery. Kubilus says his plot is right in front of the headstone that killed him.
"The priest gave them a ride home and gave the man his last rites; I called the rectory up as soon as it happened."
Throop police say they still have some work to do, but their investigation should be closed soon. The chief says this is just a horrible accident.
Throop PD confirms a 74yo man was killed when a headstone fell on him at St Joseph Cemetery @WNEP pic.twitter.com/1y2cWKc0La — Stacy Lange (@stacylange) March 30, 2015 |||||
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Summarize this article:
OMG..twitter was down....closest thing to living without oxygen for most of us.... — arghya roychowdhury (@arghya_rc) June 21, 2012
Not how we wanted today to go. At approximately 9:00am PDT, we discovered that Twitter was inaccessible for all web users, and mobile clients were not showing new Tweets. We immediately began to investigate the issue and found that there was a cascading bug in one of our infrastructure components. This wasn’t due to a hack or our new office or Euro 2012 or GIF avatars , as some have speculated today. A “cascading bug” is a bug with an effect that isn’t confined to a particular software element, but rather its effect “cascades” into other elements as well. One of the characteristics of such a bug is that it can have a significant impact on all users, worldwide, which was the case today. As soon as we discovered it, we took corrective actions, which included rolling back to a previous stable version of Twitter. We began recovery at around 10:10am PDT, dropped again around 10:40am PDT, and then began full recovery at 11:08am PDT. We are currently conducting a comprehensive review to ensure that we can avoid this chain of events in the future. For the past six months, we’ve enjoyed our highest marks for site reliability and stability ever: at least 99.96% and often 99.99%. In simpler terms, this means that in an average 24-hour period, twitter.com has been stable and available to everyone for roughly 23 hours, 59 minutes and 40-ish seconds. Not today though. We know how critical Twitter has become for you — for many of us. Every day, we bring people closer to their heroes, causes, political movements, and much more. One user, Arghya Roychowdhury, put it this way:It’s imperative that we remain available around the world, and today we stumbled. For that we offer our most sincere apologies and hope you’ll be able to breathe easier now. - Mazen Rawashdeh, VP, Engineering ( @mazenra ||||| After a day of multiple site crashes, Twitter clarified what exactly it took to bring down the social network used by hundreds of millions of people.
As we reported earlier, Twitter explained that the site was brought down by a software bug that spread throughout its entire system. The bug was so effective in hampering Twitter, though, that the company said it actually had to roll back to a previous version of itself to function Thursday.
"We are currently conducting a comprehensive review to ensure that we can avoid this chain of events in the future," said Mazen Rawashdeh, Twitter's vice president of engineering, in a company blog.
The company said the crash was felt by all of its users and in its mobile apps, too. While Twitter said that over the last six months it has experienced a site stability of at least 99.96% for the most part, it couldn't manage that Thursday.
"In an average 24-hour period, twitter.com has been stable and available to everyone for roughly 23 hours, 59 minutes and 40-ish seconds," Rawashdeh said. "Not today, though."
Twitter detailed the exact times that the site was out. It fell at 9 a.m. Pacific, not coming back until 10:10 a.m. And it crashed once again about 10:40 a.m., staying down for nearly a half-hour until it came back at 11:08 a.m.
The company assured that Twitter was not hacked. However, there's some doubt to this claim as a hacker group called UgNazi said in an email to Reuters that it launched a denial-of-service attack against Twitter, causing the crashes. But the claim by UgNazi is questionable, and as Reuters says, the attack could have been merely a coincidence that coincided with the bug Twitter cited.
It isn't clear if Twitter is back to its full self. On its status site, Twitter says it has stabilized the issue and restored service, which is good, but it isn't as reassuring as an earlier message -- before the second crash -- when the company said that the issue had been resolved.
Regardless, in its post, Twitter featured the tweet of one its users who said "OMG..twitter was down....closest thing to living without oxygen for most of us...." and the company ended the post by saying it hoped to do a better job in the future.
"It’s imperative that we remain available around the world, and today we stumbled," Rawashdeh said. "For that we offer our most sincere apologies and hope you’ll be able to breathe easier now."
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Follow Salvador Rodriguez on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ ||||| Twitter crashed so hard on June 21 that the site didn't even display the famous "Fail Whale." Instead, it simply timed out.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Cue the collective Internet freakout! Twitter went down for several hours on Thursday afternoon, depriving users of a place to complain that Twitter was down.
The Twitter outage began at 11:59 a.m. ET, according to Twitter's page on tracking site Pingdom. Service returned intermittently around 1 p.m., but less than an hour later, Twitter crashed again.
"Engineers are currently working to resolve the issue," a Twitter spokeswoman told CNNMoney.
Twitter updated its status blog at 1:42 saying "the issue has been resolved and all services are currently operational" -- but at 2:16, another update from Twitter backtracked and said "the issue is on-going."
An hour later, Twitter seemed to be working for most users. Shortly after 3 p.m. ET, Twitter's PR account tweeted that the issue was caused by "a cascaded bug in one of our infrastructure components."
That explanation came after a hacker group, UGNazi, claimed to several media outlets that it had taken Twitter down in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
The June 21 Twitter outage was the longest service disruption since an hour-long episode on October 7, which came during a month filled with hundreds of very brief outages, according to Pingdom's data.
Downtime is a common problem for websites, though Twitter has been far better lately than it was a few years ago, when the site became notorious for its extensive outages.
Thursday's crash was extensive enough that Twitter didn't even display its famous "Fail Whale" error message. Instead, the site simply timed out.
Twitter's temporary demise sent users to other social networks, including the blogging site Tumblr. As one commenter put it on CNNMoney's own Tech Tumblr: "I enjoy the fact that when Twitter goes down, my Tumblr explodes. :)"
Others confirmed the crash by checking sites like outage tracker downforeveryoneorjustme.com -- which, coincidentally, is the brainchild of a Twitter engineer.
Alex Payne wrote about his creation in a 2008 blog post, which also chronicled Twitter's growing pains at the time: "Of late, I've tried as much as possible to focus my time at Twitter on building a new system that works at scale and does so predictably and measurably. That's not easy when the current system is still on fire."
Compared to those problems, Thursday's outage appears to be just a tiny little brush fire. |||||
Summary:
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– Tweeters were squawking yesterday when Twitter crashed hard. The system was down from noon to 1 pm ET, but then crashed again an hour later and intermittently throughout the afternoon when Twitter admitted the "issue in ongoing," reports CNN. Most service was restored by late afternoon. The problem was caused by "a cascaded bug in one of our infrastructure components," and not hackers, said a Twitter statement—even though hacker group UGNazi boasted to several media outlets that it had taken Twitter down in a denial-of-service attack. Twitter had to revert to an earlier version to get the system back up for its hundreds of millions of users, and is now conducting a "comprehensive review" to avoid the problem in the future, reports the Los Angeles Times. It was the biggest Twitter outage since last October. Users desperate to keep up a steady stream of communication fled to other social networks, including Tumblr, where they ... complained about the Twitter problems.
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– For those of us breathlessly hoping for a Christmas miracle like, say, world peace or an end to hunger or even an iPad Mini, well, we got Jessica Simpson's own little miracle instead. The Weight Watchers spokeswoman confirmed weeks of rumors of her second pregnancy today with a tweet, reports TMZ: The photo shows daughter Maxwell Johnson, who was born in May, in the sand, above the words "big sis." And lest ye worry that Simpson would end up in the poorhouse, because presumably she won't be losing weight during her pregnancy, Weight Watchers tweeted its support: "Congrats to @JessicaSimpson, Eric and big-sister-to-be Maxwell! Your WW family is so thrilled for you. What an amazing year you've had!"
Let's expand this into a news article: 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 ||||| Jessica Simpson PREGNANT!!
Jessica Simpson -- PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Breaking News
just tweeted a photo of her daughter Maxwell playing in the sand in Hawaii next to the words "BIG SIS" .... which can only mean one thing -- JESSICA'S PREGNANT!!!!Right???The rumors have been swirling for weeks -- but Jessica has been mum about the mom situation ... until now.This will be 32-year-old Jessica's second child with her fiance Eric Johnson -- a former NFL player.Jessica gave birth to her first child, Maxwell Drew Johnson, back on May 1.The big question -- how will the pregnancy affect her $4 MILLION deal with Weight Watchers?-- Weight Watchers just posted a tweet, congratulating Jess on the news:"Congrats to @JessicaSimpson, Eric and big-sister-to-be Maxwell! Your WW family is so thrilled for you. What an amazing year you've had!" |||||
– Argentina may be playing Germany in the World Cup final this weekend, but Australia's News Network is already anointing a different tournament winner: 17-year-old Axelle Despiegelaere of Belgium. The teen got famous in classic Internet fashion as photos of her cheering on her team went viral around the world. That caught the attention of cosmetics giant L'Oreal, which quickly featured in her a "beauty tutorial" on YouTube and made her the focus of a social media campaign in Belgium. But she was never an official "brand ambassador," notes the Independent, and her association with the company was short-lived. Business Insider reports that Despiegelaere quickly got a taste of the not-so-pleasant side of fame. After Despiegelaere posted a slew of photos online for her new fans, she took flak for one on a hunting trip that shows her behind what appears to be a dead gazelle. In the caption, she joked, "ready to hunt americans today haha," referring to a coming game. She soon removed the comment and explained she didn't mean to offend, then later took down her entire Facebook page. And now L'Oreal says Despiegelaere's ever-so-brief contract with the company has been "completed," and reiterates that she was not a spokesperson for the brand, the Independent reports. The company would not say whether the photo or caption influenced their parting.
Let's expand this into a news article: Facebook/TVI Belgian 17-year-old Axelle Despiegelaere became internet famous this week after photos of her in the stands at the World Cup went viral and led to a L'Oreal modeling contract.
A Facebook fan page for Axelle has accumulated over 230,000 likes and upon her arrival back to Belgium, the attractive teen set up a Facebook page of her own that has over 19,000 fans.
Axelle filled her page with photos from her trip to Brazil — rooting for Belgium dressed in the country's paraphernalia, enjoying the beach in a bikini, and funny photoshops. www.facebook.com/Axelle.Despiegelaere.Official
But one photo Axelle posted was unlike the rest — a picture of her holding a rifle, proudly sitting behind what appears to be a dead oryx she shot while hunting.
The caption read: "Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that..this was about 1 year ago...ready to hunt Americans today haha."
facebook.com/Axelle.Despiegelaere
Fans were immediately outraged by the image. Realizing the post may be offensive, Axelle changed the caption to read simply: "this was about 1 year ago..." facebook.com/Axelle.Despiegelaere
When fans didn't let up, Axelle responded to the criticism in the comments of the post Wednesday night:
facebook.com/Axelle.Despiegelaere
By Thursday morning, Axelle's entire Facebook page had been deleted.
L'Oreal has not returned our request for comment, but a video Axelle shot for the cosmetics company is still up on their Facebook page.
The video's description states: "Discover the beauty secrets of the most beautiful supporter of the World Cup!"
See screenshots from the video, which features Axelle using many L'Oreal products, below:
facebook.com/L'OrealProfessional facebook.com/LOrealProfessional facebook.com/LOrealProfessional facebook.com/L'OrealProfessional facebook.com/L'OrealProfessional ||||| Video
Image World Cup fan gets major modelling deal 1:22 Play video A World Cup fan has signed a serious modelling deal with L'oreal after a photo of her in the crowd went viral. Courtesy L'oreal.
WELL, this is one way to get noticed.
Axelle Despiegelaere was just a face in the crowd, watching her Belgium football team prepare to take on Russia in a Group H World Cup game two weeks ago in Brazil.
Then the 17-year-old had her photograph taken.
The photo went viral, making the rounds on Twitter and ending up in newspapers all over the world.
When Despiegelaere returned home to Belgium, she created a Facebook page, which has amassed more than 200,000 likes, many of them since June 26.
Now she has won a contract from L’Oreal, and filmed a promotional video for the cosmetics company.
The Belgians were not so lucky. After beating the US, the trendy World Cup pick got eliminated by Argentina in the quarterfinals. |||||
– The fight against Ebola is getting another hefty donation from a US billionaire: This time it's Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who today pledged $100 million, reports the Seattle Times. Allen also created a website called TackleEbola through which people can donate to specific projects, from hand-washing stations in West Africa to the creation of an 80-bed center for patients there. “We’re up against an extremely tough opponent here,” Allen tells the New York Times. “The exponential nature of the growth of this disease is really a challenge—we’ve already seen in the US where one case quickly became two.” Some of Allen's money will go to the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which is underwriting the cost of training and medical equipment in Liberia. Allen also is creating a fund to help medical professionals who get sick cover their bills. (Fellow Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates donated $50 million via his foundation.)
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Let's expand this into a news article: Ebola Medevac Fund
This fund will cover the costs of ensuring health-care workers who become infected can be evacuated and treated. We will match each donation. ||||| October 23, 2014 at 1:26 PM
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has upped his pledge in the fight against expanding Ebola crisis to $100 million, and the Seattle billionaire urged other philanthropists to quickly follow suit.
“Ebola is not somebody else’s problem. It is ours,” Allen wrote on his website this afternoon. “The entire global community needs to step up now with resources that match the speed and scale of this growing outbreak.”
The Seattle Seahawks owner already has given millions of dollars to the American Red Cross and to UNICEF for Ebola relief efforts in West Africa, as well as contributions to existing medical teams and Doctors without Borders, among others.
His increased pledge comes on the heels of major donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Allen’s former Microsoft colleague, Bill Gates.
Thursday’s pledge would in part help pay for developing and building two containment units on behalf of the U.S. State Department, which would be used to evacuate medical workers from West Africa.
Allen also has created a website to coordinate donations to specific organizations: www.TackleEbola.com
“The Ebola virus is unlike any health crisis we have ever experienced and needs a response unlike anything we have ever seen,” Mr. Allen said. |||||
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The seed for this crawl was a list of every host in the Wayback Machine
This crawl was run at a level 1 (URLs including their embeds, plus the URLs of all outbound links including their embeds)
The WARC files associated with this crawl are not currently available to the general public. ||||| GLAAD has learned from a source that wishes to remain anonymous that sponsors of the Stars on Ice Tour, which include Smuckers and IMG Entertainment, have refused to allow 3-time US National Champion and 2-time Olympian Johnny Weir to participate because they claim that he is "not family friendly."
Update: see our new blog post: Olympic Figure Skater Johnny Weir Confirms: ‘Stars on Ice’ Deemed Him “Not Family Friendly” Enough to Perform, March 12, 2010.
Championship skater Johnny Weir not allowed to perform at Stars on Ice Tour
To say that Weir is "not family friendly" would be a clear jab at his perceived sexual orientation. Weir is extremely involved with his family. He is putting his younger brother through college, and supports the family financially because his father's disability prohibits him from working. Weir's dedication to his family can be clearly documented in the Sundance series, Be Good Johnny Weir, which follows him and his family and friends through his life and career as a championship skater.
Weir's performance and costume style is sometimes considered flashier than those of other skaters, leading to questions about his perceived sexual orientation. While Weir has not officially announced his sexual orientation, he has garnered a significant amount of LGBT fans. He remains one of the most outspoken skaters today, and won an online poll asking fans "Who would you like to see guest star on Stars on Ice?"
Weir recently announced that he is taking a break from skating in order to "rework his technique." This news does not release the Stars on Ice sponsors from asking him to participate. The door should be opened to him as one of the most influential skaters in the field today. GLAAD's President Jarrett Barrios spoke out against homophobia within the sports community in a recent Huffington Post piece.
GLAAD encourages its members and anyone concerned about this type of exclusion and prejudice to send a letter here and sign a supporter's petition here. |||||
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– The outfit that trots out figure-skating notables for its regular Stars on Ice tour has proclaimed notably flamboyant American Olympic Johnny Weir “not family friendly” and refuse to have him along, sources tell a blogger for GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). Weir hasn’t publicly stated his sexual orientation, Lauren Mattia notes, though his style has won him plenty of fans in the LGBT community. But “to say that Weir is ‘not family friendly’ would be a clear jab at his perceived sexual orientation,” Mattia huffs, before eventually plugging a petition here urging Smuckers and IMG Entertainment to change their minds. “Weir is extremely involved with his family. He is putting his younger brother through college, and supports the family financially because his father’s disability prohibits him from working.”
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Analysis of long-lost medical notes seems to confirm that Nazi leader suffered from cryptorchidism, or an undescended right testicle
Hitler really did have only one testicle, German researcher claims
The song sung in schoolyards by generations of British children mocking Adolf Hitler for only having “one ball” might be accurate after all.
A German historian has unearthed the Nazi leader’s long-lost medical records, which seem to confirm the urban legend that he only had one testicle.
The records, taken during a medical exam following Hitler’s arrest over the failed Beer hall putsch in 1923, show that he suffered from “right-side cryptorchidism”, or an undescended right testicle.
Bring Mein Kampf into schools to tackle extremism, say German teachers Read more
Notes written by Dr Josef Steiner Brin, the medical officer at Landsberg prison, state “Adolf Hitler, artist, recently writer” was otherwise “healthy and strong”.
Long thought to have been lost, the records of the examination surfaced at an auction in Bavaria in 2010 before swiftly being confiscated by the Bavarian government. They have only recently been properly studied by Professor Peter Fleischmann of Erlangen-Nuremberg University.
Normally, men’s testicles descend from inside the body into the scrotum during childhood, but Fleischmann told German newspaper Bild the records showed one of Hitler’s testicles was “probably stunted”.
The records seem to contradict long-running specualation that Hitler lost one testicle to shrapnel during the Battle of the Somme in the first world war.
That rumour was backed up by Franciszek Pawlar, a Polish priest and amateur historian, who claimed a German army medic who treated Hitler after the shrapnel incident told him about the injury.
The medical records also contradict Hitler’s childhood doctor, who told American interrogators in 1943 that the future Führer’s genitals were “completely normal”. ||||| BERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A medical document shows that Adolf Hitler only had one testicle, German media said on Saturday, suggesting there is some truth after all to a popular British song that says the dictator had "only got one ball."
There has long been speculation that Hitler was missing one testicle, with rumors circulating that he lost the other one during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War.
But a medical record from the time when Hitler was put in prison after the failed Munich beer hall putsch in 1923 shows he suffered from "right-side cryptorchidism" -- a condition where a testicle fails to descend into the scrotum - media reports said.
The doctor's notes were thought to have been missing for years but reappeared at an auction in 2010, at which point they were seized by authorities.
"The experienced medical officer immediately recognized the condition!" top-selling newspaper Bild quoted historian Peter Fleischmann, who has studied the record, as saying.
Fleischmann could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Stephen Powell)
Also on HuffPost: ||||| 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. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– Good news for the many on the planet weirdly fascinated by rumors about Adolf Hitler's genitals: It has long been suggested that Hitler only had one testicle—there's even a British schoolyard song that mocks him for it—and that it was a shrapnel casualty in World War I's Battle of the Somme. But now medical documents that surfaced in 2010 but have only recently been officially analyzed suggest that at least when he was imprisoned in 1923 after a failed coup he had what's called "right-side cryptorchidism," meaning that testicle never descended into the scrotum, as is typical in childhood, reports the Guardian. "The experienced medical officer immediately recognized the condition," German historian Peter Fleischmann, who analyzed the documents, told German tabloid Bild, via the Huffington Post. His right testicle was "probably stunted," though Hitler's childhood doctor apparently told American interrogators in 1943 that his genitals were "completely normal," and a Polish priest and amateur historian once said a German army medic who treated Hitler mentioned the shrapnel injury. Whether the testicle in question eventually descended and was later injured or never in fact descended at all, it does in fact appear to be true that Hitler "has only got one ball," as the song goes. (Other medical notes suggest Hitler was fond of cocaine and suffered from uncontrollable flatulence.)
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Anti-whaling activists filmed Japanese whaling ships in January this year
The UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that the Japanese government must halt its whaling programme in the Antarctic.
It agreed with Australia, which brought the case in May 2010, that the programme was not for scientific research as claimed by Tokyo.
Japan said it would abide by the decision but added it "regrets and is deeply disappointed by the decision".
Australia argued that the programme was commercial whaling in disguise.
The court's decision is considered legally binding.
Japan had argued that the suit brought by Australia was an attempt to impose its cultural norms on Japan.
Science 'myth'
Reading out the judgement on Monday, Presiding Judge Peter Tomka said the court had decided, by 12 votes to four, that Japan should withdraw all permits and licenses for whaling in the Antarctic and refrain from issuing any new ones.
It said Japan had caught some 3,600 minke whales since its current programme began in 2005, but the scientific output was limited.
Japan signed up to a moratorium on whaling in 1986, but continued whaling in the north and south Pacific under provisions that allowed for scientific research. Norway and Iceland rejected the provision and continued commercial whaling.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nori Shikata, political minister at Japan's UK embassy, said Tokyo would abide by the ICJ decision
The meat from the slaughtered whales is sold commercially in Japan.
Japan has clashed repeatedly with Australia and some other Western countries, which strongly oppose whaling on conservation grounds.
Japan has argued that minke whales and a number of other species are plentiful and that its whaling activities are sustainable.
A spokesman for Greenpeace UK, Willie MacKenzie, welcomed the ICJ's decision.
"The myth that this hunt was in any way scientific can now be dismissed once and for all," he said. ||||| TOKYO (AP) — The greatest threat to Japan's whaling industry may not be the environmentalists harassing its ships or the countries demanding its abolishment, but Japanese consumers. They've lost their appetite.
FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2014 file photo and released by Sea Shepherd Australia, three dead mink whales lie on the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru, in the Southern Ocean. The greatest threat... (Associated Press)
A shopper walks past a whale meat specialty store at Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district, Thursday, March 27, 2014. The greatest threat to Japan’s whaling industry may not be the environmentalists harassing... (Associated Press)
A shopper points at packed whale meat in a freezer at a whale meat specialty store at Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district, Thursday, March 27, 2014. The greatest threat to Japan’s whaling industry may not... (Associated Press)
In this March 25, 2011 photo, a woman walks by Japan's whaling ship Nisshin Maru moored at a port in Tokyo shortly before leaving for the water off Miyagi prefecture, carrying relief goods for tsunami-stricken... (Associated Press)
Packs of whale meat to be sold sit in a freezer at a whale meat specialty store at Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district, Thursday, March 27, 2014. The greatest threat to Japan’s whaling industry may not... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2009 file photo released by Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research workers measure a captured mink whale on the deck of Japanese whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, as Sea Shepherd's... (Associated Press)
Packs of whale meat to be sold hang at a whale meat specialty store at Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district, Thursday, March 27, 2014. The greatest threat to Japan’s whaling industry may not be the environmentalists... (Associated Press)
The amount of whale meat stockpiled for lack of buyers has nearly doubled over 10 years, even as anti-whaling protests helped drive catches to record lows. More than 2,300 minke whales worth of meat is sitting in freezers while whalers still plan to catch another 1,300 whales per year.
Low demand adds to the uncertainty that looms ahead of an International Court of Justice ruling expected Monday on Japan's whaling in the Antarctic Ocean. The whaling is ostensibly for research, but Australia argued in a lawsuit that it's a cover for commercial hunts.
The stated goal of the research, which began in 1987, is to show that commercial whaling is environmentally sustainable, but a growing question is whether it is economically sustainable. Japan's government-subsidized whaling program is sinking deeper into debt and faces an imminent, costly renovation of its 27-year-old mother ship, Nisshin Maru.
"A resumption of commercial whaling is not a realistic option anymore, and the goal has become a mere excuse to continue research hunts," said Ayako Okubo, marine science researcher at Tokai University. "The program is used for the vested interests."
The research program began a year after an international ban on commercial hunting took effect. Japan is one of a few countries, including Norway and Iceland, which continue to hunt whales despite the moratorium. Activists from the group Sea Shepherd try to block the whalers by dragging ropes in the water to damage their propellers, and by lobbing smoke bombs at the ships, and through other methods.
Whale meat not used for study is sold as food in Japan. But according to Fisheries Agency statistics, the amount of whale meat stockpiled in freezers at major Japanese ports totaled about 4,600 tons at the end of 2012, from less than 2,500 tons in 2002.
A Fisheries Agency official conceded that Sea Shepherd's efforts to harass whaling ships have kept the stockpile from growing even bigger. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Whale meat supplied half of Japan's protein needs 50 years ago, but today it's limited to specialty restaurants and school lunches in most of the country. It is a bigger part of the local diet in several coastal whaling towns that are allowed to conduct small-scale coastal whaling outside of International Whaling Commission oversight.
The number of whale meat distributors and processors declined by half between 1999 and 2012, according to industry statistics. Distributors have said whale meat is unpopular largely because of the high price, lack of recipe varieties and negative image.
Once a cheaper substitute for beef, it's now about the same price. Whale bacon is sold as a delicacy, priced about 2,000 yen per 100 grams ($90 per pound), several times the cost of regular bacon.
The Institute of Cetacean Research, a nonprofit entity overseen by the government that runs the program, made 2 billion yen ($20 million) from the whale meat sales last year, down from more than 7 billion yen ($70 million) in 2004, according to a financial report viewed by The Associated Press.
The institute rejected repeated requests by the AP for comment on whaling and its future, citing concerns about possible repercussions and violence by the Sea Shepherd on the Japanese whalers. The five-ship fleet is expected to return home within weeks, though the institute would not give any details. Its website is filled with press releases related to Sea Shepherd instead of its research.
Initially, the government injected about 500 million yen ($5 million) a year into the program, or about 10 percent of its costs. By 2007, the subsidy had grown to about 900 million yen ($9 million), and is projected to exceed 5 billion yen ($50 million) for the current fiscal year ending in September. That includes money for anti-Sea Shepherd measures, such as repairs for damage and dispatch of a patrol ship.
In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries used an earthquake and tsunami disaster reconstruction fund to help cover whaling debts. The ministry later acknowledged funneling 2.3 billion yen ($23 million) of the fund into whaling, triggering public outcry. The whaling subsidy, now part of a broader package of fisheries issues, will expire next year.
Okubo, the marine researcher, says the research has been a comfortable option for Japan to keep the embattled industry alive without taking drastic restructuring needed if they are serious about going commercial again. The research has justified subsidies, kept jobs for whalers and allowed Japan to catch up to the ambitious catch quota. The industry at its peak in the 1960 had more than 10,000 crewmembers and fishermen, but that number has dropped to fewer than 200, plus a small number of coastal whalers.
The only commercial whaling operator still operating in Japan is Kyodo Sempaku Kaisha, which is affiliated with the Institute of Cetacean Research and manages whaling ships and meat sales.
Monday's ICJ ruling in the Hague could cost Japan the roughly 1,000 whales it takes in the Antarctic each year, or its catch quota could be reduced. Other Japanese whaling in the North Pacific and off the Japanese coast will not be affected.
Masayuki Komatsu, a former Fisheries Agency official who served as a Japanese negotiator at IWC annual meetings, says Antarctic whaling is legal under international rules.
"What's at stake is not just whales. It's a matter of territorial rights, in a way," said Komatsu, now a fisheries professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. "The Antarctic is an open sea that everyone is entitled to its rich resources. There is no need to concede to nationalistic confrontation."
But a 2011 report by a Fisheries Agency panel of outside experts recommended scaling back or terminating the Antarctic hunts, suggesting that coastal whaling could be enough for Japan's tiny appetite for whale meat. It was supposed to be an interim report, but no final report was ever published. ||||| The court unanimously found it had jurisdiction to hear the case, and by 12 votes to four found that special permits granted by Japan in connection with the program, JARPA II, did not fall within the IWC convention. Australia takes Japan to The Hague: Tokyo is accused of exploiting a legal loophole. Credit:AP It therefore ordered that Japan revoke any scientific permit under JARPA II and refrain from granting any further permits. On Monday Japan said it would respect the ruling despite "deep disappointment" with the landmark decision. "As a state that respects the rule of law ... and as a responsible member of the global community, Japan will abide by the decision of the court," Japan's chief negotiator Koji Tsuruoka said outside the United Nations' top court in The Hague.
With Prime Minister Tony Abbott due to visit Japan next week, Attorney-General George Brandis was quick to calm any threat of a diplomatic storm that might hurt Australia and Japan's relationship following the court's decision. A whale breeches off the coast of Surfers Paradise in Queensland Credit:Sahlan Hayes Senator Brandis stressed that the two nations had been in dispute on just the single issue of whaling. Former Labor environment minister Peter Garrett welcomed the ruling. A Humpback Whale breaches off Sydney's Northern Beaches Credit:Dallas Kilponen
''This is the end of so-called 'scientific' whaling, surely,'' Mr Garrett told Fairfax Media. ''It's an incredible result. The comprehensive nature of it, and the way the court has taken on board our arguments.'' Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said he was "thrilled" at the court's "pioneering" decision. As Attorney-General when Labor was in government, Mr Dreyfus led Australia's legal challenge to Japan's "scientific" whaling program at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Mr Dreyfus told ABC radio on Tuesday he was optimistic that Japan, as a "fine international citizen", would abide by the court's ruling. The court's decision could also have wider impacts on other whaling countries, he suggested. "This decision . . . can't but have some effect on whaling in other parts of the world," Mr Dreyfus said. "It will add to pressure on . . . those small number of countries who continue to engage in whaling."
Sea Shepherd Australia Managing Director Jeff Hanson said the court decision vindicated Sea Shepherd for not only upholding Australian federal laws but also international laws in defending the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary ''for the whales and for future generations''. ''In the absence of law enforcement in the Southern Ocean, Sea Shepherd has been the only organisation upholding the law in defence of the International Whale Sanctuary,'' he said in a statement. Greenpeace Oceans campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said the ruling confirmed Japan's whaling program was an ''illegal and unnecessary hunt of protected species'' and it was high time the industry was ''consigned to the history books''. Prominent Australians welcomed the ICJ's decision.
Case launched in 2010 Australia sought an order from the International Court of Justice to stop the Japanese whale hunt in a case launched by the Rudd government in 2010. The case began as tortuous diplomatic negotiations for Japan to phase out its Antarctic hunt broke down in the International Whaling Commission.
Other anti-whaling nations, including the United States, warned Australia against going to the court to fight the hunt which kills hundreds of whales each summer. Then oppostion leader Tony Abbott also rejected the legal bid to end whaling, despite his then environment spokesman Greg Hunt urging the government to submit court documents. He said while the Coalition would like Japan to stop whaling, ''we don't want to needlessly antagonise our most important trading partner, a fellow democracy, an ally''. Washington's IWC Commissioner, Monica Medina, said that it was an uncertain gamble on whales' lives. "This is a 'bet-the-whales' case," Ms Medina said then.
But a series of opinions by legal expert panels gathered by international wildlife conservation groups encouraged the then environment minister, Peter Garrett. He argued strongly inside the Rudd government for taking on Japan, WikiLeaks documents showed. When the case came to hearing in the Hague last June, it hinged on the court's view of the IWC convention's clause letting any member nation conduct its own scientific whaling program, despite a global moratorium on commercial whaling. The Australian government's counsel, Bill Campbell, QC, told the 21 judges they had an important opportunity to decide for the world what did, and did not, constitute scientific activity. "In short, Japan seeks to cloak its ongoing commercial whaling in the lab coat of science," Mr Campbell said.
"It simply is not science." Japan currently issues its fleet with a scientific permit for a quota of up to 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpbacks, with the humpback quota currently "suspended". Then attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said the case was not about an Australian "civilising mission" against Japan. "This case is about one country's failure to comply with its legal obligations not to conduct commercial whaling," Mr Dreyfus said. Japan claimed a clear and indisputable right under the convention to conduct its scientific program.
"Australia has pursued an express policy of using the IWC, against its stated purpose, to ban all whaling," Japan's counsel, Payam Akhavan, said. "It has politicised science in order to impose Australian values on Japan in disregard for international law," Mr Akhavan said. The decision comes with the whaling fleet under increased pressure from conservationist direct action that brought serious conflict to the far south - much of it in waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory. However, despite this pressure from Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd, the whalers killed 10,439 minkes and 15 fin whales under scientific permit from the 1986 moratorium until the end of the 2013 season, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Last season's kill figure has not yet been released.
Established in 1945, the ICJ is the UN's highest judicial body and the only one of five principal UN bodies not located in New York. Loading The ICJ's judgements are binding and cannot be appealed. - with AFP and James Massola
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– Australia 1, Japan 0: The UN's International Court of Justice today ruled that Japan's whaling program, which it has long claimed is for scientific purposes, is just a cloak for commercial whaling, the BBC reports, in a case that Australia brought about back in 2010. The 16-judge panel ordered a temporary halt to the program—which kills around 1,000 whales a year—until it is revised, the Sydney Morning Herald adds. Australia "has politicized science in order to impose Australian values on Japan in disregard for international law," Japan's counsel had argued. In announcing the decision, ICJ Judge Peter Tomka said Japan's program was "not driven by scientific considerations," and "there is no evidence that Japan conducted research into how non-lethal methods could be used to achieve its stated research objectives," the Guardian reports. Though commercial whaling was banned in 1986, the meat from Japan's whaling venture, known as JARPA II, is sold commercially. The AP notes Norway and Iceland are among those to still hunt whales, despite the commercial ban.
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– After 10 days in a psychiatric ward, a New York state man has been arrested for allegedly faking his own death—by pretending to drown near Long Island. Raymond Roth faces insurance fraud charges following the incident, in which his son reported he'd disappeared off Jones Beach (leading to an air and sea search estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars). Soon after Jonathan Roth's report, the elder man was spotted at an Orlando resort, then appeared in South Carolina, where he got a speeding ticket. Raymond eventually made his way back to New York, and was in the psychiatric center following his lawyer's claim that he was "a danger to himself," the Village Voice notes. Jonathan has already pleaded not guilty to an insurance-fraud conspiracy, and now the two men's stories conflict: While Jonathan's lawyer says the 22-year-old was abused and coerced into the plot, Raymond's lawyer holds that the elder man's "intent was to disappear, not to cash in on a life insurance policy," the AP reports (leaving his sobbing wife behind). It was Jonathan, he says, who tried to cash in on the $50,000 policy just days after reporting his father's disappearance.
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A New York man charged with falsely reporting his father had drowned in an alleged insurance scam was abused, manipulated and coerced into participating in the scheme, his attorney said Tuesday.
Jonathan Roth, left, listens as his attorney Joey Jackson speaks to the press following Roth's appearance at Nassau County Court in Mineola, N.Y., Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. Jonathan Roth is out on bail... (Associated Press)
Jonathan Roth, 22, has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit insurance fraud after reporting that his father, Raymond Roth, had drowned last month at Jones Beach in New York. The elder Roth was later reported to be in Florida and got a speeding ticket in South Carolina.
He is receiving psychiatric treatment at an undisclosed hospital on New York's Long Island, his lawyer said, but is expected to be released Wednesday. Raymond Roth, 47, expects to then be immediately arrested on similar charges to those facing his son, said attorney Brian Davis.
Jonathan Roth, who was freed Monday on $10,000 bond, had a brief court appearance Tuesday; the case was postponed until Sept. 19. Attorney Joey Jackson did not allow his client to speak with reporters, but alleged he had a strained relationship with his father and was not a willing participant in the ruse.
"This case in and of itself is about three things in my mind: It's about coercion, it's about the abuse we talked about, and it's about manipulation," he said.
Jackson had made allusions to a prior case involving an unnamed Child Protective Services agency but did not elaborate. "When the facts come out as to how this thing ultimately came about, in addition to the past history that his father, just the things his father's done to him over the course of time, it's going to be obvious why this thing happened," Jackson said.
Nassau County Social Services Commissioner John Imhof said because of "stringent confidentiality and privacy requirements," he could not say whether Child Protective Services has ever investigated the Roths.
"I don't know what kind of abuse they're talking about," said Davis, the elder Roth's attorney. "All I know in speaking to his family about this is that it was almost a kind of buddy-buddy relationship and not a father-and-son relationship. I don't know if he had a heavy hand while the kid was growing up, but the kid's 22 now."
Days after his disappearance, Raymond Roth was reported to be at a resort in Orlando, Fla. On Aug. 2, he was stopped going 90 mph in Santee, S.C. Roth said he was returning to New York, and the officer let him proceed north; he never showed for a planned meeting with police and his attorney later revealed he instead had been admitted to a hospital for depression.
Investigators wrote in court papers that Jonathan Roth "was fully aware that his father never walked into the water and had in fact driven off in his own personal vehicle." He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Raymond Roth's wife, Evana, has told reporters that her husband staged the disappearance without her knowledge. She also implicated her stepson in the scheme, distributing emails that she said were on a family computer in their Massapequa home. In one dated the day before he vanished, the elder Roth instructs his son to contact him at an Orlando, Fla., resort to update him on developments following his disappearance.
Evana Roth, 45, said her husband had recently been fired from his job at a telecommunications company in New York City. ||||| A Long Island man may have faked his own death to get his hands on life-insurance money — and to get away from his wife, who sobbed to The Post yesterday that she learned he was alive only through e-mails he had sent his son.
And he didn’t have very nice things to say about her.
“DO NOT allow that a–hole to give the house away,’’ Raymond Roth, 47, of Massapequa, allegedly wrote to his 22-year-old son, Jonathan, referring to wife Evana the day before he supposedly vanished while swimming off Jones Beach.
He was so calculating, he even left his shorts, shirt, shoes and wallet — without his driver’s license — on the beach for her to find, Evana said.
Evana cried about discovering the e-mails on her stepson’s computer Wednesday, four days after her husband was believed to have drowned.
“This is a terrible nightmare that I just want to wake up from,’’ said the 43-year-old woman. “Why did he do this? I think I’m just numb.’’
Evana said that up until she found the e-mails, she had thought everyone believed that her husband, an unemployed computer manager, was dead.
In the damning e-mails, Raymond also wrote to his son: “I need to get to the bank for cash for the trip.”
He adds: “about the jewelry we spoke of yesterday, you need to whisper in [a relative’s] ear about it and do not worry she will get it,” and, “tell [another relative] i handed you the papers — then you JUST noticed that there was an envelope with [his] name on it (the last Will and Testemnet [sic]) then hand it to him.”
In another e-mail Raymond sent to his son, he wrote, “you will need to help me get my car loaded. get your f–king ass out of bed you lazy bastard.’’
In a third, he adds, “there needs to be a way for me to find out how things are going. call me Sunday night at 8 PM at the resort.
“you cannot call from your phone,’’ the dad allegedly warned. “go to a pay phone or borrow your friends phone. you must call within 15 minutes of the determined call time in order to be sure i will be available.”
Evana said she immediately called Raymond’s brother when she saw the e-mails. He came over, and they called the cops.
Police in Orlando, Fla., were directed to an address to find him, authorities said — but he was gone.
He was stopped for speeding on I-95 in Santee, SC, yesterday morning and let go after telling cops there he had gotten in a fight with his wife and left.
Long Island cops said that they’ve since been in contact with him by phone and that he told them he was coming in to talk.
It was unclear whether charges will be filed against him or anyone else, they said.
Meanwhile, “he withdrew money from all my accounts,” his wife sobbed as she spoke in the office of her lawyer, Lenard Leeds.
“While I was crying and thinking he had drowned, he was vacationing in a resort and having a drink in the pool.”
Evana said her husband began acting suspiciously in January when “he increased his life-insurance policy.” She said she didn’t know who the beneficiary was.
“He tripled it,” she said. “He also did revise his will on Wednesday before the beach.”
She said he then recently began getting into trouble at his work at Level 3 Communications at 1 Penn Plaza in Herald Square.
He was demoted and promptly threatened to shoot the two supervisors who had bumped him, she said.
The threat led Nassau County cops to go to the family’s home to confiscate the licensed handgun Roth owned.
Roth was fired the day after the threats.
Level 3 declined to comment.
His wife said her hubby’s bizarre behavior continued.
He insisted on putting the house up for sale the next Wednesday.
He started packing up all his suits.
“I said, ‘You haven’t even put out a résumé, and you want to sell the house? You’ll need your suits for interviews,’ ” Evana said.
“He told me he didn’t need [the clothes] — he would go back to driving a truck,” she said.
“On the day he went to the beach, he told me he was going to his mother’s house,” she recalled.
“I said, ‘How long are you going to be? Are you going to be home for dinner?’ He said, ‘I’ll be home in an hour,’ ” she said.
A few hours later, the wife said, her stepson, Raymond’s son, Jonathan, called her.
“[He] said, ‘Dad went into the water and he didn’t come out,’ ” she recalled.
Her stepson swore his dad was missing and presumed drowned, she said.
“If these allegations are true, this is one of the most despicable acts I have ever seen,” Leeds said.
Police confirmed that Jonathan Roth called 911 to report his dad missing near the beach’s Field 6 in an area where there were no lifeguards. Jonathan could not be reached for comment.
A family neighbor said that he ran into Jonathan on Monday after his dad had been missing for two days and that the man told him, “My dad’s gone, my dad’s dead.”
“The son was not crying,” the neighbor recalled.
Additional reporting by Jim Hooker and Lorena Mongelli ||||| The man who failed to fake his own death last month by pretending to drown off the shores of Long Island has been arrested...finally.Attorney Brian Davis also told thethat despite his fragile mental state, Roth would turn himself into police this week, which happened this morningRoth is facing charges for an alleged insurance fraud scam stemming from the faux-drowning, although the exact charges have not been announced. A few days after his son, Jonathan Roth, reported to authorities that he'd seen his father go into the ocean at Jones Beach and never come out, Roth turned up in South Carolina -- and that was only after spending a few days at a resort in Florida, all as investigators were scouring the ocean in a rescue effort that cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.Roth's wife also found emails he'd exchanged with his son detailing the phony drowning plan.Once the jig was up, Roth repeatedly told police that he'd turn himself in. However, that never happened -- Roth remained on the lam until checking himself into a Long Island mental health facility last week.We asked Davis if checking himself into a psych center was just the alleged fraudster's attempt to setup some sort of insanity defense for a potential trial. He says his client's mental state is fragile, as evident from his harebrained attempt to fake his own death. "He took his own car [after claiming to drown]," Davis says. "[An insanity] defense is only used in very extreme cases. He wasn't thinking rationally throughout all of this."Jonathan Roth was arraigned last week on charges of insurance fraud, conspiracy and falsely reporting an incident.According to an affidated filed by the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, "[Jonathan Roth] stated ... that he saw his father walk into the ocean and walk in chest high. The defendant was present when a massive search of the waters and area was conducted."Prosecutors added that "The defendant at all times was fully aware that his father never walked into the water and had in fact driven off in his personal vehicle."Davis says Roth will plead not guilty to the charges. He will be arraigned later today. ||||| A man suspected of faking his own drowning at a New York beach in a scheme to collect on a life insurance policy was arrested Wednesday at the hospital where he was receiving psychiatric treatment.
Jonathan Roth, left, listens as his attorney Joey Jackson speaks to the press following Roth's appearance at Nassau County Court in Mineola, N.Y., Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. Jonathan Roth is out on bail... (Associated Press)
Raymond Roth arrived at state park police headquarters in handcuffs wearing a blue polo shirt and white pants. He didn't speak to reporters.
He was scheduled to be arraigned in a Long Island courtroom later Wednesday on charges of insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and falsely reporting an incident. Roth will plead not guilty, attorney Brian Davis said.
Roth was arrested at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he had spent about 10 days.
The 47-year-old was reported missing by his son on July 28 at Jones Beach. The elder Roth was later reported to be in Florida and got a speeding ticket in South Carolina.
His son was arrested last week. According to court documents, the pair conspired to get more than $50,000 in life insurance money.
But Davis said his client was not aware of an insurance scam, blaming Jonathan Roth.
"My client's intent was to disappear, not to cash in on a life insurance policy," Davis told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said Jonathan Roth is the one who tried to cash in on the policy just days after reporting his father's disappearance. "It was never my client's intent to make a claim."
Days after his disappearance, Raymond Roth was reported to be at a resort in Orlando, Fla. On Aug. 2, he was stopped going 90 mph in Santee, S.C. Police there saw that Roth was listed in a national registry of missing people. Roth said he was returning to New York, and the officer let him continue driving north; he never showed up for a planned meeting with police, and his attorney later revealed that he instead had been admitted to a hospital for depression.
Jonathan Roth, 22, was arrested last week and is free on $10,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, filing a false report and other charges. In court papers, Jonathan Roth admitted to investigators that the drowning never happened.
He "was fully aware that his father never walked into the water and had in fact driven off in his own personal vehicle," according to the criminal complaint. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The younger Roth's attorney, Joey Jackson, said his client and his father had a "strained" relationship. He also claims that Jonathan Roth was abused and coerced into cooperating with the scheme; Davis has denied that allegation.
Raymond Roth's wife, Evana, has told reporters that her husband staged the disappearance without her knowledge. She also implicated her stepson in the scheme, distributing emails that she said were on a family computer in their Massapequa home.
In one dated the day before he vanished, the elder Roth instructs his son to contact him at an Orlando resort to update him on developments following his disappearance. Raymond Roth put the family's home up for sale just days before he vanished.
Evana Roth also said her husband had recently been fired from his job in New York City.
Police estimated that an air and sea search for Roth cost tens of thousands of dollars. |||||
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– Surgery on babies still in the womb has long largely been restricted to those who would die otherwise, but a landmark study is likely to lead to a surge of research into fetal surgery to treat birth defects. Surgeons found that repairing spina bifida—a debilitating spinal condition that 1,500 babies are born with annually—in the womb helps avoid the brain damage and paralysis that often result when the condition isn't treated until after birth, NPR reports. During the surgery, doctors operate on a four-inch long fetus, putting a protruding, roughly raisin-size piece of spinal cord back inside the fetus's body. The study reviewed 183 pregnancies, and found that children who had the surgery before birth were twice as likely to walk unaided later: At age 3, 42% could walk, versus 21% who did not have the prenatal operation. "This is the first time that fetal surgery has ever been attempted and validated for what we think of as a non-fatal birth defect," says one of the study's authors. There were medical downsides for both mothers and infants (for instance, 80% of the babies who had the surgery were delivered prematurely, compared to 15% of those who did not), but experts describe the study as a huge step in the right direction, the New York Times notes.
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And as technology increasingly allows doctors to diagnose problems in a developing fetus, the study underscores remaining risks and hurdles, including developing less-invasive techniques to avoid creating other problems for babies or mothers.
The spina bifida procedure was considered beneficial enough that an independent safety monitoring board stopped the study early so babies scheduled to receive surgery after birth could have access to prenatal surgery.
But there were medical downsides for the women and infants: greater likelihood of being born several weeks earlier than the postnatal group, related breathing problems, and thinning or tearing at women’s surgical incisions, requiring Caesarean sections for later births.
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“While this is a very promising and quite exciting result,” said a study author, Dr. Diana Farmer, surgeon in chief at the Benioff Children’s Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco, “not all the patients were helped here, and there are significant risks. This procedure is not for everyone.”
Conducting the study was itself challenging. Prenatal spina bifida surgery gained attention in the late 1990s when some medical centers, like Vanderbilt University, began performing it. A photograph in which a fetus’s hand appeared to be gripping the finger of a surgeon who had lifted the hand out of the womb was circulated by opponents of abortion rights, further raising the profile.
Leading experts suggested a clinical trial to determine if prenatal surgery was better than postnatal. They insisted on an unusual agreement: that all but three hospitals, in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Nashville, stop doing the procedure.
“There were lots of places that wanted to do it” amid pressure from eager patients, said Dr. Michael Harrison, who pioneered fetal surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, and was a principal investigator for the spina bifida trial before retiring. “But we wanted to make sure it wouldn’t become a freak show. And if you offer treatment outside the trial, you’ll never have a trial because no mother would agree to flip a coin.”
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Ultimately the other hospitals acceded.
One reason spina bifida researchers wanted a trial was the experience with prenatal surgery for a condition in which the diaphragm has life-threatening abnormalities.
After early efforts to repair the condition prenatally, “we thought we were heroes,” Dr. Harrison said, but realized it worked only for milder cases. Another prenatal approach, forcing the lungs to grow, worked, but caused significantly premature births, making it no better than postnatal treatment, he said. He added that prenatal techniques had improved, becoming less harmful.
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The spina bifida study involved the most severe form, myelomeningocele (MY-ell-oh-men-NING-guh-seal), in which the spine does not close properly and the spinal cord protrudes. Children may experience lower-body paralysis, fluid on the brain, bladder problems and learning disabilities. About one in 3,000 children have that form, said Dr. Alan Guttmacher, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which financed and helped conduct the study.
Many babies now receive surgery to close the spinal opening after birth, but nerve damage from the spinal cord exposure to amniotic fluid remains. Also, the brainstem may be pulled into the spinal column. Excess fluid in the brain may require draining with implanted shunts, which can lead to infection or need repeated surgical replacement.
In the study, about 80 babies were randomly selected for surgery after birth; another 80 had the spinal opening surgically closed in utero, between 19 and 26 weeks of pregnancy. Two in each group died.
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Before surgery, babies in the prenatal group had more severe spinal lesions than the postnatal group, but more in the prenatal group had better results, said a co-author, Dr. Scott Adzick, chief of pediatric surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Those who received prenatal surgery were half as likely to have a shunt, and eight times as likely to have a normally positioned brainstem. There was “much better motor function of the legs,” Dr. Adzick said, and at 30 months old, nearly twice as many walked without crutches or orthotics.
Although they were born at 34 weeks of pregnancy on average, compared with 37 weeks for the postnatal group, there was no difference in cognitive development, said Dr. Catherine Spong, chief of pregnancy and perinatology at the child health institute.
Dr. Adzick said prenatal surgery may “stop exposure of the developing spinal cord and perhaps avert further neurological damage” or stop the leak of spinal fluid that causes brainstem problems.
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Results were dramatic for Tyson Thomas, of Stansbury Park, Utah, now 22 months old. His mother, Jessica Thomas, a study participant, said doctors had described his brain malformation as “the worst they had ever seen” and said “it would be likely that he wouldn’t be able to breathe on his own.”
Since birth at 35 weeks gestation, she said, Tyson breathes independently, shows no brainstem malformation and is starting to talk. Bladder nerve damage will require him to urinate through catheters all his life. He now uses a walker and a foot brace, but is “getting really close to walking” on his own, said Ms. Thomas, a nurse.
Researchers will follow the children from ages 6 to 9 to see if benefits continue.
Several experts said they would now mention prenatal surgery as one option for some women. But since many women were excluded from the study, including those who were severely obese or whose babies’ conditions did not fit certain specifications, many may be ineligible.
The study should not propel surgeons to “run around and start doing this” for other conditions, said Dr. Terry Buchmiller, a fetal medicine expert at Children’s Hospital Boston who was not involved in the research. “I can go in utero right now and fix a cleft lip, but I don’t think anybody is saying we ought to do that, because of the risk.”
But she called the study “a wonderful, almost several-decade journey of trying to improve the outcomes of a debilitating condition,” adding, “This looks to be potentially life-changing.” ||||| A Birth-Defect Breakthrough: Prenatal Spinal Surgery
It's a landmark in the controversial, 30-year-old field of fetal surgery: Surgeons are reporting success in treating a common, serious birth defect called spina bifida — before birth.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Tara and Jake Hallman Courtesy of Tara and Jake Hallman
Spina bifida is a hole in the spine that sometimes allows a loop of the naked spinal cord to protrude outside the body. Such neural-tube defects are down 30 percent because more expectant mothers are taking folic acid pills and dietary supplements. But about 1,500 babies are born with spina bifida every year, and many are destined to have severe lifelong disabilities.
A new study, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that repairing the most severe form of spina bifida during pregnancy can reduce the paralysis and brain damage that often result when the defect isn't corrected until after birth.
The surgery is delicate and risky for both mother and fetus. Doctors must make a three-inch incision in the mother's uterus to expose the fetus, which is typically about four inches long at this stage. They then put the exposed piece of spinal cord — between the size of a raisin and an almond — back where it belongs, and suture layers of tissue to keep it in place and prevent cerebrospinal fluid from leaking out.
The study of 183 pregnancies shows that children who had the spinal operation in utero were twice as likely to walk unaided later. At age 3, 42 percent of those who had the prenatal operation were walking by themselves versus 21 percent of those who had the surgery after birth.
This is the first time that fetal surgery has ever been attempted and validated for what we think of as a non-fatal birth defect.
Brett Hallman is in the lucky group. When he was a 25-week fetus, he was the 55th patient who had fetal surgery for severe spina bifida at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Brett's mother, Tara Hallman, says she and her husband Jake knew the operation was a success months later, when Brett smiled, sat up and crawled on schedule.
"When he walked at 17 months without any braces — without anything — it just took my breath away," Brett's mom says.
A Landmark Study
But doctors who treat spina bifida say there's something even more important: Fetal surgery reduces a child's need for a lifelong shunt — a tube to carry cerebrospinal fluid from the brain to the abdomen. Without the shunt, fluid can build up, causing devastating brain damage or death.
More than 80 percent of the children who had the surgery after birth needed shunts, compared to 40 percent among those operated on prenatally.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Tara and Jake Hallman Courtesy of Tara and Jake Hallman
"From a medical point of view — even though walking is quite nice — for the long-term overall outlook for these children, being free of a shunt is probably the single most important aspect," says Diana Farmer, a study coauthor and chief of pediatric surgery at the University of California at San Francisco.
Farmer says the new study is a landmark for the field.
"This is the first time that fetal surgery has ever been attempted and validated for what we think of as a non-fatal birth defect," Farmer says.
Since surgeons at UCSF first did fetal surgery three decades ago, the field has been controversial. "People thought it was quite a heretical thing to do, and quite risky for women," farmer says. "Prior to this, we only considered fetal surgery in a circumstance where either the fetus would not survive pregnancy or the baby would be likely to die soon after birth."
But she thinks the tide is beginning to turn — partly because other procedures, such as donation of part of a liver from a living relative, "have demonstrated that it is ethically reasonable in certain circumstances for someone to undergo a medical procedure for altruism, essentially — to help someone else."
'Not A Cure'
But Scott Adzick of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, lead author of the new study, stresses that fetal surgery for spina bifida "is not a cure. We think that we can help kids."
There were some downsides: Nearly four out of five babies in the fetal surgery group were delivered prematurely, compared to 15 percent among those who got the operation after birth. So the fetal surgery group had more respiratory distress and other complications of prematurity. But there were no more deaths in one group versus the other.
One of the biggest risks is to the moms. Surgery weakens the uterus, which could cause a disastrous uterine rupture if the woman goes into labor, though this didn't happen during the study. The uterine incision also means that all subsequent babies will have to be born by caesarean section.
And as Tara Hallman testifies, even the most successful outcomes of fetal surgery aren't perfect. Although Brett is now an active 7-year-old who swims and plays other sports, he has to work to keep up physically.
And he has some bladder and bowel problems — but nothing, his mother says, that can't be managed. For instance, Brett can't urinate normally, so he's learned to insert a catheter every few hours.
Tara Hallman says he hasn't let his condition get him down. "Everybody has their challenges in life, and everybody has their battle scars, as we call them," she says. "This is his. And it's something that he's actually very proud of. He loves to show people his scar. It's actually part of his identity." |||||
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– The Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday and some members of the Never Trump movement still hope he can somehow be stopped before they have to start calling themselves the Never Trump Again movement. Trump foes suffered a major defeat Thursday when the Rules Committee rejected an attempt to "unbind" Trump delegates and let them vote for somebody else, but anti-Trump leaders are planning another attempt to change the rules Monday, aided by Ken Cuccinelli, leader of a conservative faction, Politico reports. If they can't bring in a rule change that will allow them to rebel against Trump, some delegates are considering walkouts or other ways to embarrass Trump and his allies. "If they thought they were going to have the nice, unified kumbaya show, they just completely guaranteed they’re not going to have it,” Kendal Unruh, a GOP delegate from Colorado who leads the Free the Delegates group, told the Washington Post after party leaders crushed the attempt to change the rules last week. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus tells ABC that Never Trumpers need to accept the fact that 14 million GOP primary voters "picked someone they didn't want"—and if they disrupt the convention, they will only be helping Hillary Clinton. "It's a binary choice," he says "It’s Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton." (The Trump campaign dumped its new Trump/Pence logo after a day.)
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Downtown Cleveland looms beyond the Tremont neighborhood, where old factories and warehouses are quickly being replaced with new housing and businesses.
Downtown Cleveland looms beyond the Tremont neighborhood, where old factories and warehouses are quickly being replaced with new housing and businesses. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
What Cleveland looks like as it prepares for the Republican National Convention
What Cleveland looks like as it prepares for the Republican National Convention
The Never Trump agitators have been defeated, but they say they’re not going away.
Republicans who failed to change party rules here this week and stop Donald Trump from winning the party’s presidential nomination are threatening to cause chaos on the floor of the national convention next week. Bruised by the way party leaders handled debate on a series of proposed rule changes, leaders of anti-Trump groups vowed Friday to find ways to draw at least some political blood when the party meeting begins Monday.
The options are limited, and attempts to cause trouble at political conventions are usually quickly thwarted. But anti-Trump activists who spent weeks trying to play within the party structure now say they will do what Trump hates the most — find a way to embarrass him.
“If they thought they were going to have the nice, unified kumbaya show, they just completely guaranteed they’re not going to have it,” said Kendal Unruh, a GOP delegate from Colorado who led an anti-Trump group.
During a marathon meeting Thursday, Unruh and a small band of like-minded delegates repeatedly failed in attempts to strip Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus of some of his authority and enact rules that would reopen the nomination fight and put Trump at risk. The RNC and the Trump campaign banded together, agreeing to help preserve policies enacted by Priebus during his six years as chairman and stop attempts to unbind delegates to the results of state caucuses and primaries.
(Peter Stevenson,Dani Johnson/The Washington Post)
“#NeverTrump is never more,” Trump wrote in a boastful tweet Friday. “They were crushed last night in Cleveland.”
[Q&A: Paul Manafort on how Trump beat back the Never Trump movement]
Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, spent two months overseeing an elaborate, process-laden pressure campaign to stop the rebellion and insisted that he would successfully quash opponents. But the anti-Trump movement continued to hold support from inside and outside the party, with the possibility of the first contested Republican convention since 1976 drawing further media coverage.
The campaign thwarted the insurrection by banding together with “people who were for Trump, people who care about the party and people who were persuaded by the moral argument as well,” Manafort said in an interview after the revolt was defeated.
“We weren’t heavy-handed,” he said. “We talked to people. We gauged their opinions, found out what they were concerned about and patched together a group that’s been frankly in place for a long time.”
But Trump opponents accuse Priebus and the campaign of ignoring the concerns of grass-roots activists and quickly cutting off debate during the committee meeting Thursday. Opponents also seemed caught off guard by a decision by Trump supporters to amend party rules with language clearly stating that convention delegates must vote based on the results of primaries and caucuses.
[Attempts to unbind GOP delegates crushed, effectively ending Never Trump]
Here are some of the people who are speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland and some who've opted to skip the event. (Sarah Parnass,Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)
Dane Waters, who leads a group called Delegates Unbound, said it was “outrageous” that Trump and RNC officials felt the need to make the rule change “given that he was the only horse on the track.”
“This shows they were concerned enough about the efforts, that they would take the draconian step to silence the delegates and ensure that Donald Trump was the nominee,” he said. “This is nothing but an assault and an affront on the delegates, who are the true grass roots of the party.”
So what can upset delegates do to cause chaos? First, they can try to collect enough signatures to introduce a “minority report” to the full convention. Doing so requires getting at least 28 signatures from members of the convention rules committee. Unruh said Friday that she is unlikely to seek the signatures for her own minority report, since all of her ideas failed.
But other delegates who sought to change the party rules by reverting back to “closed” Republican-only primaries and caucuses have not ruled out introducing their plan to the convention. Gay rights activists who sat on the party platform committee have also discussed introducing a resolution that would soften the GOP’s official opposition to same-sex marriage.
[Ivanka Trump’s rabbi pulls out of Republican convention]
Angry delegates might also attempt to be recognized to officially register opposition to Trump or to force an hours-long roll call of the states, which would upend a speakers schedule aimed at prime-time television coverage.
Notably, the rules committee on Thursday rejected a proposal to ensure that a working microphone was readily accessible to the leader of each state delegation. Having an ability to quickly draw attention amid the crush of people inside the convention hall would be critical for any floor fight.
The party successfully quashed similar attempts at the 2012 convention, when supporters of then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) tried and failed to be recognized.
But “we have more numbers than the Ron Paul folks,” said Unruh, who has repeatedly claimed — without clear evidence — that her movement has the support of hundreds of delegates. Waters has made similar unsubstantiated claims.
One final option remains: Stay away. Some senior RNC officials worry that delegates might start leaving Cleveland before Trump is scheduled to formally accept the nomination on Thursday night, possibly forcing the campaign to scramble to fill seats inside Quicken Loans Arena. The lack of prominent speakers on most nights of the convention might also compel delegates to reconsider their plans.
But Manafort said that months of “conjecture” by Trump’s opponents should give way in the coming days to party unity.
“So now do you finally accept the fact that the Never Trump is nevermore?” he asked. “Period. End of sentence.” ||||| Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday that if the never-Trump movement disrupts proceedings at the GOP convention, it will just help the presumptive Democratic nominee.
"If [they] want to delay the proceedings, all they’re doing is delaying the evening and helping Hillary Clinton," Priebus said on ABC's "This Week."
"I’m not going to just shut people down," he said of delegates who may try blocking Donald Trump's nomination at the convention. "But I’m also going to make sure that our rules are followed. And I don’t think they’re going to be successful."
The party chairman said that never-Trump delegates need to recognize that voters have made their choice.
"They don’t like the idea that 14 million people ... picked someone that they didn’t want," Priebus said.
He said that opposing Trump now amounts to support for Clinton.
"It’s a binary choice," Priebus said. "It’s Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton."
The RNC head told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that back in 2014 when Cleveland was picked to host the party convention, he hadn't expected Trump would be the nominee. But, he said, Trump “gives us a great opportunity to win.”
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Trump has all but closed the gap with Democratic rival Clinton, from her 12-point advantage in mid-June to a 4-point gap now.
Yet, just one day before the GOP convention kicks off, 60 percent of Americans say the presumptive Republican nominee is unqualified to be president.
Priebus dismissed that unfavorable poll number, saying, “Reagan had the same problem in 1979 going into 1980, and I think what it does show in reality is that [Trump] has a lot of space to grow."
He said if Trump can bring down that number of people who consider him unqualified, he will "easily" be elected president.
"He’s likable," the party chairman said. "He’s interesting to people, he’s intriguing."
Priebus also noted that Trump's choice of running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, was a "mature pick" who will help the Republican ticket.
Even with Pence's help though Priebus said the convention will be a key moment in Trump's campaign.
"Thursday night’s a critical night for him, delivering a great speech, the balloon drop, the people in this country saying, 'I can see Donald Trump being in the White House. I think he’s presidential,'" he said. ||||| CLEVELAND — Anti-Trump forces, preparing their final, desperate maneuver to deny Donald Trump the Republican presidential nomination, are struggling to settle on a strategy — and they’re down to their final day.
In hushed meetings in hotels dotting downtown Cleveland on Saturday, deflated leaders of the effort discussed a slew of parliamentary tactics that may disrupt the GOP national convention — which begins here on Monday — but are unlikely to derail Trump himself.
Story Continued Below
For now, the favored strategy appears to be an attempt to block the convention’s 2,472 delegates from adopting a new set of party rules on Monday, rejecting the blueprint passed Thursday by the Convention Rules Committee. Anti-Trump operatives are cobbling together signatures from delegates in order to force a recorded vote on the rules package. They need the support of majorities in seven delegations to guarantee a vote. And if they succeed, their next challenge would be to furiously lobby the entire convention to reject the rules and add new language freeing them to rebel against Trump.
“I’m not going to let the Rules Committee think that they’re relevant,” said Kendal Unruh, a Colorado delegate and leader of the “Free the Delegates” movement. “I’m not going to empower them anymore. The power has been and will continue to be in the hands of the delegates.”
The effort to kill the rules got a boost Friday night when Ken Cuccinelli, the leader of a conservative faction of delegates, suggested he’d consider aiding the attempt. Cuccinelli is miffed at failed negotiations with the Republican National Committee on conservative-favored changes to the rules. Now he appears to have found common cause with the stop-Trump delegates, even if he hasn’t explicitly endorsed their goal.
Cuccinelli also met Friday with a cadre of delegates who intend to back his effort to force rule changes. They included Virginia’s Morton Blackwell and Anne Gentry, Louisiana’s Gwen Bowen, Wyoming’s Harriet Hageman, Minnesota’s Cindy Pugh, Oklahoma’s Megan Winburn and Oregon’s Solomon Yue, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
The chances of success are slim. Trump’s allies at the convention — the Republican National Committee leadership and his campaign whip team — proved during Thursday’s Rules Committee meeting that advocates for stopping Trump are fewer than anticipated. And Trump's allies will be out in force on the convention floor to keep any wavering delegates on their side. They also expect to have a friend in the convention chairman, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who will make all rulings on proceedings and decide whether to recognize anti-Trump delegates.
Trump’s opponents say they’re nervous that Ryan and RNC leaders may also resort to more heavy-handed tactics, from cutting microphones on the floor to physically intervening to prevent delegates from filing signatures. But officials with the RNC and Trump campaign both suggest they don’t expect more than a nominal effort by anti-Trump delegates that will be dispatched with easily.
But killing the rules package isn’t the only tactic for anti-Trump activists. Unruh is also working to force a conventionwide debate on her proposal to “unbind” delegates from their obligation to support Trump through a so-called minority report. Unruh attempted to pass this proposal last week, during debate in the Convention Rules Committee, but she found little support — only 12 members of the 112-member committee stood with her on the issue.
Dane Waters, a strategist with the anti-Trump group Delegates Unbound, told POLITICO that the Rules Committee defeat — ensured by the Trump campaign's aggressive organization and partnership with the RNC — has actually boosted his group's effort. Delegates, he said, are furious at being shut down on a slew of conservative proposals, not just the unbinding effort, and they're readier than ever to rebel against Trump.
A pole marks the spot for the Ohio delegation in Cleveland. | AP Photo
"It's a new ballgame," he said.
But if Unruh can somehow persuade 28 members of the panel — more than double her original level of support — to sign a “minority report,” it would bring her proposal to the floor of the convention for debate. Unruh claimed on Friday that she had already persuaded two members of the panel who didn’t join her in Thursday’s vote to sign the minority report. Cuccinelli has also signaled he’d back a minority report strategy on some of his favored rules proposals, including a plan to encourage states to close primaries for Democrats and independents. Though the proposal has little to do with Trump’s nomination, RNC and Trump campaign leaders worry any debate on a rules change could become a forum for Trump’s opponents to wield influence.
Anti-Trump leaders convened their own conference call Friday afternoon to hone their final tactics. On Saturday morning, Waters was spotted speaking strategy in the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel. An unidentified associate turned to Waters and said, “The only way we’re going to get a rules fix is to actually stop the rules,” he said.
Trump allies are largely convinced any serious threat of rebellion is over. Though their whip team will continue to be out in force on the convention floor, supporters say they don’t expect any true threat to materialize.
Still, it’s unclear whether the constellation of anti-Trump groups represented in Cleveland are on the same page. Unruh told POLITICO she’s not really sure what her fellow anti-Trump Coloradan Regina Thomson was working on anymore, noting that she’s fully aligned herself with Waters’ efforts. A separate effort by Steve Lonegan, a New Jersey conservative who recently broke from Unruh’s group, said Friday he intended to reach out to her to make sure their strategies are aligned — not contradictory.
Some are considering a strategy to walk out of the convention during the presidential roll-call vote in an attempt to deny Trump enough support. But this could have the perverse effect of strengthening Trump because many alternate delegates who take their place might vote in favor of the New York developer.
For the most part, though, there was a prevailing sense of defeat among some of the most outspoken anti-Trump advocates here. They watched Thursday as an overwhelming and organized Trump-RNC whip effort dismantled the anti-Trump effort and left them hobbled heading into the week.
“I don’t have the sense that our people were really well-versed on the parliamentary procedure,” said Eric Minor, a Washington State delegate and supporter of unbinding. “It’s going to hurt our chances very much, I would say. We’ll see if there’s enough will to keep pushing this effort forward.”
Lonegan suggested that he may turn his focus to supporting a plan that would shut Democrats and independents out of Republican primaries.
“People tend to go along with the crowd. It’s hard to get people to buck the system,” Lonegan said. “This closed primary battle is going to be critical. We may lose in the short run but win in the long run.” |||||
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CLOSE These are the top 4 artists that didn't get love (or not enough love) during the Grammy nominations. Jane Mo, USA TODAY
Taylor Swift (Photo: VALERIE MACON, AFP/Getty Images)
Where’s Taylor?
One of the biggest surprises of Friday morning's Grammy nominations announcement was the absence of Taylor Swift from the main categories, with the singer excluded from the record, song and album of the year races.
This wasn’t what any Grammys race-watchers were expecting to happen, considering that Swift has won more albums of the year over the past decade than any other artist except Adele, taking home the ceremony’s biggest award in 2010 for her “Fearless” album and again in 2016 for “1989.”
Her November 2017 album “Reputation” missed the cutoff for the 2018 Grammys, which aired on Jan. 28, and was instead eligible for the 2019 awards, which airs next year on Feb. 10. That seemed like a blessing in disguise for Swift, as the similarly Grammys-beloved Bruno Mars went on to sweep the record, song and album of the year categories at the 2018 awards. With “Reputation” competing in the 2019 Grammys instead, Swift seemed destined for an album of the year nomination, with her single “Delicate” predicted to land among the song and record of the year contenders.
Instead, “Reputation” earned only one nomination, for best pop vocal album, becoming Swift’s first album of her pop-music era not to receive an album of the year nod -- with “Red” and “1989” getting that distinction, an award that “1989” would eventually win.
Grammys 2019: Female nominees including Cardi B, Lady Gaga dominate major categories
More: 2019 Grammys snubs: Beyonce and Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and more shockers
Of course, Swift doesn’t automatically deserve a boatload of Grammy nominations just for being Taylor Swift, and “Reputation” wasn’t the best-reviewed album of her career upon its release. But -- with many of the breathless media storylines that accompanied the album’s release having faded to the background concerning Taylor, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, her new boyfriend Joe Alwyn -- revisiting “Reputation” reveals an album that’s aged well with time. At the very least, it’s a release that’s less bloated than Drake’s “Scorpion” and certainly better-realized than Post Malone’s “Beerbongs and Bentleys,” two albums that nevertheless still scored albums of the year nominations this year.
Swift’s surprising absence in the main categories is reminiscent of last year’s Grammy nominations, when Ed Sheeran, who was also thought at the time to be a shoo-in for the ceremony’s biggest awards, got totally shut out from the album, artist and record of the year categories.
Yet, Swift has historically been much more powerful of a Grammys’ force than Sheeran, which makes Friday morning’s events all the more surprising.
Perhaps it was a bad sign when Swift’s “Reputation” lead single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” didn’t earn any nominations at the 2018 Grammys, despite being released early enough to make the cutoff for the previous year’s awards.
Yet, “Look What You Made Me Do” was a polarizing choice for a single that even some Swift megafans couldn’t get behind, and its lack of Grammy nominations seemed to have more to do with the song than the artist. And even without an album in contention, Swift still earned two nominations for the 2018 Grammys, for best country song category with her writing on Little Big Town’s “Better Man,” and best song for visual media with her “50 Shades Darker” track “I Don't Wanna Live Forever.”
That means that Swift earned more Grammy nominations in her off-year than she did for a year with an actual album in contention.
More: Taylor Swift's political statement was a redeeming moment for the star
Either way, the Grammys’ ice-cold reception to “Look What You Made Me Do” last year and lukewarm recognition of “Reputation” in Friday’s nominations suggests that the awards' voters have cooled on Swift, at least compared to the last time we saw Swift on the Grammys stage, when she was delivering a fiery speech to accept the album of the year trophy at the 2016 ceremony.
In a broader sense, it's a good thing that the Grammys' main categories aren't just dominated by the same group of megastars who get showered with nominations just for showing up. It was a thrill to see Kacey Musgraves and Janelle Monae nominated for album of the year -- artists who, while extremely established in their own right, don't quite have the same high-profile status as Swift or Ariana Grande, another pop star who got snubbed in the main categories.
And yet, while there's certainly an argument for voters passing over Swift's new music in favor of smaller artists who have gained less recognition over the years, that's not how the Grammys work. If the entirety of the Grammys' main categories this year was made up of shining examples of representation, then sure, Swift's exclusion would make sense. But the Grammys isn't a benevolent process -- it's an inscrutable rat race that pits the actual-best albums of the year against random nominees whose names seem drawn from a hat to fill out the categories.
And if Post Malone got an album of the year nod, which says it all about the kinds of music the Recording Academy deems Grammy-worthy, Swift sure as hell deserved to be recognized too.
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/12/07/justice-taylor-swift-why-her-shocking-grammys-snub-unfair/2237196002/ ||||| Here lies Taylor Swift’s reputation — or at least the final nail in the coffin of her Reputation era. Since its release last November, Swift’s sixth album has kept a deserved hold on the pop narrative of the last year, but on Friday, the album and its singles were all suspiciously absent from the Grammy nominations list, save for one lone recognition in the Best Pop Vocal Album Category.
Over the past decade, Swift has become one of pop’s most decorated stars. At age 20, she became the youngest artist to ever win Album of the Year when her sophomore LP Fearless took home the night’s biggest trophy. In 2016, she became the first woman to win that achievement twice as the main credited artist with her 1989 full-pop tilt.
Since the beginning of its rollout last summer with the release of the jarring, villainous, defensive “Look What You Made Me Do,” Reputation has been Swift’s most divisive album yet. The response to the single alone stirred up intense feelings from fans and critics: some praised her bold new sound and reclamation of her quickly turning tide on her previously unimpeachable public image while others considered the electroclash-lite tune to be a sonic, point-missing mess.
Upon the album’s actual release, Reputation began to win more people back. It was praised by many for taking risks without sacrificing Swift’s inimitable knack for lyrical pop narrative-building. The darkness, bitterness and looming danger turned out to be positive spins for Swift’s career and sound. She sold 2 million copies worldwide in the first week and was the third biggest album of 2017.
Even without much 2018 push for the album and its singles, Reputation was the biggest-selling album of the year, according to Billboard, and Swift was the highest-ranked artist. The LP’s fourth single “Delicate” evolved into a sleeper hit this year, staying on the Hot 100 for nearly a year and eventually becoming a massive radio hit.
Of course, even with Swift’s previous album 1989 being more quickly adored, its Album of the Year win was mired in controversy given its juxtaposition against Kendrick Lamar’s astounding To Pimp a Butterfly. It continued conversations about the Grammys’ relationship with not only black artists but rap music as well, being sandwiched between two even more controversial upsets for Beyoncé, whose self-titled LP and Lemonade both lost Album of the Year to Beck and Adele respectively. This year’s eight-album lineup is deservedly hip-hop and R&B-heavy, with Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther soundtrack, Drake’s Scorpion, Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, H.E.R.’s H.E.R., Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys and Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer fighting against modern folk prophet Brandi Carlile’s By the Way, I Forgive You and Kacey Musgraves’ own Swiftian country-pop crossover Golden Hour.
While Song and Record of the Year are more pop-centric, with nominations for Shawn Mendes, Zedd and Lady Gaga in either one or both category, not even Swift’s “Delicate” could make the final cut, even being snubbed in Pop Performance as well.
Though odd, Swift’s lack of nominations could, in the most ideal sense, signal a changing of the guard when it comes to what can be considered an award-worthy album. The last few years of Album of the Year nominations have seen more rap and R&B nominees than ever before. The absence of a marquee pop LP could open the floor up to the second hip-hop album of all time to win the title, following in the footsteps of OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill won in 1999, but it’s classified as R&B.) The face of what we expect a “Grammy darling” to be could change forever. |||||
What is a summary?
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– "Here lies Taylor Swift's reputation—or at least the final nail in the coffin of her Reputation era." So writes Brittany Spanos in a Rolling Stone piece that mulls the singer's Grammy nomination "snub": no mention of the album or its singles except one lonely listing in the Best Pop Vocal Album Category. Consider that Reputation was 2018's top-selling album and its fourth single, "Delicate," became "a sleeper hit this year" and "a massive radio hit." Plus Swift is a Grammy darling, the youngest artist ever to snag Album of the Year with Fearless at age 20 and the first woman to win twice when 1989 triumphed in 2016. So wither the love? OK, Reputation was dark and different. And it wasn't released in time for the 2018 Grammys, so it had to wait a year. There was also the controversy after 1989 beat Kendrick Lamar's "astounding" To Pimp a Butterfly—and "this year's eight-album lineup is deservedly hip-hop and R&B-heavy" with albums like Lamar's Black Panther soundtrack, Drake's Scorpion, and Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy, notes Spanos. But is the Grammys really about fairness and representation? Not to one commentator: "The Grammys isn't a benevolent process," writes Maeve McDermott at USA Today. "...And if Post Malone got an album of the year nod, which says it all about the kinds of music the Recording Academy deems Grammy-worthy, Swift sure as hell deserved to be recognized too."
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Summarize this article:
The haters gonna hate, hate, hate indeed! Taylor Swift is slammed for 'perpetuating black stereotypes' in new video clip
Shake It Off
It was supposed to be her big moment, with Taylor Swift proudly launching the debut single off her forthcoming album.
But while her fans simply can't get enough of the video for her catchy new song Shake It Off, several critics have rushed to harpoon the singer for the cultural appropriation in what was no doubt supposed to just be a lighthearted, fun clip.
Several people have weighed in on the video - despite admitting to not having even watched it
- slamming the 24-year-old for 'perpetuating black stereotypes' with her attempts at break dancing and twerking.
Scroll down for videos
Under fire! Taylor Swift has been accused of cultural appropriation in the video clip for her new single, Shake It Off, which she dropped during a Yahoo! livestream event in New York on Monday
Earl Sweatshirt took to Twitter on Monday night to share his thoughts with fans, in which he laid
into the star for her 'offensive' offering.
'Haven't watched the taylor swift video and I don't need to watch it to tell you that it's inherently offensive and ultimately harmful,' the 20-year-old began.
'Perpetuating black stereotypes to the same demographic of white girls who hide their prejudice by proclaiming their love of the culture... for instance, those of you who are afraid of black people but love that in 2014 it's ok for you to be trill or twerk or say nigga.'
Inappropriate? Several people have weighed in on the video - despite admitting to not having even watched it - slamming the 24-year-old for 'perpetuating black stereotypes' with her attempts at break dancing and twerking
The calm before the storm: The singer was in great spirits as she emerged after hosting the Yahoo! livestream event, looking stunning in her white skater skirt and matching cropped top featuring a pretty laser-cut design around the hem
Canadian DJ A-Trak also piped up, commenting: 'You know what this Taylor Swift video is missing? Some nice graffiti by Bieber. Let's be urban, everyone! Yay, cupcakes.'
'Where is Kanye when you need him. This T Swift video is prob sponsored by the American Cronut Society,' he continued.
Website Jezebel also called the video a 'cringe-worthy mess', running through all the various scene set-ups and how they each offended another ethnic group.
The former darling of country music certainly may have made an error in judgement with her latest offering, but it's highly unlikely she meant any offence.
Not mincing words: Earl Sweatshirt took to Twitter on Monday night to share his thoughts with fans, in which he lays into the star for her 'offensive' offering
Harsh: The 20-year-old had some strong opinions about a video he hadn't even yet watched - and has no plans to ever see
Misunderstood: Taylor's fans simply can't get enough of the video for her catchy new song Shake It Off, which was no doubt supposed to be a lighthearted clip, though it obviously didn't come off that way to everyone
Indeed, the lyrics and the video are poking fun at her own reputation and apparent lack of dancing skills of any and all genres.
Such lines as, 'I go on too many dates, but I can't make them stay, at least that's what people say,' speak directly to her many very public break-ups over the past few years.
'But the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it off, shake it off,' the catchy chorus kicks in.
Dropping the track during a Yahoo! livestream event in New York on Monday, Taylor then delighted her fans when she invited close to 100 of her biggest, most devoted followers back to her house for an exclusive party to celebrate.
Not impressed: Earl Sweatshirt (left) of Odd Future and DJ A-Trak took to Twitter on Monday night to slam the songstress for allegedly making a mockery of black culture
'Yay, cupcakes!' Canadian DJ A-Trak also weighed in on the clip, his response more lighthearted though featuring a heavy dose of sarcasm
Speaking of her upcoming album, she revealed she was inspired by the late '80s, while she revealed: 'We've made my favorite album I've ever made.'
Titled 1989 - the year of her birth - it features a Polaroid photo of the blonde beauty on the cover,
the top of her head cropped off just below her eyes, the words 'T.S. 1989' scrawled along the bottom in black marker.
Fielding questions from the studio audience during the livestream, Tay made the big revelation that she had already shot the music video for her first single, explaining the obviously innocent concept
to her adoring fans.
Fan frenzy: The hitmaker posed with the studio audience filled with young fans during the taping of her Yahoo! exclusive talk, during which she explained the concept for the video
'People actually are can be greatly reflected in how they dance': Of the inspiration behind the video, she explained, 'We basically decided we would get this huge group of incredible professional dancers of all different types of dance, and throw me into the middle of them and see what happens!'
'My idea was that life itself and who people actually are can be greatly reflected in how they dance. And I don't mean how good you are; I mean your willingness to dance,' she began.
'We started talking about ideas and we basically decided that we would get this huge group of incredible professional dancers of all different types of dance, and throw me into the middle of them and see what happens!'
She added: 'Fun fact, at the end of the video, you will see a group of about 100 fans. Those are people we plucked from Instagram, Twitter, website, letters, everywhere, and they have kept this secret that they were in this video for two months.'
No genre is safe! At one point, Tay slips into a ballerina's white swan costume as she proves that pointe is certainly not her forte
Getting tough: The pop sensation then busted some moves with break dancers as she demonstrated her (lack of) hip hop skills as she continued to mock herself
The lucky few fans invited into the star's home wasted no time in taking to Twitter to gush about the experience, thrilled at the opportunity to take in Tay-Tay's natural surroundings - and play with her adorable new kitten, Olivia Benson.
Twitter user @MyChoiceIsTay13 commented: 'Taylor never acted like she had 90 random strangers in her apartment. She treated us each like her best friends, I love her so much.
'Walked around Taylor's apartment holding Olivia like it was so normal but really I WAS DYING,' she later added.
Give us a T! Swift then assumed the garb of a cheerleader as she was launched up into the air
Shaking it off: The catchy chorus chimes in with the empowering message, 'But the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it off, shake it off'
'I got to pet Olivia who is the sweetest cat ever by the way,' @lissyypop wrote, adding of the songstress's father: 'Scott swift gave us life lessons about studying in college.'
The evening wasn't without incident, however, with @djdan1033 posting a Polaroid photo in which he's standing next to the star, her now-broken MTV VMA in his hands as Taylor cringes in horror.
'Apologies to @taylorswift13 for breaking her MTV VMA today. Thx for having me at your apartment to hang out,' he captioned the shot.
Going Gaga: The star went futuristic for one segment as she donned a shiny gold metallic outfit and huge glasses teamed with a blunt blonde wig in the vein of Lady Gaga
||||| After much teasing on Instagram, Taylor Swift has released a new video to empower her fans — or maybe mock other pop ladies like Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Fergie? You be the judge.
What is clear is that the girl dead set on being America’s Sweetheart picked the wrong week for this sappy, ready-made Target commercial cut where she celebrates her true self by crawling through a bridge of brown and black women’s butts. *surprised Taylor Swift face*
While President Obama was hosting live stream to discuss the protest and gross police conduct in Ferguson, Missouri surrounding the death of Michael Brown, Swift decided to release her new video with her own live stream. This moment was probably comprised of her making that damn “Oh my God you like me!” face over and over and “sharing” a ready-made marketing project dreamt up by her record label with her fans. Problem is this week is rife with crappy real news that is a stark contrast to her simple pop song.
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Let’s dig into Swift’s new stab at shaking up her general blandness, which she's so good at.
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“I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain, that’s what people say.”
As for the opening line, one co-worker noted, "Who has ever said that Taylor stays out too late?" I’ll add: "Let alone goes anywhere of Lindsay Lohan-fame?" She is literally the milquetoast of the pop charts.
“I go on too many dates, but I can’t make them stay at least that’s what people say.”
This is true, coupled with the fact that she sort of stalked a Kennedy who was younger than her by literally buying a house close to him. If that sounds weird, it’s because it is.
SCENE: Taylor's dressed as a B-boy with break dancers of color killing it all around her while she jumps over a boom box in an attempt to be … street? Cute street? Who knows, but she's definitely succeeding at being annoying.
“But I keep cruising, can’t stop, won’t stop moving. It’s like I got this music in my mind saying it’s gonna be alright.”
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SCENE: Swan Lake ballerina who gyrates to prove she’s not meant for this world! Oh girl, you so different.
“But the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it off, shake it off.” 2x
SCENE: Interpretative dancer grey! Here Taylor fails among dancers who are better at pretending to be trees and rivers in human form. She shows that she is bad by throwing her grey dancer scarf into the air and letting it fall on her face. SHE IS JUST LIKE US.
"I never miss a beat, I’m lightning on my feet. And that’s what they don’t see, that’s what they don’t see. I’m dancing on my own. I’ll make the moves up as I go and that’s what they don’t know."
SCENE: Taylor channels Lady Gaga in a severe bob cut blonde wig with futuristic break dancers (again). Surprise, Taylor can’t breakdance (again) but don’t worry, she’s hired plenty of people of color to do it for her! Do not applaud.
“But I keep cruising, can’t stop, won’t stop moving. It’s like I got this music in my mind saying it’s gonna be alright.”
SCENE: Fake Miley Cyrus as she uses the literal lyrics from “Wrecking Ball” to illustrate how original a person she is. Taylor’s wearing cut off jean shorts, an animal print jacket, big gold hoops and jewelry that harken people of color and a CeCe Peniston curly-cue. But this isn’t cultural appropriation right? Maybe objectification is a better word. Because she’s America’s Sweetheart who knows that dressing up in the cultural cues of another ethnic group isn’t cool, right? But paying dancers to twerk so she can gawk at their bodies as other while literally crawling underneath a London Bridge rotating bums is fine? Shouldn't milquetoast know better? Oh wait, she's doing it as a commentary?
“But the players gonna play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it off, shake it off.” 2x
SCENE: OMG, we finally reach the point in the video where Taylor is herself, and that self is a 2014 knock-off of Audrey Hepburn! Oh man, this girl is so creative! ||||| Still from YouTube
In the video for Taylor Swift’s new single—the first off her next album—the polarizing superstar tries on a number of new looks. She hoists a boombox, Radio Raheem-style, beside some breakdancing hip-hop heads. She pirouettes with some ballerinas, sporting a tutu straight out of Black Swan. She dons a sparkly tracksuit apparently meant to convey some sort of EDM kid. She almost twerks. (Her new album is called 1989, but her references don’t exactly stick to that year.)
If this all sounds cringe-inducingly awkward, that’s the point. Taylor Swift may be one of the most popular stars in the world, but for years her appeal has been based on her insistence that she’s not like the popular girls. She’s not one of the “cool kids,” she tells us on “22.” She’s not some indie-record-listening hipster, as she tells us on “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” Or as she put it on the self-defining “You Belong With Me”: “She wears high heels/ I wear sneakers/ She’s cheer captain/ And I’m on the bleachers.”
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Here the looks are different, but the game remains the same. If some, recalling that last line, see Swift dressed up as a cheer captain in “Shake It Off” and think it’s a betrayal, they should look again. She’s getting hit in the face by pompoms. She’s fumbling all her moves. She would make a terrible cheer captain, the video tells us, just like you and me. Later, when she’s shaking her booty beside some twerking dancers (batten down for the think pieces) she positions herself as the anti-Miley. The message isn’t that she’s down with them. The message is that she could never appropriate something like twerking and make it convincing. Everyone knows she’s a bad dancer, so she gave her haters a whole video of bad dancing. Or, as the chorus puts it, “Haters gonna hate/ I’m just gonna shake it off.”
Which brings us to the one look you won’t see in Swift’s new video: country star. In a live-streamed announcement just before the music video dropped, Swift referred to her next album as her “first pop album.” We’ve known this was coming for a while, despite all Nashville’s pleas for its biggest star to stay. If Red was her breakup album with country, this is our first look at what Taylor Swift looks like when she’s untethered to any one genre. ||||| 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 ||||| But the issue is complicated: When people accused rapper Iggy Azalea, a young white woman from Australia, of culturally appropriating Southern black hip-hop culture as her own in “Fancy,” Questlove came down as the voice of reason and declared that hip-hop culture is officially mainstream. “You know, we as black people have to come to grips that hip-hop is a contagious culture. If you love something, you gotta set it free,” he said in an interview with Time magazine . “I will say that ‘Fancy,’ above any song that I’ve ever heard or dealt with, is a game-changer in that fact that we’re truly going to have to come to grips with the fact that hip-hop has spread its wings.”
Unlike Azalea, Swift isn’t a hip-hop artist. She’s a country singer branching into pop music, one who has no professional experience or history with black culture. Part of why her video seems offensive is that, even though she's satirizing herself, we don't really feel like we're all in on the same joke. We're not sure how self-aware Taylor Swift really is about the choices she makes in the music video. And, as a privileged white woman, she has to work a little harder if she wants to convince us that she's the "anti-Miley" and won't appropriate black culture. (Like, maybe, don't use those images at all?) Maybe it's overstepping to say that Swift is using the shorthand stereotypes of black culture to transform her image, but that's certainly the fear here, given that white pop stars have a history of doing this. Besides, if Swift wants to be a lasting pop star, her career will be served best not by imitation, but by creating something new. |||||
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– Taylor Swift announced her upcoming album, 1989, Monday by releasing a music video for the first single, "Shake It Off." The video features, among other things, Swift dancing alongside twerking, break-dancing black back-up dancers—and not everyone is happy about it, Salon reports. Odd Future rapper Earl Sweatshirt tweeted that the video (which he didn't actually watch) was "inherently offensive and ultimately harmful," "perpetuating black stereotypes to the same demographic of white girls who hide their prejudice by proclaiming their love of the culture." His bandmate Flan Emoji also weighed in, the Daily Mail reports: "You know what this Taylor Swift video is missing? Some nice graffiti by Bieber. Let's be urban, everyone!" And Jezebel notes that, considering the situation in Ferguson, Swift "picked the wrong week for this sappy, ready-made Target commercial cut where she celebrates her true self by crawling through a bridge of brown and black women’s butts." As Forrest Wickman points out on Slate, Swift appears to be positioning herself "as the anti-Miley. ... The message is that she could never appropriate something like twerking and make it convincing," because, among other things, she is known to be "a bad dancer." But, responds Prachi Gupta on Salon, it's impossible to deny that Swift is still "participating in racial cross-dressing, blanketed in gold chains and sporting a tight updo, a white woman dressed as a caricature of a black woman, leading a team of black backup dancers."
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input: Formal statements coming. For those mocking for the district I live in...open your minds. It’s time to for me to put up or shut up and I want to serve great people. ||||| 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 number of people online and off have suggested I run for political office. I wanted to see what my online community thinks of this idea as I mull the possibilities. Thoughts?pic.twitter.com/L71fF0NnXR |||||
summary: – Stacey Dash, best known for playing glamorous Dionne Davenport in the Clueless movie and TV series, says she's making a "Dash" for Congress. Dash, a Fox News contributor until early last year, has filed paperwork to run for a House seat as a Republican in California's 44th District, the Sacramento Bee reports. The seat, which has been in Democratic hands since 2012, is currently held by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan. The district, which includes Carson, Compton, North Long Beach, and Watts, is predominately Hispanic and voted for Hillary Clinton by a massive 83%-12% margin in 2016, the Hill reports. Dash, 51, has been known as a conservative voice since she endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, CNN reports. She later wrote a memoir: "There Goes My Social Life: From Clueless to Conservative." She first floated the idea of a run for Congress early this month, when she tweeted an image of a "Dash to DC" campaign button. On Monday, she tweeted: "Formal statements coming. For those mocking for the district I live in...open your minds. It’s time to for me to put up or shut up and I want to serve great people." (In 2015, Dash and another Fox commentator were suspended for swearing while discussing an Obama speech.)
input: Art prodigy seven-yearold Kieron Williamson sold his entire exhibition of paintings in just 30 minutes - for £150,000.
Fans from as far away as Arizona snapped up the oils, watercolours and pastels of landscapes and street scenes from around his home in Holt, Norfolk.
Kieron, dubbed mini Monet, began painting two years ago. Explaining his love of local landscapes he said: "I like them because they've got big Norfolk skies and not too many hills or mountains." ||||| A child's art is often displayed prominently on the family fridge, but one English boy has far surpassed that standard, recently exhibiting and selling his collection of paintings for more than $200,000.
Seven-year-old Kieron Williamson of Norfolk, U.K., known in the British media as "Mini Monet," has impressionist style and impressive impact: All 33 works in his latest collection sold in 27 minutes, earning $236,850.
People from as far away as South Africa, Arizona and New Jersey showed up at the Picturecraft Art Gallery to purchase the prodigy's prized work. Many camped outside the gallery for two days awaiting the 9 o'clock sale, gallery owner Adrian Hill said.
"Kieron is painting so far in advance of his own years," Hill said. "There are many talented artists out there, but I can't think of one that's made such an impact at such a young age."
Hill, who has known the Williamson family since before Kieron was born, said Kieron has always been fascinated by art.
As a small child, he would walk around the gallery and closely examine all of the works each time he visited, Hill said.
Now, there is a wait list of 700 people who want an original Kieron work.
Hill said the reason for the demand is the relatable style of the paintings.
"They're impressionist without being abstract and realistic without being photographic," he said.
That impressionist style is rare in an age in which many art students become abstract or contemporary artists, gallery employee and art student Charlotte Hoar said.
"It's fantastic to see a style that was around hundreds of years ago brought back by a seven-year-old living in Norfolk," she said.
Although focused on his work, Kieron is still a typical kid. While others set up for the exhibition, he was chasing bubbles in the parking lot, Hill said.
Kieron has yet to understand the financial implication of his success but he does get excited every time he sells a painting, Hill said.
Kieron Just Getting Started
And, based on demand, it seems Kieron will be selling paintings for years to come.
"I would happily exhibit all of them in the gallery," Hill said. |||||
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– He has the touch of an Impressionist master but he prefers Gameboys to waistcoats. And he's only been painting a couple of years because he recently turned 7. But Kieron Williamson, known in the British press as "Mini Monet," is enjoying the buzz of an established artist because he just sold 33 of his paintings for a whopping $240,000—in just 30 minutes—to customers who traveled to England from as far away as South Africa. Some camped outside the gallery door for two days, reports ABC News. Williamson, who's been fascinated with art since he was very young, creates works that are "impressionist without being abstract and realistic without being photographic," says gallery owner Adrian Hill, who sold his work. "There are many talented artists out there, but I can't think of one that's made such an impact at such a young age." As for Kieron, he attributes the beauty in his painting to his Norfolk surroundings. He likes the landscapes of his home because "they've got big Norfolk skies and not too many hills or mountains."
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– Jackie Kennedy Onassis believed Lyndon B. Johnson was behind JFK's assassination, knew about her husband's affairs with his interns, and had her own fling with actor William Holden. Those are the stunning revelations from an interview she held decades ago, tapes of which are about to be released publicly, the Daily Mail reports. The tapes were made by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who interviewed the former first lady within months of Kennedy's 1963 assassination. She confided to Schlesinger that she believed Johnson and a cabal of billionaire Texas tycoons orchestrated the Dallas assassination with Lee Harvey Oswald, according to the newspaper. Jackie Kennedy reportedly also revealed that she was well aware of her husband's multiple affairs, and talked of finding underwear from a 19-year-old intern working for Kennedy in their bedroom. But she exacted revenge by having her own affairs, including one with Holden and another with Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli. Still, according to some reports, the couple had "turned the corner" and were headed toward a better relationship and had decided to have more children shortly before Kennedy was assassinated. Jackie Kennedy had asked that the tapes not be released until 50 years after her death, but daughter Caroline has decided to release them earlier; they'll be featured in a program on ABC. It's thought she agreed to release them in exchange for the network dropping its $10 million series about the family, notes the Daily Beast.
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They've been vaulted since their recording a few months after her husband's death, but now the secret confessions of Jackie Kennedy Onassis will be released. The shocking tapes reveal that the former first lady believed that Lyndon Johnson and Texas businessmen were behind the assassination of her husband on Nov. 22, 1963. She also confesses to an affair with actor William Holden, an act of retaliation for her husband's own romps with a 19-year-old White House intern and other women. Jackie recorded the tapes with the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., but asked that they not be released until 50 years after her death, fearing the confessions would have made her family targets for revenge. Although she died only 17 years ago, her daughter, Caroline Kennedy, has agreed to release them early and have them aired on a special program on ABC. It is believed she agreed to the release in exchange for the network dropping its $10 million series about the family.
||||| Explosive Jackie O tapes 'reveal how she believed Lyndon B Johnson killed JFK and had affair with movie star'
She will allegedly reveal affair with actor William Holden
Believed Vice-President Johnson was behind husband's assassination
Former first lady Jackie Kennedy is said to have made the tapes within months of JFK's assassination
Jackie Onassis believed that Lyndon B Johnson and a cabal of Texas tycoons were involved in the assassination of her husband John F Kennedy, ‘explosive’ recordings are set to reveal.
The secret tapes will show that the former first lady felt that her husband’s successor was at the heart of the plot to murder him.
She became convinced that the then vice president, along with businessmen in the South, had orchestrated the Dallas shooting, with gunman Lee Harvey Oswald – long claimed to have been a lone assassin – merely part of a much larger conspiracy.
Texas-born Mr Johnson, who served as the state’s governor and senator, completed Mr Kennedy’s term and went on to be elected president in his own right.
The tapes were recorded with leading historian Arthur Schlesinger Jnr within months of the assassination on November 22, 1963, and had been sealed in a vault at the Kennedy Library in Boston.
The then Mrs Kennedy, who went on to marry Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, had ordered that they should not be released until 50 years after her death, with some reports suggesting she feared that her revelations might make her family targets for revenge.
She died 17 years ago from cancer aged 64 and now her daughter, Caroline Kennedy, has agreed to release the recordings early.
John and Jackie Kennedy with daughter Caroline, who allowed the tapes to be released to ABC in return for their cancelling of the mini series about the family
Jackie is said to reveal her affair with actor William Holden, right, which she did in retaliation for her husband's many flings
In the tapes, Jackie allegedly blames President Lyndon Johnson for the death of JFK, who took over the post from her husband after his assassination
Daughter Caroline Kennedy released the 'explosive' tapes
A programme featuring the tapes will be aired by U.S. network ABC, and it is understood British broadcasters are in talks to show it here too.
ABC executives claimed the tapes’ revelations were ‘explosive’.
They are believed to include the suggestion that Mr Kennedy was having an affair with a 19-year-old White House intern, with his wife even claiming that she found knickers in their bedroom.
And they go on to reveal that she too had affairs – one with Hollywood star William Holden and another with Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli – as a result of the president’s indiscretions. It has also been claimed that, in the weeks before Mr Kennedy’s assassination, the couple had turned a corner in their relationship and were planning to have more children.
Historian Edward Klein, who has written several books on the Kennedy clan, said: ‘Jackie regarded the pretty young things in the White House as superficial flings for Jack. She did retaliate by having her own affairs.
‘There was a period during which she was delighted to be able to annoy her husband with her own illicit romances.’
It is believed that Caroline, 53, agreed to the early release of the tapes in exchange for ABC dropping its £10million drama series about the family.
The Kennedys, starring Tom Cruise’s wife Katie Holmes as Jackie, critically charted the family’s political and personal trials and tribulations since the 1930s. The series was eventually broadcast on an independent cable channel, and on BBC2 in the UK, against Caroline’s wishes.
A spokesman for ABC said the claims about the content of the tapes were 'erroneous'.
He said: ‘The actual content of the tapes provide unique and important insight into our recent past from one of the most fascinating and influential First Ladies in American history.’
The broadcaster did not reply to repeated requests for comment and would not clarify what was on the tapes, saying the programme was not scheduled for broadcast until mid-September. |||||
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An air tanker battling a wildfire at Yosemite National Park crashed Tuesday afternoon, coming to rest on a granite cliff. The pilot was found dead, officials said.
By Tuesday night, rescuers had climbed to the wreckage, which was perched on a 2,500-foot escarpment near El Portal, the park's west entrance.
A National Park Service search and rescue team was the first to set out for the site in the late afternoon, lighting a path with headlamps. Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the agency's S2-T tanker crashed while fighting the 130-acre Dog Rock fire. Debris from the crash was scattered on Highway 140, which was closed because of the blaze.
Berlant said it was believed the pilot was alone in the plane, which came down in an area where many Yosemite employees reside and few tourists visit. The cause of the crash has not been determined.
Officials did not identify the pilot or his home base. Berlant said the pilot worked for DynCorp International, which also maintains Cal Fire's planes.
The Dog Rock fire was first reported about 2:45 p.m. The tanker was among a handful of aircraft fighting the blaze, which broke out on El Portal Road between the park's boundary and the Arch Rock entrance station, officials said.
Fire in Yosemite National Park Los Angeles Times Map shows location of Dog Rock fire, which an air tanker crashed while battling Tuesday, killing the pilot. Map shows location of Dog Rock fire, which an air tanker crashed while battling Tuesday, killing the pilot. (Los Angeles Times)
Word of Tuesday's crash spread quickly through the small and tight-knit community of fire aviation.
"This is a stunning development," said Bill Gabbert, a wildfire expert who operates a popular website, Wildfire Today. "Any crash is a huge deal."
Attacking fires from the air is extremely dangerous, and firefighting planes have crashed. The last time a Cal Fire air tanker crashed was in 2001, when two tankers collided while fighting a fire in Mendocino County, killing both pilots.
The pilot is usually alone in the aircraft, but there are times when a mechanic or a pilot in training are onboard, Cal Fire officials said.
Cal Fire air tanker Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times An S2-T air tanker drops retardant on a fire at Camp Pendleton in 2011. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection owns 23 of the small planes, one of which crashed Tuesday at Yosemite National Park. An S2-T air tanker drops retardant on a fire at Camp Pendleton in 2011. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection owns 23 of the small planes, one of which crashed Tuesday at Yosemite National Park. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
The small S2-T tankers are the workhorses of the U.S. firefighting fleet. The U.S. Forest Service — and a few state agencies such as Cal Fire — obtained the twin-engine planes from the Pentagon's "boneyard" as much as 50 years after they were used by the military to chase submarines.
The planes' safety record has been under scrutiny in recent years.
Cal Fire's tankers have been retrofitted for firefighting, adding turboprop engines and fitting reservoirs that carry 1,200 gallons of retardant.
The small planes are most effective for "initial attack," in the early hours of a fire when managers seek to prevent small fires from growing to unmanageable size.
Retardant drops do not put out fires but slow the flames' progress, allowing ground crews to move in and more safely create fire lines.
When the payload of retardant is dropped, the plane returns to a remote base to refuel and take on more retardant. Small tankers are prized for their ability to make a number of sorties each day and for their maneuverability, particularly in California's canyon fires.
Gabbert called S-2Ts dependable.
"I'm not aware of a chronic problems," he said.
California is one of a handful of states to maintain a fleet of firefighting planes. Cal Fire has 23 S-2T tankers operated by DynCorp, which also provides the pilots. The McLean, Va., company's performance with Cal Fire was awarded the Diamond Award of Excellence in 2012 and 2013 by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The federal fleet has been shrinking, as the Forest Service seeks to modernize the planes. The agency has for some time sought to entice the aviation industry to build a dedicated firefighting plane, to no avail.
[email protected]
Twitter: @AdolfoFlores3
[email protected]
Twitter: @julie_cart ||||| An air tanker battling a fire burning on the west side of Yosemite National Park crashed Tuesday afternoon, authorities said, underscoring the danger of wildfires fueled by the historic drought that have broken out across the state in recent months.
The plane, a Grumman S2 Tracker that is operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and is designed to drop flame retardant from its belly, crashed about 4:30 p.m. near Arch Rock, said Ashley Mayer, a Yosemite spokeswoman.
At about 6:45 p.m, Cal Fire reported that rescue teams had reached the crash site in rugged terrain and were working to determine the condition of the pilot.
It was not clear whether anyone was on the plane besides the pilot, but the Grumman S2 Tracker is usually flown with only a pilot aboard, said Alyssa √Smith, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.
The Dog Rock Fire broke out on the west side of Yosemite on Tuesday afternoon, prompting road closures and evacuations as it quickly scorched more than 130 acres, officials said.
The fire was reported around 2:45 p.m. off El Portal Road — the continuation of Highway 140 that leads into Yosemite — between the park boundary and the Arch Rock entrance station.
About 50 people were evacuated from the community of Foresta, officials said, and El Portal Road between the park boundary and the junction with Big Oak Flat Road was closed to all traffic.
Visitors trying to get to Yosemite Valley could still take Wawona Road, which is an extension of Highway 41, or Big Oak Flat Road, an extension of Highway 120.
Cal Fire has been using aircraft to fight fires since the 1950s, beginning with World War II biplanes and torpedo bombers. It now has a fleet of more than 50 aircraft, including helicopters and planes. Some drop water or retardant and others are used to plan strategy and drop off firefighters.
The agency began using the S2 Trackers in the 1970s, and sped up its transition to the former military planes after six accidents within a two year period involving torpedo bombers. The S2 Trackers were originally built as an aircraft carrier-based, anti-submarine warfare plane.
Cal Fire now has about two dozen of the newest version of the S2 Tracker, which hauls up to 1,200 gallons of retardant at a time and can travel in excess of 300 mph. They are used when the agency needs to quickly drop retardant on advancing blazes.
The most recent aircraft-related death at Cal Fire occurred in 2006, when a spotter plane crashed in the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest in Tulare County, killing the two people on board. Federal investigators found the cause was pilot error.
Staff writer Marisa Lagos contributed to this story. |||||
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– An air tanker fighting a wildfire at Yosemite National Park mysteriously crashed yesterday, killing the pilot, the Los Angeles Times reports. A spokesman for the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says it's believed the pilot was alone in the plane and that he worked for DynCorp International, a contractor that provides planes to California's firefighting forces. Rescue efforts were initially hampered due to the crash site's location: the top of a 2,500-foot cliff. An FAA spokesman notes that the plane crashed "under unknown circumstances," CNN reports. The pilot—whose name his family asked to be withheld until other loved ones are notified—was battling the Dog Rock fire, which has already raged over 130 acres and prompted park officials to evacuate at least 60 homes, notes CNN. The S-2T tanker that crashed was one of 26 that Cal Fire bought nearly 20 years ago from the Department of Defense, souping them up "with modern, powerful turboprop engines" that made them "faster, safer, and more maneuverable." The air tankers can speed around a fire site at more than 300mph and dump 1,200 gallons of fire retardant at once, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Although a wildfire expert tells the Times that the S-2Ts are "dependable," the newspaper notes that the US Forest Service has been pushing for a plane specifically designed for firefighting. (This Alaska wildfire was bigger than the city of Chicago.)
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Write a summary based on this article:
Surely, you've seen our recent work on anthropodermic bibliopegy, the early modern practice of binding books in human skin?
No? Well, a quick refresher: some books, since the 16th century but before our own time, were bound in human skin. Why? "The confessions of criminals were occasionally bound in the skin of the convicted," Harvard librarian Heather Cole explained, "or an individual might request to be memorialized for family or lovers in the form of a book."
Qué romantico!
Anyway, we know it happened because people refer to it happening in the literature of the time, and also because some books bore inscriptions that literally said that they were bound in skin.
But such tomes are suspect. You can't just trust anyone who says they've bound a book in human skin. For example, one had this inscription, but turned out to be stupid sheepskin:
The bynding of this booke is all that remains of my dear friende Jonas Wright, who was flayed alive by the Wavuma on the Fourth Day of August, 1632. King Mbesa did give me the book, it being one of poore Jonas chiefe possessions, together with ample of his skin to bynd it.
And so, I am happy to report, the Houghton Library's copy of Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’ame "is without a doubt bound in human skin," Cole, who is the assistant curator of modern nooks and manuscripts at the library, reports in a new blog post. (Des destinées de l’ame, by the way, translates to The destiny of the soul.) ||||| Houghton Library contains countless curiosities. Perhaps the most disturbing example is Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’ame (FC8.H8177.879dc), bound in human skin.
In the mid-1880s, Houssaye (1815-1896) presented his recent book, a meditation on the soul and life after death, to his friend Dr. Ludovic Bouland (1839-1932), a noted medical doctor and prominent bibliophile. Bouland bound the book with skin from the unclaimed body of a female mental patient who had died of a stroke.
Inserted in the volume is an autograph manuscript note written by Bouland:
“Ce livre est relié en peau humaine parcheminée, c’est pour lui laisser tout son cachet qu’a dessein on n’y a point appliqué d’ornement. En le regardant attentivement on distingue facilement les pores de la peau. Un livre sur l’Ame humaine méritait bien qu’on lui donnait un vetement humain: aussi lui avais je réservé depuis longtemps ce morceau de peau humaine pris sur le dor d’une femme. Il est curieux de voir les aspects différents que prend cette peau selon le mode de préparation au quel elle est soumise. La comparer par exemple avec le petit volume que j’ai dans ma bibliothèque, Sever. Pinaeus de Virginitatis notis qui lui aussi est relié en peau humaine mais tannée au sumac.” “This book is bound in human skin parchment on which no ornament has been stamped to preserve its elegance. By looking carefully you easily distinguish the pores of the skin. A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering: I had kept this piece of human skin taken from the back of a woman. It is interesting to see the different aspects that change this skin according to the method of preparation to which it is subjected. Compare for example with the small volume I have in my library, Sever. Pinaeus de Virginitatis notis which is also bound in human skin but tanned with sumac.”
The other volume to which Bouland refers, Séverin Pineau’s De integritatis & corruptionis virginum notis (Amsterdam, 1663), bound by distinguished Paris binder Marcellin Lortic, is now in the collection of the Wellcome Library.
Des destinées de l’ame was deposited at Houghton in 1934 by book collector John B. Stetson, Jr., and given to the library by Stetson’s widow in 1954.
While books bound in human skin are now objects of fascination and revulsion, the practice was once somewhat common. Termed anthropodermic bibliopegy, the binding of books in human skin has occurred at least since the 16th century. The confessions of criminals were occasionally bound in the skin of the convicted, or an individual might request to be memorialized for family or lovers in the form of a book.
Although this is the only known example of an anthropodermic book in Houghton’s collection, Harvard libraries hold one other example: the Countway Library’s Center for the History of Medicine holds a French translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Lyon, 1597) which may have an anthropodermic binding.
(Practicarvm qvaestionvm circa leges regias Hispaniæ primæ partis nouæ collectionis regiæ (Madrid, 1605-1606) in the collections of the Harvard Law School Library Historical & Special Collections, used to be considered a third example; it has since been proven to be sheepskin.)
[Thanks to Heather Cole, Assistant Curator of Modern Books & Manuscripts, for contributing this post] |||||
Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’ame, housed in Harvard’s Houghton Library. (Harvard, Houghton Library)
This book is covered in human flesh. Really.
Harvard scientists confirmed today that a volume in one of its libraries contained a book that is “without a doubt” bound in human skin.
The phenomenon is called anthropodermic bibliopegy and it used to be fairly common until — well, frankly, we stopped doing that kind of thing.
There were three such books suspected to be in the Harvard libraries, but testing found that two of the three were actually bound in sheepskin.
The final book in the triumvirate is authentically human.
French novelist and poet Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’ame, housed in Harvard’s Houghton Library, is described as a “collection of essays meditating on the human spirit,” according to Samuel Jacobs’s archival account in the Crimson:
Houghton’s associate librarian for collections, Thomas Horrocks, describes the light volume as one of the author’s lesser works.
Be that as it may, probably the most remarkable thing about the book is its creepy inscription.
Houssaye reveals that the book’s binding is the human skin taken from the back of a woman, specifically an unclaimed body of a female mental patient who died of a stroke, according to Heather Cole, Houghton’s assistant curator of modern books & manuscripts.
“By looking carefully you easily distinguish the pores of the skin,” Houssaye wrote. “A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering.”
Using a process called peptide mass fingerprinting, scientists were able to use microscopic samples of the covering to eliminate the possibility that the book was made out of other common binding materials like sheep, cattle or goat skin.
“The analytical data, taken together with the provenance of Des destinées de l’ame, make it very unlikely that the source could be other than human,” said Bill Lane, director of the Harvard Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Resource Laboratory, in a blog post explaining the findings.
So there you have it. The real thing that we might all wish had been fake. |||||
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– Harvard has confirmed a creepy find in its Houghton Library: A 19th-century book about the soul is bound in human skin. Tests revealed that French poet's Arsène Houssaye’s Des Destinées de l'Ame—The Destiny of the Soul—really does have a human binding, backing up the author's claim in the inscription that it had been bound in skin taken from the back of a female mental patient who died of a stroke, the Washington Post reports. "By looking carefully you easily distinguish the pores of the skin," Houssaye wrote in the volume he presented to a friend. "A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering." Testing in Harvard labs revealed that another book thought to have been bound in human skin was actually bound in sheepskin, despite an inscription reading, "The bynding of this booke is all that remains of my dear friende Jonas Wright, who was flayed alive by the Wavuma on the Fourth Day of August, 1632," the Atlantic finds. Revolting as it may seem today, the binding of books in human skins, a practice called "anthropodermic bibliopegy," was once fairly common, the library's blog notes, explaining that "the confessions of criminals were occasionally bound in the skin of the convicted, or an individual might request to be memorialized for family or lovers in the form of a book."
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– Some 32 years after he went missing, the body of aspiring mountain guide Patrice Hyvert has been found, frozen, on a glacier in the Mont Blanc range. Just 23 at the time he vanished during a solo climb of one of the Mont Blanc massif's main peaks, Hyvert was found earlier this month on the Talefre glacier with his gear (including his skis) and his wallet (including his ID) still intact, reports the Guardian. In spite of the resolution, not everyone is rejoicing. "I'm a mountain man, and I would have preferred him to stay up there," Hyvert's father, now 82, told RTL radio. "He was better on a mountain than in a coffin." And the French climber's body will be returned to that mountain: The family plans to return to the glacier and scatter his ashes there. Scores of climbers die every year on the range's dangerous and highly technical terrain, reports Reuters, though bodies are often recovered the following year when ice thaws. During Hyvert's March 2, 1982, climb, however, the weather took such a bad turn that it stranded another mountaineer and kept rescuers on hold for two days, at which point the other climber was found and flown out. Rescuers searching by air and foot found no trace of Hyvert, and no clues had emerged since, notes The Local. The working theory is that Hyvert fell into an icy crevasse, where his body was preserved for decades and "finally ejected," reports the Telegraph. (One climber in Oregon recently survived a 500-foot fall down Mt. Hood.)
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When Patrice Hyvert, a French trainee mountain guide, set out on a solitary climb of the Nant Blanc face he was taking advantage of a perfect mountaineering season on the Mont Blanc range.
But on that fateful day of 1 March 1982, the weather changed abruptly in the afternoon when a snowstorm descended and the 23-year-old climber never returned.
His father, Gérard, gave up hope after days of rescue searches and mourned his son's loss. But the chance discovery of Hyvert's body last Thursday on the Talèfre glacier at an altitude of 2,600 metres, 32 years after he was reported missing, means his family will have to grieve all over again.
"We were alerted by a climber that he had found a body on the glacier," Captain Patrick Ribes of the Chamonix gendarmerie rescue service told the Guardian. He sent two gendarmes to the glacier where Hyvert's frozen body was lying on the surface. "We identified him straight away," said Ribes. "He still had his ID papers on him, and all his equipment, including his skis."
Gérard Hyvert, now 82, described it as a body blow like a "second death" when two gendarmes and an official from the local mayor's office came to his door with the news that his son's body had been found.
"I can't say that it came as a relief. I would have preferred him to have stayed up there," he told Le Parisien newspaper. Hyvert, who alerted rescue services to the fact that his son had gone missing, had presumed he was "under a rock" somewhere on the mountain face.
Patrice Hyvert had intended to scale Nant Blanc then ski back down the Couturier corridor. Another experienced mountaineer, Jean-Marc Boivin, set out at the same time and headed for the northern face of the Grands Charmoz in the Mont Blanc range.
Boivin was also caught in the winter storms and was only evacuated by rescue helicopter two days later after the weather cleared. He phoned Hyvert senior and described the dangerous weather conditions. Boivin himself was fatally injured when jumping from the world's highest waterfall in Venezuela in 1990.
Patrice Hyvert's father presumes his son reached the summit of Nant Blanc despite the bad weather, and had decided to return down the other side, on the Whymper corridor.
Hyvert was training to be a mountain guide at France's ENSA national ski and mountaineering school in Chamonix, where officials confirmed that he was registered although he never completed his training.
A memorial service is being arranged for 17 July in Chamonix, after which Hyvert's ashes will be scattered on the glacier where he was found.
His father said: "Mountains were his passion. I thought I would be dead before they found him." ||||| Hikers scaling Mont Blanc have stumbled upon the body of a mountaineer who disappeared 32 years ago while attempting to climb one of its main peaks.
Patrice Hyvert, aged 23 at the time of his disappearance on March 2, 1982, was found on the Talefre glacier on the French face of Europe's highest mountain.
The young mountaineer, who was training to become a guide, had been attempting a solo ascent of the Aiguille Verte peak, which rises to 4,122 metres (13,500 ft), when he was trapped at altitude in atrocious weather.
Renowned mountaineer Jean-Marc Boivin was scaling the northern face of the Grands Charmoz peak the same day when heavy snow started falling. He was rescued alive two days later, but despite several attempts by mountain rescue services to find Mr Huyvert with helicopters, he was never seen again.
“We think he reached the summit in bad weather then chose to go back down on another face, via the Whymper corridor,” his father told La Dépêche newspaper.
It is thought that he fell to his death due to lack of visibility and was swallowed up by a crevasse.
Trapped in the ice of the glacier for three decades, the mountain finally ejected his body, which was found and recovered by a group of climbers on July 3.
The body was quickly identified, meaning his family can “finally mourn his death”, said La Dépêche.
Around 130 people have disappeared climbing Mont Blanc since 1950. Almost every year bodies mysteriously reappear as the glaciers slowly progress and snows melt.
Two experienced French mountaineers from Ain, southeastern France, are currently missing on Les Courtes on the French side of Mont Blanc after issuing a call for help on Sunday in bad weather. ||||| Climbers on Mont Blanc discovered the body of a French alpinist missing for over three decades. Photo: AFP
Hikers recently found the frozen body of a mountain climber who disappeared on Mont Blanc over 32 years ago. Sadly two other families are just beginning their wait for news after two climbers vanished on the peak this weekend.
The family of a French climber who disappeared in the winter of 1982 finally have some closure over three decades later.
A group of climbers in the Alps were scaling the Talèfre glacier on the Mont Blanc massif, the tallest mountain in Europe, when they stumbled upon a body sticking out of the ice on Thursday.
They contacted local police, who quickly identified the dead man as Patrice Hyvert, a 23-year-old alpinist who went missing while climbing in the area in March 1982.
Hyvert had set out alone to scale the 4,100-metre Nant-blanc peak but around 4pm nasty weather rolled in and dumped a blanket of snow on the mountain. Another climber, Jean-Marc Bovin, happened to also be on the mountain that day.
After being airlifted out two days after the storm Bovin called Hyvert’s father to tell him: “It was really bad up there,” French paper Le Dauphiné reported. The nasty weather kept rescue crews at bay for two more days.
When rescuers finally flew up the mountain they found no trace of Hyvert in the fresh snow and a subsequent mission on foot was also fruitless. In the intervening decades no new clues surfaced, until last week.
“We think he made it to the summit in the bad weather and that he decided to descend via another route,” Hyvert’s father told Le Dauphiné. But what happened next is and probably will remain a mystery.
Another two families were keeping a similarly tragic vigil on Tuesday after two climbers, one in his 30s, the other in his 40s, disappeared on Sunday on Mont Blanc. They were crossing the Les Courtes portion of the mountain when they vanished, French daily Le Parisien reported.
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Rescuers used a helicopter to search for the missing men, but came up empty-handed and have since had their efforts hampered by bad weather. They search will resume when the weather clears. ||||| PARIS Mountain-climbers have made a grisly discovery in the Mont Blanc range of the Alps - the body of a young climber preserved in ice for 32 years.
The body of Patrice Hyvert, who had been training to be a guide, was found last Thursday by two mountain-climbers, local newspaper Dauphine Libere and other media reported.
Hyvert was last seen alive on March 1, 1982, when aged 23, he took off on a solitary climb up the western side of the "Aiguille Verte" mountain, part of the Mont Blanc massif that straddles the French-Italian border, before bad weather set in in the afternoon.
Another climber was evacuated from the same mountain two days later, but Hyvert was never found.
Local police confirmed to newspapers that the frozen body was that of the missing climber, finding his identity card still in his wallet.
The discovery came as a shock to Hyvert's 82-year-old father, Gerard.
"I'm a mountain man, and I would have preferred him to stay up there," he told RTL radio. "He was better on a mountain than in a coffin. He was in his element."
The dangerous terrain, and inclement weather, of the Mont Blanc range results in scores of deaths of mountain climbers each year. The bodies of the missing are often discovered the following year after the ice thaws.
(Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Andrew Callus) |||||
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By Kim Glovas, Rahel Solomon
PHILADELHIA (CBS) – Philadelphia homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding the killer of two people who were found dead last Friday in Fairmount Park.
Homicide Captain James Clark says 25-year-old Shakoor Arline and 32-year-old Lisa Smith were having a sexual encounter in the back of an SUV, when someone opened the back seat door and fired, at close range, multiple times. Police said Arline was naked at the time of the shooting and Smith was partially naked.
“It appears very much to be a crime of passion,” Clark said. “You’ve got nine shots fired, all of them head shots to both of the victims, so it appears to be very much a crime of passion. Both were involved with other people, so obviously that’s where our investigation is looking at right now.”
Police say Arline and Smith had been romantically involved on-and-off for years and had met at a previous job.
“They had outside relationships so obviously that’s where our investigation is gonna start because somebody knew that they were in the park at that time and obviously had issue with that,” said Clark.
Clark says preliminary reports indicate the two were murdered between midnight Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday. The bodies weren’t found until nearly 3 p.m. that day.
Police say some fingerprints were lifted from inside and outside the car. He says police have spoken to one woman who knew one of the victims. They are hoping to speak to a man who knew the other victim as well, but police say so far, there are no suspects.
Arline lived with his family on the 2800 block of West Girard Avenue. Neighbors tell Eyewitness News he loved to fix cars and was known as a hard worker.
“It really is a travesty,” said neighbor Henry Murray, “but I just hope and pray to God justice will be served and I think it will be in this case because he’s a good guy.”
Anyone with information on the murders is urged to call the homicide division at 215-686-3334. ||||| Shakoor Arline
Philadelphia police say the man and woman found dead inside an SUV in Fairmount Park were in a relationship, while also maintaining other romantic relationships.Capt. James Clark of the Homicide Unit said on Monday those relationships are the focus of the investigation."I can tell you from the crime scene that it was very much a crime of passion," Clark said.The partially-clothed bodies of Shakoor Arline, 25, of the 2800 block of W. Girard Avenue, and Lisa Smith, 32, from the 6300 block of Oakland Street, were found inside the vehicle on Friday.Investigators say the two were having a sexual encounter when someone opened the rear door of the white Toyota SUV and shot them at close range.Nine shots were fired, police say, and all of them resulted in gunshot wounds to their heads."Somebody knew they were in the park at that time and obviously had issue with that," Clark said.The shooter then fled in an unknown direction.Investigators are still awaiting autopsy results, but believe Arline and Smith were killed sometime between midnight and 5 a.m.Clark said they have talked to Arline's girlfriend so far in this case, but police still want to talk to Smith's boyfriend. Clark said the man is not a person of interest at this point, "just someone we want to talk to."Action News was there on Friday as a woman, who told police she was Arline's girlfriend, came running to the scene.Both Arline and Smith met while working together, though they no longer worked for the same employer, Clark said.Smith had several children.It was noted that the SUV had Arizona license plates. Clark said that it was Smith's vehicle, and she was originally from Arizona.Clark said both were 'upstanding individuals' and had no issues with the police.The incident was reported at 2:40 p.m. in the 800 block of Lemon Hill Drive when a maintenance crew emptying trash cans found the victims inside the rear of the vehicle.They approached the SUV because it was parked in an unusual place and a back window was broken out.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334/3335. |||||
What is a summary?
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– Police are investigating a "crime of passion" in Philadelphia: the shooting of a man and woman who were having sex in the backseat of an SUV. Authorities say Shakoor Arline, 25, and Lisa Smith, 32, were naked or partially naked in Smith's vehicle in Fairmount Park when an assailant opened the SUV door and fired nine shots, each one hitting Arline or Smith in the head, sometime between midnight and 5am on Friday, per CBS Philadelphia and ABC6; their bodies were found around 3pm. The victims had been dating on-and-off for years but "both were involved with other people," homicide captain James Clark says. "Obviously that’s where our investigation is looking at right now," Clark continues. "Somebody knew that they were in the park at that time and obviously had issue with that." Clark says police have spoken to Arline's girlfriend but hope to soon speak with Smith's boyfriend. The man isn't necessarily a person of interest, "just someone we want to talk to," Clark adds; ABC6 reports Smith had several children. Police are also looking into Arline and Smith's cellphone records, shell casings from a .40 caliber handgun found at the scene, and fingerprints found on the door of the SUV, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Aubrey Lane says staff failed to protect her and others when they served the alleged attacker as many as six alcoholic drinks
An American Airlines passenger who says she was raped in the bathroom on a domestic flight is suing the carrier, claiming it allowed an obviously intoxicated man to board the plane and continued to serve him alcohol.
Aubrey Lane, 32, claims her seatmate, whose identity has not been released, continually harassed her on an overnight flight from Phoenix to New York in June 2017, eventually following her into the lavatory and assaulting her.
Ryanair racist incident: man apologises and claims he is not racist Read more
In a new federal lawsuit, Lane and another passenger allege airline staff failed in their duty to protect her and others when they served her alleged attacker as many as six alcoholic drinks and disregarded warnings about the man’s behaviour.
“Knowing the clear dangers of intoxication and the sexual assault threats especially on red-eye flights, American Airlines offered no protection to Aubrey Lane, nor provided any of the enhanced common carrier duties,” read the complaint, which was filed in federal court in New York on Wednesday.
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The airline has promised to “thoroughly review” Lane’s claim, having previously dismissed it as a “nuisance” and offered her $5,000.
In court papers, another passenger, referred to as 12C for her seat number, in the same row as Lane in 12A and the alleged attacker in 12B, said: “I started hearing him say how pretty she was, how lucky her husband was to have such a ‘bangin’ wife’ and how ‘what happens on vacation stays on vacation’.
“He began to move closer to her, grab her face and kiss her, which she would push him off and say that ‘couldn’t happen’. He then began to tell her he was in love with her, to which she retorted: ‘That’s impossible! You can’t fall in love with someone in one night!’ Which followed a shouting match of: ‘Yes you fucking can!’ ‘No fucking way!’, etc. This drew a lot of attention, but when I alerted the flight attendant as he walked by, he shrugged and said: ‘Well they are drinking …’ and walked away.”
According to the lawsuit, Lane had one drink.
Speaking to the Dallas Morning News in March, Lane said that several hours into the flight, she got up to use the bathroom and was followed there and raped. In the lawsuit, she claimed she was sexually assaulted.
Lane told the newspaper that after immediately reporting the alleged incident to airline staff, she was simply moved to another seat. When the plane touched down at New York’s JFK international airport, she said, her alleged assailant was allowed to leave, even as she was greeted by police and transported to a hospital nearby.
“I was feeling overwhelmed … all of a sudden, I was thrown in a middle seat, bawling. On top of being sad and hurt and scared, I was also embarrassed,” Lane said.
American Airlines is headquartered outside Dallas. In a statement, it said: “We want all of our customers to have a safe, positive travel experience with us and we are deeply troubled by any allegation of misconduct onboard our aircraft or at any of our facilities.
“If our crews discover or are told about any alleged illegal misconduct that may occur on the aircraft, law enforcement is contacted and will meet the aircraft upon arrival.”
According to FBI figures cited in the lawsuit against American, in 2014, 38 cases of in-flight sexual assault were reported in the US. In 2017, there were 63 such cases. Previous reporting has spotlighted a lack of relevant training for airline employees. ||||| No comprehensive statistics are kept on on-board sexual assaults. But a 2017 survey by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA of nearly 2,000 members found that 1 in 5 had received a report of passenger-on-passenger sexual assault while working a flight.
Most said they had no knowledge of written guidance or training on how to handle such reports, according to the union.
Sexual misconduct aboard aircraft — whether crude verbal harassment, unwanted touching, or worse — is a problem that has persisted for years, directed toward both passengers and a predominantly female flight attendant workforce. Known instances of rape aboard aircraft are exceedingly rare, with several industry insiders and attorneys who have been closely tracking the issue for the past few years unaware of other publicly reported cases.
Scattered media reports have documented individual cases of sexual misconduct, but there’s been little in the way of coordinated action by the industry and regulators to measure or tackle the issue.
Victims of sexual abuse on planes speaking out could push the airline industry closer to a reckoning it has long avoided, experts said, as cases of sexual misconduct dominate headlines in Hollywood, Washington, D.C., New York and elsewhere in the #MeToo era.
‘Nuisance claim’
Nine months later, Lane’s case is still in the hands of the FBI with little visible sign of progress. The agency did not return a request for comment.
Lane offered to meet with American to discuss what happened, her attorneys said. But the airline declined, in part due to the ongoing FBI investigation, according to the December letter. Lane has retained legal counsel and is planning to sue the Fort Worth-based carrier.
American described Lane’s allegations as a “nuisance claim” in a December letter that offered her $5,000 after her attorneys brought her allegation to the airline.
American spokesman Ross Feinstein declined to comment specifically on Lane’s case, citing the ongoing FBI investigation. He said the carrier regularly works with law enforcement agencies when a crime is reported on its aircraft.
“We want all of our customers to feel safe on our aircraft,” he said. “We care deeply when we hear of these types of cases ... our team offers investigative support as needed to federal, state and local law enforcement.”
In a subsequent interview with The News, American said it should have immediately followed up with Lane to assure her the incident was being taken seriously.
"We want to apologize that we missed the mark on assuring Ms. Lane how seriously we take her complaint," Feinstein said.
He said the company has put new procedures in place in recent months that call for proactive passenger outreach from the customer relations department after reports of onboard disturbances, including sexual misconduct.
The alcohol factor
Lane was sitting in a window seat she paid $20 to select shortly before departure when her assailant — whose identity she still does not know — sat down next to her and began talking to her almost immediately.
“My first thought was this guy’s drunk. He was super chatty,” she said. “I’ve flown a lot. I’m used to people saying hello. This is the most anyone has sat down and started talking to me.”
She said she could smell the alcohol on his breath, even as he continued to be served drinks during the flight.
Her attorneys say Lane’s assailant never should have been allowed on board in his intoxicated state and shouldn’t have been served more drinks.
Feinstein, the American spokesman, said the carrier does not allow “knowingly” intoxicated passengers to board aircraft, and flight attendants have the discretion to stop serving alcohol to a passenger.
Alcohol has been a recurring theme in recent reports of sexual misconduct on planes. More broadly, it’s a factor in one-third of reported passenger disturbances on aircraft, according to 2016 figures from the International Air Transportation Association.
“American’s ultimate responsibility is the safety of their passengers,” said Lane’s attorney, James McDonough of Downs, McDonough and Cowan law firm in Durango, Colo. “Based on the actions of American Airlines’ flight crew, the safety of Aubrey was not their No. 1 priority.”
Holding airlines liable for harm suffered during a domestic flight typically means proving negligence, said Abe Bohrer, a New York attorney who specializes in flight injury cases. Bohrer is not involved in Lane’s case, but represents two victims in other onboard sexual assault cases.
“Airlines are on notice that these kinds of attacks are taking place,” Bohrer said. “The next thing you have to ask is, what are they doing to prevent them from happening in the future?”
How big is the problem?
It’s not clear how widespread the problem of in-flight sexual misconduct is on U.S. airlines that carry an average of 2.1 million passengers a day. Sara Nelson, head of the largest flight attendants union in the U.S., is worried it might be getting worse.
“It has to do with seats being closer together, more people being packed together in a tight space. You’d think that with more people, it would be more difficult. But it makes it easier for the perpetrator ... there’s less line of sight,” said Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. “There’s fewer flight attendants, all the airlines have cut back staffing. ... That has a real strain in many ways.” |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– A woman who claims she was raped on an overnight flight and got little help from attendants is suing American Airlines, the Guardian reports. In a complaint filed Wednesday, 32-year-old Aubrey Lane says she was flying from Phoenix to New York in June 2017 when the man beside her ordered multiple drinks, noisily came on to her, and followed her to the bathroom—where he sexually assaulted her. "I started hearing him say how pretty she was, how lucky her husband was to have such a 'bangin' wife' and how 'what happens on vacation stays on vacation,'" another passenger is quoted as saying in the court papers. The man allegedly grabbed Lane's face, tried kissing her, told her he loved her, and the two got in an argument about whether he could fall in love that fast. "This drew a lot of attention, but when I alerted the flight attendant as he walked by, he shrugged and said: 'Well they are drinking …' and walked away," says the passenger. Lane tells the Dallas Morning News that when she informed staff about the assault, they just moved her to another seat. "I was feeling overwhelmed … all of a sudden, I was thrown in a middle seat, bawling," she says. Lane accuses flight staff of failing to protect her by giving the man up to six alcoholic drinks, and claims he simply left when they reached JFK Airport. In December, the airline responded by calling Lane's allegation a "nuisance claim" and offering her $5,000. The FBI is apparently investigating. Meanwhile, a 2017 survey says 20% of flight attendants have had a sexual assault reported during a flight. (Submitting to rape is described as a "necessity" in North Korea.)
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Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Erik Ortiz and Alex Johnson
The U.S. Justice Department will lead a civil rights investigation into the death of a black man shot multiple times by police during a confrontation at a Louisiana convenience store.
Graphic cellphone video, recorded by a witness and by the store's owner, appears to show Alton Sterling, 37, being tackled and shot as two cops pin him to the ground before he is killed. Authorities said he was armed.
His death sparked protests against police brutality in Baton Rouge, and family members and the local NAACP branch called for an independent outside review of the police department.
Photos: Protesters Speak Out After Baton Rouge Police Shooting
"I have full confidence that this matter will be investigated thoroughly, impartially and professionally," Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference Wednesday.
Edwards, a Democrat, said the investigation into the use of unreasonable or excessive force will be assisted by the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI in the state.
The Justice Department confirmed opening the case, but it declined to comment further.
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said he would stand down as the federal investigation looks at whether any laws were broken.
Alton Sterling. WVLA-TV
Edwards said he has "very serious" concerns after watching the cellphone video, which he said was "disturbing, to say the least."
Officials identified the officers Wednesday as Blane Salamoni, a four-year department veteran, and Howie Lake II, a three-year veteran, both of them white.
Officials wouldn't detail the "altercation" between the officers and Sterling or whether a Taser was used, but they said police body cameras, dashcam video and any other video from the scene would be part of the investigation.
Baton Rouge police said earlier in a statement that uniformed officers responded to a call after midnight Tuesday involving a black male in a red shirt who was selling CDs outside the Triple S Food Mart. Police said the caller claimed Sterling was acting threatening with a gun.
The officers "made contact" with the 5-foot-11 Sterling in the parking lot, and an altercation ensued, police said.
"Sterling was shot during the altercation and died at the scene," the statement said.
It wasn't clear whether both officers shot Sterling or which one fired the fatal shot. They have been placed on administrative leave, "per standard procedure," police added.
Sterling died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William Clark said. He wouldn't immediately confirm reports that Sterling was shot seven times.
The national president of the NAACP, Cornell Brooks, called the video hard to watch — but "far harder" to ignore.
"Get on the ground, get on the ground" is heard before two officers confront a man in a red T-shirt. One officer tackles the man, throwing him on the hood of the car and onto the ground. The second officer climbs on and helps hold him down.
A memorial collage at the scene of the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. www.instagram.com/live_rich_clothing/
One officer appears to shout a warning: "He's got a gun! Gun!"
As a convicted felon, Sterling wouldn't be permitted to have a gun. But those who knew him said he kept one to protect himself from robbers.
A Sterling family attorney, state Rep. Edmond Jordan, said that whether Sterling had a firearm was irrelevant, because, at the moment he was pinned, the video didn't appear to show him wielding a weapon or pulling one out.
Related: Baton Rouge Store Owner Says His Video Shows Cops 'Murdered' Alton Sterling
Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterling's 15-year-old son, said officers handled the incident "unjustly" and told reporters Wednesday that they killed a man who was "simply trying to earn a living and take care of his children."
"I, for one, will not rest or ... allow him to be swept in the dirt," McMillon said as her son sobbed behind her.
Sterling had recently been living in a transitional living center, according to The Advocate newspaper.
Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart, provided his own video of the incident to NBC News. He called Sterling a friend who was easygoing and generous, and he accused the officers of having "murdered" Sterling.
State Rep. Ted James also called the shooting a "murder," saying in a statement that it "has made me question what it really means to be land of the free and home of the brave."
At Wednesday's news conference, officials said there was body camera video from the officers, but Baton Rouge Police Lt. Jonny Dunnam said it "may not be as good as we hoped for."
During the altercation, the body cameras became dislodged from the officers, but they remained activated, he added.
Mike McClanahan, president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the NAACP, said the officers should be arrested and that both Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. and Mayor Kip Holden need to step down.
"This is a new day," McClanahan said. "We will not have anybody who allows this type of action to take place."
Both Holden and Dabadie said they wouldn't resign.
"Like you, I am demanding answers," Dabadie said.
At a vigil for Sterling on Wednesday night, Sterling's aunt, Sandra Sterling, called for peace.
"I'm mad. I'm so mad," she said. "But I'm not angry enough to hurt nobody. I'm not angry enough to go out in the street."
Ministers and other community activists echoed Sterling's plea and handed out voter registration forms.
"I want thank the community for acting accordingly, because this could have been worse," said the Rev. Keon Preston, a chaplain with the nonprofit Stop the Violence, who has seen two of his own relatives shot and killed in the last five years.
But remaining calm doesn't mean people should remain silent, Preston said.
"We will not be silent," he said to cheers and a chorus of "amens." "We will continue to speak up, and our voices will be heard."
Muflahi, the store's owner, also appeared briefly at the vigil.
"We stand for Alton," said Muflahi, who was loudly cheered. "He would be so happy to see all this. Wish he was alive."
Another speaker, LaMont Cole, who represents the neighborhood on the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, called the officers "cowards" and declared that "they murdered this young man."
"It's time out for being politically correct," Cole said. But he also urged the community to protest peacefully.
"The investigation is in the hands of the Justice Department," Cole said, and "we will continue to demand that we get results, that we get them expediently."
"But I urge you — I beg you — to remain peaceful," he said.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s youngest daughter, Bernice King, was among those adding her voice.
"May his name and his brutal last breath shake up and transform systems," she wrote on Twitter.
Activists and celebrities also posted about their outrage. ||||| Crawl of outlinks from wikipedia.org started March, 2016. These files are currently not publicly accessible. Properties of this collection. It has been several years since the last time we did this. For this collection, several things were done: 1. Turned off duplicate detection. This collection will be complete, as there is a good chance we will share the data, and sharing data with pointers to random other collections, is a complex problem. 2. For the first time, did all the different wikis. The original runs were just against the enwiki. This one, the seed list was built from all 865 collections. ||||| Updated, 11:28 p.m., July 6, 2016:
Alton Sterling, a 37-year old man who sold CDs, was shot and killed by a Baton Rouge police officer Tuesday morning outside a convenience store on North Foster Drive after “some type of altercation” with two officers, officials said.
Baton Rouge police did not provide much information about what escalated the incident between the officers and Sterling or what prompted an officer to fire his weapon. A witness, however, described police as “aggressive” and said Sterling was armed but was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident. Police later retrieved a gun from the man’s pocket, said the witness, shop owner Abdullah Muflahi.
Around 12:35 a.m., Baton Rouge police responded to the Triple S Food Mart at 2112 N. Foster Drive after an anonymous caller indicated that a man in a red shirt who was selling CDs outside the store pointed a gun at someone, telling them to leave the property, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said.
East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William “Beau” Clark said the initial results of an autopsy performed Tuesday show Sterling died due to a homicide and suffered multiple — meaning more than two — gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
A 48-second cellphone video captured by a bystander — which circulated at a protest about the shooting later in the day — shows an officer firing at least one round into a man’s chest outside what appears to be the Triple S store, followed by the sound of at least four more shots as the camera veers away.
“Get on the ground! Get on the ground!” an officer is heard yelling in the beginning of the clip.
Two officers are seen wrangling a heavy-set man in a red shirt against a silver sedan before pulling him to the ground on his back.
One officer is seen pulling the man’s left arm down while he pressed down on the man’s chest. The man’s right arm is not visible in the video.
“He’s got a gun! Gun,” an officer says, prompting the lawman closest to the camera to draw an object from his holster.
“You f*****g move, I swear to God,” says an officer, before the second officer, farther from the viewer, is seen pointing a weapon down at the man’s chest.
There’s a flash from that officer’s weapon, accompanied by the sound of shots.
“They shot him?” a man’s harried voice, close to the microphone, says in the video. “Yes!” a weeping woman replies.
Warning: This video contains graphic footage of the shooting. Not seeing the video? Click here.
McKneely said he could not confirm whether the cellphone video shows the shooting in question, saying he hadn’t seen it until recently.
He asked anyone with video evidence to turn the footage over to the police.
Muflahi, the owner and manager of the Triple S store, said he was there around midnight when he walked outside and saw two officers trying to pin Sterling to a car parked in a handicapped spot. The officers hit Sterling with a Taser, but he didn’t initially get to the ground, he said.
At some point Sterling was tackled to the ground on his back, with one officer pinning down his chest, and another pressing on his thigh, Muflahi said.
Muflahi, who said he was two feet away from the altercation, said an officer yelled “gun” during the scuffle. An officer then fired four to six shots into Sterling’s chest, he said.
“His hand was nowhere (near) his pocket,” Muflahi said, adding that Sterling wasn’t holding a weapon. After the shooting, an officer reached into Sterling’s pocket and retrieved a handgun, Muflahi said.
“They were really aggressive with him from the start,” Muflahi said about the officers.
Sterling appeared to die quickly, Muflahi said. Just after the killing, the officer who fired the bullets cursed, and both officers seemed like they were “freaking out,” Muflahi said.
The store owner said he heard one of the officers say, “Just leave him.”
Can't see video? Click here.
East Baton Rouge EMS sent one ambulance to the scene at 12:46 a.m. and encountered a patient who was dead on arrival, agency spokesman Mike Chustz said.
McKneely said he couldn’t comment on the circumstances of the shooting, as the investigation is ongoing.
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III said he was at the scene, but declined to say whether he thought the shooting was justified.
“It would be premature for me to make a comment one way or the other,” he said.
Sgt. Brian Taylor, the newly-installed leader of the Baton Rouge police union, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Police believe only one officer fired shots, McKneely said. He did not know how many shots were fired.
McKneely said both officers who were at the scene are on paid administrative leave, according to department policy.
He said he could not identify the officers Tuesday but would do so “first thing in the morning” on Wednesday.
Officers likely had not been interviewed by investigators, as the agency typically gives its lawmen 24 hours before questioning them after this type of incident, he said.
“We give officers normally a day or so to go home and think about it” before being interviewed, McKneely said. He said being part of a shooting is a stressful situation that can produce “tunnel vision” for the officers involved and might not lead to the best information.
Police interviewed a few witnesses who were at the store, he said. Muflahi said he was interviewed by police for most of the night, returning to his store around 8 a.m.
Both officers at the store were wearing body cameras and cars had dash cameras, McKneely said. Muflahi said police also took surveillance footage from his store and seized his entire video system.
McKneely said both body cameras came loose and dangled from the officers’ uniforms during the incident.
Friends and family of Sterling met outside the convenience store on Tuesday night to protest the shooting. At just about 6 p.m. around 40 to 50 people had gathered at the store, some carrying signs and chanting “Black lives matter” and “Hands up, don’t shoot.” The crowd swelled to more than 100 people by 7:30 p.m., with people, some waving homemade signs, gathered at each of the corners of the intersection of N. Foster Dr. and Fairfields Ave. Some mourners left notes and mementos on tables outside the convenience store.
Among the protesters were State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, who sponsored the bill to equip Baton Rouge officers with body cameras when she was on the Metro Council, and local NAACP leader Michael McClanahan.
Can't see video? Click here.
Marcelle said she was concerned that the BRPD was conducting the internal investigation, saying that she had called Police Chief Carl Dabadie to express her desire that the agency allow the Louisiana State Police to conduct officer-involved shooting probes.
Several of Sterling’s relatives also attended the protest.
Sandra Sterling, an aunt who said she raised Alton after his mother died, was skeptical her nephew would be carrying a gun. She went to the store after receiving a call about the incident, saying police would not let her near the body. “I was devastated,” she said.
Sharida Sterling, a cousin who said she was raised with Alton and considered him a brother, said it was not in his character to fight the police. “He would have never fought the police, he wouldn’t have pulled a gun, he would have been too scared,” she said.
Sharida Sterling said she remains skeptical about the 911 caller who said her cousin had pointed a gun, as well as the report about the body cameras coming loose. She called on law enforcement to conduct a transparent investigation, saying police should release the store surveillance video.
Muflahi said he knew Sterling and he had been selling CDs outside his store and in the surrounding area for a few years. Sterling had recently started carrying a gun after a friend was mugged, he said.
Sterling had been living for the past few months at the Living Waters Outreach Ministries, a transitional living center and shelter at 4156 W. Brookstown Dr., two of his fellow residents said.
“Whatever he cooked, he cooked enough for everybody,” said Calvin Wilson, 56, who described the compound as a place for people to “get back on their feet.”
About five people live there full-time, Wilson said.
Wilson and another resident, 60-year-old David Solomon, said Sterling would spread the CDs he sold on a table from time to time in the facility.
“I never saw him coming in here with a weapon, and I never saw him drunk,” Wilson said, adding that Sterling had another job as a cook.
“He wasn’t a bad person,” Solomon said.
Records from the 19th Judicial District Court show that in August 2015 the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for the arrest of an Alton Sterling who had registered as a convicted sex offender to live at the center at the Brookstown address. Sterling was convicted of one count of carnal knowledge of a juvenile in Sept. 2000, according to the warrant.
While Sterling had registered at the address in July, a probation officer who checked on him in August was told by the center manager that Sterling hadn’t lived there for two weeks.
The DA’s office filed a failure to register as a sex offender charge against Sterling in April.
Sterling’s court record shows he was accused of several crimes dating back to 1996. He’d pleaded guilty to aggravated battery, simple criminal damage to property and unauthorized entry, as well as domestic abuse battery. His longest sentence appeared to come in 2009, when he was sentenced to five years on possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute and illegally carrying a weapon with a controlled dangerous substance.
But Darian Gardner, 38, who’d come by the store Tuesday afternoon to view a makeshift memorial for Sterling, which included a stuffed panda holding CDs, said his friend “didn’t cause any harm to the community.”
Gardner, who’d purchased CDs from Sterling, said the discs contained everything from music to movies.
“He was nice. He wasn’t a bad guy. He was respectable,” said Gardner, who called his friend’s death “tragic.”
Can't see video? Click here. |||||
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– Protesters gathered outside a Baton Rouge, La., convenience store Tuesday night to express their outrage over yet another controversial police shooting. Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old man who sold CDs outside the Triple S Food Mart, was shot dead after what cops describe as "some sort of altercation" at 12:35am Tuesday with two officers responding to an anonymous call about an armed man, the Advocate reports. In graphic bystander video circulating online, the officers can be seen pinning Sterling to the ground before apparently shooting him multiple times. The East Baton Rouge Parish coroner says Sterling, who is black, died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. Triple S Food Mart owner Abdullah Muflahi tells the New York Daily News that Sterling bought a gun for protection a few days ago after hearing that other CD sellers had been robbed, but it wasn't in his hand during the confrontation with police, nor was his hand in his pocket. Sterling, who was Tasered during the incident, "was screaming, 'What did I do? What's going on?'" Muflahi says. Muflahi tells the Advocate that after the shooting, the officer who fired the shots cursed and both men appeared to be "freaking out." Both officers are now on administrative leave, and US Rep. Cedric Richmond has called for a federal investigation, saying the video footage is "deeply troubling and has understandably evoked strong emotion and anger in our community," NBC News reports.
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Thirty-five years after an unknown teen was found dead, nude on the side of I-45, authorities are again putting out the girl's description and a photo, in the hopes of finally identifying her.According to the Walker County Sheriff's Office, on Friday, October 31, 1980, a white female 15-20 years of age arrived in Huntsville, Texas, alone. She was seen by several citizens who also talked to her at two separate locations in town. The first location was a gas station located on the south side of Huntsville where she asked the owner for directions to the Texas Department of Corrections Ellis Prison Farm. The owner gave her those directions and she left on foot. The owner later gave investigators an accurate description of the girl and identified her body. The second location was a truck stop along Interstate 45 on the north side of Huntsville. At this location she talked to two employees of the restaurant at the truck stop. Again she asked for directions to the Ellis Prison Farm and was given written directions. During this conversation she was asked if her parents knew where she was and her response was, "Who cares?" She told these people she was from the Rockport/ Aransas Pass area. Again, the witnesses gave a good description of her and identified her body.On Saturday, November 1, 1980, at 9:20am, a Walker County Sheriff's Office Deputy responded to a call of a body located on the shoulder of IH-45 north of Huntsville, one half mile south of the FM 1696 exit. The body had been reported by a passing trucker. The body was nude and Harris County Medical Examiner ruled the death asphyxia due to strangulation by ligature.The initial investigation focused on identifying the girl and determining any possible relationship she had with the Texas Department of Corrections Ellis Prison Farm. Employees and inmates of the Ellis Prison Farm were canvassed with negative results. A search of missing person's reports revealed no leads and media reports of the case resulted in no information concerning the girl's identity. Investigators traveled to the Rockport/ Aransas Pass area and checked with schools and law enforcement with negative results. The girl remains unidentified.There have been attempts made through the years to identify the girl and many leads have been pursued, all with negative results. November 1, 2015, marked the 35th year since the body was found and Sheriff Clint McRae and members of the Walker County Sheriff's Office remained committed to identifying the girl and clearing the case.Physical description:5 feet 6 inches, 108 poundsHazel eyes15-20 years oldBrown hair 10 inches in lengthToenails painted pink with nail polishFingernails not paintedEars pierced (no earrings or studs)Inverted right nippleClothing:Blue jeansYellow pullover shirtDirty white colored knit sweater with big pockets, length past the waist lineLeather sandal shoesRectangular pendant with brown stone (some described as smoky stone) on gold chainIf anyone may know this girl, or have information on this case, please contact the Walker County Sheriff's Office, Huntsville, Texas, at 936-435-2400. Case reference number is 8011476. ||||| SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The Walker County Sheriff’s Office needs help identifying this woman, who was strangled 35 years ago near Huntsville.
By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times
An East Texas sheriff's office is asking for help identifying a woman they believe is from the Coastal Bend who was strangled 35 years ago.
On Halloween 1980, a white woman between 15 and 20 years old arrived in Huntsville alone. She stopped at a gas station and asked for directions to the Ellis Prison Farm, according to a news release from the Walker County Sheriff's Office.
The woman left on foot and later stopped at a truck stop along Interstate 45 and asked employees there for directions to the same place. She told people there that she was from the Rockport and the Aransas Pass area, which is about 260 miles from Huntsville.
The sheriff's office responded to a call at 9:20 a.m. Nov. 1, 1980, where deputies discovered the woman's body north of Huntsville on the shoulder of I-45. She was nude and strangled.
None of the employees or inmates at Ellis Prison Farm could identify the woman, and investigators were unable to find anyone in Rockport and the Aransas Pass area who could identify her.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office has reopened the case after 35 years.
Anyone with information about the woman can contact the Walker County Sheriff's Office at 936-435-2400.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN'S DESCRIPTION
Physical
Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Weight: 108 pounds
Eye color: Hazel eyes
Age: 15-20 years old
Hair: Brown hair 10 inches in length
Toenails: painted pink with nail polish
Fingernails: not painted
Ears: pierced (no earrings or studs)
Clothing and jewelry: Blue jeans; yellow pullover shirt; dirty, white-colored knit sweater with big pockets, length pass the waist line; leather sandal shoes; rectangular penchant with brown stone (some described as smoky stone) on gold chain
If you may know her: Contact the Walker County Sheriff's Office at 936-435-2400. The case number 8011476 |||||Summary:
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– Thirty-five years ago on Halloween, a young woman showed up in Huntsville, Texas, asking for directions to the Texas Department of Corrections' Ellis Prison Farm. The next morning, on Nov. 1, 1980, a passing trucker spotted her body on the side of the highway, reports ABC13. Likely aged 15 to 20, the girl was naked and had been strangled. Not only could police not find her killer, but no one at Ellis Prison Farm could identify the girl—who was white, five and a half feet tall, with brown hair and hazel eyes—and an investigation that followed offered no clues about who she might be. Now, Sheriff Clint McRae and the Walker County Sheriff's Office hope that sharing the few facts they have will lead to new information. Authorities say the girl—last seen wearing jeans, a yellow shirt, a white knit sweater, a rectangular brown stone pendant on a gold chain, and leather sandals—first visited a gas station on the city's south side, where workers gave her directions to Ellis Prison Farm. She left on foot, eventually arriving at a truck stop on I-45 on the north side of Huntsville. There, she again asked for directions, which employees wrote down. When they asked if the girl's parents knew her whereabouts, she said, "Who cares?" She did, however, say she was from the Rockport and Aransas Pass area about 260 miles away, per the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, though no one there could identify her. A search of police and school records has turned up nothing. (Cops recently identified a missing woman in a similar cold case.)
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– Even the LOLcats are going on strike. The "Cheezburger Network" is among an estimated 7,000 websites shutting down today to protest two Internet-regulation bills making their way through Congress, the Washington Post reports. Wikipedia went dark at midnight Eastern time and was soon joined by Reddit, Raw Story, WordPress, and many others. Google has blacked out its logo and added a link to a petition urging Congress to reject SOPA and PIPA. "Like many businesses, entrepreneurs, and Web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet,” a Google spokeswoman says. Supporters of the bills call the shutdown a "stunt," but lawmakers have already begun backing away from the bills, which seemed certain to pass just a few weeks ago. SOPA has become "a dirty word beyond anything you can imagine," noted a Republican aide.
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This is what happens when you make the Internet mad.
On Wednesday, a group of technology companies began an unusual form of protest: The firms shut down or replaced the content on their own popular Web sites with protest messages to show their unhappiness with two Internet-regulation bills grinding through Congress. They argue that the bills would impose huge regulatory costs and stifle innovation on the Web.
Around the country, Americans woke up without some of the oddball essentials of online life. No Wikipedia. No Reddit, a compendium of links to stories and funny pictures that draws millions a day. And no I Can Has Cheezburger?, the world’s best-known collection of funny cat pictures.
Related: How to get around the blackout
In Washington, however, Wednesday has another significance.
It culminates a surprising lobbying effort in which technology companies such as Twitter, Wikipedia and Google have used their massive reach into Americans’ daily lives as a political weapon, to whip up support from online users.
In this fight, they were pitted against traditional Washington heavyweights, such as Hollywood and the recording industry.
And even before the LOLcats went on strike, it seemed as though the tech companies were winning.
This fight is over two similar bills: the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Protect IP (intellectual property) Act. Both are meant to attack the problem of foreign Web sites that sell pirated or counterfeit goods. They would impose restrictions forcing U.S. companies to stop selling online ads to suspected pirates, processing payments for illegal online sales and refusing to list Web sites suspected of piracy in search-engine results.
The idea is to cut off the channels that deliver American customers, and their money, to potential pirates. But tech companies see the laws as a dangerous overreach, objecting because, they say, the laws would add burdensome costs and new rules that would destroy the freewheeling soul of the Internet.
“The voice of the Internet community has been heard,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who sided with the tech companies, said in a statement. Issa said he had already been told of a victory: GOP leaders told him that the House would not vote on a version of the bill that those companies oppose. “Much more education for Members of Congress about the workings of the Internet is essential.”
The biggest impact of Wednesday’s blackout may be in the shutdown of the English-language version of Wikipedia, which gets 2.7 billion U.S. visitors per month.
“It is the opinion of the English Wikipedia community that both of these bills, if passed, would be devastating to the free and open web,” said a statement signed by three of the free encyclopedia’s administrators, with the handles “NuclearWarfare,” “Risker” and “Billinghurst.” They said the decision to shut down the English-language portion of the site, starting at midnight Eastern time, had been made after a virtual discussion that involved 1,800 users.
But already, the momentum of the two controversial bills has been largely halted. Just weeks ago, they seemed on their way to passage, having cleared a Senate committee and garnered bipartisan support in the House.
Now, there is a bipartisan retreat. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), who co-sponsored an earlier version of the bill, has announced his opposition. Six Republicans on the same Senate committee — all of whom voted for the bill before — have written Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to ask that he slow the bill down, so it can be modified and considered later.
“We have increasingly heard from a large number of constituents and stakeholders with vocal concerns about possible unintended consequences of the proposed legislation,” the six wrote. They included Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In the back offices of the Senate, many longtime aides were amazed at how quickly a new lobbying force had managed to outmaneuver experienced heavyweights. Sites such as Wikipedia and Tumblr had encouraged users to contact legislators, resulting in a flood of unhappy calls.
One Republican aide said that “SOPA” had already become “a dirty word beyond anything you can imagine.”
Both of the bills would allow the Justice Department to seek an injunction in court, barring U.S. sites from processing payments for a rogue Web site, selling it ads or listing its link among search-engine results.
“There’s no fundamental First Amendment right to engage in thievery. Nor to advertise thievery,” said Howard Gantman, at the Motion Picture Association of America. He said that the Internet’s free-for-all nature should not allow U.S. companies impunity to deal with crooks.
“Do we want to have laws?” Gantman said. “Or do we want to just say it’s a free-for-all Wild West?”
In addition to the costs, however, the tech companies say they would have to police vast sites full of user-generated content. They also objected to a provision that would have stripped the rogue sites out of the Internet’s virtual phone book. If a U.S. user entered the Web address, it would appear the site didn’t exist.
That provision “says that we’re no longer committed to the idea that there’s one Web. We’re no longer committed to the idea that any one person, anywhere in the world, can reach any one site anywhere else in the world,” said Sherwin Siy, of the nonprofit advocacy group Public Knowledge.
Over the weekend, the tech companies won a major victory. White House officials signaled concerns about the phone-book provision. The bill’s sponsors had already said they would remove it.
But several companies say they still have significant problems with the bill. They say the bill spreads culpability too widely and could leave Web sites facing expensive legal fights for a single link to a site deemed to be “rogue.”
Instead, many companies have proposed an approach in which the Web sites could police themselves, overseen by an international nonprofit that tracks bad actors.
“This is an industry where you can start with a laptop and a good idea and make a billion-dollar company,” said Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit.com. Ohanian said that if the new bill adds potential legal liabilities, the result could be less innovation on the Web.
Staff writers Paul Kane, Cecilia Kang, David Nakamura and Hayley Tsukayama contributed to this report. ||||| Thank you – and the more than 7 million other Americans – who stood up for the Web
Wednesday, January 18th was a big day for the Web. Americans stood up in opposition to PIPA and SOPA – bills that would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on U.S. businesses. Many of your favorites sites went dark, Americans made thousands of phone calls to our elected representatives in Washington, and we asked you to raise your voice by petitioning Congress through this page.
Your voice is being heard. Your elected representatives are beginning to recognize the damage these bills could inflict on the Web, and as a result, votes on PIPA and SOPA have been delayed. But this debate is not yet won. We at Google remain committed to working to address the problem of piracy without compromising our freedoms and risking our industry’s track record of innovation and job creation.
Thank you for your support. As you can see, it has made a tremendous difference. |||||
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Christopher Knight was only 20 years old when he walked away from society, not to be seen again for more than a quarter of a century. He had been working for less than a year installing home and vehicle alarm systems near Boston, Massachusetts, when abruptly, without giving notice to his boss, he quit his job. He never even returned his tools. He cashed his final pay cheque and left town.
Knight did not tell anyone where he was going. “I had no one to tell,” he says. “I didn’t have any friends. I had no interest in my co-workers.” He drove down the east coast of America, eating fast food and staying in cheap motels – “the cheapest I could find”. He travelled for days, alone, until he found himself deep into Florida, sticking mostly to major roads, watching the world go by.
Eventually, he turned around and headed north. He listened to the radio. Ronald Reagan was president; the Chernobyl nuclear disaster had just occurred. Driving through Georgia and the Carolinas and Virginia, blessed with invincibility of youth, buzzed by “the pleasure of driving”, he sensed an idea growing into a realisation, then solidifying into resolve.
All his life, he had been comfortable being alone. Interacting with others was so often frustrating. Every meeting with another person seemed like a collision.
He drove north to Maine, where he had grown up. There aren’t many roads in the centre of the state, and he chose the one that went right by his family’s house. “I think it was just to have one last look around, to say goodbye,” he said. He didn’t stop. The last time he saw his family home was through the windscreen of his car.
He kept going, “up and up and up”. Soon he reached the shore of Moosehead Lake, the largest in Maine, and the point where the state begins to get truly remote. “I drove until I was nearly out of gas. I took a small road. Then a small road off that small road. Then a trail off that.” He went as far into the wilderness as his vehicle could take him.
Knight parked the car and tossed the keys on the centre console. He had a tent and a backpack but no compass, no map. Without knowing where he was going, with no particular place in mind, he stepped into the trees and walked away.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A forest tree canopy in Rockport, Maine. Photograph: Mauricio Handler/Getty Images/National Geographic Magazines
Why would a 20-year-old man abruptly abandon the world? The act had elements of a suicide, except he didn’t kill himself. “To the rest of the world, I ceased to exist,” said Knight. Following his disappearance, Knight’s family must have suffered; they had no idea what had happened to him, and couldn’t completely accept the idea that he might be dead.
His final gesture, leaving his keys in the car, was particularly strange. Knight was raised with a keen appreciation of the value of money, and the car was the most expensive item he had ever purchased. Why not hold on to the keys as a safety net? What if he didn’t like camping out?
“The car was of no use to me. It had just about zero gas and I was miles and miles from any gas station,” he said. As far as anyone knows, the car is still there, half-swallowed by the forest. Knight said that he didn’t really know why he left. He had given the question plenty of thought but had never arrived at a specific answer. “It’s a mystery,” he declared.
There have been hermits – also known as recluses, monks, misanthropes, ascetics, anchorites, swamis – at all times in recorded history, across all cultures. But there are really only three general reasons why people leave the world.
Most do so for religious purposes, to forge a closer bond with a higher power. Jesus, Muhammad and Buddha all spent significant time alone before introducing a new religion to the world. In Hindu philosophy, everyone ideally matures into a kind of hermit, and today at least four million people live as wandering holy men in India, surviving off the charity of strangers, having renounced all familial and material attachments.
Other hermits opt out of civilisation because of a hatred of what the world has become – too much war, or environmental destruction, or crime, or consumerism. The first great literary work about solitude, the Tao Te Ching, was written in China in the sixth century BC by a hermit named Laozi, who was protesting the corrupt state of society. The Tao Te Ching says that it is only through retreat rather than pursuit, through inaction rather than action, that we acquire wisdom.
Christopher Knight: inside the Maine hermit's lair Read more
The final category includes those who wish to be alone for reasons of artistic freedom, scientific insight or deeper self-understanding. Henry David Thoreau went to Walden Pond in Massachusetts to journey within, to explore “the private sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean of one’s being”. English historian Edward Gibbon said that “solitude was the school for genius”.
Knight fit into none of these categories – he did not follow any formal religion; he was not protesting modern society; he produced no artwork or philosophical treatise. He never took a photograph or wrote a sentence; not a single person knew where he was. His back was fully turned to the world. There was no clear reason for what he chose to do. Something he couldn’t quite pinpoint had tugged him away from the world with the persistence of gravity. He was one of the longest‑enduring solitaries in history, and among the most fervent as well. Christopher Knight was a true hermit.
“I can’t explain my actions,” he said. “I had no plans when I left, I wasn’t thinking of anything. I just did it.”
Knight’s goal was to get lost. Not just lost to the rest of the world but actually lost in the woods by himself. He carried only rudimentary camping supplies, a few articles of clothing and a little food. “I had what I had,” he said, “and nothing more.”
It is not easy to get truly lost. Anyone with basic outdoor skills generally knows which way they are heading. The sun burns west across the sky, and from there it is natural to set the other directions. Knight knew that he was heading south. He said that he didn’t make a conscious decision to do so. Instead, he felt pulled in that direction, like a homing pigeon. “There was no depth or substance to the idea. It was at the instinctual level. It’s instinct among animals to return to home territory, and my home ground, where I was born and raised, was that way.”
Maine is partitioned into a series of long north-south valleys, the geologic clawmark left by glaciers surging and retreating. Separating the valleys are strings of mountains, now weather-worn and bald-topped like old men. The valley floors at the time of year when Knight arrived were a summer soup of ponds and wetlands and bogs.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A television found at Christopher Knight’s camp. Photograph: Portland Press Herald/Getty Images
“I kept largely to the ridges,” Knight said, “and sometimes crossed swamps going from one ridge to another.” He worked his way along crumbled slopes and muddy wetlands. “Soon I lost track of where I was. I didn’t care.” He would camp in one spot for a week or so, then head south yet again. “I kept going,” he said. “I was content in the choice I had made.”
Content except for one thing: food. Knight was hungry, and he really didn’t know how he would feed himself. His departure from the outside world was a confounding mix of incredible commitment and complete lack of forethought – not all that strange for a 20-year-old. It was as if he went camping for the weekend and then didn’t come home for a quarter of a century. He was an able hunter and angler, but he took neither a gun nor a rod with him. Still, he didn’t want to die, at least not then. Knight’s idea was to forage. The wilds of Maine are monumentally broad, though not generous. There are no fruit trees. Berries sometimes have a weekend-long season. Without hunting or trapping or fishing, a person is going to starve.
Knight worked his way south, eating very little, until paved roads appeared. He found a road-killed partridge, but did not possess a stove or a way to easily start a fire, so he ate it raw. Neither a tasty meal nor a hearty one, and a good way to get sick. He passed houses with gardens, but was raised with rigid morals and a great deal of pride. You make do on your own, always. No handouts or government assistance, ever. You know what’s right and what’s wrong, and the dividing line is usually clear.
But try not eating for 10 days – nearly everyone’s restraints will be eroded. Hunger is hard to ignore. “It took a while to overcome my scruples,” Knight said, but as soon as his principles began to fall away, he snapped off a few ears of corn from one garden, dug up some potatoes from another, and ate a couple of green vegetables.
Once, during his first weeks away, he spent the night in an unoccupied cabin. It was a miserable experience. “The stress of that, the sleepless worry about getting caught, programmed me not to do that again.” Knight never slept indoors after that, not once, no matter how cold or rainy the weather.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christopher Knight’s camp. Photograph: Portland Press Herald/Getty Images
He continued moving south, picking through gardens, and eventually reached a region with a familiar distribution of trees, along with a diversity of birdcalls and a temperature range he felt accustomed to. It had been colder up north. Knight wasn’t sure precisely where he was, but he knew that it was home ground. It turned out that he was less than 30 miles, as the crow flies, from his childhood home.
In the early days, nearly everything Knight learned was through trial and error. He had been gifted with a good head for figuring out workable solutions to complicated problems. All his skills, from the rigging of the tarps that formed his shelter, to how to store drinking water, to walking through the forest without leaving tracks, went through multiple revisions and were never considered perfect. Tinkering with his systems was one of Knight’s hobbies.
Over the next few months, Knight tried living in several places in the area – including inside a dank hole in a riverbank – all without satisfaction. Finally, he stumbled upon a region of nasty, boulder-choked woods without so much as a game trail running through it; far too harsh for hikers. He liked it immediately. Then he discovered a cluster of boulders, one with a hidden opening that led to a tiny, wondrous clearing. “I knew at once it was ideal. So I settled in.”
Still, he remained hungry. Knight was beginning to realise that is almost impossible to live by yourself all the time. You need help. Hermits across history often ended up in deserts or mountains or woodlands – the sorts of places where it was extremely difficult to find or catch all your own food. To feed themselves, some of the Desert Fathers – third-century Christian Hermits from Egypt – wove reed baskets and sold them. In ancient China, hermits were shamans, herbalists and diviners. Later, a fad for hermits swept 18th-century England. It was believed that hermits radiated kindness and thoughtfulness, so advertisements were placed in newspapers for “ornamental hermits” who were lax in grooming and willing to sleep in caves on the country estates of the aristocracy. The job paid well and hundreds were hired, typically on seven-year contracts. Some of the hermits would even emerge at dinner parties and greet guests.
Knight, however, felt that anyone’s willing assistance tainted the whole enterprise. He wished to be unconditionally alone; an uncontacted tribe of one.
The cabins around the ponds in central Maine, Knight noted, had minimal security measures. Windows were often left open, even when the owners were away. The woods offered excellent cover, and with few permanent residents, the area would always be empty during the off-season. A summer camp with a big pantry was nearby. The easiest way to become a hunter-gatherer here was obvious.
And so Knight decided to steal.
To commit a thousand break-ins before getting caught, a world-class streak, requires precision and patience, daring and luck. It also demands a specific understanding of people. “I looked for patterns,” Knight said. “Everyone has patterns.”
He perched at the edge of the woods and meticulously observed the habits of the families with cabins along the ponds. He watched their quiet breakfasts and dinner parties, their visitors and vacancies, the cars moving up and down the road. Nothing Knight saw tempted him to return to his former life. His surveillance was clinical, informational, mathematical. He did not learn anyone’s name. All he sought was to understand migration patterns – when people went shopping, when a cabin was unoccupied. After that, he said, everything in his life became a matter of timing. The ideal time to steal was deep in the night, midweek, preferably when it was overcast, best in the rain. A heavy downpour was prime. People stayed out of the woods when it was wet.
Still, Knight did not walk on roads or trails, just in case, and he never launched a raid on a Friday or Saturday – days he knew had arrived from the obvious surge in lakeside noise.
For a while, he opted to go out when the moon was large, so he could use it as a light source. In later years, when he suspected the police had intensified their search for him, he switched to no moon at all. Knight liked to vary his methods. He didn’t want to develop any patterns of his own, though he did make it a habit to embark on a raid only when freshly shaved or with a neatly groomed beard, and wearing clean clothing, so as to reduce suspicion on the slight chance that he was spotted.
There were at least 100 cabins in Knight’s thieving repertoire. The ideal was a fully stocked place, with the family away until the weekend. He knew, in many cases, the precise number of steps required to reach a particular cabin, and once he selected a target, he bounded and weaved through the forest. Sometimes, if he was headed far or needed a load of propane or a replacement mattress it was easier to travel by canoe. Canoes are difficult to hide, and if you steal one, the owner will call the police. It was wiser to borrow, and there was a large selection around the lake, some up on sawhorses and seldom used.
Knight was capable of reaching homes anywhere along the largest pond near his hidden campsite. “I’d think nothing of paddling for hours, whatever needed to be done.” If the water was choppy, he would place a few rocks in the front of the boat to keep it stable. Typically, he stayed close to shore, cloaked against the trees, hiding in the silhouette of the land, though on a stormy night he would paddle across the middle, alone in the dark and lashed by the rain.
When he arrived at his chosen cabin, he would make sure there were no vehicles in the driveway, no sign of someone inside. Burglary is a dicey business, with a low margin for error. One mistake and the outside world would snatch him back. So he crouched in the dark and waited, sometimes for hours. “I enjoy being in the dark,” he said.
He never risked breaking into a home occupied year-round, and he always wore a watch so he could monitor the time.
Sometimes, cabins were left unlocked. Those were the easiest to enter, though soon other places became nearly as simple. Knight had keys to them, found during previous break-ins. He stashed each key on its respective property, typically under some nondescript rock. He created several dozen of these stashes and never forgot where one was.
He noticed when several cabins left out pens and paper, requesting a shopping list, and others offered him bags of supplies, hanging from a doorknob. But he was fearful of traps, or tricks, or initiating any sort of correspondence, even a grocery list. So he left everything untouched, and people stopped.
For the majority of his break-ins, Knight worked the lock on a window or door. He always carried his lock-breaking kit, a gym bag with a collection of screwdrivers and flat bars and files, all of which he had stolen, and could defeat all but the most fortified bolts with the perfect little jiggle of just the right tool. When he had finished stealing, he would often reseal the hasp on the window he had unlatched and exit through the front door, making sure the handle was set, if possible, to lock up behind himself. No need to leave the place vulnerable to thieves.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The bow of a canoe on Lang Pond in Maine’s Northern Forest. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
As the local residents invested in security upgrades, Knight adapted. He knew about alarms from his one paying job, and he used this knowledge to continue stealing – sometimes disabling systems or removing memory cards from surveillance cameras. He evaded dozens of attempts to catch him, by both police officers and private citizens. The crime scenes he left behind were so clean that the authorities offered their begrudging respect. “The level of discipline he showed while he broke into houses,” said one police officer, “is beyond what any of us can remotely imagine – the legwork, the reconnaissance, the talent with locks, his ability to get in and out without being detected.”
A burglary report filed by another officer specifically noted the crime’s “unusual neatness”. The hermit, many officers felt, was a master thief. It was as if he were showing off, picking locks yet stealing little, playing a strange sort of game.
Knight said the moment he opened a lock and entered a home, he always felt a hot wave of shame. “Every time, I was very conscious that I was doing wrong. I took no pleasure in it, none at all.” Once inside a cabin, he moved purposefully, hitting the kitchen first before making a quick sweep of the house, looking for any useful items, or the batteries he always required. He never turned on a light. He used only a small torch attached to a metal chain he wore around his neck.
During a burglary, there wasn’t a moment’s ease. “My adrenaline was spiking, my heart rate was soaring. My blood pressure was high. I was always scared when stealing. Always. I wanted it over as quickly as possible.”
When Knight was finished with the inside of the cabin, he would habitually check the gas grill to see if the propane tank was full. If so, and there was an empty spare lying around, he would replace the full one with an empty, making the grill appear untouched.
Then he would load everything into a canoe, if he had borrowed one, and paddle to the shore closest to his camp to unload. He would return the canoe to the spot he had taken it from, sprinkle some pine needles on the boat to make it appear unused, then haul his loot up through the dense woods, between the rocks, to his home.
Each raid brought Knight enough supplies to last about two weeks, and as he settled once more into his room in the woods – “back in my safe place, success” – he experienced a deep sense of peace.
Knight said that he couldn’t accurately describe what it felt like to spend such an immense period of time alone. Silence does not translate into words. “It’s complicated,” he said. “Solitude bestows an increase in something valuable. I can’t dismiss that idea. Solitude increased my perception. But here’s the tricky thing: when I applied my increased perception to myself, I lost my identity. There was no audience, no one to perform for. There was no need to define myself. I became irrelevant.”
The dividing line between himself and the forest, Knight said, seemed to dissolve. His isolation felt more like a communion. “My desires dropped away. I didn’t long for anything. I didn’t even have a name. To put it romantically, I was completely free.”
Virtually everyone who has tried to describe deep solitude has said something similar. “I am nothing; I see all,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. Lord Byron called it “the feeling infinite”. The American mystic Thomas Merton said that “the true solitary does not seek himself, but loses himself”.
For those who do not choose to be alone – like prisoners and hostages – a loss of one’s socially created identity can be terrifying, a plunge into madness. Psychologists call it “ontological insecurity”, losing your grip on who you are. Edward Abbey, in Desert Solitaire, a chronicle of two six‑month stints as a ranger in Utah’s Arches National Monument, said that being solitary for a long time “means risking everything human”. Knight, meanwhile, didn’t even keep a mirror in his camp. He was never once bored. He wasn’t sure, he said, that he even understood the concept of boredom. “I was never lonely,” Knight added. He was attuned to the completeness of his own presence rather than to the absence of others.
“If you like solitude,” he said, “you are never alone.”
Knight was finally arrested, after 27 years of complete isolation, while stealing food at a lakeside summer camp. He was charged with burglary and theft, and taken to the local jail. His arrest caused an enormous commotion – letters and visitors arrived at the jail, and approximately 500 journalists requested an interview. A documentary film team showed up. A woman proposed marriage.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Knight is escorted into Kennebec County Superior Court to enter pleas for multiple burglaries and thefts. Photograph: Portland Press Herald/Press Herald via Getty Images
Everyone wanted to know what the hermit would say. What insights had he gained while he was alone? What advice did he have for the rest of us? People have been approaching hermits with similar requests for thousands of years, eager to consult with someone whose life has been so radically different to their own.
Profound truths, or at least those that make sense of the seeming randomness of life, are difficult to find. Thoreau wrote that he had reduced his existence to its basic elements so that he could “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life”.
Knight did, eventually permit one journalist to meet him, and over the course of nine one-hour visits in the jail, the hermit shared his life story – about how he was able to survive, and what it felt like to live alone for so long.
And once, when he was in an especially introspective mood, Knight seemed willing, despite his typical aversion to dispensing wisdom, to share more of what he gleaned while alone. Was there, the journalist asked him, some grand insight revealed to him in the wild?
Knight sat quietly but he eventually arrived at a reply.
“Get enough sleep,” he said.
He set his jaw in a way that conveyed he wouldn’t be saying any more. This was what he’d learned. It was, without question, the truth.
This is an adapted extract of The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel, published by Simon and Schuster
• Follow the Long Read on Twitter at @gdnlongread, or sign up to the long read weekly email here ||||| I wanted to read this book as the Maine woods have been a part of my life and I was unfamiliar with this story until I saw this book. I realized from the start that at the core of this story was an important topic I already have been worrying about that I feel American society either is unaware of or is purposefully ignoring: the neuro-atypical person and the challenge of how they will live (not thriving but suffering) in modern America.
I found the book a page turner from the start. I did sneak to the Internet as I was dying to know more and found many videos online such as press conferences with the investigating local law enforcement and video of the now-disassembled camp site. The story was written in a way that was engaging and it moved at a pace that was just right. It's a short 201 pages and the personal details were provided in just nine hours of interviewing, limited by the "hermit's" choice to tell only so much and no more, keeping some things private, and sharing his opinions that are sometimes short and blunt (not pontificating).
This is the story of a man who walked into the Maine woods with a small number of items who chose to live in seclusion, robbing lakeside summer camps (vacation cabins) for food and basic supplies. With no military or survivalist training other than reading trade books such as the Foxfire series, he devised systems and carved a llife that allowed him to live for 27 years in the brutal Maine woods, sometimes in 20+ below zero winter weather. He only interacted with other people twice, once saying just "hi" to a hiker and once with hand movements and body language only. Knight was content and found peace in living that life until he was caught with the help of sophisticated surveillance equipment while robbing food from a nonprofit camp for disabled children (including kids on the Autism Spectrum).
While telling the story of Christopher Knight's life as a hermit, Finkel weaves in his research on the related topics of voluntary solitude versus loneliness, the brain and what scientific studies have told us about the human need for social connection, the role of hormones, and about various (supposed) disorders that our society has invented and given names to. To a layperson Knight seems to have Asperger's, but that's a diagnosis that now no longer exists, it's been renamed and grouped under the broader umbrella term Autism Spectrum Disorder. From my own reading of the book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults by James Webb et al I wonder if Knight's IQ is one that is so high that other neuro-atypical elements also are present. In the book it was said that doctors refused to make a diagnosis of Asperger's because Knight was too high functioning in daily life to qualify for the diagnosis. The heartbreaking part of this story is that the suffering that Knight endured was due to square pegs not fitting in the round holes of modern American society, his relief and contendedness was found living in isolation in nature, but this is not really allowed in America, and when possible it's only available to those who are able to financially support themselves due to an inheritance or some income stream that they are lucky to find that meshes with their talents and abilities. Also explored in the book was how other cultures around the world have places for hermit-types to go and to live supported for their basic need for food and shelter by society (not financially self-sufficient). Prior to the disassembling of the asylums in the United States, perhaps some of the residents were those who were square pegs.
If you just want to hear the story of who, what, when, where, why and how, all that is here in a short easy read. I finished it off in under 48 hours reading between living my regular life. I could have finished it in one sitting if I wanted to stay up too late or clear my calendar for a morning. But this book provides more food for thought, for me at least, than just Knight's hermit years story. I hope this book is a catalyst for Americans to think about this issue, with the rising rates of Autism and mental illness, we have more people this decade than ever before who are not fitting in with the mandatory American public school system and who are not fitting in to work jobs as adults enough to support themselves independently let alone the issue of if a person is happy or content. When a person suffers now they are labeled as depressed, if they worry too much, they have anxiety. The rise in the use of psychiatric medications to try to help people who are not fitting in with American society's defined "right way to function and be" is not always successful in converting a person into being something we call cured. We don't just let people be, anyone found to be atypical is trying to be fixed. If relatives take in a family member with what we call a disability or mental illness, the cost of living can be so high that it's hard to afford it. This societal problem is going to get worse in the upcoming decades. But I digress.
This book is a great read that informs and it was written with respect and portrays Knight with dignity. It's not sensationalized for entertainment purposes and it's not patronizing (thank goodness). Rating 5 stars = Love It. This NEEDS TO BE MADE INTO A MOVIE so it can reach a wider audience and that income perhaps can support Knight's ability to live the kind of life he needs to feel inner peace and contentment. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– When he was 20 years old, an introverted young man named Christopher Knight hopped in his car with a tent and backpack, drove into the most remote reaches of Maine, and, "without knowing where he was going, with no particular place in mind, he stepped into the trees and walked away." In an excerpt in the Guardian from his newly published book, The Stranger in the Woods, Michael Finkel tells Knight's incredible tale of nearly three decades living in the wilderness, including how he purposely tried to become lost in the woods (not as easy as it sounds) and how he perfected his survival skills as he went along. But because he wanted to be "unconditionally alone," Knight had to make some ethical concessions when it came to eating—meaning he had to start to steal. Knight put the same meticulous study into his new life of crime as he did in building shelters and foraging in the forest. Sometimes he'd lie low for hours to make sure a target location was safe. "I enjoy being in the dark," he says. He was so good at what he did that his victims felt "begrudging respect" for the spotless crime scenes he left behind. His life alone finally ended after 27 years when he was caught and arrested for burglary and theft while trying to scoop up food from a camp. Locals couldn't wait to hear what the "hermit" had to say about his time alone, how he survived, and why he left in the first place back in the '80s. Knight has thought long and hard about that last question, and after ruling out religious, artistic, or anti-modern society reasons, he simply says: "It's a mystery." The rest of Knight's incredible survival tale here. (A woman lived deep in the Siberian wilderness for decades.)
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– McDonald's has an unusual problem in India: It recently severed ties with a partner that helped bring the Golden Arches to the nation, but now that company refuses to stop selling McDonald's food under the McDonald's name. In all, about 170 restaurants have "gone rogue," in the words of the Wall Street Journal. Back in August, McDonald's canceled its franchise agreement with Connaught Plaza Restaurants, which operates 40% of McDonald's outlets in India. But rather than close up shop, the restaurants are operating as usual. McDonald's has been pressuring suppliers to cut off deliveries with mixed success, and Connaught Plaza's managing director, who brought the chain to India in 1996, hopes to keep the food flowing for as long as possible. “I cannot allow a large organization, this [multinational] monster, whatever you want to call it, to truly belittle our contributions,” says Vikram Bakshi. McDonald's, meanwhile, accuses Connaught Plaza of various contractual issues, including a failure to pay royalties. Bakshi's legal battles with McDonald's actually stretch as far back as 2008, and this latest round is expected to drag out in the courts as well. India has a growing middle class, and that theoretically makes the country a great market for McDonald's, notes the Economist. But it adds that this recent trouble "illustrates multinationals’ worst fears about India, from the instability built into the joint-venture model to the ease of stymieing legal judgments." In the meantime, the Maharaja Macs continue to be served at the non-McDonald's McDonald's.
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IN MOST ways the McDonald’s outlet in Jangpura, a gentrifying neighbourhood in south Delhi, looks like one anywhere else, with bright displays, plastic seating and a familiar menu. But this week a disconcerting sign warns that “unpredictable” conditions have affected tomato supplies; none are available. Not bad though for a store that McDonald’s has been trying to close since September 6th. Over a third of its 400 or so outlets in India were supposed to shut their doors then—yet nearly all are still slinging McSpicy Paneers to customers.
War rages between McDonald’s India and Vikram Bakshi of Connaught Place Restaurants Limited (CPRL), who first brought the American chain to India in 1996 as a local partner in a 50-50 joint venture, starting in Delhi (along with another franchisee, Hardcastle Restaurants, which went into the southern and western states). Over the next two decades, Mr Bakshi expanded in the north and east. In 2008 McDonald’s tried to buy out Mr Bakshi’s share for $7m, but he had evidence from an accounting firm that his stake was worth $331m.
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From his upstairs office in a residential colony near the Jangpura store, Mr Bakshi has been giving hell to the world’s biggest restaurant chain. In 2013 McDonald’s had him ousted as CPRL’s managing director. He sued to be reinstated, then sued to have his stake revalued, and again to keep control of 169 branches without interference from the mother ship.
When McDonald’s tried to take him to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in December 2013, he complained of “oppression and mismanagement” to an Indian national tribunal and won a reprieve; only in 2016 did another Indian court allow the chain’s case to proceed to the LCIA. Mr Bakshi is now trying his luck with an appeal to yet another court, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The battle illustrates multinationals’ worst fears about India, from the instability built into the joint-venture model to the ease of stymieing legal judgments.
The prospects for McDonald’s in India look appealing, thanks to expanding middle classes. But Mr Bakshi’s chain all but ceased growing since he crossed swords with the golden arches. He shows no signs of giving up. Now his hope is that the appellate tribunal will find in his favour on the LCIA case after a hearing due on October 25th.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s seems to be taking matters into its own hands and squeezing Mr Bakshi’s suppliers. Jangpura’s ketchup comes from Cremica Food Industries in Punjab. Cremica stopped shipping to CPRL in August (it will not say why). Over the approaching holiday weekend of Dussehra, a Hindu festival, the restaurants should see their heaviest footfall of the year. McDonald’s worst fear must be that Mr Bakshi will find a way to carry on for months or years using its brand. But no tomato, then no ketchup. These are formidable weapons. ||||| NEW DELHI—McDonald’s Corp. has a baffling problem in India. It can’t get restaurants there to stop selling its food.
In August, after a lengthy dispute, the fast-food giant ordered its partner of 22 years in northern and eastern India to stop using the McDonald’s brand and system. But Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., which operated 40% of McDonald’s Indian outlets, about 150 restaurants, went rogue.
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State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald announced Friday a new record return for the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt.
The program works to return unclaimed property to Iowans.
Fitzgerald said $2.3 million in unclaimed property was returned to the estate of Maurice Wittrock.
"I'm very excited to announce the Maurice Wittrock unclaimed properties were claimed through his estate," Fitzgerald said in a news release. "Many of the properties have been in the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt for years. Throughout the years, we tried to reach out and contact Mr. Wittrock, but he chose not to come forward to claim his property. During that time, finders reached out to him as well, offering to reunite him for a fee. I'm pleased his attorney and the estate were able to claim the money at no cost. Our mission is to reunite unclaimed property to its rightful owners and we do that at no cost."
Officials report that over the years the program, started by Fitzgerald in 1983, has returned more than $195 million in unclaimed property to more than 465,000 people.
Search to see if you have unclaimed property at http://www.greatiowatreasurehunt.com ||||| Few pictures of Louis Passerini exist. This photo of him was taken at his first Holy Communion. Passerini died at 84 in 1994 at Bellevue Hospital. He hadn't been in touch with anyone from his family for 27 years. He left behind $1 million in bank accounts and safety deposit boxes scattered around the country. The accounts lay unclaimed and dormant until 2000, when Passerini's brother learned of his death and started searching for the money. View Full Caption Courtesy of Allen Fitzpatrick
NEW YORK CITY — When Louis Passerini died in 1994 at Bellevue Hospital, his passing barely registered with the rest of the world.
No one was there to mourn the eccentric 84-year-old. He hadn’t been in touch with any of his family for 27 years.
None of his relatives, including a nephew on the Upper West Side, knew that he was living alone in a boarding home in Manhattan. None were even told Passerini had died. He didn’t leave behind contact numbers or addresses to reach loved ones — let alone any information about his life or belongings.
All that remained from his 84 years on Earth were more than 30 bank accounts and safety deposit boxes containing cryptic messages scattered around the country. Collectively, they held nearly $1 million.
The news wire service UPI wrote a story about a 25-year-old Louis Passerini bicycling from his home in Hartford, Conn., to college in Springfield, Mass., twice a week. The Los Angeles Times ran the story on April 27, 1936. View Full Caption Los Angeles Times via the New York Public Library
But since no one knew he had died and no paperwork existed to alert anyone to the accounts, the fruits of Passerini’s frugal living and constant saving remained a secret and stayed that way for another six years.
“He was very private,” his brother Joseph Passerini said. “He never had a telephone or a car, so you couldn’t track him that way.”
That’s why Joseph said he was shocked to hear news about his brother in 2000, when Jaisan Inc., a Manhattan-based agency that searches for unclaimed bank accounts, contacted him and another brother, Henry Passerini.
Jaisan informed them that Louis had died and that it had discovered two of Louis’s bank accounts in New York that held $81,155 but had been dormant for years.
Henry who, unlike Joseph, was near in age to Louis and at one time had a close relationship with him, suspected that the $81,155 was just the tip of the iceberg.
Henry knew Louis had been a miser his whole life — even during the Great Depression. The brother also knew Louis had a long career in the Air Force, meaning he moved around the country and could have held banks accounts anywhere.
With that gnawing hunch, Henry embarked on what could be one of the longest and farthest-reaching scavenger hunts — all to find more of Louis’ hidden money.
The search started in 2001 with Henry identifying hundreds of banks and other financial institutions in the immediate neighborhoods in which his brother had lived during his life. Henry hired lawyers who sent letters to each of these institutions, asking if they held accounts in Louis’ name.
More than 60 letters went to New York City banks alone. Another set of letters was sent to the 18 largest banks in Canada because the family had lived there at one time.
Henry reached out to government agencies and people who might have information on where his brother’s money was. And he contacted the unclaimed funds' administrator in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
He also reviewed Internal Revenue Service records to see if any banks reported interest on accounts held by Louis from 1996 to 2001.
Joseph said what Henry uncovered left him and his family “very surprised.”
Louis was born in 1910. He was the oldest of six siblings to Italian parents who immigrated to Canada before settling in New Britain, Conn.
Not much is known about Louis’ life. Joseph said he barely spent time with Louis and was only 1 when his brother left home. He said Louis only kept in touch with some siblings.
But Louis' brilliant mind and quirkiness made him a fixture of family lore.
“He was kind of a mathematical genius as well as being an eccentric,” said Allen Fitzpatrick, 60, one of Louis’ nephews. “The whole family, they were pretty much on the smart end, but I guess he was the biggest brain of them all.”
Louis’ eccentricity garnered him notoriety in the press in 1936 when the news wire service UPI wrote about his quirky commute to college.
At the time he was 25, working as a bookkeeper in Hartford, Conn. He would bike from Hartford to the Springfield, Mass., branch of Northeastern University twice a week. He covered 56 miles on each round-trip ride for a total of 112 miles a week, the wire service reported.
During World War II, he was drafted into the Air Force and made a career out of the military.
Joseph, who lives in Florida, said he didn’t know much about his brother’s life after that, nor did he know how he ended up living out his final days in a boarding home.
Henry, 92, could not be reached for comment at his Falls Church, Va., home, and his lawyer declined to comment until she got his approval.
But Henry’s hunt paid off.
By 2004 he identified more than 30 bank accounts in Virginia, Connecticut and New York that Louis held.
Henry also located four safety deposit boxes that Louis had. Those boxes contained passbooks, keys to other safety deposit boxes and notes written in a little-used version of shorthand that referred to the location of other assets.
In all Henry discovered about $912,000 that his penny-pinching brother had kept scattered around the country.
But doling out the money has proven just as challenging as tracking it down.
Court papers in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court show that the funds are to be divvied up among Louis’ two surviving brothers, Joseph and Henry, and six nieces and nephews who are the heirs to his other deceased siblings.
But distributions haven’t been made because Joseph and Henry, who are the administrators of Louis’ estate, have been locked in a legal fight over how much to pay Henry’s lawyers for preparing tax filings on the $912,000.
Last year, Joseph asked a surrogate’s court judge to remove Henry as an administrator.
Joseph declined to comment on the case, calling it “a private family matter.”
Earlier this year, Henry filed a legal response that cited the lengths he went to to track down the money and demanded that a judge dismiss Joseph’s request.
Fitzpatrick, whose mother was one of Louis’s sisters, said the delay is “because of roadblocks set up by other family members.”
“It’s the longest legal case I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Fitzpatrick, who lives in Seattle, never met his Uncle Louis. He said he might have if the family knew he was living in Manhattan. At the time of Louis’ death, Fitzpatrick lived on the Upper West Side.
“Obviously, I certainly would have said hello to him,” he said. “It’s weird.” |||||
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– A New York City eccentric left behind nearly $1 million scattered around the country when he died—triggering a scavenger hunt and in-fighting among his surviving family members, DNA Info reports. "He was very private," says Joseph Passerini of his brother, Louis, who lived alone and died 21 years ago at age 84. "He never had a telephone or a car, so you couldn’t track him that way." In fact, Joseph and his brother Henry only heard about Louis' death in 2000, when contacted by a company that looks for unclaimed bank money. Louis had left $81,155 in one account, but Henry, knowing Louis as a miser who had traveled in his long Air Force career, figured there was more. So Henry reached out to hundreds of banks through attorneys, contacted government agencies, and talked to administrators of unclaimed funds across the US. Sure enough, 92-year-old Henry hit gold: $912,000 in safety deposit boxes and bank accounts in several states. Some safety deposit boxes contained notes in a rare shorthand pointing Henry to other hidden assets. Why the secrecy? "He was kind of a mathematical genius as well as being an eccentric," says one of Louis' newphews. Louis generated news in 1936 for his eye-popping, 56-mile round-trip commute to college in Springfield, Mass., then got drafted into the Air Force in World War II. Beyond that, family members aren't saying much about him. They're also in a legal battle over how much to give Henry's lawyers before divvying up the findings. "It’s the longest legal case I’ve ever seen," says a relative. If $912,000 sounds high, KCCI reports that Iowa just returned $2.3 million in property to the estate of a man who showed no interest in claiming it.
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Here is a news article: The claws are out in the small Southland village of Omaui amid plans to ban all new domestic cats.
Environment Southland wants to shut the door on furry felines in the small settlement, in an effort to protect native bird life as part of its Pest Management Plan.
Off the beaten track between Invercargill and Bluff, Omaui is home to native bush and nature reserves which biosecurity operations manager Ali Meade says must be protected.
"There's cats getting into the native bush; they're preying on native birds, they're taking insects, they're taking reptiles - all sorts of things. They're doing quite a bit of damage."
There's already been a lot of work on rodent and possum control near Omaui, which Omaui Landcare Trust leader John Collins says has enhanced the area for native birds and lizards.
The group approached the council, asking for ways of dealing with cats.
"We're not cat haters, but we'd like to see responsible pet ownership," Mr Collins says. "And this really isn't the place for cats."
Residents will have to desex, microchip, and register their cats with Environment Southland and won't be allowed to get any new moggies.
"So your cat can live out its natural life at Omaui happily doing what it's doing," Ms Meade explains. "But then when it dies, you wouldn't be able to replace it."
Conservationists say having native birds and insects in your back garden will more than make up for not having a pet cat, but not everyone agrees.
"It was an absolute shock to me," Omaui resident Nico Jarvis told Newshub. "I feel a bit hoodwinked to be honest."
Longtime resident Terry Dean agrees the news has come out of the blue.
"You're just told one day that your cats, your treasured little possessions... really, that's it. Either they get trapped in the traps, or those that survive can't be replaced."
Residents have two months to register their views on the feline ban.
Newshub. ||||| WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Omaui, an idyllic coastal town on the South Island of New Zealand that overflows with rare bird species, is home to just 35 people and seven or eight much-loved cats.
But a new proposal to phase out felines to preserve native wildlife susceptible to predators has raised the hackles of some cat-loving residents. Among other things, they worry rodents will breed out of control.
“We’re not supporting feral cats, but there are people who have doubts here about the plan,” said Terry Dean, 75, a longtime resident.
The proposed ban would impose a sunset clause for cats in Omaui, meaning that once a cat died, its owners would not be allowed to replace it. If the policy is approved, cat owners will have six months to register existing cats with the regional council and have them microchipped and neutered. ||||| Cat-lover Nico Jarvis, of Omaui, cuddles up with her neighbour’s 8-year-old cat, Nhabuz Fishaw. Photo: Sharon Reece
Residents of a small Southland community say they will ''actively petition'' against any bid to ban domestic cats from the area.
A new Southland regional pest management plan proposed yesterday by Environment Southland outlines plans to make the Southland town of Omaui cat-free by banning new domestic cats in the area.
Resident Nico Jarvis said she would not comply with the council's rules.
Owning three cats was the only way to combat the ''intense'' rodent problem in the area, she said.
''It doesn't matter how many [rodents] I trap and poison, more just keep coming in from the bush.
''They chew into your house, you can't get rid of them.
''If I cannot have a cat, it almost becomes unhealthy for me to live in my house,'' she said.
The ''majority'' of the community, some of whom she had already spoken to, would support her petition to stop the ban, Ms Jarvis said.
''The community here do understand the conservational side of things, absolutely, but I think long-term, the ramifications of this are not something that even non-cat-owners will be comfortable with.
''It's like a police state.
''It's not even regulating people's ability to have a cat. It's saying you can't have a cat,'' she said.
However, not everyone from the community shares Ms Jarvis' concerns.
Omaui Landcare Charitable Trust chairman John Collins, who championed the push for the ban, said Omaui was simply not a place for cats.
Omaui was a ''high-value conservation area'' and removing cats from the area would enable native animals to thrive, he said.
''We're not cat haters, but we want our environment to be wildlife-rich.
''Native wildlife is disappearing rapidly around the country and places like this where people still live and enjoy and hear the birdsong are probably few and far between,'' Mr Collins said.
Native birds had been ''ripped to pieces'' by cats on his front lawn, he said.
The plan proposed cats in the area should be neutered, microchipped and registered with the council, and no cat would be replaced once it died, Environment Southland biosecurity operations manager Ali Meade said.
Anyone not complying would receive a notice to remove the cat, and as an ''absolute last resort'' Environment Southland would remove the cat at a cost to the landowner, she said.
The council would look at rehoming or removing the cat before any prosecution, she said.
Submissions on the Southland regional pest management plan close on October 23. |||||
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– Omaui, New Zealand? It's for the birds—that's the vision of some people, at least. To that end, officials have come up with a plan to ban cats, blamed for decimating native wildlife, in the coastal village, Newshub reports. John Collins, a major proponent of the plan, tells the Otago Daily Times, "We're not cat haters, but we want our environment to be wildlife-rich," adding that cats have "ripped to pieces" native birds on his own lawn. Under the plan, residents of the village (there are about 35 of them, per the New York Times) will have to neuter, microchip, and register their cats. After that, says official Ali Meade, a cat will be permitted to "to live out its natural life at Omaui happily doing what it's doing. But when it dies, you wouldn’t be able to replace it." Not all Omaui residents are onboard with the plan. "It's like a police state," Nico Jarvis tells the Daily Times. Her three cats are the only effective form of rodent control she has, she says, adding that "If I cannot have a cat, it almost becomes unhealthy for me to live in my house." Protecting native wildlife—reptiles and insects, in addition to birds—has been an issue in New Zealand for some time, per the New York Times, and the country set a goal to exterminate all rats and other invasive predators by 2050. As for the Omaui cat ban, Jarvis says the majority of residents see things her way; those that do will have eight weeks to provide feedback on the plan.
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Write an article based on this summary:
– Whoops: The seemingly always charming Benedict Cumberbatch has finally put his foot in his mouth, the Huffington Post reports. During an interview on the Tavis Smiley show on PBS last week, Cumberbatch was asked about diversity in acting roles and said, "I think as far as colored actors go it gets really different in the UK, and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here [in the US] than in the UK, and that's something that needs to change. Something's gone wrong. We're not representative enough in our culture of different races, and that really does need to step up apace." Of course, Cumberbatch was quickly called out for using the term "colored." Yesterday, he apologized, telling People he feels like a "complete fool." "I'm devastated to have caused offense by using this outmoded terminology," he said in a statement. "I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done. I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive. The most shaming aspect of this for me is that I was talking about racial inequality in the performing arts in the UK and the need for rapid improvements in our industry when I used the term. ... While I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone who I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply." (Click to see Cumberbatch prove he can pronounce the word "penguins.")
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Benedict Cumberbatch Says U.S. Offers Black Actors More Opportunities
Though the Screen Actors Guild awards made history Sunday by bestowing the two major TV acting honors to women of color for the first time since the Guild began its ceremony, the 2015 awards show season has been criticized for inadequately recognizing people of color Despite this, Benedict Cumberbatch , who's been widely lauded for his portrayal of British computer scientist Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, still thinks the United States is ahead of the United Kingdom when it comes to job opportunities for black actors and actresses."I think as far as colored actors go it gets really different in the U.K., and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here [in the U.S.] than in the U.K., and that's something that needs to change," the star, 38, said on the Tavis Smiley PBS talk show. , in response to a question Smiley asked him about black British actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and David Oyelowo achieving success with 12 Years a Slave and Selma, respectively."Something's gone wrong," he continued. "We're not representative enough in our culture of different races, and that really does need to step up apace.""I don't want to get into any debates about that, but it's clear when you see certain migratory patterns that there are more opportunities here than in the U.K.," Cumberbatch added.Since the interview aired, some have taken offense to Cumberbatch's use of the term "colored," for which the actor has offered the following statement to PEOPLE:"I'm devastated to have caused offense by using this outmoded terminology. I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done. I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive. The most shaming aspect of this for me is that I was talking about racial inequality in the performing arts in the U.K. and the need for rapid improvements in our industry when I used the term."He continues, "I feel the complete fool I am and while I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone who I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply." ||||| TRANSCRIPT
Tavis Smiley: Good evening from Los Angeles. I’m Tavis Smiley.
Tonight, a conversation with Emmy-winning, Golden Globe-nominated, and Oscar nominee, actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who’s currently starring in the film, “The Imitation Game” which tells the story of real life British mathematician and pioneering computer scientist, Alan Turing. Turing was a key figure in cracking Nazi Germany’s Enigma code which helped the allies win the Second World War.
We’re glad you’ve joined us. A conversation with Benedict Cumberbatch coming up right now.
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Announcer: And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you.
Tavis: “The Imitation Game” has been hailed by critics as one of the year’s best films. Benedict Cumberbatch–I love that name. Can I say that again? Benedict Cumberbatch, of course, stars in that film as Alan Turing, a key figure in cracking Nazi Germany’s Enigma code which helped the allies, of course, win the Second World War.
Cumberbatch is no stranger to viewers of PBS’s Masterpiece for his brilliant work in “Sherlock” which he’s filming right now. Well, not right now. He’s here with us right now, but will be when he leaves here. Before we start our conversation, let’s take a look at a scene from “The Imitation Game”.
[Clip]
Tavis: I was whispering to Mr. Cumberbatch while the clip was playing that Keira Knightley who’s been a guest on this program a couple of times was wonderful in this as well. I was just saying that she is pregnant, as we saw at the Golden Globes. I had to congratulate you ’cause you’re pregnant as well right now here.
Benedict Cumberbatch: Thank you. Not me personally, but yes [laugh].
Tavis: Yes [laugh].
Cumberbatch: Yes, the couple are doing fine in that department. It’s great.
Tavis: Congratulations on that.
Cumberbatch: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Tavis: And congratulations on this wonderful film.
Cumberbatch: Thank you. Thank you very much. I’m really quite proud of it.
Tavis: Wonderful, wonderful film. In preparing for our conversation, this is the first time we’ve met, I was reading in a number of places that your parents didn’t really want you to do this.
Cumberbatch: Not really, no. And I sort of saw it firsthand why, you know. It’s a very odd peripatetic, crazed, out of your control work and social schedule. It’s very hard to plan a family life, let alone know where the next paycheck’s coming from.
So they worked very, very hard as my parents, but also as actors to afford me an education whereby I had the opportunity and the privilege to be able to try and channel myself towards other goals.
You know, I wanted to be a barrister because there’s definitely a crossover, especially in criminal law with trying to persuade an audience of jurors and a judge of the case and your client’s story.
So I did go down that road for a little bit and I think they would have been very happy if I’d ended up there. But I just met so many people who gave me the same story. It’s over-subscribed, you can’t control your pay or your private life. I mean, there was so much that was a similar sort of set of problems.
I thought, well, why am I giving up on my primary dream for a very odd career, really even more competitive career in many ways than being an actor and not pursue my dream. So I did and, you know, much to Dad’s selflessness as a man and I have to echo that one when my time comes to be a dad.
He said to me in a car park after a play I’d done at Manchester University when I was student there, he said, “You’re better now than I was or ever will be”, which is a huge thing for a man to say to his son.
He said, “I think you’re going to have a great career and I can’t wait to watch you and support you.” I was like, my God. So the primary motivation for me in my life is to make them proud. I love them both very much.
Tavis: You said two things I want to go back and pick up if I can.
Cumberbatch: Yeah, sure.
Tavis: Number one, so we’re off and running now [laugh]. Number one, barrister, thespian, barrister, thespian. You laid out clearly before why you could see your parents didn’t want you to do this, given the challenges that actors have. But in your life, in your mind, in your heart, what made the difference? What made you make the transition?
Cumberbatch: I think that it was something that was just sort of naturally in the blood that I was surrounded by and sort of in an environmental way and nurturing way, as well as a sort of nature way.
You know, the acting community’s a very small but intimate familial group of people and I was enthralled by the company my parents kept. I was enthralled by the work I was lucky enough to see them do at close quarters.
You know, some smart teacher at school thought wisely that, if you give the classroom show-off some responsibilities, give him some lines to learn, some other actors to cooperate with and compromise with and give them a focus and an objective for their unruly energy, good things might come about and, thank goodness, they did.
So I was saved from being just yet another pest in the classroom to my poor teachers’ ever-decreasing patience. But given these wonderful roles, I just took off at school. I really enjoyed it, really enjoyed it, so I’ve become that.
Tavis: The second thing I want to follow up on, and it really struck me when I heard you say what your father told you ’cause it made me think about my own dad. I’ve been trying my whole life and I’m still not there yet to be half…
Cumberbatch: To please your father?
Tavis: Not just to please him. I want to please him, but I want to be half the man that my father was or is. My father, you know, raised 10 kids, only five of whom were his, but he took in five other kids. He worked multiple jobs. I mean, my father’s just a remarkable man for what he did to raise all 10 of us…
Cumberbatch: He sounds it.
Tavis: In the way that he did. So I’ve been struggling my whole life. I’m 50 now and still not there yet to be half the man that he is.
Cumberbatch: I’m sure you are, but with different objectives and goals. You know, you’ve got different obstacles in your life.
Tavis: Oh, you’re kind. I’m working at it. But I was struck when I heard you say your father looks at you and says to you, “You are better now than I am.” How do you process your father giving you that kind of accolade?
Cumberbatch: Well, that really, I just had a massive outbreak. It was a very emotional moment for us.
Tavis: It had to be.
Cumberbatch: You know, I already felt unqualified and unconditional love from them from the beginning of my life until that point.
Tavis: Do you have siblings?
Cumberbatch: Yes, from my mother’s first marriage, I have a half sister, Tracy, who I adore. But there’s an 18-year age gap, so we didn’t grow up together, but we’re very, very close. So I am the only child of that marriage, of my mother and my father’s marriage. I obviously crave what you don’t have. I wanted brothers and sisters. Everybody else, all my friends would say, “You don’t know how lucky you are.”
Tavis: I got nine. You want a couple? I can loan you some [laugh].
Cumberbatch: Exactly. You’ve got some to go around, yeah [laugh]. I have friends in the similar position and it’s like, you know, big families, you really have to fight for your place at the table and I didn’t. You know, my place was there. But, you know, I wanted to capitalize on that. I think what I’m saying, though, about going back to how do you process that.
Emotionally, it was just overwhelming and then you process it as, right, well, now I have a duty to that promise and that level of sacrifice and humility. I have to honor that and that gives you a great, great sort of motive for your work ethic and for how you go about living your life, I hope, and to honor dad’s faith in me. That’s one of my driving motivations.
Tavis: I want to go back to this barrister, thespian. I’m still noodling on this.
Cumberbatch: Noodling?
Tavis: Yeah…
Cumberbatch: Good word.
Tavis: On these two routes that you could have taken. So you were abundantly clear earlier, Benedict, about what you hoped to accomplish, had you gone the route of being a barrister. So what did you hope to accomplish, what do you hope to accomplish as a thespian, as an actor?
Cumberbatch: To have longevity, really. To have a career that stretches, you know, to the great ages that some of our most celebrated and brilliant men and women still manage to work in.
I think I only really set out with wanting to make a living out of it, yes, but to continually sort of evolve as an artist and challenge myself and get better, you know. Just keep failing better, keep failing upwards, I guess, in falling upwards.
Tavis: Samuel Beckett said that, yeah.
Cumberbatch: Samuel Beckett, yeah. Fail and fail again and fail better. It’s all of that. It’s an imperfectible art form. We’re imperfectible as a species, let alone as actors sort of portraying that species. So, you know, I’ve got so much to learn and so much more, I hope, still to give.
So while this is an amazing moment, the word moment sort of has a tinge of dread about it for me because I didn’t ever project to this point. I didn’t project to award ceremonies. I projected to getting opportunities to do good work, but not necessarily in films. It could have been in television or theater.
All I ever really saw was a long game and a career of longevity. I think the only other goal was a measure of respect from my peers for doing it the right way, I suppose. Yeah, and have fun with it as well and not take it too seriously.
Tavis: How do you define–I promise we’ll get to the movie in a second, but you got me going. So I’m going to follow you.
Cumberbatch: No, no, no. Do this.
Tavis: How do you define doing it the right way?
Cumberbatch: Well, you know, just the sort of grass root basics, I think. You know, being respectful, being approachable, knowing your craft, doing your homework. I’m still working on being good at being on time all the time. I’m still working on being perfect with lines.
I do seem to get quite a lot of them, but nevertheless, you know, that’s something that I’ve always found difficult. I always found it difficult to learn lines. Yeah, well, just creating an environment that’s fun for everyone to be a part of rather than just being about you. God, the list goes on, but I’ve learned from the best.
I’ve worked with the most extraordinary people in that regard, as well as my parents, but people like Judi Dench and the extraordinary cast I work with on “Sherlock”. All of them to a man or woman are just exceptional in every one of those roles. You know, there’s a huge support working that and it’s a happy place to be.
Tavis: That seems a serious work hazard, though, being an actor and having trouble learning lines [laugh].
Cumberbatch: Yeah, yeah.
Tavis: Are you sure you made the right choice? Are you sure the barrister isn’t calling you?
Cumberbatch: Yeah, you’re right, you’re right.
Tavis: You sure got no lines as a barrister.
Cumberbatch: You have to learn quite a lot by rote for being a barrister as well. There’s a hell of a resource you have to carry around inside your head as well as being able to improvise an argument in the moment or situation. You have to carry the might and truth and fact of the law in your head.
So they have their version of lines, as we all know from court and those closing speeches and all the rest of it. So I think my work would have been cut out and would be just as stressful for me there as it was for my chosen profession.
Tavis: So I’m working my way to “The Imitation Game” and one more stop along the way. We get right into the film ’cause I love the film.
Cumberbatch: Thank you.
Tavis: When you saw this–let me start with this. You mentioned the award season and how you really hadn’t factored all this. Well, you’re in the middle of it. I mean, you’re nominated for this and nominated for that, and all the ceremonies. I saw you photobombing. Was that Meryl Streep?
Cumberbatch: I couldn’t resist.
Tavis: Did I see that picture?
Cumberbatch: I mean, I got asked…
Tavis: I saw a picture of you photobombing Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes?
Cumberbatch: It’s outrageous. It’s like I’ve got no respect for the woman. It’s very much opposite. No, I just thought I’d get down on the thing. It was happening right in front of me and, you know, it was a sort of ongoing satirical nudge that everything North Korean related in the recent year of Sony’s trials.
I thought, I can’t. You know, you’re dangling a carrot way too close to me. They knew what they were doing [laugh]. I think Meryl knew I was there. I think they knew…
Tavis: The photo looked like you were having fun. I only raised it because how are you navigating your way through all of this process of award season? How you handling it?
Cumberbatch: To have fun. I mean, it’s odd. I went online just now which is a very dangerous thing to do in my line of work or life or whatever. It’s just an odd place to engage with and I rarely do. But I went online because I wanted to see–I literally was off a plane. I literally got off a plane onto the red carpet literally about an hour after landing. We were delayed an hour in London.
Anyway, a real sort of, you know, skin of the teeth moment. Get there, literally meet John on the red carpet. We had a rough idea of doing it as if I’d been picked at random by Amy and Tina, or they’d have that idea, rather. They scripted the idea.
But, you know, we didn’t rehearse it. I didn’t know where my mark was, didn’t know who I was going off, who was going to have the envelope, didn’t know if there was–I didn’t know anything about the machinations, nuts and bolts of it.
So, you know, that first bit was just sort of really nerve-wracking. I just sat down in my seat. I was just going, “Was that all right? Did we hit the right note?” And I was just looking now backstage trying to see a clip of it and, before I even got to the clip, there’s this whole review of me and award seasons, my strategy. I’m like, look, I leave that to the Weinstein Company.
I’m happy to be at the forefront of a film of a very quiet man who would have hated anything to do with this. And the reason why I enjoy it is because it gets into talking about and ensuring this exceptional human being who is shy, diffident, awkward, never really fitted in, I’m sure, into any of the sets that he should have done.
And to be able to stand up front and say this man who died too young is a gay icon, war hero and the founder of modern computer technology and programming is somebody who should be on the front cover of history and social textbooks as well as science books. He should be on the back of bank notes with Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton in the U.K. He’s somebody, great cultural and political and historical and scientific importance.
So this award season for me–I’m very proud of my work, really proud of it. I don’t mind if I’m the guy who’s the bridegroom and someone else is the bride. I mean, Eddie is a really good friend of mine, so I’m happy to applaud that man’s work. He’s phenomenal…
Tavis: Eddie Redmayne from…
Cumberbatch: Yeah. So all this sort of thing about strategy. What’s he going to do next? Somebody said, “I’m going to dedicate the award to my child.” I couldn’t think of anything more disgusting. And the idea that this is life, it’s not, you know.
I’m working in London playing Sherlock Homes. I’m in the middle of doing the Christmas special. So I’m here for a day and I go home. It refocuses you. It is all about the work. And let’s not forget the other performances like David Oyelowo and Steve Carell. I mean, just incredible performances.
Tavis: I did not realize until I was reading for our conversation, since you mentioned Eddie Redmayne who did win the Golden Globe in the category that you were in for playing Stephen Hawking, is it true that you played Hawking?
Cumberbatch: Yeah.
Tavis: You played Hawking in another project.
Cumberbatch: Which is a slightly weird hall of merit aspect. I know these are framed as well. But I only played him up to the point that he gets his doctorate in the great paper he wrote reversing the idea of a black hole into a big bang potential.
So I did it out of a point of singularity, the universe could have been born, this incredible science of Einstein that was made beautiful again by this paper, this really young, brilliant mind that was already crippled by motor neuro disease and that wonderful moment in his life. So I can watch from afar, but there is a way of really…
Tavis: Yeah.
Cumberbatch: It’s odd, yeah.
Tavis: So I am a long way from being the brightest bulb in the box.
Cumberbatch: I wouldn’t say that.
Tavis: But it is always arresting for me to go see a movie like this movie and have had no clue about the subject matter.
Cumberbatch: I know.
Tavis: I just had…
Cumberbatch: Why I’m saying that is because I had the same thing. I had the same reaction.
Tavis: I felt like stuck on stupid that I had no idea. I use a computer a bunch every day, had no idea about Alan Turing.
Cumberbatch: Well, not enough people do and that’s sort of a double tragedy not only of his demise and how he was treated by the very government that he helped save. But at the end of reading that script, the emotional impact of the story was raw, but also the feeling of anger and frustration.
This man hadn’t achieved the recognition that he deserved in his too-short life and, you know, it’s a very weighty responsibility when you’re portraying somebody who existed, whose legacy is important to his family, to the gay community, to the science community, but also to people who’ve yet to meet him.
You know, this is the chance to shine a bit of a light on somebody and engage people in our version of the story and ask people to investigate obviously a very complex man in a fuller way by reading Andrew Hodge’s beautiful, very detailed biography which the script is based on and beyond into Turing’s work. I don’t know. That was a guiding, really strong fuel, well, for all of this, but also for wanting to play the role in the first place.
The anger I felt, the injustice of how unknown he was in comparison to the scale of his achievements and suffering. It’s like you’re not alone. I mean, I felt the same, and a lot of audiences seeing it for the first time feel the same.
Tavis: Because you starred in it and I’ve already seen it and loved it, we jumped so fast, I should probably ask you to back up for a second and just tell a little bit about what the story is about. I love it, yeah.
Cumberbatch: Of course, of course. It’s a story about this very extraordinary mathematician who applies for a job to work at Bletchley Park which was undercover operation for code-breaking in the Second World War.
And it’s about him building a machine to try and break the German Enigma code using an algorithm, funny enough, that’s still employed now with Google search engines. I mean, this guy’s legacy continues well into our lives and beyond.
And it’s a story of the kind of pressure cooker environment, this point in the war. The islands of Great Britain was under siege. We were having ourselves starved. We had merchant navy ships with supplies being sunk by German U-boats. We had to crack the code to get an intelligent step ahead.
And in conjunction with that, we learned about the puzzle of Alan and, as the sort of thriller aspect and the humor of seeing this sort of slightly awkward, diffident, non-team player kind of come into the group with love and trust and collaborative work very much through Keira Knightley’s character, Joan Clark, thawing this pressured and protective man, you see this extraordinary human being evolve and you jump back to what he was as a young man when a lot of his most formative experiences happened.
Tavis: I’ve talked to so many actors over the years who have had the honor, the opportunity, to play historical figures, some dead, of course, some alive. Turing, of course, as you said, dead too soon at the age of 41. And yet, when I saw you in this film, I thought what a wonderful gift you were given. I mean, you gave us a gift with your wonderful acting…
Cumberbatch: Oh, thank you.
Tavis: But what a wonderful gift I think you were given to enlighten us about someone that we knew nothing about. It can’t get much better than that.
Cumberbatch: No, it can’t. So when you’ve got material that hooks you from the first page, Graham’s script is extraordinarily deft and humorous and nuanced and complex, thrilling, funny, moving. I mean, wonderful ingredients to play with as an actor and a filmmaker.
All of us had a great, great time with our parts and all of the parts in the film deserve their own film, by the way. I mean, incredible characters in the story of Bletchley Park. But this particular man at the center of it all, you know, he’s rendered in such a vivid, unapologetic, non-vain, frank manner from the very first encounter that you see a little bit of in that clip.
You know, he’s single-minded, has a complete irreverence for figures of authority, wants to do things the same way. He’s very funny and casually kind of gauchely very pedantic with language. And there are miscommunications which are both funny to laugh with him and/or laugh at him slightly because of his, you know, misfit status.
And out of this evolves this incredible story of an outside hero who is as relevant now as he ever was then. It’s a very extraordinary story rendered in a very brilliant script. So, yeah, it really was a gift of a role and I got hooked in, like I said. From that first page, Graham had me.
Tavis: I mentioned earlier that PBS audiences know you well…
Cumberbatch: Yes, they do.
Tavis: And love you for your work in “Sherlock”. So tell me how that’s going right about now.
Cumberbatch: Very proud to be up here. It’s going well. We’re a week into doing a Christmas special which will be out this time, well, Christmastime, I suppose, next year. And I’m gunning for a dual transmission date so we don’t pretend that Christmas happens later in America that it fell to the U.K. We have that possibility at the same time by our little lag of a couple of hours.
I really want that to happen because it’s become such a sort of communal thing, this moment of whenever we air one of the programs. It’s got such a kind of loyal fan base around the world. I mean, it’s huge. It’s alarmingly big, but it’s exciting. And, yeah, we’re doing a great show. It’s gotta be a corker.
Tavis: To your point about it being loved around the world, you must clearly be aware that the PBS audience in this country–I mean, I don’t know that you could put anything on our air that is not British born, British based that the audience would not love.
Cumberbatch: I know…
Tavis: So what is it about what you guys are drinking in the water over there that seems to work so well over here?
Cumberbatch: I don’t know. We use our consonants a little more than you guys do [laugh]. Clipped accents. We know how to do a table setting at a formal estate dinner.
Tavis: “Downtown Abbey”, “Sherlock”. I mean, you name it, yeah.
Cumberbatch: Listen, you know, much is made of the you and us kind of thing. Even looking at that map over there, it’s not that big a distance anymore. I mean, the global village makes it instantaneous and I think the appeal is the same as why American cultures always appealed to us, you know.
Tavis: It’s gotten so bad now–let me say this again ’cause I don’t want the viewers to take this out of context. It’s gotten to the point–and I’m not even denigrating this…
Cumberbatch: Your work is huge, like…
Tavis: It is, but now it ain’t even just white Brits. It’s Black Brits who are taking jobs now. You look at the “Selma” script. You look at “12 Years a Slave”. I mean, I love all these actors. They’re wonderful, but you guys are coming over here just taking over, man.
Cumberbatch: Well, it’s an even playing field [laugh] which is we all stand in our tights under the same conditions. I can’t speak for David Oyelowo, but those are two actors who work and live here as well, you know. They paid their dues for years by just beautiful, beautiful performances from very fine actors.
And I think as long as we pay our subs and our taxes over here when we work camp, I think it’s fair game. I mean, you know, Meryl Streep can come over and play Margaret Thatcher. Why can’t we come over and play in your sand pit, you know?
In all seriousness, I know what you’re saying. I think as far as colored actors go, it gets really difficult in the U.K. and I think a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here than in the U.K. and that’s something that needs to change.
Lenny Henry who’s a real force for good for many, many reasons, a brilliant actor, comedian–I was about to say chariter. That’s not a word–an amazing figurehead in raising money for Africa through comic relief. You know, he’s rightfully launched a campaign to keep it in check ’cause something’s gone wrong.
We’re not being represented enough in our culture of different races, and that really does need to step up a pace. I don’t want to get involved in any debates about that, but it’s clear when you see certain migratory patterns that there are more opportunities here than there are in the U.K.
Tavis: We recently had Ava DuVernay on this program who directed “Selma”.
Cumberbatch: What a wonderful film.
Tavis: I raise that only because one of my favorite movies of 2014, she sat in this chair. Speaking of Black Brits, Amma Asanta, who directed “Belle”.
Cumberbatch: Yeah, yeah, it’s a great film.
Tavis: What a beautiful film.
Cumberbatch: She was fantastic in it as well. Really beautiful performance from her. I mean, I live not far from that property where she…
Tavis: Where she filmed that?
Cumberbatch: Yeah. Well, the whole story, where the story happens.
Tavis: Sure, sure, sure.
Cumberbatch: So I was aware of it. I said, God, why isn’t this being made into a film? Almost not finishing my sentence before the person who was telling me about it said, “It has. It has. It’s coming out.” Oh, thrilling.
Tavis: I love the name. I’ll say it again. Benedict Cumberbatch stars in not just “Sherlock” for Masterpiece fans here on PBS, but he is the star of “The Imitation Game”. It is a wonderful film. If you’ve seen it, you already know that. And it’s gonna get more buzz as this award season continues on. But it’s wonderfully done. I’m honored to have you on this program.
Cumberbatch: Thanks. Thanks for having me on.
Tavis: Thank you. Congrats on the baby and all that good stuff.
Cumberbatch: Thank you very much.
Tavis: Come back whenever you can.
Cumberbatch: I’d love to do that. Thank you.
Tavis: That’s our show for tonight. Thanks for watching and, as always, keep the faith.
Announcer: For more information on today’s show, visit Tavis Smiley at pbs.org.
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Announcer: And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you. |||||
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Somali soldiers providing security stand near a checkpoint on the eve of presidential elections in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Graft - vote-buying, fraud, intimidation - is the top concern... (Associated Press)
Somali soldiers providing security stand near a checkpoint on the eve of presidential elections in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Graft - vote-buying, fraud, intimidation - is the top concern in a nation that Transparency International now rates as the most corrupt in the world and Mogadishu... (Associated Press)
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia holds a groundbreaking presidential election Wednesday amid a security lockdown that has closed the capital's international airport and cleared major streets.
Fears of attacks by Islamic extremist group al-Shabab have limited the election to the country's legislators, who will vote at a heavily guarded former air force base in the capital, Mogadishu. Rounds of voting are expected to narrow down the 22 candidates to a winner.
This Horn of Africa nation is trying to put together its first fully functioning central government in a quarter-century. Years of warlord-led conflict and al-Shabab attacks, along with famine, have left this country of about 12 million people largely shattered.
Somalia's instability landed it among the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, even though its government has been an increasingly important partner for the U.S. military on counterterrorism efforts.
In a sign of the dangers that remain in the capital, Mogadishu, two mortar rounds fired by suspected extremists late Tuesday hit near the election venue.
While the international community has pushed Somalia to hold this election as a symbol of strength, including the U.S. pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years for political and economic recovery, the vote has been marred by reports of widespread corruption.
The legislators voting Wednesday — 275 members of the lower legislative house and 54 senators — were selected by the country's powerful, intricate network of clans. Weeks ago, a joint statement by the United Nations, the U.S., European Union and others warned of "egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process."
Examples included violence, intimidation and men taking seats that had been reserved for female candidates, the joint statement said.
With reports of votes being sold for up to $30,000 apiece, "This is probably the most expensive election, per vote, in history," the Mogadishu-based anti-corruption group Marqaati said in a report released Tuesday.
Among the candidates, many who also hold foreign passports, incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking re-election and may have an edge to win a second five-year term.
But rival candidate and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has accused regional countries of interfering in the electoral process by pushing for certain candidates. "Those neighboring countries should respect our sovereignty and stop meddling in our affairs," he said, without naming the states. Various Muslim-majority countries seek a friendly Somali government, including Turkey, which has invested heavily in the country. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are backing different candidates. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Mogadishu's streets are usually congested with vehicles
A traffic ban has been imposed and major roads sealed off in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, ahead of a presidential vote.
MPs will gather at the airport to elect a new head of state.
On Tuesday evening, suspected Al-Shabab militants launched a series of attacks, with two mortar rounds fired close to the venue where the vote will be held.
Residents in Arbacow village outside Mogadishu say jihadists attacked an African Union military base there.
More than 20 candidates are vying to become Somali president, with the top three proceeding to a second round of voting and the top two from that round going forward to a third and final vote.
Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is standing for re-election and analysts say he is likely to be one of those who goes forward to the later rounds.
Results are expected later on Wednesday.
The airport is viewed as the most secure site in the Somali capital and voting was moved there from a police academy because of growing security concerns.
Wednesday's security measures will include a ban on flights to and from Mogadishu airport.
Correspondents said most schools and offices remained open on Tuesday but people had had to walk to reach their destination.
Analysts say holding the election in the airport environment may also reduce the possibility of vote buying or other corruption in the election process.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A 60-second guide to the unique way Somalia is electing its new president
Somalia has not had an effective central government since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The Mogadishu-based government is backed by an African Union force, Amisom, made up of more than 22,000 troops and police, as well as civilian staff.
Al-Shabab has a presence in much of the southern third of the country and has carried out many attacks in Mogadishu.
It has previously attacked the Somali parliament, presidential palace, courts, hotels and the fortified airport zone.
At least 19 politicians, as well as civilians and soldiers have been killed in its assaults. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– Somalia holds a groundbreaking presidential election Wednesday amid a security lockdown that has closed the capital's international airport and cleared major streets. Fears of attacks by Islamic extremist group al-Shabab have limited the election to the country's legislators, who will vote at the airport, a heavily guarded former air force base in the capital, Mogadishu, the AP reports. It is considered the country's most secure site. Rounds of voting are expected to narrow down the 22 candidates to a winner. The nation, shattered by years of warlord-led conflict and al-Shabab attacks, along with famine, is trying to put together its first fully functioning central government in a quarter-century. The legislators voting Wednesday—275 members of the lower legislative house and 54 senators—were selected by the country's powerful network of clans. Weeks ago, a joint statement by the UN, the US, European Union, and others warned of "egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process." Examples included violence, intimidation, and men taking seats that had been reserved for female candidates, the statement said. With reports of votes being sold for up to $30,000 apiece, "this is probably the most expensive election, per vote, in history," Mogadishu-based anti-corruption group Marqaati said. Militants launched fresh attacks late Tuesday, with two mortar rounds landing near the election venue, the BBC reports.
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Summarize this article:
As such, there are plenty of people disappointed in the 27-year-old, and Rosie O'Donnell is one of them . On April 13, O'Donnell expressed that disappointment via Twitter, calling Lohan's show a "tragedy."
The Lindsay show is a tragedy - on every level - I hope one day she gets sober for real and watches these episodes - n sees what we all do
It's not the first time Lohan and O'Donnell, who claims to have given up alcohol in 2009 after her son told her she was drinking too much, have butted heads. In 2012, O'Donnell made some negative remarks regarding Lohan's portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime movie "Liz & Dick," and the "Mean Girls" star responded: "It’s funny that someone you don’t know at all can say something so intrusive and so knowing," she told Access Hollywood. ||||| Just four days before telling David Letterman she was clean and sober, Lindsay Lohan was reportedly drunk as a skunk at a viewing party for her sobriety-focused reality show.
On April 6, the troubled actress, 27, decided to watch her self-titled OWN show with a group of friends — and alcoholic beverages — at New York’s Gramercy Park Hotel.
PHOTOS: Meet The Parents! Hollywood’s Best & Worst Moms And Dads
“Lindsay was laughing at herself and having drinks,” an eyewitness tells Star magazine in the latest issue. “When she stepped inside the elevator, she reeked of booze and could barely stand!”
And the star — who recently admitted to relapsing on her show — didn’t seem too worried about covering up her boozy behavior. “She was walking in a zigzag, and everyone in the lobby was staring,” adds the insider. “She was definitely not sober.”
PHOTOS: Celebs Who Have Been In Rehab
Indeed, by all indications the party is still in full swing for sobriety-challenged Lohan: the six-time rehab alum was reportedly caught with drinks in hand during the Coachella Film Festival in Indio, California on April 12 as well.
For more on Lohan’s boozy viewing party, pick up the latest issue of Star, on stands Thursday! ||||| Lindsay Lohan has never been open about her boozing problems, hiding them from the world until she’s forced to admit what happened and RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that she’s treating the latest incident of her drinking the same way – by completing ignoring the fact.
“Lindsay is in denial this time,” a source close to the Mean Girls actress told Radar.
“She hasn’t spoken about her drinking at Coachella with anyone close to her, not family or friends. She is just avoiding the situation entirely.”
PHOTOS: Lindsay Lohan Through The Years
Lohan, 27, was reportedly drinking vodka at the California desert music festival but the source said she’s not admitting that she did consume the booze.
“Lindsay is only talking about going to the gym and working out. And going on The View,” the source said.
“Those close to Lindsay have learned not to accuse her of drinking or doing anything other than staying sober. She WILL admit when she’s done something wrong but she’s not ready to this time.”
PHOTOS: How Lo Can She Go? Lindsay Lohan’s 25 Most Outrageous Secrets & Scandals
As viewers saw on her OWN reality show, Lohan is loathe to talk about her problems, shutting her life coach A.J. Johnson out after she brought up a drink the actress had.
“It was so blatant on the show that she was drinking but no one would talk about it,” the source told Radar.
“Michael [her sober coach] would’t say it, Matt [her assistant] wouldn’t say it, only A.J. would.
PHOTOS: Meet The Parents! Hollywood’s Best & Worst Moms And Dads
“In the past when she was on the straight and narrow she was on time and always show up on time, but then when she was off the wagon she was late and tardy for production,” the source recalled.
And now that Lohan is booking jobs, the source said her actions are raising tough questions for those around her.
“Why is she doing this? Why is she risking what she has going on now? She has a disease and time will tell if she can beat it.” ||||| EXCLUSIVE: Oprah pulls plug on second season for Lindsay Lohan's reality show - but no one has told her yet!
Lindsay Lohan's OWN network reality TV show will not be renewed, but no one's told her yet!
The OWN network honcho Oprah Winfrey, 60, has called time on the show after poor ratings.
So far only her head TV network executives know, while Lindsay has been kept guessing if she will return. The part reality show/ documentary turned into a 'meltdown' rather than a comeback series.
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Out on her a**: Lindsay Lohan had a chance at a second series of her OWN reality/documentary show, but ratings were poor and she has been accused of failing to promote it properly
Gone: A source told MailOnline that Oprah grew tired of hearing about Lindsay and her private life in other media outlets
Insiders say Oprah is livid with Lindsay, 27, for her behavior on the shows and for leaks of trashy stories about the show and her rumored sex list.
Oprah also feels that Lindsay could've done more to publicize the show in the right way.
Ratings for the prime time episodes were low. The premiere attracted less than 700,000 viewers - a third less than they hoped for.
Bosses at the network originally commissioned the show for a one off run, but had given the star options for further follow ups if it was a success.
'Oprah will tell Lindsay later this month that her show won't be reappearing for in the future,' an insider divulged. ' First and foremost, the ratings were an absolute disaster. It didn't pull in the viewers that Oprah had hoped for.
Off the wagon: Reports from Coachella at the weekend claimed she has failed to stay sober. Oprah is said to be very displeased at her off-screen 'trashy' antics
'Also, Oprah grew tired of hearing about Lindsay and her private life in other media outlets. It became a little worrying when stories about her private life appeared in magazines, while Lindsay never talked about anything like that on the show.
'Leaked stories from those around her also generated what many felt was trashy publicity, which didn't really improve her image or send out a message that her star was on the rise.
' A story about Lindsay's supposed sex list story left many with a bad feelings too. Lindsay did very little publicity for the show either. Oprah kind of expected that, but it would've been nice if Lindsay went some chat shows to talk about the reality show.
'Oprah has cut her losses and said there will be no second season for Lindsay.'
The source continued: 'OWN saw the Lindsay show as a possible long term hit series. And Oprah was hoping that it would chart her time from coming out of rehab to making it back into the A list movie ranks.
'In reality the series has simply showed that Lindsay is a long way from returning to Hollywood. And her attitude towards the advice and help Oprah gave her seemed to be ignored in the main.
'O n paper this show had huge potential, but in practice it has been a poor show.'
This weekend Lindsay Lohan went out partying at the Coachella Music festival.
'Far from Hollywood': OWN had hoped that they could follow the transformation of Lindsay back to stardom. But these days she has to accept cameos, like above in CBS' 2 Broke Girls
Oprah didn't send out any of her camera crews to follow Lindsay's antics. Had they gone, they may have scored some interesting footage.
Reports say that 'sober' Lindsay started drinking again during her partying after the music shows.
The one time Disney Starlet now faces an uncertain future.
She has not attracted a leading role in a major successful movie for almost a decade.
Instead, she has been forced to take less high profile jobs. Most recently, she has taken on a cameo as a difficult bride in the hit CBS series, 2 Broke Girls.
And critics have been harsh on comeback performances in Liz And Dick and The Canyons.
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– We'd tell you to take this news with a grain of salt, seeing as it comes from the Daily Mail ... but let's be honest, we all saw this coming: Sources tell the British tabloid Oprah Winfrey is furious with the way Lindsay Lohan's reality show on the OWN network has turned out, and has decided not to renew it for a second season. The problems are many, but the most interesting (and predictable) one is that Winfrey thinks the show, which was meant to show Lohan's comeback, has instead documented her continuing "meltdown." Not only has Lohan behaved badly on the series itself, but she's made Oprah's network look bad by continuing to go out and party, resulting in "trashy" stories about her appearing in the media. Plus, ratings have been dismal, with fewer than 700,000 tuning in for the premiere. "Oprah will tell Lindsay later this month that her show won't be reappearing," says one insider, though LiLo is for now clueless about her show's future (unless she happens to Google herself today). Just this week, Rosie O'Donnell called the reality show "a tragedy ... on every level," the Huffington Post reports. We'd have to agree, considering LiLo was reportedly even drunk at a viewing party for the show.
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Here is a news article: Police in Maryland are looking for a pregnant teacher who didn't show up for the first day of class. (Published Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017)
Police in Maryland are looking for a pregnant teacher who didn't show up for the first day of class.
Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, was last seen at the Olney condo where she lives alone about 8:30 a.m. Monday. Her family said they received a "troubling" text message from her about an hour later, but attempts to reach her have failed. Police don't want to release the contents of the text message she sent.
Her father said he went to her condo but didn't find her.
She also failed to show up for the first day of classes Tuesday at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, where she teaches history and law. Her father, Mark Wallen, said that set off alarms for him.
Pregnant Maryland Teacher Missing as School Year Starts
Police in Maryland are looking for a pregnant teacher who didn't show up for the first day of class. Pat Collins reports. (Published Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017)
"You feel so helpless at that point because you don't know where your child is," he said.
He suspects someone is responsible for his daughter's disappearance.
"Well we're reaching out to, of course, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and also other strategies I don't want to get into at this time," Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks said.
"This is like an alternate universe," said Wallen's sister, Jennifer Kadi. "It just doesn't seem real."
Wallen is four months pregnant, and her family said she was excited about it and posted her sonogram on her refrigerator.
"That obviously puts an enormous amount of worry on us because she is out there somewhere and she has a baby, so that's a really scary thing," Kadi said.
"It's like a TV drama you wish you could shut off but you can't," Mark Wallen said.
Wallen is 5-foot-5-inches tall, weighs 200 pounds and has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Police are also looking for her car, a black 2011 Ford Escape with Maryland license plate M522473.
Anyone with information about Wallen's location or the location of her car should call police at 301-279-8000. ||||| Columbia, Md. (WJZ)– Montgomery County police in Maryland continue to look for a pregnant teacher who didn’t show up for the first day of class.
Police say Olney resident, Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, last contacted family members by text message on Monday.
Wallen failed to show up for the first day of classes Tuesday at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, where she teaches history and law.
“She was a favorite amongst the students. She was really nice and this is really sad, what’s happening, you see it’s really taking a toll on people,” said student Paris Cooper.
Relatives of Wallen confirmed that she was excited about her pregnancy, never gave signs that anything was bothering her and left her dog behind.
“I’m hoping they find her and I’m hoping that she’ll be alive and well,” said neighbor Joyce Robinson.
Police won’t reveal the context of the text message she sent the family.
“That was alarming enough that the family said ‘we need to call police,'” Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti said.
Wallen spent days preparing her classroom, which makes it unusual that she didn’t show up.
She earned honors as senior class teacher last year.
“People are concerned for her safety,” said Brian Bassett of Howard County Schools. “I know she’s really highly regarded at Wilde Lake High School.”
Students flooded social media using the hashtag #BringWallenHome.
Wallen is 5-foot-5-inches tall, weighs 200 pounds and has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Police are also looking for her car, a black 2011 Ford Escape with Maryland license plate M522473.
Anyone with information about Wallen’s location or the location of her car should call police at 301-279-8000.
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook |||||
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– The mysterious disappearance of a pregnant high school teacher has prompted a police search in Olney, Maryland. Montgomery County police say Laura Elizabeth Wallen, a 31-year-old history and law teacher, failed to show up for the first day of class Tuesday at Wilde Lake High School, NBC Washington reports. The day before, her family received what they say was a "troubling" text from Wallen about an hour after she was last seen, at 8:30am Monday at her condo complex. Police aren't sharing that text message, but Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti told CBS Baltimore the message was "alarming enough that the family said, 'We need to call police.'" Witnesses say Wallen, who is four months pregnant, spent several days before the new school year began preparing her classroom. She is five-foot-five inches tall, weighs 200 pounds, and has blonde hair and blue eyes. Police are also searching for her car, a black 2011 Ford Escape with Maryland tag M522473.
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– A US Secret Service agent has had a laptop stolen from her car in New York City, the AP reports. The Secret Service said Friday that the laptop contains "multiple layers of security," including disk encryption, and doesn't carry classified information, though CNN reports it does contain "highly sensitive" information, including floor plans and evacuation procedures for Trump Tower. The agency wouldn't comment further. Police say the agent's car was parked near her Brooklyn home when someone broke in Thursday. Other items that were stolen were later recovered, including coins and a bag with the agency's insignia. The agency is asking anyone with information on the theft to contact the police or the Secret Service's New York field office.
Let's expand this into a news article: NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Secret Service agent has had a laptop stolen from her car in New York City.
The Secret Service said Friday that the laptop contains "multiple layers of security," including disk encryption, and doesn't carry classified information. The agency wouldn't comment further.
Police say the agent's car was parked near her Brooklyn home when someone broke in Thursday. Other items that were stolen were later recovered, including coins and a bag with the agency's insignia.
The agency is asking anyone with information on the theft to contact the police or the Secret Service's New York field office. ||||| Story highlights The backpack has since been found, but not the laptop
Also stolen were the agent's lapel assignment pins that gave her access to security details
(CNN) A laptop with highly sensitive information was stolen from a Secret Service agent's car Thursday morning in Brooklyn and has not been found, according to two senior New York law enforcement officials.
The officials said the laptop, which was highly encrypted and contained floor plans and evacuation protocol for Trump Tower, cannot be traced or erased by officials remotely, leaving the information at risk of being discovered.
The agent described the incident as a compromise of national security, according to one of the officials.
Also stolen were the agent's lapel assignment pins that gave her access to security details that protected Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, the pope and the United Nations General Assembly.
The laptop and pins were in a backpack that was taken from the car, which was parked in the agent's driveway.
Read More |||||
– An 11-year-old girl's kidnapping and rape in Santa Ana, Calif., may be solved after 17 years thanks in part to a discarded water bottle. For years, detectives had few leads apart from a surveillance video from a gas station showing a man in a van covering the girl's mouth with his hand while an unknown man pumped gas, police say, per KTLA. However, DNA evidence taken from the victim was recently submitted for analysis. Two DNA profiles emerged. One matched DNA from 36-year-old Ismael Salgado, who lived in Santa Ana in 1999, police say, per the Los Angeles Times. The second sample didn't match any in California or national databases, but detectives soon identified an old friend of Salgado's who had also lived in Santa Ana at the time of the crime. While following Jose Plascencia, 36, in Arizona, detectives saw him throw away a water bottle and retrieved it for analysis. DNA from the bottle then proved a match to the case. According to police, Salgado and Plascencia dragged the victim and a friend into their van on Feb. 3, 1999, as the girls were walking home. The friend was able to escape, but when the victim tried to do the same, the suspects "pulled her back in by her hair," a police rep tells KABC. They stopped to get gas, then raped the 11-year-old repeatedly at two different locations before releasing her, police allege. Both men are now held at the Orange County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping to commit a sex offense and forcible rape, per the Orange County Register. Bail is set at $1 million each. (Police have a new lead in a girl's 1957 murder.)
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Let's expand this into a news article: Please enable Javascript to watch this video
Two men have been arrested in connection with the 1999 kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl in Santa Ana after DNA evidence linked the men to the crimes.
Ismael Salgado, 36, of Chicago, Illinois, and Jose Plascencia, 36, of Laveen, Arizona were recently arrested both on charges of kidnapping to commit a sex offense and forcible rape, the Santa Ana Police Department announced in a news release.
Salgado was arrested at his Chicago home on Oct. 5, and Plascencia on Nov. 6 in Nogales, Arizona.
Investigators said in February 1999, an 11-year-old girl and her friend were walking near the Jerome Center in Santa Ana when the two men pulled their car alongside them and forced the girls to get inside.
One of the girls managed to escape, but the 11-year-old was unable to get out of the car. The girl was driven to secluded parking lots where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the two men, before being let go, police said.
After the sexual assault, the girl reported the kidnapping and sexual assault to the Santa Ana Police Department.
"The young girl that got away was very lucky, and in fact we are lucky that this victim got away because God only knows what they would have done," Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told KTLA.
Surveillance video from a gas station where the suspects stopped to get gas while they had the girl held against her will showed one of the suspects, but detectives were unable to identify either suspect.
The break in the case came earlier this year when investigators reopened it as part of the Santa Ana Police Department's "Cold Case" rape project.
Forensic crime scene evidence was submitted to the Orange County Crime Lab, compared to statewide and national databases, and returned two DNA profiles, with Salgado's DNA resulting as a match.
Investigators began looking into Salgado's background and identified Plascencia as an old friend of Salgado's in the late 1990s and 2000 when they both lived in Santa Ana.
Detectives began following Plascencia and recovered a plastic water bottle he had been drinking. The water bottle was submitted for DNA analysis to the Orange County Crime Lab and later linked Plascencia to the DNA from the 1999 sexual assault.
Both men have been returned to Orange County to stand trial and are each being held on $1 million bail.
Please enable Javascript to watch this video ||||| Detectives said they've cracked a gruesome cold case in which a young girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in Santa Ana nearly two decades ago.Santa Ana police said thanks to the help of diligent work and DNA evidence, Jose Plascencia and Ismael Salgado, both 36, were taken into custody for raping and kidnapping an 11-year-old girl back in 1999.Authorities stated Plascencia and Salgado pulled two girls into a van as they were walking home near the Jerome Center. The other child was able to escape, police said."As the second tried to escape, the suspects got out of the vehicle, pulled her back in by her hair," Cpl. Anthony Bertagna with the Santa Ana Police Department said.Officials said the men went to a gas station where a surveillance camera captured a photo of one suspect.The men then took the girl to the parking lots of two schools where they both raped her repeatedly, according to police.Authorities said the victim eventually escaped.Without many leads and limited technology, the case went cold. That was until this year, when a detective ran DNA from the scene through a database."Two different suspects, one, a named suspect and one a DNA match for an unnamed suspect," Bertagna explained.Police said he named suspect, Salgado, was arrested in Chicago. Detectives looked at Salgado's known associates, which they said led them to Plascencia.A task force in Arizona tracked Plascencia, eventually collecting a water bottle he threw away. The DNA on the bottle matched evidence at the scene, according to police."Caught crossing the border in Nogales by border patrol," Bertagna stated.Both Plascencia and Salgado face kidnap and rape charges. Their bails were set at $1 million each. ||||| Security video from the station shows one suspect filling up the van as the other man covered the girl's mouth with his hand, police said. The girl said the men then drove to a park and raped her, then drove to a second park and did it again, police said. ||||| SANTA ANA – Two men have been arrested following an exhaustive multi-state investigation into the 1999 rape and kidnapping of an 11-year-old girl in Santa Ana.
Ismael Salgado, 36, of Chicago and Jose Plascencia, 36, of Laveen, Ariz. are being held in the Orange County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping to commit a sex offense and forcible rape, police said Tuesday. Their bail has been set at $1 million.
The complicated investigation leading to the arrests could not have been accomplished without assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies, Santa Ana Police Department spokesman Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said in a statement.
“Mutual cooperation among law enforcement agencies is critical to successful resolution of sexual assault cases,” he said.
On the afternoon of Feb. 3, 1999, an 11-year-old girl was walking home with another girlnear Jerome Center in Santa Ana when two men pulled their car alongside them and tried to entice them inside, Bertagna said.
The men forced the girls inside the car and drove out of the area, he said.
One girl managed to escape, while the other was unsuccessful and was pulled by them back into the car by her hair and driven to a nearby gas station.
One of the men filled the vehicle with gas while the other man covered the girl’s mouth, preventing her from screaming for help or escaping, Bertagna said.
Then they drove the girl to two different parking lots, where they both sexually assaulted her, he added.
The men later released the girl, who reported the kidnapping and assault to Santa Ana police.
Detectives gathered video evidence from the gas station depicting a man with a plaid shirt and white pants, as described by the girl.
However, detectives were initially unable to develop significant leads or identify suspects in the case.
Early this year, detectives reviewed this case as a part of the Santa Ana Police Department’s “Cold Case” rape project aimed at reopening unsolved investigations to bring sexual predators to justice and provide closure for victims.
Forensic evidence was submitted to the Orange County Crime Lab for DNA testing, Bertagna said. The lab identified two male DNA profiles, which were compared with statewide and national databases.
The search showed one profile belonged to Salgado while the second profile was determined to be that of an unidentified male who was not present in the DNA databases, Bertagna said.
With this new lead, detectives investigated Salgado’s background and learned he lived in Santa Ana for much of his life and only recently moved to Chicago.
They also identified Plascencia, who associated with Salgado in the late 1990s and into 2000 when they both lived in Santa Ana, Bertagna said
At the request of Santa Ana detectives, on Oct. 5 agents with the FBI Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force arrested Salgado at his Chicago home. Santa Ana detectives then returned Salgado to Orange County.
Detectives also believed Plascencia might be the source of the second DNA profile, Bertagna said.
However, because Plascencia’s DNA was not in any law enforcement databases for comparison Santa Ana police asked the Arizona Attorney General's Office for assistance.
Arizona investigators followed Plascencia for several days and retrieved a discarded plastic water bottle he had been drinking, Bertagna said.
An analysis by the Orange County Crime lab showed that Plascencia’s DNA from the bottle matched the DNA from the sexual assault, he said.
On Nov. 6, Plascencia was arrested at a border crossing in Nogales Arizona. Santa Ana Police Detectives flew to Arizona and brought Plascencia back to Orange County.
The arrests of Salgado and Plascencia sends a message that Santa Ana police will relentlessly pursue sexual predators, Bertagna said.
“We will never stop pursuing them for their crimes,” he said.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 [email protected] Twitter: @thechalkoutline |||||
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Here is a news article: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Secret Service agent shot a man who brandished a gun near the White House on Friday while President Barack Obama was out golfing, and the man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, officials said.
The Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, briefly locked down the White House as a precaution, and Vice President Joe Biden was secured within the White House complex during the lockdown, a White House spokeswoman said.
Authorities later said there appeared to be no link to terrorism.
The shooting took place just off 17th and E streets, near what is known as the South Lawn outside the home and offices of the president.
A man carrying a gun approached a checkpoint shortly after 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) when uniformed Secret Service officers ordered him to stop and drop the weapon, the Secret Service said in a statement.
“When the subject failed to comply with the verbal commands, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody,” the statement said.The man was taken to hospital in critical condition, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said.
Authorities said they were investigating the motive.
Police secure a location after a shooting near the White House in Washington DC, U.S. May 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
“At this time, based on a preliminary investigation, there is no known nexus to terrorism,” security agencies said in a joint statement.
A man who appeared to be in his mid-20s walked to a gate of the White House holding a silver-colored gun pointed at the ground, said Brett Polivka, a 26-year-old visitor from Texas who was near the south side of the White House.
“A couple officers drew their guns, went right at him and within two or three seconds we heard a gunshot,” Polivka said.
The Secret Service, which also guards other top dignitaries, said all those under its protection were safe, but it did not say if Obama’s family was home at the time.
“Everyone in the White House is safe and accounted for,” a White House official said.
The shooting followed several incidents that raised questions about the Secret Service’s performance.
In September 2014, a knife-carrying man jumped a fence and ran into the White House itself in one of the worst security breaches during Obama’s tenure.
Slideshow (5 Images)
That episode led to the resignation of the Secret Service’s director.
In March 2015, two Secret Service agents capped off a night of drinking by driving into a White House barricade inches away from a suspicious package that investigators were examining.
In 2011, a man hit the White House with automatic rifle fire, though damage to the building was not discovered for several days. ||||| The man shot by a U.S. Secret Service officer near the White House Friday remains in critical condition in a Washington hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said Saturday.
George Washington University Hospital spokeswoman Susan Griffiths would provide only his condition, according to The Associated Press. She referred other questions to the Secret Service, but a spokesman for that agency, Robert Hoback, declined to discuss the case, citing the continuing investigation.
The White House was locked down for around 45 minutes Friday afternoon after a man -- identified by ABC sources as Pennsylvania resident Jesse A. Olivieri -- carrying a gun near the complex was shot by a Secret Service agent
Just after 3 p.m., Olivieri, who was carrying a gun, approached a Secret Service checkpoint on the outer perimeter of the White House grounds, near 17th and E Street Northwest.
He ignored commands from Secret Service officers to drop his weapon, and began brandishing his firearm, the official said.
A Secret Service agent then fired a single shot at Olivieri, wounding him, according to the official. He was then taken into custody and Secret Service personnel administered first aid.
Olivieri was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated.
The president was not in the White House at the time of the incident and the lockdown was lifted just after 4 p.m. Vice President Biden was reported to be “within the complex” at the White House, but is “secure," according to a spokesperson.
Instagram/@jasiri_x
Snipers took to the White House roof with guns drawn as people were cleared off the streets. Some people were heard screaming on Pennsylvania Avenue.
ABC News' Jack Date, John Parkinson and Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Check back for more updates. ||||| Story highlights The suspect was shot in the abdomen, according to two sources
President Barack Obama was not at the White House at the time of the incident
Washington (CNN) A Secret Service agent on Friday shot a man near a security checkpoint close to the White House after he brandished a gun and refused orders to stop.
A Secret Service spokesman said the incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. ET when a man carrying a gun approached a checkpoint on E Street near the White House. The suspect was given verbal commands to stop and drop the gun, and when he failed to comply, he was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody. Secret Service officers and an agent provided medical aid to the suspect, and the city's EMS said he was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries.
The suspect was shot in the abdomen, according to two sources familiar with the incident.
President Barack Obama was not at the White House, and Vice President Joe Biden was secured in the White House complex during the incident.
"No one within or associated with the White House was injured, and everyone in the White House is safe and accounted for," a White House official said. "The President has been made aware of the situation."
Read More |||||
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– Secret Service officers shot a man Friday afternoon after shots were fired near the White House, CNN reports. The White House was locked down during the shooting, and Vice President Biden was sheltered inside. President Obama was not at the White House at the time, according to ABC News. Early reports stated the suspect was shooting at the White House, but details remain unclear. Reuters reports the suspect was shot by a Secret Service officer near a security checkpoint after he allegedly refused to drop his gun. The suspect was given medical treatment, taken into custody, and transported to the hospital.
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Article:
The census, taken with camera traps spread out over more than 900,000 acres of primary leopard habitat, collected around ten thousand photographs that scientists used to identify nearly 60 individual animals. Credit: WWF-Russia / ISUNR At least 57 Amur leopards now exist in Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park, up from just 30 cats counted in 2007, according to new census data announced last week. An additional 8-12 leopards were counted in adjacent areas of China, meaning the number of Amur leopards, a rare subspecies considered the world's rarest wild cat, has more than doubled over the past seven years.
The census, taken with camera traps spread out over more than 900,000 acres of primary leopard habitat, collected around ten thousand photographs that scientists used to identify nearly 60 individual animals. Individuals are determined by distinctive patterns of spots found on leopard fur. The census was carried out by the Land of the Leopard National Park jointly with the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the support of The Amur Leopard Center and WWF-Russia.
"Despite still being on the brink of extinction, the Amur leopard is showing encouraging signs of gradual recovery, demonstrating that dedicated conservation efforts do pay off. The collaboration between Russia and China to protect vast areas of suitable leopard habitat is the next key step to protect this species," said Carlos Drews, director of WWF´s global species programme.
Land of the Leopard National Park, which includes all of the Amur leopard's known breeding areas, was hailed as a lifeline to the critically endangered Amur leopard when established in 2012. The park is also home to the endangered Amur tiger.
According to Yury Darman, head of WWF Russia Amur Branch and a member of the Supervisory Board of The Amur Leopards Center, "The national park became the main organizational force for leopard protection and research."
Conservationists are working toward monitoring leopard populations across the border in neighboring Chinese nature reserves. One of the highly anticipated next steps would be the establishment of a Sino-Russian transboundary nature reserve.
Explore further: Update on census of world's most endangered cat -- Female Amur leopard found dead ||||| “Such a strong rebound in Amur leopard numbers is further proof that even the most critically endangered big cats can recover if we protect their habitat and work together on conservation efforts”
In an amazing tale of recovery, Amur leopard populations have more than doubled in just seven years. New census data reveals Amur leopards in Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park now number at least 57 cats (up from just 30 cats in 2007). And an additional 8-12 leopards were counted in adjacent areas of China.
For the census, camera traps were spread out over more than 900,000 acres of leopard habitat. Scientists then reviewed 10,000 images and identified nearly 60 individual animals, judging by the distinctive pattern of spots on the leopards’ fur. The census was carried out by the Land of the Leopard National Park jointly with the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the support of The Amur Leopard Center and WWF-Russia.
Established in 2012, Land of the Leopard National Park includes all of the Amur leopard’s known breeding areas and about 60 percent of the critically endangered cat’s remaining habitat. "The national park became the main organizational force for leopard protection and research,” said Yury Darman, head of WWF Russia Amur Branch and a member of the Supervisory Board of The Amur Leopards Center. |||||Summary:
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– It's what the WWF is hailing as an "amazing tale of recovery," but the numbers involved are still pretty small: The Amur leopard, dubbed the rarest cat on planet Earth, has doubled its numbers over the past seven years, but as Phys.org reports, there are now just fewer than 70 of them in the wild—up from 30 in 2007. A survey of some 10,000 photos from camera traps in Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park counted 57 of the kitties (their spot patterns are distinctive); an additional eight to 12 were seen nearby in neighboring China. The park, which contains all the Amur leopard's known breeding areas, is "the main organizational force for leopard protection and research," says a WWF official. It was established in 2012. "Such a strong rebound in Amur leopard numbers is further proof that even the most critically endangered big cats can recover if we protect their habitat and work together on conservation efforts," says another WWF official. The park is also home to the Amur tiger, which is also endangered. (Meanwhile, Yosemite National Park recently spotted one of the "rarest mammals in North America.")
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Summarize this article:
Ahead of its official premiere this weekend, THR rounds up everything to know about who has been duped as well as some of the actor's new characters.
On July 4, Sacha Baron Cohen posted a video of Donald Trump calling the comedian a "third-rate character" who needed to "go to school" to "learn about being funny." The Independence Day clip hinted that Baron Cohen had a new project in the works, which Cohen teased again days later with another mysterious video. This one urged viewers to "imagine if Sacha Baron Cohen had been undercover secretly filming a new show for a year," and included a clip of former Vice President Dick Cheney autographing a waterboard kit.
The following day, Showtime revealed that the project was actually a new series, titled Who Is America?, which bows Sunday, July 15. In advance of the debut of what has quickly become must-see TV, The Hollywood Reporter rounds up everything we know about the show (so far).
What Is It?
A new half-hour satirical comedy from the actor, who returns to series television for the first time in more than a decade. Per Showtime, the "seven-episode series explores the diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate our unique nation."
Who Is Behind It?
The series was created and is executive produced by Baron Cohen. Other EPs include the actor's longtime collaborators Anthony Hines, Todd Schulman, Andrew Newman and Dan Mazer — who were all involved in at least one of Baron Cohen's Da Ali G Show-related projects (including its spinoff movies) — and The Daily Show's Adam Lowitt.
When Does It Premiere?
Who Is America? debuts Sunday, July 15, at midnight ET/Saturday, July 14, 9 p.m. PT online and on Showtime On Demand, and will debut on air July 15 at 10 p.m. on Showtime. Subsequent episodes will be released Sundays at 10 p.m. through Aug. 26.
How Long Has It Been In the Works?
Baron Cohen has been filming segments for the series during the past year, and a producer claiming to be working on a Showtime documentary series called The Age of Reason set up an interview with Ted Koppel — so the series has been set at Showtime since at least late 2017.
But details didn't begin leaking until Baron Cohen's mysterious Trump teaser, which was likely filmed following the former reality star's appearance on Da Ali G Show in 2003.
A message from your President @realDonaldTrump on Independence Day pic.twitter.com/O2PwZqO0cs — Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) July 4, 2018
That segment featured Baron Cohen's Ali G trying to get the then-Apprentice star to invest in an ice cream glove. While Trump tweeted that he immediately discovered the ruse ...
I never fall for scams. I am the only person who immediately walked out of my ‘Ali G’ interview — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2012
... Baron Cohen told James Corden on The Late Late Show that Trump was actually there for "about seven minutes."
A few days after the Independence Day teaser, Baron Cohen released another video hinting at a new project, with footage of Dick Cheney signing the interviewer's "waterboard kit."
Cohen's publicist later confirmed that the signed waterboard kit is available to bid on eBay. Auction for the kit will benefit Amnesty International.
The following day came Showtime's official announcement and the first trailer for the series.
Who Has Been Duped?
According to Drudge, both Republicans and Democrats were targeted, including Cheney, Sarah Palin, Howard Dean, Alberto Gonzales, Bernie Sanders, Trent Lott, David Petraeus, Ted Koppel and more. Former vice presidential candidate Palin was the first to speak out about the incident, penning a note accusing Baron Cohen of posing as a wounded soldier. After first speaking out in a Facebook post (below), Palin eventually revealed more details on Good Morning America about what she called a "sick" interview. "It mocked our values," she said. "It was occurring to me that whatever this show is, whatever this interview really is, it is all about humiliation and devaluing middle-class Americans whom I represent."
Yup - we were duped. Ya’ got me, Sacha. Feel better now? I join a long list of American public personalities who have... Posted by Sarah Palin on Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Then came former congressman and current radio host Joe Walsh, who said he thought he was doing an interview to talk about his pro-Israel stance, and the interview was cut short when a fight broke out.
I totally believe @SarahPalinUSA's account of the @SachaBaronCohen incident. Dressing up as a wounded veteran is absolutely stolen valor, his tactics are disguisting - I know cause I too was duped. Here is what happened...#BoycottShowtime — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 11, 2018
Former Alabama judge Roy Moore, who lost the race for an open Senate seat in his state after allegations of an inappropriate encounter with a 14-year-old girl, then released a statement saying he was targeted and threatening legal action against the comedian. “I did not know Sacha Cohen or that a Showtime TV series was being planned to embarrass, humiliate, and mock not only Israel, but also religious conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Joe Walsh, and Dick Cheney,” he wrote.
Ted Koppel revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he was interviewed by the same character who duped Palin. A producer purporting to be from a new Showtime documentary series said the show would include "conversations with distinguished experts in science and public policy, highlighting the brightest and most reputable minds on today's most important topics." The show was supposed to include "ordinary folk interviewing the expert," and a man in a wheelchair "with an oxygen tank hanging off one of the handles" arrived to Koppel's home and began asking him questions about the size of Trump's inauguration, but refused to concede even the most rudimentary of facts (like, say, the sun would have been down if a photograph were taken at 11 p.m.). Koppel said he cut the interview short after that.
What Characters Is He Playing?
So far, the only confirmed character is Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick, the guy who duped Palin. A Twitter account for the character (retweeted by Baron Cohen) has been active since mid-May, tweeting links to stories hosted on his Infowars-like website, Truthbrary.org (sample articles: "Hillary is Satanist Illuminati," "Secret CIA Time Travel" and more).
Baron Cohen retweeted a statement from that account in response to Palin's accusations.
"I am Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick, founder/ceo/accountant of Truthbrary.org and it was I that interviewed you," he wrote. "I did NOT say I was a War Vet. I was in the service — not military, but United Parcel, and I only fought for my country once. When I shot a Mexican who came onto my property. (Coincidentally, just like our Great President, I was sadly prevented from joining the regular army on account of bone spurs bein discovered in my testies.)"
Conservative radio host Austin Rhodes told THR he was duped during a live radio interview while the comedian was posing as Dr. Nira Cain, a professor of gender and women's studies at Reed College in Portland. Rhodes told THR that "some of 'Dr. Cain's' best hits from the interview included calling the U.S. Army 'an active terrorist organization,' saying that The Dukes of Hazzard is like the Southern version of Roots,' and my favorite, claiming that 'white supremacists are responsible for most of the gun deaths in America.'"
The production team even set up a fake Amazon listing for a book supposedly authored by Cain.
One day after the show's premiere, Showtime released a statement about the Dr. Ruddick character in response to Palin and a hijacked Hollywood billboard spreading "misinformation." The statement read: "There has been widespread misinformation over the past week about the character of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., performed by Sacha Baron Cohen on the Showtime comedy series Who Is America? Baron Cohen did not present himself as a disabled veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday can now attest to that. In Sunday’s episode, during an interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, Baron Cohen in character as Dr. Ruddick was asked by the Senator if he is disabled, and he stated that he is not and uses a mobility scooter to conserve his energy. In addition, Baron Cohen never presented himself as a veteran of the U.S. military to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during the booking process or during the filming of her interview, and contrary to her claims he did not appear in a wheelchair. In both the interview with Governor Palin and the interview with Senator Sanders, he did not wear military apparel of any kind."
Did Anyone Catch On?
According to Rhodes, many of his listeners believed the interview — which was broadcast live — was "performance art" and he learned of Baron Cohen's involvement when a listener connected the name of the supervising producer, which was mentioned on air, with someone who had been involved with Borat.
Said Rhodes, "The listener told us that [Todd] Schulman was the man who had secured his participation as a guest in the infamous "Southern dinner scene" in the hilarious Cohen movie Borat. A quick IMDb check revealed Schulman to be connected to virtually every project Cohen had starred in dating back to the Da Ali G Show, including Cohen's new show. I was flummoxed. I have been a fan of Cohen's work for years, and I have seen Borat probably 20 times from start to finish. How in the hell did I miss that this was Sacha Baron Cohen? When I replayed the show, literally the very next day, his voice was obvious, despite a clever attempt to disguise the voice we have heard in countless dialects and characters."
While local news reported the appearance at the time, no other media caught on.
Who Is America? premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. on Showtime. Stay tuned to THR for a review and full coverage of the series. ||||| Photo: Jeffrey Mayer (Getty Images)
As we get closer to this Sunday’s premiere of Who Is America?, Sacha Baron Cohen’s return to the TV prank/interview genre, more and more of Baron Cohen’s “victims” seem positively desperate to step forward and perform inadvertent PR for the series. Sarah Palin has already made her objections to the Showtime show known in a way that can only drive ratings forward, and she’s now been joined by Alabama judge, defeated Senate candidate, and accused creep Roy Moore, who issued a statement threatening to sue Baron Cohen for tricking him into appearing on the series, which we have to assume is a big part of the point of clowning on Roy Moore in the first place.
Not that Baron Cohen isn’t doing plenty to keep the fires stoked himself; earlier today, the comedian—or rather, one of his characters, “Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr.”—fired back at “Vice-President Palin” on Twitter, accusing her of “being hit by a bullshit grenade” and suggesting that she’s now “bleedin’ FAKE NEWS.” It’s all perfectly funny, right-wing-baiting stuff, so why does reading it—and anticipating more of this sort of thing as the show’s run begins—make us feel so goddamn tired all of a sudden?
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It seems weird, after all, to suggest that it hasn’t been long enough since Baron Cohen’s last reign of undercover terror. Bruno is nine years old at this point, and it’s clear that he and his team are as good as ever at working their ways into places they really aren’t supposed to be. (Case in point: This Hollywood Reporter piece about their infiltration of the show of conservative radio host Austin Rhodes, which includes a firsthand account of the tactics Cohen’s team uses to make sure their targets stay disoriented and wrong-footed.)
But here’s the thing: When Baron Cohen was first doing his thing, making a fool of Newt Gingrich and tricking people into revealing their secret prejudices for the ever-watchful camera, it was back in an era where people were at least surface-level interested in keeping those prejudices secret. But the sad fact is that we no longer need elaborate stings or disguises to prove that people like Palin or Roy Moore are small-minded, xenophobic, frequently racist idiots; these days, that’s the makings of a moderately successful political brand. It makes the comedian’s antics feel a bit like yelling that the emperor’s got no clothes on, when we’ve spent the last two years knowingly staring, dead-eyed and helpless, at his wrinkled genitals as they flop around hatefully in our face.
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Of course, Baron Cohen has surprised us before; it’s entirely possible that his series will tease something legitimately shocking or revelatory out of his encounters with America’s political elite. Hopefully we’ll be awake to see it. |||||
Summary:
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– Every day, it seems, a new victim comes forward to admit being duped by Sacha Baron Cohen in a stunt for a new Showtime series called Who Is America?. Baron Cohen tricked, or tried to trick, famous people from across the political spectrum into outrageous interviews, and the results will begin airing Sunday night. The comedian seems to be relishing what the AV Club calls the "inadvertent PR" being generated by those coming forward. Here's what is known: The show: Who Is America? premieres at 10pm Eastern Sunday, and Showtime says the "seven-episode series explores the diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate our unique nation." The Hollywood Reporter rounds up more of the basics: So far, the only confirmed character played by Baron Cohen is "Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick," who interviewed Sarah Palin and others.
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